#from that quiz i took a long time ago

[shiny-jr]

☀ damnation [ the hyena chieftain ]

– Summary: When you commit a crime, you receive a punishment. This is especially true in your society. No matter the crime, your punishment is the same: banishment. But to where you will be sent in exile and how miserable will it be? No one knows, because no one has ever returned.

– Warning: Yes, this is a yandere thing. Gender-neutral reader.

– Characters: Jack Howl, Ruggie Bucchi, Leona Kingscholar.

– Note: Not much to say right now, just a continuation of transferring the results from the quiz onto here so people can read. Like last time, if you haven’t taken the quiz, please try it! I worked a lot on it. As for now, I’m working on the next batch of results (Scarabia, Pomefiore, Ignihyde, and Diasomnia). Scarabia is a current work in progress, had to rewrite part of it because I didn’t like it. 

– Pages: 42

– Not satisfied? Try looking here for the quiz to take it yourself and see where you end up banished!

The King of Hearts   |   The Hyena Chieftain   |   The Diviner 

Wrapped. You were partially wrapped in a thin cool cloth. It was hot, and whatever you woke up on was uncomfortable but was much better than the hard cold benches of the jail. Everything came rushing back in an instant, your crimes, those scowling judges, and the portal that led to your punishment— You were here, the place where you’d live the rest of your life in exile.

Looking around, you thought to yourself, it could be a lot worse. It appeared that you were in some type of room, or a small house, or rather— a cave. The low ceilings were uneven, rocky, reflective and shiny with dew. The hard cold floor was uneven, and looking down, you could see that you lay atop a dirty old mattress with no bed frame. The mattress was just on the floor, there were even a couple of springs cutting through the corners. Thankfully there was light thanks to an old broken lamp in the corner, lit by a flame instead of electricity. The few shelves on the wall were stock full of pots and pans and silverware, and just a few feet away there was a small stone stove. Looks like you ended up in someone’s house. But who’s? And why?

As you jumped up on your feet, you realized that the cloth you were swaddled in was not a blanket for this bed, but a gray wrap that stretched from your left shoulder to the right side of your hip, the cloth held in place by a thin belt around your waist. Attached to the belt was a scabbard, and inside was a curved dagger you curiously examined in the palms of your hands, covered in long fingerless brown gloves. This knife might be useful to keep on you. You never know when things might get dangerous. Tucking the weapon back in its place, you returned your attention to the rest of your outfit. Underneath your wrap, you wore an extremely loose fitted sleeveless brown tunic that could just barely be seen, with matching cargo pants and worn boots.

“Hey, boss! Guess who got a great haul?”

Surprised by the sudden voice, you looked up only to see a short guy barreling into the room, past the curtains that served as a barrier, with an armful of goods. You weren’t too focused on whatever he was carrying, you were distracted by something else attached to his head and lower back. Ears, and a tail. The guy had fluffy but messy brown hair that faded into a sandy blonde, his semi-round ears were brown and his short tail matched his hair color. Were those the characteristics of a dog or a cat…? More important, why had he called you boss?

His downturned eyes, gray in color, peered up at you as he dropped all of his goodies on the mattress you were just asleep on moments ago. Flashing a proud grin, he rummaged through the pile as he explained, “Bunch of tourists from afar were on their way to the kingdom. Lucky for us, they took a wrong turn and ended up on our land. I mean, look at all this cheddar! Coins, jewelry, clothes, oh, and check it out–– rations! There’s a bunch more where this came from. And don’t worry, we split up all the stuff like you told us.”

As he sorted through the various objects, you pried your eyes away from his animal features and noticed his gloves were torn, old and rugged from what must’ve been countless times being worn. In the spots that were torn through, his hands looked rough and damaged from work. Curiously you stepped closer, scanning the pile, “There’s no gloves…?”

“Nah, I went through everything before we split it and sent them to the different ends with the guys to hand out.” Tossing aside some cans, he inquired, “Why? You lookin’ for some?” Actually, now that you were looking at him, you realized most if not all of his clothes were most likely stolen. The white cotton tunic was browning with age and was several sizes too big on his thin form, the large gray pants he wore were held up by a belt similar to yours that held a knife, and he had a dark brown shawl long enough to wrap around his shoulders and extend down his sides.

You still weren’t entirely sure what was going on, but as you looked down at your hands, it became evident that this guy needed these accessories more than you did. Peeling off the long brown gloves from your palms, you outstretched your hands and watched as he hesitantly, confusedly, placed his palms against your own. Removing his old gloves, you replaced them with your own. They matched his shawl. “If you don’t want to throw away your old ones, then save the material to make something else.”

“Really? For me? Seriously, you’re always giving me your things…” Eyeing the new gloves on his hands, he tugged on the material, seemingly content with the new pair. Raising an eyebrow, he eyed you suspiciously, “Spit it out, what job do you want me to do?”

Job? Right, so it seemed like this guy thought you were his boss and he was the subordinate. But it wasn’t just an ordinary gig being run here. Based on what he said before, these people stole if not for a living, then probably very often. And it was a large number of thieves that included himself, and you were their leader…? This was getting too confusing. “Look, I think you’re getting things wrong.” Clear things up now. “I’m not––”

“Is bringin’ ya the news good enough to pay you back? Because I heard a lot of it from those tourists and from locals in the pride lands. Come on, let’s walk while we talk.” Gesturing you to follow, you hesitantly did, and what you saw outside surprised you.

It was the slums. The little house you had been in, was inside of a huge cave system that housed multiple other rooms and even rooms outside in the sun. The environment was rocky, hot, and barren, but there were still countless people about. People like this guy, with fur-covered ears and tails, in rags and worn clothing. Clothes were being washed in huge bins by groups and hung to dry on lines, there was another group over fires cooking bits of food and collecting cans, and various other jobs being done. However, what caught you off guard, was that each person smiled at you and greeted you merrily, calling you boss, as if they had known you for years. Then, they also greeted the guy beside you. Ruggie, they called him.

“So here’s the deal, it’s not looking good on food for the week. We scavenged and sent some fishermen to the far end of the river, we even got some more people than usual at the markets in the kingdom making the usual food runs. But with King Falena making random rounds with his soldiers, we’re risking the chance of our guys getting caught.” Rolling his eyes at the mention of this king, Ruggie scoffed, muttering in annoyance, “Falena’s a dad now, why can’t he just go waste his time playing dear old daddy for that dumb little spoiled brat of his?! That’d make things so much easier for us, you know?”

A king and a land of hungry… Why did this seem familiar? You looked back at the guy beside you and his animal ears and tail. Almost everyone else here had similar appendages. What animal were they…?

“Oh, and before I forget, that Prince Leona was skulking around the borderlands again. Says he wants to talk to you, told me to tell you that myself. Gave a time and everything, talk about conceited.” Annoyed at the memory, he folded his arms behind his head and huffed, “You know, I kinda hate that guy. He’s always trying to boss me around, as if I work for him. Lions, am I right?”

A lion…? A lion prince, and an impoverished community… That… That sounded like the story of the Lion King. A story you used to read a lot when you were a kid. It was about a powerful and majestic lion that ruled over the savanna, and eventually his queen had a son who became heir and next in line for the throne. However, the majestic king had a prince brother who desired the throne more than anything. So, in secret the second prince met with the frowned upon hyenas that lived in the outskirts of the kingdom where there was little food and little water. The second prince befriended the hyenas and with the promise of being allowed into the land of plenty, plotted to overthrow his brother with the help of the hyenas. His plan succeeded, partially, as he murdered his elder brother but his prince nephew escaped. Only years later, after a short harsh rein under the cruel second prince, did the young prince return, now grown. The young prince took back the throne after a duel, and the second prince fell to his demise as the very hyenas he allied himself with, turned against him when the second prince attempted to blame them for the entire ordeal.

“Rightttt…” You responded quietly, not really paying that much attention to him because you were currently trying to piece together what you knew and what was going on. “... What time did he give you?”

“Who? The prince?” Ruggie stopped to look up at the sun, analyzing the angle of the light and length of the shadows with the position of the sun. Slowly he shrugged, “I’d say in ‘bout… few minutes actually. You’re not actually thinking of going, are you?”

The prince… This was a possible lead to… well, something, wasn’t it? Nodding to yourself, you answered confidently, “Yeah, I am, actually. Lead the way, will you?”

A sigh escaped past his lips as his shoulders sagged and he shoved his hands into his pockets. It seemed he was considering it, like he even wanted to say no, but finally he relented and threw up his hands. “You wanna see that stuck-up guy? Go for it. You’re the boss, you know what you’re doing.”

Yeah, you totally don’t know what you’re doing at all. Going with the gut feeling at the moment, and apparently your gut thought you should meet this prince, whoever he was. So you followed Ruggie as he obediently led the way through the dirt streets.

So wait, did that mean that this Ruggie guy and the rest of those people in the community were supposed to be the hyenas? Glancing at his animal characteristics, you could totally see it now. The fluffy ears and the short tail with brown or black colors, they were definitely the frowned upon hyenas of the story. Which meant that the majestic king was King Falena who Ruggie beside you off-handedly mentioned earlier, and his son was the kid prince that would one day rule the land after the tragedy. And finally, the villain of the story, the cruel and calculating second prince, brother of the majestic king… was this Prince Leona that wanted to meet you.

If you got all that right, then one of those outlandish rumors about where prisoners were banished to, was actually right! What a weird punishment, to be transported to the animal equivalent of Hamlet. At least they weren’t actually animals, just people with animal traits?

Now, considering all that, the rumors and information you had so far, what role did you play? It was obvious that the hyena folk didn’t see you as just some random human stranger that popped out of the sky and fell onto their land. No, they held you in high regard, like a person in power, despite not having their animal traits and you not knowing a single one of them. There was this one rumor your crazy aunt used to rave on and on about whenever a trial was broadcasted. Now it made sense as to the reason she always read you bedtime stories about good guys and bad guys, was precisely because she firmly believed that theory she always talked about. She truly believed that criminals would somehow end up in fantasy tales, and die in those tales. Maybe she wasn’t crazy after all. She actually had it right on the money. Wait—

Did that mean you were going to die here? Nervously you looked over at Ruggie, who seemed completely content with walking in silence, as he led you through dry rugged lands of cliffs and stone.

As you walked beside him, careful of where you stepped, you replayed the whole story in your mind. You were with the hyenas, they called you boss, so were you… the hyena clan leader? The clan leader was respected by the rest of the hyenas, she called the shots, and dealt directly with the second prince when negotiating. It was also her who overheard the second prince betraying them when confronted by the kid prince after he returned. Then, she and the rest of her kin, attacked and killed the royal that betrayed them. Queen shit, but what happened to her after? It never clarified, since the story revolved around the kid prince and how he restored the savanna to its former glory once he reclaimed the throne. If you had to guess, she and the rest of the hyenas were probably forced into the outskirts once again, where there were little resources to live off of.  There was no immediate death for her, no violence that ended her life, but she was surrounded by poverty, starvation, and lack of water until the day she died. That was still a horrible way to die…

The ending never sat particularly right with you as a kid. Surely all the hyenas weren’t bad, so why were they all driven away while all the lions got to live in the land of milk and honey? It didn’t make much sense, considering the main villain was a selfish lion too. You for one, did not want to settle with the destined ending already set in place.

If we’re going according to the plot, then this must be when the second prince initiates first contact with the hyenas and begins to gain their trust to use in the plotted coup against his elder brother. As you got near the top of a few cliffs, on one side were the slums you just emerged from, and on the other side was vast greenery as far as the eye could see with a large colorful vibrant city. Two completely different worlds, separated just by cliffs.

From your spot this high up, you could see various animal-like folk. Yet the most common had golden ears and a shiny mane, wearing just as shiny gold and jewels with fabulous garbs, living in huge houses no-doubt furnished entirely with fine objects and appliances. In a way, the huge gap between the rich and the poor reminded you of home, and not in a good way. You scowled at the abundance these lion-folk had, while thinking of the misery the hyena folk lived in. It really was no wonder that the hyena clan leader had willingly helped in a coup, if it meant her people would finally get a piece of the wealth. The scowl grew on your lips as you spat, “Eat the rich.”

“Hear, hear!” Ruggie threw his head back and laughed, but it was a sort of desolate laugh, not one of happiness. And it was obvious as to why it came out like that as he eyed the bountiful city down below. “If it weren’t for them, you’d be the ruler of this land, you know. Doesn’t that seem great? Getting to live life without worrying when your next meal will be or if there’s even enough water to drink?”

Resuming your trek behind Ruggie, you slowly nodded along to his words. “Yeah, that sounds like a dream to be honest…” But the hyenas eventually succeeded in becoming part of the savanna. However, it doesn’t last long before the savanna becomes a desolate wasteland. Perhaps it couldn’t support both the lions and hyenas, but stories liked to claim that the hyenas just consumed far too much due to their greed. If things did go according to the story, then you would have to find a way to prevent the land from becoming barren and lifeless.

Just as you reached the top of the cliff, you and Ruggie roamed the high grounds until you spotted something. Or rather, someone.

They were a towering figure, if you had to describe them, he looked like the most intimidating bouncer to stand at the entrance to the most exclusive club. Perfectly fitting the body-guard type, he must’ve been security for the second prince. He looked to be on the younger side but he had to be over six feet tall, and with a muscular build like that, you feared that he’d easily be able to take on both you and Ruggie if things went south.

His attire was unlike yours, it was dark brown thick fabric with colorful orange and red vibrant patterns over his torso, that were mostly concealed by bronze and gold plates over his shoulders and chest. And in his hands, he held a long sharpened spear. Yup, definitely a guard. It became obvious that he noticed you, because his golden-brown eyes became laser focused on you and your companion. His ears–– among his wild mess of white hair that contrasted against the healthy bronze glow of his skin, were white pointed wolf-like ears, standing upright in attention. That’s when you noticed his long bushy tail too.

Yeah, that’s a white wolf, but there were no white wolves in the story…? Additionally, he looked nothing like Ruggie, who was short with his brown and blonde hair and beige skin, that easily allowed him to blend in with the rocky environment. Were you wrong? Was this not a story?

The wolf guy eyed you and Ruggie with suspicion before stamping the dull end of his spear against the ground and barked, “The prince approaches! His highness wants–– er… is requesting an audience with… you.” He pointed at you with his spear.

Inexperienced. You were right, the guard was young and he doubted himself with that last line. You exchanged glances with Ruggie, who must’ve been thinking the same thing as you, because he covered his mouth and whispered,

“Newbie. Fresh meat.”

You cracked a bit at that last bit, a very short and brief laugh nearly escaping your lips, to which Ruggie only grinned at before lowering his hand. The guard did not seem to appreciate the laughter in response, because his ears flattened back a bit and his frown deepened in embarrassment as he chastised, “I heard that! You disrespectful–– If you have dignity, you would respect the prince!”

“Why should I? He’s a lion, he’s definitely not my prince.” Crossing his arms, Ruggie took amusement in the wolf’s annoyance. So he continued cockily, “Yeah, we know who he is. He’s just like all those other lions, lazy, arrogant, you name it.”

The guard looked like he wanted to retaliate, but you weren’t sure if he wanted to go about it physically or verbally as he clenched his fists and gritted his sharp canines. You sent a look over at Ruggie to which he zipped his lips and offered a half-assed apologetic shrug that was directed more to you than to the wolf.

Just before you could find out if this wolf would act on impulse, a figure you hadn’t even noticed appeared from the shadows of the cliff.

“Don’t let them get to you, Jack. They enjoy seeing you all flustered.”

Immediately you whipped your head towards the approaching figure, wondering how they were so quiet. How long had they been there? When he stepped out of the shadows, you were immediately blinded by the jewels and beads wrapped around his neck and wrists. Even his red agbada was decorated with golden and orange linings, highlighting his wealth even further, as if the rare accessories weren’t enough. A mane, a long brown mane just slightly darker than his cool umber tone, was nearly enough to hide his own animal traits. Almost. You could make out the shape of large cat-like ears and a long thin tail that hung limply. A lion. This could only be Prince Leona, the second prince.

Turning his predatory green-eyed gaze over to you and your companion, he faked mock dejection before an amused type of grin appeared on his tired face. “We lions can’t be that bad. Try not to lump me in with them.”

You stood a distance away with Ruggie, carefully eyeing the prince. Right over his left eye, was a lengthy scar. At the moment he seemed… alright, but if you were right about this world’s events following the plot of the story, then this prince was to be feared. The second prince was cunning, calculating, and cruel. Very nearly did he succeed in everything. He murdered his elder brother, he completed the coup, he won over the hyenas, he became king. The only thing that went astray in his near-perfect plan, was the escape of his nephew that allowed the cub to grow and eventually become strong enough to regain the throne. That was the second prince’s one mistake that led to his demise. Slowly, albeit unsurely, you nodded your head in acknowledgement of his presence.

“Chief.” Leona nodded back regally, his curved charming smile keeping you on your toes. “I’m surprised you accepted the invitation. I didn’t think you would come. I thought maybe you’d send your little lapdog for you.”

Glancing at Ruggie, you noted his irritated frown, but the comment didn’t appear to dig into him too much. You’d have to choose your words carefully. Afterall, this was a prince you were dealing with. These were practically diplomatic issues, one misstep could bring trouble. But, luckily, you knew how things would go, and you had a rough idea of how the second prince would react according to the story’s plot. Even if things did go astray, not everyone would jump to defend the second prince. It’s said he was disliked by nearly everyone in his home kingdom.

Turning your attention back to the said royal, you responded calmly with an even smile, “I thought maybe the prince would have better manners and better brains than to just openly offend one of my own. Do you know what we do to royalty that step out of their kingdom?”

Once those words left your mouth, Jack bared his teeth and pointed his spear at you, bending his knees and shifting into a fighting stance.

However, Leona’s amusement at your retort quickly faded as he appeared unimpressed at his guard’s action. “Easy, boy. Relax.” Once the wolf begrudgingly lowered his spear and resumed his standing position, the prince shrugged, “It’s true, it’s not much of an invitation from me since we are still on your land. Forgive my impertinence, won’t you, chief? Where are my manners? I shall practice my curtsy next time I greet the ruler of the hyenas.”

At his sarcasm and dramatic curtsey, you gave a quick chortle. “Flattery won’t get you anywhere, you know.”

“I realize that, which is why I’ve come with an offering.” Leona snapped his fingers, gesturing to his bodyguard.

You hadn’t even noticed but Jack was carrying a bulky knapsack which he removed off his back at the sound of the prince’s snap. Zipping it open, he dumped all the contents of the bag onto the space between himself and the royal. Shaking it to make sure it was empty, he then tossed the bag aside, leaving a sizable pile of canned rations and packed goods. The metals and reflective packaging shone in the sun, tempting the hyena beside you.

Holding out your arm, you stopped Ruggie from jumping into the pile of food, shaking your head at his hands itching to snatch up every single object he could carry. This was it, you realized. This was how he befriended the hyenas and earned their trust. He bore gifts they desperately needed in the name of good-will, and only later did he reveal his plot that required their assistance. It wasn’t a friendship, it was something akin to a treaty. A treaty that would one day be torn to shreds the moment he betrays the hyena-folk. When you looked up, everyone was watching you, waiting to see what you would do. It felt as if the lion was patiently biding his time until you fell into his trap.

The plot was moving forward. Leona needed the hyenas, he couldn’t complete the coup all on his own. So either way, with or without your approval, he would win the majority of the hyena-folk by his false good-will. You could reveal to Ruggie and the others that you weren’t who they thought you were, but that didn’t work before. Even if it did work this time, what then? Would they turn on you? Would they accept you but lower your standing in the ranks? Or would you be banished, die stranded in a hot desert where the vultures would peck at your remains? There was that option, or… you could stay and play the role of chieftain of the clan. Then, with your knowledge of the story, you could alter the course of the future, get rid of the kid prince and keep the kingdom from declining once the hyenas arrived, and live the rest of your life in the beautiful land of plenty. To be honest, that last option sounded way better than the first.

Clearing your throat, you began, “I see what you’re doing here, Prince Leona. Offering food with a smile, waiting for us to eat out of your hand like obedient mutts so you can save us in your backpocket for something… devious. I respect that.” Focusing your gaze on the surprised prince, you once again flashed another smile before nodding to Ruggie, to which the hyena immediately dove forward to claim the offering. “But if you want our trust, or are trying to fool us, it’s going to take a lot more than that.”

In an instant, Ruggie had shoved every single ration and good back into the sack. Once done, he threw it over his shoulder and merrily gave a salute, jogging backwards until he was right back at your side. “Pleasure doing business!”

“Distribute that when we get back.” You murmured to the hyena, then averting your attention back to the important matter at hand. The prince. Giving him a thankful nod, you began to take your leave, following after your energetic companion, but not without bidding your goodbye, “Prince Leona, and Jack, was it? I look forward to next time. And next time, try not to underestimate us.”

At your words, Leona merely scoffed, his smile gone as he warned slowly, “Oh no, perhaps you shouldn’t underestimate me. But for now… Be well, little chieftain.”

✧   ✧   ✧   ✧   ✧

By the second visit, a week had passed.

In that week, you had begun to get a feel for what this role you took over required. It may have seemed like an attractive role, to be a clan leader beloved by many, but it was tiring and grueling work. It required hard labor, there wasn’t a moment you weren’t busy either with tasks directly for the clan or by solving disputes within the community. Directing the groups of expert pick-pockets and looters to areas of the prosperous kingdom where King Falena was least likely to appear on his rounds, assisting in separating and handing out the stolen goods when the group returned, collecting foraged foods to cook with a group designated to prepare meals with the little they had, that was only a small list of responsibilities you had somehow managed to successfully deal with since arriving. The meals you had were not full course ones, but it was just enough to get by on, but not enough to keep you full since you’d wake up every morning with an aching hunger.

As you climbed up the cliff to the meeting spot designated by the prince who once again sent word through Ruggie, you were followed by said hyena. The guy was really a huge help around here, it was no wonder that everyone in town loved him, even if he was conniving, he only really ever plotted against the lion-folk.

In your head, you went over the story for the umpteenth time. You couldn’t remember any other specific reason the second prince would visit again unless he was trying to further build the foundation of trust. To be honest, you had been so busy trying to complete your work and blend in the past few days, that you had forgotten about the prince for a while. Until now that is. When you arrived at the meeting spot, Jack and Prince Leona were already there waiting.

As soon as the lion’s green gaze landed on you, a smile appeared on his face. You didn’t like his smile. It was the type of smile that felt like it was hiding something, it felt like more of a grin or a smirk. But perhaps that’s just the way he smiled. “Why, if it isn’t the chieftain descending from on high to meet me? Or shall I say, ascending from down low.” His gaze flickered to the run-down abodes down below.

“Haha, uh-huh, watch it, Prince.” You raised your gaze to meet his, having to look up at him as he casually strolled past you. Getting close enough that you worried he might try something. “Let’s speak privately. You seemed to doubt my sincerity last time, so let me try again. Jack.” Turning to face his personal guard that approached when summoned, Leona gestured to the wolf and continued, “Take him. You have him for one week. Use him as you like. Through intense labor, guarding, whatever. He’ll serve you well, just try not to use him for your little thieving parties. If caught, I’d rather not have to explain to the court why my own guard was working hand-in-hand with you hyenas, stealing from citizens of the kingdom. He’s a good guard, comes from the northern continent, new and naive but he has enough strength to overpower some of my brother’s own guards. But I laid claim to him before Falena could.”

You eyed the muscular guard up and down, looking at Ruggie who appeared just as caught off guard as you were. When your companion met your gaze, he shrugged, looking uncertain. Turning your attention back to the guard, you crossed your arms and inquired, “And what’s your say on this, big guy? You’re really okay being left here for a week in this wasteland?”

Those big pointed ears of his perked up as he peered down at you, looking the tiniest bit astonished that you would even ask his opinion on this matter. Actually, you were a little offended, because you could clearly tell he was surprised.

“I’m not gonna take you if you don’t want to come. Please, I am not as savage as your royal master here.”

That slight smirk on Leona’s face and lack of denial spoke volumes.

Jack nodded, hesitantly bowing his head in respect as he answered, “I’d be honored to be part of any deal to mend relationships between the hyena-folk and the rest of the kingdom.”

Ah. Now it all made sense. That’s how Leona was painting it out to be to his loyal guard. In reality, what Jack said wasn’t that far from the truth. Hyenas would become part of the kingdom, but probably in not the manner he expected it to happen.

“Well, that settles it, doesn’t it, chieftain?”

“I guess it does.” Shifting your attention from Leona and with one more glance at Jack, you resisted the urge to laugh at the wolf’s slowly wagging tail and determined expression. Poor guy really thought he was going to make a meaningful difference, when he was all just a pawn in the prince’s plot… “Ruggie, take Jack down to the town and show him the ropes. Give him a job that won’t get us in trouble with the king.”

Your subordinate side-eyed the guest who was looking at him expectantly, before frowning and finally waving at him to follow. “C’mon, let’s get outta here and let them talk boring politics. I’ll show you around then tell you where you’ll be working the rest of the day.”

You watched the two take their leave and head back down to the town, ignoring the way Leona purposefully stepped closer. So close that his thick locks nearly brushed against your nose when he turned to walk away. “As he said, let’s talk politics.” You watched as he sat on a large rock conveniently placed under the shade of the higher cliffs, and he gestured for you to do the same. So you sat across from him on another rock, and continued with your inquiry, “Why are you so incessant on gaining our trust?”

“Hm, I wonder…” He hummed, pulling out a bag that was hidden behind the very rock he sat on. Without any explanation as to what was inside, he dropped it at your feet. You had a decent guess as to what it was. Supplies. “Here you are. Now, I’ll be taking my leave––”

Watching him get up, you remained seated and merely murmured, “If you won’t answer me, you won’t receive my trust. Trust is a two way street, you know? So if you tell me what it is you want, we might actually make progress today instead of just ending at another standstill.” When he stood still, you murmured with a confident smile, “You want the throne, don’t you?”

Those tired green eyes carefully studied you before he grinned with equal confidence and muttered, “You aren’t the real chieftain, are you?” You slipped up and froze, your expression dropping, and that’s when he knew he had you. “The real chieftain wouldn’t take the initiative to extend conversation with me, or have the confidence to tease. And yet, the hyenas appear to treat you the same. I wonder if they have realized, hm?”

A standstill once again. You felt your throat dry, uncertain how to respond. He had you, but you had him. If you revealed his secret, then he could be banished from his homeland or worse, and he’d never ever get to sit on the throne. If he revealed your secret, you may be a goner, there was still that slim chance that the hyenas would turn on you. When he didn’t sit down, you gulped and hesitantly tried, “Your brother… what would he say?”

“You would tell him? Oh, how the thought of my big brother knowing makes me quiver with fear.” He mockingly hissed, chuckling at the end. “Falena knows I wish to be king, he just cannot comprehend the things I would do to attain the crown. Even if you could reach him, why would he have any reason to believe the word of a lowly being from the hyena clan? Is it not as you said? Trust is a two-way street.” A smirk curled on his lips, revealing his unnaturally sharp canines. “Let’s establish a bit of trust between us, little chieftain. You must know, I mean no disrespect. I have a certain… respectfor those that try so hard to be on par with me.”

You watched him carefully, feeling your nerves rise until he slowly sat back down. Only then could you breathe a sigh of relief, but you didn’t, because you had to keep your guard up around him. You couldn’t allow another little thing to slip, and give him the upperhand. Meeting his tired green eyes that never once strayed away from your form, you admitted, “I just want to survive.”

For a moment, he was quiet, looking you up and down, analyzing you as he slowly leaned against the larger stone behind him where he rested one arm. “Life's not fair, is it, my deceitful friend? I’d gamble and say wherever you’ve come from, whatever your circumstances, they were not much better than they are now, are they?”

The trial and your banishment immediately came to mind once his words reached your ears. You averted your gaze downward and frowned as you thought of how cruelly you were tossed out of the community, how they did not care what would happen to you now. And then there was everything beforehand, your personal grapples and struggles with the rigid rules of that society. It left a bitter taste on your tongue. Somehow, it's as if Leona sensed your anger and hate boiling inside. It might actually be similar to himself, perhaps that’s why he one day snapped and decided that what he desired most far outweighed the lives of those few who loved him.

At your silence, he continued, “While some are born to feast, others spend their lives in the dark, begging for scraps. The way I see it… you and I, are exactly the same. We both want to find a way out, and that way is through what my brother has.”

Your eyes shifted back up to his neutral expression. You knew what was coming. But, you were curious, “Why confide in us? Why not just challenge the king in the duel? You do have that right, since you're from royal blood just like him. Ritual combat is the easy way out, isn’t it?” You already partially knew of the answer to this, but maybe now, under these changed and special circumstances, he would give up more information.

At that, he scoffed, appearing irritated as he replied, “You think facing Falena is the easy way out? Tsk. I’d call you a fool, but you clearly aren’t that. Just ignorant at times. I wouldn’t dream of challenging him again.” Leaning forward, he folded his hands together, and then his mood began to change. That vexed frown began to steadily shift into an eager grin, an ominous one that showed hunger. Not a gluttonous hunger for food or drink or anything of that sort, it was a hunger for power, and the second prince was starved of it. “Unfortunately, I don’t have the mighty strength his royal highness has. But, I do have something he does not best me in: brains.”

There it is. The proposal. This was it.

Leona turned his head to the horizon, noting the direction of the sun that was beginning to fall, day was turning to night. Gazing at the colorful sky with you silently observing as you remained in his company. “I believe I should be going.”

What? You watched incredulously as Leona stood from his seat and stretched his arms over his head, opening his jaw to let out a big old yawn. What lax behavior for a prince. And what was his deal? Cutting things off when things were just getting good! You felt like you just watched the most anticipated episode of a soap opera only for it to end on a cliffhanger at the huge climax, but also… it felt like he finally moved the knife away from your throat, metaphorically speaking. It felt like he was doing this on purpose, so his words would haunt you until the day he returned. “That’s it?”

Noting your frown, the prince gave a lazy grin as his arms swung back against his sides. “Don’t be too depressed. I’ll be back in a few days for my guard, and to continue these talks with you. And I won’t hold your little secret over your head, as long as you don’t hold mine against me. I have a very interesting proposition that you and your kin will love, one I’m sure we can all agree to without the use of our secrets. But until next time, consider to what lengths you’d go for yourself… and your clan, of course.” Nodding his head to you in acknowledgment, he turned away and began his trek back home, but not before leaving you with these thoughts weighing heavy on your head, well over an armful of supplies to carry home, and those familiar parting words, “Be well, little chieftain.”

✧   ✧   ✧   ✧   ✧

Over the next few days, not only had Leona’s words truly haunted you and prevented you from getting sleep at night, but you also had to keep watch over the wolf on top of your usual duties.

But surprisingly, Jack fit in just fine. You weren’t sure what to expect from the guy in the first place, considering he was pretty out of place in this setting and you still had no idea what role he played in the original tale. Yet somehow, he seemed to fit right in, swiftly handling chores that would usually take multiple people hours long to complete, getting along with the village children running about and mischievously attempting to trip him up, and beginning to look up to the conniving Ruggie. Everyone was incredibly weary that a palace guard was among the community, some even questioned your decision, but when he showed he was useful, he was gladly accepted. Most even thought he was humble and pretty amusing for such a tough guy to be so dedicated to following your right-hand hyena.

Speaking of following… You had caught the wolf stalking you on multiple occasions, but never outright admitting he was tailing after you. Had you been had? Was Jack actually instructed to spy on you by that second prince? No, there was no way. Jack had rigid morals and stooping so low as to spy under the guise of a diplomatic deal to mend relations would definitely go against those morals. Although you did have to admit, it was pretty funny to see him try and sneak around to shadow you when he stuck out like a sore thumb.

One day, in the middle of his stay, you were startled to find him outside of your room, so alarmed that you mistook him for someone else with the lack of brown hyena appendages, that you nearly brought out your dagger to strike. Only for him to greet you good morning rather enthusiastically, confusing you with the change of attitude from him. It was different from what you were used to. Ruggie was fairly quiet in the mornings, he was much kinder, at least to you and those he cared for, so he’d greet you with a dopey smile and sparkle in those downturned eyes. Jack, however, was not like that. His greeting was reminiscent of that of a soldier at morning salute, not smiling but still full of energy. Then he’d only take his leave once you informed him where you would be throughout the day.

Then came the unexpected acts of service. Whenever you required assistance with a chore or had to send word out, the hyenas would listen to your commands obediently. But Jack took that to a whole other level. Whenever he had completed his tasks, he’d come to you, taking up the role of subordinate much to Ruggie’s annoyance. The only way you could get the wolf off your back and to stop him from taking over your own chores, was to give him a list of more tasks that was hopefully enough to keep him busy for the next few hours. Yet somehow despite all that, it never was enough to stop him.

At dinner time when most of the clan sat down to eat at the center of the village, he’d serve you and proudly explain that he helped hunt and gather food for the day! Just when you thought you could get away after eating, you’d be dead wrong. Because somehow, Jack would find you, and escort you home, despite your insistence that you didn’t need a personal guard to walk you home. It had only been one day, but the guy was already starting to get on your nerves. How did Leona even deal with him?

So when you were greeted by him on the final day of his stay, you decided to cut things off here.

“Look, Howl, answer me this. Why are you so insistent and respectful all of a sudden?” You crossed your arms, eyeing him warily as you continued your small interrogation. “Didn’t you nearly attack me and Ruggie the first time we met? You seemed like you hated us, so why the change? Huh?”

At your words, his ears flattened in shame and he averted his gaze down to the uneven ground, looking like a kicked puppy. “I misjudged you and your clan, I’m sorry… I’ve been trying to make it up to you.”

“What?”

“I’ve been watching you, and you’re a respectable leader, more than most give you credit for.” Did he not realize how weird that first line sounded? “I have to apologize. I fell for the rumors without knowing anything about you, and that was wrong. In the kingdom, they don’t exactly say the most… flattering things about you and the others. But they’re dead wrong!” At his sudden exclamation, your eyes widened and you stared at him as he continued his rave angrily, as if he were the one being whispered about. “You aren’t some mangy stupid rude crook! You’re fair, selfless, and diligent! And all the hyena-folk starving and living like this… they don’t deserve it!!”

“Are you done?” You frowned at his outburst, waiting until he pursed his lips together and silently nodded. His fluffy white tail hanging limply behind him. Well, he was sincere, even if everything he said wasn’t true, at least about you. You weren’t all those good things he said, you were just doing this to survive, to save and later improve your own life. However, if accepting his apology meant you would finally get some breathing room, then you had no choice but to accept. “It’s alright. You’re forgiven. Besides, complaining isn’t going to help us in any way. If that weren’t the case, you’d hear me complaining all the time.”

Jack remained quiet, slowly nodding, “You’re right… Which is why I’m going to help for as long as I can!” He what…?Looking even more determined than before, he gazed down at you and confided, “You’ll be striking up a deal with my boss, won’t you, chieftain? Now I know why he’s so incessant on sending rations every once in a while! And the king… he wouldn’t approve so that’s why he’s gotta do it in secret!”

Yeah, no, Leona was most definitely not sending supplies out of the pure goodwill of his heart.

“I want to stay here with you, and help out as much as I can! Until people won’t go hungry anymore!”

“Uh-huh…” You muttered, noticing his slowly wagging tail. He was getting way too worked up over this. “Don’t you know, if the king heard you say all that stuff, then you’d be a traitor? Hyenas and lions are sworn enemies. You’d lose everything. The only reason you’re currently not labeled as a traitor by the state, is because your boss has you here in secret.”

“I know… but Leona wants to help you guys out too, doesn’t he?”

The answer to that was… debatable. “Sure, let’s just say we both might help each other out. Why?”

“Then… I’m swearing my loyalty to you!”

You froze, stunned into silence. Without even needing to ask why, he answered.

“You know I’m from the north. I’m from a small village, a poor one. Not as poor at this one, but I know what it’s like to be in need. This place needs my help, more than the king and his kingdom do, even more than Prince Leona. So I’m going to do all I can until everyone has enough to eat and drink.” Stepping closer, you winced a bit at the rapid wagging of his tail that created a slight wind and you did not miss the instance his pointed ears perked up straight in attention. “Leona doesn’t need my help, he’s honestly stronger than me… but that doesn’t mean I’m weak! I can be useful!”

Yeah, you know. You witnessed a sparring match with him yesterday where he was able to take on five of your own men and women. Actually, with everything he’s saying now, it all made sense as to why as soon as he was victorious in yesterday’s match, he looked in your direction as if expecting praise. Total sense. Even if you did reject his pledge, you had a feeling he wasn’t exactly the type to take no for an answer.

“I’ll be your guard now, boss!” He was looking down at you expectantly again with those sparkling eyes.

Jack really had no clue what he was getting himself into, did he? You merely sighed, not willing to sit here and listen to his reasoning all morning. “Okay, you know what? Fine. Jack, welcome to the clan. Just don’t expect me to be the one to break the news to your now former boss.”

✧   ✧   ✧   ✧   ✧

“Chief!”

You stirred, groaning as you begrudgingly opened your eyes, stretching out on the rough mattress and shivering from the cold of the windy outskirts. When you glanced to the side, there was Ruggie, crouching at your bedside and looking both wide-awake and alert. Blinking slowly, you muttered, “What is it, Ruggie?”

“There’s a spy! We’ve been had, boss, but they’re still around. We got them surrounded, so they’re not going anywhere.” The hyena watched as you immediately sat up, giving you space to place on your boots and grab some weapons.

You grabbed a few things, whatever seemed useful and small enough to carry on your person. Something like this hasn’t happened since you arrived, but you had a good idea on how to go about the situation from stories told to you by local residents. They said spies were much more common a few years ago, and the former clan leader could be much more… brutal in her resolve. A spy appearing now was throwing a wrench in your plan, especially if they noticed a certain white-tailed soldier here. “Who noticed them?”

“Jack. He’s the one keeping them at bay, but knowing him, he’s probably beaten them an inch within their life.”

“Shit.” Great! Just peachy! Just the opposite of what you needed. If that spy got word back to authorities that a guard of theirs had turned, it could ruin Leona’s plot. Which might mean that the hyenas would never get to live in the pride lands. When you heard running footsteps, you quickly removed the curtain separating your room from the outside. You stepped outside just in time to see a figure sprinting past your door–– that is until a thin rope was thrown at their feet, tripping them up by getting their legs tangled in the material.

Thump!

They fell over with a yelp before being dragged in the direction they had come from. In an instant, the person who had caught them and dragged them back, had tossed the remaining rope over a tall wooden pole that held a small lit candle to dimly illuminate the dark street. Jack heaved on the rope, pulling so the captor hung by their legs several feet off the ground, like some rare catch being displayed in the middle of the town.

“Y-You can’t do this to me! You’re part of the kingdom! This is treason!” The spy cried as Jack tied the rope to the pole so he could let go and they wouldn’t fall.

Slowly approaching, you announced your presence with your voice. “What do you have there, Jack?”

As soon as his ears detected your voice, he stood upright almost as if in salute as he answered, “Boss, I heard them sniffing about the storage. They planned to poison the only water source we have.” He turned to glare at the captured spy, nearly growling, “This would’ve made everyone sick, and people would’ve died.”

“Huh. I get it now.” According to your knowledge, this was not the first time something of this sort had happened before. Although the last time it happened was years ago. Several years ago, when a group of lion-folk attempted to cut off the biggest food source the hyena-folk had. Tilting your head at the spy, you noted their dark lion ears and tail. One of the few outcasted so called weak and sick lion-folk that came to the village as the only place they could go when their own turned them away.

Jack gazed down at you, murmuring, “It’s your call, boss.”

Their arms flung around wildly as they attempted to stop themselves from swinging in their captured state. From the shadows there were eyes, watching so intently, and you were sure that this snoop knew they were being watched by more than just you and the wolf beside you. They struggled to speak properly, but managed to choke out a desperate plea, “If you let me go, I-I’ll never come back here or to the kingdom! I won’t say a word about this wolf-man here. And–– I’ll tell you who sent me! But! You must promise that you won’t kill me.”

You ignored Jack’s gaze, focusing your attention on this back-stabber. You recognized them. They had been in the hunting group. Continuing your staring contest with them, watching their wide eyes and the way their chest went up and down with quick breaths in rapid succession, you finally had your reply. As calm as can be, you responded, “I swear I won’t kill you. Now, who sent you to stick your nose in where it doesn’t belong?”

Hesitating, they then groaned and relented, “The queen! The queen has been wanting to put a stop to the constant thieving and tricks by the hyenas. So she sent me to get rid of a few.”

“That’s all I need to know.” The queen was hardly mentioned in the original tale. All that you knew was that she was supposedly a strong and respectable woman, beloved by the whole kingdom, and deeply in love with the king. Oh, but now you are beginning to despise her. She too had no idea of the change that was to come. “I think it’s fair game now. She tried to take the lives of people here, so I’ll take everything from her.”

As you began to walk away and wordlessly gestured for Jack to follow, the captee began to squirming anxiously, not able to reach the rope around their ankles. They hung out like a piece of steak to dry, and for their crimes, that’s exactly how they will be treated. A piece of scrap to be torn apart bit by bit. “Wait, chief! Don’t leave me like this! We had a deal! Any crime seen has to be reported, wolf! You took that oath when you started working for the royals!”

Slowly nodding at his words, after a few more paces you noticed Jack froze. Sighing, you turned around, watching the enemy struggle like a miserable little fly caught in a web. Bending down, you picked up a sizable stone which you judged the weight of in your hands, inspecting it in your palm. “You’re right. I promised that I wouldn’t kill you. And as per his oath, Jack has to report what he saw. He can’t report what he doesn’t see.” Tossing the stone, you struck the candle atop the post, extinguishing the flame and the only light source for this block. It was night, and there was no way to see.

“W-Wait, what are you doing?”

The glowing eyes of the watching hyenas seemed to brighten in the sudden darkness. Multiple pairs of eyes steadily creeping closer to the defenseless traitor.

“Oh, wow, too bad. The light went out. Guess we can’t see.”

You ignored the traitorous lion’s cries and begs for mercy, a rapturous laughter breaking out from the multiple spectators. Their giggles rung in your ears, the pure multitude of them overpowering the fearful shrieks of the one criminal. You managed to get the former royal guard to look ahead instead of back behind him, escorting the wolf further down the road because from your room you were certain you would still be able to hear the carnage about to take place. As Jack went a few steps ahead before taking a turn at a block, you lingered behind, looking back to see the enemy screaming and wriggling wildly but to no avail. They continued to hang from their feet as the glowing eyes from the darkness crept closer and closer, no doubt ready to strip them for all they had and give them a punishment for their betrayal that could only make them yearn for the sweet release of death.

You followed with Jack, getting far away, enough so you could no longer hear the pained screeches and wails of misery. Once far enough, you questioned, “Did you know? About the queen?”

Jack whipped his head towards you, his white hair rising a bit. He looked as if you asked him if he poisoned the water. Betrayed. “No!! I’d never do something as low as that!”

“It’s just a question.”

He frowned deeply, ears flattening as per usual when he was somber. “Why did you do that…?”

Stopping in your tracks beside him, you looked up at him, able to see his features well on these dimly lit streets. “What, that back there? If we let them go, they would’ve reported you anyway. I know their type. Besides, I have to help out my own, don’t I? That’s my job.”

His expression went blank, but you could practically see the words being processed in his head. The more it registered, the more his ears perked up and the faster his bushy tail wagged. It was difficult for him to hide that slight curve tugging at the corner of his lips, no matter how hard he tried to remain stone-faced. “Your own…” That meant acceptance, didn’t it? “Right, I understand now… Thanks, chief.”

✧   ✧   ✧   ✧   ✧

Maybe saying that to Jack was a mistake. His insistence on being your closest subordinate had only worsened, if that were even possible. He burned through chores and tasks even faster, sticking by your side like glue. As you tried to escape his presence at least for a minute, you found yourself on the outskirts of the village by the abandoned bones of giant creatures and in the dark rocky valley where most lion-folk wouldn’t dare venture.

In between two small cliffs, you were abruptly yanked up in a tiny cranny where a familiar hyena quickly motioned to keep quiet. It was a small little nook he found off the ground, a cool shaded perch nestled between the larger rocks. Holding a single finger up to his lips in a shushing motion, he grinned when he heard the wolf calling your name was getting further and further away. After a moment, he finally relaxed, sighing loudly, “Man, I thought that beefcake would never leave! Seriously, who’s he think he is? He’s practically trying to rob me of my top spot! I’ve worked my tail off for this place beside you, you know? Jack won’t ever understand, he could only dream of getting on my level with you! I kept my promise, you know.”

“Hm?” When you turned your head to look over at him, he was gazing at you with those gray eyes, watching you intently. Before a content looking smile steadily overcame his features.

“My promise, you remember, don’t ya? When you used to take care of us and the other kids, just because you were the oldest and the strongest. So you’d go out and make those dangerous rounds into the kingdom all on your own, and you’d always come back with just enough food for us to share. But you were always injured somehow.” In this small space, he had to sit curled up, bending his knees but using them as a spot to lean the side of his head against. He continued to smile at you, giggling at those mysterious memories in his head. “It worried us sick when you left, and when you came back scratched up we couldn’t stop cryin’. So one day, I promised you that I’d get stronger to help you out and… Well, I’ve kept that part of the promise. Now the only part left is the part where I swore we’d live in a huge fancy palace one day where you didn’t have to go out and do the hunting!”

So Ruggie was close to the real chief, even before they became leader of the clan… It made you feel slightly guilty for taking up this moniker. But you had no choice when you were tossed into this world with no warning. However, even if Ruggie couldn’t fulfill this childish promise, you would. It was the least you could do, not just for yourself, but for the rest of the hyena-folk. He helped you so much in that first week. Leaning your head against the wall, you responded quietly, “I’ll make sure you get to live in a palace someday soon, Ruggie. I promise.”

“Don’t say that, or I’m gonna hold you up to it! Besides, I promised first. Make up your own.” He laughed, playfully bumping his shoulder against yours as a cheeky grin spread on his lips. After a moment, he waited, gazing at you impatiently as he tilted his head and rested it back against his knees. “Well? C’mon, tell me, what’re you gonna promise to me?”

“What should I promise you…?” Tapping your finger against your chin, you pondered on the thought. What would Ruggie want? Scratch palace off the list, because he already claimed that. An abundance of food seemed like an option, but you rather not risk promising him that and watching the land run out of resources. Promising him a place in the pride lands was a bit too much on the nose. It would just make you seem suspicious when you would eventually get all the hyena-folk access to the pride lands. Finally, after a few moments of thinking with no ideas, you shrugged and inquired, “Well, what do you want, Ruggie? What can I give you?”

That cheeky grin grew wider, stretching across his face as he averted his gaze, beating around the bush and drawing out his words for further suspense. “Welllll… Actually, there is something I can think of, call me greedy.”

Rolling your eyes, you scoffed, feeling your own smile begin to form. “Okay, greedy, what is it?”

If you took a peek, you could see his short brown tail moving side-to-side rapidly as he lifted his head, “Swear you won’t laugh? Even if it is mushy and stuff?”

Amused, you gave a soft chuckle, “I swear, I won’t laugh. Even if it’s mushy.”

Shifting so he was facing you with his legs crossed, he began somewhat hesitantly, almost nervously, before gaining a bit of confidence the more he went on. “I want you to promise me that I’ll always be your number two, and you’ll always let me stay beside you.”

Raising an eyebrow, it suddenly hit you. Ruggie was jealous of Jack! At that realization, a small laugh escaped your lips as you poked him, pestering him for a response as you teased, “Aww, were you jealous of that big bad wolf~? Is that it? I should’ve known! You’ve always been sticking by me, then Jack comes and ruins your flow. Who would've guessed?”

“Shut––! I’m not jealous!” He hissed, growing embarrassed. “You promised you wouldn’t laugh, you lyin’ little––!”

Laughing and giggling reached your ears, causing you and Ruggie to both freeze. His semi-round ears perked up, both of you listening intently to the voices. It sounded like two children, but it wasn’t familiar. Leaning your ear closer to the stone wall, you listened to the voices that were getting closer and closer, almost directly below the hiding spot you were in.

“This is it. Just like my uncle said!” One of the voices whisper-yelled, as if they were worried about whatever may lurk just around the corner, or just above them. It sounded like a young boy. But none of the children you had encountered in the village sounded like him, and you met practically all of them.

The second voice piped up. It was the voice of a young girl. “It’s so creepy… People really live out here?” That implied they were children not from the outskirts.

Then you were reminded of a scene from the original story. The young prince, son of the majestic king, heard a secret from his uncle, the second prince. The second prince told him of a graveyard full of bones among the outskirts, just past the kingdom’s reach, where only the bravest of souls ventured and returned from. The young kid prince, being such an ambitious child, foolishly snuck out to the outskirts with his friend. There, they were attacked by the hyenas, for the outskirts were their territory. The only reason the two children and royal attendant who arrived late to save them, were not killed, was because the majestic king arrived just in time to fend off attacks and warn the hyenas to never attack his son again. That scene was about to happen, right now.

As the two children, the kid prince and his friend, went back and forth, you and Ruggie exchanged glances. Steadily a grin spread on the hyena’s face as he mouthed: fresh meat.

Before he could even think about moving, you held up your hand, motioning him to keep still and quiet as you detected an additional pair of steps. Steps coming quickly, heavier, meaning it was someone in a rush. Someone heavier than a child. “Wrong! The only thing we’ll be doing is going home! We’re way beyond the boundaries of the kingdom!”

The royal attendant that served the king himself, there was no mistaking it. It was happening. Silently, you and your right-hand hyena listened to the slight bickering and scolding occurring between the young royal and the attendant. As much as you wished to end the king’s royal lineage here, which would allow Leona to take the throne once Falena passed, that would take far too long. The kid prince couldn’t die here. He needed to remain alive, that way you could be sure to kill two lions with one stone later. Besides, killing the two later by staging the accident was much more preferable to killing the young prince in cold blood while the king remained alive and could wreak havoc in revenge.

Ignoring the continuous conversation down below, you looked over at Ruggie who appeared antsy. “Now?” He whispered impatiently.

You shook your head. You didn’t want to face the majestic king alone if he really was strong enough to make people fear him. So, turning your attention to Ruggie, you replied in a hushed tone, “Backup first. No wolf in this royal business. And I want them alive.” You grinned, giving him the sign to go. “Scare them good.”

The royal attendant quickly attempted to usher them away, but the two children stubbornly refused to budge. “Right now, we’re all in very real danger––!”

Interrupting him was a whistle. A slow quiet whistle in an ominous tune, carried on by the wind which seemed to make it echo throughout the entire area, bouncing off the bones and walls of the rocky terrain and carrying it beyond. Any hyena-folk or a wolfman within close distance would be able to pick up on the whistle with their ears, and those of the clan might be able to decipher its message. Backup needed. Only hyenas, no wolf or lions. Capture guests alive.

The whistling had caused the three unexpected guests to become paralyzed in fear, you could see the hairs on the back of their neck were raised in alarm. First they heard Ruggie, who’s whistling had turned to cackling at their expressions of freight.

You too couldn’t contain your laughter at their pure fear. “Heh, Ruggie, when I said give them a good scare, I didn’t mean to the point of making their souls leave their bodies.”

The hyena shrugged, giggling as he followed you when you stalked closer to the unexpected guests. “Gee, boss, what can I say? It’s not my fault it’s as easy as stealing candy from a baby.”

You ignored the other two, and honed in on the kid prince, the protagonist, the hero of the story. Too young to fight back, yet one day he’d be powerful enough to defeat even Leona. “How unexpected to be greeting the son of a king.”

The three had nowhere to run, not when the reinforcements arrived. Soon, they were surrounded by a good number of hyena-folk. One thing you learned about hyena-folk is that they were small and gaunt due to lack of nutrition, but they worked frighteningly well together in groups to defeat much bigger and stronger opponents. As you focused solely on the little prince, you examined his features as he bravely stood in front of his friend. There was a healthy glow in his bronze cheeks, and his hair was unlike his Uncle Leona’s. His short messy locks were thick strands of a bright orange that faded into yellow, and he had big brown eyes that never broke eye contact with you. “Two children and a servant of the king’s. I know exactly who you are.”

The royal attendant interjected, stepping between you and the two lion-kids. “Let them go, chief! We did not mean to step on your land. We will leave immediately!” No matter how he spoke, you could tell he was scared but his tone and the way he stepped back each second when you didn’t stop moving forward, forcing the two younglings behind him to step back as well. Had he been a hornbill bird like in the original tale, his feathers would surely be all ruffled by now. “If you do this, you will start a war with Falena!”  

“Hyenas and lions have been at war since anyone can remember.” Removing your knife from its sheath, you gripped its handle in your hand. In its reflection, you could see Ruggie and the other hyena folk appearing fidgety and ready to sink their claws at any given moment, while dread and terror crept onto the faces of the three in front of you. “But with this… I can cause the kingdom a tiny shred of grief, just as they have caused the village a world of pain.” All you wanted to do was knick them, a cut small enough to draw blood, but when you lunged forward, the royal attendant threw the long blue sleeves of his cloak at you, effectively blinding you but only for a moment.

As soon as you lunged, so did the others. Those hyenas closest to you, instantly removed the royal attendant and pinned the squirming man to the ground. When you could finally see again, it revealed you were correct on your guess. The two lions had run, with some of your own chasing behind them until they were led to the underground tunnels. Placing your knife back at your hip, you scowled at the royal attendant now restrained and unable to help those he was tasked to protect. “Keep him there, don’t let him go. The rest of you, after them!”

From where you remained, you could hear and see the hyena-folk running about, in and out of the maze of tunnels. They were small, yes, but the children were smaller, so they’d no doubt get away until they were cornered, just as they did in the original plot. But this was exactly what needed to happen for the plot progress. There was no point in changing the plot now. It was best to change the plot when you could reap the most, and that was not now. It was a loss required to win in the grand scheme of things.

It didn’t take long for the two lion-children to reemerge from a hole in the ground, leading the two to become surrounded. The two huddled together, fearfully scanning the faces of the dozens of hyena-folk that surrounded them.

Three.

The young prince bared his baby fangs, letting out a squeak of a roaring war cry. A pathetic example, probably puny compared to his father. Speaking of which, he should be here soon, judging by how the royal attendant was gone meaning he had somehow escaped the grasp of his hyena captors. That attendant would probably be sending out an alert by now.

Two.

You watched, unimpressed as the hyena-folk present broke out into laughter at the cub’s tiny yeowl, their heightened anxiety only doing more to add to the hyena’s howling cackles. Even Ruggie was doubled over in laughter, but you knew better than to lower your guard right now, especially as a few of the underlings poked and prodded for the little prince to do his war cry once again.

One.

You grabbed Ruggie’s collar and pulled him back just the young prince opened his mouth, and a much powerful louder war cry like a terrifying roar could be heard that echoed in the space all around them. Just in time, you watched as the hyena-folk stepped back in alarm at the sudden noise. Towards the back of the crowd, you could make out the scene of some of your own men and women being flung to the side like rag dolls by a mightier figure. It was clear by just that glimpse, that this was King Falena, and he was stronger than even Prince Leona and former royal guard Jack. You couldn’t watch these people get hurt anymore, so you whistled, instantly signaling your kin to back away as the lionman’s ears perked up at the noise from your direction.

When he rushed forward to stand closer to the two children, you nodded at your kin to step further away, giving him plenty of space and no one within radius to attack. Their brown and black semi-round ears were flattened as they kept their distance, none daring to attack, not that you would make them right now. You felt Ruggie’s hand on your back, he too kept low and didn’t engage.

When the king’s brown-eyed gaze turned to you, it held nothing but pure fury. Now that you were looking at the majestic king of the tales, he really did look like his son, the similarities were uncanny. But King Falena didn’t look anything like his brother, Prince Leona. Falena had bright brown eyes that must’ve been usually filled with kindness whenever his son wasn’t in danger, Leona had watchful green eyes that felt they were judging you with every move you made. Falena had a long warm-colored mane with sand-colored fur on his lion traits, while Leona had a dark mane with dark brown fur on his lion traits. Falena had a stature and was built with an incredible strength that must’ve even greatly surpassed your wolf guard, and while yes Leona had a sure strength himself he was only a few inches shorter than Jack. It really was no wonder Leona had never won the crown through ritual combat. No matter how you saw it, Leona couldn’t beat Falena through a battle of brawn. However, a battle of brains may have a different outcome…

“If you ever come near my son again––”

You stood your ground as he stood close, his face merely inches in front of yours. Behind your back you gripped the dagger in your palm, resisting the urge to plunge the weapon through his eye. Imagine that, if you could give the king a scar matching his disgraced brother. It took everything not to snap back, attack him for all he and his kingdom had done by leaving the hyena-folk to rot. But somehow, you didn’t lunge forward. You only nodded slowly, answering firmly, “No, Falena, never again.” Patient. You needed to be patient this time.

“You’ve been warned, chieftain.” Falena growled before turning around, giving his son one last firm look before silently escorting them through the crowd of hyenas that parted ways for them to take their leave.

Once they were gone, you gazed around, seeing the hyena-folk help the injured and wounded by Falena’s short rampage. Behind you, Ruggie emerged, moving in front of you to do a once over, despite knowing you had barely even touched anyone throughout that entire ordeal. “Are you good?”

“Yeah, I’m good. Perfectly fine…” Just then, your gaze traveled up to the cliffs. High on the top of the rocky terrain, was that familiar lionman, the second prince, gazing down at the scene with a slight frown. When his green eyes flitted over to you, you frowned in turn as a small smile appeared on his face before he promptly disappeared away from sight. “Ruggie, you stay and help the others. I have to have a little talk with our prince friend.”

It didn’t take very long to reach the top of the cliff where you found the second prince lounging in the shade. Leona didn’t spare you a glance, and he didn’t even open his eyes, but you knew he was awake. When his ear slowly flickered, he sighed, “Why didn’t you kill them?” When you blinked, his eyes were open, those green orbs gazing at you intently. “You had the perfect opportunity. Yet you hesitated.”

Begrudgingly, you sat down across from him, frowning at his lazy form. “Because I know you have a better plan. A plan that will get rid of both Falena and his son.”

A sly grin made itself visible on the curve of his lips, and you felt that you made a mistake before the words even left his lips. “I never once told you that, or anybody about that.” Shit. Sitting up before pushing himself up to his feet, he slowly began to circle you as he mused, “You know, you always seem to know what’s going to happen, before it happens. Somehow, you were able to get this far without any of your clan noticing you aren’t the true chief. You’re always looking at me with this wise-ass look, like you’re so proud that you can predict what comes next. When we first met, for a brief second there was a look of… disbelief on your face when you kept staring at me. After pondering on the possibilities after our last meeting, I think I figured you out. It sounds insane, but then again, I’m not completely sane if you haven’t noticed by now. But you aren’t even from this world, are you? You had this foreign scent on you when we met, it was something I couldn’t name even if I tried, but now all you smell like is hyena. Then I looked into it. I went down to the kingdom’s marketplace, I even contracted merchants to bring me sweet-smelling products from all around the world. But nothing matched that scent you had on the first day, nothing at all. At least… nothing in this world.”

You went still as he stopped pacing, and opted to plop close down beside you. Incredibly close, so much that his arm that propped up half his upper weight was against your arm. You could feel his warmth, but his close proximity made you squirm in place. You didn’t move an inch though, because even scooting over an inch would be giving him a sign that you would bend to his will.

As he leaned against you, you glared at his amused expression. That cocky smirk was on his lips, because he knew he had you in his claws. When he spoke, he was so close that he only had to speak in a low and husky whisper. “This time, I brought a proposal instead of an offering. But I want to hear you tell me what it is I’m planning.”

You were silent.

“Well?”

Under the pressure, you finally relented. “Fine. But only if you answer one question I have.”

It only took a second of consideration until he hummed, “Of course. That’s only fair, chieftain.”

Taking a deep breath, you averted your eyes away from intense green-eyed gaze, attempting to forget the fact that his face was literally inches beside yours. There was no point in hiding it from him anymore, was there? He already knew everything. “My guess is that you’ll want to do it in the gorge. You’ll have myself and some of the other hyenas start a panic with wild wildebeest grazing on the grass. There’ll be a stampede, and you’ll have the little prince down there waiting. When his old man goes to save him, you’re hoping he and the prince get crushed by the stampede. If not, at least it’ll weaken them enough to finish off quietly and stage it as an accident.” When you glanced at him, you could see his grin had grown. “Did I get all that right?”

“Everything down to the smallest minute detail.” He chuckled, somehow finding this tense exchange amusing. His tail swished slowly side to side, and you couldn’t help but notice how pleased he looked with himself. “Now, your question.”

You paused, carefully considering how to go about wording this specific inquiry. All the while he continued to watch you, never once taking his eyes off you. Until finally, you had it. “Why’ve you kept me alive? If you knew I wasn’t who I said I was, you could’ve told the hyena-folk by now. You would’ve been a trustworthy figure then, at least in their eyes. They’d follow you, just like you want. You never needed my help. Besides, if you knew I knew stuff about the future, wouldn’t that mean I was a threat to your plan?”

“You see me for the wonder I am.” Noticing your confusion, he continued, “You don’t know what it’s like to be the second born, when your entire kingdom scorns you just because you were born a few years late. But now…” He chuckled, holding your chin between his fingers and forcing you to look him in the eye. “With meticulous planning and suffering through years of denial, I’ll become King. I’ll get everything I ever deserved and more. And should you help me achieve my vision, I promise you, you will do more than just survive. You shall thrive. But without me, you won’t get a thing… If it's agreed, shall we go then? Let’s inform your beloved little village of the coup of the century that will take place tomorrow.”

✧   ✧   ✧   ✧   ✧

To say the clan rejoiced at the news felt like an understatement. They were elated, it led to partying and laughing all night, all of them eager to follow your command and the second prince’s plan if it meant that they could finally improve their way of living. Even Jack, who you thought you might have to deal with his refusal due to his strong morals and all, only silently listened to the declaration by Leona before approaching you and announcing he’d follow what you decided.

It wasn’t much of a choice anyways. You’d get to survive and live in splendor, and you’d improve the lives of so many hyena-folk that may have later died of sickness or starvation, all in exchange for the life of a king and his son. When the day arrived, you sent out the able-bodied hyena-folk to prepare. Burn the wild wall of thorns between the cliffs and the desert, have a few posted at every potential escape route, place watchouts on top of high cliffs so they could see everything, and above all was the warning from you to the clan. Do not let the young prince escape, because if he does, then hope for the lion-folk will live on and he may one day grow to be as powerful as his father.

When everything was prepared, you waited. You had assembled a small team to rile up the wildebeest, which consisted of yourself, Ruggie, Jack, and two other small groups of three hyena-folk currently positioned on other sides. You would frighten the creatures simultaneously, flanking from the back, the right, and the left, forcing the gigantic horde to go down into the gorge where they’d create a deadly stampede, trampling anything in their path.

Jack gazed at you silently, before he murmured quietly, as if to himself, “Is it alright to really be doing this…? To kill the king and the prince? I know you said it was, and I trust you, but…”

“Jack, you’re way too soft. It’s an eat or be eaten world! If you’re so worried about it, think about it this way. Those two lives will allow countless hyenas and outcasts like me and you to survive.” Ruggie scolded, watching as the white wolf slowly nodded. While waiting for the signal, he glanced at the wildebeest grazing on the grass before looking at you. “You know, I knew you were ruthless, boss, but going along with Leona’s despicable plan? I mean, not that I’m opposed to it, but it was surprising at first, is all.”

“I do whatever I have to for…” Me. “You and the others.” Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed a figure on an opposing cliff. It was Leona, who was staring you down with a devious sort of smile. He must’ve already left his kid nephew down in the gorge. Quick to change the subject, you announced, “There. Let’s go. Jack, signal to the others.”

Obediently he fulfilled his command, standing upright from his spot leaning against the boulders and rocks they hid among. When he whistled, it rang in the air, immediately alerting not only your allies on the other side of the herd but also the wildebeest that shot up in alert.

It took one stone from you, a stone tossed at full speed, smacking the hind leg of one of the closer wildebeest, causing it to let out a deep pained noise and instinctively react by kicking about wildly, causing a chain reaction of confusion and alarm to those around it, which only spread further and further. Jack’s whistle was the sign to attack, and having already made the first move, you stood back as you watched Ruggie, Jack, and the two other hyena groups jump out of their hiding places and cause even more of a panic throughout the entire herd as they scared the beasts with their spears and knives.

You watched as the wildebeest began to scatter in the opposite direction of yourself and the clan members, leading them right into the gorge. They moved as a group. One thing about wildebeest, is that they traveled in herds with numbers ranging anywhere from a few hundred to a couple of thousands. They were so numerous and sizable creatures that caused the ground to shake when startled and running. It would be very very difficult to survive a stampede of such magnitude, maybe that’s why Leona chose such a demise in the first place.

When all of the wildebeest had been chased off the flat and into the gorge, you stood beside your subordinates and paced at the edge. Ruggie and the others looked excited, almost as if they were having fun, especially because they managed to catch and kill one of the straggling creatures. Jack looked down at the gorge, frowning but doing nothing else until he inquired, “What next, boss?”

You couldn’t be at ease until you knew that both King Falena and his prince son were dead. You didn’t want to imagine the prince getting away, which would lead you to years of sleepless nights as you would have to plot a way on how to track him down through the desert and send people to kill him. “Good job, everyone. Now, go out to individual posts along the desert. Make sure the entire perimeter is covered. The king and the prince cannot leave that gorge alive, got it?”

A chorus of hums and giggles responded, “Yes, chief.”

Once they all departed and you were alone, you slid down about halfway into the gorge. You weren’t on the ground floor, so you weren’t concerned, but for now to avoid being seen, you would keep behind boulders and rocks to blend into the environment. At this point in the story, the second prince would feign horror as he goes to inform the majestic king of the stampede occurring with the young prince trapped within the gorge. The two brothers would rush to the gorge to save the young prince. For now all you could do was follow the cloud of dust and stragglers the stampede left behind, keeping low and against the wall so you would not be spotted.

The gorge was massive, so you continued for a few minutes, all the while reciting the rest of the story from your childhood in a low mutter. “When Falena and Leona get there, they see the kid prince hanging onto a branch during the stampede. Falena jumps in to save his son, dodging almost every hit by the wildebeest. As he’s right next to the branch, he’s hit, knocked down and the branch breaks. Before the kid prince can fall to his death, his dear old dad jumps and catches him. When he lands, Falena is hit again, dropping his son. Falena manages to get up and pick up his kid, putting him on a ledge right before he’s swept away in the stampede. The prince watches in horror, looking for his dad, until he sees Falena jump out and cling to the steep wall of the gorge. He struggles to climb up, obviously weak from being hit before, but he reaches the top and there at the top… is Leona.”

Leona. There was Leona across the gorge standing upright and looking down at the figure beneath him as if they were nothing but a speck of dirt on his feet. Just below him, nails dug into the rocky walls and slipping, was King Falena. You couldn’t hear what they were saying over the thousands of hooves stomping against the ground, but you didn’t have to hear a word in order to know what was going on. This was the moment where the majestic king died. In an instant, Leona lunged forward slightly, digging his nails into the flesh on the back of the king’s palm, which caused him to emit a roar of pain. You knew what came next. You averted your gaze to the side as you heard his plummeting scream, and then it was silenced, drowned out by the continuous running wildebeest. Long live the king.

One down, one more to go. The cloud of dust left behind in the stampede’s destructive wake, concealed the bottom of the gorge from your sight. You need to get down there now. You needed to see Falena dead with your own two eyes, and you needed to make sure that the kid prince he left behind would not live to see tomorrow. Upon finding your way in the dust, you squint to see past the sandy clouds, and one of the first things you could make out upon searching the ground was the king’s motionless body on its side right under the broken branch. Yet neither of the princes were anywhere in sight.

Continuing forward, you felt your nerves spike. That kid prince must have ran–– and you could only hope the story would truly divert from its original course here and now. You could only pray to whatever cruel god there was that allowed you to be thrown into this world, that all your preparations worked to stop the runaway prince.

When you heard a footstep, you froze, hand hovering over the dagger at your hip as the approaching shadow in the cloud of dust got closer and closer. However, when it was revealed to be Leona from the ashes, your shoulders slumped, relieved of the tension. No breath of relief, because you could not be relieved when knowing that the job was not done yet. However, that tension immediately went straight back into your system when you noticed the red on his hands. By now he had already noticed you, he probably was aware of your presence far before you were aware of his. Hesitantly you gestured to the blood on his hands. “What’s that from…?”

“A finished job. It’s not mine.” He answered with an ominous smirk. Steadily he stepped closer, before announcing in a melodramatic tone, “My brother’s death is a terrible tragedy, but to lose my nephew who was swept away in the stampede and whose body was never found… For me, it’s a deep and personal loss.” No longer could he hold in his laughter as he stood right in front of you and concluded, “So it is with a heavy heart that I assume the throne. Yet out of the ashes of this tragedy, we shall rise!”

You frowned, prying your eyes away from his hands and to his face full of wicked mirth. “And the body?”

Sighing, he rolled his eyes but answered in a slight chuckle, “I knew you’d worry about that. So I had your clan dispose of the body, in the desert where no one will find him and his remains will be plucked by the vultures.”

At that moment you froze, eyes going wide. That… That might have been the fate that would have awaited you…

When he stepped closer, so close that you were practically up against his chest. You winced when he tapped the bottom of your chin until you looked up at him, painting the bottom half of your face red with the blood smeared on his fingers. Blood that was not his, whether it belonged to the king or his son, you weren’t entirely sure, and you’d rather not know. “That won’t happen to you, I wouldn’t let it happen.” He spoke, as if he sensed your current fears. Just then, another delighted smirk grew on his face and that familiar spark of desire reignited in his eyes. He had the throne, the kingdom, what else did he want? What else could he possibly gain? “I promised you that you’d thrive, didn’t I? Well, now that the throne belongs to me, I’ll make good on that promise. Your reward is the opportunity to be my royal consort.”

Your stomach dropped, feeling dread settle in the pits of your gut as his thumb moved to rub small circles on your cheek, covering you in more red. Only a small choked whisper could escape your throat. “What?”

“Be my consort.” He repeated casually, looking down at your stunned expression with amusement that made him chortle. “What better way to unite two, lion-folk and hyena-folk, then by matrimony between two leaders? You get a life of splendor and continue to hold power, while I reign as king with you by my side. It’s like… killing two lions with one stone, isn’t that right, my Little Chieftain?”

#twst #twisted wonderland #yandere #yandere x reader #yandere twisted wonderland #yandere twisted wonderland x reader #yandere twst #jack howl #twst jack #yandere jack howl #ruggie bucchi #twst ruggie #yandere ruggie bucchi #leona kingscholar #twst leona #yandere leona kingscholar #Savanaclaw #damnation twst au

[dazednmatthews]

hey hot stuff i’m feeling the need to be self indulgent (feel free to ignore me LOL) but a matt headcanon with his gf in the middle of exams? late night study sesh and such🥹 i love you

- mads 🪽(@hollandsangel)

bf!matt x stressed college gf headcanons

sorry this took so long!! i had a… hectic day to say the least. i hope this does ur request justice 🫶🏾 i love u bad

-matt is the type of bf to never ever want to see you stressed

-he’s gonna do whatever he possibly can to take the pressure off your shoulders

-so when exam season comes up and you start to get kind of distant because you’re so stressed, this mf is the most attentive, doting man ever

-“i’m just so stressed. my bio exam is in three days and my english lit exam is in 5 and i have to do so many chores and pick up this stupid cake for my mom—”

-“go to the library and study. give me the time and place to pick up the cake and i’ll use my key to get into your apartment. don’t worry about a thing, sweetheart.”

-he would respect your space when you needed it and when you wanted to study alone

-“i wanna see you matt but i really need to memorize this chapter tonight. i can’t, i’m sorry.”

-“it’s okay, baby. i understand, school comes first right now.”

-you love him so much for that cause he never makes you or lets you feel guilty for the lack of time together

-he definitely brings you your favorite snacks, water, and meals to the library when you stay late

-“i’m not staying, i know you need to focus. but i also know you haven’t eaten today and i can’t have that.”

-when you do want company, he is hands down the best study partner

-he will deadass read the chapters you have memorize just to make sure he can quiz you

-helps you make color coded flash cards

-“it means… fuck i can never fucking remember this one.” you’re chewing on your pen cap racking your brain for the definition of a chapter concept you know you know. you can feel the slight hysteria building as matt sits patiently, gentle eyes pleading with you to go easy on yourself. “i’m never gonna fucking pass.”

-matt puts down the flash cards, careful not to mess up the order. he comes around to the side of his bed that you’re on, squatting down between your open legs. he’s rubbing his thumb in circles on your thighs with one hand as he removes your head from your hands with his other. “you are the smartest and most capable person i know. you have been working your ass off for this. you need to give yourself some more credit, sweetheart. cause i have no doubt you can do it.” he swipes at the frustrated tears pooling in your eyes and gives you the most honey sweet smile you’ve ever seen.

-you tend to overwork yourself a lot so he insists on breaks every couple hours

-you almost always protest in favor of getting as much work done as possible but he always wins the argument

-“baby, i can’t take another break. i’m so behind. i haven’t even done half of what i wanted to!”

-“last break we took was four hours ago y/n. you’re going to drive yourself crazy if you don’t give yourself some time to relax.”

-he takes you to get food or even just a short drive listening to the playlist you guys made together, talking and laughing about anything other than school

-sometimes you sit in the living room w all the triplets and watch them argue about something hilarious

-he’s always right and it always works

-when you finally finish reviewing all the material you needed to, you flop down on his bed with a heavy sigh

-“i’m so fucking happy i finished on time.”

-“i knew you would. you’re gonna fucking ace it tomorrow.”

-“yeah i hope. i had the best study partner in the world.”

-you spend the night before your exams in his extremely soft bed and his extremely serene arms, him kissing away the nerves that threaten to choke you. every so often he’ll whisper sweet nothings of how good you’re gonna do, how proud of you he is and how smart you are, making your heart swell.

-the day of your exams you wake up to the sweetest note with a smoothie made (he didn’t go to bed until like 7am that morning anyway)

-“you’ve got this, baby! you’re gonna fucking kill it. take your time and trust yourself. i love you -m”

-you feel on top of the world knowing the most amazing man you’ve ever met believes in you so much

-after your exams are done, you wait until you’re back at his house to view your scores online

-“you ready?” matt says, looking at you with nothing but love and light.

-“no, but fuck it. lets get this over with.”

-you of course get the best scores imaginable

-you celebrate like you won the fucking lottery, jumping in his arms and shrieking in hysterical delight

-he is just as, maybe even more excited

-“that’s my fucking girl! i knew you could do it.”

-and he spends the entire night showing you just how proud of you he really is

#matt sturniolo #sturniolo triplets #christopher sturniolo #nicolas sturniolo #nick sturniolo #sturniolo edit #chris sturniolo #sturniolo fanfic #sturniolo imagine #matthew sturniolo #matt stuniolo fanfic #matt sturniolo headcanon #matt sturniolo x reader #chris sturniolo fanfic

[ros3ybabe]

Daily Check-in: April 4, 2024 🎀

What a good day! I swear I hadn't had a day so good in so long, but this day was absolutely amazing!

🩷 What I Accomplished Today:

reviewed chapters 8 and 9 of Spanish on Busuu

Studied my Spanish flashcards 1x all the way through

listened to three podcast episodes in spanish

read a chapter of Deep Work, the last chapter of Atomic Habits, and a section from 101 Essays to Change The Way You Think

discovered and listened to "A Better You" podcast by Fernanada Raamirez

Went to my make up chemistry lab

took a make up psyc quiz

met with my psych doctor

had a therapy session

had a meeting with the director of the Dietetic program for my university

filled out an application to become an SI instructor (just not to turn it in to the head SI guy now)

Caught up on my chemistry notes

opened a savings account for my university

searched for nearby places to rent/live (I'm moving out soon, sometime this year)

🩷 What Went Good Today:

Got encouraged to add a 2nd major in Finance

Created a list/schedule of classes for next semester that I'm really excited about

learned about other on-campus job opportunities in case SI doesn't work out

felt confident about my psyc quiz after I took it

the director of the Dietetic program was the absolute sweetest and most helpful, and I am so glad I met with her because she answered all of my questions and gave me some great encouragement

finished my chem lab very quickly

didn't need extra money to open a savings account so a savings account got opened

🩷 What Could Have Gone Better:

I felt like I bugged my dad a lot, but I was just so excited to tell him how good everything was going

Need to re evaluate how much I can realistically save per paycheck at the moment for my housing situation AND the college savings account

got a bit emotional with my boyfriend over some past stuff

did not eat the best or the healthiest

psych doc ordered an EKG because she is concerned that I may have an arrhythmia (had an EKG done in the past for the same reason, but was told it was because of my exercise habits at the time ~4 years ago) and having an arrhythmia will limit the mental health medication I am able to take

Overall, not a bad day whatsoever! I was in a really good mood all day because of how awesome everything was and I'm super grateful that I was able to have such a good day!

til next time lovelies 🩷

#pink pilates girl #pink pilates princess #self development #wonyoungism #it girl #mental health #pink academia #pink aesthetic #college student #university student #student life #uni student aesthetic #language study #studying #college studyblr #studyblr community #studyblr #language studyblr #spanish langblr #language learning #langblr #student #college studyspo #study aesthetic #study blog #study motivation #studyspo #that girl #becoming that girl #it girl energy

[phenomenalgirl9]

When you take a "Who's your Ateez Boyfriend quiz"

Ateez x Reader

A/n: I actually got San in one of the quiz and Seonghwa in another hehe.

Hongjoong

"Ahh, fuck this" he heard you curse as his eyes traveled from the screen to the side where you were waiting for him to be done. He saw you looking frustrated at something on your phone and got curious "what's wrong babe?" He asked softly. You huffed and showed his the result to you "Who is your Ateez Boyfriend" quiz saying Wooyoung. "This dumb shit has been showing me Wooyoung and Yunho, seven times" you said pouting. Hongjoong laughed out and wheeled to you and pulled you onto his lap, kissing your cheek and said "Babe you don't need this stupid quiz to know that" making you smile. "You're mine" he said holding you tightly, "Yes I am" you said fitting your face at the crook of his neck.

Seonghwa

When he saw you pout sitting in the corner of the dance studio he thought you were sad. Maybe she had a fight with someone, he saw you aggressively typing away, he literally kept glancing at you until they took a brake and damn, the moment he looked back you were smiling. Like grinning like an idiot at your phone. "What you got there?" He asked you, while wiping his sweat as you showed him the screen to your phone saying "look!" Excitedly. He checked the screen saying 'Seonghwa is your Boyfriend'. "Was this why you were upset a while ago?" He asked in surprise, and you nodded saying "I saw this random person post they got you in the result, but I didn't and I tried 11 times until I got you! With different sets of answers" you said proudly, he didn't know how to react you looked so cute admitting all this.

Yunho

When Yunho saw you clicking on your phone so aggressively he was sure you were in a fan war yet again or you were playing a game. He sat beside you in the lobby you were waiting for him. He hit your shoulder with his as he leaned in only to find you taking some sort of quiz. The result left him breathless with laughter "Jo-Jongho?!" He said and rolled in laughter. "Great, now I owe Wooyoung 500 won" you grumbled. "Baby, the guy has like 2 braincells he won't remember it" he said "let me see" he said and just like that started taking the quiz himself.

Yeosang

Yeosang wanted to look up his email so he called out "Y/n, is it okay if I look at my emails from your laptop?". You mumbled "sure" from your spot in the kitchen where the ramen was boiling. Suddenly, it hit you "No wait" but it was done there Yeosang was looking at the screen and you in utter surprise. "You need a quiz to know I'm your boyfriend?! Y/n!" He said but started laughing himself. "In my defence, Wooyoung sent it to me and this was my first try" you said. "That's such a weird flex" he said clicking to do what he actually opened your laptop for.

San

You've been very quiet for sometime now and no cheering no comments. He looked over to you to find you busy on your phone. You kinda looked agitated so he let you be. By the time he was done you were sighing and ran your hands through your hair now he was curious as to what got you THAT frustrated? He simply came and back-hugged you to see you with a result page saying 'Yeosang is your boyfriend'. "Stupid website" you cursed. "Baby, I am your boyfriend" he said pouting "Say that to this stupid website" you said. "Then again Yeosang is your bias" he said and you looked at him "hey" he turned your face to him, both of you laughing.

Mingi

"Y/n~ Y/n-ah" he sang out, and you nodded in response, "What are you so busy with?" He says and "Wait.. wait" you whispered to him as you mentally said 'please, please' and...it came 'Mingi is your Ateez Soulmate' and you rejoiced. You stood up and hugged him, his eyes stuck to your screen. "Babe,I, your boyfriend, have literally been calling you ages and you were busy with a quiz?" He said "but it took you this long?" He asked. "NO, this dumb quiz kept showing Yunho and who not" you complained "So what were you calling for?" You asked. "The new episode is up" he said as the two of you went off, the quiz was long forgotten.

Wooyoung

You were bored, and were scrolling through Twitter when you found this quiz and thought of taking it but it became an obsession to prove it. "No you dumb fuck" Wooyoung and San who were busy practicing heard you curse. "Whats up jagiya?" Wooyoung asked and you passed your phone to him. "Your Ateez Boyfriend is Hongjoong?! You don't love me?" He said being dramatic. "Shut up Woo! THIS DUMB QUIZ" you said in rage, "This? Even I got Wooyoung in that" San said, chuckling. "Really? Let me try" Wooyoung said snatching your phone. "Wooyoung?!" You said. After the clicks were done he showed you the screen 'Wooyoung' was the result. "Even I got myself, paboya" he said and made a run before you overcame your shock and chased him with the nearest thing you found, a Banana. "I'll kill you Jung Wooyoung!" You said running behind him around the studio leaving an out of breath with laughter San.

Jongho

You looked over at Jongho and clicked on the link just to try if it happens. Jongho heard you gasp and you excitedly said "Jongho you're my soulmate". He got so excited and touched and was about to lay his heart bare when he watched you turn the laptop screen to the result of 'Jongho is your Ateez Soulmate' and he laid back down laughing at your cuteness. "Gosh Y/n" he said and shook his head as he sat back up. "You are my ideal type after all" you said flirting and wink. Jongho said an "aish jinja" as he then walked up to where you were sitting and said "Let me try".

_____________________________________

Other Works

#imagines #ateez au #ateez headcanons #ateez reactions #ateez hongjoong #ateez seongjoong #ateez seonghwa #ateez yunho #ateez yeosang #ateez san #ateez mingi #ateez wooyoung #ateez jongho #ateez x y/n #ateez x reader #ateez scenarios #ateez fluff #ateez funny

[renaiswriting]

Brighter Days Ahead

Pairing: Choi Seungcheol/Reader

Summary: After you failed an exam, Seungcheol took it upon himself to make sure you felt better.

Warnings: None I think (?) It's just fluff.

Word count: +1.7k words.

Author's note: To the person who requested this, I hope you find some sort of comfort in this.

Masterlist.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

You were seconds from tearing your hair apart.

The coffee was already cold since it had been a long time since you sat down to study.

The library that you once shared with ten other people is now still open because of you and only you. The lady that worked there had come to check on you a while ago, and now you were even guessing that she was either sleeping or about to.

Your stomach was begging for you to put something else down that wasn't coffee, but unless your brain started to stick with the information you needed for your exam, you had no plans on hearing it.

It was kind of discouraging how, after reading for hours, you still had the same knowledge on the topic as when you started.

You wanted to cry because, one, it felt like you just wasted your whole day, especially a sunny day that was becoming less common as the cold temperatures were slowly becoming the norm. With autumn so close now, you were inside with a pile of books and homework. And second, it was all for nothing because you couldn't answer any of the mental questions that you usually asked to quiz yourself.

Cheol: Are you on your way home already?

The text was sent almost an hour ago, and you opened it just now. He knew that if you didn't answer, it was because you kept on studying. You rarely touched your phone during your study time, especially when it was done in the library, because a part of your brain was constantly reminding you that you had gone there to study and study only; after all, if you wanted to waste time on your phone, you could have just stayed home, and also because it felt like everybody was judging you for not studying whenever you touched your phone in there.

You have told your friends about it before, and they told you that you were just being paranoid because nobody stared at the library, but you knew it wasn't true because once in a while you did lift your head to take a quick glance at your surroundings, and whenever you saw somebody using the library for anything other than studying, you did judge them. which means that they would most likely be judging you as well if you touched your phone.

It has been such a rough week with at least one exam per day, and as more of them keep appearing on your schedule, the more unmotivated you feel to study or do anything related to them.

 

You guessed that having failed a handful of them wasn't helping you either.

 

Your eyes still burned from the crying session from the night before after receiving the results of the exams you were hoping to pass.

You closed your eyes for a second, sighing. You massage them for a moment, trying to take the burn away.

Maybe you just needed a nap.

And food.

And finding someone with lots of money so you wouldn't have to study.

You laughed at the last one, knowing damn well that you wanted to be the rich man rather than marry one.

You had around ten hours until the exam took place, and you still need to have at least a spoon of food to call it a day and go to sleep.

You texted Seungcheol, letting him know you were just going home; your roommate was probably enjoying her vacations already.

She was studying another career, and her exams had taken place almost two weeks ago. At first, you enjoyed teasing her about not having to stress about exams, but now you were sad that you did not have free time to enjoy the weather.

Your eyes shut down as soon as your head touched the pillow in your bedroom, and quicker than you would have wanted, you were finishing your breakfast and running to your exam.

You were constantly reviewing all the material you had been studying until the last possible minute before your teacher called everyone inside the classroom in which the exam would take place.

Maybe it was your nerves, but suddenly your hands were freezing, your feet felt like they were minutes away from falling because of how cold they felt, and you couldn't stop shaking.

You took a deep breath to calm yourself. It kind of worked at first, but as soon as your teacher handed you the exam, it all came back.

You read question after question, and out of the ten, you could probably make out an answer for maybe two of them.

And you weren't even sure it would be enough of an answer to get the whole point of it.

You silently sat still in your seat as you saw classmate after classmate walk to your teacher with their exams, leaving the classroom.

 

You honestly felt angry at yourself; how could you simply not know any of the rest of the questions?

 

You have had to study for this.

 

Where has all the time spent with your books gone?

 

Your teacher received your exam with a smile that you couldn't quite reciprocate, and before you knew it, you were locked in one of the bathrooms, calling Seungcheol.

 

"Hey gorgeous, how did that exam go?"

 

And that was enough; without a second to understand what was going on or to control your emotions, you were sobbing. Big, thick tears were running down your cheeks as you were trying to explain to Seungcheol how awful you felt.

 

You were sure part of the reason for the crying was the frustration of the whole situation and also the lack of actual sleep.

"Hey, no, no, no, don't cry, baby. It's okay, you hear me? You said it yourself—you can always retake the exam, right? Don't cry, love."

Seungcheol was trying his best to calm you down.

"You're still there, sweetheart?" To your positive response, he added. "Alright, wait for me there; I'll come and pick you up, okay?"

You fortunately didn't have to wait that long because five minutes later Seungcheol's car was parking out in front of the front door of the building.

Some of your classmates looked at you as you walked out of the bathroom with red, puffy eyes, but most of them could understand why you were crying, so most of them just gave you a reassuring smile.

As soon as you opened the car's door, Seungcheol hugged you, bringing you as close to his chest as possible. Pampering you with kisses on your head

When you finally calmed down, and the only hint that you had been crying were your hiccups here and there, you moved away from his warm embrace, resting your back against your seat.

"Here, I bring you something."

Seungcheol handed you a bag that you hadn't seen until now. It was the bag from your favorite fast food place, and you wouldn't usually buy it unless it was for a special occasion, like your birthday.

But your mind told you, "Well, fuck it. You deserve it now."

The first bite sent you straight to heaven. You close your eyes and enjoy every single second of it.

Seungcheol chuckled at your reaction, pinching your cheek before starting to drive away from the building.

"We're close to the cinema; want to go and see what movies there are today?" Seungcheol offered.

You shook your head and said, "I just want to go home." You replied.

It wasn't a long drive until your department, but it was long enough for you to finish the Hamburger and start with the fries.

Seungcheol hates it when people eat in his car, so you were extremely thankful that he gave you the trust to eat there. You were as careful as possible, feeding him some fries as he waited at a red light.

After the whole meal you devoured in seconds, you were feeling sleepy, and there was nothing you were whisking for other than cuddles.

Your department was a mess just like you left it before going to take your exam, and while you would usually be embarrassed to have left the place in such conditions, you cut yourself some slack.

 

Seungcheol held your hand as he made both of you walk to the sofa, making you rest your head on his lap, his fingers massaging your scalp.

 

And just when you thought you were starting to get over the emotional rollercoaster, you started to feel tears running down your cheeks.

Seungcheol didn't mention anything; instead, he moved his fingers to clean your tears, softly carrarasing your cheek.

"I studied so hard, so damn hard, but it was all just in vain."

Seungcheol ducked his head, his lips moving from every inch of your face, lovely, giving you some comfort with his kisses. His arms were holding you strongly against his stomach, almost like he was trying to transfer your suffering to himself.

"I feel like I'm a failure."

Seungcheol clicked his tongue. "Of course you are not," Seungcheol nags at you. "It was just an exam, and I know it was important to you, but a bad exam result is not the end of the world, and it doesn't mean you are a failure. It happens to the best of us; I once failed an exam with a two out of ten, and that doesn't mean you're dating a dumbass, is it?" He joked, making you giggle.

Your eyes moved to his, frowning as your thoughts started forming once again.

"But what if I'm not cut out for this?" Your voice wavered with doubt.

"Then I'll work hard so you can become a trophy wife." Seungcheol joked, gaining a punch from you.

 

"I'm serious!" You responded, still laughing.

 

Seungcheol smiled big, seeing that you were not crying anymore. "You will keep trying; you will eventually ace that exam; we can find some solutions; maybe we can study together? I don't understand much about it, but we can watch some YouTube videos or we can find someone to tutor you." Seungcheol reassured you. "We will find a way; don't worry."

Seungcheol's warm hands were cupping your face. "You are so capable of doing anything you set your mind to, you should really start to give yourself credit for it," he said firmly. "You've worked hard to get to this point, and I bet it wasn't always easy back then as well, so this is just another obstacle that will make you stronger."

 

And, for the first time in a while, you decided to trust yourself that eventually it would be alright.

 

You've got Seungcheol by your side.

 

Everything would be fine.

#seventeen #seventeen fanfic #seventeen fanfics #seventeen fic #svt au #seventeen au #seventeen imagines #svt fanfic #svt reacts #seventeen x y/n #seventeen x you #seventeen x reader #svt x y/n #svt x reader #svt x you #seungcheol x y/n #seungcheol x you #seungcheol x reader #scoups x y/n #scoups x you #scoups x reader #seungcheol fic #choi seungcheol fluff #seungcheol fanfic #seungcheol fluff #scoups fluff #scoups fanfic #svt seungcheol #seungcheol scenarios #seungcheol svt

[blood-mocha-latte]

so i made a quiz a minute back and there was a question about my guinea pigs and a lot of people. followed up on that and wanted to know more lmao. AND if you've been here for even .5 seconds you are aware that i. love talking about my pets so let's get into it

i. Perdita Sue

name: -- perdita for 101 Dalmations (since she's black and white) -- sue for Sue Hendrickson (a world renowned paleontologist)

fun fact: as stated by the quiz she fucking. loves her water bottle. when she was a baby we were worried she had a blockage in her throat because she kept slamming it back against the wall of the hutch REALLY LOUDLY and her sister didn't do that. so we took her to the vet. nothings wrong. maybe it was just a thing when she was a baby no. no she just really fucking loves her water bottle and likes making it really loud

worst experience: she cut her paw open on a piece of hay when she was about a year and a half old and was bleeding SO FUCKING MUCH i almost missed a class final to stay home with her. she was fine lol

best experience: she likes to shake hands. i have a photo of this somewhere. if you put your hand down in the hutch she'll run over and put both her paws in your palm so you can "shake" them it's the funniest fucking thing

ii. Mei Rosalind

name: -- mei for my fiancee's middle name lmao (lenora-mei) -- rosalind for Rosalind Franklin (biochemist who discovered the structure of dna)

fun fact: again as in the quiz, she likes sunbeams. a whole fuckin' lot. like, too much. it was about noon and i walked into the room they're in and she was on her back. lil paws in the air. and i thought she was Fucking Dead but no. she was just sunbathing

worst experience: she once sneezed in my mouth and i thought i was gonna die

best experience: when i was studying for my organic chem final she slept on my desk the whole time and just generally kept me from Flipping The Desk and giving up lmao

iii. Meg Helen

name: -- meg for meg jay (clinical psychologist on adult development) -- helen for. helen keller. bc she's blind

fun fact: the only guinea pig we got from a pet store, who we weren't actually going to get. but she was curled up in the corner of a too small cage and was obviously miserable, so we ended up biting the bullet and adopting her. took her to the vet, vet told us she is The Most Blind Animal she has ever had the pleasure of meeting. take that as you will

worst experience: we got her when she was just a little over a week old and she had to be quarantined from the others. we ended up having to switch off and sit with her at night because she'd cry the whole time and she has the saddest fucking wheek

best experience: she has the croakiest voice of all time. we're pretty sure it's the same genetic inbreeding problems that made her blind, but it doesn't hurt her and it sounds Hilarious. when she finally got out of her quarantine hutch and to her real one (which is 45 feet squared lmao) she didn't stop popcorning and squeaking for fifteen minutes. i cried my fiancee cried i took a video and sent it to my parents and they cried it was a day

iv. Piper Florence

name: -- piper for the pied piper of war because she's the leader and the others follow after her like she's the. the pied piper -- florence for florence nightingale because again if you've been here for more than .5 seconds you know that i am a. healthcare bitch

fun fact: once jumped out of the hutch and then just stood in the middle of the room because she didn't know where to go. is Best Friends with meg and shows her where everything is in the hutch when we have to change it/replace objects. she does not like sue and ignores her. just doesn't like her there's nothing to be done

worst experience: we thought she had ovarian cancer about a year ago because she was lethargic/sick/swollen etc for a long period of time. tracking her poop what she ate all of that etc etc. turns out that she had a cyst which was still a fucking nightmare, but hey at least it wasn't cancer

best experience: when my fiancée got really sick a few years back piper would just sit on her chest and purr. it was cute and needed and she's fuckin BEEN there man she's basically our dog

anyways that's it. congratulations if you got through it all lmao. i also have four cats (i am. not good at fostering) and a dog so maybe i'll make a post about them idk. ok bye

#rie talks #actually have a post kinda like this in my drafts that's my fiancees experiences watching band of brothers because she is So Fucking Funny #anyways nothing else to tag this? #guinea pigs #i guess #ok bye lol

[rae-writes]

2:1 ratio

Levi x reader

wc : 1.k

warnings : brief minor injury + brief aggressiveness towards mc (trivia incident)

synopsis : the two times Levi found himself falling in love with you and the time you told him first

“Alright, enough! Let’s get this show on the road- Let’s see how Levi likes your trump card Mc!” 

Levi rolls his eyes, glancing around at everyone’s reactions before he lands on you. You’re grinning and rocking on the balls of your feet, looking directly at him with anticipation. The sight makes something tug in Levi’s chest, causing him to huff and cross his arms. 

Frantic tapping filled the planetarium, courtesy of Levi’s bouncing leg. His orange hues scanned over every inch of the room impatiently— where were you? He called you 5 minutes ago! 

“Levi?” 

He jumped, head whipping around to look at you. “Finally! Took you long enough.” He was about to complain more when his eyes fell to your wrist. It was poorly bandaged and a bit swollen. 

“No! I won’t stand for this!” Levi snarled, lashing his tail in your direction as he began advancing on you. He almost laughed when you fell right on your ass, crawling backwards to get away. He was so close to snatching you up with the appendage before Lucifer intervened. 

“I believe you were going to settle this via quiz, were you not?”

With a start, Levi’s eyes snapped back over to you, seeing you on the ground with a pained pinch in your features— and a hint of fear in your eyes. 

“Go home. You’re out of control.” 

His hands balled into fists, hating the way his heart clenched when you looked up at him with that expression. 

“Levi? Did you hear him?” 

He turned tail and fled, arms shoving the door brutally out of his way. ‘FUCK!’ 

“So do you know why I called you here?” He raised an eyebrow at you, attempting to hide his inner troubles. 

You smiled, just as bright as before, “Let’s be friends!” 

…Huh? ”W-w-what?! F-friends?! Me a-a-and you?! I just tried to attack you! If Lucifer hadn’t intervened you’d be dead right now, you know that right? Right?!” Levi stared at you with a bright red blush, hands flailing around stupidly.

“It’s okay, I forgive you! Plus, I kinda provoked you, so…” 

The third born looked at you with awe, arms slowly falling back to his sides. Friends…? With him? A tiny smile tugged at his features and his hand shot up to cover it. 

Friends.

†

Levi laid sprawled back in his bath-bed, glaring up at the ceiling with no real intent behind it. He was just mad at the world— everything was going wrong and he hated life. 

Knock knock knock

“Tch. Password.” His words were a low hiss, as he was sure it was Mammon coming to bother him. What he wasn’t expecting was the perfect response given to him in the sweetest voice. 

“The second lord attempted to steal the Lord of Corruption’s platypus, which could lay golden eggs. Having incurred the wrath of the Lord of Corruption for this misdeed…it was ordered that the second lord would be forever dubbed ‘The Lord of Fools’.”

The breath was practically knocked straight out of his lungs from the speed he sat up. “C-come in!” Levi stared at you in awe, orange hues zeroing in on the way you smiled at him. 

“I heard my Lord of Shadows was feeling down, so-“ 

!!!

“Your favorite human Henry brought you a present!” You plopped a purple gift bag in his lap before crawling in the tub beside him, nuzzling your head against his, “C’mon, Levi, don’t you want to open it?” 

Because you sat beside him instead of in front of him, your bodies had to be pressed close to fit- you were almost sitting on top of him at this rate. 

Levi thought he was going to combust. “Y-y-yeah…” trembling hands took out the orange paper, shuffling through iridescent confetti until he felt a box. 

It was a limited edition, handcrafted and painted, rare wood-based Henry and Lord of Shadows figure. The one he missed out on due to a student council meeting. The one that when its stock was sold out, it was gone for good. 

“Surprise! I know you were really upset about missing out on getting the figure yesterday, so I got Lucifer and Diavolo to pull some strings and get me access to one!” 

Oh. Oh. You can’t do this to him, normie- you can’t be making him feel this way! ”Mc, I…“ he gasped for breath, “I love it.” I love you. His eyes widened- oh no. 

Clueless to his sudden emotional epiphany, you beamed and snaked your arms around his middle, “I’m glad! I just wanted you to feel better again.” Quickly, almost too quickly, you placed a featherlight kiss on his cheek before hopping out of the tub. 

“Let’s play some Devilkart!” 

“O-okay!” Anything for you.

†

The dim lighting of Levi’s room as opposed to the brightness of the convention you’d both just been at [for 10 whole hours] almost makes you trip and fall on your face if it weren’t for the purple haired demon taking the lead inside. Henry greets you excitedly, swimming a few circle laps, but your smile tugs into a concerned frown.

“Levi?”

Vibrant eyes peer into yours before flitting away quickly as the demon in question moves expertly around his room. It was like being in the confines of his personal sanctuary had flipped a switch as Levi yanks off his wig, pulling at the hairnet rather angrily and begins taking off smaller accessories.

Grabbing at his hands, you still his harsh movements, “Levi. What’s the matter? Didn’t you have a good time with me today?”

“I did!” Levi looks surprised at his own sudden outburst, but the words just tumble out involuntarily after that, “I-I just…whenever I come back here, I feel useless again! When I’m out there cosplaying- or even when I’m streaming- I feel like somebody. Like my skills finally aren’t worthless but it all goes right in the trash the second I come back here, knowing everyone in the house is better than me—“

You press a finger to Levi’s lips, effectively silencing the degrading words he was throwing at himself. For a fleeting moment, the digit rubs back and forth gently; you’re almost entranced by the softness of his lips. Then, before he can pull away in embarrassment, you lean forward and place your own lips on top of your finger. 

And Levi wouldn’t be able to move even if he wanted to— he’s frozen in his spot, feeling your breath on his skin, and knowing you’re only less than an inch away from actually kissing him. 

“You shouldn't say those things, Leviathan…”

Leviathan. Not ‘Levi’. 

“You’re someone to me. Someone special,” your finger slowly trails down, moving until your entire hand is cupping his jaw, “Someone perfect in my eyes.” Your lips finally cover his and it’s like fireworks exploding behind his eyes and in his head. 

He almost missed it with how distracted he was from the kiss, but your pretty eyes were looking into his so earnestly he couldn’t look away and when you spoke it was so melodic he couldn’t help but tune in to your voice for whatever you had to say (even if it was complaining how his lips were slightly chapped or he was just bad a kissing) and yet-

“I love you, Levi.”

#obey me x reader #om x reader #obey me fluff #leviathan x reader #om levi #obey me levi x reader #om leviathan

[professional-demon-master]

Cutting you off pt3

Leviathan

Light angst/ fluff. Good ending !! GN reader

I had to change colors to avoid confusion lol

Levi was a jealous person. It didn’t took you long to notice that. I mean, he was literally envy incarnated and he did showed that pretty well.

Despite of that and the disastrous way you guys met, you did ended up having a good relationship with him. There were anime nights every week and at least one day you would dedicate to gaming with him.

At least there were when he actually approved your presence in his room

And it wasn’t even the fact that you were human, but he still hold a grudge at you for being a normie.

*And don’t get him wrong, he knows you watch animes and have enjoyed a manga or two and let’s not talk about you video games experience, but you’re still too normie for him.

And that’s way most of the time when you asked him to do anything together, he would take a long time before accepting, because he just couldn’t believe a normies like you would want to do activities with him.

Please! A normie like you asking him to see a new anime together? You’re probably joking.

You? Asking him how Henry 2.0 was doing? You were probably doing it to make fun of him!

But you still found patience to actually convince him that you just wanted to spend time with him and that it wasn’t a tactic to mock him later

Up until one disastrous day where everything went wrong

You couldn’t concentrate in class, you had a pop quiz and you had a ton of homework.

You were just praying for the day to be over so you could finally relax and spend time with Levi like you had planned two days ago, the new season of an anime you both liked was airing that day, and you were going to celebrate it by spending the day together.

After leaving school, you practically ran all the way from RAD to HoL, only stopping once you were in front of Levi's door answering his password to get there and finally relax.

“Hey Levi! Where were you after class? I had to drag Mammon all the way home because I couldn’t find you.”

He didn’t actually answered, but since he was looking at cd's you supposed he was too concentrated to actually answer you.

“You choosing what to watch? That’s wise, the new chapter won’t drop for another three hours”

…

“Levi?¨ Still nothing.

“You can just drop it, you know?”

“What?”

“I-I said you can drop it! The act!”

It was your time to be in silence. He turned around to look at you.

“Don’t act dumb! You know what I’m talking about!”

“I really don’t Levi. Please explain it to me”

He inhaled a little bit frustrated. “The act where you come in here pretending to be interested in my and my hobbies, wanting to watch an anime with me that you probably don’t even like!”

“Oh my… really? This again? It’s getting ridiculous, Levi.”

Levi dropped the cd's in his hands, position both arms at his side while walking towards you.

“You’re the one who’s acting ridiculous! Why pretend you like me?”

“I’m not pretending! I thought by now you would’ve realized I like spending time with you.” You explained, a little bit desperate this time.

“I know your type M-MC! Just pretending you’re interested, but you’re just passing the time cause I’m the only one who’s available right now!”

“Levi, what the fuck?” You frowned while painting your gaze locked with his. “I think I better leave”

“Yeah, there’s probably another demon you can throw yourself at by now”

You bit your tong to avoid answering. Levi often got into these moods and arguing with him was like yelling at a wall.

“You know what? Forget it, think whatever you want to think.” You opened the door and muttered an “asshole” before closing it behind you.

Levi knew it, he knew he was acting like an asshole and that it technically wasn’t your fault, but he had spent the whole day at RAD watching you pass the time with everybody else. Reading at the library with Satan, eating lunch with the twins, passing notes with Mammon during class and even walking through the halls with the angels. And please don’t even get him started on how you hugged Solomon during the morning after he gave you human realm chocolate he had retrieved for you!

Even though he knew he was in the wrong he couldn’t stop himself from thinking that MC was going to come to him and apologize at any moment. That’s how it worked before and he was almost sure that’s the way it was going to work now too.

Still, as time went by he was getting worried he had now scared you off for good.

It’s not like it was just an idea in his head, you were actively avoiding him now.

You stayed behind to watch Beer practice instead of meeting him after school to watch anime together, you had ramen dates with Mammon and even started watching movies with Satan! He didn’t bothered to pretend he thought they were lame normie movies, he still wanted you to watch them with him!

His breaking point came when he heard you laughing while playing video games with mammon and beel in the living room.

¨That’s enough! Stop it!¨ he sprinted to unplug the console before any of his brothers could stop him. Everyone stopped abruptly, not even having time to complain before Leviathan started yelling again. ¨I knew it wasn’t gonna be hard for you to replace me but this is enough!¨

You just watched him a little bit concerned, the brothers looked at each other a little bit confused by the sudden appearance of Levi’s temper tantrum and apparently not realizing it was directed to you.

“Man I swear Levi keeps gettin’ weirder by the day” Mammon whispered and frowned while he sunk by your side.

That same night, when you were in your room getting ready for bed you heard three little knocks in your door. You were pretty sure it had to be Mammon who was probably coming to spend time with you before falling asleep, a little ¨Come in¨ escaped your mouth almost in automatic.

“Hi” you lifted your head and observed Levi there, opening the door just enough so you could see his face. You kept quiet, and Leviathan took that as a sign to continue talking before his little window of bravery closed. “I-I wanted to say I’m sorry. About the game… and yelling at you… and, well, e-everything.”

You stood up from your seat at your bed and went started walking to the door without taking your eyes from him. Levi felt nervous and started playing with your doorknob while his gaze looked down.

“I-I know it was wrong, but I guess I was just… jealous. N-Not that it’s an excuse! I know you were just being your usual normie charming self. Just… sometimes it’s hard seeing you being so close with everybody, b-because I know they’re cooler than me, and that after spending enough time with them you’ll stop coming. Nobody would want to spend time with a yucky- eek!”

You interrupted him with a hug that caught him off guard. “Shut up”, you fix your posture so you could look at him without breaking the hug. “Levi I love spending time with you, and nothing will change that. C’mon, you know it.”

“B-But… I mean, you spent this last days just with my brothers and you looked just fine.” Levi spoke through scarlet cheeks and a little stutter. You gave him a sad smile.

“I mean… yeah, but they were just helping me pass the time. Don’t get me wrong I love them, but it just felt weird not spending every free time I had with you. They tried to help me take my mind off of our argument but it just wasn’t the same.” You finally broke the hug and looked at him while you tilted your head. “I missed you, Levi, but this can’t happen again, next time you’re feeling like this please just talk to me.”

“I’ll try to be better, I promise” You nodded and walked inside your room again. Levi stood there, a little awkward and unsure of what to do.

“Aren’t you coming in? We have a lot of catching up to do on a lot of Animes”

His face lightened up while he run to your bed. You were right, how could he doubt you?

Omg I’m so sorry It took me so long to finally post but work is literally killing me. Why can’t they just leave me be the silly little sheep writer I am 😩

Hope you like it guys! -B

#obey me mc #obey me #obey me scenarios #obey me levi x you #obey me levi x reader #shall we date leviathan #om! leviathan #obey me oneshot

[soranihimawari]

Cats & Sweet Starts

Kuroo Tetsurō has been nominated for many things: most likely to succeed, most likely to be chemistry quiz bowl champion, most likely to date a supermodel… but when he stands in front of you at your first JVA-interns reunion, he’s sopping wet from the beer a horrid ex-boyfriend of yours throws at your face. Or at least tried to.

“You always protected ‘em huh Kuroo? Just like helped cover her mistakes when the boss was around,” the jerk scoffs.

“I just did it because you kept putting ‘em down at the board meetings, asshole,” Kuroo says before wiping his face. He turns to you asking if you’re ok, you nods. However, before your old fling at the office leaves, you put your glass down and march right up and sock the idiot who ruined your friend’s suit with your fist.

Kuroo laughs a bit stunned you could hit that hard. Jerk of an ex-fling looks at you and rubs his cheek.

“Pop quiz dickweed,” you square your shoulders in your bar attire. “Before volleyball what was the the one sport I was the captain for?”

The rag doll of a guy who probably has an STD now for being a player looks at you says you probably broke his cheek and you shake your head.

“Does it look like I care? You ruined our reunion. Get out of here,” turns to look at Kuroo with an apologetic smile. “Your suit’s ruined. I really liked that one too….”

An hour or so later, the pub is lively again and you walk together with your current department neighbor at the JVA. He talks about how badass you were after he took the whiskey sour hit on your behalf.

“… but you kicked Kuwabara’s ass. Have you always been that strong?”

You’re at the lobby of Kuroo’s apartment complex about to leave after saying your goodnights.

“Hmm… you didn’t know me in high school, but i guess I still am, haha. Don’t forget I’m paying for your dry cleaning. Just send me in the invoice, ok Kuroo-kun?”

He nods and waves as you head to your home via hailing a cab.

You’re about to be dropped off in your drive way when you piece some things together and tell the driver you’d pay him double to take you back to the apartment complex he picked you up in.

The ride back to Kuroo’s complex was an entertaining one. You tell the driver all about how Kuroo introduced himself in the first day; you were cubicle buddies for the next six to eight months during your internship five years ago; now you’ve officially signed on with him your department and his work on promotional athletes from the national team…

“I’m in merchandise development and he’s in sports contracts,” you say proudly at the light right before the complex.

“And falling in like, happened when?” The driver asks bemused.

“Three years ago when we had to fake a relationship so his family would stop worrying about him too much,” you smile.

“And falling in love…?”

“Two hours ago when my ex splashed a cocktail all over his face…thanks mister.”

You hand the driver some cash and run straight to the elevators.

Meanwhile, Kuroo is on the phone with his team trying to sort out his emotions that are tied to you until one of them turns into all of them saying what he’s known since you bought him that little cactus for his big boy promotion desk. It stares at him everyday and he watered it for a year then on the eve of your friendship anniversary (his idea you went along with), you tell him it’s a fake plant. You and him laughed together over tea time. Kuroo’s friends agree saying he’s just got to for it and see what works.

“I gotta go fellas, thanks,” Kuroo hangs up and though he is in his tank top under shirt and old college sweatpants, his finger hovers over your name on his phone. Sighing he’s about to call you when he hears a knock and goes to open the door after seeing who it was.

“YN?”

You smile brightly apologizing for the late house call after you saw each other not that long ago:

“Excuse me,” you say sternly, standing on your toes to kiss him.

Kuroo’s golden eyes seem matte and warm when you pull away. Your cheek is stroked gently by his curled forefinger and his other hand holds you steady when you return to the ground shoes and all.

“Wh-when?” He lingers near you before you push him inside to close the door behind you. His smile is Cheshire like and cheeks are a soft plum pink under the fluorescent lighting of his living room. He holds your hand and realizes you haven’t answered just yet, but he sees your blush spread.

“Pub,” you laugh and he cups your face to kiss you again. “You?”

“When you reminded me you did judo,” Kuroo laughs too, letting you kiss him for as long as you’re able to. He returns them with as much vitality as he deems worthy.

#🌻— flying around collecting pollen—queue #sora after hours #haikyuu x reader #kuroo x reader #haikyuu fluff

[12raccoonsinadress]

can you make some of aizawa

Office Hours : Aizawa x Fem!Reader (Smut)

Word Count: 4,900

Third POV

You were new to UA. Not really a teacher but certainly not a student. You were interning while working on your teaching license. You mostly observed classes, teaching the occasional lesson in general studies and such. Recently though, you started hanging around the hero courses. Your curiosity was what drew you in initially. Though not the path you would have chosen, you admired heroes and those who strived to become them, so you found a lot about how they trained and studied interesting. What kept you around though was one of the teachers. Shota Aizawa, otherwise known as Eraserhead. You had noticed how tired he seemed. It was understandable. Being a pro hero and a teacher must be a lot. So you offered to help out with grading papers. It wasn't much but it was one less thing for him to worry about. He had accepted your offer, and since then you ended up grading most of 1A's work. It wasn't too bad though. With them being in the hero course a lot of what they studied was more hands-on than on paper, so you didn't have to stress about having massive amounts to grade.

School had ended about an hour ago and most of the students had made their way to their dorms or were milling around outside. You walked down the empty hallway, flipping through the pages of the papers you had graded for Aizawa. It was some strategy quiz. A lot of it you didn't understand. You had simply followed the grading sheet, and most of them had done fairly well. You used your side to push the door to his office, going and setting the stack of tests on his desk.

"Here are the quizzes from Tuesday."

He didn't look up from his computer as he responded.

"Thanks. They had an essay on the proper way to respond during a crisis due today. It's there on the left."

He vaguely gestured to the stack of papers to his right (your left). You decided to lean on the desk a bit.

"What are you up to?"

"I'm working."

He glanced up at you for a split second before continuing to type on his computer.

"Working on what?"

"Emails."

He responded again flatly. You hummed, looking over at the papers he had gestured to. You picked up the first one, flipping through it.

"What am I grading them on in these?"

"Normal essay stuff. Spellings, grammar. The subject should be reasonable ways to respond in crisis situations."

You hummed a little. That didn't seem too bad.

"Is that it?"

"Yes."

You looked over at him. He looked just as tired as always. You kinda felt bad for him. All the stress without properly resting couldn't be healthy.

"You should take a break."

He looked up at you now, a brow raised. Then he shook his head and went back to his computer.

"I don't have time for a break."

"Come on. I'm sure you have time for just an hour of not working."

"I don't."

"...Half an hour?"

He sighed, looking up at you. Assuming you wouldn't leave him alone until he abided, he leaned back in his seat, arms lazily resting on the arms of the chair.

"And what do you suggest I do for half an hour?"

You thought for a moment.

"Have you had dinner yet?"

He looked at you curiously now.

"No. I haven't."

You smiled a bit.

"Why don't we go get dinner then?"

You suggested. He took a moment before a slight cocky, sarcastic smile/smirk came onto his face.

"Really?"

It was only a one word response, but you immediately felt that single word shoot straight through your chest. Your face grew a bit warmer. You hadn't intended for your suggestion to be taken as anything but friendly, but you'd also be lying if you said the tired hero teacher wasn't attractive in his own right. Especially with how he was looking at you right now. Tired, yet amused, and as if he could see right through you. It made you feel vulnerable. When you took too long to say anything in response, he shook his head, still wearing that cocky, tired, amused smirk. He stood up, patting your head as he walked past.

"Yeah. Let's go."

You came out of your thoughts, quickly turning to follow him. By the time you caught up with him, his expression had fallen back to its resting tired look. Before you could say anything, he asked without looking at you.

"Did you have any place in mind?"

"Ah, well there are a few different places not too far from here. Depends what we're in the mood for I guess."

He walked quietly for a moment, thinking, you assumed. Before too long, as you were exiting the building, he spoke up.

"If you're not picky, I know a place."

"Oh, Alright."

You weren't necessarily surprised but you didn't really expect him to just pick a place. He started walking in a direction. You followed him. You didn't know how to really make casual conversation with him, so you walked quietly for a while. Eventually, you thought of something to say.

"..What made you want to teach on top of being a hero?"

He glanced at you before sighing and continuing to look ahead.

"Someone's got to make sure there are competent heroes when we're done."

"Isn't it exhausting doing both?"

"Very."

"Is it worth it?"

He thought for a moment.

"Yeah. It's worth it."

You hummed softly. Before you could dwell on this long enough to think of more questions, you arrived at a restaurant, though it looked mostly like a dive bar. He walked in, and you followed after him.

"I'm guessing you come here often?"

He shrugged a bit as the two of you went to a small table in the corner.

"You could say that."

You could see it in all honesty. The place was small and uncrowded. Frankly, you wouldn't have noticed it was here if he hadn't led you. It was pretty well hidden. The warm lighting mixed with the dark wood tones of the floor, walls, and tables made the entire room feel dim. The walls were covered with retro-esc style decor; old band T-shirts signed by musicians, vinyl records, and older framed photos of bands playing in the bar among other things. You were definitely on the younger end of the people here, most of them appearing to be in their mid-40s or older, and they all were fairly quiet. The only really notable sound was that of the faint music coming from a jukebox, which stuck out with its now dull red color that you could guess had seen better days. It really did seem like a place you'd see Aizawa in his free time. You, however, couldn't help but feel a little out of place.

"It's quiet in here."

You noted simply. He glanced at a clock on the wall.

"Give it an hour. By the time it hits 8, it won't be."

You hummed a little, also looking up at the clock.

"The clock says it's 4."

"It's a couple of hours behind."

"Or a couple of hours ahead."

"Maybe."

Before much longer an older woman approached the table. She looked to be around her mid-40s. She had reddish hair, tied back in what was probably a bun in the morning, but was now falling out in every direction. She was wearing an old band T-shirt with a bunch of tour dates and cities listed down the front, none of them being in Japan, as well as an apron that was probably white at some point but was now a faded tan-brownish sorta color. She smelled faintly of cigarette smoke and wore a bright red lipstick. She smiled at seeing the two of you. The kind of smile an old friend gives right before insulting you in the most well meaning way possible.

"Well. I'd ask if it's gonna be the usual, but it looks like you're trying something new for once."

She had a gravelly sort of voice, though it wasn't necessarily unpleasant, just a bit deeper and raspy. He rolled his eyes. You blushed a bit, picking up on her meaning.

"This is a colleague from work."

You gave a small wave. She hummed, seemingly not believing him.

"Yeah, yeah."

She looked to you now.

"What can I get you, sweetheart?"

You now realized you hadn't so much as looked at the menu. Before you went into a full-on mini panic, Aizawa spoke, taking the attention off you.

"Just do two of what I usually get."

The woman chuckled.

"Alright. It'll be out soon."

With that, she walked off. You looked to Shota. You were both grateful and a little flustered that he ordered for you. You couldn't tell if he had done so to be nice, or if he just didn't want to watch you scramble to make a decision.

"You must come here quite a bit, considering the waitress knows you."

He shrugged a bit.

"I guess. Though, she knows nearly everyone by name and their order. Something about her quirk."

"A memory quirk then?"

"Maybe. I never asked for details about it. She just says she never forgets a face or an order. Your guess is as good as mine."

You hummed, thinking. You wanted to talk about something, anything really, but you found yourself at a loss for topics. He intimidated all your small talk out of you. He looked back at you curiously. You hadn't even realized you were staring.

"You don't get out much, do you?"

You looked at him, a little surprised he was the one making conversation.

"What makes you say that?"

You furrowed your brow at him. He shrugged a bit, leaning back comfortably in his seat, making it creak ever so slightly.

"You seem uncomfortable."

He noted. He wasn't wrong. You wouldn't really say uncomfortable though. Maybe just out of your element.

"I've just never been here before, that's all."

He raised a brow. You fidgeted with your fingers. He cocked his head to the side ever so slightly.

"Do I make you nervous, Y/n?

Those words felt like they shot through your chest. Your cheeks felt warmer. You took a moment to try and think of something to say to brush this aside, but before you could defend yourself, the waitress from before was setting two drinks at the table. Thankfully, she temporarily took the attention off of you as Aizawa looked up at her.

"Thanks."

"No problem. Just these drinks or are we feeling adventurous tonight?"

The woman smiled wryly. Aizawa looked at you.

"Do you drink?"

You didn't drink much. You would socially but it felt sad to drink on your own. You responded honestly.

"Occasionally."

He looked back at the waitress. Then he sighed.

"Sure. Why not. It's been a rough week."

She snorted a laugh.

"Alrighty then."

She scribbled something in her little notepad and walked off.

A few hours went by. As Shota had said, after a little while the bar did become more lively as more of its typical patrons got out of work. Men sat at the bar, laughing as they talked about work and life, and groups of friends poked fun at one another at their tables. A drunk man, presumably pressured by his friends, was up on the bar's small stage, poorly doing karaoke. The environment being a little more crowded made you feel less out of place. So had a few drinks.

You smiled brightly as Shota chuckled at your awful joke. Turns out that after a few drinks, he relaxes a little. He wasn't drunk. Maybe tipsy. You however were a little worse for wear. Not drunk enough to feel like you would make any big mistakes, but closer to it than he was by any means. He shook his head.

"That was terrible."

"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you do better, Mr. Grumpy Pants."

"I'm not grumpy."

"You are! You have resting grump face."

He chuckled.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah."

He shook his head, still smiling a bit.

"You're drunk."

"Am not! I'm perfectly fine."

He gave you a very "I don't believe you" expression.

"I don't believe that at all."

You looked back at him, offended.

"We've had the same amount to drink. That'd mean you're drunk too."

"Or maybe you're just a lightweight."

You glared at him.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Challenge accepted."

"What?"

You leaned back in your chair, crossing your arms with a cocky smirk on your face.

"I bet I can out drink you."

"That is a terrible idea."

He grinned.

"You're just scared you'll lose."

"I'm warning you now. This isn't a good idea."

"Scaredy cat."

He sighed. Then he smirked confidently.

"If you insist. I guess some people need to learn the hard way."

You rolled your eyes, giggling. You were still certainly positive you'd win. Even if not, there's no way you'd pass your limit. He couldn't be that much better at holding his alcohol than you. Right?

That conversation was the last thing you remembered that night.

You woke up, not feeling the best. Your head was pounding and your stomach felt like it was tied in a knot. You went to sit up but you found that you couldn't. For a moment you just assumed your body was too heavy to move, seeing as you already felt hungover as hell. Then you started to realize things that made another option appear much more likely. You didn't recognize the room you were in or the bed. You weren't wearing the clothes you remember leaving in. In fact, you were pretty sure these clothes weren't yours at all. They fit differently. There was someone there, holding you. You were being held as the little spoon so you couldn't really see who it was. For half a second, you started to panic. Did you go home with some stranger last night? Then, a familiar sleepy voice made a quiet noise as he readjusted, holding you closer. You blushed.

"...Shota?"

Another sleepy noise, this time his hold on you loosened. You took advantage of that, shifting to turn around. You didn't properly assess the distance between you both because as you faced him, you were practically touching noses. Your face was a dark red hue. His eyes half opened for a moment. You pulled away from him some so that you weren't less than an inch from his face. He let go of you fully now, but only because he was rubbing his eyes.

"Good to know you didn't drink yourself into a coma."

He said a bit flatly, in a lower register than his normal voice due to him having just woken up. Your heart skipped at hearing him like that. You had a million questions. How much did you drink? Why were you here? Did you two do anything? Where were your clothes from yesterday? You decided to start with a simple question.

"What happened last night?"

He sat up, stretching a little. It came to your attention now that he was shirtless. And wow did his normal clothes do absolutely nothing for his figure. He was much nicer looking than you ever would have guessed. You sat up as well.

"How're you feeling?"

He asked, appearing to be avoiding the question. You rubbed your eyes a little as you assessed your own body.

"Hungover."

You said truthfully. He hummed slightly in acknowledgment.

"To be expected. You were past your limit last night. I'll be right back. Stay here."

You watched him walk out, leaving you alone in what you could only assume was his bedroom. It was comfortably dark due to the black curtains, so you had no clue what time it could be. There wasn't much going on as far as miscellaneous objects in the room. Just the standard bedroom necessities. Even so, the room was nice. It had the distinct smell of his cologne or whatever it was that he wore. You looked down at the clothes you were wearing. You assumed again that they were his, though the pink sweatpants made you curious. Before too long he came back into the room with a bottle of water and a small container of painkillers.

"For the hangover."

He put it simply. You nodded, taking them.

"Thanks... are you going to answer my question though?"

"You want to know what happened last night."

"Yeah." You thought back. "I don't remember anything after..."

"After you bet you could outdrink me?

You blush just a little thinking about it. Looking back, it was certainly not your brightest moment. You could only hope you didn't make a complete fool of yourself. He sat on the edge of the bed.

"I'll be honest with you, it's a little fuzzy near the end for me. But after you insisted you would be able to out-drink me, we had about two more rounds before I cut you off because I didn't want you getting alcohol poisoning. You, of course, insisted you were fine, but considering you could barely stand up on your own I didn't really believe you."

You already started to feel embarrassed. You could only hope you didn't cause him any trouble. He continued.

"Once you were cut off I figured it was late and I would try to get you home, but you weren't in a state to tell me your address. So I brought you back here."

It was his turn to blush, though on his face it was very subtle. You still noticed it though, and you hoped this wasn't implying things would get worse.

"I offered to let you sleep in the bed and let me take the couch, but you were very insistent that I stayed with you. You passed out pretty quickly after that."

You were both humiliated yet relieved. Sure, you made an awkward situation for yourself to wake up to, but at least you didn't try anything you'd both regret. Then you had a thought.

"Where are my clothes?"

"Oh. Yeah, you spilled your last drink entirely down your front so when we got here I let you borrow those. They're in the dryer right now. It'll probably be a while."

"...Thank you."

It was really sweet he went through so much trouble for you. You just wish you had a way to repay him. He nodded in acknowledgment.

"What time is it?"

You asked, just generally curious. He checked his alarm clock on the nightstand.

"A little after noon."

You felt a little bad sleeping half the day away, but at least he had also been asleep so it wasn't just you. He sighed, leaning back and running his hand through his hair. You stared. How could you not? He was absolutely stunning. Your mind wandered. You were grateful he didn't take advantage of your drunken state. You were in bed with him. It wouldn't have been hard. But he was better than that, even drunk himself. You weren't just glad that it proved you could trust him, but at the same time if you ever were to sleep with him like that you'd want to remember every single detail. The ways his hands would feel on your skin, his lips against yours, the way his voice would sound as he pressed you into the bed.

"Ahem."

He was looking at you. You hadn't noticed you'd been caught staring. You blushed hard, eyes wide, trying to quickly stammer out an apology or an excuse, but he stopped you.

"Look. Let's just skip all this awkwardness and get to the point. You're not the best at being subtle."

Firstly, ouch your pride. But second of all, you hadn't thought you were that obvious about your little crush. He continued before you could retort.

"We can either do this the hard way where you keep trying to defend yourself and denying that I'm right, or we can do this the easy way where I order us takeout and use the next half hour to do whatever it is you were just very obviously thinking about."

You sat stunned for a moment. He read you like an open book and you had no idea how he did it. After you took a minute to process what just happened, you pursed your lips, fidgeting a bit.

"Takeout sounds nice."

Smooth as always. He smirked a bit, but turned to his phone, presumably to order food. You sat there a bit awkwardly. You didn't know what you were expecting next, but the anticipation was killing you. After a moment he set his phone down. Your heart was pounding. He looked back at you, though you couldn't read his expression. He was looking you over, analyzing you. Part of you loathed how vulnerable he was making you feel. He moved towards you.

"Alright. We get 30 minutes. Are you ready?"

He spoke in such a casual tone it almost made you forget what his intentions were (or at least what you thought they were). Even so, you nodded. He positioned himself above you, making you lay back down. He smirked the slightest bit. You looked up at him almost in awe. He was so handsome. And he had you pinned to his bed. It didn't feel real. He leaned down, presumably to kiss you. You closed your eyes as you felt him get closer. You could feel his breath on your lips. But he stopped short. You looked up at him, flustered. He smirked a bit more, bringing a hand to brush the hair away from your face before finally kissing you. You practically melted.

The hand he wasn't using to hold himself up moved down from the side of your face, just lazily feeling down the side of your body. Despite only having 30 minutes, he was in absolutely no rush. Everything about his actions were slow, gentle, yet firm. It felt very loving, romantic almost. You reached up, wrapping your arms around him, one hand tangling itself in his hair. He deepened the kiss, leaving no room for you to control it. Not that you wanted to. He slowly started to slip his free hand under your (well, his) shirt. Not quite going straight to groping your chest, but instead just feeling more of you. Even though you really did enjoy how slow he was taking it, you didn't want to get interrupted by food showing up, so you took matters into your own hands. You let go of him to move your hands up his chest, since he was already shirtless, using this as an opportunity to feel him up. He seemed to catch your drift. He broke the kiss, watching your face for any signs he should stop before he started to pull your shirt off. You happily let him. He kissed down your neck and chest. You covered your mouth so you didn't make any embarrassing noises. He moved his hands to your hips, slowly starting to tug down your pants. You lifted your hips to help him get them off. Once he had you naked, he leaned back to look down at you. You couldn't help but feel embarrassed under his gaze. His expression was hard to read and you worried maybe he wouldn't like what he saw. He took his time, taking in all your details. His voice was just as it always was. Straight forward, but so easy to listen to.

"I have to admit. You look better than I imagined."

You didn't get time to fully think about all the things that he just implied before you were distracted by him pushing his pants off as well. You couldn't help but stare. He was a good size. Not too big as to be scary or uncomfortable, but certainly not small. He smirked as he leaned back over you and started to lazily trail his hand between your legs. You bit your lip a little as he teasingly traced over your more sensitive areas with feather light touches. He wanted to get you ready for him, he didn't want to hurt you. Slowly, a finger found it's way inside, pushing in at a steady pace. You let a small content sigh at the feeling. He watched your face with a focused yet softened expression, doing his best to be sure he was going at a pace that didn't cause you any discomfort. Soon one finger turned to two, and after a little longer, three. You were breathing heavy now, not a single thought in your head aside from him. You let a soft moan slip out despite your best efforts. He smirked ever so slightly. He pulled his fingers out. Then he seemed to have a thought, his smirk dropping as he thought about something. He moved from over you, prompting you to sit up as well.

"Is something wrong?"

You were confused as to why he pulled away from you, but then it made sense as he pulled a box out of his nightstand.

"No. I'm just surprised I still have these."

He examined it for a moment before pulling out what you knew was a condom. He was definitely thinking more about safety then you were.

"Been a while, Shota?"

You half teased. He looked at you, raising a brow.

"Yeah, and?"

"Should I be expecting you to be a little rusty then, or..?"

You smiled wryly. He chuckled a bit lowly, shaking his head some.

"You really don't know when to stop pushing, do you?"

Your heart skipped a beat and if you could be more turned on, you were now. He climbed back on top off you, pushing you into the bed. He spoke in a low voice beside your ear.

"I suppose someone has got to put you in your place."

You felt a shiver run down your spine at his words. He leaned back to put the condom on. Thoughtlessly, you spread your legs for him. Despite definitely feeling like you were ready for him, you were surprised by the sudden feeling of him stuffing his three fingers back in. You let out a mixed gasp/moan at the feeling. He smirked just slightly.

"Just making sure you're ready."

He said almost innocently, clearly teasing you now. You huffed a little bit softly as he curled them before pulling them back out and moving his hands to your thighs, lifting your hips up so he could angle himself better. You were practically shaking in anticipation. You felt as he started to press in. One hand gripped the sheets beneath you and the other covered your mouth. He was slow, but consistent as he pushed in until he was fully inside of you. You were breathing heavy, but so was he. Based on his flushed chest and shoulders, ragged breathing, and death grip on your thighs, you'd guess he felt just as good as you did right now.

You made what could only be described as a small yelp noise when his hips shallowly snapped against yours. It was sudden, but certainly not an unwelcome feeling. As he started to move more predictably, you picked up on the fact that he wasn't going for speed. His thrusts were more precise, focusing on pushing deep and hitting harder. It felt incredible. Having said that, he wasn't necessarily slow either. His pace was what you'd consider a medium speed. He held tightly to your thighs, keeping them spread open, fucking you down into the bed with each thrust. Your soft noises grew louder as you felt the intense feeling building inside of you. Though hard to hear through your own sounds as well as the sound of skin hitting skin, you could hear him panting and groaning lowly. You hoped he was as close as you felt you were. You hardly noticed his precision started faltering as his speed picked up just slightly. He let go of one of your thighs, moving that hand to play with your clit, set on seeing you completely come undone beneath him. His hand, much like his hips, focused more on pressure than speed. His voice was lowly and labored.

"Fuck... Come on, you're so close. Cum for me."

Almost perfectly in time with him telling you to do so, you finally hit your breaking point, arching your back, squeezing the sheets in your fists, and tightening around him. He let a low groan, presumably also cumming. His motions slowed to stop before he pulled out and collapsed beside you. You both laid there silently for a moment, the only sound in the room being the combined heavy breathing from the both of you. He discarded the condom into the trash near the bed before turning to you. You both laid looking at each other for what felt like an eternity, but before either of you could say anything the doorbell rang. Shota sighed before getting up and looking for his pants.

"Good timing ?"

You smiled some, joking. He rolled his eyes but had the slightest smile too before getting his clothes on and going to get the food. You sighed contently. You could most certainly get used to this. Just looked like you'd have to pull him away from work more often.

#shota aizawa #bnha #fanfic #mha fanfiction #mha smut #mha headcanons #bnha fanfiction #eraserhead #aizawa smut #my hero academia aizawa #aizawa headcanons #aizawa shouta

[smolcinnamonchipmunk]

I’ve only recently thought of this but I’ve personally never seen anyone do like, a giant naga and a Cervitaur (deer centaur). Just imagine it. Maybe have like a game they play together when both of them are bored is for the naga to chase the Cervitaur. Honestly I would love to ramble of the scenarios I’ve cooked up but I wouldn’t want to bore you and this ask is long as it Hehehe

- 🌽 anon

Ps: this isn’t related to the ask but I’m told that sometimes I act like venti sometimes. Just thought id share :3

(I always love nagas and I made a cervitaur sona YEARS ago, so perfect combo! Here's a naga trying to bask and a cervitaur bothering him because every character I make is either sad or a menace.

Also, I took a very lengthy and startlingly in depth Genshin Impact character quiz and got Albedo. Do with that information what you will, lmao.

Also, also, feel free to ramble! I always love reading how creative people are here!)

Count: 1189

TW/CW: Just G/t

“Lazarus!” They called out, stotting towards the largest predator in the forest. Who was currently basking on a stretch of dark stone that had already melted the first inch or so of snowfall of the season that showed up in the night, making it the warmest spot within a mile probably.

They saw a section of ombre blue coil twitch ever so slightly at their call, the sound of a soft groan joining the small movement. It wasn’t long before a humanoid torso larger than them pushed itself up to blearily look around with green eyes. Cat-like slits narrowed onto them and a gaze that would likely have naturally left many cowering only made their tail wag for a second, slowing to a light trot up to the naga.

A black tongue that faded to pink flicked out of the nagas mouth as he tasted the air briefly, greeting, “Yew.”

“Whatcha doing,” the cervitaur asked rhetorically, knowing that he had been warming up in the morning sun. And, as they jumped up to balance on top of his rather large tail, he read their emotions pretty easily. The tail beneath them twitched slightly to the side to jostle them a bit, making them yelp. The sound elicited a chuckle from the naga.

“Feeling bored, are you?” Lazarus questioned back, tongue flicking out again as he resettled his head back on crossed arms. His coils shifted slowly and carefully to use the tip of his tail to prod at their side. He snorted as they batted it away. “No,” Yew immediately replied on instinct. They paused and fidgeted with their hands a bit as they sheepishly amended, “I mean.. Well, yeah, I’m a bit bored… the first snow has put everything in a sluggish state and I already collected the last of the berries around.”

The naga hummed, tilting his head slightly. “And you're not sluggish as well?”

“No,” they sighed, absentmindedly scraping their hoof on the scales beneath them lightly. “I’m restless and Espen said he was too busy already preparing for winter to make time to hang out.” “He’s more warm-blooded than me.”

“That’s what I said,” Yew huffed, crossing their arms as the duo talked about their ursine friend. “I didn’t really feel like hanging by the side of the river while waiting for him to fill up his fish basket, the river water is freezing today.”

“I imagine,” Lazarus chuckled. He shifted so that he lifted his head from his crossed arms and gently poked at their side with a dark blue claw this time, green eyes glinting in the sunlight. “I’m going to go ahead and guess that you’re probably here to either bother me from my basking with chatter or that you want to play.”

“Well, it sounds childish when you put it like that,” they didn’t flinch from the sharp digit that brushed against their furry-halfs ribs, simply huffing and giving him a disgruntled pout that probably just proved his point. “But, yes, I was hoping to do something together.”

The naga actually laughed slightly at their response and pulled his hand back. With a small grunt of effort he pushed himself off the stone to take the weight off his arms, reaching out and scooping up his smaller companion in his claws off of his tail. 

Yew didn’t squirm or struggle as the claws closed in and folded their legs beneath them to make it easier for him to hold them in his palms that didn’t involve them struggling with balance. They waited patiently the few seconds it took for him to lower his hands from his tail level and tilt his hands down, letting themself slide off his hands slightly before getting up and hopping down, hooves clattering a bit on the stone as they landed.

“How about a chase then, hmm?” Lazarus asked, reaching up and stretching his arms over his head as the cervitaur turned back to face him. “Burn that energy out of your system.”

“Yes!” Yew jumped slightly in place, excited at the thought of a game so much that their tail wagged again. They knew that he could catch them easily with a powerful burst from his tail, but they also knew that he enjoyed these sorts of games as well. They hopped from hoof to hoof giddily, asking, “Five seconds, like usual?”

“Sounds good to me,” the naga finished stretching. A few audible pops and cracks made Yew’s ears twitch as he rolled his shoulders, looking down with mischievous eyes. “Run.”

Yew happily pranced in place for a moment before whirling around and bolting into the trees. They didn’t hear Lazarus count down and he didn’t need to, they were already counting down in their head. And, as they mentally went from one to zero, they heard the distant shift of scales against stone and the exclamation of ‘Here I come!’.

They couldn't help but glance behind them, letting out a yelp that was the result of instinctive panic at seeing a giant naga slithering towards them and playful giddiness that made the end turn into a bit of a laugh.

For over half an hour Yew was chased by Lazarus. They leapt over fallen trees and rocks that his powerful tail easily crushed or swept aside if he didn't feel like slithering around them. He'd occasionally block them with his tail, but they'd either leap over it or flip around to run in the opposite direction. They felt the rush of wind sometimes as he playfully missed grabbing at them. It was only when their pace flagged noticeably that he decided that the game had gone on long enough.

“Getting tired?” Lazarus asked, slithering around to block the cervitaurs current trajectory.

“Not at all,” Yew replied, lying through their teeth. They reared back as a wall of scales shifted in front of them, too close to even try jumping over. Sides heaving, they glowered at their larger friend, wheeling around to start bolting in the opposite direction. But another coil of his massive tail was already there to block them off. Indignant at being corralled they grumpily exclaimed, “Hey! You’re not playing fair!”

“And you’re lying,” the naga hummed as he shifted his coils enough to gently curl around the cervitaur. Yew let out a disappointed groan as the walls of scale around them easily shifted their small form and coiled around them, the cool scales feeling like a relief against them after the running roundabout they’d just had, even as they were lifted up to the nagas awaiting hands. As the coils loosened and his claws scooped them up again, they crossed their arms over their chest. “Even if I am lying, it’s still not fair.”

“Think of it as repayment for interrupting my bask,” Lazarus’s tongue flicked out, everything shifting as he started to slither back to the dark stone from earlier. 

“Yeah, yeah.”

The duo hadn’t really wandered off incredibly far and it didn’t take much time for him to take them from slightly snow covered grass and dripping trees back onto the warmer stone clearing he’d been laying in earlier.

#cinnanswers #cinnart #g/t #cinnwrites #naga #cervitaur

[lucielleflorauna]

CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME FIND THIS ONE TRANSFORMERS FANFIC OH MY GOD I AM SO DESPERATE

This was one of the best things I read back like 3 years ago and now I can’t fucking find it

Since I have the most shit memory known to mankind and my best friend recommended me to write down what I can remember from the fic so here

It was written on Quotev

It was a Transformers fanfic ((Obviously))

We were just taking a stroll in the dark because we got home from work very late and we were exhausted OR we has just finished work and we were walking back home, it’s either one of the two that happened

And then we heard thumping sounds and looked up to see a giant figure ((It was Soundwave))

We took out our phone to take a photo of Soundwave ((I think so?? I can briefly remember the word phone appearing at this part of the fic))

I think there was swearing in the fanfic lol

Soundwave knocked us out somehow

Reader was kidnapped by Soundwave and we were taken back to the Decepticon base

They woke up in a large room on a metal bed

Rumble and Frenzy came up to the reader and snapped their fingers at the human. They treated the reader like a fucking dog?? Legit said “Here little human!!!” Or something close to that

Either Rumble or Frenzy ((I think it was Rumble though)) caught us from falling off the high metal bed

He set us down of the floor

Rumble and Frenzy wanted to play with us, but Ravage was keeping them under surveillance, so they could not play with the reader for long

They were still able to show us around the base and we played for a bit

I don’t think the story was in quiz format

We somehow got out of the Decepticon base but the Decepticons were watching the reader still

Starscream appeared in front of the readers house in jet mode, almost embarrassing them and the reader had to pass it off to everyone that it was a weird art project they did for college

Both the reader and Starscream kinda argued with each other about it

I think it was an x reader??? Like Various Characters x Human Reader

The story mentioned that we were linked to the government in some way it was either we worked for the government or it was our parents who worked for the government - it was mentioned because the Decepticons were after government case files or something like that

I read the story back in August/September 2020, so it may have been published around that time like 2017 to 2020 yknow

I unfortunately do not remember the author’s name nor do I remember the title or the genre it was part of

If one of you know about this fanfic PLEASSSSEEEE let me know my life depends on that goddamn fanfic because it was written so well

If this sounds familiar to you also let me know because I need to know that I wasn’t the only one who read obscure fanfics

To all who finds this PLEASE reblog this or just do anything to help get this post popular JUST THIS ONCE 😭 I want this to be seen by someone who has read the fanfic that I have just described

ok thank you for reading

#transformers #maccadam #transformers x reader #rumble and frenzy #megatron #starscream #decepticons #autobots #transformers ravage #optimus prime

[keroujack]

For the harringrove prompts!! Billy and Steve being friends, how do you think Billy comes out to Steve?

when billy comes out to steve, i don’t think he actually says anything. at least, not much of anything. i think it’s sort of. an accident

they’re at steve’s house. it's late in the afternoon. billy’s just finished his shift at the pool, steve’s just finished his shift at the video store.

they're out in steve’s backyard, in chairs next to the pool. side by side. stretched out long and sort of sleepy. wearing soft shorts and old basketball t-shirts

the sun’s halfway down so billy has his sunglasses pushed up into his hair. has a magazine in one hand and a beer in the other

steve gave up on his magazine fifteen minutes ago. just some cosmo robin gave him before he left because she wanted him to take some stupid quiz and report back, but he hadn’t really been reading it. couldn't really focus on it. gave up on it after he realized he’d read the same page five times and couldn’t remember a single word of it

so steve’s lying on his side, arm tucked up under his face to pillow his cheek

he’s looking at billy, because he doesn’t feel like reading, and because it’s late in the afternoon and the sun’s going down and he’s feeling sort of sleepy.

there’s nothing else to do, so steve just looks at billy. starts at his feet and lets his eyes drift up from the cross of his ankles to the knobs of his knees to the flat of his chest to the cut of his jaw

billy looks. soft. like this. with the 7 PM summer sun on his cheeks. with freckles down the line of his nose, skin tinted pink and slightly burnt from too many hours with the water reflecting up at him

billy looks so soft like this, and steve can’t help but think of six months ago. but think of the billy that burned bright red, that liked to put his foot down on the gas and get the camaro up to 80 down quiet side-streets and smile blinding white at whatever new girl happened to be on his arm that week

“what ever happened to kelly?” steve wonders. he doesn’t really know why. he doesn’t really care, except for the fact that it’s late in the afternoon and the sun’s going down and he’s feeling sort of sleepy, and billy’s right there, and steve kind of wants to hear his voice

but billy doesn’t flinch, doesn’t even look over at steve when he says, “who?”

and steve huffs a laugh when he says, “kelly,” again. like repeating himself will jog billy’s memory.

but repeating himself doesn’t jog billy’s memory. billy lets him know that with a lifted brow. a question hidden in the crease between his eyes.

steve’s thinking about laughing again when he says, “you know. kelly,” for a third time. and billy's expression doesn’t move an inch. “you went on a date with her like, two weeks ago, didn’t you?”

the tension in billy’s face doesn’t ease. if anything, it’s like the purse of his lips goes tighter. like his hand is tightening on the magazine, if the way it crinkles and creases is anything to go by

“it was one date,” billy says. he barely opens his mouth to say it, and his voice is firm. his eyes are still locked on the page in front of him. “haven’t seen her since.”

steve makes a sympathetic sound in the back of his throat. nods a little, cheek rubbing against the inside of his arm. “nothing there, huh?”

billy huffs, not quite a laugh, but not. not a laugh. “not really.”

steve gets that. he's had his fair share of shitty first dates

“what about angela?”

billy’s whole brow knits. “what about her?”

“i don't know,” steve says. and genuinely, he still doesn’t know. except for the fact that he’s a little curious now, but he doesn’t need to tell billy that. shrugs as best as he can with his arm beneath his head. “you took her to prom, right?”

“right,” billy says. but that’s all billy says. he lets the word hang there, leaves it there

steve waits a long beat before he says, “so?”

“so?” and billy’s voice is still even, but steve can tell that it’s strained. can hear it in the way it’s pulled at the edges, just the slightest bit higher than normal

“i don’t know,” steve says again. “i just thought you might be into her if you brought her to prom or whatever.”

“well i’m not.”

“okay.”

and steve should drop it. billy's knuckles are white now, with how hard he’s holding onto the magazine. his eyelashes are going a little crazy with how hard he’s blinking

steve should drop it, but he has no idea what he said wrong. he has no idea what’s got billy wound so tight.

he just wants to understand. it's the only reason he takes a second to think back and remember-

“jennifer.”

“what.”

“jennifer,” steve repeats, watches the blue of billy’s eyes come and go while he blinks. starts to wonder if curiosity might kill him the same way it did that cat. “what was wrong with her? you seemed to get along pretty good at tommy’s party over february break.”

billy flinches. “there’s nothing-” he starts, and he pauses to swallow, hard, “-nothing. wrong with her. i just didn’t- there just wasn’t anything there.”

his voice has lost some of its edge, steve notices. it’s less sharp now, less sure. if it’s anything, now, steve might almost call it hesitant

steve hesitates, too. before he throws out another name.

“what about sarah?”

he doesn’t bother to elaborate. he doesn’t offer up that billy ate lunch with her for three weeks because billy’s already shaking his head

“i don’t know”

“you don’t know?”

billy tries to snap when he says, “that’s what i said, isn’t it?” but his voice is still too slow. his cheeks are more red now than pink. steve can’t tell if he’s mad, or annoyed, or embarrassed, or- “what’s with you right now?”

“nothing,” steve starts, “i’m just trying to figure out-”

the words die on his tongue

because billy looks over at him. because that’s the moment billy finally chooses to look over at him

and billy’s eyes are wide and round and so fucking blue and steve realizes now that billy doesn’t look mad. he doesn’t look annoyed or embarrassed. he looks-

well.

steve’s only ever seen somebody’s eyes look like that one other time in his life. the first time robin looked at him after she said tammy thompson.

like she was waiting on the edge of a razor blade. like she was waiting for him to laugh and puke and spit in her face because she’d just told him she was-

“oh.”

it’s soft, the sound that leaves steve’s lips.

billy doesn’t move, except to breathe. just barely

like he’s waiting on the edge of a razor blade.

“you figure it out?” the question’s little more than a whisper, but steve’s got goosebumps on his skin.

he nods. “I think so,” he says, little more than a whisper

billy nods, too. and there’s something resigned in it. in the way he squares his chin, in the way his chest rises and falls

in the way he asks, “you want me to go?”

but steve’s quick to say, “no,” and he watches billy’s eyes go wider for having heard him. impossibly so. like he doesn’t quite believe it

gives steve no choice but to reach his leg out to nudge at billy’s shin. but to touch him. to pinch him and tell him he’s not dreaming.

billy’s still quiet, as quiet as steve’s ever seen him when he looks back down at his magazine. when he opens his mouth to wonder, “you gonna quit bugging me now?”

steve kicks his shin again, has a smile pulling at his lips when he says, “never.”

knows it was the right thing to say when it makes billy laugh. a surprised sound that starts in the chest and sings its way up.

steve’s already planning stupid things to do so that he can hear it again

and twenty minutes later, when he’s halfway to dragging billy’s chair into the pool, and billy’s laugh is ringing in the backyard, and his arms are flailing, and his eyes are bright with a smile, steve looks at him and thinks, oh

steve looks at billy, and all he can think is.

oh.

#harringrove #harringrove fic #my fic #billy hargrove #steve harrington

[blondeboyfriend]

𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐑 𝐃𝐀𝐘𝐒 (𝐈)

[panel reads from right to left]

» Part 2 [ PAIRING ] Zeke Yeager x f!reader [ AUTHOR'S NOTE ] This was initially parts 1 and 2, but I decided to combine them. [ SYNOPSIS ] Summer is approaching and you desire to attend class like a good student is dwindling. You decide to ditch class and soak up the sun (okay, Sheryl Crow), but end up face-to-face with star pitcher, Zeke Yeager, who has similar plans. [ WORD COUNT ] 3.8k [ CONTENT ] High school AU, cigarettes, poor school attendance, Grisha's a shitty dad, and you have to ride a bike up a steep ass hill.

“Wait, so you’re really going to ditch?” Pieck asked.

She was always unimpressed with your life choices though her judgment did little to stop you. You haphazardly tossed your physics textbook in your locker and slammed it shut.

“It’s Friday. What could I possibly miss?”

Pieck sighed. “I don’t know, a pop quiz?”

“A pop quiz? I don’t think I’ve ever had a pop quiz in my academic career.”

“We’ve definitely had them.”

“Okay, but who actually calls them that? It’s not like we live in a John Hughes movie.”

You both headed down the hall, towards the back of the school. It was the easiest way to escape the campus. All the other openings were patrolled by the one lazy campus cop that spent his time harassing students for no good reason.

“I guess this is where we part then,” Pieck muttered. “I’ll let you know if you miss anything…” 

She wandered off, angry you’d be letting her suffer in physics class all alone.

“Sorry!” You waved, hoping she’d turn around. But she never did.

You pushed through the double doors and relished in the sunlight kissing your skin. It was 90 degrees but a cool breeze tempered the heat. A perfect day in June.

You looked around, not a soul in sight. You crept past a couple beige portables the school built three years ago.

“… I thought portables were supposed to be temporary,” you mumbled under your breath once you cleared the area.

“They just tell us that to placate us.”

You whipped around to see star pitcher and general nuisance, Zeke Yeager, laying down in the grass. He was wearing his cream colored fitted baseball pants; the knees strained with brown dirt. He wore a tight white t-shirt tucked into his pants with a black belt. He sat up, and lit a cigarette. He adjusted his glasses, and looked you up and down.

“Don’t you have class?” He took a long drag and exhaled the smoke in your general direction.

“I could easily ask you the same thing.”

“Feel free.”

“Don’t you have cl—”

“Oh yeah, I had physics but I decided to skip it today. Do I really need to learn about gravity if I already deal with it everyday?”

You gave him a quizzical look. He could not have been this dense. His grey eyes met yours; his gaze was intense.

“I’m kidding.”

You stood around awkwardly. Part of you wanted to peace out and let this talking ashtray go back to laying on the field. But the other part was transfixed by his demeanor.

“I figured. You don’t look that stupid,” you said.

“What class are you ditching?”

You dropped your backpack and sat next to Zeke, making sure to keep some distance from him. He was cute and it made you woefully nervous.

“Anatomy.”

“Lame. I would’ve ditched too.”

Zeke was notorious for his shitty attendance. He was perpetually ten minutes late. And he ditched class whenever he felt like it. No one gave him any shit though because he was on the baseball team. Your high school followed the classic rule: athletes can basically do whatever the fuck they want so long as they don’t fail their courses.

That was something Zeke never needed to worry about. He was intelligent, one of the smartest boys in your class. He had never gotten a single F in his life. You only knew this because people tended to talk about him in the halls. He wasn’t popular by any means, but everyone knew him. He was the best pitcher on the team. He frequently got caught smoking cigarettes in the bathroom. He got invited to all the parties.

“What class would you not ditch?” You questioned.

He lit another cigarette with the cherry end of his previous one.

“I don’t know. I like lit and film a lot.”

Your jaw dropped.

“I wanted to get into that class so bad!”

He snickered. “What did you get instead?”

“… Multicultural lit. Also known as, let’s read books from Western European countries because that’s so multicultural. I fail to recognize how reading a bunch of books by old white men is multicultural in any sense.”

“Are you implying white men operate under a universal culture?”

“And if I am?”

He took a drag. “You’re a genius.”

Your face grew hot. No one had ever called you a genius before, jokingly or not.

“Th—thanks.”

“Yeah, most of my teammates got into lit and film pretty easy, but you know… Privilege.”

You couldn’t hide your distaste. “It’s bullshit.”

“Oh, no! You’re absolutely right. I assure you I am the only one in there that knows we have a 12 page paper on Rashomon due next week.”

You threw your hands up in the air. “See! I want to write an essay on Kurosawa!”

He laughed. “You can write mine, if you want.”

You looked at him, completely dumbfounded.

“Ew, no.”

He playfully elbowed you in the ribs.

“I figured it was worth a shot. You want one?”

He offered you a cigarette. It was one of those weird brown ones, no filter. You’d only smoked once at a party. You had chugged three light beers and decided to bum one off of a rando. A menthol. It didn’t vibe with your lungs to say the least.

But for whatever reason, you said, “Sure.”

He handed you one and you were puzzled. You examined both ends, not sure which one you should light.

“Here,” he said softly.

He plucked the cigarettes from your hands and held it to your lips. His face was so close to yours, you thought you would die right then and there. You parted your lips and accepted the cigarette. He held a lighter to the end.

“Inhale,” he commanded.

You did and immediately coughed.

“Shit, my throat,” you choked out.

He placed a heavy hand on your shoulder, smiling like a proud father.

“Feels good, right?”

“Hardly.” You took another drag and coughed.

“Are you trying to look cool for me, kiddo?”

“No,” you gasped.

He squeezed your shoulder and then proceeded to take the cigarette from you.

“You’re too pretty to smoke anyway.”

“And you aren’t?”

“Are you implying that I’m pretty?”

“Are you implying that I’m pretty?” you parroted back.

He blushed. “It didn’t imply it so much as directly admit it,” he laughed.

“What the fuck is going on here? Yeager, don’t you have somewhere you need to be?”

It was the campus cop.  You panicked. You weren't a little miss perfect type, but you would be grounded for a month if you got caught cutting class. The cop was far off enough that you could maybe make a break for it. You stared at the gate in the distance. You were fast. And Zeke was an athlete so running should be easy for him. The cop began to lumber towards you both.

“Let’s go,” you whispered, sneakily putting your backpack on.

“What?”

The cop was cresting the hill. You were running out of time.

“Let’s,” you stood up, “go!”

You grabbed Zeke by the wrist and dragged him upright.

“Where?”

You pointed at the gate.

“C’mon, baseball boy, I’m not trying to go to baby jail.”

You both ran towards the gate. You prayed for freedom. You looked back at the cop and finally reached your original location. He stood confused and shouted, “Yeager! Where you going, dude?!”

“Dude?” you panted. You don’t know what possessed you to speak while running for your life.

“Yeah, he tries to act like we’re cool. It’s odd.”

You stopped once you reached the gate. You slid through the opening and ended up in a residential area. You were both catching your breath when you noticed you were still holding onto him.

“Oh fuck, my bad.”

“Huh?” He looked down at his wrist. “Oh! Ha, you’re fine. I didn’t mind your gorilla grip. I doubt I would’ve ran that fast on my own. I am in sandals.”

He gestured towards his feet, he was in fact wearing Birkenstocks and white gym socks.

“Well, now what?” you pondered.

You examined the row of tract homes, some more derelict than others. Most of the windows were busted in leaving the sidewalk glittered with broken glass. You dragged your foot across the shards, relishing in the noise of it cracking under your weight.

Zeke stretched his arms over his head and yawned. “I’m gonna head home. I wanna nap before practice.”

“Oh,” you said dejectedly.

You were hoping you would go on some sort of adventure together. Maybe grab burritos. Talk more about Kurosawa films. Smoke his fancy cigarettes. Maybe even rest your head on his shoulder.

“But I’m not doing anything after. We might be going kind of late tonight, but if you’re free we should meet up.”

“Really?!” You adjusted your tone so you didn’t sound so eager. “Yeah, I don’t have anything going on so sure.”

“Cool. Here.” He handed you his phone. “Add your number.”

You added your number to his contacts list.

“What do you have in mind?” you asked, handing his phone back to him.

“Not sure, but you’re smart. I’m sure you’ll think of something.” He punctuated the sentence with a wink and walked off.

You sighed and decided to head home. You were a latchkey kid so it’s not like anyone would be waiting for you. Halfway through your journey your phone vibrated multiple times in rapid succession. You checked it and saw messages from an unknown number:

you’re not gonna be one of those gorgeous girls that ghosts me, right? sorry that sounds so pathetic. promise i’m not one of those guys that get butthurt over a girl i’m looking forward to hanging out lol SHIT. sorry if i’m laying it on thick. you looked so cute choking to death.

Ghosting Zeke did cross your mind, mostly because you wanted to beat him to the punch. You found it hard to believe he wanted anything to do with you. It wasn’t a lack of confidence on your part; you knew you were hot shit. Simply put it all felt absurd, too idyllic. Meet up with him after baseball practice? Ha, sure.

But to your surprise you got a series of texts.

SHIT. sorry if i’m laying it on thick. you looked so cute choking to death. WAS THAT INAPPROPRIATE TO SAY? i feel like it was. was it weird? 😂 hella weird but it's okay for the record that emoji was ironic sure it was. is 8 too late? ... i take it back. i rhymed. we can’t hang out. sorry ⚰️

You opted to call him. The phone rang for what felt like forever

“He would be the type to not answer his—”

“Hello?”

“Oh! Hi! Uh,” you spat out in a panic.

Words were a foreign concept. You hadn’t thought about what you’d say after he answered the phone. You weren’t much of a planner evidently.

“Is 8 too la—Nope, not doing it again. Does 8 work for you?”

You smiled at him avoiding the rhyme. His voice radiated pride.

“Nope. I’m not some baby.”

“Never said you were one, kiddo.”

“Kiddo? Really?”

“I said what I said.”

Could he be anymore obnoxious? You shook your head. He probably could.

You sighed. “Whatever. What do you wanna do?”

“Can you ride a bike?”

You paused. “… Yes.”

“Do you have one?”

You thought hard. Your mom had a beat up, turquoise fixed gear she kept in the garage but you couldn’t even remember the last time you rode a bike.

“Yeah, I have my mom’s.”

“Cool. I’ll drop a pin. See you soon, beautiful.”

He hung up before you could even comprehend a word he said. You looked down at your outfit. You felt anything other than beautiful. You got off your bed and walked over to your closet. You eyed a floral-print sundress but shook your head. You barely knew him! It had only been a few hours since you last saw him. You never put this much thought into stuff like this, so why start now? You had every reason in the world to be confident.

But alas, you remained self-conscious. Plagued with insecurity and teenage woe.

“Try hard,” you murmured.

Nothing looked particularly appealing. You were embarrassed it crossed your mind to look cute for Zeke.

“Gross. If anything I should look uglier.”

You decided not to change your outfit. There was no reason to overthink it. You were going biking with the guy and it’s not even like it was a date. He just asked you to hang out in a very flirtatious way.

You ran downstairs and crept into the garage to grab your mom’s bike. As you managed to free it from the closet you knocked over the recycling bin.

“Sweetie, is everything okay out there?”

You panicked. She wouldn’t mind you taking her bike, nor would she mind you going out on a Friday night. But you couldn’t bear the thought of telling her you were going to meet up with a boy. You hit the switch and opened the garage door.

“Yup. Yes. 100%.” You grimaced as you exited. “I’ll be home late. I’ll text you if I die or something.”

“Sounds good.”

And off you went.

You biked to the spot Zeke told you to meet him at. The whole thing felt kind of shady the more you thought about it. It didn’t help that he essentially had you scaling a hill. You knew by the time you got to the top you’d be sweaty. The only thing that kept you sane was knowing he’d likely be gross from baseball practice.

“Fuck,” you panted. “This is so not cool. I can’t believe I let this shithead convince me—”

“Hey there!”

You dropped your concentration for a brief moment and glanced up to see Zeke. He waved manically, clearly hamming it up for you. Typical boy nonsense.

“You’re so close! You can do it!”

You finally reached the top of the hill and leaned your mom’s bike down on the ground. You sat down on the curb and tried to catch your breath.

“Hi,” was all you could cough out.

Zeke sat down beside you. He was still in his baseball uniform. He draped an arm around you, giving you a little squeeze.

“Nice bike!”

“Thanks,” you said, leaning your head on his shoulder. Shockingly he didn’t reek. He smelled like a pleasant combination of peppermint Altoids and additive-free tobacco.

“If I had known you’d be rolling up on a Bianchi I would’ve had us meet on flat land. You could’ve hopped on the back of mine.”

He leaned his head on top of yours. You typically weren’t such a touchy person but something about Zeke leant himself to human contact. It felt natural, like it was always meant to be like that. His blonde hair felt like velvet up against your cheek.

“The view is worth it though, right?” he asked, expectantly. 

There was a hint of worry, maybe even desperation to his tone. You stared out at the suburbs, which soon gave way to the city. The lights seemed endless, rows and rows of yellow and white pinpricking the darkness. Suburbia was never very attractive in any sense of the word, but he was right. The view was nice; it had been worth it.

“Yeah, it’s not too bad. How was practice?”

He sighed deeply.

“I’m the only person that showed up on time. No one else had their shit together. My catcher was somehow hungover even though it was a Friday afternoon and he’s barely 18. I got a ball thrown at my ass. My thumb feels weird. And my dad forgot to pick me up… Again.”

“Wow. Uh.” You struggled to find words that would console him.

“Sorry. It was not a good day to say the least.”

“No, no, I’m sorry. It sucks when you’re the only one that gives a shit.”

“No, kiddo, I’m sorry.”

“Kiddo?” you said, voice dripping with disdain.

“See! Sorry for calling you kiddo. Look at all the things I have to apologize for.”

You stared at him in disbelief. He gave you a little cat-like smirk. His grey eyes might as well have been sparkling. He knew he was charming. Boys like him were always the most beguiling. They were the ones you needed to keep an eye on, to keep at an arm’s length.

And yet, here you were with him, staring out into a vast expanse of human civilization with barely any space between you two.

“Apologies accepted then. But in all seriousness, I’m sorry your evening was shit. How did you end up getting home?”

He pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

“I walked,” he said, coolly.

“Far?”

He took a long drag and let the smoke drift out of his mouth.

“Few miles.”

“Well, you seem to be o—”

“I had… all my gear. I told him where to meet me. It’s not like he was clueless.”

“I—”

“But of course he tried to act like it wasn’t a big deal. His logic was, ‘It wasn’t a game.’ As if the issue was him not witnessing me play.”

You quickly realized he needed someone to merely listen to him. By look on his face you could tell people didn’t tend to lend him an ear when he needed to vent.

Zeke continued. “It’s... One second I convince myself I don’t care. And then the other… I don’t know.”

You desperately wanted to find the words to make him better. You hated to see anyone in such dire straits.

“I’m sorry your dad is such a fuck.”

He guffawed. “Understatement of the year. I wish I could return him.”

A lightbulb went off in your head. “Return to sender.”

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and mimicked a call. “Hey, grandpa, yeah, it’s Zeke. Can you take Grisha back?”

“He’s broken; it doesn’t father properly,” you snickered.

“Listen, I know he’s your son but he’s worthless.”

“Every day he finds new ways to disappoint everyone.”

“We thought ruining his first marriage would’ve taught him to do better but here we are.”

“Please take back this ugly man you call your son.”

He snorted. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let’s slow down. I do kind of look like him.”

You stared blankly at him. “All the more reason to stand by what I said.”

You both broke out into a fit of laughter.

“Oh, fuck, kiddo. You’re too much.”

You punched his arm.

“We’re the same age, aren’t we? You have no reason to call me that.”

“It’s ironic. That’s charming, right? You’re into irony.”

You took a good look at him. He was right; you did have an affinity for irony.

“Charming? You? Ha!” you scoffed.

“I’ll have you know I’m a delight. People love me.”

“Psh.”

Again, he was right. He was endearing, easy to talk to. There was a reason everyone at school knew him. The teachers adored him and sang his praises. Girls whispered about him in the locker room. But oddly enough he wasn’t one of the “popular kids”. People talked about Zeke but they never talked to him. They treated him more as an idea, a concept, rather than a person.

“I’m a treat. You will never convince me otherwise.”

“Trust me, I wouldn’t bother. It’d be fruitless,” you said.

“So you’re admitting that I’m charming?”

“I guess.”

A smug expression crept upon his face. If you could’ve taken back those two words, you would have.

“The feeling is mutual,” he said in a singsong voice.

Your eyes widened and your face grew warm. Shit. Shit. Shit.

“Wow! Look at us! Two charming friends!” you called out nervously.

Idiot. You didn’t want to be friends! You wanted him to wrap his arms around you, call you kiddo even though it annoyed you, kiss you under the fucking stars! You cursed your mouth for betraying you. It crossed your mind to toss out a casual “jk” but you froze.

However the comment didn’t seem to bother Zeke.

“You know I can’t remember the last time someone actually called me their friend.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. How embarrassing is that.” He adjusted his glasses; clearly a nervous habit.

“I’ve heard more embarrassing things.”

He smiled. “Oh, good.”

“I don’t have many friends either, if it makes you feel better. I mean, other than Pieck I’m a bit of a loner.”

“I know, it never made sense to me.”

Jesus fucking Christ, was he trying to kill you with kindness?

You laughed nervously. “I think people think I’m a bit of bitch or standoffish. I could probably be friendlier.”

“Fuck that.” He lit another cigarette. “Want one?”

You shook your head.

He continued. “Being friendly is overrated. People take advantage of that. Plus you’re hardly bitchy. You just listened to me whine about my daddy issues. You’re a saint if anything.”

Again, he was laying it on thick. Calling you a saint was borderline too much to take.

“You have to stop. I’m gonna die if you keep gassing me up like this.”

He coughed. “Fine. You’re gross. The worst. I never want to see you and your nasty ass again.”

“There we go.”

He leaned his head on your shoulder again. The more you thought about his behavior it became clear he didn’t get much affection, platonic or otherwise. You still had an inkling he had a crush on you. But you decided to focus more on being a friend, someone he could come to. You knew a girlfriend could do those things, but romance seemed trivial. He didn’t need a love interest; he needed a buddy.

You were ripped away from your thoughts as you heard a faint vibration.

“Ugh. It’s my dad.”

Zeke got up and answered his phone.

“What?!” he shouted.

He wandered off. You could hear him arguing in the distance. Part of you wanted to run up and grab his phone and tell his dad off. But that would’ve been absolutely bonkers. You looked out at the view and tried to think about other things.

“Whatever. Bye.”

You heard footsteps behind you and the flicker of a lighter.

“What happened?” you asked; your voice filled with concern.

He stared at you. His grey eyes were lifeless.

“I gotta go.”

“Oh, okay,” you said with a frown. 

“But I had fun. Thanks for hanging out with me. Are you gonna get home okay?”

“Yeah, I don’t live too far from here.”

You both stood in silence, staring at your shoes. Neither of you wanted to go home.

“Can I… escort you home?”

“Sure?”

His eyes lit up and he tossed his lit cigarette into the street. You prayed it didn’t start a fire.

“Cool! Let’s go!”

He picked up his bike and mounted it. You did the same.

“Race down the hill? I know it’s steep, but it’ll be fun,” he said with a goofy, boyish grin.

You usually weren’t reckless as grievous bodily harm was anything but appealing, but you said fuck it.

“Ladies first!” And with that you sped down the hill.

“Cheater!” Zeke shouted as he trailed after you.

Needless to say, you won the race.

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