#the masses are enjoying an older video of him sleeping so here's another one

[griezelig]

A dream

#bunblr #flemish giant #Kamiel #the masses are enjoying an older video of him sleeping so here's another one

[outercrasis]

Snowed Inn

Pairing: Max Phillips x F!Reader

Word Count / Rating: 4.1k / T

Summary: Business executive Max Phillips gets stuck in a small Christmas-loving town and meets the owner of the town’s bed & breakfast. Through a chance encounter, will Max learn to love the holiday season again?

Part One | Part Two | Part Three

For a small town, the diner is bustling. It seems everyone in town is packed into the place, creating a warm atmosphere with that unavoidable holiday cheer. The warm smiles offered to Max creep him out a bit, far more used to the city where everyone goes about their lives and ignores each other’s existence.

He’s guided to a seat at the little diner bar, one of the only two left. A friendly middle-aged woman walks up with a large grin, wiping her hands off in a towel. “Is this our handsome mystery guest I’ve been hearing so much about?”

Now he’s really weirded out.

“I should have known Roger would tell everyone,” you sigh and Max supposes that’s something apparently normal in a small town. He still isn’t sure how the handsome part got tacked on, not that he minds it. “Max meet Wendy, Wendy meet Max.”

Wendy offers her hand out to Max, shaking it firmly. “You must be hungry after the day you’ve had, what can I get you?”

You answer for him. “He’ll have the Lestat Special if you don’t mind, Wendy. I’ll have my usual.”

“You got it,” Wendy says, giving a wink before flitting off to the kitchen. For an older woman, she seems full of life.

Max raises an eyebrow at you and you pick up on the question. “The name started as a joke and then it stuck. It’s how most things get named around here.”

He takes that for what it is. Lestat Special probably sounded nicer than ordering raw organs and a cup of blood anyway. You’re blunt with your next question. “You don’t like Christmas then?”

“What makes you say that?” Max challenges.

“Oh I don’t know, the general disgruntled look on your face or the Santa’s village comment, take your pick.”

“Not going to let that one go, snowflake?”

“Cute that you thought I would.”

Max takes in the little diner around him. The ever-present Christmas cheer remains, accompanied with the friendly hum of conversation in the room and seasonal music playing overhead. He supposes it’s nice if you’re into it, but he sees it in black and white rather than the multi-color glow of string lights.

“I don’t see the point. I’m going to be forced to go through an eternity of these and it’s all commercialized garbage, marketed to the masses. Why should my life stop for some pointless yearly scam?”

You look thoroughly scandalized. “Yeesh, remind me to not ask your opinions on Valentine’s day.”

Wendy drops off your drinks with another smile before moving down the bartop to where someone is calling for her.

“I know you aren’t here for long, but try to enjoy it a little, Mr. Grinch. You might find that it’s not as bad as you think.”

Max isn’t sure he believes you, nor does he really want to take your advice, but your words sink in all the same. The warm welcome and fresh meal make it a bit harder to ignore.

Despite not sleeping, Max is still up early the next morning. He’d spent the early portion of his night working, video calling with Evan and Tim to update them on his situation and get a full run-down on the first day of the conference. Thankfully, it sounded like they hadn’t managed to mess up anything that couldn’t be fixed yet.

The rest of the night had been spent staring at the ceiling, trying to figure out just what exactly he was going to do while stuck in this nice, horrendous town. Wrapped up in his thoughts and the heated blanket you somehow managed to sneak into the room and preemptively turn on for him, he didn’t notice the pounds of snow that fell and accumulated overnight. It was a small miracle the power hadn’t gone out.

When the clock hits six, Max is out of bed. He needs to do something with himself and after peeking out the window and realizing between the weather and his current lack of wardrobe that a run was completely out of the question, he settles for a shower.

The water is still plenty hot, the first to use it that morning, and he’s thankful for the clarifying stream. Maybe he can facetime with Evan and Tim, have one of them carry him around in a pocket. It would be unorthodox, but certainly it would be better than nothing. There was a good chance some would even find it charming and could help them to stick out in potential partners’ minds.

Mind made up, Max resolves to finish his shower and update his team on the new plan. Only as he pours some of your body soap into his hands does he register that it smells like gingerbread. At least no one would be around him to smell that.

Max grabs the nearest towel and steps out, slinging the towel around his thin hips. Hopefully his clothes aren’t too wrinkly from yesterday’s travel and wear, at least needing the shirt and tie to look good while he’s on camera.

Opening the bathroom door, Max is shocked when he runs directly into you. Literally.

He effectively chest bumps you, which sends you stumbling backwards into Fang, where you continue to fall further backwards headed for a hard landing on your butt. Max is thankful for supernatural reflexes, quickly grabbing your arms and hauling you upright back into his shower-damp chest. It takes a moment for the rapid sequence of events to truly register for either of you.

Realizing that you're both pressed against each other, Max in nothing but a towel and you in a robe and fluffy slippers, you quickly break apart. He enjoys watching you splutter a bit, embarrassment splashed across your face. “Good morning to you too, babe,” he grins, eyes raking over your body.

Like everything else, even your robe is Christmas themed, the red and green flannel wrapped tightly around your body. Max is especially appreciating the tight part at the moment. It’s fairly obvious you’re naked just underneath, expecting your morning routine to go uninterrupted despite the additional guest. He likes taking you off guard.

You, apparently, are not much of a morning person and push past him without so much as a hello. Max doesn’t take offense to it, amused by your flustered and sleepy state. At least he’s found a new way to entertain himself while he’s trapped here – teasing you.

Max storms down the stairs into the bed and breakfast’s lobby. You’ve been nowhere to be found for the last thirty minutes and he’s on the edge of losing it completely. Somehow you snuck by him after your shower, in which he could hear you loudly and poorly singing along to some grating pop artist the entire time.

There’s an elderly couple sitting in the foyer, close to the fireplace with coffees in hand. The old man calls over to him. “Good morning! Haven’t seen you around here. Get in yesterday?”

Max doesn’t have time for niceties. “The owner, where is she?” He ignores the disgruntled looks he’s given.

“She’s outside, shoveling the sidewalk. Heck of a storm last night.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Max says dismissively, continuing his warpath out the front door.

The snow is deep, but a path has been dug out to where you are, shoveling away in your ridiculous hat. Max calls out your name from the porch but you ignore him, keeping your back turned to the door. His irritation growing, he marches down the path over to you.

He spins you around with a hand to your shoulder. You pull out an earbud, staring at him with complete shock. “Max? What are you doing out here, are you shoeless?”

“The internet is down.”

“What?”

“The internet. It’s down. Go reset the router or something. Fix it,” Max demands.

You stare at him with open disbelief. “No.”

“What do you mean, no?”

“I mean no. Now go back inside before you catch a cold,” you tell him. “If that’s something vampires can even catch,” you add under your breath.

You turn away from him, watching Fang bound across the snow covering the yard, a warm jacket on him to help protect from the cold. “I need the internet to do my job. If you could just go fix it, then I’ll stay out of your hair,” Max insists.

You huff and turn back to him. “I don’t know if you noticed the eight inches of snow that fell last night, but it knocked out the internet. We’re lucky to still have power. There’s nothing I can do so go back inside.”

This couldn’t be happening. Max needed internet access to facetime with Tim and Evan. His cell service was shit out here in the boonies, wifi being the only way he was able to get a good, consistent connection last night. Desperate for another answer, he goes on the defensive. “How are you listening to music then?”

“Downloaded playlist. I’m guessing yours was too last night or it actually would have stopped playing at some point.”

Shit. He hadn’t even considered that possibility. Cold suddenly seeps in, the look on your face chilling him just as much as the snow he’s standing in. He isn’t really sure what to say to you at this point. Thankfully Fang runs up at that moment and distracts you, allowing him to slip back off into the house without another awkward word.

He shuffles back upstairs and sends a text to Tim letting him know that the video plan is off. He can only hope that the internet comes back sometime soon.

You’re not really sure what to do about Max. On one hand, you feel bad for him. His car is messed up, he’s late for a work conference, and now the internet is down. He didn’t expect or sign up for any of this and things only seem to be getting worse for him. On the other hand, he’s been downright rude at times, kept you up late last night, and was the cause for a very flustering moment this morning. To say you have mixed feelings is an understatement.

Wendy’s feelings about him are no secret. Her little glances last night at the diner had spoken a thousand words. Her text later really hadn’t left anything to your imagination either. You’re sure she wasn’t thrilled by your response of not going to happen. And why would anything? He would be gone as soon as his car was fixed. It doesn’t matter how devastatingly attractive he is.

You’re thankful Wendy would never know about this morning’s bathroom run-in. You’re still having a hard time forgetting the way that it felt to be pressed against his chest or the casual strength he’d displayed while catching you.

Stepping onto the porch, you try to shake your head free of those thoughts. It wouldn’t do you any good and you made a promise to yourself to stop going after unavailable men. Everything about Max screams unavailable.

You whistle for Fang, chuckling as you watch him bound through the snow towards the porch. His love of the snow always makes storms like these a little more bearable. He gives a shake, happily following you into the house and waiting for his jacket to come off. After you give him a couple pats, Fang wanders over towards the fireplace and lays down in front of it, stealing your own idea to warm up. Smart dog.

Most of your day is spent normally – doing a bit of administrative work, checking in on your guests, keeping in touch with others around town to see if anyone needs help after the storm. You try not to focus on the fact that you haven’t seen Max for most of the day since your awkward interaction outside. You also try not to focus on the fact that his disappearing act bothers you more than it should.

After dinner you decide to do something about it.

Max spends most of his day bored out of his mind. After his little tantrum over the internet he felt too embarrassed to leave his room, an emotion already foreign enough to him, but worse than that, the longer he sat there the more he felt guilty. He had nearly been convinced guilt was an emotion that left him the moment he gained immortality and yet something about the interaction with you left him with a heavy pit in his stomach. He should probably apologize.

That realization set off another nearly forgotten emotion for him too though. He was nervous. Max couldn’t remember the last time anyone had made him feel that way. What did he have to feel nervous about anyway? A random woman he would soon never see again being mad at him? Ridiculous.

Tired of staring at the ceiling, Max resolves to get up and find you when there’s a knock at the door. Opening it, he finds you standing there with a pile of clothes in your hands. “I thought that maybe you’d want something to change into. I noticed you were wearing the same clothes from yesterday and figured you didn’t have anything extra to wear.”

It was true. Through some strange series of events even Max still didn’t fully understand, his suitcase had ended up going to the right location while he had not. Tim and Evan had taken it from the airport for him, but that meant as long as he was stuck in this town he had no spare clothes.

“Let me know if you need anything. I’ll be downstairs.”

Max chickens out from apologizing for his behavior earlier. Instead, he takes the clothes with a simple thanks and shuts the door again. He has a horrible time understanding your kindness towards him. He’s not sure what it says about him that it feels strange to receive so much kindness from one person.

When Max comes downstairs after changing, he finds you in the kitchen. A sweet, delicious scent is wafting through the air and despite human food no longer having the same appeal, Max can’t deny that it smells divine. Fang has posted himself by the door, drowsily keeping watch for you.

You smile at Max when he enters the kitchen. “Did everything fit?”

Max looks down at his outfit, a far stretch from what he’d typically wear. He can’t remember the last time his clothes didn’t have a designer label on them. The jeans and old flannel you gave him certainly weren’t Gucci or Armani, maybe not even Levi, but they did fit. He supposes that’s all he can really ask for given the situation.

“They did,” he says. “What are you making in here? It smells good.”

He doesn’t miss the way your smile widens at his compliment. “Cookies. I’m making them for the Christmas festival.”

Max recalls you mentioning the festival at the diner last night. An annual event in town, the reason for all the decorations and festive cheer. This year was a big one too being the 75th anniversary of the event. Your eyes had nearly sparkled when you talked about it.

He’s not really sure what comes over him, if it’s the boredom he’s trying to abate or the adorable smear of flour across your cheek, but Max suddenly blurts, “Mind if I help?”

You seem equally surprised by the question, but you pick up a bag of light blue icing and offer it to him. “Another pair of hands couldn’t hurt. Just try not to make a mess.”

Max looks around the messy kitchen and rolls his eyes. There’s flour and sugar across most of the countertops, dirtied bowls and utensils surrounding your workspace. He can see dollops of frosting dotting the counter. “I hope that was a joke, sweetness.”

“Maybe,” you acquiesce, a wry expression on your face. He gets the feeling you enjoy pressing his buttons just a little bit.

Baking with you is shockingly easy. Despite the incessant Christmas music you have playing and the unavoidable Christmas themed shapes of the sugar cookies, Max finds himself having fun.

He isn’t sure of the last time he’d done something like this. Most of his decisions revolved around business and what it would take to make that new connection, new deal, or next step up the corporate ladder. It took him by surprise that he didn’t feel more resistance to the idea of relaxing for even a moment, but there was a good chance the company had something to do with that.

You seem undisturbed by his added presence, singing along to the music, occasionally allowing yourself to sway along to it too. When Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree plays you even have Fang join you, holding his front paws up while dancing together. Max still doesn’t like the dog per se, but even he can admit it’s cute to watch.

There’s a warmth that fills the kitchen and it’s not just due to the oven. Conversation flows back and forth easily, with the occasional silence equally as comfortable. Teases and laughter are traded, you nearly doubling over when Max squeezes an icing bag too hard and coats his cheek in bright red frosting. Your fingers are warm and gentle on his face as you help him clean his mess up.

He retaliates by rolling up the sleeves of his flannel, enjoying the way you go a little too quiet at the sight. To his own surprise, he doesn’t feel the need to poke fun at you for it. It wouldn’t be fair with the thoughts he’s been having while watching you flit around the kitchen in the little apron tied around your waist.

Icing the final batch of cookies, Max can’t help himself. Grabbing one of the cookies shaped like a gingerbread man, he pipes some carefully selected features onto the confection and hands it directly to you when he’s finished.

You take it from him, glancing at the design before looking at him with confusion. The cookie has been given a smile with fangs, a simplistic version of abs, and a healthy amount of frosting covering the cookie’s waist and upper legs.

“Max, what am I looking at?” you ask.

“Snowflake, I’m hurt that you could forget so easily. That’s very clearly me.”

It takes a brief moment, but Max watches with glee as the realization dawns. He’s created a cookie replica of himself from this morning. He expects you to become a bit flustered, maybe toss the cookie down and roll your eyes at his antics. You bite off his head instead.

“I think you were a bit generous with the abs,” you say around the mouthful of cookie.

There’s a joke about putting him in your mouth right on the tip of his tongue, but Max doesn’t voice it. Max leans against the counter, watching you happily munch the rest of his body away while you finish decorating the other cookies. He’s about to help you clean up when his phone rings, breaking him from this little fantasy he’s allowed himself to indulge in. Evan’s name is a sobering reminder of his reality.

You wave him off and Max slips out of the kitchen. The dining room is empty for him to answer the call in. “Evan.”

“Max. Where have you been?” Evan’s tone is already insufferable.

“Where do you think? I’m still waiting for my car to be fixed.”

“I’ve been trying to reach you all day. Just because you’re stuck doesn’t mean you can ghost us.”

Max leans against the window, pressing his forehead against the cool glass. “The internet is out here. Didn’t Tim tell you?” Their incompetence some days is more grating than others.

“No- he- whatever, you just need to get here,” Evan asserts. Any joyful feelings baking with you had provided disappear. Evan almost deserves a medal for how quickly he can change Max’s mood.

“Do you think I want to be stuck here?” Max hisses into the phone. “I’m living out a nightmare and hoping you don’t screw things up too badly for us before I can get there and fix it. So just worry about yourself and I’ll focus on getting to the conference in time.”

He hangs up before Evan can say anything more. Another word out of his mouth and Max would be putting his hand through the nearest wall, picturing Evan’s face where his fist connects with drywall. He really doesn’t want to pay for that. Caught up in his warring thoughts, he doesn’t notice the door to the kitchen swing closed again.

You’re gone from the kitchen when he walks back in. Cookies are still cooling on the racks you had set up, the icing setting, and you’ve simply dumped the dirty kitchenware into the sink. It looks like you tried to leave the kitchen in a hurry. He has no idea why.

Going upstairs, the door to your room is closed, a faint warm light slipping out from under the door frame. For a moment, he debates knocking and wishing you goodnight but the sudden cold from the kitchen keeps him from taking the step towards your door.

Entering his own room, he can’t help but smile when he sees a pair of pajamas nicely folded on the bed waiting for him. The cartoon Christmas trees adorning the pants are only mildly irritating.

Around two in the morning Max hears some scuffling outside his door. Curious, he rolls out of bed and peeks into the small living space. Fang greets him with a dopey smile, the obvious answer to what he had been hearing. Max gives him a couple pats on his head before looking up to see you sitting at the bench seat in front of the window.

You haven’t turned to look at Max. Your eyes are fixed out the panes of glass, the string of soft white Christmas lights you strung up around the small alcove giving you an angelic glow. He takes a step forward, which finally calls your attention.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t disturb you did I?” you ask.

Max feels relieved that the awkwardness he’d been expecting is missing. “No, I was already up. Sleep isn’t something that comes naturally anymore.”

You giggle softly, mindlessly reaching down to pet Fang who’s sitting directly beside you on the floor. “Oh right, I forgot about the no sleeping thing. Sorry if I bothered you anyway.”

His confidence returning, Max walks towards the window. “What are you doing up?”

“Come and see,” you offer, moving your feet so that he can sit beside you.

More snow is slowly falling, nowhere close to the storm that passed through last night but enough to offer a fresh dusting across the landscape. There’s considerably less light pollution here than what Max is used to in the city, but there’s still that ethereal nighttime skyglow allowing him to look across the yard. For a moment, Max feels like he’s inside a snowglobe.

“I’m sorry you’re having such a bad time here,” you say, the smallest Max has ever heard your voice. “Roger let me know your car should be fixed soon, the day after tomorrow at the latest. He’s just waiting on the part.”

Max turns away from the wintertime vista, realizing just how small this bench is and how close he is to you. You have a thick knitted blanket wrapped around yourself to protect from the chill, your toes just peeking out from underneath.

“It hasn’t been all bad,” Max says and he’s surprised to find that the statement is completely honest. He's not offering a half truth, purposely angling for a better relationship or some kind of deal. You seem to constantly be pulling unexpected reactions from him. Stranger still is that he doesn’t mind it.

“I am wearing ridiculous Christmas pajamas right now, so that’s not great, but I haven’t minded other parts as much.”

You give a real laugh at that, the blanket loosening ever so slightly. “I don’t know, I think they look pretty good. The trees really accentuate your muscles.”

“I’m flattered that you noticed, snowflake. Especially after that jab at my six pack earlier.”

“Riiight, six pack. And I have three eyes.” You nudge Max’s shoulder affectionately, turning back to look out the window.

A quiet ease fills the air and without saying anything you offer part of your blanket to Max. He takes the corner and wraps it around his shoulder, the blanket’s size forcing you closer on the bench seat.

“It’s beautiful, don’t you think?” you ask.

Max smiles softly, appreciating the way the soft lighting from out the window highlights your face. Your eyes shine, perfectly content wrapped in a thick knitted blanket with him to watch the fresh snow fall.

“Yeah. Very."

Everything: @radiowallet @sergeantbannerbarnes @pilothusband @max--phillips @starlightmornings @moonlight-prose @practicalghost @mylovelycomandante @sharkbait77 @honestly-shite @shadesofnerdlygrace @salome-c @artsymaddie @paintballkid711 @niki-xie @hotchlover @doin-stuff @magikfanatic @astoryisaloveaffair @donnaa @linkpk88 @tintinn16 @mswarriorbabe80 @phandoz

PP boys: @iamskyereads @writeforfandoms @girlwholoveswords @beskarboobs @jediknight122 @littlemisspascal @ezrasbirdie @anaaaispunk @cannedsoupsucks @jaime1110 @lellowberry @castleamc @missminkylove @thirddeadlysin @maievdenoir @wordsnwhiskey @magpie-to-the-morning @deadhumourist @vaguely-here-wish-i-was-not

#max phillips x you #max phillips x reader #max phillips fanfiction #bloodsucking bastards fanfiction #snowed inn #crasis writes

[innittowinit]

Can you pick me up? my uni burnt down (Chapt. 2)

Relationships: Sleepy bois inc (all fics i write are platonic)

Summary: 

 In which Techno goes to England for University, his building catches fire in the night, and he isn't prepared for the difference in climate between England and California. SBI fluff ensues

Chapter summary: 

After waking up, Wilbur has the great idea that they should do a sleepy boys stream. Tommy doesn't get told about this id

Words: 1785

Language: English

AO3 Chapt. 1

Listen, waking up on a sofa, with a thin blanket shared with 3 men was never going to be the best morning. His back hurt and his legs were numb from Wilbur having sprawled out over the three of them as he slept. 

Stretching his arms back, he recounted the events of last night. God, it really was only a few hours ago, he was so tired. Had this been last year, he would have been able to stay up for days on end and then just crash for an entire weekend. It wasn’t last year though and Techno had gotten himself into a fairly healthy routine, he couldn’t exactly be sleeping through his uni classes anyway. 

“Alright you two” Hearing Philza’s voice, he propped his head up, “Get up, you can’t lay around all day”

A groan came from the mass of blankets and cushions that happened to be Wilbur, who was curled up in the centre of it,

“Phil it's so early and we went to bed so late. It’s fine to sleep in”

“Okay” he chuckled, humouring his tired friend “It’s midday Wil, im taking the blankets away now”

Techno thought it was much too early too, as he tugged the sleeves of Wilbur’s hoodie down a little further so they could act like gloves. 

“Do you mind if I use your PC to try and find out what’s going on with my classes at some point? They'll probably send me an email or something” He grumbled, standing up so he could stretch his back out properly, following Phil slowly to the kitchen.

“That’s fine, it's up in my room, do what you need”

Breakfast was nice, it had been a while since Techno had had time for it honestly, and even longer since he had been able to eat with people he cared about. He had a couple slices of buttered toast and a bowl of some british cereal which he didn’t really like but he didn’t want to be rude so he ate it anyway. 

“You wanna stream together later?” Wil asked through a mouth full of food, earning a snort from Phil. This was nice. 

“Yeah maybe, you use face cam though, I’m not like against showing them my face but y'know, it is what it is” he shrugged, spooning another mouthful of his breakfast into his mouth, he had to admit it was very bland, he much preferred the sweeter ones that were more popular in America. 

“Well think about it, if you decide you don't want them to see you, you can always just sit off to the side and I'll turn my monitor so you can still see it. My office is big enough for it anyway, it’ll be like where Niki was during that one MCC remember?”

Techno nodded and carried on eating, they really were 3 very sleepy boys right now. Maybe he’d take a nap once he found out what was going on with his classes. 

------------------

------------------

Streaming without any gameplay to comment about and with facecam on? Techno wasn’t exactly looking forward to it. That just didn’t really sound like something he was going to enjoy.

It was nerve wracking and he always seemed to glance at the camera too much when it was pointed at him. He knew the fans would be disappointed if he didn’t do it though, When Wilbur tweeted out saying that he and Phil would join him in a ‘you laugh you lose’ he watched as the replies freaked out. 

You could say he was just a bit camera shy, he wasn’t incredibly insecure, sure there were things he didn’t like that much but everyone had things like that, it just made him nervous to know that people were looking at him. 

He’d be okay with his friend’s though, he trusted that they’d never put him in an uncomfortable situation. He knew if he got overwhelmed he could sit outside the frame. 

It would be okay. 

“Hey hey chat” Wilbur mumbled into the mic, making it loud enough so that everyone could hear but it still sounded like he was whispering. 

“We’ve got the blade here, bet you weren’t expecting that huh chat? Or maybe you were, maybe you read the title of the stream, bet there’s someone watching who didn't think he’d be here though” he finally turned the music off and switched from his ‘starting soon’ screen to his regular camera. 

Wil went through the rules, it was the normal stuff, he added in some jokes here and there, prodding Techno and Phil to talk at times. They’d already agreed that this wouldn’t be for youtube, since that seemed to add a bit too much pressure for Techno, but hey, he still had to welcome his chat. 

“Okay!! First media share! Lets go”  

After a series of videos, some funnier than others, Techno had started to loosen up a bit. He was getting more comfortable with the camera and while he’d probably cringe while looking back at the footage, at least he was having fun right now.

He had a warm feeling in his chest that wasn’t usually there when he was streaming alone, sure it was usually fun but nothing was better than being with his friends while doing it, there was really only one person who was missing. 

As if on queue, chat started spamming Tommy’s name, for a moment Techno thought he had been mumbling his thoughts out loud, before he looked between Phil and Wilbur, who both seemed equally confused. Moving Wilbur’s mouse over the chat to pause it, Techno tried to read some of the messages. 

“Oh he tweeted something” he mumbled, pulling his phone out of his pocket without a care. Maybe some irl streamers would have used the computer but knowing Wilbur’s history, he doubted it could run Chrome and streamlabs at the same time. 

Looking at the tweet he felt a little pang of guilt. It was lighthearted and jokey but he knew there’d be a little truth to it. He nudged the other two and read it aloud to them. 

‘Damn guess I’m not a sleepy boy after all’

The air felt a little thick after that, they hadn’t meant to exclude Tommy; all of the excitement of Techno coming to stay had just made it a little hard to arrange to have Tommy here after all. 

Still, they probably should have still told him though. They were supposed to be each other's family.  

“Hey chat I think we’re gonna have to end stream early.” Wilbur finally piped up, deciding it wouldn't be right to carry on when they had hurt their friend, not that chat needed to know that though, he didn’t want to embarrass Tommy. 

“I feel kinda sick and I don't think you all wanna watch me vomit right? Yeah so it’s best we end it now” 

Techno sniggered to himself at that, in games Wilbur always seemed to be very cunning but he supposed he wasn’t very good at lying when it was about something he actually cared about. Said something being Tommy.  

After raiding Fundy, the trio hopped straight onto discord. 

Tommy didn't answer the first time he was called. 

Or the second. 

Finally, after three calls, Tommy decided he’d talk to them. 

“You are all a bunch of dick heads, you know that? What the hell! Why wasn’t I invited to the sleepy boy’s stream! Wilbur you bitch!” Through all the vulgar language and the constant yelling, it was clear that Tommy was genuinely upset. 

He had every right to be, as far as Techno was concerned. From his point of view his friend’s had just gone off and hung out without him. He just hoped he’d calm down once they explained everything.  

“You know I thought we were friends! I thought we were brothers! But if you don’t wanna hang out with a ‘kid’ you can just tell me and i’ll- i'll go!” He was still yelling, as usual, it was clear he was trying to make this into a joke where he could overreact but Techno noticed the small sniffles and the quiver in his voice. 

By the looks on Phil’s and Wilbur’s faces, they recognised it too.  

“Listen, Tommy” 

Wil was the first to talk, it made sense, it seemed that Tommy trusted him the most at times. Sometimes Techno could be a bit too cold and sometimes Phil could get a bit too overbearing.

Techno understood this, he didn’t take it personally, he knew it was only natural that you have people you trust with your emotions more than others. It didn’t mean Tommy didn’t love them just as much, just that they weren’t his ‘go-to’ when he felt down. 

Techno felt the same way sometimes. Feeling’s got complicated and personally he thought Phil was the best to talk to about that, the fact that he was older and had his life sorted out gave him a sense of comfort, like he could trust him because he knew what he was talking about. 

“We didn’t plan a meetup, it just sorta happened. Phil was at my place, helping me record, and then Techno’s Uni had a fire and he needed a place to stay while they’re making it safe again” Wilbur sighed as he heard Tommy moving on the other side of his mic. Techno wondered what he was doing. 

“We would have invited you, had we known that we’d all be in the same place Toms” 

Phil took over, giving Wilbur a little sympathetic smile. The brunette so obviously felt guilty about the situation. 

“But when we got the call from Tech’ it was past 3 in the morning and it was tipping it down with snow, as soon as we got home we all slept. We decided to do a stream this morning but never once did we intend to try and make you feel like you aren’t welcome with us” 

Finally it was Techno’s turn to talk...Fuck.

He wasn’t exactly the most sentimental guy, he struggled to show his emotions and he just assumed everyone he cared for just knew that he cared for them. He rarely had to say it out loud. God okay. He just had to swallow his pride and go for it. 

“Tommy you are a sleepy boy and you are our brother. We did kind of a dick move today and if I was you I’d probably be upset too. I know I didn't like seeing you guys playing without me during MCC and that wasn’t even any of our decisions. We should have called you or something. I know I kinda tease you a lot but that’s just how I show I like people. Listen Tommy if I didn’t care about you I wouldn’t be comfortable enough to make those kinds of jokes with you. It’s not funny if it’s hurting you though..”

Techno bit his lip, this wasn’t as hard as he had anticipated but it was coming out like word vomit. 

“You’re young Tommy but you’re so talented. We love you”

There was some more rustling, it sounded like Tommy was wiping his eyes. Maybe the boy had expected a yelling match, only for it to turn out to be very emotional. 

“I love you guys too.. If you ever exclude me ever again though I’m getting my vlog knife out”

#hurt/ comfort #sbi #sleepy boys inc #wilbur soot #tommy innit #tommyinnit #technoblade #philza #fanfic

[otheenglishsetters]

WIP (AKA, I never published my work on Tumblr before and I am TERRIFIED)

Hello! I finally gave in and splurged on a Xbox this year, which may have also coincided with my rising anxiety and boredom since I’ve decided to take a year off of college (my senior year to be exact). Luckily, my boyfriend and friends, knowing how I tend to throw myself into fictional worlds when I am stressed had recommended to me this sweet little game series. It was filled with space and wonder and characters so wonderful that they will make your heart hurt.

That, dear readers, was Mass Effect. 

I had already played a little of the first game of the original trilogy at the very beginning of 2020 at my boyfriend’s house, long before all of my post-college plans came crashing down (as did the world too!) 

So I finally invested my time (and money) into Mass Effect Andromeda in November of 2020. Let me tell you, after loosing control over everything else in my life [laying panicked in bed, constantly praying that the pandemic would not claim the life of my middle aged father after already losing my mother to lung cancer just two years prior], it was unbelievably refreshing to be able to have some resemblance of control in this fictional world (And yes, I realize that this is a video game and of course I have control). And the fact that what Bioware was doing was...pretty freaking great.

So, I apologize if this is coming off a pity-party, I promise, it isn’t supposed to be. It’s more like I had just finished my first playthrough of my first videogame ever and I am filled with feelings and emotions. I never post original content on Tumblr, and that’s mostly because I got scared off posting my work after receiving mean-spirited reviews when I posted my fanfiction on Fanfiction.com years and years ago (which is fair, because looking back my work wasn’t that great, but holy crap I was 14 guys!) I have not written creatively since my high school creative writing class in senior year, but this game and this winter, I thought I would try? And hopefully get to connect with other fans? Let me know what you guys think; I’m planning to add more chapters/content soon. Okay, I’ll quit rambling...

He notices that she tends to have a lazy eye. He’s not sure when exactly he notices this, but it’s becoming more and more apparent.

Which is not a problem, absolutely not. In fact, he thinks it’s adorable in a way, especially when she’s tucked into a pillow and loudly craving sushi. 

“I wondered if she was mocking me,” Keema notes one day. Out of all the Angara Reyes has had the pleasure to meet, she still seems one of the few who can truly read humans in a non-lateral sense. Her favorite so far was when she discovered the music genres of both EDM and metal in the same day, “it wasn’t until I was approving shipping orders from the docks the other day I realized why. The Pathfinder needs glasses.”

She also loses control of her lazy eye, it seems, mostly at night, usually by 2300 hours standard time. 

“I’ve been reading studies about team bonding.”

He hums as he rubs her back. Sara, despite commenting on the numerous things she’s done throughout her day, seems wired and intent on rambling. He’s okay with that. More than okay, it’s been years practically since either of them has had a free moment to even been able to just relax in bed and daydream. They probably both haven’t been able to enjoy this luxury since they were…teens? Finishing school and about to launch themselves into the military? For him, he figures it was before that, probably when he decided to work for that florist at 12. Sara gives bits and pieces of her life in the Milky Way but he thinks she was definitely a kid who tried to ‘help’ C-Sec with their cases, constantly looking for ways to help people in any way she can. He smiles. It’s probably a never-ending itch for her. 

And now? He’s just content that he convinced her to come down to Kadara to ‘inspect Ditaeon’, or whatever bullshit she told Tann. Luckily, it seems that life is, slower? No, that’s not it, people are more than excited to create themselves anew here. Stores and trading posts are popping up everywhere and another hospital has just been built in Prodromos. There’s practically a whole shopping district in Kadara now, with outdoor venues and a movie theater that plays cinema classics every night. It’s more like they both are finally properly settled into their positions, like when a CEO is situated in a new company. Sure, the CEO may face numerous problems at first, especially if it’s during a recession or the company is about to go bankrupt. The CEO may even have to intimidate secondary managers and fight to gain respect; however, once the dust settles, whilst there may be everyday problems, it’s nothing compared to what it used to be. Usually, these problems are solved by lunchtime, mid-morning if either of them are lucky.

In the old days, when she appeared to be this amped up, Reyes would subtly (or not so subtle, it depends on how you look at it), swoon her until they had sex. It probably didn’t feel that way at the time, but sometimes Reyes cringes when he thinks of how rushed their attempts at romance used to be. Back then, they didn’t know how long she would be in the area and they would race to make the most of the evening. Now he wonders how much he used to unconsciously push aside the thought that either one of them could be dead the next day. 

Errrr. Negative bedtime thoughts. Not good for sleepytime. 

“Darling?”

“Yes?”

“Are you listening?”

“You were just telling me how you were reading various theses on social exchange theory but then you were already anxious about the thing that you have yet to tell me so you decided to read something familiar like one of the works by Dr. Brené Brown,” he pauses to give a quick glance at the data pad in his right hand. “Mi cielo, I have been informed to tell you that your contacts have been delivered as they were just sent in, along with the rest of the Tempest’s supplies, this morning.” 

He liked to think he was a good boyfriend.

“I hate when you do that.”

“What?” Listen? Dearest, it’s part of the job description as your lover. Speaking of, remind me to pick up toilet paper tomorrow.”

“No, multitask.”

He sighs and reaches up into the upper center of her back. Oof, she really is tense there. “You do it too.”

“Not at nighttime!” She scowls and rubs her eyebrow. “Ew, when did I become an old prune as soon as it gets dark?”

He starts tenderizing the hard muscle. Mentally, he makes a note to remind her later when she’s not grumpy to do her prescribed yoga. “We’re all getting older dear. I’m thirty-one and the other day I heard my knees crack.” 

She was silent. Any other fool would think that she was lost in thought while others would be jealous of the close bond she shares with her AI. Honestly, Reyes is just grateful she spends any of her time with him, let alone his bed. And if she occupies a part of it in a mental showdown with SAM, who is he to complain. 

“SAM thinks you should get an appointment. Even if Dr. Nakamoto is busy, there’s plenty of others who are just as qualified. Also, I think Peebee and Jaal are sleeping with each other.” 

  Both he and Sara know the in(s) and the outs of their jobs so well by now, that he can probably predict easily what his men will ask for even before the message is downloaded on his office’ terminal. However right now, as Reyes stops reading a report on corn being grown on Havarl that he already skimmed over this morning over his huevos rancheros, all he can think about before checking to see if he is correct is how her left non-dominant eye is floating far out to the side. 

Hmmm, who knew fraternization would be cutting into his beauty sleep? 

*************************************************

If you made it this far, thanks so much for checking this out! I apologize for any grammar mistakes. If you’re confused, this is set to take place three years after the Hyperion first makes contact with the Nexus in the Andromeda Galaxy. I was just so intrigued by the dialogue between Jaal and Peebee. And then, after the initial curiosity, I was about to forget about it when I came across some interesting dialogue while driving the Nomad...

Jaal: Vetra, I catch Peebee looking at me. Frequently.

Vetra: Peebee likes new shiny things. Uhh… and why not? You’re genuinely interesting.

#

Jaal: Vetra, remember when I told you that Peebee was looking at me? Frequently?

Vetra: Yeah? Is it getting annoying? Want me to say something?

Jaal: No, no, no. It’s… just that… lately, I find myself… looking back. 

Vetra: Huh.

**

So of course I had to dig into that! And what better way to do so than by using my new favorite ship: Reyes and Sara? (Domestic times!)

Anyways friends, hopefully my writing isn’t awful and you enjoyed yourselves. I may wake up in the morning and delete this. Who knows. 

Have a great day guys!

#Sara Ryder x Reyes Vidal #Pathfinder Sara Ryder #Ryder x Reyes #Ryder x Vidal #Reyes Vidal #keema dohrgun #peebee #peebee b'sayle #pelessaria b'sayle #background peebee x jaal #jaal ama darav #when asari and angarans have fun #Poor Pathfinder #drabble #please be nice to me #domestic Reyes x Ryder #domestic Ryder x Reyes #domestic and happy Sara Ryder x Reyes #Reyes Vidal and Sara Ryder #mass effect andromeda #me:a #fanfiction

[dearchikkie]

Truth or Dare

MARICHAT MAY 2020

Day 5: Dare

A/N: I.LOVE.TENSE.TRUTH.OR.DARE. The drama, the divide, just everything!! jskhdakjhd I had fun writing this one, you can probably tell by now but I really love when Chat and Mari are just chilling together as friends and being dorks. You'll probably see them geeking out on my day 7 fic, so watch out for that ;) Anyway: hope you enjoy this one!

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Marinette was bad- no, scratch that- terrible at sleepovers. From the age of nine, she could barely sleep in her own room without crying out for her mother or father in the night. Tom and Sabine had tried everything ranging from nightlights to singing toys, but none comforted her fears. When she finally made a friend at school to have sleepovers with, she ended up vomiting in their sink after drinking too much soda and begging her mom to come pick her up.

She had been apprehensive to try again, but after being begged to attend a classmates slumber party, she dedicated herself to getting over her fears and having a fun time. Unfortunately, she hadn't trained hard enough. A few hours into when she should have been sleeping, she thought she had heard a ghost. Young Marinette had tiptoed down the stairs to investigate, and saw standing in the kitchen a deathly zombie.

In her defence, she didn't know the birthday girl had an older brother, so seeing a mysterious boy lit only by the fluorescent lights of their fridge, it seemed perfectly acceptable to scream as loud as she could.

In the end, her father came and picked her up. Marinette would have preferred to stay, but after awaking the entire house at 3am, she decided it was best if she just went home.

After that, there wasn't really a strong desire to embarrass herself anymore, so she avoided sleepovers entirely. She didn't go camping with Mylene, she didn't jam out with Juleka, she couldn't even braid her hair with Rose! By the time Alya transferred, everyone knew Marinette just didn't do sleepovers, so when Alya invited her to one it came as a shock to the young teen. Although anxious, Marinette gave sleepovers one last chance.

She didn't cry. She didn't vomit. She had fun.

Alya introduced her to all the iconic sleepover traditions: gossip, movies, snacks, skincare, more gossip and [most importantly] sleepover games. Marinette fell in love with them instantly. Of course, she had played these before, but never in her pajamas at 1 AM loaded on sugar.

So with her parents out of town and Alya stuck at a convention in the states, it seemed only fair she throw a slumber party with her second best friend.

✧✬✧

"What brand did you buy? This is taking forever!" Marinette glared at the sizzling pan. She had trusted Chat to bring the popcorn since bulk-buying packets would have been suspicious to her parents [the same parents she promised could rest easy knowing she wouldn't have people over] but he had shown up wielding a fancy looking packet of kernels. Marinette frowned at the pan's foil; it should be rising, but instead stayed pathetically flat no matter how high she raised the heat.

Chat snatched the packet off Marinette's kitchen counter, "Some brand called 'Papa's Organic Snacks', the store clerk said it was the best!"

"Let me see that," the noirette left the stove, the popcorn wasn't going to pop any time soon so she felt safe leaving it unsupervised, "Chat! This was 70 euros! You shouldn't waste money just on some popcorn,"

"It's not wasting money, this is our first super fun sleepover and I didn't want to just get some cheap popcorn!"

"You sound spoiled."

"Maybe I am." not maybe. He was. He didn't want to admit it, but Adrien knew he was spoilt. He had all the video games he wanted, all the clothing he tried, all the books he read, he got them no questions asked. Hell, look at his room! Flatscreen TV's, a rock-climbing wall and a personal library, no one even cared when he suddenly required masses of expensive cheese.

As Adrien, he was spoilt with material objects. Unlimited amounts of money and recognition, celebrities knowing him by name and fangirls flocking him as he walked down the street.

"Yes! It's popping! After I butter these up we'll finally get this sleepover started!"

As Chat Noir, he was spoiled like this.

✧✬✧

"Chat, truth or dare?" the leather-clad hero pondered for a moment, before replying,

"Truth!"

"What? Boring," Marinette threw a handful of popcorn at Chat. She laughed as he tried swatting it away, "aren't you supposed to be brave or something?"

"Who says I'm not being brave? Who knows what dastardly questions you'll ask," the cat feigned a horrified gasp and fell back onto Marinette's chaise.

The noirette grinned at him, tugging back on his tail, "I'm sure you can handle an innocent teen girls question. Sit back down, I'm gonna get serious."

Slowly, Chat slid off the chaise and regained his place besides Marinette, munching on another large chunk of caramel popcorn. The teenage girl slowly gestured for Chat to lean in closer. Then closer. The closer, eventually, he was so close he could feel her warm breath on his ear, the hairs on his neck sticking on end.

"Chat Noir..." she whispered, Who's your civilian identity?"

"WHAT?" in a rush, Chat fell back. Popcorn spilt all over the ground as Chat stared wide-eyed at the giggling girl in front of him. "P-Princess, I c-care about you and you a-are one of my closest f-friends, b-but I- I can't just- my i-identity has t-to be, Ladybug would kill me!" Chat stumbled over his words, eyes sporadically moving back and forth. 

His rambling stopped when he heard a quiet laugh. When he looked up, he saw Marinette barely able to contain her amusement, but a single look at Chat's flustered face broke her control as she burst out laughing.

"Oh, Chaton- I'm kidding! There's no way you'd just be able to reveal yourself to a civilian," before Chat could object Marinette spoke again, "My REAL question is this: Why do you keep coming over?"

Chat frowned, "And here I thought you enjoyed my company." he huffed. Marinette set a hand tentatively on his shoulder,

"Silly cat. I do now! But even back when we barely knew each other, you still showed up to chat; why?"

"Nice pun,"

"Not the point." Marinette scoffed, but Chat now grinned eagerly as he sidled up beside her.

"Well, It's kinda complicated," Chat shoved another handful on popcorn down his throat, causing Marinette to have to wait another minute before he could start speaking again. After taking a long sip of soda, Chat continued,

"I don't really know why I kept visiting you. I just, I didn't feel like being my civilian self and talking to people as myself. But the only person I could talk to as Chat Noir was Ladybug, and you know she's never out late unless there's an akuma. Then I remembered the Evillustrator and Wereded akuma's."

"When we first met,"

Chat nodded, "You didn't put me on a pedestal and suck up to me, nor did you completely ignore me and just ask about Ladybug. You were just... yourself. Now that I look back at it all, I have no idea why I chose you. I just saw you gardening, munching on a cinnamon roll and decided to talk to you. While I severely regret being so weird at first, that was probably one of the best decisions I've ever made."

The room became eerily silent. Chat could feel his face redden, desperately avoiding eye contact with the girl beside him. "...And, I'm probably the biggest sweet tooth in Paris; befriending the Bakers daughter was bound to happen at some point!" he chuckled nervously. When Chat finally got the nerve to look Marinette in the eye, he saw just how badly her flushed face matched his.

"Ah! I forgot! Papa made some snacks earlier and I snuck some away- let me go get them!" Marinette bundled down the stairs, slamming her hatch behind her. Chat exhaled after he heard Marinette's footsteps fade into the background. Good job Chat! Go ahead and gush all about how 'amazing' she is and make things awkward! He gulped down a full glass of soda, chugging it all in one go.

After a few minutes, the bedroom hatch burst open, startling Chat. Marinette reappeared at the top holding a tray filled with sugary macarons. Chat drooled at the sight of them, pupils dilating as he gazed over the pink and green desserts, "They're raspberry and green tea, I hope you like them,"

"They're incredible, Mari! Thank you so much, thank your père for me." Marinette smiled as Chat grabbed a pink macaron.

"You haven't even tried them yet,"

"I have trust in your father." hesitantly, Chat took a small bite. After chewing for only a few seconds he shoved the rest of it into his mouth, eyes shut with pleasure. "These are incredible, Princess," Chat moaned.

Marinette's cheeks glowed a similar colour to the macaron Chat was so affectionate of. She pulled him back to their seating arrangements, "C'mon, It's my turn to be asked,"

After licking the tips of his fingers, Chat turned his attention back to Marinette, "Fine, follow up question then, mademoiselle. Why did you keep letting me in?"

Marinette froze, "What?"

"Back then, I know why I kept showing up, but you also kept letting me into your room. Sharing sweets, showing me designs..."

"I, uh..."

"Hmm?"

"Maybe I just felt bad for the stray cat that kept appearing on my rooftop."

"What's wrong Marinette, afraid to tell me just how enamored you truly were by me?"

Chat laid his head down on Marinette's lap, ignoring the evil gaze that followed him down, "I wasn't 'enamored' by you. I just," she set a hand on Chat's hair, slowly petting it as if a blonde cat laid in her lap. Technically, one did.

"I don't know why I let you in those first few times, I guess it just seemed polite? But then after a few times of you visiting me, I got to know you. I liked hanging out with you, and I still do. You're one of my closest friends, Chaton. Truly."

Marinette stared back down at Chat. His eyes were trained solely on her, his cheeks tinged red. "You really think that?"

Marinette laughed, "Of course I do, Kitty. Why do you think you're here right now?"

Slowly, Chat sat up. He angled his face just in front of Marinettes, his eyelids drooping ever so slightly, "Truth or Dare?"

"Well, we've already had two truths in a row so I kinda have to choose dare," laughed Marinette. Her laughter ceased when she noticed how serious Chat's face had turned.

"I dare you to kiss me."

Her breath hitched in her throat. Marinette could hear her heart beating louder and louder as Chat inched closer to her face. His hot breath spread over her face as her skin tingled at the feel of it.

Suddenly, Chat's eyes widened and pushed himself away from her. His face now more red than ever, he stood up and turned around, "Sorry! Sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I probably just ruined everything- I should go." Chat ran to the rooftop, but Marinette grabbed his tail and pulled him back. Gradually rising to stand in front of him.

Wordlessly, Marinette forced herself forward, embracing Chat as she closed the distance between them. Their hearts burned. Chat wrapped his arms around Marinettes waist and pulled her closer, heat staining both their faces.

They never started the next round.

#marichat #marichat may #marichat may 2020 #marichat fanfic #marichat fanfiction #miraculous #miraculousladybug #miraculous ladybug #miraculous fanfic #miraculous fanfiction #miraculous ladybug fanfic #miraculous ladybug fanfiction #marinette #marinette dupain cheng #chat #chat noir #marinette x chat noir #truth or dare #truth or dare fic #dare #spicy #ejskd #idjelqkmdsa #AAAA

[woolishlygrim]

Winter Weebwatch #6

Infinite Dendrogram is the lone late-in-the-week show that always makes me late posting these. If it wasn’t around, I could get these done on Tuesdays.

Anyway, kind of a mixed week this week, from the highs of ID: Invaded (now firmly cemented as the best show of the season, nobody’s coming even close to beating it by now) to the lows of Darwin’s Game (still incredibly forgettable).

ID: Invaded.

★★★★★

Another five star episode this week, as the gang decides to enter Narihisago/Sakaido’s Well, sending newly minted serial killer detective Hondomachi in, where she takes the identity of Miyo Hijiriido. Their goal is to discover whether John Walker, the mysterious red-coated man who has appeared in multiple killers’ Wells, and who might have supplied both the Challenger and the Gravedigger with video equipment, also influenced Narihisago to become a serial killer.

While what they find is fairly in line with what Wells have been like so far (in this case, Narihisago’s Well is a numbered board where lightning strikes seemingly at random, somehow never striking the same place twice), things start to go distinctly strange once Hondomachi investigates further: She eventually comes across a perfect recreation of the device for entering Wells, registered as active and diving into the Well of a woman who was the last intended victim of the Challenger, who escaped after Narihisago killed him.

This, we quickly learn from Momoki, is impossible: The woman in question wasn’t a serial killer, so how could she have a Well; the same woman wasn’t important to Narihisago, but rather to Momoki himself; and most importantly, the technology didn’t exist at the time Narihisago’s Well would have formed, so there’s no possible way he could have imagined a version of it.

Things get much stranger when Momoki is immediately arrested, with officers informing him that not only have they traced access attempts from the video equipment to his computer, but they also found John Walker’s distinct red frockcoat and cane in his home, and the body of the Well technology’s missing creator buried in his garden. 

So, this is officially the point where things have gone extremely weird, and the fan theory that’s been going around that the whole show is actually taking place in someone’s Well is growing … ever more plausible, as the show floats the idea of entering Wells within Wells and separate layers of unreality. The evidence that Momoki is John Walker is all a bit too neat for episode seven out of thirteen, so it’s doubtless not actually him, but beyond that, it’s impossible to predict where this show will go from here.

Any episode that is both technically perfect and which totally upends your understanding of the series is deserving of five stars.

In/Spectre.

★★☆☆☆

Here’s that tone problem again.

The episode opens on a fight scene of sorts between Steel Girder Nanase and Kuro, before segueing into a flashback to Kuro’s backstory (which I didn’t think we’d get this early, but sure) and then into an explanation of what Nanase actually is.

It’s … not as jarring as the tone problems in other episodes, but the flashback to Kuro’s origin is far, far darker than anything else in the episode, to the point where it feels staggeringly out of place. The story of Kuro’s powers, in which he is fed the flesh of intelligent beings without him knowing about it by his grandmother, only to then watch his siblings all die before, as the seeming lone survivor, his grandmother decides to begin experimenting on him, is the kind of sequence that wouldn’t be out of place in a much grimmer and more disturbing anime. It clashes hard with In/Spectre’s generally more comedic tone.

The explanation of the identity of Steel Girder Nanase is also a little disappointing. After setting us up for some kind of reveal that the real Nanase is still alive, this episode tells us that no, no, Nanase really is dead, Steel Girder Nanase isn’t her but rather a spooky meme of her that has come to life. I’m not generally fond of ‘mass human belief changes the nature of the world’ stories anyway, and this comes over as a rather weak plot twist.

It’s an enjoyable enough episode (although, man, are we really doing the Steel Girder Nanase thing for the rest of the show? After three episodes, it feels like that arc is almost done), but it’s riddled with all the problems we’ve seen before from this show.

Pet.

★★★☆☆

This episode should’ve been a four start one, but it gets a little bogged down in its own terminology and worldbuilding to really make it. There’s a lot of talk of peaks, valleys, locks, and images, and since the show has never really adequately explained what all of those are, it’s difficult to shake the feeling that these are things we’re meant to full understand, but can’t because the show hasn’t deigned to give us all of the details.

It doesn’t ruin the story or anything. We know enough of these things to get a basic idea of how they work: The peak is the best memory they have, the valley is the worst, the image is the form they take when traversing memories, and the lock is the guard they have on their own memories. It’s just not clear how those all interact. Why and how is the peak hidden by the valleys? Why does having a weak lock make an image stronger? Why is it necessary to find someone’s peak in order to change their memories?

Since the bulk of this episode relies on understanding those things, though, as Hayashi races to find his way to Tsukasa’s peak, only for Tsukasa to reveal a trick with his image that allows him to link their peaks and crush Hayashi’s mind by flooding it with his own valley, it means you do spend a lot of the episode just kind of … along for the ride, not quite lost, but also only really having a surface understanding of what’s going on.

The end of the episode, which sees Hiroki save Tsukasa from his self-inflicted mindcrush by performing the same trick in reverse, sharing his peak to ‘clean out’ Tsukasa’s, also relies on knowing those things, and so also falls a little flat.

There are some solid emotional beats here, though, and some really vividly disturbing imagery, and that’s nice. We also get formally introduced to the guy who I assume is going to be our next villain, a higher-up at the Company who wants to tap one of the three main characters to keep making ‘babies,’ psychics who are mindless automatons. 

Darwin’s Game.

★★☆☆☆

Honestly, it’s still tough to remember anything that happens in these episodes, even with notes, and this episode, which is decisively a ‘setting things up’ episode instead of a ‘things that happen’ episode, is not helping with matters.

This episode is mostly here for introducing the next two members of our main team, neither of which are given names yet (or are they? I wouldn’t remember if they had been): A man with a lie detector ability and a lot of guns, and a kid with a split personality who has water manipulation ability.

Given that this arc is leaning towards our main team coming together as a clan at the end of this treasure hunt game, it seems to go almost without saying that the Florist isn’t going to survive. He’s the only one on Team Hotel who isn’t also in the opening, and with it having been several episodes since anyone last snuffed it, someone has to die if the show wants to keep its death game cred. So the Florist is, to put it nicely, doomed.

This episode also floats the idea that collecting the rings isn’t the point of the treasure hunt game, but it gives us no reason to care about that. Our protagonist is motivated by just surviving, so all he or any other character needs to do is get three rings and not get killed, with the actual goal of the hunt being … I don’t know, an afterthought, I suppose.

Not exactly compelling material.

Infinite Dendrogram.

★★★☆☆

So, I watched this episode when I hadn’t slept for … I think it was thirty-two hours, at that point? It was a few hours before I actually got some sleep. So I think it’s fair to say I wasn’t exactly watching it attentively.

That said, this episode was okay. Most of it is taken up by another big battle with a monster, with Ray and Nemesis trying to figure out the best way to maximise the advantages their abilities offer them, versus a seemingly impossible foe. Where it falls down somewhat is that, just like the previous huge battle, this one ends exactly the same way -- with Ray gaining a new ability and using that to win the day.

But we do get a nice little flashback with his brother Shu, who we see outside the game is a martial artist who enjoys winning impossible fights. This … might actually be the first time we’ve seen Shu in a very traditionally Anime Big Brother role, instead of as a dorky guy in a bear suit making bear puns. 

The episode even has something of a twist, as it’s revealed that Penguin-Suited Doctor Guy, the one who tricked Ray into getting temporary dog ears, is actually Hugo’s older brother a part of the plan for Dryfe to take over Altar, and the dog ears were a way of him listening in on Ray. I said last week that nothing was really done with that plotline, and the whole thing about Ray randomly being given dog ears by a mad scientist was pointless, so colour me wrong, I suppose.

All this together, along with Penguin’s suggestion that they can defeat Altar without any casualties, makes it seem like the show is gearing up for a Penguin vs Bear Battle of the Big Brothers, which is an interesting prospect, at least.

#id invaded #infinite dendrogram #pet #in/spectre #id: invaded #anime #darwins game #winter weebwatch

[theboyz-engup]

To All The Boyz I’ve Loved Before; Letter Six

Summary- It was wonderful what a few little letters could do; they could make or break a friendship, cause someone to laugh or smile, make someone remember the time of their life or that moment they wanted to forget. Just some words on paper and poof, everyone knew the way your heart beat and workings of your brain. High school really did wonders on you, as did those twelve boys. Maybe they didn’t know it, but they changed your whole life with each smile, each wave, and each word you typed into paper. You made them permanent, and now they had to know why.

Word Count- 8.8k

a/n: i legit cannot believe i’m halfway through this story hnngghfgjd i hope you guys all enjoy this, thank you all for sticking with me through it xx

Previous Letter - Next Letter

Coming home to an empty house wasn’t necessarily surprising at this point but the disappointment in his chest didn’t go away. He’d specifically told his parents that this was his only week off and he would be home only for a while if they wanted to see him and still, nothing. He should’ve figured from the train station when neither of them had come to pick him up but, as it turns out, he never learns.

Frowning, Jaehyun knocked his shoes off and placed them to the side, listening for the sound of Honey but realizing she wasn’t here either. He missed her too, almost most of all, and of course they’d taken her too. Bitterly, he made his way to the kitchen and found a few letters stacked up on the counter. Reading the note left by him mom about making his own dinner, he sighed and scoured through the rest of the mail if some was his. Catching his name in typewriter print, he felt a bit excited and, as he walked over to the freezer for some easily made food, he began his read.

Dear Lee Jaehyun,

What you’re about to read has been the best part of my grade ten year. I hope you aren’t upset by the fact that you’re what made it so great.

Early February, 2016

“Did you guys hear?” Amalia was loud, as usual, but this time with something urgent on her lips. She rushed into your little study room, flinging her bag off her back and plopping it on the table with a rush of words following her. As she took out her books and sat down, she rambled, “there was a robbery earlier this morning. Apparently, they hit like four houses down your street, y/n. It’s super weird and dangerous for down here since we all like know each other. I can’t even imagine-”

“Did you just say near y/n’s house?” Shankeri sat up in her seat, taking her boots off the table and suddenly becoming serious.

Amalia nodded, though she didn’t seem worried. “Yeah like a few houses up from her. Police and stuff came before they could loot more so you’re safe but yeah.”

“You sound insane,” Sunwoo stated, not looking up from his paper. He’d taken to keeping his hat on around school, hood on over it and withdrawing into his paper and pen for some quality lyrics. Jace smacked the board Sunwoo had in hand, looking serious as well.

“How are you so calm right now?”

Sunwoo shrugged, pointing the end of his pen at you. Before he returned to his work, he gave Jace a bitter look and muttered, “do you see y/n freaking out? No? Then why should you?”

“Y/n wouldn’t scream if they were about to get hit by a bus,” Amalia hummed, countering Sunwoo. “Their fight or flight instinct doesn’t work. It’s just freeze.”

You had to admit she was right there. You would hardly ever scream, recalling how hard it was to imitate a scream when you were doing a play in grade four. The thought made you cringe and you retreated back to your work.

“Well, it’s no big deal,” you started, picking up your pencil to stare at some numbers that made absolutely no sense to you, “as long as I still have my fridge and microwave, I think I’m good.”

“See,” Sunwoo chimed, drawing the word out. “Now hush, I’m trying to think.”

Hyunjoon from across your little table met your eyes as you looked around. He was the only one who noticed, and he gave you a little smile.

As much as you pretended you were okay with it, the thought of a crime happening in your neighbourhood- so close to you, really- it scared you a lot. You wanted some support or just someone to walk home with you and stay so you wouldn’t be alone. You doubted a robbery would happen again, there were police staggered up and down the streets surrounding your house but you couldn’t help but feel like something ominous was about to happen. It was like there was this ghost floating just paces behind you and you couldn’t see it but you could feel it. That night, luckily, everyone was home. Tomorrow was another issue, seeing as Haymond had an away game for the weekend and your parents needed to visit someone in the city.

Amalia took long strides beside you as you travelled from class to the cafeteria. Her fingers were in the loops of her backpack and she was wearing more makeup than her usual eyebrows and lashes. Her lips pouted out as she spoke, genuinely upset.

“My parents said I’m not allowed to keep you company this weekend while your parents and Haymond are away. They offered for you to come over but my sister’s allergic to dogs.”

Linking arms with her, you only shrugged, trying to play it cool. “That’s fine.”

Panic set in soon after as you realized nobody else was available this weekend. Sunwoo was in the city, far away and training this weekend. Hyunjoon was out for his grandmother’s birthday, and Jace and Shankeri weren’t your closest friends. You could’ve asked them but felt like that was probably more awkward than being alone.

Slowly, on your walk home, you began to realize you really didn’t have any other option. You trusted him, he took care of your dog, he was nice. You went on walks together often enough and texted sometimes. Your mum had even ordered you and Haymond over to dinner with him whenever his parents weren’t home and she wanted a nice date night with dad. It wasn’t the worst idea you had, you admitted; but, maybe if your parents hadn’t left by the time you got home, you could change your mind. Doing some homework on the road wouldn’t be so bad.

Steadily, you rounded the corner to your street and squinted to see further, hoping to see your car in your driveway. There was no such luck and your great idea turned sour in your mouth. You liked Jaehyun, you did, it was just that this was supposed to be a different kind of weekend. You were supposed to relax and study for your classes with Amalia, paint each other’s nails, watch romantic comedies and then break into Haymond’s room and play his video games. Now, you would spend it being entirely nervous but not out of fear; Jaehyun just made you nervous with each look he gave you and each smile. He made your stomach tie in knots and it was so hard to untangle them the more you got to know him. He went from being this quiet and observant boy to a loud and boisterous man, someone who would text you over and over just to pay attention to him and then leave you on read whenever he was busy.

He was so weird and complex and yet, so fun and happy when you caught him on his good days. Sometimes he got really upset though and he caved into himself. He would become so quiet not because he was reading his crowd but because he wasn’t even there. He was thinking and forming a mass of nervousness and self doubt in the pit of his heart. You never knew what to say to him when he got like that, this man who was three years older than you was still just so fragile. Maybe he’s afraid of being alone too, you thought, taking your phone out of your pocket once you got inside and sending him a quick text. It was just a hello but you hoped it would warrant a response.

After a few hours, you figured it wasn’t. You sent one more and then two and then five more messages, all saying the same thing- all just saying hello. The moment you were about to send another, just as the sun dipped over the hill and darkness was holding the world still, your phone rang. The picture of him and your dog showed up, the one you used for his contact photo, with two little buttons for ignoring or answering the call. Quickly, you swiped and brought your phone up to your ear.

You didn’t even have time to say hello. He just went straight into his sentence, deadpanning, “you know, I’ve figured out that if you just stop responding to people then they stop texting.”

Not knowing what to say, you simply stood silent, mouth opening and closing but finding no air for words. Jaehyun didn’t have a problem continuing his thought, voice lighter and more teasing.

“You’re clearly an exception. What’s up, why did you spam me?”

The idea of you hearing your request out loud made your throat swell. Did it sound like you were asking him over because you wanted something from him? You just wanted company- not to be alone and sleep easy knowing someone else would also be there to protect you against the imaginary burglar that could show up. He didn’t even have to interact with you, in fact, you’d prefer it that way. You could just be in the same house and that was enough.

“C- can you like come over or something?” The question took a bit of effort but you made it out. Your eyes were on the ground, watching your feet carry you from tile to tile in your kitchen. The silence made you anxious and you were so close to explaining yourself but decided against it. If he took it the wrong way, that was his fault.

All he did was hang up, the dial tone loud in your ear. With your lips parted, you took your phone from your ear and looked at it. The audacity, you thought, absolutely beside yourself. Jaehyun, the person who’d told you to always call him if you needed something, had just ignored your request. To be fair, he said that with reference to Barly but still, it hurt your feelings.

Barly rounded the corner, his collar creating small chimes as he came closer and closer. He looked up at you in the kitchen and then sat, expectant. You would’ve forgotten to feed him if he hadn’t come to see you, tilting his head towards his food bin.

“Right, I’ll get some dinner for us both, yeah?”

Slowly, you worked around the kitchen and got the meal your mom had written out for Barly. He needed to lose some weight so he was on a strict diet for now and your parent shad been careful enough to list exactly what was needed for each meal and tape it onto the fridge for you to see. As you set the bowl down, telling Barly to wait, you murmured, “guess it’s just me and you tonight.”

He barked in response and you took it as a sign of solidarity. If anything, you could watch some bad movies together. Sure, you wouldn’t have anyone to direct your comments at but it would still feel like you weren’t alone.

“Here you go, buddy,” you hummed before a grown slipped past your teeth. Why did it hurt so much just to bend over. As you walked towards your door to put your extra lock on, rubbing the small of your back, you heard Barly bark again.

He didn’t like to bark and hardly did so it was an odd occurrence. Despite yourself, a chill creeped under your skin and you hurried to your door, knowing the extra lock would give you peace of mind, though the fear wouldn’t really go away. Barly followed after you and got there first, sitting quietly. His tail wagged back and forth slowly and then, one final bark. You couldn’t help yourself and you ran to the door, really just wanting that one final lock on but-

A shriek slipped past your lips and you nearly fell over, your eyes trained on a shadow that appeared before the window of your door. A soft knock fell through and the figure became slightly recognizable, though you didn’t really believe it. Barly came over to you, knocking his nose against your leg almost as if to ask if you were okay.

Jaehyun’s voice followed suit, coming through the door. “Y/n? Did you just scream, what’s wrong?”

“Lee Jaehyun!” you nearly yelled, rushing to the door and ripping it open to be faced with such a casual looking boy. He was wearing joggers and a pair of sneakers with the thinnest hoodie on. A little cap was atop his head and, over his shoulder, he’d strung a bag and a windbreaker.

“You scared the living crap out of me,” you said rather loudly, though your voice shook and wavered near the end of your sentence. His pouted lips formed themselves into a smile as he looked down at you and laughed lightly.

“How? By showing up when you asked me to?”

Puffing your cheeks up, you tried to think of a response but he was right. You did ask for him to come over and he did as was told, only he didn’t tell you he was coming. With a great big sigh, you let him know that he could’ve said he was coming over instead of hanging up because then you wouldn’t have been so worried. Jaehyun was much too preoccupied though, having come in and squatting to rub at Barly’s ears.

“Who’s a good boy? You, yes, you,” he crooned, using his baby voice quietly. When he grinned, his eyes became long and nearly closed, matching Barly’s eyes as he moved his head into Jae’s hands. His lips came forwards as he made ridiculous sounds at your dog, acting so sweet with him. Barly was a second away from falling in love when you called him over to finish his dinner. Swiftly, he left Jaehyun’s hands to come and rub his head under one of yours and then went to his food.

Jaehyun, abandoned, was now forced to take his shoes off and borrow one of your dad’s pairs of slippers, seeing as Haymond’s didn’t fit him. As he got settled in, he asked teasingly, “are you jealous because your dog likes me better? Hmm?”

“He does not,” you protested, crossing your arms as Jae made his way to your living room. He was now holding his bag straight, looking around the place before settling on you.

“I’ll prove it tomorrow,” he seemed to promise. There was something about his eyes that made it feel like he was the son of Hermes. They flashed and glittered like he had secrets and jokes hidden in unorganized piles of papers. Sometimes, you could swear he had figures dancing across them, like he was telling a great story without saying much of anything.

“So,” he started, clearly excited but equally exhausted, “where am I sleeping?”

Leaving Jaehyun to get settled in the living room let you have some time alone for the time being. He promised he’d stay only if you watched movies with him and made him some popcorn. About three times in your little negotiation, he threatened to leave but he was already so comfortable on the couch. The blanket that was thrown over an arm of your sofa was hanging off his shoulders as you played rock, paper, scissors to decide on your final terms, which was the flavour of popcorn. Luckily, it landed on plain popcorn and, while he got ready for movie night, you went to get ready for bed.

You took a shower and got changed, even washed your face and primed it for a face mask, which you were going to force Hyun to do with you. Grinning as you walked downstairs in your winter pyjamas, just a pair of long, plaid pants, and a long sleeved shirt of your father’s, you caught sight of Hyun changing and paused. Dashing back up the few steps so he was out of sight, you whined quietly to yourself, hating the way your heart raced at seeing his shoulder blade. You mean, really? Who cares about a shoulder? You had a shoulder and nobody fawned over yours.

Shaking your head quickly, wishing for the nervousness to disappear and trying hard to manually shove it down your throat, you finished your walk down the stairs. He was now just sitting on the couch, eyes on the television screen and flipping through channels. He perked up seeing you, eyebrows raising and eyes settling on you. He looked so soft, hair now settled so it dared to fall into his eyes and clothes just the slightest bit bigger than they should be to fit. He looked like he had rushed to pack which, honestly, you figured he probably did. He wasn’t wearing the most flattering clothes and yet, he still managed to make you feel all knotted up.

“I brought face masks,” you mused, lifting them up in the air. Hyun clapped, the remote between his hands as he did so.

“Popcorn?” His ears perked up almost as if he were a dog himself, legs crossed and chest leaning forwards expectantly.

“After,” you drew out, sitting on the couch beside him and handing him the one labelled ‘pore control’. Clicking his tongue, he gaped at you as he read the description and tapped your shoulder.

“Excuse me!”

The laugh that slipped past your teeth was calming enough, even though he did complain as he took his out of the sleeve. You were putting yours on without a mirror so you hoped it would turn out fine, your hands smoothing over the bubbles you felt on your cheeks.

“But it’s necessary, have you seen your pores? So open,” you giggled, animated as you explained to him why he was getting his mask. He looked at you incredulous and with his lips parted like a fish’s out of water.

“Okay, I repeat, excuse me, I have great skin, thank you very much,” he huffed, trying hard to put the mask on without his hair getting in the way. He was bending forwards, figuring that gravity would be enough to get his hair out of the way and he wasn’t necessarily wrong. You were chuckling lightly, watching him struggle as you turned the hair tie you had round your wrist around and around.

“You’re just jealous,” he finished, giving up and letting his hair fall on the damp mask.

“No,” you hummed, looking down at your hair tie and deciding to be nice as you beckoned him forwards. “I’m sorry you can’t admit the truth, Hyun.”

His eyes watched you as you got on your knees, hoping the extra height would help you tie a better knot to keep his bangs out of the way. Your fingers grasped as much hair as possible and you tied a knot carefully so that it wouldn’t hurt him but also so he would look like a little pineapple sprout.

Giggling as you pulled away, you sat back down on your legs and announced, “there. You look perfect.”

“I hate it when you laugh like that,” he said worriedly, bringing up his phone to check what he looked like in his camera, “that always means you did something ev- y/n!”

“Take the picture,” you demanded, getting in so your face was in the frame and making a silly face. He took the picture with him looking stern, though he did crack a smile at it after.

“Told you that you look great,” you chimed, sitting down in your spot next to him. You were cross legged with your hands placed in the hole in front of you and your smile was ridiculously easy. Jaehyun just looked at you and scoffed, though he was laughing himself.

Quietly, he reached out and fixed a part of your mask, smoothing out a bubble there before turning his gaze back to the screen.

“Now can we get popcorn?”

You had to pretend like the touch of his skin meant nothing to you as you nodded, suddenly silent as you paced to the kitchen. Unknowingly, you reached to cup the part of your mask he’d fixed and smiled to yourself. All the while, as the popcorn popped and the movie went on, your little smile never faded.

That night was so sweet. It was almost unimaginable that you would be this kind to me. I remember you looking up at me from your spot on the floor (which you said was more comfortable for you but I have my suspicions that you were just trying to make me more comfortable) and asking me so seriously why my parents left me at home that weekend. I don’t think I would’ve had it any other way. You were so nice to me but not because you had to be. You were just a kind person and it felt so good to just be myself with someone who wasn’t going to judge me. Even when I made stupid jokes, you would just look back at me and laugh as if you couldn’t believe I was real. You made me really happy that night and I held onto it for a while. I expect I’ll be holding on for a very long time.

Early March, 2016

“Hey, y/n,” Jaehyun called, shuffling past people in the hallways to catch up with you. Hardly hearing it, you tried to keep going forwards but Amalia stuck her foot out in front of you, stopping you in your tracks.

He was right behind you when you turned to face him and you had to stumble backwards so you weren’t craning your neck up to meet his gaze. Sunwoo’s little story was interrupted as Hyun began his speech, though he was really only talking to you.

With his hands pressing down on the straps of his bag, he asked, “can I take Barly out after school today?”

You blinked. He would usually text you to ask you this, seeing as your classes weren’t close to each others at all- and that he was a senior. There was no sound between you two, which seemed to go for too long since Amalia’s elbow poked your side. From the corner of your eye, you could see her staring you down, eyes wide as if to convey a message.

“Uh, uhh, yeah? Yes,” you decided on saying, snapping out of your head for a moment. Regretfully, you replayed your answer in your head and winced internally, hating the way you sounded. It was like your brain was made of air.

Peaking a smile, Jae straightened, clearly glad. As his face softened, he pushed another question. Somehow, it seemed so calculated, like he was gauging how and when he should say what. Is this what people called feeling someone out?

“Do you want to come with? I want to train Honey near the river and I think you could try it with Barly too. It could be fun.”

Once again, you had nothing to say. The whole situation was entirely overwhelming and you didn’t understand what he wanted. Why he was asking you this, where he wanted to go, why he wanted to go with you: all of it went over your head. All you knew was that your breath could hardly make it past your throat.

Noticing another quiet spell, Amalia took it upon herself to answer, confidently saying, “they’ll think about it and text you? We’re preparing for a test so they’re kind of out of it right now.”

Sunwoo nodded to that, though he didn’t seem quite interested in Jaehyun. His eyes were on your face, carefully drifting between you two. Picking up the ends of what Amalia said, you quickly added, “I’ll let you know. Promise.”

Jaehyun’s smile never wavered, though you noticed how a glitter in his eyes seemed to fall away. He nodded, saying he’d see you later, turned on his heel and walked away. Dumbfounded, you couldn’t move from your spot until Amalia nicked you in the side again. You were so lost in your head, wondering what exactly he meant to do with all of that. The interaction seemed stale and directed, like he came talking with a purpose but not a malicious one. Did he really want to hang out with you, without Haymond or your parents in the way? What his intentions were, you couldn’t even begin to imagine. Your final thought was that maybe… maybe he felt the same flutter in his heart when you tied his hair that you did when he fixed your face mask.

Thinking about it dared for heat to rush up your cheeks but you quickly pushed it down with the elbow in your side, trying to return to reality. Slowly, you looked up at your friend and murmured, “do we really have a test today?”

“N- no, you idiot.” Amalia began somewhat serious but broke into a giggle. With her arm strung around your shoulder, she turned you round and you continued on your way to the cafeteria. Sunwoo was unusually quiet.

“Think you’re going to go?”

“Why wouldn’t they?” Sunwoo spoke up, somewhat sullen but clearly trying to force his point. “Y/n’s been into him since they first moved in.”

“Hey,” you tried to protest, raising your voice the slightest but knowing you had no response. Then, quietly, you just nodded your head and said, “I mean, that’s not wrong.”

Amalia giggled, musing as she continued taking the group to your table where Hyunjoon was already waiting, “you don’t even know. He was all she talked about until she found Sangyeon. Do you remember that? No, never mind, we weren’t friends back then. Wow… time really flies, huh?”

And so, she continued rambling, letting people in for interjections but laughing loud and leading the conversation nonetheless. You loved seeing her like this, so carefree and happy. You wanted to really bask in it but in the back of your mind, all you could see was Jaehyun.

Apparently, he was all you would see for the next few months. You would go everywhere together, under the excuse of taking your dogs out for walks. Haymond joined often, saying he didn’t want to eat dinner at home or that Juyeon was busy, so it felt like it was the three of you against the world. Whenever work allowed it, or you were feeling particularly lazy, you’d knock on Haymond’s door and asked him if he wanted to come out with you and Barly. Hyun almost always followed, bringing Honey around. You would risk eating in dog parks or near the river as the weather warmed up. Soon, you felt like you had your own separate friend group. It was your school friends on the weekend but, on weekdays, it was your brother and Jaehyun. You had to admit, you rather loved it.

Your parents seemed to adore it too, happy you and Haymond were spending time together. They would see you two leaving together and beam at each other. It wasn’t that you and Haymond weren’t close before but hanging out together did seem weird at times. Except now, you were practically the same age. One year between you seemed to mean less and less. He wasn’t weird about your crushes and you could talk openly about more things. He didn’t really mind driving you around either, teaching you the ropes before you got your learner’s license.

It felt like being around Jaehyun gave you so many good things in your life besides his time and company. You felt yourself starting to become more of a person and less of a child. While you loved your friends, you wanted to be more mature. You wanted to be respected and to be seen as an equal to Haymond or even Jaehyun. Being with them taught you just slightly how to grow up, despite the fact that they were both absolutely insane when it was just the two of them. Though it wasn’t simple or expected, you were happier, and you couldn’t wait to tell Eric about every day that made you lighter.

“So, then we were walking along the river and Haymond was already covered in mud, like dripping, and Juyeon came along so he dared him to go into the water and as if on cue,” you giggled, harder now that you stopped to really replay the scene you were painting for Eric, “Bartholomew comes up behind Haymond and like pushes against his leg with his nose for Haym falls in.”

At this point, you’ve already given into laughing about the scene, it being the final stretch of a series of ridiculous stories you were subjecting Eric to. You were laid out flat on your bed, stomach down with a pillow underneath your chest as you spoke, absentmindedly scrolling through an app on your laptop. Eric’s chuckles came through, almost in perfect harmony with yours as he came around to responding.

“You sound like you’re actually having fun, y/n. It’s really nice.”

You hummed a note, nodding as you jokingly asked, “am I less sad and depressed, as you liked to put it?”

“To use the word lightly, yeah,” he mused before stopping for a bit. Once he figured out what he wanted to say, he was much softer. “When are we going to hang out again?”

You shrugged, feeling the way the air changed and frowning. “I don’t know.”

“I just- I have something to tell you, is all. I want to do it in person.”

Blinking, completely unknowing, you attempted to ask what it was but Haymond cut you off. With a brief knock, he swung your door open and motioned with his head to come downstairs. “We’re studying, right?”

“Oh, right, shoot,” you muttered, hating how sudden it had to be that you’d leave. Visibly pained, you tried to explain to Eric that you had to go but his usual lightness appeared in his voice again.

“It’s fine, I heard. Good luck on your exams!”

“You too!” you tried to say but the dead tone hit your ears faster. Pouting slightly, you put your phone down and did your usual groan as you got up. Collecting your books as Haymond spoke, you tried to be as quick as possible.

“Was that Eric?”

You nodded, wanting to tell him that Eric said he had something to tell you, but Haymond sighed. With his hands in his pockets and his back against the door, he fixed you with a serious look.

“You know he likes you, right?” The question stung your ears and you hated how matter-of-fact he made it sound. He had no idea what he was talking about and yet it made you give pause.

With your notebooks and textbooks piled in your arms, pencil case the cherry on top, you looked at him seriously and shook your head. “Don’t say that. You don’t know what you’re talking about. We’re-”

“Just friends,” he finished with you, mockingly as he beckoned for you to hurry up into the living room. He shut your door behind you and followed, casual as he spoke. “Well, don’t say I didn’t tell you.”

“Mom and dad aren’t home?” you asked, quick to change the subject as you made your way down the stairs and into the living room where you set up your books. Haymond’s were already laid out on his side of the coffee table and couch. All that was left was Jaehyun and the few other people who were invited to come over to study.

It was agreed upon from all parties that afterwards, when you all finished studying by eight p.m. latest, you were all going to sit down and chat or play games or something. It was meant to be a rather relaxed get-together but the part where it was just going to be you three: you anticipated that the most.

Jaehyun got there moments later and took up residence on the couch beside you, closest to the table. It was a sofa made for two so you were very close- so close you could reach out and link your fingers together. The thought crossed your mind once or twice as you studied away at math and science, both courses you needed Amalia here for the help you with. She was going to be late though, so you switched over to history in hopes that it wouldn’t be too heavy for you. Yet, Jaehyun’s face kept surfacing in your mind and you couldn’t help but steal glances at him.

“What’s that face for?” Jae asked, breaking the silence as he looked over at you.

Your hands shot up to cover your cheeks, pencil laid flat against your skin as you asked, “what face?”

Haymond gave you a look over and chuckled. As he spoke, he returned to twirling his highlighter between his fingers, eyes trained on his work. “You looked like you were daydreaming just second ago.”

“What are you studying?” Jaehyun asked, leaning over to look at your work. Your lack of notes was embarrassing and you were sure he noticed but made no comment. Instead, he looked over at the textbook you had open and let out a small sound. His lips were formed in a perfect circle.

“Trotsky, huh?” he prodded, giving you a small wink. “That’s the kind of man you dream about? Interesting.”

“W-what, no!”

Yet, the laughs had already ensued. He was making a little joke and you were glad for his attention, even if it was a little embarrassing. Deciding against protesting, you tried to work with it but got cut off by the doorbell ringing.

“That’s probably Juyeon,” Haymond groaned, getting up and stretching as he walked to the door. Jaehyun gave you another look, lips soft and turned upwards before he returned to his work. The more he smiled, the more you wanted to leave your work behind and just look at him. It was hard to imagine that he was really right there next to you, just a fraction of an inch away. If you wanted to reach out, you could. You could just take his hand in yours, maybe make his eyes see you only. Maybe-

“I bought iced coffee,” Juyeon proclaimed, looking proud as he set down the tray of four on your coffee table. Instantly, you were pulled out of your stupor and your attention was on another boy, one who looked please with himself for doing something small like getting some coffee. You gave him a wave and told him thank you. The rest of the night felt like a blur.

You may not know it or care but you’re the main feature of my grade ten year. You’re part of almost every fun memory I’ve had in this stupid town. You don’t even know how happy you made me just by doing nothing. I would feel so sad and alone when I was home but then, in an instant, as you came over with some snacks and movies, I was the happiest person alive. I enjoyed being with you so much, through my exam season, in the halls, or just across our lawns when we were both doing nothing but still together. No matter how spontaneous, I

 was happy but I felt so weird too because I just wanted to tell you. I felt so bad not telling you just how much I liked you. I liked you so much it created a ball in my chest and weighed me down. All I wanted was for you to notice how I really feel about you but there wasn’t any chance for me to say it- not that I ever would. You know more than anyone else how scared I am of these things.

Late June, 2016

Happy to be done with school, you and your friends promised to do many things. Yet, the moment exams ended, everyone was too exhausted to do much. You couldn’t blame them necessarily, you were rather sleepy too, it was just that you felt so restless. You wanted to do something, even if it was playing monopoly in your backyard or walking around senselessly but there was no such luck. So, there you were, lying face up on your bed and staring at your ceiling hoping something to do would come to mind.

In the middle of your deep thinking, your phone buzzed once on the nightstand beside your bed. Groaning, you reached behind you and felt around until your fingers grasped the cold metal. Bringing it forwards, you muttered about someone disturbing you and how it was so disrespectful until you saw Jaehyun’s text and immediately bounced up.

Jaehyun, 3:26p.m: open your window

Doing as you were told, you went and propped open the window, hearing the glass squeak as rubber brought it forwards. Leaning forwards and out of it slightly, you caught sight of him on his lawn and he waved.

“Wanna go somewhere?”

You didn’t hesitate to say yes.

Swiftly, you put on a pair of shorts and a long-sleeved shirt, noticing the discrepancy but not necessarily caring in the moment. Your heart was in your throat, pounding like crazy as you kicked your sock drawer closed and bounded down the stairs to get to your shoes. Hearing the commotion, Barly came to the front door with his tail wagging. He looked between you and his leash expectantly. With a quick thought, you reached for his leash, placed it on quickly and slipped your shoes on, ready to go. Jaehyun was sitting on your lawn now, Honey between his hands as he rubbed small circles behind her ears. At the sound of your door opening, he looked behind him and smiled. Quick to get up, he turned on his spot to meet you face on, looking particularly light. He never wore shorts but his pants were of material and fitted well. Just a plain white shirt crossed his midsection, waving in the wind and pressing against his chest to outline lean muscle.

“That was fast,” he noted, but you didn’t have much to say about it.

Looking down and spreading your arms unceremoniously, you asked, “is it good enough for whatever we’re doing?”

“Perfect,” he chimed. Then, he started on his way ahead of you, probably noticing how he stunted you and grinning about it as he walked. Holding onto Barly, who was just happy to be outside, you paused and then began your jog to catch up with him.

As you neared his side, he began to answer the question on your lips. “I wanted to show you the summer fair. It’s kind of small with no rides but all the local shops have little carts where you can get food, there’s cotton candy, vendors and stuff. It’s nice.”

“How long has it been going on for?”

He shrugged, looking up to think. When he squinted because of the high sun, you noticed the slight crinkles in his skin. “I think about five or six years? It’s not new but it’s not old; and definitely not a place lots of people our age go.”

“Why not?” you mumbled, thinking it sounded kind of fun. The sun was also getting in your eyes too, forcing you to squint just as hard.

Looking down at you, he leaned his head so his hair fell just a tad to the side. His eyes were as wide as he could manage and he smiled lightly. “It’s boring unless you know where to go and what to get.”

The second you got there, you understood what he meant. It was on the far side of town which meant the walk was long but it was very calm. He made it easy to talk to him about anything. He felt so akin to Eric sometimes, just in the way his presence seemed to wrap around you and make you feel safe. A few instances, you would bump shoulders and you swore you could see him get just a bit tongue-tied, losing track of his sentence or shifting his feet when you were waiting at a crosswalk; but he recovered well. Keeping his composure, he led you right to the middle of the fair and looked around.

You could only see food vendors and shops for various things like hats, jewelry, and anything small or portable. One place was selling henna tattoos and you were intrigued but Hyun tugged you away, chuckling a bit as he shook his head.

“No, no, that place is really not good for henna.”

“How would you know?” was the question that launched him into a story of how he got dared to get a whole back tattoo in henna and how it was horrible. “I cried myself to sleep that night, no joke,” he finished, though he was laughing as he spoke. You couldn’t help but giggle with him, poking fun at him out of disbelief but also admiration.

Once you got to the other side, the quieter side of the fair, Hyun exhaled and smiled. The only really big line you could see was one for a lemonade stand, which he insisted was the best place to get lemonade from.

“But I don’t like lemonade,” you murmured softly, to which he gave you a really incredulous look before shaking his head at you.

“Well, now you will,” he promised, seeming very intent.

“Can I walk around while you wait in line? I don’t think Honey and Barly will take to being still for so long,” you pointed out, reaching down to pat Barly’s head. The sun was still so high in the sky that even he seemed to be squinting as he lifted his head to reach your touch. Reluctantly, Jaehyun agreed but asked you to stay in this area.

“It’ll be hard to find you afterwards.”

Assuring him you wouldn’t stray too far, you went and started to look at a few shops. There were some games like whack-a-mole that you were interested in and you made mental note of where it was to come back to it. Hopefully it doesn’t cost too much, you thought to yourself before your eyes landed on a psychic’s tent. It was purple and had stars attached to it, with small coins hanging from fabric all around the entrance and skirt of the tent. Without knowing why, you felt drawn towards the place and made you way. Honey and Barly barked a bit but quickly settled down once they reached the tent, being allowed to come inside with you. As you parted the silken material, your nose was exposed to a heavy scent of some type of herb you couldn’t place.

“Welcome,” the woman said sweetly. She was frail and old, sitting at a brown table with a white cloth laced with purple fabric. You found yourself sitting down and looking at her seriously. Presented with playing cards, you were made to exchange something of yours to influence the cards. Then, once she’d given your small ring back to you, she beckoned for you to pick some and she read what they meant to you.

Most of it went over your head but one thing you remembered very vividly. It seemed to even be written on your face as you exited the tent, heaviness in the lines by your mouth. Jaehyun hurried up next to you, extending a hat to you.

“I got these because I couldn’t see you and thought it’s sunny so… hey. You okay?”

Blinking, you glanced up at him and pushed a smile. Though your mind was on her words, you didn’t want to think about it anymore, or worry him. It felt too real to be there but, for the most part, you never believed in stuff like that. You wanted to go in as a joke. Looking behind you, Hyun smiled.

“Did you talk to Lady Enya? She scares a lot of people.”

Wrapping your fingers around the hat, all you did was murmur thank you and nod. Then, slowly, you managed, “she said some freaky shit.”

“Do you believe it?” His question was serious but you could tell he wanted to keep things light. After a shrug of yours, he extended the large lemonade bottle and hummed, “okay well here, have some. It’ll make you feel better.”

Gasping, trying to make a joke as you regained your grip on reality, you mused, “that’s exactly what she said you’d say.”

Laughing, though somewhat nervous, Jae said, “shut up.”

“Oh my god, that too!”

You pointed at him while your free hand grasped the lemonade to have a sip. He began laughing now, noticing how your skin lit up and laughed. Leading you and the dogs away, you began to talk about whack-a-mole and left the situation behind you.

Once the sun started to get low in the sky, Hyun suggested going home. He mentioned something about exhausting all his resources and you immediately apologized, offering to pay him back but he shook his head no.

“I told you to come out, so it’s fine.” He looked confident in his answer. Immediately, you wanted to point out that this wasn’t a date but something stopped you. Even if he did invite you out, he didn’t have to pay.

Chewing on this, you fell slightly silent on the way home. He didn’t seem to mind it, not needing to say much either. Instead, he stopped and let Barly and Honey off their leashes, calling them back every few moments to train them off-leash. You paid attention to him and the dogs, being soft but firm. They seemed to really listen. You once heard that someone who loves animals has to be kind-hearted. Silently, you thought of how much warmth was within his heart and who could possibly abandon him.

Thinking of his parents leaving him home often made you hurt. You wondered how often he felt like he wasn’t enough. He would text you and ask to come over and you thought it was just to hang out but maybe it was to fill a void he felt. Stepping a few paces behind him to watch him well, you felt like you could see him so much clearer. It made your heart well. With all this hurt, he was still as kind as ever. It was hard to imagine. You doubted you would be as nice as him in his circumstances.

“You okay?” he asked, turning his head to see you stopped in your tracks. Your jaw, which had dropped slightly, came back into place as you tried to compose yourself. With a nod, you hurried up beside him and murmured about something being on your mind. When he asked what, you felt it might be inappropriate so you said something else, trying to cover it all up.

“Well, I was just thinking about what the psychic would have said to you. You’re really good with dogs and all, it might have some supernatural reason.” The fib was easy enough to make, though you did feel a bit bad about it. Maybe you shouldn’t have lied and let the opportunity to talk about something genuinely serious slip but you had to. It wasn’t your place to ask him. Deep down, you felt this was the right choice.

Thinking hard, though letting his laughs get the most of him as he spoke, he began, “she’d probably be like ‘oh, you are one with the dog. Your ancestors lived in caves and were werewolves. You were grown up on the soil and a natural hunter.”

As he continued his little schpiel, he became more and more dramatic, and it made you laugh. With your elbow, you touched his side and told him to be quiet. His eyes became the biggest crescents as he giggled; he was so perfect, he looked almost drawn. Once that subsided, he asked if you still had the cotton candy which he’d got earlier on. It was in a plastic bag which you pressed into your small backpack and you struggled to get out.

Without hesitation, you both began to share the bag and talked as you did so, his voice not letting you slip into your mind again. He enjoyed to share things, even if they were meaningless, but you loved to listen to what he said. Slowly, you stopped eating and just let him talk, watching as he kept his animated voice all throughout a story or listened to your small responses.

“Can you hold this for a second?” he mumbled, looking ahead and calling for the dogs to stop. Doing as you were asked, you came to a pause as he handed you the bag. Your houses were beginning to show just behind him and you nearly asked why he’d stopped but then his fingers curled around your sleeves and began cuffing them.

“They’ll get dirty from the sugar,” he said so absentmindedly. Then, he quickly dropped your hands and plucked the bag from your fingers. Entirely embarrassed, you brought one hand up to your face and felt the heat there. This time, you couldn’t blame it on the sun, since the bill of your cap stretched far enough to cover most of your cheeks and nose.

“W-what did you do that for?” The question was asked even though you knew the answer he gave. From the side of your eye, you saw his face turn to see you, his smile so soft. Though most of his face was shrouded from the cap, the sun hardly any help as it rested its cheeks against the hills of your little town, you could tell there was something changed in his eyes.

Softly, his fingers came to twist with yours, fitting in the spaces between yours. He was so light, so careful to not make you do anything you didn’t want to do. You didn’t know how to say that this was what you wanted to do the whole day, how you’d thought of holding his hand and bringing him closer almost everyday you spent together. So, you didn’t say anything at all. You simply closed your fingers around his. At this, he brought you the slightest bit closer and you walked home together, blind to how silly and large your smile was.

I truly cherish every moment we’ve spent together. We would walk around doing nothing and feel like we were doing the most daring things. We were alive but I felt like we were really existing.  I sound like a stupid romance novel but it was hard not to romanticize everything about you. You were and are so present in my mind that I have to write this to let you go. I can’t be with you and we both know that. When you let go of my hand, I could see it in your eyes. You couldn’t do it again and neither could I. I can’t sit there and fall for you more and more. God, is this even love?

I don’t know the answer to that. All I know is you overwhelm me and make me so nervous. I’m glad for everything we’ve done but I don’t think I can take anymore. I want to be free of it. I like you so much that I can’t take it. Please take it away from me. Please.

From y/n y/l/n. On June 28th, 2016.

The oven beeping snapped Jaehyun out of his head. Quickly, he moved to take the chicken strips out, nearly forgetting to put on oven mitts. He was so wrapped up in what you’d written. He was sure you’d done this at the time yo’d written it. It was so fresh in your mind then that every moment you described- he could feel them. He was there, watching you watch him. He could imagine it all, reading how you felt and pairing it with his heart.

Two years ago. It was so confusing back then. He had so many emotions but he didn’t know what they meant only that he liked you too; but then there was age and college. He wasn’t going to be here and you were going to forget. You were right and he hated that. He hated that, in his eyes, it was over before it started. He wished it wasn’t like that. He wanted to see you but  it wasn’t that easy now, was it? You were dating someone now and he couldn’t get between that. He even saw you at Christmas. You seemed so happy.

Frustrated, Jaehyun practically tossed the tray onto his counter, the metal shaking in its spot. The sound resonated through his empty house.

#the boyz #tbz #hyunjae #lee jaehyun #lee hyunjae #the boyz hyunjae #tbz hyunjae #the boyz series #tbz series #the boyz fic #tbz fic #the boyz fanfic #tbz fanfic #the boyz fanfiction #tbz fanfiction #admin zea #*mine #tbz imagines #the boyz imagines #the boyz scenes #tbz scenes #the boyz scenarios #tbz scenarios #tbz drabbles #the boyz drabbles #the boyz x reader

[virgilmydarkstrangeson]

Yellow-Eyed Beast - Lupus AU

Happy Halloween!!

Summary: The Extermination was chaos, and Virgil had fled without turning back. Now, he was the lone Lupus still alive. At least, he believed he was. Pairing: Deceit / October, Deceit is Damian and October is Toby Trigger Warnings: Mentions of mass murder/extermination of a town, swearing, sympathetic Deceit Word Count: 1,643

~~~

During the Extermination, all was chaos. Damian was roughly woken up by Remy, his older brother, who picked him up as quickly as he could on seeing that Damian was still groggy. Screams were filtering in through Damian’s sleep-fogged mind, and he immediately became scared. What was happening? Where was their dad?

Remy put him down just outside their house, before grabbing his hand and beginning to run. Damian could smell smoke as he struggled to keep up with his brother, figures of all shapes blurring past him. In the distance, for a split second, Damian thought he saw Virgil from school, sprinting off in wolf form, but when he tried to go after him Remy told him to stay by his side or he would get worse than grounded.

It wasn’t until they were far away from the city that Damian saw their dad, pacing and looking more scared than Damian had ever seen him. 

“Boys!” Their dad almost shouted upon seeing them, Damian still in his pyjamas and half-wrapped in a blanket. Damian got swept up in a hug, allowing him enough of a respite to begin to fall back asleep, unable to make out what his dad and Remy were talking about.

When Damian next woke up, he was curled up in what felt like a large bowl, and he opened his eyes to see the side of a basket, barely big enough to hold him. The world beyond was dusty and yellow, completely unlike the forests back home, and he wondered why they had travelled so far. Turning over, he noticed that his dad was in wolf form, carrying the basket he was in, and several other wolves were around them, all carrying various belongings. Everyone seemed so tired, and the sun was hanging low in the sky. Had he slept through the whole day? 

Once the group had settled down for the night, the grown-ups remaining in wolf form to provide warmth for the younger people, Damian broke the silence, staring out into the vast expanse of the world while sat next to Remy.

“What happened? Why aren’t we at home?” Remy sighed, rubbing his eyes before turning to Damian, clearly trying to hold back tears, because he was a cool teenager, at least that was Damian’s guess.

“Our home’s gone, bud, but we’re searching for a new one that won’t be taken away from us.”

“Oh…” A few minutes ticked by, as Damian tried to think of what else to say. He decided to ask “Do you… know what happened to Virgil?”

“Nobody’s seen him, the adults would’ve easily picked him out from a group of animals.” Remy paused, before adding “I’m sure we’ll see him soon though. We’ll meet up with him and his parents when we build our new home.”

That was Damian’s hope, that he kept close to his chest for the rest of the journey to a secluded woodland, and the many years building new houses and market stalls and all manner of attractions to keep the younger Lupi entertained. Even when he was an adult, Damian still held onto that hope, as more of their old clan found them, including one of Virgil’s mothers and his siblings. That day was particularly hard, as none of them had heard anything from Virgil since the Extermination. 

The land had shifted since the chaos of that day. Lupi were extremely ancient beings, having been around long before the first pure humans, and had witnessed the rise and fall of multiple empires and the growth of human civilisations. One such small group was the village of Ferncombe, England. It had sprung up not too far from the new Lupi Clan and had stayed a constant through the hundred of years, to the point that now, several of the adult Lupi had taken up jobs around the village, mingling and gaining friendship with the humans. It was strange, how similar they seemed to be, and how easily the Lupi integrated into human society.

It had been a mistake, really. Damian had been observing the village late one night, pitch-black fur bristling against the slight breeze. The Clan had sworn to never be in Ferncombe once the sun had set unless held up at work, but Damian was curious to what the humans got up to in the dark. It was fascinating, watching lights flash on from everywhere, and humans walking to and from buildings Damian had never seen open during the day. He wanted so badly to join in, revel in the artificial light, that he didn’t even realise he had begun to walk closer to the village until he heard a surprised shout, which snapped him out of his daze.

Standing a few feet in front of him was a group of humans, all looking to be in their early teens, staring at Damian dumbfounded. Immediately, he recognised Toby and Elliott, two people who regularly came into the shop Damian helped out at, and he froze. Oh no, he had just broken the most sacred code among his Clan: to never be seen in wolf form by humans. However, it wasn’t until Toby reached a hand out to touch him that Damian’s reflexes kicked in, causing him to growl before turning and sprinting off into the woods, hoping against hope that he wasn’t being followed.

Damian slowed down once he reached the clearing where most of their buildings had been built, trying to seem calm and not at all freaked out, at least until he heard footsteps behind him and a voice, confident and loud.

“Found you! Now- whoa…” Damian whirled round, instincts now on high alert as Toby stood at the edge of the clearing, and Damian could only imagine what was going through the human’s mind at seeing a woodland settlement filled with huge wolves and people living together. “Holy… Dr Picani!?” Oh great, of course, he had to go and know Damian’s dad, leader of the Clan and the worst possible person to know of Damian’s mistake.

“T-Toby?” Emile asked, walking over and giving Damian a confused yet enraged glance. “Why, whatever are you doing here?”

“I was following this big dog! It is yours?”

“Oh, uh… you could say so, yes.”

“Damn, I was hoping if my dads saw it then they’d let me ke- what the fuck!?” As Damian turned to see what had caused Toby’s outburst and was horrified to see Remy run into the clearing and change into his human form, yellow smoke forming around him as he did, the signature for their bloodline.

“Oh boy…” Emile sighed, “Guess the wolf’s out of the bag? And Toby you should really watch your language, there are kids here and you’re still young yourself.”

It had taken a lot of explaining, but Toby eventually understood who they were, and was in fact extremely on board with the idea, persistently asking if he could get bitten to transform into a werewolf himself, to which Damian, now in human form, would constantly remind him that it was Lupus, not werewolf, *that* word was offensive to their kind. Toby had seemed so alright with their existence that it sparked the beginnings of a co-habitation between Lupi and humans. The Clan slowly revealed themselves, and some even moved into Ferncombe as permanent residents, including Damian. Oh, the internet was a wonderful thing, Damian learned. So much information at your fingertips! 

Another added bonus of living in Ferncombe was, undoubtedly, Toby. Now he was 24 and had only recently touched Damian for the first time, which was evident by the soulmark that had formed on Damian’s wrist. Luckily, they both already liked each other, so weekly dates with Toby were always enjoyable, even more than the internet. 

Oh, the internet. It was a Tuesday when the internet solved Damian’s deepest, longest problem from thousands of years ago.

On this Tuesday, it was warm, and Damian was finishing up his shift at one of the local cafes, he enjoyed being surrounded by coffee and pastries and the good community. He ran a hand through his hair, momentarily revealing the scar over the left half of his face from when they were building the Lupus settlement, before deciding to take a walk through the woods. However, that plan would never take hold, as he heard somebody call his name. 

“Dee!” It was Toby, hurriedly walking down the road to meet him. “Babe I have to show you this video right now,” he was speaking extremely fast, and Damian couldn’t even read the expression on his face.

“What is it? Are you okay?”

“Won’t be until you watch this,” Toby thrust his phone into Damian’s hands, so Damian sighed.

“Okay okay, I’ll watch it.”

The video showed a grey-furred wolf, that appeared to be the height of a larger-than-average person, barreling through the streets of a city before colliding with an inhumanly disfigured creature. The pair brawled, deep growls filling the audio to the point that nobody recording could be heard, and then a purple smoke surrounded the area. A head, a human head, reared out of the smoke, and it looked to be a guy in his 20s, with dark hair and eyes that were glowing red, as well as teeth too long to be human. The guy collapsed, next to another, bleeding person, and the video shut off, showing Damian his own stunned expression. 

“Where… where is this?” were the first words that came to Damian’s mind once he recovered from the initial shock.

“A town in America, don’t know exactly where but I’m sure it’ll be in the news, why? Do you know him?”

“Maybe…”

If Damian’s hunch was right, then Virgil was alive, in America, and severely injured. And now that he knew, he needed to know if there were any other Lupi with him.

~~~

Taglist:

@noahlovescoffee​ @canadian-crofters​ @infinitysgrace​ @alltimevirgilant​ @peanut0303​ @trans-logan-sanders​ @theunoriginaldaisy​ @max-is-tired​ @creativity-killed-thekitten​ @uwillbeefoundtonight​ @flamingfawkes​ @gabe-killed-me-with-ace-cream​

#thomas sanders #deceit sanders #october sanders #deceit x october #lupus!deceit #lupus au

[hadleyfxster]

( DUA LIPA. DEMIFEMALE. SHE/THEY. TWENTY-FIVE. ) Hey, is that HADLEY FOSTER? I heard they’ve been in Salem for TWO YEARS and they’re working as a NURSE. Last I spoke to ‘em they were pretty +SAGACIOUS, but I hear they can be -DEFIANT too. I wonder if they’ve got anything to do with this. ( cal, 23, they/them, est. )

henlo, i am cal and this is my babe hadley. below you’ll find a whole shpeal about them. pls excuse how messy it is, i tend to word vomit when i write!! if ya’ll are interested in plotting pls lmk as i would love to establish some fun connections. i even added some potential ones at the very bottom ~ 

name: hadley mickey foster nickname(s): hads, haddie, mickey job: nurse age: twenty-five gender: demigirl pronouns: she/they sexuality: bisexual / biromantic birthday: april 2nd zodiac: aries personality type: the entertainer | esfp

label: the reveller - a person who is enjoying themselves in a lively and noisy way.

brazen ( adj ) : bold without shame astute ( adj ) : having or showing an ability to accurately assess situations or people and turn this to one's advantage sagacious ( adj ) : having or showing keen mental discernment and good judgment; shrewd. tactless ( adj ) : having or showing a lack of adroitness and sensitivity in dealing with others or with difficult issues. defiant ( adj ) : showing defiance.

then

growing up, hadley didn’t want to be a nurse. no, they wanted to be a police officer and fight the bad guys, just like their father. he was their hero, protecting their mother and them as well as their city. they understood his lack of presence at home was because of his job- they got that. so they often hid their disappointment at missed school events, birthday parties, and good night hugs.

being primarily raised by their mother, hads did their best to keep out of her way. unfortunately, they’d always been a bit on the wild side and trouble would always follow no matter where they went. between climbing things they shouldn’t have, a few boken bones, and getting in trouble at school for speaking out and starting fights in the name of justic, they weren’t a bad kid - just a difficult one. 

at one point, age eleven, they’d broken their leg and was stuck in the house one summer for months on end. this left them with little to do and led them into the great hobby that is art. haddie got so caught up in creating things and, subsequently, ruined so much clothing due to pain and pastels. it was amazing to them that they hadn’t gotten attached to art before this but it certainly resulted in a bit of an obsession. they circled between studying artists paintings and work and creating their own during the months they weren’t able to participate in any of their other extracurricular activities.

haddie’s childhood was pretty good, all in all. their family we well-off financially, their mother, despite them being unruly, loved them endlessly and thier father remained a hero in their eyes. they had some vacations together here and there. hads participated in a handful of different sports ( dance, soccer, swimming ) and kept their hobby of art. 

( murder tw, racism tw ) of course, things were bound to change and it burst their bubble, waking them from their daydream world like a bucket of ice water. their dad having a gun never really bothered them. he’d taught them the danger of it, as well as how to shoot one, and the never really considered the consequences of it. they learned about it on the news. fourteen year old hads had made it a habit to watch cnn to make sure to keep up to date on what was happening in their city of chicago. the video of their father shooting an unarmed black man ( no, boy, he couldn’t be much older than they were ) burned itself into their mind. the subsequent grief of his family weighed heavily on their shoulders as they remained glued to the television. the time it took for the trial against their father and the suspension to wrap up was too short for them to digest it all. he barely got away with a slap on the wrist and that family lost someone important- the whole city did. hadley had to stand by their father during the whole time, their mother’s hands holding them in place, her nails digging into their shoulder to keep them from retreating or reacting. the whole ordeal changed them. this was the point when their entire future path changed and their love for their father, and the police force, crumpled to ashes. 

( alcoholism tw, abuse tw ) the rest of their high school career saw them deeply troubled. they chose to test out of a few grades, jumping ahead in determination to reach their new goal. their mother, struggling with the torn relationship between child and spouse, did her best to support them with this decision. they’d come to appreciate her attempts later on but in the moment they were too stuck in their head. they had a goal and they needed to reach it as soon as they could. they dropped all their extra-curricular activities, stopped creating art, and focused fully on studying. when they weren’t studying, they would break into their parents stash of alcohol and drink their self into a tizzy. their parents didn’t really recognize the signs of their trouble child, too caught up in their own problems and work. it wasn’t until their father caught them with a bottle of rum one evening, curled up on their couch, that things seemed to come to light. he attempted to berate them, scold them, and ground them. his fury was huge but hads easily over powered him. their screaming match drew the attention of their mother, who couldn’t do anything to calm either. the fight came to a head that resulted in their father lashing out physically at them. his ring nicked their cheek, cutting a line along their cheekbone that would later result in a scar. the quiet that had settled over the room after that could be cut with a knife and hadley was the first to break it. the ‘get out’ they had spit out, voice already hoarse from the yelling previously, was strong and unmoving. the expression on their father’s face was twisted, as though he couldn’t believe the child that used to worship him could turn into what was on the ground before them. he left. their mother immediately collapsed, a sobbing mess that they couldn’t try to collect in the moment because their fear finally settled in. fear of a man they realized they never really knew. 

the aftermath was, surprisingly, unexciting. their father returned the next morning and acted as if nothing happened. he seemed to clean up some of his act, however, they were hardly fooled. their mother, though, she seemed to sink into an easy acceptance that things could be fixed- that her spouse would fix them. haddie knew better. there was no going back. ever since that faithful day in front of the t.v., there would be no reconciliation between them. with their mother’s approval, they started university as soon as possible, graduating two years early and finally getting out.

now

8 years later along with another early graduation on their part, hadley settled into a job as a nurse in salem, mass. their time in universty and subsequently med. school changed them quite a bit from how they were in their early and late teens. the freedom away from their parents allowed them to fully settle into their skin and the ease that came with it brightened them up immensely. they seemed to regress to their carefree and energetic nature they held as a child, picking up art again as well as a sport ( kickboxing ). the trauma and toil of their past buried close to their heart as they began their career in the hospital. 

mickey wears their heart on their sleeve and it didn’t take long for them to find love in salem. the two were together for a solid seven months before they ultimately fell apart and hads heart was torn apart. the horror of this particular break up caused some previous issues to emerge in them and they decided to swear off romantic relationships all together. 

they talk to their mother once a week and have yet to talk to their father. 

they’re not at all a fan of authority figures, especially police, and are defiant when faced with them.

they’re a bit of an odd personality to work in the hospital, but they seem to fit in surprisingly well. their character tends to be seen as refreshing and, though they lack tact, they make up for it with their enthusiasm and optimism. 

hadley has a big ol’ cat, a mainecoon, named baloo that they are allergic too but love with all their heart. they found him on the streets and couldn’t find him an owner so they decided to keep him even if they have to take allergy meds all the time and maybe wake up somewhat dying cause baloo decided to flop on their face.

their room is part sleeping space part art studio. they have a bunch of posters of famous paintings as well as some of their own on the walls and there’s definitely a ton of paint stains on the light hardwood floors. 

they’re a bit of a partier and tend to induldge in wine nights on the occasion. they definitely have a lot more control over their drinking then when they were younger and have come to manage their self fairly well. sure, they can sometimes get into trouble ( most of the time without intending too ) but they reached their goal of working in medicine and aren’t about to risk their job over anything. 

they love to give platonic kisses and hold hands and hugs. if you allow them to, they will hang over their friends with great enthusiasm. 

big fan of petnames and using them with everyone. 

wanted

ex-partner : it didn’t end well, in fact, they’re the reason hadley has sworn off any and all romantic relationships. the two don’t talk- mostly because hads refuses to even acknowledge their existence less her more fight-y side emerges.

housemate(s) : haddie has never really wanted to live by herself. she loves people and is really into skinship. somehow, someway she either roped them into living with her or they accepted her ad or she accepted their ad but now they’re housemates and hads couldn’t be happier to come home to a lived in house.

mega crush : even though she’s sworn off romantic relationships, her heart just can’t seem to stop itself from speeding up every time she’s around this individual. she’s doing a pretty good job of being in denial but it’s not the easiest thing to hide seeing as her face is an open book.

best friend : literal ride or die, she’ll do anything for them and vice versa. 

friends with benefits : 

patient : someone hads has had the misfortune of taking care of while on the job, can develop from there 

patient #2 : someone mickey here has, for whatever reason, ended up stitching/fixing up when not at the hospital. due to whatever situation she came to their aid and helped them out ( perhaps more than once ? )

bar buddies : someone haddie always runs into at the bar but has yet to push to be friends or anything further. the two have a pretty steady history of just making small talk together.

skinship buddies : they both love to hang off one another and get along swimmingly. sometimes they’re mistaken as being in a romantic relationship but things are strictly platonic- they just love to be close to one another

#hqsintro #murder tw #racism tw #abuse tw #alcoholism tw

[ponyregrets]

Hi there! Your ‘The 100’ fics are a joy to read! I’m sure you have plenty on your plate, but would you consider maybe writing a little something for Asexual Awareness week (October 21-28)? I’ve been having a tough time lately and it would seriously make my week if you had the time to write something fluffy featuring an ace pairing. Thank you for all you write! Happy Halloween!

AO3!

Clarke doesn't really have trouble not sleeping with her first boyfriend.

It's not any kind of thing, not sleeping with him, not even something she notices much. They don't go out for that long and it's just not that serious. She heard he liked her from a friend, who had heard it from a friend of his, and when she shrugged and said he was okay, the high-school grape vine turned it into a message that, if he asked her out, she'd say yes, and she was curious, so she did. She'd never had a boyfriend before, and she wanted to know what it would be like.

Without anyone to compare him to, it's hard to be sure he's a bad kisser, but she definitely doesn't enjoy kissing him. When he fumbles his hand over her breast, it's mostly just awkward. If he tried to go further, she probably wouldn't have stopped him, but his parents get home, and Clarke doesn't really think it's worth finding the time to sleep with him after that. She's still curious, in a general sense, but if kissing him wasn't great, she doesn't see why she'd want to fuck him. There have to be better guys to have sex with.

Three months into college, she starts dating Finn Collins, who is pretty good at kissing, at least from what she can tell. Her chin doesn't get as wet, and she actually has fun kissing him.

But no matter how much she does it, she never feels like she gets kissing Finn. It never crosses the line from being good into being amazing, never quite clicks. It's just another thing the two of them do together, but more involved than snuggling or grabbing dinner. She can't do homework while she and Finn make out.

Miller chokes when she tells him this. "Dude. Of course you can't."

"No, I know. I'm not saying I want to," she adds, although it's not entirely true. "I don't know. I'm not explaining it right."

"Have you ever considered that maybe you're not into dudes?" he asks. "Because every time you talk about dating, I get flashbacks to trying to hook up with my high-school girlfriend."

Clarke has considered it, but she's still on the fence. She does think Finn is cute. She likes his broad chest and his smile. She likes being with him in quiet, easy ways, even if she's still working on being with him. And when she thinks about kissing a girl, it's not a bad thought, but she doesn't think she'd like kissing the girl better, if kissing the girl was just like Finn. Girls, en mass, can't be that much better at kissing.

"I think I'm into dudes," she says, careful. "I might be into girls too, but I don't think it's related. Maybe I'm bad at kissing. But Finn hasn't complained."

"No offense to my gender, but most guys I know are just happy they're getting laid. Or might be getting laid eventually," he adds, with a wave of his fork. "They're not that hung up on technique."

"So I might be bad at kissing."

"If you wish you could be doing homework when you're kissing your boyfriend, there's probably something going wrong somewhere."

It's true, and Clarke can admit that the kissing isn't really the only problem with Finn. The moments she likes, the ones of just being a couple, are the ones he seems least interested in, the ones he's always trying to turn into a hookup. He never wants to just be, and she's already on the verge of a confrontation about it when she finds out about Raven.

"It explains a lot," she says, taking a swig from Raven's bottle of vodka and wincing. She likes drinking, in theory, but she's still trying to get good at it. Maybe that's just college for her right now: waiting to get good at things she wants to like.

Raven, of course, doesn't wince when she drinks. She's a year older than Clarke, like Finn was, gorgeous and apparently brilliant, the kind of person who should have their whole life together, but here she is on the floor of a dorm room with illegally procured booze.

"Yeah?" Raven asks.

"It never felt like he wanted to just hang out. He probably had to get back to you."

Raven snorts. "Turns out having two girlfriends isn't all fun and games. You've got to be really on top of your schedule."

"Was a he a good boyfriend?" she asks, with another gulp of vodka. This one goes down easier. "Aside from the cheating. Were you happy?"

"I thought so. He'd been weird, but--it used to be good. But it's hard not to go back and second-guess everything. Maybe we were never happy, I don't know."

Clarke was hoping she could get away without actually asking directly, but that's not happening. "How was the sex?" Raven's eyebrows shoot up, and she hastens to add, "We never actually--we just kissed. A little under the shirt stuff. I've never--"

That seems to help; Raven's face softens, and she bumps Clarke's shoulder. "He's the only guy I've ever been with, so I don't have anything to compare to. But there's no way that's as good as it gets."

"No?"

"I think we were getting better. It was a while before he could get me off himself, but he got there. I figured we had the rest of our lives to get the hang of it." She shakes her head with this soft, defeated sound that's related to a laugh. "Stupid, I know. Who marries their high-school boyfriend?"

"Someone who likes their high-school boyfriend," Clarke says. "It's not a bad thing."

"No, it was." It's a pronouncement when Raven says it, a declaration of how the world is. She's making it true. "He was safe, you know? Staying with him was safe. And now I get to find someone better."

Clarke smiles, holds up the vodka. "To someone better."

"To someone better."

*

Clarke's next person is Niylah, and she's definitely someone better. Miller introduces them junior year, when he finally convinces Clarke to come to the campus LGBT group and tentatively ID as bisexual. Niylah is smart and pretty, direct in her interest, almost comically eager to have conversations, especially compared to Finn. They talk about kissing, what Clarke likes and doesn't like, and they talk about other things, about everything, and that makes it easier to do everything. Clarke finds she likes giving more than receiving, in terms of sex, finds it easier to be the one getting Niylah off. Getting touched feels good, but she's slow to come, especially without mechanical intervention. She's always afraid that Niylah will be offended or discouraged if it's taking too long, and it just doesn't seem worth it. It's still fun, and Niylah's happy, or at least happy enough. When they break up, it's because Niylah is graduating, perfectly amicable and drama-free. Clarke's confident that she's a fine kisser, pretty good at oral, and a decent girlfriend.

And once she's sure of that, she loses a lot of her interest in actually being anyone's girlfriend. It's not that she's opposed to the idea; it's just that once she's sure she's capable of having a relationship, it becomes a lot less pressing to actually have one. It'll happen when it happens, and given the number of subpar relationships she's been in, rushing into another one seems stupid. She'd rather wait for someone who's a good fit.

So she graduates and gets a job in Boston, gets an apartment with Miller, and settles into her real life. Most of her friends are Miller's friends, on loan, which isn't the best, but she and Raven facetime once a week, and she gets updates about Niylah's string of new girlfriends, and she's happy, for the most part. Content, for sure.

Bellamy Blake happens four years after graduation, and Clarke's first impression of him is that Miller has great taste in guys.

It's a misconception only because of the Miller part; they're at a Halloween party and Miller told her the guy he liked was there. When he gave Bellamy one of those back-thumping bro hugs and said, "Hey, good to see you," Clarke had just assumed this was the crush. He was, after all, incredibly hot, with a great smile, wearing a toga that showed off an impressive upper body. He seemed like a good crush, and Clarke approved. Miller had been single for almost a year, and, unlike her, he was upset about it.

But then Miller wandered off to find the video games, and Clarke found herself alone with this unfamiliar man dressed as some kind of Greek god, possibly expected to be Miller's wingman.

"So, you're Miller's roommate, right?" he asks.

"Yeah. We went to college together."

He nods, in that slightly awkward way people do when they realize they're out of words way too early in a conversation. "Cool."

"You guys work together?"

His mouth twitches. "No, he's got a thing for my roommate."

Clarke has to take a second for that one, adjusting. She knew that she had been not meeting Miller's crush for a while. She knew that she didn't know the crush's name, because Miller always calls him the new guy. That's how Miller is with crushes; he's always convinced that if he doesn't name them, the feelings aren't real, like some kind of weird, Voldemort situation. She knew that he'd been spending time with this new guy outside of work, that they were becoming friends.

She hadn't realized quite how many things she was skipping out on because she didn't feel like going out, but Bellamy is living proof of it, right in front of her.

"I didn't know he knew the guy well enough to hang out with his roommate," she says, careful.

"He's pretty shitty at talking about crushes, so that's not a surprise."

Clarke smiles. "He really is."

Dunking on Miller is, as it turns out, a great way to bond with someone new, and the conversation flows easily after that. Bellamy is a few years older than she is, a high-school history teacher who met Monty--Miller's crush--on craigslist a few years back when Monty and his best friend were looking for a place to live. He likes them, says they've gotten him into board games and are trying to lure him into video games too, after a childhood of growing up poor and wary of technology.

"What about it?"

"Not to be way too serious for a Halloween party, but I think it was a defense mechanism. I couldn't afford it, so I told myself it sucked anyway. I think it worked too well on my sister, now she lives in Alaska and drops off the face of the earth for months at a time because she doesn't have a cell phone."

Clarke hides her smile in her beer; she likes people who are too serious. "So what video games are you getting into now?"

"Monty just bought Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, I think it was just to make me want to play it."

"That's the one with the really ripped bi girl with a bird, right?"

He grins. "That's it, yeah. Technically you can be a girl or a guy, but I don't know why anyone would want to be Alexios when Kassandra is right there."

"I haven't actually played it, but I like to backseat drive while Miller plays."

"Yeah? What do you tell him to do?"

"Flirt with girls and kill people."

"That's the only way to do it, yeah."

For the first time in a while, Clarke finds herself wanting to clarify that she's bi, that she also likes Kassandra hooking up with hot guys, but as always, she can't figure out the exact right way to put it.

Bellamy does it for her. "I think it's just that the romance options are available for both characters every time, which is cool. I get to be as bi as I want, and even homophobic dudes who are pissed that playing as a woman is an option have to see flirty dialogue options popping up when they're talking to guys."

"How bi do you want to be?"

"As bi as possible, always."

"Same," she says, and he grins.

Miller eventually finds them again, with his crush. He's hot (if not, in Clarke's opinion, as hot as Bellamy), dressed as Waluigi, whom Clarke only recognizes from memes, and can't stop looking at Miller, all of which bode well for Miller's chances with him. And he's cool too, a nice guy with a quick wit.

But Clarke's a little distracted by Bellamy.

Given he's not actually Miller's crush, it's not theoretically a problem. He's cute, he's bi, he seems to be single. It should be a slam dunk. But it's just been so long. And just because she's interested, it doesn't mean that he is.

"Can't believe I never thought about you and Bellamy," Miller says, as they walk home. "Of course you assholes would get along."

"Takes one to know one," Clarke shoots back, automatic, most of her mind on you and Bellamy. "I think Monty might be too nice for you."

"Yeah, no question."

She glances at him sidelong. "Me and Bellamy? You think?"

His roll of eyes is all fondness, an expression she hasn't seen in a while. Maybe Miller doesn't talk to her about his love life more because she never reciprocates. Maybe gossip is more fun when everyone can get teased. "Doesn't really matter what I think, right? If you're into him, you should go for it."

Clarke looks up at the stars, letting the thought of it fill her chest. Liking someone again could be fun. If he liked her too. "Yeah," she says. "Maybe I should."

*

Dating in high school and college didn't feel that hard, but, in retrospect, her relationships really weren't particularly deep. Niylah was the best of them, but even then, it was fairly uncomplicated. They saw each other when they didn't have class, but they didn't have real lives to coordinate. She didn't have to put effort into seeing Niylah, because they lived on the same campus.

Every time she sees Bellamy, it's a choice. She has to go out of her way to interact with him, sometimes do things she wouldn't usually do. It feels dishonest and deceptive, even when it's actually fun stuff like getting drinks and seeing movies. She's doing them with ulterior motives.

She might not be as good at all of this as she thought. And she honestly didn't think she was great at it.

But it's not as if she's not enjoying herself. She'd gotten into kind of a rut, not being social, convinced that she was forcing herself into Miller's social circle, but no one seems to mind her being there, Bellamy least of all. By all appearances, he likes spending time with her, and drinks and movies turn into regular texting, chatting, friendship verging on intimacy.

It doesn't, however, turn into what she thinks of as a relationship. They never see each other alone, never do things as a couple. There's no kissing, no sex, no waking up with him or going to sleep with him, none of the impositions on her life she'd like.

A new friend is nice, but she definitely and absolutely wants more. She's sure of it in a way she hasn't ever been before, in a way she wasn't when she was a kid who wanted to know what romance was like. Bellamy doesn't feel like an experiment or a curiosity; he feels like someone who could really be a partner. He's the closest she's ever come to feeling what she thinks she's supposed to feel, when she's in love.

So she asks him to get coffee, and it's actually a little terrifying, her first time making the first move at age twenty-seven, even when the "first move" is barely even a move.

Bellamy, at least, doesn't make her wait long; he texts back Sure, when and where? in less than five minutes.

Clarke knows, as she's looking at outfits and fretting about how to wear her hair and debating glasses or contacts, that this isn't really a huge deal. Bellamy might not even think it's a date at all, it could just be two friends hanging out, having a conversation. And the conversation is going to be about feelings, and it's going to suck.

So she dresses casually, hair in a loose braid, glasses on, cute without trying too hard. She reminds herself that this is Bellamy, and most of the reason she wants to date him is that she likes him and enjoys spending time with him and feels comfortable talking to him, so she really shouldn't worry this much. Either he feels the same or he doesn't, and if he doesn't, at least she'll be able to stop going to social events she doesn't actually care about just because she wants to see him.

Not that she'll go back to being a total recluse or anything, obviously. She'll just cut back a little. Be more selective and less stupidly desperate. Maybe give herself some time to get over the disappointment. Which is still hypothetical.

She takes a few breaths, grabs her purse and keys, and heads out. Bellamy's already at the coffee place when she arrives, waiting outside with his hands in his pockets, breath puffing out a little in the still-chilly March air.

"Hey," he says, with a smile that she can't quite read.

"Hey. Sorry to keep you waiting."

"It's cool, I'm always early." He holds the door open for her. It's early afternoon and while there are plenty of people at the various tables, the line is short. They get drinks and find two open seats at the end of a long table, and Clarke's debating what to say when Bellamy says, "Did anyone tell you I'm asexual?"

It's about the last thing she was expecting him to say. "No."

His mouth twitches. "Sorry if I made it weird, but I thought you might be, uh--"

"Asking you out?"

"Yeah."

"I was going to."

"I'm not saying no," he says, but he's still not really smiling. Not like Clarke wants him to be. "Just, uh--I don't know if this is really what you're looking for." Clarke frowns, and he clarifies, "If you'd still want to date me."

Asexuality is something she knew existed, but she doesn't know much about it. As far as she knows, she doesn't know anyone who identifies that way--aside from, apparently, Bellamy--and she'd never researched it much. After all, she liked sex with Niylah, and she would have probably liked sex with Finn, which meant it wasn't a label for her, and she'd felt like it was fairly straightforward.

"I guess I assumed if you were asexual you just wouldn't date? Sorry," she adds. "You're the first person I've met who IDs that way. And you're bi too?"

"Biromantic asexual," he says. "I like relationships, I don't care about sex. But that's usually a lot to tell someone on a first meeting, especially if you don't know--" He shrugs. "Once asexuality comes up, it becomes a conversation about asexuality."

It feels a little like she's drowning, or like she can't catch her breath. It is a conversation about asexuality, and she doesn't know where her footing is for that. "So, you want to date me, you just don't want to have sex with me?"

He rubs his neck, but he's speaking again before she can apologize. "I don't, uh--I don't not want to have sex with you."

"Sorry, I'm just--not doing very well with this."

Now he does smile, a bright one, one of her favorite ones. "You're doing fine. I've been stressing about it so much, jesus. I didn't want to tell you because--I really like you. I didn't want to scare you off. But I felt like an asshole, so--here we are."

"You're not scaring me off. I don't care about sex that much either."

"No?"

"I haven't had it in a while, I don't miss it much." She smiles. "Full disclosure, I was thinking about having sex with you."

He laughs. "I was thinking about having sex with you too."

A little thrill runs through her, chased by a rush of guilt. It shouldn't be more exciting than his wanting to date her, and it's not, exactly. But there's something nice about the confirmation that he'd been thinking about logistics, about how this would go. How to make it work. "So, this could be a date."

"Maybe." His expression sobers, and he wets his lips, eyes steady. "It's, uh--you should think about it. I've dated people who were sure they were cool with it, and then--"

"They weren't."

"I get it, it's a big deal for some people."

"Can I ask more questions?"

He laughs. "Sure."

"Do you like kissing?"

"Kissing's good."

"Sleepovers? Cuddling?"

"All good."

She fidgets with the sleeve on her coffee. "How did you know? Like--was it before or after you figured out you were bi?"

"After. I, uh--I told you about my mom, right?"

"Yeah."

"After she died, I was in pretty rough shape. My sister got put into foster care, I couldn't get her back, I was spiraling. And I, uh--had a lot of sex. Not to brag."

He's got a smile playing around his lips, so Clarke nudges his ankle with her foot. "Yeah, I'm so jealous you lost your family and went into a depression spiral."

"I figured, yeah."

"So, lots of sex."

"Yeah. I liked feeling, uh--useful." Clarke winces, and he shrugs, jerky. "I know, yeah. It was bad. And after, I figured out--I didn't like it. Which, yeah, obviously," he adds, at her expression. "It sucked. But it wasn't just that. Sex is something I do for other people, not for me. When I'm in a good place, that's not a problem. I like being with people I care about, it's fun, I like it. I get off. Just--if I never had sex again, I'd be fine, and that's tough for some people."

It's as if Clarke has stepped out of her body, as if she's seeing herself from a distance, seeing the whole scene from a distance, thinking about everything. She's had a privileged life, a fortunate one, hasn't ever hit rock bottom like Bellamy did after his mother died. That's not news, nor is her general lack of experience with sex. It just never felt noteworthy. If anything, it felt healthy, that she wasn't obsessing over a relationship, had escaped from the trap of thinking she needed someone.

And that can all still be true. But other things could be true too.

"I've never actually had sex with a guy," she admits. "I've dated two guys and one woman, and I only actually had sex with the woman. And it was--fine." He nods, but doesn't say anything, so she has no choice but to go on. "Once I'd done it, it didn't bother me that I wasn't still doing it. I don't miss it. I like, uh--" She glances around, mindful that they're having this conversation in a coffee shop. "It's a good stress reliever. Before bed or something. But that's just--me."

Bellamy's mouth quirks. "Diplomatic."

"We're in a coffee shop!"

He wets his lips. "Monty and Jasper aren't home. You want to talk there?"

They take their coffees and walk back, chatting about Bellamy's classes and Clarke's project at work, easy things. But there's this bright seed of hope in Clarke's stomach, this tiny, growing kernel. They could be on the exact same page, a page Clarke didn't even know about. A secret chapter at the end of the book that explains all the loose ends, resolves things you didn't even know you were wondering about.

There's a unique pleasure in learning there's a word for something you didn't realize needed one.

"I always kind of thought asexuality was just--no interest in sex."

"It's a spectrum," says Bellamy. "And it's kind of like--it's related to compulsory heterosexuality, I guess, but--it took me so long to even figure out how much sex I was supposed to want and how I was supposed to feel about it."

"Yeah." She lets out a breath. "I honestly don't know. I never thought about it. But I think we could probably make it work. I think we'd probably be pretty good for each other."

"Me too." He ducks his head, smiles. "So, you want to watch a movie and talk about masturbating?"

The happiness sprouts and grows, big enough to fill up her whole chest, her whole world. "Sounds perfect."

*

Clarke doesn't really have trouble not sleeping with Bellamy. But she doesn't have trouble sleeping with him, either, when she wants to. She is curious about it, after all, and it's fun with Bellamy, when she's not worried about doing things right or being good and mostly just wants to try things. She'll read a book and the characters will be overcome by lust and have sex in a bizarre position, and she'll draft him into seeing if it works, or he'll be in the mood to eat her out, or they're both just in the mood to be naked together and see what happens.

Mostly, she puts her feet in his lap while she reads, and she kisses him before she leaves for work in the morning, and he cooks her dinner and she does the dishes, and she cuddles into him at night before bed, and she loves him.

It's everything she never had the words for, everything she didn't realize she was looking for.

He proposes, and she says yes, and just like that, Bellamy Blake is her last boyfriend, her only fiance, and her only husband.

It's not that hard, once she figures it out.

#Anonymous

[bloojayoolie]

Africa, Anaconda, and Bailey Jay: Outgoing, social, affectionate & very sweet. A sterling resume, a wonderful family pet Id 52882, 4 Yrs. 52 lbs. of Love, Spayed & Waiting for YOU, Manhattan ACC TO BE KILLED - 2/26/2019 Africa so adorable and she needs our help finding the right home <3 AFRICA’s intake photo doesn’t do her justice so we tried to get a screen capture off her adorable video with friend Don Draper. She’s incredibly beautiful, with a glossy, gleaming ebony coat and sparkling eyes. She looks to us to be a Labrador mix, and when she walks around in play yard, she literally prances like a pony, which caused us to burst out laughing. Outgoing, friendly, and very sweet, she is understandably a bit tense at the shelter with all the new people she is meeting. Her life, until now, was spent with her 2 parents, though they claimed she was found as a stray. We question every “stray” story we hear, here, at MLD, especially when a dog as magnificent as Africa is dropped off with glowing notes, a perfect and sterling resume of skills (housebroken, knows many commands, never guards her stuff, and likes to sleep in her dog bed). But whatever the reason for not wanting to care for this precious girl anymore, we would like to see her out of the shelter and into a home today. Please hurry and MESSAGE our page or email us at [email protected] if you can foster or beautiful Africa and give her back her life. A volunteer writes: Africa's soulful eyes look deep into your heart and ask only one question: Will you love me? She's a sweet velveteen beauty, shy at first but smart enough to know that hanging out with people means petting and treats and brave enough to approach whenever someone extends a hand in friendship. She always comes running when you call her, sits very politely for treats and was taught commands for stay and shake paw too. Toys are chased and then happily shared and in a home environment I bet she'll blossom into the same playful, highly active dog her former owner described. Africa greets other pups politely on leash or off, has lived with a small dog and is friendly toward her same size peers but mostly prefers nuzzling with human friends to roughhousing with the playgroup. Her favorite kind of petting is side rubs and if you appreciate a good 'leaner' as much as I do then she's definitely the gal for you! Africa is beautiful inside and out, a good girl ready to go home and enjoy some well-deserved TLC from a family as gentle and affectionate as she is. Will you be the one to love her forever? MY VIDEOS: Africa and Don Draper https://youtu.be/wCCWC3J5NXE Africa shows off her soft side <3 https://youtu.be/ktV1CiREjt0 AFRICA, ID # 52882, 4 Yrs. Old, 52.8 lbs. Manhattan ACC, Large Mixed Breed, Black, Spayed Female Owner Surrender Reason: Stray Shelter Assessment Rating: LEVEL 3 (Reference chart at bottom of post for Ratings information) Medical Behavior Rating: OWNER SURRENDER NOTES – BASIC INFORMATION: Africa is an approximately 4 Yr Old Large Mixed Breed Spayed dog. She previously lived with 2 adults. With strangers, Africa is outgoing and friendly. Africa has interacted with a small, old dog. The other dog was fearful of Africa and would retreat. Africa has no guarding issues. Africa has no bite history. She is housetrained and has a high level of energy – she is playful. Other Notes: Previous owner says 3 times a day, she give Afirca fresh water. Africa pulls hard on the leash. Africa pees on the grass. Africa knows how to sit, stay and give paw. Africa went to sleep on the dog bed. SHELTER ASSESSMENT: Date of assessment: 20-Jan-2019 Summaries: Leash Walking Strength and pulling: Moderate-hard Reactivity to humans: None Reactivity to dogs: None Leash walking comments: None Sociability Loose in room (15-20 seconds): Distracted, a bit fearful Call over: Approaches readily Sociability comments: Bit tense, approached with tail wagging but tense body Handling Soft handling: Tolerates contact Exuberant handling: Fearful Handling comments: Tense and pursed lips when her leg was touched Arousal Jog: Follows (low body) Arousal comments: None Knock: Tenses Knock Comments: Tense and hard stared during knock and when assistant walked in Toy: No response Toy comments: None PLAYGROUP NOTES – DOG TO DOG SUMMARIES: The previous owner of Africa reports interactions with an older fearful dog, without much detail. Africa has appeared fearful when introduced to other dogs in the care center, but has been tolerant of polite approach from respectful dogs. At this time, it is recommended Africa have slow introductions to dogs who are respectful and calm. 1/19: When introduced off leash to a male dog, Africa allows polite greeting but remains fearful and mostly avoids. 1/23: Africa allows polite greeting but mostly avoids the other dogs. 1/28 -29: Africa greets other calm dogs politely and mostly seeks attention from human handlers. INTAKE BEHAVIOR - Date of intake: 17-Jan-2019 Summary: Loose body for collaring, became tense when put in kennel/van, tail tucked, whale eyed MEDICAL BEHAVIOR - Date of initial: 20-Jan-2019 Summary: Very tense ENERGY LEVEL: Africa is described as having a very high level of activity. We recommend long-lasting chews, food puzzles, and hide-and-seek games, in additional to physical exercise, to positively direct her energy and enthusiasm. BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION: Level 3 Behavior Asilomar TM - Treatable-Manageable Recommendations: No children (under 13) Recommendations comments: No children: Due to the fearful behavior Africa has displayed at the care center (tensing, pursing lips, hard staring) we recommend an adult only home. Potential challenges: Handling/touch sensitivity, Fearful/potential for defensive aggression, Potential challenges comments: Africa tensed and pursed her lips when her leg was touched on her assessment. Please see handling on Handling/touch sensitivity. Africa has displayed very fearful behavior at the care center. Please see handout on Fearful/potential for defensive aggression. MEDICAL EXAM NOTES 5-Feb-2019 Progress Exam Hx: In foster care. Started coughing and sneezing about 3 days ago, and these symptoms have been increasing. Pt still energetic and eating well. S: Pulling on leash, jumping around, excited. Allows all handling, wagging tail, soft body. O: BAR-H, BCS 6/9, MMs pink and moist, CRT <2 sec EENT: Mild serous nasal discharge. Mild mucoid ocular discharge, erythematous conjunctiva. No discharge AU. Mild tartar and gingivitis. PLNs: Not significantly enlarged. H/L: NSR, NMA. Regular coughing. Panting. Normal resp effort. Difficult to auscult lung sounds due to coughing and panting. Abd: Soft, no pain on palpation, no masses palpated, not distended M/S/I: Amb x4. No skin lesions noted. UG: Female, small nipples and vulva, no discharge or masses. Neuro: Alert and appropriate, no sign neurological deficiencies A: 1. CIRDC; no sign of pneumonia 2. Slightly overweight Short-term prognosis: Good P: Canine infectious respiratory disease complex (CIRDC) is a term we use to describe an upper respiratory infection in a dog. At ACC we frequently see infections caused by a bacterium called Mycoplasma cynos. Sometimes there is a secondary viral infection as well. At ACC we treat CIRDC with an antibiotic to treat the bacterial component, but the virus just has to run its course, just like a head cold in a human. This may take 7-14 days. PLAN: Please give 2 tablets of doxycycline by mouth once daily for 14 days. The tablets are 100 mg tablets so that is a total of 200 mg per day. Additionally, please give 1.5 tablets of enrofloxacin (total of 204 mg) once daily for 14 days - this is another antibiotic - and 3/4 tab of Cerenia (total of 45 mg) once daily for 4 days - this is an anti-nausea medication. While your dog is sick, he or she may not want to eat because of the nasal discharge that makes it hard for him or her to smell the food. You can tempt your dog to eat with peanut butter, boiled chicken, plain ground hamburger, chicken broth on his or her regular food or other delicious items. Please seek veterinary care if your pet: a) is not “turning the corner†and starting to get better within 5 days b) is still sick and coughing in 2 weeks c) is extremely sick, weak, or not eating at any point and you are concerned 29-Jan-2019 Progress Exam Patient is still highly anxious, agitated and vocalising in kennel. A - High shelter anxiety P - Increase trazadone dose 10 mg/kg BID PO indefinitely 20-Jan-2019 DVM Intake Exam. Estimated age: 4-5 based on dentition. Microchip noted on Intake? N. Microchip Number (If Applicable): n. History : os. Subjective: BARH, Observed Behavior : very tense - for safety placed a muzzle and allowed for full PE. Evidence of Cruelty seen -n. Evidence of Trauma seen -n. Objective: T = -,P = wnl, R = wnl, BCS = 5/9. EENT: Eyes clear, ears clean, no nasal or ocular discharge noted. Oral Exam: muzzled - did not examine fully- mild calculus on the canines (1/5) otherwise teeth in good condition. PLN: No enlargements noted. H/L: NSR, NMA, CRT < 2, Lungs clear, eupnic. ABD: Non painful, no masses palpated. U/G: spay scar and tattoo - vulva unremarkable. MSI: Ambulatory x 4, skin free of parasites, no masses noted, healthy hair coat. CNS: Mentation appropriate - no signs of neurologic abnormalities. Rectal: externally normal. Assessment: Healthy. *** TO FOSTER OR ADOPT *** HOW TO RESERVE A “TO BE KILLED” DOG ONLINE (only for those who can get to the shelter IN PERSON to complete the adoption process, and only for the dogs on the list NOT marked New Hope Rescue Only). Follow our Step by Step directions below! *PLEASE NOTE – YOU MUST USE A PC OR TABLET – PHONE RESERVES WILL NOT WORK! ** STEP 1: CLICK ON THIS RESERVE LINK: https://newhope.shelterbuddy.com/Animal/List Step 2: Go to the red menu button on the top right corner, click register and fill in your info. Step 3: Go to your email and verify account \ Step 4: Go back to the website, click the menu button and view available dogs Step 5: Scroll to the animal you are interested and click reserve STEP 6 ( MOST IMPORTANT STEP ): GO TO THE MENU AGAIN AND VIEW YOUR CART. THE ANIMAL SHOULD NOW BE IN YOUR CART! Step 7: Fill in your credit card info and complete transaction HOW TO FOSTER OR ADOPT IF YOU *CANNOT* GET TO THE SHELTER IN PERSON, OR IF THE DOG IS NEW HOPE RESCUE ONLY! You must live within 3 – 4 hours of NY, NJ, PA, CT, RI, DE, MD, MA, NH, VT, ME or Norther VA. Please PM our page for assistance. You will need to fill out applications with a New Hope Rescue Partner to foster or adopt a dog on the To Be Killed list, including those labelled Rescue Only. Hurry please, time is short, and the Rescues need time to process the applications.

#funny #lol #humor #memes #meme #memehumor #dank memes #funny pics #rolf #lmao #Africa #Anaconda #and

[meetthetank]

Peccatum Chapter 4: The Hounds and their Master

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14454675/chapters/36861228

Rating: Mature        

Archive Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Category: F/M

Fandom: NieR: Automata (Video Game)

Relationships: 2B/9S (NieR: Automata), A2/A4 (NieR: Automata), Jackass/The Commander (NieR: Automata)

Characters: 2B (NieR: Automata), 9S (NieR: Automata), A2 (NieR: Automata, A4 (NieR: Automata)

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe, genre typical violence, long fic, Slow Burn, War

Despite his reservations, traveling with 2B is relatively painless. Enjoyable even. When she isn’t soaring on the gentle mountain breezes above him, she keeps stride beside him and listens to him talk about one thing or another. Most of the time it’s just 9S rambling about something idle and meaningless, such as 2B’s mainly fish diet and 9S’ love of cherry flavored ice cream. Sometimes 9S explores tangents that are only vaguely related to what they were talking about, like the subtle exploitation of trade routes that allow for the transportation of foreign goods such as cherries. He’ll go into the economic ramifications of this, but the bewildered look on 2B’s face brings him back to reality. Not everyone finds these topics as interesting as he does.

When she isn’t next to 9S letting him talk her ear off, 2B transforms and circles around him in the sky. That far in the air, he sometimes mistakes her for a large vulture with the way she soars for long stretches without beating her wings at all. Her flight patterns are so graceful 9S has a hard time believing that this is the same floundering idiot bird he pulled out of the ocean. 9S has a theory about why this is and makes a mental note to ask her where she’s from whenever they stop to rest next.

It’s a strange feeling to enjoy a trek in the wilderness since 9S typically makes these months-long journeys alone. Having someone to talk to, to listen and respond to him, makes it not only bearable but pleasant. Even though he loves verbally dissecting any topic to a willing ear, trying to figure out the quirks and behaviors that make up 2B is far more interesting. 

She prefers to listen, rather than speak it seems. Even when prompted by 9S to elaborate on an aspect of her culture or her home, 2B responds with a simple one or two word answer and the two of them lapse into a long bout of silence. Eventually, 9S resigns to inane questions that don’t seem to put her on edge. It does surprise him that she is so closed off when it comes to herself and her home. He isn’t sure why she is or why he assumes her to be open with her life.

At 9S’ recommendation, the pair avoids the main road. It’s a rule of his to only use it if he needs a warm place to sleep for the night or if the surrounding wilderness is too dangerous. With 2B either keeping pace beside him or circling above there isn’t much local wildlife that can take the both of them on. Occasionally they do venture onto the road when it transforms from a well kept cobbled path to little more than a dirt trail.

9S comes across a small group of people camped out on the dirt path while 2B soars above them. A ragged bunch that 9S mistakes for beggars at first, but then he sees the despondent look on their faces, the way a mother clings to her whimpering child, and the small cart filled with haphazard belongings. The image of the smoldering remains of a village flash into his mind. He casts a sorrowful glance back at the refugees as he passes them by. The only one who looks up at him is a young girl clutching a scorched doll.

The desolate villages come as no surprise to 9S; many smaller towns have been abandoned and left to rot in recent years. Towns that used to be hubs of activity or places to rest while on the road are now nothing more than piles of wood and burned farmland.

2B returns to her human form beside 9S as they pass the remains of a village.

“...I hadn’t realized how bad things had gotten,” she mutters to him.

“Yeah…”

9S continues down the road for a few paces before he realizes that 2B isn’t next to him. He whips around in a momentary panic to find her staring at the smoking ruins a couple of yards away.

“Why do they do this...What can the demons gain from ravaging defenseless towns.”

“It’s a tactic of theirs…” he responds with venom dripping from his voice, “Force everyone into one place and then…”

“Oh…”

The pair continues in a heavy silence, the destruction around them sobering any kind of light-hearted banter that might have crossed either of their minds. 2B seems to be even more closed off than she was before, her arms crossed over her chest and her gaze cast somewhere off in the distance. 9S assumes that she had never left her home before setting out on her own, and wherever home was must not have been targeted by demons. Or at least not often.

They pass more and more displaced families, each one from a different town. A father from the west mentions that many people from destroyed villages are heading to the sprawling port town of Vigo. According to him, it’s one of the few walled cities still taking refugees. A mother clutching an infant warns them of living shadows that tore her family to pieces as she fled. A boy no older than fifteen grimaces like a veteran soldier as he recounts how he defended his young sister from the horse-like creature that skewered their parents.

2B remains silent through all of this, unnerving what few people bother to pay her any mind. She stares off into the distance from time to time, like an animal that’s heard a sudden loud noise. 9S has to snap her out of her daze by calling her name or tapping her shoulder. She only gives cryptic answers when he asks if something is wrong.

“I don’t know…”

About an hour or so later, 2B transforms and launches into the air. 9S doesn’t pay it any mind at first, but then she soars further into the distance to the point where she’s merely a speck.

“Wh- Hey!!” he shouts.

He knows there’s no hope of catching up to her on foot, but the strange pang in his chest as she flies away from him spurs him forward as fast as he can. Why would she just abandon him like this? There must be something wrong, right? 2B wouldn’t leave him without a word.

But he doesn’t know 2B. Not well enough to quell the anxious churning in his gut.

9S calls out to her again and again in hopes of his voice reaching her, but she’s so far in the distance that he loses hope quickly. His frantic sprint slows to a stop as 2B disappears from view behind the treeline. His new friend, gone from sight without so much as a goodbye.

As he gazes almost mournfully at the sky, he sees the smoke.

Great billowing clouds of black smoke rise above the trees, through which he sees 2B’s white wings soaring. She seems to bank towards him then back around into the smoke, as if she’s beckoning him towards whatever is burning. His legs move on their own, powering him on in her direction.

He shoves his way through forest and underbrush, following the thick black clouds in the sky and the growing roar of a massive fire. A number of forest-dwelling creatures sprint past him in the opposite direction. A horse in full saddle and riding tack bursts out of the foliage, nearly crashing into 9S before galloping away. Blood splatters across the ground from long, heinous claw marks that leave tatters of flesh dangling off the beast’s chest.

The roar of flames is drowned out by what sounds like countless horses screaming, along with the sound of something heavy being thrown against wood. 9S bursts out of the thick woods into a pasture. It might have been an idyllic scene if not for the burning stables just beyond the fences and the great plumes of smoke emerging from the small town behind them.

“2B!” 9S calls out to the white beast soaring above.

She lands nearby, scattering ash into the air with each beat of her wings. In a flash of light, she reverts to her human form, her flat sword already drawn.

“I saw something moving inside the town,” 2B says and motions for 9S to follow.

“There are still people here?!”

“No, something else...It looked like a pack of black wolves.”

Dread coils in 9S’ stomach. He’s read reports from the other scouts about black, wolf-like creatures that appear around great fires along with...something else.

The acrid, stomach-churning smell of burning flesh carried on searing wind nearly makes 9S double over and vomit. It confirms the fear that had been brewing in the back of his mind since seeing the stables, which have gone eerily quiet apart from the crackling of burning wood and bone.

Again, 2B wanders away from him. This time she seems drawn to the largest pillar of smoke rising from the center of town. Instead of pleading with her to stay nearby, 9S decides he’d have better luck simply keeping pace with her. Jogging after a Coatyl with tunnel vision is a more sound plan than getting left behind anyway.

What’s left of the town is nothing but smoldering embers, the fires that consumed most of the buildings seem to have gone out hours ago. 9S lags behind his companion as he sidesteps puddles of drying blood and piles of unmentionable gore. The scene is so violent, so cruel, that there isn’t any doubt in 9S’ mind of what could have caused this.

2B covers her face with the long sleeve of her robe as she searches for any sign of life in the crumbling buildings. She jumps at the slightest movement, each shift in the wood as it disintegrates could be a poor unfortunate crawling their way to freedom. Of course, she finds nothing but ash and embers each time.

They make their way to the center of town, and towards the largest of the pillars of smoke. The closer they get, the roar of a still-raging fire grows louder and louder along with the horrid smell of burning flesh.

What they find at the center of town makes scout and swordswoman alike recoil in horror.

A mass grave, over two hundred bodies large, still burning as if it were just lit. Each body is anonymous, faceless, all features having burnt away hours ago; yet they can make out the shapes of men, women, and children alike.

“Gods…” 9S whispers, bile rising in his throat.

He’s read the reports, heard first-hand accounts of this sort of thing, but they pale in comparison to seeing it for himself. He can’t bring himself to look at the pile for too long. 2B doesn’t seem much better, though she looks less on the verge of collapsing than he does. She just stands there, jaw clenched tight and lips pressed in a thin line. Her fingers curl around the grip of her sword so tightly that her knuckles turn stark white. 9S can even see the slight elevation of the scales on her fingers.

A low droning noise, almost inaudible above the roar of the flames, drags 9S out of his horrified trance. His hand instinctively reaches for the lance secured to his back as something chatters a response.

“2B…” he mutters, drawing his lance, “We have to go.”

She jumps at the sound of a house crumbling under its own weight, drawing her sword as well. The golden inlays on the weapon glisten in the light of the flames each time she turns it in her hands.

The chattering of unknown creatures grows into a cacophonous laughter that seems to surround them. It’s impossible for 9S to discern just how many beasts were closing in on them. At first, he hears just four, then five, then seven, until they all meld together into one. All uniqueness in pitch and cadence fade away into a single dissonant voice. 9S clutches at the side of his head and groans as that horrible noise tears through his mind.

Just when the laughter became near unbearable for him, it stops. Everything stops. If it weren’t for the sound of 2B’s tense breathing, 9S might have thought he had gone deaf. They share a look, a brief confirmation that this wasn’t a strange hallucination and that they’re both in very real danger.

With a quick tap on her arm 9S and 2B break into a sprint in the direction of the pasture and the woods beyond. The rapid footfalls of pursuing monsters close in on them, but neither dare look back at the creatures practically nipping at their heels. They chatter in some beastial language that’s reminiscent of the uncanny laughter of a hyena. Shadows shift and waver in the corner of 9S’ vision, and a particularly large one darts out in front of them.

It stands in front of still burning stables, stopping the pair in their tracks. The pitch black creature, about the size of a wolf, remains unmoving even as 2B and 9S skid to a halt in front of it. It watches them despite having no eyes or any facial features for that matter. Vapors the same void-like color as its skin emit from its “skin”, swaying with its body and giving the beast an ethereal quality as if it were a simple shadow. Behind them five more of the creatures close in, blocking any easy paths out. 2B growls and slashes her sword at one of the creatures that creep too close for comfort, but the beast easily dodges backward and lets out a low hissing sound that makes her skin crawl.

The top of the lone monster’s head unhinges revealing rows and rows of needle-like teeth that point towards the back of its throat. Saliva that sears the ground it lands on dribbles from its maw, any plant life that it comes into contact with begins to wilt instantly. It snaps at the air just in front of 9S, causing him to stumble back into 2B. The beasts close in on their left, snarling and gnashing their jaws.

9S keeps his lance trained on the creature closest to him, his palms growing clammy and tense. He jabs at the beast, which simply shifts its weight to the side. A strange afterimage of itself lingers a half step next to it, which quickly dissipates into black mist. It laughs at him, or at least it seems to, with short wheezing huffs. Each one expels more of that mist that is released by its skin and saliva.

One creature lunges at 2B, who reacts immediately with a powerful downward strike of her sword. The flat blade easily cleaves through the monster’s almost gaseous body, yet the sound of metal meeting “flesh” is just as sickening. The strike separates its head from its neck in a clean-cut, its body falling to the ground near their feet with a wet thud. Thick, black blood pours from the stump of its neck, searing the earth as if it were liquid fire. 2B backs away from the growing pool, pulling 9S with her.

Two more monsters on their left push closer to them, ignoring their fallen pack mate. There’s a momentary break in their formation on the right, large enough to 9S to take advantage of the gap.

“2B!” he shouts, tugging at her sleeve.

She reacts immediately, breaking into a sprint alongside 9S. The creatures follow behind and keep pace beside them. Blackened jaws snap at their legs forcing them to turn back towards the ruined village once again. They might be able to outmaneuver whatever these things are within the burnt out buildings. If they can separate the pack and take them out one at a time, then maybe there’s a chance of victory.

The distance grows between the creatures and the pair, though it doesn’t seem to 9S that they are outrunning them. He chances a look over his shoulder and catches a few of those beasts break off from the pack, leaving only two actively pursuing them. 2B notices this as well and stops dead in her tracks to prepare an attack.

9S stops a few feet away and readies his lance, taking the grounding stance he was taught as soon as he could hold a stick. One beast charges 2B, juking to the side as she strikes at it. 9S rushes while the monster’s back is turned, leaping at the last moment and using the momentum to stab his lance right between its shoulders. It screams as it struggles against both his weight and the lance’s blade holding it down, eventually falling to a pitiful whimper and then silence. 2B kicks the second creature square in the chest as it leaps at her, her powerful legs sending it flying backward. It scrambles to its feet, but it does little to stop the might of 2B’s blade. In one incredible swing, she brings the flat sword down onto its back, splitting its spine in two.

They stand back to back once 9S wrenches his lance free from the monster’s body. The black blood he thought to be acidic slides off of the treated metal that makes up the blade. 2B casts a nervous glance at his weapon and edges herself away, disguising it as simply standing and brandishing her sword at three more demons.

2B is about to attack when the air crackles with energy, making the downy feathers that lie beneath her hair stand on end. She leaps into action, tackling 9S to the ground just as a piercing whistle echoes through the ruined town. Something sails over their heads with an ear-splitting screech and embeds itself in the dirt. 2B only gets a brief look at the glowing yellow oblong shape before it explodes. She covers 9S’ body with hers as hellfire licks at her back, singeing her robes before fading away. As she pulls the young scout to his feet, brushing off his concerns for her, she hears the distant pounding of hooves growing closer and closer. A great looming shadow peeks around the corner of one of the ruined houses as another explosion ignites the dried grass, setting the ground itself ablaze.

She tugs her still disoriented companion away from the rapidly growing flames and away from the heavy hoofbeats of whatever new monster is bearing down on them. 9S stumbles along at first, using his lance to support himself when he feels he is in danger of falling, but it slows them down. A darker part of 2B’s mind urges her to leave him to his fate. He’s a hindrance. If it weren’t for him, she would just be able to take to the skies and escape.

And yet…

He leaps in front of her when the three dog-like demons block their escape route, brandishing his lance with a bravado she didn’t think possible of one so small. There’s a fire in his icy blue eyes that 2B has only a brief look at before a horrific scream rips through the air, and the thunderous beating of hooves comes to a stop behind them.

A creature that appears to be a monstrous horse and rider merged into one towers over the pair. The “horse” part of the creature seems to stare at 2B despite having only sharp-edged plates of metal where any facial features might be. Rows of flat teeth take up most of the head, twisting into a crude smile down to its thick neck. Instead of fur, an off-color leather substance functions as the creature’s skin, and from this skin, the rider is formed like a malignant growth. The humanoid shape is fused to the body of the beast just behind the shoulder, its thighs melding into the beast’s body somewhere above the knee. In one hand it grips a bizarrely shaped pike, and in the other, a yellowish flame flickers between its fingers. That same yellow flame seems to emanate from its abnormally large eyes, the only features on the face of the humanoid growth.

The beast head grinds its teeth, a hideous wet sound accompanied by flecks of spit that escape its maw. A voice similar to the one that assaulted his mind in the cave pierces through 9S’ mind. It grinds and gnashes in his brain, forcing him to double over and clutch his head in a feeble effort to dull the pain. Through the tears forming in the corners of his eyes, he sees 2B stave off one of the black hounds that attempts to attack him in his weakened state.

The voice surges through his blood, “F̛͎͎͎̰̗͍͔̆̎͂̚e̵̯̭̦̗̗̥̺̱͂̑̐̄͘͞͞ͅe̡̖͔̮̬͉͔̤͒͒̄̈́̐͋͘ͅb̦̹̫͉͇͚̦́́͑̄͜͡l̢͎̜͍̭͖͍̼̱̉̒̍̄̓͋̊e̙͕̭̮̟̹̅̽̃̊͒ ắ̴̧̻̳̪̠̹̌̑̄̀b̷̮̻̪͉͗̐̅̅͊͟͟͝o̵̥̻͔̘̻̟̬̍̏̎̚͘͢m̴̞̗̤̮͔̘̦̲̞̝̆̈́̿̉̊̕̕ỉ̵̧̛̠̖̘͙͙͚͆̉̈́͜n̶͉̗͙̫̐̅̉̓̾̍͑ͅa̲͙̙͓͇͈̼̱̯̲̎̔̇̈́͡t̵̨̧͍̫̱̹̣̜̯́̅̀̆̃̃͋̽͝ͅi̵̱͔̭͔̞͔̓̎̑̀̐̃͜ͅo̶̹̞͔̥̥̻̗̦͋͗̿͛́͐́̈́͘n̛̗̤̦͙̘̤͇͚͙̞̐̽͆̄̑͋̕͝.͕̙̰̠͓͔̮̰̥͌̌́̀̔̄̃̒̏͗.”

9S is forcibly pulled from his stupor when 2B shoves him out of the way of another volley of fireballs from the rider. He forces himself to his feet as fast as his aching body will allow to be sure his friend is okay. Luckily, aside from the hem of her robes looking a bit scorched, she appears to be fine. She bares her teeth, sharp and inhuman, and charges with a bellowing roar that matches the monster. The rider swipes at 2B with its twisted pike, while the horse rears up on its hind legs. The pike is easily deflected, but one of the beast’s warped hooves lands an audible blow to her chest. She flies backward and crashes into a pile of scorched wood, sending clouds of ash into the air.

Just as 9S is about to rush to her side, wicked teeth sink into the meat of his calf. One of the black dog creatures had snuck up on him and now tears at the muscles of his leg. He howls yet barely registers the pain. Battle trance, he recalls. Something that his superior officer mentioned long ago. Where soldiers with grievous wounds would continue fighting without pause. What an odd time to be remembering this…

He thrusts the ornate lance forward into the beast’s neck. It screams, eerily similar to his own cries and reels backward. Though his leg burns and bleeds, 9S is more concerned with 2B struggling against the horse demon. He scrambles to his feet and bolts towards her, his breath catching in his throat as she deflects a strike powerful enough to break her stance.

2B stumbles, the repeated strikes and stabs narrowly missing her. 9S shoves her out of the way of the horse head’s teeth the moment he reaches her side, but in his panic, he neglects to realize the demon has two portions. The rider raises its lance, its gnarled blade aimed squarely at his head.

2B’s hand reaches out to him, snagging whatever she can grab. Her fingers curl around his pendant and she yanks as hard as she can.

“No-!”

He staggers forward, but the small chain necklace snaps from the force, coming loose in 2B’s hand. The rider’s spear embeds itself in the ground between them, giving 2B space to take in 9S’ true appearance.

The pendant in 2B’s hand must have some sort of masking spell attached to it. A glamor, if she remembers correctly. Looking at him now it’s painfully obvious what he’s trying to hide. Two horns, barely developed beyond nubs an inch long emerge from his forehead. Black claws tip his fingers, and a thin tail of similar color twitches behind him, ending in a pointed spade. His eyes, wide with terror, are now ringed with pure white irises instead of icy blue, and two fangs peek out from behind his lips. Most damning of all, a small ring of unstable white energy crackles between the two stubby horns on his head. He is, unmistakably, a demon. Or of demonic heritage at least.

One of the hounds bites onto 2B’s arm while she’s distracted, another one tackling her to the ground a moment later. A small pack descends on her, while 9S struggles to fight the horse demon. His leg gives out as he dodges back and forth, crippling his strikes and bringing him dangerously close to the demon’s blade.

2B roars and thrashes against the hounds. Their fangs pierce through the thin scales that appear to be skin, pulling and yanking in different directions. One pulls on her arm, another her leg, and one tear at her shoulder with its clawed feet digging into her chest. She pulls a leg free just long enough to kick the hound on top of her squarely in the chest. The solid and powerful blow sends it flying into 9S, knocking him prone and leaving him vulnerable.

The warped hoof of the horse pins him down, crushing his ribs under its weight while the rider raises its pike. 9S tries to scream and fight, to do something but all he can do is wheeze and beat his fist feebly against the beast’s leg.

He locks eyes with the rider as the pike comes down on his head-

“Hey, shithorse! Over here!”

Suddenly, there’s a flash of movement and a deafening explosion engulfs the rider’s head the moment a black blur slams into its face. 9S’ hands fly up to shield his face from the rain of viscera, but a familiar string of profanities and the sight of oily black hair makes his heart soar.

“Jackass?!”

The grungy officer flashes her signature toothy smirk at him while a bellowing scream from the horse demon drowns out whatever quip she fires his way. A handful of lightly armored soldiers charge forward in a simple formation, scattering the remaining hound demons in various directions. One is unfortunate enough to pass to close to the now unbound horse demon, which effortlessly snaps up the lesser creature in its powerful jaws and gulps it down in only a couple bites.

“On your feet kiddo!” Jackass shouts as she hoists 9S up by his arm, “You ain’t out of this mess yet!”

Sure enough, the horse demon throws a devastating kick with its hind legs to the troops. They break formation, attempting to confuse the creature with staggered attacks to draw its attention away from a single person. Jackass strikes her large black hammer against the ground, the force pulling back a lever like contraption that ignites the furnace built within. The creature snarls as it turns its massive head to face the lieutenant, an incoherent message of screams and vulgarities forcing its way into 9S’ head.

“You’re a talkative beastie, ain’t ya.” Jackass replies, seemingly unfazed by those unholy sounds.

The air around 9S crackles with energy as Jackass charges at the horse demon, her flaming hammer leaving a trail of smoke and embers. But just as she is about to strike, a shrill roar followed by a rush of wind stops the lieutenant dead in her tracks. 2B, now in her natural form, rakes at the horse with her talons, her wings beating furiously to keep balance. She flays the beast’s back as it wails and attempts to throw her off balance. It throws its head back trying to catch any part of 2B in its uncanny jaws, yet she remains just out of its reach.  

Jackass and the other soldiers remain poised, ready to strike if either beast draws too close. She commands them to stay on guard and opts to let this newcomer do their work for them. A soldier yelps as 2B hoists both herself and the demon into the air for a moment, then slams it onto the ground with a sickening crunch. Its piercing screams are cut short when the dragoness clamps her beak around its throat and thrashes her head back and forth until the head is ripped from its neck. Even 9S backs away from his companion as she roars, standing tall above the corpse. Blood splashes onto the ground, though it’s unclear if its origin is demonic or dragonic.

The soldiers glance between Jackass and the bloodstained Coatyl hissing at anyone who dares get too close. One swipes at her beak with their sword which only aggravates 2B further.

“Stop! Wait!” 9S shouts as he limps past Jackass and the squadron to stand in front of his companion, “She’s with….me!” He coughs and sputters between his words, clutching his bruised chest.

Jackass cocks an eyebrow but lowers her hammer regardless, “...Friend of yours?”

“We’ve….been traveling together for a while, she won’t hurt anyone.” he shoots a glare back at 2B who responds with an indignant huff.

The lieutenant motions for the soldiers to stand down and sheath their weapons, which they do with some hesitation. Once the danger to her has passed, 2B returns to her human state much to the surprise of Jackass and the soldiers.

She shifts her gaze between 9S and these strangers in uniform.

“...My name is 2B.” she says after wiping away the blood that lingered on her face.

“Jackass.”

“Excuse me?!”

“That's...that's just what we call her,” 9S mutters to 2B, noticing her tense stance.

Jackass holds her hand out to 2B with a lazy smile, “Thanks for the help.”

2B, having learned a little from her time with 9S, meets the officer with a sturdy yet awkward handshake.

With pleasantries out of the way, Jackass goes over details of his recent scouting exploits. Now that the danger had passed, the pain takes its toll on 9S, forcing him to sit on a stray log and nurse his leg. The other soldiers break off to hunt down the remaining hounds and comb the area for any survivors. 2B settles down nearby to tend to her wounds herself, shooing away any well-meaning soldiers offering to help. She licks at the gashes on her arms to stimulate her body’s natural healing properties and within moments the punctures begin to knit back together.

With her injuries healing nicely, 2B takes the time to meander around the ruined village while she waits for 9S to finish talking to his superior. She stops in her tracks when a piece of jewelry catches her eye as it glints in the sunlight. The pendant that she accidentally tore from 9S… She turns the simple necklace in her hands, running her thumb over the dull red jewel. It’s nothing special, just silver and an uncut piece of garnet, but there’s a subtle but unmistakable magical energy to it, indicating its true value.

For the first time since meeting him, 2B feels uncertainty towards 9S. He had kept this part of himself, this potentially dangerous part of himself from her. There’s a part of her that feels she should kill him before he kills her before she’s lulled further into the false sense of security that would be her downfall.

And yet…

She watches as 9S talks with Jackass. Not much about his demeanor has changed aside from the formal speech of a trained soldier, even while wrapping a crude bandage around his calf and trying to steady his breathing. The only new thing she notices is how his thin tail curls and uncurls itself from around his undamaged leg. He’s still the same person, and if he wanted to kill her there were much better opportunities to do so in the past. Her fist curls around the pendant as she approaches 9S the moment Jackass dismisses him.

There’s fear on his face. His eyes, now almost pure white aside from his pupils and the faint flecks of blue, dart around as if they’re searching her neutral expression. She can hear his heart thundering in his chest, and his tail flicks back and forth in a manner reminiscent of an agitated feline.

No words pass between them as 2B holds the pendant out to him.

#nier automata #2B #9S #Nier Jackass #fanfic #Tanks fics

[amourtaes-blog]

love it if we made it

song choice - love it if we made it by The 1975

Kim Taehyung. The most beautiful man to ever roam this world, at least to me. Also goes by V, 1/7 of the K-pop boyband, BTS! Born in Daegu, South Korea on the 30th of December 1995 making him a Capricorn. Collector of ties and admirer of Sir Vincent Van Gogh. Known for his 4D personality and breathtakingly symmetrical face.  A burning passion to act as he was in the drama, Hwarang. Parades around in Gucci but was brought up on a farm with his grandparents keeping him humble. Adores his parents and is a family man. Has the cutest boxy smile and adoring personality, he's kind and a great best friend according to Jimin. However, Jungkook says his personality is indescribable. He finds the moles that decorate his body interesting, even turning one into an elephant and likes to entertain whoever is around and himself by playing music and making a live music video. He is the social butterfly of the group, always making friends wherever he goes. He's innocent and playful, stubborn at times but deeply cares for everyone's well being. Quite frankly, he sounds perfect. This description right here isn't enough to give you even a rough idea of what he's like. I could go on for days talking about him but for now, this can do.

It's the 20th of July 2018, a Friday. A new "The 1975" song was released, Love It If We Made It. The first line clearly shocked me causing me to stop listening after a few more seconds, "Fucking in a car, shootin' heroin," I clearly wasn't expecting that. The rest of the day went by as a blur. I did the occasional housework and moped about, still feeling upset and drained from the past events of the week. I've been listening to Ariana Grande's new song, God Is A Woman, although I wasn't keen on the title I gave it a try and found myself addicted. It was quite a boring Friday, a long day of nothing specific. Nothing, in particular, roamed my brain apart from a growing sadness that I chose to ignore. Yet, the banging drums of the new The 1975 song rang through the back of my head. No matter what I did or heard, it was all I could hear so I decided to give it another try. Of course, yet again, I loved it The 1975 never disappoint me and I always find myself loving their new music. But this. This was special. I say this with all of their songs but currently, it felt like it touched my heart in places I wasn't aware of. The chorus grabbed at my heartstrings making me feel so deeply in love and straight away my mind went to him.

It kept me awake for most of the night, not once did I get bored of this song. It made me feel everything at once and I love songs like that. Songs that make me feel uneasy because it's not easy to describe how they make me feel. The song wasn't even about love, but the vibe and beat made me feel like I was gonna run away with the love of my life and watch the sunset. Till 4, the song was on repeat, full blast as I got lost into the depths of Tumblr, adoring and examining his face. Every second passed and I hoped that I could run away but with him, watching the sunset and not giving a care in the world. Just focusing on each other.

Just before the sun started rising I started to head to bed, hoping to put myself at peace even though every cell in my body was awake, buzzing at the beat of the song. Yearning to hear it for "just one more time" but a light wave of sleep sat on my eyes, Very light actually, hardly 2kg. I packed up and headed upstairs not bothering to wash my face as my body ached with pain and sadness, still I ignored it. Crying for hours 2 days beforehand was enough to drain my body of any emotion.

Laying in bed was torturous, especially since the arms that engulfed me once provided me with tranquility but now the owner of the arms sat on the center of my mind. Multiple attempts to get a few hours of deep, comfortable sleep fell through quickly as I tossed and turned, my mind racked with everything but the need to sleep. The song also occupying my mind, the quiet of the room only making it amplify. It was all so noisy. The song and my troubles attacking me from every direction, not giving me any chance to fall into a much-needed slumber. Long sighs left my lips and the party beside me was not having it. He knew deep in my intellect was a bustling mess of thoughts. Curiosity got the best of him and he was speaking before he could register what he was saying in his head. "Something on your mind?" Gently I looked to my side, my vision being blessed with the heart-stopping view. "Is it that obvious?" I chuckled, now aware of how crazy I must've looked. His hand came to caress my cheek, the softest fingertips grazing over my flesh made me breathless. "Wanna talk about it babygirl?" He hummed, moving his hand down to my inner shoulder rubbing gentle circles to calm me down. I let out a big huff, I could keep this in and enjoy how his skin feels against mine or I could clear my head once and for all, it's not like I would get any sleep if I chose the first option. I bore into his eyes trying to figure out which option I should take, I was pulled out of my trance when I saw his eyes flick vigorously between mine; searching for my answer. "Sure," I cleared my throat and sat up, ready to let this out once and for all to the person I loved the most. He too sat up ready to listen and understand, compassion glazed over his eyes.

"No one loves me Taehyung!" I sighed feeling a small weight being lifted off of me. His eyes almost popped out of his eyes and he reached forward ready to interject, to tell me I'm wrong, "No don't," I stopped him "Let me," He sat back intrigued as to what nonsense I was mewing. "Repeatedly I've been told no one likes me or someone has a problem with me. My family said it and so have my friends over the years. Not one friend or family member I had didn't tell me they found faults in who I was. It got boring Tae and I started to believe it, I still do. Especially when you hear it from someone you love and trust fully. It hurts, it hurts so fucking much. I just feel unloved and that I've been lied to all my life. I feel useless and disappointed. Disappointed that I'm not enough for people and disappointed in myself for fully trusting people so quickly. I'm so lost and confused now, each day feels as if it has no meaning and I dont know if I wanna be here to deal with each day because all I can think about is what I did wrong and if I'll ever be able to be loved? I don't want to eat or sleep or interact with people that aren't my best friend. Each conversation I try to hold feels like a chore. I feel like I failed, I let people win over me, I called defeat while they carry on living their best lives. Now there's nothing left for me to do, I'm just living for the sake of it. Each day all I do is wallow in self-pity rather than moving on with the people who do truly love me because it's empty inside now, there's a big hole punctured in by the people who pretended to love me and care. If I think about my future I just think about running away from my current situation and starting afresh with my best friend. Going somewhere where I don't know anyone and starting new relationships but choosing carefully so I don't feel the same heartbreak again. I want a change, a new beginning, a fresh start." Tears pricked at my eyes as I poured out the worries that ached at my heart but a smile still creeping up on my face as I thought about being with people who truly love me.

"Leyya, I love you! More than anyone and I want you to know that. For me, you're everything and I mean that I promise." Tae lovingly confessed, his hands latching onto mine reassuringly. My smile slowly melted from my face, another worry itching at my head. "You don't Tae because you're not real! You aren't here right now; this is all a figment of my imagination. This is what I wish for every night, to be held in your arms and to hear your heartbeat right next to my ear as I sleep. To be your one and only, the love of your life. The only person you look at and the only person to be loved by you but that's not happening and it will never happen. You're Korean and 9 years older than me, a famous K-pop idol adored by many and you live in Seoul approximately 5,000 miles away from me. Lastly, you don't know me and you never will. Even if I do meet you, you'll see me as an ARMY, not as someone who you could possibly fall in love with. It sounds so ridiculous but this out of all things hurts the most, the harsh reality. I'm loving someone with my whole heart who doesn't even know I exist or how much I'm devoted to him. There are probably millions of people who feel the same, I'm nothing special just another in the mass of people. You made me fall in love with you from so far away and it wasn't how good looking you were or who you were. It was you, the real Kim Taehyung. I'm in love with how real and sincere you are, your goofiness and randomness. I love everything about you, the good and the bad, the ups and downs. I want to experience them all but I won't. Ever. It feels as if my heart is being ripped from my chest as I say this but its the truth and I have to face that I won't ever get you, I won't ever be lucky enough to know you personally. You will always be Taehyung; my bias from BTS who I love so dearly but no one understands because to everyone else I'm just a teenage girl going through her one of many phases. If it's a phase why does it hurt to love you?" At this point, tears were streaming down my face and I was holding onto Tae's hand for my dear life, he sat there watching me come undone not saying a word because I was right and he knew it. The Tae sitting in front of me wasn't real, I made him up to help comfort me.

My breathing started to steady itself as I took all the energy I had left to focus on my breathing. We both sat in a comfortable yet endearing silence, I was thankful he didn't push or question my words instead, he let me get all the shit I was bottling up out. The sun started to rise and I felt sleep descending onto my lids. Tae sensed my exhaustion and laid down with his arms open, inviting me to join him. Sighing contently, a sleepy smile overtook my face. I snuggled into his side and clutched onto his body with my dear life, not wanting the moment to conclude. For once I didn't feel as heavy but there was still something there, eating and gnawing at me but like I always do, I chose to ignore it. There was still something more, some unsaid words that I didn't choose to air, I can't air them because it hurts too much to talk about.

The chorus of the song played but this time faintly without a jumbled mess of worries interfering, it spread bliss throughout my body. "I'd love it if we made it!" The words lulled over again and again. Would I be able to make it? Will this emptiness be filled with happiness or more sorrow? I'm aware he isn't real but I love how warm he is, despite it being hot, his warmth isn't only in temperature but he makes me feel safe and wanted. He makes me want to cry and jump in joy that he's here but cry also in despair as he's not really with me. I'm just holding onto the fact that what my brain made could be real. His embrace was secure yet relaxing, it didn't feel forced, it felt just right. My eyes slowly blinked closed and my limbs fell free against his body. A neat kiss was sweetly placed on my forehead and collected breathing lay close by your ear.

"You are loved!"

(i made my mom cry pt2)

[imashayne]

Klance Christmas Fic.... thing

Okay so here it is, right on the dot for the final week, a fic that was supposed to be a short which is definitely not because it has two parts. Also this first part covers the first weeks, part two has the fireworks bit. So I guess I just tag things? idk how do. It’s really rough I didn’t have time to go over it or have anyone look at it. Hope someone enjoys this. I had fun writing. And it was a fun break from my main Klance fic XD. A very Klance Christmas                

Keeping track of time in space was hard. Well, of earth time specifically. But Lance would be damned if he didn’t even try.                

So ever since the first night they’d arrived in the castle-ship the blue eyed boy had done up a makeshift calendar. It was a simple thing. A piece of note book paper that Lance had found folded up in his jacket pocket. He’d made a grid on it, marking the months and days. Each night before he struggled into an exhausted sleep he made sure to X out another square.               

 Sure it wasn’t perfect. But it was what Lance had to work with. Even Lance doubted its accuracy, but it lent the boy a much needed sense of normalcy. Gave him an anchor in this chaotic mess that had become his life.                

It was because of Lance’s calendar that the three of them were at the space mall.                

Pidge picked up a bright orange streamer which had just been tossed at her feet. More decorative items flew around her in a confusing whirlwind.                The green paladin blinked in confusion. How had she ended up here? “What are you guys doing?”               

 “What about this one Lance?” Hunk called over to the other boy, holding up what looked like a banner.               

 Lance poked his head out from the pile he’d been working on. “Maybe if we can’t find anything better…” Pidge held up her hands in exasperation since she’d been ignored. The movement caught Lance’s attention and he sighed. “I know your head is in Galra space right now but focus Pidge!” His tone was flustered as he dove elbow deep into another stack of odds and ends. (Since they were the poor alien’s only customers the shop owner allowed them to look through the back of his shop)”Well since you weren’t listening before-“ he grunted, lifting up and moving bundles of fabric. “According to my calendar it’s almost Christmas! Now I’ve missed a lot of things fighting in this war. My brother’s 11th Birthday. The fourth of July… HALLOWEEN! Which is like the best in my family you know! But so help me I will NOT miss this!”                

“Your… calendar?” Pidge pushed her glasses up her nose. “You know that I can calcula-“               

 “No! No no no nu-huh nope!” Lance dropped the mass of electrical wiring that looked completely tangled beyond help and stomped towards Pidge, waggling his finger and shaking his head decidedly. “You stop right there. You don’t get to take this away with…. Science!”               

 “Anyway Shiro thinks this will be good for morale!” Hunk added in, placing another item in the sadly small usable heap.              

   Pidge picked up the banner, holding it up to inspect. “This isn’t even that Christmas-y” She muttered.                

“We’re working with what we got.” Lance snapped.               

 “ You could help us out instead of standing there like a cave bug.” Hunk added hopefully.                

“Hey I only came along to see if they had any new video games in!” 

 “Okay yeah-“ Hunk huffed as he pushed a large box to the side that looked to contain nothing but old VHS tapes. (Pidge made a mental note to dig through it later to see if there was anything good amidst the artifacts) “But was there anything new?” He didn’t even pause to wait for an answer. Hunk already knew that if Pidge had found anything that’d caught her eye she wouldn’t even care what the other two were doing.                

With a groan she stepped into the fray.

 “Fine.” 

***                

 Alteans didn’t seem to believe in ladders. So lance had to improvise. Currently he teetered upon one of the trays that had been used to serve food and beverage to the Arusians. Lance wasn’t sure how much the weight limit was or if they even had one, but it hovered precariously for him and Lance was more than thankful that he was almost done.               

 Of course Lance had done up the entire room by himself. Which had eaten up most of the rest of his day. Once they’d gotten back Pidge had muttered a swift excuse and disappeared. Hunk was already putting together a space Christmas dinner to be remembered! As he’d put it. Lance thought it was already going to be pretty memorable, being as it was in space. Shiro was busy being the leader and Allura was busy being a princess.               

 Coran had helped Lance for a bit, but the new red paladin had to send the inquisitive Altean away. Sure Lance loved to talk but not when he was trying to actually focus on something and the mustached man kept asking about Christmas! Lance had almost yelled that he’d explain later.                

It hadn’t gone unnoticed by the residents of the castle of lions that Lance’s mood had been less humorous and more sharp. Now he had never been known for an abundance of patience but the boy’s fuse seemed to be at a record short. Almost like a certain mullet haired boy who had once been a paladin. In fact this short tempered change had seemed to overtake Lance around the same time that Keith had decided to step back from team Voltron and into team Mamorites. Or whatever.                

While the rest of the paladins knew very well of Lance’s current frustrations (being as each of them had their own given the circumstances) none of them dare speak about it, or well knew how to breach the topic with their usual bright and teasing Lance.               

 But for the Hispanic it was always on his mind. Keith was always on his mind.              

  Lance gave a particularly hard tug on the streamer he was setting up above the entryway and felt the thin paper rip just as the hovering tray tipped. He only had a moment to think ‘oh quiznak’ before he felt himself falling.               

 It came as a surprise to him that he was able to stop himself, lowering his center of gravity and tilting his body to regain balance. The blue eyed boy was just congratulating himself- The training was really paying off- when something bumped straight into the tray, sending both Lance and this someone toppling to the floor.               

 “What the-“ Lance gasped as he felt strong arms circle his waste. Even as he himself threw his arms out to catch himself, and whoever had knocked him down.                

It all happened in less than a tick. Kolivan and he had just left the bridge where they’d been giving their report from the last information gathering mission. As they’d prepared to leave Shiro mentioned that Lance would probably want to talk to Keith. And before the boy could ask even so much as a ‘why’ Shiro had turned back to Allura, already the two of them back to planning out the coalition’s next move.                 

That had led him here, into the great hall, after seeking out red’s new paladin on the training deck (Keith knew it was unlikely but still ….) in Calterneck’s room and the pool with no luck. He hadn’t even been gaming with Pidge.               

 Finally Hunk, who’d been covered in some powdery green substance akin to  flower and had been found in the kitchen’s (of course) told them that Lance was….decorating? Which had of course led Keith and his superior (and mentor) Kolivan to this moment. The half galra boy’s shoulder had bumped into something midair upon entry to the room. Keith of course being Keith, was now almost constantly in battle mode and as he felt a body slam down into him, before he’d even worked through how an enemy could have breached the castle’s defenses, or who this was, he was moving. Reacting. His arms wrapped around a slim waste, readying to throw the person, only he’d not had any time at all to plant his feet and so they fell fast.                 

They never actually landed though. Not hard at least. The other had twisted their body so the impact was not fully on him, Long arms braced against the rest of the force and a voice that he recognized was sputtering.               

 “What the-”               

 A loud clang echoed as the tray came down against the bac of Lances head, “-cheese” squeaked out.               

 It was Lance that recovered first surprisingly. Since he wasn’t suddenly painfully aware of how the other boy’s body was pressed against his own like Keith now was.                

He tried to scramble away but their limbs had become tangled in the fall, legs folding around each other and arms intersected.                

 “Sorry! I  didn’t mea-“ Lance’s half formed apologies were cut short as he was lifted bodily by Kolivan. As soon as they were free of each other Lance was finally able to see who he’d fallen on.                 

“Oh it’s you-“                

“The black paladin-” Kolivan began to speak but Lance was talking over him.                

“Why don’t you look where’ you’re going?”                

Keith had righted himself and was now glowering at the other.               

 “What are you even talking about?”

“The princess requested-” Kolivan tried again to no avail. 

“ You’re the one who fell on me!”

“Yeah well if you’d been paying attention!” They continued to ignore and talk over the older Galran soldier, who wasn’t entirely sure how to interject between these two. 

Lances voice held a hard edge to it. Once Keith hadn’t heard in a while. It was so weird. They hadn’t really fought for a while. But with everything else that had been going on, namely how it was always mission after mission with the blade, Keith didn’t have patience left for Lance’s shit. His violet eyes flashed before the blue light of the castle’s torches caught against silver tinsel that was twisted and strung down from the vaulted ceiling.

The fight was instantly forgotten as Keith finally took in the room around them. It had been transformed.Different shades of red fabric had been folded and pinned in such a way as to make them look like flowers. These had been hung beneath the lanterns. Along the stairs streamers of forest green had been twisted and swirled around the banister.The arched ceiling was the true beauty. Lance had managed to find a box of simple glass ornaments, which he ‘d suspended down along with thin silver and golden threads. Everything sparkled

.“Woah…” It was all Keith was able to get out

.“What is all of ….. this?” Kolivan was apparently seeking out a word that wouldn’t insult what he could only see as useless and frivolous. Realizing that there was a moment of silence between the two of them he swiftly spoke before either could answer him. “The black Paladin stated that you wished to see us?” 

Lance blinked in confusion, catching up with the sudden switch from fighting to having to fight down his own blush at Keith’s reaction. He turned to look at the tall Galra instead. He’d wanted to see Keith, though it didn’t really matter if Kolivan was there as well. It just made sure Lance could keep himself in check.

Of course Lance hadn’t been aware of his feelings for the hotheaded mullet until it was too late and he’d already left team Voltron. Not that Lance knew what he would have even done if Keith was still around like all the time. It would still be better than wondering when…. If he’d see the other again.But no Lance was studiously trying NOT to think about all that right now! He could sort through his own luggage later.Now was the time for Space Christmas!

“Yeah!” He threw his arms open, smiling as brightly as he could in an attempt to emulate cheer he didn’t quite feel. “You guys are invited to the Christmas party! It’s gonna be the bomb… not like… bomb like the last party we had here of course.” A nervous laugh escaped him and he cleared his throat, powering through the awkwardness he’d created. Because he could already see in Keith’s posture and expression how non-plussed the newest member of the blade was. Where as Kolivan seemed simply more puzzled. “But this time there’s not going to be so many people. Just…” Lance swallowed hard past the lump that had formed in his throat. “family ya know? But since the blade is like, your new team now they’re welcome to come.” Lance only faltered slightly at the end, muscles in his face growing tense and he tried to keep the smile up and pretend as if saying that new team thing hadn’t hurt at all. As if his chest hadn’t grown tight with the words.

“I don’t know Lance… we’re in the middle of a war-“

“I won’t take no for an answer!”

Keith opened his mouth again, not even sure how he could explain to Lance that they had another important mission (weren’t they all?) that they were supposed to be leaving for right now. But he didn’t want to be the one to shatter that hopeful look. He always seemed to be after all.

“What is this Chris-mas?” Kolivan saved him. Keith snapped his mouth shut for once. The leader of the Blade could be the bad guy here.Lance took a deep breath in, readying himself to launch into an explanation when Hunk came huffing into the room, apron still in place and looking somehow messier than he had when they’d left him.

“Hey guys sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to make sure I got the taste down for these space fried plantains. I mean they’re not actually plantains but it’s the closest I could get-“

 “Plantains?” Keith asked as he watched Lance take a large bite out of …. Whatever it was, straight off the fork that Hunk held

.“From Earth- you really are an alien!” Hunk joked as Lance moaned happily, taking his dear sweet time to swallow. Keith shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably.

 “Hunk!” It was weird hearing Lance take on a chastising tone, and yet it seemed natural coming from him. But it wasn’t the yellow Paladin’s comment that had made a strange kind of heat fill up his body. “It’s kinda like a banana I guess?”

Keith had to bite the inside of his cheek as Kolivan sounded out the word silently. His stoic features not changing in the slightest as he mouthed out ‘banana.’

“Seriously you’re a genius big guy! Ellos son perfecto! Though you don’t gotta put ‘space’ in front of everything!” Lance snuck another bite. And another rolling wave of fire moved down through Keith, coming to settle in his lower abdomen. Lance needed to stop making those noises. And feed his damn self. And maybe not talk in Spanish like that again. Something else that had caught Keith off guard. “Anyway Kolivan, Christmas is an earth thing right?” Lance again turned back to the conversation, but Hunk swiftly interjected again.

 “Oh yeah! It’s the best! It’s when you get together with your family and you eat all this wonderful food-“

 “And you put up all these really pretty decorations like trees and lights and candy canes.”

“Candy canes taste so good! And Fudge and Peanut brittle!”

Watching the two of them explain what Christmas was reminded Keith of two literal children. 

“Oh and you get to open up presents! Our tree always have piles on piles of presents but that’s more because of all my siblings-“

“Speaking of presents I almost forgot about the secret Santa! Good thing I caught you guys.” Hunk pulled a small bag of folded up papers from his apron pocket and held it out. Kolivan looked skeptical as he reached in and pulled out a paper.

 As soon as Keith had done the same a heavy hand came down on Keith’s shoulder. “Well Paladin’s we shall make this…. Chris-mas. Now we must leave for another mission.”

Keith hated howLlance’s face crumpled, and how he’d swiftly pushed a smile back in place as if he’d never lost the bright expression.It pained the half galra that he’d grown more used to seeing this forced smile than Lance’s true one. 

“Really? What are you guys up to this time?” Hunk asked.

“Oh nothing too big!” Keith rushed out before he’d really thought his words through as Kolivan led him out, thankfully remaining quiet. Without realizing it Keith had curled his fingers into a tight fist. The crumple of the paper drew his attention down to the fist. Cautiously he unfolded it. For some reason dreading looking at the name scrawled across it in tiny messy lettering. He wasn’t evens sure why. He’d faced down legions of Galra! Fought Alien armies in a damn warship to free the universe!

He quickly peaked downwards, shoulders slumping.

“What is this secret Santa? What secret is he keeping? And why is the red Paladin’s name written on this small scrap of paper?” Kolivan was shaking his head, bemused by the earthlings and their traditions.

“What!” Keith resisted the urge to storm on ahead of the other. Taking in a deep breath. “no-Santa is… a big guy that gives out presents. So with secret Santa you get a present for the person who’s name you pull, but YOU keep it a secret.”

“Hmmm…. I do not know what to get the young paladin.”

“Yeah? I got Allura and I’m in the same exact boat.” Keith folded his arms.

“Would you perhaps prefer a trade? You have known Lance for longer than the princess. It will be the same to me either way.”

Keith’s head swiveled.

 “Really?” He coughed and had to keep himself from snatching the paper from Kolivan’s larger hand. The sudden excitement abated swiftly though as he looked down at Lance’s name.It wasn’t as if he even knew what the Cuban boy liked besides girls and bad humor. If he had any time he might have been able to talk to Hunk about what he should get for the other boy.

“This celebration of gift giving, the Galra do not have a day such as this. Presents are only given on the day of one’s birth. You must share with me more stories of this Chris-mas.”

Keith folded the paper back up gently and slipped it into his pocket quietly. “I don’t have as many stories as the other two. Dad…. Wasn’t around as much. Not on the holidays … or any other day of  the year.” He muttered.The silence stretched out painfully for a moment before Kolivan’s deep voice spoke through it. 

“Why did you not tell the two paladin’s of our mission? It would have been pertinent for them to know.

”“Ch-“ Keith scowled, “I just didn’t want to bring Lan- I mean the other’s down with details. They were so excited.” 

Every mission was dangerous. Some however were more so.Especially when dealing with the druids. Which was where their next mission would be taking them. With ricks such as the komar and Naxzela they had to be more prepared for the magic users. But they had told Lance that they’d make it to his party. And Keith wasn’t a liar.

 If everything went according to plan they would make it

.***

The space was dark and silent. Keith’s body swayed as the ship they stood in entered the planet’s atmosphere. The only other movement was Kolivan, who was fiddling with his blade. Keith’s fingers gripped tightly on the bar above his head. Nine other Galra waited alongside him in the hold as the coalition fought around them in the sky. Even through the metal walls they could hear the ravages of the battle. Once an opening presented itself they would be dropped down. Right into the Druid’s keep. The faces behind the metallic masks were stoic, each soldier contemplating and preparing for the task before them. 

All save for Keith who’s thoughts were a thousand light years away. Pre-occupied with what could be the perfect present for a certain perfect boy. What did Lance even like? Keith asked himself for what felt like the millionth time. Girls, obviously, but it wasn’t like the boy could get Lance a girlfriend for Christmas…. Or wanted to. No. It had to be something he could wrap right? Like maybe some sort of…. Keith would have groaned in frustration, but even in his current state he could feel the heavy apprehension in the air around him to break this silence would break the rest of his teams’ concentration. 

Keith tried to focus on the mission at hand, chastising himself.But before he could enter the same frame of mind that the other’s around him were in, ready for blood, the floor dropped out beneath his feet and he was falling, purple light rising up to meet him.A veritable river of dark quentescense snaked beneath them. The other blade’s angled their bodies. But Keith had reacted too late. If not for Kolivan snatching him he would have dove into the acidic substance. He didn’t even have time to thank the leader before they were all moving. Sprinting towards the almost medieval like castle.

His body moved automatically even as the legions of drones clashed with their meager force. The knife in his hand almost seeking out the mechanical hearts. They moved easily through this obstacle.

Keith’s mind was still elsewhere. On the gift. It was such a simple thing! And yet he couldn’t conjure a single idea. Of course it wasn’t like Keith had much practice with this sort of thing. His dad had tried…. At times. But they’d never had much money. Keith had learned at a young age not to hope for too much. And at the same time to be grateful for what little he had.The experience he did have in receiving gifts he had even less in giving them. 

Keith should have simply kept Allura’s name. That way there wouldn’t be this pressure. Getting something for a princess would be less work. Lance had probably been spoiled as a kid. He sure acted like it. So what in the world, no the universe could Keith possibly find to impress the boy. For the briefest of moments Keith considered making something. But the idea was swiftly discarded. With what time would he be able to craft something And what would he even make? At this point the best he’d be able to throw together would be the severed head of a druid… which wasn’t something he thought Lance would appreciate. 

Vaguely Keith was aware of his surroundings. When the reddish glow of the dying star that served as this planet’s sun was no longer beating down on him. When the drones gave way to live soldiers. They’d reached the stronghold. Good, that meant that their mission was almost over.Keith wasn’t sure how much time had passed but with how smoothly things were going they were definitely going to make the Christmas party. It was weird. He knew he wouldn’t have a gift prepared…. But still he didn’t want to miss it. Easily enough Keith told himself that it was because he didn’t want to deal with a pouty or angry Lance next time they ran into each other. He wasn’t going to acknowledge any other reasoning.

It was pain that brought him crashing back into reality. He felt the blistering sting flare across his shoulder. He clumsily dodged the droid’s next two blasts before smoke swirled to his right and the dark clawed hand of a druid reached forth from it. Magic lighting up the palm. A wall of power slammed into Keith and the wind from the blow screamed in his ears. His back crashed into a wall and he crumpled. Black dots scattered across his vision, but as the violet mist once again churned around him Keith rolled. A tick later there was a crunching sound. He pivoted, snapping his arm up and letting the knife fly from his grasp.The druid’s were fast and their attacks unforgiving. He was beaten back, giving more found than he wished.

“Luxite blades are so interesting.” The deep voice intoned. “The metal is capable of reacting to the will of the one who wields it, and yet…” One of those strong arms snapped out and long fingers wrapped around Keith’s throat, easily lifting him from the ground as if he were nothing more than a rag doll . With his free hand the druid yanked out the sharp edge of Keith’s knife from his side where it had imbedded. Holding it up to Keith’s cheek and slicing open the flesh. “It still cuts you.” 

Keith swung his legs, hooking one up and around the druid’s arm even as he felt the growing pressure close off his wind pipe. Fortunately the momentum he’d already built up carried them both over. Unfortunately the grasp around his neck was still tightening. Keith tried to keep control of his body as they fell, thinking that if he could just get enough leverage he could escape this deadly hold.The druid wouldn’t let him. He was battered into the floor. The druid’s strength and body weight driving down against the one point. Keith flailed for his blade, had seen it fly from his attacker’s grasp when they fell. The edges of his vision were growing black from lack of air, and Keith wasn’t aware that the shadow that had risen up behind the druid was Kolivan until a blade was thrust through the monster’s chest and pulled upwards. 

Kolivan didn’t say anything to Keith as he helped him up but the silence was more than enough. The deep breath that he took into center himself sent a flare of pain sizzling through his body. There was too much going on right now to properly pinpoint exactly where this was coming from but it felt like everywhere. The boy jumped in after Kolivan, his generalized agony now enough to keep him focused on the fight. 

The battle continued to go downhill. The ease with which they had fought and destroyed the droids was now the mirror opposite to their conquering of the keep itself. They managed to complete their mission successfully. However it wasn’t without casualties.

And with how long it had ended up taking them they’d surely missed Lances Christmas celebration. Keith dare not even look at the time. Simply ask Kolivan as calmly as he could if he could to borrow a pod.

“You should get rest while there is time to do so.”Keith set his shoulders, not budging otherwise. If he had been human Kolivan might have sighed, rubbed at his temples or punched his nose whenever he was faced with the young one’s stubbornness. As it stood those mannerisms were of the human variety and so he simply nodded after a short pause. “Then I shall accompany you and deliver the information we’ve gathered along with the report to Princess Allura in person.”

Keith fidgeted the entire ride there. Ignoring both his aching body and the one time Kolivan suggested that he try to sleep. It seemed to take forever to get there. Each tick another that he was late. However when the beautiful Altean space craft came into view amongst the vast darkness and distant stars Keith wasn’t ready Forget the present that he wasn’t showing up with, Lance was going to be pissed that he was crashing in battle worn and late. The half galran hesitated in the pod as Kolivan disembarked, half hoping that the Galra leader would ask for Keith to accompany him to the debriefing.

Of course no invitation came, the older male knew why coming here so quickly was important to the former paladin. And so Keith took a deep breath. Like during the battle agony set his nerve endings aflame, but this time he knew it was due to the bruising along his rib cage. As he walked it was with a slight limp. Where he’d been shot throbbed as a reminder. Keith turned his feet towards the great hall.

He wasn’t even aware that he’d made it there, and for a moment blamed the haze of pain. Realizing a tick later that it was because the room was as dark as the hallways he’d been walking through. Only the dimmed lights catching on the silver tensile as if it were falling snow alerted Keith that he’d made his destination He stopped short and looked around, hand coming up to press against his sore side. The silence was deep.

He had missed the party then. 

It was almost like nothing had been touched at all. Despondently his violet eyes scanned the room. He was about to turn and find Kolivan when a hunched form caught his gaze.It was a testament to his training that before he could even blink Keith had his blade held aloft and at the ready. His first few steps towards the figure were soundless. Until he made out the white and blue design of the armor. Keith stopped trying to be stealthy and shifted to sheath his knife. He sighed in relief, opening his mouth to ask the other what he was doing here. But before he could get a single word out the other boy spoke.

“leave me alone Hunk. I’ll go to bed when I know he’s okay.”

Keith’s eyes widened. Perhaps if he’d not been so exhausted, or injured, he might have folded his arms, allowed one of his rare smirks to grace his features, and ask Lance in an almost innocent tone, ‘me?’

But as it stood his heart jumped up into his throat, which made the single word a breathless whisper. Lance’s head snapped up and Keith felt his chest tighten when he saw the bag’s under Lance’s beautiful azure eyes. “Shit Lance I’m sorry I missed the party-“ Keith didn’t often find himself apologizing, and yet Lance was one of the only people who ever got one from him it seemed.

Lance had jumped to his feet and crossed the space between them in just a few long strides. Keith spoke faster, thinking that the paladin was angrier than he looked and that he was about to get decked in the face. “I came as soon as possible but I couldn’t think of a present for you and there wasn’t any time between the mis-“ Warmth enveloped Keith, Lance’s arms circling his shoulders, pulling him in tightly. Fire ignited all throughout him that had nothing to do with the pain that spread as Lance squeezed him. Keith tensed for only a moment before leaning into this abiding heat from the other boy his own arms coming up under Lance’s gripping against the hard armor.

“You…” Lance’s voice was shaking and Keith’s eyes widened. He’d never heard the other sound like this. “just you, home safe. That’s all I ever want. That’s all I’ve ever needed Keith.”

That same incandescent fire that had burned earlier now rushed up into his face and Keith couldn’t do anything but turn his head into Lance’s shoulder.Neither of them was sure for how long they stayed like this, but Keith could feel how hard and fast Lance’s heart was beating even through his breastplate. And though the pace didn’t slow his own rhythm began to match it before Lance finally shifted. Keith didn’t let go as the Cuban boy leaned back and their breath mingled. It surprised Keith to see that a cherry red colored Lance’s olive cheeks, which of course only worsened his own blush. Beneath his fingertips the half Galran could feel Lance trying to pull away, to take another step back. Retreating the same way he’d been doing around Keith for a while now.Keith didn’t let him. The crimson on Lance’s cheeks grew deeper and spread up to the tips of his ears. 

Since he’d noticed months ago how the red paladin had began to pull away from him Keith had been at a loss for what to do about it.

Until now.

He looked up. “Oh shit we’re standing right under a mistletoe.” 

Keith felt proud of himself for catching the notorious flirt off guard as he spluttered, tilting his head to look and stuttering out, “I t-thought Hunk couldn’t f-find any? I was gonna put so many up-“ His voice was trembling in a very not-Lance like manner

Keith’s smile grew. “you idiot-“

“-Hey!”

“You were just supposed to shut up and trust me remember?” Without waiting another moment Keith tugged hard on the front of Lance’s chest plate. The other’s lips were so soft beneath his own.

#klanceholidaycelebration #Klance #voltron #Voltron legendary defender #Voltron Christmas #decorating #secret santa #gift giving #kisses #mistletoe #Pidge #Hunk #Kolivan #fanfiction #Keith #Lance #Idk what else to tag