#(they all turn around to see nothing but trees and a real big moon)

[wereshrew-admirer]

on Just Returns again and i desperately desperately want this AU - i've said it somewhere that duvall in marrow creek right after the captain would be WILD (what would the course show him????) but i hadn't caught that actually they set up the AU themselves... what if duvall found that letter and fucking BOOKED IT

[sunshine-and-moonshine]

The Three Bear Hybrids

Summary: You find yourself lost in the woods at night but luckily there’s a cozy cabin you can take a rest in! Sure hope there aren’t any lustful bear hybrids who own this cabin….

Warnings: Reader has a Vagina (no pronouns or tits mentioned), Smut, Breeding Kink, Spit Kink (Kinda? Lots of slobber), Reader really just broke into these men’s house, Dub-con (reader is described as having a hazy mind at times, implied like pheromone shit or something)

Pairings: Bear Hybrids!Ghost, Price, and Gaz x Reader

A/N: Any spelling mistakes you see are between me and the Devil so if you see them then shhhhhh

It was a bit cliche to say that it was a dark and stormy night, but you couldn’t find better words to describe it. The sky pitch black, sparkling stars and the bright full moon covered by thick black storm clouds, a deep cold settling into your bones. And you were caught right in the middle of the woods, lost in the forest while out picking mushrooms for tomorrow’s breakfast. You cursed yourself under your breath, worried eyes looking up towards the clouds just as a few droplets started to fall down on you from the heavens. With no other choice, you resigned to find your way home in the morning, wrapping your cloak around your body tightly to fend off the chill and the rain, a new haste in your steps as you trudged through the forest, almost tripping over roots and rocks that you could not see without the guidance of the moon’s light or your lantern that you had stupidly left at home, thinking that you would not be long. Nothing to help you find an alcove of thick brush trees or an abandoned cave to protect yourself against the coming storm.

Nothing save for a faint glow in the distance, a beacon calling out to you in the night. And like a moth to a flame, you followed it. Relief filling your weary bones when you set eyes upon a large cabin nestled cozily in the forest. A bit tattered on the outside, lacking any love. No pretty decorations or painted walls. Vines and moss growing up the sides, the door left cracked open and seeming to be broken off of its hinges, but set firmly in the place it should be to keep the inside warm. Carefully, you approached. Moving the door was a bit of a struggle but you managed it, and you were able to slip inside before placing it back in the frame, looking around at the interior of the cabin when you were sure the door wouldn’t fall on your head the second you turned your back to it.

The inside of the cabin was just as sparse as the outside. Everything made of plain wood, crudely made, everything seeming to be made just for its purpose with no care of how it looked. The table in the living room was crooked, the couch propped up by thick books instead of proper legs. The kitchen bare save for a single freezer box, packed full of meat and varying sizes of jars filled with jellies, jams, and fruit. The glow that called to you earlier revealed to be a small candle left burning in the windowsill, which you grabbed and used to light your way in the plain cabin. Not that there seemed to be much to see in the first place. The only thing of real note being that everything seemed to be made for giants, all the furniture almost comically big. But nothing was as big as the beds. Three plush mattresses in an almost perfect row, just a few inches from each other in the same room. Curiously, you ran your hand over the one in the left corner. Stiff as a rock, and you wondered who could sleep on something so hard. The next bed was softer. Too soft in fact. When you laid your hand on it, it felt like it was just a pile of blankets instead of a mattress. Certainly cozier then the first, but you doubted such a mattress was good for someone’s back. Oh but the third bed!

The third bed was just right.

The perfect mix of soft and firm, still warm with the heat of whoever had last slept on it. And when you couldn’t help but lean in closer, there was a soft alluring musk that waived off of the sheets. It lulled you, made your head fuzzy and stupid. You couldn’t stop yourself from curling up into the bed, that scent embracing you like a long gone lover as you wrap your cloak tighter around yourself just to stave off the slight nip in the air. Just a short nap, you promised yourself. The owners of this cabin surely wouldn’t even notice you were there. You’d be long gone by the time they came back.

The assurances you told yourself were enough to ease you into fully closing your eyes, a sigh of contentment slipping from your parted lips just as the rain outside started pouring down, covering up the sound of heavy footsteps crunching cobblestone beneath their weight.

You awoke to the sound of voices. Your mind still hazy with sleep, cocooned in that nice comfy feeling of warmth and safety and laziness. The kind of feeling you never wanted to wash away just because of how good it made you feel. But the feeling never lasted, and it started to drip away from you like ice melting in the spring sun.

“But they’re sleeping in your bed, Price!” A voice hissed softly, like they were trying to keep themselves quiet. Were they trying not to wake you? It seemed like an odd thing to do when whoever it was was clearly panicked.

“I can see that, Gaz.” A rougher voice said in return, a deep sigh following the statement, and you felt the hair resting on your cheek be shifted away. Still sleep dumb, you could only sigh and snuggle further into the large warm pillows beneath your head, almost missing the amused chuckle sounding from above you. And then suddenly your whole body was being moved, the bed shifting beneath the weight of another person as they pulled themselves onto the mattress with you, tucking themselves up against you. It was what finally drained the last of your sleepiness away, and you tried to shoot up in the bed in your panic.

Tried being the key word here.

An arm, thick and muscular, shot up at the same time you did, wrapping around your chest and yanking you back down, pulling you chest to chest with an older looking man, his blue eyes sparkling beneath the faint rays of the rising sun shining in through the window at your back. They looked like the sea, bright and mysterious, beautiful. You felt like you could drown in them, like they’d pull you under their waves and fill your lungs with that blue til you couldn’t breathe. Unbidden, you felt heat rise up in your cheeks as those blue eyes narrowed at you, clearly not impressed with your pathetic escape attempt.

“Easy, Honey.” That gruff voice, hoarse and rough but almost melodic to your ears, said, a hand running down your back at the exact same time, pulling you even closer somehow. Not giving you the room to run away or fight him off. “We’re not gonna hurt ya, Honey. It’s okay, just calm down.”

Surprisingly, his words did wonders to ease your nerves, your flailing turning to light shaking as he kept looking into your eyes. But your own look beyond him, at the two men standing just at the edge of the bed. One tall, taller than the man holding you, scars criss crossing all over his face, brown eyes looking almost like warm honey in the light. But, seemingly a bit unnerved by your looking, he turned his face away. Looking down at the man beside him. Shorter than the other two but his smile seemed to fill the room, warmer than the sun, eyes a darker brown. Like the wood of a great oak tree, strong and steadfast, but glinting with boyish mischief.

And it was just about then that you noticed something….peculiar about the three men. Namely the round fluffy ears that sat atop their heads, twitching at every sound in the room. And if you looked closely, you were sure that you could see a small fluffy tail twitching excitedly behind the shortest man, and the sound of one lazily thumping against the bed coming from the man holding you. More than a bit confused, you opened your mouth to question them, but the scarred man beat you to the punch.

“What are you doing in our cabin?” He asked, his tone defensive, full of bite, like the dog of your neighbor who so fiercely defended his properly. It made fear peak up again, but it didn’t escalate into full blown panic as the man holding you started to rub his nose against your neck, sniffing you like some forest beast. The heat in your cheeks only intensified, especially when he let out some pleased sound that rumbled deep in his chest.

“I…..got lost. In the forest.” You tell him, biting back a sharp gasp as the man licks a long trail from your neck up to your ear, nosing against it before nipping your lobe. It should have unnerved you, frightened you, but it only made a warmth pool in your cheeks and belly. For some inexplicable reason, you enjoyed it. And so did the man, if the rapidly hardening bump against your thigh was any indication.

“And you decided that breaking into our cabin was the best course of action?” He asked with a quirked brow, disbelief in his eyes. But he seemed nervous, twitching just like the man beside him, both of them seeming almost possessed. Licking their lips and sniffing the air like their was something delicious cooking in the other room.

“I-It was the only shelter I could find.” You tell him, eyes going a bit hazy as the man holding you suddenly shifts, laying you flat on your back and hunching over you, growling as he works to untie the tight strings of your cloak before angrily ripping at it when it would not bend to his will. You wanted to be angry, but find that you couldn’t summon the will to tell him off when he just dived for the open skin of your collarbones, sucking and licking with a fervent need.

“And sleeping in our beds, that was also for shelter?” The scarred man huffed, his tone softer now, thick with something heated and warm as the shortest man stepped closer, starting to undo the laces of your shirt, delving beneath the loosened fabric to stroke eager fingers over your pebbled nipples. You shuddered, head tilting back with a soft whimper as he leans in, whispering against your ear, breathe heating up your skin.

“My name is Gaz.” He says, and you immediately stored that information away, moaning out the name softly when he pinched one of your nipples before lazily rolling it between his fingers. “And this one, the one sucking on you like some cub? That’s Price. And the big fucker behind me is Ghost. He’s a bit shy though, Love. Needs a bit more incentive to come closer. Why don’t we get you undressed and show him what he’s missing out on?” Gaz suggested, and you couldn’t help but nod, your fate sealed as he ripped your shirt clean off your skin, Price already working on your pants, yanking open your legs and letting the sweet honey scent of you fill the air, all their eyes going hazy, all thought washing away from them as they all tried to lunge for your wet core, growling and huffing at each other, tongues darting out for a taste and getting angrier and angrier when they kept accidentally licking at each other in their eagerness.

But you? You were drenched in bliss, the feeling of three tongues fighting between your legs, thighs forced open wide to accommodate them all, hearing them growl like wild animals just for a single lick of you. It was incredibly arousing and the mewl you let out when one of their noses bumped against your clit was loud, all eyes snapping up to your face. Lust all over their faces, mad with it, hungry beasts who wanted nothing more than to tear you apart on their mouths and cocks.

Eventually, after several minutes of the battle for your cunt, Price was the one who growled at the other two to get back, loud and ferocious. Gaz backed away with little resistance but Ghost growled right back, reaching out to grab at your hips and try to drag you closer. That was, until Price gripped the scruff of his neck and practically ripped him away from you, the bigger man going limp before finally backing away with a soft grumbling noise.

Price then turned to you, a happy gleam in his eyes as he leaned down between your thighs again, tongue slower then before, like he was trying to savor a delicacy as he licked a long stripe from ass to clit, his groan reverberating through your lower half in a way that made a tingle go through your belly. And then he was all wild animal again, starved for your pussy as he lapped and succked and nibbled, his nose grinding against your clit and his beard leaving raw scratches along your inner thighs that you knew would be tender for days to come. But in this intense you couldn’t care less, throwing your head back with a loud moan, clamping your legs shut around his head, feet resting between his shoulder blades. It did little to deter him, only seemed to encourage him in fact, and he dug his fingertips into the undersides of your thighs, not letting you open or close them any further, practically suffocating him in your pussy. Just as Gaz was taking to sucking at your nipples like a welp, soft moaning sounds made against your flesh, his eyes closed whenever he pulled back to switch his affections to the other pert bud, licking and kissing along the expanse of your chest, leaving little untouched by his sinfully talented mouth.

And Ghost. Oh Ghost was just enjoying the show, his eyes wide as they roamed over your body and the two men worshipping it, his hand beneath his pants, stroking slowly to the sight of you getting tongue fucked by Price. It wasn’t til you reached a hand out to him that he approached, leaning down to sniff at your wrist a little before licking it, laughing under his breath when you jolted, his free hand coming up to hold your palm against his cheek as he continued to jerk himself off, eyes locked onto yours, his orgasm hitting him at almost the exact time yours hit you, almost twin like soft noises falling from both of your mouths as he leaned in to kiss you, all tongue and teeth, saliva dripping down your cheeks as he bit your lips and licked alonhg the inside of your cheeks. It was the best kiss you’d ever had, and you didn’t want it to end, whining with disappointment when he pulled back to allow you to breathe. But you just grabbed the front of his shirt, yanking him back down and forcing your mouth against his, pleased with the rumbling groan he let out in response. It was heavenly, he was heavenly, they all were. You’d never felt such pleasure in your life. The haze over your mind making thoughts sink far out of your reach, like a stone in water. The wave of heat over your body like a comforting childhood blanket. And you were sure nothing would ever feel better than this.

But you were quickly proven wrong when Price shifted between your legs, sitting up straight over you as he shifted down your pants, yanking your lower half closer to him so he could run his cock through your warm wet folds, tapping the large mushroom head against your clit almost playfully before sliding in with one firm thrust that had you crying out with pain tinged pleasure. But they held you through it, all of them. Ghost’s big palms on your cheeks, Gaz’s holding your hands, and Price’s squeezing your hips. Oh and it felt like coming home when Price was rooted inside you to the base, tip so close to brushing against your cervix that it made you want to scream. It burned, in both good and bad ways, but thankfully he gave you time to adjust. Letting his boys shower you with affectionate kisses for a few moments before he gave a slow experimental thrust.

Instantly, pleasure shot up through you like a bolt of lighting and you jolted beneath them, keening and wiggling, much to their amusement. But it was all that Price needed to know, setting a steady pace that battered at your slick walls pleasurably, stretching you out in a way you were sure that you would never fully recover from, sure to gape from the width of him when he would pull out, an ever present reminder of him. The thought made you clench and he snarled, fighting against the resistance your walls gave him, struggling to pull and push when you were clamping down on him so tight. He clicked his tongue, hand reaching down to rub rough circles on your stiff clit, more force behind his thrusts now, unwilling to be deterred by your body’s tightness.

“Gonna breed you.” Price huffed, voice thick, sticking like honey in his throat, like it was hard for him to speak. “All of us are gonna breed you full, Honey. Give you a few cute little cubs to take care of come spring. Maybe get lucky and have one from each of us. That sound good to you, Honey? Can’t wait to see you with a cub on your hip, feeding another one in your arms. Never gonna stop giving you little babies to take care of. You’re ours now. Swell like ours. Sweet little mate, we’ll take care of you.” He promises, his words sending molten lava through your veins, only able to stare up at him as he tilted his head back and growled. Not like the playful and commanding ones he used just previously, but something animalistic, inhuman. Terrifying and arousing at the same time. Ghost and Gaz pulled back just enough to make similar sounds, something in them becoming even wilder at the sound, diving back into you like you were a buffet, slobbering all over your body as they left no inch of you kisses and suckled at, pawing at you and humping your sides to relieve their aching cocks, tension building and building and building.

Until it snapped along with that knot in your belly, your orgasm washing over you as your sight becomes overtaken by a sheen of white, back arching to the heavens as you cry out, the sound copied by the man above you, his own pleasure shown in the ropes of thick white sperm that he sprayed inside you, hips nestling against yours, unwilling to let even a drop spill free as the two other bear hybrids already begin to bicker amongst themselves as to who would get the next turn with you. But all you could focus on was the ceiling, wondering what on God’s green earth you’d gotten yourself into now.

[luna0713hunter]

Dancing to the beat of our hearts

Zoro Roronoa x reader

Summary : being Zoro's lover,was a dream come true. Everything was perfect about him,but...when the night comes and you see couples dancing,you cant help but to wish for more...

Warnings : none, slightly hurt/comfort,Zoro being a simp for you,soft Zoro, FLUFF,gender neutral reader

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"ANOTHER VICTORY FOR STRAW HATS!!!CHEERS!!!"

Luffy's excited shout echoes through the night,as everyone cheer and down their drinks. All around you,people were celebrating,and happily serving you and your crewmates drinks after drinks.

You and your crewmates had managed to save yet another village from pirates,and it was time to celebrate.

Everything about this village was absolutely beautiful;from the cherry trees that had blossomed just recently,making the scenery breathtaking,to its kind and warm-hearted people who knew nothing but how to love and be happy.

They apparently,also loved to dance.

When the song changes to something soft and more melodic,you watch from your place across the bonfire how couples start to gather around;hands being placed on shoulders and arms around waists. You watch and sip your suddenly too bitter drink as they dance,and the sound of their laughter fills the air.

Your eyes wander to the green haired man sitting next to the open bar across you,and your lips pull down to a frown;Zoro didnt like to dance.

You loved Zoro,of course you did,but ever since you two became a couple...things didnt get too different between the two of you.

Obviously there were small kisses here and there,and Zoro became even more protective of you if that was even possible,but you craved real romance. Like the ones you would see young couples do,or read in the books; running under the rain while laughing,going shopping or matching clothes,and of course, dancing .

You could've made a list of the dances you wished to have with Zoro on so many occasions,but you never asked. You knew Zoro;he wasnt a big fan of showing his affection openly,always choosing to show his love to you through his actions. So it didnt take a genius to guess he would absolutely rather die than to dance.

You swallow the lump in your throat and stare down to your drink. You weren't even sure what it was; probably something light since you weren't feeling even slightly drunk. Something sweet. Maybe cherry? It sure had a good smell to it. As you swing the last of your drink around the glass,you make a mental reminder to tell Sanji to get some with you back to the ship. A small smile graces your lips as you think about sailing tomorrow morning once again with your new family,but the happiness is short lived as a bitter feeling fills your chest and you find yourself blinking rapidly in hopes of not bursting in tear right there.

Was it too much to ask to have a romantic love life?

As you start to wonder whether to return to the Going Merry or ask the musicians to play some other song,a small tap on your shoulder makes you jump in your sit slightly. You turn your head,and find yourself face to face with your boyfriend.

At first, Zoro's eyes search yours for a second,before jerking his head toward the back,where the road leads to the cherry garden.

"come with me for a second."

you silently nod,and accepting his offer to help you stand,you take his much larger hand in yours and make your way toward the garden. And when you finally step inside,you let out a loud gasp.

You dont think you've ever seen anything more beautiful in your life;the way the petals of the cherry blossoms dance in the air and settle on your hair,the air having the sweet smell of the drink that you had earlier,and the moon shining the brightest you've ever seen-

And none of them could compare to the picture Zoro was making.

You've always loved Zoro;ever since the very first moment you saw him,the first time he smiled at you,and the first time he held your hand. You loved Zoro,and you believed with your soul that there was no one prettier than him.

But now,as you watch the flower petals dancing around him,and the moonlight shining on his green air as he stares at you with the softest look on his face,you cant help your heart from beating awfully faster.

You loved Zoro. And gods above,he was the most beautiful being in the whole universe.

You're so busy admiring his features that when his fingers brush against your cheek,you jump slightly. Zoro raises his fingers up to you hair,and you feel him pluck something out.

When he lowers his hand,he shows you a small cherry blossom that was trapped in your hair. And in that moment,when he raises it up to his lips,you swear the time stops all together.

Zoro closes his eyes as his lips make contact with the flower,and he slowly opens his eyes to meet yours.

"y/n," he puts the flower in the pocket right over his heart and as he takes hold of your hand,with the sound of his three swords clanking together,he kneels right in front of you. Your gap at him,and you're torn between laughing and kneeling as well.

"Zoro,whats going on?"

Zoro scowls at you.

"what does it look like I'm doing?"

"proposing?!"

"no," Zoro deadpans,and your face visibly falls, "that has to be special. Not out of blue."

Your face brightens and small laugh escapes from your lips

"then,whats going on?"

And for the very first time since meeting him,he actually looks embarrassed.

You didn't know he could feel that kind of emotion

"I'm planning to ask you for a dance,if you let me finish."

When your mouth slams shut,he sighs and unconsciously rubs his thumb against the back of your hand.

Your heart flutter at how comforting he can be even when he's not realizing it.

"Babe,i know I'm not the most romantic person in the whole world," when you let out a snort,he scowls again, "but i promise,its not because i dont love you."

He slowly raises to his feet once again,and gently leans his forehead against yours.

"i know i dont say it enough,but i love you." His hand find your waist,as your arms wrap his neck;your eyes shining with unshed tears, "and i will continue loving you until my last breath."

You let out a small sniffle when he kisses your wet eyelashes.

"sounds pretty much like a proposal to me."

"oh,babe,i promise you that after my proposal, you'll cry your eyes out."

You tug at his short hair and give him an unimpressed look.

"you're making my heart beat with your smooth talk,Zoro. Keep it up and you'll no longer have a lover to propose to."

And when he laughs quietly,you cant help but to pull him down for a kiss.

The sound of the music in the background,makes everything feel surreal. The way Zoro holds you so gently,and his lips moving against yours with urgency,reminds you how passionate he can be. And its right there,that Zoro reminds your how much he actually loves you.

The sound of the music is still audible in the background,so when he starts swinging you side by side,you cant help the giddy laugh that escapes you. Zoro gives you a gentle smile,and kisses your forehead.

"from now on,tell me what you desire. I'll make all your dreams come true."

And when you raise your head to lock your lips with his once again,a small whisper leaves your lips.

"dont worry. All my dreams had already came true the moment i laid my eyes one you."

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P.s : thank you everyone for 400 followers!!!

[miyuhpapayuh]

24

“I'm so excited to be here!”

“We're so excited to have you, dear! Have a seat!”

Having been on edge all day about making a good first impression, once she'd gotten to the facility and saw five women that looked like her, their warm energy calmed her instantly.

“We got you a latte, didn't want you to feel left out.”

“Oh, I really appreciate it! I hope everyone's morning has been good!”

The ladies nod in agreement before the leader begins her ice breaker.

“This may seem a bit school-ish, but I like to go around the group and get a fun fact from each of you, and it wouldn't be fair if I didn't kick it off! So, I’m Roni and I started this group a few years ago so black women could have a creative space of our own.”

“And we love you for it! I'm Leia and I'm one of thirteen kids!”

“Oh my gosh, really? What's that like??” Zora asks, which makes everyone laugh.

“Girl, hectic! We're all two years apart, too.”

“My word. Well, I'm Zora and I actually had given up on wanting my own art career, but I'm getting back out there!”

“We're all so proud of you for doing that, it takes courage!”

“Thank you!”

“Of course, doll. I'm Fran and I'm fifty-five, sitting on a pretty pension from my dead husband.” She says, before cracking up, making the girls do the same.

“A hoot, that one is! I'm Trina and I collect rocks and turn them into little scenes.”

“They're really cool, she's gotta show y'all her latest one before we leave! But I'm Dina, and I'm a photography finatic! I'll take a picture of anything!”

She pulls out her phone and swipes through her gallery to emphasize her point. Nothing but trees, cocktails, food spots, selfies, her cat Toby, the sky and moon and clouds in between.

“You're just like me, for real.” Zora laughs. “Also I've never seen a black cat named Toby, how adorable.”

“She's a girl, too!”

“Really?? That's so adorable, too!”

“I know!” She giggles.

Roni and the others laugh at their interaction, knowing Dina and her infectious personality would pull her right in.

The activity of the day was to take your feelings and turn them into a scene. Any theme. People or no people.

Zora painted a vibrant sunset on her new balcony. Two glowy orbs side by side, overlooking the breathtaking view.

“Can I just say wow!?” Fran gasps as she looks over from her own masterpiece, a never ending garden of bright tulips and wildflowers.

“Oh,” Zora covers her face, “thank you!”

“I've never seen anything like this before. How'd you do that, with the shading around the orbs and stuff??” Trina asks, as the group moves in to see her work.

Still flustered by their sweet reception, she blows out a breath. “I actually tried something out while painting. Took the shades around it and made a color and outlined them, it adds some depth to it.”

“Hell yeah, it does!” Roni agrees, making the ladies laugh.

“Thanks, you guys! Now let me see what everyone else is working on!”

“Ooh, come look at mine!” Dina says, pulling them over to her portrait of Toby, his big green eyes making them gasp.

“Wow, those are her eyes, alright!” Trina says, giving her a high five.

“They took me like twenty minutes, they better be her eyes!” Dina laughs.

“She's so cute! Her and vday gotta do a playdate!”

“Absolutely!”

“Uh oh, miss Fran! Let's talk about these flowers!”

“Oh, my pride and joy! I've been gardening for about twenty years, and this is what my garden looked like until a couple years ago. The last time I was able to get out and tend to it all, I took a picture of it and now it's memorialized in this painting.”

“Who knew flowers could make you cry,” Zora frowns.

“That's beautiful, Fran.” Roni says. “Wildflowers are your favorite, huh?”

This makes everyone laugh.

“How'd you guess, you smart cookie??”

“Come look at my pretty rock!”

Trina painted a giant black obsidian rock that was cracked in half, indigo and violet on the inside, pale yellow twinkling in certain spots.

“Wow! I like this one better than my own!” Dina says, punching her arm.

“Y'all are the most talented women ever, I'm convinced.” Roni compliments.

“Wait, let's see yours!”

An up close view of a rib cage, pink and green butterflies litter the inside and linger at the garden planted in the center of her chest.

“Rooted in love?”

“Absolutely!” She smiles. “It's how I've been feeling since getting engaged. Just a love plant.”

“Awww, that's so sweet!”

“Yeah! Are we invited to the wedding??”

“Absolutely! It'll be in the fall, sometime. It's our favorite season.”

“Leia, what did you paint?”

A silhouette of a woman behind a rose colored sheet.

“What's the story behind this?”

“Hollowness, really. I feel hidden most times.”

“Oh, babe,” Trina frowns, hugging her.

Welcoming the gesture, she softly laughs.

“Thanks, but I'm okay, I'm just a middle child.”

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“Honey, I'm home!” Leon yells from the front door, chuckling as Zora damn near crashes into him, hopping into his arms.

“Hey, baby!” She squeals, inhaling his woodsy scent.

“Hey, my love. I see you missed me!”

Carrying her over to the couch, he plops down with her still attached to him.

“I did! I couldn't wait til you got here so I could tell you how my day went!”

“Oh yeah, I'm all ears! How'd everything go??”

She fills him in on all her sweet new friends, shares their paintings, and gives him a rundown of how their next few meetings are gonna go.

“Look at you,” he cheeses, “my artiste!”

Her nose crinkled as she covered her face.

“I'm good, I guess!”

“Zora Jean, please. You're the best.”

“The best, huh??” She uncovers her face as they both laugh.

“And you know this, lady bug!”

“Thank you, best chef and photographer ever!”

He humbly dusts off his shoulder, making her giggle.

“Speaking of! I can share this with you now,” he says, placing his hands on hers, “today was my last day of work at the warehouse.”

Her mouth drops open in surprise. He smiles widely at her reaction, proud that it was worth keeping to himself.

“You quit?!! Finally??”

“That, I did!”

“I'm so happy for you!” She beams, squeezing his hands now.

“Thank you, my sweet lady.” He smiles, leaning in to kiss her face.

“Aw, you're so happy about this, I love it! What's your plan??”

“Well, I think I can kick off my vlogging now. Not sure if it'll be more than just cuts of me cooking, but it's a start! Also, my boys said they'd support me with whatever I needed while I'm getting started.”

“That's really sweet of them! I can't wait to see your first video! I've got a thing for cameras now ‘cause of you, so if you need any help.. I'm here too!” She cheeses, earning three kisses on the lips.

“Thank you, baby. I may need you to be my camerawoman from time to time, when you're not busy with your own artiste dreams, that is.”

“I'm proud of us. We quit our regular-degular jobs to focus on our passions! How many people, our age especially, get to say that!!”

“We must be god's favorite, huh?”

“Oh, yeah!” She nods, meeting him halfway for a high-five.

✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ ... ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ ... ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿

“Alright ladies, today we are meeting with a few investors and they are very fond of each of your portfolios, so if all goes well, your names will be on front street before the weekend!” Roni squeals as the ladies do the same.

“I'm a little nervous, wow!” Zora huffs, placing her hand over her heart.

“Don't worry honey, your art is divine! If these suits don't like it, they don't know talent. Okay?” Fran says, rubbing her back.

“O-okay. I'm gonna head to the bathroom.”

Excusing herself, she heads down the hall and into the biggest stall of the bathroom, immediately calling Nique.

“Hello?” Her best friend sings into the phone.

“Girl, investors are coming to chat with us today! They've seen our work and are apparently impressed, which is great! This is what I've always wanted… but what if they get here and see our latest pieces and their opinions change? W-what if they don't wanna—”

“Zora! Hey! Calm down, sweetie!” She coos, snapping her out of her spiral.

Inhaling deeply and exhaling roughly a few times, she places her hand back over her heart. It wasn't beating nearly as fast, but she was still frazzled.

“I– it's been such a long time coming, ya know? I'm just… I don't know!”

“It's okay to be nervous, Jean. This has been like ten years in the making! Those investors already like your work, right?? So, you're in there! Don't worry about anything else. It would be remiss if you didn't celebrate your wins. You put yourself out there. You found an art group and they welcomed you with open arms! Investors know who you are!! They know what you're capable of and they're coming to see you and your work. Hell, let's call up that ex whore of yours and rub it in his face, cause you're killing this shit and you haven't even really started yet!”

By this time, Zora’s face was covered in salty tears at her friend's sweet and true words.

“And stop that crying before them girls think sumn wrong with you!” She jokes, making Zora laugh.

“Shut up, man.” She sniffles, wiping her face.

“I appreciate you for saying all of that. You're right. I've waited so long for things to fall into place. It's my time to show what I'm capable of!”

“Hell yeah, it is!” She agrees. “And I know it's rough, but you have to know– believe that you've already done the hard part. Get yourself together and walk out there with your head up high, mmkay?”

“Thank you, Nique Nique!” She coos, making kissy noises.

“Ah, what would you do without me! You're always welcome, Jeanie! I'll be sitting at home, waiting for you to tell me how it went!”

“Expect my knock, later!”

They squeal and talk a bit more to calm her nerves, before bidding each other farewell.

Thankful for her deep brown complexion, she wasn't as flushed as she feared. She wets a napkin and wipes her eyes and cheeks, before washing hands again.

Rejoining the group and assuring them that she's okay, they fall into conversation to ease the leftover pressure even further.

“I've been curious about this for a minute, but I didn't wanna be that crazy old lady that asks too many questions,” Fran laughs, before looking over at Zora.

“You've got a boyfriend, don't ya?”

The instant smile that covers her entire face makes the ladies coo and giggle at her.

“I knew it!” Dina adds. “Caught her smiling at her phone the other day, but I let her live.”

“Y'all,” Zora laughs, shaking her head, “y'all remind me of my sisters so much! Only, they wouldn't let me live anything down, so thank y'all for that.”

“We had to ease you in, first!” Roni pats her shoulder.

“But now that we know you're in loooove,” Trina sings, making them crack up.

“Yes, tell us allll about it!” Leia chimes in.

“He's so sweet, y'all,” she gushes, unable to help the bright smile on her lips as she goes on about her man.

How smart he is. How generous. Rugged. Driven. Hardworking. Dedicated. Inspiring.

“Does he have any brothers??”

“I had to hook my sisters up! But I'll see if he's got any cousins or uncles up for grabs! A young uncle for you, Frannie.”

“That's my girl!” Fran claps.

Soon the investors arrived and Zora was ready to let her work do the talking, her nerves steady.

There were only two people, a white man and woman, which helped a lot. Not too many people to interact with. Zora wasn't the only one who internally felt that way, either.

“Ladies, this is Roberts and Williams, senior investors from Canvas & Company. They came by to talk to us about their experience with buying and selling art, how the market works and how to invest in it.” Roni introduces.

“We are very excited to meet you ladies! In fact, on the way over, we pulled up each of your files one more time, just blown away with the talent we've seen!” Roberts exclaims, clasping her hands together.

“Indeed! Haven't seen much talent like this in a while. Definitely refreshing.” Williams adds, before they get into their spiel.

“Now the art industry has definitely changed in the last thirty years, pushing boundaries on how we capture an image and paint it for others to see. It's very interesting what one can do with a paintbrush or pencil. Speaking of, what's everyone's favorite medium and why?” Williams asks, looking around the room, his finger pointed at Dina.

“Pencil. There's an eraser always close by.” She laughs, and he fondly shakes his head.

“Gotta love the mistakes, too.” He says, pointing to her twin sister.

“Charcoal. I love the mess of it!”

“See? My kinda girl!” He claps, pointing to Fran.

“Watercolor! I love how lightweight it is.”

“I agree, it's probably the lightest type of paint.” Next was Zora.

“Acrylic paint. It's so vibrant and rich, experimental even! Perfect for my pieces.”

“Acrylic is best for that type of thing. Building color, texture.. it's a hassle to preserve, though.”

“Oh, tell me about it! My poor palette has never been the same.” She laughs and so does he, before pointing to Leia.

“Oil pastel, I love the way it glides!”

“As do I!”

Moving on to a slideshow of how investing in art works, the ladies quickly realized they were on the fun side of things, seeing how much people empty their banks for it.

“Seven grand on one painting?? That would take care of so many things.” Fran mumbles, shaking her head.

“Imagine!” Roni whispers back.

“You'd be surprised how much one would spin! One impression is all it takes, a lot of the time.” Roberts says, looking over to her colleague who agrees.

“They try to scare you with the emerging and well known artists as top sellers, but we don't all curate art the same way, which is why we're here. We see potential in every one of you, even your lead! Phenomenal work, ladies, really.” She adds, to which they all graciously thank her.

After the meeting is over, Zora feels a ton lighter than she did when her day began. She was proud of herself.

Making it home, she showers, changes into her sweats and heads across the hall, not even getting to knock before Nique opens the door.

“Hey, girl!”

“How did you–”

“I was sitting on my patio and saw you pull up! Knew the knock was coming!” She answers, pulling her inside and closing the door behind them.

Plopping down on her oversized sofa, Zora lets out a sigh of relief and grabs a handful of popcorn, stuffing her mouth.

“Tired?”

“Mmhm! It's been a long day,” she says with a mouthful, tucking her feet underneath her.

“Well, how'd everything go??”

“Great! There were only two people, a man and a woman, both white and like our mamas’ age. Cool people, though! Super friendly. They asked us about our favorite mediums and told us about how they can help and hinder, how the investment market works and girl, these people spend money!”

How much we talkin’?”

“Anywhere from a couple hundred to a couple hundred thousand!”

“Really??” Nique asks with wide eyes. “Let me go paint sumn real quick.”

Zora laughs, stuffing another handful of popcorn in her mouth.

“No, but seriously I'm glad it went great! No stress, no mess, just you and your unbelievable talent showcasing itself!”

“Me too, it's nice having people with loaded pockets take more than a glance at your work! Hell, I might have met potential buyers!”

“Fingers crossed! Your artwork is gonna be in everybody's living room! Just you wait!”

“You better be in the first ten people to buy sumn!!”

“Like I haven't been buying your artwork since we've known each other! Ima be the first! Next piece you cook up, it's mine!” She declares before grabbing her remote.

“I know that's right! What we watchin’?”

“Beauty shop!!”

“Oh, my movie!!”

@ghostfacekill-monger @thegifstories @blackerthings @planetblaque @blowmymbackout @henneseyhoe @honestpreference @blackpinup22 @abeautifulmindexposed @nayaxwrites @twistedcharismaaa @kindofaintrovert @sageispunk @madamzola @soufcakmistress @megamindsecretlair @starcrossedxwriter @slippinninque

[dracoxmalereader]

Dimly Lit Courtyard

Context: Third and final chapter of my Gryffindor!Reader ficlet. <3

Summary: Fifth year was certainly an eventful one. No better way to process it than sat there with Draco after hours in the dimly lit courtyard.

Part 1 | Part 2 (Or read it in full on Wattpad or Ao3)

Word Count: 731

Crickets chirp in the rustling leaves that scatter themselves about the courtyard. The big tree by the wall sways in the breeze, doing little to cool the air of the low warmth that comes with an ending may. Draco was propped up in the grooves of the tree, leaning back against it on the ground.

“There you are.” You skip over to him. He looks up at you. His brows push up and in as your eyes meet.

You toss a green apple you’d swiped from your table to him, and he catches it in his free hand. You slump yourself down beside him. He focuses his attention on a patch of dirt in the grass in front of him. 

It’s hard to see his face with only the distant glow of the castle corridors reaching out to light the way. The moon hides behind a collection of pale, dusty clouds, not unlike the wispy hair that frames the top half Draco’s face. 

You hear him swallow. “You weren’t at dinner.” You explain.

He huffs a dry laugh. “Stupid Gryffindors. Always playing the hero.” His voice is low and even, and you can almost feel the way it rumbles in his throat. Something you won’t acknowledge pulls at the inside of your chest. 

In his other hand, a glint catches on the shiny emblem of his inquisitorial squad badge. His fingers smooth over the silver ‘I’, twirling it around in his hands so it faces the ground. Your gaze crawls to his face and you watch him stare down at the dull, matte back of the thing, almost regretfully.

“Real powerful, eh?” You mock. It’s a blunt attempt at humor, forcing the joking lilt in your tone to try and lighten the mood. You never thought you’d miss his egotistical smirking, much less try and get it back. Especially after all that had happened before Umbridge was removed.

His solemn expression hardens. The corners of his mouth pull down. His nose wrinkles up. “Shove off.”

He shimmies where he’s sat, and you bring a hand to firmly rest on his arm, just below the crease of his sleeve. “I’m only teasing.”

He turns to look at you. The lit archways in the wall well behind you reflect in his gray eyes, framing your silhouette. He opens his mouth like he wants to speak, but nothing comes out. The two of you stare at each other. 

He blinks once, twice, then he’s turning away. 

“I knew Potter wasn’t lying.” He rushes out. A breath bigger than the lungs it leaves blows out of him. He looks into your eyes again, vulnerable uncertainty tugging at his features. “About you know who.” 

“Me too.” You reply. “You’re late to the party.” Another attempt at lightheartedness.

A chuckle leaves him. The corners of his mouth finally pull upwards again, albeit laced with a discomfort that etches deep into the rest of his face. “I was earlier than you think.”

You pinch the fabric of his sleeve between your thumb and forefinger, letting it go and rubbing your palm in small circles up the fold of his elbow. He looks back at you and you smile at him. Tension bleeds from his form. He swallows again, the rest of his body shifts to face you.

The hallway behind him back-lights his figure, and another wave of pressure settles in your chest. You wordlessly gaze at one another, and you can feel his breath fan over the small space between you. His badge clinks to the ground, and his hand brushes onto the side of your face. 

Quiet and calm, you both close your eyes and lean in. Your lips meet and it feels like the cavity behind your ribs has been sucked dry, breathless. Your fingers twitch and ball up in his sleeve, and his hand slips down your jaw to hold you more firmly by the side of your neck. 

His palm is tacky against your skin, warm like the air. Another gust of mild wind blows through, and the tree’s branches sway above the two of you.

His fingertips tickle the hairs at the base of your nape, and for just a moment there’s no such thing as ‘Gryffindor’, ‘Slytherin’, or even ‘you know who’. Just for a moment, there’s only you, Draco, and the sound of crickets chirping in the dimly lit courtyard.

I asked my friends what they wanted for the holidays and none of them told me. TT

"What do you want for Christmas guys" "How much money do you have?" Apparently not enough because they never got back to me. Not ONE of them. The group chat is full of reddit memes and not a single gift they want. Tell Peter Griffin to pipe down and TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT FOR CHRISTMAS. 👹

It's on them that I didn't get them anything. They have jobs if it's something they really wanted they can just get it themselves. I still feel bad though sob. </3

Tags: @nowayisthistakenyet @gayaristocrat @siuspider @dracoshusband @skrunklespoingo @esperfraud @joongbin @midwestemosblog @we2222

[crappymixtape]

i hate you ( not )

REQUEST → anonymous, 500 FOLLOWER CELEBRATION ❝ love a good enemies to lovers smutty fic – anything works, just lots of sarcasm and name calling to build up the tension • 18+ | ( 3.6k – a nice lil mountain of angst that rolls down into a big ol’ valley of smut, steve x reader )

I H A T E Y O U ( N O T ) 🎶 dopamine, julius black

“Are you seriously following me right now?” you didn’t even bother looking over your shoulder as you shouted over the crunch of Steve’s shoes in the gravel behind you trying to catch up.

He was fucking impossible. Always finding a way to get under your skin. Telling you the way you stocked the shelves at Family Video was wrong. Making fun of your beater of a car. Chewing his chips so loudly in the break room you thought it’d make you go certifiably insane. Always obnoxious, but easily dealt with til now. When he’d gone too far.

A party down at the quarry. Too much beer and smoke and haze and the crack of the bonfire against the inky black sky. You were trying to talk to a boy you’d run into at the store, a cute boy. One that didn’t smack his lips or slurp his soda. One that didn’t look at you like you were the bane of his existence and it had been going so well for once.

Had been.

Until Steve.

“Yeah, they’re so fucking good live. Maybe I can take you next time they’re in town?”

“I’d love that,” your stomach flipped over, grin pulling at the corners of your lips as Liam looked down at you through his dark curls. Smiled at you warm and soft. Eyes deep and green, like the trees along the fence line at night and god, it was just nice to be treated like this for once.

“You don’t even like them,” Steve’s voice cut in as he stepped up next to you beer in hand, and your cheeks burned. Bright red, embarrassed and angry.

Liam looked over at Steve, confusion pinching between his brows and then glanced down at you.

“Oh, I thought you said–”

“He doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” you insisted, turning your back to Steve and trying your best to smile up at Liam, but the warmth on his face had faded.

“Okay,” Liam said, drawing out the vowel. Drinking the rest of his beer he tossed the can into the fire and jammed his hands into his pockets, “Well. Maybe I’ll see you around.”

“Wait! A-are you leaving? You just got here,” you protested, trying not to sound desperate. Liam was so sweet and all you wanted for once was just to have a nice time, but he was already turning to walk back up the hill.

“Yeah, sorry. I gotta be up early for work. I’ll call you,” he said, but you knew he wouldn’t as he forced a smile. Gave you a small half wave before heading across the gravel of the quarry and up to his truck.

“But–don’t you want to–” you stopped yourself short knowing it was useless. Steve chuckled behind you and you felt heat rise in your chest again.

Eyes squeezing shut and hands balled into fists, your nails pressed half moons into your palms as you spun back around to Steve. The glare you gave him wiped the grin right off his face and his lips twisted into a scowl.

“What?” he asked stupidly and you huffed a sound of disbelief.

“What d’you mean, what?” you shot back, taking a few steps toward him, “You just fucked that up for me. On purpose!”

“I did you a favor, that guy’s an idiot,” Steve grumbled and you laughed then. A hollow, humorless one that pushed itself from your lungs.

“You’re a real dick, Harrington,” you said, stepping up to him in defiance and he crowded down over you. Looked at you like a challenge. Eyes lit up bright in the firelight. Melted caramel. Amber. Whiskey and honey and you didn’t shy away from it.

“Oh, yeah? Well you’re no ray of sunshine, princess,” he was close enough now you could feel his breath warm over your cheek and the air grew thick, too hot, and it had nothing to do with the summer heat or the fire.

“Asshole,” you half whispered, using what little resolve you had left to tear away from him and stalk up the same hill Liam had toward your car, leaving Steve behind in a lurch.

You could hear gravel crunching behind you, the slip and slide of rock on rock punctuated by Steve’s sharp breaths.

“Are you seriously following me right now?”

“Yeah, if you just–Jesus Christ–slow down!” Steve’s feet skidded as he nearly tripped, but you kept going, digging in your purse for your keys.

You didn’t want to stay, didn’t want to hear whatever bullshit excuse he had loaded. You couldn’t. Not without ripping into him. Fumbling your key in your hand you jammed it into the lock just as Steve caught up, hands on his hips as he sucked in gasps of air.

“C’mon. Can you just–can you just gimme a minute?” he asked, out of breath and tone edging on pleading, but you resisted turning around.

“Why the hell would I do that?” you asked against your car door.

“Shit, princess. D’you really hate me that much?” his tone was even softer this time and you shook your head.

“Only as much as you hate me,” you snapped.

Finally getting the lock undone, you tried to wrench the door open, but Steve’s hand stopped you. Pressed into yours and kept it shut.

“God, what’s your problem?” you turned to hurl daggers at him, but the words died in your throat when you realized just how close he was.

Toes bumping into yours, hair falling all messy across his forehead, chest still heaving with the effort of jogging up the hill and everything blurred. Dizzy and spinning and even though you hadn’t been the one running, you couldn’t catch your breath.

“I don’t have one,” he said voice low and you felt your lips fall open at the way it made your stomach twist.

The anger that had settled in your chest shifting into something else. Something that felt dangerous. Swallowing thick you tried to shake your head, shake him, and you pulled your hand away from his.

“Sure seems like it,” you mumbled, mouth firmed in a line, trying so hard to stand your ground.

His brows pinched together. A mixture of frustration, uncertainty. Struggling to put words to the feelings that were squeezing in his chest, just as conflicted as you were. He looked at you through the long sweep of his lashes, eyes searching yours and bit at the inside of his cheek.

He thought he’d been in love with you the minute you walked into Family Video. Wearing your cut off jeans and an old baggy Hawkins High basketball jersey. Hair pulled up away from your face so that he could see the soft curve of your shoulders, the baby hairs that curled at the nape of your neck. You looked grumpy, frustrated, and the frown twisting across your lips drove him crazy. So did the heat in your tone as you talked to Keith, telling him you wanted was ‘a stupid job’ to pay for your ‘stupid bills’ and god if he didn’t feel stupid for staring.

There was no way you didn’t have a boyfriend. You were too hot. Too funny and sharp and cool. Hell, even if you didn’t have a boyfriend he figured there was no way he’d have a chance, so he did what he always did. Acted like he didn’t care. Needled you, pestered you, got under your skin. Got a little mean with it, but he hadn’t expected it to backfire. Hadn’t expected you play back and fuck if it didn’t make it worse.

Took to calling you Princess because he loved the way you glared at him.

Ate half your lunch just so he had an excuse to walk you across the street for a bag of chips.

Said you did things wrong just so you’d shove at him, tell him ‘if he was so good at it why didn’t he show you?’

And when he finally figured out you were single he felt like he’d fucked up. Like he’d taken it too far and there was no way he could be what he really wanted to be for you. No way to tell you how badly he wanted to take you out. How badly he wanted to treat you right. Hold your hand and call you baby.

Hey, baby.

How much he wished he could press his lips into yours and see if you tasted all sweet and tart at the same time. Sour on the outside, sugar on the inside. How he wanted to run his hands up your legs, feel you under him, tell you things that’d pull sweet sounds from your lips, but now you were here at this stupid party. Now there was Liam and he couldn’t help it.

Anything to keep him away from you and now he felt like he was answering for everything.

“See?” you insisted at his hesitation, huffing a sigh and turning back into your car, but Steve grabbed at your hand and spun you around again.

“S’not you!” he said a little too loud, cheeks burning with his admission and he bit his lips between his teeth, “It’s everybody else.”

Your face shifted skeptical, a little cynical, but he was so damn close. Too close and you tried to pull in a breath. Tried to hold onto your anger, but it slipped through your fingers like water. Scattered like wishes on a breeze as the scent of his cologne made you go all hazy. The look in his eyes pouring into you like kerosene on a fire. Made you want to grab fistfuls of his shirt in your hands and feel the full weight of him on you and–

“I don’t see what that’s gotta do with me,” you sniped, trying to keep your tone short, but it came out softer and he took the opportunity and ran with it.

“Everything, actually,” his lips tugged up into a small sheepish smile, but dropped again as he realized there was more to say. “I know I’m a dick–”

“You think?” you cut in and he leveled you with a look.

“Thanks,” he muttered and it pulled a little grin from you, but the next thing he said wiped it off your face, “M’sorry,” and your stomach flipped over at the way he was looking at you. “I just…I wish it were me,” he said, lifting a hand to your cheek and tucking a few stray locks of hair behind your ear.

Wish it were me. Your heart was racing.

“Wish what was you?” you whispered. Afraid to hear the answer. Holding your breath as he leaned in. Nose nearly brushing over your cheek. Close enough to kiss you if he wanted and god did you want him to.

“The one askin’ you out,” he whispered back and it struck you silent.

How was that possible? He was awful. Annoying and irritating and obnoxious and now he was telling you he wanted to ask you out?

“So ask me, Harrington,” you murmured and watched as his brows lifted in surprise, lips parted into a little ‘o’ as his brain raced to catch up.

“Wai–what?” he stumbled over his words and you pressed a hand to his chest.

“Ask me,” you said again and he huffed a laugh, tongue jammed into his cheek as he looked back down at you.

“Okay,” he managed, licking over his lips as he gathered himself back up, “C-Can I take you out?”

“Mmhm,” you murmured, nerves giving way to confidence and you pulled him down into you a little closer. Pressed your lips against his ear and whispered, “Kiss me.” And it nearly knocked him over.

Pulling away you looked up at him, whispered his name like a question and it blew his pupils wide. Dark at the center and fringed in gold and it was enough to make him lean back down. Soft and tentative at first, but bolder and braver when you sighed into him.

An exhale. A release. A realization of what you’d wanted this whole time and it made you grab his shirt in your hands, tilting your head to deepen the kiss and the sounds you pulled from each other were greedy.

More more more.

Hands splaying out over his chest you slid them up his shoulders and into his hair, pulling it lightly as his tongue licked into you and the moan he loosed made you press your thighs together.

“Shit,” he hissed, fingers pressing into the plush of your hips, mouth dragging hot down your neck and across your collarbone. Kisses messy and slipping on your skin and god you needed him. “Christ, princess, you drive me crazy,” he admitted and you grinned, all smug and holding the upper hand, but then he slotted a leg between your thighs and you lost it.

You felt like you couldn’t breathe. Felt like he was the only thing keeping you from falling away and it made you hold onto him tighter. You could still hear the laughter and the music down at the bonfire, but it sounded so far away. Both of you hidden in the thick, indigo shadows that fell out under the stand of trees, dark enough to not care what you were about to ask.

“Steve,” you pulled away just enough to speak and he stopped, both of you panting short breaths into the space between you.

“Sorry, can slow down if you want–”

“No–shit–” you squeezed your eyes shut to focus, “Don’t stop.” Swallowing thick you opened your eyes again and looked right up at him, “Just get in.”

Hands slipping against your car you fumbled to open the door to the backseat and half shoved him in before piling in after. When you closed it behind you the small space was suddenly filled with the sounds of your breaths. Quick and nervous and anticipating.

Steve sat on the bench, just as anxious as you were, and watched with heavy lidded eyes as you climbed over him. Straddled him with a leg on either side. Your dress hitching up and bunching at your hips and all he could do was grab onto your thighs for dear life. Pressing a hand into the seat behind his head you bit your lip between your teeth and pulled in a steadying breath.

“Here,” you whispered, taking one of his hands and sliding it between your legs. Making him feel the heat that had pooled there, showing him what he was doing to you and he groaned. A filthy sound that fell from his lips as he pressed his fingers against your soaked panties.

“Fuck,” he rasped, already wrecked from feeling how wet you were. “Okayokayokay. So fuckin’ hot, babe. Shit,” nonsense fell from his lips and you had half a mind to laugh at him, but his fingers were pulling your panties aside and touching you not your panties and it pulled a gasp from you.

At the sound his eyes darted up to look at you, make sure you were okay and you put your hand back over his. Moving his fingers in slow circles as they slipped against your slick.

“Like that?” he asked eyes still on you, keeping up the motion as your hand fell away.

You tried to say yes, but it melted into another moan and he leaned in to press a kiss to your neck. Mouth open and messy. Licking against the softness of your skin and sucking a bruise on it.

“Tell me,” he said into the hollow behind your ear, trailing kisses as he went, your hips rocking against his fingers as his circles grew tighter and faster.

“Like that–ye–yeah–yes. God, don’t stop,” you stuttered over your words hands moving to grip onto his shoulders as he slipped first one then two fingers inside of you.

He filled you up better than you could at home, your cheek pressed into your pillow, tears welling up in your eyes in frustration as you struggled to reach the spot you wanted. The hot drag of him sliding in and out in and out made you see white, made your tighten your hold on him and as you loosed another moan he bucked up into you.

You could feel how hard he was through his jeans against the bare skin of your thigh and it only made you want him more. “Steve,” you leaned forward and pressed your forehead to his, “Please tell me you have a condom.”

His fingers stopped moving and he loosed a heavy sigh, swallowing down the nerves that had pushed themselves into his throat. “Yeah, course, lemme just–” lifting his hips, and you, from the seat he yanked his wallet out of his back pocket.

He had stopped carrying them around after high school. Felt like it was fucking juvenile, but one time after Steve had watched you leave work, put his returns in the wrong spot and upside down, Robin had thrown one across the store at him. “Here, dingus,” she’d grumbled, “Don’t be an idiot.” And he’d been so embarrassed, afraid to tell her he didn’t think he’d ever need it, but he silently thanked her now. Always saving his ass.

Gently nudging you back into the headrests on the front seats he put his wallet down and fumbled his fingers against the button on his jeans. He was hard as a rock and when he undid his zipper it sprang out without any encouragement.

You couldn’t take your eyes off him as he ripped the foil of the condom wrapper between his teeth and thumb. Of course he drove you crazy at work, but you couldn’t deny you’d thought about him when you were alone in your room. Touching yourself beneath the sheets. Fantasizing about what it would be like and now that you were seeing it for real your heart hammered in your chest, legs slipping together as you grew wetter by the second.

He wrapped a hand around his length pumping once, twice, three times before rolling the condom down from tip to root and looking back up at you.

“Y’okay?” he asked, hands moving to hold onto your hips and you realized how ridiculous you must’ve looked.

“Mmhm,” you murmured and let him pull you slowly back into his lap.

“Gotta tell me if you aren’t,” he whispered and you nodded as he gave you a little smile, brushed your hair out of your face and looked just a little longer. “So pretty,” he said softly, words lighting a fire in your chest, and you pressed a kiss to him again. Sucking on his bottom lip and letting it go with a dirty pop and he thought he was going to come right there on the spot. “Sh–shit, okayokay,” he breathed, pressing his tip against your entrance, hesitating just a little and you helped him the rest of the way, pushing down slowly.

You watched as he filled you up, stretched you out until he was buried deep inside you, the tight fit making you squirm over him.

“Ohhh god, so tight, feel so good babe, Christ,” he rambled and you chuckled a little until he hit the soft, squishy spot at the back of you and you moaned loudly. Fell forward onto his chest and rolled your hips forward, silently begging him to move as if he could do anything else. “I got you,” he promised.

Hands gripping your hips again he slowly turned and lowered you down, your back against the seat bench, his arms on either side of you to hold himself up. Murmured soft, dirty things under his breath as he crowded over you, started rocking his hips into you, the wet sounds of you filling up the car.

“Wish you’d asked me sooner,” you whined, wrapping your legs around his waist and he gave you a smug little smile.

“Yeah? Worth the wait?” he asked, breath hitching in his throat as he picked up the pace, fronts of his thighs slapping against the backs of yours.

“Shut up,” you gasped as he bottomed out inside of you. Tangling your fingers into his hair you pulled and it dragged a groan from him as he started to fuck you faster. Slipping a hand between your legs you drew tight, messy circles over your clit, pushing yourself closer and closer to the edge. “Ste–shit. Steve, harder,” you practically begged and the pleading tone in your voice sent him.

“Harder,” he said back, it was all he could muster, wrecked and chest heaving with each breath he sucked in, fucking into you with heavy thrusts, “M’so close.”

Opening your mouth a so close almost fell from your lips too, but the coil in your stomach had been so tightly wound that the combination of your fingers over your clit and Steve finally made it snap.

You clenched tight around him as you both rode out your climax. Head pressed against the seat and eyes rolling back to look out the window at the stars. The moon as it hung lazy in the sky. Steve spilling sweet words of praise into your ears and bringing you back down to earth. Wrapping you up soft and warm in his voice.

He rested his forehead against yours, both of your brows dewy with sweat, and let out a contented sigh as he softened inside you.

“Wish I’d asked you sooner too,” he murmured, poking fun at himself with your words from earlier and you leaned up to press a kiss to the corner of his lips.

“Worth the wait,” you finally agreed and he grinned.

God damn, was it worth the wait.

crappymixtape™ • steve harrington masterlist // stranger things masterlist

[androgynousblackbox]

Dead Main Course. 3 [Appleradio, Radioapple]

Alastor didn't dream a lot, but when he did he remembered it just as clearly as if he had actually lived it. For other people they might have been considered nightmares worth forgetting about.

The usual setting was a forest. He had no idea why, he had never spent a significant amount of time in one to get attached like that. No more than the occasional convenient burying place for some of his meals. 

It started out with Alastor walking alone on the afternoon, sometimes dancing for his own pleasure to no music, sometimes just walking. In the dream he wasn't consciously looking for anything, but something always end up catching his attention. It was only after they did that he realized that he was naked at all. He was never embarrassed about it. Animals on the wild were always naked after all.

A deer was the usual target. But other times it had been other prey animals, sometimes even other predators like mountain lions and those were the largest dreams because it implied a bit of a fight. They always ended up noticing him looking at them from a distance. From there to them understanding the danger they were in it usually took merely seconds. Sometimes they stayed there just to get in a defensive position if they thought there was a fighting chance, but he frankly liked it a lot more when they just started to run to try to put the biggest distance that they could between them. Nothing like a good run in order to get his appetite fully awakened.

The night before his first day at his new job, Alastor was enjoying seeing the starry night through the cup of the tallest trees when he heard a twig cracking under his feet near his position. His head wasn't tied to his biological limitations in reality, so he turned around completely without moving anything else on his body, like an owl, to scan the area for the offending presence. 

There it was, just at his back where it had tried to take him by surprise, was a giant gray wolf. Alastor had never seen one in real life, but he just knew that they normally didn't raise as high for an adult man to be at eye level with them. In the dream, his stomach gave out a resounding growl that made the ears of the wolf stand out and lower the head as he prepared to either pounce or react. 

Alastor calmly turned around with a smile on his face. Oh, this hunt was going to be fun, he could tell. For a moment neither one of them was doing anything. Only when the tail of the wolf moved slightly did Alastor take that as a sign to start moving himself. 

Giant wolf or not, once he gave chase, he was always the biggest beast present. No matter the animal that presented itself, they were always a meal to enjoy. The wolf lowered his head a moment, the ears laying flat on his head before he also got in motion to get away. Alastor used his elongated arms as another pair of legs, feeling the dirt, rocks and grass underneath his new claws just as clearly as beneath his feet, that weren't feet anymore but hooves. 

His mouth was permanently stuck on a wider smile that showed off all the big and sharp teeth that he knew would make it an absolute joy to tear into a live prey. But the wolf had little interest in appreciating his transformation as it was running away, moving between the trees as if to disorient him or tire him up. A noble attempt that was bound to be fruitless as Alastor was coming closer.

Suddenly the trees opened up and the wolf was running through a clear area, illuminated by a full moon that sparkled in his terrified eyes as Alastor picked him up by the torso. Even when being held like that, the wolf tried to shake him off by moving like a violent eel or trying to bite him first. It was certainly becoming harder to keep up in the air, so Aastor had no choice but to put him against the ground, covering the muzzle with his whole hand while he directed his teeth to the mouth.

Things like hair never bothered him in his dream. A delicious howling calling to no one was the last sound that the wolf man as Alastor bite again, again, again, again, the blood and meat and scrapping of the bone being absolutely cathartic he could barely contain himself to actually enjoy it instead of devouring it whole as he knew he could.

It was when he was sinking his teeth into one of the front legs and tearing apart that his ears on top of his head moved behind him, altered by something. It wasn't any specific sound as much as the sudden awareness that someone was looking at him. Breaking the bone of the leg on his mouth, Alastor turned to see a gray figure, made of shadow and moonlight standing right there. 

That was strange. In what moment did he let that one pass by him? How long has it been there? Has it been following him all along and only approached further while he was eating? All these questions came and went through his mind as he tilted his head. The figure standing there started getting closer, a foolish action certainly, or maybe not so because Alastor just had to keep starring.  

The figure surrounded him until he was in front of him, in front of the dead wolf and kneeled in front of him, petting the pelt. Was that compassion or just mere curiosity? Maybe this little one was lost and was stupid enough that it didn't know the danger in which he was in? 

For some reason Alastor knew that at least he was free from fearing the figure. Nothing about it activated his own senses that he was about to be attacked. And yet, he couldn't really relax. Nobody had ever accompanied him during any other of his feasts. It had always been just him and his kill, a truly intimate act that never had any witnesses before. 

He started to wonder if the figure understood what it meant. Some beings could be so intrinsically innocent that concepts like life and death were foreign for them. The way the figure kept brushing their fingers against the bleeding wolf was making him wonder if they could be one of those. They just seemed entranced admiring the beauty of the fallen creature. 

Alastor sat too in front of them. Had they forgotten about him already? The thought surprised him with how quickly it was making him angry. He was the biggest monster in that entire forest, he could devour the figure just as easily as a grape cut from its vine, and he wasn't paying attention to him? Now that was some audacity if he ever saw it!

The figure seemed completely oblivious to how much their presence was affecting him as their hands went down the wolf stomach. At first it looked like just more petting over the corpse, but then the figure ripped the skin open and shoved what had to be their hand inside the body. After some time searching finally came out with the heart of the wolf. The heart itself was even bigger than the hand itself, keeping it there was a work of equilibrium more than strength. The blood was dripping into the grass, even more so when the figure extended it towards him.

Alastor's ear straightened up when realizing what was happening. After years and years of peaceful hunting, finally someone was feeding him. Alastor didn't even hesitate to open his mouth, wondering maybe a little too late if maybe there was a risk that could end up eating the figure just as well.

Just as his teeth were about to come down over the meal, the alarm woke him up.

Alastor instantly rose up from his bed, still blinking in the darkness of his room, despite it being already the hours of the morning just as his cellphone was telling him. What a curious dream, thought to himself as he stand up to get the bathroom. He continued to thought about it as he took a shower and especially as he started shaving. He had never in his life have ever cut himself realizing such a mundane part of his routine, but a part of him was curious about what would happen if he did. If he let the razor break out the skin just beneath his jaw and let the blood slip out. Who was going to be there to truly appreciate it and feed it to him back? Then he wondered why did he even cared about that.

It was an interesting thought experiment, if nothing else. 

He got dressed, took a modest breakfast in his kitchen while listening to the news from mom's radio and came out of his small apartment in direction to his new job. The restaurant had changed very little since the last time he was there, only filled with more details in golden that reinforced even more the holy aesthetic that it was going for. At the center of every table there was a napkin folded to look like angels and the tree of temptation had a lot more red ribbons as decoration. Everything looked expensive, almost garish but not too much. 

Alastor met with the Manager Chef, the one in charge of fixing everyone's schedule and apparently too the one in charge to present him with all his coworkers, including the waiters that were going to deliver the meals. Alastor smiled and shook hands with everyone, retaining their names and faces for just a moment before he dropped them again for lack of interest. None of them were Lucifer. Where the hell was him?

The one thing he did took notice it was their uniforms. All the chef dressed up in red with white details that he already saw, but now they all had added an embroidery apple surrounded by a golden snake. Meanwhile all the waiters were dressed with soft blue vests on top of white shirts and black bow ties to finish them. He was trying to understand what was the idea behind that choice. Devils serving angels? Because... in the kitchen was hot like hell?

For fuck's sake, just how far deep his own ass could a man get to have such pretentious ideas on his head? 

"Your own uniform should be on your locker" said the Manager Chef, whose name he had already completely forgotten. Still-Not-Lucifer took him to the back of the kitchen, towards another door to a large hallway. Since the public was never going to see it, nobody bothered to decorate it so it was a neutral gray the whole way through. The man was pointing out to each door, explaining briefly the purpose of every one. "That is the backdoor where we receive the food from our providers. You enter through the alley on the right. I know that we are all starting so for today it's fine, but in the future it's better to enter through here. Right over there is the bathroom and in the other room a shower in case you really need it. That is the break room where the schedules of everyone will be up each morning. If you ever need to take a day off, you consult with me, alright? I have the phone numbers of everyone so I will send you a message later so you can add, in case we suddenly need more staff."

"I understand, of course" said Alastor, nodding along at the same time he was also tuning out.

Finally they reached out to some double doors that were wide open. It was exactly the same as any changing room that Alastor had seen before, possibly even more dull than any, with the notable difference that Lucifer was in front of his own locker, fixing up his coat. Somehow that made the entire room a lot more interesting.

"Ah, there you were!" said the Manager, reaching out hand in front to shake Lucifer's. "I was giving the tour to Alastor. You know him already, right?"

Alastor realized he was frozen in place only when he had to move in order to greet Lucifer. He looked absolutely splendid even when seemingly dragging a bit of sleep from the bed still, giving out a placid smile that did nothing to hide his baggy eyes. Was Lucifer just not a morning person? Maybe the nerves of his first day didn't let him sleep as well as he could last night? Alastor wondered more on that as he felt against the firm grasp of Lucifer on him.

"Yes, I was the one to talk my father into considering you," said Lucifer, simulating a yawn behind his hand, and completely not aware at the jump that Alastor's heart made inside his chest. "Sorry, I am just a bit tired. I will splash some water on my face and I will be good as new."

"You better, Lu, we don't want to give a bad impression on our first day! We need our heavenly graduate up and running" said the Manager, patting the shoulder of Lucifer, who just made a dismissive hand wave in response to the contact. 

"What are you saying? It will be perfect, just you wait and see" said Lucifer with a lazy smile.

Alastor stared at the space between the two of them, doing his best effort to control the twitching he could feel on his eye. Just how chummy did those two were? Was that any way to handle a professional environment? 

Just stop touching him, you fucking creep.

By some miracle or because somehow he heard him, the Manager did stop rubbing his grubby hands all over Lucifer's shoulder and pointed to the locker at the far end of the line. 

"Alastor Abbadon, this is yours!" announced the man. "The uniform should be your size according to what you told us, but if you need an adjustment or anything you can tell me and I will see how to fix it."

While taking not a small portion of his salary, finished Alastor for him, making it clear he understood.

"Well, better get ready now! We will be opening in half an hour. The boss hired a bunch of critics and some press to cover for the restaurant. If any camera ends up pointing in your direction, don't worry and don't pay them any mind. If anyone is going to speak, that is probably going to be either me or Lucifer."

"Yay, yuhu! Can't wait!" commented Lucifer, bumping the air with a less than enthusiastic fist.

"Not a fan of the press?" asked Alastor, ignoring the frown on the Manager.

"Me? Oh, no, I totally love having bright lights pointing at my face and supporting the future of this restaurant while giving the same speech I already had to repeat three times for five different magazines' ' Lucifer shrugged and smiled indulgently, arching an eyebrow. "What can I say? Dad made a real gambling with this place so I need to help him. Expanding to a whole new market is a entirely different kind of challenge."

Was that part of the speech as well?, wondered Alastor.

"Exactly, which is why you will do an excellent job" commented the Manager, grabbing the face of Lucifer to pat his cheek. Alastor really wished that look could actually kill instead of just giving him a place to imagine his knife coming in and out over and over again. "What was all of that media training for if not, right?"

"Right, right" Lucifer laughed softly, giving the old man a light pat before moving them away from his face. "You know I am just kidding. Like I said, I just need a refresher and I will be peachier than a peach.

The Chef Manager seemed satisfied with that. He nodded to Lucifer and turned to Alastor to pat his shoulder now, making him have a full body shudder that the man consciously or unconsciously ignored. But not Lucifer.

"Half hour!" finalized the man, finally leaving them alone.

Fortunately, Alastor didn't have to be the one to break the silence.

"Not a fan of touching?" asked Lucifer with a slight smile.

"Not generally, no" Alastor opened up the locker with the key that was already hanging from it. 

The space was empty, of course, except for the new chef coat that was the exact same as the other chefs, alongside some black pants. 

"Oh, well, then you are out of luck" Lucifer said, pulling out a brush to finally start fixing his hair on the pull back style that he clearly found the best for his job. "You wouldn't know it because of his British accent, but the chef is Italian and you know how touchy feely they can get."

"I noticed '' Although he still thought it annoying, did calm a bit knowing the guy was just like that in general instead of being a special privilege to share with the blonde.

He didn't bother to add that he was in fact perfectly okay with touching if it came from his closest friends. 

While Lucifer was busy fixing himself, Alastor pondered if he would mind it too much if Lucifer did come in contact with him in such a carefree way. Not immediately, of course, no fucking way, but maybe? In the future?

The hope behind that stupid idea irritated him profoundly. God, was his head going to be filled with such nonsense from now on? How did normal people live like that?

How did they make it stop?

"So you talked with your father to have me on board?" He asked with the intention of distracting himself too.

"Oh, well, I didn't mean to make it sound like he needed a lot of convincing. Sorry if it came out that way" Alastor didn't even think about it, but didn't correct him either. It was kinda cute seeing him get a slight blush thinking he did speak out more than he should. Bad idea to start a career offending the man that was going to rule a kitchen at his side. "My father had a pretty good impression of you already. I know I wasn't there for the start of the interview, but I did really like what I saw. Most of the other candidates were... uh... how do I say it..."

"Pompous pretentious assholes without a fiber of real creativity on their bones?" helped out Alastor, his smile only getting bigger when Lucifer twisted a corner of his mouth in annoyance.

"I wouldn't have said it with those words because that is extremely unprofessional," pointed out the man, probably more out of principle than anything else. 

"Of course."

"But yes, essentially. For what father also told me, I could only really see me working with you, if I am honest."

Alastor turned around to pretend he was accommodating the neck of his coat, so Lucifer wouldn't even notice by chance the happiness that spread across his face.

"With those other guys I thought it was going to be impossible. I would be concerned about them stabbing me at the first chance they got. So I told my dad that and now you are here" continued the man, looking at his image on the small mirror glue to his locker. 

Alastor also threw a subtle glance in his direction. Deciding to recognize perfection for what it was, Lucifer finally closed his locker and went to the washroom area. 

Nobody had pointed to the small room for more private changing, but Alastor went there to take out his pants and put on the new ones. When he came out again, finding the uniform fitted him just as well as he could expect, Lucifer had already moved on. 

He sprayed some water on his own face, bracing himself to pull out his best poker face no matter what. All his previous bosses would have nothing but praise for his performance. So agreeable, so reliable, quick thinking to solve any issues. He wasn't going to let some silly stupid... whatever get on his way to get up on the ladder. He still had not a clear idea of how he was going to do it with this particular one and the son of the owner right at the top, but he would come out with something. He always did.

So he was going to be just the chef he could be and not sigh like an idiot teenager just because this was the first time he found himself in such a situation. Adaptability was also a crucial skill to develop in a kitchen, and Alastor was nothing but skillful.

Nodding to himself, Alastor went to see his first day. 

The money of the Morningstar had truly secured them a bunch of new customers. Since the moment the front doors opened up, they didn't stop coming in until almost every table was full.

Alastor was a bit impressed to see some food critics that he knew were very strict on their reviews and chose their target with the full intention of tearing them apart. Either Morningstar had already paid them a more than generous amount to say something positive or the man's ego was so monumental that he couldn't even imagine a future in which his new restaurant wasn't a hit. He couldn't couldn't tell which was more likely, but couldn't say he complained too much. 

If he had paid, then it was only more positive advertisement. If he didn't, then there was nothing to worry about either because he was there. 

They had sent him the final menu decided by his request and he had practiced all the dishes, from the most complex to the simplest one, back at home so he would know exactly what to do and what to fix if something came out right. As Morningstar had said, Lucifer was quickly more in charge of the sweet side while Alastor took care of the savory meals. The times where they almost reached to taste the same pot or for the same plate, Lucifer was always the first to nod and turn away, trusting that he would know what to do. He was hired for that, didn't he? 

As the Chef Manager had said, at some point during the morning some reporters came in, one even with a filming crew behind them. They were preparing the equipment and lights when Lucifer was called over, just as he was drying up his hands.

"Showtime" commented, letting out some air through his nose, and smiled brightly, so beautiful that the bags under his eyes could go completely unnoticed unless someone was really paying attention. Once he finished, he turned to Alastor with his hand raised up and stopped before actually touching him. "Alastor, you can take care of things here, right?"

Alastor looked at that hand, lamenting a bit that the chef was learning his boundaries already. He would have liked to know if he could tolerate his contact or it would be the same as with the majority of people, just a total rejection from his body that he had very little say on. But that would have to be a question for another day.

"Absolutely. Go and don't forget to talk as good about us as you can."

"I was going to do that anyway" said Lucifer and got closer. Alastor was literally on the way to the exit to the main area, so he thought at first that Lucifer was just going there. The reaction on his chest was just as unwanted as expected, and did not help him at all when Lucifer actually added in a whisper. "You are doing great, by the way. I knew we would work well."

Alastor tried to find something to say, something that said he already knew how amazing he was, but his throat, his brain or something inside was malfunctioning because his mind literally went blank with the compliment. Lucky for him, Lucifer didn't mind as he continued on his way to speak with the reporters. Alastor took the chance to turn his head in his direction and catch a swift of his aroma. A cologne he almost thought he could recognize and the clean soft smell of aftershave. Yes, of course. A man like Lucifer would use something like that.

If only he could stay closer to him for longer, then maybe he could also identify the cologne for future reference. Maybe even imagine the flavor of it on top of his skin. Why he wanted to do that in the first place wasn't a question worth asking in front of the prospect of having that opportunity.

"Very well, everyone!" said to the other chefs. This was the first time that he had the entire power of a kitchen at this disposition and he had to appreciate that at the very least. "Lucifer is going to be busy for a bit, but I still need you all on your best behavior. I see some pans that have been left unattended since the last order. I want to see all the stations spotless."

"Yes, chef!" was the general voice from the group, while two of the chefs went out to the dishwasher and the others got back to their respective plates.

Since Morningstar wanted an open kitchen, they could very well still see all of their customers enjoying their meals just as much as they could see them doing them. In the moments in which they had nothing to prepare yet because everyone was already eating, it was hard to resist observe the reaction of the public to their labor. The chefs that weren't occupied leaned on chairs or against a counter, elevating their heads as if that way they could get a better idea of what was happening.

Alastor managed to see some of the food critics taking notes on their phones or a generally pleasant environment before he just lost interest. He knew every plate had come out perfect already, he didn't need the approval. It was good for the soul, but at that moment wasn't the thing he was more interested about.

Lucifer was talking with the reporter as if they were actually just conducting a conversation. Either because of the kind of father he had, his brief career as a model or for his own selfish interest, it was pretty clear that Lucifer was perfectly comfortable in front of the camera. Alastor couldn't hear a single word of what they were saying, but he had not noticed once that Lucifer stammered or had any doubt about his words. Sometimes the blonde would make a gesture just to emphasize something, back again to smile and incline his head ever so slightly to hear what the reporter was asking him, his eyebrows elevated in interest. 

All his movements looked so graceful on their control that it made him question if Lucifer could have been a dancer too. But he had not seen him walk enough to know that for sure. He made a mental note to start paying attention to that... and then said to himself he was an idiot. Why did he even care?

Well, no, he knew why. He still didn't like the answer.

Perhaps it would just fade away eventually. He couldn't imagine that most people did anything about having such feelings for almost perfect strangers that met just two times already. Surely a lot of times "that" just went nowhere and never caused any issue for anyone if silenced enough. If a person just learned to keep it to themselves, just as they had done during their entire lives before that point, then surely everything would end up just fine. 

Alright, Lucifer was attractive. That much could be admitted because that was just an objective fact. Apparently the secret to waking up that kind of experience for him had been a tiny blonde all along, who knew. 

So what? He could take that to the grave with him. There were lots of things he hoped to take to the grave with him and as long as he had any say on it, he would do it. This was going to be no different at all. If there was a god, then he knew very well that he didn't need the extra stress on his life.

A little glance from time to time wouldn't hurt, of course. It's only natural to admire beautiful things when they are nearby. He wasn't about to rip his eyes out to pretend otherwise. But that was about it. Just a glance at a distance, a bit of a respectful admiration.

And of course they had to talk with each other, that was just inevitable. They were working together, they were both the heads of the kitchen and unlike hydras, if they cut one of the heads a new one wasn't just about to spawn from the severed neck. So they had to get along. Keep it professional and amicable. Especially with the whole being the son of the owner. You don't want to seem to close off and burn that bridge, not if you don't have a new one able to replace it at the ready.

Maybe gather some data that he could use to try to lazily plan his ruin so he could be the only chef standing. That seemed like a necessary enough step too. It would give him a little imaginary hobby, something to think about besides the way the muscles of Lucifer tensed up when chopping vegetables, the delicate and expert way with which he made his cut of meat. Something that he did not need on his head occupying as much space as it did during the next few days.

Finding out about the pastry where he went to get his breakfast every morning before coming there, whose bag Lucifer was always coming on his arrival, that was just another piece of information that he could use. The way that he drank his coffee, with at least three sugar cubes, it could be useful if he ever wanted to potion him without him realizing. 

Strike a conversation about how Alastor couldn't help to notice the way he moved around the kitchen, which then would lead to the confession that Lucifer had practiced ballet since he was very little, and even though he stopped practicing years ago, he still did some movements along in his house. It was just normal friendly conversation, no reason to give it any more importance than that. Imagine Lucifer on top of a stage while performing a piece while he elevated him on the air, like an angel that he was trying to send back to heaven, was just how people kept themselves interested on the topic, right?

After a few months of thinking of more ways in which he could enter in contact with Lucifer, and fewer ways to kill him discreetly, Alastor finally told himself he wasn't fooling anyone. Maybe that dying business man was right all along and a coffee date couldn't be so bad. 

He was good at scheduling after all, so if he just bothered to plan carefully then maybe he could manage to keep both his hunts and Lucifer in completely separated areas of his life. Many other people had done similar things before, why not him? Why should he ever deprive himself of something that could bring him pleasure? There was already some pleasure on the times he turned to see Lucifer and he had turned his head first, as if he had been the one watching and didn't want him to know.

"What...?" Lucifer stared at him, frozen in the middle of putting his folded coat back into his bag inside the locker. It was the time for closing and everyone else was gone for the day. Alastor had waited for a moment like that to finally make that question and now that he did, Lucifer frowned. "Are... are you inviting me on a date?"

"Are you accepting?" Alastor asked back, mostly confused for his reaction. 

As if instead of asking something out of him, he had taken out a bat and threatened him to bash his head in.

"Ha... ha ha..." Lucifer grabbed his chest and started heaving, the uncomfortable tight smile never leaving his face as the panic fully settled in. He took a step back, then another, not even looking at him. "A-are you kidding me? No. No, no, no, no, no, no. You have to be kidding me. That is a joke. Not a very funny one, Al!"

What the hell was wrong with him? Did he think he was going to react violently now? When did he ever give the impression that was something he could do just for hearing a no?

"It's not a joke" Now he was starting to get pissed. "You could just say no if the idea seems so funny to you."

"Then nope!" said Lucifer, quickly closing the door of his locker, his breathing calming down somewhat only after he said his response. The blonde was biting his lips, as if debating with himself if he should explain further. He was still not looking at Alastor directly. "I... I like women. So I have to say no. Please, don't ever ask that again."

Well. Fine then. Nothing else to do. 

"Fair enough" That was all Alastor could muster to say, no angry, no confused, just saving everything for now to think about or forget about later. Right now he kept his tone even, controlled as he figured out the best course of action. "I wasn't aware of that. I am sorry for assuming."

"It's fine..." The voice of Lucifer turned low as he pressed himself against the wall, as if wanting to disappear behind it. "Can we... forget this happened?"

He didn't want to forget. But he could pretend so if that is what it took for Lucifer to stop looking so fucking scared. He had never shown him any signs of danger, did he? But who knows. Maybe somehow he slipped or this was just the common assumption with straight men when a taller male coworker invited them to a date. He had no idea and right now he couldn't even theorize.

"Of course," said, closing the door of his own locker and grabbing his bag. 

When he came to the back door he turned for a moment. Lucifer had let himself slip from the wall onto the floor and was just sitting there, hugging his bag against his chest. In any other moment Alastor would have come to his side and asked him if he was alright, and even now that desire was still very much there, but instead he just continued on his way. 

He didn't take public transportation like usual. The long walk home was surely to clear his head, wash away the embarrassment and help him out to plan his next move. 

By the time he reached his apartment, he had the answer already:

Lucifer Morningstar had to die.

[misspearly1]

When Two Worlds Collide Series

Chp1 || Chp2 || Chp3 || Chp4 || Chp5 || Chp6 || Chp7 || Chp8

Pairing: Joel Miller x F!Reader x Arthur Morgan 

Chapter Two: Meeting Mr. Kilgore  

WC: 7.5k

Warnings: 18+ Content. Minors DNI. Alternative TLOU & RDR2 Universe. Friends to Lovers. Eventual Smut. Love Triangle. Angst With Happy Ending. Jealousy. Mentions of Nudity. Fighting (between Joel and Arthur). Mentions of Guns. 

AN: This is the second part, my loves. The word count is getting bigger, but I will try to keep them under 10k. I would post it as one big oneshot, but like I said in the first part, it crashes and makes the posting process difficult. I hope you don’t mind that I’ve broken it up, and I also hope that you enjoy the story as it progresses! Thank you.

Laying on your back, winded and breathless, you stare up at the mighty branches of an oak tree, watching a colourful blend of leaves falling down majestically like a flock of butterflies. You closed your eyes and hoped that when you opened them again, you’d wake up from this dream and end the nightmare. But to your dismay, that didn’t happen. 

When you eventually bit the bullet and opened your eyes, you still saw those same mighty branches and colourful blends of leaves falling down. This is real life. It wasn’t a dream and the nightmare continues, but at least you had Joel with you. It could be worse. You could be here all by yourself.

The man lay beside you with his hand clutched over his stomach as he tried to ease the discomfort. He took the majority of the damage when you landed on top of him before rolling onto your back. It didn't occur to you until now that the reason you didn't suffer any major injuries is because of him. He held you and braced for the impact, and thankfully, the grass softened the blow.

You tilt your head and look at him now, wondering what the hell had just happened and quickly remember all of the little details. They came rushing back and struck you with panic. It was just mere seconds ago that you were standing in your living room, holding onto his hand while he curiously reached out to touch the mirror before he was pulled inside, the power and force pulling you in there with him. It happened so fast and there was no way you could stop it. 

Forcing yourself to sit up and look around, you take in your surroundings generously and try to gather where exactly you landed. The mirror brought you here, but you don’t know where ‘here’ is. You feel dazed and confused. It’s almost pitch black out, only the moon and starry skies above provided enough light for you to see your environment, but even then, you couldn’t see far enough to make out the details of where you are.

There were trees and bushes as far as the eyes could see. It looked like you were in the middle of nowhere. You could see the distinct shadows of the mountains in the distance and worried about how far away you are from home. Your movements become frantic as you twist and turn, looking for anything to indicate where you are, but there is nothing. It was just you, Joel, and this damn oak tree. 

“Darlin’, what’s wrong?” You heard Joel ask. He recognised that you’re about to break down and sat up to help you, but before he could provide any comfort, you turned to face him and scoffed. “What’s wrong?” Your mouth falls open with disbelief that he’s even asking that question in the first place. “What’s wrong?!” You repeated his question with mockery in your tone as you gestured to the surroundings with your hands. “Joel, can’t you fucking see what’s wrong? First of all, we fall into the goddamn mirror, and I don’t even know how that’s possible.” 

“Yeah.” He nods as you rant and let it all out, unleashing an overpowering concoction of emotions onto him. 

You continued. “And second of all, we land on a patch of grass beneath a tree — the same tree I saw in the mirror might I add.” You throw your hands up in the air, shaking your head at him. “And last of all, you’re asking me what’s wrong? Can’t you fucking see what’s wrong! We’re here, and we should be…” You looked around again, searching for any signs or indications of where you are and how to get home, but to no avail. It’s just miles upon miles of landscape, and maybe a couple landmarks here or there in the distance, but there was little to no light. You could barely see a thing and it was frightening to say the least. You turn back to look at him now with tears in your eyes, your lips trembling as you speak. “How are you so calm about this? Don’t you see what’s happened here?” 

He maintained your direct line of sight with a wide-eyed stare, his gaze unbroken and firm as he emphasized what he had to say next: “I know, Y/N—” He took a lengthy pause to let those words really sink into your mind and help you understand that he’s not actually calm right now. You see the slight tremor in his hands, the panicked look in his eyes and the way his chest rises and falls rapidly. He isn’t calm about this at all — he’s trying to stay calm for your sake. “I do see what’s happened here, girl – I know.” He reassured before you finally fell apart and broke down. 

You begin to hyperventilate and suck in short breaths of air, as if your chest was tight and you couldn’t quite get enough oxygen to reach your brain fast enough. It felt like your head was swelling up like a balloon, thus making you dizzy and faint. The blood in your face ran cold with the reality of the situation at hand and Joel acted quickly by taking you into his embrace. He wrapped his arms around your back extra tight and held you close.

“Just take it easy. We’ll figure this out.” He whispered into your hair, his voice so soothing and tender. “I promise we’ll figure this out, darlin’ but you gotta take it easy for me and control yer breathing.” Over and over again, he re-enforced his reassurances with words and consoling gestures to calm you down.

There were a million questions fleeing through your mind all at once and it was simply too much to concentrate. You could barely form a thought in your head let alone a sentence, so instead, you just pressed your face to Joel’s chest and focused on the sound of his beating heart. It was loud and deafening, but you counted the beats and finally began to feel his reassuring words and gestures. It was working as you gradually started to breathe at a normal pace again and your own heart rate slowly settled down. 

You basked in the warm and security of his tight cold over you. His arms wrapped around your back acted like a weighted blanket to make you feel safely cushioned from the severity of the predicament you find yourselves in. You are so terrified and worried, but he took the edge off and brought you back down to something calm and stable-minded where you could speak without the heated frustration behind your words. His quick thinking and timely decision to take you into his embrace saved you from an extreme panic attack, and you’re most thankful that he’s here with you. It would have been worse if you were here all by yourself.

Roughly thirty minutes later — which felt like forever — you each rested your backs against the cold ridged bark of the oak tree and glanced across the land, taking note of the sporadic flooding in the fields and herds of bison grouping together as they graze across their territory. It was an amazing sight to behold and really quite beautiful too, yet it’s something you don’t often see back home. You only ever see this sort of stuff on the discovery channel or when you’re driving through the extremely rural areas of the countryside. You hoped that you were in the countryside; that you weren’t too far away from home.

But with the sudden remembrance of what you saw in the mirror, you turned to Joel and speculated your thoughts out loud. “I um… I think the image I saw of the tree in the mirror is where we are right now, but I don’t know where this place is exactly.” You scratched your head with bafflement. “I don’t even know how we managed to get here. It’s not possible how we got here.”

“I know, doll.” Joel agreed, his tone steady as he reached out to hold your leg above the knee with a reassuring squeeze. He then pulls his hand away and rises to his feet to take a look around. “Maybe we should go look for a sign or ask someone where we are and work from there.” He suggested, sounding hopeful that there will be a solution to find a way back home. Although you can still sense that he is just as worried as you are right now, you appreciate that he’s trying to be optimistic to keep you sane. You appreciate that he’s remaining calm to keep you calm. 

Rising to your feet and gathering just enough optimism as well, you look across the landscape again and point to a landmark in the distance. It was pretty far away, maybe an hour walk give or take, but you could just make out a couple houses and an old windmill tower under the moonlight. It looked like some big ranch from where you stood with Joel, but there was a train track running through the place, so you wondered if it was a small town instead. Nonetheless, someone will be there and they’ll have a phone that you can use. 

“C’mon.” Joel gestured to you with his hands, beckoning you to follow him. “We need to call a cab and go home, then we can deal with the mirror.” 

Now that sounded like a solid plan, you thought.

Around one hour and forty-five minutes later, you and Joel had walked tirelessly and covered a lot of ground since leaving the big oak tree on the hill. You seriously underestimated just how far away that landmark was, but since you’ve come across the very first sign stating ‘Emerald Ranch and Emerald Station’, you feel much better now that you aren’t in the middle of nowhere anymore. It’s one step closer to finding a way home. 

Walking along the muddy path together, you stick close to Joel as the night-time breeze pinches your skin and sends a cold shiver down your spine. It’s still so eerily dark, yet the sky above was lit up with a million stars. You could even see the constellations and it was amazing that you could see it with the naked eye. It looked so clear and visible. Usually, you wouldn’t be able to see the night sky like this back home with all the light pollution, but as much as it was pretty to gaze upon, it was way too cold to be out wandering the countryside as late as this. 

Since you and Joel were wearing your bed clothing before you were sucked into the mirror, you’re both feeling the elements of the weather. Your clothing consisted of a thin black vest, a pair of sweatpants and sliders for shoes. If you had known all of this would have happened, you would have worn comfier and more suitable clothing. Joel was wearing something similar to you, and he also shivered with the cold. He had sweatpants too, but he had a short sleeved grey shirt and his work boots on his feet. You wish you had a blanket so you could wrap it around the man and keep him warm. It wasn’t nice to see him cold, and you felt sorry for him. 

Although it was pretty much useless, you still had your mobile phone with you. There is no cell service or internet connection to help figure out where you are, and oddly enough, the little compass on google maps keeps spinning around erratically. Even the clock had stopped ticking so you don’t know what time it was either. You landed on the damn thing after you fell into the mirror with Joel, and you hope that nothing is severely damaged or it’s at least an easy fix in the phone repair store back home. Truthfully, you would deem the whole phone useless, but the flashlight came in handy in the extremely dark areas during your walk.

Approaching the edge of Emerald Ranch now, you were careful and hesitant in case the people living here didn’t take kindly to strangers on their property. The last thing you want is to spook them and be threatened with a shotgun to leave. You need help and sought it from the first person you saw.

There was a man leaning over a wooden pen to pet the animals kept inside and you made your way towards him. There were some cattle, sheep and chickens, all separated appropriately, and the man wore a pair of black denim overalls, a dirty white shirt underneath and a pair of leather gloves. You assumed that he is the owner of the ranch or takes care of the animals, and the train must be for transporting livestock. 

“Excuse me sir.” You called out cautiously with a polite tone. “I’m sorry to disturb you. but we are lost and need to call a cab-” 

“Jesus lady!” The man abruptly cut you off when he turned to face you. His eyes widened for a second before he averted his gaze and held his hand out to block you from his vision. “What are you wearing? You should cover up your uhh…” he paused briefly to find the right words, “... Your assets. That’s too much skin for folk around here, miss.”  

Looking to Joel for help as you cross your arms over your chest, you move to stand behind him and use his body to keep you better concealed. Although your vest was a little low cut in the cleavage area, it’s just like any other regular vest top, not some skimpy piece of clothing, and you don’t see how or why it’s too revealing. But simply because you need the help and don’t want to piss the guy off, you bite your tongue and don’t bother giving him a lecture about keeping control of his own damn eyes.

“Sir, we are lost.” Joel cut straight to the point and explained. “We don’t know where we are, or how to get home from here. Can we use yer phone to call a cab? I’d much appreciate it.” 

“A cab?” The man crooked an eyebrow with a look of confusion on his face. “I’m not sure what that is, fella, but it don’t matter anyway. We ain’t got those fancy telephones out here. You want to call someone, you gotta go to the bigger towns or cities.” 

“Well, where is the nearest town or city then? Can’t ya see that we don’t know where we are or where to go?” Joel fired out a couple questions, his jaw clenching with annoyance now. You could tell that his patience was wearing thin quickly and squeezed his arm, silently telling him to take it easy in a whisper. He tilted his head towards you, nodding softly to reassure you that he’s calm before turning back to face that man. “Could you tell us where we are? So me and my friend can find our way home.” He reiterated with a kinder approach this time. 

“You’re standing in the state of New Hanover.” He spat a mouthful of chewing tobacco on the ground before wiping the saliva away from his lips, the sight making you grimace behind Joel’s shoulder as he continued like it was normal to do that sort of thing. “Bout a week's ride that way-” he pointed a thumb over his shoulder, “-Cross the border into the state of Lemoyne and continue ridin’ southeast through the Bayou Nwa region till you hit the water. You’ll find the big city there with a telephone. It’s called Saint Denis. You can’t miss it.” 

“Do you mean to ride the train?” Joel searched for more answers while palming a hand over his sweatpants pockets and feeling how empty they were. He has no money to buy train tickets and neither do you. 

“Sure, whatever ya want.” The man replied, shrugging carelessly. “Train, coach or horseback. Now is that all?” He asked, but didn’t care to listen to Joel’s answer as he turned around to face the sheep's pen again. You didn’t particularly favour his tone. He sounded as fed up as you and Joel were, but it’s a sticky situation you find yourselves in right now. Having no money like this to get where you need to be is rather embarrassing and shameful. You don’t like feeling useless and lost like this. The quicker you get home, the sooner you can forget about this hellish nightmare and be done with it. 

However, as you finally take in what he’s just said about where you are and where you need to go, you realize that you still don’t actually know where you are. “Have you ever heard of those places before?” You questioned Joel quietly, and it makes him have that same realization that you did just mere seconds ago. He still didn’t know where he was either and all of those locations; New Hanover, Lemoyne, Bayou Nwa and Saint Denis weren't ringing any bells other than alarms.

You heard the train horn blaring in the distance as it neared it stop and tug on his arm. “C’mon. Let’s go find some more help.” 

Walking through the ranch together in search of the train station and noticing that it wasn’t like any other ordinary ranch you’ve ever seen before, an uncanny feeling began to settle in the pit on your stomach filled with worry and dread. This place looked like it used to be a town long ago – a very long time ago.

There was a big house with a woman standing in the window upstairs, her clothing attire eerily similar to the 1800’s and there was no electrical light either. The only source of light came from oil lamps. But in addition to those important and concerning details, there was an old wooden windmill and water tower, as well as a couple wooden carriages placed at the end of their yard with more large pens for the animals and crops. There was also an old general store and saloon, but both boarded up and inaccessible. You wonder if this used to be an attraction for tourists of some kind, but it didn’t feel…. right. 

Something is wrong here, and Joel could sense that very same thing as well. Nothing was normal about this place and you could tell by the way he walked hurriedly and pulled you along with him that he was determined to find answers. You have an idea where you are, but you don’t want to admit it yet. Not until you have solid proof and evidence of your suspicions. This is why you were so panicked earlier because as well as remembering that picture of the oak tree in the mirror, you also remember that picture of the town which looked to be over one hundred years old. The image looked like it was plucked right out of a history book from the wild western days. 

Upon seeing the train station, you and Joel were not only taken aback about how old it looked and how small it was, but you both were also taken aback by the four wheeled stagecoach situated beside the station. There were four horses linked up together to pull the carriage and a man standing by the coach, asking if you needed a ride anywhere for a fair price, his formal, yet strangely unfamiliar accent making you feel uneasy. You rush past him with Joel and make your way towards the front desk of the station, asking the man behind the counter where you are and how to get back home to Austin, Texas. 

“I’m sorry folks. You got me stumped here.” He answered your queries gently, noticing the way you both looked so alarmed. “Do you by chance mean the state of New Austin? Over by West Ezliabeth? It’s a pretty long ride by coach or horseback, but a train there will cut your journey in half–” He reached into a drawer in the desk and pulled out a map before placing it over the counter for you and Joel to look at “–Here you go. This is where you are right now, and this is the state of New Austin. Does that help?” 

“Jesus Christ.” Joel exhaled heavily. Placing his elbows on the counter and burying his face into the palms of his hands, he shook his head while you stood beside him, horrified and dumbstruck. The map you were looking at only had five states: New Austin, West Elizabeth, Ambarino, New Hanover and Lemoyne.

You don’t even know how it’s possible, but you’re looking at what seems to be a partial map of the US from the year 1899, only none of it was geographically or historically accurate. Not only have you and Joel been transported across multiple states and slipped back in time by over a century, but there’s even a possibility that you’ve entered an alternate dimension too. 

The chances of finding a way home have just become a lot more difficult and highly unlikely.

As the sun rises over the horizon and another day passes without answers or solutions to find your way home, you’ve damn near lost all hope and poor Joel has suffered the blunt end of your frustrations. You don’t particularly like being stuck here, or being so lost and useless like this either, but he’s been helping out however he can, and you’ve been an emotional wreck about the whole ordeal. 

You don’t mean to argue and bicker with Joel so much, but it’s been three painful days of torture without money, food and supplies. The only thing you’ve been able to eat thus far is wild berries, and too much of those can be harmful and dangerous. Catching a stomach bug or a flu is the last thing you want or need right now. It’s been hard to cope, both physically and mentally, and you don’t know how much longer you can suffer like this. 

Last night, you were forced to do something you’ve never done before; something you never thought you’d even be able to go through with. You and Joel snuck inside some innocent man's home and stole everything you could possibly get your hands on. It was shocking and you hated every second of it.

Fortunately though, that man was dead to the world as he passed out on the sofa, so he didn’t see either of you. Although you feel a tremendous amount of guilt for what you did, you couldn’t help but feel a little relieved to sleep in a tent last night with a blanket instead of the cold mucky ground. You have a little bit of money and some valuables to trade or sell, but it’s not nearly enough to keep you both fed or clothed.

You had beef and buttered bread instead of berries last night, and ate it like it was your last meal before washing it down with a bottle of whiskey. Today however, you’ve awoken with a painful ball of guilt in your stomach and a splitting headache. It’s probably the alcohol, but there’s other things bothering your mind too. You feel awful for what you did, how you’ve been treating Joel and you’ve never yearned for a shower so much in your life.

Your clothes are dirty and damp, and you can’t even bring yourself to look at him anymore because your clothes are giving off an odour too. You smell, and you don’t like that you do. Climbing out of the tent quietly so you don’t disturb the man during his slumber, you make your way towards a little pond near the temporary campsite. It’s only temporary because you keep moving every night, fearing the law will come looking for you both for your crimes.

The sun is only just making an appearance right now. It’s barely visible and you need to make the most of this early morning sunrise to clean yourself up the best you can with what’s available. Pond water isn’t the most ideal, but it’s all you have. 

Before you walk down the slight embankment, you take a look around and make sure you're absolutely alone and somewhat concealed between the trees and shrub. Not only do you need to wash your clothes, but you need to wash your body too and just feel clean as well as look clean. You feel dirty and the constant supply of clean water back home is something you’ll never take for granted ever again.

After getting undressed, you make your way into the water and gasp sharply with the cool temperatures giving you a shocking thrill of energy. Your heartbeat starts to rise and pick up speed because of how cold it was. It would have been better when the sun is high in the sky, heating up the water tremendously, but at that time of day, it’s more likely that someone will come across you fully nude and vulnerable.

You would’ve asked Joel to keep watch for you, but you’re too ashamed to even let him see you in a state like this and besides, you’re beginning to wonder if he has finally had enough with you because of your attitude lately. Especially after last night.

When you robbed that man blind yesterday and made it to your new campsite, you broke down with tears over what you did and Joel tried to be a voice of reason. He tried to justify what you both had to do in order to survive, but you didn’t want to hear it at the time and snapped at him. An explosive argument quickly followed and you went to sleep angry with each other. You’re going to apologize when you finish up bathing and head back to camp. You didn’t mean to snap at him, and you feel a great deal of regret for making things worse last night rather than better. 

Cupping handfuls of water and washing your arms, legs and torso, you wipe away the collection of dirt and grime, feeling better with each inch of skin looking cleaner. You left your bra and sliders on the embankment, but brought your underwear, vest shirt and sweatpants in the water with you. After dunking them generously until they were sopping wet, you then dipped your hair in the water too before exiting the pond to sit between the shrubs and bushes, relying on them to keep you somewhat concealed with privacy. 

You lay your clothes out under the sun, bring your knees up to your chest and hug your legs, then just wait until they are dry enough to be worn. It took a little while for the sunlight to even reach you and your clothes, but once those warm rays started shining over you, it felt heavenly.

You closed your eyes to bathe under summer heat, feeling the cold droplets of water rolling down your skin as you slowly but gradually dry off. It was so relaxing and comfortable that you almost fell asleep until you heard the audible sound of a twig snapping beneath a boot. Your eyes sprung open and searched for the source, the little glimpses of a cowboy hat bobbing up and down over the tall bushes across the pond making you leap into action.

Quickly and carefully, you bunched up your clothes and hid behind a large tree, watching attentively as that person approached the edge of the pond. It was a man grumbling angrily under his breath, his face and hands covered in dirt as he kneels down to cup handfuls of the water just like you did to wash himself. His clothes looked dirtier than what yours did, but he didn’t seem to care. 

Looking at his clothes closely though, you noticed that he dressed a little differently compared to the other people you’ve seen over the last couple of days. He wore a light blue striped shirt, the sleeves rolled up his arms which displayed a generous amount of hair, and the veins and muscles in his arms. The suspenders attached to his jeans that pulled over his chest and shoulders emphasizes his size and stature. He was broad in the shoulders, big chested and quite visibly strong. 

The hat he wore paired so well with the black neckerchief. It really brought his outfit together, but the gun belt hanging loosely on his hips kept you weary of his presence. You don’t know what this man is capable of or how well he knows his way around a gun, and you don’t wish to find out either.

He was still grumbling under his breath and quite clearly angry about something, but when he took his hat off, revealing a beautiful head of dirty blonde hair, you leaned around the tree with interest and curiosity to see more of him. His hair was shoulder length with a side part, his beard dark and complimentary to his handsome features and his eyes… God his eyes were so beautiful that you didn’t react quick enough when he lifted his head and looked directly at you. 

It didn’t matter that you hid behind the tree completely with your back pressed against the bark because your cover was well and truly blown. You were too greedy with taking a good look at the man, ogling him like a cat in heat, and now it’s come back to bite you in the ass like karma. It was foolish of you to put yourself and possibly even Joel in danger like this. He saw you clear as day, and now you begin to panic when hearing him wading through the pond, his movements loud as he approaches you. 

“Who goes there?” He asked, drawing his gun and pulling back the hammer. You could hear it so distinctly and jolted with fright when he gave a warning. “Show ya self or I’ll start shooting.” 

“I c-can't show myself.” You stuttered nervously, your voice timid and shaky. 

“And why can’t ya do that, huh?” He asks another question, to which you waste no time in answering him truthfully. “Because I’m n-naked. I didn’t mean to spy on you, sir. Please d-don’t shoot me.” 

“Oh shit… You’re a lady?” He softened his tone then quickly holstered in gun and took a step back. “I’m sorry ma’am. I didn’t realize at first, but I won’t shoot ya for spying on me. I reckon you were bathing in the pond before I got here?” He inquired. 

“Yes, t-that’s right.” You replied, then shook your head. “Well, sort of. I was sitting on the grass while my clothes were drying off under the sun and I can’t put them on right now because they’re still wet you see.” 

“I can help with that if ya like.” He kindly offered, then realized how sexual that sounded and quickly explained himself. “Ah, shit… I didn’t mean it like that. I meant that I keep a couple spare sets of clothes on my horse for emergencies, so I can help ya out with a shirt and a pair of pants.” 

“Uhm… Yeah.” You smiled bashfully and slowly started to relax the tension in your shoulders. Hearing the slight panic in his voice was adorable and assuring that he’s genuine about helping you out. “I’d really appreciate that. Thank you, uh?” You probed for his name, to which he pauses for a moment before answering you. It made you laugh so much that you failed to hide it. “Oh wow! I’m terribly sorry for being so rude. I’ve just never heard a name like that before. Tacitus Kilgore. My… that’s uh… that’s something. I’m Y/N by the way, and it’s nice to meet you.” 

“It’s quite alright, ma'am.” He chuckles with you, agreeing that his name was quite something indeed. “That’s a pretty laugh you have there, Y/N and it’s nice to meet you too.” He said before whistling for his horse. The sound was so loud that you immediately thought of Joel and worried that he would come looking for you. It’s a worry because he will naturally assume that Tacitus is a threat, and maybe Tacitus might naturally assume that Joel is a threat as well. He thought you were just a few moments ago and it’s best to avoid a conflict under your current circumstances. You’re in dire need of help and you’ll take whatever you can get. Even a pair of clothes from a stranger. 

“Hey, don’t be alarmed, but my friend is sleeping in a tent nearby.” You quickly say to him. “He might come looking for me to make sure I’m ok if he heard you whistling, but please don’t shoot him. He’s a good man.” 

“I won’t.” Tacitus promised. “Not unless he tries to shoot me first.” Well, that shouldn’t be a problem, you thought. Joel doesn’t have a gun, so he won’t try to shoot Mr. Kilgore. “Your friend won’t mind ya talking to a fella like me though, right?” He asked, and his question made your cheeks heat up a little at the thought of Joel possibly being jealous of another man talking to you. He wouldn’t though. He’s not like that. But… What does Tacitus mean by ‘a fella like me’. 

“Well that depends. Are you a nice guy looking to help out a woman in need, or is there some hidden agenda behind your actions?” You answer his question with another question, making the man choke out a deep laugh as he answered you. “No... No hidden agenda. I’m just happy to help if I can, miss.”

When he throws the clothes at your feet, you kneel down and reach for them carefully without revealing yourself to the man. You pulled a red shirt over your head, the fabric long, thick and soft like a sweater. The sleeves were crinkled from where Tacitus had previously pulled them up but they smell clean too, like they had been recently washed with a faintly scented soap. The pants were brown and patterned with stripes. It was just a simple pair of workers jeans, and they were too big, but you slipped your legs inside and used a hair tie to keep them secured on your waist. 

“Ok, I’m ready now.” You warned him in advance. “I’m coming out.”

Stepping around the tree and revealing yourself to the man, you watched his expression change with surprise and delight. He started to smile while taking a respectful look up and down your body, as if glancing at every inch of you to memorize what you like before tipping his hat. “Ma’am.” He said courteously, then laughed adorably. “Where are your shoes?” 

“Oh, they’re right here.” You laughed also, then dropped your sliders to the ground before slipping your feet inside. “I uhh, I need to dry my clothes.” You pointed awkwardly to a patch of sunlight in the grass, hesitant to step forward and move closer to him. Although he’s a handsome man who’s politely spoken and he’s treated you with nothing but kindness and respect so far, that doesn’t take away the fact you don’t know him and you should still remain cautious of strangers in this unknown dimension. 

Tacitus stepped aside for you and moved towards his horse, searching through his saddle bags while you made your way towards your prior spot in the grass and laid your clothes out to be dried. You kept your underwear hidden though, worrying that he might see it and realize you’re not wearing them.

“You can keep those clothes if ya need ‘em.” He threw over his shoulder as you stood stiffly to watch his movements. The man could see for himself that you were weary of his presence and tried to make you feel comfortable by saying goodbye. “I’ll leave you to it, miss. I didn’t mean to intrude.” 

“Wait… Do you have more supplies on your horse?” You queried shyly, thinking about how Joel will need some clothes too. “And maybe a hat for my friend? He doesn’t have long hair like yourself and the sun keeps burning his shoulders.” You twiddle with your fingers and shuffle on your feet nervously because Joel is here. He’s hiding behind one of the trees and trying to approach sneakily. You caught a glimpse of him over Tacitus’ shoulder and tried to disguise how fearful you were by keeping him distracted. “I’ll pay. We have a little bit of cash.” You kept your eyes trained on the man, never breaking his eye contact once as you did your best to smile and act natural. You didn’t want to alert him, but you also didn’t want him to get hurt either.

“Sure.” He nodded, but looked at you with slightly narrowed eyes. It’s as if he could tell you were scared. “We can trade a few things.” He said whilst keeping his face turned in your direction, but the moment he used his eyes to look in his peripheral vision, you instantly yelled out in panic. “Joel, don’t!”

He leaped out of cover in a flash and jumped onto Tacitus’ back, the action stopping him from reaching for his guns. Joel wrapped his arm around his neck and put the man in a headlock before taking a striking elbow to his ribs. As he winced with pain, Tacitus saw the opening and took it by throwing his head back and headbutting Joel.

However, as quickly as Tacitus turned to face him, Joel had forced himself to overcome the pain in his face and ran straight ahead with force. “Joel, please stop! He’s friendly!” You screamed now as they both tumbled down the embankment and into the pond, wrestling to overpower each other. Joel was throwing punches like his life depended on it, his knuckles already beginning to turn red before Tacitus managed to roll over and return the same treatment. You’ve seen men tussle before, but nothing like this. They were going to kill each other if you didn’t intervene. 

When Joel had managed to block the blows to his face and rolled back on top of Tacitus, you rushed forward to help just in the nick of time as he grabbed one of the guns off his waist and pointed the barrel in his face. “Joel!” You shouted his name while holding onto the gun before he could squeeze the trigger. “Don't shoot him. He won’t hurt us.” 

“Oh, I don’t know ‘bout that, Y/N.” Tacitus growled, his lip curling with rage, although he had no fear of a gun pointed in his face like this. “I wasn’t gunna, but ya friend here tackled me and now I’m not so sure. Tell him to lower the gun and fight like a real man.” 

“No way. Not fucking happening.” Joel barked. It was evident he wasn’t going to let up any time soon. He kept his eyes trained on the man, but warned you gravely. “Take yer hand off the gun and step back, Y/N. Let me take care of this hillbilly sack of shit.”

You didn’t listen to him and used your free hand to remove the other gun off Tacitus’ hip before throwing it far away over your shoulder. Now that one of the weapons was out of reach, you turned your focus to the last remaining weapon and held onto it with two hands. 

“Give it to me.” You demanded calmly, hoping your tone helped ease the tension. “You’re making an enemy right now, Joel. He was going to trade with us. Look–” you gesture to your clothes. “–See? He gave me these and helped me out. He won’t hurt us unless you give him a reason to. Please don’t do this.” Your pleadings were falling on deaf ears as he continued to glare at Tacitus with a wild look in his eyes. You looked down at Tacitus instead and offered one final solution. “I’ll take the gun away, but you gotta give me your word that you won’t hurt him.” You then look at Joel, “And you too. You have to promise you won’t hurt, Tacitus.” 

The men grew silent as they stared at each other, as if they were taking your words into account and contemplating the outcome. You could see the wheels turning behind their eyes. They were thinking about what the best move was, but you were in the way and neither of them wanted you to get hurt in the process of their fighting.

“I’m gonna ease up.” Joel broke the silence first and spoke steadily now. “No sudden movements or so help me God, I will empty this clip into yer face.” 

Moving back slowly and pulling you with him, he moved you to stand behind him and kept the gun trained on Tacitus as he slowly pulled himself up off the ground. You looked at him with sorrow in your eyes, apologizing for the misunderstanding without a need for words. You didn’t need to say it. Your face said it all for the man as he looked back at you with an expression that spoke of acceptance and defeat. 

“Can I have my gun back now?” He asked you, and didn’t even look at Joel. “You can still keep the clothes, but the gun belongs to me.” You didn’t answer the man right away and thought about his question for a moment. It would be a task trying to convince Joel to hand the gun over anyway, but for some unknown reason, you trust Tacitus. He could have hurt you at any given point before Joel showed up and he didn’t. He could have left you hiding behind a tree fully naked, but he didn’t. He instead offered his help and generosity, and he was going to trade with you. That probably won’t happen now, but you don’t want enemies here. You want to find a way home, and someone like Tacitus could help you get there. 

Reaching out and carefully sliding your hand along Joel’s arm, you don’t take the gun away from him but gently urge him to lower it and take a chance on trusting strangers in this dimension. You don’t blame him for being so protective over you. He blames himself for touching the mirror and bringing you both here and your safety has become his top priority ever since. Even though you’ve been giving him a shitty attitude these last few days, you completely understand now that he’s just trying his damn best to keep you out of harm's way and make sure you’re comfortable. 

Now that the gun was lowered, Tacitus relaxed his shoulders and nodded in your direction respectfully – a show of thanks for taking care of the situation in a way that doesn’t end up with blood on someone's hands. It’s the outcome neither of you wanted. But he looked at you and Joel closely, his head tilting with bewilderment as he let his thoughts roam free. You could tell the man was thinking about how you dress, talk and act. Especially when he looked at Joel’s shoes and realized they aren’t a style he’s ever seen before. 

Then, you watch as his eyes lit up like had found an answer to his suspicions. 

“I’ve seen a few peculiar things in my lifetime to know when something ain’t right.” He smirks and rests his weight on one hip to get another good look at you and Joel. “I gotta say. Ya’ll look a little lost… Ain’t from here, are ya?” He asked confidently, like he already knew the answer. 

“No.” You replied, ignoring Joel’s protests for you to stop talking and revealing information like this. You only ignored him because you really think Tacitus could help. “And yes. We are lost and frankly, I’m terrified that we’ll never find our way back home. Can you help us, Tacitus?” 

“Perhaps.” He looks away and shrugs, stroking his beard. “I know a guy who looks a little lost like ya’ll. He talks a little funny too. Like he’s from the future or somethin’.” That piqued Joel’s interest now and he jerked his chin outwards, prompting Tacitus to elaborate. He looked at you though and smiled, happily obliging to tell more. “I might be able to help. I met this man once and now I send him letters with rock carvings. I could reach out and ask him to meet up with me. But since I’m willing to help, I got three ground rules I’d like to lay out.” 

“Name them.” You nod to the man, eager to know the rules and get going. There's no more time to waste. You're desperate to get back to where you belong and you'll still take all the help you can get.  

“Big boy here doesn’t lay another finger on me or the deals off, and my line of work attracts the law so we keep a low profile at all times,” he racks off a couple rules and you both agree to them, then wait patiently for the third and final one. He looks at you now with a twinkling smile on his face, ignoring how pissed off Joel looks. “Last rule – Tacitus is my fake name, use that around strangers, but you can call me Arthur, sweetheart.”

You smiled at that and nodded to show your compliance, but felt Joel’s muscles flex beneath the palm of your hand, his finger steadily hovering over the trigger of the gun. It's as if he wasn't so happy and compliant with that third and final rule. He didn't like that Arthur called you sweetheart.

Maybe he is the jealous type after all.

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[cutegirlmayra]

 Combiny the prompties~

I’m a big fan of you, Precious Anon~ <(=//nwn//=)>

Prompt:

“How could this have happened!?” Sonic swiped the air with his claw, as a full-on wolf with bright red spikes that rattled like a snake’s tail reached up and tried to snap at him.

Getting knocked down, she paced around the tree, growling... she was huge! Bigger than Sonic, but while collecting the moons and suns, Professor Pickle and Amy had tried to experiment with taking out Sonic’s Dark Gaia infulence... unfortunately, the chaotic energy transferred to Amy, and while Sonic was still a werehog... she now carried half his curse.

“Oh dear, this is dreadful. A real conundrum, a hoshposh of dark energy mixed with that poor girl’s soul. Oh dear. Oh, my. How can I be thinking of cucumber sandwitches at a time like this!?” Professor Pickle was beside himself, having a sandwitch in his hand and placing it back on his plate while he now used both hands to type furiously with Tails backing him up.

“We have to reverse all energy back to Sonic!” Tails exclaimed, “Amy’s not even able to keep her conciousness!”

“Something must have happened when that good-for-nothing, pish-posh Doctor or whatever, Evil bad egg, for sure, made that device to inflict Sonic. I have a small theory, you know, that that machine was probably made to instill the tiniest fragments of light from the Chaos Emeralds used to sustain the Doctor’s experiment... a mad quack, if you ask me.” Professor Pickle looked over at the window, “Oh my!” seeing Sonic stretch out his hand to drag the pink wolf’s snarling muzzle against the barrier between the lab and the outside world.

“Any time now, Professor!” Sonic grabbed one of her front legs and threw her away from the laboratory.

“This could take all day, I can’t work under these stressful conditions-! Ohh!” he ducked his head and stopped typing, causing Tails to also look distracted and turn to the window.

“Ohh... Sonic!” He raced to the door, opening it as Sonic had two hands keeping the Wolf-Hedgehog hybrid’s mouth open to not clamp down on him, her clawed paws digging into the ground. “You need to get her out of here!” He hollered, “I know it’s unfair, but we need time!”

“What!? Time!?” Sonic threw her face down to the ground, climbing up to shove his whole weight onto it and keep her down as she scraped against the ground. “Great. Chip?” He looked up, “I need you to play the bait!”

“Bait!?” Chip faltered in the air, “No way! Nuh-huh! She was such a sweet girl, too, b-b-but-!” before he could sway his arms around and protest any further, Sonic gruffed and got the other Werehog in a headlock, but she looked so different from his transformation...

“Grr... Chip!” Sonic cried out, almost begging.

“Ahhh... Ohhh..!!! Alright! Here, poochie, poochie!” He flew like a sprite over to Amy’s vision, her large, narrowed wolf eyes looked over to see him, and Sonic slowly released his arm after seeing her eyes dart about with Chip’s sparatic movements.

“This way, yoohoo! Bleh, Bleh~” he patted his bum and lowered his bottom eyelid with his finger, then stuck out his tongue and winked. “Bet’cha can’t catch me! Yipes!” he tucked his bum up in front of himself when she snapped the air and pawed, whimpering to chase him. “YAAHHH-HAHA-AHHH!!! Soooniiiccc!!!” Chip ran in the air a moment before flying off, bobbing up and down every now and then as she tried to jump for him, leading them away from the lab.

Sonic, exhausted in his werehog form, already having been experimented on, looked over his shoulder with a wobbly step of his legs, “Tails... You stay with Professor Pickle... I’ll be back by dusk...”

“Got it!” Tails formed a fist and pumped it in the air to show his determination. “What will you do?”

“I’ll... ughh... keep her distracted.” He shook out his shoulders and then rolled them back, “Alright... let’s play ball...” He raced forward, reaching out a hand and stretching it to catch Chip as he tried to flinch and duck from Amy’s lunge up into the sky, her mouth drooling as he pulled his friend protectively to his chest, then held out a hand to Werehog Amy. “That’s enough!” he kept his hand out, “Amy... I know you’re still in there...”

She just looked around in the air, confused where Chip had gone before turning around and barring her teeth, slowly circling Sonic...

Chip whimpered and kicked out his feet to dive deeper into Sonic’s arm, shivering at her large and imposing size compared to him and Sonic.

“I know what you’re thinking...” Sonic spoke to Chip, but didn’t look away from Amy... just kept turning his body to wherever she was... as she barked every now and then as though to pounce, but seeing Sonic ready for it, bracing his stance, she would go back to circling... and Sonic would keep his hand up and eyes threatening that he’d go if she went. “How are we gonna keep her distracted till dusk?”

“Dusk!?” Chip angrily flew up and grabbed one of Sonic’s cheeks, shaking and tugging on it in his fury, “Why would you have us near death for so long!!!???”

Amy bit the air and Chip cried out and flew back into Sonic’s protective arm.

“Be brave, Chip.” Sonic then lowered him down to the ground, “Don’t fly... it seems to get her too excited.” He stated, and slowly began to approach her, “Easy, Amy... Easy...” his monsterous eyes grew softer, revealing the hidden hero within them. “Amy... It’s me... I know I...” He looked over himself, swaying his head to look down at his new form. “Don’t... appear the same... but you said it yourself,” he gestured out to her, “That no matter what I am... you’d be there for me... Well, it’s only common courtsey to do the same.”

She growled and tilted her head, her eyes scanning for either an opening... or maybe... understanding?

“Amy... are you in there?” He tried to reach out for her, but she lowered her form and gave every indictation that she’d bit if he touched her.

He slowly withdrew his hand, “Ohhh...” He let out a disappointed groan, but Chip piped in.

“Sonic, maybe... if you act like a monster, she will think you’re just like her!” he made his hands go up like claws, “Rawr, rawr, grr! Like that!” he gritted his teeth and hopped a little left and right, before spreading his arms and body out wide, as though thinking he had the perfect idea...

Sonic sweatdropped a little off the side of his face but turned to Amy and... slowly... lowered himself to all fours.

He figured, it must be worth a shot, since the ‘human approach’ wasn’t doing any good...

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a split second to try and swallow his pride back for a moment, and bent his ears back to show he meant business.

The snarling and growling stopped, and Amy looked intriqued.

He then postured himself up almost like a gorilla, being on his knuckles, and held out his chest.

“Ah! A gesture of superiority!” Chip cheered, throwing his arms up with different punches to the sky. “Yeah, yeah! Show her you’re the top dog, Sonic!”

Sonic looked back at Chip awkwardly with his eyes, but then widened them when Amy’s muzzle and nose sniffed at his chest, as though checking out if he really was strong... or all bark and no bite.

She huffed to the side and circled him more with a bounce in her stride, as though inspecting him further.

“Ah, hey, why- no!” she went under his arm and sniffed before he pushed her away, and she growled and he bonked her on the nose and the two were battling again.

“Ahhhh... man, it almost looked like that worked.” Chip slumped forward, “Hmm...” He then quickly tapped his foot and put a hand to his chin as Amy and Sonic rolled around in a tussle, duking it out while Chip finally got another idea. “That’s it!” he snapped the air and both Amy and Sonic’s ears flicked towards it, stopping their fighting and rolling to where Amy’s wolf form was on top, and Sonic’s werehog form was on the bottom and they both turned to Chip. “You’ve gotta be the Alpha wolf!” he posed with his arms flexing up, then down again as he did a miniture jump as though showing off muscles he clearly didn’t have. “You’ve gotta be aggressive!” He clawed the air, “RAWRRR!! Agile!” he hopped like a bunny on the ground on all fours, “Speeeeed!” he then raced around, using his wings to make him ‘zip’ through the air. “And lastly, be... affectionate~ Awh~” he got back up on his bipetal legs, putting both hands together by his heart, and swaying his body left and right. “After all, Alphas are supposed to be protective of their packs. You’ve gotta make her realize you’re a friend, not a foe! A monster in company!” he balanced on one leg and spread his arms out wide. “Think that’s it?” He flew over to Sonic’s head before racing away as Amy nipped the air as though to eat Chip.

Sonic gently got her off of him as she backed off, grumbling in animal grunts while she sank away to dig her elongated muzzle into some trash...

“You really think I have to befriend her like a... like an animal?” Sonic brushed off his arms, then shook out his head and began lightly pulling the pink wolf-quills out of his own head of spines...

“Exactly!” Chip flew back to Sonic’s head, gesturing out before gently taking one of his small paws and putting them to Sonic’s cheek, “Trust me... It was really working just a second a ago! I think she’ll calm down and remain tame enough to where we can wait out the day for the Professor and your friend to be done!” he then shrugged with a friendly tilt towards Sonic, “Worth a solid effort, right?”

“Ehhh...” Sonic grimanced, looking back over to Amy as her dog tail wagged and she looked around for more trash food.

“If it’s for Amy... Then...” He sighed, gesturing out towards her, “I really don’t want her to get hurt... Or hurt anyone by mistake.”

A person screamed and dropped their groceries, seeing her as she raised her head and playfully chased after the flee human.

The two boys flinched and cried out, “Gah!” in surprise and hurriedly chased her to keep her from hurting the poor man.

“Chip, it’s a deal! We’ll give it a try!” Sonic called out, racing after Amy.

“Yea-yep!” Chip nodded, also hurrying to shake his fluffy tail in front of Amy, “Look girl, look! Flufffy~ Delicious~ Come and eat me!” he jumped in the air and shouted out, making her turn her attentions as he fleed back to Sonic, whincing as she dashed after him and snapped the air again. “Ahhh!!! Why am I always the bait!?”

Sonic smirked and cut her off, growling as he shred his massive hand into the ground and used his claws to drift, bringing him to a stop in front of her as she hard breaked and took a side-stance, barring her fangs again.

“You think you’ve got fangs, huh?” Sonic glared, and summoned himself up to his legs... then... moved out his arms as he summoned out a roar that left her stepping back, and lowering her head...

She whimpered, submissively.

“Hah... Hah... Hah,... Em. Sorry, Amy. But you’re kinda out of control right now.” He saw that she didn’t look hostile anymore, and gestured out a hand to her as though talking normally. “You know I would never yell at you... it’s not in my nature.” he then saw her snarl again when he was approaching her on two legs... remembering that, he looked down and got on all fours.

Her snarling stopped.

“You got this, Sonic!” Chip, hiding behind a building, just peeked his head out and cheered, before scurrying back behind the building.

“Awh... Okay.” Sonic nodded, but looked a little... sheepish.

“Uhh... Woof.” He looked adorably beaten, as though that very act had taken all of his pride and shoved it out the window.

Amy’s head tilted, then a wolfie smile as she panted and shook her dog tail.

“Ehem.” he cleared his voice, “... Bark?” he raised an eyebrow.

Chip eagerly leaned more away from his corner of protection, “It’s worrrrrking..!!!” He excitedly proclaimed.

Amy then got up and approached him, but Sonic moved back, “W-woa-woah, hang on- uhh...” he stopped as she rubbed her head against his, and he ducked his own as he tried to look back to Chip. “H-hey, uhh... Chip?”

“Haha! You look so shy!” Chip grabbed his stomach, kicking his legs out as he felt more safe to fly again.

Sonic groaned again in his werehog’s deep voice, using a hand to try and push her away from him. “This is even more awkward than when Amy normally does this kinda thing... but... you know... differently.” he stopped and looked down at her while she looked up.

The only thing that matched his image of Amy was her eyes and color palatte... everything else was...

Monsterous...

“... Oh, Amy...” He gently put a hand to her head, “I never meant for this to happen to you as well... and even worse... I’m sorry.” he lowered his head, “I’m so sorry.” and shook it as he removed his hand and she stood a bit more friendly-like, wagging her tail.

She yipped, which shook Sonic out of his sulking to look back up at her, leaning forward, “Amy..?” He wondered if she was still in there, but she licked his nose and took off. “Augh!” He batted the air and whiped his nose on his arm. “Ugh, H-hey, wait!” he reached out for her... and the moment seemed... so familiar to him...

Instead of a prancing wolf dashing away, it was Amy... turning back to wave as she did when she first didn’t recongize him.

“...Amy...” his eyes drooped... he missed her... so much.

He put his hand to his chest, and let that feeling sink in... He closed his eyes, “If Amy is a monster because of me... I have to make it up to her. No matter what she is acting like... or if she’s even in there... or not... just sleeping, maybe... I still have to what I must... to keep her safe.” He opened his eyes and roared again, grabbing her attention.

He then scrapped up the ground and shook out his head with a huff, playing fully animalistic now.

Her ears perked and she opened her mouth as though an open-smile, and raced back to him.

The rest of the day was just trying to ‘walk your dog’ without it eating or pouncing on anyone or anything...

They played in the lake, Amy charging through as Sonic stayed on the shoreline, hearing her howl and joining in.

They laid down and she ducked her head under his own, and even though he looked a bit embarrassed to do so, he just sighed and laid his head over hers, resting...

Chip had gotten some chocolate ice cream sundays, but it almost spilled as he was spun about by Amy and Sonic running together through town, and any time she hyperfixated on a human, Sonic would use his mouth to gently ‘nip’ onto a spine and growl, pulling her back away from them.

Getting too noticable and public about his display... he opted to go into the forest, where they rolled around on the grass and in piles of leaves.

At one point... Chip tried to reach out a hesitating hand to her muzzle... and she lightly pushed it forward, making his little bunny tail wag and pet her gently.

She ‘groomed’ Sonic’s head as he looked like he was very much uncomfortable by it, as Chip laughed on the ground by his head while Amy’s monster drool dripped off one of his ‘througholy cleaned’ ears...

Suddenly, Chip wasn’t laughing, and whiping his own face in disgust before flying off.

When dawn arrived, Amy was put into the machine that Sonic was, taking one last glance at him and then licking his face to have him wiping it off, the sun coming up, Sonic transformed and Amy almost snapped.

“It’s me, It’s me!” Sonic tried to show her, “Darn, we missed dusk!” He tried to get on all fours, but was considerably smaller than her now, and she loomed over him... growling.

Professor Pickle and Tails held one another, as she planted her feet down firmly.

“Great.” Sonic looked disappointed, “Looks like the hard way...” He narrowed his eyes and jumped around on the walls in his super speed and all fours, barking and yapping as she tried to attack him, before finally getting back into the machine.

“Now, Tails!” He cried out, as Tails and Chip flew over and closed the door.

The machine shook furiously, and the two feared Sonic was being killed, hurrying to turn on the machine and reverse the effects... this time, Amy inside as well.

The machine exploded once it was completed... and as the dust settled, the three peeked their heads over the control panel... looking in...

Amy was using her foot to scratch her ear, sitting on Sonic’s back while he tapped the ground, annoyed.

“Anytime you’re ready... Amy...” He grumbled, as she suddenly stopped and looked around.

She gasped, “SONIC!” looking under her and jumping off. Her dress was tattered but not ripped, just a bit worse for wear. She jumped off of him and looked herself over, seeing leaves and twigs in her hair, and how messy she appeared to be. She spat out a blue quill and covered her mouth, her eyes widened and her face bright red.

“What... happened... to me?”

Sonic finally stood up, dusting himself off from the bite marks... “Someone’s back to normal...” He shook out the pink quills in his hair and Amy gasped again.

“Why is it morning!? Why aren’t you a Werehog anymore!? Why are we in this machine and looking like we did something!?!?” She... had the wrong idea, and Sonic was quick to explain and shake out his hands that it is NOT what she was thinking AT ALL!!!

[hezzabeth]

Part 3

Summer 3056,

The deep rainforests of Valles Marineris: Mars

In the real world, adventures are offered, littered with thousands of dull little moments.

The stretches of time where nothing much happens. Hours of exhaustion. Weeks of frustration. Moments of failure. Thankfully, this is a story. In a story, we can skip ahead to the good parts.

A sticky foul summer night. Heat from the equator of Mars crept upwards in damp waves. The trees, covered in dew, blocked most of the light from the two moons. Branches were weighed down heavily with strange mutant fruits and flowers. The rainforest of Valles Marineris was a deep and secret place. In the distant past, terraforming scientists from Earth had planted the trees. They were trying to tinker with the planet's atmosphere, and they were only eighty percent successful. Valles Marineris was now thirty thousand kilometers of suffocating and bewildering rainforest. Urban legends whispered it was full of mythical tigers and snakes. This was despite the fact nobody had seen any tigers or snakes in almost five hundred years. The only people who lived in the rainforest were the Jaṅgala upajāti. As far as Revati knew, they had been living in the canyon for over eight hundred years. The only people who visited the canyon were hikers and nature tourists. Even the appliances had avoided trying to invade the place. Which was why the glowing light Revati could see from above was so strange.

Time had passed. Revati was aware of this when she occasionally saw herself in the mirror. Her face was thinner now. Her once long wavy hair was now half shorn off from an accident involving a killer baby doll .Pimples had vanished from her forehead. The scar across her left cheek from when she hit her face on the concrete wall in the medieval Faire was thick and white.

"How many hair dryers can you sense?" Revati asked the woman standing next to her. Despite the oppressive humidity that was causing Revati’s hair to spring up in curls, the woman was covered in a massive cloak. It was a cloak designed to hide the fact that the woman wasn’t a woman at all.

"Three," the android replied, her voice slightly muffled from her mesh mask. During their first month traveling together, they realized that hiding the android's true nature was probably for the best. That was after Revati got stabbed in the leg by raiders, and the android almost lost one of her hands.

"Four! For an operation this big? Normally there would at least be sixty," Revati hissed back.

"I don't know what to tell you! There are only four signals coming from that base! Now hurry up before the DNA trail turns cold," hissed the Android.

The Android. It had been four years of searching, four years of near misses, and the Android still insisted on being nameless. Technically, the mind inhabiting the droid was called Princess Sakshi Menel.

Revati carefully descended further down the valley walls heading towards the light. The android was shuffling above her like an alien spider, its limbs peeking out of the cloak. Names; it had once told her were for the living.

With a small hop, Revati landed on the ground a hundred or so meters away from the light. The practical military-grade boots took most of the shock. Even Revati’s clothes had changed. Gone were the mishmash outfits made from all park costumes.

Now she wore abandoned outfits stolen from the long-ago dead. A frayed deep red kurti, with a scarf as a makeshift belt worn over baggy utility pants. The pockets were bulging with healing patches, bits of string, tape, and half-eaten food.

OKThe only jewelry Revati wore was the precious necklace and the bangle. The bangle that now read 800 credits. Strapped to Revati’s back was her weapon. The android landed with an elegant swish before standing up, the cloak settling around her shoulders.

They both nodded to each other. It was a well-known wordless nod that belonged to those who were forced to constantly work together. Revati pulled her weapon off her back. It was a long mace with a solar flare orb castled to the end. It had cost two thousand credits.

The light was coming from a brand new building. A brand glossy red building made from mowed-down native trees. If Bridgadeiro had been there, he would have burst into tears, Revati thought. Bridgadeiro was always a soft touch when it came to dead trees. The light was spilling from the front of the building. A hair dryer was standing guard, a small slim purple metallic hair dryer floating a foot and a half off the ground.

"Oh please! Can’t you just leave us alone? We let the children go! You killed my parents!" The hair dryer screamed as Revati approached, holding the weapon.

"Let the children go? Wait, are you telling me this is an illegal power camp? In the jungle?" Revati hissed as she got closer to the hair dryer. Up close, it looked almost pathetic.

"It’s not like the children were real people! They’re not appliances," squeaked the hair dryer and then it made a beeping sound.

"Wait! You’re not the bringer of annihilation," the hair dryer squeaked, sounding relieved.

"The bringer of what?" Revati had to ask.

"She who stalks the currents! Who tears us apart with a mere glance!" Cried the hair dryer with a quiver.

"Oh her; no, that’s not me… that’s my sister," Revati replied before stunning the hair dryer with her weapon. The weapon squeaked and crumpled with a small sigh.

"Three more to go," the android remarked as Revati stepped over the hair dryer. Illegal power camps had become quite common all over the planet. Usually, they were set up in rural neutral areas where appliances normally didn’t have access to power. Revati found herself walking around a rather sophisticated one. Exercise bikes and walking machines had been installed next to large floating screens.

Medical equipment, including intravenous water devices, had been placed next to each of the machines. There were piles of black crystal sand lying all over the place. A little girl, no older than five or six, was sitting next to one of the piles, building a castle with it.

"Don't touch that! That sand is incredibly dangerous," Revati snapped, and the little girl burst into tears.

"Oh, don't cry; I'm not an evil monster! I'm just trying to stop you from getting your hand blown off," snapped Revati, and the little girl sniffed, wiping her tears.

"I can't understand you," the little girl said in fluent Bengali. Of course, she couldn't. The Jaṅgala upajāti only ever interacted with outsiders when tourists came to visit their one main town. Most Jaṅgala upajāti never installed universal translators, used teleporters, or communication bracelets.

"Please forgive my companion; she doesn't mean to be frightening; she's just terrible with small children," the Android said in Bengali.

"Hey... alright fine, but to be fair the only children I interacted with used to chew the walls and pee on lampposts," Revati pointed out. In fact, until Revati left Olde Landon, she assumed all small children behaved that way. She was sure it was her mother who must have taught her how to be a civilized human being.

"Are you with the glowing goddess? You look like her," The little girl asked, wiping her nose.

Glowing Goddess. Everyone who encountered Dityaa seemed incapable of describing her like a normal person.

"Did the glowing goddess help you, little one?" The android asked.

"Yes, we were all very tired... she flew in and turned all the machines into sand, then flew away," the little girl remarked. Revati's eyes trailed towards the girl's feet. They were bruised and swollen with bloody toenails.

"And what happened to everyone else?" The android asked, gesturing around the room.

"My friends ran away, my brother went to get help for my sore feet," the little girl shrugged.

Revati immediately reached into her pockets, pulling out two medibandages. "You're going to waste those on her? They were expensive," the Android remarked, now speaking Hindi.

"Her feet are messed up! For someone who's excellent at pretending to be polite, you have zero compassion," Revati pointed out as she slapped the bandages on the girl's feet.

There was a rustling sound from behind one of the larger screens. "Ēkhānē thākuna," Revati said, exhausting the little Bengali she knew. Her cerebrolingua universal translator was excellent but it technically didn’t teach her new languages. It just helped others with the installed software understand her.

Powering up her mace again, Revati slowly walked towards the screen, peering behind it. Another hair dryer was lying on the ground, hot hair billowing out of its mouth. It twitched feebly, small sparks erupting from its base.

"I suppose you're here to finish me off," growled the hair dryer, sounding like a cranky old man screaming at the clouds.

"That depends; what can you tell me about the goddess?" Revati asked, leaning down.

"The goddess? Don't you mean the Amped predator? The electric assassin?" The hair dryer asked, its voice wheezy and soft.

"Yes, her; you're dying, but if you tell me exactly what happened, I might be kind enough to switch you off and dump you near a major city's repair station," Revati lied.

"The predator did what she always does, she flew in and destroyed! She flew away, I was left to tell the story," The hair dryer said.

"How long ago?" Revati asked, and the hair dryer wheezed a gust of cold air.

"Four hours ago," he groaned, and then suddenly the electric lights in his base died.

Four hours. Damn. If it had been less than an hour, they might have stood a chance at catching her.

"Well," the Android asked.

"She's long gone," Revati admitted as she carried over the dead hair dryer. Revati pulled a small screwdriver out of one of her pants pockets and opened the side panel.

"Then we will return to camp and wait for the her DNA signal again," the android said as the little girl stood up, jumping up and down.

"Really? Last time you made me wait, it took weeks! She seems fine; she's running around the planet acting like some sort of superhero," Revati pointed out.

The little girl pointed one of her healed toes and then giggling with delight ran out of the building into the jungle.

"You swore an oath," the android said, its eyes changing from green to a deep red.

"I swore I would help you find Dityaa when we thought she was kidnapped! That was three years ago," Revati snapped back as she scrabbled at the hair dryer's insides.

"Perdita has not been given her true destiny yet! She is more than a floating gun," the android pointed out as Revati successfully pulled out a small bright orange piece of plastic.

"Here, a new rust-eating cartridge! Happy Apple day," Revati said, throwing the cartridge at the android's feet.

[the-pen-pot]

When he was a kid, Stiles had wasted hours of his life daydreaming about vampires and magic and things that went bump in the night. Even after his mom died and it was just him and his dad, the two of them looking out for each other as best they could, he had got lost inside his own head more often than not. Even the Adderall didn't do much to tame them. It was only when Scott got bit and all the crap he'd thought belonged in movies turned out to be real that things went the other way.

Now, he wistfully imagined staying in bed late at the weekends. He longed for the days when he did not need an intricate knowledge of how to get a shit-ton of blood out of his jeans, and when the jeep breaking down was an inconvenience rather than a matter of life or death. Like now.

'Come on!' he hissed, his eyes glued to the rearview mirror as he turned the key and listened to the engine choke and die. It was stupid. He was stupid. He knew better than to go out in the Preserve by himself. Honestly, all he had wanted was five minutes away from the latest Scott and Allison drama. Now he was probably going to turn up dead, and Scott wouldn't notice he was missing because he was too busy staring at Allison's eyes and mouth and other... assets.

He didn't even know what it was. He'd not had time to see more than a flash of very big teeth before taking off like a rabbit chased by a coyote. All he had now were his shrieking instincts letting him know he was being stalked by something that lingered in the undergrowth, probably trying to figure out how to extract him from his crappy tin-can of a car before chowing down on his delicious, tender flesh.

Absently, he patted Roscoe's steering wheel, apologizing for his thoughts even as he continued to swear under his breath. He needed to pop the hood and hit the engine with something to get it going, but if he did that then whatever was out there was going to get him.

In theory, he could call for help, but in practice...? Yeah, he was not about to hold his breath. Scott hung up on him nine times out of ten, and Derek probably wouldn't answer a call from him out of principle, or something. It wasn't like they were friends or anything. There was always the cops, but that would just bring his dad running, and the longer he could keep the truth of this whole shitshow under wraps, the better.

So, he could either sit here and hope whatever was out there got bored, or risk it and pray it didn't eat him before he could fix his jeep and get the hell out of dodge.

Drumming a nervous rhythm on the steering wheel, he reached into the backseat for his baseball bat, feeling its solid weight in his grip. A quick look through the rear windshield revealed nothing: just trees and shadows and the sickle of a moon hung precariously in a black winter sky.

Cranking the lever on the dash to pop the hood, he reached out, easing the handle of the door and wincing as the old mechanism clunked like an airlock. He held his breath, half-expecting a roar of triumph.

Silence. Not even the wind stirred the half-dressed branches of the trees. In fact, it was completely still, and Stiles wet his lips before easing himself out of Roscoe's safe confines.

'Oh God,' he breathed. 'I'm gunna die.'

He waited, braced to leap back into the jeep and slam the door behind him, but nothing pounced out of the shadows. If he were some ditz in a horror movie, he would decide that meant it was safe – that he'd somehow imagined the monster hot on his heels as he half-ran, half-fell through the Preserve, but he wasn't an idiot. It was probably just biding its time, and he swallowed hard before darting around the hood and getting to work, every sense on high alert for the thing he knew was still out there somewhere.

'What are you doing?'

If anyone ever asked, Stiles would tell them his yell of surprise was very manly and not at all shrill. He would also say he managed to at least bean Derek over the head with the bat, rather than swinging wide and missing when the asshole stepped back out of reach.

'Fuck shit,' he wheezed, pressing a hand to his chest and bending over so he could try and breathe. 'Where did you come from?'

Derek raised one eyebrow, folding his arms so that leather jacket of his strained across his shoulders, so much broader now that he was Alpha of his own little pack. 'I could hear your heartbeat from a mile away: fast, like a rabbit.'

'Yeah.' Stiles narrowed his eyes. 'Because that's not creepy or anything.' He glanced back over his shoulder, scanning the trees again. 'There was something out there. Jeep wouldn't start. Did you scare it off?'

'No. Where's Scott?'

'How am I meant to know?'

'He should be with you. Even you're not stupid enough to come out here on your own.'

Stiles pursed his lips, not bothering to answer that. 'I'm fine. See?' He tottered back around to the driver's door on shaky legs and turned the key, breathing a sigh of relief as Roscoe purred obligingly to life. He flicked on the headlights, smirking as Derek shielded his eyes from their flare. It died a moment later when he noticed the fresh red charting the lines of his palms: blood. 'Didn't scare it off, huh? Did you kill it instead?'

Derek's nostrils flared in annoyance, and Stiles ducked out of the car, stepping in front of the headlight beam as he snatched Derek's right hand. Red painted his cuticles too, as if he'd shoved his claws into something's chest, and Stiles wondered if he went over to the bushes whether he would stumble across something's carcass. There was no point checking Derek for injuries. Any wounds would have healed by now. Freaky Werewolf.

'What was it?'

'Nothing.' Derek rolled his eyes as Stiles cocked his head. 'Doesn't matter. I dealt with it. Now go.'

'I wanna see –' Stiles sucked in a breath as he found himself pinned against the hood of his car, Derek's broad frame trapping him against the metal. He could smell the fresh air and the faint tang of sweat on Derek's skin, and he had to admit that maybe his daydreams weren't just about getting a good night's sleep. If he was honest, Derek had a starring role in far too many of his fantasies for this to be a comfortable situation for anyone.

'You don't need to see,' Derek growled, and if he could smell Stiles' arousal, he was pointedly ignoring it. 'It's gone. Dealt with.'

'I want to know what it was!'

'Stiles...'

A delicate shiver marched down his spine as Derek's growl hit that particular pitch. Back when all this werewolf shit had hit the fan, Stiles had told himself it was fear.

It really, really wasn't.

'Was it going to eat me?' He swallowed, trying to focus his mind on gore and death rather than heat and muscles. The jeep was a solid wall behind his back, and every time he drew a breath his chest brushed against Derek's.

Are you going to eat me? His brain hysterically added, and he bit his lip hard so that the words didn't escape.

'Probably. Now go home.'

A hint of red glowed in Derek's eyes, unmissable, and Stiles reached out, pressing his palm over Derek's heart and easing him back so he had room to breathe. No way he was going anywhere with Derek all up in his business, and he wasn't about to try ducking under his arm and exposing his back. Derek may not be wolfed out, but there was a predatory edge lingering in the air, and Stiles was not about to risk it.

'All right, big guy. Well, thanks for the save, yeah?'

'Whatever. Don't go into the Preserve alone again. Next time I won't bother to save you.'

In the blink of an eye, he was gone, melting back into the shadows of the trees, but not before Stiles caught the subtle edge of a smile curving the corner of his lips. It was a hint of emotion on that otherwise grumpy face, and Stiles swallowed hard, trying desperately to ignore the stupid little flutter of his heart as he climbed behind the steering wheel. Derek was probably just happy he got to kill something. No way it was anything to do with Stiles.

It didn't matter how much his heart tended to thrill in Derek's presence, or that a hot rash of want rushed through him every time he set eyes on him. Derek never looked at him that way.

And he never would.

[artistcaptainbendy]

Running from termination

chapter 1- The beginning....with snacks

It was a dark and cold night, the only light was from the moon and stars as the trees towered above. Lumberjack Krupp was walking down the same path he's always been down multiple times before, with his axe to his side. He wipes some sweat from the day's work from his head.

‘’ Ah, I love me some late night tree chopping, nothing’s better. Well, some homemade cheesecake from my sweet logroll is definitely a close second.’’ He said, slightly chuckling to himself.

He continues deeper into the wood and soon hears a sound, but not the usual woodland noise, it was the sound of someone calling his name. He stopped in his tracks and looked around to see who could be calling. The soft, calming voice spoke again ‘’ Benjamin….Benjamin….Benjamin…’’

“ Agh, not again!” he exclaimed “ I told you ghost children this before! I’m not joining your party! I’m sure that cake is a lie!’’ 

The voice kept calling to him and after a while, he noticed that this voice wasn’t the same as the ghost children from before, it almost sounded like his own voice, but different. He begins to follow where the voice is coming from, walking though some bushes and trees, going deeper and deeper into woods until he reaches a blue light and in front of him was a glowing portal to who knows where. He looked at it confused.

“What in the world is this?” he said with confusion. He looked at it for a moment , almost trying to study it and after studying it for a bit he started to turn around. “ Well, I should probably just leave it be, might just be my mind playing tricks on me again and if it is real, who knows where it goes. It could lead to some ghost ready to haunt me or maybe send me back in time to when the space aliens had control of the world or even worse…..my parents house…..’’ he shivers at the thought. ‘’ Nope! Not gonna do it, I’m just going to go home” he then proceeds to start walking away from the portal, but then stops and thinks out loud. ‘’ Then again…this could be the doorway to bigfoot and my apple peeler!” quickly turning back around he ran right into the portal, a bit of bright light hits him but quickly fades to reveal a hallway.

The hallway was darkly lit with flickering lights being the only light source.The walls were cracked and aged with webs on the corners and what seemed to be some black goo on the tile floor. 

“Umm, I think i should be going now” but as he turned around to leave, lumberjack krupp saw that the portal was now gone leaving him to only go one way….down the hall. He waited a moment and started to walk down the way, step after step until he approached a room. The room was in just as much disarray as the hall, it had a big screen on the wall and two pathways to each side of it. It seems to have been some type of waiting room with some chairs tipped over and more of that goo. The goo was what really got his attention and as he started to get closer to it, suddenly the tv turned on. There was some static, but then a clear image came though and the video started to play.   

‘’ Welcome and hello my fellow Krupps! I’m SP! Krupp! Your bestest buddy, your all around pal, and the founder of Krupptopia!! It’s a working in progress title hehe, here you can experience all the fun and thrills a Krupp can enjoy. We have a fully stocked kitchen with all kinds of food including guacamole, a massive swimming pool with swimming lessons on wednesdays, reading room, lounge, game room, ball pit, manatee viewing, venting zone and so much more!! I hope you enjoy your stay here and if you have any questions just come see me, I’ll be around bye!” The video turns off and lumberjack is just more confused than before.

‘’....ok? At least I know now this place has a game room…oh and who to talk to about getting out of here. Hmm odd, that guy looked familiar, but i just don’t know where I’ve seen him” He pondered a bit but decided to think about it later. Looking down the two paths, he chose to go right.

Walking down the hall, he could tell the withering had worsened and even more goo on the walls. LJ takes a closer look at the goo and sees that it wasn’t completely black, but had faded colors of space and stars. Before he could even question what this stuff is, a loud thund could be heard farther down the hall. He slowly walked to where the sound came from, coming across an opened door. Looking inside the room it looked as if a tornado went through, chairs thrown around, tables flipped over, and vending machines broken into. In the middle of the room someone was led over and eating some of the snacks from the vending machines.

“ Oh! Hey it’s great to see another person around here. I was worried I would be alone here, you don’t mind sharing some of those snacks do you?” he asked with joy in his voice.

The man stayed silent and slowly stood up, the same goo that covered the walls was on his arms, legs, and face. The only thing visible was his teeth as he started to make gasly noises as if it was hard for him to breathe. He took a step closer to LJ leaving a trail behind him. LJ, shocked at what’s looking at, slowly takes steps back out of the room.  

With fear in his voice he said “ I’m actually not hungry anymore, y-you can keep the snacks and I’ll just get going” He tried to reach for his axe, but the creature let’s out a rawr and charges at him causing him to run out the room and farther down the hall. Turning multiple corners and down different paths, every few seconds looking behind him to see the creature is still behind him. LJ tried to run faster to lose his pursuer, he was able to get ahead far enough and hide behind a wall. He could hear the creature run past and down another hall, he could feel his heart racing and took some deep breaths trying to put together what he just saw. He just needed a moment to relax, but then the intercom above him started to play loud static and cut to a familiar voice.

“Hello everyone! It seems we have a new krupp to join that party! Now why don’t we all give him a big welcome! I’ll even sing the welcome song!” he then processed to sing “ Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! To our fun place! Come and take a seat and have a little break! Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! it ‘s great to have you here! Where everyone is happy and spreads a little cheer!” The song goes on and on. LJ starts to panic, knowing that all the noise will attract the creature to him “ shut up, shut up, shut up” he starts looking around to find a way to turn the intercom off and remembers he has an axe, quickly throwing it at the intercom and breaking it into pieces. 

He picks up the axe from the floor “ hehe, looks like I stopped it just in ti-” suddenly a giant goo fist comes at his head and he quickly ducks down as the fist hits the wall.

“ RAWR!!” The creature let out about to strike at LJ again. 

LJ runs under its arm and down the hall and it gives chase again, many twists and turns, hallways starting to all look the same, doors that won’t open, the creature getting closer and closer, he was starting to feel his heart racing faster and faster, any turn could lead to a dead end. 

“ Game room or not! I hate this place!” he screamed out, running down every turn of the halls till he reached a hallway with a single door at the end, seeing it as the only way he ran to the door, the creature not far behind him. What feels like a mile long run, he makes it to the door and is able to open it with only seconds before it could get him, he gets in the room and closes the door behind him, pushing his body against the door, banging could be heard on the other side. Looking around the room he sees boxes and other objects near him and pulls it in front of the door blocking it. 

After a moment, the banging stops and the sound of goopy steps could be heard walking away. “....HA! Can’t get me now! The power of a door and random items have saved the day again!” LJ lets out as he catches his breath, but suddenly some boxes in the corner of the room fall over to reveal someone in the shadows. Taking his axe out and pointing at the mysterious figure he asked “ Who’s there?! I’m ready this time you freak and I’ll be taking the snacks because I am hungry!” 

There was silence as the figure slowly came from behind the boxes.

“You’re…..you’re not infected?” The hooded man said, almost shocked.

“Infected? What are you talking about? And who are you?!” he stated now with more anger in his voice. 

The hooded man takes his hood off to show a face similar to LJ just without a beard and scar over his left eye.

“I’m….GP.”

[applestorms]

alright,

i am well in need of a proper homestuck reread by this point, it's certainly been long enough since i went through the comic as a whole instead of just skipping around to different acts and conversations. to anyone following me rn who would like to avoid possible post spam about this, i'll be tagging everything with "#astronaut reread" so feel free to filter that. dunno if it'll be that spam-y though tbh, i'm trying to be more careful and take my time going through each page and image to really Pay Attention this time round to make sense of all of the theories/analysis i've been reading lately, but that may also make my liveblogging posts longer so. idk we'll see how this goes

initial thoughts: i've always been drawn to the emptiness of early homestuck, the whole aspect of the kids shitting around in their rooms doing basically nothing of real importance (ignoring hs's love of callbacks) feels very true to the experience of being a teenager in the last few decades. it's quite slow story-wise, of course, but it genuinely does set up a lot of the story later on (john's posters all foreshadowing/inspiring later plot points, etc.) and the vibe is just. man idk, i've seen people criticize act 6 for being slow in that nothing really happens since all the characters are just Waiting, but reading through the very beginning again that almost feels more true to the core of homestuck, or at least where it started. and i like it, sometimes it's nice to just slow down, even though i get the frustration w/ that later in the story after the plot has so much more baggage. but more reflection on that later.

john is an interesting character on a meta level in how he represents the most basic entity in homestuck: the first kid, upon which all other kids evolve off of, but what's more interesting about that fact to me is how his original Home plays into that character. maybe i'm biased by nostalgia, but (A1:82) is such an interesting page, it's like the first point where the comic hints at taking itself more seriously by marking just how empty the space surrounding john is, houses all copies of one another and far apart along the streets. not to mention the wind running through the windchime, perhaps another instance of foreshadowing/inspiration? hussie mentions the idea of vriska being tied to the image of the sun that page ends on in the commentary notes, troll gods not yet conceived of but looking down and watching all the same. honestly all i can think of is a section from the start of ch2 of the zhuangzi:

Master Dapple said, “My, isn’t that a good question you’ve asked, Ziyou! Just now I lost myself. Do you know? You’ve heard the pipes of people, but not the pipes of earth. Or if you’ve heard the pipes of earth, you haven’t heard the pipes of Heaven.”

“May I ask what you mean?”

“The Big Lump belches breath and it’s called wind. If only it wouldn’t start! When it starts, the ten thousand holes begin to hiss. Don’t you hear the shsh-shsh? In the mountain vales there are great trees a hundred spans around with knots like noses, like mouths, like ears, like sockets, like rings, like mortars, like ditches, like gullies. Gurgling, humming, hooting, whistling, shouting, shrieking, moaning, gnashing! The leaders sing ‘Eeeeeeh!’ The followers sing ‘Ooooooh!’ In a light breeze it’s a little chorus, but in a gusty wind it’s a huge orchestra. And when the violent winds are over, the ten thousand holes are empty. Haven’t you witnessed the brouhaha?”

Ziyou said, “So the pipes of earth are those holes, and the pipes of people are bamboo flutes. May I ask about the pipes of Heaven?”

Master Dapple said, “Blowing the ten thousand differences, making each be itself and all choose themselves—who provokes it? Does Heaven turn? Does earth stay still? Do the sun and moon vie for position? Who is in charge here? Who pulls the strings? Who sits with nothing to do, gives it a push and sets it in motion? Do you think it’s locked in motion and can’t be stopped? Or do you think it’s spinning out of control and can’t slow itself down? Do the clouds make the rain? Or does the rain make the clouds? Who rumbles all this out? Who sits there with nothing to do and takes perverse delight in egging it on? The wind rises in the north—now west, now east, now dilly-dallying up above. Who huffs and puffs it? Who sits with nothing to do and blows it? May I ask the cause?”

(translation by norden & ivanhoe)

perhaps that's fitting with all the talk of transformation & flexibility/adaptation in that chapter.

you really can't get away from the names "homestuck" and "s(u)burb" with this beginning to the comic. john, as the quintessential homestuck kid, trapped in his house in the empty suburbs, stuck not because of any physical boundaries/walls, but perhaps because of a lack of them. massive roads and sprawling suburbs that make it impossible to get anywhere on foot is a pretty classic image of modern america, so john's desire for breath, for movement, makes sense in that regard. homestuck has always been most appealing to me in how it doesn't shy away from reality, as messy as that engagement often is, and this beginning feels like it gets at some of that emotional core that homestuck started with. it's immediately followed by a joke about pissing/shitting in the mailbox too. classic.

[myuselessartandstories]

Story #8

Family

I had done something utterly stupid. Something so dumb not even a mindless insect would do. I went into the forest. Alone. At night. During a storm. Why, you may ask, is quite simple. I wanted to see if the rumors were true, if they were real.

It was pouring rain. I could barely see two feet in front of me. I needed to find a place to stay. The trees swayed in multiple directions, swinging their branches, trying to get away from this terrible weather. I was in no better position, but I could fix that. 

I hid under a great evergreen tree. Its branches scratched at my skin, but I knew it was safer than going out in the rain and wind. I had no idea how long this would go on, but I had to wait. I leaned against the grand tree, trying to block out the terrible howling outside and gain some peace from the darkness of sleep.

When I opened my eyes again, it was bright and quiet. No howling wind, no creaking trees, no pounding rain. I found my way outside of the branches of the evergreen, cutting my skin more as I moved through the sharp branches. I stopped short, staring at the tree in front of me.

A big marking was on the tree. It wasn’t natural, no. This was cut into the tree with something man made. No animal could make something this perfect. I snaked a finger over it, following the pattern. It looked like a crude five. I shook my head, taking my attention away from the pattern. I should have brought my phone to take a picture. How stupid I was to enter this forest with no tools.

I continued my journey, hoping I could find a way out soon. The trees looked closer together as I went along. The forest was getting denser, darker, and more dangerous. I tried to go back the way I came, but I lost all sense of direction. How stupid I was to leave everything at home.

I stopped dead. In front of me was another marked tree. This had to be a joke, right? Someone was messing with me, yes? I went up to the tree and traced the marking. It wasn’t a five this time, but a four. Was it counting down? Was I getting closer to something?

I continued my journey, a little shaken from my find, but more determined to find my way out. It went dark all too quick. Wasn’t it just morning? I could see the moon above my head. This had to be a prank. There was no way this was happening. 

I found a lake after a few minutes. I expected there to be some animals, at least some birds, but it was silent, and I was the only one there. Feeling thirsty, I knelt down and tried my best to drink out of the lake. Once I felt refreshed, I stood, then was thrown backwards.

I looked around, trying to find the force that propelled me backward. Nothing. I was still the only creature here. I groaned as I moved away from the tree I had crashed into. I turned to see the damage on the tree, but it was fine. It was as if I never touched it. Crack. I stepped away from the tree. Part of it had fallen off, and inside the tree was another number, three. 

I swiftly took my leave. I didn’t understand what was happening, but I knew I shouldn’t be here. Something howled, but I didn’t stay around to figure out what it was. Something crashed into me, pushing me to the ground, hitting my nose against the hard ground. The weight was quickly lifted, so I stood and covered my nose, feeling the flowing blood coming from my nose.

The wolf was hanging in the air, but nothing was holding it. It wasn’t moving. I touched it, but nothing happened. I sighed, about to step away, when the wolf exploded. I felt the blood hit my face. I shielded my eyes, protecting them from the guts and blood and organs flying through the air. 

I didn’t want to turn back. I didn’t want to look, but I couldn’t help it. I looked. I shouldn’t have. I know I shouldn’t have. The head was still there, along with the spine and some flesh. Engraved into the skin was the number two. I didn’t understand what was happening, but I wanted it to stop. 

I ran away, only watching the ground below me, not caring anymore. I didn’t want to finish the count. I didn’t want to know what was at the end. I wanted it to end. I wanted to be home, to curl up in bed and watch something. I wished I never came into the forest. I wished I never found out about the forest Family.

I crashed into something, hitting my already broken nose, causing it to start bleeding again. I looked at what I had hit, then backed away. A large stick was in front of me. Blood dripped from it, but it wasn’t from me. I slowly looked up. On the point of the stick was a severed head with a number one engraved in its skull. I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I puked, feeling sick. Everything went black.

I woke up somewhere warm. I liked it. It felt safer than the cold forest did. I sat up, looking around. I was in a hut with a fire in the middle. The front of the hut opened and someone in a mask came in.

He held another mask in his own hand, holding it out towards me. It had a large hole in the middle, but it wasn’t a circle. It looked like a zero. I hesitated, then took the mask. It looked familiar, but I couldn’t place it. I put it on, making sure it wouldn’t fall when I let it go. 

I stood, but I hadn’t meant to. It’s like my body moved on its own. I wanted to sit down and rest, but my body continued moving forward. I didn’t see what was outside the hut. My vision went black, but I knew I was still moving. “Welcome to the Family.” I heard someone say, then I felt nothing.

(gonna be honest, this one kinda sucks. Not my favorite story I've ever written)

[twistednuns]

May 2023

An unexpected pizza party! I briefly thought it smelled like a pizzeria when I walked down the stairs and when I arrived at the dining hall two huge tables with many different pizzas were set up for us. We ate ate all together at a huge table like a family.

The first self-guided yoga practice I actually enjoyed. An asana plan and pre-programmed bells wth Insight Timer really help a lot.

Stepping outside after my yoga session, seeing a double rainbow in the sky.

Deep talk with Robert. Hard hugs.

The story about Kali appearing as a black cat.

Seva Day. Getting to sit in the Karma Yogi common room (sitting behind Ashley, giving her a back massage). Tarot and oracle cards everywhere (drawing a card suggesting to "bring joy to what you're doing"). Sanding and oiling two wooden benches in the workshop (a place where I felt at ease right away). Alexius gave me his scarf. Then I removed some masking tape from the floors on Clair Joie. I love practical work.

Picking flowers for the library.

Feta cheese, green olives, pink sauerkraut and leftover pizza for lunch.

Helping Judith set up and clean my room. Having a nice and easy conversation. Relating.

Another dream after which I woke up crying - sobbing, really. Ringing in my ears, seeing a bright white and purple light behind my forehead. So real I had to open my eyes and check if the light was coming from outside. Spooky. Happened twice now, Almost as if a portal has been opened and now all the stored sadness is just flowing out freely.

Conversations with Nana over lunch and nestled into a dark corner one night. About finding balance. Making decisions. Astrology and energies.

Turning the Karma Yogi lounge into a Berlin night club ca. 1998. Light effects, group hopping, Hadi DJ-ing.

A magical night with a bright waxing moon. Clear sky. The stars and the moonlight shining through the leaves, sitting in a swing. Listening to the sounds of the forest. Owls, toads, rustling leaves. Everything in full bloom. The smell of the lilac in the air.

A long talk with Maya. About everything and nothing. Meditation. The mind. My Vishudda chakra. Our families. It's so much easier to bond when there's not a ton of people around!

Spontaneous back massage for Ashley when I sat behind her at the Seva meeting.

A rebirthing breathwork session with Maya. I had a mainly physical reaction, feeling my whole body vibrating and pulsating - especially the hands and solar plexus. My channeled my inner child and all her sadness, hurt feelings, fear of connection. Afterwards I felt really good and had a long nap.

Sitting under a tree after lunch. Sunshine. Verima playing the guitar, singing for us in her beautiful voice. Robert, Lucie and Verima's friend from Berlin were there, Maya, Caroline and Alexius joined later. I made daisy crowns for every one and a few daisy rings as well. The hippie alternative for knuckle tattoos. It was a beautiful image, everyone singing, decorated with flowers. And it was so sunny. I was only wearing a short dress and had to be careful not to get sunburnt. Felt like the first summer day. A big ant ran over my arm and I decided to let it tickle me and play a little.

Stephen brought me sea salt chocolate from the bio shop and didn't even want money. I paid him with a big hug. What a cutie.

Blessing our food together (at dinner with Robert and a Dutch couple). Holding hands, singing Amour, Shanti, Sagesse.

My roommate during the three day retreat smelled extremely lovely. Probably her laundry detergent? Her clothes made the whole room smell fantastic.

Big buzzing bumblebees. Eating all my meals in the hammock or the swing. Watching the birds come and go, feeding their babies, whizzing from branch to branch. I even saw a robin a few times. Porridge and fresh bread for breakfast.

A blissful meditation on the second retreat day. Merging, blending, expansion. The eternal now.

Being fascinated with Thando's hair. My mat was right behind hers in Shiva Hall so I had plenty of time to admire her gradient dreads adorned with little seashells, coloured thread and metal cuffs.

Writing little goodbye notes for everyone. Closure.

The bright full moon reminded me of the little rituals I'd sometimes do during lockdown. So I felt the need to write down what I wanted to let go of and burn the note under a chestnut tree in the middle of the night.

Leaving Hridaya. Nice conversations with Paul from Colorado on the way to Lyon (he's a nerd, HSP, possibly on the autism spectrum... We found a lot of ways to relate to each other) Buying a bunch of local cheeses and lovely soft chocolate-walnut biscuits. Making my way to the airport, sitting down in "my" corner at gate 01. Meditating to the sound of crackling winter fire, tuning out as much of the noise and busyness as possible. It turned out to be an absolutely fantastic meditation. Feeling kundalini energy, realising which steps I have to take to work on my self-love. Crying quietly.

Getting fresh bread and orange juice, some tomatoes and the traditional "butterbreeze-upon-arrival". Hugging Frank for a very long time. Kissies. He told me everything about Marie. His problems with motivation, and finding a therapist. It's good to be here with him. I hope I'm not overstaying my welcome.

Meeting so many friends. Pub quiz with Margit, Raphael, Dennis and Frank. Lunch with Helga and Marlies, eating strawberries on the rooftop. Drinks with Peter. Snuggling with Manu, learning about his "dream guardian", an animal he sees whenever he realises that he's dreaming, basically preventing him from enjoying a lucid dream.

My energy seems to have changed. A woman asked me for advice on which pair of sunglasses to buy. Others were asking for the way. Perhaps I'm more open and approachable? More examples: racing a guy down the escalator. We both had fun! And discussing the strawberries on display with a random lady to find out which ones were the most beautiful.

60min Thai massage. So good.

A guest appearance as Sphinx in Frank's DnD group. I prepared riddles and anagrams. Pretty cool! And I just love Carolina and Kevin. Visited them the next day for lunch and a Kundalini yoga session. Caro and me have so many shared interests! We need to become friends.

Checking out the dice collection in the board game store. The cashier specifically showed me the cat edition. Good intuition.

Kinder Happy Hippo is back! Creamy hazelnut filling. Fantastic.

Colour-coded thrift shopping. I only bought orange items.

A variety of Indian food to share, watching Hunger Games movies together. Yanch being vulnerable, talking about his weight gain. Sash's mum sending me a big box of beautiful, homemade macarons.

Meeting Valeria and Mark (and their little son Misha) at a café. Talking about equanimity, my studio/Heilanstalt idea. Buddhism, our jobs, finding the right community.

Meeting Marie for the first time. She seems lovely!

Spending more time with Raphael. Letting him write down the quiz answers. Asking for advice about Peru. I think he thrives when he feels useful.

Brand New Cherry Flavour - a random Netflix find. It has everything I want from a TV program: magic, kittens, lesbians, an amazing title, 90s vibes.

Building the little Lego forklift with Frank. It actually works! It was in the Schultüte I made for him when he went to work for the first time in months.

Spending exactly €22.22 at the store on my birthday. Of course I'll take it as a sign!

More birthday treats: going swimming, but I didn't force myself to swim for a very long time (a bit uncomfortable without goggles). Getting a Baba Ganoush wrap at Beirut Beirut. Instead of birthday cake: a pot of strawberries with whipped cream and a few Raffaellos on top. Ordering a few new piercings and earrings on Etsy.

Playing Kicker and pool with "my men". Frank, Manu, Raphael. It's a little pathetic but it made me feel special. I don't know what it is - a mix between the princess position and being one of the dudes. But I could definitely feel the love.

Spending more time with Raphael. I've missed him.

Realising how many amazing friends I have (and that I know most of them from school or met them on OkCupid). I feel very grateful. My Goldmarie/FLEX birthday was lovely.

Frank stepping up his game: he got me three big pink roses and strawberry cake with a box of Raffaellos for my birthday! Manu also told me that he'd almost organised an airport pickup for me. Maybe he actually meant when he told me that I was really important to him when we were in Amsterdam. Also, I'm so glad he's doing better. I really like his new girl Marie and watching him play his saxophone solo at the Jazz Night made me feel like a proud mum. We make very good flatmates, too! Feels like home.

Speaking of which: the Independent Women vocal ensemble was fantastic. Great voices and they chose pretty cool songs, too! Some of the girls wore great outfits as well (even though it was all black some of them really managed to put together something special and unique).

Seeing Bordeaux through fresh eyes. Jasmine growing up the walls in the alleys. So pretty in the evening light against the blue doors. Ramen noodle soup. Waking up in my little coffin, overlooking the sunlit rooftops. Meditation. Journalling, enjoying a coffee and a croissant on the rooftop terrace.

Orangina gummy candy.

My Ajna Chakra started tingling like crazy during my first meditation at Plum Village.

There is a cat house at Plum Village. I definitely came to the right place. The curious young kitten that regularly joins the walking meditations and makes somersaults whenever it's trying to catch a flying bug brings my a lot of joy. And I befriended Tiéu Nhi, a 17-year old senior cat. Super gentle, shy, plays like a young kitten. I gained her trust with sweet talk and good scratchies. She purrs when I pet her, even lets me hold her sometimes and accepts head boops. I'm honoured.

Very nice Vietnamese food every day. I especially love the half moon-shaped soup tofu and the amazing fresh baguette we eat with margarine and plum jam every morning. Fruit with tahini. Vegan spring rolls. Sweet bean soup with coconut milk. Even the soup broth is always delicious.

Sharing circles. I often relate to everyone so much more afterwards and I realise that I'm not alone with my feelings (something I just naturally assume). The sharings about ancestral trauma and the practice of "touching the earth" were super interesting. And when the sister talked about running away from home during her Dharma sharing I really felt her pain. Emotional contagion, compassion, a trigger?

Looking out the windows of the big hall, seeing the bamboo forest and the reflection of the lights in the glass. It looked like a fairy meadow with glowing lanterns between the leaves.

Getting to know Nora, Jade's friend. Talking about our experiences at Hridaya. The girl who handed me a tissue at the sharing circle (which means she noticed I was crying... ugh, why is vulnerability still so hard) Learning about languages in Madagascar from Sandia. So many lovely people around here.

Sweetened English Breakfast Tea as a regular substitute for dessert.

Practicing mindful eating. Eating slowly, stopping between bites, chewing really well. Giving thanks for the food. Waiting for the table to fill up before starting to eat. Bowing to each other. At one point during breakfast, I had this very clear feeling that I was full. It was amazing to see that my body is sending me signals all the time, I just have to be still enough to notice them. Tuning in. I'm going to experiment with smaller portions from now on to see if they'll already satiate me. Perhaps my way to stop overeating?

Walking meditation with all the monks and sisters, volunteers and short-term visitors. Quite the procession.

My little corner in Dharma Nectar Hall. Writing nook. Yoga mat. Cat nearby. All I need. Performing Ardha Chandrasana (half-moon pose) under the skylight which looked very much like lunar surface with the moos and dirt resembling craters.

A lovely Lazy Day. Talking to Lanting (she's got a master's degree in Buddhist studies, I love people who allow me to pick their brain) and Adele. Yoga in front of the Buddha statue. Dinner outside by the lotos pond. Painting while listening to podcasts. A walk to Happy Farm in the afternoon sun. Imagining holding hands with my parents. The orange poppy-like flowers. Daisies. Language tandem with a Sister. Partnering with Yara from Basel during the "Beginning anew" presentation (I really feel like I should visit Basel now, I keep meeting amazing people from there), relating to her sharing. Anne talking about an interesting educational program. Standing with Julie in the dark kitchen, listening to her stories about finding her practice.

The tiny snail attached to the glass door at eye level before morning meditation.

Tiéu Nhi walked up to me in the morning when I was sitting in my usual spot meditating. "I'm here now! Come cuddle!" So I followed her to her sofa to cuddle. I left for breakfast and returned with a cup of water to paint. On a whim, I offered her the water and she drank out of my hand! I'm in love. / The next day she meowed again in the morning and I picked her up, lying down on my sofa with her. She sat on my belly and seemed super content. Peaceful moment.

Vegan Pho with gluten/"vegan ham". A lime wedge. Tasty mushrooms and fresh herbs.

The Queer Sangha Dharma sharings, offline as well as online. Confirmation that my gaydar is on point. Gentle, open and aware people. So much love and respect. Feels very special.

I googled Jula and Frieda (yeah, I've definitely got a crush) and their CVs kinda confirmed my intuition that I really need to quit my job. One look and I was like... I am so much more. I want that for myself as well. Cried a tear into my porridge bowl upon this realisation.

Sister Spring sharing the Touching the Earth practice with us. Powerful.

Meeting Kati from Austria. Interviewing her about what's it like to have a psychiatrist and psychotherapist as a mum (apparently good).

Finding a cool "Breathe/Aloha" sticker for my water bottle.

Mark still sending me long voice messages (and a selfie of him and Tom, I think they met up in Berlin or Vienna!)

Jade. Her hugs, generosity, way of speaking. Learning from her, being more mindful, trying to speak in a more respectful and considerate way. I appreciate her a lot.

I'm really happy with the Caring Cacti family here at New Hamlet. Lots of lovely people. We've got a lot in common and the Sisters are lovely, too.

The moment I noticed I could actually listen to the Dharma talk in French and take down the headphones with the English translation. Practising French with my roommates (also I'm grateful that our room has been drama-free so far and we're getting along very well).

Bamboo stick exercise does wonders for my back. It feels SO good.

[buggie-hagen]

Sermon for Eighth Sunday after Pentecost (7/23/23)

Primary Text | Isaiah 44:6-8

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Dear People of God,

          The prophet Isaiah wrote, Thus says the LORD, “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god” (Isaiah 44:6). When the world was created there was nothing before it. There were no animals. No water. No birds. No creeping things on the ground. No rocks. No days of the week. No jobs to go to. No schools. No doctors or nurses. No computers. No football games. There was not a sun. Nor a moon. Nor stars. There was not day or night for there was no light. There was not even a sky! There were no humans around. We did not yet have any existence. There was simply, nothing. Nada. Except. Except that there was the LORD. The LORD of hosts. He has always been around. This LORD God who is the King of Israel. This one who is the Redeemer. Before the beginning of all things there was the LORD. And when time as we know it comes to an end, when the clock stops ticking, the LORD will still be there. He is the first and he is the last. Never was there one like him in the past nor will there be another one in the future who is like him. For there is only one God. He has assured us of this with a great big promise—that he is the only rock on which we can rely. And because we believe the LORD our God does not lie; this makes us radical monotheists.  It is contrary to the ways of the nations. We take it for granted, but it is radical to insist that there is only one God. Most people in history have believed in the gods. And notice that I said gods in the plural. This is called polytheism. Many-gods-ism. One in the trees. One in the rivers. One in the fields. One in the sky. And so on. But here, when the LORD says he is the first and the last he is claiming that he alone is the Creator. He had no need of help from anyone else. No one lent him a wrench for the job. By making this claim the LORD teaches us the whatever claims to be a god out there that is not him is in fact a fake. Even more precisely, the others are no gods at all. Not only can these gods not save, but they do not even exist. Yet worshiping other gods has been a tale as old as time. Consider our ancestors in the people of Israel. Sure they might have had some room in their heart for the LORD, the true God. But the moment things got hard, the moment some shiny thing caught their eye, was the moment their heart turned away from the LORD. They would put up Asherah poles in worship of the fertility-god Asherah, they would sacrifice their children to the underworld-god Molech, they would set up altars to the storm-god Baal. The LORD our God is a jealous God; his love burns hot. He knows the other gods are not real, he knows the people who rely on them will perish. So the LORD refuses to share us with others. This is an example of when sharing is not caring.

If it didn’t matter which god we put our trust in there wouldn’t have been the First Commandment—You shall have no other gods. Alas, the command was necessary. Like a dog holding its bone that sees its reflection in the water, we are prone to drop the real bone in our mouth for the reflection and lose everything in the process. So let us not think too proudly of ourselves when it comes to worshiping the Lord vs. worshiping other gods. We are on par with the people of Israel.  Like them, we loan out our hearts to things that shouldn’t have our hearts. Anything in which our heart trusts completely can become a god (LC 1:10). The gods may no longer be named Asherah, Molech, or Baal. But. Have they really gone away? They function very much the same--they just have different names now. Money. Property. Possessions. Wisdom. Power. Prestige. Honor. They each compete for space in our hearts. But above them all, the number one false god we have today is when we make ourselves our own god. I have become my own god I can only trust my own perception of things. When I am so independent and strong that I don’t need others. When I think that I am autonomous (that I must be a law unto myself). We forget that to be a human being is to be needy. That we cannot make it all on our own. We need others. Therefore the One who is actually God provides us with neighbors—both so that we love them and they love us. Because we are needy beings, God uses our neighbors to feed us, to help us grow and learn, to give us medicine, to encourage us, to build us up. God uses you for the benefit of your neighbor. If your neighbor is cold you help them be warm. If your neighbor is hungry you feed them. If your neighbor is lonely you cherish them. Because you and I are not actually God, God has placed our neighbors in our lives. A neighbor is not just who lives across the street from you. Everyone is your neighbor. Also, your mom is your neighbor. Your child or grandchild is your neighbor. Your teacher, your employer, your employee is your neighbor. Your coworker is. When we withhold our love for our neighbor we are also withholding God’s love for them. Always seek to do good to those people God has put in your life. And especially, make sure to do good gladly to those who sin against you (SC 3:16).

          As much as God has placed our neighbors in our lives, they too are not god. Our faith is not in humankind itself, our faith is in the LORD God who made humankind, the world, the universe, and all that is in it. Our faith is in the One who is the first and who is the last. The Large Catechism says, “Search and examine your heart thoroughly, and you will discover whether or not it clings to God alone. If you have the sort of heart that expects from him nothing but good, especially in distress and need, and renounces and forsakes all that is not God, then you have the one, true God. On the contrary, if your heart clings to something else and expects to receive from it more good and help than from God and does not run to God but flees from him when things go wrong, then you have another god, an idol” (LC 1:28). God wants to be sure that we cling to him above all things so that our faith is not in empty nothings. And so he speaks to us. He makes his will known to us. What God has spoken to us in his word is not theoretical. It is actual. God actually speaks to us. And specifically, we know that God has spoken through his Son Jesus Christ. It is Christ who cleanses you from all unrighteousness, Christ who pulls the weeds out of your heart. It is Christ who reconciles you to God the Father by forgiving you your sins. He forgives not just once, but always.

          Through the word the LORD Christs addresses you and I, “Do not fear, or be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? You are my witnesses! Is there any god besides me? There is no other rock; I know not one” (Isa. 44:8). He says, “Do not fear, or be afraid.” In other words, he says, “Take your eyes off the things that make you afraid, and put your ears to my lips. My word is trustworthy and true. And you will have rest.”  From of old God has spoken in your favor. From no merit of your own God has chosen to raise you up. He says, “You are my witnesses” because the same word he has spoken he has put in your mouth to speak to others. So when you speak the gospel to people you are not speaking your own speculations, you are speaking the very word of God, the very heart of God in Christ—“I forgive you.” These words belong to you. And you get to share them with others.

Because of Christ’s death and resurrection the devil has already lost. Death no longer has its sting. Sin and its condemnation are abolished. The other gods are proven to be no gods at all because no other god is able to save in this way (Dan. 3:29). Christ is the solid rock on which you stand. It is a rock no hammer can break, no wind can wear down, no evil can undo, no graffiti can deface. So we struggle even against our own selves when we make gods that are not the one, true God. It will be a lifelong struggle. There is no other god on earth or in heaven besides this one who has made himself known to you in the incarnate word. He is completely trustworthy. You are in the sturdy love of Christ. You are a new creation. And he preserves you into eternal life.