#I’ll do her design next i already sort of have one

[pfhwrittes]

retail hell reader is being bothered by an uncomfortably friendly customer and tf141 handle it in their own ways.

warnings: female!reader (she/her pronouns) isn’t being overtly harassed but you know when a man is being too interested and too friendly? its that. egregious use of scots as inspired by still game, pet names “love”, “hen” and “bonnie girl” used to refer to f!reader.

word count: 1.5k

pairings: kyle garrick x reader, john mactavish x reader, simon riley x reader, john price x reader.

each reader x named character interaction should be read as a standalone but i stuck them all together as they were too short to post individually in my opinion.

- -

this customer is making you nervous as fuck. you don't think you've been inappropriate with him in any way, just polite and friendly as you sorted out his refund. the problem is that he's massive, easily taller than simon by a couple of inches and he keeps looming over you blaming his difficulty understanding english as to why he keeps getting closer and closer. he's practically mounting the customer service desk to peer down at you (and you have a horrible feeling he's trying to get a look down your polo top).

you're beginning to panic so you do the only thing you think to do (which admittedly is pretty stupid looking back on it) and make your excuses to leave the customer service desk to find one of your friends. or at least find a colleague who will act as a witness if this guy gets any creepier.

gaz handles it like a champ. as soon as he spots the creep following you around he's there. arm around your shoulders and tucking you into his side at the kitchen consultant's desk. his customer service smile is fixed on his face and he refuses to even acknowledge this giant arsehole of a man, just keeps talking to you softly and shows you the kitchen he’s working on. kyle’s beautiful brown eyes only briefly leave your face so he can point out another favourite part of his design, he never once looks over at the creep. it works to soothe you, especially being so close to him. after ten minutes of being blatantly ignored, the creep walks off muttering under his breath. hopefully he’s left the store but unfortunately it’s around that time that kyle has a couple walk up to him asking him if he’s free for a drop in consultation. before he agrees he checks in with a gentle “you alright if i take this appointment, yeah? come straight back if that guy is still hanging around. i’ll deal with him.” he looks so serious you believe him. you reassure him that you’ll be fine and he gives your arm a gentle squeeze before you separate from his warmth already missing the slightly woody scent of his cologne. before you’re completely out of earshot you hear the couple cooing over how cute kyle was with you and his reply of “well, it’s not exactly hard when she’s one of my favourite colleagues…” and the fondness in his voice makes your cheeks heat up. 

-

johnny nearly trips over you as you’re crouched behind the paint desk. “steamin’ jesus, what’re ya daein’ under there hen?” you hush him quickly and silently with a finger raised to your lips. you don’t want to speak because you know the giant is still out there looking for you, you thought you’d given him the slip near the paint brushes but then he’d rounded the end of the aisle so you darted for the relative safety of the paint desk. johnny crouches down next to you and whispers “are we hidin’ from someone? is it simon?” you shake your head and go to answer him but then your blood runs cold as you hear that familiar accented voice. “excuse me? i was wondering if you might help, i’m looking for the fräulein who was helping me?” johnny shoots a look at you and you squish yourself further into the corner of the desk hoping against hope that johnny won’t give you away. thankfully, johnny straightens up from behind the desk with his most charming customer service grin “sorry pal, i’ve no’ seen her. ‘s only me on the desk the day.” the creep sounds nonplussed at johnny’s thick glaswegian accent (you’ve certainly never heard it ramped up like that in all the times you’ve spoken with him) and a little crestfallen when he starts to reply with “oh, perhaps you’d be good enough to -” johnny interrupts him, voice still pitched in a friendly manner but you can hear an undercurrent of tension “naw, sorry pal. i’m busy pitin’ the hems oan the tins. is there anythin’ i can dae fer ye mixin’ wise?” there’s a moment of silence and you watch johnny’s smile slowly slip off his face, his lips thinning into a stern line. “ah, um. no thank you. perhaps she will find me.” the creep sounds a little nervous now if the uncomfortable laugh he lets out is any indication. “aye right. well i’d best be lettin’ you get oan then eh?” johnny shifts on his feet slightly so his calf brushes up against your arm. after another tense moment you hear the lumbering footsteps of the giant move away from the desk. johnny looks down at you with a mischievous grin, “i’ve got to say bonnie girl, you look a right sight down there.” you only feel a little bit bad when you punch him lightly in the leg and he yelps in shock as the blush on your cheeks spreads down your neck. 

-

simon is less than impressed when you duck under the chain across the warehouse doors and flatten yourself against the noticeboard out of view from the shop floor. “you stupid? chains up which means the forklift is out so you need to be too.” he’s pissed off and thinking about how much paperwork he’ll have to fill out now because you didn’t bother to think about the cameras in your dash for safety. he takes a big step towards you before swerving off to the side to block the customer that has just appeared at the chain. “the fuck do you want?” he practically snarls. ‘this isn’t the fucking caff.” simon squares his shoulders and glares at the oversized dickhead that’s wasting his time. “well? can’t you fuckin’ read? staff access only. and you’re not staff so fuck off.” simon barks at the man, not letting him get a word in edgewise to start bitching about stock or whatever it is that he wants. simon couldn’t give a shit, he just wants the customer (and you) to fuck off promptly so he can start moving pallettes around. the customer just blinks and takes several steps back before turning away. you let out a shaky sigh and thank simon quietly. simon hums in acknowledgement and sweeps a critical eye down your lightly trembling form. “he botherin’ ya?” at your nod he hums again before jerking his head towards the back of the warehouse “go put a hi-vis on and sit in the office, i’ll come get you when i’m done on the ‘lift.”. when simon comes back into the office two paper cups of tea in hand thirty minutes later, you offer him a small smile and catch his lips twitch up briefly before he turns away to plunk his cup down on top of a cluttered filing cabinet. 

-

price practically walks into you as you come flying around the end of the plumbing aisle. it’s unusual to see you so far away from the customer service desk and looking so flustered. “alright, love?” his hand is on your elbow as he asks. you crane your neck round to look behind you, too worried about that customer to enjoy his large warm hand on your bare skin. price straightens up and drops his hand away from you when he spots a customer behind you, in his opinion the customer is moving a little too fast to be considered casual. price bristles slightly when he catches the dark look on the gentleman’s face. oh no, he doesn’t like the look of this one at all. especially when you look at price and mouth “help” quickly. price steps forward and puts you at his back, blocking the creep from getting any closer. “can i help you, mate?” his gruff voice is just shy of sounding friendly and you watch his back muscles shift under the black polo top he’s wearing. “no thank you, i wanted to speak with the little woman some more.” god the customer is weird, you shudder a little at being referred to as a “little woman”. price shifts to block the customer’s view of you more fully as he does you notice the back of price’s neck has gone a little red. “not possible. i need her for a job.” price’s words sound like they’re being ground out through gritted teeth in response. “i’m sure simon would be more than willing to help you.” you jolt a little when you spot simon at the customer’s shoulder. a man shouldn’t be able to move so silently in steel toed safety boots. you catch a brief wince flicker across the customer’s face when simon’s hand comes down on his shoulder, slightly too hard to be entirely polite. “ah, um, yes. perhaps that’s for the best.” simon leads the customer away and you step up beside price to thank him. he looks deadly serious when he turns to face you “any time love.” his stern blue stare softens slightly and you’re sure you catch his gaze flicker to your mouth briefly before he clears his throat and turns away “c’mon then. back to the returns desk with you.”. 

- -

AN: i have very much hidden from customers in the warehouse and behind the paint desk at B&Q. don’t be like reader (or me) and hide in the goods-in area, you will get shouted at for it. 

translation for johnny’s scots: “pitin’ the hems oan” = putting the hems on, meaning to put something in order or to restrain something/someone.

[voxsmistress]

Mama Didn't Raise No Bimbo - Part 11

I decided we needed a bit of an outsider view on Y/n and the Vee's as its so easy to get stuck in your little bubble, plus Angel being shifty needed to be sorted!

Part One / Part Two / Part Three / Part Four / Part Five / Part Six / Part Seven / Part Eight / Part Nine / Part Ten / Part Eleven / Part Twelve / Part Thirteen / Part Fourteen / Part Fifteen / Part Sixteen

“You thought this was a date?” you asked in a bit of shock. Humming his lips were twitching in amusement. “Well …” you bit your lip and then thought screw it, “I thought you out of everyone would have planned a much better date and more entertaining than posing for cameras and being looked at like shark bait by creepy club owners?” It was now your turn to laugh as his screen once again glitched and he narrowed his eyes.

“You just wait Y/n” as you walked outside you took a deep breath of fresh air.

“With pleasure, Sir” you smirk up at the TV Demon who matched you with one of his own. This night might have been a bust but it definitely was interesting.

It had been a few days since the club opening and you had dealt with seeing articles plastering yours and Vox’s face over them asking ‘who was this Sinner with Vox’ quite well. Which meant you had avoided looking at any news, any articles and any social media for the first day as you were a little embarrassed by the headlines and different opinions demons were saying about you and Vox. You had a few messages off the Vee’s each expressing different emotions about them. Velvette checked to see if you were okay, also complimented you how you made sure to tell the paps that you were wearing her design (and looked hella hawt doing it – her words) while looking good solo and with Vox. Valentino just praised how well you did and when were you going to come to one of his clubs in those outfits, and when you did could he choose it. And Vox. Well, he simply put ‘I always knew we would look good together, don’t think I’ve forgotten about our date’.

Currently you were, however, sat in the Hazbin Hotel at the bar waiting for Angel. He’d been avoiding your calls, texts and now you have had enough of it, you have given him all day to respond to your messages and calls so now he was going to face you whether he wanted to or not. So, eight minutes ago you sent a message: ‘Bar. Downstairs. 10 Minutes. If you don’t come, I’ll drag you out of your room myself’. A cocktail sat in front of you untouched as you counted down the minutes. You knew he wasn’t at work today as you’d checked with Valentino and Husk the bartender had been very informative that Angel had dragged himself to his room this morning and hadn’t emerged yet. Husk was currently wiping over a few glasses sending you questioning glances every minute or so.

Nine Minutes. Tapping your nails on the counter you start to count the seconds from the clock hung on the wall.

“What are you going to do if he doesn’t come down?” Husk’s deep voice distracts you from counting. 45 seconds.

“Drag him out kicking and screaming”, you smile serenely picking up your cocktail to have a sip. His eyebrows rose in surprise.

“Little thing like you?” Smirking into your drink you shrug, placing your drink down. 20 seconds. You really didn’t want to have to yank Angel out of his room, but you would. Bracing your hands on the bar you go to push yourself up when a very hungover Angel slumped into the bar stool next to you.

“Good evening, stranger” you chirp, irritating the already grumpy sinner.

“What do you want y/n? I’ve had a long night, and I haven’t the fuckin’ energy to deal with your positive mood”, chuckling at his moaning you slide the sipped cocktail in front of him. Eyeing you he quickly downs it, flinching at the excess alcohol you asked Husk to put in there. Choking he tries to clear his throat as you turn on your stool to face him head on.

“Why are you avoiding me?” You ask. Face now devoid of humour, you stare at his mismatched eyes catching the flinch he tried to hide.

“Who says I’m avoiding you?” He mumbles, motioning for Husk to bring him another drink.

“Me, idiot. We used to see each other nearly every day, if not at least once or twice a week and now you don’t respond to my messages, you don’t answer my calls, you are always busy when I pop to see you at work. What would you call that if not avoidance?” Waiting for him to finish his sip, you tap your nails in annoyance when he evaded looking you in the eyes.

“Look toots, these things happen. People grow apart. That’s what happens in show business, you should get used to it.”

“Please tell me that is not it?” eyes narrowing at him. “That I am finally getting a bit of recognition and you aren’t happy about it?”

“I ain’t that pathetic” he snarled at you, fists clenching around his drink.

“Well thank Lucifer for that, then what is it?”

He opened and closed his mouth a few times, contemplating what to say before he finally just snapped: “it’s who you are hanging around with to get that ‘recognition’”.

Ahh. Okay.

“You don’t like me spending time with the Vee’s?” You confirm, tilting your head eyeing him as he struggles with his words.

“Obviously honey! They ain’t good people!”

“We’re in Hell babe, who is?” You waft your hand around to make your point. If you were good people, you’d not be in Hell.

Scrunching his face in concern, he reaches over and grabs your hand. “Look y/n, you don’t know what you are getting into. You don’t know who or what they are like!”

“Like you did when you signed your contract?” Low Blow, you know but you needed to get your point across. “I know you are trying to protect me Angel, and I appreciate it. But you pulling away and avoiding me is only going to have me going to them more. I am not stupid. I know what I’m doing. I know who they are and what they have done. I mean have you really forgotten who you are speaking too here?” You squeeze his hand, offering him a small smile.

“I know you are clever and can play their game as well as the best, but I’m just worried they’re going to trap you somehow”. Your eyes drop to where he pulls at his choker necklace with a small gold tag. Hmm.

“Then that’ll be my own fault. But I swear, they aren’t getting near my soul. I made one deal with Velvette and that is just to showcase her clothes and me singing at her catwalk okay – that’s it. Nothing more, they know that.” I keep my eyes on his so he could see how serious I was.

After a few tense moments he nodded in surrender and tiredly rubbed his face with his other hand. Asking Husk for two shots of vodka you push the other in front of Angel.

“Apology shot?” A small smile graced his face as he clinks your glasses together before you both finish them off.

Watching you for a moment he starts, “So…” you scrunch your nose up at the taste of the shot, you forgot how much you disliked vodka, shoving the glass back on the bar. “How are your suga’ daddies and momma treatin’ you?” Snorting in amusement you throw him a look.

“I’m still living in my shit house that I call an apartment and working every job that is worth taking if that’s what you’re asking”, accepting another shot off Husk.

“Oh, they’ve not offered you to move in yet?” Choking on the shot you slap your chest to remove the alcohol from your windpipe.

“I wear Velvette’s clothes, not shag the Vee’s babe, why would they ask me to move in with them?” You questioned.

“Hmm, I dunno know toots. I saw the photos”, his eyes lit up in amusement as he started pulling them up on his phone. “I mean big ol’ Voxxie looked like he was just about ready to devour you – which woulda been so hot. Which reminds me, do ya need any pointers? I know it’s been a longggg time for you” your cheeks were on fire from blushing as you shove a laughing Angel away from you. Dick.

“Ain’t it like riding a bike?” You tease back trying to lessen the blush from your face.

“What type of bike are you ridin’ doll?” if you weren’t so glad you both were now okay, you’d have cursed him out by now.  After a few more teasing comments about your lack of skill or sex life you glared. His teasing smile lessened a bit, sipping on his drink he decided to throw you a curveball, “ya know, Valentino messaged me the other night and not about work”.

Eyebrow quirking you tilt your head: “What about?”

“He cursed me out for ditching you at that club opening”, ah bugger. You remembered him typing furiously on his phone that night but you didn’t even think he’d contact Angel.

“Oh Angel, I am so sorry babe I didn’t think he’d say anything to you!” Waving off your apology he shrugged.

“I shouldn’t have ditched ya so I deserved it … but you looked like you enjoyed yourself anyway”, his teasing smile came back making another blush raise on your cheeks.

“I didn’t know Vox was going to be there, he hadn’t said anything to me. He told me Valentino messaged him to get dressed and meet me”. You defended yourself a bit against the teasing Sinner.

“Val told Vox to meet you?” Angel’s eyebrows scrunched up on his forehead.

“I was just as confused as you are now, I figured the club scene was more Val’s than Vox’s.”

“Huh” eyeing you with a mixture of confusion and amusement. “Ya really got them wrapped around your little finger now ain’t cha”, rolling your eyes it was your turn to laugh at him.

“Hardly! If I did, don’t you think I’d be living in a gorgeous apartment, have a nice car and not having to work another day in my undead life?” you reason with him. Having the Vee’s wrapped around your little finger, that’ll be the day.

“Mhmm … but you’ve got Velvette giving you free clothes”-

“-Which I promote for her, help design and plus I’ve gotta sing at her catwalk show” you interrupt.

“Okay fair but you’ve got Valentino bossin’ around Vox for you, sending you cutesy shit – yes I’ve seen the messages and photos – and you’ve got Vox looking like a panting dog chasin’ ya around on those photos on the articles. And probably more shit but the cameras just aint caught it!”

Mouth opening and closing as you try to come up with a counter argument, you eventually shut your mouth with a snap. He was right – not about Vox chasing you around the carpet he had actually helped you, but the rest was kinda correct.

“You might not have them completely wrapped around it but toots you are pretty darn close”. He surmised with a smug smirk.

Gulping a little you bite your lip: “What do I do?”

Shrugging, he awkwardly smiles at you: “Ain’t for me to say darlin’, but whatever you do be safe … and have fun”.

Licking your bottom lip, you play around with your empty shot glass on the counter so you didn’t have to look at him. “If … hypothetically I did, how did you so beautifully put it – wrap them round my little finger and have fun – you wouldn’t start avoiding me again would ya?” you questioned, running your finger around the rim of the glass.

Snorting in amusement, one of his arms wrapped around your neck as he placed an exaggerated kiss on your cheek.

“Doll face. You are stuck with me now! Hey if you’re up living it large with those Vee’s I want a Lamborghini for my birthday”, he teased. Tenseness fading from your body you laugh and give him a squeeze around his hips. Angel was one of your true friends in Hell, you’d be lost without him. “Plus, I can give you the low down on how to get Val off”.

“Ew Angel!!” Shoving him off you he bursts out laughing. Clutching his stomach as you scoff at him, blush burning your ears. A buzz from your pocket distracts you from a cackling Angel, pulling it out your jeans pocket you see a message from Vox: ‘Me and Val need to speak to you about an opportunity, I’ll send a car for you’. Peeking up through your hair you see that smug grin on Angel’s face.

Rolling your eyes you give him a snarky smirk in return: “sorry my suga’ daddies are calling” you wink at him as you both laugh. Texting Vox the address, to which he responded: ‘I know’ you scoff. Course he would know. Finishing the last shot you give Angel a quick kiss on the cheek and thank Husk while putting down some money to pay for the numerous drinks.

“I will be seeing you later babes!” He promised to text you tomorrow and you left, happy that you two had buried the hatchet and feeling so much lighter than you have for a few days.

Stepping outside the hotel you spy a black car pull up. Hurrying down the steps you are surprised when a sinner gets out the driver’s seat and opens the back door for you with a small bow in your direction. Okay. That’s new. Thanking them you slide in and relax in the lush leather seating. Perhaps having them a little bit wrapped round your finger is a good thing?

Tag List: @tasha-1994 @azullynxx @reath-solia @leathesimp @klorinda @twinklethewarrior @martinys-world @rosiethevoxobesser

@the-maladaptivedaydreamer @songbrita @midge7838 @joumi13 @wonderlandangelsposts @th3rizzl3r

[fuckingyrs]

The sound of a body throwing itself onto one of the infirmary cots echoed through the mostly empty room, followed closely behind with a dramatic, but melodic sigh. “Can I say something mean?” 

“Probably not in front of the baby.”

Will groaned, looking up from his pile of patient reports he had been sorting for the past… year. “I hardly think eleven still counts as being a baby.”

Lee, who had been refilling first aid kits for the past two hours, contemplated this for a moment. “Maybe, but that’s besides the point. I’m six years older than you. You’ll always be a baby.”

“I’m going to say something mean. Will, cover your ears.”

“I’m not covering my ears, Taylor. Unlike you, I’m working right now and I need my hands.”

“Oh,” Taylor dragged, a taunt evident in her voice, "someone's grumpy.”

“He’s mad I put him on infirmary duty during arts and crafts.”

“Will, you aren’t good at arts and crafts.” Lee slapped her arm. “And you like working in the infirmary, you are constantly taking my shifts. It’s why I love you.”

Lee slapped her arm again. “Taylor, what the heck.”

Taylor groaned, “Fuck. Just say fuck. I’m begging you.”

“That’s besides the point. I had it with Cecil. We were going to finish our board game.” Will turned to Lee, pointing an accusing finger at him, “You knew this.”

Lee let out a long-suffering sigh and Will almost felt bad for causing a fuss, but really, Lee brought this upon himself. “Taylor, stop pawning off your shifts to Will. Will, stop letting Taylor’s pawn off her shifts to you. Also: I’m sorry about arts and crafts. The last few days have been hectic and I needed your help. I’ll make sure to not schedule you over arts and crafts next week.”

“I’m going to be home next week! Mama is picking me up, remember?”

Lee had the decency to look ashamed when he said, “Heck. I forgot. I’m sorry, Will.”

Taylor got up from her self-designated cot and walked over to Will, ruffling his hair once she was close enough. “I’ll take over the rest of your shift, buddy. You go have fun.”

Will shook his head, “No, it’s okay. I’m already here. Arts and crafts is half-way done anyway. We wouldn’t be able to finish.”

“If you’re sure,” Taylor sighed as she pressed a kiss to his forehead and Will let out a cry of protest because he could feel the lipstick stain there. He tried rubbing it away with his fingers but by the look on Lee’s face and the snickers Taylor was making behind him, he only made it worse.

Lee graciously handed Will a wipe before glaring at their sister. “Taylor, what are you even doing here?”

“I think I made that pretty obvious when I threw myself onto a bed and stated I was gonna say something mean. I came to gossip.”

“You should be at archery right now.”

“Mike was being a piss-baby. He wouldn’t let Josh and I try to hit one another. What’s the point of being in advanced archery if you can’t shoot at your brother? Moving targets!”

“So you left?”

“Yep. I found Silena and she offered to do my nails before I came by.”

Lee pinched the bridge of his nose in a way that resembled an old man at the end of his rope. Will suppressed a giggle at his brother’s anguish as Lee said, “You can’t do that.”

“Do what? My nails?”

“Leave Michael like that.”

“Why? He’s not in charge of me.”

“But I am. And he’s my second in command, so yes he is.”

Taylor groaned, flopping back onto her cot. “One, he’s like three weeks older than me, unfair. And two, none of that is important right now. What is important is that our father was here and didn’t say hi to any of us. Who does that?”

“Our father, apparently.”

Taylor flipped Lee off, showing off her new manicure. It was baby pink, like her lipstick, with a little sun in the center. “He gives those kids a ride, none of them his, and has the audacity to leave before saying hi? Hell, Will over here has never met him. He has time to bring a group of kids to camp, but can’t spare a lousy minute to check in on us? And I can’t say this to Michael or he’ll claim I’m “on the other side”.” Taylor sighed, a faraway look in her eyes. Will had only seen this look on her face a few times before: every time Luke was mentioned. “I’m just tired of feeling abandoned and I’m sick of feeling like it’s bad to think that.”

Lee stepped towards her, a soft, “Tay–” passing through his lips, before she sat up and shook herself out of her stupor.

“Instead of saying hi, he just causes chaos and disappears! He brings Percy back, which is never a good sign. Thalia is driving the sun chariot, and crashes it! Oh, and he brought that new weird kid that keeps bombarding everyone with questions.”

Will saw through the change of topic, and Lee clearly had to as well, but he allowed it to happen. He slapped her on the arm for the third time, “He’s not weird. He’s, like, eight. The kid is just excited. You were excited about camp once upon a time.”

Taylor turned to Will, jerking her head at Lee, “I think he’s finally lost it. When have I ever been excited by anything ever?”

Will grinned, “Yesterday, you beat Madi at Josh’s song quiz and you danced around the cabin for ten minutes.”

Taylor gasped loud and dramatic, clutching at her chest as she fell back onto her cot, chestnut hair falling all over her face in her fall. “William! How dare you accuse me of such things!”

[coffincestuous]

progress report #7

happy july!! you know what that means— progress report!!

…this guy is too happy to be holding a (presumably) human skull.

once again, we’ve been given four images in a row!! here they are:

andrew and ashley at a gas station!! it never occurred to me that we’d get to see them do stuff like getting gas and bathing and such… it makes me happy that we get to see the two of them do such simple things together :> this little area is probably really good for stealing a car, but considering they stole a hitman’s car, they’re probably not gonna get anything better than that for their on-the-run situation. i wonder if this is their first stop after the end of chapter two, or if it’s along the way in chapters three or four?

next, we have this little area. does it look a little familiar to anyone else? the environment points to this being a demon-dream, or somewhere related to the demon’s domain: the carved moons on the floor, the eyeball tripod, the eyes on the wall. it looks like ashley climbed into here from the opening on the right side. there’s so much to wonder about!! why are the eyes drawn on the wall? why are there moons carved into the floor?? why are there scratches everywhere??? why is the staircase broken??? i guess i’ll have to wait to find out

just normal sibling things, like sitting on your brother’s lap making a kissy face while cradling his face. but, hey, canonical teen ashley design!!! she’s so cute. look at her bunny necklace!! her painted nails!! the clips in her hair still!! i really love when ashley and andrew tease each other like this because it’s so silly!!! handsome prince andrew :}

(i guess andrew’s not the only one who gets unusual urges with their sibling…)

finally, we have ashley with the unnamed demon!!

is this the demon’s room?? who is this “handsome fellow”?? wherever she is, there’s a lot to look at in this room!! pink and yellow flowers as opposed to the red ones we’ve seen, some sort of hand-shaped plant, and more potted plants!! ashley’s demon trinket is on the table (?) in the middle, next to a crystal ball and a bunch of books. there’s a cute little corner desk on the right with more plants!! and.. a trunk of some kind!! i wonder what’s in it?

it probably has nothing to do with the last time we saw a wooden box, right…?

as for the actual progress reporting in the progress report, there’s not a whole lot!! kit9 put up a vote to include or exclude some (video) bonus content, and while the majority voted to include the content, they also listened to the reasons for excluding the content & decided that they’re going to add it as bonus content. people thought it was a little too silly, considering the tone of the story. there’s already planned unlockable bonus content for the next major release.

they say they’re probably going to create more polls for the community on steam, so keep an eye out for those if you are wanting to participate!!

[bookworm551]

The Great War | Part 2 | Neteyam Sully x Omatikaya!reader

Summary: You and Neteyam were childhood friends, always looking out for each other, but when the Sky People returned, neither of you could have anticipated the way it would affect your relationship with one another.

A/N: First off, I just want to say that for everyone who enjoyed the first part, I want to give y’all a lil kiss on the forehead. I definitely got carried away (again), so I split what was going to be part 2 into parts 2 and 3, so I’ll have the next one up real soon. Also, in case you can’t tell, I firmly believe that Neteyam’s love language is physical touch. Hope you enjoy!

6.1k words

Warnings: canon-typical violence, angst

Part 1 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

It was ten days before you were allowed outside the camp again. Though you had tried to get out sooner, you were under strict orders to rest from Neteyam and (more convincingly) Mo'at. You were bored out of your mind most of the time, but Tuk had been very sweet to visit you in her abundant free time. Kiri had also taken it upon herself to become your designated healer, much to Neteyam's comfort.

He had visited as often as he could. It was sweet, but you couldn't help but feel like he was hovering somewhat over you. He treated you like you were going to shatter if you so much as stood up. You knew he was just being cautious, but you were starting to feel suffocated in the tent.

Now, you had been given the all-clear to travel out into the forest for the first time. Your side still ached if you stretched too far, but for the most part, you felt fine. You still experienced headaches as a result of hitting your head against the crate, but you didn't want to be coddled any more than you already had been, so you didn't say anything about them.

Walking amongst the vibrant plants, you breathed in the fresh forest scent. It was refreshing to be in an open space after lying for so long in the dimness of the healing tent. You had no real destination in mind as you walked about, you just wanted to get out of the village. Besides, Kiri agreed that stretching your legs and being in the sun would do you some good after your days spent inside.

"Don't overdo it," she warned you as you pulled yourself over a large boulder. Your side ached dully, but you ignored it. "You sound like Neteyam," you called out over your shoulder. "I'll be fine." You heard her chuckle behind you. "If something happens to you, he'll skin me alive," she said.

You rolled your eyes. Even Kiri could see the overprotectiveness of her older brother. It was true though; he would be upset if something happened, which was why you didn't tell him you were going out.

"I want to go up," you told your friend as you stared up at the light dappling the leaves overhead. Catching up to you, Kiri followed your gaze at the canopy above. "We can go slow," she conceded. "But you have to tell me if you're hurting. If something happens, you're going to be back in the healing tents for another 2 weeks."

That was incentive enough for you to be mostly honest with her, but it was hard to be completely truthful when admitting you were in pain just made you feel weak. Before you could start climbing, however, a figure emerged from the brush nearby.

"What are you doing?" Neteyam asked as he caught sight of you up on top of the boulder you just climbed. You huffed in mild exasperation. Of course he was here. You had deliberately left while he was out to avoid his concerned objections.

"Getting some fresh air," you stated simply. "Care to join?"

He shot you and Kiri a look of disapproval. "You should not be climbing," he told you sternly. "You could reopen your wound." You sighed at his warning. You were starting to become annoyed by his constant caution. It was just a few days ago he protested the idea of you walking around, so you knew that at every milestone, you were going to hear some sort of resistance from him.

"She is doing fine," Kiri defended you. "I am with her to make sure she doesn't strain herself." Neteyam, you could tell, was still hesitant to let you out of his sight. "I'm just going around to stretch my legs," you said. "You can come, but you can't stop me from going."

He sighed and shook his head, but you were pleased by the small smile that tugged at his lips. Pulling himself up to where you and Kiri were standing, he said, "I don't think I can stop you from doing anything." You smiled back at him. "I'm glad you see the truth," you replied triumphantly.

The three of you pressed on through the foliage together. It wasn't long before Kiri became distracted by the beauty of the forest. You always found her endless wonder endearing. "How did you know we were out here?" You asked Neteyam as Kiri strayed away from the two of you.

"Tuk," he responded simply. You huffed out a sharp breath, peeved at the betrayal of the youngest Sully. He smirked at your reaction. "She didn't mean to tell," he explained. "She was complaining to a friend about how my grandmother made her stay behind to help her instead of going with you, and I just so happened to hear."

"I see," you replied solemnly. "Then I suppose she is forgiven." There was a brief pause, and you could feel his eyes on you. Meeting his gaze, you saw that he looked a little crestfallen. "You do not have to hide these things from me," he told you gently. You glanced away in discomfort. It wasn't that you were trying to hide things from him, but you just wanted a little break from his constant oversight.

"I know you're worried," you began carefully, "but sometimes, it feels like you are too worried. I am strong and healing well." You gestured to the laceration, now a large scab, that traced across the right half of your stomach. His eyes fixed on it for a moment before he blinked hard and looked away. You caught his moment of discomfort and sighed.

The both of you carried on walking in half-awkward silence. You pulled yourself up onto a large fallen log that was obstructing your path and leaped down onto the lower ground, the impact sending a jolt of pain across your stomach, but you managed to stifle your reaction.

"Did that hurt?" Neteyam asked. Okay, maybe you didn't manage as well as you thought.

"Just a little tight," you dismissed. He looked at you with a concerned gaze, evidently not believing you. Taking a deep breath, you turned to face directly in front of him and grabbed his broad shoulders with both hands. You held him for a moment and stared up into his eyes.

"You are too worried," you told him after a heartbeat. "I am not going to break. I need you to trust me when I say I am fine." You looked up at him pleadingly, keeping your hands resting on his shoulders. He gazed down at you softly with a small sigh. He brought his hands up and wrapped them around your forearms.

"I'm sorry," he said gently, rubbing his thumbs softly back and forth across your skin. "You are right, I am worried about you." You smiled faintly and corrected him, "Too worried." He rolled his eyes before nodding. "Alright, too worried," he conceded. "I will stop."

You nodded your head gratefully. "Thank you," you said, dropping your hands from his shoulders. Neteyam smiled at you, then made an exaggerated thinking face. "Well," he began reflectively, "I will never stop worrying about you. How can I not worry about you when you do stupid things all the time?" You rolled your eyes and shoved him playfully. He laughed.

"And you never listen to me!" He continued as you turned and started walking again. "How am I not supposed to worry?" You couldn't help but smile at that. "I do listen to you," you argued, "when you say something worth listening to."

After that day, you noticed Neteyam's overly cautious behavior diminish. Occasionally throughout the week, he would catch you wincing when you stretched your right arm up too quickly, or he would notice how you rubbed your temple when a migraine hit, but respecting the boundary you set, he never said anything.

A few days after your walk in the forest, you were invited by a handful of your tribesmen close to your age to join them in a morning hunt. You were extremely grateful for the chance to get out and do something more than wander around aimlessly with Kiri. For young adult Na'vi, hunting and foraging were sort of social events amongst friends, so you were eager to join.

As the sons of the Olo'eyktan, Neteyam and Lo'ak were also invited to come with the group. Besides the two Sully boys and yourself, there were three more in the party. Getting ready to go out, you could see the look of unease on Neteyam's face, but he said nothing until the rest of the group made their way toward the edge of the ikran rookery.

"Why don't we go on foot?" He asked. Everyone paused and looked at each other, mildly confused. "Why would we do that?" Lo'ak asked the question everyone else was thinking. Neteyam's eyes shifted to you uneasily, and you clenched your jaw, expecting him to call you out in front of the others.

"Isn't your ikran injured?" He asked you. It was a cover, and you knew it, but at least he didn't outright mention your injury as the reason for wanting to hunt on foot. You gave him a warning look. "I checked on her yesterday. Her injuries have healed nicely," you told him, emphasizing every word of your last sentence pointedly.

He understood your passive statement and held your stare. As subtly as possible, you gave him a look that said, Don't you dare. A beat of tense silence passed between you before he looked away and nodded. Taking your eyes off of him, you looked over at Lo'ak. His eyes were awkwardly glancing back and forth between you and his brother, one of his human-like eyebrows raised. He clearly caught the silent conversation you just had, and you felt your ears warm in embarrassment.

Walking into the rookery, you each called out to your ikran. Kazi descended before you, and you gave her an affectionate rub on the crest of her jaw. Her wings had indeed healed nicely in the time since the accident, and you were eager to take to the skies with her again. You could feel Neteyam's eyes on you as you checked the cinching of your saddle, and when you glanced over at him, you could read the apology on his face.

Huffing out a little sigh, you looked away. Sometimes, you wanted to stay mad at him, but he always made it so hard.

You attached your queue to Kazi and mounted onto her back. The six of you took off of the ground and rose over the trees. Feeling the rushing air around you made you realize just how cramped you've felt since your injury, and you couldn't help but give a few whoops of glee.

The sun shone brightly overhead. Even though you loved the feeling of its warmth on your skin, being in the brightness after spending so much time in the dimness of camp caused your head to hurt some. It didn't help that after 2 weeks of resting, your body wasn't so used to the physical demands of flying anymore. The tension in your core and thighs to stay balanced caused your breathing to become labored after a while, which didn't help with the onsetting headache.

Finally, the group swooped down to a clearing in the trees. There, you dismounted with the rest of the group and tried to hide your breathlessness. Taking your bow and a few arrows, you joined the others in descending to the forest floor. Given the time of year, you were all familiar with the migration habits of the deer-like yerik and knew there would be several in this area.

Jumping down from branch to branch gave you a rush of adrenaline you had been missing for so long. While still in the trees, you and your companions laughed and chatted together. Mekar, one of the hunters among you, was talking about the last mission the war party had flown just a few days prior. "Too bad you were taken out by a human," he told you with a laugh. "You could have seen how much damage we did."

His comment burned. It was embarrassing enough having to be on bed rest for so long, but it didn't help that everyone in the clan was aware of it, too. Already peeved by Neteyam's earlier attempt to coddle you, Mekar's words pushed you deeper into your irritation.

"That's not funny," Neteyam told him sharply. Being the son of Toruk Makto, his words held a lot of weight, so his quick reprimand shut down the other hunter. You moved in irritated silence, thinking about how you've been set back by your injury.

One of the worst consequences of your accident was that you were not able to conduct the Uniltaron trial at your designated time. The Dream Quest requires much mental and physical strength, both of which were affected by your injury. You were keenly aware that you and Lo'ak were the only ones in the group who had not completed the trial, though Lo'ak had nearly a full year left before he was eligible.

Your group finally reached the floor of the forest. You felt out of breath, and you could feel your heart beating hard in your chest which was making your head pound. Taking a few steadying breaths, you closed your eyes for a second, trying to ignore your migraine. When you looked up, you could see that your friends had already started to move in one direction, so you quickly sprinted after them.

You all moved in silence, looking for signs of a nearby herd. Lo'ak found it first, a single hoof print in the dirt. You all followed his lead, and soon enough, you could all see a large gathering of yerik through the foliage.

Lo'ak got first rights to the herd. He made a quick, clean kill of a buck, but as expected, the whole herd scattered as it fell. You all shot after the fleeing creatures, but Mekar was the only other hunter to catch one in the haunches, moving in swiftly to make a clean kill with his knife.

As you and the others gathered your arrows, you noticed a chittering noise in the distance, the sound of a forest hen. Perking up, you listened closely and turned in the direction it came from.

"There are forest hens over there," you told your friends, pointing in the direction of the noise. They listened attentively until another chittering noise echoed quietly in the distance. "Yeah," one of the other hunters, Meya, began, "but I would rather stay on the yerik." She pointed at where the herd had run off in the opposite direction of the forest hens.

The rest of the group deliberated until you all agreed on a strategy. Lo'ak and Mekar would take their kills back up to their ikran and try to find more quarry, Meya and the other member of the party, Nazátu, would pursue the herd, and you and Neteyam would go after the forest hens. You would all reconvene back at the top of the canopy by the time of high noon.

You and Neteyam set off in the direction of the forest hens. You were grateful to separate from the others since you felt that you didn't have to hide just how out of shape you were in front of Neteyam. You both kept a brisk pace through the brush, moving as silently as possible.

"You seem to be holding up well," he commented. "I should not have doubted you earlier." You smiled gratefully at him. "My head does hurt a little bit," you admitted. "But otherwise, I feel fine."

It was a half-truth. The whole truth was that your head hurt a lot. The pounding in your head hadn't diminished as you had hoped, but you refused to let it affect your ability to hunt.

You both reverted to careful silence as you stayed alert for the sounds of the hens. There were a few silvery feathers you found on the ground to encourage your tracking, and you carried on quickly in the direction they led to. You were eager to get this hunt over with now that your migraine had settled in deep into your temples.

A flutter through the trees caught your attention, and there a few yards ahead, you finally saw a flock of about 10 fowl-like creatures. Some were on the ground, but a few were walking along some low-hanging branches. Forest hens were bulky and had limited flight capabilities. They could be found scratching at the forest floor or low tree branches to eat any insects they could find.

Coming up beside you, Neteyam motioned at the ones on the ground and then pointed at himself. He was telling you that he would aim for the low ones while you could go for one in the branches. You nodded and notched an arrow. You aimed for the fattest bird you saw, and in sync, both you and Neteyam shot and hit your targets.

In a frantic flurry, the remaining hens took flight higher into the canopy. You managed to reset an arrow on your bow and shoot another one down as it was flying off before it could disappear with the rest of the flock.

Stepping out of your cover, you and Neteyam retrieved your quarry and arrows. "Looks like I'm beating you," you teased. He rolled his eyes at you playfully. "Show off," he muttered, tying his hen onto his hip. "Let's keep after them." You hesitated. Now that you had a prize to bring back, you were anxious to leave. You didn't want to raise any concern from Neteyam, but your migraine was really starting to get out of hand. Though you'd been having bad headaches since your accident, this was by far the worst one.

Despite your pain, you nodded at his suggestion wordlessly. You slung your hens over your shoulders and trekked after your friend. It didn't take you long before you caught up to the flock again. Aiming again, you both shot at the birds, hitting them cleanly.

As before, the rest of the flock scattered. This time, Neteyam got another shot in and took down another hen. He gave you a cheeky smile. "Now we're even," he said triumphantly. You tried to smile back, but your head was pounding painfully, causing you to falter.

He noticed your wince. "Is everything okay?" He asked in concern. You closed your eyes tightly for a moment and nodded. Looking up at him, his gaze was full of worry. You thought about what you had said to him in the forest a few days prior. I need you to trust me when I say I am fine. Well, now, you weren't so fine, and you felt you owed him your honesty.

"My head hurts," you admitted quietly. "It really, really hurts." You ground your teeth in pain. "Like an arrow through my head."

Setting his bow down, Neteyam put one hand at the base of your neck and looked into your eyes with care. "How long has it been hurting like this?" He asked with worry. You thought about it for a second. "It started when we left the village," you confessed, "but it did not get bad until we started tracking the yerik."

You waited for a lecture from him on how you should've told him sooner, but it never came. "Do you get them a lot?" He asked gently. You nodded reluctantly before clarifying, "Usually not this bad, though." He gave a small nod, and you could see all the concerned thoughts in his head, but he didn't say any of them. Instead, he lifted his hand from your shoulder to briefly cradle the side of your head. You leaned into his touch and sighed as the pain pulsed in your temples.

"Let's go," he said softly as he dropped his arm back to his side. "We can try to find Lo'ak and Mekar to let them know we're leaving." You nodded, disappointed in yourself for not being able to withstand the headache. How were you supposed to return to fight if you couldn't even manage an easy morning hunt?

Picking up your kills, the two of you headed back in the direction of where your ikran were waiting. The journey back up to the top seemed longer than you remembered, but maybe that was just the fact that going up is harder than coming down, especially with a raging migraine. Eventually, you found yourself at the top, but neither Lo'ak nor Mekar were anywhere to be found.

"Are you okay to go by yourself?" Neteyam asked. "If we both go, the others will think something has happened." You nodded. "I know, I'll be fine." He didn't look happy to let you go alone, but you took off on Kazi, leaving him behind as he watched your figure disappear over the trees.

When you made it back to the village, you immediately headed over to the healing tents, but to your sore disappointment, neither Mo'at nor Kiri were anywhere to be found. You thought about asking around, but you didn't want anyone to know you were in pain, and your pride won out as usual. You looked in one of the many baskets lying around the tent and found a bitter plant root that you knew would help you fall asleep.

You took and ate it as quickly as you could and washed it down with water. Then, you made your way to where your encampment was situated. You laid down on your sleeping mat, curled into a ball, and held your head until the root took effect, and you drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

Waking up, the pain had diminished significantly. You propped yourself upright and drank some water you had stored. Exiting your tent, it didn't take long before you found Neteyam, Lo'ak, and the others from the hunting party sitting together skinning their game. They must have returned not long ago, meaning it was just past high noon.

"Hey," Lo'ak called out as he noticed your approach, "you feeling alright?" You looked at Neteyam sharply. He subtly shook his head, silently telling you that he hadn't told them the reason why you left. "Yeah," you replied casually, "my body just isn't quite used to all the activity yet, so I came back early." Lo'ak nodded understandingly, and the rest of the group seemed to find your excuse acceptable. You shot Neteyam a grateful look, and he smiled softly.

"These are some nice birds," Meya complimented, nodding at the forest hens you and Neteyam had hunted. "Thanks," you replied sincerely, sitting down to clean them. You all worked to prepare your own game, talking and laughing in easy companionship for the rest of the afternoon.

Three days later, you were invited back to participate in the war meetings. You were eager to prove yourself again, and even more so to destroy as many humans as you could. You felt confident in your abilities, especially since you hadn't had even a minor headache since your hunting trip. There were a few reconnaissance missions that you flew with no action, but after gathering enough information, the Olo'eyktan believed it was time for another offensive attack.

You sat and watched as Jake outlined the plan for the next attack on the Sky People's weapons containment center. After a detailed description of the plan, Jake finished up his briefing with a nod and, "Dismissed." You all stood up together, and you started making your way toward Neteyam.

You called out to him to get his attention. He turned towards you, and you jogged to catch up to him. Approaching, you noticed the bizarre look on his face. He seemed startled out of deep thought. You couldn't deny that Jake's plan seemed bold, but you knew that you and the other warriors were more than capable of carrying it out. You opened your mouth to say something, but you noticed that Neteyam was looking past you at someone.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a moment?" The voice of the Olo'eyktan was right behind you. You whipped around to face your leader in surprise. "Forgive me," you said respectfully and stepped out of the way to allow him to speak with his son.

"No, no," he said to you, glancing at Neteyam for a moment before looking back at you. "I want to speak with you." You felt your stomach tighten with sudden anxiety. "Oh," was all you could say. You glanced back at Neteyam, but he already had his back turned to you and was walking away.

"Listen," Jake began, "I know you are eager to join the party, and you are a fierce warrior." You felt your stomach sink with his words. It seemed that he could see the anxiety on your face because he sighed and glanced around in discomfort. "I think it's best that you remain behind," he said finally.

You felt your heart drop.

"What?"

Jake sighed again. "I need you to stay behind," he repeated. You shook your head faintly. You felt dazed, and your head started to ache for the first time since the hunt. "I am healed," you insisted urgently. "And my ikran is as well." He looked at you unconvinced. "I am well!" You repeated, gesturing to the fresh scar on your stomach.

Jake shook his head. "Listen," he said in a low voice, "I know what it is like when it feels like your head is going to split apart, okay? I know how it feels, and I know how distracting and debilitating it can be in a moment of action."

You were paralyzed, unable to say anything.

"You are a great fighter," Jake repeated, "but I need you to be all there when we fight. Any other condition and you become a liability to yourself and the others."

You felt like your chest was tightening. "No," you whispered desperately. "I can still fight." Your throat tightened as you fought off tears. Jake looked down at you regretfully. "I'm sorry," he said resolutely, "but I have made up my mind. If you are suffering from migraines, you should stay back."

You looked up at him in confusion. "But how..." you trailed off in the middle of your question and your blood ran cold.

Only one person knew.

The realization hit you like an angstik. He told. He told.

You looked away from the clan leader and stared at where Neteyam was just standing moments ago, trying to process what you'd just heard. How could he do that to you? The pain of Neteyam's betrayal quickly turned into boiling anger that filled your chest. Jake placed a hand on your shoulder in an attempt to comfort you, but you felt numb. "I'm sorry, kid," he said, but his words fell on deaf ears.

"Am I dismissed?" you managed to ask finally, not able to look the Olo'eyktan in the eye. "Yes, dismissed," he answered. You turned and walked away. For a moment, you walked aimlessly away from the war council, all your focus was directed at not crying in public, and the effort it took increased the intensity of your headache. The very thing that prevented you from fighting for your people.

With that thought, your hurt, confusion, and anger narrowed in your mind to point at one person: Neteyam. You broke into a brisk sprint towards his family's tent. You didn't think about what you would say to him or what you would do if his other family members were present. You didn't even really have any thoughts, just rage.

You burst into the tent. There he was, looking to be in the middle of packing some of his supplies and speaking to someone. When he looked up at you as you entered, his expression immediately turned to guilt. The sight of him caused tears to refill in your eyes, which just made you angrier.

In a flash, you crossed the floor of the tent and shoved him as hard as you could. He stumbled back but quickly regained his balance. "How could you?" you seethed. You had meant to scream it, but you were afraid that your voice would betray you if you raised it above a whisper. Neteyam raised one arm in front of him between you as a pacifying gesture, his fingertips a hair's breadth from your collarbone.

"Kiri, would you please give us a moment?" he asked the other person in the tent without looking away from you. You gave Kiri's sitting form a quick glance before returning your glare to Neteyam, but it was enough for you to see the startled expression on your friend's face.

"What is going—"

"Now," Neteyam punctuated with force.

Without another word, Kiri hurriedly stood up and walked out. With his sister gone, you smacked his raised arm away from yourself. You were fuming and didn't even know where to start with your anger. "Your father has grounded me from the mission," you told him and pointed an accusatory finger at him, "because of you."

Neteyam clenched his jaw and took a deep breath before speaking. "It is for your safety. If you are not well, you should not be flying during a dangerous miss—"

"I am well," you interrupted angrily. "I am well, and I can fly during a dangerous mission. You had no right to tell him what is not your concern. You have no right to interfere with anything." Your voice was getting louder now, the white-hot anger you felt in your chest burned in the words you spoke.

Neteyam scoffed quietly and looked at you with a scowl that would have chilled you if you hadn't already been so angry with him. "You are not well," he countered in a low, hard voice. "I saw you hunting. You were in so much pain, you couldn't even manage to focus on the trail. How is that supposed to make me feel knowing you wished to return to battle?" He gestured loosely to the entrance of the tent as though the battle was right outside.

"That was one time, Neteyam!" you shouted at him in frustration. "And now I can't join the mission because of a headache I had on a hunt." "But it was not just one time, was it?" he retorted in an accusatory tone. "You have had migraines since your accident, but you have been keeping them secret from everyone."

"No, I should have kept them a secret from everyone," you spat, tears returning to your eyes. "But I was a fool and told you instead. I trusted you." He flinched slightly at your cutting comment, but he didn't back down. "You have become a liability to yourself and the other warriors," he stated matter-of-factly. "I did the right thing and told my father to inform him of your weakness.

Weakness. That stung worse than anything he could've said to you.

Immediately, Neteyam realized what he had said. "No, I did not mean to—"

"Is that how you see me?" You cut him off quietly, voice filled with pain. "Weak?" You felt a single tear overcome all of your effort to withhold it and slide down your cheek. Neteyam shook his head apologetically and took a step toward you, but you took a step back away from him. "That is not true," he insisted gently. "I did not mean to say that."

You wanted to believe him, but memories of his behavior flashed through your mind over the past few weeks, and anger and hurt stirred in your chest. "But it is true," you accused as you glared up at him, wiping the tear off your cheek in anger. "You have been treating me like a helpless child ever since we invaded the Sky People's base."

Neteyam clenched his jaw and looked away from you in frustration. You continued yelling at him. "You have been consumed with a desire to control my every move ever since. I shouldn't wander too far into the forest alone. I shouldn't climb too high into the trees. I shouldn't ride Kazi anymore." With every sentence, you felt your anger and frustration melt into hurt and sadness, and you could feel more hot tears falling from your eyes. "And now I cannot fight anymore. I cannot fight because you think I'm weak!"

"You almost died!" Neteyam shouted.

You started and stood in mute surprise in front of him, all of your anger replaced by pure shock. He had never yelled at you before. After all of the strain that your relationship had been placed under, the snide comments, the frustrated arguments, he had never once raised his voice above an angry reprimand, and honestly, it was frightening.

"You almost died!" he repeated, still shouting. "And I could do nothing! Nothing!" His chest was heaving, and he glared down at you with so much anger and pain, it made you take a step back. He noticed the step, and it seemed to bring him out of his emotional outburst somewhat. He turned away from you and paced a few steps heatedly around the tent. You watched in mute shock.

"I cannot let you go too far into the woods alone or climb too high or ride your ikran because every second you are out of my sight, all I can see is the image of you bleeding out, unconscious, on the ground." You could see the tension in his whole body, his hands balled into fists at his sides as he spoke. He looked over at you after a moment, and you saw the anguish on his face as he recalled the memory. "I thought you were dead," he whispered in a taut voice. "And that was the worst moment of my life."

You were so overwhelmed that you couldn't stand to look at him anymore. Now, amongst the betrayal and anger you had been feeling, guilt stirred in your stomach, leaving the taste of bile in your throat. This was too much. You were feeling too many things to think rationally or come up with an argument. And your head hurt so much.

Neteyam heaved a regretful sigh, his own eyes shining with unshed tears. You had never seen him cry before. He crossed over to you, and even if you had wanted to back away, you felt rooted to the spot. Coming in closely, he grabbed your face with both hands. For one breathless moment, you thought he was going to kiss you, but instead, he just held you and stared at your face longingly.

"I do not think you are weak," Neteyam muttered finally, breaking the tense silence. "But you...you are my weakness. I am sorry I betrayed your trust, but I cannot see you harmed again. I will not allow it."

You didn't say anything. You couldn't say anything. You had reached your emotional limit. Your heart ached as you took in his image. He was strong and stern and beautiful, and you wished again for the millionth time that the war had never come to your home, had never come between you.

You sighed finally and shook your head. "You do not get to decide my fate for me," you said flatly, pulling away from his touch. "You do not have the right." Without waiting for an answer, you walked out of the tent.

Right outside, Kiri, Lo'ak, and Tuk were sitting together. They had obviously been listening to your fight, and the way they scrambled to stand did not make them appear any more innocent. You sighed and turned the other way, not wanting to talk to anybody at the moment. Kiri called your name, but you ignored her and walked away as quickly as you could.

The siblings stood in the darkness for a moment, embarrassed at being caught eavesdropping. Then, Lo'ak decided to go in and check on his brother. He walked in cautiously and found him with his eyes squeezed shut as he rubbed his forehead in exasperation. Hearing Lo'ak enter, Neteyam looked over at his brother with a burning glare.

"Bro, what did you do?" his younger brother asked with concern. Neteyam let out a deep sigh. After a second, he responded, "The right thing." Lo'ak was unconvinced, and so was Neteyam.

Part 3

[hiro--aoki]

Tell Ur Boyfriend - Part Two

Rosita Espinosa x Fem!Reader - Suggestive / Fluff / Angst

A/n: ik it looks like I hate Abraham, but i dont i swear. tell me to make a part 3 cause that's when rositara is summoned

Back on the road and the tension is high. You see Abraham glaring at you through the rear-view mirror. You flash him a grin.

“I need to release the urine state of the liquid in my bladder.”

“What- “

“He needs to piss, you overweight baboon.”

He grumbles a slur of sorts; you never know with that guy.

“Can’t you hold it, ‘gene?”

“Unfortunately, the response to that inquiry is negative.”

“Fuckin’ hell.”

He pulls the vehicle to the side of the abandoned highway, “Be quick.”

Eugene just nods, deciding it’s better to stay silent. He’s not so stupid after all. You toss your rifle over the other side of the car and jump out, Rosita follows.

“Don’t tell me you’re gonna pop a squat.” She teases.

“Do you think of me as a feral animal, Rosi?”

“Yeah, kind of.”

“Fair enough.” You chuckle.

You can feel Abraham’s eyes on you.

“So, how’s you and Abraham?” You ask with a smirk.

“Hanging by a thread.”

“My plan didn’t work; guess I’ll have to try a different approach.”

“Should I be scared?” She says, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

You don’t answer, you just cup her face and kiss her. She closes her eyes, but yours stay open, looking directly at Abraham. He glares at you. You just pull away as Eugene literally spawns next to you.

“I have completed refreshing myself.”

“What the fuck?! Stop doing that, it’s creepy.” You mutter as you walk with Rosita back to the vehicle.

This time, Rosita sits on the back of the truck with you, which only makes Abraham even more pissed. Considering he was the designated, his driving was a bit crazed today. You just chuckle to yourself, knowing you got into his head.

Eventually, the vehicle slows to a cruise. It’s quite calming. You’re surprised that you aren’t bored, although, you have your pretty, little thing next to you, and an audience of two in front.

As Abraham drives, you slow down. You peer over the side, to see a woman fighting off walkers and a pretty beat up guy, unconscious on the ground.

Instinctively, you put the barrel of your rifle on the side of the truck, lining up a shot on a walker snapping it’s jaws a little too close to the mystery woman’s neck.

Bang. It drops. You’re still as good of a shot as ever. Abraham jumps out of the truck and is also taking out walkers. He isn’t just doing it to help the people, but to show off to Rosita. Try hard. He doesn’t know he already lost.

It isn’t long till all the walkers are at peace and before you know it, the people, Tara and Glenn, are riding with you and Rosita on the back of the truck.

You have a bad feeling about this Tara girl. Not the kind that says she’s a bad person, but the way she looks at Rosita occasionally. Your Rosita. You keep one arm around her.

“Where are we even going?” Tara asks eventually.

Her voice is gentle but guarded. It’s a nice sound, if you’re being honest.

“Washington D.C.” You reply, your own expression, softening.

“That’s a while away.”

“Tell me about it. We started in Mississippi.”

“Shit. Is there…a reason for this road trip, or are ya’ll just making the most of free travelling?”

“Brainiac in the front says he knows the cure.”

Tara’s eyes widen as she looks at Abraham.

“Not the walking refrigerator, the rat with a mullet. Eugene. The refrigerator is Abraham.”

“What ‘bout you two?”

“Y/n, and this is Rosi,” You squeeze her shoulder. “So, you and the Asian guy a package or- “

“No! No, it’s a long story. But to put it short, my group was tricked into attacking his group, their place was destroyed, I feel bad, I really do and Glenn over here isn’t feeling the best. We’re trying to find his group, if they’re even alive.”

“I doubt they’re heading to D.C. At least not as fast as we are.”

“Fuck. Stop the truck!” She starts yelling at Abraham.

He ignores her, of course he does. You may’ve only just met the chic, but you aren’t letting him treat her like this.

You bang on his window, “Pull over!”

He ignores you too.

“Pull over, Abe.” Rosita says.

He listens. Of course he does.

Part One // Part Three || Masterlist

Taglist:

@kookiekult @smutinlove @cosmowitch133 @far-cry-from-finality

[valerileygreen]

@inception30daychallenge Day 17: How did the team spend the rest of the week on the first dream level?

2 days, 11 hours, 45 minutes.

That’s how long they’ve been here, and they still had almost 5 days before waking up.

Arthur was sure he’d go insane first. He hated sitting idly at the best of times, but here, with anxiety about Cobb and Saito’s fates and crippling guilt gnawing at him and nothing to distract him, it was a particular flavour of hell.

He let out a weary sigh and tightened his grip on the rail overlooking the city. He was alone. Eames still had a duty to look after Fisher and no one was talking to Yusuf right now. Ariadne had stayed with him for a while at first, relating what happened on the third level and Limbo and just keeping each other company, but when she decided to go back to their designated warehouse to rest he didn’t follow, needing to keep on the lookout for projections. 

It was admittedly a flimsy excuse, the projections had calmed down now that Fisher was, presumably, at peace with everything, and there were remarkably few of them in the area of the city the team had claimed for themselves at a distance from where Fisher was staying. But he had already fucked up far too much for one job, he wasn’t going to take any more risks.

He tensed as he heard approaching footsteps, but then he recognised who it was.

‘Eames. Shouldn’t you be with Fisher?’

‘But babysitting is so boring, darling. I reckoned your company would be more pleasant.’ Eames answered cheekily.

‘Piss off, Eames.’ Arthur turned away from him. ‘I’m not in the mood for your games.’

‘Mm, it appears I miscalculated the pleasantness of the occasion.’

Arthur snorted. ‘Seriously Eames, why are you here? In case you haven’t noticed we’re still in the middle of a job and you left the mark alone. Do you realize how irresponsible it is?’

‘Relax, Arthur. Fisher’s fine, I may also hazard that the inception worked. But he actually did ask for some time for himself, so…’ He shrugged. ‘I’ll just go check on him tomorrow.’ 

Eames leaned on the rail beside Arthur. ‘I’m more interested in seeing how you're holding up, honestly.’

Arthur rolled his eyes. ‘I’m fine.’

‘Ariadne doesn’t think so. And forgive me, Arthur, but looking at you,’ he gave Arthur a once-over with no trace of his usual leer. ‘I’m more inclined to believe her than you.’

Arthur scowled. ‘Ariadne can well mind her own damn business. And you as well.’ It came out less angry and more brittle than Arthur would have liked, and he looked away.

Eames gently bumped his shoulder to Arthur’s. ‘Come on, pet. Don’t be like that. You can’t blame her for being worried.’

‘I wish she didn’t. There’s no need.’

‘Debatable. And in any case it doesn’t work like that, I’m afraid. She’s a good sort. Did you know she’s already dragged Yusuf out of his shame corner? And probably lectured, psychoanalysed and then forgiven him, by the look of things. Next we know, she’s going to rope him into playing cards or chess or something equally ridiculous.’

Arthur huffed out a poor approximation of a laugh. ‘Has she, now? I bet she even told him what’s the best way to grovel and apologize to us.’ He shook his head. ‘She’s too smart for her own good. And too good for our kind of world.’

Eames chuckled. ‘She’ll rule dreamshare one day, let me tell you. She’s even better than Cobb.’ And like that the mood sank again.

‘So is that what got you all doom and gloom, now?’ Eames asked after a minute with a sigh, far more softly than before, and Arthur felt a surge of rage.

‘Oh, for God’s sake, Eames! Of course it is! How can you be so unaffected?’ He snapped irritably. ‘Cobb and Saito are gone and lost in Limbo, and we’re still trapped here for days and not truly safe till we wake up and out of the plane, and we don’t know if and how they’ll be able to wake up at all, and if they don’t who knows what the hell expects all of us once we land, and it’s all my fucking fault!’ His voice kept rising and becoming more frantic as he got more and more worked up. ‘It’s my fault for being unable to do something so fucking simple as checking if he was militarized, and now all our fucking lives are hanging by thread! And for what? For nothing, no one!’

‘Enough!’ Eames grasped at his shoulder and shook it a little, the contact and firm order both so unexpected that stopped Arthur in his tracks. Then lower, gentler. ‘Enough, darling. Please. You can’t do this to yourself. You can’t take the blame for every single thing that went wrong. Not everything is neatly recorded, and even if it was, you had more than enough on your plate and no matter how hard you try you’re not a robot. Unexpected shit happens all the time. It’s not your fault.’

Eames started rubbing his thumb on the soft skin of his neck soothingly, and Arthur didn’t deserve it but he was weak, he was so fraught and exhausted that he couldn’t bring himself to shake his hand off, greedy for Eames’ warmth. ‘But it is. We wouldn’t be in this situation if we had known about the militarization.’ He said brokenly.

‘Or if we had known about the sedative.’ Eames grumbled. 

And yeah, okay, Eames had a point, that betrayal still stung. But still, it wouldn’t have been such a problem if he had done his own goddamn job. ‘But-’

Eames interrupted him right away with a squeeze of his shoulder, his gaze so intense Arthur felt himself unravelling under it. ‘But nothing, Arthur. You fucked up, okay, that’s true. But the mess we’re in isn’t just your fault. That knowledge wouldn’t have protected us fully anyway. Maybe Saito would have still been shot, or maybe you in an attempt to protect us, and then we would have been in even more trouble. We will never know. As we don’t yet know if Cobb and Saito are actually lost forever or not. But there’s no use despairing now, so let’s try to stay optimist instead, yeah?’

‘Eames…’ Arthur choked around the lump in his throat, and his vision turned blurry.

Eames suddenly wrapped his arms tightly around him. ‘Oh, Arthur, please, stop torturing yourself for it. You did the best you could. And even if it wasn’t enough, even if Cobb and Saito won’t wake up, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Together. But Cobb already came back from Limbo once. So, and I can’t believe I’m really saying this about that bastard, have faith in him.’

It was just too much, the last shreds of his facade crumbled and Arthur buried his head in Eames’ neck and cried all his frustration and exhaustion and grief, while Eames merely held him close and whispered sweet reassurances.

When his tears subsided he didn’t move, a bit embarrassed by his outburst, but Eames didn’t comment, merely asked if he felt better.

‘Not really. But maybe-’ Arthur let out a shuddering breath and finally lifted his head to look at Eames. He was smiling, sad and impossibly fond, and Arthur’s heart squeezed. ‘Maybe you’re right. If there’s someone who can come out of Limbo it’s Cobb, so we have reason to hope. I’ll try not to worry about it so much.’

Eames’ smile brightened. ‘That’s the spirit, love. And lucky for you, I know the perfect distraction from life’s troubles. How about we go teach Ariadne and Yusuf proper poker? We’ll make him lose all the extra money he’s unduly earned as punishment.’

Arthur let Eames drag him away in companionable silence.

It didn’t last long.

‘So.’ Eames started. ‘What happened in your level? It was only a fraction of a second so I can’t be sure, but I’d bet what I saw wasn’t the ceiling of the room.’

And so Arthur told him about how he fought projections in zero gravity and improvised the kick by exploding the elevator.

Eames’ eyes widened more and more, and when the story was finished he stopped them. ‘Why are you being so bloody modest? That’s genius. Never let anyone tell you you have no imagination. You saved us, Arthur!’

‘That’s you, I believe.’ But a small smile was playing on his lips.

‘Well, sometimes I’m an idiot.’ And he kissed Arthur soundly, and Arthur couldn't help kissing back, it had been so long. 

They pulled apart at the same moment and rested their foreheads against each other. ‘Darling, what are you doing after this?’

Arthur’s heart was pounding, but he was still the pointman and ensuring everyone's safety had to be his top priority. ‘Assuming everything goes right, we’ll need to separate, just like we planned.’

‘Can’t we just leave together? Just the two of us.’ Eames pleaded.

‘No. It’s too risky,’ Arthur reasoned, sounding regretful. ‘And I’m long due for a visit home.’

‘Oh. Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. But after that we will talk, right? About… this.’ He gestured helplessly between them, and his eyes were so huge and hopeful, mirroring the same longing Arthur felt, and Arthur couldn't resist.

‘Yeah.’ Arthur promised, entwining their fingers. ‘We’ll talk later.’

It was still raining, but Arthur felt lighter, a ray of hope in the shape of Eames had finally pierced through the thick clouds in his mind. Things were still a mess and very uncertain, and there was nothing to be done now till they woke up, but no matter what the future held, he wouldn’t have to go through it alone. He smiled.

[nesisamess]

my first impressions of the characters from the twitter post thing that DRDTDev made about the other killing game. First off: I love all of them, and half the cast gives me gender envy. I am continually impressed at DRDTDev’s character designing ability, especially in making them interesting, non-boring designs that still communicate their personality and aren’t too complex or over designed. ugh. love them for it (/platonically and/or parasocially)

Also, this post will be kinda assuming you’ve already read the very little info we have about them. If you haven’t, go here: https://href.li/?https://t.co/muTM8j8MPH

ANYWAYS

First off, here’s an image of the characters!!

Beautiful, right?

…

Just take a few seconds to admire them.

Ok! I’ll be going over some theories that relate to all of the characters, and then character by character, and then at the end a little general reflection.

So, one of the main theories that have been posed is that this killing game takes place before the events of DRDT, which I am like 87% sure of (up 7% from my last post, woo). It makes sense, especially in the context of the other theories regarding the characters. As well as this, it just makes sense timeline-wise.

There is also a theory that every character is somehow connected to someone in the current killing game, which I am still a little unsure of. I can definitely see it for some characters, but we know so little about each of them that it’s really hard to say whether or not that’s true. I will be going over who I think could be connected to who, just in case it does end up being true. However, I think a more likely theory is that a couple of the people involved in this killing game (likely the survivors) are connected to the current one, and exactly how much is up for us to discover.

Ok, on to the characters!

First off!

(I don’t know why, but she’s the only one who’s photo is cropped. oh well)

Pretty!! For the sake of this post, I’ll be calling her Spiral (I will be using the names that @xmicrophonyx came up with!).

My first thought when I saw her (besides the obligatory screeching) was that she gave me teacher vibes? That might be since I already had the context of this story being “about a person who wants to become the perfect teacher”. But outside of that, she definitely looks shy, with her hunched over posture and expression. I do adore her color palette, and the pops of teal add a lot.

In terms of a possible talent/role, I still think she gives teacher-y vibes, whatever that means, although outside of that I would think her talent is something a little more professional, considering her attire being formal (the coat, top, and scarf most of all). So other possibilities could be a secretary, librarian, buisness woman, etc.

Spiral could also be some kind of fancy art critic, or someone who works with the Spurling Foundation, if we need to connect her to the current killing game somehow.

—

Next up!

The boy!!!!

I’m going to be honest with you. I think he’s my favorite. His demeanor, the neon green jacket, the fingerless gloves, the cap, the khaki capri pants, the aura of a 14 year old shoujo protagonist—he is the moment. The fan name for him is Soundwave.

I think he likely deals with music, since the pattern on his shirt reminds me of sound recordings. Specifically, he probably is into the more technical side of music, such as EDM or techno or something like that (I know pretty much nothing about music, so take my word with a grain of salt).

Because of this, I think Soundwave would be connected to J. J also is in a similar sort of technical profession, so I think that maybe he could be someone who ends up working with J in the future/has worked with J or something like that.

There’s one thing with Soundwave that also is present in 2 of the other characters—he looks quite a bit younger than most of the cast. He’s shorter, yes, but his proportions also make him seem younger. However, the DRDTDev specifies that all of the characters present are 18 or above, so it likely doesn’t mean anything. People can just look young, after all.

I think that’s all, but I’m really excited to learn more about this character because he just seems so fun :)

—

Oh boy, let’s talk about them…

Hello there, XF. I will also be trying my best to use all of his pronouns! (Those being he/she/they). I am so happy to have yet another gender-non-conforming character in the general DRDT universe, and it is amazing to see such a wide array of diversity and representation in this cast, as well as the cast of the current killing game. Genuinely, I am just… blown away.

She is also the character which we have the strongest connection to the current killing game/a character from the current killing game, that being Min. Min mentions in her bonus episode that an organization called XF-Ture Tech were the ones to sponsor her for the test to become the Ultimate Student. On XF’s coat is an XF-Ture Logo. As well as this, they have the exact same tie clip that Min has.

PLUS, on top of this, he has the same purple/pink eyes that Min has. That last detail almost made me think they were related, but I don’t necessarily believe so. I mean, they might be, but I’m more inclined to believe that XF is just affiliated with/the leader of XF-Ture. There are A LOT of theories for her (along with a lot of simping ahem), but I won’t be mentioning all of them.

If they are the founder of XF-Ture Tech, I imagine their talent would be something like Ultimate Founder, Ultimate Inventor, Ultimate CEO, or something in that vein. He may not be the founder, however, and instead may just work for XF-Ture Tech. I’m not entirely sure, but I am inclined to believe that she is the founder because of the pink eyes. I have a theory that Min actually wears contacts, and that’s why her eyes look the same as XF’s. I may be totally wrong about this, and I thought that DRDTDev already said they weren’t, but I looked through the QnAs and I couldn’t find anything saying that. Unless it is confirmed somewhere, or it gets confirmed, that’s my theory for now!

As well as this, in the chapter 2 part 1 QnA, DRDTDev mentions that Min’s least favorite color(s) are pink and white together, because it’s “annoying”. Since that is a part of XF’s color palette, that draws an obvious connection between the two of them. If Min has had a lot of interaction with XF, and perceives them as annoying, this could be the reason for that connection. It definitely furthers the theory that Min and XF are connected. I’m pretty sure I barely scratched the surface in terms of what has been theorized about them, so I recommend you check out @accirax @googledetective and the posts they made, as well as any of the posts that are bound to be made by the rest of the DRDT theorists.

—

Him!!!!!!!

For all of you who don’t know, this character uses he/him pronouns and I absolutely love him for that :,) I am truly just… flabbergasted at how amazing DRDTDev continues to be in adding representation to their stories, and not only that, but doing such a good job of it.

Anyways! I will be calling him Dandelion after the dandelion in his hair.

As far as what we can deduce based on his outfit and demeanor: obviously this is a character who messes around with gender presentation (we stan) and doesn’t fall into the rigid categories that many cultures try to enforce. He also looks somewhat naive, and young (though all of these characters are ~18, of course). I also definitely don’t think his talent is something physically demanding, since he seems pretty skinny, and his clothes don’t look like they would be good for running around in.

However, this character has a few things that might key us in to what his talent might be. The first of which is his clothing, since my first thought on seeing it was that it looked trendy, or like something an influencer would wear. In a way that kind of juxtaposes their outfit, however, he has a dandelion in his hair, through the band keeping it up. It is very different from the rest of his color palette, and dandelions are usually considered ‘weeds’, which makes me think that Dandelion’s talent is instead something plant-based.

Since that dandelion is just so different from the rest of his outfit, I believe the latter is true, and that his talent is something like the Ultimate Botanist.

In terms of characters he might be connected to, my first thought was Levi. They both are fashionable, and if my previous thought of Bunny being an influencer or something of the like, it makes sense for Levi to know them somehow. Still, it’s a shaky theory.

—

I love asymmetrical designs, and the green/blue hair strand balances out his hair really well. I do also really like the strap on his leg, it gives him a slightly edgier look. I will be calling him “Scale” for convenience (I had names for each of these characters before someone came up with better ones, but @pastelclownkitty and I actually had the same idea for this guy!).

So, firsts things first: I do not think he is Elliot Cuevas. I saw this theory, considered it, and have come to the conclusion it doesn’t make sense (at least to me. if this is one of your theories that’s totally fine!). Elliot is described, by DRDTDev in the chapter 2 part 1 QnA, as having looked “shockingly similar” to how Charles looks now. I think the comparison is vague at best, not shocking. They do both have purple hair and dark skin, but both shades of those things are darker for Scale.

In terms of talent, the pattern of his shirt has been pointed out, and I agree that it probably relates to his talent. In fact, Scale somewhat reminds me of an anglerfish, with that bright green in his eyes and that strand of hair. I don’t know, I think I’m just saying things at this point.

Due to the mentioned factors above, I believe his talent is related to fishing or swimming, something like the Ultimate Angler. I can’t discern his build from under his clothing, but he looks a little skinny to be the Ultimate Swimming Pro or anything like that.

Ok. I’m sorry, but he looks a little… Fishy (don’t mind the pun). Maybe it’s how calm he is, or his mouth, but he reminds me of Rantaro somewhat. I love his design, though, and I think his color palette is supremely cool. I also like how his hair highlight is very faintly rainbow. It reminds me of how when you look at water a certain way, it shows a rainbow.

—

Our protag!! Or, well, Teacher.

Now, I’m pretty sure almost everyone agrees that this character is the Ultimate Teacher, or something of the like. He also has an ID card which says:

This ID card is the property of Hope’s Peak Academy. Use of this ID card by any person other than the rightful holder is prohibited. Report lost or stolen ID cards by contacted 555-483-7367.

(Thank you to @weightedblankettt for the blurry text translation!)

Now, numbers starting with 555 are used for fictional phone numbers, specifically in North America, which is how we’re able to tell that this killing game’s participants probably come from the same Hope’s Peak that the participants of the current killing game are from. Other than that, it doesn’t really tell us much, other than our Protag has an ID card for Hope’s Peak. This leads us to believe that he may be staff, however DRDTDev confirms that these are 11 students.

One thing, though, that I think may be something…

What if Teacher is, instead of just a student, a student teacher? Basically, what if he is someone who comes in to help the actual teachers with the class load and such, but isn’t a classmate of the rest of the Ultimates. Either that, or he’s just a student who carries around his ID card from a lanyard. Like a weirdo (/j).

Now: The Mai thing. Many people think that Teacher may be a relative of Mai, or connected to her in some way, due to the red in his hair, on his shoes, and on the inside of his coat. However, the red used with his colors is very different from Mai’s red. Another theory to why he might be related to Mai is because his eyes are always closed in all the art we’ve seen of him, so maybe he’s related to one of the cast and DRDTDev is keeping his eyes closed to not spoil who. I do believe this part, just not with Mai.

Okay well, here my theory goes:

Teacher is the older brother of Teruko. Teruko mentions in chapter 1 episode 4 that she has an older brother, but they were separated when she was 5. She likely doesn’t remember much about him at all (and I suspect that he was the one who Teruko says she “couldn’t remember the face” of as well). Although they don’t have the same hair color, they do have a very similar skin color, and the closed-eye thing could be just as true with Teruko as with Mai. As well as this, most characters in all of DRDT have a gradient on their eyelashes. 3 characters who don’t? Mai, Teruko, and now Teacher.

Imma be honest, it’s a bit of a crack theory, but I kinda like it, and think it’s interesting. I’m pretty sure I’m going to be the only one to believe this haha

Oh wait! I almost forgot! The whole thing on him being the “Teacher” referenced in secret text. I don’t have much to say on that except that yeah, that’s probably true. Maybe. Who knows.

—

Sigh, I love men.

I’ll be calling this dude Mint, which I know is separate from the names that @xmicrophonyx came up with, but… I think it’s cute, so. First off, his design is great, yada yada, and I love his little cropped jacket. Very cute.

I definitely think his design is pretty sporty, especially with the layers of the undershirt, over shirt, and jacket, along with the coat around his waist. My first thought for him is that he does some kind of racing, either with cars or motorcycles, because that’s what his jacket reminds me of. Race car drivers do wear gloves, so this would make sense for that. I imagine this isn’t his actual racing clothes, instead just casual clothes, but there are still elements of his racing clothes in there. Along with this, it makes sense that he’d have his hair tied back so then he could fit it under his helmet and it wouldn’t get in his face too much (although I suspect his ponytail is too high to fit under a helmet. Oh well, he might wear it lower on race days).

His personality seems like it would fit that sort of thing as well, since he looks serious and somewhat aggressive. He also has those little marks under his eyes. I’m not entirely sure what they’re for, but I’m sure I could connect it back somehow if I wasn’t working on this post for like 3 hours and had any energy whatsoever to do research into it (I just got home from a very long car ride, so keep in mind I am still somewhat delirious). Idk. Maybe he just wanted to look pretty/intimidating/whatever so he put markings under his eyes.

—

A Child?!? Well, no, probably not, but she does look very, very young. Perhaps it’s the fact she’s right next to Teacher, who I’m pretty sure is the tallest out of the cast? Maybe it’s also the fact that the color that dominates her design is pink, and her complimentary color is baby blue.

So, her design is pretty clearly inspired by sheep/rams, since her pupil is the same shape as them, her braids are coiled up similarly to ram horns, and the bottom of her coat/dress looks like sheep wool. The bell on her bow also looks like the pupil of a sheep, too. I actually had a phase of drawing people with that type of pupil, too, because I thought it looked so interesting and unique. I still think characters with those kind of eyes are pretty cool.

Since her design looks so much like a sheep/ram, you would think that was involved in her talent, however in her eye you can see a little needle. That makes me think she’s a tailor or seamstress or something like that. Perhaps, since wool is a big material used for fabric, she cares for sheep and then makes fabric out of their wool, or something in that vein.

She seems pretty peppy and happy, so I assume she would take on an Eden-esque role in this killing game (Though, I assume, she is actually far different, and likely more naive than Eden is).

—

Our girl Fire! She is hot, amiright? (Cue the applause). I don’t know what came over me, with that pun. Maybe the spirit of Whit or something.

But no, seriously, she is certainly a… very attractive woman. The snakebite piercings, eyebrow piercings, nose piercings, and bellybutton piercing? Oh my. A win for the girlkissers. A win indeed.

She certainly gives aggressive energy, like she would fight you (and win, obviously. It wouldn’t even be a competition). She looks like she could take Xander. Also!! I really like her teeth, because one of my teeth stick out like that too. I’m pretty sure it’s the one in the exact same spot as her, just mirrored. I’ve always kind of liked it.

Now, her outfit is definitely very sporty, though I’m unsure of which sport exactly. Her abs and chunky gloves give the vibe of something like a boxer or weightlifter, but she also has chaps on. I’m truly unsure if the chaps are just decorative or if she actually does ride horses (I want to say they’re just decorative because white chaps? Not a good idea. No white clothes are really a good idea when you ride horses a lot. Especially if the horses are unruly lol). Plus, she has a lot of skin exposed, and I can say from experience that flies and bugs are a bitch, and there are a lot when horses are involved.

I also just wanted to point out that Fire and Ice (her brother, who I’ll be talking about next) have eyes that are half brown and half grey, and they each have a color palette of either brown or grey and another color (the extra colors are also complimentary). I personally believe this is because the siblings/twins are very different, and likely don’t get along too well, but that’s just a theory. A DRDT theory. I’m mentally unwell, I think.

[carlos-in-glasses]

Carlos-in-Glasses Goes to Paris

For prosperity I’ve written up my experience of the First Responders Reunion Convention – which is my first convention experience. And what an overwhelmingly good and stressful time it was. Under the cut is my attempt to capture my memories and the essence of it, rather than a transcription of panels and meeting rooms, as others have already done the good work (or will be). I hope you find this interesting and useful if you do read, and if you have any specific questions (including about travelling alone/logistics/issues I had) I’ll do my best to provide a coherent answer.

I am very tired and this is slightly manic but here we go:

Friday: If you are among those who waited in line for three hours to register for the convention, even if I did not see or interact with you….I feel we are spiritually bonded forever by the experience. Blimey, crikey, and bloody hell. It was not clear at all how long the wait would be, but I was not expecting that! However, there was an undeniable thrill in the air. I was in pain all over, yet happy. By the late evening, dinner was half a tube of Pringles and a glass of red wine.

Saturday: Breakfast was four croissants. I actually recommend this because they really did carry me through until lunch. Not long after arriving, we were milling about in the lobby waiting for the opening ceremony to begin - when Ronen walked past up on the mezzanine/ balcony thing, waving to us, all fabulous and just….there in the flesh?!!!...and revealing his hair. We’d speculated that he’d dyed it pink or the bisexual pride flag colours, or “wouldn’t it be funny if it’s just brown?!” And it was brown! And it WAS Funny.

The opening ceremony was a trip lol. Holy shit. They played a music video compilation of the actors from each show (I never want to hear How to Save a Life by The Fray ever again. Jk jk don’t come for meee). There was an undulation of incredibly loud screaming whenever particular actors popped up on screen, so it was like being on a rollercoaster that wasn’t moving. Adrenaline was high by the time all the actors walked out on stage and say hello. It’s hard to explain exactly how bonkers it is to be in the same physical space as Ronen, Rafa, Sierra and Natacha and see their non-TV dimensions… TANGENT TIME:

….Speaking of dimensions! I tried to pay close attention to the height difference between Ronen and Rafa, but it’s also an optical illusion in real life? FYI, I’m 5 ft 7 – Ronen didn’t seem massively taller than me, Rafa did seem massively taller than me; next to each other it was like there was nothing in it. But in my photos they’re both much taller than me and Ronen looks slightly the biggest I think 🤔 So I have no clue what’s going on. In fact, I’m more confused than ever.

After the opening ceremony (which I fled from because fuuuck) I was waiting around due to rocking up early for my meeting room by accident. The schedule was a confusing design and I was far from the only person who was doing a sort of 'hit-and-hope' when it came to figuring out where to be and when, especially as things almost immediately overran, so other activities got moved around/ postponed. ANYWAY – Ronen walked right past with a member of staff who was instructing him. I overheard him tell her “It’s okay…I’m a pro at this.” He really did wander around like he owned the place. At one point he strolled through the lobby with an unlit cigarette in his mouth.

My first activity was the meeting room with Ronen and Rafa (ie. a group of a set number of people in a room with actors for half an hour). By chance it turned out that I was sitting almost right next to them, with a gap left for the door between us. So, super close. And obviously they were both mesmerising. This was the meeting room where Rafa said “To catch the murderer, Carlos has to behave like one”, and explained that Carlos would have to murder parts of himself. His emphasis was on how Carlos’ innocence has been taken from him because his father’s life was stolen. For what it’s worth, I interpreted this as Rafa viewing the whole thing very much from an dramatic actor’s standpoint, and how he needs to get into the mindset of Carlos’ particular grief metaphorically, rather than meaning anything literal. He speaks quite intensely and thoughtfully and his choice of words is often bold. For anyone concerned about it, just remember he was asked a question and responded off the cuff the best he could in the moment, with limited time. He doesn’t write the show and I guess he’s making assumptions based on how season 4 left off, like the rest of us, unless he’s had very specific conversations with Tim (which, maybe! But he wouldn’t be able to give anything away. We don’t know anything). Then, when Ronen brought up TK dying (because Ronen always dies in the films/TV he does – using an axe to the chest as an example) it was pointed out that Tarlos is endgame, so he can’t die. Cue Rafa being like “Carlos could die with him! They die together!” I was like goodness me lads it’s early in the morning for this. I needed a brandy afterwards.

Next up was my Tarlos Duo Photoshoot. As noted above, everything had fallen behind schedule, and things were starting to get switched around. Honestly, it was confusing, daunting and stressful (please note: Am VERY easily confused, daunted, and stressed). But thanks to the power of following others and asking questions, I ended up where I needed to be. When it was my turn, Rafa immediately and warmly put his arm around me to pose but Ronen was talking to a staff member, so Rafa and I were just… touching each other for a good few seconds before Ro joined us! I took the opportunity to thank Rafa for doing this for us, but I can’t remember how he responded. Then the photo was taken. I told them they’re both amazing, they said “aw thanks” at the same time, and again I fled the scene. As there are so many people, the shoot you have is super speedy. I advise really trying to keep your cool even though it’s a highly flustering situation. You don’t want it to become a total blur or something you regret, because it really is lovely to be next to them and quickly say a few words and get a keepsake afterwards.

My next activity was autographs and selfies with Natacha and Sierra. A super lovely thing. I gave them cards I'd written (as I also did for Rafa and Ronen the next day). Sierra was an absolute highlight for me. Just the warmest, kindest person. A total joy. She opened her card in front of me and I was like nooooo don't. It truly felt like she’d come to the convention for the opportunity to meet us, rather than the other way around. She told me she liked my outfit and said I look beautiful in pink. Similar to what I said to Rafa, I thanked her and told her I can’t imagine what it’s like for them to do this, expecting her to quickly say “oh you’re welcome” or something. But she started having a mini-philosophical conversation with me about the nature of fame and fandom! Then she said “it is overwhelming in the best way” because she gets to see the human heart behind all the messages etc (I’m paraphrasing). I said “it’s all about love” and she said “yes! It’s all about love, absolutely.” She was a true delight. And Natacha is a blast. She also complimented my pink outfit and I was like ???? Thanks????!!! Gahhh. The selfies came out way more flattering than the photoshoot. The lighting. Oof.

The last Saturday thing for me was the panel with Ronen and Rafa. It was quite brief but there were some real gems. Rafa saying he only has eyes for Tarlos. Ronen saying “Safe in their apartment holding on to each other. I think Carlos is TK’s honeymoon.” I melted. I let our an audible aww.

Sunday: The first thing was a Lone Star quiz in the panel room with Natacha and Sierra. They were so fun and such good sports. Then it was the Lone Star panel, where Natacha, Sierra, Ronen and Rafa were all on stage together answering fan questions. It was really nice to see them all interact, banter and laugh together. Sierra made a point of saying they’re all close in real life and hang out in their free time. There was a great vibe between them and such a good atmosphere in the room. I loved it when Rafa told Ronen that he was out of rhythm when it came to learning the pilot episode line dance; Ronen argued that he smashed it and there's video evidence. Rafa's response was "Sweetie, no."

I then had the autograph and selfie sessions with Rafa and Ronen, but because the Lone Star panel overran, suddenly Ronen had his photoshoot session instead, so I had a clash between going to that or staying downstairs for Rafa. I was trying to figure out what to do until the queen that is @actuallysara got some clarity from a staff member and we went up to Ronen, but by that point the upper level by the studio was crowded and chaotic. Be advised to prepare for disarray if you’ve never been to a convention before. It might be that you experience no scheduling issues or confusion, but just be prepared for the advent anyway. As it happened, I was through quickly for my photo with Ronen – again thanks to Sara locating the door! Ronen, hungover, was wearing his sunglasses, so I wore mine. He did a dumb pose without saying anything; I grinned at the camera and then thanked him and ran off again to get back downstairs where Rafa was still signing autographs. I got to tell him he plays my favourite character of all time and we took a selfie I really love ahhhh. Then Rafa had to leave for his photoshoot – which was my next thing – so I ran back upstairs and was one of the first in line! So I was like “heeey nice to see you again so soon…!” He remembered my name – I guess because he’d only just written it down 😅 I thanked him for the 10th time – just couldn’t stop thanking everyone like I’d caught a disease where the symptom is permanent gratitude. THEN I ran downstairs to do the autograph and selfie with Ronen, who was running late – so that got postponed to the afternoon after we’d already waited a long while. When it did happen it was great - I can't remember what I said to him but I assume it was polite and made sense – although a chaotic queuing system again ensued. A whole long line of us were crushed together in the heat. I had an Aperpol spritz after and when I tell you I’d never needed a drink like that more…

That was it for my paid activities! Unknown to me at the time, my final glimpse of Ronen, Rafa, Sierra and Natacha was when I was sitting on the floor eating Ritz Crackers while they were wandering past on their way to/from whatever they were doing next. It felt so normal to see them around at that point. We gathered for the closing ceremony, thinking we’d see all the actors on stage once more for a goodbye, but the ceremony had to happen without any of the actors because of running late. So, I cherish my ‘seeing them in the hallway’ memories.

Overall feelings and would I do it again? If you’ve never been to a convention before but want to, do go into it with open eyes: There’s potentially a lot of waiting around and standing in line for a long time in a hot space (sometimes the line is more like a shapeless crowd and you don’t know where it begins and ends). Some of the activities are quite rushed. They fall behind schedule easily and you have to be agile about where to go next and what to do. The Dream It team worked super hard and could do with employing more staff in stewarding roles, ideally wearing something that identifies them as such (the staff blended in with the visitors of the convention). But I don’t know the economics of their staffing situation so maybe they can’t grow the team. Anyway, having more signs up also would have been useful. When you do get your moment with Ronen, Rafa, Sierra, Natacha though – or whoever you have come to see – it really is beautiful and meaningful.

Right now, I’m flipflopping – but mainly I think once is enough for me, unless they come to a convention the UK. There’s a couple of aspects I’d like to ‘do over,’ but perhaps not enough to try to recreate the magic a second time, given the expense of it?? That might change over the coming months – we’ll see! I went to this convention with the goal of meeting Ronen and Rafa (with Natacha and a Sierra being a glorious bonus as I booked it long before they were announced as guests) to tell them in person thank you and I love you – and I achieved that. I do think it was worth my money, but it is very expensive and tiring. I was lucky to be in a good position to pay for it this year, which might not be the case going forward. You really need to be able to afford to do it, and genuinely want to do it, knowing you’re paying money for something that is going to have some hard and challenging aspects as well as the amazing and joyful. Personally, I love that I went once. I didn’t love the Super Endurance Test of 2023 that was standing in line for three hours on Friday after travelling hahaaaaaa god. I loved the selfies and autograph sessions. I didn’t love the photoshoot outcomes but I loved that I’ve had Rafa’s large hand on my shoulder because I'm slutty so. I love that I looked into both his and Ronen’s eyes and told them how great they are. I love that I uploaded my selfie with Rafa to my instastory and he viewed it, so there’s just a line of my friends’ names, then actuallyrafa, then a line of my friends’ names 🤣

I also want to note that in real life, compared to footage of them in interviews/insta lives/wherever, I think you get even more of a sense of just how different they are to their characters. It made me respect them all even more than I already did, which I didn’t think was possible. They are SO talented.

BUT most importantly: The reason why this was so brilliant was @actuallysara, without whom I wouldn’t have thought I could travel alone to Paris and do this at all. Sara, meeting you and giving you a big hug was also the dream. You are so helpful and knowledgeable and kind ,and once again your flags were a fantastic idea and I’m so happy I got to sign them. I hope I get to see you again very soon. Thank you from the depths of my soul. @meditating-honey-badger (and your fabulous companion…!) it was a true delight to hang out, and chill out, and have such funny and deep conversations. You are an absolute light and I loved meeting you. I hope so much to see you again too. Like Sara, it could never be too soon. And @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut. What can I say. What can I possibly say. I want to make drinking on rooftop bars while talking about writing our thing. I’ve never done that with anyone else. We really went through this side by side and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I already miss you and I thank you too. You are, in fact, the warmest doughnut in town. All of you, forever ❤️. You made it what it was.

(Digitally applied giant aviator sunglasses and some editing so the Tarlos duo photoshoot doesn't count as a face reveal. Thank you also to the lovely people who made bracelets and handed them out.)

[darcyfangirlsfrequently]

There are easier ways to keep secrets

Summary: Emily confides a secret to Penelope. Penelope, in an effort to keep it a secret, tells a white lie. Eventually the truth is revealed, and everyone has a good laugh. And maybe a relationship or two starts.

Word count: 2017

Can also be read here on Ao3

“Can I tell you something personal?” Emily asked. “Something that I’d really appreciate you not telling other people, but it’s really important to me and I’m telling you because I trust you and know you’ll support me?”

Penelope looked concerned. “Yeah, for sure. I can do important. What’s going on? Are you okay? Is this a champagne conversation or a box of tissues conversation?”

“Uh, neither? It’s really not something I want you making a huge deal out of.”

“Emily, why are you telling me, then? I make a big deal out of everything! I make a big deal about eating the last avocado before it’s gone bad.”

Emily laughed. “Okay, okay, fair point. But it’s not something that needs a big reception, okay? At least, not yet. I’m sure once I work up the nerve to tell everyone else you’ll throw me a party, but not yet.”

“Oh, this is only a temporary secret? And it’s a good, party-worthy thing? Wonderful I can do that. Yes yes, tell me please, tell me now, Emily Prentiss, or I may just explode.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll tell you,” Emily said, putting her hands on Penelope’s arms to calm her down. She took a deep breath before continuing. “I’m lesbian. And that is the first time I have said those words out loud to someone other than my reflection.”

Penelope’s eyes welled up, and she threw her arms around her friend. “Oh my god, Emily! Thank you for telling me! I’m so proud of you, I love you so much, I am so happy that you’re coming to these realizations about yourself, this is so great! So so great! As if you weren’t enough of a history maker already, miss First-Female-Unit-Chief-of-the-BAU. Once you tell everyone you’ll be the first openly gay female Unit Chief of the BAU, and the first gay one in general! You are just awesome on top of awesome on top of awesome. There is so much awesomeness in you, Emily Prentiss. This is so amazing!” 

Emily wrapped her arms tight around Penelope. “And this is exactly why I told you first. You are truly such a great friend, Penelope.”

Penelope was hugging her so hard they were swaying from side to side. “I’m. So. Happy. For. Youuuuuu.”

Emily laughed. “Thank you. Seriously.”

“So… any ladies you have your eye on? Do you have a girlfriend? Is that why you told me?”

“No, no girlfriend yet.”

“Yet? Oh so there is someone.”

“There is a… person of interest,” Emily conceded. “Although I highly doubt that will go anywhere, but it’s okay. I’m just… happy for the realization. It’s nice to be able to put a name to this way I’ve always felt, and how different it is, you know? I was told how I was supposed to feel, and with guys it never made sense, I didn’t understand. But now… wow. They weren’t exaggerating.”

Penelope giggled. “No, they were not.”

***

Penelope came nearly running up to Emily the next day with her quintessential I-did-a-thing smile. “So, I did a thing.”

Emily smiled at her. “I gathered. What thing did you do?”

Penelope extended her hand, showing Emily a ring that appeared to have some sort of sunset gradient on it. “I got you this ring. It’s kind of a subtle lesbian flag design. I thought maybe if you wanted to wear it, it may be a nice way for you to subtly hint-slash-come out to the team and see how long it would take them to notice you were wearing it, but also if you don’t want it that is totally and completely cool because this needs to happen on your own timeline and no one can force you to tell anyone because that’s literally traumatic.”

“Thank you, but I’m just not sure I’m ready for that,” Emily replied. “I think I want to adjust to being out to one person before I’m out to everyone.”

“That makes perfect sense. In that case…” Penelope slipped the ring onto her own finger. “I shall wear it in support of you because you are my friend and I love you, Emily Prentiss.” Emily grinned widely. “I love you too, Penelope.”

***

In the end, it was probably a good thing that Emily had elected not to wear the ring, because Tara’s eagle eyes spotted it right away.

“Hey, Penelope, is that ring the lesbian flag?”

Penelope lit up. She loved it when people picked up on the Pride colors she was wearing, even if they weren’t her Pride colors, and even though she shouldn’t have been surprised, because it was Tara, and Tara had a jean jacket with the pansexual flag embroidered on the back of it in flowers. “Why, yes, it is, Miss Keen Eyes.”

JJ squinted at Penelope. “Is there… something you’re trying to tell us, Penelope?”

Penelope almost denied it, but then froze. She couldn’t tell them the truth, she had to make something up. “Um, yes. I’m lesbian.” Well. That was certainly something.

Tara affectionately punched Penelope on the arm. “Hey, that’s awesome! Thanks for telling us!” 

She received warm words with similar sentiments from the rest of the team, but she’d be lying if she said Luke’s reaction, his slightly pinched face, bothered her the most. She’d also be lying if she said there wasn’t… something between them. Something he now obviously thought he had been imagining, and was actually completely one-sided. And, because he was a complete and utter angel, he’d probably feel guilty about the fact that he’d been flirting with a lesbian, even though he’d had no way of knowing. Oh, and, also, he hadn’t been flirting with a lesbian.

“I have to say,” Tara said, “I was not expecting that at all. I mean, I honestly thought you swung both ways, and you were going to say you were wearing the ring in solidarity of a friend or something, or in support of Lesbian Visibility Week.”

Penelope almost face-plamed. Either one of those options would have made more sense than the one she’d gone with, especially since neither of them were lies. But Penelope was trying to keep a secret and she panicked, so she was stuck in the predicament she put herself in. So she shrugged. “I am full of surprises.”

*** 

“You did not have to lie for me like that,” Emily told her later.

“I know, but I panicked. Whatever, it’s fine. It’s not totally a lie. I am into women, I just have to pretend I’m not also into men.”

“You mean, pretend you don’t have feelings for Luke.”

“Yeah, and I’ve been doing that anyway, so— I mean. What? No!”

Emily smirked and cocked an eyebrow at her. “Penelope…” 

“Okay fine maybe I have something of a huge thing for him but that is beside the point. The point is, I already push those feelings away, so I can do that for however long I need for this. It’s no biggie, I promise.”

***

Tara was, unsurprisingly, the most chill in regard to her reaction to Penelope’s “news.” More than anything, she was just glad it was confirmed that she wasn’t the only queer person on the team anymore.

Reid didn’t say much on the subject, just gave Penelope a hug, and occasionally lovingly rambled off some statistics to her about people who came out later in life. Penelope took note of them to relay back to Emily.

JJ, Matt, and Rossi filled their roles as supportive straight friends, even if they all were a little shocked, since they were sure she had feelings for Luke, but, after all, what did they know?

Emily worked on her confidence. She appreciated Penelope infinitely, but she didn’t want her to have to lie for too long. Plus, the team’s positive reactions only made her feel more secure in her chosen family. She knew they’d love her no matter what. 

Luke felt guilty. He’d been blatantly flirting with Penelope for years, he couldn’t imagine how uncomfortable he had made her. He hoped she wasn’t angry at him. He immediately backed off, more than happy to fill a supportive male friend role like Reid or Matt.

Unbeknownst to him, Penelope was saddened by the sudden lack of extra affection from Luke. Sure, she understood and respected it, since she knew he was just deciding not to flirt with someone who, as far as he knew, would never be interested. He was respecting her. But she missed it. Missed him. If she had ever needed confirmation that she wasn’t imagining the way he felt about her, she had it. And she could do nothing about it.

***

Emily decided she had had enough of the secrets. She wanted to free Penelope from her predicament, and, honestly, she was more than a bit curious to see if she could truly win over a certain tall, dark, and gorgeous woman that had stolen her heart, like Penelope was so certain she could. 

“I have an announcement to make,” Emily stated one morning. Her team looked up at her with expectant smiles. “Penelope and I have been lying to you guys for a few months now.”

Penelope perked up. “Oh, are we telling them?”

“Yes, we are.”

Tara looked between the two of them. “Are you two…?” Emily wondered if she heard a slight twinge of jealousy there. 

Emily laughed the comment off. “No, no, we’re not.” She extended her hand to Penelope, who handed her the ring.

JJ spoke up, confused. “Wait, what’s going on?”

“I came out to Penelope as lesbian two months ago,” Emily explained. “She got me that ring as a small gift, but said that if I wasn’t ready to wear it yet, she’d wear it in support of me. When you guys saw it, she came up with an excuse.”

Tara burst out laughing. “By telling us you were a lesbian? Penelope, there are easier ways to keep secrets!”

“I know! But I didn’t want to out Emily and I panicked. Plus I’m bi anyway so it was only really half a lie.”

“Anyway,” Emily continued. “Yeah. I’m lesbian. So now you know.” 

Emily was quickly met with the same warm reception that was given to Penelope, although it was interspersed with a lot more, “I can’t believe you guys tricked us for months.” She couldn’t have been happier in that moment.

Tara came by Emily’s office at the end of the day. “Hey.”

The sound of Tara’s voice alone was enough to make Emily light up like a Christmas tree. “Hey.”

“I still can’t believe you two pulled the wool over our eyes for months. I can’t believe Garcia didn’t squeal.”

“Nah, she’s good with really big, personal secrets. I think she might hate the idea of outing me more than she hates the idea of keeping a secret.”

“Yeah, that makes sense for her.” She looked at Emily, and something about the way Tara’s gaze traveled her made Emily heat up from the inside out. “I am really happy you felt comfortable enough telling us.”

“Thank you. I think I was just trying to wrap my head around the discovery myself, you know?”

“Yeah, I know. Do you wanna go out and get drinks tonight to celebrate?”

“Sure. Who else is coming?”

“I was thinking, maybe tonight… it would just be you and me?” Tara’s confident smile never once wavered.

Emily’s grin threatened to split her face in two. “Yeah. Yeah, I’d like that a lot.”

***

“So…” Luke started when Penelope joined him in the elevator. 

“So.”

“So… you actually managed to keep a secret for longer than twelve hours.”

She slapped him on the shoulder with her purse. “Shut up. Newbie.”

“And… you’re bi.”

“Mhm. You sound relieved,” she teased. “Are you glad I’m not lesbian?”

“Not that there’s anything wrong with it, obviously,” he answered. “But maybe, selfishly… I’m a little glad? Does that make me a bad person?”

Penelope smiled and slipped her hand into his. “Well, maybe, selfishly, I’m a little glad you’re a little glad. And I happen to think you’re a great person.”

[minibeth]

soon you’ll get better (but it’s chronic) part 1

fandom: percy jackson

characters: Nico, Percy, Annabeth

about: Nico has a sudden onset of a chronic illness and struggles to get a diagnosis

summary: Nico faints in the dining pavilion

word count: 632

notes: post TLO, eventual solangelo

ao3 link: <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/

Nico di Angelo knows that something is wrong with him.

Why won’t anyone listen?

Nico was used to feeling fatigued. Shadow traveling would leave him exhausted, and usually, he would sleep for a day or two, and wake up feeling right as rain. Until one day, when he got out of bed and felt his heart start racing. Okay. He was okay. He was probably just drained from using shadow travel to run an errand for Chiron the other day. Nico started to get ready to walk over to the dining pavilion and meet Annabeth, who had left a note for when he got back asking to talk to him. He walked across his cabin to the ornate dresser that held his clothes. However, after a few steps he stumbled, feeling his vision blur for a moment. That’s strange. Nico never continued to feel woozy after he’d slept and replenished his strength.

Nico sorted through his drawers before reaching down to pick up the hoodie he’d worn the previous day off the floor. When he stood up again, his head swam. He could hear his heart thumping loudly in his ear. Geez, I get it, you can slow down now. Nico slumped to the floor and felt his wrist at his pulse point. He wasn’t exactly a child of Apollo, but Nico was pretty sure that his heart wasn’t supposed to beat that fast. Nico grabbed a half-empty water bottle from his nightstand, drinking the remaining water in two large gulps. He wiped his mouth on the sleeve of his hoodie and stood up slowly, steadying himself before walking out of the cabin. I’ll take a nap after breakfast. I just have to make it through breakfast.

When he got to the dining pavilion, Nico noticed Percy waving at him from a table, where Annabeth sat next to him. Nico slid onto the bench across from them, noticing that the couple had already filled their plates.

“So, Nico, I was thinking that you could help me with some renovation ideas I have for Cabin 13. Could you come by after we eat and give some blueprints the go-ahead?” Annabeth glanced at him as she methodically buttered her toast.

Nico blinked in surprise, then quickly worked to keep his face from showing any disappointment. “Uh, yeah, I can do that.” There goes my nap. Nico loved her, but Annabeth had a talent for making 5 minutes turn into 5 hours when she was talking about her designs.

Percy groaned in faux irritation. “She’s been working on those blueprints for forever.” He took a bite of his blueberry muffin and shook his head. “I’m losing my girlfriend to your open floor plan.”

Annabeth punched his arm. “That’s not true, Seaweed Brain! Are we or are we not having a movie night tonight? And don’t talk with your mouth full in front of my client! It’s very rude.” She winked at Nico, who gave a weak smile. “You’d better hurry if you want some food. I saw Travis and Connor heading over there, and they looked like they had something up their sleeves. Literally.”

Nico never had a large appetite, especially after shadow traveling, so he just willed his goblet to fill with chocolate milk and held it up to show Annabeth. “I think I’m okay with this. I’m probably too late to avoid bugs in my eggs, anyway.” Annabeth’s brow furrowed slightly, but she didn’t say anything.

Nico drank his milk and waited for Annabeth to finish, so they could walk together to Cabin 6. When she and Percy got up, he swung his legs over the bench and stood up quickly. That was a mistake. Nico lost his footing and stumbled, gripping tightly onto the picnic table for support. His heart was pounding again, faster now. Is this what a heart attack feels like? His airway wasn’t obstructed, but he could hear himself gasping for breath. Nico felt like he was having an out-of-body experience, watching himself struggle to stay upright. As if on cue, his legs buckled, and he fell back, falling into someone. Nico struggled to keep his eyes open as he heard voices talking over each other, but was unable to distinguish what was being said. He could feel his eyelids fluttering as his head lolled back. Someone started shaking him and saying something, but Nico ignored it as his consciousness quickly faded. One little nap wouldn’t hurt. And he was so…so…tired.

[murdrdocs]

everybody, scream! pt I / II

description. murder has come to hawkins. even though you have your boyfriend steve at your side, you can’t help but feel like murder is coming for you too.

includes. SMUT 16+, illusions to murder, usual scream business, good boyfriend steve, eddie cameo, lots of angst omg, it’s so sad

a/n: hello! welcome to part one of everybody, scream! i’m a bit iffy abt this bc i feel like it’s boring, but it’s hard to write a scream au since scream does best on film. anyway, i hope this is somewhat enjoyable! part 2 soon! (threesome included in that one)

word count: 6.4k+ words

Everything on her body aches.

It takes an unusual amount of effort for her to push open the front door. It’s moderately heavy, but her father has been complaining about it getting stuck in the doorframe lately. He hadn’t been able to fix it, so she has to use her weight to get it open.

She jams her shoulder into the door, and falls into her parents home when it gives way.

The area already starts to sting and she adds that to her list of injuries this week.

Making her way to the kitchen, she pulls open the freezer and grabs the mostly empty box of frozen burritos. She missed when her parents had leftovers on the stove for her. She misses her mom's chicken pot pie, or her dad's casserole.

The taste of frozen food is familiar to her now, and she knows that any food is better than none.

Two burritos are spinning around the microwave plate on a paper towel when the phone rings.

No one else is home, which leaves her to answer it for herself. She sighs, rolls her eyes and slowly approaches the phone.

“Hello?” she asks once the plastic is pressed to her ear.

“Hello?” The other person is a man. His voice is deep, and sounds a bit staticy, like there is some sort of interference. She’s not phased, the landline wasn’t the highest quality.

“Who’s this?”

“Who’s this?”

The microwave beeps behind her and she glances over her shoulder. She can taste the frozen meat and beans on her tongue already, and she turns back to the phone with determination.

“Billy?” she asks, her voice now hopeful.

“Billy?” she asks, her voice now hopeful.

“Billy?” she asks, her voice now hopeful.

“Who’s Billy?” And all of that hope is replaced with frustration.

“Look, Billy,” She turns to face the microwave in its entirety. Hopefully, this call won’t last much longer. “If this is some sort of prank call, it’s really not going that well. I have more important things to do than talk to some dick.”

Before Not-Billy can respond, she clicks the phone back onto the receiver.

She’s two steps away from the microwave when the phone rings again.

“Fuck!” She curses. She takes the final two steps to the microwave, pulls her burritos out, and takes a bite out of one of them. Throwing them onto the counter, her feet hurriedly carry her to the phone, where she picks it up, presses it to her ear with a little too much force, and yells, “What?!” into the bottom end.

“You hang up on me again and I’ll gut you like a fish!”

“What the fuck?” Her voice is shaky. Fear starts to trickle down her body until she can feel it at the tips of her nerve endings. Sweat breaks through the barrier of her skin, and she suddenly feels like she’s being watched.

She’s surrounded by windows, her parents made sure that their home had lots of natural light. Before, she loved and appreciated the design. Now, she curses the amount of ground she has to cover.

“Billy, this isn’t funny.” She stretches the coiled cord as she reaches the first window. She turns the lock, tests the window to make sure it’s secure, and then pulls the curtains closed.

“Not Billy.” He sounds chipper. He’s getting off on this, she realizes as she makes her way to the next set of windows.

“I’ll call the cops. They can be here in 15 minutes.” The warning is futile, but it’s worth a try.

He laughs, slow and deep and menacing. “Oh? Then they won’t be quick enough. By then, you’ll be hanging from the tree by your wrists, with your guts all over that perfect lawn of yours.”

“What do you want from me?” The second set is secure, but her hand slips when she tries to lock the third. She recovers as if it never happened.

“I wanna play a game.”

“A game?”

“Yes,” he speaks slowly. “A game.”

“What kind of game?” There’s only one set of windows left, and she knows that the phone cord can’t stretch that far. She stands, holding the phone to her ear, looking out of the window.

“Horror movie trivia. Tell me, do you like scary movies?”

She sniffs. When did her nose start to run?

“I’m not a big fan.”

“Hmm … Well, I’ll start with something easy: What is the name of the actress who plays Laurie in ‘Halloween’?”

She searches her brain, eyes searching the ceiling and her kitchen as if an answer will be hidden there. Just a few weeks ago, her roommates in college were raving about watching ‘Halloween’ since it was officially the season. She couldn’t remember her name for the rest of her life. Until finally:

“Jamie Lee Curtis!”

He chuckled, almost proudly. “Very good. Now, question one.”

“Wait, what? That was question one. I got one right. That should count.”

“That was the practice run. Question one: what is Jason Voorhes preferred weapon?

“Fuck, I don’t know.” Truthfully, she got lucky with the practice question. And she could feel her luck running out.

“Are you giving up? This soon?”

“No.” She was determined. Her eyes found the knife block on her parents' counter. “A knife.”

“Not good enough. What kind of knife?”

“Um,” she pondered, automatically pacing as she thought of as many types of knives as she knew. “The big one. The one people use to fish. Uh, a machete?”

It came out as a question, but she got it right.

“One down. Get two more right, and you win.”

“Question two: What is the infamous line from The Exorcist?”

Now she’s really fucked.

She’s silent.

“Tick tock,” he teases. “Are you finally giving up?”

“Go to hell.” Her teeth are bared and she’s reaching for a knife from the block. Her fingers wrap around the handle, and she pulls it out.

“Wrong answer.”

When her eyes find the window again, a figure is running towards her.

Like with most things that happen back home, you first hear the news through Steve.

It’s a Wednesday when he calls. Just 5 minutes after 5, and you’re picking up the receiver eagerly. This was one of his regularly scheduled calls, so you didn’t even have to wonder if the person on the end would be your boyfriend at all.

“Hey, Stevie.” You’re smiling instantly, hand cupped around the receiver and your back turned to the living room to try and keep some of your dignity. The others were all gathered around the TV, catching up on your apartment's Show of the Month.

You couldn’t remember the name for the life of you, but it provided just enough entertainment to soothe you after a long week, and it was boring enough to lull you to sleep ten minutes before the episode ended. But then you would wake up just before it ended to Steve calling. Every single time. Without fail.

“Hey, pretty girl.” You can hear his smile through the phone, and it makes you giggle quietly and a fluttering feeling makes itself known along your insides.

“What’s going on?”

This was usually where Steve would tell you about his day, and then you would promptly do the same. But instead of excitedly launching into retellings, Steve sighs, long and regretful.

“Steve?” You no longer feel shy and giggly. Now, you’re worried. “What’s wrong?”

“Baby,” he begins, interrupted by your hurried ‘yeah?’.

“Heather Holloway was murdered.”

“What?” Your volume involuntarily increases, and the hand that was cuddling the end of the receiver drops. It begins to shake, and sweat takes over your body. Your throat feels tight, like it’s closing, yet desperately begging for some sort of liquidation. Which you don’t have, as your tongue dries out, saliva disappearing into thin air.

“Yeah,” he sighs. “It, um, it happened last night they think.”

“Oh.” You don’t know what else to say. Your mind is racing, instantly supplying you with images of how it could have been done. You blink, hard, attempting to erase the intrusive thoughts.

“Listen, baby. I’m gonna come get you, okay? Tonight. I want you to be home. Here, with me. Plus, the funeral is gonna be soon and I think you wanna be there. Am I right?”

You’re nodding. “Yeah, I uh, I wanna pay my respects. Come get me, Steve. Please.” Your voice sounds weaker than it should and you don’t notice the tear sliding down your face. Not until it hits your lips just as you stick your tongue out to wet them, and you taste the salt.

You let it stay there as raising your hand to wipe it feels daunting, like lifting a weight that you knew was entirely too heavy for you.

“Okay. I’ll be there soon. Pack your bags.”

You work mindlessly, body on autopilot as it navigates you to your bedroom, your mouth automatically forming responses to your roommates concerns.

“Is everything okay?”

Yeah.

“What happened?”

Something back home.

“Are you leaving?”

Just for a few days.

“Is your family okay?”

They’re fine, thanks.

One of the girls offers to help you pack, but you politely decline in favor of taking some time to calm your mind. Your heart has begun to hammer against your ribs, the intensity, speed, and pressure of it almost making you sick. You swallow it down, though, and force your hands to steady as you begin packing.

You don’t have the sense to plan what you’re packing, your hands just grabbing a few of everything. A couple pairs of underwear, some socks, jeans and sweatpants, a few sweaters, and two of Steve’s sweatshirts.

Everything is more so bunched up than folded in your duffel bag, but it suffices.

You sit at the edge of your bed, anxiously checking the clock on your wall every few minutes, until there’s a knock at your door.

One of your roommates yells “coming!” and you’re already standing, throwing the strap of your duffel over your shoulders and making your way back to the living room.

Steve stands there, just a step into the apartment, and he’s politely talking to your roommate with his hands stuffed in his back pockets.

“Hey,” he says when he sees you, his arms already opening to welcome you.

You find his chest like a magnet, head resting with your ear to his torso, softly hearing the sound of his steady heartbeat.

“Hey,” you croak out, fearing to say anything else as you don’t want to break down in front of the others and embarrass yourself.

“You have everything?” His chest vibrates as he speaks, keeping you alert. Keeping you here.

“Uh, yeah. I think.”

Steve pulls away from you to give you a once over, sadly pulling his lips into a thin line before gently telling you to wait there.

You do, idly rubbing the floor with the torn toe of your converse.

“You call us if you need anything, okay? We can send you notes that you miss and contact your professors for you,” Emma, your roommate, is telling you. She reaches over, never having left from your and Steve’s side just yet, and pulls you into a warm hug that intensely smells of artificial flowers.

You nod and Steve is returning before you can really thank her. In his hands, he has a black dress—one you specially reserved for funerals— in one hand, and a strappy pair of heels in the other.

In all of your mindless packing, you’d forgotten about the funeral.

The sight of the dress makes your nose burn so you avert your gaze to Steve’s brown eyes.

“Ready?” you ask him.

“Let’s go.”

You and Steve say your goodbyes and send thanks to your roommates as Emma closes the door behind you.

It’s just you and Steve then, sitting in his cherry red Beamer, riding an hour back to the place you’d grown up. The place that reminded you of summer, the fourth of July, and your family.

The place that reminded you of death, destruction, and emptiness.

Steve’s house is warm.

A breeze blasts you from behind, causing you to rock on your unsteady feet. Chills rise on your skin and you curl more into Steve’s sweatshirt. But as soon as he turns the key in the knob, and pushes the door open, warmth floods your entire body.

“Have you showered yet?” he asks you, a small frown coming onto his pink lips when you shake your head. “Eaten?” Another head shake.

“Okay,” he sighs. “I’m gonna warm up the shower for you, and then I’ll make you something to eat. Sounds good?”

“Yeah.”

Steve leaves you with a kiss on your cheek and he’s running up the stairs, two at a time. Your converse are fully off and tucked in the corner beside the door when you distantly hear the sound of the shower going.

You hadn’t been to Steve’s parents house in a while. The last time you were here, his parents were too, and their presence added an entirely new warmth to the home. You felt like the lighting was brighter then, and you remembered the happy melodies of the music that they played. You were surrounded by so much love; the love they had for each other, for their son, and for you.

You miss them.

When Steve comes back down, he almost rushes by you and into the kitchen. But you stop him.

“Are your parents coming home?” You sound small, hopeful.

He takes a second to think, to process. But then he nods. “Yeah. They’re flying in tomorrow. Your parents are too.”

Your parents.

In all of your rush, and anxiety, you somehow forgot about your own parents.

They’d gone on a vacation just a few days ago, and they weren’t supposed to be returning until Sunday. But it seems that they are coming back earlier, no doubt to pay their respects along with Steve’s parents.

You give Steve a tight lipped smile and then you’re going your separate ways.

The water is too hot when you step under it.

You could’ve predicted it by how humid the bathroom is whenever you step in, and you could’ve prevented the sting that comes onto your skin by reaching out and turning the nod just a few centimeters to the opposite direction.

But you don’t.

You anticipate the sweltering heat that befalls onto your skin, and you wince once you feel it. But you endure it. You stand there, rigid, fists clenching as you push through the pain, desperate to find the other end.

Against your own personal will, your brain wonders if Heather went through something similar. If she forced herself to endure and fight the pain as she was being attacked. If she desperately were seeking the other end of the tunnel, where she hoped to find bliss and be rid of that intense pain. And that did come to her. In the form of death.

You physically force the thoughts out of your mind with a grunt.

Your hands find your hair, then your scalp, and your fingernails scrub. You know that this isn’t the way to get rid of unwanted, intrusive thoughts. Yet you attempt anyway. Scrubbing and rinsing until your scalp feels like it’s bleeding. Until you’re scared to check under your fingernails, because you fear that you’ll see a bright red that shouldn’t be there.

You go through the rest of your shower attempting to hold your tears back. Your skin gets used to the burn, and you soothe it with the blueberry scented body wash Steve kept in his shower. You wash until you feel like you’ve revealed a new layer of skin. Then, you rinse one final time, letting a few tears fall and blend in with the water, and then you shut it off, step out of the shower, and go about your night.

The pair of panties you hold in your hand are old, frayed, and a size too small. You’d meant to throw them out ages ago, but never got around to it. Knowing that you wouldn’t be able to fit them, you wrap your towel around you and walk out of the bathroom, back into Steve’s room.

He’s sitting at his desk, one hand holding a pencil and the other pushing his brown strands away from his forehead. He’s intensely staring down at something. You don’t bother trying to see what it is.

“Um, can I borrow a pair of your boxers?” He lifts his head from whatever he was looking at on his desk to stare at you. It takes him a second, probably processing what you’d said, but then he nods.

“Of course, sweetheart.” He’s standing, walking to his dresser and pulling out a classic pair of blue checkered boxers, gently placing them in your hand and sending you off with a kiss to your forehead.

When you’re back into the bathroom and slipping the boxers on, you realize that you could’ve searched for a better fit pair of panties in your bag. But the idea seems so draining, and you wanted to feel closer to Steve, so you pull the boxers up, roll the elastic band once to show the brand name, and throw Steve’s sweatshirt over your torso to complete it.

He’s waiting for you outside of the bathroom door, and takes your hand when you close the door behind you. He leads you downstairs to the kitchen, where he gestures for you to take a seat at the island.

The smell of tomato soup soothes you. Your head finds the granite of the counter, content with the chill of the rock slab against your warm cheek. Your eyes close and they don’t open again until a hand shakes you awake, and the smell of a grilled cheese has joined the tomatoes.

“Here. It’s hot, so eat slowly,” Steve instructs you, sliding a plate and a bowl into your line of sight.

You mumble out a ‘thanks’ and slowly devour the small meal your boyfriend has made you.

Just a half hour later, your back is pressed against Steve’s chest. You’d shed the sweatshirt you wore, your naked top half tucked under Steve’s duvet. He’d gotten rid of his shirt, too, so you feel the warmth of his skin at your back.

Sleep has you in its grasp, tight and comforting. But you leave it every so often, unwillingly opening your eyes to find the same bedroom each time.

Except twice. Once, you wake when Steve leaves your back. Another time, you think you hear the phone ringing, not far but dulled behind the thick wood of Steve’s bedroom door. You don’t have time to think of it, and your eyes close once again when the sound of Steve’s breathing returns to act as your white noise.

The haze of the morning has made you forget your predicament.

You’re smiling, giggling, moaning.

The sun slips through the peeled back curtain, sprawls out over your bare skin, warms your body, starting from the outside and working into your muscles and bones.

Steve’s fingers work you open slowly, he curls them in just the right way, knowing when to do so. Your back arches, your legs spread more to let him in.

“Wanna feel you, Steve. I’ve missed you so much.” you whisper in the silent, still bliss of the beginnings of the day.

You feel his lips on your shoulder. They trail to your collarbone, come to the center of your throat where he mumbles against your skin, “Missed you too.”

You feel his thumb slide up the exposed center of your cunt and push your clit. You mewl and the sound melts into a gasp.

“Will you let me feel you? Please?” Steve’s lips trail down from your throat to the center of your chest. He presses at least five kisses there, and then you feel the sharpness of his chin graze your skin as he looks up. Your eyes find him, and you smile softly, suddenly feeling small under his admiring gaze.

“How could I ever deny you?” he says to himself.

One corner of your lips pulls up higher than the other, and you bring your sleep-weighted hand to his hair, tucking away a few strands of hair that came loose behind his ear. They fall out of place again but even the position that it settles in looks purposeful.

“You can’t,” you whisper in a response.

Steve acts fast then. He pulls his fingers out of you, sticks them into his mouth and sucks them clean. He rolls away from you just to kick his boxers off, and then finds his place once more, a hand pushing into the pillow beside your ear and the other holding his cock at the base, aligning himself with your entrance.

Slowly, exhibiting patience that must have been newly acquired, Steve sinks into you. His head stretches you out, and you have a moment of peace before you’re being stretched open once again. It’s been so long since you’ve had Steve, and it seems that your body has reverted as your muscles are straining against him.

Your back arches as a small gasp leaves your lips, and you’re accidentally pulled away from him.

“Stay still, sweetheart,” Steve urges, his now free hand coming to cup your hip. You do as told, although it doesn’t come easy.

Steve barely gives you a moment to rest. Within the time that he’s fully sunken into you, he’s already moving, giving you shallow thrusts that bring him to the hilt each time.

Quickly, you adjust, and your hisses turn into soft gasps. Your hands grab onto Steve’s sides. They slide up and around, until you’re holding onto his shoulders from behind, nails just beginning to scratch and scrape along the still-tanned skin of his back.

Steve’s head nuzzles into the crook of your neck. You feel his breaths on your skin, and then his lips. They trail up until he’s right beside your ear. “That feel good?” he asks you, voice low.

You nod. “Feels so good, Steve.” His rocks are slow, but hard. The force of them pushes you up the bed each time, and eventually, you start to meet him, pushing yourself down in time that he pushes up, taking his thrust and delivering your own at once.

Steve catches on quickly and he groans, the sound sending chills along your arms. “I’m supposed to be doing the work.”

You chuckle a little. “Can’t help but help.” It barely makes sense, but your brain is equally muddled from sleep and Steve fucking you.

He doesn’t complain anymore because you’re starting to grind, pushing and twirling your hips in a way that makes Steve almost growl. You feel his lips part as he bares his teeth, biting down onto your neck just enough to make you aware. It acts as a warning, and Steve’s words solidify it.

“Lemme do the work. Wanna make you feel good.” His hand on your hip pinches you with just the pads of his fingers. He flattens it out and runs his hand along your thigh before trailing it back up to your stomach where he sprawls his fingers out and presses onto your lower abdomen as he thrusts up into you.

Your breath is shaky so you nod instead. But knowing how much Steve loved verbal affirmation, you tried your best to respond.

“Okay.” It’s simple, but it works.

Steve pulls his head out of the crook of your neck to fully face you.

His hair falls onto his forehead, and his jaw is getting more and more slack with each of his own thrusts. You can still see the sleep that has yet to be rubbed off in his eyes. His undereyes are darker than they usually are and the sight makes you pout. Your hand comes up to cradle his face, just so you can press a kiss to his nose and then his lips.

Steve chases you down, refusing to let you get far from him in favor of pressing his lips to yours in a proper kiss. Your lips move sloppily together, spit swapped and teeth clack entirely too much. Neither of you care.

The hand that was on your abdomen has moved its way up to one of your tits where he spreads his thumb and forefinger apart just enough to fit your nipple between them. When he clamps them back together, your nipple gets pinched between his digits. It's a delicious pain, one that has the heels of your feet pressing into the top of Steve’s ass and your hands gripping the crisp sheets on his bed.

The moan you let out is low, and long. You’re louder than intended, but you don’t care. You guys have the house to yourselves, afterall.

When your back arches this time, it doesn’t matter that you’re pulled away from Steve, he pulls you back down. He doesn’t let you go too far, no matter what.

You can feel the trimmed hair that sits at the base of his cock against your mound with each of his thrusts. The layer of sweat that gathers on his skin mixes with the sweat on yours. You don’t know if what you feel between your thighs is your own slick, or sweat, but it gathers along your skin and drips onto Steve’s sheets.

They were clean when you got here last night, and you just barely feel bad for dirtying them up. But the only thing you could really feel was the pleasure that Steve was giving you.

His thumb finds your eyebrow, and he runs the pad of it along the sparse hairs. He presses his lips between them before he presses his forehead to yours as his hand slides up one last time, blindly searches for yours. When he finds it, he interlaces your fingers together and presses your hand into the pillow beside your head.

His nose rubs against yours and you feel his lips move on yours as he speaks. “You’re so pretty. So gorgeous. I don’t know how you’re mine. I love you so much. You have no idea, sweetheart. You’re mine. Okay? I’m gonna put a ring on this finger and officially make you mine, okay?”

You’re nodding frantically, movements miniscule as you fear that you’ll push Steve’s head off of yours. You call his name between gasps, continuing when he hums. “I’m so close. Please make me cum, Steve.”

He presses his lips to yours one final time and lifts himself up from you completely. He peels yours legs off of his hips with both hands, and throws them over his shoulders. One of his hands holds onto your knee, and the other finds the gummy button of your clit.

His hips speed up, thrusts shallow as he pushes you towards your high. “You got it, baby. Let go. I’ve got you.” All of his fingers but his thumb situates itself against your mound, while his thumb rubs tight circles along your clit.

It’s soon after that you cum, your back arching, breasts facing the heavens. Your jaw drops, and your eyes shut as you ride the high that Steve operates.

He’s kissing the skin of your leg that’s beside his head, but you can only feel the thick cloud of euphoria that you haven’t made it through yet.

Once you make it through, finally reaching the other end and opening your eyes to see Steve, he’s just two thrusts out from spilling into you. The warm spurts that make itself at home inside of you causes you to clamp down onto Steve’s cock, and he moans, high and breathy and the sound is so fucking hot that you almost have enough in you to go for another round.

You’re sure that you and Steve would have.

If it wasn’t for the loud slam of the door downstairs.

You watch Steve’s head whirr around to face his open bedroom door.

“Steve?” Your voice is a low whisper, as is Steve’s.

“Yeah?” His head still faces the door.

“You locked the front door last night, right?” He hesitates. All other sound inside the house has stilled, only the soft breaths coming from you and Steve are heard.

Eventually, he stammers out, “I think so.”

You don’t mean to whimper. The scared, little sound just slips past your lips, and you clamp them down immediately after. The damage is already done. Steve is already alarmed.

“Stay right here.” He turns back to you and presses a fleeting kiss to your forehead. You know it’s just chaste because he’s in a hurry, but a bit of finality feels like it’s behind it and you’re shaking your head.

Your hand circles around Steve’s bicep. “I’m going with you.”

“No, you’re not. Just–” He holds a hand out in front of you. “Stay right here. And I’ll be back. I promise.”

There’s no point in arguing. You let Steve slip out of you, watch him pull on his pair of boxers, and pad out of the bedroom as silently as he can with his spiked baseball bat in his hands.

As soon as he rounded the corner, you reach over and find the sweatshirt you wore the night before. You slip it over you, and then pull the boxers you wore the night before over your legs. As you sit up, you can already feel Steve’s cum start to trickle out of you. You didn’t have time to do anything other than use the loose fabric of the blue checkered boxers to stop the trail.

You moved as silently as you could to the door frame, tip-toeing around the creak that you knew was there, and made your way to the staircase. Once there, you stopped with your back to the wall, and tried to silence your breathing so you could hear.

“Hello?” Steve was saying. You couldn’t hear his footsteps, but the way that his voice traveled told you that he was moving about.

He repeated himself a few times, and your eyes were already searching for something to defend yourself.

They’d landed on the cigarette tray whenever Steve yelped.

You were already moving into action, leaping towards the accent table and fingers pressing into the heavy glass of the ashtray. But then you heard a familiar voice.

“Steve, honey, it’s just me.” Mrs. Harrington.

Sharon Harrington.

You let go of the ashtray and pressed both of your hands into the wood of the table instead. Your head dropped as you let out the large breath you’d been holding. Air returned to your lungs, and rationale returned to your brain.

Steve and his mom were talking downstairs as you decided to join them.

Your feet slap against the carpet and then tile as you make your way into the kitchen to greet Sharon. She smiles when she sees you, her face lighting up as her arms spread.

“It’s so nice to see you.” Her voice is genuine as she squishes you to her, her arms tight around you.

“Have you been doing alright?” Her jaw moves as she asks you, pressing into the tense muscles along your shoulders.

You nod.

“I’ve been okay.”

She pulls out of the hug but holds you at an arm's length, a somber and knowing smile on her face. It makes your eyes water, but you blink a few times and the tears are gone.

“It’s good for you to be on your guard, Steven,” Sharon is suddenly serious as she levels her gaze onto her son. “Especially since there’s been another murder.”

Your heart drops. Any air you’d been capable of consuming thus far leaves your chest again. Your hands get clammy, and you feel like you’re reliving the previous night over again. Yet ten times worse.

“When?” you find yourself asking.

“Sometime last night. The police announced it this morning. Almost right as we landed.”

Your head throbs, your eyes blur, and you begin to shake. When Steve’s hand finds your shoulder, you flinch. The movement comes about accidentally, and you instantly flood with embarrassment once you settle and realize it was only your boyfriend's touch.

Sharon looks at you sympathetically. There’s a tense moment before she speaks again. “Kevin and I were thinking we take you two out for breakfast.”

You understand what she’s telling you and nod, thankful for something else to do and think about.

“I’ll go shower and be ready in about a half hour.” Your voice sounds far away when you speak, as if it’s not even coming from you.

Steve follows you out of the kitchen and into the bathroom.

He turns the shower on and lifts your clothes off of you. You go about your shower routine in a catatonic state, rubbing body wash into your skin and passing the bottle to Steve.

His touch is constant.

You welcome his presence behind you.

The diner’s cold.

You bring Steve’s sweatshirt inside just in case, and you’re glad that you did so once Steve picks a spot and you immediately feel as if your body temperature dropped 8 degrees.

You’re pulling the fabric over your head, and just barely crowning through it, when you feel someone sit beside you.

“Am I late?” Eddie Munson says. You know his voice with the sweatshirt covering your face.

You get it pulled down, and don’t even bother adjusting it to sit on your torso completely before you’re throwing your arms around Eddie’s frame.

He feels mostly the same as he did a few years ago when you last saw him, just a bit sturdier. He’s gotten buffer, maybe?

You feel the added muscles under your hands that press against his back and shoulders.

“Woah,” Eddie exclaims, but his initial shock is pushed to the side in favor of clumsily throwing his arms around you, hooking them around your waist. “Nice to see you two, bug.” The nickname he has for you is the same too, apparently. Even the fond tone that he uses is still there.

When you peel away from Eddie, you keep your hands on his shoulders, wanting to get a good look at him but not daring to let him get away.

You don’t say much while you give Eddie a long once over. When you finish taking in his features, noticing that he looks the same save for a few wrinkles added to the corners of his eyes and the splotches of oil smudged along his jaw and neck, you give him a soft, “Hi,” in greeting.

“Hey.” His lips pull into a small smile and that despair, that emptiness and that sunken feeling you had before, they melt away. Not completely. But looking over to Steve, seeing the happy and satisfied look he has on his face, and looking over to Eddie, and seeing how delighted and proud he looks, makes those feelings melt away substantially.

Eddie throws his arm across the back of the booth and scoots just a little bit closer. You’re comfortable enough to move yourself towards him, just until his knee is almost touching yours.

You’re warm.

The waitress comes back with a drink for you and Steve, and she offers to take Eddie’s order when she sees that he’s joined. He orders coke, and a double cheeseburger with extra fries, explaining that he’s had a long day at work.

Your stomach growls as he speaks, and you regret the modest salad you’d lazily ordered when you and Steve got here. When you first sat on the vinyl seats, you thought you were still full from breakfast with Steve’s parents. The conversation, and overpriced food, you had with the three of them was sure to keep your appetite suppressed for the rest of the day. But just hearing about Eddie’s food has you forcing down a moan and pressing your hand over your stomach to stifle the sounds.

It doesn’t work. Eddie hears and chuckles.

“I’ll give you some of mine.”

You nod, suddenly feeling small under both of their gazes. When your eyes lift and find Steve’s, he has a glint in them. One you know all too well. Your gaze finds the table once again.

“So,” Eddie starts. “What’ve you two lovebirds been up to?” Neither you or Steve answer, so Eddie focuses the conversation on just you.

“How’s college going? Made any groundbreaking discoveries? Ya making me proud?”

God, the effect that Eddie has on you is embarrassing, and known by all three of you.

He’s asked you a simple question, one you got from your relatives all the time, yet you’re squirming under his gaze and shifting in your seat.

“It’s okay. Just a little bit stressful for now.” You wrap your lips around the straw that sticks out of your cup and take a long sip of water. It chills your throat, and you thankfully sigh as you lean against the back of the booth once more.

“You start your major next year, right?” You nod.

“‘Atta girl.”

“So,” Steve leans his elbows onto the table. “My parents are going out tonight with some friends. They won’t be home for a while. So I was thinking…” Steve trails off but it doesn’t take a genius to understand what he’s suggesting.

Eddie drums his hands on his thighs excitedly. “A little hot tub action?” he asks, his head tilting to the side and lips pulling up into a large smile.

Steve glances at you, his eyebrows raised expectedly. “What’d you say?”

You take a second to think. You don’t know if you’re up to hanging out tonight. All of this is starting to take a toll on your psyche and you’re on the brink of crashing. But two men provide more protection than one, and you’re starting to feel less and less safe in the town that’s supposed to make you feel welcomed.

So, with the thought of the serial killer in the back of your mind, you nod.

“Okay.”

🏷️ @jadeylovesmarvelxo @sammararaven @heyndrix @peaches-and-plums-motherfck-blog @eddies-van86 @manuosorioh @thekebs @marisurmommy @blairscott @shinysam29 @socket-seahorse-blog

[y0noirs]

anyone want an analysis on the newest tears of themis MR cards from the cn server? no? here it is anyway. obvious spoilers for the new MR card set (empyrean touch) under the cut. you can see the PV here. you can see the cards in HD here, and the cards in video form here (credit to both nxx_eun_03 and NXXgallery respectively for those)

i’ll mostly be writing about the visuals of the cards and the imagery (in my own interpretation) in this post. there’s other analyses on twitter about other parts of the PV and the cards, but i just want to talk about the visuals because they are causing me great agony and yearning. also to note, for transparency’s sake: even though i look at the new cards, i do not read story spoilers that often. my frame of reference is still what’s released on the global server. even then, i mostly pay attention to my favorites (that being marius and luke). i may get things wrong or miss things. 

right off, the cards are referencing one of the pre-release(?) promotional pics for tears of themis, as well as the login screen in-game. there’s a great thread that analyzes it here, which i will be referencing here and there. for the most part, all you need to remember is that rosa is depicted as lady justice, or the greek goddess of truth, themis. depictions of lady justice include: scales, a blindfold, a sword, and a snake. artem, vyn, luke, and marius are in those respective positions, which the linked thread goes into.

also interesting is that there’s absolutely no dialogue in this PV. usually, the boys will have a line or two that they say, somewhat related to their MR card. but it’s just music and visuals here, which is interesting! not sure how exactly but it is!

side note, it’s interesting, given that the CN server is approaching the 3rd anniversary of the game, that they chose to return to this original promotional picture. the boys are wearing the same outfits and designs in the picture as they do in the MR cards. i believe we’re approaching a very important point in the story for the game, seeing as this set has a lot of implications for rosa and the boys. but enough of that - let’s get into me agonizing over these MR cards!

starting with luke, he’s already interesting right off the bat. you can notice that, of all the other leads, he’s not touching the statue at all. it’s already one thing that he was gripping a sword in the original promo pic to the point where he was bleeding, but it’s another to have him make absolutely no contact with the statue whereas the others are intimately touching it.

you could say that he’s in a position of worship with the statue. his face reaches up, tries to lay a kiss on the surface of the statue’s face, but doesn’t make it all the way. he’s kept his face close, almost as if that’s all he can let himself do. like it’s almost blasphemous to love a deity this intimately. additionally, his hand remains wrapped around the sword’s blade, but it no longer draws blood like it did in the promo pic.

this can be seen as growth. people have pointed it out, but the fact that he’s no longer bleeding could symbolize the fact that he’s no longer pushing himself as far for rosa’s sake in the story. their relationship, which was previously sort of unbalanced due to the lengths luke would go to for rosa’s happiness, is now one of equal standing. he is still very devoted to her and would likely do all he can for her, but he no longer keeps himself at length from her to preserve her happiness. he’s not hurting himself anymore when it comes to their relationship. 

he still has a lot of hang-ups, but he’s definitely devoted, almost worshipping rosa. and the aborted kiss in his card definitely reflects the yearning, and possibly the control he tries to maintain when it comes to her. 

next is artem in the position of the scales. he has a rather intimate position with the statue, but to focus on is how his hand holds onto the statue’s hand.

in the original promo pic, artem has his hand directly on the scales, almost as if he were keeping them balanced. however, in his MR card, he is instead holding up the statue’s arm, while the statue herself holds the scales on her own. i believe this symbolizes a sort of equality in their relationship. one of the more concerning things between artem and rosa is the fact that they were in a working relationship where artem was technically rosa’s boss. however, they moved past that as much as possible as they became partners.

with the support he offers to the statue’s arm, as well as his arm around the waist, i believe his MR card evokes how artem supports rosa. their relationship isn’t unbalanced - instead, he provides support and guidance when she needs/wants it. through her struggles, artem will keep her steady, and when it comes to justice, he will assist her. he doesn’t influence her sense of justice. i don’t think he ever has. he always supports her view as much as possible.

i think his MR card has depicted their relationship in a very lovely and intimate way. in the context of worship, he will trust in her judgment, because he trusts her wholeheartedly.

the meaning of the blindfold is, as we know it, the protrayal of “justice is blind.” as the thread linked above says, it was also a depiction of deception. however, the statue in the MR shows that themis herself is removing the blindfold, while the promo pic has vyn simply holding the blindfold, possibly taking it off.

of note is that vyn is holding rosa’s chin up, as well as pressing a kiss to the blindfold/her eyes. he also has the other end of the blindfold in his other hand, signifying that he is taking off her blindfold with her. my initial belief was that his lips on her blindfold was a reminder that justice must remain impartial as possible. that she must remain steadfast in her judgment.

after further thinking, i believe that vyn truly is taking off her blindfold so that she can see the world as it really is. throughout the story, he doesn’t really shy away from showing her the truth of things. vyn taking off her blindfold is a reflection of that, but holding her chin up symbolizes how he will support her in the struggles she may have while facing the truth. his hand is a reminder that she will struggle. that the truth is often not pretty. the cracks on the statue’s face reflects this. but he will be there for her, to help her through her hardship. there’s an almost melancholy expression on her face that implies he knows what sort of hardships she will have.

even if it hurts her, even if he is aware of the suffering she will face, he will be there for her to encourage her through the pain. 

the hand that marius holds is supposed to hold the scales of justice. in his MR card, though, the statue no longer holds them; instead, he has entwined their hands together with a necklace that has a snake on it.

there were a lot of theories of marius in the place of the snake for the original statue. with the snake being the symbol of evil, and the original statue of lady justice stepping on a snake to symbolize her triumphing over evil, it was almost like they were setting marius up for this position of betrayal and evil - especially since he and his family are so closely associated with serpents.

but in the in-game login screen, the statue of themis is not stepping on the snake. there was never going to be a scenario where rosa would defeat marius or anything. marius’ MR card means something entirely different, with meanings completely true to him and the development of their relationship.

by entwining their hands with the snake necklace, marius is willingly involving rosa with his family and his name. his hold on her hand is gentle and intimate, almost in the same degree of worship as luke. he boldly holds her close, leaning in as if to whisper in her ear.

i personally think that the act of whispering in her ear is marius is trying to ask/beg something of her. marius is not the type to burden others, keeping his suffering close to his chest so that he can appear the tall, confident heir to pax. with his position of bringing her close, whispering in her ear, and entwining their hands, he makes a request: to bear the burden of his name and legacy, maybe even help him purge the evil in his name. again, marius is not the type to ask for help. but as he grows closer to rosa, and grows more selfish, he will allow himself to burden her and request things of her. it’s a very good reflection of how his character progresses through the story.

anyway that’s a lot of words to describe how insane this MR set makes me. the yearning and love, the accurate symbolization and representation of character growth and dynamics, this is a very beautiful card set. i can’t wait for when this comes to global, and i can’t wait to see what 3rd anniversary has in store (:

(and just a reminder - this is all very biased and possibly even inaccurate. most importantly, this is my interpretation. i’m open to talking about it, though, because holy hell this MR card set makes me insane!)

[tbrooke1230]

Yard Games

Prompt: It's Summer, your parents are hosting a backyard BBQ, and a friendly yard game rivalry brings you and Steve closer together.

Warnings: none, fluff

Word Count: 2,376

My one shots just keep getting longer and longer. My dms are always open for ideas. Enjoy :)

........................................

Summers in Hawkins, Indiana meant families took turns opening their backyards up to the neighborhood to host a BBQ every weekend. This weekend, it was your family’s turn to host and the guests were already arriving.

Your mother and father greeted the families at the back gate, ushering them inside and towards the cooler full of drinks. As the neighborhood pooled in, you stayed back, leaning against the far fence waiting for your friends to arrive. 

You watched each family as they entered. Each mother carrying some sort of dish that she didn’t need to bring, but she felt was necessary. Each father beelining towards the cooler to grab a beer and take their designated spot around the grill.  Each child running towards the open grass where a game of tag would eventually break out. And then each teen walking in looking like they would rather be anywhere else but here. 

You recognized most of them from school. Jenny from math. Nancy from the school paper. Jonathan from English. Someone you weren’t expecting to see though was Steve Harrington. 

You had never really talked to Steve when you were both students at Hawkins High. Not that you had anything against him, you just never really crossed paths. But here he was, in your backyard, hands deep in his jeans pockets as he surveyed the scene in front of him. 

You pushed yourself off of the fence to go talk to Nancy and Jonathan. Both of their younger brothers had already run off, joining the rest of their younger friend group. You three were catching up on each of your summers when you were interrupted.

“Hey, we need one more person to play, any of you want to join?” All three of you looked over to see Robin waiting for a response. Behind her were two corn hole boards, a sheepish looking Steve, and another boy that you thought you recognized. 

“Sure, I’ll play.” You were always up for a little friendly competition and corn hole was right up your alley. You gave a slight wave to Nancy and Jonathan and joined the others at the boards.

“Yes! Thank you, Y/N.” Robin cheered. “I definitely call her to be on my team.”

“Robin! We were supposed to be a team!” Steve actually looked a little devastated. 

“Guess you’re with me then Harrington.” The other boy winked at Steve. “I’m Eddie by the way. I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure of meeting.” He stuck out a hand to you.

“Oh right! I think I’ve seen your band play a couple times. I’m Y/N.” You smiled, shaking his hand. 

“And that just made you ten times cooler in my book.” 

“Alright, alright. Let’s just get this game started.” Steve said from his spot next to one of the boards, hands on his hips. 

“Team mates have to be on opposite sides.” Eddie stated, gathering his team’s bags and making his way next to Robin. That left you at the other board next to Steve. 

“Rock, paper, scissors to see who throws first. Harrington, you and Y/N do it.” Eddie flicked his head in Steve’s direction. You turned your body to face Steve, fist in your other hand ready to play. 

“Rock, paper, scissors, shoot.” You both said the words. Steve’s fist remained a fist, but your hand went flat. You covered his “rock” with your “paper”, and his skin felt hot underneath your touch. 

“Damn it.” 

“Oh, c’mon Harrington.” 

“Oh yeah! Girls go first!” Robin wasted no time in tossing her bag towards the board between you and Steve. 

Once Robin and Eddie had both thrown all of their bags, it was you and Steve’s turn. Robin had secured the lead with her tossing, but only by two points. You tossed your first bag and it landed with a thud on the board.

“Yes!” Robin threw her hands in the air and a satisfied smirk pulled at your lips. 

Steve glanced over at you before throwing his bag. His also landed on the board, but also pushed yours off. You turned to glare at him and saw that a smirk was tugging at his lips now. Oh, it was on.

Even after a few rounds, the score remained annoyingly close. Steve was much better at this game than you would have thought, but at the same time, it didn’t surprise you all that much. 

“C’mon Y/N, we only need 3 more points to beat these dinguses.” Robin was crouched next to the board, as if being closer to the board would will the bags to land on it. 

Eddie was on the other side of the board, bent over and giving Steve his own pep talk.“Harrington, don’t let them get inside your head.You can do this, I believe in you.” 

“Yeah, alright, let’s take it down a notch. It’s not that serious.” Steve replied, bag in hand. 

You both took turns throwing your bags, glancing over at each other between throws. On Steve’s last throw, he sunk his bag into the hole, earning him and Eddie three points, and winning them the game.

“Yes!”

“No!” 

Robin crumpled to the grass while Eddie jumped up and ran to Steve giving him a hug. 

“You did it, Harrington!”

“Get off of me!”

You walked over to Robin, offering her a hand up which she took.

“This isn’t over!” She called over to the boys. Eddie was still trying to celebrate with Steve, but Steve wasn’t having it.

“Rematch later?” Steve asked, eyebrows raised. And even though he was looking in both you and Robin’s direction, it felt like he was making eye contact with you. 

“You’re on.” You replied. 

The four of you dispersed, grabbing drinks and food. The sun was starting to set and the warmth was fading with the light. You grabbed a plate of food and made your way over to the brick wall by the patio. You watched as everyone else chatted in small circles of people, sipping drinks and snacking on food. Your people watching was interrupted when Steve joined you, hopping up on the wall. 

“You know, you’re not so bad at corn hole.” He said, taking a sip of his drink.

“What, you thought I was going to be bad?” You asked, raising an eyebrow at him. 

“No, no, of course not, but does anyone ever look at someone and say ‘man, I bet they’re good at corn hole’?” You giggled a bit at his response and a small smile tugged at his lips. 

“No, I guess not.” You made eye contact with him, but quickly looked down at your lap, the gaze felt a little too intense. “I wasn’t surprised that you were good though.”

He laughed a little. “Well, I mean I hate to brag, but I am pretty good at putting things in holes.” Your eyes shot up from your lap to him and the stupid grin he had on his face.

“Steve!” You laughed, slapping him on the arm. 

“Oh don’t go there. I was obviously talking about corn hole. You’re the one with the dirty mind.” You were both laughing at this point and a slight blush had tinged your cheeks. 

“Whatever.” Your eyes went back to the yard of people. You noticed a couple families, especially those with younger children, had started to head home for the night. The ones who stayed were still gathered in groups, just many more of them were sitting at this point. 

“So, you still up for a rematch?” Steve asked. You looked over at him again and the eye contact made your stomach flip. “Or are you scared to lose again?” 

“You’re on.” 

………………………………………

“Ok, that’s cheating.”

“What?”

“You’re cheating.”

“No, I’m not.”

You and Steve stood across from each other, each next to a board. You were doing your best to try to keep score, but Steve had a new rule every five seconds. 

“How am I cheating? I’m just standing here.” 

“You’re trying to distract me.” He replied, bag still in hand that he had been trying to throw for what felt like ages. 

“No, I’m not.” You crossed your arms over your chest. “I’m literally not doing anything.”

“You’re being distracting.” Steve straightened up from where he had been leaned forward.

“Ok, should I turn around then?” You asked and turned your back to him.

“No, that’s even worse.” You laughed a bit at his remark.

“Steve, just throw the damn bag.” You turned back around and watched as he slightly bent over again and tossed the bag. It landed just short of the board in the grass. 

“See! I told you, you were trying to distract me. And it worked.” You rolled your eyes at him, picking up the bags and getting ready for your turn. Just about everyone else had left at this point, even Steve’s family, but he told them he was going to stay. Your parents had even gone inside, instructing you to turn off the outdoor lights and lock the doors when you came in. 

“I think you’re just coming up with excuses because you’re losing.” You said as you tossed your bag. It landed on the board and slid til it fell in the hole. 

“That’s it.” Steve said and then came running at you.

“Steve!” Your eyes widened with fear and your heart jumped as he came barreling towards you. 

You took off across the yard, not really sure why you were running or why Steve was chasing you, but you were laughing hysterically. Of course, he was much faster than you and caught up to you with ease. His arms reached out, attempting to wrap around your waist, but one of his feet knocked against yours causing you to trip and take him down with you.

You landed on the grass with a hard thud and braced yourself for Steve to fall on top of you, but thankfully he caught himself with his hands, his body stopping right above yours. Another fit of laughter escaped you as you looked up at Steve. His eyes switched from concern to amusement as he began to chuckle along with you. 

“Sorry, that’s not how I expected that to go.” He said, breaking eye contact and letting his hair fall in front of his face. 

“It’s ok.” You laughed, grabbing his arm in reassurance. His eyes darted to where your hand was and then back to you. You quickly removed your hand. “But can you maybe get off of me now?”

A blush dusted his cheeks. “Oh, yeah, sorry.” He rolled over so he was laying next to you, you both looking up at the starry sky.

You both stayed quiet for a minute, but you were still very aware of how close Steve was to you. Although he wasn’t touching you, you could feel the heat radiating from his arm that was inches from yours. You turned your head slightly to look at him and your breath caught in your lungs a bit when you saw his eyes were already on you. 

“How did you expect it to go?” You asked.

“What?” His brow furrowed a bit.

“You said that falling on me isn’t how you expected chasing me to go. So how did you expect it to go?” Your eyes remained on his. 

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe it  just wouldn’t have ended with me tripping you.” You let out a soft laugh at his words and his lips turned upward in reply. 

“I can’t even imagine what you must have had in mind.” You said and brough yourself up onto your elbows. Steve mimicked your movements, both of you looking up at the night sky. 

“Well, I did have something else in mind.” He said a bit sheepishly. You looked over at him but his eyes remained on the stars above. 

“Are you going to tell me? Or do I have to win another game of corn hole to earn it?” You asked mockingly. His gaze whipped over at you and you couldn’t stop the smile pulling at the corners of your mouth. 

“Yeah, like you would win another game anyways.” He said, rolling his eyes. You smacked his arm.

“I was just taking it easy on you earlier. Wanted to be a good host and let the guests win.” He shook his head, but you could see him fighting a smile. 

A comfortable silence settled between you. You diverted your gaze from his once again to look up at the sky, but you could still feel his eyes on you. You felt him lean in closer to you, close enough where your arms were flesh against each other. 

“Look at that.” Steve said and you followed his arm to see he was pointing at a shooting star. 

“That’s so cool.” You commented, trying to ease the way your heart was beating a bit quicker at the close proximity. He was so close and the cool night air was suddenly hot around you. His arm dropped from where it was pointing and he brought his hand to your chin. Gently caressing your face and turning you to him.

“Is this ok?” He asked, voice barely above a whisper. Your faces were inches from each

other. So close that you could feel his breath fan across your lips. 

“Yes.” You didn’t mean to sound so breathless. Who knew Steve Harrington would have this effect on you. 

He closed the gap between you both. Hand still lightly touching the side of your face as your lips touched. The kiss was feather light, almost to the point of where you weren’t sure if it was actually happening, but you knew it was. Your body was lighting up like the starry night sky.

Steve pulled back, much too soon for your liking, but his hand remained on your face. His thumb slowly stroking back and forth across your cheek. 

“That’s what I was expecting.” He said, voice still a bit quiet.

“What?” You weren’t sure if your brain was working correctly. All you could think about was Steve’s lips on yours.

“That’s how I was expecting chasing you to end, but I think it went much better this way.” 

[haileybeehappy]

Krylon - A Harry Styles Mafia AU

Summary : Raised in a high society by a father who owns a large multi-billion dollar business that you are to take over one day. With responsibilities and duties already piling on, you have one last summer to really live. Something, or more so, somebody might get in the way of that. Along with uncovering some very dirty things about your fathers business.

Authors note : This is going to be a very very slow burn. So slow Harry isn't even introduced yet. So hang on and I hope y'all enjoy :)

Warnings : None

Word count : 2.2k

Your father was a businessman through and through. Growing up when you would come to him with a scraped knee or a broken doll, he wouldn’t give you a kiss on the forehead and tell you everything would be okay. He would give you a lecture about life and money and hardships. So, at twenty-one years old when he sat you down and told you that in nine years' time when you turned thirty you would be taking on a majority of the roles in his multi-billion dollar business you weren’t too surprised.

You were a little more surprised when he told you that you would be shipped off to school to finish your degrees at a prestigious private college overseas. This would be your last summer to live... you would be stuck in office meetings and business deals along side your father for the rest of your life after these next three months.

“It’s really not a big deal love,” your mom says as she brushes your hair. Your eyes watching her through the vanity mirror. “You’ve known this was going to happen your whole life. It’s all your father has ever talked about,” you nod as she begins to gather your hair and pull it up into a bun. “We love you so much and are so proud of you…” you begin to drown her out. You’ve heard the speech a million and one times. ‘You’re such a smart strong young woman and we just want the best for you’ blah blah blah. She continues on as you begin to daydream what else your life could have been like. What would it have been like growing up with a dog? Or siblings? Having family? Christmases with aunts and uncles and grandmas and grandpas. Not something you could ever have. Not in this family. Suddenly your mother scolding your name snaps you out of your trance.

“Are you even listening to me?” She sounds very offended.

“Sorry mother I didn’t sleep well last night,” you shrug. “What were you saying?”

“Your father is waiting for us at the table for breakfast. He needs to talk about your plans for the summer,” you refrain from rolling your eyes. She would then go into her lecture of 'how unlady like it is to roll your eyes.'

“We talked about this before I left school mother,” you stand up and run your hands over your dress. Straightening out your wrinkles and brushing off stray hairs. “The only way he is getting me to go to that school is if I get a summer, I understand that I have a duty to do and a life ahead of me but I deserve a little relaxation and life before I get sucked into it,” you try not to sound hostile but it always seems to seep through when talking to your parents about how much they control your life.

“I know darling, he just has a few meetings and things that you’ll need to attend this summer. Nothing major,” she seems like she’s holding something back. You eye her carefully as she leads you through the halls. As you round the corner you can hear you father speaking, his voice hushed and stern.

“I know! I will, I just need time, I’ll get it sorted out later. But for now just give him what he wants, and I’ll deal with it when I can,” you come into his view, and he quickly ends the phone call he was on and looks up to you.

“Good morning,” he speaks. Your name falling from his lips.

“Good morning father, mother said you had something you wanted to speak about?” You speak as you sit at your designated spot at the table. Jordan, one of the many ‘assistants’ as your mother calls them. Removed the large stainless steel lid from your plate and walks away. She refuses to call them butlers or maids, she says it’s degrading, but in reality, it's because maid and butler sound too 'old timey.'

“Yes dear,” he puts down the fork he has just picked up looks up to you. “I was going to but decided that this summer should stay as planned. You will have your fun, within reason,” he says pointedly. “I have hired you a body guard, Mr Horan!” He says loudly and very soon after a tall brunette man enters the dining room. “You won’t even know he’s there,” he smiles at you.

“A body guard?” Your family had always been wealthy but never had gone this far. Your fathers Wealth had never been to the point of a personal guard. Of course, you had security but never one person to protect you.

“I don’t want to worry you but I have recently come into some business with a…” his eyebrows furrowed in thought. “Company, that is,” he just can’t seem to get the words out.

“Erratic, thoughtless, dangerous,” your mother speaks coldly. Looking at your father with distaste.

“They have a different way of dealing with things,” he all but growls at your mother. “And just for your safety I would just rather be safe than sorry,” he nods. You nod. ‘Probably so you have someone to run your company,’ you think to yourself.

“Thank you father,” you smile.

“I need to protect all my accests,” is all he says before he digs into his breakfast. The rest of the meal is eaten in silence.

…

Sneaking out of the house was hard before, now with a security guard on your tail it’s even harder. You look like a classic cheesy movie robber. Black beanie, black hoodie, black leggings and your favorite pair of old tattered boots strapped tight to your feet. A large black heavy, very heavy, bag thrown over your shoulder. You slip the sliding door closed behind you, making sure the lock doesn’t latch and step out onto the balcony.

You drop the bag off the side and swing your legs over the railing. Your feet skillfully find the foot holds that your feet have carved into the brick over the years of you sneaking in and out of your room. As your feet thud on the ground you hear your door slide open. You quickly grab the bag and dart behind the decorative bushes. You hear your last spoken out by a voice you have never heard before.

“I know you’re out here,” you hold your breath and through the leaves see Mr. Horan standing at the edge of the balcony. “I would really prefer not to tell your father about this but if you insist on hiding in the shrubbery I have to,” your cheeks flare with embarrassment and you step out of the bush leaving your bag behind. You glare up at him.

“What does it matter to you?”

“It’s kind of my job,” he states. You shrug.

“I’m not going to do anything dangerous or bad,” you start to walk to the bush. “Just. Going out for a bit. You saw my parents and the way they treat me. I just need an escape occasionally,” you grab the bag and turn and he is there at the bottom of the wall. “Oh fuck!” You yell and swing the bag at him. He raises his elbow in defense, not that the bag was going very fast because of how heavy it was. “You fuckin scared me!” You gasp. Yanking the bag back over your shoulder. He smirks.

“I’m coming with you. If it’s nothing dangerous or bad,” his voice hints at him not believing you.

“No, this is my alone time. I just need to be by myself,” he shakes his head.

“I can’t let you go anywhere alone,” you roll your eyes.

“Fucking fine,”

“Such a foul mouth for such a high class girl,” you scoff and hike the bag across your body and move to climb back up the wall.

“You’re going back up there?” His voice laced with disappointment.

“Yeah, if I’m never going to be alone again might as well get what little privacy I have locked in my room,” you are about half way up the wall when he stops you. His hand comes to gently grasp your ankle.

“I won’t tell anyone anything. I’m here to protect you not get you in trouble. Not with your parents. Not with the public. Just to keep you safe,” you stay still for a moment. Contemplating what to do. “I promise,” his voice sounds almost pleading. You huff out a harsh breath and drop to the ground.

“You can’t breathe a word of it, to anyone, ever. Im serious,” you stand toe to toe with him. Eyes fixed on his blue ones.

“Not a word,” he runs his fingers alone his mouth as if he’s zipping his lips closed. You hold your hand up to him. Pinky out.

“Promise?” He hooks his pinky in yours and nods.

“If you break the promise I get to break your finger?” His eyes wided but he nodded again. “Good,” you pulled you hand from his and smiled. “Let’s go!” You threw the bag at him and it landed in his arms with a loud clank.

“Ouf,” he grunts. You then turn and begin to walk through the gardens. He follows you silently holding the duffle, your footsteps fasten and his follow pace. Through to the edges of the garden. Where there is a loose hedge that you can tuck behind barely squeezing your frame through the man behind you almost suffocates as he grates through behind you. “How did you find this place?” He whines as you continue through tight plant corridors and scratchy thorn bushes.

“When you’re as desperate as me to get out of that house you go far and wide to get away,” you say as you duck down under a bush and out into a wooded area. He lets out a big sigh as you find the clearing.

“Holy fuckin’ shit,” he groans and drops the bag. The metallic clang making you jump.

“Be careful,” you complain and pick it up yourself. He shoots you a glare and you smile. “What? The big scary man can’t carry a heavy bag for a few hundred feet?” He glares at you harder.

“Maybe if I wasn’t squeezing through bushes and plants yeah,” he straightens up and rips the bad from your shoulder. You laugh and continue through the trees.

“Mhmm,” you say and quickly make your way on the path you’ve gone down many times before. Almost so many there’s a trail on the ground ahead of you. After a long stretch of silence you finally speak.

“You’re pretty quiet,” is all you can think to say.

“My job is to protect. Not entertain,” he says sassily. You let out a scoff like laugh.

“Yeah but you could speak occasionally,”

“I’ve done plenty of speaking tonight, way more than I usually do,” you shrug.

“If we’re going to be spending who knows how long together we should get to know each other,” you look back to him. His eyes are constantly scanning the wooded area. Skipping from tree to tree looking for any threats.

“I know plenty about you,” your eyebrows shoot up in surprise.

“Oh you do?” He just answers with a nod.

“You’re twenty one years old. You are going to school for business, mathematics, economics and a million other things,” you roll your eyes even though he can’t see you. “You are trained in ballet, classical dance, piano, and violin,” you nod along. “A pretty busy bee if I say so myself,” you let out a laugh.

“Not by choice,” you mumble.

“What’d you say?”

“Nothing, continue telling me about myself,”

“You teach an art class at the children’s museum once a month, host a gala at your fathers mountain lodge at the end of every summer since you were seventeen,” before you can speak again you interrupt. Lowering your voice an octave and mockingly saying.

“Networking is the most important part of business,”

“Was that supposed to be your father?” He asks with a laugh. His voice encapsulates a smile.

“Of course, and you knew who I was so it worked,” he just chuckles.

“I guess it did,”

“Continue,” you say curtly.

“Umm, well I guessss,”

“Spit it out,”

“You’ve never had a boyfriend or serious relationship. Your best friend is named Masie and you’ve known her since you were a baby. At eighteen years old you started your own charity to fund underfunded schools with art, music and design programs. From the ages fifteen to twenty you went on mission trips to third world countries to help rebuild after hurricanes. Monsoons. Earthquakes and such,” you hold up your hand to stop him.

“Okay okay I get it,” you laugh. “You know almost everything about me,” he lets out an offended scoff.

“I know everything there is to know about you,” you shake your head.

“You know everything my parents know about me, and maybe Emily,” you say referencing your nanny.

“Well what do I not know about you?” You are following along a creek bed when you finally arrive at your destination. A dilapidated bridge and a retaining wall.

“Drop the bag and I’ll show you,”

[kuzann]

Just finished writing this segment for the next chapter of Paradigm Shift and I'm actually liking it a lot. It's still raw and needs to be cleaned up but I wanted to share. Have some Danny panicking over his mom potentially getting hurt. :p Current word count: 11.2k words

Danny’s head swam as Valerie flew out of the arena on her board. He drifted back a bit, for what little good it would do him when the fight started.

“Alright, you ectoplasmic menace,” Maddie said as she widened her stance. “Impress me.”

“I’ll do my best,” Danny managed.

“Begin!” Kara cried.

Maddie whipped an ecto-blaster out of her belt pouch and fired on Danny the moment Kara’s voice rang out over the arena.

Danny distorted his body to dodge the attack. She’d already caught him flat-footed. If he could just pin her down with ice maybe he could pull off a win without hurting her too much… And without getting too hurt himself.

A chill gathered as his power forced the heat from the air around him.

Maddie paused and pulled a shield-like device around from where it hung on her back and slipped it onto her right arm.

Danny flung a wave of chill at the ground at her feet, the ice already forming as it drew near.

Maddie flung her arm in a backhand, and the wave exploded into billowing steam.

Shock overwhelmed him for a few vital moments—when had she made that one!? He’d never seen it before, but it had clearly been designed for countering his ice. Danny flew back, but it was already too late.

An ecto-blast blitzed out of the steam cloud and hit him dead in the chest, knocking him to the ground. Danny hit the floor hard and struggled to get his bearings as Maddie stepped out of the steam.

Maddie paused only to swipe the mist off her goggles with one forearm, then took a grenade-like device from her belt pouch and tossed it after Danny.

He scuttled away, having temporarily forgotten about his ability to fly in his panic. Danny covered his eyes and went intangible, figuring it might be a sort of flashbang as he jumped away—

The assumption was only partially correct.

With a sharp bang the grenade exploded. Danny saw the sickly green flash through his arm and eyelids a split-second before the wave of energy washed over his body. He fell back and rolled as if trapped in the surf on a stormy day, battered and stunned when he finally came to a stop some distance away.

The beam of the Fenton Thermos caught him before he got the chance to stand.

A cacophony of sound started up, audible even through the walls of the Fenton Thermos: cheers and shouts of surprise, as well as calls of “Let him go!” and “Leave Phantom alone!”

Danny’s senses finally returned to him in full as the thermos began to move.

“What do you think you’re doing?” said Kara’s voice, muffled slightly by the metal walls. Even with the barrier between them Danny could feel the lurking threat in her tone.

Panic set in as he realized what his mom was trying to do. He trusted Jazz and his friends to bail him out of the thermos when his mom got home, but that wasn’t the problem—his mom was trying to break Kara’s rules, and that was sure to draw her ire. If Maddie ended up fighting Kara she might not—

“Phantom’s a menace. He puts the city in jeopardy almost weekly just so he can fight other ghosts,” Maddie replied calmly. “If you want me to take my role as protector seriously then you must let me remove him.”

“All combatants are under my protection during the tournament. If you wish to take one home as a prize then you must defeat me in the arena first.”

“Don’t!” Danny screamed, his voice echoing back at him within the thermos. His breaths came out as pained wheezes as dread squeezed his lungs.

“Quiet, Phantom,” Maddie snapped. “You don’t have a say here.”

“You can’t fight her! I watched her demolish a ghost who’s way stronger than me before the tournament even started!” Danny yelled, desperation working its way into his voice. “You can’t win!” It didn’t matter how much stronger than Vlad his mom might be, Kara was magnitudes stronger than him. A vision of his mom on the ground, beaten and burned, forced its way to the front of his mind.

“I’ll take my chances, Phantom.”

“You can’t...” Danny said weakly. All Kara had to do was land one solid blow on Maddie and it would be over... Possibly forever. Vlad had only withstood as much as he had because he was far more durable than a typical human.

“Mom!” Jazz’s voice rang out, just loud enough to carry through the wall of the Thermos despite the distance.

There was a pause, apparently as Jazz scrambled down into the arena.

“Jazz, go back to your seat,” their mom said, her voice gentler but still firm.

“Mom, you saw the news earlier! You saw what that ghost did to Vlad!” Jazz said, her voice wobbling. Even without seeing her face Danny knew she was on the verge of tears. “You can’t fight her! What am I gonna tell Danny and dad if you get hurt?”

Tears gathered in Danny’s eyes as Jazz started crying. His mom could be teetering on the brink of mortal danger and he was powerless to do anything about it. She would never listen to Phantom, and he couldn’t reveal his identity now even if he wanted to—the arena was being filmed, if he revealed his identity to her here everyone would know, and his entire family would be in danger as a result. All he could do was wait and hope.

“Jazz, sweetheart...” The thermos swung as their mom pulled Jazz into a hug.

Please listen to her! Please, please, please! Danny covered his face in both hands, hoping that their mom would listen now that Jazz was crying; Jazz cried so rarely, it always made their parents pay attention when she actually did.

At last their mom sighed. “Alright, I’ll settle things with Phantom some other time.”