#it's not really dash commenting on anything but?? and i guess this is open too lol

[arlos-warm-drpepper]

I like the idea of Derek being a good guy, kind to the people around him, generally loved by all. Soft.

But maybe, maybe Derek is having a really shitty day when he meets Stiles. Maybe it’s the anniversary of Laura’s death, or his families death, or maybe he had a run in with Kate Argent early that morning and couldn’t get it out’ve his head.

And maybe Stiles isn’t the type to take someone’s shit. Maybe Stiles is sure he knows what kind of guy Derek is. Maybe he misjudges Derek off of the first impression, and maybe Derek is too flustered to apologize right off the bat.

Maybe when they meet for the first time, at a place where they’ll be forced to see each other in a pretty permanent arrangement, (perhaps they’re coworkers at work, or roommates in college, or something) Derek is a little bit of a grade A asshole due to his mood, and maybe Stiles remembers Jackson from highschool, and makes a promise to himself that that will not happen again, so he gives as good as he gets. Derek makes a snarky, rude comment and Stiles immediately makes one back, deciding that if he’s going to have to deal with this jerk, then he’s going to have to do it well. Maybe the next time they see each other, Derek is feeling better but isn’t sure how to start a conversation since he’s sure he’s already ruined any chance at being friendly with Stiles, so instead he just quietly tries to stay out’ve Stiles way, to make things easier and less awkward for the both of them. And maybe Stiles takes this as just more assholery, because of course the super hot guy he’s forced to be in proximity with thinks Stiles is so below him that he doesn’t even speak to him. What a dickhead. Maybe he gets so annoyed at Derek that he needs an outlet to complain to, so he starts up a conversation with one of his friends (who knows Derek as well) by going “you know Derek, right?” And before he can even start complaining they go “Derek? Obviously. Everyone knows Derek. You don’t usually meet people who are so attractive and kind and just forget about them.” And so Stiles stops, mouth agape, before clarifying “Derek Hale? Kind?” And then the other person, seemingly not sensing Stiles disbelief, start’s basically waxing poetry about how kind Derek is. They start bringing up all the good deeds Derek’s done, like how Derek donates to local charities, and volunteers at homeless shelters, and all of the other kind stuff Dereks apparently done. Maybe after awhile the shock wears off, and Stiles asks around a little more, and it seems everyone is apart of the Derek Hale fan club, and Stiles is annoyed. He doesn’t understand how everyone is so unbelievably in love with Derek when he’s such a jerk. He replays the conversation he had with Derek in his head, because maybe he missed something and Derek wasn’t actually being a jackass, but there is no other way to see it. Derek was a jerk, simple as that. He spends his days assuming that maybe everyone was just blindsided by Dereks dashing good looks to even realize what a jerk he was, up until he himself sees how good of a guy Derek is. He sees Derek buy a kid another ice cream after they dropped theirs, and then he sees Derek help an elderly woman cross the street and huffs about how fucking cliche that is. He notices the way that Derek always holds the door open for anybody he’s accompanied by, and even holds the elevator door open for Stiles himself. He still doesn’t say anything to Stiles though, and Stiles starts to wonder what he could’ve done to have the best guy in town hate him. He tries hard to come up with an explanation other than ‘I’m just an unlikable guy, I guess’ because that just seems a little too pathetic. When he draws a blank, he decides to just confront Derek himself. He walks right up to his desk (or maybe his room, if you went with the roommates option and not the coworker option) and just asks “What did I do to make you hate me?” In a tone that was meant to come out angry, but for some odd reason it comes out a little bit desperate. It makes Dereks eyes wide and he stutters out, “I- I don’t hate you.” But he doesn’t sound sure enough for Stiles, so Stiles continues on. “Really? Because it seems like you hate me. You can’t even look at me half the time, and you go to extreme efforts to ignore me. Which, fine, that would be totally fine if everyone wasn’t constantly talking about how kind you are to them. So what is it about me that makes you hate my guts? Do I talk too much? Am I too loud? Is it just my general existence or-“

“Stiles! I don’t, I didn’t..” Derek attempts, struggling to find the words. “I don’t hate you. I was just trying not to bother you.” He mumbles finally, the tips of his ears pink. It sounds silly when he says it out loud, and he realizes how badly Stiles could’ve misinterpreted the situation.

“..bother me?” Stiles said, confused and shocked.

Derek nods, hesitating to continue but pushing through anyways. “Yeah, when we met I was… I was going through something, and obviously I know that’s not an excuse to be an asshole, which is why I was trying to avoid you. I could tell you disliked me, which you have every right to with how I treated you, so I decided to just stay out of your way. Didn’t want to bother you.” Derek says, his face heating up at the admission.

A quiet “oh.” Is all Stiles can manage, and Derek just nods.

(Just so everyone knows you can steal this idea and write it better as long as you send it to me or @ me so I can read it)

[damnfandomproblems]

9286

This is a big mood lol. Really, though, I hate it and I hate how some people go, "well curate your space" and like... I do, I follow like ten people, have for years, but sometimes I do like to go into the tags for my blorbos and look at stuff, and comment, and it only takes a single comment on the wrong person's post for me to become the subject of a completely mind-boggling harassment stint. This actually did happen a few years ago: I commented on some art I liked, and the artist (who turned out to be, I guess you call them an anti? They didn't have any signs of this on their dash layout, pinned, etc, you had to open their desktop theme and click a few links to see "het fans dni") flamed me for shipping Steggy. They took my blog and posted it on their blog for their followers to laugh at, out in the open. I got so much hate. Blocked them all, but I felt like I had stepped on a landmine.

That was a rare time I actually went into the tags. It only needs to happen once, and your view of things gets just a little more weary. If you actually want as close to a guarantee as possible re: not running into that kind of nutso behavior, you have to basically never reblog or like anything (people can find your blog in the notes, and if you're in a fandom for a niche character, you're a lot more visible than in others), and never interact with anyone outside your well-vetted mutuals. And they have to do that too. But that's... You never see anything new. It's just a ridiculous concept.

Posting as a response to a previous problem.

[sunnyikemen]

Smarty Pants

Pairing: IkeVamp Leonardo x MC

Summary: She was surround by constant reminders of how she didn't quite fit in with the others. She had made progress, and with Leonardo's support she was feeling more and more comfortable in the mansion, but still not fully settled. After a heated discussion with Arthur, though, she decides enough is enough. Much to Leonardo's enjoyment.

Word count: ~2400

Warnings: None!

Notes: This is a gift for @technicolorbirds as part of @ikemenlibrary's My Ikemen Valentine Gift exchange!! I hope you enjoy, Birds :)

***

“Arthur, you’re being gross.”

“All I’m saying, sweetheart, is that a lovely, voluminous skirt leaves a little more to be desired-”

“I don’t care. Women DO wear trousers in the 21st century. They’ve been wearing them since like…the 1920s!”

“Those poor, sexually unfulfilled modern day men. A moment of silence for their losses.”

“You…women look hot in trousers!”

“Must be so sad.”

“Weren’t you literally alive during the 1920s?!”

It had been around half an hour since Leonardo stopped reading his book, his eyes peeking above the pages. A smirk had crept up his face as his gaze dashed between the players of this verbal tennis match. He wondered if he should have left the room when this began, but he was finding it far too amusing. The others rarely challenged Arthur these days, often opting for an eye roll or simply walking away, but she never let him get away with anything. It was refreshing.

And attractive, if he was quite honest.

Leonardo had been keeping a watchful eye since she started living in the mansion. He had heard her footsteps grow stronger, more purposeful, as she explored the halls. He had noticed that the pause between those approaching footsteps and the creak of a door had become shorter, in fact now there was barely a pause at all. And his favourite, was she no longer snuck away back to her own room after their nights together, but rather snuggled up next to him to rest. She was finally settling in. However, he knew there was still some work to do.

“As informative and entertaining as this conversation has been, I unfortunately must be taking my leave now. Can’t leave a lass waiting for too long now, can we?”

He watched her roll her eyes before letting out a huff, “Poor girl. Send her my condolences.”

The comment clearly flew right over Arthur’s head, as he blew her a kiss and slipped out of the room.

Leonardo wasn’t expecting the silence that followed, nor to be met with the back of her head when he glanced up from his book, which he promptly shut and placed it on the table next to him. He waited to see if she would speak first, and when she didn’t, he shuffled over on the sofa and patted the space next to him. The sound finally made her look up, and with a slight gesture from Leonardo, she joined him.

“What is it, cara mia?” She had laid her head on the back of the sofa, and he wasted no time smoothing the hair off her face, letting the strands curl around his fingers before cascading across her shoulder, “You know he just likes to rile you up, you should pay him no mind.”

She sighed, lifting her legs to lay across Leonardo’s thighs. “I know, it’s just moments like that where I realise how differently I see the world than you guys. And I know you all come from different times so none of you really think the same either but,” she let her eyelids droop, sinking into the feeling of Leonardo’s expert hands tracing shapes along her calves and lightly scratching against her scalp. How lucky she is to have the hands of an artist and a genius have their attention fixed on her. “I don’t know. I guess the gap just feels bigger and that makes me feel smaller.”

“I don’t understand how you consistently manage to take the things that make you otherworldly and turn them into insecurities.”

She opened her eyes, only to be met with complete and utter sincerity in the shade of amber, “You don’t understand because you’re an artist. You love those things.”

“You’re right, because they make beautiful art. And who enjoys beautiful art, hm?” When she didn’t answer, he filled her silence. “Let me rephrase that, who doesn’t enjoy beautiful art? Can you think of a single person?”

“I understand your point, grandpa,” she said with a grin, which he easily returned when he felt his words getting through to her, “I just want to be desirable to you, that’s all.”

That statement made him stare a little blankly at her. He knew of her feelings of inadequacy, which he’d promptly tried to squash multiple times before, but undesirable? He doesn’t know a time when he ever lacked desire for her, in fact there were many days where his desire for her proved troublesome. The word “silly” sits on the tip of his tongue but he bites it back. She needed more than a knee jerk comment. She deserved his understanding.

“Cara mia, I’ve been around for a very long time. I’ve seen nearly everything, so nearly nothing is exciting to me now,” his voice lowered, and his head leaned in, “and yet, you fill me with exhilaration even at the mere thought of you. And this is only heightened by how much of you I still have yet to discover. The men in this mansion need to have seen a good thing to finally understand just how good it is. But for me I find-”

Before he could finish his thought, before his hand could finish its journey up her arm and before his lips could reach their final destination upon hers, her eyes widened so wide Leonardo nearly felt reason for concern.

“I HAVE THE BEST IDEA,” she shot up from her place, nearly taking out a pile of her books as she dashed to the door, “THANK YOU, LEONARDO!”

Leonardo was almost dumbfounded at the abrupt explosion, but the thought of mischief he had accidentally facilitated was enough to satiate the disappointment that lingered for only a moment. Nevermind, he’ll prove his previous point to her later.

But for now, he picked his book back up and continued reading, his lips curled in a satisfied smirk at the possibilities of what her wonderful brain would come up with. He knew he was in for a treat, and possibly, so were the rest of the mansion.

He felt smug, however, knowing he would be the only one who’d get to taste it.

***

She flew through the halls of the mansion with ease, her mind fixed on one thing and one thing alone. She reached Leonardo’s bedroom, which had been more or less shared in recent months. She had her own space too, but she simply preferred being in his. She preferred his random, almost illegible notes scattered across his wall, and preferred the subtle smell of pencil shavings, well loved candles and fresh flowers that sat on his windowsill. He only started doing that last one when he met her, she imagined. His room never looked the same as it did when she first entered it, and he never looked more comfortable in it, either.

She left the prickling feeling of nostalgia at the door and immediately moved to his chest of drawers, opening each one with great vigour. Leonardo had always said that anything in his room is fair game, that what’s his is hers. And whilst she didn’t imagine he had this particular item in mind, she felt safe in the assumption that he wouldn’t be in the least bit bothered, as he rarely was.

She had been settling into the mansion for the better part of a year now, and the days of tip-toeing around had long since passed. She had found her place, but too often was she bothered by that prickly reminder that she was inherently different. Not only as the only woman in the mansion, but as seemingly the only one who hadn’t adjusted to the era she found herself in. Certainly the only one was still fighting it.

She enjoyed her talks with Comte over tea, as he was the closest one to understanding her life before, though understanding wasn’t just what she was looking for.

And she supposes that’s how she latched onto Leonardo so fast.

Even though he didn’t have that understanding of what her life looked like before, he had this uncanny ability to trace it back to the root. He reassured and comforted her on things she didn’t realise she needed reassurance or comfort on, but she did. Leonardo knew that. Because he understood.

Everything fell into place after that.

It was easy to find what she was looking for: a pair of trousers she knew he wouldn’t miss. In fact, she doubted she’d ever seen them on him in the whole time they’d known each other. Based on the colour alone, she suspected they were a gift from Comte. Considering the sheer magnitude of their history together, she was surprised by how much they were not Leonardo’s taste. Probably an experiment from Comte. It was sweet that Leonardo kept them, though.

Sweetness aside, and with Comte’s experiment clearly concluded as a failure, she took the trousers and all but marched to Comte’s door. With only a few knocks against the wood, he called for her to enter.

The mischief was clearly written all over her face, as Comte immediately put down his papers and raised an eyebrow.

Her grin was simply delightful as she hid the trousers behind her back, “I have a small favour to ask.”

***

The breakfast hustle and bustle was the same as any other day in the mansion, though with an added buzz as Arthur relayed the events that took place a few days prior.

“Honestly, the things that woman comes up with,” he took a sip of his tea, his ocean irises peaking over the teacup at the man sat opposite to him. He placed it back down into the saucer, leaning back in his chair with an air of pride, “I must say, darling Leonardo, that you really have your work cut out for you.”

“How so?” Leonardo swirled the coffee in his cup with no sense of concern. He knew Arthur was simply playing with him and that he was completely harmless. He very well could have ignored the man, but Arthur needed to be challenged every now and then.

And Leonardo liked to play too.

“You just strike me as someone who doesn’t care for a challenge. As if you can’t be arsed with it.”

“Are you saying she’s challenging?”

Most people would have squirmed under Leonardo’s stare, but Arthur’s eyes only twinkled back at him, “Not challenging, just…troublesome.”

“I thought you liked ‘troublesome’.”

“Oh, I do,” another sip, “very much.”

It seems Comte was the only one to notice the miniscule twitch of Leonardo’s hand and the tightening grip around his cup, as he finally interrupted, “Arthur, I recognise that you’re only having your fun, but I encourage you to be more mindful about how you speak to our newest member of the mansion. She doesn’t know you too well yet, and may not understand your…ways.”

“I think the only reason you find her challenging, Arthur,” Leonardo had his arms crossed on the table, leaning in dangerously, head slightly cocked to one side, “Is because she does such a beautiful job at proving you wrong.”

Arthur smirked, “And how exactly does she do that?”

With gorgeous timing, the door to the dining room creaked open. The tension in the room fizzled out as all heads turned to the figure in the doorway, prompting jaws to drop.

The men were not used to seeing a woman in trousers, but in that split second they had almost forgotten how she’d looked wearing anything else.

Leonardo, with a brain as advanced as his, had already suspected what was happening behind the scenes, but even he was almost at a loss for words. He had seen many, many things in his life. A lot of good, and a lot of bad. A woman in trousers was far from shocking to him.

But she stood so tall, so magnificently powerful and with the cheekiest smirk he had witnessed. The emerald material sat on her figure as though she was carved from marble, as every inch was perfectly tailored to her. The power she held to have silenced a whole room and demanded their eyes’ attention. And yet, of all the eyes in the room, of all the points she was currently proving, her gaze was set on him.

He felt goosebumps tickle his spine.

He spared a quick glance at Comte, who was seemingly taking a sip of his own tea. But he would never be able to hide a smirk behind a teacup from Leonardo.

The sound of her heels hitting the floor echoed in the dining room as she made her way to Leonardo. He stood up to offer his seat, but before he could even utter a ‘good morning’, her lips were on his.

She had always been coy with affection in front of the other members of the mansion, even a simple peck would turn her cheeks rosy. But here she was, hands cupping his face as she melted into him. He didn’t dwell on it for too long, his mind going blank as he brushed his hands against the small of her back and gave her hips a light squeeze. He was moments away from deepening the kiss before she broke it off.

“Are you ready to go?,” she chirped, her smile light and easy as if she hadn’t just turned him into a puddle in her hands.

“I guess I am,” he said, giving her a wink as a silent well played.

“I suppose we’ll see you all later then,” she said to the rest of the room, who’s eyes were still fixed on her.

“Enjoy your Valentine’s Day, you two,” Comte said with a grin, “Behave, Leonardo.”

“I don’t think I’m the one you need to be saying that to, by the looks of it.”

Everyone chuckled, allowing the atmosphere to begin to settle to normal. Arthur, who’s smugness had been replaced by amicable surrender, finally spoke up, “I suppose you win this one, sweetheart.”

She smiled, “I suppose I do.”

Leonardo gave her hand a squeeze, and he felt the tension in her release. He knew that spectacle required some courage from her, and she pulled it off beautifully. He felt at peace knowing she was getting closer and closer to settling in completely, without having to leave any part of herself at the door.

***

Bonus:

Mozart: At least you didn't have to listen to her explain fan fiction.

Arthur: Fan fiction?

Napoleon: It's fictional writing based on existing characters or real people.

Arthur: Oh, so like the Sherlock Holmes collection?

Sebastian: I beg your pardon-

[wawamouse]

20 questions for fic writers :)

Not tagged specifically but it came across my dash with a 'tagging everyone' and that includes meeee! (I think I've actually done this meme before but I don't remember it exactly. And I love filling out questionnaires, so whatever lmao)

Tagging: Everyone! Everyone who see this :P

1. How many works on AO3?

165 on main… and 9 on my RPF account from high school LOL

2. Total word count on AO3?

1,254,112 wowza! Most of that word count is from 2020 onward lol.

3. Top five fics by kudos?

We Who Have The Souls - HxH - 773 kudos

The Horror Not To be Surveyed - HxH - 717

Amethyst Remembrance - HxH - 552

Suppositions - The Walking Dead - 514

Ash is Purest White - TSOMD -191

4. What fandoms do you primarily write for?

Currently: Oz

In the past: The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty, X-Men (comics), Hunter x Hunter

5. Do you respond to comments?

I try to now. In the past, because I used to write without really being  "in" fandom or knowing anyone, I didn't realise people expected you to lol. I thought as a writer, you did your thing, someone commented if they thought it was at all worth saying anything about, and then you just went on your way like two ships passing in the night.

6. Angstiest ending?

Probably When Tomorrow Comes because the POV is tortured and beaten and dead by the end :)c I actually cried IRL when I wrote this one. Ahh, good memories! Out of my Oz fics… (squints) Dead Man Walking, maybe? Although I think it's open-ended, too, so maybe it's not that angsty. Maybe Terror Makes a Sour Meal, idk. OH. The Death of Jaime Velez. Doi.

7. Fic with the happiest ending?

You know, I write a lot of angst but there's also a ton of happy endings. I guess the happiest is probably the sweeter the sun (wedding fic) or for Oz?? It'll probably be Silver Moon's Sparkling, just because in my mind, it's basically a romcom.

8. Do you get hate?

Not on my fics (not enough readership + I am a perfect human being) but I've seen people vagueing me in fandom tags before for, idk, hyping up rarepairs and side characters too much (skill issue on their part frankly).

9. Do you write smut?

Yes :) I published my first attempt at smut (very vague frottage I think—idk, I refuse to reread it) June 2020, and have been incorrigible ever since.

10. Do you write crossovers?

Not currently, but I've played around with them in the past! My first two fanfics ever were crossovers 💀Harry Potter x Twilight, I'm sad to say.

11. Ever had a fic stolen?

Not technically, no, but I had some fics translated and posted to another site with no link back to AO3, which is not what I thought the person was going to do when they asked me. But… Oh well…

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

A couple! 6—that I know of—to Russian (TSOMD fics) and then one to Chinese (an HXH fic :))

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

Yes… But I took myself off as an author so now it's just on their account 😂 It was from middle school and also a 4 fandom crossover event including Superwholock, soooooo…

14. All time favorite ship?

Whatever is my main hyperfixation tbh, so I'm going to say Miguel/Chico! I don't really have ults of anything in life (colors, movies, books), and that includes ships.

15. WiPs you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

The Nineteenth Year of Chenghua, my zombie apocalypse fic based on the finale cliffhanger (why did they go so hard with it, knowing there'd be no s2???) 😔

16. Writing strengths?

Dialogue? I feel like I do a decent job/have been told I write banter and other verbal exchanges pretty well. Plot, I hope, is also becoming more of a strength, where before it was a weakness.

17. Writing weaknesses?

Description is something I'm always trying to improve—and using more *descriptive* words as well. I think I get stuck in using the same vocab over and over. Reading other works helps shake me out of that pattern a bit, but I haven't been much of a fic reader in past years (I keep stepping into small fandoms lol), and poetry can only take a guy so far… This year, I've been trying to get into audiobooks to help me listen to more sentences and learn from a wider range of examples 😂

18. Thoughts on mixed language dialogue?

My takes on this are kind of changing, but for the most part, if the characters are bilingual with part of it in English, I like making the effort of researching the non-English language and placing it in, with translations through hover text. For my TSOMD fics where the language is Chinese but my story is English, I write titles and words with no English equivalent in pinyin, i.e, du-gong, da-ren, zhihui-shi, etc, instead of blanket terming them all as Your Excellency, or whatever. 

I did try a different approach with Recognition of Another when there was English and Chinese being spoken. I didn’t want to write out everything as pinyin, so for the longer sentences, I wrote it in Chinese (which is obviously gibberish to non speakers/readers) and then wrote the English in italics next to it. Still not sure about that approach… I have an Oz wip as well where it made more sense to put all the “Spanish” in Italics since there was so much of it, but there was also English I wanted to differentiate. When there is a character in the scene who doesn’t speak Spanish, I then wrote the dialogue in Spanish like for most of my fics. 

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter :S

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

I'm quite proud of several of the fics I've written recently for various reasons, technical and creative, buuuuut Knuckle Down at the moment, just because of how many times I've reread it myself 😂

[queen-of-deans-booty]

Ask Jeeves: Final Part

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~2.3k

Warnings: canon angst and violence, extra angst

Summary: Bobby's presence is requested at someone's funeral/will reading. Since he's not here to go, his next of kin will have to do, i.e. you. Sam and Dean make you go thinking they are going to win big. You get something else instead, something deadlier.

Season Ten Masterlist

Author’s Note: I do not own anything from Supernatural. All credit goes to their respective owners. I love seeing any and all comments <3

x

You four split up in search of this shifter with Olivia going with Sam and you with Dean. There are rooms in the back of the house that haven't been explored yet, so you go to them first. The first two rooms didn't have anything or anyone inside, but the third one did. As soon as you entered, you heard someone or something inside the closet make a noise. Dean looks at you before grabbing a silver candlestick as if that is going to do any damage.

You roll your eyes and open the closet door to reveal Dash and Amber making out. They gasp and break apart from each other.

"Really?"

"We can explain," Amber stutters.

"Let me guess. You two got bored last Christmas?"

"New Canaan clambake, actually. We were in line at the buffet and they ran out of steamers. One thing led to another, and..."

"We didn't kill Stanton," Amber shakes her head. "We may be guilty of cheating but not murder."

"Touch these."

Dean takes out his butterknife and holds it out to them.

"Why?"

"Do it or everyone knows you're fucking each other," you threaten.

They reluctantly reach up and touch the knives. Nothing happens.

"Did we pass?" Amber asks.

"Yeah. Don't worry, your secret is safe with us. Come on you two," Dean scoffs.

You four go back to the living room where Sam is sitting between Beverly and Heddy. He is getting touched everywhere except for his cock, but you know Beverly would love nothing more than to stick her hands down his pants. Ever since you lost your soul, you've seen people for who they truly are. You can see past the bullshit and the lies because you have nothing tying you to other people. Sam sees you and Dean and tries to get away even though both women try to get him to come back. You catcall whistle when Sam joins your side and smirk.

"Two women in one night? Better wrap it before you tap it," you chuckle.

"Should we come back when you're done?"

"Ladies, he's single," you say to the two women who giggle. "He really likes spanking."

"Shut up," Sam hisses at you. "They're clear.

"So is Dash and Amber who are a thing, by the way."

"That's everyone except for--"

A loud scream comes from upstairs no doubt from Olivia. Everyone rushes upstairs to see what she is screaming about, and she is leaning against the wall while pointing to the bathroom behind her. Inside is the detective with his head in the toilet, clearly dead. Everyone piles into the bathroom to get a closer look while you look at Olivia who looks so scared.

"Wow, you must be a really good actress."

"Excuse me?" she sniffles.

"You can't bullshit a bullshitter. I see right through you. You're not so innocent, are you?" You leave her to think about your words as you head inside the bathroom. "Why don't we just leave? He was the only thing holding us here and now he's dead. Let's just get in our cars and pretend this never happened."

"We're not going to do that," Dean glares.

"What kind of monster would do such a thing?" Heddy asks.

Everyone turns to look at Olivia, suspicious that she found the body.

"Don't look at me. I was just trying to pee."

"Okay, hold on, before we start pointing fingers--"

"Amber has a motive," Heddy cuts your husband off. "She killed the detective because she knew that it was just a matter of time before he figured out she killed Stan."

"Bravo Rizzoli! You solved the case. Want to weigh in too, Isles?" Dash asks Beverly sarcastically.

"I didn't kill Stanton or the detective. I have proof. My alibi is in the room."

"Wait for it," Dean whispers to his brother.

"Amber couldn't have killed the detective because she was with me. We're in love," Dash says and pulls her closer. "We're sleeping together."

"I knew it," Beverly gasps.

"Well, then you have motive too. You offed Stan because you were diddling his wife."

"Oh. The old lady doth protest too much. You're only pointing the finger to distract from your own guilt. You probably got Baby Jane to help," Dash accuses.

"I never!" Beverly gasps. "I'm leaving."

"Okay, hang on a minute," Dean steps in. He grabs Beverly's arm to prevent her from leaving. "First of all, who talks like that? Second of all, no one's leaving, okay?"

"Ohh, get your hands off me, young man," she smirks and runs her hands up his chest.

Before you know what you're doing, you grab Beverly's other arm and harshly yank her away from your husband.

"Keep your filthy hands to yourself or I will hurt you." Beverly backs up, clearly afraid of you, and Dean puts both hands on your shoulders to calm you down. "This house has a monster inside of it. Now, I am more than happy to leave and let it kill you or you can shut the fuck up and follow our rules. It's simple."

"As much as I don't agree with her tone, she's right," Sam backs you up. "We have four corpses now."

"Four?" Amber gasps.

"Yes. You can add Phillip and Colette to the list. We can't help you unless you stop arguing with one another. You need to trust us."

"Trust you?" Dash says, getting in Dean's face. You step forward so that you're blocking him from getting any closer to him. "Uh, we don't even know you. I'm trying to be objective here but we've had countless family functions before, and even though we wanted to kill one another, we never did."

"Dash is right. Our get-togethers never end in murder. The only thing different this time around is you three," Heddy says.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. First of all, whatever you're suggesting--"

Dash spots the detective's gun and grabs it before pointing it at you, Sam, and Dean.

"You three! Let's go."

You smirk and walk right up to the barrel of the gun and push your forehead into it. 

"Do it. Shoot me."

Dash stares at you for a few seconds before cocking the gun to show he means business. Dean jumps in and pulls you away from the gun because he's scared Dash might actually shoot you.

"Come on, let's go." Dean drags you with him out of the bathroom with Sam following. Dash points to a door with his gun and Dean opens it to reveal a small closet. You three walk inside with the gun still pointed at you. The closet looks like a small office fit with a couple of desks, a bunch of boxes, and other office supplies. "Sit tight until the cops get here."

"You don't want to do this. We are your best shot at making it out of here alive. We're not the bad guys, Dash."

"I beg to differ. You're wearing flannel."

Dash quickly leaves, shuts the door, and locks it. Dean tries to open it even though he knows Dash locked the door. Sam starts looking through the desk for a pair of keys that might open the door. Dean takes out his butterknife and tries to jimmy the lock open the old-fashioned way.

"Hey, I found keys."

"It's locked from the outside."

"Are you kidding me? Great," Sam scoffs.

Dean takes out the knife when he realizes it's no use only to see that the knife is bent.

"Made in Taiwan. Fucking stainless steel."

"That's why no one sizzled? They're not even real silver?"

"First cubic zirconium and now this. No wonder the rich stay rich. How are we gonna kill this thing?" Dean asks.

"There are silver bullets in the trunk," you shrug.

"Yeah, assuming we ever make it out of this place."

"This is why I never wanted to come in the first place, but no. You wanted beer money as if you can't buy some of it. Give me a break," you scoff.

Dean and Sam search the room for a way out of here when Dean looks at you in thought.

"So, why did you treat Beverly like that? Jealous she had her hands on me? Jealousy is an emotion, you know."

"Oh, please," you roll your eyes. "I couldn't care less that she wanted to take a peek at what's in your pants. If she did, then I'd hear you gloat about it and that is torture in and of itself. I saved myself from that pain." 

Sam looks over at four small security monitors in the back and pales at what he sees.

"Uh, guys? You need to see this." You and Dean walk over to Sam to look at the monitors. One of them is in the living room where the rest of the family is, and Olivia has the detective gun in her hands. You knew something was up with her. "I fucking knew it."

Dean has to get out of here or else people are going to die. He prepares himself and runs at the door with his shoulder out so that when he hits it, his shoulder takes the impact. He thought he was going to bust down the door with his shoulder. How cute.

"Damn."

"Hey, there is a gun safe," Sam says. The keys he found earlier are still in his hands, and he looks at them in thought. "They're probably for this."

Sam opens the gun safe and sees firearms inside but the question still is, how are you going to get out of here? You turn to the door Dean rammed his shoulder in and use enough force behind your kick.

"It's not going to work," Dean says.

If there is one thing you hate with or without your soul is someone telling you what you can and can't do. You deliver three more kicks to the door before it busts wide open and you turn to Dean with a smirk.

"You were saying?"

"Come on."

Sam hands you one of the guns before leaving the room with his own trained in front of him. The others must have heard the noise you made when you opened the door which means Olivia did, too. Sam walks into the living room first where she is waiting and she shoots at him before running off.

"Stay here!" Sam says and follows after her.

"Wait, Dean," you whisper and grab his arm, "the only thing that is going to kill her is the silver bullets in the trunk."

"Come on."

You and Dean sneak out of the house while Sam keeps her busy. To leave would be so easy right now but Dean has to be the hero and save everyone he can. You two toss those guns to the side so you can use your own that are already filled with silver bullets. Once you're done, you head back inside and look for Sam and Olivia. The kitchen is right next to the front door which is why you can hear their voices inside. Two doors lead into the kitchen so you and Dean go through the back to avoid being spotted. You sneak inside and see her standing in front of Sam who is on the ground. Both of them have guns. Only one will be killed by it.

"That choice was made for me a long time ago. Why haven't you taken a shot? Oh, you don't have any silver bullets, do you?"

"No, but he does," you say from behind her.

Dean shoots her once in the chest and watches as she crumbles to the ground. You raise your gun and shoot her already dead body. It's like the both of you are in a trance because you both fire the guns one by one, littering her body with bullets long after she is dead. Sam jumps from the sounds but can only watch in horror at what you two do.

After everything is all said and done, the police are called to come to the active crime scene. Everyone is going to be questioned by the police, but you're going to get the hell out of there before they can show up. You're about to leave when Dash stops you.

"Guys? The police are on the way. What a mess. I owe you three an apology."

"Don't sweat it. I mean, you were just protecting your family and there's nothing wrong with that," Sam says, sneaking a quick glance at you and Dean.

"So, I spoke to Aunt Bunny's attorney. He said outside of the pendant, everything was left to Olivia."

"You know what? Speaking of, you should keep it." Dean takes out the necklace and hands it over. "It's a key to the attic."

"Bobby must have really meant something to Aunt Bunny. How can we repay you?"

"Forget we were ever here," you answer.

"No, you saved our lives. I want everyone to know what heroes you three are."

"Heroes," you scoff.

"Look pal, the fact that we pulled your bacon out of the fire is nobody's business. Okay?" Dash still looks uncertain. "I'm serious. Put a pin in it or we'll come back for your preppy ass."

Dash nods in understanding and returns to his family, and you three get the hell out of dodge. Sam and Dean are up front so you can stretch your legs in the back.

"So, what was that about back there?" Sam asks once Dean pulls onto the freeway.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about all those extra shots after the shifter was already dead. What was that?"

"Target practice?"

"I'm being serious. Are you sure it wasn't, I don't know, demon residue or something to do with the Mark?"

"No, none of that."

"I gotta be honest--"

"Oh my God, Sam. It was my first kill since I've been back. I got a little anxious. I wanted to make sure it was done right--plain and simple. Why am I even explaining this to you?"

Dean is done talking about this but you're not. You know how to fuck with Sam's head so you scooch closer to him so you don't have to shout over the music Dean is blaring.

"Sam, the Mark is responsible for a lot of things. You should be worried about us because this is only the beginning. First, we kill Olivia and before you know it, it'll be you. Stay out of our way and we won't have a problem."

Sam turns and looks at you but you're already lying down in the back seat.

x

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary​​​​​​ where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

[shardsofstark]

SHIPPING INFO

answer the following for your muse(s) so people know how shipping works on your blog.

Tagged by: I. . . Borrowed it from a mutual 👀

Tagging: anyone. Say I tagged you.

what’s your OTP for your muse(s)?

I meannnn I don't talk about my ships alot on the dash anymore because I'm scared I'll scare people off since my ships are pretty much all with canon's. 😅 And I would never force a ship. Butttt anxiety. So like if you know me??? You KNOW. If not?? Guess you'll have to guess.

what are you willing to RP when it comes to shipping?

Uhhhh honestly most things as long as it's not weird and incestuous or derogatory or gross???

how large does the age gap have to be to make it uncomfortable?

She doesn't go much younger. I mean if I worked out the age gap right? Wanda is five years younger as her and you bet she refers to her as 'kid'. Older? She doesn't really have a set preference/age limit? She's just attracted to who she's attracted to.

are you selective when shipping?

Yeah! It has to make sense for both muses. Nadia isn't easy to ship with. One night stands? No problem. No strings? Sure? But actual romantic ships? They're tricky. Not many people would have the patience to deal with Nadia. She retreats when she feels too much. She shuts people out. She's not good in relationships so any potential ship? It's gonna be complicated and slow burn as hell.

how far do steamy moments have to go before they’re considered NSFW?

Anything more than kissing ig? Like if it's getting steamy it's getting tagged.

who are other muses you ship your muse with?

Again. . . I don't really talk about my ships on the dash butttt one is Clint/Nadia. They're not. . . OTP anymore like they were but I still ADORE the pairing and an lucky enough gin writes them with me!!

does one have to ask to ship with you?

Yes! I wanna know expectations. I wanna know if you're feeling it. I have anxiety. Talk to me.

how often do you like to ship?

Idk. I love ships sm. But I also adore familial bonds. I love exploring found family. Even her actual family. So I like both as much as the other I guess!

are you multiship?

Yes!

are you ship obsessed or ship more-or-less?

Definitely ship obsessed. My ships live rent free in my brain. If we ship you will be getting headcanons and random edits if I'm comfortable with you!

what is your favorite ship in your current fandom?

No comment. . . 👀

finally, how does one ship with you?

Write with me. Talk with me. Plot with me. Send me shippy memes. Shippy memes are generally open to everyone but I will take them as more casual/one night stands/no strings unless we discuss a ship.

[overlyimmersed]

Training

As the Druid chief Jenna orders her final instruction Maranwe looks over to the fairy beside her. She smiles at him and holds her hand out. Helbram returns the smile and gladly takes her hand as the two enter the cave along with the others.

"Y'know, I'm not sure I really know what training exactly is." Maranwe comments as they float besides each other in the dark. "It's like practice isn't it?"

"Yeah, kinda," Helbram answers. "But it's more intense than that. With training you have to have purpose. You're trying to improve." "I thought the point of practicing was to improve."

"Yeah, but this is different. It's not just repeating the same thing over and over again. You have to push yourself."

Maranwe halts, pausing to think over the perspective. Helbram just gives her times, watching her face as she mulls it over. He can practically see the gears turning in her head.

"Hm..." she responds, finally, "I think I get that."

"Good!" Helbram smiles and lets go of her hand to clap his together once. The sound reverberates around them, which catches their attention.

They glances around, surprised to find themselves suddenly in a chamber. Maranwe wings tilt down a little as her eyes pass over the all confining stone walls, floor and ceiling.

"I guess I wasn't paying attention..." she reasons, "I hadn't really considered that we'd be underground."

Helbram notes the tremor in her voice and returns his attention to her, "It is a cave."

"I know, I jus-" her words are cute short, turned into a high pitched yelp as she narrowly dodges a cluster of thick, spiked roots shooting up from the ground.

They both look around for the source of the attack and quickly find it. At first it looks mostly like a mass of purple leaves, before it pulls it's limbs out of the ground and hovers above it just like the two fairies.

"What is that." Helbram asks, as they both stare at it. The creature has an overall humanoid, feminine form with skin mostly white with dark blue accents, except for it's face which is brown and material resembling sleeves on it's arms which are light blue. The mass of purple leaves they saw initially resemble hair, and it has three almost pineapple looking fruits growing from the top of it's head.

"It's a type of screamer," Maranwe answers, serious but calm.

"It doesn't look anything like a screamer!" He turns towards Maranwe to argue, and the creature takes the lapse of attention as opportunity to attack him. It dashes forwards and slashes at Helbram with it's root-like arms.

He braces for the pain, squeezing his eyes shut, but it never hits him. He opens his eyes to see why and finds himself face to face with the monster, it's arm straining against a shimmering silver barrier between them. He glances at Maranwe and sees her hand outstretched in his direction. Her jaw is clenched from the effort of resisting the creature.

Movement draws his attention back to his attacker, it pushes off the shield and flies back some distance. The shield dissipates in a shower of silvery glitter.

"It's a Rage Screamer," Maranwe specifies, "They're a stronger sort and act kind of like queen bees. Kind of. The Sound and Strike Screamers you're thinking of are like workers."

"Oh." is all he can manage, still caught off guard by Maranwe's quick defense. "I didn't know you could make those shields around other things too..."

"It's the same principle. We should probably focus." Maranwe redirects, never taking her eyes off the threat.

"Right," and he turns his attention back to the Rage Screamer. "So what other tricks do you have up your sleeve?"

"Um, well..." Another root attack interrupts their conversation, this time Helbram is ready to dodge it. Maranwe chooses to block with another shield. "How about you attack it, and I'll defend and distract."

He finds that suggestion a little odd, shrinking from the fight right after saving the day like that. But he complies nonetheless and dashes forward to slash at the Screamer with the stick Jenna had provided when they entered.

The monster parries with it's arm and Helbram dodges to the side.

"Close your eyes!" Maranwe shouts behind him.

He does so, but still has to raise his arm to block out enough of the sudden flash of blinding light. The Screamer sheiks in pain, and Helbram opens his eyes to see it covering it's own face and staggering. He's not entirely sure what Maranwe just did, but he's not going to let the advantage slip away. He decides the give the creature a taste of it's own medicine, calling a number of large roots from the ground to impale it. It sheiks again before pulling itself off the roots and flying back further from the fairies.

"How do you like that!" Helbram gloats.

Maranwe tries to suppress a smile, "We shouldn't underestimate it."

The monster glares at them and lets out an enraged scream, louder and more ear splitting than it's previous shrieks.

Maranwe flinches and covers her ears with her hands, "I think it's mad!"

As if that were a que, the Rage Screamer jumps up, and does a spin before plunging it's limbs into the earth again, this time with more force and a distinct discharge of magical power. The huge cluster of root spikes that comes hurtling from the ground towards them seem to be giving off a kind of magenta smoke. Though neither has the time to consider what it means as they brace for the impact.

When Maranwe opens her eyes again, it's to Helbram's face. She's lying on her back and he's trying to rouse her. She blinks and sits up with a groan.

"You two are lucky," comes a female voice. The two look up to see a less than pleased Jenna looking down at them. "If you weren't Fairies, that poison would have done a number on you. You really should have taken this more seriously."

Maranwe scoff as she gets to her feet and starts to pat the dirt off herself. "I was. He doesn't know how to take things seriously."

"Hey! I didn't exactly know what to expect!" Helbram argues, standing up to meet her.

"I didn't either! That didn't stop me!"

"Just because you're afraid of everything!"

"That's enough!" Jenna breaks through the argument. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that you do better next time."

The pair of fairies both fold their arms and huff, refusing to look at each other. Though Maranwe is quickly distracted from the tiff as she notices an absence.

"Where's Harlequin?"

"You just missed him," Merlin answers, or the magical projection of Merlin, her voice having a strange hollow quality about it. "He went inside with the Captain."

Maranwe exchanges a look with Helbram before both move closer to look into the glowing orb Merlin's been watching.

[rowanul-tyr]

something i mentioned briefly in the rowan lore iceberg i made ages ago was his relationship with haurchefant if the vault went differently, and was thinking about it more, and wanted to give voice to it and explore kind of what i was meaning. under a cut just so i dont clog up the dash

so in the rowan lore iceberg that i posted to twitter a while ago, there was a comment a few layers deep that said:

“if haurchefant had lived and he and rowan got married, it would have probably ended unhappily.”

it’s safe to say that i am…mostly over my heartbreak about haurchefant, because i loved him as a character and i adored the relationship between him and rowan when he was the only one i shipped rowan with. i do still really love him as a character, but i’ve noticed how often he gets brought up by the MSQ even still, and it was always the end of our time with him, never anything before. i agree that the story sometimes…reminds us of that perhaps a little too often.

i do still ship rowan and haurchefant, and i think losing haurchefant is still a major thing in rowan’s life that sits with him for a long time.

and i don’t fully stand by what i said in the lore iceberg, or at least the implication, so. wanted to expand on it a bit, i guess.

in my mind (if not outright stated in the past), haurchefant and rowan’s romance was very whirlwind in nature--rowan hadn’t really ever been in a romantic relationship like that before, and haurchefant probably has more experience. i do think they would genuinely love each other--since i have haurchefant going as far as to ask edmont’s permission to marry rowan, which was readily given. and i think, for a while, they would have been happy.

in this version of the story, haurchefant would probably be relieved of his burden to ishgard when he marries rowan, and he becomes a scion. they are disgustingly adorable around each other during the honeymoon phase, even with post HW happening. and haurchefant is eager to help lyse with ala mhigo.

rowan…has his reservations. he has his own history with baelsar’s wall and his mother’s family and he’s starting to have issues with lyse and i think he’d see haurchefant be so gung ho, with that smile better suits a hero mentality (though that is admittedly supposed to be a “please don’t be sad about my death” thing, if he pulled it out in this alternate reality). rowan’s not comfortable, but he feels awful for feeling the way he does, so he tries not to talk about it. haurchefant is probably sharp enough to generally tell what’s happening with rowan, but rowan refuses to open up about it (he knows he should be open, but he doesn’t want to spoil the momentum/motivation) and it’s maybe the first real strain on the relationship.

at the same time, rowan probably also feels weird about his asexuality. sorry in advance for mild spicy talk about them, i’m usually just vague. but…rowan doesn’t feel sexual attraction. he does think people can be attractive, but he doesn’t go “oh i need to sleep with this person” or anything like that. and haurchefant…is maybe not very enthusiastic about sex but is also not shy and is even a bit kinky from what we know. and like. idk its hard to beat around the bush so: because of his asexuality rowan is basically always the bottom, if things go that way? there’s probably things he could do to swap around but he finds it easier anyway. so rowan is fine with the arrangement, mostly, but. he can’t help but feel like he’s not doing enough on his end (even though haurchefant would never think that). and he sees haurchefant flirt with other people bc that’s just who he is, and rowan worries that maybe getting married was a mistake, and he doesn’t want to hold haurchefant from being happy. on top of that, their relationship going from close friends to sleeping together/devoted to each other was a bit fast, and so while rowan did make his asexuality known, rowan being such a people pleaser means that he probably agrees to sex more often than he'd actually want it. but it's to make haurchefant happy! rowan wants to give haurchefant what he wants!! and i don't think it'd be conscious behavior for haurchefant, either, he'd be mortified if he knew. he'd never want rowan to do that for him but rowan would because he doesn't know how to set boundaries with your partner very well.

haurchefant is a very supportive person, and if he knew about this he would find a way to reassure rowan about it all, but i do think there is a teeny bit of the hero worship/idolization that happens with wol/graha too, and haurchefant perhaps being…overly protective? rowan’s probably in a weird headspace for a good portion of stormblood, and losing to zenos probably just makes haurchefant lose it (considering the comment about him needing to be subdued wrt shiva, and the story of how he went on a rampage when francel was kidnapped as a kid). so he might smother rowan a tiny bit, making sure he doesn’t overtax himself, but it might get to a point where it’s too much.

they’d have a fight, like an actual yelling match. and it wouldn’t do much to fix the issues, it would just make them both feel bad. and they would apologize and be mostly fine, but it doesn’t fix the issues.

haurchefant would be good at chasing away the anxieties if he knew about them, but i wonder how hard it would be for rowan to open up about it. considering he only feels that open for everyone post 5.0, i don’t know.

the thing is, they would both still love each other dearly. and if they split, it would certainly be amicable, but not ideal. the whirlwind nature of the relationship starting before they really understood each other fully would lead to it not working out the way it could, i think. i don’t know. i still have to think about it more, but. yeah.

rowan works well with estinien because they are so similar in position in life but still different, and can understand what the other is going through without many words. and rowan works well with g’raha because he learns to communicate effectively what he wants, and they both understand that they have to meet in the middle and adjust their expectations of one another. and i think it’s possible rowan and haurchefant could have gotten there in the end, but it’s hard to say. haurchefant doesn’t make it out of the vault, so we won’t ever actually know how he’d have reacted to things beyond that point.

so. maybe i’ll come back to this with more thoughts later, but for now…that’s all i wanted to jot down.

[backtothestart02]

Do You Have My Number? - 3/? | westallen fanfiction

A/N: So inspired for this fic, so here's another chap! Enjoy!

...

Chapter 3 -

Around nine p.m. the following evening, Barry emerged from his bedroom after spending a good couple hours packing up his things in his closet. He still had a week and a half to get through everything, but he figured packing the small things he rarely used wouldn’t hurt. He hadn’t touched anything the day before, too consumed with work and Iris and Cisco kicking him out unmercifully to bother with packing. But today he made a point of doing something, so Cisco wouldn’t get on his nerves. Said nerves were already shattered enough for one week.

“Hey,” Cisco said, popping some pizza pockets into the microwave. “You want some of these?”

Barry wrapped his hand around the back of his head and nodded.

“Uh, sure. Thanks, man.”

“No problem.”

Barry stood awkwardly in the kitchen before finally moving into the living room and plopping down on the couch, waiting for the microwave to beep. He hated that Cisco always let it beep and didn’t stop it before the last second went off. Something he could look forward to not having to put up with once he lived alone, he guessed.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

He rolled his eyes but shrugged his off, smiling half-heartedly when Cisco brought the plate in and set it on the coffee table.

“Bet you won’t miss that,” Cisco said, mimicking the sound the microwave had made.

Barry chuckled.

“I’ll miss it a little,” he admitted.

They shared a smile and both grabbed a pizza pocket, promptly spitting them out simultaneously when they were too hot for either of them to eat.

They both grimaced and then smiled at each other. Surprisingly, beats later Cisco sobered up.

“Listen, Barry, about you moving out…”

Barry tensed up.

“I’m sorry I was so rough about it, like I was shoving you out the door…like our friendship doesn’t mean anything to me when really, it means the world.”

Barry looked down at the floor, Iris momentarily forgotten.

“So, why did you do it? Did Cindy make you do it?”

“No, no, it’s nothing like that. The moving in was my idea.”

Barry frowned.

“Then I don’t-”

“Wait. Just…hold on.”

He got up, dashed into his room, then came out holding a small box that fit in the palm of his hand. Barry’s eyes widened when he saw it was made of velvet.

“Is that…what I think it is?”

Cisco wait till he sat back down, then handed it over to Barry. Sure enough, when Barry opened it a brilliant diamond ring sparkled up at him.

“Wow. I…I don’t know what to say. Congrats, man. I always knew you were crazy in love, but this is on another level.” He closed the box and handed it back.

“Yeah. And I was going to propose, I really was. Get the two of us our own place, and then you could stay here. But Cindy made an offhand comment a couple months ago about how she was nowhere near ready for marriage. I had already bought the ring by then, so there was no going back, at least for me. But she did say she wouldn’t be opposed to moving in with someone as a next step. She said it as if she meant someone else, but the last few weeks she kept dropping hints, kept staying longer when she was over and not wanting to leave, even commented on how much better our shower is than hers.”

Barry scrunched up his nose. He hated their shower.

Cisco noticed and laughed.

“Yeah, exactly. So, I knew something was up. When I asked her hesitantly if she wanted to move in together, she triumphantly exclaimed how she was glad I’d picked up on all her hints to live here.”

“Ah. And you didn’t ask her to clarify?”

“No, no, I did. She went on to say how despite loving you as a friend, she really wanted this to be our space, as in hers and mine. I didn’t know what to say to that, but I was just so glad she was down with getting more serious that I let it lie.” He sighed. “I shouldn’t have done that. I’ve known you longer, and it wasn’t fair to just…demand you leave like it was nothing.”

“Thanks, Cisco. I really appreciate that.” He smiled faintly. “But, as it turns out, it may be for the best.”

“Oh, yeah? Why’s that?”

“Well, having my own place will certainly make it easier to have dates over.”

Cisco snorted.

“Since when have you even tried to bring dates home? I mean, it’s been months, hasn’t it? If not over a year?”

“Well…” he squeaked.

“Unless there’s someone now that you happen to fancy,” he joked, but Barry’s eyes locked on his. “No. Uh-uh. Absolutely not.”

“What?” Barry asked, confused…sort of.

Cisco shot up the same time as his phone rang in his pocket.

“You cannot bang Iris!”

Barry’s jaw dropped. He went to protest, to say he wanted to do so much more than just have sex with her, but the ringing phone got to them both, and he gestured for Cisco to answer.

Cisco looked at the screen and laughed sardonically.

“Speaking of…” He showed Barry the screen, which showed the name ‘IRIS’ in big capital letters. “Hey, Iris, what’s up?”

“I can’t see Barry anymore,” Iris said on the other end.

“What?! Why?” he asked suspiciously, spinning around to give Barry a nasty glare.

“What does she say about me?” Barry got up and scurried over, nearly tripping over the coffee table.

Cisco waved him off.

“Not as a client, at least,” Iris continued. “It’s too unprofessional.”

“What did he do to you?” Cisco demanded, and Barry scoffed.

“Nothing!” Iris screeched.

“Then, why do you want to drop him?”

Barry’s heart sank. Cisco couldn’t take the puppy dog eyes and Iris’ insistence at the same time, so he locked himself in his bedroom and focused on Iris.

“It’s just I…” She sighed, nibbling on her bottom lip. “I’m attracted to him, Cisco.”

“Oh, good lord,” he muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.

There are two of them.

“What?” she asked.

“Nothing.” He continued in denial. “I don’t understand, Iris. Surely you’ve had clients you were attracted to before.”

“Well, yeah, but-”

“And you were still able to do your job.”

“Yes, but-”

“So what’s the difference this time?”

“I don’t know. It’s never been this…intense before.”

“Did he come on to you?” he accused.

“Sort of? Not deliberately, I’m sure. Though he did ask me to get lunch with him between seeing properties.”

“Jesus Christ,” he muttered.

“I don’t know if that counts though,” she defended. “He’s probably not even into me.”

Cisco snorted.

“Oh, he’s into you.”

“He is?” She could hardly catch her breath. “How do you know that? Did he tell you?”

He groaned, hating being caught in the middle of this hornball fest.

“What I mean is, you’re hot, Iris. What guy isn’t into you?”

“Oh.” She deflated, but he felt only slightly bad. “Well, he could be different.”

“He’s not. Trust me. He’s a guy with eyes and sometimes a brain. They all want you.”

She got defensive.

“You make it sound like a bad thing.”

“All I’m saying is that you should view Barry as if he’s any other guy. You’re a professional. Hell, you’re Iris Ann West. You can handle anything that comes your way, even someone named Bartholomew Henry Allen.”

“Bartholomew?” She giggled. “That’s funny. I’ll have to tease him about that.”

“No,” he cut in. “No teasing.”

“Right. No teasing.” She shook her head. “Nope, can’t do it, Cisco, I’m sorry.”

“You have to tease him that badly?”

“Tease him, flirt, fantasize…” She sighed. “I want him, Cisco.”

He groaned and fell back on his bed.

“Just,” she grumbled. “Tell him I’ve referred him to my co-worker, Sue. She’s excellent, and she’ll have all his notes and the properties I was planning on showing him tomorrow. It’ll be okay, I promise.”

“And what’ll you do?” he asked. “March over here for a one-night stand?”

She gasped, scandalized at the suggestion.

“Cisco!”

“Well?”

“No. Absolutely not. I…I will wait till he’s gotten moved into a new apartment and then I’ll find an excuse to get invited over. I will not be a booty call.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” he mumbled.

“What was that?” she asked pointedly, firmly, accusingly.

“Nothing. Okay, fine. I’ll tell him he’s to see Sue…?”

“Dearbon.”

“Dearbon. Okay. Fine. But seriously, Iris, get your shit together. It’s one man. It shouldn’t mess up your whole professional life.”

“Goodbye, Cisco. And thank you.”

Click.

He sighed, got up and opened the door to the same sad puppy dog eyes he’d left behind in the living room.

“She doesn’t want me?”

…

The next morning, Iris sat at her desk in her high-ceiling, large-windows office that Barry Allen loved so much and stared at the number one on her answering machine, praying it wasn’t from one Barry Allen.

Since he and Cisco still lived together, she imagined Cisco had shared something of the situation with him, but she didn’t know how much, and she was afraid to find out.

Besides, she knew she’d cave the second he started begging her to take him back as a client.

Her hand was lifted in mid-air when Sue waltzed in through her open doorway and plopped down on the other side of the desk a coffee in each hand, one for each of them.

“Am I interrupting something?”

Iris winced and accepted the coffee graciously.

“Not exactly. Just a matter of the heart and the profession.”

Sue frowned.

“Is this about that Barry Allen case you wanted me to take over that you refuse to tell me why?” She sipped at her coffee.

Iris cringed.

“Maybe.” She leaned back in her chair and drummed the arms with her fingertips. “I didn’t tell him directly.”

“That’s not like you.”

“I told his roommate.”

“Still not like you.”

“And I’m afraid the one message I have is for him begging me to take him back – as a client.”

Sue squinted.

“Why do you say ‘as a client’?”

Iris gulped.

“What would you be instead? A friendly neighbor?” She joked. “Or…” She watched Iris avoid eye contact, and the dots fused into a solid line. “Oh my god, you want to fuck this guy.”

“Shhh!!!”

She got up and closed the door to her office before sitting back down.

“We are at work right now! People could overhear!”

Sue looked amused and languidly sipped more of her beverage.

“Yes, but you’re acting like a horny teenager, not the professional realtor we all know and love.”

Iris sighed.

“He’s just…a guy. I’ve handled guys before. Guys that got too handsy – out, guys that were rude to my face – out. But if this guy, if this Bartholomew Henry Allen,” Sue blinked in continued amusement. “If he tells me to take him back, I will do it, and I will ruin my career in the process.”

Sue laughed and uncrossed her knees to lean forward.

“I don’t think you’ll be ruining anything. Listen to the message.”

“But I-”

“Listen to it.”

She blew out a sharp exhale and pressed the big round button for messages on her phone.

“Hey, Iris, it’s me, Barry. Look, I know you probably don’t want to hear from me, but I just feel like I need to apologize for the other day. It was unprofessional of me to come on to you, and I promise if you give me another chance and just help me find an apartment, you’ll never hear from me again. Just think about it.”

Beep.

“End of messages. To delete-”

Iris pressed the message to delete it, so she wouldn’t have to listen to it again.

Sue raised her eyebrows.

“That’s decisive.”

“Well, I had to make a decision.”

“Now you just have to call him back and tell him you won’t be taking him back on.”

“What?!”

Sue smiled, standing back up.

“It’s what the professional in you would do.”

Her jaw dropped.

“Let me know if you still want me to take him,” she said, opening Iris’ office door. “I’ll be in my office.”

She whistled on her way down the hall, sing-songing to Jerry, another realtor who worked across the hall from her, on her way.

Iris leaned back in her chair and groaned. Then, she flipped through Barry’s file until she found his cell phone number. Having found it, she got up to close her office door once more and put the phone on speaker after dialing said number. Then she crossed her fingers and prayed that he wouldn’t pick up, so she could just leave a message and that would be that.

One ring.

Two rings.

Three rings.

“Yes, yes, yes,” she cheered, preparing her message-leaving voice.

She cleared her throat, and then-

“Iris?”

[aroace-number-eight]

i was about to pop in and leave an ask but oh my god it’s??? you??? i didn’t realise that you’d changed your url! i’m so glad that you’re doing well!!! i hadn’t realised until now that i hadn’t seen your old url on my dash in a while, but it makes me happy that you’re still here vibing :)

anyways, sorry, got kinda off topic, but i just wanted to say that i totally getcha with your post about wanting to reread the series and analyse it:/. it’s a problem i run into whenever i want to discuss something that’s generally understood to be ‘cringe’ or ‘objectively bad’ by the majority of the fandom. and like… yeah, whilst that may be true in some cases i guess, a lot of the time, i feel like that sort of attitude tends to come from people who still feel a little embarrassed liking something that they’ve been made to feel is cringe. like yeah, maybe the ya series’ i loved at 13 are not the mona lisa, but they weren’t created to be, and there’s a lot of cool and beautiful things about them that are fun to discuss and analyse! but putting those next to a sort of obligatory comment of ‘yeah but this whole thing is trash anyway i’m probably just dreaming’ is something that happens so often in these fandoms and i totally feel you, because like yeah after a while it doesn’t feel great. i feel like people tend to think it’s fine ��� or a price they have to pay almost — to dunk on something if it’s viewed as objectively bad, but like… actually dunking on something constantly when people genuinely enjoy the thing is generally not a great thing to do, yknow? like i love joking about these books and all sometimes but i also get what you mean by this. i’m so sorry, i can’t really get the words across as eloquently as i’d like, but i just wanted to say that i hope that you enjoy rereading and analysing, if you chose to do! i always love love reading your insights, i think it’s awesome to see the books i’ve loved for years through a new lens. but i also get that voice in your head that worries about this sort of typical fandom attitude — could i suggest making some of your posts unreblogable? i’m not trying to b patronising or anything i swear, that was just something that helped me when i was doing a similar thing to do and didn’t want people to make me feel silly for putting my whole heart into what i knew were viewed as ‘cringe’ books by a lot of people. just knowing that no one can comment on your thoughts was kinda helpful for me, at least for a little while! either way, yeah, just wanted to say that i getcha but i also hope that you’re able to enjoy these books as much as you want bc you’re so right, they are really fun to go through and analyse :)

Hiiiiiii!!! I'm still here and the vibes have been well!

And yeah, the whole negative spiral just because something we like is also flawed or pretty bad in some ways, it gets exhausting to hear when everyone says it or brazenly pushes it onto a convo. I try to lean more toward finding interesting snippets and new understandings of the writing in the occasional analysis, so it's not all doom and gloom, and to figure out more why we like the writing in the first place! It's actually really fun turning my head around and realizing my first impressions of a passage years ago were wrong all along, and what I first hated turned into something I'm very impressed or humored by. I'm glad you've enjoyed some of the insights I posted here, it's refreshing to be able to love the books again and I'm glad you do too!!

I want to leave my analysis posts in general to be open to reblogs. More often than not, people who do reblog offer more insight that I didn't realize at first, and contribute quite fondly to the conversation! I think, at least for this fandom specifically, we enjoy the series and the characters too much to really feel embarrassed or cringe for reading it, because we *know* there's good stuff in here that we like, and seeing someone point out those things is like "YES!!! YOU GET ME!!!" I do make some posts unrebloggable on occasion, so I'm aware of the feature and when I want to use it. Thanks so much for the suggestion, it wasn't patronizing at all!!

Very glad to hear from you again! I hope your day is swell :D

[nightnightsleeptight]

This is interesting and I was mulling over this one for a while before I briefly mentioned it in an MDL post while updating my episode count!

I don’t think the name on the phone is a mistake, and here’s why! Deep breath!

<Start post!

When First texts Sprite, the Line profile photo of the person he texts has a jiujitsu uniform.

Uh oh - Sprite forgot to switch to the right account! Do you know what I’m strangely reminded of? When Daniel and Crystal from Lookism in their chaotic body swapping lives go to school in the wrong bodies! I digress, but I thought First would figure it out in the earlier episodes because of a few thoughtful moments he had after interacting with Sprite and the background music choices for said moments.

Next, there’s Sprite’s cryptic behaviour when he hugs him then lies down in his lap. Sprite’s hinting heavily that not everything is as it seems and First should be able to read into that! (I was gonna make a screenshot collage of this scene but I gave up on Canva - please do recommend me anything else to use in my inbox lol <3)

Then, we go to the shopping centre date (we all know that was a date, let’s be real!)

Sprite’s friend calls his name, and because Sprite is stupid enough to turn around and acknowledge him, First obviously questions this.

Sprite, acting in the LEAST bait way (sarcasm), denies, dashes and drags First away with him (ooh alliteration, I like that!)

My possible logical conclusions thus with all the evidence are these:

1. First is a dense idiot (doubtful from evidence)

2. First is too in love to doubt Sprite (possible but doubtful from evidence again)

3. First wants to pretend his instincts are wrong (possible)

4. First wants to let Sprite tell him truth (probable and I hope this is the case!)

First should be able to put two and two together with “Zee” and his suspicious behaviour after he first missed practice, insisted on moving back in with him, and trying to get close to him and the whole team. Sprite is such a goofball you’d have to wonder what happened to change the cold Zee to such a character… unless there was a twin swap! Hell, even if you go on JUST the events of episode 8 outlined above, you could guess that perhaps there's some dodgy business going on here!

I think that First knows. He’s either pretending not to know because he doesn’t want to believe it, or because he wants to give Sprite a chance to come clean. The latter seems more likely to me because of the way he asks Sprite where he is after seeing the handover with Salmon. He wants to be understanding and probably doesn't want to push Sprite so hard that the progress and trust they had gets lost.

End post>

Start my own notes!

Hello! Night here! :D What do you think of the tag open and close that I did with the <start post end post>? Should I close both tags and do a </> around the end post instead?

Apologies, but I really wanted to make this a longer post - I shouldn’t have left it so close to the next episode lol! I initially wrote this as a comment but it became too long. If only I was as invested in making gifs on a whim for other shows like I am with this one - I have a few screen recordings from Invisible (Japan, 2022) which I made months ago and I remember a scene from flipping Fahlanruk that I wanted to make a meme out of 👀😭

I really need to sleep - 00:45 here! Night night, sleep tight wonderful people and thank you so much if you read this <3

P.S. I WAS THINKING OF GUMPA FROM NOT ME BUT FORGOT TO MENTION IT!!! Surely he’d not teach someone who’s a volleyball expert all over unless HE KNOWS THEY’RE NOT A VOLLEYBALL EXPERT!!! (Edit at 00:47)

So.. First already knows that the man he's in love with is Sprite and not Zee, right?

I can't believe that in a show purposely based on SWITCHING TWINS they'd do such silly mistakes as to put the wrong twin name in the call graphic.

[weirdunclegamer]

I feel like doing A Thing. I'm gonna rewatch the N Direct (watched it at work originally) and comment on... I dunno, everything? For funsies.

Y'know I totally forgot it opened wit the Sploon3 DLC thing. I don't play splat myself but absolutely lovin the aesthetics here, that octoling in the elevator is dressed saucy I must say. The whole thing looks delightfully cartoon creepy, the clear overuse of flat white had me guessing at something to do with color right at the point "put this color chip in" was said. Gonna hafta paint that blank canvas.

Mario vs DK. Another series I never really played, but I know lots of people love it. One of those beloved side games. A friend commented on being glad it was going back to the original style rather then the psuedo lemmings thing where you just had the toy Marios. I hadn't thought of that myself but there you go. I love how when DK gets hit with the... box, pipe, whatever, that Mario throws at him, it really does feel like just a cartoon clonk on the donk, absolutely non-violent.

Ooooooooh here we go. I'm not a Prince of Persia fan specifically, did love the... 2006? 2009? That one stand alone entry with the prince with the orange and purple head wrap. But THIS PoP game looks fuuuuuuun, this is exactly my kind of 2D platformer, with a good combat system baked in too. Also you're not actually the prince this time! Or maybe that'll be the twist later. The prince was inside you all along.

Okay so I never even knew there was a Horizon Chase 1? So no clue as far as sequels go, but I have always enjoyed a good arcade racer on the side. This one gives me "slightly less wacky Cruisn' game" vibes. Also I like the little random dialogues you see coming from the cars a few times. Adds flavor.

Super Crazy Rhythm Castle... I uh... I dunno, I got nothing. It's a musical party game! When they said well known songs from other Konami games but it was a Beatmania track I'm not familiar with that landed like a wet sock. Sorry. Hope its fun!

Okay I haven't read/watched SPYxFAMILY but holy MOLY Anya is just pure distilled weaponized CUTE AS HECK. How do you be so cute like that? And now she's gonna have a game that's just about making memories with her family? I have diabetes now.

Woo, man, I have feelings about an SMRPG remake. But if I'm being blunt... any concern I have is just for shitty bad faith fandom deciding to shit all over the game after it comes out for not being some BS they made up in their heads. The game looks super cute and I appreciate how they kept the funny proportions of the characters from the SNES game. While everyone else is analyzing the changes to the battle system (or that train attack from Boomer that did max damage woah there), I noticed they snuck in a shot of the party seemingly opening the door to... will it be Culex again? Or will there be a new secret boss there? Boggles the mind it does.

Oh geez this one. Some people I follow have been flooding my dash with love for the Another Code game announcement(s) here. It makes me remember how much I have NOT played my copy of the DS game XD crud. I don't have the Wii sequel at all so I may get this just to cover my bases. I HAVE however, played Hotel Dusk, and would love to see some kind of port of that to the Switch. But more then anything I'm just glad to see this series not be forgotten.

HHHNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN NEW PEACH GAME. I loooooved Super Princess Peach on the DS, and I admit, I was... concerned, after the original announcement of a Peach game from the last general direct, that a new game would be... plain, flat even. But OH HOWDY I was assuaged of my concern! Also YES, give her LOTS OF OUTFITS PLEASE. I am def getting this.

Man the SaGa series... that's one I always see and like... want to go play, then I just never get around to it. I think I have the SaGa game on PS2? I almost got the super beloved PS1 entry not too long ago but it was like... over a hundred dollars. I gotta say though... I am actually LOVING the characters in this one. Like, the guy who would be the default sword warrior in any other RPG of this ilk is some kind of puppet master? We got robots? Magical girl witch? A... cowgirl and hijab wearing lady duo with guns? I AM SOLD ALREADY. WHAT EVEN IS THIS SETTING.

HD remake of Lara Croft games. ...that is all. (I don't really care one way or the other, hopefully they do right by the originals)

Detective Pikachu 2. I didn't play the first game, and despite how much you'd think I'd have a connection to pokemon given the original Blue was the first game I ever bought with my own money as a kid, and I legitimately caught all 151 mons... I don't actually have any strong connections to pokemon. Sorrynotsorry.

Trombone Champ... cough... that was a meme from last year I think? I dunno. I think people only care because it was a meme, if it had been some random Wii game it would've been called shovelware and nobody'd give a shit. Shrug.

Battle Crush looks serviceable, but I'm actually just surprised something that feels generic as of like... two or three years ago, is just showing up now. Seems like its riding an outdated wave.

Wartales feels like something that is gonna become the obsession of a tiny cult fanbase.

Remake of Contra 1... hm... okay so like, I actually am a Contra fan. Like... half the reason I would ever care about having a partner irl is someone to play Contra with. But the only thing in this trailer that really made me sit up was hearing that Wayforward was making it. It otherwise looks... just... plain. I guess. Nothing about it really leaping out at me from this trailer. The graphics feel too "clean", Contra should always look kinda grungy you know?

It is actually hard for me to express how HAPPY I am to see a new Vanillaware game (god I needta go finish 13 Sentinels...), but HOLY CRAP the title of the game... UNICORN OVERLORD. Is such a funny goddamn name. I want to tell you how pretty the game trailer is, how interested I am in the gameplay, or maybe how its giving me vibes to a Vanillaware game on the PSP that never got released in the US... but all I can imagine is someone's Megaman X OC Maverick. UNICORN OVERLORD! At half health they jump into the background on a throne and you evade attacks from a legion of lesser unicorn soldier bots. I am so getting this game though. (ALSO THE GAMEPLAY LOOKS LIKE OGRE BATTLE SO I AM QUADRUPALLY INVESTED no not TACTICS OGRE, OGRE BATTLE you peasant)

...wasn't the game called Luigi's Mansion DARK MOON? Was that only in the US maybe? Oh well. I suppose it was time enough for this. I've only played 3, but it was def a lot of fun. Also POLTERPUP, that is all.

Okay so... gotta be totally up front about F-Zero 99... I think its a hilariously fun idea to "99" up the original F-Zero, the way they 99'd up tetris and mario 1. But also, I am right there with all the fans who are grumbling about not getting an actual new F-Zero game, like a proper one not just a gimmick. Still, the game is gonna be a chaotic silly mess. Not bad, but not quite enough either.

Okay Bandle Tale and Nunu or whatever; what is it with everything related to LoL being better then the actual LoL game?

New Wario Ware! ...I don't play Wario Ware games! GIVE ME A NEW WARIO LAND GAME YOU COWARDS. (this is not meant as a sleight against WW games or the people who love them, they're legit cool, funny, colorful, have a ton of great characters, and I just don't personally play them so new ones go solidly into "tell that one friend of mine a new WW was announced" category)(also inb4 all the people complaining about "motion controls" or something, I dunno, I hope the fandom is better then that but I dont trust the internet)

Eiyuden Chronicles! This is one of those things where the original games this is a successor to (which I cant remember the name of off the top of my head because my brain hates me) isn't something I ever had, but I've spent more then enough time immersed in that old PS1 culture and the people therein that I totally get it, and I hope nearly as much as any fan that the final product of this game is everything they want it to be.

Ah, here's one that's virtually impossible for me to comment on because I know nothing of Eastward other then that art style. It looks nice! And I don't know how this is similar or different or fits in at all with the original game! I would 100% become immortal somehow despite the ramifications just to play every game, but alas, I am a mere mortal, and have a limited amount of time, lots of which I lose to depression, so I have not played Eastward. Sorry.

Wargroove 2! Well that's not something I was expecting. I def liked Advanced Wars back in the yonder time, but never stuck with the genre going forward (also I suck at it!). When the original Wagroove became a thing (I actually played a prelease demo of it at PAX one year) I was def excited for fans of the genre (pretty much how I feel about Eiyuden Chronicles even). But I also remember hearing that people fell off the first game kinda fast? Here's hoping 2 does all the good sequel things and really ups its game then.

I admit I'm not much for the huge plethora of (usually cooking focused) crafting-one-side-selling-on-the-other style games. But I do like seeing a game randomly have a POC player character. Just, in general. Doesn't even seem to be a factor of the story either, just is a thing. Glad to see it. (Love the mantis shrimp with the boxing gloves, gotta get that out there)

I haven't played MK8 since it was on the WiiU! Moving on!

I have never played Among Us. I'm not gonna be playing it. ...was there only ever one map in that game? Trailer's cute. Is it mushroom themed because they're basically wanting to hand people a "fungus among us" joke?

Let see... quick reel of already announced stuff... and... oh right...

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door remake. I uh... I never got into TTYD. Oh I played it. A little. Something about it just didn't feel quite right to me? I dunno. I know people fucking LOVE it. And, sweet deal then. But this is another one I'm just kinda shrugging at. I will not be getting it. Oh well.

[daggcrisms]

“I... really want to meet the rest of the Kris squad...”

[lacontroller1991]

Boxes of Dye and Boxes of Tea (Obi-Wan Kenobi x F!Reader)

Main Master List || Star Wars Master List

Warnings: Obi-Wan being jealous, Obi-Wan being insecure (but not for long), one sexual comment (18+ please), slight age gap (reader is of legal age)

Word Count: 1.2k

Author's Note: I switch between POVs a lot in this, each POV switch is noted by a series of dashes. Anywho, enjoy!

==========

One of the defining rules of the Jedi Code is to be humble. Humble about your life, your wardrobe, your attitude and your appearance. It is also one of the defining rules of the Jedi Code to not form romantic attachments to anyone, let alone someone in the order and Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi? He broke both. It’s not like he could control who he loves, after all, underneath the worn armor, robes, and tunics, he is human. And with being human comes human emotions like lust, love, jealousy, insecurities. 

Despite being trained in the ways of suppressing his emotions so as to not let them cloud his judgment, nothing could have trained him for the day that he sees you; his secret, younger, lover with a male about half his age. Normally, it doesn’t bother Obi-Wan who you talk to because he’s not normally a jealous guy, but after one snide comment from Anakin about the gray in his hair, it has Obi-Wan questioning everything, and seeing you talking with someone half his age? Well, Obi-Wan can’t help but to feel jealous and insecure.

Turning on his heel rapidly, Obi-Wan narrowly dodges your line of sight and rushes down the numerous halls towards his chambers as doubt clouds his mind. Would you leave him for that guy? Is he too old for you? Do you need someone more youthful to keep up with you? The questions storm in his mind as he looks over his appearance. He’s still in great shape, but he does note that he looks more exhausted than normal and his hair is starting to show his years of… wisdom. Sighing in annoyance, Obi-Wan frowns at his appearance. Just how can you find him attractive? Picking up a book, he tries to focus on the words but to no avail.

With a pep in your step, you all but skip towards Obi-Wan’s quarters, a present in your hand. After meeting up with your friend who grows tea leaves, you finally collected a large enough tea collection that will hopefully last Obi-Wan’s next upcoming mission.

Knocking on the door, you quickly hide the present under your robe and put a smile on your face as the door slides open, revealing a somber Obi-Wan with wet hair, causing your smile to turn into a frown of concern. “Obi? What’s wrong?”

—---------

Hearing the knock of his door, Obi-Wan cringes slightly knowing that it’s you on the other side. It’s not that he doesn’t want to see you, it’s more of the fact that he doesn’t want to be seen by you, but still, he heads toward the door and opens it, revealing you standing there with a smile on your face that quickly turns into a frown. “Obi? What’s wrong?” Sighing, he backs away from the door as you hesitantly walk into his room, closing the door behind you, not really sure how to handle the man in front of you. “Did the Council say something? Are you going on a mission sooner than we thought?”

“No, little one. It’s nothing. I’ve just been a bit lost in my head today, that’s all.” Seeming to not buy his excuse, he watches as you sit yourself down on his bed, arms still clasped together in your robe. 

“You can’t fool me, Obi. What’s really going on?” Normally, your forthrightness is admirable, but now, he’s seriously disliking it.

—-------

“I’ve just been feeling a little…. insecure, I guess.” You quirk up an eyebrow as you look around his room, trying to find something, anything that will give you a clue and then you spot it just lightly poking out of the trashcan in his refresher. It’s hardly noticeable, but you’re a female, you know what a box of hair dye looks like. Looking back over your lover, you notice that only two spots are freshly dyed, given with how unblended they are. The spots right above his ears. The spots where gray streaks begin. It suddenly clicks in your mind. 

Without revealing the present, you remove your cloak from your body and move to stand in front of him. “Why are you dying your hair?”

—-------

Obi-Wan lets out a chuckle, trying to lighten the mood, but you remain still, trying to comprehend. Letting out a sigh, Obi-Wan’s hands reach up for your hips and drag you into him while your hands move to his scalp, lightly running careful fingertips through his damp locks as he loses himself in the feeling. “Anakin pointed out that my hair is getting more gray and that I’m looking older and I guess I just wanted to remain youthful for you.” He’s embarrassed to admit it in fear that you’ll laugh at him, but instead, he feels a feather soft kiss against the crown of his damp head.

“Oh Obi-Wan, my handsome, handsome man, please don’t change your looks for me. I don’t care what you look like. I love you for you. I love your humor, your wisdom, your sarcasm, your penchant for tea, the way you call me ‘darling’ or ‘my love’,  and the way you hold me in your arms at night. I love you as a lover and I admire you as a Jedi. Besides, obviously you’re going to age slightly. You’re fighting in a war and not to mention, I’m sure training Anakin definitely wasn’t stress free, so I really wouldn’t worry about a couple of pieces of hair.” Obi-Wan smiles softly at your words as you continue to roam your hands throughout his hair, lighting scratching his scalp.

“You’re right darling. I guess it came over me because I saw you with that one guy in the hall, who happens to be your age.”

“Who, Sid? He was only giving me something that I asked for,” Obi-Wan watches as you move your robe to the side and reveal a wrapped box. Turning around, you hand the box to Obi-Wan as you take a seat next to him. “Go ahead and open it.”

“Darling, you shouldn’t have.” Obi-Wan has told you numerous times to not get him any sort of gifts, but you, ever being thoughtful, never listens. Tearing the paper off, he looks down at the box before removing the lid and spotting a variety of tea bags, and a lot of them. “Tea?”

“Yeah, I spent some time collecting a variety and Sid had the last ones I was looking for. I figured that I could make you something before your next mission and hopefully it’ll last.”

“This is so kind of you.” He sets the box to the side and brings you in for a hug, feeling foolish about overreacting to something that he didn’t know.

“Anything for you, my love. And you wanna know something?” He pulls away and makes eye contact with you, a mischievous grin gracing your lips.

“Why do I get the feeling that you’re going to say something inappropriate?”

“Because you know me so well,” you lean forward, your hands sliding up his thighs ever so slightly. “I really, really love your hair the way it is. I especially love tugging onto it while we make sweet sweet love.” And if Obi-Wan wasn’t flustered before, he definitely is now.

=fin=

General Tag List: @marvelousmermaid @himbovillain-anon @babblydrabbly @a-reader-and-a-writer @fairchildflag @tavners

[kitsuneplushie]

Free Dinner: The Mammon Way

you know, i forgot people write unfinished things and update them as be.. so i am also gonna try that! not sure if anyone would want me to continue this but, if you do please let me know!! i hope you enjoy!! btw in my google doc’s this was called “right in front of my salad??” 

It wasn’t often that you and Mammon had time, with just yourselves. Especially returning to the Devildom. It was hard to get one on one time, when all the demon brothers wanted your attention almost constantly. But today was your lucky day, just the two of you sneaked out undetected by anyone. It was nice just being alone with him, even if he was hesitant to fully admit it at first. You ran your fingers over his knuckles, as he continued to hold your hand even after running out of the house. He rolled his eyes in response, turning away so you wouldn’t see his bright red face. He didn’t know his ears gave him away.

“Um… now that we’re actually… alone. What do ya wanna do? We have the whole town to ourselves!” He grinned, swinging your hand along with his. Before you could respond, a growl interrupted. In this vast forest of trees it would have been terrifying if the growl wasn’t coming from you. You skipped breakfast in order to sleep in, which you regretted at this very moment. “We can always go to that restaurant I took you and Beel?”

“Oh! Ristorante Six! But… I didn’t bring my wallet? And… well… I know your situation with Goldie.” You smirked, poking at Mammon. Again his bright blue eyes circled around at your comment. 

“Who said anything about paying?”

Your eyes widened, you knew that Mammon was pretty reckless and impulsive. You were dragged in the majority of his schemes ever since you made a pact with him. You were designated his partner in crime. Whether you liked it or not.

“You know, I didn’t expect you to be so brave to dine and dash. Especially if Lucifer heard of this, I think he’d maybe put your head on a pike.” You laughed, almost not believing his suggestion. That was until you saw his reaction. A slight confusion spilled onto him. He didn’t exactly explain his idea, but it was clear that was not it.

“O-Oh! Yeah, haha… um… that’s… right.” He muttered out. He scratched his neck, trying to turn away from you. Mainly out of embarrassment for not being on the same page. Your interest piqued, curious of what he really had planned. You leaned closer to him, squinting your eyes. “MC?”

Mammon tried backing up, but only to be met with your closeness once again. You leaned into him, leaving no room between you. “Yeah? Something tells me… that’s not what you were thinking.” You whispered, trailing your fingers along his bicep. “C’mon Mams, let me know what is really going on in your brain, hm?”

His face flustered, trying to avoid your gaze. But everywhere he tried to look, your face would peek in front of him. He groaned, trying not to give in. But once you grabbed his hands and rested your face on his chest while looking up at him, it was too difficult. “Okay! Okay! I guess I will tell ya” he sighed. “Your methods are so… cruel.” He hesitated, still unsure whether to tell you. “So… ya know. I was thinkin’… that maybe we could…” he hesitated again, before erupting into a flurry of words. “Possibly pretend that I’m proposin’ to you to get a free dinner… or somethin’ like that or whatever.”

After saying that he quickly shut his eyes, avoiding your visual response. He was too embarrassed admitting his very obvious feelings. You let out a small giggle. Though Mammon hated admitting his feelings, he was absolutely cute and somehow… pretty romantic? “I didn’t know you guys did that at the Devildom! Who am I to say no to a proposal and a free dinner!” 

His eyes quickly opened, shocked by your response. Even though you didn’t hold anything back on him in regards to your feelings. Adding to that shock, you kissed him. “Wha! You can’t just..”

“Let’s go Mammon… My proposal and dinner await!” You exaggerated, tugging him along.

[darknessembrxced-archive]

She had half expected him to pull her to her feet, bracing for the surefire way that the room would all but turn upside down and her stomach would churn. A fact that was easily accepted. One that she was okay with. He was here after all and had done the hard work of chasing off her attackers. Frankly, his help could have really ended there and if he decided to walk off? Well, so be it. She would stay thankful and grateful for the part that he had played. But then the gloved hand was pressing against her skin. A softer touch that was meant to help. That much was obvious as he wiped away the wetness that still clung to her skin. The scent was thick in the air. Okay, maybe was a little more hurt than she realized as the clear sight of blood on his glove was impossible to miss.

Before her sluggish mind could come up with some smart comment about the sight of her own blood and the busted lip, whose stinging was only now registering, he was guiding her arm around his shoulders. And then, in the same motion, he was scooping her up as if she weighed nothing.

A wheezing, soft sound that was almost akin to a laugh came as she immediately relaxed into the warmth that radiated from the mountain of a man. A pleasant sort of warmth that bordered on perhaps a little too hot, but it felt good against the bruised and strained muscles. What a hell of a way to make an impression on someone. Did she want to impress him? The question floated around before being dashed. There wasn't enough brainpower right now to really focus on anything. It didn't feel too good when she did.

"Can't say this is how I expected the night to go," she managed before realizing he was making sure she was okay with the small nods. The doctor was probably a good idea. Her nose wrinkled for just a moment, causing the blood to freely flow from her lip again. "Don't like doctors." A half mumbled, almost unconscious admission before she nodded slowly, agreeing to the idea. Her head was killing her and the light was starting to cause a throbbing behind her eyes.

"Guess I gotta see them, though...." Her head rested against his shoulder, eyes closing. A complete and implicit sense of trust that the man would bring her to where she was supposed to be and not allow hard to come to her. Her arm weakly kept hooked over his shoulders, the other hand lightly braced against his chest. A sense of grounding almost. Reality was still there, and he wasn't going to let her fall. At least, she didn't anticipate that. Not with everything he had shown to her so far.

"Sorry about the clothes." An afterthought that she likely was getting all over his clothes. Even injured, half with it, her concern was more about him and the fact that he was going out of her way to help her.

Movements registered to a degree but not jarring enough to have her do anything but nearly fall asleep in his arms. Not the best of decisions given her head, but she was tired. And sore. And oddly comfortable in a way despite it all. It's not like those assholes would risk attacking him. At least not after he had chased them off. They would lick whatever bruises and wounds that they had, she had seen Kane handle business in the ring after all, and come up with some new plan.

Cassy Jane knew she would have to not only pay him back for the kindness and help he had shown that evening, but she would have to keep an eye out for the two that had attacked her deciding to go after him. That simply could not and would not be allowed. Even if it meant another beating for herself.

There was no concept of the fact that they had made it to the medical room, just as the crew was packing up. Good timing. All that she knew was the loss of the warmth, and she made a discontented sound, attempting to cling to Kane to keep it close. All before whoever was doing the exam, pried an eyelid open and put a light into her eyes, causing her to flinch and groan.

"No lights..." Even on the chair or table, or whatever hell it was she had been set, her hand had blindly reached for Kane, almost instinctively seeing the comfort, warmth, and protection she had felt with him. Any more lucid and she might have been embarrassed about the unusual reaction. But she was blissfully not entirely aware and didn't have it in her to feel embarrassed right then.

He may have greatly underestimated the situation. Kane was used to dealing with such situations on himself. He wouldn't have felt such repercussion on his own body, both because of his build and because he was a demon - and immortal, but a human?

She was in bad shape. Not broken yet, still kicking, but her body had been badly hit in multiple spots, blood dripped from her mouth and blown lip. God, seeing her like this made his hands shake with the need for carnage. For a moment, his mind fogged up as he thought of all the delicious ways he could hurt Chyna to make her pay for what she had done. But then, Kane remembered that wasn't his priority. Maybe later, once he'd know the girl was safe.

The gentle squeeze she gave to his boot brought him back, and the way she looked at him, grateful and soft, with no trace of fear polluting her gaze, destabilised him, making his knees feel weak. No other person ever dared to look at him in such a way - he didn't know how to react. Especially if it was her, he was ready to accept her disgust and terror, but that?

Who would have thought that such a great, invincible, horrendous creature could be so easily disarmed?

Kane was by her side in a moment, responding silently to her plea for help. He didn't care what was right or wrong anymore. She needed him, and he wasn't about to deny her. Maybe she was concussed. Maybe her reaction was only given by not being entirely lucid and when she'd go back to her senses, she'd realise who she had by her side and would scream in terror - but for now? Was he being selfish?

He didn't know what she meant when she spoke about a drink being on the house. Why would he go drink on a roof? But then again, he didn't care; he doubted she'd remember that event with pleasure once lucid, let alone being willing to spend time with him.

Kane's gloved hand shook as he pushed a rough finger on her chin, trying to clean off some of the blood staining her skin.

He then wrapped his hand around her raised arm, guiding it as gently as he could to his shoulder, so she could grab on. Her limb was so thin in his grasp, or at least, that's how it appeared to the giant. He never invoked God, he couldn't be further away from anything holy - but Lord, he hoped not to hurt her.

Never breaking eye contact with her, expecting her to come to her senses any moment, he leaned in, hooking his other arm under her legs and lifting her off the ground like she weighed nothing. A small endeavour for him. Kane gathered her to his large chest, still looking at her with such tenderness it didn't fit him. He didn't care in the slightest if she bled on his clothes. He gave her a small nod to check if she was ok.

When she didn't give signs of fear, Kane turned around, his gaze silently troubled as he tried to evaluate the situation with cold detachment. He didn't know what to do. "Help? Doctor?" he mumbled, words mixed more in a grunt than actual speech. She needed medical attention; that much was clear. It was a level of help he couldn't hope to give. "Ok?" He forced himself to speak. It was something that didn't come naturally to him since he so rarely had to do it.