#jacob also talks with his hands quite a lot

[portraitoflestatonfire]

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE Louis + hand gestures

[discount-shades]

Contract Spouse Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Moving

A/N: I am absolutely delighted by how much everyone loved Phoenix last chapter. 😀

Pairing: Jake Seresin/Reader (nicknamed Pip)

Warning:  Angst,  

Length: 2100ish

Summary: Pip moves to California.

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You write your name on the final box and survey the apartment. Everything was packed and labeled. Half was going with Sami to her new place with her boyfriend, Matt. Some of your stuff would be going with you to California and the rest would be put into storage.

“So you and Jake?” Matt asks as he wanders back into the apartment after taking one of Sami’s boxes to his truck. “How’s that going to go?” You roll your eyes. Sami had only informed Matt about your marriage to Jake after you decided to move to California. He had been annoyingly interested in your relationship ever since he had found out. 

“I don’t know Matt,” you say shortly, as you hand him another box, “it will go however it goes.” You are nervous enough as it is. You had not lived with a man other than your father, and you had gone no contact with your parents after they had kicked you out. With the added stress of the investigation you were on edge.

Logistically everything was ready to go. Utilities all canceled and mail forwarded. Sami had rolled her eyes at the moving checklist you had given her but dutifully followed it. You had notified your bosses, and had to quit one of your jobs, but the other had agreed to let you stay on. You had convinced them that having a California based liaison would help when working with companies in that time zone. 

You were prepared for everything except Jake. 

“It’s just that a fake marriage and moving in together is very romcom of you.” You gaze at Matt in exasperation as he continues, “what if you have to fake PDA?”

“Eww Matt, that's my brother you are talking about!” Sami walks in and shoos Matt outside, but the expression on her face is calculating as you try to hide your embarrassment by shuffling boxes into different piles. 

“I’m going to miss you.” You look up from shifting boxes at Sami’s words. She has tears in her eyes. “I know I was moving out first but now you are going across the country and…” She trails off sniffling. You walk over and wrap her in a hug, her long blonde hair tickling your nose. “I’m just going to miss you is all.” 

You dry her tears with your sleeve. “I’m going to miss you too,” you tell her and she lets out a watery chuckle. “Your brother is going to be a poor substitution for my best friend.”

“Ouch,” You look over as Jake walks through the door. “That hurts my feelings Pip,” he holds his hand over his heart, “all two of them.” He walks over and hugs Sami before pulling you into a hug and you can’t help but inhale the smell of his cologne.

“You’re late Jacob.” Sami sasses him as she checks her watch. “It's after eight. We've been at it since seven.” 

“I slept in, Samantha.” He shrugs and you look more closely and see shadows under his eyes. “Also I got donuts.”

“You are not carrying any donuts.” Sami has her hands on her hips, “don’t lie to me about donuts.”

“I gave them to Matt downstairs.” Sami groans and goes running out the door. You both watch her go and turn to each other. “You good?” his tired eyes are searching your expression and you square your shoulders and nod. 

“Are you?” He shrugs his shoulders in a non-committal way. 

“Yeah, as good as anyone being criminally investigated can be,” he says and he pulls you into a hug when your face falls at his response. You relax into him, wrapping yours around his waist. Jake’s hugs are always comforting. Strong arms and a firm chest. He is solid and dependable and you can't help the feeling of safety you always find in his arms. 

His voice rumbles in your ear where you have it pressed against his chest. “We have a lot of evidence to prove we are actually together and a valid reason for you to move after you got the letter.” 

You nod reluctantly and go to apologize again for the both of you being in this situation but he stops you. “I knew what I was getting into, Pip. I could have divorced you years ago but I didn’t so we are in this together.” 

You agree quietly as Sami walks back through the door with Matt who noisily clears his throat. You grab a donut from the box he is holding before grabbing something small you can carry in one hand and making your way out to Jake's truck, eating as you go.

It took a few hours to pack the stuff you were taking to California into the truck. The movers you hired were able to take the furniture that was yours to the storage locker before carrying on and taking the rest to Sami’s new place. Your car had been on its last legs for a few years so rather than chance it on a 1300 mile road trip you had decided to sell it and buy a new one in California.

Once everything is settled you find yourself standing outside Sami's place, her arms around you as she cries into your shoulder. Jake and Matt standing a respectful distance as you say your goodbyes. When she finally releases you she takes a shuddering breath. “God, I didn’t even cry this much when I moved out of my moms house.”

You’re not crying, but going your separate way from Sami is still hard. “It’s probably for the best.” You smile half heartedly. “Gotta break that codependency we’ve got going on.” It had been a running joke for most of your friendship, though for you, it felt like it was a little too close to the truth. Your lives were entwined so closely that you were more like twin sisters. 

“I’m just realizing that we’ll never live in the same place anymore.”

“I’ll be back in the city six months or so after the charges are dropped and we can divorce.” You say as the guys begin to walk over. “Shouldn’t be more than a year.” She gives you a look that you can't place and turns to hug Jake.

“Take care of her, she may be your wife but she is my best friend.” Jake chuckles and picks her up in a hug. You hear her whisper to him but can't make out the words. You give Matt a quick hug and after he and Jake shake hands you are on the road.

– – – 

Jake blinks in weariness as he drives. He had spent the last two days driving to Texas and was now leaving the state. He never slept well in hotels, or in this case motels. He actually hadn’t slept well in years. But he didn’t like to think about it. He only couldn’t sleep when he was sleeping in new places. After a week in one place he was fine. Mostly.

He glances over at you. After the letter you had started to wear your wedding band, hoping for it to leave an indentation on your finger. It had been his suggestion. He had thought of the deep groove etched in his mother’s finger when she had finally been ready to take her wedding ring off, four years after his dad had passed.

He could tell you were nervous. Your fingers constantly move as you fiddle with the band, spinning it around and around. He had bought the simple white gold infinity ring with tiny lab grown diamonds when you had married him, and until now you only had worn it for special occasions. 

Looking at you, sitting beside him and completely upending your life to move across the country to make the marriage seem real, the guilt hits him. “I should have divorced you years ago.” His voice is sharp, breaking the silence that has stretched between the two of you for the past hour. 

You look up at him, startled by the sudden admission. He can feel your gaze boring into him and he avoids your eyes, focusing on the road.  “Careful Jake,” he can hear a wryness in your voice that tells him you are grinning, “any other woman would be insulted by an admission like that.”

He let out a grudging chuckle. “You know what I mean.”

You sigh. “It’s a two way street Jake. You won’t let me blame myself, so I won't let you blame yourself.” You straighten up in your seat and shift so you are facing him. “Jake, look at me.”

“Can’t. I’m driving.” He can practically hear your eyes roll.

“Jake.” Your voice is weary and he relaxes his shoulders with a sigh and glances at you before returning his eyes to the road without the rigid focus of avoiding your gaze. “We probably should have divorced but it was just easier not to, for both of us. It’s no use playing the ‘what if’ game.”

“Yeah,” he voices his agreement but he knows better.

The last few years he had been actively avoiding the topic of divorce when he talked to you. If he thought you were getting close to bringing it up he would change the subject. He was afraid that if he divorced you he would have to give you up. 

You were his confidant. The person he talked to most. Some days he thought you knew him better than anyone. He told you things he couldn’t tell his mother who would only worry. He couldn't tell Sami either. His sister was notorious for her inability to keep a secret and would have spilled to his mother the first chance she got. Javy knew what happened but they never talked about it.

But he could talk to you. He never told you what happened, but he could tell you everything else. His thoughts, how he was feeling, but never why. You just listened. You were understanding, you would give advice and help him reframe things. You always seemed to know when he needed a distraction, but you had always been that way. 

The day his father died he had been sitting in the kitchen in the middle of the night, numb to the world, wondering what the hell he was going to do. The old fashioned responsibility of being the man of the house weighed heavily on his shoulders. 

His mother had gone to bed hours ago, she had ended up barely leaving her room for a month, but he didn’t know that the first night. You had spent the night with Sami in her room. It crossed his mind that he should have checked on Sami hours ago, but the lack of light coming from under her door told him it was too late and he’d buried his face in his hands feeling like a failure. 

He heard a creek and looked up to see you creeping out of his sister's room. You had met his eyes as you walked into the kitchen. You grabbed two clean glasses out of the dishwasher and filled them at the sink before walking over and putting one in front of him and sitting across from him at the table with the other. 

“Sami’s asleep.” Your soft voice broke the silence.

“I should have checked on her.” He said it automatically, sharing his real fears and insecurities with you. “I’m already fucking this up.”

He remembers the look on your face so clearly. Compassion, exasperation, and understanding. “You can’t mess up grief. You’re allowed to be sad too, Jake.” He stared at you thinking about how ridiculous it was that at seventeen he needed to be comforted by an eleven year old. “It's not all on you.” You sat quietly across from him for a few minutes as he thought about your words .When he eventually nodded you stood up and gave him an awkward hug before you picked up your glass and left the kitchen. “Drink some water, crying can dehydrate you.” 

He watched Sami’s door close behind you before staring at the full glass you put in front of him. He picked it up, drained it, and went to bed himself.

“I didn’t know NCIS investigated marriages.” Your comment brings him abruptly back to the present. 

“What?” he asks in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know, when I got the letter it surprised me,” you say, “It's just that the TV show makes me only think of them investigating murders.” Jake lets out a short laugh and he sees you smiling at him out of the corner of his eye. “I mean, if we need lawyers will JAG be involved?” There is laughter in your voice. “How many TV shows am I going to live through in this situation?”

A smile lingers at the corner of his lips as he keeps driving.

[supernatural-dreamer]

The Unnatural and Unexpected (Embry Call x Black! Reader)

A/N: Hey you guys! Guess who’s back..back again! I had a few ideas in my head and want to put it out there..I thought about turning this into a series and expanding it further. Leave a comment if I should … as always like, comment and follow… let me know what you think!

This is set during Eclipse around newborn battle. This is tailored for a African American/Black female reader specifically, however all are welcome to read..

~Lauren

—

Part 2

Masterlist

—

Imagine being Embry’s imprint and tagging along with the wolves to their newborn training session. However, you’re always in for an unexpected surprise when you’re around Bella..

People had a lot of different opinions when it came to you. There was one trait, everyone seemed to agree that you possessed:

You were a skeptic. 

Hell, you didn’t even really believe in the Easter bunny or Santa Claus when you were a kid. Magic? Please. Vampires and wolves, no such thing. 

You should’ve known when your family moved to a sleepy ass town straight out of a mystery novel you would be wrong. Dead ass wrong. When the new girl, Bella, befriended you, normal flew out of the window the same time she did last year.     

She dragged you to La Push after the Cullen’s had left the prior year. It was there you were introduced to Jacob, Quil and Embry. You instantly took a liking to La Push, the boys -and particularly Embry. Unexpectedly, they took a liking to you too. 

From then on, you found yourself gravitating more towards the reservation; the tranquil beaches reminding you of your previous Floridan home. You just felt a connection there that you couldn’t quite put your finger on. 

She also dragged you to Jacob’s house after HE stopped talking to her. 

It was at this point you honestly had to question what this girl was doing to cause people to run away from her like the plague. I mean it wasn’t just a few, but groups of people seemed to just up and cut off ties with her, seemingly overnight

However, after quickly realizing her propensity for sticking her nose in places she probably shouldn’t, it started to make a little more sense. Though, you would be lying if you said that you weren't a tiny bit curious as to what exactly she stumbled upon. 

A group of people that could secretly shift into giant wolves was not at all  on that list of possibilities. 

You being an imprint to one of those shifters? Never even dreamed about it. 

Although, you weren't too upset at the unexpected revelation this time.

She dragged you to the Cullen’s when they returned a few months ago. Outside of Bella’s tales of her interactions with them, you didn’t really hang around or know much about them. You had a few of the members in your class and one of them as a science lab partner a few months back. They were slightly off and distant at first but after you got to a place of polite conversation, you chalked it up to just shyness. When you found out they were vampires, naturally, you didn’t believe her– until you found out about the wolves.

 Suddenly, their isolation and behavior made sense. After that, you never really looked at them the same.

Knowing both vampires and shifters even existed in itself was a shock.  Learning about their sheer abilities was slightly terrifying. You’d be lying if you said being around them didn’t make you feel a little more..vulnerable. Although Bella felt differently, you didn’t like that if things went left for whatever reason, you could be snapped into two with zero hesitation. The only way you could gain any control over this is by immersing yourself into the world of the supernatural at your pace. 

It is why when Embry told you you were his imprint, as much as you liked him, you still kept a little distance. Him and the pack understood- never pushing you past your comfort level. Although Emily, and the other imprints at times, playing referee before things ever got out of control, have a major hand in that you suspect.

Since you lived in Forks, Embry and the pack were away during the day, unless you came to the reservation. You were the only outsider, aside from Bella, that knew both of their secrets. So when she fucked around and found out with Victoria and a newborn broke into your house–you found yourself spending more time at the Cullen's house. Or more accurately, dragged there.

The first few times, it was a little awkward. But after a few visits, they actually started warming up to you and vice versa. Alice gossiped with you from day one–asking you questions about your hair and even complimenting your appearance. You shot the breeze with Emmett about sports. Hell, even Rosalie had warmed up to you a little, much to yours and Bella’s shock. By your third visit, they cooked you dinner.

You had to admit a three hundred-something year old vampire making a pasta dinner from an old ass cookbook was a pretty amusing site. They were actually pretty damn good cooks too.

Embry and the pack were not happy about this, but he knew better than to try and tell you what to do. With all of the newborn activity, there was only so much he could do. He took some solace with the fact others were looking out for you when he was not around. It would be a cold day in hell before he let his pride keep you from being safe--even if it meant dealing with his sworn enemies. Besides, the more comfortable you had gotten around the Cullen's, the closer you got to him and the pack: A bonus in his eyes.

 Regardless of your apprehensions, nothing could be solved if you buried your head in the sand and pretended none of this existed. Whether you liked it or not, yours and Bella’s fates were intertwined. At the very least, you figured you could keep an eye on her to make sure she didn’t get herself, others or you into deeper trouble --or worse. 

When she asked you to go with her to the field and watch them train, you obliged. Hopping from the backseat of Edward’s volvo, you slammed the door shut behind you. Bella emerged from the passenger side shortly after and fell into step next to you. You parked yourself on the sidelines of the clearing, far enough away from the action, but close enough to see and hear what was going on.

Not too long after, the shifters, in all their glory, emerged from the trees. Two of them split off from the group and headed toward you and Bella. The slightly smaller, slender one sniffed and circled around you.

“I’m fine, Embry.” You affirmed, chuckling softly. He nuzzled his snout into your palm, and let you scratch behind his ears before running off to join the others, Jacob in tow behind him. All you could do was hold your breath and hope they could play nice for a few hours, as Carlisle stepped up and took his place in front of the pack, Edward slightly behind him.

~

To your amazement, it actually went way better than anticipated. You actually chuckled a few times when Emmett pummeled Edward several times and Alice had gotten the upper hand on Rosalie. Even Carlisle had a few tricks up his sleeve. For a centuries old vampire, he had some moves.

Everything was just about to wrap up, when you saw a few of the wolves perking their heads up in alert. When the Cullen’s stopped mid-stride, turning their heads into the clearing, you started to grow concerned. Embry was next to you in an instant, staring at the clearing, slightly growling.. You were about to ask what was going on when Edward finally spoke.

“The pack has heard something in the woods and Sam is asking if we could assist them. I let them know that we will and will be right behind them. In the meantime, we need to get Bella and YN out of here.” He translates, heading toward Bella. As if on cue, the pack  disappears into the woods, Embry the last one behind. Edward looks at him.

“Esme, Jasper and myself will take Bella and YN back to the house. You are more than welcome to stop by there after the coast is clear. She will be safe.” You can hear him snarl slightly beside you, until you console him. 

“I will be okay. I’ll see you after,” you assure him, patting his head for good measure. Somewhat satisfied at your response, he starts off toward the trees.. Embry turns around, takes one last look at you and the Cullen’s now beside you, then disappears into the clearing. It was as if he was saying,  “Take care of her or, I’m coming after you next..”

You didn’t have to be Edward to know that. 

Once the rest of the coven had taken off with Embry, Esme wasted no time directing her sons.

“We need to split them up in case someone decides to tail us. Edward and I are going to take Bella the long way back to the house. You take YN back as fast as you can. We will trail you until about halfway, then diverge into a different direction.” Before you could protest, Edward was already shutting the door to his passenger seat, Bella already inside.

“You’ll be back before you know it. We’ll be right behind you.” She squeezes your hand in reassurance.

Jasper then looks at you for a second, and your rising anxiety dampers for a bit. You chalked it up to his abilities, before he instructed you.

“It will be easier and faster if I can carry you. Keep your eyes closed, count backwards from 100, and hold onto me as tight as you can. Don’t worry about hurting me. Trust me on this one.” He gently touched your arm in comfort, goosebumps left behind in the wake of his touch. 

Japer Whitlock was a man of few words, but when he spoke it was hard not to listen. For whatever reason, you actually believed him. 

As soon as you were in his arms, Jasper was off. Esme, Bella and Edward were right on your tail before they approached a fork in the road, just as Esme said, and veered off into another direction.

~

Bella might have been oblivious to many things but this was not one of them. As soon as Edward got into the car, she questioned him. The green trees surrounding them turning into blurs as they whizzed passed them.

“What was that all about?” Her significant other remains silent as he speeds up slightly, trying to keep Esme’s pace. 

“He looked at her, the way you did with me when we first met..” She trails off in realization. 

“You don’t think..”

“As unorthodox as it sounds, yes. That’s exactly what it is. Alice didn’t even see this coming.” He sighs, stunning her into silence. 

Edward knew exactly how you felt about the life of the supernatural. If he’s being honest, he wants the same type of normalcy for Bella, despite her desires otherwise. He has seen many things in his afterlife that he did not want her to have to go through, if he could help that. It was very rare that he did not know something due to his mind reading abilities or general knowledge.

Yet, the reasoning as to how a shifter’s imprint could also be a blood singer eluded him entirely.

For the second time these past few years, Edward was at a loss. He did not think it was possible. Even Carlisle has never seen something like this in his extensive afterlife.

He is even more at a loss as to how Jasper will break this to you. The one thing that is clear is the more he keeps it a secret, the more danger he’ll put you in. Although he loved his brother, you became his good friend. He hated too see anyone he cared about in unnecessary danger. So, he gave Jasper an ultimatum: he tells you or someone else will.

This was unexpected and unnatural even, but it was the truth nonetheless.

For a human that wanted little to do with the supernatural, you were now going to be at the center of it.

The bitter irony, he thought as he continued dashing through the trees in the seemingly endless forest. 

—

[cosmicanemoia]

Caged Hearts

Melissa Schemmenti x reader

SUMMARY

After one too many failed and traumatic relationships you gave up giving love chances but then you met her. The one who you'd tear the walls you've built for, Melissa Schemmenti.

You're good at reading people. Their motives, true colors, and what they would do in a given situation or certain situations. Safe to say you're never wrong, except when you fell for them, and when love comes to picture, that's a whole different story.

Love blinds you. It makes you uncertain about things you are certain about. Though, you give it a chance, lots of chance, but then they break, and break, then break you even more. You decided not to give love a chance any more, "never again" you promised to yourself, but you got sent to Abbott Elementary as their new academic coordinator by the government (the last one quitting because the pay is low and the school doesn't have much budget) and you met a hot headed red head. "Schemmenti, Melissa Schemmenti" you recall her introducing herself to you and your heart bangs your ribs wanting to be let out.

"What are you doing here? You have a kid here? What's you're name?" Melissa bombarded you with question but you were too stunned to speak. "Hey kid, why are you here?" The world kid pulled you out of your trance "sorry, I was too stunned by your beauty I could not form words or sentences for a moment" you said which made her took a step back not believing what she just heard, looking around checking if its real, you saw her response and you complimented the woman beside her who you've come to know as Barbara, but not in a flirty way "You're very beautiful too, Ma'am" you said as you slightly bow your head down to her "such a gentle woman, thanks, dear" Barbara nudge Melissa with her elbow "Schemmenti, Melissa Schemmenti. Second grade teacher" she introduced herself and Barbara did too and gives you a hug out of nowhere, Janine joined in, and you cleared your throat after a few seconds making them back out. Jacob introduces himself and Gregory did as well.

Ava reached her hand out to you and say "Principal Ava Coleman. Are you too stunned by my beauty that you can't form words again?" Before you could response Janine butted in "Do you think I'm beautiful too?" You just smiled at her and nod. Melissa introduces the man who came to took the trash but you already know him so you greeted him "Hi! Mr. Johnson" "Oh hey, bye" Mr. Johnson replied and went. Ava inquire "you already knew him?" "Yes. It seemed that I went here too early, he showed me around. He's a funny guy" you said and Melissa replied "Oh yes. I have a guy for everything and he's my funny guy. He's also my plumber guy" "you have a guy for everything-- that's so cool" you said and your casual attitude change into your business attitude, you clear your throat covering your mouth with your closed fist and say "Principal Coleman, can we talk in private?" "Sure come by my office, we could do more than talk there" the principal said and you just laugh nervously "ok"

"That poor woman" Barbara commented after you're out of sight "she seem to like what's going on" Melissa replied and Barbara gave her a warning look "I didn't mean it Barbs" Melissa explained.

The moment your eyes meet hers, you felt something. When she showed you kindness, you know she'll give you a lot of trouble, so you took a deep breath and starts building a wall around her, which you willingly take down every now and then, you keep your guard up, but not even the strongest soldier can keep their guard up if someone they might "love" asks to bring them down. That word makes you hurl, makes you want to vomit, even when you just thought of it for a second, so you try very hard not to.

Your heart, mind, and guts is telling you the same thing, that she's actually a good person, that she genuinely care, but you know you have feelings for her, so maybe not. You know it's wrong to think that, but you just can't help but second guess anyone you have feelings for, especially when they're so kind.

Melissa is tough, speaks her mind. She tried to hide her softness, and you think she just needed a hug.

You flirt but you never commit. You let yourself feel something, but you quickly take a step back whenever you feel it could lead to something more.

What may be a harmless and a little mischievous flirting for you, sometimes might have lead to someone being led on.

Melissa and Barbara were at their usual table, while Janine, Gregory, and Jacob were in the table just behind the duo. Ava barges in, flipping her hair from side to side, with a gorgeous woman in tow, she's about your age, everyone thinks so. Ava and the other woman scans the room, obviously looking for someone who is not yet there.

"Who's she?" Melissa inquired, speaking everyone's mind. Ava looks at the woman "I don't remember. But she's looking for Y/N, said she's her girlfriend" Ava looked at Melissa when she said the word 'girlfriend', Melissa crosses her arms on her chest and let's out a quiet scoff only her friend could hear.

"Oh, Hi!" Janine squealed "You're so beautiful" she said with so much enthusiasm, it made Ava's eyes roll to the back of her head in annoyance. "Makes sense. You're both hot and beautiful" Jacob commented then Gregory raises his eyebrows and nods in agreement. "What's your name, dear?" Barbara asked and before the woman could answer, you open the door and walks in while your eyes are fixated on the food you were holding. Halfway in the room, you notice the silence, and you halt, you look up and look around, you narrowed your eyes, waiting for someone to tell you what's going on, you open your mouth to ask something but Melissa beat you to it "You just walk past your girlfriend" "I don't--" your reply is interrupted when someone suddenly give you a back hug, you flinched and tried to escape, but your reaction time is so slow, now your trapped.

"You're Y/N, right? I saw your pictures, you look more amazing in person" you turn to face her and push her away softly, you took a few step backwards to distance yourself from the beautiful stranger "I'm sorry but who are you?" "Don't you know your girlfriend?" You look at Melissa, confused by her question 'what girlfriend?' You think to yourself and you smirk at her understanding what's going on 'is she jealous?' You asked yourself and you scoff internally at the thought, slightly amused. "I don't have a girlfriend" you defended "I'm Jade. And we have a date" Jade said "Oh. Jade. You're the one they set me up with" you said thinking back on your silly friends "Yes, that's me. Didn't you see my picture?" She confirmed "I didn't bother to look. I thought they were bluffing.-- So, you're my date, not my girlfriend" you said and it relieves Melissa a little. "Yes and no. We'll go on a date, I'll end up in your bed, and I'll be your good little girlfriend in no time" Jade said and you just reply "Uh huh" "being your date and being your girlfriend is basically the same thing" she added, and Melissa scoffs in response, Barbara enjoying her friends reaction to the conversation, you say firmly "it is most certainly not" Melissa chuckled at your statement.

A few hours later you went to the date, after less than twenty minutes during the date you confronted the woman that you are not looking for a relationship, she understood, and you both ended up being friends.

You went in early to school and went to the teacher's lounge to make something to drink, there is only one other person in. You see Melissa drinking something, looking at something on her phone, you didn't bother her and just went to the vending machine. Melissa looks up and see you getting an energy bar from the machine, "How's your girlfriend?" Melissa teased and you tease back "I won't know if you don't tell me. How are you my baby?" You sit next to her, on her right, not wanting to sit on her best friends place looking at Melissa with puppy eyes and she just scoffs at you. "How's your good little girlfriend?" She paraphrased, it sounded like a mock. "FYI. She did not become my 'good little girlfriend' nor did she end up in my bed. And I was not looking forward to be her girlfriend, although, a beautiful woman wanting to end up in my bed sounds promising" you replied trying to convince no one, making Melissa's heart warm and swell up, she's now grinning ear to ear "Dinner. My place, just you and me"

This time the flirting got too much, you don't know how it happened, Melissa invited you to dinner. DINNER! at her house! Just the two of you. Then your vision blur and your face turn red.

"Now that's a good one" you point and nod at her "If that's a real offer I would decline, but it wasn't, so, sure. I'll play along" you added "I'm not kidding yah, kid. Let's have dinner" Melissa defended "Oh, so I'm a kid now, that's not what you were calling me earlier, baby" a smirk starts to show on your face. She just stares at you and you decline "I can't. I have a thing" Melissa's ego is bruised a little "You have a flipping thing so you can't. Okay. That's totally understandable" she said sarcastically and looks at you with a straight face "Yes. Thanks. Maybe some other time, we should invite the others as well" you declined again and she's just sitting there with an unreadable expression on her face, but you're getting the vibe that she wants to beat you up, hearing her in your head saying 'you don't know who you're messing with', you see her looking away from you "Sorry, babe. I swear I have a thing so I can't" Melissa rolled her eyes and scoffs at you "Whatever kid. Just admit that you won't have dinner with me because you truly think I'm too old for you" She looks down to hide her smirk, pretending to be sad. "What? That's not--" you were interrupted "Sure, kid. Whatever helps you sleep at night" Melissa's smirk grew wider and wider, she knew what she's doing and you have not yet catch up on it.

She's guilting you into saying yes, and with those eyes, now looking at you with so much anticipation, how could you say no 'it's just a friendly dinner and nothing more' you said to yourself but you know deep down, in your caged heart, it is something more.

"Fine. I'll have dinner with you, at your house" you finally cave in. Melissa looks up to look at you, the smirk she had, have turned into a wide grin, making you suddenly realise what she just did. "Come by my place at six" Melissa proudly said, so you try to burst her bubble "I see what you did there" but ended up kind of complimenting her, "I'll show you some more on our dinner date" Melissa said which made your eyes grow wide, not by her showing you 'more', but by her saying its a dinner date  "I don't doubt that for even a second-- so, it's  a date, huh-" you said and she shakes her head "what do you think it is?" She asked, you answer "like not a date, just something" you shrug "you're seriously so thick" she told you "oh my, thank you for the compliment. I could certainly say the same thing about you" she rolled her eyes, sick of you playing the fool, she sighed, and someone enter the room, bursting their bubbles and bringing them back to reality.

You are now in your lonesome trying clothes to wear for your date with Melissa. You applaud her for how she played you, but you can't believe how you let yourself be played and how you play along, how would you let her play you. 'Ah, shit. Here we go again' you told yourself before leaving your place.

You are now sitting infront of Melissa, eating her delicious home cooked meal.

"Why'd that beautiful woman didn't end up in your bed?" Melissa asked out of the blue "Eh, she's too young for me, and she's not my type" you answered her "too young? She's literally your age" she scoffed "exactly, too young, for me at least" you replied "What's your type, then?" You look up from your food already meeting her gaze, you almost blurted 'you' but you didn't, you describe her instead "short tempered, red head, leather wearing woman, who's great at cooking, uses her said 'old age' into making people to come have dinner with her. You know anybody like her?" She scoffs and tries to hide the red on her face that is now matching the red of her hair. After a minute of composing herself she finally answers your question "No. I don't think I do, but I know a guy who knows a guy who might" "of course you do"

You burst out laughing and the sound of your laughter warms and lights Melissa's house, she watch at the sight infront of her thinking 'I would love to get used to this' "I have something to say" she said way too loudly, the neighbors can hear, you look at her, willing and ready to listen "I'm all yours" you said with a sultry voice, Melissa sighed and thinks 'I wish' to herself.

"I've always keep people at arms length. Especially the people I find hot and am attracted to-- I flirt here and there, sometimes even date, but never something more, something real" you listen intently to every word she said, thinking to yourself 'same', you  and Melissa simultaneously took a deep breath and she continues "But you... You. When I met you, and get to really know you, somehow my walls came crashing down on me, but it didn't hurt- not even a little bit. I'm just glad. Glad that you came in to my life, glad that you took the walls down, and super glad to have asked you to have dinner with me. I'm so grateful that I get to hear your laugh and see your smile, and its because of me" the tears that have been falling from her eyes earlier, only got notice now that she's finished her speech, she brought her hands to wipe her tears and eventually cover her face "I'm sorry-" "stop" you commanded her and she followed.

You stand up from your seat and walk towards her, you hugged her. The warm of your embrace made Melissa hum in response. A couple of minutes later you break the hug and cup her cheeks, wiping some tears away using your tumb "you stole my line, you thief" you said and it made her chuckle "what do you mean? you won't know when I steal from you" you wanted to say 'I know. Cause you've stolen my heart long ago but I only notice earlier, when I saw you crying' but you didn't, instead you just say "I mean I was supposed to say that because that's exactly how I feel as well-- Everything you just said, all of it. Me too--"

You pulled each other into a kiss, your mouths working as one. Each minute the kiss starts to deepen. It gets sloppier every couple of seconds. The desperation, the passion, and the hunger, sated by each others tongue on the others' mouth.

"Why have we waited this long to do this?" Melissa asked out of breath "because we're both traumatised by our past relationships. --And we're both idiots" you replied, also out of breath and then kiss each other again.

You both pulled out of the kiss needing oxygen and when you get your fill you get back to kissing each other desperately. Hands wandering and exploring the bodies that is not their own.

You're both out of breath again "Wanna take this to my bedroom?" Melissa said panting, you nodded and she took your hand, kissing each other while walking over to the bedroom.

After making love with each other, one or two times. You're now spooning each other. "If you tell anyone about this, I know a guy who will make you regret it" she threatened you "I won't Ms. Schemmenti" you said in a slow and a grade schooler manner, teasing her "You're secret is safe with me. I won't tell anyone, that you're the little spoon" you shower her face with kisses "also, you're not very threatening in this position" you added and she scoff "Yeah, Right"

In the morning, you wake up with someone laying her head on top of your chest. You smile at the sight of red strand of hairs in front of your face. There's still some doubt and worries, but for Melissa, you don't care if she'd end up hurting you. You're only focusing in the now, not dwelling back when and then, just thankful for the present.

Her alarm rang and she wokes up, " I hate Monday mornings " she said groggily "good thing it's a Sunday morning then" you said certainly "No. It's monday" she said less groggily, you check your phone for the date and saw that it's indeed Monday, sighing in defeat you say "I better get going then" "what?" Melissa asked, now looking at you "I need to go, I need to shower and change clothes" you told her and she say "you could do that here, I'll lend you some of my clothes, we could shower together" you hummed at the thought of her last sentence "we can't, we'll be late" Melissa rolled her eyes and stands up from the bed "fine. Go take a shower first, I'll find some clothes for you to wear, and I'll cook us breakfast" "Roger that miss Schemmenti"

You ride with her on the way to school. You're both earlier than anyone as usual, or so you thought, you walk in the teacher's lounge hand in hand not noticing someone is there, Melissa kissed you and the person cleared their throat, which made Melissa jump "Shit. Barb. You scared the hell out me--" she looks at you seeing you with a grin on your face "why didn't you say anything?" "I was but I can't, your tongue was in my mouth" you replied.

"Everyone pay up" Barbara announced when everyone is in the room Melissa took her wallet out of her bag and you check your pockets "What for?" Melissa asked "Not you two" Barbara replied and it hit you, they've placed bets. You smile and nod your head.

"No, they didn't" Ava said, not wanting to pay. Barbara replied "They very much did, I saw it with my own two eyes earlier. If that is not enough proof, look at Y/N, she's literally wearing Melissa's clothes" Everyone looks at you and their eyes widened "you didn't" Jacob said to you and you just nod and grinned in response. "We very much did" Melissa confirmed.

Janine, Ava, Jacob, Gregory, and even Mr. Johnson placed their twenties on Barbara's palm. You raised your eyes at Melissa and then it hit her " You placed bets on us? Why didn't you tell me so I could join in" You just shake your head at her with a smile on your face.

[nalyra-dreaming]

Hello! Interested in your encyclopaedic knowledge on this. Skim-rereading the VC now for first time since I was a teenager and have to ask - does Louis ever, like - do anything for Lestat? This prompted particularly by TOTBT which my god is so savage. I can’t believe he’s happy to just… let him die?!? He doesn’t lift a finger, he doesn’t even try to protect him? It’s IWTV all over again, only supposedly their relationship is much better by this point.

It got me looking for examples where Louis does anything whatsoever proactive for Lestat and I’m really struggling. At the end of QotD, it seems like lots of the other vamps are trying to look after traumatised Lestat a bit, but I don’t think Louis comes to him? He just wanders off to New Orleans? Maybe I’ve missed a bit though. He looks after him a bit in his coma? Although not moreso than anyone else. But in the end it is Lestat who ends up waking up to save Louis. Even that bit in PLaTRoA where Lestat is about to have his heart stopped - Louis sitting next to his coffin - but Lestat reaches out to take Louis’ hand, not the other way round. Aside from verbally saying that he loves him, other than being generally nice and calm and polite, does Louis ever do anything to show it?

Hey nonny!

(Not sure about the encyclopedic but I‘ll try 😅💕) I do see a lot of the mentioned events a bit differently, allow me to explain (this is gonna be long^^):

Soooo to address your mention of TtotBT first off, I personally do think Louis thought of Lestat first and foremost when he sent him away in that scene.

Louis was tempted. It's no surprise imho that Jacob really wants to do that scene with Sam, because the power dynamics are inverted of course, but it is also emotionally very raw.

I want to pause here and recall a quote from QotD here, which is important:

Louis, the watcher, the patient one, was there on account of love pure and simple. The two had found each other only last night, and theirs had been an extraordinary reunion. Louis would go where Lestat led him. Louis would perish if Lestat perished. But their fears and hopes for this night were heartbreakingly human.

Louis... would perish if Lestat perished.

For Louis to send Lestat away... is to resign himself to death also. I think that has to be taken into account for the scene you mentioned, where Louis decides that Lestat deserves to save his soul, before Louis himself deserves to save his own. His rejection of Lestat there is done in full knowledge that he condemns himself there to a very lonely, cold, and ultimately fatal existence. He rejects Lestat there, knowing he will lose his greatest love.

I wouldn't call that happy to let him die? And I, personally, don't see it as a parallel to IWTV either, though it might feel a bit like that for Lestat, but the Louis here knows how much this will hurt. He knows what he is doing. He is condemning himself, hoping it will free Lestat.

And, while we're on TtotBT, in the beginning of the book there is the mention of Louis coming by Lestat's, to 'Netflix & chill', to share space and spend time, watch movies (for example "Company of the wolves", just being there. Talk. Discuss. Being together. So Louis did come by, for Lestat. And Lestat visited Louis, in his shack, had his own chair there. They were in each other's lives.

And... in the end of that book - when David show's up? What does Louis do? He takes David in. Makes room for David in their old home in Rue Royale. Accepts David - for Lestat. Accompanies them, too. Honestly, given David is David... that is a HUGE sacrifice! He let's David, the new fledgling, into their home. Because he is Lestat's. Later on, in PL, he will do the same for Antoine, which is obviously something that had to grate quite a lot as well, and I have always seen that as a rather conscious decision to allow it. To allow Antoine into their lives, because he is Lestat's.

Louis also tries to protect Lestat before the concert.

I know a lot of people read that from Lestat's POV and are just happy with the reunion (and of course it is beautiful and I really want to see it on the show!!) but... it's not only that.

Louis comes, to Lestat, not only because he can do so. But he pleads for Lestat to stay safe, too, to not do the concert. Because he is afraid for Lestat. He wants to keep him safe, wants to keep him with himself, too. He pleads with him not to go on stage. Offers to talk, to make plans, to 'Let us have each other in this century the way we never did in the past'.

You mentioned the end of QotD, and... in their universe, all that happens right after this reunion. A few days, a week at most. And then Lestat hides himself away again, in a room, trying to cope. Because he has been used again, abused, too, in a way he himself can only cope with by reframing it as love.

Louis knows it isn't. Wasn't. And he knows that he and Lestat cannot talk freely with the others there. He and Lestat are not able to use the mind gift directly. And... he is deeply unsettled by Jesse's report, the report she gives Lestat. Claudia's ghost. Deeply, deeply personal and something they share, very painfully. They go by Louis' tombstone, and then they can talk. A bit. Louis trusts Lestat and in his new powers. Falls asleep in his arms.

And that... is a rather powerful statement.

Louis (admittedly begrudgingly) enters that "adventure" with Lestat, fully trusting in Lestat. Kissing, embracing. Sleeping in his arms. It's a statement.

A statement that, despite Lestat feeling changed, and alien, that Louis still trusts him. Trusts in him, too.

And it is Louis, who tries to take Lestat home in Memnoch, Louis who pleads, begs for Lestat to be released. Louis who cries out when Lestat is locked up. Louis is the one who saves the books, Louis is the one who tries to comfort Lestat. Louis is the one who holds the proverbial fort at Rue Royale, with David, for long, long years. Louis is the one who despairs, eventually, when Lestat goes back into that half-awake coma, his soul taken away by angels.

Though there is more to that, too. You say Louis did not look after Lestat more than others, and I'd beg to differ. Louis was the one in the chapel, guarding Lestat. Holding his ground with the ancients, and the riff raff that Armand hunted down (even once with Lestat later). Louis is the one who keeps Ruy Royale, and makes sure Lestat is kept clean during his episodes of stillness, and it is only when he breaks, eventually, when Merrick takes his focus... that that... stops. When the Merrick events start, David visits Lestat, and Louis is 'there, seated on the marble beside Lestat, reading in a hushed voice from an old book of English poetry'.

Louis never leaves Lestat's side for long. Armand notes how he seems emaciated, hungry when Armand comes by in his version of the tale.

It is only when Merrick's spell unfolds that Louis leaves Lestat's side, that his focus shifts. And with the shift to Claudia and her ghost... the despair takes hold.

And it is when Louis heartbeat stops - that the "angels" lose their blackmailing material.

Lestat later tells of how he was forced to do "their bidding" by them threatening to take the eye... and though he doesn't elaborate... it is very clear what that means wrt Louis.

Because there simply was nothing else they could threaten him with anymore. Nothing else was more important than Louis. Not his eye, not his soul.

This always sends a shiver down my spine.

But that just as a note.

Louis is the one who accepts Lestat's judgment, after Merrick's creation.

He also accepts Lestat abandoning New Orleans, eventually, because Lestat cannot stand it anymore to kill the riff raff, those who "offend Armand", something Lestat calls "autocratic, ruthless" wrt to Armand's killing of them.

Louis accepts Lestat's decision there, and goes to Armand. Something that Lestat in turn accepts and supports(!):

My beloved Louis de Pointe du Lac left soon after, and from that time on lived in New York with Armand. Armand keeps the island of Manhattan safe for them—Louis, Armand, and two young blood drinkers, Benjamin and Sybelle, and whoever else joins them in their palatial digs on the Upper East Side.

And when Lestat is finally ready, it is Louis who apologizes to Lestat for the "past" by hunting a woman who wanted to murder her husband - in front of Lestat.

Personally, I find that a very poignant "doing-it-for-someone" :)))

But there is more.

Louis is the one who rescues Rose! Rose, Lestat's charge. Louis knows about Rose. Lestat's lawyers know about Louis. Louis takes over when Lestat is unreachable.

There is so much in these simple facts!

Like, they must have talked about Rose. Louis knows about Rose, knows she is important to Lestat, he takes the responsibility, saves her from fire, kills the ones who harmed her. Brings her to him. And he is the one Lestat's lawyers reach out to when Lestat is gone? Unreachable? What a statement is that in and by itself?! Louis is the one Lestat trusts with that child, the girl he saved and who will become his immortal daughter. Their immortal daughter.

And then, when Rhosh is there in NYC, at that table, and the axe scene happens... what does Louis do?

He smiles.

Now I don't know if you know that scene well, but it is quite the scene, and I honestly cannot wait to see it on the show.

And Louis... smiles. Shows support.

Quiet. Steadfast. The support Lestat needs, probably more than he consciously realizes.

And then, of course, later on - knowing what "Lestat cannot confide". They are finally sharing blood again, and Louis becomes Lestat's confidant. To all the things Lestat cannot speak about, all the things he has hinted at but cannot put into words. All the things that are too heavy to address.

That is no trifle.

And the silver cord, where Louis pushes the matter against Lestat's (not) better judgement. Where Louis is there, for Lestat to reach out.

Your ask made it seem (a bit) as if being there and offering is not sufficient, but strength shows itself in very different ways. Lestat is more direct, "flashy". Louis' strength is more subtle, it is an offer for support, unwavering support, whenever Lestat wants it. For as long as Lestat wants it. Not taking agency from Lestat, which is like the worst thing that could happen again... because that is something that has been taken from Lestat again, and again, and again. And Louis knows that.

And so he doesn't.

He doesn't take. He offers. It shows he knows Lestat. And he accepts him, and their respective pasts, and all the shit that has happened.

Again, that is no trifle, imho.

There is more. Little mentions, in the books.

A "grotto" they once shared. For example. Louis wearing the clothes Lestat chooses.

But for the most part you have to "read between the lines" as Lestat says, for the juicy details - however, I think when you consider the arcs? The arcs that span all the books?

The things we are told actually speak for themselves, imho.

Louis does a lot of things for Lestat. The important things, actually.

He is there for Lestat to turn to when Lestat's strength fails.

And yes, that includes the rejection in TtotBT - because Louis thought he had to be the one to show the strength for Lestat - to hold fast to the initial belief. The initial hope that drove the body switch - because Lestat had just found out he could not die anymore. Even if he tried. And he had tried. And it had sent him spiraling.

Would Louis have held out indefinitely? Probably not :) But that's another discussion.

[freuleinanna]

thinking about werewolf transformations in the quarry and i literally went: oh. oh.

so I gotta say first, my take on nick was that I flat-out hated the character, and his whole hungry-horny bit was right out of bad fanfiction, but okay. then I got to thinking about other transformations, and I think the point is, they are bound to different emotions the characters have; some emotion that was the strongest for the night or at the moment of transformation.

we've all seen at least 3 charachers wolfing out canonically: nick (I'll get to him later to make my point), max, and laura. we can also see dylan, emma and jacob transform on screen. kaitlyn doesn't transform fully, and abi doesn't transform at all, even if bitten (?? i haven't found any video on that, at least).

emma is the best example, when she transforms in the basement with abi. abi goes cut the shit, emma, show's over, go home, and right away, emma screams FUCK YOU with the following it really hurts. She then repeats 'it hurts' while already talking about the transformation, but the starting point was that abi's words cut her deeply. abi, who was the one to see through emma's disguise, treated her like most other people, an annoying attention-craving girl. emma's insecurity and her relationships with abi triggered the wolf.

jacob spent the whole night heart-broken. first he got dumped, then his friends (during the first chapters) were constantly dragging him, targeting him with his jokes. his insecurity also got triggered when, after all that happened, he found himself alone. he saw ryan and laura down in the basement, and yes, then opened the cage, but then they left. he was alone. everyone was leaving him no matter how hard he'd cling to them. stupid boy. summer's over and you're nothing. she doesn't want you. nobody does! nobody wants you.

dylan is literally the most wholesome boy ever, because throughout the game, he was the protector of others. he goes to juice up the radio, he gives the shotgun away, he follows kaitlyn to the scrapyard. and when he feels he's about to turn, he starts sreaming like hell trying to drive kaitlyn away from him, because he's dangerous. FUCKING RUN! RUN AWAY, KAITLYN! GET AWAY FROM ME! yeah, he's a snac, he attac, but most importantly, he protec <3

laura starts turning in the middle of the fight with chris, and she's actually the one who's able to keep a cool head (much like dylan, who didn't turn wolfy, but stayed on his human emotions). she smacks herself on the head a few times saying not now! not now, come one! quite literally, for her it's a mental fight. her sheer determination to end the curse allowed her to be herself up to this point. she kept her wolf under control for a long time, too, because she was flashing those hot yellow eyes for a while. plus, her wolf was coming and going (like when she just found injured ryan and was all wolfy), and coming and going again (when she bit ryan and had a hard time letting go of his bloodied hand), but her mind prevailed. because her major drive was to stop the curse, and she had work to do.

max is also protective as hell. he might get aggressive with laura, but agression is a part of the wolf. max, on the other hand, tried to distant hiself from laura as much as he could and talked to her as long as he could. he's a sweet boy who loves his girlfriend dont @ me. plus, I love the thought that his growl sounds hell of a lot like distorted laura! and I'm a simp for that.

and that brings us to nick. nick, who, despite being all sweet and nice, gets all obsessive with abi. he demands a verbal confirmation that she likes him, he smells her skin, he's getting posessive with that she's mine! he throws at poor bobster. plus all that abusive shit he says to abi? I only hung out with you because you seemed so desperate. he closes the circle, cuts her away from others, like any abusive shit would do with their only I can tolerate you attitude. but since transformations only amplified the emotions people were already feeling, I think maybe he was just unlucky that his major feeling was romantic. alas, it turned into something ugly, abusive, posessive, and completely different from what he intended it to be. and that's the story of how I went from downright hating nick to feeling profoundly sorry for him.

[chubbysciencenerd]

Who do you belong to?

Aggressive, Knife play, possessiveness, Dutch also wants reader, jealousy, orgasm control, breeding? Kinda?

̇ ̟ ෆ︵‿୨♡୧‿︵ෆ ̟ ̇

Javier x fem!reader smut ♡°∘

Minors pls dni! This might be my last rdr post, ofc I will still do request but what I write for fun will mainly be jacob seed from far cry 5 now. I highly recommend you play it if you haven’t.

╭─⋅ ⋅─ ✩ ─⋅ ⋅─╮

Javier had been.. distant lately. Ever since the failed robbery in Saint Denis every has been off especially Dutch, something was off with him. No one said exactly what happened besides the fact that it went wrong. Today though, he was even different, he seemed to be paying a lot of attention to you. You were doing laundry with Tilly and Karen while gossiping a little, before you realize it Dutch is behind you towering over you, “Y/N, may I have a word with you?” You look over your shoulder and see Dutch and his large figure, you felt so small in this moment. You get up and walk with him, he stays silent until you are both by the lake, the sun was setting for the day and it was beautiful. “So what did you need to talk to me about?” You ask looking over at him but he continues to watch the sunset. “You don’t need to be washing clothes anymore. You’re not like the other girls.” He hands you a revolver, you look up him confused. “This.. This doesn’t seem fair, the other girls are just as if not more capable than me. Why me?” Dutch looks you in the eyes before in a voice considered soft for him, “I see something in you, You’re different than the other girls. I can tell”

You look at him and then back at the girls doing laundry, chopping vegetables and all the other duties the girls have around the camp. “Tilly can handle a gun just as well as me. This doesn’t seem right.” You say sheepishly. Dutch snakes his hand to your waist revolver still in the other he pulls you close and mutters in your ear. “Maybe I just like you a little better.”

You grab the revolver and walk away, you start to look around the camp before spotting Javier cleaning his knife he seemed.. off? You weren’t quite sure why but you come up and before you say anything he starts speaking first. “You messing with Dutch now? Who else?” You look at him with a confused look. He grabs your arm and takes you to the edge of camp so no one heard your bickering. “I saw the way he grabbed your damn waist and it’s not the first time. What are you doing when you go into his tent when he closes it? You always giggle at his stupid jokes. Y/N You need to tell me what’s going on.” You can’t help but smirk a little before becoming serious again. “It’s nothing like that I promise. He’s just friendly, we don’t do anything in his ten-” Javier cuts you off by grabbing your waist and pulling you against him. “Do I need to remind you who you belong to you pequeña perra? (Little bitch)”. While you weren’t the best and Spanish yet you knew damn well the message he was putting out. You couldn’t help but nod as you grew more and more flustered as he looked into your eyes with a mixture of lust and rage. He takes you further away from camp still gripping onto your arm tightly. You weren’t even that far from camp before he slams you against a large tree and starts attacking your neck with bites and occasional kisses. He starts to unbutton your jeans and quickly pulls them down, you felt so exposed even though you had undergarments on, it didn’t last long as you felt the cold blade of his knife against your side. Before you and interject he cuts them clean off your body.

The next feeling sent shivers down your spine, he had the blade of the knife at your throat. He rests his head next to your shoulder as he takes the knife and drags it down your chest, it was so sharp your clothes didn’t stand a chance, how were you going to get back to camp? There was no way you were going naked. You figured when he cut the rest of his clothes he would stop, but he kept dragging the knife lower.. and lower… it was resting at your core which was an absolutely flooded mess. He changes the hold on the knife and holds it by the blade before slowly dragging the handle through your folds. The hardness against your clit sent a jolt up your spine and you craved for more. You start to rock on his knife rubbing it against your clit to bring you to your release that you’re craving so badly. You clutch to your revolver as tight as you can, panting mumbling Javiers name. “What was that? I couldn’t quite hear you. Your gimiendo como una perra. (Moaning like a bitch)”

You had no clue what he said but you could care less, that is until he pulls the knife away from you. You gasp at the loss but Javier’s hardness trapped in his pants quickly presses against your core. He pulls you into a passionate kiss, he wanted to make this day hard to forget. He tears the scraps of clothes off her before quickly freeing himself from his pants. You feel the familiar blade back against your throat, you look at him with needy eyes, he rubs himself against your slick folds as he pumps himself a couple times before quickly pressing into you. The thrusts begging hard and fast, this was far from normal of him he always builds up to this pace but this time was different. You were doing anything but complaining he uses his free hand to grab you breast and mumbles through the pants and groans, “You cum when I say. No sooner, no later. Understand?” You nod but he presses the blade harder against your neck, “yes, sir.” You manage to blurt out through the noises you were making. You both ere trying to stay quiet as possible as you guys were just outside of camp and anyone could see you both. He brings his hand fondling your breast down to your clit quickly almost desperately rubbing it, The blade presses harder against your throat as his pace starts to go sloppy. “Who do you belong to?” He looks deeply in your eyes as you mutter out a soft “You” That wasn’t good enough, “Louder.” He commands, “You! Javier, I belong to you.” As you say that he finishes inside of you painting your walls with his children. He wanted to claim you and this is how he did. The rubbing on your clit never stopped, he was fully inside of you completely still rubbing your clit vigorously. You toss your head back against the tree begging him under your breath to let you cum, tears were starting to come to your eyes needing nothing more than your release right now. ‘If I ever see you flirt with Dutch or any other man remember this right here.” You look at him with needy and desperate eyes. “You can cum in three..” You squeeze your eyes tight digging your nails into his arm holding it out for as long as you could, “two…’

-You just needed him to say one, one number and you can finish but he didn’t. “Javi, p-please I can’t.. I can’t do this any longer!” He looked at you with a smirk as he pulls out quickly slamming back in as he whispers in your ear, “one.” You cum the second he says it your surroundings slowly coming back to you after. He pulls out of you painfully slowly as he carefully sets you down at the base of the tree. He takes his poncho off and gives it to you to wrap around yourself so you’re not exposed. he gives you a long kiss as you run your fingers in the back of his hair taking his ponytail out, as he pulls away you put your own hair up. “I’m sorry about your clothes mi amor (my love), I’ll run back into camp and get you some more. After that he can ride into town to get you a holster for that.” He nods at your revolver Dutch had given you, you honestly forgot that you were holding it, he gives you a kiss on the forehead before getting up and quickly going back to camp to grab you new clothes. God you love that man.

╰─⋅ ⋅─ ✩ ─⋅ ⋅─╯

I will do request for almost anything! Feel free to ask and please give feedback and let me know what I can do to improve ♡°∘

[mrsarnasdelicious]

EAC 3 - November 3 - 5

What a weekend y'all....

What a travel, firstly. I took the eurostar from Schiphol or Charles de Gaule. I had orginially planned to meet up with @sihtricfedaraaahvicius, but it was soo busy we could not move from our assigned seats. We met once we left the train and crossed the airport in search of a bus that would bring us to the hotel, which we did not find. So instead she ordered us an uber-ish ride, which also was half an adventure.

But we got to the hotel in the end and we had a full welcome commity waiting for us. It was so good reuniting with all the people I met in the Nowalls discord and grew close with after Dortmund. It was like coming home to so many loved ones. I also met a great many new friends and took many of them into my heart.

I received a few wonderful gifts from my friends.

After settling into the hotel, we went to the mall with a group, which was rather chaotic. We had lunch there and I found a Thestral figurine.

Once back from the mall we hung out at the hotel for a while and I changed into my 'party' clothes; white jeans, white tank, hard rock london shirt and black thin cardigan. I looked good, NGL.

While waiting in line for the cocktail party, I met Lucile, who is now my bestie. We supported each other through our nerves and when I felt a litlte faint. This was mostly because I hadn't eaten or drank enough. After two glasses of cola, I was most certainly feeling more perky.

[Photo credit by Lucile]

First at our table [us being Rike, Gemma, Lucile and I and later Carlotta also] was Jacob. Young man was carrying a cup of tea, going 'how British am I, I brought tea to a champain party.' which was too cute. I tried to guess it was fennel tea, to which he said he wished it was fennel, but it was mint. I told him my late granddad was also named Jacob and showed off my newest tattoo. Jacob liked the tat a lot.

Second was Tim and I am still not used to that thin ear ring. It suits him, but somehow still surprises me when I see it, every time. He asked us about halloween and I want to ask him about Fallen, but the convo did not go that way.

I am not sure of the order after this, so bear with me as I sort of wing it.

Stefanie was 'omg you have Eadith hair' right away and I was very awkward about taking the compliment on my hair, even though I am quite confident about my hair.

Eliza started about halloween, but it meandered and she ended up spotting my tattoos. My hands were admired and she was like 'Arnas is gona scream the moment he sees these' and she was not wrong...

James decided he wanted to ask us a question and he asked us what film had most influence on our lives. I of course said Harry Potter. The Wizarding world has absolutely been formative for my passion for stories in all forms. James defo loved that answer.

Christian talked mainly with my friends, demonstrating his talent for languages. I couldn't help getting lost in those beautiful blue eyes, though.

I don't remember what Ossian talked about, I just remember that he came in for a hug right away.

Harry talked about his appearance on Nowalls' first live show, which was a good little laugh. He also remarked on how the cocktail party felt much more posh than it actually was.

Mark greeted me with 'your hair has grown' which made me feel some type of way. I mean, this man remembers enough of me to recall an approximation of my hair length. We then talked about his moustache and how most of us really disliked it.

Last to our table was Arnas and he came in loud. I scolded him for it and he went on a whole spiel about how he still had all the gifts I had given him and how he kept it all on his nighstand and that I was too hard on him. He took a good look at my tats and said mine looked so much better than his on the show, which is of course absolute nonsense, but I appreciate the effort. He comlained about missing the eurostar, because he missed the boarding time. I asked himif he had checked his ticked for the boarding time, which of course he said he hadn't, like a true ADHD man. When he made to leave, I pulled out my rings to put them back on and this absolute man holds out his hands (only later I realised the missed opportunity for me to put a ring on this guy and forever joke about him being my fiance). I go 'Excuse!?!' and he sasses me back with 'wat wil je?'

There was a group photo after that and we were ushered out to await the werewolf games.

Werewolves was an invaritable mess.

I was in a village with Mark, James, Jacob and a reasonable measure of my friends. Barely anyone had ever played the game and the GM was very basic in the story telling.

I had quite a good back and forth with James before the game got started and he was pretty down for having me GM, but I knew that would not be in the cards. No, in the cards for me was the Witch.

We first got a round of introducing our 'characters' and then it was right off to the first night. Cupid matched my friend Angela with Mark, completely at random, but Angela suspected it was me. The werewolves were allowed a victim right after, which happened to be me. I resurrected myself with my potion and the day started. Mark had the bright idea of all putting their hand down and raise your hand if you are a villager. My autism needs computing time, so I was of course the last to raise my hand and I was once more set to die.

I got to spectate the rest of the game. It was quite a mess and Mark ended up either fogetting he was matched with Angela, or going into his role too deep, because he decided to off her and then he had to go too, because the lovers cannot continue the game if one of them dies. Mark and James were the werewolves and James ended up surviving the whole game on his own and thus winning.

We had some time after that and ended up playing word chain for a good while, until we took another group photo and I rough housed with Angela and Jacob a little bit.

After the games there was a viewing of SKMD, but I was very tired, so Mary and I headed to her friend's flat. The friend was not home that night, so we could get some fangirling in before sleep.

We got up early in the morning, because I had to be in time for the selfie lounge.

I had the selfie lounge with everyone's favourite Sihtric-fic writer. So we waited together and once admitted sat on the last chairs of the first line of chairs. It looked like an AA meeting at first, but once the guests came in, it was more like a fashion runway. Especially Arnas enjoyed showing off.

@sihtricfedaraaahvicius and I stuck together and we even got a selfie with the both of us and Eliza and with James, which was very sweet.

I noticed that most of the guests had to be sort of directed towards us, because we sort of stayed on one side of the room. I am not the person to just accost the guests for a picture.

We got pics with all the guests, but I did not get to the plans I had. No due selfie with Arnas and no Sihtric + Sigtryggr for my friend. I'm sorry bestie. We also both got an Eys hug, which was adorable.

Arnas was the before last to come to us. He had a good back and forth with my friend, but to me he said 'our lives are so intertwined now' and that is genuinly all I recall he said to be in the Selfie Lounge. The sentence most certainly had a running up, but I can't recall it.

My friend said, once we left the Lounge that Arnas enjoys getting a rise out of me. Gee thanks, Guy...

After the opening ceremony, I lined up for the photo op with James.

I left it up to James to make up a pose and he decided he wanted to pretend to take a pic of me, which turned out cute as much as imaginative. Another friend says it looks like he is using the force on me instead, which is also a fun interperation.

I felt very at ease around James, not at all nervous. He is so sweet and kind.

Secondly I had the photo op with Stefanie. We did s simple, sweet hug and I quite like the pic. Stefanie is so wonderful and sweet and I can't wait to see her again. Hopefully next year!

And then I had Arnas' Photo OP...

I still had some nerves about him, so I came up to him a bit tense. 'Oh we're going for nervous, are we' he told me and I just could not let him tease me, so I tried to pull him over.

And he went with it, giving me some pressure in return even.

And then came my moment, the individual meeting with Arnas.

Good gods, this man. He asked about my daughter and what her thing was now. We had a small confusion about miffy/nijntje until I indicated the bracelet I had given him in Dortmund, that is when the dime dropped. It really warmed my heart when he asked about her.

I gave him his giftbag and we just spent the five minutes calmly going through it, along with some small talk. He loved the Jellycat plush, proclaiming he'd take it everywhere and wanted some weed to go with the donuts I brought him. So next year we are bring him edibles.

He was also ravingly enthusiastic about the scribble-drawing Fayen made him and even took a selfie with it. I have yet to recieve it though, hoping he did not forget, Don Chaot!

Then it was time for me to get some autographs and first was Stefanie. She is just such a lovely person to talk to. She gave me a sweet hug and even asked me to sign the rose photo and Nowallsona pics I brought her. I hope she'll return next year because I soooo wana talk to her and hug her again. (Woman Crush Wednesday fo sho!)

I went to Eliza next and that woman is an absolute queen. She said that I attract people to me with my sweet and warm personality and that meant so much to me. She also gave me the sweetest hug and I swear I fell in love a teensy tiny bit with the woman, because Gods she is just everyone's hype woman and I feel that on a spiritual level!

Then I went to James and he sort of got me stumped, and I don't know how, guess I was hit with his awesomeness all of a sudden.

I got a big hug and he wanted me to sign my rose photo for him and he was just so sweet and there were too many things I had wanted to ask him, but I forgot all of them, because he is just too sweet and kind.

Next I went to Timothy, who looked like he was about done with his day. I asked him if he was okay and he admitted to having had a coughing fit a few minutes before. We talked a tiny bit and he gave me a sweet hug.

I saved Arnas for last that day and my Gods was I not disappointed by what he gave me. I told him he would hate me for what I was going to ask of him, but he was such a good sport about it, telling me knew what this is for. He did his very best and I am actually so enamoured with his handwriting. I adore it.

He gave me a big hug as well and that was a good end of the day.

The next day I had the Marnas shoot I had purchased the day before, first.

I told Mark they had artisic liberty/liscene and they set to work right away. Mark grabbed my pendant, yelling that I was not a real Dane and Arnas jumped right in, knowing that I am indeed a mostly Norse leaning Pagan. That was a lovely little nod to what I had told him in Dortmund, which warmed my heart as well.

Swiftly afterwards I had my OP with Mark and I asked him for a big squeeze. And let me tell you, this man has made up for his loosey goosey hug from Dortmund ten times over. What a squeeze, I adored it!

The photographer had to tell me to lower my shoulder for some reason, but hey, the photo is defo one of my best so far. I am not at all nervous around Mark anymore, after having scolded him, haha.

I had myself a double with Arnas, because I could not choose if I wanted something sweet or something bookspo, so I got myself an extra OP.

First was the sweet one and Arnas offered me his arm and I swear I did not mean to look like I was ready to take my mans home, but here we are.

The bookspo one is the one that really got to me, though.

I asked Arnas to pretend to be angry with me, explaining it was for the book I was writing. And by the Gods did he deliver, shouting 'not this again Tessa, I told you not to do this' or something much like it, grabbing my hand firmly and making an angy Sihtric face. In the moment it was exactly what I needed from him.

Once the photo was shot, he petered off to the side and I was so in my feels that I backhugged him, which made him chuckle and nudge me to go in a gentle way.

After lunch it was time for my Marnas polaroid, my favourite moment of the entire weekend.

I was the first to show up, so I got to be the first in line, before anyone with prio. Sometimes it pays off to be anxious early. I got to see James get his stuff ready and watch Mark and Arnas get themselves amped up. I think they spotted me, because they started to overshout each other.

Mark won.

I sat down between them and Mark asked if I had something in mind, which I obvi did not. So Mark goes 'I am going to look at you very affectionately.' He's set the edge. And Arnas walses his arse right over it with 'I just realised I am madly in love with you.'. HAHAHAHAHAHIMNOTOKAY.

James had left the safety on his camera and it took him like four tries to realise this, but I was happy enough to sit between these two warm men, looking at me like I was the best thing since sliced bread.

Afterwards I got sent two pictures by about all my friends on several insta pages with two different angles from my polaroid. My favourite is on top of the post and the second one is below.

There after I went to Jacob for a signature and got a sweet hug from him as well. I told him I'd whisk him away and adopt him. He said he would not be able to breathe in my luggage though. We had a little laugh together and he was very happy with his gifts.

Ossian was next. Got my hug in, told him I wanted to adopt him and he wrote a very sweet message in my booklet.

He is so adorable.

Later when I was in line for Harry, he came over to Nat for a goodbye hug, which warmed my heart so so so much!

Then I went to Eysteinn, telling his I smelled something about free hugs.

Eysteinn was very gentle and kind and gave me another loosey goosey hug. But I also got the feeling he wasn't fully at ease. I am not sure if that was me or the entire situation.

Next up I went to Christian.

He is such a darling. He loved his afirmation card and we had a lil back and forth about creating your own joy and that he doesn't really agree with carpe diem and is more a crea diem kind of guy.

He gave me a sweet hug and wasn't really good at me telling him he has stunning blue eyes, he made a joke about blaming his parents for it.

Thereafter I lined for up Harry.

I was a few paces behind @charming-merlin who made Harry's fanbook. It was such a well made all round piece of art and I adored Harry's reaction to it, he was so so so happy and so impressed and I have hardly ever seen a man filled with so much awe and delight. All kudo's to her.

Harry tore into my bag of gifts right away, too and I got a big hug as well. He is such a joy to talk to and his hug was real tight.

And off I rushed to Mark.

Mark was already standing on 'my side' of the table, which was great for handing him his gift bag. He loved the Nowalls shirt and the pepernoten.

I got two hugs from Mark. One was for practise and one was for real. He was such a good sport about it and we had a brief little chat. He is genuinly a delight to be around and I just want this man to be my friend!

And last, but not least, of course I had to go to Arnas one more time.

Or ... two times, because I forgot my selfie so I had to line up again like a dumbass, but Arnas was very sweet about it.

I told him a little bit about the inspiration for my book and asked him to write something motivational for when I have writers block. He listened closely, which sort of messed up his writing, but I love it all the more because of that.

I got in a few more hugs and the selfie turned great!

I had an amazing weekend, making new friends and meeting so many lovely people. I laughed and loved so much and I fell in love a little deeper.

Thank you, friends and fabulous people for Paris!

[the-dawn-star]

Few stupid and less stupid headcanons of the Twilight universe. 

A/N: These are my own opinions and I realized that I had a lot less to say about the Twilight universe than I had with TVDU. @sarahelizabeth_talks on TikTok is amazing and I pretty much agree with her every Twilight take. The stupid ones are more like they don’t have any canon content behind them so they are just what I think of. 

-S 

+400ish words. 

The less stupid ones…

Jane and Alec view Aro as their dad and on the other hand Aro is super protective of them (especially with Jane). More than once over the centuries the twins have called Aro their father as an accident and Aro respectfully ignores it because he knows that if the twins had realized it they would have been mortified with shame. 

All of the higher Volturi guards have movie nights where they talk shit and talk about any drama that’s happening with the lower guards. They also get jealous when Aro is trying to make a vampire join the coven because of their powers. 

Carlisle and Aro were dating when Carlisle was a part of the coven. (Fight with the wall.) (I feel like I want to write a gothic, dark academia, religious undertones fic about them!!) 

Carlisle was born in the 1700s so he is quite religious and he goes to church with Esme on major holidays. It makes him feel more human and helps him to remember how he doesn’t want to hurt people. 

Rosalie and Emmett get married again every once in a while, that’s a fact. But I think Rosalie’s dresses are never pure, stark white. She likes to be a bit out of the box with stuff like this. 

Jessica will be a successful woman who takes no shit from anyone. She and Angela will stay as really good friends their whole life. (Justice for the human characters!!)

The stupid ones…

After a few years of happy family life, Bella will break up with Edward and they try to co parent Rigatoni (Renesmee) but both of them are really bad at it. (After that Bella will start to drink human blood and Edward will be disgusted by it.)

Renaissance (Renesmee) will be weirded out when she realizes that her parents were so okay with the whole imprinting thing. For a while she doesn’t speak to anyone of the coven + Jacob. 

If you read the similar post about the TVDU, in that one I said that all vampires are some sort of queer and I would like to say the same shit with this universe too but fuck Twilight vampires are so heteronormative. 

All of the Cullens have so many unpaid speeding tickets and that's one reason why they have to move around. They also owe millions to the tax department. 

Caius is a fashion nerd. The man loves expensive and luxurious clothing. 

Jacob in his wolf form once slipped while running next to a river. He fell into the water being drenched. Later, all of the pack members laughed at him and he is still a bit embarrassed about it but it’s all in good fun. 

Bella was really grossed out when in New Moon Edward states that he is like 109 and for a moment Bella was ready to break up with him.

~~~

Feel like you want to support me via Kofi? No preasure tho!

[ethereal-engene]

Today Was A Fairytale | joonyoung

pairing: Jacob x fem!reader

genre: slice-of-life, non-idol!AU, and fluff // warnings: mentions of food and usage of cuss words

summary: Jacob finally decides this summer, he’ll finally confess to you. Little does he know, he ends up turning one of your fairytales into a dream. // word count: ~2.6k

note: I hope you enjoy this and this is my submission for deoboyznet’s summer on you event! aND @sungbeam this is lowkey for you 🤭 // AND THANK YOU TO DUCKIE FOR THE GRAPHIC 🥹💗

For as long as you could remember, you’d been in love with stargazing and had wanted to sleep under the stars, at least once in your life. Something about seeing all the stars paint the night sky with their twinkling made you feel so calm and content.

It was especially magical because you could only see them once a year because of your family’s yearly summer trip to your beach house. Spending a good majority of your life stuck in the city made it practically impossible to see the stars due to the light pollution. Besides the beautiful scenery at the beach house, there was one more thing you also looked forward to.

Okay, it’s not really a thing per say, it was more like someone. Someone who you grew up with. Someone who you have grown to form a crush over for years now. Someone who you thought was the brightest star in your life. Someone who you couldn’t imagine life without. And someone who you thought wouldn’t like you back so you never took a chance of telling him.

This someone was the one and only Jacob Bae. His and your family became good friends after finding out that their children were the same age. Both of you were quite shy and so that meant it took awhile for you to warm up to each other.

All it took was him to start singing a nursery rhyme and for you to sing along. Since then, your friendship blossomed. Over the years, you spent your summers together doing activities such as campfire nights, beach days, exploring the city, and more. Campfire nights were one of your favorites because that meant you got to hear Jacob singing.

“Cobie, I’m telling you. Your voice is angelic and any label would be dumb to reject you. If they do, I’ll personally tell them off and then we’ll walk to get ice cream or something. Whatever you want to feel better, but I will not let you get into your head and think that your talent is not good enough.” Staring into your eyes, he can tell that you’re serious. You place one hand in his and the other over your heart.

“Besides, even if you think that it’s not enough. You’ll always be more than enough to me. Don’t you forget it.”

All he could do in response was send a shy smile your way accompanied with a thanks. If only you knew how he truly felt hearing that from you. His heart felt so full of love and appreciation.

It meant a lot and managed to help him get through more auditions. Eventually, he got offered contracts to sign at various labels. After much consideration and looking through them from the help of lawyers, he settled on the one that seemed the most promising.

Jacob was elated to share the news but he wanted to do something special to tell you. Not only that, but for some reason a heartstring was being tugged at. It was telling him to confess. It worried him that you wouldn’t like him back and that confessing would ruin the friendship you had.

Talking to his friends, they were not about to let him back down from confessing. Let’s just say, they’ve gotten tired of him talking about you as if you hung the stars and moon in the sky.

Sangyeon says to him, “Jacob. Listen to me, right now. There’s a chance that she likes you back! How will you ever know if you never tell her? You have to take a leap of faith and just go for it. We’ll emotionally support you from afar. Now, go and get the girl of your dreams!!”

Jacob knows that those words of encouragement should ease his doubts, but he can’t help them from spilling from his mouth. While talking, he’s found pacing the room back and forth.

“Thanks but I don’t know. Can I really pull this off? What if she hates me for the rest of her life for telling her? I really cannot imagine life without her. She’s one of the best people I know and who else would I write my songs about? I-“

Eric cuts him off, “JACOB, I'M PRETTY SURE SHE LIKES YOU BACK AND DON’T WORRY IF SHE DOESN’T LIKE YOU BACK. THERE WILL BE SOMEONE WHO DOES. STOP BEING SO DOWN BAD FOR HER AND GET WITH HER. WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, WE’RE TIRED OF HEARING YOU TALK ABOUT HER.”

As soon as Jacob heard Eric’s voice, he quickly pulled his ear away from the phone. Sighs follow and he ends the phone call with another thanks.

Sitting at his desk, his shoulders slump forward as he tries to figure out what to do. Slowly hyping himself, his shoulders and back start to straighten up. Then he starts to plan things out. He remembers hearing that you really liked to go stargazing when it was summer vacation. Funnily enough, even after all these years together. Not once gone have y’all gone stargazing together.

As the hours passed by, he came up with the idea to take you to a place where the stars looked the best, a picnic, tell you the good news of him getting accepted into a label, sing a song he wrote for you and of course telling you that he liked you. One more thing, sleeping under the stars.

Unbeknownst to him, one of your dreams was to always sleep under the stars. Either it be done by yourself or with someone you really liked. You had wanted to do it but your parents always rejected the idea because it was dangerous if you did it by yourself. Understanding their perspective, you never did it.

He even told your mom about the plan and she was very excited to help. It was quite hard for her to not spoil the surprise to you and also tell him that you liked him a whole lot back. She thought it was a super sweet and cute idea.

time skip to the first day of the beach house

The first thing you did when you arrived was run to the beach. Smelling the saltiness in the air and feeling the sand in your feet. What a wonderful feeling it was to always return to. You got a little lost in your thoughts that you didn’t hear someone calling your name.

“Y/n? You there??” Jacob waving his hands in front of your eyes. With a shake of your head, you saw him. Then and there, you pulled him into a hug. He was a bit taken back by the gesture but he wasn’t complaining. “It’s so good to finally see you again, Cobie! I feel like it’s been forever but it’s all good because now we’ve got three months together!”

“It’s good to see you too! Here’s to summer vacation together and making the best of the three months we’ve got. Come on, let’s get your stuff unpacked. I have a surprise for you when you’re done.” Your eyebrows furrow and head tilts to the side. A surprise?

“Come find me at our spot. I’ll be waiting for you!”. His cute smiles graces his face and he leaves you standing there like an idiot. What the fuck is the surprise? You’re about to shout for him but you’re trying to figure out what it’s for. No time for thinking though. An adrenaline rush hits you as you hurriedly unpack.

Once you’re done, you want to just do nothing but lay in bed. The rush of energy left your body when you put the last outfit in your closet. But then it peaks again as you wonder what you should wear. Looking through your closet, you pick up a new fit you’ve been meaning to wear since you got it. Snapping a couple of fits before walking to the spot to meet him.

Upon arrival, you see him and walk over. He looks you up and down before meeting your eyes. “I love your new outfit. It suits you.”

“I could say the same about you. This shirt compliments you quite well, if I do say so myself.”

His shirt is a loose shirt leaving his chest slightly open. Not his typical style but he thought to try something new today. Then he holds out his hand for you to place your hand in. “Follow my lead.” Making your way to the place, you try to pry it out of him of what the surprise is for. “Listen, my lips are sealed. However, you’re free to ask me anything else.”

“Ughhhh but Cobieeee. I already know everything about you. Why can’t you just tell me? At least a clue??”. A shake of the head follows and random topics of conversations are conversed. When you finally arrive at the destination, you can’t help but marvel at the scene. A perfect view of the beach and where the sun meets the sky appears in front of you. Not only that but a picnic blanket is there too.

Taking your seats, you stare at him with stars in your eyes. Jacob holds eye contact with you before facing somewhere else. Lord knows that his face is turning red right now. You’re wearing an absolutely stunning dress and the way you just looked at him. Someone please call 911, he’s a goner. Along with the way your face keeps on shining as he watches you pull out your favorite foods from the basket.

This is why he asked for your mom’s help; to help prepare the food. Jacob is great at many things but unfortunately cooking is not one of them. “You even got our childhood favorite snacks! I thought they didn’t sell this anymore. Oh my god Cobie, you’re going to make me cry.” Midway through his snacking, his head tilts up so fast when he hears that. His hands waving frantically as he says, “No, no! Please don’t cry!! If you cry, you’ll make me cry too.” His words are laced with nervousness. One look at him and you let out a laugh.

“This is the sweetest thing someone has ever done for me. I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve this from you but I appreciate it a lot! Thank you, I mean it.” Grabbing another piece of the food to eat, Jacob grabs your hands and puts them in his.

“Of course, you know I’d do anything for you but that’s not all for tonight.” Turning on the portable lamp, he scoots closer to you and gently turns your head to the sky.

An audible gasp is heard before placing your hand over your mouth. “They’re so beautiful. I can’t believe this is our first time stargazing together. They must have forgotten about a star tonight because you’re here next to me.”

Turning your head, you face each other. Smiles break out on your faces and you both think about each other. Not long after a moment of silence, he helps you sit up. “Actually y/n. I brought you here for two reasons. The first being that I got offered a spot at a label and I start soon! I really couldn’t have done it without your help and support. I can’t believe that my dream is coming true. Thank you for always encouraging me and being a day one.” Hearing that made your heart so happy for him.

“AH I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU! Oh Cobie, you never have to thank me for being your supporter. I always knew you had it in you, you just needed a push. I can’t wait to hear all your songs and attend your concerts!! The world’s gonna know all about my Cobie. I’m so proud of you and this is really only the beginning.” Bringing him into another long hug. He can hear the happiness dripping from your sweet words.

“Ah ah, don’t say I don’t have to thank you. I really do. You and my family. The literal backbone of me even deciding to do this in the first place. Now if you’ll let me, I have a song for you.”

He whips out his guitar and starts strumming a melody. In this moment, he closes his eyes and lets the lyrics tell you the words that he’s been dying to tell you. His fears of rejection also leave his body as he sings. Somewhere in his mind, he knows that you’ll accept it.

Jacob’s eyes flutter open when he’s done and for the millionth time tonight. You guys hold eye contact and before he can even stop himself, he whispers “Y/n, I like you a lot and it would mean the world to me and more if you would be my girlfriend. But like you know, you can say no too. No pressure or anything. You’re just so precious to me and I wanted to let you know how I felt before I backed out of this-”.

Placing your finger to stop him from rambling more. “I like you too and humbly accept your offer to be your girlfriend. Thank you for this wonderful night. It’s like something out of a fairytale. From the stars out to the confession. Actually you’re like someone out of a fairytale. The way you’re always kind and loving to those around you. The passion you have for music that now gets to be shared with the world. I get to be the girlfriend to an amazing man!”

His heart warms at our words as usual. But holy shit, he did it!!

Grabbing your hands, he places it over his chest for you to feel how fast his heart is beating. “I can’t believe I got a girlfriend. I can’t put into words how happy I am. I won’t let you down and will be the best boyfriend you’ve ever had. AH I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU’RE MY GIRLFRIEND! THIS IS SO AWESOME!!”

Laughter fills the air and you try to quiet down since it’s nighttime. Lying down on the blanket and holding each other, he lands a kiss onto your forehead before drifting off to sleeping. You look up at the sky filled with so many stars and then look to your side. There, of course, you see Jacob. Speaking to no-one but the stars, “Look guys, here’s the guy I told you all about. Thank you for aligning so we could get together.”

“Sweetheart, you can still say no to meeting my friends, you know?”. He sets up his computer, getting ready to voice call them.

“No, no. I have to meet the guys behind making sure you confessed to me. They sound like a fun group to be around.” A couple of rings go through before a screen of 10 other men show up. They’re silent for a few minutes before all screaming at Jacob for not telling them that you were there. Leave it to Sangyeon to mute them all and tell them to behave.

One by one they introduce themselves and get back to being their rowdy selves. Of course, they mention how much Jacob fawned over you and it made you laugh, but your man wanted to bury himself into a hole. It was crazy to think that he was a part of this friend group because who would have thought a quiet guy like him is friends with very loud people?

Before the call ends, Eric quickly shouts “I told you Jacob. She did like you back!”. And also they all wanted you guys to kiss, not without them all expressing their disgust. “Okay, okay. Thanks guys but we really gotta go. I’ll talk to you later, bye now!” With that, the call ended.

“Oh Cobie, I can’t wait to meet them again. They seem like a very fun bunch! And I also 100% need to hear more of these stories of you being a simp for me.”

apologies in advance for how bad the dialogue is but 😭 I wanted to get this out b/c something about cobie and this song just makes so much sense to me. Writing for Cobie is actually so comforting and easy, I love him 🥹

Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed this! If you did, please reblog it with your thoughts in the tags, leave a note, or even send an ask/dm to me! I appreciate them a lot.

signing off with love,

- ash

[callmemrskenway]

Hi! Since Ubisoft absolutely sucks when it comes to representing and appreciating women who aren't tomboys it's up to fandom.

Could you write what would a relationship with Ezio, Connor, Jacob, Arno and Altaïr be like with a feminine, dresses-wearing, cooking -liking s/o?

Like we play those games too and as awesome as it is to portray oneself as an assassin, the classically feminine side of the fandom deserves some love too.

I'd like to say that for the record there's nothing wrong with being a "girly girl" or a "tomboy" who likes assassin creed, because at the end of the day, we all become simps. But I do like this idea of this prompt so yeah, here we go!!

Ezio:

- NO BUT HE IS SO DOWN FOR THIS NGL, LIKE HE'D ABSOLUTELY LOVE AN S/O THAT'S LIKE SUPER INTO DRESSES AND COOKING.

- Obviously not in like a toxic masculine way but just in a "I love their cooking and baking and after a battle, it makes me feel a lot better coming home to it."

- Make up is fascinating to him, he never is one to make those annoying comments in it because he does think you're beautiful either way, but like, he's so fascinated by things like eyeshadow and contour or whatever you specialize in.

- OKAY BUT HE'D BE SO HELPFUL IN PICKING OUT DRESSES TOO, NOT GONNA LIE. Like, have you seen this man's sense of fashion? He knows what he's talking about.

- Loves watching you wear cutsey and gorgeous gowns and dresses, like when it feels like he has so rare amount of joys in the world, the mental image of you in your elegant and gorgeous outfits makes him smile and even more eager to get back to you.

- NO BUT HE GOES CRAZY FOR LIPSTICK KISSES. Please leave lip stick marks on his lips, on the collar of his shirts. Like, yeah he looks silly with some of your smudged lips on him and he laughs it with you but he just likes how it lays claim that he is yours. However he always forgets how difficult it can be to wipe it off.

- No but if you have a favorite perfume, Ezio will spray some of it on like a handerkerchief or something or carry around a vial of it when on missions so he can always remember your scent when he's missing you.

- NO BUT HE ABSOLUTELY HAS YOU MELTING WHEN HE COMPLIMENTS YOU. He also pulls a Gomez Addams from the Addams family and just kisses your hand before kissing up your arm while muttering compliments and praises in Italian in between.

Connor:

- Loves everything about you honestly but he doesn't show it because he's too shy or he doesn't want to come off as being like one of those guys.

- This does mean he's kinda no help in deciding outfits because you ask him which dress looks cuter on you for the day and he's like: "...Is this one of those traps that Achilles has warned me about?"

- NO BUT HE ABSOLUTELY LOVES THE FACT THAT YOU COOK TOO. He would love to help you and share some recipes from his tribe *trust me, native food is so good* and that he does look forward to your meals.

- I can imagine he does get quite covered in blood, not even just because of the killing he does as an assassin but like, also because of the hunting and skinning that he does as well so he does try to avoid you as he changes clothes because he doesn't want to get it messy.

- YOU AND AVELINE HANGING OUT THOUGH. She will drop by with some cute outfits honestly and Connor ends up sitting in between you two silently as you compliment each other and Aveline tells you about how this one dress made her think of you.

- Connor is a gentleman at heart and he tries not to stare at you but he can't help it. If you're in a room being your beautiful self, his eyes just wander to you. Is a blushing mess when you catch him though and he lets out a quick apology but you tell him you don't mind and tell him that it'd be a shame if he didn't stare because you wore this dress specifically to catch his eye. Which makes him more flustered.

- Is confused by make-up, he doesn't understand it but if someone or some other guy criticizes you about it makes a comment about it, he will just give them the meanest look that'll gave them looking over their shoulder in the dead of night.

- NO BUT MOMENTS OF HIM DOING THINGS LIKE CARRYING THROUGH THE WOODS to make sure your dress doesn't get caught on anything and he'll apologize if it does, or how he'd absolutely enjoy seeing you try on various dresses, he might not be able to pick which is his favorite but he really enjoys seeing you wear them♡

Jacob:

- HE IS ALSO VERY DOWN FOR THIS, PLEASE AND THANK YOU.

- Look, he is but a man and when he sees you with your elegant composure talking and laughing lightly with your friends about some gossip that you heard, HE IS SO WEAK AT THE KNEES.

- Chances are you're probably a noble or from the higher class and he just so happens to stop you from getting robbed and while you were shaken, you still took the time to introduce yourself and CURTSY to HIM. LIKE- WHAT-

- You definitely see him around, it's not like he's stalking you (kinda) its more like you just happen to be somewhere and he also happens to be there (after he basically questions a rook non stop about who you are) but you honestly seem to enjoy his presence. You indulge yourself by being all dressed up but its suffocating to be a woman so Jacob is a breath of fresh air to you.

- Not to mention that he's completely the exact opposite from what you are. A mysterious rogue with little to no shame but, hey, he's got a pretty face and a smile as charming as the devil himself. So its almost like you two are just pulled to each other.

- You can trick everyone else with your lovely outfits and fashionable hairstyles and make up but Evie is thoroughly convinced you have no taste because WHY WOULD YOU CHOSE HER BROTHER- Jk jk, you actually get along relatively well with Evie and help her indulge in her more "girly" side as well, especially when you notice she has a crush on a certain Henry Green.

- BUT YEAH, NO, HE IS DOWN TREMENDOUSLY BAD FOR YOU. Absolutely would LOVE IT if you wanted to show all off all of your outfits to him, like, you DON'T UNDERSTAND.

- Also, the fact you can cook and (possibly) bake is a bonus and literally would love it if you made something for him. Evie will try to steal some of the food you give him and that results in a sibling fight but, like, he literally will propose to you VERY soon of you don't stop being SO DAMN ATTRACTIVE AND SWEET. PLEASE, HE'S BISEXUAL, YOU CAN'T JUST DO THIS TO HIM-

Arno:

- Considering he was raised in nobility, its not anything to new to him, and it is probably what attracted him to you in the first place but he also is just so simply mesmerized by you.

- What attracts you to him is that he doesn't underestimate you or act all patronizing like how other men do. He sees you for your beauty but also for your elegant yet stinging remarks when a man tries to arrogantly woo you and he just laughs and smiles.

- Okay but cute moments where he's in trouble with some people and you happen to be around and you, knowing Arno, allow him to hide under one of your fine elegant dresses and hide him from them. Then once you let him know the coast is clear, he makes a smooth yet somewhat lewd comment and you just rolls your eyes before playfully flicking his nose to reprimand him.

- Expect him to steal some of anything that you cook or bake and even though you can't catch him in the act, you just KNOW that it's him by the smug grin he's giving you. Eventually you have enough of it and just make him his own meal entirely which surprises him but he isn't complaining by any means.

- Would take you on cute picnic dates, too, I feel like. He'd sneak you to beautiful private places he knows and there's just a romantic set up and he just went through a lot of effort to make it perfect for you and it shows.

- This man is literally one of the drippiest assassin's I have ever seen so if you need help with picking out an outfit under any occasion, he is more than happy to help you.

- IDK WHY BUT BALLROOM DANCE SCENE JUST SEEMS LIKE SO FITTING FOR THIS. You're already such a vision normally but as you glide on the floor oh-so elegantly, he's absolutely mesmerized and entranced by you, you have no idea.

- OKAY SOMETIMES HE FINDS YOU ATTRACTIVE TO THE POINT THAT HE KINDA HAS A TENDENCY TO JUST...NOT FIND A COMMENT. Like, moments where he sees you up close in your grace, it can render him speechless and he hates it because you tease him, the sarcastic and clever Arno Dorian of being unable to speak and he just pouts in response, which makes it all the more endearing to you.

Altaïr:

- Him with a super feminine and girly s/o would be so funny to me because other than the basic manners he was taught (and even then) he gets so flustered around you, like everything you do is foreign to this man but in a good way.

- Asks you many questions about why you do what you do. Yes, you look nice but historically, it took quite a bit of effort and resources to do so and you simply tell him that it makes you happy.

- Very funny you two end up together, he has no idea how he did it but he isn't really complaining. When he looks at you sometimes, he just thinks to himself: "Man, it'd be really hard to fight if I wore that. They look really nice in it though."

- OKAY BUT YES, PLEASE TAKE CARE OF HIM. Nothing wrong if you want to be a traditional housewife but also, maybe Altaïr just brings out that side of you because he is a poor little meow meow.

- So he's surprised when he finds out you cooked for him and when you offer to clean his blood stained assassin's uniform (because let's be honest, those things probably are in dire need of cleaning and he's constantly wearing white) and it'd take a while for him to adjust to but he comes to like it.

- He never assumes you're dressing up for him like the others and that you're dressing up for yourself but if you DO try to dress up for him, you're gonna have to tell him but his reaction will be the same, a stoic "You look very nice" but if you lift the hood, you can see how flustered and nervous he looks underneath it.

- Scary boyfriend privilege, no man dares to try and cat call you or hit on you because Altaïr follows you like a shadow. He's scary, he's intimidating, and the expression on his face tells people not to fuck with you or him, even if there is a badly wiped off lipstick mark you gave him previously.

- During missions, he tries to bring you back nice things like some jewelry he found that made him think of you and such and that he thinks would compliment your outfits nicely.

[lonelier-version-of-you]

Well - even though the camerawork made me quite dizzy at times and thus I couldn't totally keep up with what was going on in each story - I thought Casualty was rather good, if also incredibly sad.

Rash's storyline made me cry tonight. It wouldn't have even occurred to me when the ep started to think that Ashok would die. I'm not sure how to feel about this: on one hand, I sort of feel like the Rash, Rida, and Ashok story deserved more emphasis throughout if this was going to be the outcome.

But on the other hand, having the Ashok story as just one of several stories running through the ep was an excellent way of making the way it turned out shocking and upsetting and sudden to the audience just like it was to Rash. As I say, it made me cry, and it's not all that common for Casualty to do that.

Neet Mohan's performance was brilliant. The way Rash just started sobbing like a scared little boy - wow. And it's just so sad to think that Rash is only about 30 or so and he's already lost both of his parents. Poor Rash.

I hope the show handles Rash's grief well. And Rida's, for that matter - she may not have known Ashok very long, but she clearly cared a lot for him and wanted to look after him. I imagine she'll feel like all of this is her fault - it's just an accident no one could have seen coming, of course, but in such a situation it would be so easy to end up thinking you caused it. Sarah Seggari was fantastic at conveying Rida's reactions tonight.

Speaking of Rash, I love how Dylan's become a sort of mentor to him. It's very sweet. I hope it continues. And while I'm not much of a big Joe McGann fan - that's another story - there was still something quite entertaining about seeing John Gaskell's fourth-cousin Wyatt!

I just like pretending every other Holbyverse character played by one of the McGanns is a relative of John's in some way. Considering we knew nothing about John's family - John himself knew nothing about his family - it's entirely possible. So I will continue to tell myself Wyatt is John's distant cousin. Although, I'm fairly sure Joe McGann has played so many guest characters that this would mean John has a lot of distant cousins who look oddly alike to one another. (Stephen and Mark, meanwhile, I think have only been in Casualty once or twice each.) Maybe all his characters are more closely related to each other than they are to John? Hm.

The Stevie story was intense. I'm not sure at all how to feel about it, or where any of it seems to be going, on a narrative level. However, I think when it came to the characterisation for Stevie this was the best ep in a while. It did very well at showing her PTSD, and it felt less like it was treating her like Henrik - i.e. making her character defined by trauma in a way that doesn't do any good for trauma survivors - than some others have. Stevie is a complex morally ambiguous character and I think, with the right effort, the show can let her stay that way while also showing more sympathetic angles to her.

I like that Ngozi is finally getting more backstory now. I'm interested to see where her storyline goes, though I don't have lots to say about it yet because we still don't know much. But I've loved Ngozi this whole time, so I'm glad she's getting more to do.

I'm not interested in a Teddy-Jodie-Cam love triangle. What is it with all these love triangles recently? I'm also not that interested in Cam in general - I don't hate him or anything, I like him well enough, he's just a bit boring to me. So I'm bored by love triangles and I'm becoming bored by Cam. I can think of much more interesting stories Teddy and Jodie could have whether separately or as a couple, than this.

Where was Max this week? I thought his absence was odd after he was so strongly involved last week.

Can Jacob please, please get a meaningful story? I'm tired of him being used as Iain's sidekick. He can do so much more than that. And I hate any scene where he talks about Faith because it just makes me think about how Faith is basically just exactly the same character as Tina was except Faith isn't acknowledged as an awful person. Sigh, again.

So, all in all: the Rash storyline is great, I have mixed feelings on the rest.

[turtlethebean]

BenxJacob Week Day 4: Injury

TW: Gore, injury, and blood. Plus a mild sexual joke.

Read it on AO3: Awkward Awakening - Turtle_The_Bean - Criminal Case (Video Game) [Archive of Our Own]

The first thing Jacob noticed as he woke up was the itchy feeling on his hand. He looked down to see an IV connected to his hand, which was also connected to a bag of what was presumably blood. He couldn’t quite remember what happened, but apparently, he had lost enough blood to need a transfusion. He did feel a bit lightheaded from the blood loss but overall didn’t feel any different.

He heard the door to his bedroom fling open as Ben stood there, seemingly panicked over whatever had just happened. He gave a smile, but it was when Ben hugged him that he finally started to realise what had really happened to him. He went to return the hug and realised that he couldn’t feel his left hand on the back of his shirt. In fact, he couldn’t feel any part of his left arm.

He looked over at his left arm. It wasn’t there.

The memories started slowly coming back to him. He was fighting a werewolf that had attacked him while he was out getting some firewood. He remembered teeth sinking into his arm before the excruciating pain as his shoulder was ripped straight out of its socket. He must’ve passed out sometime afterwards because he couldn’t quite remember his arm being completely ripped off.

“Jake, are you-“ Ben started before being cut off.

“Wolfsbane. Do we have any?” Jacob asked, concerned about the effects of being bitten by the werewolf.

“Yes…why?”

“Rub some on me; I need to test something.”

“That’s a bit of a weird ask, but okay.” Ben picked up some of the wolfsbane from their stash and rubbed it on Jacob’s leg.

While he was prepared for a burning sensation on his leg, Jacob was thankful it didn’t happen. He breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that he hadn’t been turned.

Still, he was now left with one arm. It would most certainly make hunting a lot more difficult, not to mention trying to explain this to people who would be nosy enough to ask him. Ben would have to take over a lot of the chores around the RV, even driving. His stomach churned at the thought of how his life would change because of this injury.

“Fuck me.” He sighed, unable to say much else without breaking down. He needed to stay strong, especially in front of his best friend.

“I would if I could,” Ben muttered under his breath.

“What?”

“What?”

“Anyways, uh,” Jacob had to pretend like he didn’t just hear what Ben had mumbled, “What…what do we do now?”

“I know you. You aren’t going to give up on hunting, are you?”

“No…not when people like that are out there. The ones that don’t want to live peacefully amongst humans and instead turn to violence. That was our deal with Aculus, even if Falcon didn’t agree with it.”

“Speaking of other people, why don’t we…I don’t know…recruit a team? I’m sure we aren’t the only ones who have lost something or someone because of violent supernatural creatures. I mean, there’s the Harper family. Why don’t we talk to them about forming some form of alliance?”

“No, the Harper family’s methods are unethical, and they don’t consider the number of supernatural creatures who just wish to live peacefully. I’m not associating with any of them.”

“Yeah, that’s true. However, I’d like to think that maybe future generations that come from families like that will be more accepting of supernatural creatures. Actually, I met their daughter…Gwen, I think her name is, and she didn’t seem to hold the same beliefs as her parents. That could just be an act, though.”

“Well, maybe one day we’ll sit down and talk with her about it, but we’re going to need more than just one person.”

“Hey, we’ll get there when we get there.”

Jacob sighed. He hated waiting around for something to happen. It was the main reason why he and Ben had started travelling the country, even occasionally taking brief visits across the borders to Mexico and Canada.

It felt as though he had lost more than his arm. He felt like he had lost control of his life. He kept thinking about the things he wouldn’t be able to do or at least be limited in doing. He didn’t know how to drive with one arm. He didn’t know how to fish with one arm. He didn’t know how to handle a saw, a chisel, or any other DIY tools with only one arm.

Would they really get back to how things were?

God, that was one thing he wished that could happen. He wished he could go back to ten years ago. He wished Lily was still alive and by his side. He wished he still had a job as an army weapons expert before his grief started to rule his life.

However, there were things he was grateful for in this current life. He had grown closer to Ben. They were close in the military, but between his help during his times of grief and living together in an RV travelling the country for the past decade or so, their bond had definitely gotten stronger. Hell, he would even say he loved Ben just like he loved Lily.

Oh god, he would say he loved Ben just like he loved Lily.

The realisation hit him like a truck. Over all these years that he had known Ben, he slowly developed feelings for him. It wasn’t a platonic kind of love that he had previously, nor the familial one he had for his parents. It was the same romantic love that he had felt years ago when he had first met Lily.

“Hey Ben,” He decided to distract himself by joking around with his friend, “What was that you said after I said fuck me?”

“Oh, come on, Jake, do you really want me to repeat it?” Ben chuckled, though a little nervous.

“Yeah, come on, it can’t be that bad.”

“Alright, fine. I said that I would if I could.”

Jacob’s brain stopped working after that sentence. That was definitely a way to find out his feelings were mutual.  Now, he was faced with a choice – swallow his pride and admit his feelings or keep quiet and let his feelings simmer as Ben wallowed in his embarrassment over what he had said.

Screw it; he wasn’t going to let his best friend feel awkward around him for God knows how long.

“I love you too.” He said suddenly as though the words had just slipped out of his mouth.

“What?” Ben’s face reddened as he stared at Jacob with wide, bewildered eyes.

“I said…I love you too.”

Ben smiled, making Jacob question his own actions until both their lips met. All the embarrassment and anxiety melted into the pure bliss of the moment.

After the kiss, Jacob felt his eyelids grow heavy as he fell back asleep, a smile still remaining on his face.

[wrathfulrook]

James Rook

James Rook is 15 years old and has never known who his father is. But when he finds out who his father is, he realizes it's his mom he may not know. AU, no collapse.

Ship: John Seed x Patience Ekner (deputy oc) [past relationship]

Rating: T

Word count: ~4.9k

Read it on ao3.

Maybe James Rook was naïve. None of his friends trusted their parents the way he’d trusted his mom. None of them considered their parents their friends. Until recently, he’d thought his close relationship with his mom was simply a result of being raised by a single mother. Now, he wasn’t so sure.

It was easy to sneak away.

Now 15 years old, his mom had assumed his recent distance from her was just a bit of teenage rebellion. But it wasn’t him. It was her. All of her lies and secrets. He hadn’t even known his mom’s real name until recently. What kind of mom does something like that?

The more generous part of James’ mind reminds him that he grew up happy and loved. That his mom gave up a lot for him; he knows that. Based on what he’d been able to find – and he’d found quite a bit; it had been national news at the time – changing her name was likely just a desire to protect herself, to protect him. That generous part of his brain tells him that there’s no way his father was a good man. If he was, James wouldn’t have been on a Greyhound and travelling cross-country to visit a prison.

James loved his mom.

But the less generous part of him seethed in anger. What kind of mom hid her kid’s origins from him? That part of him also ached, felt shattered. He felt like a fool. And he felt betrayed. How was he ever supposed to trust her again?

~

When it all ended, when the National Guard came, they all ended up behind bars. Joseph, Jacob, John, and Faith. Tucked away where they could never hurt anyone ever again. In the aftermath, her own name and face were plastered all over the news. Her statements were used in each trial, printed in papers nationwide. And so the courts had been all too willing to grant her petition for a name change. Patience Ekner ceased to be, and Patience Rook was born.

Patience Rook left Hope County, left Montana, never to go back. She put it all behind her and moved forward, the only reminder she chose to keep, the new surname she took, her nickname from those brutal, bloody days. Of course, there were other reminders she hadn’t chosen. The tattoo of her sin, for one. Wrath, he’d assigned her. Not that she ever believed, but she found wrath fairly fitting at the time.

In hindsight, he’d chosen wrong. It shouldn’t have been WRATH she spent hours getting covered up with flowers that she didn’t think particularly suited her. No. In retrospect, it should’ve been LUST.

But the tattoo wasn’t her only reminder of that time, of him. There was also the child she’d birthed, the child she adored. Her son.

Hers.

But, oh, did he look like his father. His hair dark where hers was blonde, eyes blue where hers were grey. He even had that same charming smile, the one that had worked so well on her those many years ago. The only thing of hers she could see on her child were her numerous freckles. But while her freckles remained always, her child had outgrown them by the time he hit high school.

Every now and then, he would say something, make some face, talk with his hands in a way that she was hit full force with the memory of his father. Both the horrible things he’d done and those stolen, secret nights they couldn’t keep apart from one another…

But mostly, usually, she looked at her boy and saw only him. James. Her perfect miracle baby. The gift that made everything about those dark days worth it in her eyes. He had been such a happy, smiley baby. Always giggling and gurgling. He’d been talkative long before he learned to speak. Always so sweet and kind. Petting her hair and telling her “Okay mommy… s’okay mommy…” as she purged herself of a stomach bug he’d brought home from daycare when he was too small to even form full sentences, while she in turn tried to reassure her baby that mommy was ok.

Even now, he was her perfect child. Still sweet, still happy. But now his own person. And she was so amazed by the person he’d become. He was funny. Funny in a way she never was. And so clever. Amazing grades as well as a quick wit… Patience loved her child and she knew how much he loved her too.

Even despite how he’d recently been pulling away.

~

James wondered how many signs he’d missed over the course of his life. How obvious it should have been. His mom had always told him she didn’t know who his father was. He recalled once, in one of his earliest memories, that she’d told him she chose his name because she’d always liked it, but also because she thought his father would like it too.

He’d asked her about it later, and she said that she’d never said it. And he believed her. He was so little at the time; it could’ve easily been a false memory. He still wasn’t sure it wasn’t. After all, he had a memory from around the same time of flapping his arms and flying like a bird throughout the house, and that memory felt equally as real.

But whether or not she’d told him his father would like his name, she knew. His mom knew who his dad was the whole time. Because he looked exactly like one of them. The Seeds. The cult leaders. He couldn’t know which was his father, but one of them was. He looked exactly like John Seed. The Baptist. The sadistic monster who tortured and murdered and starved innocent people. Just reading about his crimes had been enough to give James nightmares for a week.

He didn’t know whether or not that man that was his father, but he was related to him. There was no way he wasn’t. He’d been able to find some footage of the court proceedings against him, and it filled his stomach with an uncanny dread. Like watching an older version of himself. The same smile he saw every day in the mirror, the same gestures, speaking with his hands in the same way James did. Even his voice sounded familiar. Not the same, but certainly not very different from the way James sounded to himself in videos.

If John Seed wasn’t his father, he was at least his uncle. One of those men – John, Joseph, or Jacob – was his dad. His mother, the woman regarded nationally as a hero, the deputy who brought the cult to justice, had had a child with one of the cult’s leaders.

James had spent the past weeks learning everything he could about the Project at Eden’s Gate. And he was horrified at the thought that his mom would ever willingly have any sort of relationship with any of those men. He almost hoped she hadn’t. But if one of those men was his father, and his mom had in fact not been voluntarily involved with any of them… No. James couldn’t stomach the thought of that either.

No matter what the circumstances were back then, the situation now was that James had told his mom he was spending the long weekend camping with a friend’s family, when in reality he was on a bus to Montana to meet the man who might be his dad.

It had been surprisingly easy to contact John Seed. Apparently, you could write a letter to anyone as long as you knew their name and which prison they were at. James’ first letter hadn’t received a response. Probably because he had intentionally been a bit light on the details. Eventually he’d tried again, this time including his mom’s former name and, after much mental back-and-forth, a photo of himself.

And that had received a response.

John Seed had written back, though he didn’t say much. And via snail mail, they had arranged to meet. John Seed had even offered to fund the excursion, but James had declined, instead saving his allowance and taking small amounts from his mom’s purse every now and then, little enough each time not to be noticed.

He’d never stolen before, and he didn’t feel good about it now. But James liked to think himself honorable, and he would find a way to pay his mom back every cent he’d taken once he’d figured out who his dad was.

And hopefully John Seed could tell him.

~

Patience wasn’t nearly as obtuse as her son thought. Oh, how she sometimes missed those simple days when he believed she knew everything.

No, Patience knew that James had something going on. She didn’t know what it was, but she had a few ideas. As a mother, she had quite a few worst fears – drugs, alcohol, vaping… But those were just fears. James was a smart boy. He knew better than to get involved in something like that. Plus, he’d been exhibiting no signs of substance abuse. He was just suddenly more secretive and private than before. She had a more realistic suspicion than drugs.

Sex.

She feared her baby boy had become sexually active. 15 was so, so young for that. Patience had never even been kissed until she was 19. She’d been a little awkward growing up, a bit of an ugly duckling. Not James, though. Yet another way he took after his father. He’d always been a cute boy. Her son had taken a girl to the middle school dance. Kids had had crushes on him his whole life. He’d already had three “girlfriends” in his young life.

And so, what if his recent distance was a result of him starting to have sex?

Moms were meant to worry after their children, and Patience was no exception to that rule. But she’d always tried to be open, honest, and educational about sex. He should know enough, be responsible enough, to do what he was ready to when he was ready to. And inform her when he was ready for her to know. After all, a child asking where babies come from while only having one parent… James had been aware of the concept of sex from a very early age, especially with her claiming not to know who his father was.

Patience sometimes felt like she should feel guilty about lying to her son about something so serious as his parentage. Especially because that one lie involved a million more. James didn’t know about her time as a deputy. He didn’t even know she’d ever lived in Montana. He didn’t know their family name was actually Ekner. There were a lot of tiny lies that went into covering up who his father was. But she didn’t feel bad. Not even a little.

Because she was keeping her baby safe. Safe from publicity. Safe from her past. And safe from John Seed.

~

James had never felt more out of his element than when he was checking in as a visitor at the prison. That is, until about twenty minutes later when he was sitting across the table from John Seed.

John Seed wore a beige correctional jumpsuit and his hands were cuffed to the table, which James hadn’t been expecting. Despite this, the man seemed completely at ease. He was well-coiffed, his salt and pepper hair slicked back, his facial hair neatly trimmed, and the crows feet around his eyes creasing when he smiled genially at him. He had clearly aged in the past 15 years since the news coverage James had found, but he was certainly recognizable, and still eerily familiar.

“So, you’re the deputy’s son… It’s nice to meet you, James.”

“Nice to meet you…” James floundered on what to call the man across from him. John? Mr. Seed? He opted to let the sentence dangle awkwardly.

“You can call me John.”

James nodded. “John.”

“I’m assuming you have many questions for me.” John dove right into it and James felt a bit flustered. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected, though, and doubted anything would seem normal in a situation like this.

After a brief pause, he spoke. “Yes… Like I wrote in my letters. I think you or one of your brothers may be my father and I-“ James swallowed uncomfortably, a too-obvious tactic to buy time to build courage. “I was wondering if you knew who my father was.”

John smiled. The smile seemed friendly on the surface, but there was something in his eyes that James couldn’t place.

“I am. I’m your father.”

James nodded, surprised that he didn’t feel surprised. Logically, he knew it could have been any of the brothers. Logically, he knew that it was likely his close resemblance to the man across from him that made him feel any sort of connection. But the moment John confirmed it, he realized he’d known. He felt, somewhere deep inside of himself, that John Seed was his dad.

“So… you and my mom…?” James let himself trail off, not really sure what he was asking, or how he should ask it.

John nodded, one eyebrow raised, as if impressed by the audacity of the unspoken question. “Yes. We were involved. In secret, of course. We met up more than a few times, none of which were terribly romantic.”

James understood the implication and asked no follow up questions. John and his mother hadn’t been in love. They weren’t dating. They just… were. James didn’t love the idea of his mom being some guy’s late night booty call and didn’t particularly want to think about it. But at the same time, he’d spent his whole life believing his mom didn’t even know who his father was, so it wasn’t exactly an unbelievable idea.

“Is she well, your mother?”

James nodded.

“And where does she think you are right now?”

James blinked in surprise. “How-?”

John laughed, not unkindly. “She’d never let you come here. Not in a million years. Not to see me.”

James didn’t like the emphasis he’d put on the word “me,” some red flag going off somewhere in the back of his mind.

“She thinks I’m at a friend’s.”

His smile didn’t reach his eyes when he spoke. “No, she doesn’t.”

James didn’t know what to say to that.

“Tell me, James, have you been raised in the faith?”

“I- what faith?” Surely John knew his mother never subscribed to the cult’s beliefs.

He shrugged. “Any faith.”

He shook his head no. “No. We’re not religious.”

John just hummed contemplatively but didn’t look surprised. Nor did he look surprised at the next, sudden question.

“Did you know about me?” He hadn’t even known he was going to ask the question until it was out, tumbling past his lips.

For the first time since his arrival, John’s face lost all traces of humor, of ease, of amiability. His eyes, the same eyes James saw every day in the mirror, bored into his own.

“No. No, I never had any idea. If I had known I had a child, I’d have been there for you. For her.”

James doubted that very much. Not because he doubted John; he had no idea whether he meant that or not. He doubted it because, even if he wasn’t locked away behind bars for the rest of his life, he knew his mother would never let this man near them. That’s something he would have known even before he found out just what his mother was capable of, what she’d done in Hope County. More than he trusted that the sun would rise tomorrow, he trusted that his mom would do anything and everything in her power and beyond to keep him away from any perceived threat.

And he knew his mom considered John Seed a threat.

John brushed past the serious moment easily, that same easy smile sliding back into place. “Tell me about yourself, James. A father should know some things about his son, don’t you think?”

James warily nodded. “…Like what?”

“Anything. Everything. What classes are you in? Do you have any hobbies? You’re 15, right? When is your birthday?”

“Uh- yeah. 15. I’m a sophomore. My birthday is June 21st.”

Though his facial expression didn’t change, James knew he was doing the mental math. And given that he didn’t say anything about it, the math clearly checked out.

“Are you driving?” John asked.

James shook his head no. “No. All the summer birthdays have driver’s ed in the spring semester. I have my permit, but mom’s only taken me out driving once, in a parking lot. I didn’t do very well, though.”

“I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it. It’s like anything else – you just need practice.” John smiled kindly, and James could almost forget the horrible crimes he was convicted of. In fact, if he wasn’t wearing the khaki jumpsuit, he was sure he would’ve let himself. “And what about school? How’s school? Your grades?”

“Fine. As and Bs, mostly. I’m taking all the regular classes. And my electives this semester are Spanish, debate, and study hall.”

“Debate? How are you enjoying that?”

James shrugged, uncomfortable bragging about himself. “It’s fun.” He left out that he was captain of the underclassmen debate team.

“And Spanish is an elective?” John asked in an interested voice. “Does your school not have a language requirement?”

“No, it does. Two years. But I want to take Spanish for all four. I just meant, I’m taking Spanish as opposed to French or German.”

John nodded. “That’s a very intelligent choice. Does your mother help you with your Spanish studies?”

James nodded, a bit taken aback that John knew his mom spoke Spanish. It wasn’t like she spoke it often. He was surprised it came up in their time together. “Yeah, sometimes. When I was first learning last year, she labelled everything in the house. And she’ll speak to me in Spanish sometimes when I want to practice.”

“She sounds like a wonderful mother.” John spoke softly, kindly, genuinely pleased.

“She’s the best.”

~

James had returned when he said he would, but he was very light on the details. When she’d asked how camping had been, all he said was “fine.” But she knew he hadn’t gone camping. She’d called the parents of the family he claimed to be camping with, and they were home.

James was lying.

Would he really lie about spending the whole weekend with a girl? He never used to lie to her.

Patience had gone out and purchased condoms, dental dams, and a few other small but useful things and left them in the top drawer of James’ bathroom. She considered leaving him a note, assuring him they didn’t need to talk about it if he didn’t want to, but eventually decided that leaving no note would convey the same message.

She was fairly certain she had James’ sudden secrecy figured out until a few days after his return. James had just gotten on the bus for school, and she was about to head to work. She pulled out her phone to check her banking app, debating the financial pros and cons of stopping for a coffee on the way.

She froze.

She double-checked that the name at the top of the account was hers. Then triple-checked. It was. She went into her checking account, to see where the staggering windfall of cash had come from.

And then she threw up.

~

James couldn’t focus at all. He hadn’t taken a single note, hadn’t read anything his teachers wrote on the board. He’d even been called on in government class, but he hadn’t even heard the question. His mind was elsewhere. Back in a Montana correctional facility with his dad.

His dad who was friendly, who missed flying his planes, who wished his siblings were housed in the same facility. His dad told him what each of the small tattoos on his hand meant, who laughed kindly when James clarified the latest teen slang he’d used, who promised to keep in touch and had already kept his word – a letter had arrived in his secret PO box just yesterday.

The same dad who was and remained a religious extremist, who’d used his legal knowledge to cheat people out of their homes and businesses, who’d cut off food supply to the Holland Valley. The same dad who’d tortured people, who’d skinned people, who’d murdered people.

James thought that meeting his dad would clear things up, but he’d never felt muddier…

~

John had aged well in the intervening 16 years. He had lines around his eyes, and his hair and beard had gone salt-and-pepper, but it worked. He looked just as good, if not better, than he had when she last saw him. How was it possible to age so well in prison? It hardly seemed fair.

He smiled at her from across the table, with that same charming smile and those sparkling white teeth. “Deputy. What a wonderful surprise.”

Patience glared at him. “Cut the shit and don’t call me that.”

“Patience Ekner.” The smile didn’t leave his face. “Or Rook, now, isn’t it? Cute.”

“Oh, I’m so glad you find this amusing, truly, but I actually need to speak with you.” They fell back into their old banter so easily that it startled her.

John leaned easily, comfortably, back in the cold metal chair. He nodded for her to continue.

“What the hell is that money?”

“It’s for my son,” he answered easily. Too easily. As if it were the most normal, natural statement in the world.

Patience had to restrain herself from leaping across the table and throttling him like she should’ve all those years ago.

“My son!”

All the mirth drained from his features and she was faced with the stony, terrifying look that lingered in the nightmares of so many Hope County residents.

“Our son. That you hid from me for 16 years.”

“He’s 15.”

“Pregnancy, dear. Also hidden.”

“And for good fucking reason!”

He scoffed. “I don’t think there’s any reason good enough to keep a father from his son. And James agrees with me.”

If looks could kill… well, John would’ve been dead long before he got her pregnant. “Don’t you dare. Don’t you even say his name.”

“Why not? It’s a perfectly good name. Strong, masculine, Biblical. I’m pleasantly surprised. I’d have expected you to name a child Björn or something ridiculous like that.”

Patience rolled her eyes. “Believe it or not, John, your opinion didn’t actually factor into what I named my child.”

He smiled softly. “Yes, it did.”

“John, I am only here to tell you to leave us alone. And to take your money back. I don’t need it.”

“It isn’t just for you. It’s for James.” How calmly he spoke did nothing but piss her off even further. “I’m assuming you didn’t react well when James told you he’d visited me.”

Patience stayed silent and John grinned as she fell into the obvious trap.

“Oh…?” His tone was thick with blatantly-faux surprise. “He didn’t tell you? And I suppose you didn’t tell him you were here now?”

She remained silent, glaring.

“Interesting. It seems you’re both talking more to me than to each other.”

“Stop it. Just shut the fuck up and leave us alone.”

John shrugged. “I can leave you alone, yes, but if James wants a relationship with me, I have no interest in denying him.”

As Patience left, she heard him call out to her back, “You still look wonderful, Deputy!”

~

James heard his mother slam her bag down onto the table first thing when she came home. He walked into the kitchen to greet her.

“Bad business trip?”

His mom looked at him with a look he couldn’t place, one he’d never seen before.

“…Mom?”

“I wasn’t on a work trip, James. I was in Montana.”

Oh. That was the look. She knew. Of course she knew. James had never lied to his mom and he was apparently not very good at it. Not like her. He tried to quash down the unkind thought.

He also tried to quash down his initial impulse to apologize. He hadn’t done anything wrong. Well- at least, looking into this and contacting his dad wasn’t wrong. And he wasn’t going to apologize for that. The stealing and the sneaking off to Montana… that might warrant an apology.

“James…” Then his mom was rushing towards him, taking him into her arms, holding him so tightly she was practically crushing him.

And then he was hugging her back.

“How? How did you find this out?”

James sighed. “I was doing a Wikipedia deep dive on cults…”

His mom raised one eyebrow, perplexed. “Why were you doing that?”

He felt his face redden as he thought about Millie from geometry class. But he explained nonetheless, “My friend Millie is into true crime. She was interested in Jonestown, so I just… did a little research.”

He nearly jumped, he was so startled when his mom burst into raucous laughter. Seeing the look on his face, she tried to pull herself together.

“Oh, honey, I’m sorry. I’m sorry; it’s not funny. Just, that we got into this mess so you could impress a girl!” She laughed again and kissed his forehead. “Oh, you are so my son…”

James grinned at the joke.

“So. How did you realize?”

“I look like him.”

She nodded. “You really, really do.”

“I saw some videos of some of the trial.”

She nodded again, squeezing his arm in support. “That must have been hard.”

“I saw lots of interviews with you, too. Ekner?”

“Yes, Ekner,” she smiled kindly. “That was my grandpa’s name. It’s Swedish.”

James nervously chewed his lip, in much the same way his mom often did. “Yeah. You look Swedish.” He paused. “I don’t.”

“No. You don’t. I don’t know where John’s family is originally from.”

They were silent for a long moment until he finally spoke again. “Why?”

“Why what, honey?”

“Him.”

“Oh.” His mom looked down, as if gathering strength. And then she was honest with him. Truly honest. “You have to understand, it was like the world was ending. Not like the Peggies thought – that’s what we called the cultists, Peggies. Not literally, like them. But like the world as I knew it was ending. We had no phone, no TV, no internet. I was the last law enforcement officer left, and I wasn’t enforcing any laws. I was just trying to save people where I could.

“Everyone was armed. And everyone was using their arms. There was no food. I went hungry a lot. Hunted and fished when I could. My home, along with lots of others, had been burned down. I slept in abandoned cabins, unoccupied bunkers, and in trees stands. People were trying to kill me and I killed people. Always in defense of myself or others, but I’ve taken lives.

“I never thought I’d see a day where I could check the news on my phone, drive to work, go out to eat with friends, go on a walk unarmed… It was a completely different world. It was a war. Horrifying. The things I saw… well, I’m sure you read about them.”

James nodded. “I saw some pictures.”

He was once again pulled into his mom’s arms. “I’m so sorry, James. I never wanted you to see anything like that. I’m sorry you had to. Do you want to talk about it?”

“No. I want- Just keep going.”

“Ok.” She nodded and continued, “It was basically the end of the world. And in spite of everything he was doing, he was charming. And we became… well, obsessed with each other. Rivals, almost, though that makes it sound trivial. Taunting each other over the radio, going out of our ways to make each other’s lives harder, even in ways not specifically related to the cult or the resistance…

“And then it just sort of happened.

“And then it kept happening. In spite of everything he was doing. I knew it was wrong. And it’s not that I didn’t care… it’s that I didn’t care enough.”

“…Oh.”

“But I can’t regret it because it brought me you.”

He returned her small smile.

“And I’m sure you’re angry with me. And I’m sure you’re hurt.”

Yes and yes. But he didn’t respond.

“You’re allowed to be upset, you know.”

“I am,” James admitted.

“Everything I’ve done has been to protect you. He’s not a good man.”

“I know.” He looked down at the linoleum flooring beneath them. “But he’s still my dad.”

“Just biologically.”

James simply shrugged. “Maybe. But shouldn’t I get to decide that?”

His mom’s eyes watered with unshed tears and her face became pink in an effort not to cry. “You can’t trust him, honey.”

James wasn’t sure he could trust her either anymore. But he knew in his gut he would trust her again someday. So, he spoke honestly. “I don’t trust him. I just want to know him.”

“I don’t think he’s the kind of person anyone can truly know.”

“Did you know him?”

His mom hesitated a long time before telling him, “I’m not sure.”

“Oh.”

She gently squeezed his arm again. “I can tell you what I do know?”

James looked into his mom’s eyes and nodded once. And for the first time, she began to tell her son about his father.

[loving-jack-kelly]

i sent this same ask for the game to @/we-are-inevitable cause i wanted to see both takes if ya answered, So- David & Santa Fe?

i am also excited to hear what @we-are-inevitable has to say about this if they so choose to share :)

ough this is a good one because. i think before jack davey had a non-relationship with santa fe. and then he meets jack and jack is so idealistic and hopeful about a city that only exists in his head, at least the way he dreams of it.

and i think davey has a complicated relationship with jack's version of santa fe. santa fe is, to jack, escapism. it's the dream of starting over with a clean slate where nobody knows him and he can decide who he really wants to be. and on the one hand, I think davey really gets it, maybe more than he'd want to admit to himself. he understands that desire to leave everything behind for the chance to build something new. but also, it can sting a little, you know? to hear somebody he loves so much talk about how he wants to leave it all behind. especially before they solidify what they are to each other, when davey feels like he's in love with his best friend who will never quite love him back the same way, santa fe is such a bittersweet thing. he gets it, he knows how much jack needs to have that dream, but also...he wants jack to dream of him.

i think the first time jack purposefully and out loud chooses davey over the concept of santa fe. not chooses his friends in general or chooses to acknowledge that it's a pipe dream, but chooses davey jacobs. that's huge for davey. it's an insecurity that maybe he didn't even want to admit that he has, but jack saying no even if I had the chance to actually get up and go, i'd choose to stay with you because I love you. i think that means more to davey than anything. also any time jack includes davey in his dreams, when he proposes that they run away together, I think that means a lot, too.

[kellyscowboy]

꒰✧ᯇ✦꒱ REFLECTION OF DECEPTION

ᯇ summary ! ✦ jack kelly's mirror lies to him, and david jacobs would rather take a lifetime of bad luck than let the mirrors continue with their deceitful schemes ᯇ warnings ! ✦ lowkey just angsty, uhh i mean not too angsty ig but i think you get the idea, a single cuss word lol ᯇ vienna's thoughts ! ✦ sorry this is lowkey so short! i thought it was gonna be a lot longer but it didn't turn out that way. reblogs & notes are greatly appreciated♡. also its 1 am & this was only edited once so if it doesn't make sense just pretend it isnt here. also!! this is very different from what i usually write so bear with me 823 WORDS © 2023 , 𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐰𝐛𝐨𝐲

Jack Kelly was a sculpture, a gift sent from the gods. He was just as much a piece of art as he was an artist. From his calloused hands used in only the softest of ways, to the way his eyes spoke every truth of his soul. There had never been such a human to walk the earth, David Jacobs was sure of that.

David could talk about the abstract creation that was Jack Kelly until his heart stopped. About how Jack Kelly was the design of Aphrodite and Apollo, and how he would worship him as the people of Greece had worshiped his creators.

For Aphrodite blessed him love, with beauty. She pressed the dimples into his cheeks and painted the freckles on his face—the ones that only appeared when the sun shone. His laugh, that could send anyone within a twelve-mile radius into an early grave, was all her doing. Aphrodite had spent days, if not weeks (hell, Dave could argue it took years) perfecting him.

Apollo had blessed him with the sun. For his smile, the toothy smile that was so wide it could make someones jaw hurt just from seeing it, radiated more warmth than a hot New York day. And Apollo blessed him with light, for his eyes shone brighter than the brightest star. His artistic gifts had also been hand-curated by Apollo, an ability unique to Jack. Because there was nothing that anyone else could create that could compete with his works.

Jack Kelly put every bit of his being into his art. Every single stroke of paint held a little bit of his soul. His rough hands would glide over dried paint, and everything he possessed would leak into his canvases. Every line his calloused fingers traced stole its first breath from his fingertips.

He knew of beauty. He knew that beauty was everything. Beauty was a young mother holding her terrified sons' hand and pretending she wasn't just as scared as him. Beauty took form in the way of brotherhood, and beauty was ten thousand fists—ones of different background and beliefs—angrily thrown into the air.

Each and everything that blessed Jack's eyes was art. There, however, was one exception. And it was quite possibly the best piece of art in existence. Himself.

Apate, mistress of deceit, had stolen the creation of Jack Kelly just before he had been sent to bless the Earth. Though she could not undo the work of another deity, she could curse him to a life of falsity. She could change his story from one of art and blessing to one of tragedy. And she did. She took a film of insecurity and deception, and gently pressed it atop his eyes. Then, as an extra fuck you, she manipulated mirrors to whisper heinous lies to him for the rest of his life.

And the story of his creation turned from a story to a tragedy. For Jack had been blessed with the beauty, skills, and warmth of the gods; but he would never be able to admire the piece of art that changed David Jacobs' life. Himself.

While Jack Kelly had changed his life, David Jacobs had changed the other boys' fate.

"Davey," Apate—in an attempt to keep Jack Kelly's story one of tragedy—whispered to him from the clouds, "Be wary, for mirrors shall be your downfall. And with every mirror that you break, you shall be punished with seven years of badgering luck."

But Aphrodite's voice spoke to him loudly and with confidence. "It is untrue that mirrors shall be your downfall, for your story is one of great love. You will love greater than I have loved, and it will be your downfall. But for every love you love, and for every reflection shattered, you shall fix the broken. Do not be wary, for your fate is written in the stars."

And so it was told.

Jack Kelly had been stolen by the goddess of deceit and was misled by his reflection. And while David Jacobs had been the product of Athena and Momus, their tales had been curated by Zeus. Zeus, god of fate, wrote their story into the stars so that David Jacobs may save Jack Kelly from the fate that was himself.

They had been destined to save each other since the stars had been formed. While Jack Kelly drowned in the deception of his reflection, David pulled him out and broke every mirror that dared whisper into his lovers' ear.

Jack Kelly had been made to be a tragedy, an artist who would never be able find the art within himself. But David Jacobs had been made to save him. For David Jacobs' love was his downfall, and his lifetime of bad luck meant nothing when he got to feel Jack Kelly's lips against his own.

And so true was it, that the story in the stars had been their fate.