#testing is a long process and also boring

[astrolook]

🔥 Synastry Myths That Need to Die (Or at Least Be Roasted) 🔥

Because people act like one Venus square Mars = toxic disaster, while a chart full of trines = fairy-tale romance (hint: neither is true). Let’s break down some biggest synastry myths and how to actually interpret them. 👀✨

🚫 MYTH #1: Squares and Oppositions in Synastry = Relationship Problems? Nah, That’s Just Spicy Drama. 🔥😈

🔥Reality: No, they keep it interesting. A little conflict is necessary to keep things engaging, otherwise, y’all will be bored to death in six months.

🔹 Sun square Moon – Keeps things dynamic—you challenge each other emotionally and grow in the process. Passionate debates turn into deep emotional bonding. It could feel like you live in two different emotional worlds sometimes. 🔹 Venus square Mars – Enemies to lovers. Like a slow-burn romance novel where neither of you admits your feelings until you’re in too deep. Fights can get heated and so as passion. 🔹 Mercury opposite Mercury – Mentally stimulates each other a lot. Never boring.

💡 A mix of soft and hard aspects is 🔑. Too much "ease" = stagnation. A little friction? Sexy and exciting.

🗣️Some of y’all are out here begging for a “perfect” relationship, but are you sure you want one that feels like watching paint dry?

🚫 MYTH #2: Too Many Conjunctions = Soulmate Energy! Nah, You're dating yourself!

🔥Reality: Or suffocating as hell. Y’all might as well be the same person, which sounds cute until it’s not.

🔹 Sun conjunct Sun – "Omg, we’re so alike!" Yeah, for now. But do you really want a partner that mirrors you 24/7? 🔹 Moon conjunct Moon – Emotional twins, but can become too comfortable. Who’s pushing who to grow? 🔹 Venus conjunct Venus – Great for shared aesthetic and love language, but too similar = potential complacency.

💡Some conjunctions? Great. But throw in a few oppositions (for balance) and squares (for energy), or you might end up dating yourself.

🗣️You ever had a bestie you LOVED but couldn’t be around too long because y’all were literally the same person? That’s what too many conjunctions feel like in a relationship.

🚫 MYTH #3: "Saturn in Synastry = Restrictive. No, It's Just A Commitment Test!

🔥Reality: Without Saturn, relationships fall apart. The real problem isn’t Saturn—it’s immaturity.

🔹 Saturn conjunct Moon – Can feel like parent/child dynamics, but if handled well? Deep emotional security. This is forever. 🔹 Saturn opposite Venus – Challenges in expressing affection, but also high commitment potential when worked through. 🔹 Saturn trine Mars – Passion with stability—this is the "we still find each other sexy at 80" type of aspect. Slow and steady passion.

💡 If you have Saturn in synastry, embrace the responsibility but set boundaries so it doesn’t feel suffocating.

🗣️Saturn isn’t the fun drunk at the party, it’s the sober friend keeping you from texting your ex. You need that sometimes.

🚫 MYTH #4: Venus-Mars = Everlasting Passion? More Like a Telenovela.

🔥Reality: Yes, it’s hot at first—but will you even like each other in five years?

🔹 Venus conjunct Mars – 🔥 Chemistry? Through the roof. Emotional compatibility? That depends. 🔹 Venus opposite Mars – Can flip between passionate and exhausting, depending on how you handle conflict. 🔹 Venus square Mars – The sexual tension is wild, sparks fly in all directions. It's an exciting aspect.

💡If you’ve got Venus-Mars magic, add some Moon, Mercury, or Saturn connections so it’s not just lust with an expiration date.

🗣️Chemistry can only carry a relationship so far—do y’all actually like each other outside the bedroom?

🚫 MYTH #5: Moon Sign Compatibility = Everything? Okay, But Can You Communicate?

🔥Reality: Yes, emotional compatibility is important. But have you tried... actually communicating?

🔹 Moon trine Mercury – Emotional understanding and easy conversations (a great underrated aspect). 🔹 Moon opposite Mars – One is moody, the other is impatient. Passionate emotions and spicy debates. 🔹 Moon conjunct Saturn – Deep emotional security, but can also feel heavy or restrictive.

💡Don’t just look at Moons—how do your Mercury, Venus, and Saturn interact? Emotional security is great, but if y’all can’t communicate, it’s pointless.

🗣️Just because you both like to cry during sad movies doesn’t mean you’re soulmates.

🚫 MYTH #6: Twin Flames Can Be Seen in Synastry!

🔥Reality: No. Astrology does not confirm Twin Flames. Stop it.

🔹 North Node conjunct personal planets – Yes, this feels fated, but not every karmic relationship is "meant to be." 🔹 Pluto aspects (especially Venus or Moon) – Yes, this is intense and life-changing—but it can also be obsessive and toxic. 🔹 Vertex aspects – Yes, these can feel destined, but that doesn’t mean it’s permanent.

💡If a relationship is healthy, growing, and balanced, that’s what matters more than any hyped-up label.

🗣️Just because someone feels "fated" doesn’t mean they’re your forever person. Sometimes, the lesson is letting go.

💖 Want to know what the stars say about your love life? 💖

Whether it’s soulmate potential, karmic lessons, or long-term compatibility, I dive deep into your unique synastry & composite charts and let's see what the cosmos has in store for you! 🌙💫💖

✨ DM me for a personalized love, marriage, or relationship compatibility reading! ✨ 💌 Check out my pinned post for pricing & details! 💌

[xelasrecords]

Touch My Soul

Sylus x MC (NSFW)

It’s kind of hot of Sylus to come back dripping in blood. MC wrestles between jumping his bones and taking care of him.

A/N: Being taken care of by your lover after a long day has got to be one of my favourite things to write. Endless Nightmare, Thank You for the Food, Locus of Pain, and The Love We Live For deal with this from different angles, yet I never get bored. Here’s one more.

Words: 3.3k

Masterlist | Read on AO3

Black and red particles swirled into a hulking figure of a man in the middle of her living room. A familiar iron tang assaulted her senses. The said man was drenched in crimson, beads of blood dripping down his tattered shirt and fingertips.

Her heart leapt to her throat as she slammed her magazine on the couch and scanned for open wounds. Sylus was doing it again. Asking for trouble or being the trouble itself. But he was folding his arms with mild interest, and his lips still retained their colour. He wasn’t limping or wincing in pain. There was no other telltale sign of exhaustion after an intensive self-healing process. The blood must not be his.

She felt herself deflated in relief.

“Worried about me?” Sylus cocked his head to the side.

She threw her arm on the back of the couch and leaned back. “I’m admiring the view. What an honour it is to see you oozing sex appeal.”

“I’m oozing blood.”

“Which isn’t yours,” she said pointedly. A small stutter in her mind pleaded that it indeed wasn’t.

Sylus smirked. “Clever.”

Good enough. Sylus wouldn’t lie to her.

“You should be covered in blood more often.” She shifted her hair so it cascaded down one shoulder and exposed the slope of her neck on the other side. “It really gets me going.”

It earned her a deep chuckle from Sylus. She decided then that acting on the thrill down her backbone as soon as possible was the best option. His angled jaw was smeared with blood, but his red eyes never lost their predatory glint. He had come out a victor from what seemed like a brutal brawl. She wished she had been there. Watching Sylus in action paved a swift path to her sensual fantasies.

“A Hunter approving of crimes,” he said. “The Onychinus application is ready whenever you want to fill it.”

She crooked her finger, gesturing Sylus to come nearer. “I never said whose blood it would be.”

Sylus stalked towards her at a leisurely pace and bent to her level. “You wish to put another bullet through me?”

“You’ll survive.”

“Are you trying to test how formidable my heart is for you?” He knotted his fingers with hers and pressed his lips against the inside of her wrist. It was a brush that made her pulse thrum with need. “Quite a sadistic streak you possess there.”

“You have corrupted me.”

“Pledge innocence all you want, kitten. You’re not fooling anyone.” For a moment, his stare glazed over as if he was thinking about something she hadn’t gained the privilege to be a part of. But his attention honed in on her again in the next second. “Besides, I recall you were aiming for the kill in our first interaction.”

“I literally thought you murdered my grandmother and friend.”

“And where did that blind assumption get you?”

She sent her resonance through their clasped hands, and a shiver of pleasure passed through them. “To you here with me.”

It had been weeks since they last met. She was starved for Sylus and his devotion so total that she couldn’t bring herself to think of anything but him. While they were still bonded, she also seized the opportunity to prod against his internal system, searching for hidden injuries. Sylus’s shoulders dropped in understanding, and he shook his head slightly.

Sylus was always in danger. She was in no position to save him when he was more than capable of doing it on his own, but she worried on his behalf. Sylus shouldn’t push the boundaries of his invincibility and return bearing mortal wounds. He should stay alive. If he came back shattered, she would gather his broken parts and patch him back together.

Sylus was hers. Hers to ruin and hers to fix. The only place he could fall on his knees was by her feet. Not the soil, not the battlefield. As long as she was around, she would not let him break down and dissolve as one with the wind. He would live. She would give her life to ignite his.

She could only wish Sylus wouldn’t tire of her too soon. That she wasn’t like his other worldly possessions. This, she had to believe.

Sylus grasped her hand tighter and sent back a deluge of desire that rivalled hers. He held her chin up and caressed the column of her neck. “I have missed you as well.”

She smiled and leaned in. Sylus almost got to kiss her, but she pushed him back at the last minute. She trailed her finger down his torn shirt, her freshly manicured nail grazing his chest. Only on her off-days could she maintain perfect nails. “I’ll draw a bath for you.”

Sylus took a sharp inhale. “And wash away my sex appeal?” He dropped his stained blazer to the rug, blood seeping into the red and gold weaving.

She frowned at his offensive movement.

That was her rug. Her magnificent oriental rug that was handcrafted for an empress from hundreds of years ago. She had gone to many auctions to locate and secure this artwork. Not even Sylus would be forgiven if he ruined it.

She kicked his damned blazer to the floor. Wooden floorboards could be replaced. Sylus was a man of abundant resources. “Stop bleeding on my rug.”

He seemed affronted, more from the loss of her touch rather than her abject horror. “I’ll replace it with a new one.”

“That’s vintage. The weaver is dead. You of all people should know the value of art from a bygone era.”

Sylus perked up at the mention of the dead artist. “Resurrection is a fascinating experiment. Would you like to test the limits of my Evol?”

The antique collector in him was not comprehending the direness of this situation.

She crossed her arms. “I don’t want to handle the logistics of tracking down her corpse, which I’m sure you’ll pull me along for.”

“Skipping out on fun, I see.” Sylus snapped his fingers. “Ta-da, blood is cleaned. Satisfied?”

She prostrated herself until her forehead almost touched the rug and glared at Sylus. “You didn’t repair it right. The colouring is off.”

“I’ll have it sent for the most delicate restoration so it will be as good as old.” Sylus assumed a formal bow and extended a bloodied hand. “Will that appease you, my lady?”

“Only if you guarantee its safe delivery.”

“Luke and Kieran will be its dedicated protectors throughout the process.”

She frowned. “You can take a twin. Two rug bodyguards are excessive.”

“I promise you they’d prefer gallivanting off for arbitrary missions than doing the paperwork they’re due,” said Sylus.

She appraised him, and he arched his brows. When she was convinced she could hold him and his army of two accountable, a wide smile graced her face. She accepted Sylus’s hand and caught the muscles in his forearm pulling taut as he dragged her up her feet. It stoked the fire in the pit of her stomach.

“My heart is soothed.” She squeezed his arm for a good measure. Still as firm as she remembered. Marvellous. She couldn’t wait for him to put it around her chest as he stood behind her. “Come on.”

Sylus chuckled and eyed her with a knowing glance.

She led him to the guest bathroom while blocking out his complaints. A low-hanging cabinet would only be Sylus’s arch-enemy if he let it. Some things were a matter of state of mind. It was his fault for exceeding the average design layout height.

As she waited for the warm water to fill the bathtub, she put exactly zero effort into masking her ogling of the fine statue of the man who was tinkering with his shirt.

“I’m starting to wonder if I should charge per view,” Sylus said without looking up.

“Are you going to strip?” Excitement was prominent in her voice and smile and posture. Everything, really.

Sylus choked out a laugh and spread his arms. “A little help, then?”

Patient, she was not. She wrestled with the damaged buttons, but some of them were so tangled with the fabric that she just ripped them off. The shirt dangled open, revealing the defined pack of muscles that she had been itching to see in their whole glory. The dried streaks of blood that trickled down his navel certainly contributed to the view.

She did love being a Hunter trained for strength.

“That is vintage,” accused Sylus.

She helped him shake the shirt off. “If it’s that precious, you wouldn’t have worn it to fight your enemies.”

“You have a habit of assuming the worst of me. I could have been ambushed. Ever think of that?”

She clicked her tongue. “Were you?”

“Nope,” Sylus popped the word smugly. He disintegrated his trousers and underwear in a snap, and she had to practice immense self-control from roving her hands all over his body.

Her eyes had no such restraint, though.

Sylus stood straighter and placed his hand on her waist, pressing her against his crotch. She jutted her chin forward. It would be so easy to toss her clothes off and go for a round, but she didn’t want to give Sylus easy things. He had to earn it. With a sly smile, she nipped the underside of his jaw and dragged him towards the bathtub, pushing his shoulders to lie down instead.

Sylus chuckled but relented. He sank into the warmth and tipped his head back. Plumes of pink clouded the water as steam rolled up their faces. She knelt beside the tub and lathered his arms with soap, carving out the blood from under his nails with meticulous precision. The soap was floral-scented. She had kept it in stock ever since she noticed Sylus had a fondness for flowers.

“Close your eyes,” she murmured. She scooped water to his head and worked the shampoo into the silver strands of his hair.

There was an open tenderness on his expression, one that Sylus only wore around her. He might not have let her in completely yet, but this allowance of vulnerability was already an improvement. She was willing to practice being patient for this.

She massaged the tough knots in Sylus’s shoulders, and he let out a contented sigh. “I never knew you had such dexterous hands,” he said.

“Really.”

He peeked at her and knew both of them were picturing the last time she stayed over at Onychinus base. “All right, perhaps I have some idea.”

“I’d be offended if it turns out that you were pretending to enjoy my service.”

“There is no pretence when it comes to you. I relish everything you give me.”

She slid her hand down to where his heart was. It was soothing to feel it drumming against her palm. Sylus was alive and breathing and fine. She had not lost him. “Even the gunshot here?”

Sylus sighed and covered her hand with his own. “Especially that.”

Something in his tone constricted her lungs. “I don’t enjoy wounding you, you know,” she said in a small voice. “The things I said earlier were in jest.”

“I’m aware.” Sylus smiled. “Actions speak louder than words. You’re arm-deep in bloodied water and sitting on hard tiles for me, so how could I not know?”

She worked in silence for a while; the sound of water sloshing was the sole interruption. It was nice being with Sylus like this. He didn’t need her to do anything to amuse him. He didn’t need her to work for his acceptance despite the tests he lobbed at her when they just got to know each other. She had a feeling they never truly mattered. She was finally within his reach and Sylus’s world was righted on its axis again.

“Did you think of me when I was gone?” asked Sylus.

Water had soaked through her top. It was a good thing she wore shorts. Sopping fabric sticking to her skin was a supremely unpleasant sensation. “If I deny it?”

He pushed himself up and twisted to look at her. “I’d deny your denial.”

“How about you then?” She wiped the blood that stained the corner of his eye. “Was I on your mind?”

“I had wondered how it’d be to slaughter bad guys with you,” Sylus allowed.

“I feel compelled to point out that you’re one of the bad guys.”

Sylus twirled his finger. “It’s all about perspective.”

“Don’t think of me so much anymore.” At Sylus’s confounded look, she added, “Just bring me next time. You wouldn’t have to wonder if I’m by your side.”

“I still would.” Sylus cradled her cheek and she inclined her body, her fingers gripping the edge of the tub so she wouldn’t tumble in. “Greed is insatiable by nature. Once we achieve the goal of eliminating opponents together, I would want to move to a bigger target. As long as humanity exists, there will always be new things to conquer.”

She was always gravitating towards him and his touch. It was more than a physical desire. Her heart pounded in her ribcage. It was simply a matter of time before it broke free. She didn’t know what would happen then and who she would become, but she was eager to find out. “I’d rather think that’s the humanity in you. Heartless beings have no higher ambition beyond subsistence. Look at the Wanderers.”

“I’ve seen plenty of heartless monsters burning innocents at the stake in fear of their power.” Sylus’s face scrunched in distaste. “Bloodlust doesn’t need a heart to thrive.”

“So what did you do?”

His voice softened as it often did when he talked about the past. “I burned down the world for her.” This time, his stare remained sharp on her, not receding into his memories.

She heard the reverence behind the person Sylus was referring to. Whoever she was, she was grateful she had been there for him. Before their relationship improved, there was an air of loneliness that hung around him. Sylus was intimidating yet alone. Those who dared to approach him always demanded something from him. Every connection involved a deal and calculation. Nothing was genuine. He had no one to turn to when exhaustion took over him, no one to be gentle with after gruelling days of living.

“You must have loved her deeply,” she said. “I’m glad you had her.”

Sylus studied her face, but she didn’t have anything to hide. He nodded, a small, relieved smile painting his lips. “And I’m glad I have you now.”

She blew the bubble foam in her hand at him. “You should be. I’m one of a kind. Discarding me would be a huge blow. Think of the time and effort you’ve invested.”

Mimicking her, Sylus gathered the foam around him and smeared it on her face. “You’re not an investment. When I gave you my heart, I didn’t expect anything in return,” he said. “As you go through your life, remember that there’s someone rooting for you. You carry me in the palm of your hand, so live well. That’s all I ask from you.”

She thought of her fear of being left behind by him. Sylus had been around for a while and had formed no attachment to anyone. She knew he had a liking towards the twins and took them under his wings, but they had approached him first. They stuck to him relentlessly until he had no choice but to let them be. Would he choose her over and over if given the choice? It was scary to believe that Sylus would be so selfless to give up his heart and never ask it back.

But she believed it, she did. Sylus didn’t leave much space for doubt. Through his actions and words, they spoke of the same thing. Just as loud, just as steadfast. There was so much kindness and love contained in one person. How could that be?

“I thought you were greedy,” she reminded him. “You should ask for more. I’m giving you my everything too. My heart, my body, my soul.” She caught his hand and trailed it down her chest, dragging down the top of her tank. “Take more from me. I’m all yours.”

Sylus had shifted to his knees, yet he still towered over her. Water dripped down her thighs as his nose touched hers. “If only you could see how beautiful your soul is.”

“Your affection is my mirror,” she said. “I can see it from how much you love me.”

“I do adore you so.” Sylus slid down her top and peppered fervent kisses down her collarbones and the swell of her breasts.

She coiled her fingers into the base of his hair and pulled him back up, capturing his lips with hers. With an arm wrapping around her waist, he fell backwards into the bathtub and brought her down with him.

Lukewarm water rocked around them. She was swathed in water tinted with blood that wasn’t even his, but she didn’t care. They deepened the kiss, and she felt him growing hard beneath her pelvis.

Sylus bit her neck and she gasped. “I know you want to fuck, but we should wait until we’re not surrounded by strangers’ blood,” she said.

He licked the shell of her ear before speaking, his words a jagged whisper. “That’s probably for the best.”

“I make wise decisions,” she said. “And since you disintegrated your clothing without a second thought, I’m afraid you’ll have to strut around naked.”

Sylus arranged their limbs so they were not in danger of drowning, making her kneel on top of him. “You ripped my shirt off without a second thought.”

“Ah, I thought about it all right.” She pretended to contemplate hard on it. “And I have decided you’re better off naked.”

“And shivering.”

“My body is an excellent warmer.” She splashed water at him.

“I know.” His thumbs drew circles around her nipples. “But do you truly not keep spare clothing for me?”

She pictured the rows of clothes folded neatly in her wardrobe in case Sylus dropped by. “You shall be naked or... well, naked. You’ve got no other option.” She shrugged.

Sylus pinched her nipples, eliciting a moan from her, and chuckled. She was sure he had seen through her lie. “Fine, let’s go with that. I have nothing to hide from you. But in turn, don’t think you can still keep this on. A deal has to be fair.” He tugged at her shorts. Her top had bunched around her stomach and had outlived its use. “Take it off.”

She huffed. “You do it.”

One snap of his long, agile fingers and she was completely bare to him.

“I didn’t say now.”

“You didn’t say when.” Sylus threw her a self-satisfied smirk while his finger started to rub her clit.

Her hips bucked involuntarily and she curled her hands into fists on his chest. “We still can’t fuck right now.” Her eyes narrowed in warning. “The dead are clinging to us.”

Rich laughter escaped from Sylus. He kissed her forehead while withdrawing his hand. “Only you can manage to kill the mood while making me love you more.”

She poked the tip of his nose. “Everything I do makes you love me more.”

“I know.” Sylus smiled at her, and it was a tender, loving smile that she wanted to sink into forever.

Sylus had no idea how much she loved him. Now that he was within her grasp, she would do everything she could to keep him. No more loss. No more heartbreak. Enough was enough.

She hoped Sylus shared her desire.

Footnotes:

Dragon Sylus can resurrect the dead, so his resurrection offer here is a nod to that.

MC sometimes uses nature-related words and metaphors. It's to highlight Sylus’s and her similar interest and their deepening relationship to the point that she adopts some of his ideas. It also shows that her past life still lives in her subconscious.

Wrote this because I brained too hard in my depressing Caleb fic so now I needed a brain cleanser.

Sylus does know very well how beautiful her soul is, doesn’t he?

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[denwritesandcries]

The Wilderness Wants Us To (Kiss) – YJS

Pairing: poly!yellowjackets x fem!reader

Summary: You have experienced all kinds of weirdness ever since the plane crashed months ago, so why the weirdest thing so far is it seems like all the girls are suddenly courting you? 

Or, a series of kisses between you and your dear football team.

Word count: 4,6k.

Content: cursing, kisses, fluff, suggestive, angst if you blink, slightly dark, intoxication, the doomcoming, the wilderness but nobody has been eaten (yet).

Note: They’re all weirdos in a romantic, toxic and codependent way.

English is not my first language.

Your life has stagnated into a familiar routine since the plane crash. To clean. Hunt. Eat. Exist. Survive. Doing the same chores in the cabin, the usual hunting trip, seeing the same faces every day, not dying of hunger.  Not dying of boredom.

Nothing really seems to change other than the cultish trends that your friends seem to be slowly embracing, so if something different happens, you notice it immediately.

Once is an incidence.

Two, it could be a coincidence, but there are no coincidences in the wilderness.

Three is a pattern. That exists in the wilderness.

And the fourth is proof that there is definitely something weird going on – if you even have a sense of what is normal or not –, something that you have no idea what it is, but you know it’s there.

There's something wrong with your teammates. I mean, there's something wrong with all of you, but that's different even for them.

The thing is that you, thinking that maybe it was just in your head, only realized that you weren't imagining anything after the fifth time it happened and now that you know you can't stop thinking about it. Events keep coming back to you from times when this has happened before and you never connected the pieces.

You didn't notice at first, of course you didn't. Physical affection was becoming more common and normal between all of you every day and also because it was Jackie, the captain of your team, and physical affection on Jackie's part was already completely normal even before the plane crashed. She liked to pat you on the shoulder and hug you goodbye after classes and parties – as if she hadn't spent the day barking orders at everyone during practice, but it's Jackie and you really like her a lot, so it's okay –, you could always see her clinging to Shauna's arm, if not hers, then whoever was closest to replace her for a few minutes. Jackie likes to touch and you know it.

Receiving affection from her is like second nature, so you don't even blink when, on yet another boring and lazy afternoon, you give Jackie her old walkman, now repaired and working, and get a kiss as a thank you.

It was a silly treat to make her smile, just because she seemed so sad lately that it made you sad too. She squeals loudly and excitedly, before wrapping her arms around your neck and placing a kiss on your cheek.

She immediately runs off somewhere saying she was going to test it and show it to Shauna, completely abandoning the task of pretending to chop wood so you can complete it.

You only process what just happened when you hear a giggling coming from nearby, because of course Jackie would kiss you in front of your younger colleagues.  One of them points at your cheek provocatively and you lift a hand to your face to feel the texture of pink and shiny lipstick marking your skin. Of course, silly you not to assume that Jackie Taylor wouldn't stop wearing makeup just because of some plane crash.

Whatever, you thought, not bothering to clean the mark. Jackie is sweet. She does things like that all the time, obviously you wouldn't think there's anything weird about it. It wasn't even the first time she kissed you. Kisses on the cheek were a thing long before you left civilization.

You only wipe the stain from your face, in a short and hasty gesture, when you return to the cabin and Mari makes one of her smart comments about it, because there really was no big deal, but the provocation still makes you a little nervous.

(Jackie wears lipstick a lot more often after that, even though she's quickly running out of the only one she has left, but you don't say anything. It would be really weird to imply that you noticed her lips that much. Which you didn't do, no way.)

The second time it happens shouldn't have left you as perplexed as it did, after all everyone knew that Shauna Shipman was never far behind Jackie in the things she did, but it didn't pass through your head that she would kiss you. It was Shauna. Even though she was never rude, you weren't really close and it was embarrassing to admit that you found her a little intimidating. She had a tendency to stare in silence for a long time, which made you avoid conversations whenever you could.

Well, it wasn't a kiss-kiss since it wasn't actually on the mouth, but seeing as you weren't expecting it at all, it could have been. You're learning that reading Shauna is much more complicated than it seems, making it difficult to know if what awaits you is a punch, a bite, or – the most recent discovery – a kiss.

It happened because of the thing that seemed to drive your little society: meat. Because the food was almost running out and no matter what you and Natalie brought, it seemed like there would never be enough. And Shauna was hungry. Painfully hungry.

She always seemed to get hungry more quickly than the others, craving meat with an almost drunken need and you didn't quite understand why, even though you had noticed this detail some time ago. So when you and Nat are seen arriving back at the cabin carrying a deer, a big deer, Shauna practically runs up to the two of you, basically ripping the antler out of the blonde's hands and making you stumble to follow her back to the meat house.

You offer to help her just out of politeness and how rushed she seems, without expecting a positive response since it was common knowledge that Shauna preferred to work alone.

However, she nods her head enthusiastically as she hands you a knife and you swear you've never seen someone look so happy to slit an animal's throat alongside someone else.

When the task is done, you end up at the door with a full tray ready to be prepared for dinner back and Shauna is right behind you, with that same enthusiasm and silent yearning. It's a little unnerving, but at least she's not staring at the back of your head like she's trying to burn you like she usually does. You guessed any progress was welcome.

You just didn't expect it to progress to Shauna pulling you by the elbow to face her and tilting your face towards hers. You're so startled by the sudden touch that you only feel your face heat up as hot, wet lips meet the corner of your mouth when Shauna pulls away, taking the tray from your hands as if it weighed nothing and continuing on her way, muttering a quiet and embarrassed “thank you” over her shoulder.

You stood there like an idiot, feeling your bottom lip and part of your cheek tingle where she touched you just a moment before.

So Shauna kissed you. Okay. Nice. Maybe she was just very grateful and very hungry. Twice, coincidence. Nothing more than that.

 Right?

(Shauna looks away from you when she's caught staring at that night, which never had happened, but you attribute her red face to the fact that you're sitting by the fire.)

The third time is the one that makes you go “okay, maybe that's a thing now,” because apparently the kisses have nothing to do with Jackie-Shauna or simply gratitude – at least not entirely – and much more to do with the fact that it's you.

Which actually doesn't make much sense. Van and Taissa are together, why would either of them feel the need to kiss someone else? Why would they both feel?  And why you? It's true they haven't told anyone yet, but you know. It's a little hard not to notice when they both disappear at the same time into the forest or behind the cabin so often, but still. You don't kiss other people when you're committed. It's a principle, damn it.

Anyway, it's starting to get cold, you think there's just over two months left until winter arrives, maybe less, which makes tasks much more complicated and annoying to do. Especially when it comes to washing clothes.

Luck – Mari's damn shuffle – decided that you, Tai and Van would be the ones to do the laundry this time and the three of you dragged yourselfs grumbling and complaining to the lake, carrying piles of clothes in your arms.

Now, of all the things you have to do around the cabin, scrubbing clothes in cold running water is probably the one you hate the most. Cold, wrinkled hands, chills running down your spine, ew. The fact that Van and Tai went with you makes things at least a little less boring, with the redhead happily filling the silence, her silly jokes making the task almost bearable to accomplish. Almost.

“Ugh,” You groan for what feels like the thousandth time in the last hour, “We’re gonna end up catching a cold like this.”

“You definitely will, if you keep annoying me like this,” Tai replies, swinging her arm towards you, cold water splashing in your arms, “I'm gonna push your dramatic ass into the river, I'm warning you.”

The drops make another chill run through your body, so just for the audacity, you straighten up and let your body fall against hers with the most done expression you can muster in a few seconds.

Tai screams your name indignantly when a wet t-shirt slips out of her hands and falls straight to the ground, but you don't pay much attention when lets out a loud and exaggeratedly long sigh, hearing Van’s laugh as she watches the scene.

And Van, wonderful, too sweet for her own good, Van, decides to finally take pity on your little show – maybe you really were spending too much time with Jackie – and finish what you had left of your part of the pile and you would definitely have jumped in her arms and kissed her for it, if you weren't, you know, in front of her girlfriend.

It turns out that blinking your eyes and sighing doesn't work as well for you as it does for Jackie, because as soon as you get ready to go back, bending down to pick up the heavy basket full of clothes, a familiar hand pushes your chest.

“Shit, Taissa!”

“I said I would do it, didn’t I?” She stands in front of you, hands on her hips and one eyebrow raised as she watches your form lying, shaking and soaking wet at the river's edge.

Van's laugh doesn't bring you that rush of happiness from moments before, since now you're sure that she only decided to help you because she knew what Tai was going to do anyway. That little shit.

You walk past them with the basket in your hands, a trail of water in your wake and a frown on your face.

The way back is completely silent, except for the sound of your fast breathing in your rush to get there and warm up and the girls' requests for you not to get upset over a silly joke. Whatever. You won't say a word to them no matter what they do.

“Oh, come on,” Van wraps an arm around your neck, “We didn’t want to make you so upset, right Tai?”

Tai moves closer, her shoulder brushing against yours, but you remain quiet regardless, even if your willpower to remain upset wanes a little.

“Right” she agrees, sounding very unconvincing, “What can we do to make it up to you?”

“We are so sorry,” Van reiterates, blinking innocently.

Your only response is a noise from your throat that sounds a lot like a petulant mumble and you feel the look they exchange over your shoulder.

And then Van's arm brings you closer and there are lips on either side of your neck. You freeze, breath hitches.

It's not fast like the other ones, but long and drawn out as if it's trying to prove you. A shiver runs down your spine and the baby hairs on the back of your neck stand up, even though you swear it's just because your skin is still damp from the fall. You can feel Van's hair tickling your face and Tai's breath is warm against your chin.

You blink and Van is walking away with a wolfish smile on her lips, whistling absentmindedly and Taissa has the basket you were carrying in her own arms.

“Aren’t you coming?” Van turns when she notices you still standing and Tai arches an eyebrow, as if to say 'so?' and you stumble after them.

“...Sure, whatever!” You stutter, face as red as your goalie’s hair, “But if I get sick, that’s on you!”

“You won’t!”

You return to the cabin with your head down, but for a completely different reason this time. You feel weird, embarrassed, even with your friends walking calmly beside you. It feels weird to just call them friends too.

(Three times – or was it four? It's a pattern. Definitely a pattern.)

You do, in fact, get sick and the fifth time feels more like a fever dream than anything.

Seriously. You survive a plane crash without any serious injuries, but a flu is what knocks you out. You end up in the attic, with a heavy chest, incessant sneezing and a high fever that won't let you sleep.

And of course, Misty Quigley hovering over you like a hawk.

In fact, all your friends seem to be hovering over you in an overprotective way these days, which might not be strange considering the situation, but other people in the group have gotten sick before, including the younger ones, and none of them have reacted like this.

Van and Tai spent the entire time staring like kicked puppies from across the room until Misty kicked them both downstairs so you could try to get some sleep. It wasn't doing much good, but the momentary tranquility was really appreciated.

Misty has been with you the whole time since your fever started and you let her ramble happily while she plays nurse, putting damp cloths on your forehead and helping you drink hot tea, even though you insist you're well enough to do so. She seems very happy to be helpful, so you let her spoil you as much as she wants.

You turn over on the cold floor, wrapping the blankets tighter around you as you sneeze again and Misty sits next to you, but there's nothing she can do at the moment to make you better, so she stays still, looking nervous and pushing her glasses on the tip of the nose with her fingers.

You think about how she seemed to have looked with longing and something that might have been envy when Jackie ran her hand through your hair in the morning before going outside with Shauna after leaving you another blanket. She looked the same when Lottie rubbed your shoulder gently and spent time by your side throughout the afternoon, leaving what appeared to be a half-cut crystal near where your head rested. It's just like she wanted something, but didn't know what or if she could do it. You don't know exactly what too.

Your ears ring and you think about your teammates, your friends and kisses. Four kisses on three occasions. Things that didn't happen before, but apparently happen now and that follow a strange pattern. You wonder who will be next to follow it.

You do what you do next in the fog of sleep and fever, because you'll never be able to actually sleep if you don't have a proper place to rest your head. It has nothing to do with the possibility opened in your last thought.

Her legs are soft under the blue and yellow shorts she wears when you crawl around and rest your head on them and it's certainly much more comfortable than the floor.

“Talk,” You mumble, clearing your throat at the hoarse voice.

“What?” She squeaks and you can tell it caught her in surprise by the way her eyes roam over your form, unsure of what she just heard and what's going on.

Misty is clearly alarmed, arms raised above her body as if she's afraid to touch you, her glasses falling onto the tip of her nose again as she looks down to face you, blonde curls falling across her face.

“What– What are you doing?” She asks.

“Weren’t you saying something about Plato?” You hold back a yawn as you fix yourself on her lap, ignoring her question completely, “Come on, keep going.”

She seems to ponder for a second, jaw dropped in confusion, but you don't move, so she picks up where you assume she left off. After a few minutes listening with your eyes closed, you feel her soft hand rest hesitantly on your back, running her fingers up and down when you don't protest.

You let out a sigh when you finally manage to relax, her voice calming the ringing in your ears a little and when you squint your eyes, Misty seems perfectly satisfied.

That's it, you think, that's what she wanted then.

Your body still has sporadic chills, but you feel like falling asleep, having lost track of how much time has passed with Misty talking to the walls about whoever the philosopher of the moment is. Your head feels heavy, you can barely keep your eyes open. It's good not to be alone when you're like this.

You're not sure whether or not you imagine the cold lips against your warm forehead when you sleep, but it counts as success for your little test. Five.

(You only wake up the next morning, feeling much better and more energetic, even without remembering a single word you said to Misty, just having fallen asleep on her lap for a while. The way she blushes and laughs after that, staring and following you around whenever she can, says that she remembers it very well. Coach Ben gives you a look full of sympathy when he sees her clinging to your arm, which you don't quite understand.)

The sixth time happens in the middle of the forest. It's windy, sun almost down, with Natalie walking beside you. It's the most peaceful moment you've had in your life in weeks, and it's also the moment you realize that maybe there's something wrong with you as much as the rest of the team.

Nat is talking, complaining about how Travis – the closest thing she'll have to a boyfriend in this place – is mad at her. He won't hunt or talk to her, much less touch her.

That's why you're following her, actually, the hunting part. You don't have much sense of your place in the group compared to the others, doing a little bit of everything when necessary, but Natalie seems to enjoy your company on these occasions, even if your aim with the rifle isn't as good as hers.

You spend so much time listening to her complain about mundane things like condoms and the flask of old booze she found in dead-mummified-guy's stuff that you feel the absurd urge to laugh. It's so strangely normal – except for the mummy part, but still.

Maybe that was what made you open your mouth after minutes of silence and broken snorts:

“So he can't get it up once and now he's mad at you? Damn Nat, if you need someone to make out that badly then I could help you with that.”

It comes out half as a mockery, half as truth, because that's what you do. Help people, fix things. But it's sarcastic, because it's just a stupid idea for Natalie to even consider.

Except she suddenly goes quiet and when you turn your head, she's looking at you. Eyes half-closed, mouth open, wanting.

When she kisses you, you're already waiting, longing for it, arms wrapping around you and pressing your body against the nearest tree. You think about how she was the only one who had the courage to chase your lips, to take what she really wanted.

The only thing you can feel is the weight of Nat's hands – cold, always so cold, even though winter is still a while away – on your hips, one sliding up your back to grasp the hair at the back of your neck, lips parting and tongue finding yours almost desperately and then you can't think about anything else but her. Natalie, who is much stronger than she looks and who also holds her own to stay sane in this place much better than anyone could imagine. Natalie, the bane of your existence and also your best friend. Natalie, who kisses like she hunts: with all the confidence her reputation demands.

If you close your eyes tightly and try hard, you can almost pretend you're at one of Lottie or Jeff's parties, listening to your friend complain about a stupid boyfriend, getting euphoric because she likes you better than the said stupid boyfriend.

And then she's pulling away, mouth swollen and hair completely messed up from where your hands had been placed. The moment ends and you come back to reality, picking up the rifle from where it was lying on the grass and looking around uncertainly. You guys didn't catch anything today. Food is running out.

You return to the cabin in complete silence.

(You don't see Natalie trying to talk to Travis after this, nor him with her, but you don't think she cares.)

You stopped counting after that, kisses and touches becoming a blur in your mind as the days pass and your worry increases. Whatever this is seems less important than what's happening at the moment: little food, few coats, winter approaching, a fucking baby coming.

However, it all comes back to them anyway, when you finally realize that you were right all along, that there really was something wrong with all of you and everything goes south quickly when someone decides to put mushrooms in the food.

It was an unspoken knowledge between you that the Yellowjackets would never be able to have a proper homecoming, so when the idea of a ​​doomcoming came up in the conversation, even as a bad joke, you were one of the first to agree to it. A bittersweet goodbye sounded better than nothing.

You just didn't expect everyone to end up on drugs and acting like they were in some kind of cult. What did you miss that got you all to this point?

There is someone howling in the forest. Someone, not an animal. Or maybe they really were animals, given the way they're all chasing you now.

Just a moment ago you were genuinely enjoying the night, dancing with Ravi to Lottie's humming music and drinking fermented punch for who knows how long, even with a small feeling of being watched sent shivers down your spine at times. Then there was no sign of Ravi or Travis – nor Coach Ben, but he escaped somewhere in the woods with Natalie's canteen in his hand the second Misty's back was turned – and things started to get... confusing after everyone helped themselves to some stew.

Now there's someone howling in the forest and your head is spinning, hurried footsteps sound behind you as you end up back in front of the cabin after running in circles, a rabbit cornered by an entire pack.

Leaves are stuck in your hair, the hem of your dress is torn and covered in dirt, and you're sure you scraped one of your knees while running. There are also a bunch of dilated pupils focused on you.

Shauna is the first to approach, which surprises you so much that it gives the others time to do the same, big, sad, hazy brown eyes seeming to see deep into your soul.

“Why do you keep running away from us?” she asks, a pout that you can't tell if it's fake or not formed on her face, sliding a hand gently up your arm to your waist pulling you close and keeping her grip tight.

Jackie has her head cocked to the side and a smile painted red rather than pale pink like the first. She looks a little more composed than you'd expect, standing next to Shauna and bouncing in her step expectantly.

That was all it took to realize that you couldn't pull away even if you wanted to, melting against the scalding skin as if you had no problem getting burned.

“I'm not. I just… I don’t know what’s going on.”

The words came out slow and slurred on your tongue as if you didn't know exactly what you were referring to.  This whole crazy night? Absolutely, but there are also so many other moments not recognized before.

You find yourself guided back to the cabin when you hear Lottie's voice in the background and Misty taking your hand to guide you. It all ends up there anyway.

You're unsure when you're placed in the pile of blankets and sheets on the floor, the lit fireplace warms the room like never before and there seem to be hands everywhere when Natalie enters your field of vision.

“I think you're a little too high right now, hun,” Nat scoffs, as if she's amused by your slowness.

You feel a laugh grow in your chest though you don't mean to, “You– you think so?”

“Yep,” she clicks her tongue, “The mushrooms hit hard.”

“Mushrooms!?” You let out a squeak of surprise when you're suddenly pulled back against someone's front, recognizing Taissa's nails scratching your back through your dress.

“'M sorry." Misty mutters disjointedly, tracing the lines of your palm like it's the most interesting thing in the world.

“What–”

You stop mid-sentence when you make a sound in the back of your throat as you feel Van's teeth graze the junction of your shoulder and neck, bright green eyes and a wolfish smile on her recently healed face. You knew right away who the hell was howling.

“Oh, come on,” Van echoes with the same provocation from the day in the lake, “Don't tell me you're afraid of It.”

“It?” Your breath hitches when a hand guides your head up and there she is.

Lottie Matthews looking down at you, an antler crown on her head that makes you slack-jawed and hazy looking, looking completely divine and you hesitate when you realize that the entire team has gathered around you, as if they were waiting for something. What the fuck is going on?

Lottie leans down to your level, face dangerously close to you, and you swallow hard when your eyes settle on her lips. She never kissed you, not like the others, something that always left a doubt in your head; an almost embarrassing curiosity to know what it would be like.

She meets your eyes with a malicious gleam, like she knows exactly what you're thinking and leans in a little more and just as you close your eyes to meet hers, hunger lips stray to your jaw.

“Lottie–” you squirm and the hands on your hips hold you tighter.

Nat silences you, running her fingers through your face provocatively while Lottie trails kisses down your neck, working her way down. Everything seems too stuffy, like you're melting at their touch.

“It's okay.” She reassures, cold, chapped lips finding your chest, teeth scraping the skin, “It wants us to, can't you feel It?”

You can't feel it, not really, you never understood this strange connection everyone seemed to feel with the wilderness that you didn't, but there are gentle hands caressing you, making you sink deeper and deeper and Lottie is finally kissing you, just like you wanted; lips stopping right over your heart, as if she wanted to devour it.

“Yeah," you say, “I feel it.”

You're sure the cabin is on fire, but you're the only one who's burning.

[your-nanas-house]

"Mr. Coleman said that..."

◇ Pairing: stepdad!Austin Butler X stepdaughter!Reader

◇ Warnings: kind of dark, SMUT, sessions, therapy (invented by me, dunno if it exists), pervy, stepdad x stepdaughter dynamic.

◇ Summary: Austin gets bit lost in the feelings that the "bond" therapy gifted him.

◇ Note: Sorry for the mistakes and the English. It took me so long, thanks for the kind anon that reminded me what Austin fic I wanted to publish. I think it's the very first Austin fic that I wrote... 🫣. For other fics like this.

A small click and the front door of his attic was open, allowing him to enter and finally drop down the bag he carried all day around... plus the new script.

Austin had been out all day and he honestly felt all those hours on his shoulders other than his mood. He really was tired but happy, since he was about to see his little princess.

As his feet lead him to the open kitchen he could already hear her soft humming, which informed him that she was busy entertain herself with something

"Hi stepdaddy, how was your day?" Her sweet voice beamed after his footsteps popped her little bubble of calm. She didn't look upset or annoyed when seeing him... which was a good thing since they had some issues when her mom left them both.

Issues that with a bit of father and daughter therapy should had quickly disappear... or so the man, who was following the process, had told them the first meeting.

"Bit tiring but... it was good. How about yours? What did you do while I was out?" Austin's low raspy voice asked as his hand removed carefully his AirPods before his coat so that he could focus his attention on her completely.

She was still in her cute pajamas, a silly one that she had begged him to buy her as soon as she finished watching one of the latest movies of his... 'Elvis' 2022. Reason because her pants were of a baby pink filled with pictures of the king, matched by a baggy shirt with the quote 'Keep Calm and Love Elvis Presley'.

"Bit boring, studied a bit... and nothing much, I cleaned the house though" Y/n informed him after taking a big sip of her tea, humming softly when the older man's arms wrapped around her torso.. hugging her close to himself.

"So sweet of you" he murmured in her ear, tickling her with his short beard as his face snuggled in the crock of her neck more so to make her chuckle before pressing his lips against hers for a quick 'hello' kiss.

His head now resting on top of hers calmly.

"Also!.. I need your help" Y/n hummed out, putting down her cup as her heart beat faster in her chest.. butterflies forming in her stomach at her stepdad's cuddles.

She could already feel his chest vibrating softly as he replied with his voice which became even more lower that it used to be due to the time and work.

"With what, kid?" His big hand ruffled her hair playfully while his body moved to rest against the table of the kitchen so that his beautiful eyes could stare at her as she talked.

She really was so cute like that, her hair bit messy because of him and the glasses she put on just when she used her laptop so to protect them. It seemed quite domestic... bit too domestic since his body started to react a bit, aroused by the innocent scenario.

And the cute mad face she made every time he would tease or annoy her, was so cute but also such a strong turn on for him... expecially those pouty pretty lips, now covered by a watermelon lip gloss.

"Do you remember what Mr. Coleman suggested?" Y/n asked casually, glancing at him with the face he grow to know as 'the testing face'; a serious but funny expression that she always used when she wanted to see if he remembered something or if he forgot about it.

"Of what, sweetheart?" Austin replied with her same tone as he put down the script, pouring himself a glass of water before sitting on the counter to look in her direction. She was giving him her back but he could already see the pouty face accompanied by a small snort of disappointment since he didn't remember.

"The bonding exercises, Baba!" She whined out, looking at him while scoffing softly at his amused expression. He really knew her too well.

"Of course I remember, baby" Austin lied as he placed his glass on the surface so he wouldn't look her in the eyes without distractions

"He said at least once a week, two is better though..." she repeated what their therapist said to them some weeks ago, her eyes looking at him lazily bit tired of her lonesome day. Even too tired to notice his stare taking her whole in shamefully.

"You know that I'm always free to spend some quality time with you, baby" he rasped out before clearing his throat and finish his water, his body warming up at the mere view of her cute behaviour.

"That's a lie but anyway... Let's start it, hm" the young woman murmured, pecking back as soon as he leaned down to steal a bit of love while picking her up easily and move them on the sofa in the living room where there was more space.

"What were the exercises again?" Austin asked, his hands rubbing soft circles on her hips while his eyes pierced intensely in hers the whole time she explained to him "The 5 senses exercises to feel more connected. Touch.. with the yoga, hearing.. by listening and talking, taste.. by eating together, and.. view.. the stare".

Those were all topics they had to go through in their therapist's opinion.. a way to bond with each other better and share some quality moments as father... even though he wasn't her real dad, and daughter.

"I remember perfectly now... and what was the last one?" He asked while playing with a lock of her hair, smiling slightly when her index finger pressed against his nose while talking "It's the smell... we have to take in our scent... and that should be all. So!... where do we start?" The young woman beamed, getting up from his lap.

The older man really enjoyed seeing her so full of energy and joy, it was addicting.

"Okay, little one, let's start. You can choose with which one we begin".

.

Her choose was quickly and he found himself warming slightly up to start the first step. The Touch.. aka Yoga exercises.

Simple but helpful positions they had to do together to feel the struggles and the moving of their bodies.

"Need to change! Mr. Coleman said that we have to be as bare as possible for this one." The young woman reminded the older man from the other room, busy changing into something to start the exercise and have yoga behind so they could relax.

He said that?, Austin questioned in his mind and raised his eyebrows... he really didn't listen so much when that man spoke with them. He clearly needed to stay more focused in the next sessions.

"You need to change as well!" Her sweet voice urged him as she was now standing in front of him in the set of underwear he gifted her that Christmas. Matching bra and panties which colors were identical to her favourite bun that she had used to tie her hair up.

"Sweet baby Jesus above, you are stunning" he commented, holding himself from just cursing in front of her since he scolded her more than once when some bad words left her pretty mouth. It had became a game of theirs just saying some silly things instead of vulgar language.

"It's the set you gave me!" She informed him with a smile, her hands busy fixing her hair happy and warm to start

"I know, little one" the actor murmured while still staring, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed the lump in his throat.

His body was reacting bit too much for his liking and he started to sweat a bit so he decided to get quickly ready and just move his hands to pull off his shirt and threw it away, exposing his built body to the air so that they could begin with the yoga.

Y/n was the first to lead and help, her smaller frame kept doing her best to keep up and help Austin while ending up most of the time just clinging on him like a koala or bouncing to reach his hands.. way too high for her reach.

It was funny, adorable and relaxing... till the sensations changed when he was the one leading the exercise.

"Baba! You have to follow my body" Y/n explained in a whiny playful voice as her young body bent down in front of him, her ass brushing against his crotch and then pressing lovingly when he moved on her, hugging her hips with his strong arms.

Fucking hot, he thought now that his cock overpowered his brain.

His breath became bit heavier while his hands massaged her flesh, he could have stayed like that all day... with his boner pressed between her firm and round ass cheeks still barely covered by those damn panties.

"Ready for the rhythm? Remember sync to let our bodies connect" she parrot what Mr. Coleman told them, making Austin curse internally since he had forgot about the movements... not that he minded though, since his worries disappeared as soon as her ass hit his half-hard dick.

His hips started to follow, taking the lead unconsciously, grinding his clothed cock against her soft flesh shamelessly.

"You got your phone in your pocket, Baba?" Y/n asked after a while, glancing behind to check on him, yelping softly when he moves her head easily by her chin. Making her look back ahead.

"Mhhm... focus, little one. Sync, remember?" Austin rasped out as his hips increased their rhythm, making her loose the balance she had and end up flat against the floor with him on top.

Her heart was beating fast and she couldn't deny that her panties were getting wet by his movements... she wasn't sure it was part of the exercises but who was her to correct her stepdad.

"You're doing so good, baby. So good" his low voice praised, making her maintain the rhythm and match his when his hips increased the tempo as his big hand, which was on her tummy, helped her continue it.

It was starting to get tired, her breath becoming breathless as she heard him grunting next to her ear.

"Austin, I'm not sure this is part of Mr. Coleman's exercises—" Y/n weakly spoke, letting a broken whine escape her mouth when his little finger pressed roughly against her clothed clit

"It's all part of Mr. Coleman's exercises to bond, baby. And call me like he said you should.. don't you want to make the sessions pay off?" Austin murmured huskily, inhaling deeply while lowering quickly his sweatpants and press his bare, rock-hard angry cock against her ass again, pulling the fabric of her panties so that it was stuck between her ass cheeks like his lenght.

"I said call me like Mr. Coleman said, little one" his tone became more stern as his hand spanked her soft flesh making her jolt

"Sorry, daddy! Sorry" she whined out, moving her ass up so to allow him to continue without interruptions... just like a good girl.

It was twisted but felt so good, so... damn good, with the soft skin of his cock caressing her inner thighs as he made sure to keep them closed so that he could fuck them. Hitting her clit with each thrust.

Her stepdad was dry humping her and she was loving it as much as he was... and she could tell that he was enjoying himself pretty much due to all the noises and praises that escaped his lips.

"Such a good girl! Fuck— fuck, fuck. Little one!" His horsed voice growled in her ear as his body shook against hers before something started to wet her thighs and panties. The young woman didn't had time to check before her own orgasm hit her whole and her back arched, a soft curse, which earned her a harsh spank, escaped her innocent sweet mouth.

"Language, baby... now how about we move to the food now, hm?" Austin suggested while massaging her warm flesh, moving his softening cock away from her shaking thighs.

[rottencherrypie]

R-18+; Tip of His Tongue (Legolas x Reader)

Summary - Another inexperienced prince learning how to pleasure a woman.

Warnings - Smut, language, afab!reader, fem!reader, mention of female genitalia (reader), oral sex (reader receiving), weird descriptions (like always), lowkey brat!Legolas, slight edging (possibly), teasing, face riding, inexperienced!Legolas, dom!Reader, sub!Legolas, dom/sub dynamics, a hint of praise kink if you squint (Legolas), implied squirting (Legolas drowns in it, RIP).

Pronouns & POV - None, third-person

Word Count - 3,000+ (almost 3.1k but a little under)

A/N - Another suggested smut! "legolas learns to eat pussy. that's it." — (anonymous) Thank you for the suggestion, I hope you enjoy! I apologize that it is taking me a while to get smuts out, my health got a bit wonky which made it hard for me to focus on writing for long periods of time. I did manage to get through some other non-writing projects that had been in limbo, so it was not entirely wasted time. I am still in the process of writing some suggestions as this is being written, so thank you all for your patience and for your kindness! I am horrendous at replying to asks, but rest assured that I have seen each one and will be hoarding the kind words like a dragon hoards treasure (because you all are precious gems <3). Reader has no defining features other than soft lips, a round ass, and I will die on the hill that Legolas would not care if you smoother him. Smut below the cut!

Read on AO3 Read on Wattpad

As the chilled caress of night air roamed against your skin, allowing the sensitive buds upon your chest to harden beneath the bitter nip of its touch, a heated gust cast down upon the exposed flesh of your cunt—shielding it from the night's bitter touch.

It was an uneven—anxious—breath. It rained down upon your glistening hole, causing it to appear as if it were sparkling beneath the orange hue of firelight, yet ever so slightly shielded by the shadow that loomed above. The warming caress of heated breath inched closer to the moistened hole—seeming to be drooling in anticipation under the anxious heat of the elven prince's breath as his lips neared it.

The elven prince's lips parted slightly, allowing the tip of his tongue to slip through the pearly gates of his teeth—swiping at the flesh of his lower lip as the weight of his head delved further between the plushness of your thighs—seeking out the sweet nectar hidden betwixt them. The warmth of his breath inched closer to the source of your lust; the tips of your toes curled in anticipation as the heat continued to rain down upon your eagerly awaiting hole.

A wait that was not for long, as the prince's restraint had begun to fray the moment he had laid eyes upon the delicious sight of your exposed cunt—drooling and eagerly awaiting the moistened caress of his unskilled tongue.

The wet glide of the elven prince's tongue swiped against the sweetened tang of your nectar; the act was a sudden, almost sharp, swipe. It was unplanned, a test of his actions as his ocean eyes bore up at you—sparkling amidst the sea of eagerness was the twinge of desperation as he awaited your response.

"Slowly." The word left your lips in a gentle breath, nearly sounding amused as you began to instruct the typically skilled prince. "Follow my lead." The bed let out a soft creak as your weight shifted upon it—your back curving forward, allowing the wetness of your arousal to press against the prince's tongue, flattening the moistened muscle slightly in the process for better leverage.

It did not take long for the air to fill with the harmony of the wooden frame creaking in sync with your weight as you rose and lowered the length of your cunt against the wetness of his tongue. The taste of your arousal was distinct; it was sweet whilst also holding a bitter tang amidst the sea of other various flavors, ones the elven prince had never tasted in his life prior—yet now they coated every taste bud upon his unskilled tongue as you guided him in the dance of oral pleasure.

Amid your guidance, the grasp you had mindlessly placed upon the smoothened sheets beneath you began to ease. A singular hand lost all hold over the luxurious cloth and quickly found itself tangled within the sea of silken locks upon the elven prince's head—furthering the leverage you held upon him as you continued to puppet him to your pleasure.

"There we go," A familiar heat began to spread throughout your hips as you breathed that small praise, yet your motions did not cease. "something like that..." The words were nothing but air escaping your lips as your neck began to crane backward, the weight of your head seeking out the plushness of the pillows beneath him as your hips continued to rock against the elven prince's face.

The praise was not lost within the chilled embrace of the night's air that it was breathed into: as ever the eager student, the prince began to mimic the motions you led him in moments ago. And it had started on a good note; the wetness of his tongue continued to lap against the length of your cunt, savoring the sweet nectar that seeped forth from it—acting much like a spoiled cat would with some cream. The motions were as slow as you had shown him, copying the exact motions you had done prior in the dance of pleasure—licking from the very top of your folds, swirling around the sensitive bundle of nerves within them, and then slowly lowering to the hole that drooled so prettily for him.

Yet, the elven prince quickly found his pacing, growing more and more confident within the folds of your wetness.

It was a gradual change, the course no longer fixating on the entirety of your cunt as it quickly began to fixate on one location in particular—the drenched flesh that surrounded your leaking entrance. The sensitive circle of flesh leaked eagerly in anticipation as the focus fell upon it; it yearned for the internal caress of the prince's tongue—or other appendages—yet it was left in that state as the moistened appendage refused to delve within.

No. Rather than be embraced by the sweet, warming embrace of your inner walls—it remained upon the thin outer layer of flesh, merely circling it. The tip of his tongue grazed against your needy hole in a slow circle around the sensitive lining of your wetness, allowing it to catch every droplet of your sweet nectar as it escaped from your center.

"Fuck." The word escaped your lips in an irritated breath as the weight of your hips began to quiver from the slow strokes of the elf's tongue. Yet, the sound of your irritation did not seem to sway the prince from his actions, rather, the sound of your displeasure appeared to further his ministrations in tracing circles around your sensitive opening.

"Move." You instructed—the word escaping your lips in a mewled tone. The swaying of your hips grew more mindless against the patterns of his tongue, attempting to lure him into the warmth of your center. Yet the attempts were unfruitful as the wettened muscle of the prince's mouth refused to delve within your depths of pleasure, regardless of the beautiful ways your hips swayed against the smoothness of his face.

It would always be a breath away, the glistening entrance practically rested upon the tip of his tongue, allowing the elf to apply the faintest amount of pressure against the willing, needy hole as it flattened against it—the very first taste buds upon the tip becoming coated with the taste of your lust in the process, yet the others only lingered with the memory with the sweet metallic taste of your arousal. As before any further could become soaked in your arousal—to become welcomed in your caverns of pleasure—the prince's head would shift in the slightest of manners, refusing to give you the internal caress that you so desperately craved.

The warmth of pleasure that had once spread throughout your body began to shift into another heat, irritation.

A groan fell from your soft lips as the weight of your hips shifted against the moistness of his tongue, nearly chasing after it as you yearned to have the twitching muscle slide into your aching core. Yet, much to your dismay, the prince continued to lead you in a game of cat and mouse; shifting, swaying away from your pleasure—inching back the moment before his moistened length could sink into the overflowing fountain of your lust.

Fine. If that was how the prince wished to play his hand.

The grasp you had held upon the back of the elf's head began to tighten, at first a warning grasp to remind him of his place—yet you were soon able to see that a mere squeeze was not enough. It quickly firmed, knuckles clenching around the smooth locks as the tips of your nails began to dig into his sensitive scalp—the bitter sting of them lighting piercing the flesh of his head allowed for a hiss to vibrate against your moistened hole. A sensation that caused a shiver of pleasure to roam down the length of your spine.

"Up."The singular word hard barely lingered in the chilled air long enough for the elf to process it before the sudden, sharp tug of his golden locks forced his head backward. The action exposed every inch of the prince's slender neck to your eye as his head craned backward, yet your gaze fell upon the center of his neck—watching as the ball beneath his skill bobbed as he swallowed down a breath, as he anxiously awaited what would follow.

"Now." The elf swiftly rose from his knees at your command, his ocean gaze never leaving yours as his body straightened from the old, wooden floor beneath him—the grasp you held upon the back of his head never ceasing as he did so, merely tightening as you, yourself, shifted into a more comfortable seated position upon the bed's plushness—the blue heat of his ocean-colored eyes burnt into your exposed flesh as the prince eagerly watched how it shifted upon the softness of the bed beneath you.

"On the bed." The elven prince followed your second command as swiftly, and as eagerly, as he had followed the first. The anxious heat of anticipation emanated off of his tall, slender form as he inched closer to you; soon joining your side upon the softness of the mattress. The bed groaned as the weight of his body sat beside you, the mattress sinking inward slightly as he shifted upon the bedding as expectancy arose within him—the tight grasp you held upon his silken locks remained tight throughout this.

The tips of your nails found themselves digging deeper within the sensitive scalp of the blonde's head, embedding themselves with a snug pinch as the weight of his head was suddenly pulled backward—forcing the elf down upon the mattress. The curve of his back pressed firmly against it, his once burning gaze upon you now forced upon the sight of the old ceiling above whilst your grip remained firm upon the elf's head.

"And here I thought you would be easy to teach." The corners of your lips threatened to curve into a smirk, twitching in anticipation as you gazed upon the once powerful elven prince who laid weakened within the clutch of your palm—neck craned, eyes wide, and breath hitching within the back of his throat. Yet, you had managed to keep the corners lowered; wishing to keep your enjoyment of the elf's teasing secret.

"Regardless," The mattress creaked as your position shifted upon it, yet this was not any mere position that your body had contorted into. No. "you will learn." The weight of your heavenly figure had departed from the plushness beneath you, finding itself onto the sharpness of the elf's face—straddling it.

The plushness of your thighs encased the sides of his face, the heat of your cunt a breath away from his thin lips—lips which glid against your moistened folds as you lowered yourself upon him. The softness of his lips parting sent a shiver down your spine as the tip of his moistened muscle slid out from between the pink gates of his mouth—it swiped against your leaking entrance as if seeking permission to delve into the drenched cavern of your lust. "All the way." A command that did not need to be repeated, nor did it need to linger within the air for a moment longer as the length of the elf's inexperienced tongue dove into the wetness of your center.

A sensation you had been yearning for since this had all begun.

The act was not as swift as when the prince's tongue swiped against the length of your cunt—a shiver ran down your spine at the reminder of the act—it still held a decent pace. Every centimeter of the moist muscle eased into the warmth of your pleasure, lingering within the grasp of your welcoming walls for a few moments before the next slowly took its place within your depths.

And though the action was gradual, the elven prince adjusting to how the tang of your arousal coated every bud upon his tongue as he sunk into you, he did not dare to tease you any further—not wishing to anger the woman who straddled his face.

A satisfied groan rumbled deep within your chest, the noise slipping through the softness of your lips upon an exhale as the weight of your head fell backward—neck craning just as the prince's was—as you sunk further into the wettened internal caress. The flesh of your thighs tightened slightly around the sides of the elf's head, applying a faint pressure to his sharp, sensitive ears as you danced upon his tongue.

As a steady pattern began to form within the mindless swaying of your hips, the prince's moist muscle began to explore the inner workings of the walls of your lust. The patterns and pace he made held no true rhyme or reason—a swirl here, a flick against there, and darting in any position he could—but soon, one began to form as you led him in the dance of your pleasure.

The grasp you held upon the elf's head tightened, the tips of your nails piercing against his scalp—enough to leave angry reddened marks in their wake—as the puppeteering of his head returned. An act that caused the pleasurable vibrations of the prince's pained hiss to echo against your wet folds; the tips of your toes curling at the pulsation against your cunt as the dance of pleasure began to rise in tempo—soreness be damned.

As your hips rocked and rolled with rising speed, the bed continued to creak and groan under the vast movements, the weight of your cunt pressed further into the curvatures of his face, sinking into the sways of pleasure. An act that the prince met with the quickening motions of his tongue inside the walls of your sopping entrance. It jutted, flicked, and swirled within—soon finding itself scraping against the most sensitive spots within your core, before returning to the unplanned swirling within the hold of your warmth.

It danced within you, similarly to how you danced upon his face, guided by the silent symphony of pleasure—a tune heard by known yet known by all, accompanied by choruses only the soul knew to vocalize into the most beautiful, strained tunes of lust-driven gratification.

"Shit—" The word found itself caught within the back of your throat, hovering within the length of your neck for a few moments before it was pushed out by the rushing sound of pleasure that was your strained moan. The pace at which your hips moved had begun to shift as the heat of soreness within your hips began to burn with a new warmth—the warmth of nearing.

The fluidity of your motions began to lack, turning to sharper—almost stuttering-like—motions as the weight of your body pressed further onto the elf's face; the pressure of nearing completion made it hard to care, let alone pay attention to, keeping the prince's airway free—but he did not care.

Emboldened, the prince's slender hands found themselves upon the rounded flesh of your rear. The tips of his fingers dug into the plumpness of your arse, pulling it further against the smoothness of his skin whilst you continued to ride his tongue to your pleasure—his tongue curling inside of the walls leading towards your womb, scraping against one of your many sensitive spots.

A gasp fell from your lips at the sensation, a sound that soon masked with a deep groan of pleasure that rumbled forth from the center of your chest; the pace your hips held was fast and sloppy—the weight of your cunt pressed firmly against his parted lips, the essence of your pleasure coating his amateurish tongue whilst it continued to curl within you.

As the familiar tingle of pleasure began to rise from the tips of your toes, the piercing grasp you had held upon the prince's head had managed to tighten further, the skin around your knuckles tightening—almost revealing the bone—as you held onto his golden locks as if they were your only anchor from being whisked away into the sea of pleasure. The weight of his head rested within your palm as the weight of your cunt rested upon his lower face. The motions of your hips turned from that of stuttering into bucking motions, jolting up into the curving of the wet muscle as it scraped against one of your sweetest spots. The pleasurable tingling that roamed throughout your veins swiftly turned into the scorching burn of anticipation.

The static's intensity grew harsher, the burn within you brighter than that of a bonfire as every flick, every curve of the prince's novice tongue added tinder to the fire that spread rampant throughout your veins.

And, with the final flick of his tongue, you were consumed by the fire of ecstasy.

The familiar embrace of pleasure turned all to static, even the sounds of your incoherent moans as they danced within the air—and the hiss of the prince's lips as your nails continued to claw upon the back of his head, further angering the reddened marks the tips of your nails had left behind prior. All sensation had left your body; it felt as if your very essence had been whisked away within the chilled night's gentle breeze, yet still grounded upon the elf's face as your pleasure rained onto his tongue—drowning him in your pleasure, as you sank into the sea.

It felt as if all time had stopped whilst also speeding up all at once. As if you were everything, but nothing.

The sounds that escaped through your softened lips were incoherent, primal—a song from your soul orchestrated by the unskilled prince's tongue.

The bitter nip of chilled air slowly guided your essence back into your quivering form, the fire of pleasure being quenched by its numbing caress—yet the heavenly tingle of ecstasy continued to dance quietly within your veins. The sensations within your body slowly began to return, the weight of your figure feeling as if was weighed down by many heavy stones as you struggled to lift your quivering form off of the elf's face—the essence of your pleasure trickling forth from the corners of his thin lips, rolling down his sharp chin as he swallowed down a mouthful of your liquid ecstasy.

The bed creaked loudly as the weight of your body flopped onto it, the burning heat of your exposed form emanating beside the elven prince's head; the sound of your shared, uneven attempt of returning breaths danced within the night's air—both stunned at the prince's prowess.

He was truly a natural at his craft.

[theskywithin]

✷ If Your Zodiac Sign Roasted Your Love Life ✷

Aries

You fall in love like it’s a hostage situation with zero negotiation and absolutely no exit plan. First date? You’re planning a shared Google calendar. Slight delay in texting back? You’re emotionally reenacting a breakup scene in your mind. You say you want passion, but let’s be real: you just want to win. Also: not everyone who holds eye contact is your twin flame. Please stand down.

Taurus

You act unbothered, but if they rearrange your throw pillows wrong, you’ll write them off forever. You want slow, sensual, soul-deep love... delivered via consistent texts, home-cooked meals, and zero emotional surprises ever. Dating you is like earning a lifetime membership to a luxury spa with extremely specific rules and silent tests you never mention out loud.

Gemini

You flirt like it’s your native language, but the second someone gets emotionally literate, you evaporate. You say you want deep connection, but you ghost people who text too earnestly before noon. You’re not afraid of love, you just want someone who changes moods as fast as you do. Bonus points if they can keep up and spell correctly.

Cancer

You want love like a tragic indie film. You fantasize about healing someone who can’t even spell ‘accountability.’ You say you’re nurturing, but really you just trauma-bond with the first emotionally unavailable person who remembers your birthday. Not everyone who opens up to you is your soulmate. Some of them just need therapy.

Leo

You want someone obsessed with you who never stops being mysterious. You treat dating like a performance review: if they applaud loud enough, they get a second chance. You say you want loyalty, but deep down you just want someone who looks hot holding your emotional baggage in flattering lighting.

Virgo

You date like you’re editing a novel you didn’t write. You fall in love with potential, then spiral when they don’t match your internal checklist of Things That Make A Person Worthy™. You’re not cold , you just want love that arrives on time, reads the manual, and doesn’t chew loudly. Is that too much to ask?

Libra

You want love, beauty, balance, and a relationship aesthetic that makes your ex regret everything. You fall for someone’s vibe, then spend six months gently hinting at your needs while hoping they pick it up telepathically. You’re not indecisive, you just want someone who can read your mind, match your outfit, and love you without ever disrupting the vibe. If the relationship feels inconvenient, you ghost it in the name of “peace.”

Scorpio

You act mysterious but secretly want full emotional intimacy and an insurance policy on their loyalty. You pretend not to care, but you already know their birth time and checked their ex’s ex’s Instagram last night at 2am. You’re not cold, you’re just running a full psychological background check before you text back “cool.” Admit it: you want love that ruins you a little.

Sagittarius

You fall for people who make you laugh, challenge your mind, and disappear just often enough to keep it interesting. You say you’re into “freedom,” but deep down you want someone who lets you travel the world and texts you poetic check-ins from 3,000 miles away. Commitment? Fine. As long as it feels like a field trip, not a cage. You’re not afraid of love, just of getting bored and starting a new life mid-relationship.

Capricorn

You say you're “selective,” but you fall for the first emotionally bankrupt person who uses the word vision. You want long-term commitment, shared goals, and a partner who understands compound interest, but somehow you keep dating unemployed poets with commitment issues and one pillow. You don’t open up, you recruit. And honestly? Your hiring process is mostly vibes and caffeine. Also: stop confusing red flags with “potential in need of structure.” This is a date, not a board meeting.

Aquarius

You want deep connection, unconventional dynamics, and someone who respects your independence but also lowkey obsesses over you in private. You act emotionally detached but secretly want someone who understands your soul and your weird late-night Wikipedia searches. You’re not cold, you’re just terrified of being understood too soon and getting trapped in something... human. Love you crave is rare. Good luck finding it while pretending you don’t care.

Pisces

You fall in love with the idea of someone, then act shocked when they turn out to be a real person with flaws and a Spotify account that ruins the vibe. You dream in slow motion. You romanticize red flags. You write love stories about people who ghosted you before the second date. You’re not naive, you’re just spiritually attached to potential. Also: if you cry over one more person you never dated, your friends are starting a group chat without you.

[sewersewersewercouch]

Microphone and ADHD: yet another very rambly analysis

GUESS WHO’S WRITING LONG TUMBLR POSTS ABOUT MIC AGAIN!!!!

i’ve been trying to formulate this post in my brain for a while and i’m finally writing it. I should add a disclaimer here: while i’ve done my own research for this, i’m also mostly writing from my own experience, which a) obviously every case of adhd is different, and b) while adhd is my only diagnosis at present, there are various other things that i’m questioning and in the process of being evaluated for which might also bleed into my experiences with adhd. If there are any issues please feel free to point them out! Also i don’t want to imply that if you don’t have adhd you can’t relate to mic, i’m just discussing the things i personally am seeing in canon. Also also, if this is weird and disjointed and rambly, well, you signed up to read a very long post by someone from adhd about blorbo from their shows.

I think what first comes to mind with Mic and ADHD traits for me is her impulsivity. This is something we see trip her up again and again—for example, when she yells at Fan in Tri Your Best, not considering how the noise could boost him into the air and ahead of her, or in Mazed and Confused, when she calls after Knife in the maze without realizing that Test Tube is in there as well. (And yes, she didn’t hear Baseball say that Test Tube was in there, but if she’d thought before she’d acted she might have considered looking around to make sure there were no Bright Lights missing as well.) Hell, another example I noticed was that during Mine Your Own Business, when Taco and Knife are arguing, Mic physically shoves Knife into the gem, and like, not gently, either—he slams into it pretty hard. It’s been pretty well established at this point that Mic is very averse to physical violence, and she definitely wouldn’t do anything like that intentionally, but the fact of the matter is, when she’s stressed like that, she just kind of makes a snap action without using her head.

This also ties into my second point, her difficulties with emotional regulation, which is something that’s very common with ADHD. I kind of struggle to describe how this shows up in Mic, because honestly, a lot of her seemingly overblown reactions are more of a “straw that breaks the camel’s back” type of situation where she takes so much shit from her teammates that obviously, who wouldn’t be upset? However, I do think it’s fair to say that she’s someone who’s quite easily frustrated, and can have a tendency to lash out quite harshly when she’s in this state. For example, in A Kick In The Right Direction, she’s pissed off about being relegated to goalie, which is fair, but she takes this out on Dough, who wasn’t involved in this decision, just because he happens to be near her, and she’s, like…pretty mean about it, too? Like, when he says he’s bored she says “so am I but not enough to talk to you” and then later flat out tells him to jump off a bridge. Yes, this second one was after he was distracting her and the Bright Lights got a goal past her, but still, it does feel like a pretty dramatic reaction. Especially as in general, Mic’s demeanor is friendly and outgoing, she clearly is someone who cares a lot about others’ well-being, and she’s just a nice person all around, but when something gets under her skin she’s immediately on the defensive and says stuff like this.

Also, just in general, Mic is very outwardly emotional. It’s one of the ways the narrative contrasts her with Taco, who for much of the story is incapable of giving up her facade, whereas Microphone is incapable of not wearing her heart on her sleeve. You can usually at any given time tell from Mic’s expressions and tone exactly what she’s feeling. This is especially noticeable as she’s frequently in a position where she has to lie, and she is…not good at it. Some of the time she falls back on the aforementioned defensiveness—for example, in Alternate Reality Show, when Suitcase asks what she’s painting and she replies, “Uh, zilch! Why are you picking today to talk to me for the first time ever?” and when Knife immediately after asks why she was late, she says, “I got other places to be? What’s it to you?” A lot of the time, though, she just gets all nervous and awkward. Adorable, undeniably, but not helpful when she’s in the position she’s in. (I was very charmed to find that she keeps this trait even after the game, what with her telling Taco to act natural and then going “Heyyyyy!!!! I, uh, found someone! :))))” as if that’s at all acting natural. Never change.) Mic feels everything very strongly, and she can’t naturally hide that like Taco can.

I also wanted to bring up Mic’s extreme sensitivity to negative feedback, or what’s often referred to as Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria—which, yes, I know that isn’t actually technically a diagnostic trait, but I would say it’s kind of an offshoot of emotional dysregulation combined with a response to being ostracised for being neurodivergent in a shitty ableist world. A lot of the time when Mic shows the traits I’ve mentioned here, and they trip her up, her teammates show her very little patience and compassion. (Baseball and Nickel are particularly guilty of this—Cheesy does it as well, but he also apologizes to her and it seems like they get along afterwards. Baseball, however, will be on thin ice until I hear a goddamn apology from him.) And while she tends to respond to their disparagement with anger externally, as mentioned above, it also clearly really upsets her in a deeper way. For all the amount she takes it out on others, she takes it out on herself tenfold: look at the words she uses to describe herself in her diary. “Annoying, harmful, random, useless, insignificant, loser.” This treatment, along with her previously mentioned sensitive emotions, make her very reactive to any form of perceived criticism or failure. Even in the finale, when she’s been through her own arc and had a while to heal from the toxic environment of the show, the image shown in the red line game shows that this is still what upsets her the most—the idea of being ignored and rejected by others.

I think this also goes the other way—she’s so sick of being disparaged that it turns into a desperation for approval and connection. This is kind of the foundation of her entire arc. I noticed this one moment in Mazed and Confused, where Taco offers to help her out and Mic says “Really? You would help me out?” as though she’s completely shocked by the idea of someone offering her help. Which makes sense—the only person who’s actually been there for her is Soap. And one could ask, why does Mic stay in her alliance with Taco? Clearly she realizes, deep down, that what she’s doing is unethical. Mic is someone who has a strong moral code that I think in most circumstances she’d care about more than the money. (Yes, I know, I know, the twist, but it’s been proven several times that contestants are more than capable of putting other things above the game. Look at Marshmallow, Clover, Lightbulb, and obviously, eventually Mic herself!) But I don’t think what keeps her pushing her cognitive dissonance down is actually anything about the money. It’s the approval she gets. Baseball, who as I’ve said is normally quite hard on her, compliments her when she does something right as a result of her cheating, and in so doing cements in her mind that cheating=people liking her. She also gets approval from Taco, which fuels this even more. And as this alliance goes on, it transforms into…well, I don’t know if I’d call it a friendship, per se, but it seems that Mic really does value Taco’s company and wants to connect with her on a more personal level, rather than just as a means to an end. This just muddies matters further, as Mic now has not only approval at stake, but also one of the few actual relationships she has in the game. It takes Taco killing two people in front of her for her to decide that’s not worth it.

I think I maybe got a little sidetracked from my point there, as I am very much wont to do, but I think this leads Mic to display some kinds of masking behavior. One facet of this is politeness/friendliness—and this is not to say that Mic isn’t genuinely an outgoing, friendly person. In my own experience, masking isn’t as cut and dry as “not acting like yourself”---rather, it’s often more putting certain, more socially acceptable aspects of one’s personality forward and suppressing the less acceptable ones. Her politeness also comes off as very stilted to me. For example, in Theft and Battery, where she says, “Guys, not to sound rude, but didn’t MePhone5S and 5C just try to kill MePhone4? Didn't this guy create them? Why would he support us if he just tried to kill us?” It seems like a weird thing to have to tack “not to sound rude” onto—it’s a completely valid and truthful point. But she’s so used to being perceived as rude that it seems she feels like she has to say that. There’s also another example I already talked about in a different post but will go back over here—in Mine Your Own Business, when Mic and Taco are trying to sneak past Knife, but Mic sneezes and then follows it up with “Sorry! ‘Scuse me!” Which, as Taco points out, isn’t something people normally do. And immediately Mic falls back on her other defense mechanism, lashing out. If you listen to what she’s saying when they’re arguing, it’s “What was I supposed to say, ‘bless me’ and bless myself? You’re the one who’s always trying to be proper, what’s your problem?” I think this moment says a lot about her—when she knows she’s messed up, she tries to cover for it with politeness, but she also doesn’t quite get the social rules right. It’s very much something that’s put on, not that comes naturally to her. (This is where I realized she has many parallels with my other favorite Cabby, but that’s a whole different can of worms.)

However, she also masks in kind of the other direction, that is, putting others down to boost herself up. The Grand Slams are not the healthiest of teams, to put it lightly, and Mic mimics the behavior she sees in others that brings them social success. For example, when she jokes to Baseball about not wanting to “pull a Balloon—” Balloon being unpopular as he is, she knows other people will find mocking him funny. And it works! Baseball laughs! She tries this again later, when she says to Knife “talk about emotional baggage” in regards to Suitcase, but this time he doesn’t respond well. Mic seems genuinely surprised at this—this method has worked for her before, so she’s put off by the fact that it doesn’t work this time. And I should say—this isn’t something Taco tells her to do. She does it entirely of her own volition.

Actually, looking at this more, it seems more like part of something she mostly does during her alliance with Taco—an unaffected, jokey front she tends to put on when she’s lying or messing with people, to…limited success, as discussed earlier, but I think she also uses it when she’s lying to herself, or trying to convince herself that what she or Taco is doing isn’t wrong. I had a few examples in mind. The first is in Kick the Bucket, right after the Nickel and Balloon double elimination, when she says, “Well, ha, what a lively experience! Well, not much to gain from sitting around and doing nothing. See ya!” It’s oddly nonchalant when clearly everyone around her is upset, and we see her look concerned for a second beforehand before she goes into this. I interpret that as her…kind of seeing that what just happened messed things up for a lot of people and that it was her fault, but she’s not ready to accept that truth yet. She also uses this affect throughout Mine Your Own Business—both with Taco, as an attempt to get her to open up, and with Knife, I think in some ways trying to mimic what Taco did to recruit her in order to do the same with him. Neither of these are successful. Knife being Knife, he’s someone who’s very able to see right through people (figuratively speaking, that is, because now people can literally see right through him! Get it? Because he’s a ghost? Please imagine the sound of Cheesy slapping his knee from somewhere in the distance). He plants seeds of doubt in Mic’s mind by telling her about Pickle—and she’s still not ready for those seeds to grow, but they certainly are there. In fact, the next time we see her use this behavior, it’s in Hatching the Plan, when she jokes that Taco will “inevitably drop me too or whatever.” She says it casually, but clearly what Knife said is still on her mind, and she’s trying to convince herself that what happened to Pickle won’t happen to her even though she doesn’t at all believe herself. I also think looking at this behavior has really clarified my view of her in the movie—at first I was frustrated at how she seemed much more calm and collected than I would have expected her to, both about the general horrors happening to everyone, and specifically about Taco. I talked about those criticisms in another post, and I do still stand by them to some extent, I would have written her differently. But I don’t think it’s as incongruent with her character as I did before—in fact, I think there’s plenty of precedent for her masking like that in situations of greatly conflicted emotion. (Oddly enough, I think it’s something she has in common with Taco, but Taco’s just better with it.) I kind of doubt she was quite mentally ready to reconnect with Taco yet, but in such a dire situation she doesn’t have time to process all that, so she just kind of shoves that to the back of her brain. Not to say that I don’t think she genuinely cares for Taco, but I do think there’s a lot of processing she hasn’t done yet about her that will hopefully be a topic of discussion later please please please AE please for me???? Anyways, I do think this is a response to her aforementioned emotional dysregulation tending to create problems for her, and it’s definitely a masking technique in my eyes.

I also want to touch briefly on Microphone and Soap’s friendship, because while it’s not evidence for my point exactly, per se, I do think it’s relevant. While unfortunately pretty stereotypical representation, I would say it’s generally considered true that Soap is coded as having OCD. Now I’m not going to say that all neurodivergent people can easily be friends with one another, I know that’s not true. However, looking at the scene we see with the two of them in Rain On Your Charade, it certainly plays a part in this specific friendship. Mic helps Soap cope with her compulsions, and Soap is the only person at this time who really values Mic and doesn’t see her as a burden just because she’s accident-prone.

One minor thing I also wanted to point out was how it’s pretty common for people with ADHD to struggle with controlling our voices, including the tone, speed, and…well, volume. I can’t count the amount of times I’ve had people tell me that I’m talking loudly and I didn’t even realize it. I trust I don’t have to explain how this point is relevant to Mic, and it does very much fit.

There was one specific line that inspired me to write this post, from Everything’s A-OJ: “I’m trying harder than anyone else, so why do I always lose?” One of the diagnostic traits for ADHD is described as making “careless mistakes” in activities, and I never have particularly loved that phrasing. It may look careless on the outside, because it’s often mistakes that other people can easily avoid, but when you have a disorder that affects your attention, impulse control, memory, executive function, et cetera et cetera et cetera, you doing your best might look like someone else half-assing it. Not to get too personal on my blorbo post, but I keep thinking about this one teacher I had in middle school who, when I messed something up in a class, said “oh, that’s such a Clonnie move!” I’m sure she doesn’t remember that, but I do, because when you hear over and over again that people associate you with making mistakes, that shit sticks with you, and eventually when nothing you do helps you start to feel like you’re the mistake. That’s why Mic as a character resonates with me so much. God willing AnimationEpic will bring my girl back because I would like to see how Mic heals from that mindset as time goes on and where she goes from here.

[windvexer]

Theme and Action: a tarot method for brainstorming plots, setting, and characters

I find a lot of story brainstorming spreads to be clunky and rigid, so I did a little experimenting and came up with a method I like a lot. I haven't done a ton of testing yet but I thought I'd share what I have.

Basically, it's a two card draw from a deck split into majors and minors. Each draw always has one major card (theme) and one minor card (action).

When you have a question, like:

What are some ideas for the next scene?

Why would that character behave that way?

What's the defining characteristic of this vampire clan?

What do the people in this society fear most?

Why is this scene dragging?

What does this character need to feel more real?

You would draw one major card and one minor card!

Themes and Action; what it's about vs how it manifests

We could call these cards a bunch of different things depending on exactly how the question is framed, but Themes and Action are good enough.

Basically, the major arcana card gives subtext or context, and the minor arcana card provides specific incidents. Like this!:

"In my vampire setting, what is the most important thing in vampire culture?"

Theme: Death

Action: 10/Pentacles

Interpretation: (Theme) The most important thing in vampire culture is the process of dying and the equalizer of death itself. (Action) This has resulted in cultural rituals where death is treated as a sacred adoption or initiation into a new family/estate.

(I really drew this test spread and it really was death lol)

We can swap out the Action card to see a different outcome:

Theme: Death

Action: 5/Swords

Interpretation: (Theme) the most important thing in vampire culture is the process of dying and the equalizer of death itself. (Action) the horror of death and loss has never been overcome in this society, and it must be dealt with as an individual - because vampires process the pain of their own deaths by taking it out on each other.

Here's a different example. In an urban fantasy book where a witch solves ghost mysteries, pacing is dragging and we need our next scene to be exciting. But despite a foot chase after a suspected ghost poacher, the scene doesn't feel fast paced or exciting. The question is, "how do we spice this up?"

Theme: Hermit

Action: King of Cups

Interpretation: (Theme) instead of a crowded street, the character will be isolated and without normal support. (Action) she'll be trapped in a closed space with the story's main villain, who most closely connects with the King of Cups

Another swap, this time switching out the theme card:

Theme: Empress

Action: King of Cups

Interpretation: (Theme) the scene feels boring because it's action without development. Show the main character's personal development and give her a 'level up' moment. (Action) have the ghost poacher lead her to a premature showdown with the main villain, whom she faces bravely for the first time.

This is already long so I'm not going to go on and on with examples but so far I've found this method to be pretty versatile.

Try interpreting Theme and Action as literally as you can within the context of the story!

If you're writing a story about a flower princess who sleeps on a dewdrop in the mystical Gnarlwood Forest, the Sun card will mean one thing.

If you're writing a story about vampires, the Sun card probably means something very different.

Major arcanas can be literary themes, like the moon representing deceit within society, but they can also be literal; in a werewolf story, the Moon card might represent the celestial body that controls the lives of certain people.

The most important thing for me is to avoid interpreting the cards in a general self-help sense.

The cheerful villagers of prosperous Splitsky Castle are waiting for you to invent a festival so a mysterious stranger can come to town and get the plot going.

The question is, "what kind of festival gives me the right setup to pull off the plot point I want?"

The theme card is the Magician, so ideas for the festival could be:

A festival honoring magic users (if they exist in your setting)

A festival honoring the resourcefulness of the villagers

A festival of stage magic and trickery

The action card is the 6/Cups.

Probably, the festival is not about healing your inner child with Jungian shadow work. More contextual ideas might include:

A festival where children are chosen to be trained in magic

A festival celebrating teaching the next generation important skills

A festival meant to delight and entertain children with stage magic

Developing related factions or foils

Draw a major arcana card to identify a certain Theme, maybe along the lines of:

What do they hold to be sacred?

What do they not care about, or hate?

What is their most cherished virtue?

What is the defining feature of leadership?

When they sing about home, what is in their songs?

This theme will be the same for both entities.

Draw different minor arcana cards to show how each entity expresses that theme.

Conversely, work in the opposite direction: keep the minor arcana card for both entities, and swap out the theme card.

Finding Action cards when you know the Theme

Holding the deck so that it's facing you, thumb through the cards until you find the major arcana card that describes your theme. The most recent minor arcana card that was on top of it, even if separated by other majors, is the action card.

Reversals

I tend to read both cards as upright and reversed, and just apply whatever meanings are most relevant. In my experiments using reversals ended up being too finicky and specific, and limited my creativity.

Complex Concepts and Plots

For a complex reading, like plotting an entire novel or building an entire character, I have found more utility in doing many pair readings rather than doing one large spread with many pairs.

My tests so far have suggested that the most creative freedom is found in asking specific questions, like "what is this character's driving motivation," and "what is her quirky hobby," and "what makes her put up with her annoying best friend," rather than trying to build a giant spread that includes all of these things at once.

As a caveat, in plot spreads, I will sometimes put pairs down without returning them to the deck, and then connect Theme/Action pairs with single action cards to suggest events that connect the dots.

[fxlling13]

505

Dhawan!master x (fem) reader

Synopsis: you and The Master find yourselves growing closer when he agrees to try therapy with The Doctor again. However, Yaz can’t let go of the past.

Warnings: sexual harassment. Harsh words. Death. Yaz is really mean and annoying. Out of character master. Injury and blood. Allusions to smut but no detail.

WC:19.1k

“But I crumble completely when you cry…”

Over an hour, it had been over an hour since The Doctor had taken The Master (kicking and screaming) out of the room with her. It may have seemed impossible at one point but, somehow, you and yaz found yourselves bored. Sitting in the console room of the doctors fluorescent tardis, you were bored.

“Are they not done yet?” Yaz groaned, giving up on scrolling through her phone. Even though it had to be done, the time was dragging. Giving the girl a short shrug, you spoke,

“The Doctor does tend to waffle.” You both laughed.

“True. But it’s cute.” Yaz grinned, causing you to roll your eyes playfully.

“I think you may be a bit biased of your girlfriend.”

“Also true.” She replied proudly, making you scoff half heartedly. Again it went silent, as you both waited for the aliens to return with little patience. Though, you knew what was happening was very important. And something you secretly wanted to work out. After a very scary and dramatic encounter with The Master, seeing him become her, finally seeing what it was he needed, she had formulated a plan. One that, at first, yaz was completely against. She wanted to bring him on board, as a form of therapy. This plan included convincing him to stay on board, allowing her to store his tardis within the depths of his own, taking away all his ‘evil’ tech, and giving him a firm talking to about his behaviour. Plus a lot more that was far too deep to get into. Yaz said that he would reject the idea, teleport right out of there and try to kill them once again. However, to everyone’s surprise, he did not do that. Instead, he sat in his med-bay bed, a deep scowl etched on his features.

———

“I have just one request. If I were to try this silly idea.” He grumbled, making The Doctor stand straight.

“And what’s that?” She enquired. You had Yaz stood at the back of the room, observing the whole conversation. She was apprehensive, nails half bitten off. You just focused on the male mostly, hoping for the best.

“I don’t want it to be like last time. You keeping me cooped up. If I do this, take me with you. Let me be involved and I’ll promise to try. Properly try.” The Master was serious with his words, sincerity in his tone. In front of him, the blonde pursed her lips in thought but eventually exhaled slowly.

“I suppose that’s only fair. Yes. Yes that can happen. As long as you help to make sure Yaz and (y/n) are safe on our outings?” Her eyes narrowed at him, really testing him and trying to push at his buttons.

“I can do that.” He said instantly, turning his head and locking eyes with you. Surprised, you smiled at him softly, hoping it would really reach him.

“Good, well once you’ve recovered we can get started on the process!” The Doctor cheered, clasping her hands together before ushering everyone out.

A few days later, you sat in your room. The tardis was in “night mode”. Something The Doctor had set up a while back to help everyone have a healthy sleeping pattern. Though, all you could think about was how The Master had been left, almost, entirely alone for three days. The Doctor had instructed you both to leave him alone, let him rest and his body heal itself. You imagined that she would be driving the man even more insane, and you wanted to check up on him, for some reason. So, against her word, you snuck down the metallic corridors until you found the med bay. Perhaps he’d be asleep? Or maybe even have escaped by then. Cracking the door open, you peeked in and saw him, sat up in bed holding a worn out book. You took a deep breath before slipping into the room quietly. Did you announce yourself? What did you even say? You had no reason to be there.

“Up late. Aren’t we (y/n)?” He spoke calmly, without even looking up from his book.

“How did you know it was me?” You asked timidly, watching him put the book aside. The Master looked at you, making you feel self conscious in your choice of nightware.

“I always know when it’s you, dear.” Blushing, you pulled at the bottom of your hoodie slightly.

“I didn’t mean to bother you I was just-“

“Curious?” He cut in, gaze fixated on you, as if analysing you.

“Well I was actually going to say worried. I know that being with The Doctor for three days, having her rant at you must be draining. But yeah, you can say I was curious too I suppose.” Replying, you played with your fingers, eyes wandering around the room. It was dimly lit by a few overhead lights, three beds and many cupboards fully stocked with medicine. The Master was taken aback by your honesty, not expecting anyone to worry for him. He cleared his throat to gain your attention once again.

“You can come closer you know, I won’t hurt you.” Taking a few steps forward, you tilted your head.

“Won’t? Or can’t?” You half joked, taking a seat on the chair beside him.

“I won’t. You know I won’t.” He said in all seriousness, giving you a pointed look. Of course, he was correct. In all the run ins you’d had, you’d never been hurt. The first time, he timed things so you wouldn’t get on that trap of a plane. The next he forced you into following him to Gallifrey with The Doctor, keeping you to the side as he imprisoned her. And every time after that, you were always off to the side. Only last time things went a little wrong.

“You’re correct, I fear my ears have begun to shrivel from The Doctors lectures.” His monotone voice made you giggle, knowing that he was of course just joking. Playing along, you looked and nod.

“Looks like it.” He just rolled his eyes playfully and sighed adjusting his pillows.

“What were you reading?”

“Oh, an ancient book from when I was young. I’ve actually read it many times. Close to a hundred.” Carefully, you picked it up and looked at its scratched cover. Galifreyan writing was beautiful but could never be translated.

“I can read it to you one day if you’d like? I imagine I’m going to have a lot of free time now.” The Master suggested nonchalantly, but you couldn’t help but to smile.

“I’d like that.” Putting it down again, you pulled your knees up and hugged them tightly. It was cold in there.

“What kept you up, hm? Surely not just worrying about little old me.” He teased. You scoffed, pulling the grey hood over your head.

“You wish. I just don’t sleep well, I sometimes don’t sleep much at all.”

“That can’t be good for you, you need your energy to run from whatever danger she puts you through.” His brows were knit together closely, taking more notice of your dark circles and low voice.

“Yeah but, I pull through. I just run at the back. Or let The Doctor hold my hand.” Giving a little shrug, you missed the way the males eye twitched.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He muttered, frowning after a moment.

“You’re cold.” His statement made you look to him. Not knowing what else to say, you just stood up.

“I guess I’ll go. Down want to bother you anymore than I already have.” Before you could turn away, The Master reached out and grabbed your wrist. Wincing, you looked back confused.

“You can stay, if you’d like? You’re not bothering me.” Shocked at his honestly, you bobbed your head slowly, allowing the man to guide you and sit you down on the edge of the bed.

“I suppose I already broke The Doctors rule anyway…” pushing up your sleeve, The Master scowled at the long cut that sat unattended.

“She didn’t dress it?”

“Well you did regenerate twice then proceed to get crushed by a giant rock.” You pointed out bluntly, not thinking much of it.

“Yes. But my body can heal itself like magic. Yours cannot.” The Master got up, walking over to the cupboards and grabbing a small bag.

“You’re not supposed to get up.”

“(Y/n) I healed days ago. Now let me wrap that. It’s my fault you got hurt in the first place.” Sensing some remorse. You simpered as he sat back with you and took hold of your arm. Wasting no time, he cleaned the wound of dried blood before looking more closely.

“It needs a stitch.” He let out, reaching back for the items needed. You chewed on your lip anxiously, eyes darting to follow his every move. Taking notice, he sat straight.

“It won’t hurt, I promise. See this?” He held up a spray bottle, then shook it slightly before spraying over the cut. Your arm began to feel like jelly. Quickly. He got to work and stitched up the top of the cut, wrapping it securely. You felt nothing.

“I’ll change the bandage for you tomorrow. Take this, it fights off infection.” In his hand sat a small white pill. Deciding to trust him, you took it gratefully.

“Why are you being nice to me? Surely your therapy isn’t working that fast.” He chuckled at your question, settling back into bed.

“No of course it isn’t. But I am trying. For everyone’s sake. The only reason I’m in the med bay is because The Doctor is running around, making sure my tardis and all my belongings are locked away.”

“But..I’d assume your TCE would be in your jacket..no?” You wondered, looking at said coat hung up across the room.

“You’re right. It’s still there. Go see for yourself.” Going over, you routed through his pockets, finding a lot more than just one device.

“You could have killed me by now.”

“But I’m not going to kill you (y/n). You can choose to be wary. I understand.” He almost sounded sad. If he was lying, he was beyond convincing. Your eyes suddenly felt very heavy, along with your limbs becoming tingly.

“Come here, love. You look tired.” The Master beckoned you over with his arms agape. It really did look inviting, and you found yourself going to him almost immediately. Helping you onto the bed, The Master pulled you next to him.

“ ‘was fine a minute ago…” you barely mumbled out, subconsciously shuffling closer to the man for warmth.

“It must have just caught up with you hm?” The realisation dawned on you, where you were.

“Can’t sleep…Doctor will be mad..” feeling a hand land on your head, The Master ran his fingers through your hair tenderly.

“Don’t worry about that. Rest for now.”

The next thing you knew, you were waking up in your own bed. Thoroughly confused, you got yourself dressed and quickly headed into the console room. Stopping dead in your tracks, your eyes met with his once again.

“Ah, (y/n) you’ve never slept in this late before!” The Doctor beamed, bounding over to you.

“As of today The Master will be hanging around, I let yaz know earlier.” You just nod, looking around for her.

“She left in a sulk, didn’t she Doctor?” The Master chortled, leaning back against one of the pillars. Huffing, the blonde shook her head.

“She’ll come round to it soon. I’m going to have a talk with her now actually. Will you be ok (y/n)?” She looked at you dourly, leaving you puzzled

“Why wouldn’t I be okay?” You crossed your arms, as she relaxed slightly before heading off.

“She was asking if you’d be okay alone, with me.” The Master let you know, slowly striding over to you. Now understanding, you let out a small ‘oh’ before focusing back on him.

“How did I end up back in my bed?”

“I put you there.” He stated plainly, idly scratching at his stubble.

“You..carried me?” Starting to feel slightly embarrassed, he just smiled.

“Of course. Though I must say, you’re very clingy in your sleep. It took a while to get you to let go of me.” The tone of his voice caused your cheeks to turn red, heat flushing over you.

“God, I’m so sorry.” You were quick to apologise, hands coming up to cover your face.

“For what?” Perplexed, he stood directly in front of you but you didn’t dare to move. Tutting, The Master gently tugged your hands away from your face, holding them.

“For being clingy…even if I was asleep. And I’m sorry you had to carry me when you’re recovering. I’m sorry I went into your room an-“ in a second, he placed his finger to your lips, effectively making you stop.

“Hush.” Though the word was hard, his voice was not and you just nod as he lowered his hand to hold your own again.

“None of that was an inconvenience to me, (y/n). I welcomed your company with open arms. I didn’t mind helping you sleep, or taking you to bed. Not at all. You should relax. I’m here for a long time, I’m sure you’ll get used to it eventually.” You blinked several times, letting what he says sink in. He welcomed your company. He didn’t mind. You knew he could by lying, but he seemed really genuine.

“I’m guessing you sent me to sleep too?”

“I did. For twelve whole hours. Don’t you feel better though?” He smirked, letting go of your hands. It left you feeling cold and you had to stop yourself from complaining.

“I do. Thank you.” You gave a half smile, hugging yourself slightly.

“Did The Doctor confiscate your weapons?”

“Of course she did, though she was happy I hadn’t shrunk anyone. She should feel lucky. All that rambling she did. And I’ve got more to come. Now if she were pocket size…” he trailed off with a thoughtful look and you laughed.

“You wouldn’t, who else would you chase and bully through the universe huh?” This time, he scoffed, shaking his head.

“Very true. I suppose I’ll put up with her for now. I’m actually curious about your outings. I want to experience that.” As he spoke, you took a seat on the steps, hugging your knees close.

“It���s a lot of running you know. Like a lot.”

“Yes I gathered. But don’t worry, I’ll help you keep up.” Even though you didn’t know what he meant, it didn’t sound very malicious.

“Speaking of, is there somewhere you want to go? Or does her girlfriend always get to choose?” It hardly surprised you when the brunette took a seat beside you.

“Yeah I guess Yaz does choose mostly…The Doctor does favour her.” You said, thinking it to be a little funny. But he wasn’t laughing.

“You don’t say. She left you with a gaping wound for almost four days. Stupid woman.” Taking a deep breath, The Master relaxed himself before turning to you.

“So where would you pick?” A million and one ideas ran through your head.

“Maybe, a new planet. With a proper civilisation. I’d love to wonder around an alien city. Just to see how they live day to day. I think it’s a bit boring for The Doctors taste though.” You responded wholeheartedly. The Master watched you talk fondly, admiring the way your eyes seemed to light up at the idea.

“I think it sounds great. I’d definitely take you if I could. I know just the planet.” Your eyes shot to him, lips twitching upward.

“Maybe one day you can?” The look in your eye made The Masters hearts beat at an unusual pace. It was so bright and pure, how could The Doctor not see it?

“If you’d let me, I definitely will.”

“Of course I would! I trust you.” You stated, smiling widely. He swallowed thickly, feeling his chest swell. Was it, emotion? Good, happy emotions? Just then, The Doctor returned with Yaz. The latter of which seemed startled at how close you were to the new addition. She went to speak but The Doctor put her hand up.

“It’s fine Yaz. They’re just talking, it’s a good thing.”

You found that over the next couple of days, he tended to stay close to you. Not that you minded, you really enjoyed his company. It was so refreshing. The way that he would sit up with you in the library, reading and discussing random things. Or eating breakfast together. He even stayed at night sometimes until you fell asleep. Everything you were grateful for, it made you look forward to your next adventure.

———

And that’s how you found yourself, sat with Yaz and waiting for the aliens to return. The last step before he was allowed out. She had to make sure he was weapon free, and discuss his explosive habits. You just wanted him there for the company, getting fed up of being the third wheel.

“She’s really drilling him isn’t she?”

“Probably. It’s all she’s been doing.” You mumbled back, resting your head on a higher step.

“I suppose he deserves it after everything.” To that, you didn’t respond. You knew what she was saying, but at the same time you couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. He’d been so kind to you.

“Right gang!” The Doctors loud voice met your ears and you flinched. Looking up, you found that the pair had returned.

“All done. So we can be off.” She went to the console, getting ready to set a course. The Master slipped on his jacket, wandering round until he was stood by you.

“Yaz I overheard you say something about the sea. So I was thinking we could go to this water based planet. It’s filled with hundreds of fish aliens. Every two hundred years they hold a festival. We can go there.” The Doctor rambled, punching in some numbers before pulling some levers. Beside you, the man furrowed his brows, knowing full well which planet she meant.

“Aren’t they hostile to humanoids?” He remembered folding his arms. She just looked at him.

“Not if we behave. Didn’t think that would bother you.”

“I am trying you know.” He rolled his eyes, masking his true thoughts behind her plan. Soon enough, the tardis landed and The Doctor head out with Yaz in hand. You followed behind, coming out to find a busy street, so full it was almost overflowing. She wasn’t wrong, every person looked like some form of fish. One man even had a sharks head. There were decorations hung up, stalls and booths of party materials and gifts. Yaz gleamed, holding the blondes hand and kissing her cheek repeatedly.

“God they’re sickly. How do you put up with it?” The Master shivered, looking away from the women. You shrugged, looking around at all the streamers.

“I got used to it a long time ago.” There was a hint of sadness in your response that The Master didn’t miss. his hand found purchase on your lower back, rubbing it in comfort.

“At least you’re not alone now hm?” For a moment, you stared at him. But he was right, you really didn’t feel alone with him beside you. Slowly, you began to really smile and The Master felt proud.

“Let’s explore shall we, if I walk off I’m sure she’ll follow” He was correct, The Doctor scrambling to follow him as he head off down a street. It was kind of funny to watch as she scolded him within the first five minutes. The Master just stood there letting her rant.

“She has so much patience doesn’t she?” Yaz admired, a subtle glare being sent his way.

“I was thinking the same thing about him.” You admitted, making the girl gape at you. Giving her a shrug you spoke,

“Yaz he’s literally harmless right now. He’s got nothing. I know he’s a master manipulator but he said he’d try. So let’s just assume he’s telling the truth.” Yaz just sighed, choosing to stay quiet. It was clear she wasn’t on the same page but you didn’t mind.

“I won’t walk off again. I swear on both my hearts, just please stop kissing.” The Master argued with The Doctor, leaving her highly embarrassed. Yaz too was blushing now and you just laughed.

“Right. Whatever. Let’s just enjoy the festival ok?” The Doctor said, taking Yaz and starting to walk again. Snickering, The Master glanced over at you and held out his hand. Moving closer, you approached with a small smile.

“Are you sure? I know you’re really trying to fit in but you don’t have to hold my hand.” However, you really wanted him to do so but tried not to seem that way.

“I know I don’t. But I want to. How else will you keep up with us running?” He said in jest, reaching forward and taking your hand in his.

“Plus, if you’re here I can keep you safe.” Your cheeks flushed over, smiling shyly and linking your fingers securely. He chuckled, carefully pulling you along the road.

“How are they breathing?” You asked curiously, realising that the fish were too walking around dry land.

“Think like, turtles and wales. They can survive in both terrains. Like that but more complicated. Some have tanks on their heads. Some have air holes. Some have the ability to adapt.” He explained well, looking over some chrome shaded shells. They were very pretty, different shapes and sizes. Glancing around, The Doctor was nowhere in sight.

“You really expected her to follow her own instructions?” The Master dawdled, moving along to the next stall. Keeping close to him, you just huffed a little.

“Not really, but still. If you weren’t here then I’d have been left on my own remember.” His grip on you tightened, pulling you to his side.

“But I’m here now. And while I am, you’re not going to be on your own. Come on, let’s find her before she has another hissy fit.” He reassured before taking off to look for his fellow time lord. Meanwhile, you felt yourself blushing once again, grinning to yourself like an idiot.

You both looked for over thirty minutes, the girls were nowhere to be found. Also, you noticed some of the locals giving you less than pleasant looks.

“God this is ridiculous. I agreed to her silly little plan and she just vanishes. What is she doing?”

“I don’t think we want to know, Master.” You muttered, earning a surprise laugh from the man. He smiled down at you with a subtle warmth to his features.

“Very true. Let’s find a place to sit hm? I’ll figure something out.” Liking his idea, you followed him to a stall with a few seats outside. He pulled out a chair for you, taking a seat opposite.

“Don’t try any of the drinks. You’ll get sick.” The Master told you, resting his elbows on the table. It was getting busier, the alien sky growing dull. A man, or what you assumed to be a man, walked by with a grimace. A few others were staring over with disgust.

“Why are they looking at us like that?” Your voice was timid, trying to avoid any unwanted attention. He scoured the area, clicking his tongue in annoyance.

“Like I said, the creatures here do not like humanoids. It baffles me that she still proceeds to bring her companions to places like this.” Realising your discomfort, The Master placed his hand on your arm.

“Hey, just focus on me.” Trying to do as he said, you hummed and kept your eyes on him.

“What if they went back to the tardis?” You thought out loud. The Master pursed his lips ever so slightly.

“Maybe. But what would be the point of that?” For a while, the two of you sat there talking. Mostly it was you listening actually, but you didn’t care. You enjoyed his stories, his adventures, even if some were slightly deranged. Even so, you stayed invested the whole time. Furthermore, The Master loved how you engaged with him, asking questions repeatedly until you could understand better. He could hardly remember the last time someone spent so much time with him.

“Why can’t I have the drinks here?”

“Well because, some are made from worms. Some have toxins in them. Some would send you straight to sleep. And others would…” The Master trailed off, like he didn’t even want to finish what he was saying. You knew though.

“It could kill me huh?”

“Yeah. So let’s stay away from them ok?” He urged, his concern making you smile. Giving him a nod, it was almost comical watching him relax. The people around you were very loud. A mixture of high and low voices. Some arguing, some cheering. It was a little overstimulating but something you had grown to know. Scanning around, something caught ahold of The Masters attention. Something that made his eyes narrow darkly.

“I say we just head back to the tardis. The Doctor would rather me be there.” The Master decided, standing up suddenly. Before you could say anything, he helped you up and began walking back from where you had come. He sounded serious.

“Is everything ok? Did I do something?” Worried that you had bored the man, you rushed to keep up with him. He just looked down at you confused.

“No, not at all. I just figured it would be the best thing to do. The festivities are really kicking off and we’ll get caught up in it.” He was half honest, turning back and continuing down the path. The street lights came to life, the locals roaring in joy. All at once, hoards of people gathered in the street and started to follow a parade float down the way. None of them seemed to care for social awareness, shoulders pressed together and screaming at each other. Out of nowhere, a couple came barging into you, sending you tumbling back. When you looked up, The Master was gone from your view. You felt your heart drop and got yourself up quickly. There was no clear route back to the tardis, the way was blocked by the parade. Remaining calm, you swallowed thickly and began to tangle your way through the crowds. It was hot, sticky and you felt as though you could hardly breathe. Before long, a creature spotted you and used his pointed fin to practically smack you out of the way. Your side hit a jagged wall harshly.

“Get away earthling!” A few others laughed before carrying on with their celebrations. Blinking back tears of frustration, you stayed against the wall as you walked, trying to just blend in and get through the crowd.

“Excuse me.” A grainy voice caught your attention at the end of the first street. Just one more to go and you’d find the tardis. To your left was a small shop with an open window. Just outside stood a tall man, face resembling a hairy frogfish. It was grotesque looking too, as though he cared very little for his looks.

“You look worn out, care for a drink?” Turning back to the window, the man produced a glass of pink liquid. Bubbles formed at the stop of the glass, a fizz to it. Remembering The Masters words, you were quick to shake your head.

“No thank you.” Perhaps the creature didn’t know how it could affect you, but something was keeping you on high alert.

“No? You’re too good for my drink? Just because you’re human?” It stepped forward, eyes filled with anger.

“No it could kill me…” you tried to reason but the thing just laughed mockingly, putting the glass down with a thud.

“I must say. For a human, you’re very alluring. Different…” something that resembled a tongue slipped out past its lips. You suddenly felt very cold, moving backwards.

“I bet you’d do so well…” It saw you as a new thing to use and play with. In a second, he was in your face, a webbed hand gripping your face forcefully. The other dragged down your side and groping your hip so hard it hurt.

“So small as well. So frail. I could break you…” the smell of his breath, along with his disgusting words made you feel sick. Your stomach churned. In a moment of desperation, you brought your knee up to hit him right between the legs. The creature groaned in pain, releasing you from his hold. You wasted no time in turning and bolting through the street. Ignoring everyone, you barged through with no other thought in your head, just get away from him. You took a sharp turn into a side street, hunching against the wall and inhaling far too quickly.

Worried wasn’t the correct word. No. Right then, The Master felt concern he didn’t know he could even muster up. Going back to the tardis wasn’t even in his mind anymore. That stupid heard of fish that cut you off were lucky that he had no way to harm them. He just had to find you as soon as possible. But how? The place was packed out, making it hard to move. Even so, he pushed through and shouted out your name repeatedly. The locals were shouting back, trying to push him out but The Master just shoved them back. He really didn’t have time for them. It wasn’t safe for you to be alone. Growing more and more frustrated, he sauntered over to a stall and slammed his hand down on the table.

“Have you seen a young, human, female?” The darkness on his voice put the fish lady on edge. She gawked at him for a moment before nodding.

“Well yes actually. I saw one talking to the lovely man who owns the bar over there.” For once he was grateful the creature was talkative and turned to see the bar. He ran across, looking around everywhere. But you weren’t there, all he saw was a door slamming shut. Deciding to pay no notice, he carried on, coming to a slight dip in the pavement. The relief he felt in his hearts should have worried him, but that didn’t matter when he took a peek down a side street. You were sat against the wall, chest heaving as you tried to calm yourself. He could instantly see a scratch on your cheek and rushed to your side.

“(Y/n)?” You jumped in shock, but quickly settled down upon seeing him crouched beside you. More tears filled your (e/c) eyes, your breathing still erratic. Tentatively he placed his hands on your shoulders, bringing you closer.

“Breathe with me ok?” you nod, doing your best to follow his lead but you couldn’t stop yourself from being scared.

“(Y/n) you need to try-“

“No no he’s going to find me.” You cut in frantically, looking past him to see the end of the alley. The Master tensed up, hearing the fear in your voice.

“Who?”

“The- the man. He offered me a drink and I s-said no like you told me, but he g-got angry. He was touching my s-side and my face and-“ you took in a sharp breath, trying to collect yourself even a little. “-and he said I was..small and alluring. That I’d be good..that he could break me…” as tears spilled down your cheeks, The Master felt his blood boil. He was seething, wanting nothing more than to find that man and rip him in two. The idea of someone touching you almost made him snap.

“I’m going to kill him.” His teeth grit together as he went to stand.

“No please don’t leave me please!” You cried out in a panic, grabbing onto his hand desperately. The Master was grounded almost immediately, ducking back down and pulling you into his embrace. Winding your arms around his neck, you cried into his chest. He let out a breath, rubbing your back in effort to sooth your trembling figure.

“I’m not going anywhere I promise. Let’s get you back to the tardis ok? Get you warm and where I know that disgusting thing can’t get to you.” He spat the last part, easily lifting you and starting the short walk back to the ship. Though you didn’t say anything, you kept a firm hold on the man and he knew you were listening to him. Stepping inside the ship, it was vacant, which he was glad to see. Whatever The Doctor and Yaz were doing, wasn’t his priority. You were. He took you through the ship to a room you didn’t recognise. A bedroom. Reluctantly, The Master placed you down on the bed and took a step back. Seeing your exhausted face left a bitter taste in his mouth and he hated it.

“Is this your room?” You asked, looking around the dark room and taking it in. The sheets were soft, black plaid, the bed frame made of mahogany. Around the space there were matching drawers and a desk that had piles of books. On the back wall was a lit fireplace, giving the room a subtle glow. It was also quite neat.

“Yes. The Doctor let me have a say in it. Do you like it?” The Master knew you did, he could always read you so well. Nevertheless, you nod a bit, rubbing your face harshly.

“It’s cosy.” Disliking how down you sounded, he moving to quickly find you some fresh clothes. A pair of plush pyjamas were provided to him by the security ship. Leaving you to get changed, he made his way to the kitchen getting a glass of water and something small for you to eat. It didn’t take long and once he returned, he saw you sat back against the pillows.

“I brought you these.” Gazing up, you watched as he set the items on the table beside you gratefully.

“Thank you.” You sipped on the water, soothing your dry throat. After hanging his jacket up, The Master took his place next to you on the bed. You dropped your head onto his shoulder, nibbling on one of the biscuits he’d brought you.

“Thank you for finding me..and for carrying me. It won’t happen again.”

“Don’t apologise. I couldn’t just leave you.” The softness of his voice was nice, making you feel less like a nuisance.

“Is The Doctor still not here?” Placing the empty glass down, you looked at him to see his head shaking. You just wanted her to fly far away from there, but of course she was always preoccupied.

“I wanna leave.” You whispered, feeling ashamed for how much that short interaction had affected you. Lifting his hand, The Master wiped your cheeks dry tenderly.

“I know you do sweet girl, I’ll make sure we do as soon as she’s back.” That somewhat settled your anxiety, tiredness creeping in slowly. Almost shamefully, you looked at him longingly, wanting to feel that safety once again. It would be so needy, so pathetic. More to the point, why would he do something like that? Perhaps there was a chance, yet you felt as though it would make you seem even weaker. Did that really matter?

“Can I-“

“You don’t have to ask love.” Without question, The Master slipped an arm around you, bringing you to lay flush to his side. The way your whole body eased up was instant, head resting against his chest easily. You allowed your eyes to close, curling into the man the second he allowed it. Seeing you fall asleep in his arms, The Master knew he was already too far gone.

———

In a fit of laughter, The Doctor and Yaz returned to the tardis hours later. They were arm in arm, brightly coloured leis around their necks. The younger even had a funny looking hat sat on her head. Not expecting it, they were surprised to find The Master sat on the stairs. His hands were clasped together firmly, anger still apparent in his eyes. But The Doctor knew something was wrong.

“What happened?”

“After you two ran off? Nothing at first. Then there was an incident but it’s fine. We just need to leave here right now.” even though he sounded urgent, the girls were apprehensive. Yaz folded her arms.

“And why is that? We had fun out there.” It took everything inside of him for The Master to not lash out. Instead, he looked at her slowly before standing.

“Yes. You two had so much fun. You’ve been gone for six hours. You both just left. I said I would agree to your rules, Doctor. Yet you’re the one being careless?” He scoffed, coming to stand in front of them. She knew it was true and hung her head in shame.

“Fly away. Now.” For once, The Doctor actually listened to him and sent the ship away into orbit. Even though he had left you sound asleep, The Master yearned to rush right back.

“What happened? Why are you so worked up?” Yaz was obviously confused, leaning back against the console. Only then did The Doctor realise something, her eyes shooting around.

“Where’s (y/n)?”

“Asleep. She’s asleep, let her rest.” He replied sternly.

“What happened to her?” The Doctor asked impatiently, now completely alert. Yet all the man did was glare.

“So now you care huh? You left her alone with me, when I’m supposed to be here to learn from you. You’re lucky I li-“ stopping himself from saying too much, The Master took in a deep breath and cracked his neck.

“One of the locals didn’t act too kindly towards her, let’s just say that. But I brought her back here. She’s not hurt. She’s fine now.” The Doctor let out a sigh of relief hearing this, putting her hands together almost in a prayer.

“Thank you.”

“Yes well, I said I’d follow your rules and regulations..” brushing it off, The Master just shrugged. Seeing right through this, the blonde gave a shallow smile.

“You’d have done that regardless.” She pointed out, lifting herself to sit on the console. Yaz, still confused, looked between the pair. Accepting defeat, The Master groaned and let his head hit the pillar behind him.

“Only for her. Not so sure about your little pet.” This comment set Yaz off, he could sense her outburst coming a mile away.

“I’m her girlfriend!”

“My condolences.” The Master said to her sadly, leaving the girl practically steaming. Before she could retaliate, The Doctor took hold of her hand.

“Ok, relax everyone. What’s important is that everyone is okay. I admit, I was careless today and in future I won’t do that.” The pair made eye contact, he could see the remorse there and decided to let it go for now. Moving away from the pillar, the master moved towards the steps again.

“I’m heading back to my room, don’t be up all night kids.” For the first time, something he said made Yaz laugh. Simpering, The Doctor nod.

“Look after her.”

“You know I will.” With his signature grin, The Master left to his room once more. You were still asleep thankfully, making it easy for him to slip in beside you. Instinctively, you shuffled closer and wrapped yourself around the timelord. He reciprocated this, holding you close and closing his eyes too.

———

Waking up in his arms the first time was an experience. Shocking you so much that you fell out of his bed. You were also so apologetic, saying sorry so much that The Master told you he was going to remove the word from your memory. Eventually, you came to realise that he really didn’t seem to mind. So, you began to let yourself indulge in that. Seeing how much you could get away with. It started small, with continuing to hold his hand when you went out on your adventures. The Master was easily ticked off, getting irked over the tiniest thing. Especially people with bad manners and attitude. Once, whilst he was telling you about the time he blew up an ancient sun god, you cut in with a very dry, sarcastic comment. “Wow, you actually do have plans that work out then?” You said, smiling mischievously. Thinking it would get you shouted at, you blushed when the man just gave you a firm look. Anyone else, he would have put them in there place. But not you. Then you began to spend even more time with him on the tardis. He even read you that book that he mentioned. You were so happy and it was obvious to everyone around you. Especially The Doctor. At first, it made her anxious. She thought that he had manipulated you, maybe even hypnotised you into being his loyal, little human. That was until she caught sight of the two of you in the library.

“So to chart the stars in a more..easy way you can-“

“Are you saying I’m dumb?” You pouted, not letting him finish. Sitting snug to his side, your legs were over his lap. The Master was wearing his round glasses, one hand on your thigh, the other holding a small sky chart.

“No, I’m just saying you have to learn. It’s a very precise job. In your time even your top astrophysicists can only do the bare minimum. I’m going to teach you properly.” He chuckled before continuing with his demonstration, your focus fully on him. From the door, The Doctor felt hope in her hearts, seeing her childhood friend seem so at peace. She knew she could trust him to look after you.

———

“See you both on Friday!” The Doctor gave Yaz a hug and kiss, before waving you off as well. You looked around for a second before saying goodbye and heading out with Yaz. Every so often you’d both return home for a week, to see family and such. You didn’t really want to go but you did regardless. The Doctor flicked a few levers before walking into The Masters room. He was sat at his desk, papers surrounding him as he inked up a journal.

“I see you still have that unnecessarily neat handwriting then?”

“You say unnecessary. I say, precise. Unlike you I can re-read my notes without having to squint.” He shot back, not looking up from his work. She just hummed, coming to lean on the wall by the desk.

“You didn’t say goodbye.” The Doctor pointed out, noticing the way he paused for a second.

“Well they’ll be back so, there was no need.”

“I think (y/n) wanted to say bye to you though.” He didn’t say anything, just continued to write down whatever it was that had his attention. Sticking out her bottom lip in thought, the doc sighed a little.

“She looked for you.” That made him stop. Sitting straight, he looked up at her with an unreadable expression.

“She did?” He asked, putting his quill down on its cushion. Nodding, she pushed some things aside and perched on the edge of his desk.

“I notice that you’ve become quite close.” Again he remained silent, just looking at her blankly.

“It’s good. It’s good to see you have a real friend.”

“We’re not friends.” He scoffed, dismissing the idea poorly.

“Yes you are, but you want it to be more.” The Doctor called him out, earning a look of surprise from the man.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” The Master uttered, folding his arms across his chest and leaning back in his chair.

“Yes you do. You know it’s okay to feel that way right?” Letting out a huff of irritation, he just shook his head and retorted.

“I don’t feel any sort of way, Doctor. I’m here to ‘learn’ from you. To follow you around and stick to your silly plan whilst you try and fix me.” It almost amused her, how much denial he was in. But after thousands of years, she knew him all too well.

“Last time I checked, my suggestions didn’t involve reading stories and studying. Or cuddling in the library. It definitely didn’t involve sleeping in the same bed.” That effectively left him speechless, casting his eyes down to the desk bitterly.

“So you can sit here and say you’re just doing all that because of me. Or because it’s some ploy to get out of here faster. But we both know that’s a lie.” The Doctor concluded, drumming her fingers against the surface below her. Closing his eyes, The Master inhaled before returning to look at her.

“Fine, you got me. I didn’t think it would ever turn out like this. Makes me feel strange.”

“You mean happy?” The Doctor laughed, watching her old friend falter slightly.

“I suppose. It’s nice to have someone there, someone who really wants to spend time with me. She’s the first person in a long time to do that of her own free will.” He admitted, rubbing his eyes as he spoke. It was the sad truth.

“That’s good.”

“No it isn’t. I’ll just end up hurting her.” He spat, clenching his fists as that doubt crept over him. The Doctor simply shook her head.

“No you won’t. These past few months you’ve done everything you can to make her happy, to keep her safe. You never let her out of your sight.” It was true, he knew that. Though, deep down he felt that fear, like it just wasn’t enough.

“I know. But still, what if it’s not enough?”

“Don’t think that way. (Y/n) is really attached to you, and you have the biggest soft spot for her. If you’re both happy, then that’s all that matters.” The Doctor told him earnestly, placing a hand on his shoulder. For once, he didn’t shove her off. But could he allow himself to have this?

“I can’t believe I’m talking to you about this.” He half laughed, getting up and walking across to his bed before sitting on it. Grinning, The Doctor stole his office chair, wheeling it over to the bed and sitting in front of him.

“No it’s fun, exploring your inner emotions and your love life.” Her giddiness made him cringe.

“Ok. Never call it that again.” He grimaced, making The Doctor cackle even more.

“Didn’t know you had a thing for teddy bears.” Now just confused, he looked around until he spotted the fluffy bear sat on his pillow. Rolling his eyes, he reached over and picked it up.

“(Y/n) brought it in here last night. She must have left it by accident…” he snickered, looking at the toy fondly before continuing.

“You know she has clothes for it? Like a whole wardrobe, just for the bear.” The Doctor watched him, lips upturned. Guilt began to creep up on him, for being so wrapped up in his own mind.

“I should have said goodbye…”

“Yeah. But it’s okay, she’ll be back in a few days.” The Doctor reassured him. He never wanted time to pass faster.

———

Friday rolled around, The Doctor had parked the tardis in its usual spot and left the doors unlocked. She busied herself around the console, tinkering with a few loose wires.

“Can you pass me a clamp?” Holding her hand out, The Master moved around and gave it to her. She knew he was getting impatient.

“I can hear your brain ticking from here. Relax a bit.”

“Why is it taking so long?” The Mastee grumbled, staring at the doors.

“They’ll be here s-“ just then, Yaz burst through the doors.

“I’m back!” She yelled enthusiastically, running over hugging the blonde woman from behind. Laughing, The Doctor turned and hugged her back, listening to the events of the past few days. With a roll of his eyes, The Master sighed and leant against the console bored. Now he knew how you must have felt all that time.

“God if you two continue to smack your lips together I’ll throttle you both.” He threatened, rubbing his temples.

“Awe do you feel left out?” Yaz joked, hanging from her girlfriend’s arm.

“From you two? Absolutely not. How revolting.” Both girls laughed at his disgust, moving away from each other.

“Go snog in your room, just not in front of me.”

“Can I trust you to fix that circuit?” The doc picked up Yaz’s bag from the floor, looking at the man across the room.

“Obviously. I’ll do a better job and you know it.” He deadpanned, earning an angry look in response. However Yaz was quick to pull her away and leave him to finish her work.

———

You were only slightly late, well almost an hour. But your bus to Sheffield had been delayed so there was nothing you could have done. Thankfully, you found the tardis where it always was and head straight for the doors. Inside, you were met with a soft clinking sound. After walking forwards quietly, you came to see The Master hunched over the console, linking up two wires with clear skill. You’d never seen him working like that before, it was interesting. He was so engrossed in his task, sleeves rolled up and brows furrowed. Taking a piece of metal, he used a small machine to solder it in place and close up the circuit. Wiping off his hands, The Master stood straight and his eyes met yours. You broke out into a smile, rushing over and throwing your arms around his neck. Taken aback, The Master stood frozen for a moment, not expecting that at all.

“How long have you been there?” He pondered, coming to secure his arms around your middle. You hugged the man closely, letting out a small laugh.

“Not long, I didn’t want to bother you.”

“I wouldn’t have minded.” He sighed, wondering how he’d get you past the point of caring about that. Still, you stood in his arms content, speaking again once a few seconds had passed.

“I missed you…” hearing this, The Master felt the beats in his chest working overtime. He tightened his grip on you, not knowing how to respond to that. Though, he felt exactly the same way.

“I missed you too.” Even though he said it quietly, you heard, looking up and smiling happily.

“You’re blushing.”

“I don’t blush.” He scoffed, avoiding eye contact and suddenly feeling very warm.

“I dunno, your hearts are beating very fast.” You placed your hand against his chest, proving your point further. Although he loved your rare confidence, he couldn’t let you get away with too much. Taking hold of your hand, The Master easily manoeuvred you away from him.

“Oh, are they?” He tilted his head, stepping closer and closer until you were pinned between him and the console. Dipping to your level, he leaned in, his cool breath hitting your face. Your eyes were locked together, heat creeping up onto your cheeks. Shamefully, your eyes flickered to his lips before looking back up. He noticed, a smirk appearing.

“You’re blushing.” He teased, letting go of your hand and placing his own on your waist. You couldn’t speak, your words coming out in a jumble, and that pleased him. He loved to see the effect he had on you, it was thrilling. Noticing the hopeful look on your face, he placed a tender kiss to the top of your head. Stepping away he tucked his hands away into his pockets with a proud smile. You stood frozen, hands gripping the edge of the console. Footsteps could be heard approaching, The Master giving you a smug smile before moving to the other side of the console.

“Ah hello (y/n)…are you okay? You look a bit flustered.” The Doctor pressed her hand to your head in deep concern.

“I’m fine, just warm in here…” you lied, giving her a half smile and trying to collect yourself. Both girls were unconvinced, but you just tried to seem relaxed. Shaking her head, The Doctor walked around punching some coordinates into the console.

“So me and Yaz will be off now.” Snapping out of your daze, you followed her movements confused. Noticing this, she let out a noise of annoyance.

“Did you not tell her? I said to tell her when she came in!” Exasperated, the doc scowled at The Master, though she really should have expected it.

“Must have slipped my mind, I was distracted.” He lied, giving you a wink that went unnoticed by the others.

“Anyway. I’m taking Yaz to a spa for the day, after our last attempt failed. Is that okay with you?” The Doctor was going regardless, but a verbal confirmation would make her feel better.

“Yeah of course. Go enjoy your date.” Before they left, The Doctor gave her usual speech about making sure The Master behaved himself.

“You have my word Doctor. I won’t do anything you wouldn’t.” Holding his hands up, she felt secure enough with his answer and guided Yaz out of the ship. Now alone with him once again, you grew jittery. You were so close just moments ago, so close. You knew how you felt for him long ago, but over the months it had grown tenfold. A part of you also longed to go out into the universe with him. Just like Yaz got to experience with The Doctor. Sadly, wondered if what he did before was merely for his own entertainment. With your head telling you it was a game, and your heart saying he really cared, which could you trust?

“What are you thinking about, love?” The Master slowly made his way back round to you, stoping a few inches away.

“I just, wish we could go somewhere fun.” Being somewhat truthful, you lifted your shoulders slightly.

“Well, why can’t we?” This response took you by surprise.

“Because your tardis is locked away somewhere.”

“Who said anything about using my tardis?” He chuckled, brushing some hair out of your face whilst you tried hard not to blush.

“She really shouldn’t have left me to fix her console. It’s very easy to remove a DNA lock.” Giving your nose a little boop, you laughed quietly at his cockiness.

“So, what do you say?”

“What if The Doctor finds out?” You pointed out, so close to giving into the temptation he was offering.

“Come on dear, you know I’m better than that. She’ll never know.” Not even needing to hear that, it convinced you even more and you nod quickly. The Master grinned wickedly, spinning on his heel and beginning to expertly pilot the tardis. You watched excitedly, noticing how steady the ship was whilst in flight. Although great, The Doctor did have a hard time keeping in control.

“Where are we going?” Going to his side, he simply smiled down at you before the ship settled once again.

“Take a look.” He nod towards the door, your chest fluttering with anticipation. It was like doing this for the first time all over again. Pulling on the double doors, your eyes went wide at the scene in front of you. The first thing that caught your attention were the purple bricks that outlined a mechanical road. Tall, grey creatures were walking along, with black robes and oblong heads, their hooved feet carried them into several buildings in the area. Speaking of, the area was filled with hundreds of brightly colour skyscrapers, a mixture of slates, teal and sapphire shades. More to the point, there was actual flying cars, something you thought you’d never get to see. They moved in conjunction, keeping your attention for longer than necessary, watching how they’d ascend and descend whenever needed. Slowly, you let go of the door and stepped out into the new world. It was warm as well, not a cloud to be seen in the mauve sky. From behind, The Master followed you, making sure he locked the door. He didn’t want any trace of what he was doing for The Doctor to find, and a stolen tardis would definitely be a sign. The look of pure joy on your face made his hearts feel complete, as he came to stand beside you.

“Do you like it?” In all honestly, it was perfect, exactly what you’d always wanted to see. Instead of giving a verbal response, you rotated and hugged The Master. He beamed, wrapping his arms around you and lifting you from the ground with ease.

“Thank you, thank you. It’s amazing!” You told him, kicking your legs up behind you just before he could set you down. He pulled away, leaving his hands on your waist.

“I told you I knew the place.” You had a twinkle in your eye, realising he remembered that conversation. Taking your hand, The Master began to walk down the road until you stopped him.

“Are we safe?” It felt safe, everything felt very normal, though you’d had one too many incidents before.

“You think I’d take you somewhere that wasn’t safe? I’m not The Doctor.” He almost seemed offended, making you squeeze his hand tighter.

“I picked a date and time I’m a thousand percent sure nothing will happen. I triple checked.” This revelation nearly caused heart palpitations, she had never done that before. Tucking yourself into his side, The Master felt just how grateful you were and wrapped his arm around you. With another kiss left on the crown of your head, the two of you walked along the street as the steel cars soared overhead.

———

You genuinely couldn’t remember a time you felt happier. Even after a hundred trips with The Doctor, this one topped them all. The Master was taking you to every single place that caught your eye, peaked his interest or knew that you’d love.

“Oh there’s something else, over here.” Fingers laced together, The Master tugged you over to a smaller building with a metal veranda. He spoke to the towering alien, handing over a few small credits before receiving a cone in return. You both stood in the shade, keeping out of the way as to not bother anyone.

“What is it?” Looking into the cone, you saw little, dusted spheres. They did look intriguing.

“Sort of like a truffle. But with ice cream in the middle.” Using the spiked fork, he held one up to your lips, allowing you to eat one easily. It had a different taste to the ones from earth, sweeter and softer in texture too. It was evident that you were enjoying them, letting The Master feed you some more. On the other hand, he felt as though he was in a trance. You were just eating. You weren’t doing anything special or extraordinary. Yet he just couldn’t help himself. Lifting his hand, The Master swiped his thumb under your bottom lip, removing a dot of cream. Freezing, you blushed and gazed up at him with big eyes, which certainly wasn’t helping his conundrum. His hand lingered there for longer than neeeded, brown eyes wandering over your face shamelessly. He cleared his throat and tossed the his empty cone into the bin near the shop.

“Come on, I have one more thing to show you.” The Master sounded different than normal, more mellow if that made any sense. Still, you went with him blindly, walking through the quiet streets and admiring the architecture.

It didn’t take long for The Master to find what he was looking for and, after a brief walk, you gasped at the sight in front of you. Just below a pier, there was a glistening lake overshadowed by ancient trees. They grew ebony leaves, with white bark that looked so vibrant. Letting go of his hand, you rushed over to the stone balustrade, leaning over to see the pearlescent water better. It reflected of the sky, giving the surface a lilac glow. Amused by your fervour, The Master approached you with his hands clasped behind his back.

“Stunning, isn’t it? The bottom of the lake is lined with diamonds, they run below the surface of this entire planet. It’s how they got their fortune.” He explained, resting his arms on the stone wall and looking out at the view. And it was a good one, the landscape could occupy your mind for a while. But something else had it for now.

“It’s beautiful. Thank you for showing me this. Thank you for the whole day. I won’t forget it…” there was a twinge of sadness in your thanks, thinking it would be the first and last trip of its kind. The Master didn’t look at you, a tension in his brow. He was never good at comforting, or being completely honest. Around you, however, that side of him did tend to show itself more.

“I know The Doctor takes me to amazing places, and I’m so thankful but, it’s not like this. She’s spontaneous in the best way, and so lovely but-“ you frowned, unsure of how to finish what you were saying. To be honest, there was so much you felt you couldn’t say as it would ruin the day. Silence settled between you both, nothing but the ripples in the lake, and distant alien chattering could be heard. You were deep in thought, that much was clear, but he would never invade your privacy to find out what it was about. A question weighed heavy on his mind, one that he’d been mulling over for a long time.

“Would you come with me?” There was an unmissable tremor in his voice, breaking the silence and your train of thought. Slowly, you turned your head to look at him, finding that he was still unmoved.

“One day, if I pass The Doctors stupid test and she thinks I’m ’good enough’, will you travel with me?”

“Yes.” There was no hesitation, your mind had been made a long time ago. The Master had his eyes on you in an instant.

“I’d love to go with you.” You smiled, telling him everything he needed to know. You weren’t lying, there was no malice anywhere. No more needed to be said. Instead, he moved closer, hands coming up to cup your cheeks.

“You really mean it?” His guard was completely down, letting his forehead rest against your own as he asked.

“Of course I do, I want more times like this. More of you…” You concluded in a whisper, as The Master trailed his left hand down the side of your neck. The corner of his lip twitched upwards, the confidence you knew all too well finally returning.

“You have me.” With that bold statement, he closed the gap and pressed his lips against yours, capturing you in a sweet kiss. A raging blush claimed your cheeks, moving your arms around his neck and drawing him in closer. It was as if the last piece of a puzzle was fitting together. Reluctantly, he pulled back, taking in your flushed appearance with pride.

“Do you have any idea how hard it’s been, keeping myself off of you?” The Master laughed at his own internal battle, thumbing your waist gently.

“Why did you? You could have kissed me earlier.” Your heart was hammering in your chest, liking that you’d both been feeling exactly the same.

“When I knew The Doctor could interrupt at any moment? No, I didn’t want her ruining anything.” Your fingers toyed with the hair at the base of his neck as he spoke, sending a small shiver down his spine.

“When did you become so considerate?”

“For you? A long time ago, love.” The Master pressed your back to the wall you were both once leaning against, his nose bumping against yours.

“Did you not realise, how I’ve been treating you? Did you never notice how conveniently safe you were when I was there? Don’t you understand, you’re the only reason I agreed to The Doctors mindless plan?” Your breath hitched at this admission, taking everything in.

“I knew you kept me in the clear but…you stayed, because of me?”

“Of course I did. Spending time with you is worth The Doctors incessant rambling. It was the only way I knew I could be with you, without anyone noticing.” The Master was so close, his lips brushing yours with every word he said. Once more, you blushed brightly, loving the flattery he was supplying.

“Honestly? I would have jumped at the chance..I’m glad you did stay.”

“And I’m glad you were bold enough to check on me, were you so worried?” Cocking his head to the side, The Master traced over your lips, and down until he was gripping your jaw with intent.

“Of course I was, I thought you were going to die. I hated seeing what you did to yourself.” It was hard to talk about that day, everyone was hurt, especially him. Seeing him laying there, under that rock, you thought you’d lost him before you even had a chance. A stray tear rolled down your cheek before you could stop it, however the man just left a kiss in its wake.

“Don’t cry pet, I’m fine, I’m still here.” You couldn’t help yourself anymore, pulling him down until your lips met again. The kiss was deeper this time, an outpouring of emotions that had been hidden for too long. His tongue pressed against yours, dragging out a guttural wine. The Master revealed in the sound, caressing the curve of your waist and dragging his hand lower. You were grateful for the lack of people in the area. Your hands moved to grip his arms and your lungs began to burn but you didn’t care. Parting from your lips, The Master left a trail of kisses along your jaw lovingly, then he moved back a bit.

“Have I mentioned how cute you look, so flustered?” He smirked, pecking your lips once more then finally letting go. You just avoided his eyes, finding the ground far more interesting.

“The Doctor might kill you if she finds out you know?” He just rolled his eyes when you said that, grasping your hand once again.

“Well she doesn’t have to know quite yet, does she?” Giving you a playful look, The master made sure you stayed by him as you both began walking again.

“You’re lucky I’m a good liar. She really wouldn’t approve.”

“Oh but I thought you wanted me to stay as long as possible?” He feigned sadness, causing you to giggle at his big eyes. You wrapped your arms around his middle whilst approaching the tardis, he made no complaints. Apart from the fact that neither of you actually wanted to go back, that is.

———

The Doctor and Yaz reappeared around five hours after The Master had got you both back. You were impressed with how precise he was, but why were you surprised? When they came in, neither of you were actually in the console room.

“What do you think they did all day?” Yaz asked, following The Doctor around as she piloted.

“I’d imagine reading or something?” The blonde shrugged, not paying it much thought.

“You don’t think he’d try to escape? Or what if he hurt (y/n)?” She exclaimed, earning a snort of laughter from her partner.

“I highly doubt that.”

“Why? After everything he’s done! He’s a monster.” Yaz came to stand directly in front The Doctor, clearly anxious. Sighing, The Doctor rubbed her arms.

“People change. Give him a chance.”

“I don’t know how you can say that when…” Yaz carried on with herself, listing multiple reasons of why she hated the man, and why he wasn’t worth the effort. Up the first flight of steps, The Master stood around the corner, listening to it all. A continuous reminder of his past and all the wrong he’d done.

“Don’t listen to her.” Your voice startled him, you hadn’t been there earlier. Instead of replying, he kept his ear towards the women talking. He wasn’t one to be offended by these things. No, he was more concerned about how you saw him. The Doctor could be very convincing, maybe even Yaz could get into your head. Suddenly, you stepped forward and tilted his head back to look at you. Knowing he was going to speak, you leant up and kissed him softly, keeping him quiet. Taken by surprise, The Master shamefully melted into you, holding your shoulders for support.

“Don’t listen.” You repeated once you pulled back, giving him a smile then walking down the steps.

“(Y/n), have a good day?” The Doctor grinned once she saw you. Giving a small shrug, you lied,

“It was okay.” Even though it was the best day you’d had in years. Frowning, Yaz went closer to you.

“But are you okay?” It was as if she was checking over you.

“And why would I not be okay?”

“Being alone with him?” She said like it was common sense. Giving her a slight glare, you nod.

“I’m fine, Yaz.” Your response was sharp, making the girl huff and look to The Doctor. She just pressed her lips together, unsure how she’d get her girlfriend to relax a bit. But she knew it was something that desperately needed work, especially if she wanted this attempt of therapy to work.

———

Their dates became more and more regular, which was fine by you. The more they were gone, the more you got to do with The Master. Each trip got more thrilling than the last. From seeing supernovas to ancient earth, you were counting the days until you could leave with him. Meanwhile, Yaz was just happy to be away from The Master. Her mind couldn’t be changed, she just couldn’t trust him.

———

One day, as Yaz sat at a candle lit dinner with The Doctor, she put down her menu and looked at her. Sensing some unwarranted anxiety, The Doctor looked back at her confused.

“When is he going to leave?”

“Why would he leave, I haven’t finished with my sessions yet?” Confused, the doc poured herself a glass of water.

“Because, I think he’s hypnotised (y/n).” Her statement made The Doctor freeze up a little. She knew that Yaz noticed your closeness to the man.

“Yaz, I think they just get along well. I’d be able to tell if he was using hypnosis.” The Doctor tried to put her mind at rest, but it was fruitless.

“There’s no way she’d choose to be close with him after all he did to us. To you!” It was annoying Yaz, how rejected her lover was being about the whole situation.

“As I said, people can change. He’s made good process you know? He really is trying, try to consider that they’re friends?” With that suggestion, The Doctor picked up her glass and took a sip of her water.

“Friends? I wouldn’t be surprised if they were getting it on back in the tardis.” Yaz scoffed, The Doctor almost choking on her drink. Coughing it down, she looked over at Yaz baffled.

“Okay, I don’t think that’s what’s going on. I also don’t ever want to imagine that going on in my ship.” The Doctor denied, shivering at the idea. However, she really wasn’t stupid and knew that she had to keep lying to Yaz. Just until she brightened up a bit more. If she did at all.

“Well I’m just saying, they’re a bit too close lately.”

The master buttoned up his shirt, fixing the cuffs with little care. You rolled your eyes, making sure his collar was straight.

“It’s like you want us to get caught.”

“That would be thrilling.” He chuckled, mocking your previous escapades and moving closer to you. You just laughed, hitting his chest gently before sinking down into the floor. Your back rested on the couch as you sat between his legs. Placing a hand on the base of your neck, The Master worked out a deep knot you had there.

“Achey?” He teased.

“Shut up.” You were quick to retaliate but just groaned as the tension left your neck. The male merely smiled, happy to help.

“I can hear them now you know, flirting. Disgusting.” His lip curled in distaste, making you laugh out. Resting your head on his thigh, you gazed up at the man with big eyes.

“That’s very hypocritical you know.” You said, earning a raised brow from him. The Master just leaned forward, placing a soft kiss to your lips.

“I know.” You really did love how brutally honest he was, especially when it came to the other love birds. Speaking of, he pulled away very quickly and seconds later the door opened. You busied yourself with a random book that was discarded by the fireplace. Behind you, The Master picked up with his work, as if he had a whole new energy about him.

“Ah there you two are! See Yaz? Everything is fine.” The doctor beamed, sitting herself beside the man on the couch. Yaz didn’t say anything, just looking between you both with reservation. In all fairness, you were testing the waters by sitting in that position.

“Good to see that you’re actually keeping out of trouble.” The Doctor nudged him on the shoulder, yet he never strayed from his papers.

“Of course, how could we ever get into trouble. She’s very well behaved.” The Master moved one hand, patting your head in a patronising manner.

“I think she was just referring to you, Master.” You told him, shutting the book and leaving it by your side.

“Well I know, (y/n) wouldn’t do anything out of pocket would she?” If only she knew, you thought after The Doctor spoke.

“Wow you’re writing fast, have you had a triple shot of coffee or something?” Yaz watched him stunned, seeing how quickly his hand was moving.

“Hm? Oh no, not coffee.”

“Did you eat something then? Like chocolate, that’s got a lot of sugar.” The Doctor added, agreeing with Yaz’s observation.

“Not chocolate, but I did have something sweet yes.” He stated simply, a smugness hidden in his tone. You had to bite your tongue, suddenly feeling very embarrassed.

“Got any to share? I am pecki-“

“No.” He snapped, not allowing his fellow Timelord to finish what she was saying. Everyone looked at him, them with confusion and you with amusement.

“Don’t be so greedy.” It was as if Yaz jumped at the chance to be annoyed with him. Stopping his writing, The Master slowly peered up at the woman with vexation.

“I can be whatever I want to be.”

“Ok, ok no fighting please.” The Doctor almost begged, clearly finding it hard to deal with them butting heads.

“We wanted to talk to you both, what should we do tomorrow?” She put the question to the pair of you.

“Oh we get a say do we, I thought only your precious angel got to choose?” The Master quipped.

“Don’t start that. Come on.” The Doctor shot back before a full on shouting match could start. Letting out a heavy sigh, he sat straight and put his hand onto your shoulder.

“Why don’t you pick?” You felt as though as though he was gripping into you to ground himself more than anything else.

“Oh so you want your favourite to pick instead huh?” The Doctor probed, earning a dirty look from her girlfriend.

“Well of course.” His eyes found Yaz when he responded, clearly trying to egg her on more.

“As if she’d ever want to be your-“

“A party.” You voiced your pick loudly, hoping to keep the situation calm. Smiling, The Doctor leant forward to see you better.

“Yeah? What kind?”

“A cocktail party, like a nice, classy one where you have to put a bit of effort into how you look. Is that okay?” You looked around nervously, hoping your idea wasn’t too mundane.

“I think it’s a fantastic idea! Oh and I know just the place!” The Doctor genuinely seemed very pleased with your choice, a large grin etched into her features. She began to ramble about the planet in question, about the fancy parties the richer portion of the place hosted. Still, Yaz was only engrossed in how close you were to The Master, how his hand hadn’t left your shoulder. Then, her eye caught onto something and she gasped in pure horror.

“Yaz? Are you okay?” The Doctor enquired, not liking that she looked so unsettled.

“I didn’t know you got hurt so badly the other day?” Upset clear in her inflection, she crouched down next to you and reached towards your free shoulder. Upon looking, you found that your sleeve had fallen off, leaving a dark bruise of full display. Coyly, you pulled the material over it and tittered slightly.

“Apparently I did yeah, must be from when I fell.” You bluffed, pretending it really was sore. It wasn’t a complete lie, on your last outing at a group, you had fallen down a couple of stairs.

“Poor thing, aren’t you?” The Master said in false pity, giving you those big, sad eyes. Unable to speak, you suddenly felt as though everyone was staring at you and just turned back to the fire. He had an irritating smile on his lips, returning to his work as a way to deflect. Yaz was still fussing over you, thinking that you may be in pain or need something for it. Having said that, The Doctor watched your discomposed behaviour, the redness in your cheeks and shifty eyes. She then looked at the man next to her, his overtly windless demeanour and self-satisfied expression. It was as if everything clicked into place and the realisation hit her square in the face. Mouth agape, a million thoughts ran through her mind. Feeling her eyes gawking at him, The Master muttered underneath his breath,

“You’ll catch flies if you’re not careful.”

“And you’ll have to catch Yaz’s hands if you’re not careful.” Speaking through gritted teeth, The Doctor brought a muffled laugh from the man. He closed up his notebook and looked at her. She really didn’t know what to do at the revelation, he knew that and smirked. They couldn’t speak about it in front of you or Yaz, so she stayed silent, putting a pin in the matter. It wasn’t that she was worried per-say, it was just unexpected and new.

“Honestly Yaz, I’m okay.”

“But it looks bad.” As sweet as it was, you didn’t appreciate the unneeded ego boost The Master was getting.

“She’s fine Yaz, come on.” Standing up, The Doctor pulled the young woman up to her feet.

“See you tomorrow!” Perplexed, you watched as The Doctor practically dragged Yaz out.

“She seemed very concerned, love.” The Master droned out in levity, making you turn round fast. Getting up, you practically pounced on him, only to be caught instantly.

“I’m going to kill you.” You said with fake fury, even though you were the one being held at the waist.

“I look forward to it.”

———

In the depths of the tardis, you rifled through the many wardrobes that The Doctor had. Each were filled with unique articles from all times, planets and periods you could imagine.

“What about this?” Yaz asked, holding up a mid length, tight, red velvet dress.

“Oh yeah that will look great on you!” You smiled, urging her to choose it. Yaz walked over to you with it in hand, trying to help you decide. But you were being picky.

“Come on, (y/n). Who are you trying to impress? Anything will look good if you’re wearing it.” She laughed, leaving you alone to decide.

Back in your room, you took your time getting ready, doing your makeup and hair with great care. It was rare you got to go to anything labeled as fancy, so you wanted to savour it. After successfully zipping up the dress, you straightened it out and looked in the mirror. It was black satin, off the shoulder and figure hugging. The boning lined your body perfectly, going down your middle and around the bust. Coming to just above your mid thigh, you paired the dress with some chunky black heels before deciding you were ready.

When you got to the console room, you found that everyone was already there.

“Sorry, was I holding everyone up?” You questioned anxiously, standing by the mechanism. The Doctor shook her head, looking dapper in her tux as usual.

“Not at all. We’re nearly there.” She let you know kindly. Yaz definitely chose the correct dress, having now tied her hair into a bun, it really suited her.

“Where are we going anyway?”

“SinCeria. A planet adorned with six, silver moons that rise every six-hundred years. They hold a week long celebration for it and on the last day, you get to see the event.” The Master answered you, slowly making his way to you. He was dressed in an ox-blood coloured waistcoat, sporting his favourite pocket watch and black suit pants. The sleeves of his ebony shirt were neatly rolled up to his elbows, hands away in his pockets. You blinked rapidly, trying not to make your interest obvious. The Master was anything but discreet however, clearly ogling you with no guilt. You felt small under his gaze, but in the most flattering way.

“And presto!” The Doctor yelled as the ship landed with a thud, sending you tumbling. Of course, you were securely caught by The Master, his hands holding just under your arms.

“Shall we head then? I’m well excited for this.” The Doc grabbed hold of Yaz’s hand, taking her out and holding the door open. You quickly followed, whilst he kept a possessive hand on your side. After exiting the cleaning cupboard the time lady had parked in, you found yourselves in a long, extravagant hallway. It was lined with gold architrave against ivory walls and a soft, noir carpet. Each alcove held a hologram, a collection of creatures in a prestigious uniform.

“They’re the former kings of this planet.” The Master told you, noticing your curiosity.

“They look like geckos.” You smiled, thinking that you looked quite sweet. At the end of the corridor were two of said alien, clearly guarding the entrance door. With a quick flash of her psychic paper, The Doctor gained entry for the four of you and the doors were pushed open.

“Oh wow..” Yaz breathed once seeing the interior. It truly was breathtaking, with high arching ceilings being lit up by crystal chandeliers. In the middle of the grand room there was a dance floor, donning black and white checked tiles. Around that, were round, glass tables fitted with matching chairs. The centre of them held an elaborate, champagne shade candelabra, flickering away. Looking around, you saw a bar on the left side of the room with a few smaller tables and people mingling. It wasn’t too busy, the evening only just having started. A band were playing adjacent to the bar, a gentle tune to ease people in whilst guests were still arriving.

“Happy?” The Doctor looked at you hopefully. Grinning, you reached over and hugged your friend close.

“Yes it’s exactly what I meant, thank you.” She just chortled, rubbing your back then letting go. Beginning to explain the usual itinerary of the party, no one noticed the clear irritation of the man behind you.

“-so in about ten minutes, things will really pick up, won’t they?” The Doctor finished her sentence, looking at The Master for some support. She didn’t expect to find him glaring daggers at her and raised her brows in bewilderment. If looks could kill, she’d be six feet under.

“Yes. It will.” He grit out, never changing his look. You wanted to do something to calm him from whatever it was that got to him, but you couldn’t in front of everyone.

“Relax mr grumpy.” Yaz baited, clearly not caring for his foul mood at all. He ignored her, scouring the area some more.

“Care for a drink?” A well-mannered voice came from behind, causing the small group to turn. It was another gecko like man, holding a tray of what looked like yellow martinis.

“Ah thank you.” The Doctor took two at a time, first for you and Yaz, then for her and The Master. Taking a small sip, your eyes squinted at how sour it was.

“What is it, pure lemon?” You coughed, covering your mouth politely. Yaz was the same, handing her glass back to the blonde. She found it hilarious, laughing so hard that she struggled not to spill them. The Master was quick to finish his, taking your glass and putting them both on a nearby table. More people had arrived, a shared vigour across the room. The music picked up in beat, just enough to move too.

“You two don’t mind if we go and dance?” Yaz asked, though not really needing the answer, as she was already pulling on The Doctors sleeve.

“Please do.” The Master practically hissed, which was now starting to worry you. The woman dismissed it however and rushed off to the dance floor. Now alone, you faced The Master with your arms folded.

“What’s the matter?”

“Everyone here is looking at you.” His voice was low, icy even. Bemused, you looked around, eyes everywhere quickly moving on from you the minute you clocked them. Suddenly, you felt very self aware and backed up into his hold. Wrapping his arms around your waist, The Master pressed a kiss to your marked shoulder.

“You see now? I also don’t really approve of you hugging The Doctor like that.” He rested his chin there on your shoulder. “Not when you look this good.” You giggled as he pecked the crook of your neck a few times.

“You’re too kind.”

“Only to you, dear. Come now, I want to show you why this party even happens.” Lacing your fingers, The Master walked you through the crowd, over to the other side of the room. You stayed close, still feeling as though you were being watched. Then you saw it. In front of you was a floor to ceiling, glass window, giving the perfect view of space outside. The sky was a cascade of deep blues and purples, bright stars dotted throughout.

“Look.” The Master pointed down, only for you to see the heads of the Six Silver Moons.

“In about an hour, they’ll be at the perfect height for viewing.” With a hand placed on the small of your back, he stood beside you guardedly. Simpering, you leant into his body, basking in his warmth.

“I would have brought you here eventually. I knew you’d love it, but I’m happily surprised The Doctor actually considered you for once.” He mumbled by your ear, his thumb moving against your side soothingly.

“At least you’re with me. That’s all I really care about now, honestly.” You responded, too shy to look at the man. You didn’t know what he considered the pair of you to be, and that did bother you a little. Were you just like a potential companion with a few benefits? Or were you more? Was it real? You doubted he’d succumb to a human custom, like calling himself a ‘boyfriend’, and perhaps he didn’t even want to commit to you fully.

“How can you think so low of me, pet?” The Master turned you till your eyes met, a scowl present on his face.

“Maybe you shouldn’t be reading my thoughts?”

“Well they’re very loud.” He defended himself, holding onto your waist securely. When you tried to avoid his gaze, he simply followed your eyes.

“I told you, you have me.”

“But what if-“ he didn’t let you finish, tipping down and capturing your lips with his own. You shut up very quickly, clinging onto his arms.

“Do you understand? Whilst I may not use your earthly titles, I consider us an official item, if that’s what you’d call it. As far as I’m aware, you’re mine and that’s not going to change.” Hearing him say that, filled you with an unmatchable amount of joy, a huge smile adorning your face. Happily, you jumped slightly and hugged onto him tightly. Chuckling, The Master swirled round with you in his grasp before placing you back down.

“Care to dance, pretty?”

“How formal. I’d love to.” You bit your lip to suppress your smile, allowing him to guide you onto the dance floor. Surrounded by other couples, he took one hand in his own, then placed his other in the curve of your waist. You held onto his shoulder, letting him take the lead and move to the violin central music.

Time passed swiftly, each tune different from the last. The Master held your hand, twirling you in time with the more up-tempo song. You couldn’t stop laughing, feeling so light and happy in that moment. He pulled you back into his embrace, your back flush to his chest. Looking up at him, he just grinned back at you.

From the crowd, Yaz appeared and rushed over to you both.

“The Doctor wants you.” She said, eyes fixated on The Master and sadly making him part from you.

“Shan’t be too long, ok?” He rubbed your shoulder softly, before glaring at Yaz then heading off.

“Wanna get a drink, (y/n)?” Nodding, you head to the bar with her, standing against the cool marble surface. All the staff were busy, but you didn’t really mind.

“Are you ok, like really ok?” The urgency in her voice did more than confuse you.

“I’m fine, Yaz. Are you ok?” You half laughed, resting one arm on the bar.

“I’m worried about you. I think you’ve been hypnotised.” She exasperated, and you heard yourself groan.

“Can you stop saying that?”

“If you’re being threatened or you’re scared, you know The Doctor will help you right? You don’t have to be freighted.” She touched your arm with care, as if what she was saying was true in any sense.

“Believe me I’m not frightened of him, at all. And he’s not trying to hurt me. Or you for that matter.” You said with certainty, trying hard to convince her. Yet, Yaz was unchanged. Standing straight, it was clear that her temper was rising.

“He’s a monster, (y/n). He’s clearly playing with you. Before long he’ll switch up on you and kill you. All of us maybe.” Now you were beginning to get angry, feeling a protectiveness over him. You knew he could look after himself, but you just couldn’t help it.

“He’s not! Why can’t you just drop it?”

“Because it’s getting out of hand now. You’re with him all the damn time!” She raised her voice, jaw clenched in frustration. People around you started to talk in hushed voices. Not wanting to draw any more attention, it took everything inside of you to remain calm.

“So what? It’s none of your concern. He’s doing exactly what The Doctor asked, he’s following her rules and being good. So what if I spend a bit of time with him?” Trying to play it down, you looked around for a bartender, hoping a drink might ease the argument.

“‘A bit’? It’s more than ‘a bit’! You’re practically attached to him!”

“As if you don’t follow The Doctor like a little puppy?” You shot back, making the girl turn red.

“Well I am her girlfriend! And she’s not a mass murderer!” At that, you gave Yaz a look of boredom, as you both knew of her past.

“Drinks ladies?” A voice cut in.

“Yes, thanks.” You responded without looking, fully focused on ending the stupid spat.

“Yasmine, I’m fine. You really need to stop this. It’s only going to get in the way of The Doctors sessions. He’ll get vexed and try to escape or something.”

“Good. I want him gone. He’s like a parasite and you’re his victim.” The hatred in her words, the pure desire to just throw him out was beginning to really affect you.

“What is wrong with you? You say he’s the evil one yet you’re the one being spiteful. All because he’s being nice to me?”

“Nice? You were dancing five minutes ago! He needs to leave before he brainwashes you into doing something worse.” Yaz was fuming, fist in a tight grip against the bar top. At your wits end, you just scoffed out a laugh.

“If you think dancing is the worst thing we’ve done together, you’re clearly blind.” Her face fell when you said that, dread slowly setting in.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Yaz prayed she was wrong, but one look at your face and she knew she wasn’t. “No. No there’s no way.” She said in distress, covering her mouth in shock. “How could you do this to us?”

“Excuse me?” Taking a step back, you glowered at her.

“After everything he did to us? You’re going to just let it go? You’re going to..to..”

“To what? Say it, I dare you.” Your chest was rising and falling at an odd pace.

“I don’t even want to think about it. You’re such a backstabber! When The Doctor finds out, you’ll both be done for.” It was hardly a threat, knowing that The Doctor was a tiny bit more level headed than that. In fact, she sounded like a bratty child.

“What you’re going to go tell on me? Get us in trouble? Is she your girlfriend or your mother?” You poked fun at the scenario, starting to feel worn out from all the yelling. That seemed to be the straw that broke the camels back, since Yaz snatched her purse up into her hand.

“You know what, i wish you two would get yourselves done away with! I’ll be happy if i never have to see you again!” She screamed before turning and storming off. Closing your eyes, you inhaled deeply. It was all too much, sadness overwhelmed you.

“Your drink, miss.” Mumbling a small ‘thanks’, you took the flute and shot back the green, fizzy drink without a care. It didn’t taste too great, but you hoped it would numb the emotional pain you felt. It burned as it went down, in fact, it really burned. More than the average spirit would. Your tongue also reacted strangely to the drink, an instant numbness arriving.

“I’m hope you liked it.” That grainy voice. Cautiously, you turned your head and came face to face with the same man from the fish festival. How could you have missed it? “As it will be the last you ever have” His hairy face brought instant discomfort. Then, you remembered The Masters warning: ‘don’t try the drinks. You’ll get sick.’ Panic slowly came over you, your feet moving you away from the man. The glass slipped from your hands, smashing on the solid floor. Who knows what concoction he filled you with, but it was nothing good. Yasmines final words were starting to feel more like a death sentence. Who knows how long you had before anything more drastic started to happen. Gawping, he just slid over the bar like it was nothing, taking a few lethal steps closer.

“Don’t worry. You’ll fall asleep first. Gives me the chance to do as I please with you. I’ll be able to feel as your body goes cold.” He licked his stringy lips with anticipation. You only had one thing on your mind, finding The Master. You’d rather die in his arms than with this disgusting creature all over you. The tips of your fingers began to tingle. Looking down you found them turning black, your heart going unnaturally fast.

“Don’t be scared, I’ll take good care of your body.” It cackled, reaching its fin like arms forward. On cue, you turned and made a run for it, ducking in and out of the crowds with it hot on your tail. People all around were showing their concern but you just carried on, looking around desperately for The Master. Your legs were getting weaker, black spots clouding your vision in a matter of minutes. You strained yourself until you could barely walk anymore, ending up in the far right corner of the room, in the shadow of the large window. The moons were nearly at their peak, sparkling in the night sky.

“No where left to run human. You really were too tempting to resist. I had to trace you across the universe, but it will be worth it.” Your back hit the wall as it was speaking and closing in on you. How could you keep yourself conscious, how could you get the attention you needed?

“Master!!”

———

The Master had found The Doctor talking with one of the royal guards, learning more about the planets eco system in the process. She had smiled once seeing him.

“You wanted to talk to me?” He questioned, being met with a perplexed look.

“Uh no? Why?”

“Yaz said you did?” He explained, gesturing back to where he’d just come from. He really disliked leaving your side when you didn’t know the planet.

“What? But Yaz told me she was going to find a bathroom?” Now they were both left puzzled.

“So she lied to us both?”

“It would seem so, but why?” The Doctor posed the question, resting back against the wall behind her.

“You know why, I imagine she’s telling (y/n) off for being near me.” Rolling his eyes, The Master exhaled and looked into the crowd. Neither of you were there now. It felt like something had shifted, like a penny was dropping. Where had you gone?

“I’m trying, I just can’t shift her mind.” Guilt was laced in what she was saying so The Master made no further comments. Glancing around the room again, he caught wind of something that made him lour.

“That man was at the festival…that first place we went. I didn’t know their kind were on the guest list?” Looking back at The Doctor, she saw who he meant and nod.

“Neither did I.”

———

Yaz had made a beeline for The Doctor, wanting to explode and give The Master a piece of her mind.

“You!” She screeched, stopping in front of the purple clad man.

“What are you and (y/n)?” Yaz demanded an answer, making The Doctor rush to interfere. However, he held up his hand in wait.

“You know the answer to that, Yasmine.” Choosing to be honest, the young girl was taken aback.

“You’re..together?”

“If you want to put it into earth terms, then yes you can say that.” The confirmation felt like a nightmare. She looked at The Doctor furiously.

“Are you okay with that?”

“Yaz-“

“No Doctor! He’s a manipulative asshole!” She was yelling again, making a few guests and a guard look over. The Master didn’t care to pay attention, instead he was searching the room.

“Where is she?” He asked, getting no answer when the two woman were still bickering. There was a nauseating unease in his gut, their voice making him wince internally. He pushed between them.

“Where. Is. She?” The sharpness of his voice got her attention back again. Yaz tried not to show her fear.

“Who cares! She betrayed us for you!”

“You’re literally the only one who’s hung up on this. The Doctor doesn’t even care!” That made Yaz snap back round to her girlfriend. During the dispute, The Doctor had been sane and calm. It was in her better nature.

“Master!!” Your voice rang through the room, alerting the man instantly. Without thinking, he rushed off in the direction it came from, pushing through with no remorse. Your hands were now fully onyx, with little feeling left in them. The creature was right in your face, a fin sliding over your front and making you feel sick.

“Humans are so soft…” his fishy breath hit your face harshly, and you used all your will to push him back. That made him angry, a fin coming down and slicing across your middle. You let out a whimper of pain, almost falling but keeping your balance.

“Stupid girl, you’ll be mine in a few minutes. I’ll claim you as my own, my own little human sl-“ there was a bright flash. When you looked, it was gone. The Master stood there, eyes wide with terror. With the dark colour etching up your arms, he knew what it was. Blood seeped out of the cut on your stomach. He barely put his stolen TCE away before he was at your side. With what little strength you had, you pushed yourself into his arms just in time for him to catch you. “You came…” even your voice was weak now.

“Of course I did, I should never have left you.” He said, pressing a hand to your stomach firmly. Tears spilled down your cheeks, the pain unbearable and the slowness of your heart really scaring you. Finally, The Doctor caught up just as your legs gave out. The Master was fast, picking you up easily and turning to the woman. Your arm fell limp at your side, head rolling against his shoulder. Seeing you, her breath hitched. Instead of speaking, she began to run, snatching Yaz on the way and heading straight into the tardis. Yaz did watch as The Master carried you down to the med bay, her last words to you now scarred into her brain. He lay you on the bed where he once rested carefully, then rushed around to try and find an antidote.

“What are you thinking?” The Doctor asked in a rush, going to help him with whatever he needed.

“I don’t know. I think he poisoned her, judging by the reaction. It’s like her body is..” he shook his head, swallowing down thickly. She’d never seen him like this before and it scared her. It was really bad. The Master was a mess, flittering about from place to place. He began to ramble, spitting out different ideas and treatments. Slipping in and out of consciousness, you could only let out a strangled noise of pain. It was kink your lungs were folding in on themselves. After giving a set of instructions, The Master went to you once again. Taking hold of your hand, he almost flinched at how cold you felt. There was nothing he could say, he doubted there was anything he could do. Even when the doctor injected you with a blue liquid, it was futile. How could you go from laughing and dancing in his arms, to this? In such a short amount of time. The room fell quiet, your laboured breathing made the atmosphere dense. They knew it was far too late. She watched as The Master stood at your bedside, running his fingers through your hair lovingly. Never being one for goodbyes, The Doctor made her exit in a flurry, making sure Yaz Stayed away too. He could hear crying, not that she deserved to cry or mourn you. Your head went slack, eyes closing as your final breath narrowly escaped. For the first time in a millennium, tears filled The Masters eyes, obscuring his vision. He didn’t stop them, letting them fall. The one good thing he had, gone in an instant, like a drop of water on a lone flame. He now knew exactly how The Doctor felt every time she lose her companions. How she felt when loosing Rose. All of them coming and going like breath on a mirror. Whilst he could live on forever. The thought captured his brain, the most obvious thing. He was your cure. Standing by the top of your bed, The Master rubbed his hands together furiously until they emitted a golden glow, then pressed two fingers on each side of your head, closing his eyes and letting his regeneration energy work its magic. There was no real guarantee that it could bring you back, but he’d risk a life to keep you with him. It was hard to tell at first, with his eyes closed he couldn’t see the gash heal itself. Your hands slowly faded back to (skincolour), life flooding your veins. Eyes shooting open, you sat bolt upright, breathing in so much it made your lungs sore. Everything came back to you at once, your hands feeling around the middle of your stomach. There was no trace. It was gone. Turning your attention to your hands you saw swirls of gold under your skin. The Master took his hands from your head, moving round until you could see him. It all hit you in that moment, everything that had taken place.

“I-I’m so sorry. I didn’t know it was him. I should have know it was him. But we were arguing and I was distracted and-“ hot tears rolled down your cheeks, your words falling into one. The Master didn’t care though, wiping them away whilst sitting on the side of the bed.

“Don’t. Don’t apologise.” His throat was bone dry, making you take his exhausted appearance in.

“Were you…crying?” It was hard to imagine, but all the signs were there. Biting his lip to stop it from wobbling, The Master clasped your hand again tightly, relishing in the warmth and pressing a faint kiss on your palm.

“I thought I’d lost you. It’s been a while since I’ve felt anything like that. I’ve lost so much. So many people that I loved. I couldn’t lose you too.” Unable to stop yourself, you reached forward and wrapped your arms around his middle, your face pressed into his chest. This eased him greatly, his arms encasing your trembling body tightly. Hooking an arm under your legs, he shifted delicately until you were curled up between his legs. Neither of you cared about the dried blood or your ripped dress. It was meaningless now. The Master was cradling you like you could break at any moment, like you just did. Like even the suggestion would make him blunder.

“You love me?” Hesitantly, you gazed up at him. He met your eyes, cupping your cheek and leaning down.

“Isn’t it obvious?” He sounded bittersweet, eyes looking deep into your own. The unexpected confession only made you cry more.

“I love you too.” You choked out, soon met with a deep, passionate kiss. The Master never wanted to let go, holding you against him, feeling your tears mixing with his own. Your hands fisted his now ruined shirt, cherishing the intimate moment. Parting ways, you panted heavily, tiredness overtaking you all of a sudden. Though it was to be expected.

“It’s okay love, you can sleep. I’ll take care of everything.”

———

The Master laid you down in a pair of fresh pyjamas, making sure the covers were over you securely. He left the med bay, walking up and finding both women with tear stained faces. He stopped at the top of the steps, alerting them with his heavy treads. The Doctor stood, looking at him sadly. Beside her, Yaz was clearly inconsolable, sitting on the floor in pure defeat.

“She’s fine. I brought her back.” He said, making the girls eyes grow wide.

“Seriously?”

“You think I’d just let her die, Doctor?” He spoke in a low voice, descending with heavy footsteps. Even now, The Doctor was distraught, knowing they had all lost you for a few minutes. Knowing that the girl she loved had indirectly played a part in that. It was then that The Master changed his course of direction, walking straight towards the blonde. Going against his moral code, he reached out and pulled her into a tight hug where she quickly broke down. He held the back of her head to his shoulder, rocking his old friend as she cried.

“You really saved her?” Yaz asked timidly. The Master, still piqued from the date evens, barely payed her any notice.

“I thought you wanted to kill her. O-or to hurt her…” she trailed off, all her assumptions slowly fading into obscurity. The Doctor pulled away, wiping her face dry the best she could whilst The Master held her up. His hands ran across her shoulders in comfort. Despite everything, the time lords could never truly hate each other. After their lives, they needed each other. They needed that feeling of home.

“I said I never wanted to see her again.” Yaz carried on, trembling in her spot on the floor. “I wished her death…” she finished in a whisper. They both went rigid, The Doctor turned around in trepidation, her mouth going dry.

“No…”

“You said what?” The Master charged over, looking down at the human with a fire inside that couldn’t be extinguished.

“I-I was just frustrated okay? I thought you were-“

“You thought I was hurting her? Manipulating her? Taunting and playing with her like she’s just some pawn in one of my elaborate mind game?” He snapped with venom, making Yaz back away. She couldn’t speak, voice seemingly shutting down.

“Look what happened. Because of your closed mindedness. This is why I hate humans. With your self righteousness and over confidence. Always thinking you’re right.” The Doctor stood back as he berated Yaz, chewing on her thumb nail. Normally, she would never allow this, but it was necessary.

“Unlike you, (y/n) used her brain. She can see past the plans and the killing. Past all the mistakes. She can see me. No, I’m never going to ‘turn good’. But I am going to do whatever I can to keep her safe. I agreed to stay, to try. I was never going to hurt anyone on this ship.” The Master crouched down, glaring deep into her eyes.

“Look what your hatred did. Are you happy now?” He put the question to her, searching her face for a solid answer that would satiate his fury. Yasmine didn’t respond, choking back tears in shame.

“I said are you happy now!” He howled, making the girl recoil, hitting a crystal pillar with force. Now that she was shaking in fear, The Master breathed out a deep sigh, pulling himself up. Turning to leave, he gave her one last cold look and said,

“You don’t deserve to be sad.” Then he trudged back to his room, trying to freshen up. The Doctor could deal with Yaz, hopefully finding an appropriate way of setting her straight.

———

After taking a shower that lasted far too long, The Master stared into the bathroom mirror with confliction. Was his therapy working? Why did he feel guilt? Maybe it was just the day weighing on him. Maybe it was all real emotion. Gripping the edge of the basin, he took in a few sharp breaths whilst moving his head side to side. Part of him wanted to storm the place, find his tardis and steal you away. But you needed to heal. The image of you covered in blood was stained into his memory. It was haunting him. He splatted his face with cold water, throwing something on to wear then pushing on the bathroom door. What he didn’t expect was to see you sat up in his bed, the pyjama shirt he had put you in was now hanging from your shoulder. He missed that dark bruise he had left on you. A symbol to show the universe that you were his.

“You’re supposed to be resting, what are you doing?” His voice made your head shoot round, a smile on your face as he approached you.

“I’m restless. I feel weird. Like buzzy.” You let him know, clenching and unclenching your fists to price your point.

“That’ll be the left over regeneration energy in your system, making sure you’re fully healed.” The Master stood in front of you, eyes wandering over your form numbly, concealing any and all woes. Tilting your head, you stared up.

“You’re sad.” Your statement took him off guard. He just scoffed and looked away.

“You don’t have to hide it from me, Master. I want you to be honest, please?” That was all it took to bring his walls down. He got onto the bed next to you, flopping back against the pillows.

“I’m not sad, (y/n). I don’t know what I’m feeling and I don’t like that.” You frowned as he spoke, crawling up beside him.

“It’s like I’m overwhelmed by a hundred different emotions. It’s awful. I don’t know how The Doctor does it.”

“She’s good at masking her feelings, just like you.” You scolded the both of them, even if she wasn’t there currently. He laughed a bit. Moving closer, you started to play with his hair gently, smiling at the bouncy curls. The Master kept his eyes on your face as you did this, monitoring your smile and your bright eyes. There was still a deep put in the middle of his stomach.

“I was scared. Really scared. Terrified even.” He admitted, voice barely audible. But you heard. Tentatively, you started stroking the side of his head, hoping to help the man open up some more.

“And now I know what Yaz said to you.” You froze, making eye contact with him. “She said she wanted you dead?” You wet your lips anxiously, your hand resuming its movements.

“Both of us actually…”

“I don’t care what she thinks about me. But you? In that moment, when you were gone, I felt so lost.” He was tense, shooting knives at the ceiling with his eyes.

“You quell the racket inside my head. With you, I feel sane. I need you, (y/n). I can’t lose you” the more he spoke the quieter he got, your heart swelling in response.

“You’re not going to lose me. Why do you think I came here as soon as I woke up? I’m not leaving your side, ever.” You soothed, nails scraping along his scalp nicely. “And we can leave together. If you find your tardis we’ll go as soon as you’re ready.” Eventually, your words reached him and The Master relaxed, turning towards you. He pulled you down, holding you against his chest. Instantly you felt safe, nuzzling into him and hugging his waist.

“Trust me, we’re going as soon as possible.” In his mind, The Doctor and Yaz were simply an after thought. He could find his ship in a dual heartbeat, without them knowing, he was just that good. And, with you by his side, The Master knew he could take on anything the universe threw at him.

[sxcret-garden]

Aspects of Desire ღ Masterlist [M]

ღ Ateez Jongho x fem!reader ღ feat.: other members in some chapters ღ words: ~29k (current wc) ღ genre: established relationship, college AU, fluff, some humor, slice of life, smut (dom!Jongho, mostly sub!reader, BDSM, red-yellow-green used as safe words, choking, spanking, masturbation, punishment, orgasm denial, reader being tied up, strength kink, body worship, teasing, degradation, begging, hair-pulling, pain kink, reader going into subspace, dacryphilia, thigh riding, fingering, handjobs, oral, unprotected sex,... they have a few starting difficulties because reader has some misconceptions, he's veryvery careful at first - more will be added and I'm pretty sure I forgot smth, so detailed smut descriptions can be found in the respective chapters~) ღ warnings: heavy dom-sub dynamic, reader has a bit of a difficult relationship with her family, which is mentioned in some chapters, (descriptions of him picking reader up & touching her hair)

Desc.: When one day you reveal something to your boyfriend that you've been hiding, but unable to stop thinking about, the two of you decide to take your relationship - and especially your sex life - into a new direction. You begin to establish a dynamic that you both soon want to explore more of, diving into the depths of both your own and your partner's unknown desires.

If you want to be added to my taglist for this fic, please send me an ask about it <3

1st Desire ღ Testing Limits (5.9k) Desc.: You and your boyfriend decide to take a step towards a new chapter in your relationship when a secret desire of yours finally slips through. What you didn’t know until now is that he’s more experienced than you thought he was, and that you’re not the only one who’s been dying to spice up your sex life.

2nd Desire ღ Tie Me Down (5.1k) Desc.: Lost in your excitement over the recent development in your relationship with your boyfriend Jongho, you try to tickle more of his dominant side out of him. When he shuts down that attempt with only the best of intentions, he makes sure you won’t stay flustered by your miscalculation for long.

3rd Desire ღ A Little Jealousy (4.8k) Desc.: When you’re meeting up with your classmate and friend Yeosang in order to finally finish that dreaded uni project that’s been keeping you on edge for the past weeks, you don’t expect him to bring along his flirtatious friend Wooyoung. What you also don’t expect is said friend knowingly attempting to flirt with you in front of your boyfriend, who just can’t help but let the hint of jealousy it makes him feel influence his actions once you’re in the comfort of your own home.

4th Desire ღ Hush, My Dear (5.8k) Desc.: Dinner with your family goes about as you expected - you’re slightly uncomfortable because of their choices in conversation topics and very much bored. Luckily, your boyfriend tagged along and knows just how to make you feel better, and in the process he too seems to be able to finally let go of his worries.

5th Desire ღ Dress (7.2k) Desc.: Your mother is trying to get you to wear a dress she picked out for you for your cousin’s upcoming wedding. At times like these you are especially thankful to have your boyfriend Jongho right by your side to help convince her to let you wear clothes you’re actually comfortable in. However, little do you know that despite having your back, he’s secretly smitten with the image of you in that dress.

6th Desire ღ ...

...

Author's note: I think it's been about 3 years since I first had a vague idea about wanting to write a fic like this, which started out as merely a cute slice of life fic (without all the filth y'all are about to witness lol), went through many different changes and was abandoned as many times, until through lots of inspiration and ideas it finally took on the form it has now. And I'm really happy that I was finally able to turn it into an actual fic and not just a few unfinished drafts! I hope you guys have fun with this and enjoy~

(more chapters will be added as they're ready - and i have a lot of ideas...)

[mintsturniolo]

oh baby... pt. 1 (m.s)

bf!matt sturniolo x f!reader x bsf!nick sturniolo

a/n: okay so i'm getting bored of writing fluff. can someone give me some angst or smut ideas please 😭 anyways i'm actively working on requests. i also have never gone to an ultrasound so... yeah idk what happens or doesn't happen there.

summary: hailey finds out she's pregnant and is scared about how matt is going to react

Matt was worried about his girlfriend. She’d been acting different lately and no one could figure out why. While it was no surprise that Hailey had a sensitive stomach, the most random things had been making her sick recently. He was currently waiting for Hailey to come out of their room, which she’d been hiding in for the past thirty minutes now. Matt and Nick looked up as the bedroom door opened and Hailey emerged from the room. She looked stressed as she looked at the two of them. “Nick, can we talk?” she asked running her fingers through her hair.

Noticing the confused look on Matt’s face, Hailey went over and gently planted a kiss on his lips. Matt smiled and took her hand. “Are you okay? I’m worried.”

“I’m fine, Matty” Hailey replied as Matt kissed her back. “I’ll be back in a little bit.”

Hailey led Nick to the bathroom and turned when she saw him hesitate. “Nicky please. I need to show you something.”

Nick glanced down the hall before following Hailey into the bathroom. He closed the door behind him and raised an eyebrow. “Well? What’s going on?”

Hailey took a breath as she motioned towards the sink. Nick looked over and his eyes widened when he saw an unopened box of pregnancy tests on the counter. “Oh my God,” he whispered. “What? Hailey!”

“I’m freaking out Nick. Matt and I agree we weren’t ready. I’m scared how he’s going to react,” Hailey panicked. “I just have a feeling I am. Everything’s been off and it explains all my symptoms.”

Nick took a deep breath, knowing that freaking out wasn’t going to help his friend. “Okay. Take one right now. I’ll be in the living room. Call me when you’re done.”

Hailey nodded, too nervous to reply. She watched as Nick left the room, closing the door behind him. Hand shaking, she opened the box and pulled out one of the tests. She followed the instructions on the box and set the timer. After the longest few minutes of her life, Hailey looked at the test. She immediately felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. It was positive. She didn’t realize how long she had been staring at it until Nick knocked on the door. “Hailey? Are you okay?”

“Come in here,” Hailey stuttered.

Nick walked into the bathroom and frowned when he saw the fear in Hailey’s eyes. “Girl-” he started.

“It’s positive,” Hailey interrupted. “I’m going to take another one to be sure, but this one’s positive.”

“Okay,” Nick said, his tone slightly excited, but mostly nervous.

“Can you get Matt please,” Hailey requested.

Nick left the room and a couple moments later, Matt walked into the bathroom. He wrapped his arms around Hailey’s waist and planted a kiss on her cheek. “Are you okay? What were you and Nick talking about?”

Hailey reached past Matt and picked up the pregnancy test. Matt’s eyes widened when he saw it. He examined the results before looking at Hailey for confirmation. “That means it’s positive?” he asked, excitement creeping into his voice.

Hailey nodded, searching her boyfriend’s eyes to see if he was mad. “I’m going to be a dad?” Matt asked, clearly still processing the information.

“I need to take a second test to be sure, but yeah,” Hailey replied as Matt hugged her tighter. “Are you mad? I know we weren’t planning this…”

“I’m not mad. Are you kidding? I just learned that I’m going to be a dad with one of the most amazing girls in my life. I’m shocked but so happy,” Matt said, leaning in for a kiss. “Who else knows?”

“Just Nick. I told him to keep it quiet til we were ready to say anything,” Hailey replied as tears started to run down her cheeks. “I’m so glad you’re not mad.”

Matt gently wiped the tears off Hailey's face as he looked into her eyes.

*8 weeks later*

Matt and Hailey were still in shock that they were going to have a baby. They had announced it to Chris who immediately started referring to himself as uncle Chris. All of the boys had been even more protective of Hailey if that were possible. Matt couldn’t believe that he was currently driving Hailey to her first ultrasound. He parked and they made their way into the building. Hailey’s name was called and she could feel the excitement building. She was about to see her baby for the first time. She let out an excited squeal and grinned up at Matt. “Are you ready?”

“I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life,” Matt replied as he squeezed Hailey’s hand.

Hailey had never seen Matt so attentive. He was incredibly focused as the doctor explained everything that would occur at this appointment, never once letting go of Hailey’s hand. The lady finished setting up the equipment and began to apply the gel onto Hailey’s stomach. After a few moments the doctor smiled. “Okay If you look right here, that’s your baby.”

Hailey couldn’t stop looking at the screen in front of her. Their baby was so small. Tears filled her eyes as she turned to look at Matt. “Look Matty, that’s our baby.”

“I know,” Matt said, smiling more than Hailey had seen in a long time.

When the appointment was over, Matt led Hailey out the door. It was quiet as the two of them processed everything. The ride home was full of anticipation. Hailey was eager to show Nick and Chris the ultrasound photo they had. When they pulled into the driveway, Matt went to the other side of the car to let Hailey out. He leaned down and kissed her for what felt like the millionth time today. He gently placed a hand on Hailey’s stomach, just as the front door opened. “Well are you guys coming inside or not?” Chris asked eagerly.

Matt laughed as he let go of Hailey. “Yeah. We got something to show you.”

Taglist

@adirtylittleheart @sturniolo04 @yourenogoodforme

[twomiddlefingersforthehaters]

Callbacks~~~ Every important moments have a callback in one way or other way...

✦𝐕𝐨𝐭𝐞𝟏 (𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐤𝐞)

オレに とっちゃ･･･やっとできた繋がりなんだ

Ore ni to cha yatto dekita tsunagari na n da

For me... You are.... that "bond" that I've searched for so long

[Hearing this, Sasuke evolved his third tomoe]

✦𝐎𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐮'𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫

サスケはオレの友達だから...やっと出来た大切なつながりだから...

Sasuke wa ore no tomodachi da kara.... yatto dekita taisetsuna tsunagari da kara....

Sasuke is my friend. Our important/precious/valuable bond is the one I finally got.

"Yatto" means something like "at the end, at last, eventually, finally." usually you say やっと when you achieve your goals or you finish doing something after putting in a lot of effort or waiting a long time. やっと emphasis on a long time process.

[[ やっと also translates as barely. For example: この退屈な講義中に起きているのがやっとです。= kono taikutsuna kōgichū ni okiteiru no ga yatto desu. = I can barely stay awake during this boring lecture. ]]

やっと focuses on the fact it took TIME to achieve the goal, so you can only use it when you've accomplished something.

Also, やっと implies that you waited for a long time/ longer than expected for something to occur/come that you got a little tired of waiting. It implies your negative feeling about how long it took.

e. g:

1. 3時間経って、やっと彼は現れた

3 jikan tatte, yatto kare wa arawareta

He finally showed up after 3 hours.

2. やっと届いた！

yatto todoita!

finally arrived! (you've been waiting for it so long).

It means that something you have been waiting for has finally arrived. (=It took a long time to arrive.)

3. やっとラーメンが食べれるよ…. (Frustrated)

yatto ra-men ga tabereru yo...

We’ve been waiting and now we can (finally) eat ramen….

• やっと is used in Positive (feeling happy) sentence

e. g:

1. 試験やっとやっとやっと終わった！！！超幸せ！！！

shiken ya to yatto yatto owatta!!! chō shiawase!!!

the test is finallyyy over. I'm so happy

2. やっと会えた! とて も嬉しい

yatto aeta ! tote mo ureshii

I'm happy we were finally able to meet!

3. やっとあなたと写真撮れて嬉しかった

yatto anata to shashin torete ureshikatta

I was happy that I could finally take a photo with you.

• やっと mainly implies that you are relieved after finishing something big.

Yatto is often used to express a sense of relief or happiness after finally achieving something or after a long wait. It conveys a feeling of accomplishment or satisfaction.

e. g:

やっと合格した = yatto gokaku shita = I finally passed. In this context, やっと emphasizes the sense of relief and happiness that comes with achieving the desired outcome after a period of effort or waiting.

「やっと」 is often used in situations where there was a sense of anticipation or difficulty leading up to the moment being described. It conveys a sense of relief or satisfaction that something has finally happened after a period of waiting or effort.

• 「やっと」 is typically used when something that you are waiting for happens. And it is often used to refer to things you've long wanted to get or achieve Or it implies that a person has been waiting, and waiting for a long, long time for something.

• Other words that are used in Japanese with the same meaning of yatto: “とうと う = toutou”, “ついに = tsuini”, “ようやく= yōyaku”. When you use this word yatto, it includes the nuance of "finally managed to do something after a long time," or "Finally accomplished although it was difficult," or " wanted to get it but wasn’t able to until now.."

However, what Naruto is saying is connected with "I finally got it" ⇔ "I wanted it but I wasn't able to get it until now" ⇔ "I searched for it for a long time (I couldn't get it during that time, but now I have it)". Therefore, "Yatto" is not used in contexts like : "something you searched for a short time = something you can get right away"... Because やっと is used as like "finally".

✦𝐑𝐞𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 (𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐨'𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥)

オレに とっちゃ……………やっとできた つながりなんだ

ore ni to cha yatto dekita tsunagari na n da

For me... you are.... that "bond" that I've searched for so long

✦ 𝟓 𝐤𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭

何にもなかったオレがつながりを持てた

nani ni mo nakatta ore ga tsunagari o moteta

I, who had nothing at all... (finally) had a "bond".

~he actually is glad to have connected with someone. That someone is "Sasuke". Because 持てた has a nuance like"finally I got it"-ish. "

➪ the connection/bond that I've searched for so long... I finally got it"

✦ 𝐒𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠

お前はオレの目標になった

omae wa ore no mokuhyō ni natta

You became my "goal".

何にもなかったオレがつながりを持てた

nani ni mo nakatta ore ga tsunagari o moteta

I, who had nothing at all... (finally) had a "bond".

[Sasuke's facial expression in this panel is very different compared to chapter 485. Naruto doesn't stop smiling throughout the conversation, showing Sasuke how happy he is. Hearing his words and seeing the happy smile that was beaming at him, Sasuke looks he is very much affected by Naruto]

✦ 𝐊𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭.... 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞

✦ 𝐒𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐨 (𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐊𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐚𝐤𝐮𝐫𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐨) 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐜.

𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐕𝐨𝐓𝐄𝟏

✦ 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐜 & 𝐖𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐜 [𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤]

SASUKE: ･･･知るか･･･よ･･･ バカ･･･ 体が 勝手に･･･動いち･･･まったんだよ ･･･バカ･･･!

....shiru ka yo...baka tai ga katte ni... dō ichi...

mat tandayo.... baka....!

How the hell should I know...? My body just... moved... on its own... Fool!

NARUTO: お前の言ってることも分かってるつもりだ... けど... こういう時は体が勝手に動いちまうもんだ ろ... 橋での時ーーー

omae no itteru koto mo wakatteru tsumori da ... kedo... kōiu toki wa karada ga katte ni ugoichimau mondaro ...kyōde no tokiーーー

I think I understand what you're saying. But...in this situation, a body moves on its own (unconciously)... Just like that time on the bridgeーーー

Just Naruto’s name (on the bridge) is enough to make Sasuke smile.

[rea-grimm]

Android Luffy

You worked in a science lab where they focused on making robots and improving artificial intelligence. They wanted to perfect everything and create the perfect android that would be unrecognisable from a human, at people's fingertips and, most importantly, able to get power for its system in times of power outages and so on. Now you were also working alongside nanobots and special metals that were to be incorporated into another new model.

This created the first android model that did all that. This prototype was supposed to draw energy from human food, was supposed to feel human emotions, and could stretch its body as if it were made of rubber without any damage.

You weren't there for the programming process or the actual manufacturing. Your task was simple, at least according to everyone. The prototype of this robot, named JOY-BOT01, but with the work name Luffy, was to live with you, and you were to test its reactions in a real environment.

Everything was to take place in your house. They moved a giant box that contained a charger and an android. You opened it and felt the button that the android had hidden behind its ear, which served as a switch.

Just as you turned him on and his eyes opened, a giant smile appeared on his face. You had no idea how energetic and cheerful this android would be. You've never seen such a personality in an android before.

Luffy, even though he couldn't read or write and had limited knowledge, was cheerful and full of life. You'd expect him to have a processor full of knowledge or access to the internet to look it up, but no. Instead, he had a head full of dreams and asked questions about everything. You got the impression that at one point, you were working with a child rather than a real android.

Every day was an adventure with Luffy, and not a single day was boring. You wrote down all your progress and observations in a notebook and reported back to the scientists every week.

However, from their answers, you found that they didn't like Luffy's daydreaming and his general character. Or that he would use nanobots to reach out for food, or that he would reach out and hug you like an octopus. You, however, tried to reassure them that everything was perfectly fine and that Luffy would eventually calm down. Even though you didn't believe it yourself.

One day, you decided to take Luffy to the amusement park to test his interaction skills. As soon as you entered the park, Luffy's eyes lit up. He had no idea which ride to go on first, or if he would go around to all the treat stands first. Eventually, however, something else caught his attention.

"Y/N! Look at that ship! That's a pirate ship! We're going treasure hunting!" He exclaimed excitedly, grabbing your hand and pulling you towards the attraction.

In front of the pirate ship, you were given a map that led to the hidden treasure. The game consisted of searching for clues around the park, and whoever found the treasure won a teddy bear. Luffy looked at the map carefully and started pulling you for the first clue.

Luffy ran from one station to the next, his long mechanical arms reaching out to collect all the clues he needed. Every once in a while, he stopped to ask you a question.

"Y/N, why do people like to find treasures? What's so exciting about it?" while he was scouring the map for where to go next.

"Because treasure isn't just about value, Luffy. It's about the journey you go through before you find it. And of course, the excitement of finding your reward after a difficult journey," you replied with a smile. Luffy thought for a moment, but his enjoyment of the game didn't wane. Instead, you had to show him the way.

When you finally found the treasure, you were given a teddy bear with a map in its hand, plus a straw hat. Luffy picked up the teddy bear, looked at it, and then gave it to a little boy standing nearby.

"To me, treasure is something else," he said as he put on the straw hat, and his eyes briefly met yours. "Maybe it's something I'll find later."

Before you walked out of the park, you came across a snack stand. Luffy immediately headed over to the vendor and asked for a huge portion of fries with a wide smile. When you sat down at a table to eat your share, he began to enthusiastically talk about how amazing the treasure hunt was.

"It was like a real adventure! But I think my real treasure is still out there," he said with a mouthful of chips and a dreamy, hopeful expression.

On the way back home, Luffy told you about his dream. What he wanted to achieve. You've never heard an android talk so determinedly and enthusiastically about his dreams. You've only heard him talk about dreams. Androids didn't usually have dreams of their own. Only pre-programmed ones.

"I want to find my own treasure. Something that's mine alone. Maybe not gold, maybe not food. Something... that I can feel here," he said, placing his hand on his chest where his processor was hidden. Your heart fluttered strangely at his words. Luffy had something special inside him - something that went beyond programming.

"What would your treasure look like?" You asked curiously as you watched Luffy gaze up at the star-studded sky.

"I'm not sure," he replied after a moment. "But I think it'll be something that fills me with the same happiness I feel when I'm with you," he said, looking at you like it was nothing, his smile warm and innocent. His words surprised you and warmed your heart at the same time.

As your work continued and you sent in your regular reports, some scientists began to have doubts about the safety of the program. Luffy's behaviour was an aberration that had to be stopped.

"A robot can't have dreams," said the project leader. "If it keeps going like this, we'll have to terminate the program."

"But Luffy is unique! His ability to think and feel is what makes this project revolutionary," you protested, but your words were ignored. Luffy overheard your conversation, and his eyes darkened.

In the lab, Luffy was subjected to more tests. He was originally supposed to answer questions about his functions, but instead, the scientists focused on his behaviour. One:

"JOY-BOT01, what is your main objective?" one of the scientists asked him. Luffy paused for a moment and thought.

"I want to find treasure," he replied confidently without any hesitation.

"That's not an adequate answer," the scientist remarked sharply. "Robots cannot be programmed to search for abstract concepts. That is unacceptable." At that moment, you realised the end was near, as you saw him write the word DEACTIVATE heavily in his notes.

The day Luffy was to be deactivated came too soon, and you failed to prepare for it. You wanted them to cancel it, you made up reasons why the project should continue, but the scientists were deaf to you. They said you were too emotionally invested for a proper review.

As the scientists prepared to shut it down, Luffy saw your face and knew that would be the end of it. What upset him more than his demise was your sad face. How dare the scientists do that? Luffy got angry and broke through the lab's security systems.

"Y/N, come on! We gotta get out of here!" He grabbed your hand before changing his mind and taking you in his arms like a bride and running with you to the dock.

At the pier, you headed straight for the boat you bought because you wanted to take him on a sea trip. Luffy hopped on it with you, still trying to use his outstretched arms to push away the scientists and security guards who were following you. You, meanwhile, ran to the wheel and started it up before taking off full speed away from there.

"We're free now!" Luffy rejoiced. "And you know what? Together we'll find the greatest treasure. Maybe it's a treasure I can't find alone - maybe it's you."

On the high seas, you started a new life. No scientists, no controls, just you and Luffy. And even though Luffy was an android, he could show you every day that his heart was full of life, dreams and love. As you sailed over the horizon, you felt that you had both found the true treasure in each other.

Luffy Masterlist

[spaceagebachelormann]

MARS CAN I HAVE HCS FOR DOING UR MAKEUP WITH THE DUCKS <333333

PLSPSLOSLSLSLSÑSLSPSLSÑSLÑSJSLDLSJSKS ILYSM KSBDND

doing ur makeup with the ducks !

✧ warnings: none!

✧ characters included: charlie conway, adam banks, lester averman, fulton reed, connie moreau, guy germaine, julie gaffney, ken wu, dean portman, luis mendoza, dwayne robertson

✧ additional info: can be read as romantic or platonic! readers gender isn’t explicitly specified but is supposed to be fem

✧ m.list — nav.

ೃ༄ charlie conway

he’s. very interesting about it

he’ll mainly just sit and watch cause he doesn’t know what else to do but will ask questions

“omg what’s this” and it’s probably mascara

even though he’s a guy u would think he knows that

he’s not mean about it or anything, he actually asks a lot of questions because he’s genuinely interested

ೃ༄ adam banks

i have a hc he has an older sister so he actually knows what a lot of the bottles are

he’d let u test lipsticks on his arm <3

and if u wanted his honest opinion on how ur makeup looks he may or may not be able to give it 😭 but if he thinks it looks bad he’ll hesitate for like 5 mins before finally saying “you look a little crazy.. i’m sorry”

and he’d let u put some on him for funsies

ೃ༄ lester averman

he’d talk non stop the whole time u do ur makeup

it’s like 40% questions and 60% random nonsense

it’s entertaining though because he knows all the gossip and has fun facts that are actually terrifying

he’d wanna try to put makeup on u but u don’t let him cause he’ll fuck up 💕

and if u get up to go to the bathroom or just to get something u come back and bro looks like a clown

ೃ༄ fulton reed

despite the fact he’s very silly and chaotic and always has something to start yelling about he actually likes the peacefulness of when ur doing ur makeup

it’s like a little free period for him cause he can get hw done, sleep, just sit there and talk normally, etc

ofc cause he’s a Teenage Boy he’d probably make fun of u a little but he’s overall amazed by the process and how long a full face takes

and also would ask u to tell him whatever gossip yk and his responses are so funny

“so yk chelsea?—” “OHH THE ONE WHO GOT PREGNANT??? YEAHHH” “apparently the dad is j-“ “JAKE??? I FUCKING KNEW IT.”

ೃ༄ connie moreau

i feel like she’s one of those girls who only wears like mascara and lipgloss (not cause she’s a pick me but because she doesn’t know how to do anything else)

will ask u to do hers for her! and teach her how to do stuff like blush and eyeliner since she doesn’t know how but rlly wants to learn

and she also compliments ur makeup every 2 mins

“omgg u look gorgeous!” “connie babes i haven’t even put anything on yet” “and? <3”

ೃ༄ guy germaine

says things like “you look so pretty” or “that looks so cool? omg?” every 2 seconds

he genuinely thinks ur the greatest at doing makeup

and he also let’s u test lipsticks on his arm

i feel like he’d ask u to put eyeliner on him just cause he wants to see what it looks like on him <3

also his hands are probably really steady for some reason?? so if u have shaky hands hed help u put stuff on

ೃ༄ julie gaffney

100% curls ur lashes for u if ur also terrified of the lash curler

does hers with u even though she doesn’t rlly use concealer and foundation and skin stuff cause she washes her face every day <3

but she’d know how to use literally everything and is fucking amazing at it and can help u with whatever u want

would ask u to help her choose colours if she decides to have colourful eyeshadow

let’s u paint her nails <3

ೃ༄ ken wu

i’m ngl he probably just sits there and watches

probably uses the time to just talk about whatever

and if y’all have classes together he asks for help with hw 😭

“so what’s number 4 again??” “oh it’s 13 over 6” “ty!!”

he’d also start organizing ur makeup for funsies and brings u snacks and water if he gets bored

ೃ༄ dean portman

will look through literally all ur makeup for funsies

and also asks a shit ton of questions

would probably say “that’s so girly 😹🫵” as a joke but he’s actually rlly intrigued and likes watching u do it

hands u whatever u need but u probably have to explain it to him and he grabs it at the last second to be a bitch

“can u hand me the lash curler?” “the what” “that curvy thing that looks like a little science tool” “wtf r u talking about” “oh my god let me—“ “OHHH U MEAN THIS”

sometimes he actually has no idea wtf u mean though

ೃ༄ luis mendoza

knows what everything is cause as we all know this MAN WHORE has had like 400 gfs

would suggest different lip colours to do

will 100% rizz u up while ur putting on lip gloss or lipstick

“i like that colour, u should kiss me so we can both have it” “that wasn’t smooth at all”

he also makes jokes like the little comedian he is (compares random people to random shit)

ೃ༄ dwayne robertson

he’s like adam but more talkative

would try to guess what everything is used for and like very rarely gets it right

but when he does he gets so excited

he’d do ur hair while u do ur makeup so u don’t have to after

WOULD PLAY COUNTRY MUSIC IN THE BG.

[z-ancunin]

Fatal Touch (SCP 049 x Reader) Part 1🧡

| SCP 049 x fem!reader | Warnings: brief mentions of death and medical procedures (no blood). Part 1 of a series, NSFW in the later parts. You have been invited to an interview with the infamous SCP 049, aka, The Plague Doctor. Will you become another one of the doctors so-called "patients" or perhaps something more? |

Today was your first interview with a sentient SCP since you’d been hired. You had worked here for close to a year but had only really interacted with SCP’s in the “Safe” class. From what your boss told you, this anomaly was a class “Euclid”. Even though you had only graduated 5 years ago, your resume and good grades were enough to turn a few heads. The interview process was extensive to say the least, there were countless interviews, background checks, drug screenings, and even a lie detector test before the hiring paperwork (and an NDA) were slid across the table towards you. The pay was fairly decent, even if the hours were long. You hadn’t really bothered to make friends with any of your colleagues either. Almost everyone was very secretive of their personal life, which was understandable given the nature of your work. You just kept things cordial with every staff member you interacted with, and left out the bonding part. As you settled into your office for the day, you took a sip of your coffee and turned on your computer. As the screen lit up, you unpacked your bag and set everything out on your desk. You took out your notebook, several black pens, your company issued tablet, and a few snacks to get you through to your lunch break. While you were laying out your materials, you were interrupted by a knock at your office door.

“Come in,” you looked up to see your supervisor, Dr. Itkin with a file in his hand. “Hi Dr. Itkin, good to see you.”

“Good morning Y/N, how are you doing?”

You gave a small smile. “Good, I’m excited for this opportunity, thank you again for choosing me.”

“Of course, it’s high time you got to do some research on something more interesting. You’ve proven yourself to be quite a promising researcher, so you were an obvious first choice. I’ve got the file on the SCP that we will be interviewing for today.” Dr. Itkin lifted the folder he was holding in his hand.

Which SCP is it?” you asked as he handed you the file.

“SCP-049, a highly intelligent Euclid class that has been at our facility for roughly 8 months. It resembles a medieval plague doctor and seems to be obsessed with something that it calls “the pestilence”, although it has yet to completely identify what this pestilence is.” Dr. Itkin adjusts his glasses. “That file has all the information we’ve gathered on it so far. The interview is scheduled for 1300 hours in Research Sector 2, Site 19.” 

You opened the file and briefly scanned the pages. You noticed the photo of SCP 049 immediately. It did resemble a plague doctor from the 12th Century, its face was covered by a large beaked mask and a black hooded robe. But what drew you in were its eyes. They pierced your soul and made your hair on your arms stand up. You looked up and nodded at Dr. Itkin. “I look forward to it! Thank you doctor, I’ll see you soon.”

Dr. Itkin nodded and left the room, the sound of his shoes fading down the hallway.

You opened the file in front of you and began reading in depth about this SCP. The more you read, the more you felt sorry for it. Being taken away from its homeland and brought here with little to no resources to conduct experiments seemed rather cruel. Surely the foundation didn’t plan on letting 049 return home, so it would be stuck here for as long as the foundation was around. Not to mention, it seemed fairly intelligent so being imprisoned was probably very boring. You were also intrigued by the deadly touch that it possessed, as any subject that came into contact with it was killed instantaneously and operated on, becoming a zombie-like creature that the Foundation called ‘SCP 049-2’. You just hoped that you wouldn’t do anything to cause it to use its power on you. As you flipped through more of the pages, you came across an incident report that was dated 3 weeks ago. According to the report, SCP 049 had a scheduled interview with Dr. [REDACTED] when it suddenly became agitated and killed said doctor, claiming that he was sick and needed to be cured. Due to a lapse in security, Dr. [REDACTED]’s body was not found until several hours later, where it had been turned into an instance of SCP 049-2. Your mind began racing and you felt your heart rate spike. What pestilence did 049 detect, if any, and would it try to cure you too?

As the time grew closer, you started gathering your things and headed to Site 19. You couldn’t deny that your nerves were on edge as you grabbed your notebook and pens, but you also couldn’t ignore the intrigue. As frightening as SCP 049 sounded, you were also genuinely curious and wanted to learn more firsthand. As you strolled down the hallway and towards the elevators, you noticed several guards and a D class personnel headed in that direction as well.

“Keep moving.” one of the guards snapped and shoved the man in the orange jumpsuit forward. They stopped outside the elevator doors and the guard to the left pressed the elevator button down and waited. “Going down, miss?” he asked as you approached.

“Uh yes, I think so. I’m supposed to report to Site 19. I’m looking for SCP 049’s containment area, do you know where I can find it?”

All three guards froze and turned towards you. Your face immediately became flush and you cleared your throat. “What’s wrong?” you asked, your voice wavering slightly.

None of the guards spoke up, and with their faces completely covered, you weren’t able to see what their reactions were. 

“049 is a…special anomaly.” one of the guards began. “It allegedly killed two D class when they were sent in for experimentation and five more personnel when it breached containment, but you didn’t hear that from me.”

You swallowed hard. He must be referring to the containment breach incident from a few weeks ago. The elevator door opened and the four men pilled in. Your feet felt suddenly made of lead but you forced yourself forward into the small metal box. The guard in front of the car operating panel pressed two buttons and the doors closed. No one said a word as the elevator moved down. You clutched your notebook with white knuckles and attempted to control your shallow breathing.

“Hey.” one of the guards spoke up.

You looked over your shoulder, your fear probably written all over your face. 

“You’ll take this down to two floors and then make a left. You’ll be fine, as long as you stay away from it. Don’t let it get too close, I’m sure you know what will happen. Just be smart and stay on high alert.”

The elevator stopped and the doors opened. You had reached your destination, but your feet were still heavy and you were having a hard time getting your body to move.

“This is your stop. Good luck.” the same guard said and held the door open for you.

C’mon Y/N, you just need to move. It’ll be over soon and then you can go back to your office.

You nodded and whispered a small thanks as you stepped into the hallway and turned left. You didn’t bother looking back in the elevator, you knew you’d be too tempted to run straight back in. Your nerves were all over the place as you grew closer, Dr. Itkin was waiting outside with a clipboard in his hand. He looked up at you and waved.

“Y/N! Right on time. Did you have enough time to read through the file I gave you?”

You nodded vigorously. “Yes, thank you doctor. It was quite informative.”

“You seem a bit nervous, do you still wish to accompany me?”

You knew that backing out wasn’t exactly an option at this point, you’d already read the file and if you refused The Foundation would most likely have your memory wiped due to the sensitive information you had read. Besides, you felt the need to prove yourself as one of the newest researchers at the facility. “Yes I do. I’m just nervous since this is my first intelligent anomaly I’ll be interacting with.” you lied through your teeth. “But I’m not going to let those nerves stop me, I’m eager to learn.”

Dr. Itkin smiled. “I’m glad to hear you’re still on board. Let’s head in then, shall we?”

You followed him into a dimly lit room where there were several people in white lab coats talking amongst themselves or working on computers. There were also two guards with assault rifles posted outside the door inside. It looked a lot like a prison interrogation room, it even had the two sided glass so the people in the room couldn’t see out but those on the outside could see in. Through the window you saw SCP 049 sitting at a long metal table. Two chairs were seated on the opposite side of the table. SCP 049’ wrists were chained to the table so it couldn't move them. Its head was down so you couldn’t see its face. You wondered if the beak was part of its face or just a mask, and if it was only a mask, you wondered what it looked like underneath it. Dr. Itkin approached the door leading to the interrogation room and swiped his keycard. The door light turned green and slid open. 

“Dr. Itkin, how pleasant to see you again.” SCP 049 hummed, lifting its head and tilting it to the side. The humanoid figure sat across from you and Dr. Itkin, its wrists restrained in chains that were connected to the table. His gaze slid over to you and you felt chills run down your spine. “And, who might you be?”

“My name is Y/N, and you are?” you said politely.

“Ravi de te rencontrer chérie (Lovely to meet you dear). I have had many names across the years, but you may call me doctor. You are new here Y/N, or at the very least I have not seen you in this part of the facility. What brought you here?”

You recognized the doctor’s switch to French briefly in your conversation and it made you wonder what he had said. “I’m a new researcher. My speciality is in microbiology and chemistry. Was that French you just spoke?” you asked.

“Yes, it is my preferred language, although English will suffice. Curious, I have not met anyone here with a degree in microbiology. Your knowledge may prove useful in my research of the Pestilence. And you’re an aspiring scientist you say? Wonders abound.” 049 mused. “I see a very bright future ahead of you. Your eyes hold that spark of curiosity that is so often lost in this field. It can be hard to hold onto that spark, but keep the fire lit and you will go far.” 049 nodded. 

You felt a small bit of heat rise to your cheeks, but managed to maintain your composure. “Thank you, doctor.” you said, your voice wavering slightly. What the hell had gotten into you? This was a highly dangerous and intelligent creature and here you were with butterflies in your stomach from the kindness of his words.

“Now, tell me Dr. Itkin. What brings you to my containment cell?” SCP turned towards your boss, his eyes trained on him.

“I wanted to check and see how your research has been going. We’ve seen you perform several…operations on the test subjects that were provided to you in the past, but we are no closer to understanding this pestilence you speak of. Have you any new developments to share?”

049 huffed and laced its fingers together, the chains of the wrist restraints jingling with the movement. “Well doctor, it might be more useful to provide me with more human test subjects like before instead of the mammalian cadavers. It has been some time since I was afforded a live patient and I would like to resume that schedule if possible. The pestilence affects humans, and that is where my interests lie. I cannot cure what is not sick nor what is already deceased.”

Dr. Itkin sighed and shook his head. “049 your recent behavior is partly the reason why we have not given you any more human subjects. Your breach of containment recently was unacceptable and several lives were lost. Not to mention the death of Dr. Hamm. You must understand that if you do not cooperate, you will not be permitted to continue your experiments. You have already lost most of your privileges and you will continue to lose more.” 

“Those people were sick, very sick and incredibly contagious. I did you and this whole facility a favor by curing them.” 049 said matter-of-factly.

“I’m sorry 049, but it doesn’t seem like this “cure” of yours is a very good one. Those who have been touched by you are never the same.” Dr. Itkin said, his voice a bit sadder than before. It seems Dr. Hamm’s death was still weighing on him.

049 was about to say something in response when you spoke up.

“Doctor, if I may,” you began. “How would one know if they had been exposed to this sickness?”

049’s face was covered by the mask and hood it wore, but you could’ve sworn you saw a flash of surprise in its eyes when you asked your question. Almost like no one else had thought to ask. 

“What a wonderful question dear Y/N, you see I have the ability to detect the pestilence in any living creature. Perhaps it is a divine gift or perhaps it’s due to the many years I have spent studying it. In any case, I am always able to tell when someone is infected, even if they themselves do not feel any different.”

You nodded and took down a few notes as 049 spoke. “Do you detect any of the pestilence in me, doctor?” 

049 leaned in closer, and you felt your whole body go cold. There was something unsettling about the entity, but something drew you in too. You didn’t know whether or not to run away or lean in as well. 

049’s eyes scanned up and down your entire body, lingering for just a brief moment on your lips before resuming eye contact with you. “I do not. You are perfectly healthy, as is Dr. Itkin.” 049 stated. 

You smiled. “That’s good. I will hopefully do my best to keep it that way. Perhaps if it would help, maybe we could take a look at some cells from an infected person under a microscope? I’d be very interested to see if the pestilence mutates any of the living cells.” Even though you still knew next to nothing about this disease, you could tell that it meant a great deal to 049, and if you could help advance its research you would be happy to help. 

049 chuckled and you could hear a smile in its voice despite not seeing its mouth. “You are quite different from anyone I’ve met here, Miss Y/N. That spark I noted earlier, I can see you crave knowledge as do I. Perhaps you would like to be my progeny someday? Learn by my side and help me eradicate this disease once and for all?”

Dr. Itkin’s walkie-talkie beeped and a muffled voice came through the speaker.

“Dr. Itkin, please exit the interview area and bring Y/N with you.”

“Affirmative. Y/N, we will have to cut this conversation short, we’ve been instructed to leave.”

You nodded and grabbed your notebook, slightly disappointed that your conversation had been cut short. “It was nice to meet you doctor, I look forward to speaking more.” you gave him a small smile and nodded your head as you pushed in your chair.

“As do I. Au revoir ma chérie, s'il te plaît, porte-toi bien (Goodbye my dear, please be well).” 049 said in his native dialect.

You followed Dr. Hamm out the door and back into the observation room where you first entered. All eyes were trained on you, and it made heat rush to your cheeks as you squeezed your notebook tighter.

“Y/N? My name is Dr. Isaac, good to meet you.” the man extended his hand towards you and you shook it.

“Nice to meet you too. How can I help?”

“We were observing your interview with SCP 049 and noticed that he seems to have taken a liking to you.” Dr. Isaac gestured to the other people in lab coats across the room who were all watching you. “After the containment breach, 049 has been much quieter and more withdrawn. But today was different. He seemed to be more animated and talkative with you. We think your presence could be beneficial in finally learning what this Pestilence is that he seems so obsessed with. So, what do you say? Would you be up for weekly interviews with SCP 049?”

You were shocked. You’d only had one conversation with the doctor, but you also couldn’t deny that you had felt…something when you two were talking. His presence drew you in, while your mind screamed to turn and run. And yet…

“Yes, I’ll do it.” you answered after a moment of silence. When do I start?”

[oddaesthetin]

drunk, awkward, in love — han hyeongjun

“you’re my dream girl” fluff

—

it was stupid. both of you knew it was stupid, but the two of you also knew nobody would ever attempt to stop you. stupidly weird things like this were simply just your thing. everybody knew that.

hyeongjun had just come back from tour, and you from a family trip. it was an intrusive idea that both of you decided to do anyway—buy different brands of beer from wherever place you two got back from and taste test all of them. it was all his idea, but you weren’t gonna say no, so, really, who cares? gunil.

now, here’s the two of you, drunkenly half-laughing, half-trying to keep the vomit from coming out of your mouths, in your apartment, at exactly 2am. the apartment’s a mess. some throw pillows in the kitchen, a bean bag on the coffee table, the tv playing lovable by kim jongkook, and, for reasons unknown, a printed photo of jooyeon’s face on the wall.

you stopped laughing and immediately sat down as soon as you felt the need to hurl again. hyeongjun, while extremely concerned, is still laughing. with claps and pointy fingers and all that. you did that to him earlier, too, so that’s what you get.

“hanging in there?”

“yes.”

is what you were going to say if you didn’t just gallop your way into the bathroom to barf. the laughing stops, and for a moment, you thought it was just hyeongjun being considerate—until you heard a loud thud. you exit the bathroom after you’re done fixing yourself, only to find your boyfriend lying dead drunk in the middle of your living room. with no spare energy, you quietly walked and lay down next to him, staring at the ceiling for a good five minutes before he was crawling his way over to rest his head on your stomach.

“did you have fun?” he asked quietly.

you hummed and played with his hair. “honestly wouldn’t ask for anything better. i’d do this again, even with the puking part.”

you heard him laugh. “i’m glad. i enjoyed it, too.” though almost soundless, he felt you reply with a hum again. not too long after, he continued. “we should probably clean your place up.”

“wha—? that’s what you’re worried about? i thought you’d be more concerned about the beers we have left.” you pointed to the three unopened beers and chicken leftovers on the floor. “i know i am, i mean, not to sound alcoholic.”

he laughed again, his head shaking on your stomach. “well, i am, too! but i thought you were already drunk.”

“no i’m not. i’m just resting. all the puking got me hungry again,” you said with a hint of defensiveness. “you’re the one i’m worried about. are you sure you don’t have to come to practice tomorrow?”

you felt him shake his head. “it’s rest day.”

then it got quiet. another five minutes was spent staring at the ceiling until you got bored and took a peek at your boyfriend’s face. his eyes are closed, but if it weren’t for the small smile on his lips, you would’ve assumed he fell asleep already.

“what are you thinking? don’t think too deeply. that’s the kind of thing old people do when they’re already drunk. we’re obviously not.” the last statement you said so flatly.

“i was just thinking about how you’re my dream girl.” he said it so casually. too casual, actually, as if he was embarrassed to say it. it didn’t help that he got up too quickly after that and went to the beers. you remained lying down, trying to process what you just heard. it was one of the rare moments where you didn’t know how to play it cool. hyeongjun rarely conveyed his feelings this directly, and now you were torn between reciprocating the thought or changing the topic so he wouldn’t keep feeling embarrassed.

thankfully, you didn’t have to decide.

“you’re so red all over, oh my god,” your boyfriend said, giggling.

you felt the heat rise up to your face once more. you reached for the nearest throw pillow and threw it at him, which he easily caught. “shut up. you caught me off-guard. what was that anyway? i hope you didn’t just say that cause you’re drunk.”

he chuckled, a beer now in his hand. he lied down once again next to you and offered the can he was holding in the other. with you probably too shy to even look at him, you couldn’t see the soft expression his eyes bore.

“i wouldn’t just say it.” with the usual unsure expression gone, he said it softly but surely. “i don’t know…it just felt like something i needed to tell you.”

you playfully kicked one of his feet. “and you decided the perfect time was right after we drank enough to wreck the apartment?”

“well, timing isn’t my strong suit either!”

you both giggled. a second later, you sat up. “i’ve always had a crush on you, too.” you looked at him, resting your chin on your hand. still feeling warmth spreading through your chest, you gave him a smile. “i don’t mind where or when you say it. i like it when you’re random and honest, even if we’re surrounded by chicken bones and vomit… i’d call you perfect, too.”

the two of you laughed again in unison. “ahh, i also appreciate how you make saying these things easy.”

surrounded by the ridiculous chaos of the night, a quiet understanding settled between you. you both had this unspoken connection for so long, filled with small moments of shared laughter, knowing looks, and quiet comfort. but tonight felt a little bit different.

as he watched you fidget with the throw pillow, trying to play off your own reaction, he felt a quiet relief. as per usual, he knew you’d understand him even when he didn’t know how to explain himself.

he glanced over at you again, his gaze softening as he took in the way you rested your chin on your hand, giving him that playful, affectionate smile. he shifted closer, his hand finding yours and giving it a gentle squeeze, as if to say everything he hadn’t yet figured out how to put into words.

the apartment was still a mess, and neither of you was exactly sober, but none of that mattered. here, in this simple, unpolished moment, he felt more certain than he ever had.

loving wasn’t always about grand gestures or perfect timing for the both of you. sometimes, they’re just these messy, awkward, and absolutely stupid moment that makes your relationship perfect. and you thank the stars that both of you had the same understanding of that.

—

© oddaesthetin 2024