#that the show would be using strobe lighting that could cause problems for people with light sensitivity

[officialbabayaga]

philip glass should be sending me christmas cards. i'm so attached to the OST for the Illusionist that even though it's less than an hour long i've been listening to it on loop for 4 hours now, with 6 hours to go until this goddamn paper is due 💀

[saif-a2media]

Creative Critical Evaluation (ESSAY)

This product was a cultivation of four people working together and six months of planning, delays and schedules clashing which caused a lot of confusion between myself and the rest of the crew, but in the end we got it done and are quite proud of how the work came out, even having to switch between cameras as we did not always have access to a digital camera but we persevered and got the job done. 

Our product was to shed light on what some people experience, people who do not realize that they are hurting themselves by being with each other and really focused in on ‘toxic relationships’ which is a term used to describe a relationship which is ‘unfixable’ and the people in the relationship hurting each other. We wanted to challenge conventions as relationships and problems in a relationship are usually not shown and are traditionally supposed to be ‘private’ and that is due to the representation theory. This refers to how different people on television are represented, usually we are exposed to a happy couple which helps keep viewers happy and not exposing them to ‘sad and depressing’ content but through this product, we are able to show that there are two sides to everything, and since a couple's problems is shown it is considered showing them when they are ‘vulnerable’ , this shows that we are all human, we have our problems and it is nothing to be afraid of which is how we had tried to ‘flip the script’ and show that it is alright to have emotions and problems between one another. 

Our media product has the main theme and vibe of being ‘intoxicated’ as some people consider love to be a drug which is what we had tried to show, it could also be said that we wanted the viewer to feel ‘intoxicated’ because in some cases that is how people deal with their problems to numb either physical and in this case, mental pain. In the music video there were scenes which had a lot of strobe lights in some scenes and fast paced cuts within the video which suggest that the actors were ‘intoxicated. We also included scenes of the actress and actor smoking as well as close-up shots of the actress looking distressed and in pain which emphasizes that she keeps going back because she's ‘addicted’ to the drug which in this case is love. In a lot of our other media products, we have used dark colors which has purple and black, and these were used because the color black is supposed to suggest strong feelings of sadness or emptiness and the purple in this case is used to show mystery and uncertainty as that is what the actor is feeling in the video. The music we chose mentions the use of drugs and feeling uncertain about his relationship which was represented in both the video as well as the other elements of the product mainly clothes and in my case were the shoes, I had decided to design shoes for our product because it is an item of clothing that would be worn regularly which carries our brand around. The shoes themselves are purple with a scorpion near the heel because scorpions themselves have venom which can cause physical harm how a toxic relationship can cause emotional pain. It also shows how at first the signs of a toxic relationship are hard to spot, just like how a scorpion can be hidden in its natural environment. 

Our media product tries to be as immersive and entertaining as possible for the audience, for our video we had created a story of a toxic couple and their slowly deteriorating relationship as they start of as the traditional, ‘happy couple’ and as the video continues their relationship has more and more problems. We wanted to show our story, so our audiences are hooked in from the beginning to the end, we also used reception theory to our advantage which states that an audience member can either be passive and just absorb the information and do nothing with it, or they can be an active member of the audience which takes in the information and does something with it. It can be from rethinking feelings they have or even talking to their partner about their relationship, and this could be due to their own experiences or even their background. We wanted to show people who are going through a rough patch of their own that it is okay to have these feelings and that we are all human and that being in a ‘toxic relationship’ is a possibility and everyone deals with it in their own way. It also shows that it is okay to let go as shown at the end of the video through the actor burning photos of his past girlfriend showing that he has let go and is ready to walk away. 

The media product we have created is an attempt at ‘flipping the script’. As stated in the male gaze theory, in traditional media products in this case a music video, the big music industry companies are usually portraying males as being the dominant one, the male would usually be the focus of the music video as well as being the one with all the power, whereas on the other hand the women are portrayed as ‘weaker’ and is usually not the focus of the music video which creates a power imbalance within the music video due to media corporations following the narrative of the, ‘damsel in distress’. The way we challenged the norm is by putting more of the focus and emphasis on our actress giving her the ‘power’, as seen in the music video she is the one that initiates the fights, causes the problems and is the reason for our actor's heartbreak and by doing so we have challenged conventions of traditional music videos as we have shown throughout the music video showing how our actress is the main focus which is how we tried to portray her. 

Overall, this product has taken a toll on each and every one of us, but it was rewarding we had faced many problems ranging from the island shutting down due to mass floods which had also destroyed roads, as well as our actress being in another province which led to scheduling problems as well as not always having the digital camera which is seen in the difference in quality scattered throughout but overall the music video came together nicely and I have to give credit to all of the crew because without them we could not have conjured up such a piece of work. 

[pokeheadcannons97]

I'm not sure if requests are open or not but can you possibly write hc's for milo gordie leon and piers about having a s/o who suffers from epilepsy maybe include their reaction to the first seizure they see, and things like how they handle when s/o starts to seize/show warning signs,

I only do 3 characters at a post so I am going to do Leon, Piers, and Milo since I have Pokemon Shield

(and mama Melany)

Also, I’m speaking and writing this from my perspective of helping my aunt who has seizures regularly and will be answering in what I do and other things that I’ve looked up or found that help, please let me know if I can make it better, thank you! <3 Be safe

Leon

Even though he is super directionally challenged, he is so very perceptive. He will be the first to notice when you are about to have a seizure.

The distant look in your eyes and the nonverbal responses when he asks if you are okay are always signs you’re about to go into one.

He’s by your side in an instant, holding the back of your head up steady while rubbing your arm.

“Hey, it’s okay Y/N… you’re okay.” He repeats this all through out it, steady and comforting.

When you blink back after a few moments, eyes bleary but answer softly back to him, he knows you’re okay and out of it.

Will immediately stop what he’s doing, be it in the middle of an interview or sees you go down in the stands, he is next to you to help you through it

Wont hesitate to absolutely eradicate any disrespectfully words or jokes towards you about your seizures

When you first went into one, he had not expected it.

The two of you were out having lunch together after Leon had invited you out for a date to get to know each other more closely. He had been persistent, always engaging you in small talk when you were at work at one of the local shoppes in Wyndon. Would offer to help in carrying heavier things to help you out, and to make your work load lighter. 

You had been perfectly fine, sitting across from him eating lunch at a local restaurant that you favored, when you seemed to be staring off into the distance as he was talking.

When Leon saw your Gothita get destressed and practically climbed up on you, he knew something was wrong.

He was scared, and that was putting it lightly.

With Gothita surrounding you in her psychic powers she steadied your body and instructed Leon through her telepathy to hold your head straight to where you wouldn’t choke.

He frantically rubbed your arms, while looking for your distant eyes to come back to the cheery e/c he found so attractive.

When you started to move slowly on your own your eyes peered up at him, the distant look fading quickly.

“Mmm…? Leon?” You asked softly, trying to attempt to remember where you were and what happened.

“Y/N!” He replied a smile forming on his face, full of relief. “You’re okay, my God I was so worried, are you ok?”

“Mmmhmm… thanks to you and Gracey.” You replied with a soft smile, giving your pokemon a thankful expression, to which she cried in happiness as a reply.

“Let’s get you to the hospital, to at least get a look at you. Then I’ll make sure you get home okay.” Leon said as he helped you up with his strong arms, letting your body lean against him. “I never knew you had to deal with these. You’re so much stronger than I could ever be, Y/N.”

Your heart thudded in your chest, your stomach knotting up in that similar way it did when you would see him visit your work on his days off from the league. Most people would be so scared and standoffish, more afraid of you than anything. See you as someone that needed to be fixed, someone that was fragile, and needed to be looked after like a child.

But Leon? He shown genuine kindness, he didn’t make you out to be this weak person who had epileptic seizures. He treated you with respect. As an equal.

You were strong, something that you did not hear often in your life.

You gave a small laugh, and peered up at him, your e/c eyes shining against the streetlights. “Is it too late to ask you for a second date?”

Leon’s cheeks uncharacteristically burned a deeper red and low chuckle came from his throat. “Not at all.”

Piers

There’s not many times he’s serious, but when it comes to you, he is stone cold serious.

Will constantly ask you if you’re okay if you seem more nervous or shakier than usual.

Always holds your hand when you’re feeling more shaky, will go into any quieter space to get you to a safer environment just in case

Even though his shows can be flashy and loud, he really prefers that you stay home or listen to CD’s of the shows of his that are flashier and with more lights. He’s talked to his producers about incorporating more epilepsy friendly aspects into his shows and videos so that more people can enjoy it safely.

On the times that you do watch him, he makes sure that the place is better lit, and no strobing lights.

Will rub the top of your head softly when you go into one, and holds you to where you wont hurt yourself during it.

He knew you had them, but you said that it was less common these days. So he thought that it would most likely be a while before you had one.

The first time you had a seizure in front of him, he was terrified and confused on what to do.

You were sitting beside him, listening to him strum on his guitar as try to work out the sound to his new song.

Your Kirlia sat beside you, listening too.

When he looked up from the strings and papers he had scattered around him, rewriting certain parts he paled.

Your arms were shaking as you began to fall backwards rather quickly. Luckily your Kirlia predicted this and carefully grabbed your shoulders and placed you on your side.

Kirlia’s eyes rose to Piers and she instructed him to gently rub at your arms as she used her abilities to work on the overfiring electrical impulses your brain was having.

Piers scanned your body frantically, your twitching limbs and far off stare causing his heart to race in nervousness. He didn’t know what to do, but hoped that what he was doing helped in some way.

Your Kirlia called softly as your twitching began to stop and your eyes regained their soft e/c hue. You hummed a little as you blinked back the glaze over your eyes.

“Y/N, hey… are you with me?” Piers asked, eyebrows knitted together, refusing to leave your side.

You gave him a confused stare and nodded slowly. “Yes…what…?”

Your Kirlia touched your forehead and you understood.

“Thank you… for helping me, Piers.” You patted your Kirlia’s hand greatfully. “And you too Meena, you did amazing.”

From then on Piers was sure to be more observant and learn about how to be better prepared for the next attack. The zigzagoon brigade are always alert and ready to go into pillow mode to help you not hit your head or hurt yourself. 

Milo

The absolute best at making sure that you are taking you meds and taking care of yourself

Always tries to make sure that you have enough time to get enough sleep and goes to bed at the same time as you to help make it easier

He’s used to dealing and helping new gym challengers that have anxiety problems, so he knows how to relax you and help manage your stress

Being as strong as he is, it’s nothing for him to grab you when your legs give out when you go into one, making sure that you are laid down on your side safely

His big hands will make soothing touches and coax you through it, making sure everyone around you is quiet so you’re not overwhelmed with voices around you

If you ever feel bad about having them, he is so quick to reassure you that it is never a problem and he loves you so much

The first time you went into one

You were battling him as your first gym battle, with your Espeon battling against his Glossifleur.

You seemed so strong, easily ordering move after move from your companion, but that changed when you started to wobble on your feet, your Espeon immediately ran to your side to catch you from hitting your head and braced your body against her own and let you fall at a slower rate to the ground safely.

Milo gave a wave to the stadium, with a shout of “Everyone stop!” and made his way over to you. The stadium went into a quick and silent hush. The rotom camera, now focused on you.

Your body jerked involuntarily, your gaze far off and unfocused.

Your partner pokemon gave a cry and rubbed against your body while Milo held your head to where it would be easier for you to breath.

“Hey, Y/N… it’s okay lass. You’re okay.” He said softly, his hat blocking out the harsh sun above you. He gave your cheek a few soft pats, his green eyes searching your face.

It took about a few moments for your hands to stop seizing and jerking. When they did you let out a steady breath. You blinked slowly and gave a low hum as your eyes refocused and fell upon the grass type gym leader above you.

“There you are, are you hurt?” Milo asked you, his voice lower but understandable for your comfort.

You swallowed, and went to slowly sit up, the sun from above now shining painfully on you. You blinked your eyes shut but nodded and turned to him.

 “Yeah… just...” you began and suddenly noticed where you were and felt the anxiety well up inside of you.

“Would it be possible to…stop our battle for today? Please?” you finished and picked at a part of your nails, cheeks flushed.

“I’m sorry but I think I need to lay down for a while, I’m just wiped after…” you tried to explain yourself, your Espeon chittered next to you, rubbing against you softly.

Milo held up a hand with a genuine and kind smile. “Say no more, Y/N. Let’s get you to the nurse on call to get a look at you. Make sure you’re okay.” He rose to hit feet and held a hand out to you. “Can you stand?”

You gave a nod and stood up slowly, but wobbled a little, your legs still unsteady.

Milo scooped you up into his arms effortlessly. “Just rest, I’ll get you there safe and sound.”

And he did, 

[thewritingginger]

Night at The Fall - Lucifer x Reader

OH LORD this is SUCH an old request from freaking lAsT yEaR oops 

but Its been done :D @ecryveaine I’m so sorry you had to wait so long and you probably don’t even care anymore but here it is 😅

It took forever cuz slumps be like dat ya know lol

Enjoy ~

Prompt: Smut #1 “Don’t make me take you home and punish you.” Fandom: Obey Me! Pairing: Lucifer x F! Reader Word Count: 3,681 words Warning(s): NSFW, 18+, mentions alcohol, Dom! Lucifer & Sub! Reader, Rough sex, public/semi-public sex, degrading, pet names, oral sex (BJ), begging, after care, really old and over do oops

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The room is filled to the brim with touching-bodies making the air humid. The music's vibrations rumble through the walls and the floorboards. The alcohol in your bloodstream begins to make your body tingle. You’re in a booth in the corner of the club swaying in your seat to the music. Sitting next to you sipping his scotch was the one and only Lucifer. You look over to him with glossy eyes. “Lets go dance!” you say excitedly leaning close to your lover's ear. Shaking his head he responds, “I don’t want to dance.” His tone is flat as he takes another sip of his beverage. “Well fine. Then you’ll just have to watch me.” Your sassy response is accompanied with a playful smirk on your lips.

Getting up, the alcohol pumping through your veins makes your body loose, allowing the music to move  you with ease. Standing a few feet away from the booth that Lucifer still resides in you begin to lose yourself in the atmosphere around you. Swaying your hips side to side, your arms gliding fluidly to the rhythm. Your eyes close for a moment, enjoying the freedom of movement. Opening your eyes your sight lands upon the hungry gaze of the first born. Reclined in the booth’s velvet cushions, taking slow swings from his glass as his black orbs roam over your form. Adorned in a tight red dress, the garment accenting your figure in an alluring way. His eyes following your every movement, never staying in one spot for long.

After a minute of feeling his gaze analyze your being, you decide you want to toy with him a bit.

As his eyes continue to bore into you, you turn your back to him. Outlining your body and rocking your hips side to side. You look over your shoulder to see if your actions have taken any effect on the demon. Nothing but a half cocked brow changes on his straight face. Running his tongue quickly across his lips he gets up without saying a word to get another drink. You let out a huff, but then a wicked idea pops into your head.

When Lucifer returns to his spot the situation has changed. He left you to dance on your own but returned to see you speaking with another person. A man. Sitting down he crosses  his legs waiting to see what the other demon might pull.

Feeling a piercing stare behind you, you discreetly glance over your shoulder and you see it. You see Lucifer’s face and you sense the fire slowly starting to build within him. Finally getting some kind of rise out of him. You think to yourself ‘Why don't we make this a little more interesting.’ So to add kindling to the fire you smile at the young demon talking to you running your hand down his arm. You ask him to dance with you, cause you still wanted to dance with someone and if Lucifer didn't want to be that person then so be it.

The man standing opposite to you grows excited by your invitation. As the song continues the man inches closer to your body, resting his hands on your hips. A few minutes pass and as a new song begins you turn around, your ass mere centimeters away from the other man’s pelvis. His hands continue to explore your waist. You lock eyes with a certain demon with quite the stern look painted on his face. Tight lipped and arms crossed, his look daring you to go further. Taking him on his silent challenge you press your body firmly against your dance partner. Your head falls back gently resting on his shoulder. The man accepts your warmth and leans in to plant a few chased kisses on your exposed neck and shoulder. That's when Lucifer had enough of this little show of yours.

Standing up Lucifer makes his way over to the two of you and stops right behind the unsuspecting man. Unaware of the spiders web you have just got him caught in. Feeling Lucifer's strong presence the man turns his gaze up at Lucifer’s searing glare. “Uh, got a problem man?” The demon asks a bit agitated from the interruption. “You’re touching what's mine.” Lucifer growls. “Well I didn't see her pressing her ass against you, now did I?” The demon laughs. A cocky grin plastered on his face..

A sadistic smile cuts Lucifer’s lips, “Well keep this up and I promise, you won't be seeing much of anything. Now I suggest you leave while you still have your legs to do so.” His threatening words cause the demon to step back and scurry off to another part of the club. With your arms crossed you pout, “Aww Luci, you could've been a bit nicer to the poor guy.I was just having a little fun. You didn't have to come and ruin it. But since you’re here.” You take a step towards him “I can dance with you now.” Your words come with an innocent smile. Taking Lucifer’s hand, you hold it above your head as you lead him further into the crowd of drunken dancers. The lights hit the smoke in the air creating patterns in your vision. The changing colors of the strobes paint your skin technicolored. Turning back to your lover you return to dancing but this time being more daring with your actions. Twirling your hips in a circle you turn your back to him rubbing your butt on his manhood. Rocking to the music you let a wandering hand wedge itself between you and Lucifer, palming at his crotch a few times before you feel his bruising grip on your wrist. Leaning into your ear, his voice penetrating your entire body. “If I were you I would be mindful of what it is you are doing Y/n.” His tone suggests you to be cautious but the way his words seemed to carve themselves into you made you shiver with delight. Playing innocent you say “I don't know what you mean Luci, I’m just having a little fun with you.” You smirk inwardly, knowing the game you were playing. Knowing the risks of what egging him on could lead to. After a moment of pondering your innocent confession you feel a low fiendish chuckle vibrate against your back. Moving to the music with you, his iron clamp on your hip tightens as he wraps his other arm around you to caress your neck. Pulling you against his chest enabling you to move. “Y/n, don't make me take you home and punish you.” His taunting words make the warmth betwixt your thighs sear like a branding iron. Feeling as if the air is caught within your throat his words continue. “Or perhaps you wish for me to take you here.” Your eyes shoot open at his insinuating words. “I know you wanted to make me jealous, that's why you let that scum put his hands on you.” Your breath quickens from the excitement building within you. Your electrified haze is broken by Lucifer’s sudden movements, your wrist firmly in his fist as he drags you towards the entrance.

Opening the doors of the hot bar a cold gust of wind washes over you, shocking your system. Pulling you to the side now standing in the dark alleyway Lucifer plants your back against the cold-damp concrete wall. Holding your chin up, his face a breath away from yours. “What am I going to do with you Y/n?” He asks with a tsk. His hand slipping down your neck, your side to then rest on your hip. Seeing a light bulb go off in his head a devilish gleam flashes across his eyes. “On your knees.” His words leave you speechless for a second. “But Luc~.” You’re cut off, “I said, on your knees. Now!” His command comes out with more force. Sinking to the ground you look up at him, “Undo my pants.” Another order, you obey. As you undo his belt and unzip his trousers you glance to the side where you hear people leaving and entering The Fall night club. “Lucifer what if someone sees us?” “They won't. And besides you didn't seem to mind what others thought when you were inside. I thought since you could act so shameless in front of others on your feet, you wouldn’t mind doing it on your knees.” Looking down at you, his words wrapped in sin. “Now be a good slut and do as I tell you and maybe I'll reward you after.” His fingers tangle in your hair pulling your face close to his hardened member.

Placing a hand on his thigh and the other gripping his penis. You swallow hard before you open your mouth to drag your tongue up the underside of his shaft. Putting his tip in your mouth beginning to suck, Lucifer pumps your mouth up and down himself to his desired pace. His hips bucking toward its pleasure with every few bobs of your head. His breath becoming deeper, you begin to hear low growls leaking from his throat. Looking up through your lashes you see the predatory look in his eyes. The way he looks at you like a hungry lion eyeing a wounded gazelle. Devouring you with his gaze, making you shrink under his intensity as he uses your mouth for his own needs.

After he is satisfied with the use of your mouth he pulls you back gasping, a string of saliva connecting your mouth to his cock. Before you are able to catch your breath he hoists you back to your feet, facing you towards the wall. Pulling your hips back with his strong hands as he roughly yanks up the hem of your dress over your ass. The cool air against your skin makes your legs tremble. “Hmm.” An amused hum meets your ears. “You really are something. Coming out here in this little dress wearing no panties.” Punctuating his statement with a firm smack against your right asscheek. Pulling a fistful of your hair back, making your back form a u-shape. “You wanted me to use you tonight, huh?” Putting his fingers between your legs he feels your essence coating his digits. “Look at you, sopping wet like a bitch in heat and all from having my cock in your throat. I wonder just how much further I can take you before I break you.”

Sliding his tip against your entrance, reviling in its sinful decadence. Craving more of what your body has for him. Putting his slick covered fingers into your mouth tasting  yourself  as he slams his hips against yours. Your moans muffled by his fingers. The sudden intrusion makes your knees buckle.

He starts to pump into your core with powerful thrusts. Sounds of flesh smacking and stifled cries echo in the empty alleyway. Contorting your head back to continue his assault on your ears, filling your brain with nothing but his voice. “Look at you defenseless against me. Completely at my mercy. You love having my cock stuffed inside you don't you?” Unable to say anything you nod your head. Letting out a choked groan, the way he is fucking you and your backs bent is proventing you from taking a full breath. “I’m sure the thought that any one of those people walking in and out of that door over there could look over and see us gets you off. Huh, Princess.” Unable to do anything once again but nod your head in agreement as pleasure consumes you whole. Feeling as if the world is spinning, your brain incapable of knowing up from down at this point. His masterful thrusts hitting you in just the right spot over and over again. His words, pushing you closer to the edge. “You're such a little whore for my cock. I should’ve defiled you right in front of everyone, so they could see just how dirty you really are. You would've liked that huh?” A choked out “Yes'' leaves your lips causing a pleased smile to grace Lucifer's face. “Yes, what?” he asks with a hard spank, a red mark colors your butt. “Y-yes Master.” You corrected your response earning you a heated kiss before releasing your face. Dropping your head down stretching your neck from the unnatural position you were in. He pulls both your arms back holding you by your elbows as he begins to mercilessly pound into your womanhood.

Your knees feel weak. Unsure whether you’ll be able to keep yourself upright, Lucifer’s grip on you doesn’t falter. Still trying to suppress the moans from erupting from your throat you let out whispered screams to try and get some release. “Still trying to hold back? Well that's fine I guess I’ll have to pry those sweet sounds out of you.” His threat makes you involuntarily whimper, unsure if you can take much more of this relentless fucking he’s giving you. “P-please I don't know if I can take any more.” You confess hoping he will let up a bit, but how naive you were to dream of that happening.

“Oh I’m sorry, Y/n. Am I being too rough with you?” As he speaks in a mocking tone his thrusts slow down to long agonizing pumps. “I’m sorry.” Relieved that the pace has slowed down but the anxiety of what he has in store for you next  keeps you from letting your guard down. His grip on your elbows disappears allowing you to stretch your arms. His large palms feel up and down your sides as he places kisses on your shoulder. You begin to lose yourself in this new found softness for a moment before it stops, “Well Princess, If you don’t like how I’m fucking you then, you do it!” He says, pulling out of you. Turning you around to face him, his eyes hungry. He picks you up like you’re weightless. Wrapping your arms and legs around him to keep yourself up. Eyes locked. His forehead to yours. “Cause either way, I am having you!”

Inserting himself back into your wetness you let out a weary gasp, His hands firmly gripping your ass “Start moving.” His commanding words make you move innately as if you don't have control over your own body anymore. This body that claims to be yours but when his stringent words fill your ears you are reminded of who really governs it. With every twist of his lips and smack of his palm you are consumed with the ever present desire to please him. To give up your body for this ravenous beast. Presenting yourself, a banquet of erotic delicacies that only you can offer him. Wanting him to devour you with every kiss, needing him to take your body past its limits. Your muscles strain as they loop around his toned form, screaming to keep you up. Your hips eagerly trying to take in every inch of his manhood. Growing increasingly exasperated, feeling as if you can't get close enough. “Come on is that the best you can do? Prove to me that you want my cock.” His taunting words don’t register in your mind, every syllable blurs together as you try and focus on keeping yourself up and moving your hips. The heat inside you is enough to make you feel like you’re melting. Allowing yourself to be putty in his hands as he molds you to what he wants. Shaping yourself around his body like a puzzle piece. His dark silky locks are tightly wound in your shaking digits. Your face buried in his neck. Sinking your teeth into his shoulder trying desperately to muffle your cries of pleasure. A hiss is heard as Lucifer sucks in through his teeth. A dark chuckle erupts from his chest. “We’re biting now are we? Well then~” With his amusement you let out a little squeal as Lucifer digs his fingernails into the plump skin of your ass. His hands assisting you in your movements, your hips meet each other with bruising force. The sound of skin slapping against each other and muffled screams emanate from the dark alleyway. “Fuck!” His hoarse whisper vibrates through your weak body. Trying desperately to keep your grip around him. Detaching from his shoulder you meet his gaze. Directing him you kiss him hungrily. Tears pricking your eyes, moaning into his lips.  All your senses being stimulated. His touch. His taste. His smell. His moans. All of it fills you up. Nearing your breaking point you hug him closer, if that was even possible. With every stroke of his shaft inside you you’re pushed closer and closer to the edge. The coil inside you coming undone burns in your belly. Seeking your end you move your hips faster. Not caring if anyone can see or hear you. All you care about is him. This moment. Your end. Nothing else mattered but the pleasure between you two.

Just a few more movements of your hips and you feel the string holding you together snap. You kiss Lucifer as you climax. Muffling your sweet cries of passion. Your walls convulse around his manhood, urging him to keep going. Riding out your orgasm you feel his cock twitch signifying his impending end.  Not having a chance to come down for your high, being over stimulated by his never wavering need to fill  you with his seed. Claiming you as his. His mind, that of an animal, focusing solely on marking his territory. He will have everyone that sees you know your his. If not from the marks he leaves behind then from his semen dripping down your legs. His feverish movements become sloppier. Looking into your eyes, foreheads touching he releases his essence inside you. Your walls are coated with hot ropes of cum, as he maintains a slow pace. Milking his cock for all it has.

With his back to the wall, standing there motionlessly in silence. A minute passes. Both breathless, calming down from the ride you went on. The excitement melting into tiredness. Your head rests limp against his before sweeping the loose hair in your face. Looking at him, your eyes, heavy. Cradling your  face like a prized gem, rubbing your cheek with his thumb he pulls you in for a tender kiss. “You okay? Do you think you can walk?” He asks, a new found softness to his once rough voice. You nod your head, “I’m okay.” You offer a smile and catch his lips again. Reveling in the aftermath of your heated moment. You gasp as he pulls out slowly. Placing your feet on the ground he waits for you to steady yourself. Fixing your clothes you look over to him as he buckles his belt back on. Draping his blazer over your shoulders he lifts your chin. “Let’s go home, I’ll draw you a nice bath.” Kissing your forehead you wrap your arms around his waist. “That sounds nice.” You say with a smile.

Taking your first step to leave the alleyway Lucifer catches you as you stumble a bit. I guess walking in heels on cobblestone after a particularly aggressive fucking isn’t that easy. Laughing it off you feel his strong arms pick you up. “Here I’ll walk you to the car.” Accepting his offer you rest your head on his shoulder as he carries you to the car that’s picking you up.. On the drive home you both are relaxed in each other's arms. His fingers draw patterns on your shoulder as he breathes in your shampoo.

Once at the house of Lamentation you and Lucifer went separate ways. Him to the bathroom to run you a bath and you to your room to get unready.

Walking into the dimly lit bathroom the only light coming from the lit tea candles. The bath is filled with steaming water and a mountain of bubbles. The hint of lavender and sage hangs in the air. “I got you a glass of water as well. Do you need help getting in?” Lucifer asks as he helps derobe you. Nodding your head, he hangs your robe  on a hook as you take his hand. Stepping into the bath you sigh at the perfect temperature. Bubbles surrounding you as you sink further into the water. The tension in your muscles drifts away as the water warms you up. Looking over to Lucifer you give him a smile. “Won't you join me?” You ask. Your question tugs the corners of his lips up. His eyes are soft as he begins to strip his body of his clothing. You can’t take your eyes off him as he does. With your gaze locked you can’t help but feel warm all over but this time not from the water. You are washed over with such love for this man. A man that can drive you mad with desire and lust but also make you feel like a schoolgirl with their crush. He can be an animal one minute and a prince the next. While in your thoughts you feel Lucifer step in behind you. Your back against his chest, skin to skin. His arms wrap around your front, you rest your head back on his shoulder. Back in that comfortable silence. Your energies intermingling. Engaged in another act of intimacy, one that's softer but just as passionate. ‘I really do love this man.’

Your thoughts make you laugh. “What are you laughing about?” He asks, placing a light kiss on your head. “Oh nothing. Just thinking about how much I love you.” You look up  to see him smile at your comment. “And how much is that?” He asks playfully. “Wouldn’t you like to know.” You say back, flicking some water in his face. You both get lost in laughter before he pulls you in for a kiss. “I bet if I try hard enough I can get you to tell me.” He says holding your cheek. “We’ll see about that.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Golly gosh that was kinda long but also soo freakin old lol idek if its good at this point I read it so many times xD

But I hope you enjoyed it :3 and hopefully unless school doesnt keep kicking me in the face I can slowly keep getting more out 😅

💛 ~

[magnusmysteries]

Part 26: Captivating Literature

The Magnus Archives was a horror podcast. It is now completed. Many of the show’s mysteries were never explained on the show. I intend to explain them. Spoilers for the show, but also spoilers if you wanna solve these mysteries yourself. This is based on episodes Pageturner, Literary Heights and The Coming Storm.

Once when Dominic Swain and Michael Crew are children, Dominic insists they keep playing outside and as a result Crew is hit by lightning and gets a Lichtenberg scar. The Lichtenberg scar draws the attention of a monster of the Spiral that begins tormenting Crew. As an adult, Crew buys the book Ex Altiora from Herbert Knox. Crew uses the book to become an avatar of the Vast. He says he binds the monster to the book. Years later Dominic finds Ex Altiora in a charity shop and buys it. Later while wandering the streets Dominic ends up at Pinhole Books and meets Mary Keay. Later Mary’s son Gerard visits Dominic, buys Ex Altiora and burns it.

When Herbert describes the book, it has no Lichtenberg figure and it does not smell of ozone. Herbert says that when Crew was in his shop, there would be a smell of ozone, but the smell wouldn't come from Crew. Also the lights in the shop would get brighter. That’s the monster following Crew that is messing with the lights and the smell.

When Dominic has the book, a Lichtenberg figure appears in it and it causes the smell of ozone. He brings the book to a play and thinks there is a problem with the lights. That’s the monster in the book causing the figure, the smell and lights problem.

Originally Ex Altiora is supposed to make people dizzy and make them fall. Herbert falls out of a chair twice. The previous owner died from falling down the stairs. Dominic falls down some stairs and twists his ankle. After the spiral monster is trapped in it I think the book can also mess with the senses and memories of people.

A couple of quotes from when Dominic buys the book: “At first I assumed it was some sort of faux-leather special edition and I was sure whoever put it out for sale must have done the same, because the price on it was only four pounds. There was something about it that made me take another look, though, and picking it up I felt the binding and realized it might well have been bound in real leather, probably calf, given how soft it was.”

“...it was then that I noticed the time. I had somehow managed to spend an hour in that shop...”

I think the spiral monster spent almost an hour manipulating Dominic into buying the book. It made several attempts, and then deleted the memories of the failed attempts.

I think Crew somehow deliberately made Dominic buy Ex Altiora as revenge for Dominic causing Crew to get hit by lightning. Maybe Crew made a deal with the monster in the book, that Crew would release the book if the book hurts Dominic.

When Dominic goes for a walk and ends up at Pinhole Book, it’s the spiral monster messing with his mind. At one point Dominic almost walks into a man, so he is confused. Why does the spiral monster send Dominic there? It wants the book to be burned so it can be freed. Maybe the monster knows of Gerard’s habit of burning dangerous books. Or maybe it thinks Mary will destroy the book, as she is now an avatar of the End and the End and the Vast are opposites (see Part 3). Whatever the plan, the book is burned and the monster freed.

I think the monster is the Distortion. Crew mentions how his scar is a fractal. The Distortion loves fractals. The monster creates an impossible door for Crew. The Distortion makes doors.

Here’s how Crew described the monster ”In the dark it would stand beneath my bedroom window, the light flaring, flashing the awful brightness of sheet lightning across my room. I could never look directly at it. The bright, arcing glow of its insides almost blinded me when I tried. It was almost a man, but I could never be sure. Its strobing, flashing Lichtenberg organs changed and flickered too fast.”

Crew also says: “The thing that chased me, you see, it was an arcing branch of the Twisting Deceit, taken shape to follow me. But the shape it had taken more rightly belonged to the sky.”

Here’s how Herbert describes the monster: “It was hard to make out, as it only seemed to appear for those momentary flashes, but it seemed tall, thin, its limbs angular and branching. Like Mike’s scar.”

Here’s Sasha describing the Distortion “It looked too tall, the limbs and body were very thin and almost wavy, like they didn’t have any structure or bones in them.”

Here’s Helen Richardson describing the Distortion: “Its body was thin and limp, and when it moved, it shifted, like I was watching it through rippling water. Its hands were swollen, and bits of them jutted out at annoying angles.”

I think the Distortion, when tormenting Crew took the form of lightning, since Crew was afraid of lightning. But it still had some of its old form: tall and thin with arms that branches out.

I think this is The Distortion before it became Michael. It is not quite human, and does not have Michael’s Shelley’s Laugh.

In Left Hanging, Simon Fairchild jumps out of a cable car. More weird stuff happens, and the driver starts walking towards the door. I think he is about to jump out and fall forever, like Simon wants. Then this happens:

“There was a thump from above, the sound of something heavy landing on the roof of the car, and the driver froze, arms still outstretched. His eyes widened in sudden realization, but before he could pull back from the edge, an arm, long, grey, and completely inhuman, reached down from above with terrible speed. It grabbed his wrist, just for a moment, and then he was gone, his own scream vanishing into the abyss beyond the door. (...) Then came three bangs, one after another on the roof of the car. Knock. Knock. Knock. Then a laugh. A terrible whistling sound, like the howling of a gale.”

I think that’s Michal on the roof. The weird arm and the laughter points to Michael. And three knocks, like when Helen knocks on the door in Taking Stock.

I think Michael is stealing victims from the Vast as revenge for being trapped in the Vast book. The driver gets taken by Michael instead of falling. And the mother of the statement giver doesn't remember anything. Michael has changed her memories. That way the statement giver fears he or she for her sanity instead of fearing heights like Simon wanted.

Some might object that the dates don’t add up. The monster gets trapped in the book in 1998 and released in 2012. The Distortion tormented Paul McKenzie in 2003, and so it seems the Distortion could not have been trapped in a book then. But I think the Distortion is a time traveler. More on that in the next post.

[mutilatedmadonna]

A Heart To Heart Conversation (Not Literally Jesus Christ Where Did You Even Get That)

YOOOOOO made it with one hour to spare but ya girl still has her submission for the @secret-shifters gift exchange! This is for the lovely and talented @hiddendreamer67 who I was so fucking excited to write for! Also side note, I started a fic before this one but it was taking too long for my taste so I popped out this sucker instead. That being said like............why waste a perfectly good fic.............why not finish it eventually...........and still gift it to her since it’s techinically her prompt lmaoooo

I will go back and edit this post to include the AO3 link when I publish it :3c

Anyways

Warnings: Mild depictions of gore, fearplay; obviously, it’s all I know how to write whoops

Some people are great talkers, others are fantastic listeners. Some listen so well, in fact, they’re willing to destroy a government lab for you.

“Stop, please, I don’t want to hurt you!”

As if Derrick stood a fucking chance against the massive creature that was currently inching closer to him, crouched low to fit within the compound’s hallways. The alarm ringing was making his head pound, an unfortunate addition to his dizziness he’d been overcome with as soon as he saw the first body. Well, bodies. It had wiped out nearly every scientist and researcher in that sector as soon as it was freed from its cage, growling and hissing all the while as it dug its teeth and nails into the panicking humans. How it escaped at all was still a mystery and probably forever would be. As soon as it clawed its way through the protective lockdown doors into gen pop, all hell really broke loose. Guards tried and failed to take it down, hoping to wound the monster at best so that it could be recontained, but even as more backup arrived with heavier artillery, they never stood a chance. It was fast, it was strong, it was pissed, and it seemed to have a taste for blood and bones.

He didn’t know if it had any sort of plan beyond escaping the observational cage it had been trapped in for years, seemingly going into halls and sectors at random to slaughter the hapless scientists seeking refuge. The only reason Derrick had survived this long was simply because he ran and he continued to run. There was no use trying to hide, it was too good at tracking, so instead he did his damnedest to stay ahead of it. It had been working pretty well until he was stopped by the door at the last hall, a dead end to safety potentially. The only problem being his fucking keycard wasn’t high enough clearance to open it. He could hear it getting closer, hear the screams and crunch of bodies and deep growls that echoed all around. His breathing became more ragged the louder the sounds grew, knowing it was just one final turn away from being at the far end of the hall with a straight shot right to Derrick. No, no, no, he didn’t want to die like this. Not at the hands of this beast, not at the hands of...shit, what he thought was almost his friend.

It was his job to observe the creature in its confinement at night and take excruciating notes about every sigh and twitch it might make. It was truly as boring as it sounded, especially when the creature was awake a majority of his shift but only laid on the floor, quiet and still. It looked depressed and Derrick didn’t blame it. It had long since been locked away before he had even started at the organization, subjected to trials and tests day in and day out for hours so that the scientists could jot down these amazing discoveries. He had no idea what they planned on doing with all this data they were collecting given that this whole place was top secret, the creature certainly never meant to see the light of day. Or rather, people were never meant to see the creature. It’d cause mass hysteria. So, one evening, a few hours into the terribly dull silence he started talking aloud. Not to anyone in particular and not about anything exciting, just idle chit chat with the wall, really. 

He never expected the creature to perk up at the sound of his voice, eyeing him curiously as he continued on. He certainly never expected to turn his head back towards the massive bay window to see it sitting much closer than before. Still watching him with wide, yellow eyes and tilting its head when he quickly shut his mouth. It had never moved so close before, hell it never even showed interest in him before beyond a few glances when he’d first enter the small overhanging room. At the same time, it didn’t appear aggressive or annoyed with his mindless ramblings. In fact, when he had stayed quiet for a minute during their staring contest, it chirped at him. Like it was...encouraging him to talk again. So he did, nervously at first before getting back into the flow of whatever random thought he had at the moment. And every time the creature would just sit and listen, its full attention on Derrick, with the occasional dozing off in the midst of his longer topics. He wasn’t sure how much it actually understood him. After all, it never listened to any directions it was given during another trial, but then again that could have just been out of spite and defiance. It didn’t speak English to his knowledge as it had never once given him a reply, but that didn’t mean it didn’t know it.

It never really responded, but there were quite a few times it would react to whatever he was saying. He theorized it was basing most of its assumptions off of whatever emotion he was portraying in his speeches. When he was visibly upset about some incident with Travis down in aquatics, it would whine. When he was excited about some great news he was dying to share with someone, it would chirp. When he was exhausted for one reason or another, unable to keep his eyes open or his stories coherent, it would purr. Almost as if it was trying to lull him to sleep, which it succeeded in every time with its soft white noise. If he were to be honest, he genuinely looked forward to his evening shift just about every day. Derrick could get so much shit out of his head and off his chest without having to worry about what the creature would think about him later. Maybe this was just a trick of the mind, but...it almost seemed just as happy to see him as soon as he would appear in that bay window, immediately twitching its ears up and moving closer.

Clearly, the mutual bond was not reciprocated.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, why the fuck would the creature like him? He was just another human that stared at him for science and soon enough he’d be just another human ground under its palm until his organs burst. Perhaps it just liked hearing the sound of his voice, anything being better than the silence it was constantly surrounded in, or maybe it had always been sizing him up for a snack. He had never written any of these emotional reactions down. He didn’t...well, it was hard to put in the right words, but he just didn’t want his superiors to have that knowledge that could understand feelings for the most part. That it appeared to like him. That it could be docile. Almost like he was trying to protect it from more severe and psychological tests they would surely run. He wondered if things would be different if he actually did report his findings, like if they could have prevented whatever triggered its rage strong enough to rip down doors and walls.

It was creeping closer now, claws clicking along the concrete floor. It was absolutely soaked in blood, especially around its mouth and hands. The way its tail jerked side to side reminded him of an irritated cat, which he didn’t take as a good sign. It wasn’t like Derrick actually had something to protect himself with like he so claimed. His bluff was called in an instant and it made a throaty rumble in response to his threat. It had been difficult to see at a distance with the flashing, red light acting almost as a cheap strobe, but now that it was only a few yards away, he could very clearly tell there was something hanging from its mouth. Something large and dripping and red and oh Christ it was a body. He hoped the poor bastard wasn’t alive anymore for mercy’s sake, firmly clamped between its jaws and impaled on its fangs. Was that a sign of things to come for him? He pressed as much as he could against the lock door in a vain attempt to somehow phase through to the other side and reach safety. With no such luck, he slid down to sit on the floor instead and covered his head with his arms curling in tightly on himself. He was shaking something terrible and tears still managed to find a way to escape his shut eyes. This was never how he imagined he’d meet his end, but either way he didn’t want to see it coming. Maybe if it did like him just a smidge, it would grant him a quick and painless death. He doubted it, though. It sounded like it enjoyed the struggles of its prey far too much.

Derrick could tell when it was hovering right above him. Its shadow engulfed him, blood dripped steadily into a puddle in front of him, spreading out across the floor until it actually touched his shoes. Fuck, he couldn’t help the sob that escaped him. He was scared. Strangely enough, it didn’t...do anything to him as seconds ticked by agonizingly slow. Staring at him, he presumed? Just how it would when there was a safety window between them. Something heavy landed in front of him with a disgusting squish, splattering more blood onto him. When the silence stretched on again, he hesitantly cracked open an eye to see what was supposedly laying at his feet and immediately wished he didn’t.

It was fucking Travis. Or what was left of him, anyways, torn to shreds and missing a few vital chunks from his body. Derrick wanted to throw up, but his throat was already choked up with more panicked cries. He looked away from the corpse, not wanting to take in anymore of the gory details and instead looked at the face of the creature. It didn’t look upset in the slightest, not like how angered it had been dismembering every other unlucky human in its path. Instead, it just stared back at him with those same wide, yellow eyes, tilting its head at Derrick’s lack of reaction. It leaned down to nudge the body closer to him with its nose, pushing it against his legs and rumbling curiously. No, no, no, get it off, get it off!

“S-stop! I don’t fucking w-want it!” He cried, kicking his legs out to shove the remains away from him. What was he supposed to do with it anyways!? Why was it showing off its latest kill, like it was seeking his approval, like it--

...like it did it for him.

The night before last, he and Travis got into it again in the break room. He was already pissed about being transferred to the division the creature was in and leaving his previous work behind. It could have been because Derrick happened to be the only one there or because he was one of the younger hires, the asshole decided to take his frustration out on him instead. Snide comments turned into full on insults and all Derrick wanted was some goddamn coffee before he clocked out. Waiting for the machine to finish brewing wasn’t worth it at this point, he could pick up a cup somewhere else on the way home. He tried to leave, but Travis blocked the doorway and he, not being in the fucking mood, tried to shoulder past him instead. It was very much not appreciated as the next thing he knew he was being pinned against the wall, the lapels of his coat clenched in his fist. He was absolutely ready to throw hands with this guy before he backed off suddenly, another coworker entering the break room with a cheery greeting and total obliviousness.

Maybe he should have told his superiors about the incident, but he chose instead to vent about it to the creature the next night. As soon as he mentioned when it got physical, its ears flatten back and it growled, though Derrick was too consumed by his own emotions to really care about its apparent threat display. After that was when it had clawed its way to freedom and started its rampage. That...that couldn’t have been what set it off though, right? There had to be other catalysts surely. However, it didn’t change the fact how eagerly it was presenting the mauled corpse of his aggressor, almost as if to say look! For you!

Did that mean...it really did understand him? It understood enough that Travis had tried to attack him and he was not his biggest fan right now. He had been really worked up during that little rant, too, probably making it sound worse than it actually was. Either way, it didn’t like that and took matters into its own hands. Or, mouth rather. This must be its interpretation of protecting him, killing the threat before it could strike again. Good thing he wasn’t one to usually bad mouth coworkers or the creature possibly could have had its massacre sparked by Derrick being mildly annoyed that Sarah always forgot to clean out the coffee filter when she was done.

The creature looked at the body as it was kicked back towards it, whining slightly. Was it upset that he didn’t accept its gracious tribute? That wouldn’t start another fit of anger, would it? He thought it just might when he scoot forward those remaining few injuries to press its face against Derrick’s trembling body. Its bloody mouth transferred an unfortunate amount of gore onto his clothing, but he had other things to worry about, like how close its fucking mouth full of fangs was to his more important organs. The nose buried into his chest rubbed gently, trailing up his neck and to the side of his head. Purrs rumbled with each quiet breath, taking care not to accidentally deafen him. He still cried out when the creature invaded his personal space, though he didn’t have much room to struggle as he was pinned between the door and the face. He whimpered regardless, trying to turn his head to avoid being nuzzled and ultimately failing.

If he thought the impromptu cuddling was bad, he was in for a worse shock when the creature pulled back just a hair, foolishly thinking that it finally had its fill of smelling him or scenting him or what the fuck ever. Of course it wouldn’t be that easy, not when a black tongue darted out from smiling lips to lick him from his stomach to the crown of his head in one, quick swipe. Now that made him actually scream out some sort of pathetic, strangled sound, squirming about as he was lapped again and again and again.

“N-no, don’t, p-please!” He begged uselessly, “D-don’t kill m-me, please, p-please, don’t e-eat me!”

Much to his surprise, the creature actually pulled away from him after that last remark, tilting its head questioningly again. While Derrick was in the middle of his panic attack, doing his damnedest to keep his cries from becoming too harsh, it crossed its arms and rested its head on them, watching as he tried to collect himself to no avail. When it seemed like he was starting to slip deeper into his episode, it started to purr. Quiet and soft, a nice noise to help drown out that increasingly annoying siren. And the worst part was that he really was actually starting to calm down. Not that he liked being so scared he couldn’t breathe, but it was the sheer fact that it was the creature bringing him comfort when it was the one who terrified him in the first place. His sobs quieted down after a few minutes and when they were ragged breaths instead, it started to chitter. Little chirps and purrs and throaty noises he could only assume were directed at him since that’s where it was staring so intently, though the sounds meant nothing to him. Was that how it felt when he used to talk to it for hours on end?

Was it trying to talk to him to soothe him, because him talking to it made it feel relaxed?

He supposed their time together was a much needed break from being poked and prodded and tested and it started to associate Derrick with that mini luxury. The talking probably gave it a sense of company considering he had no fucking clue if and where other members of its species resided. Maybe this friendship wasn’t as one sided as he thought. Maybe it cared so much about the stupid little human that would blather his entire shift that it was willing to rip the facility inside out just to get rid of his bully. One by one his muscles started to uncoil their tension until he was sagging against the door. His breathing was still labored, but he could at least get a steady breath through his nose rather than his gasping mouth. A minute tremor in his hands was all that was left of his previous quivering and his headache was now replaced with a cloudy exhaustion. The creature was still making its imitation noises, only tapering off when Derrick managed to raise his head up and look at it.

“You won’t hurt me...will you?” His voice was so small and weak, it was a good thing the creature had fairly strong hearing.

It responded by bumping its nose into his chest again, smiling all the while. Affection. It liked him. Hesitantly, he raised a hand and gingerly placed it on the creature’s cheek, giving it a tiny pat.

“...you...you know we’re fucked when the army comes...right?” They were a last resort when all other failsafes went south and had yet to be deactivated. It wasn’t their job to find and help survivors, it was their job to make sure nothing about this event was leaked into the public. Be it the experiment itself or scientists who could potentially blackmail the directors.

It shifted to push itself back into a crouched position, lowering towards him with its mouth open. He flinched and turned away which seemed to be exactly what it wanted, clamping down on the back of his shirt and jacket and narrowly missing giving his back a nasty scrape. Derrick all but squeaked in surprise when he felt himself be lifted up, dangling a few dozen feet in the air. It was like he had the same POV as the creature, watching its hands paw at the locked door until claws were able to scratch through the metal in large gouges. Wiring and mechanics were exposed as a result and with a little more tearing and pulling, it opened the entry wide enough for it to slip through, Derrick in tow. Huh. Guess keycards we’re always a necessity. 

He hadn’t the faintest idea where they were headed, but it seemed like the creature had a general sense of direction and so far it was taking the correct route to the surface, to outside. For the moment, he didn’t have a single thing to say and simply let himself sway with the creature’s gait. Its intentions with him after they escaped into the world above were pretty vague at best, but he couldn’t really find the energy to care right now. As long as the military hadn’t beaten them to the exit, they’d be fine. 

They could talk later about their really unconventional future later.

[1000scrubs]

Round 1: Tonzy

Writer Tonzy’s entry for the initial prompts from 2 years ago

It was sort of brilliant actually... I don’t know if anyone even saw it coming. It was gradual at first. A couple big news articles about how the bees were disappearing, but nothing we hadn’t seen before. But over time it started getting worse. At first everyone was thrilled.  Chemical pesticides were a thing of the past and malaria was at an all time low. But then the grocery shelves started looking just a little sparse. By the end of the year they were practically empty. And it wasn’t just the bees, oh no. Butterflies, silkworms, hell even the stinking flies had started to disappear.

Well by then it was all out panic. All around the globe people were stampeding. Stockpiling food to keep them through the next year, but that only drove the prices up. It only got worse from there. Food became a rare commodity, most of us had to scrape by on processed food bricks and such.  Desperation turned to violence, soon we were on the brink of world war 3.

But that’s exactly where they wanted us. They had the whole world in their hands. While everyone was distracted by the food shortages, they swooped in and took control of the largest food distribution centres that were left. Massive ships descending from the sky.  We were at their mercy.  

It’s been around five years now and almost everyone left has gone underground.  But damn if this apocalypse isn’t good for business. Bodies littering the streets, mortality rates skyrocketing. Someone’s gotta get rid of them all, so the aliens have been  tripling the rations for anyone brave enough to do it. Lucky me, I’ve been an undertaker all my life. It’s dangerous though, above ground is a wasteland filled with the worst dregs of humanity. It’s where we banish the criminals. It’s a lucky thing that I’m the best.

I started running an underground smuggling route from my cemetery. Hidden in the crypts, where no one would think to look. People pay good food to get smuggled back into civilization. Every so often someone would come through spinning wild rumours about a device that could fix our unique alien problem. Bring the bugs back and restore our humanity. Like everyone, at first I assumed it was just wishful hoping. Brought on by our imminent destruction. But the rumours only got louder and stronger. More specific. Something about a mad scientist who found a way to jump through time and space to recover a lost artifact. It sounded like a load of bull except for the very precise science that accompanied it. Not that I particularly knew what any of it meant, but it definitely sounded too good for someone to have just made it up.

That’s when it all changed. Her name was Carrie. She was older, in her 60’s, with a stern face and narrowed eyes. I met her on one of my morning digs through the deserted towns. She must’ve known me by reputation, because she approached with no hesitation. “The Undertaker. You can get me back to Karyon?” Her voice was low and gravelly as the dust swirled around us. “For what price?” I asked hesitantly. Her confidence was unnerving in this hellscape. “I’ll give whatever you want, just name it.” She snapped. “Garlic bread.” It had came out of my mouth immediately. I had been waiting 5 years for that buttery, cheesy bread between my lips. Just the thought of it made my mouth water. “5 loaves.” 1 for every year. I knew I was pushing my luck. I must’ve smuggled thousands of people, but not a single slice of garlic bread had I ever seen. “Done.” My eyes must’ve showed my suspicion. She gave a deep throaty chuckle. “I’m good for it don’t worry. I had a good job with the aliens.”

We waited till nightfall before I led her down the crypts to the small dark tunnel.  I had my back turned to her, no reason to suspect anything. She was half my size, practically no meat on her bones. Then everything went dark. The next thing I remember I was waking up on a cold dark floor with a bright blue light strobing on and off. An acidic taste in the back of my mouth and a pounding headache.

Carrie stood looming over me. My eyes were throbbing beneath my skull and there was a weird pressure there that made my ears stuffy.  I saw her mouth moving but all I could hear was a ringing whine in my head. “WHAT?” I could barely hear anything. She pursed her lips tightly, her eyes flashing in anger. She picked me up and shoved me roughly towards a small bench in the corner of the room. I felt a sharp sting on the side of my neck and suddenly everything went clear. “Shut up. We don’t want any unnecessary attention.” She hissed, “this is our last chance. I will not have some narcissistic undertaker ruin it.” Narcissistic! The nerve! I opened my mouth to retaliate but she quickly cut me off. “Say another word and I’ll kill you myself. Just listen.” She pulled a small pouch out of her jacket. A small silver disk slipped out of and lit up with a quiet whirring noise. Bright light illuminated the room and I had to squint to see what was hovering above it. “This is our last hope. This is the Declaration of Independence.” She must have seen the incredulous look on my face, “ obviously not the real one, it’s just a projection. It’s the key to ending this goddamn horror.” “What are you talking about?  Everyone with a Third grade education knows that’s just an ancient piece of paper.” “No.” She hissed, annoyance flashing through her face, “This is the key to our salvation.”

— 2 months later —

Hot air blasted against my cheek, singing the fine hair. I ducked for cover. Not for the first time, I thought of the warm buttery, cheesy prize awaiting me at the end of this god forsaken mission. “At this rate I deserve a mountain of garlic bread for all this.” “Shut up.” Carrie glared from where she was situated behind the wing of our rocket. “If you could think about anything other than yourself for once...” More gunfire peppered the area. I grabbed my weapon and let loose, several alien figures dropping to the ground with garbled screams. They were segmented like an insect, with bulbous orange heads and black pincers at their mouths. Several more blasts shot out and the last few aliens fell.  “We must be quick” Carrie dusted off her arm and strode off briskly. I exhaled softly, finally able to take a good look around. This place was familiar, yet exceedingly foreign. As if you asked someone to recreate all life on earth from memory. The bubbling sound of running water, the rustling of purple tinged leaves, the crunch of green stones beneath our feet. “This is planet K-4670.” Carrie spoke softly, as if the sound of her voice was an intrusion on this serene world. “The first inhabitable planet discovered outside of our solar system.” “Inhabitable? Don’t you mean inhabited?” I tried to keep the sarcasm out of my voice but based on her severe glower, I hadn’t succeeded. “Of course we didn’t know that.” Her face softened slightly. “This place is rich in valuable resources. We hadn’t seen signs of intelligent life forms.” Her hands fidgeted with the cuff of her sleeves. “We thought we could do something good. Renew our dying planet.” “So you exploited this one instead?” I looked up. The sky looked the same as Earth. Puffy white clouds floated against  vibrant blue. “We didn’t know.” Carrie quickened her pace, her posture stiff. “Bullshit.” I huffed. Ahead of me, Carrie tilted her head slightly, an ugly look on her face. We walked in silence from there, occasionally passing the scars of our discoveries. Looking into one of the deep craters, I saw remnants of a sprawling civilization. Eventually we reached our destination. A giant tower crawling with aliens. We stopped a fair distance away. The place resembled a massive termite mound. Carrie shoved something into my hand. “This will get you back where you need to go.” The object was the size of my palm and smooth to the touch. “What do you mean, what is this?” “Just press the button when I tell you.” Her arms were crossed in front of her. “I haven’t told you this yet, but thank you. You’re a good person.” She pat my arm awkwardly and turned away. “I’ve been called many things in my life ma’am, but good was never one of them.” I stared at her back, once again noticing how small and frail she looked. Without her usual overbearing personality, she was just a little old woman. “We should get this over with.” She turned back to me, an unbearable sadness washed across her face briefly, before she steeled back into her usual sneer. “Let’s go.” We snuck around to the back of the building, carefully avoiding the rounds of guards that walked by. The inside of the tower was dark and cool. The green rock walls were worn smooth. A dim glow permeated the long empty corridors. For all the activity outside, the interior seemed abandoned. We worked our way slowly through the winding paths, until we came to a large high roofed room. It was empty, apart from a tall podium set in the centre. “There it is.” Carrie breathed. She took a step and reached up at the podium. “Stay your hand witch.” A garbled voice emerged from the shadows, accompanied by a metallic whine. Carrie snatched her hand back, a single drop of blood falling to the floor. A hulking beast of an alien emerged from the shadowy corner. It stalked closer, stopping several feet away. Several hair thin needles twirled between its fingers. “You’ve made a mistake coming here.” It’s words sounded strange, unlike any accent I’d heard before. The large black pincers made sharp snapping noises as they opened and closed around its mouth. “You’ve given us no choice.” Carrie clenched her fists at her sides, when she opened them again four white indents were pressed into the pink palm. “I will do what I have to for my people.” The alien made a noise that could loosely be described as a laugh. “We’ve given no choice? We were living peacefully here, we had no quarrel with you. It was your people that destroyed our homes and killed us in droves.” “We didn’t mean to cause such pain, we didn’t know you were here.” I spoke up from beside Carrie. Glancing at the stiff look on her face. Another laugh echoed against the four walls. “Is that she told you runt?” I bristled at the insult, my stature had never been questioned before. “We made contact with your probes. We accepted your surveyors into our homes. We taught you everything you know about our planet. Yet your greed cannot be satiated. You wanted this planet for yourself, so you tried to exterminate us.” The clicking of its mandibles was deafening in the silence. Carrie said nothing. I turned to face her, but she avoided my gaze. “We know we have no future, what you see here is the last of our population. So the last thing we can do, is to take you down with us.” “You would kill millions of innocents for revenge?” I was seething. Angry at this alien for what they had done, angry at Carrie for what she had started, and angry at myself for trusting her. The alien turned to me, it’s small pale eyes seemed to look straight through me. “Innocents? Do you mourn the millions of us who were buried in these craters?” Its voice was rising in anger. “Enough! There are no innocents. Your people never questioned where your wealth was coming from. Your people didn’t want to know that there comfortable lives were paid in blood!” All three of us moved in the same moment. Carrie reached up and grabbed the wrinkled paper on top of the podium. The alien extended its long arm and shot out a handful of paper thin needles. I pulled out my weapon and shot straight at its chest. Time seemed to slow down. The alien crumpled to the floor as I caught Carrie’s falling body. “Take it, press the button.” Carrie desperately shoved the paper into my hand, her body convulsing as she took gasping breaths. “I’m not just going to leave you here.” I stared at the vibrant blood red stains steeping into the aged yellow paper. Her wrinkled face seemed to sink into itself, her eyes bulging. “This is what I deserve. You must get this back. Give it to my daughter. We must save Earth. My life is insignificant.”  She spoke in a strained staccato. She fished into my pocket and pulled the palm sized item out. She clicked something into place and pushed it into my hand. “Get out of here, you don’t have much time.” I lowered her body to the ground and stepped back. A hint of a smile was on her face.  She closed her eyes and a sigh escaped her dying body “I’m sorry.” The sound of feet echoed down the hall. Shadows were rushing forward to the room. I pressed the button and everything disappeared.

White light pierced my eyes. Loud ringing enveloped my brain. Yellow paper stained with blood was clenched in my fist. A stern face. Brown hair.  Sharp eyes. “Give it to me.” A voice. My head throbbed. Fingers grabbed at my clenched hand and forced them open. The woman took the paper and cut it open straight through the centre. A thin blue glowing string was pulled out. “She sewed this into the Declaration of Independence, she knew we would need it.” The woman placed the string on a round tablet, scanning it. A diagram appeared on the screen. It looked like a weapon. “Here, you must be hungry.” She handed my a warm plate. A long forgotten aroma wafted against my face. I couldn’t believe it. A plate stacked high with freshly baked garlic bread. I didn’t hesitate. Handfuls of warm cheesy bread were shoved into my mouth. I could barely register the taste with how fast I was swallowing. Eventually the last slice sat on the plate. This time I ate it slowly, savouring every bite. My face covered in crumbs, I finally asked.  “What are you going to do with it?” “I will finish what my mother started.” She turned to me with that severe overbearing look. I saw a flash of silver before blood spurt from my throat. It ran down my throat as I choked, struggling to take a breath. I fell to my knees, one hand grasping at my gauged neck. I looked up at her in a panic, only to be met with an apathetic stare. “Thank you for your service”. My body collapsed. Red blood pooling on the floor, the last bite of garlic bread stained red as my body began to die. At least I got paid.

Who: narcissistic undertaker obsessed with garlic bread What: steals the Declaration of Independence When: The ‘When’ prompt was lost Where: the first inhabitable planet discovered outside the solar system Why: because all the insects disappeared

[artificialqueens]

Voulez-Vous Coucher Avec Moi? (Gigi x Nicky) - Peridot

A/N: Y’all wanted domme Nicky and sub Gigi? You’re welcome.

This is a little lesbian one shot I wrote for the season 12 girls because I’m really enjoying them! I haven’t written a fic since December, so I’m sorry if I’m a little rusty! Also go easy on me, I don’t usually write smut and I only did the tiniest bit in this, so be gentle. Please leave me some feedback, I’d love to hear what you think of this! Also come say hi at my sideblog @artificialperidot, because I wanna make friends!

Summary: Gigi didn’t think anybody could make her sub. That was, until she met miss Nicky Doll.

Hope you enjoy!

The pair stumbled through the door of Nicky’s apartment, Nicky’s hands an iron grip on Gigi’s wrist, practically dragging the girl. The door shut with a click, and in a split second Gigi found herself shoved against it, boxed in by Nicky’s arms.

“Put your hands above your head, bitch.”

~

“There’s no way”

Gigi rolled her eyes and took a sip of her strawberry mocktail whilst the group around her snickered. She and her flatmates Heidi, Jackie and Jan were out for drinks at their local bar, sitting in a leather booth with some unrecognisable 90s beat playing over the speakers, barely audible over the chatter of people. It was their first night out in a long time, a celebration for Jackie’s new job offer in a weekly cabaret show. Gigi, however, wasn’t drinking with her friends - she knew how fast Heidi could get her drunk, and she was not about to have another crazy night, and was not about to let her friends get to that stage, either. The last one had been christened, “The milkshake incident” and Gigi had never quite lived it down. And she did not intend to have a repeat tonight.

But, as things often did when they had a girls night, the conversation quickly turned to sex.

“Oh come on, G,” Heidi exclaimed, “Are you saying no one in God’s universe could make you sub?”

“Highly doubt it.”

“Not even if you hadn’t had sex in years?”

“Nope.”

“Damn, I knew you were a control freak, but didn’t know you cared that much.” Jan quipped, received a chuckle from the group.

“Yeah, well, that and the fact that I don’t think anyone could turn me on enough for me to listen to them,” Gigi added. “Like, I’d have to be about to fucking explode before I’d let some bitch tell me what to do.”

“That sounds like a challenge,” said Jackie.

“What do you mean?”

“You think no one could turn you on that much?”

Gigi shrugged. “I don’t think so. Girls are hot, but no one’s that hot.”

Jackie raised an eyebrow. “Well, let’s make things interesting then. Let’s arrange a hook up for you. If we can find a bitch that’s hot enough to make you sub, then you’re buying our drinks next time.”

“Ooh bitch, I like the sound of that,” Heidi chirped.

Gigi scoffed. “And if I win?”

“Then… then we’ll never bring up the milkshake incident again.”

Gigi paused. Now that would be worth it. “Deal,” she said, reaching out a hand to shake Jackie’s across the table, to the excited squee of Jan and the ‘ooohs’ of Heidi. “This sounds amazing. I’m getting a free hookup out of this, and I get to dom. I can’t lose.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure, Miss Goode,” Jackie commented, tapping at her phone screen, which she kept hidden from Gigi. “I have some contacts.”

Jackie couldn’t keep the mischievous grin from her face. “Who did you have in mind?” Heidi asked her, leaning over her shoulder to look at her phone.

“Just a little friend of mine, from back in New York.”

“Girl, if it’s who I’m thinking of, Miss Gigi doesn’t stand a chance!” Jan added.

Jackie smiled mischievously at Jan, giving her a knowing look, before leaning over and whispering something indecipherable into Heidi’s ear, which sent her reeling. “No way! Oh, this bitch stands no chance!” she exclaimed, a little too loudly for Gigi’s liking. “Drinks for us next Saturday bitches!”

Jan laughed, and Gigi rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t be too confident. I can be intimidating when I wanna be.”

“Do you wanna be intimidating all the time then? Cause you are a scary bitch,” Heidi added, receiving a giggle from the group. “Seriously I’d still be frightened of you if I hadn’t seen the milkshake incident go down with my own eyes.”

The girls began cackling with laughter, and to save her embarrassment, Gigi laughed along too.

At least after tonight she’d never have to hear about it again.

This should be easy.

~

After about an hour or so of cocktails and a trip to the dance floor (where Heidi decided to give everyone in the bar some dance lessons, whether they were willing or not), Jackie disappeared and returned with a woman following along behind her.

“Gigi, there’s a little someone I want you to meet,” Jackie grinned. “This is Nicky. Nicky Doll.”

Jackie stepped to the side, and forward walked a woman. A woman who looked as if she was straight from the covers of vogue.

Gigi couldn’t deny that the woman standing in front of her was beautiful. Fuck, she may have just been one of the most gorgeous women she’d ever seen. Long blonde hair, dark features, and a body to die for. She wore a tight red mini dress that showed off her perfect curves and tiny waist, with a leather jacket thrown over her shoulders, embroidered with roses. She exuded sultriness, in the sort of way that made you certain that she knew just how sexy she was. Her bedroom eyes looked Gigi up and down like a predator surveying its prey, and a smile formed from her pursed lips.

Fuck.

She’s good.

Well, two can play at that game.

Gigi strutted over to the woman, swaying her hips, and slowly reached out a hand for her to shake. “Good evening, Nicky.”

The stranger raised an eyebrow and took her hand, gripping it firmly. “Nice to meet you, darling,” she drawled, her tone exuding confidence. “You want me to top her, Jackie? Shouldn’t be a problem.”

It was then that Gigi picked up on her accent, and her heart jumped a little. It took her a second to distinguish it, but after years of french class in high school, her ear was attuned to the pronunciation.

French. Fucking French?

Somehow it made her ten times hotter.

But, Gigi wasn’t about to back down yet.

“It might be a problem, seeing I’m head and shoulders taller than you,” she quipped, quirking an eyebrow and lifting her chin.

“At least I’m not a skinny little bitch,” Nicky quickly shot back, taking Gigi off guard. “She looks like one of those inflatable car advertisements, you know, the one with the flailing arms.”

The group began to laugh, including Gigi, trying desperately to brush off the joke and not show a crack in her armour. The little jolt in her chest when Nicky looked at her didn’t help make matters any easier.

Of course Jackie just happened to know this gorgeous French supermodel who was just as intimidating as Gigi, maybe even more so. This bet wasn’t going to be as easy as it seemed.

Either way, she was so fucking glad she was going to fuck this bitch tonight.

The sound of Jackie’s voice shook Gigi out of her daydream. “So guys, are you still willing to go home together tonight?”

“Oh, yeah, absolutely. She’s really hot,” Gigi said, in her sexiest voice. “Can’t wait to see her on her knees.”

Nicky didn’t flinch at Gigi’s last sentiment. She simply raised an eyebrow, as if to say are you kidding?

Gigi would be lying if she said that it didn’t turn her on. Slightly.

“Well, Nicky?” Jackie prompted.

“Eh, she’s not bad looking herself.” Nicky shot Gigi a smirk. “I’m up for it.”

“Great,” Jackie said with a clap of her hands. “The bet’s on! Now, who’s for another round of drinks? On me!”

The sentence was met by whoops and cheers from Jan and Heidi, and the girls slunk their way through the crowd towards the bar, Gigi and Nicky following after them.

Gigi felt an arm slide around hers, interlocking them, and felt a voice by her ear.

“Darling, I’m just checking you’re staying sober for tonight?” Nicky said in a hushed tone. The breath on Gigi’s skin made her shudder just a bit.

“Of course,” she replied with mock confidence. “I wouldn’t be comfortable any other way.”

“Good,” Nicky replied. “And, I want to check that no matter what goes down tonight, you're ok with it? Like, if you don’t top you are still comfortable.”

Gigi smiled. It was cute that she checked. “I’m comfortable with whatever goes down, though that shouldn’t be a problem for me anyway.”

“Good,” Nicky said matter-of-factly, before slipping her arm out from its entwinement with Gigi’s and starting to walk ahead of her to catch up with the group. She stopped after a second though, turning her head back to Gigi and waiting for her to catch up. She leant into her, her voice even more low and hushed than before.

“And don’t get too confident, baby. It’s not cute,” she said, giving Gigi a tap on the ass, before walking ahead of her again as if nothing had happened.

It wasn’t enough to hurt - it was barely enough for Gigi to even feel it. But it made her stop in her tracks, rendered immovable.

Gigi gulped. She didn’t know if it was possible for a human heartbeat to exceed 100 miles per hour, but she was sure that hers had gotten pretty close.

Shit.

~

Gigi wasn’t sure if it was the pounding of the music through the speakers, or the pounding of her heart that made her feel lightheaded, but after a while she needed to sit down. Not wanting to bother her friends, who were busy laughing and dancing and spilling their cocktails all over the dance floor, she left their group and made her way over to a booth at the side of the room, resting her elbows on the table. She squeezed her eyes shut. It didn’t make the loud beat or the flashing strobe lights go away, but at least it stopped her head spinning a little.

After all, the thoughts swimming in her brain were enough for her head to deal with.

All she could think about was Nicky.

Before long, she felt someone slide into the booth beside her, a hand moving to rest on the small of her back.

She didn’t need to open her eyes to guess who it was.

“Are you alright, my darling?” a thick french accent murmured.

Gigi opened her eyes to face the girl beside her, whose eyes were wide with concern.

“I’m okay Nicky, thanks. Just felt a little lightheaded, that’s all.”

Nicky flashed her a caring smile. “It’s okay Gigi. You can rest your head on me if you need to, that might help.” Gigi smiled gratefully at her, before laying her head on the shorter girl’s shoulder. Nicky began rubbing her back in small circles, comforting her. “Do you need any water?”

“I’m okay, thanks. I’m starting to feel better already.”

“I’m glad.”

They stayed like that for a few moments, Nicky soothing Gigi, and Gigi trying to conceal her inner panic. She’d never met someone like Nicky before. Never. No one had ever turned her on as fast, for a start. And, she seemed to genuinely care about her, and they’d only just met for Christ sake.

Let’s just say, Gigi was pretty excited to go home with her tonight. She was even more excited to see her again after tonight, though. On a date.

That is, if she plucked up the courage to ask her.

She’d cross that bridge when she came to it.

Nicky began stroking Gigi’s hair, softly and gently, being careful not to mess it up, and Gigi melted into the touch. “You okay down there?”

“Hm? Oh yeah, I’m fine. Just wanted to stay like this for a little while.”

“That’s okay. I like it too, ma crevette.”

Gigi’s eyes blinked open with confusion. “What does that mean?”

Nicky paused and smiled. “You’ll laugh.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a term of endearment in french, sort of like ‘my darling’,” she started, “but the literal translation is ‘my shrimp.’

The two girls began silently laughing to each other, like two school girls giggling over a secret. “You’re joking!”

“I’m serious! French is weird when you put it into English.”

“I used to study french, you know. Back in high school.”

Nicky looked impressed. “Really?”

“Yeah, but I can barely remember any of it. It was the only class I consistently failed,” she laughed. “That and basic math.”

“Speak some french for me Gigi. I’ll be the judge of that.”

Gigi racked her brain, trying to come up with something more interesting than ‘bonjour’ or ‘je m’appelle Gigi’, when she remembered a little song from ‘Moulin Rouge’ that she thought would fit the bill perfectly.

“Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?”

Their little booth erupted into fits of giggles, Nicky barely able to comprehend her choice of phrase. Gigi watched closely, loving the way her nose screwed up when she laughed, and the toothy grin that took over her face.

Gigi didn’t know it was possible to be sexy and adorable, but she’d been proven wrong.

“Someone’s seen ‘Moulin Rouge’,” Nicky laughed.

“Well? Is that a yes? Oui or non?” Gigi persisted, leaning her shoulder into Nicky’s side.

Nicky shook her head and rolled her eyes with a sense of disbelief, but she didn’t try and stop the smile from creeping over her lips.

“Oui, my darling,” she laughed, before planting a kiss on Gigi’s cheek. “But, just because I’m being nice now doesn’t mean I’ll be nice later when I’m punishing you.”

Gigi felt a pang in her chest, and bit the inside of her lip, despite her ambivalence. She was embarrassed of the way it turned her on. The thought of Nicky doing what she wants to her, having her way with her, was so sexy.

But the thought of Nicky down on her knees for her, was a pretty tempting thought too. So, she concealed the way her heart leapt out of her chest by raising an eyebrow, hoping her dark features and intimidating aura would have the same effect on Nicky as she had on her.

“Bold of you to assume you won’t be the one getting punished,” Gigi said, glaring into Nicky’s eyes and hoping she matched Nicky’s ice-cold stare.

Nicky scoffed, an evil smirk forming on her pursed lips. “Oh please. Tell that to the girl who was lying on my shoulder 5 minutes ago, letting me pet her and stroke her hair. Or the girl who let me spank her earlier with no retaliation,” she started, her predator gaze burning into Gigi’s skin, making her want to squirm. “Face it, you’ve been practically begging for me to top you all night. You’re so pathetically desperate for it.”

Fuck.

Gigi’s breath quickened, the rise and fall of her chest matching the speed of her frantic heartbeat, sending adrenaline all around her body, electricity shooting down her legs and arms to the tips of her fingers.

Nicky saw that Gigi’s mask was slipping, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Gigi wasn’t sure if it was the adrenaline or her anger that made her primal instincts kick in, but suddenly she was on top of Nicky, attacking her in a kiss. She used her height to her advantage, leaning over the smaller kiss and cupping her face, as she kissed her with a passion and strength that she wasn’t sure she still had in her.

The kiss was messy, all teeth and tongues, mostly because Gigi was overcome with desire and desperation and a strength of emotion she’d never felt before.

As for Nicky, she kissed back with more precision, but fuelled by the same fire that drove Gigi. She clutched Gigi’s wrist as she kissed her, so hard that Gigi was sure there would be finger-shaped bruises there tomorrow. Her movements were more controlled, as if she was set upon taking Gigi apart with ease and leisure, not allowing the other’s frantic movements to make her lose her cool.

When they pulled apart for air, Gigi wasn’t quite sure who’d won in their battle for dominance.

Before she could say another word, Nicky leaned up, so that the two were drawn level with each other, their noses practically touching as they stared into each other’s eyes with animalistic lust. “Someone’s touchy,” Nicky said with a cocky smirk. “Was that a little too close for comfort, darling?”

Gigi didn’t respond. She didn’t know how to respond, now that Nicky could see through her facade. Instead she simply bit the inside of her lip and broke the eye contact, too ashamed of her feelings to look Nicky in the eyes.

Her fucking beautiful eyes.

Nicky reached a hand up to Gigi’s face, delicately tucking a strand of her dark hair behind her ear, before holding up her chin to face her. “Asked you a question, baby.”

Gigi felt a hand slide around her waist, pulling her in closer. Looking at the woman in front of her, Gigi was sure she’d never wanted someone as much in her life. She was so embarrassed, so ashamed that she was so turned on, and somehow it fuelled the emotion and made it even stronger.

She didn’t give a shit about who topped anymore. She just needed Nicky.

“Fuck the bet.”

Nicky smiled, tapping her nose. “That’s what I like to hear, baby. Call us a taxi. If you can still talk, that is.”

~

The taxi ride felt like the longest ride of her life. The only thing that kept Gigi tethered to reality was Nicky’s hand clutching hers tightly. But it couldn’t distract her from the aching need between her legs, and the quickening of her breath, which verged on hyperventilation at this point.

They sat in silence for a while, Gigi too consumed by her own thoughts, and Nicky having played the ‘I don’t speak much English’ to avoid awkward small talk with the taxi driver. The silence was broken, however, when Nicky leaned in and started placing butterfly kisses all over Gigi’s neck, feather-light. Gigi couldn’t help but melt into the touch, closing her eyes tight and imagining that they were anywhere but stuck inside a taxi, seatbelts holding them firmly in place. Gigi enveloped her in another frantic kiss, all teeth and tongues, and Nicky bit the other girl’s lower lip, reclaiming her dominance and causing Gigi to inhale sharply.

Before she knew it she was palming at Nicky’s chest over her red dress, longing for some sort of contact, and Nicky was sucking a precise mark onto Gigi’s neck that left her writhing. It caused a whine to escape from Gigi’s lips, a desperate, needy whine that made Nicky swear under her breath, and without a second for Gigi to comprehend what was happening, a hand was clamped firmly over her mouth.

It was animalistic, really, the way they clutched at each other. The bet was long forgotten in Gigi’s mind. She had never felt so strongly about another woman, never wanted anyone like this before. She was usually the one in control, the one who had made countless other girls writhe beneath her in the past.

Oh how the tables had turned.

When the taxi pulled up slowly at a red light, the two were so enamoured with each other to notice the driver, glaring at them from the rear view window.

“Ahem.”

Startled by the noise, the girls pulled themselves off each other in surprise and embarrassment, sitting up straight like they'd been caught cheating on a test. The cab driver shot each of them a dirty look from the mirror, making Gigi wonder if he was homophobic or one of those uptight straight guys that doesn’t like anyone messing up their car. Either way, that typically wasn’t the type of person Gigi liked.

Nicky shot him an affronted look in the mirror, eyes wide with disbelief, as if to say how dare he. “Do you need some medicine for that cough?” she said in her most sarcastic tone. “Or, uh, how you say….. some manners?”

The driver was silent.

Gigi was proud that they managed to sit in silence for about thirty seconds. But the moment Nicky made eye contact with her, the two erupted into fits of uncontrollable laughter, giggling like schoolchildren and trying to suppress their amusement with whispered pleas of ‘shhh!’ and ‘shut up!’ that were of no avail.

Needless to say, if the driver didn’t like them before that, he certainly didn’t like them now.

Between laughs, Nicky called out a ‘here’s fine’ to the driver, who was very excited to see the back of the pair of laughing hyenas from his car. Nicky tossed him a couple of bills, before pulling Gigi out of the car by her wrists, the two still unable to suppress their laughter.

They stumbled down the street as if they were both drunk, falling over each other and cackling, too caught up in their happiness to feel the cold chill on their skin.

It almost distracted Gigi from the need between her legs.

Almost.

“My apartment is a couple blocks away, but I couldn’t sit in that cab any longer,” Nicky chuckled. “A walk won’t do us any harm, anyway.”

Gigi smiled, her gaze lingering over Nicky’s for a little too long. “Babe, you’re fucking amazing, you know that?”

Nicky cocked her head to the side, bemused. “And what makes you say that?”

“I don’t know. It’s like I’ve known you for years. You’re so fun. And so nice,” she started, grabbing onto Nicky’s arm. “And simultaneously a complete bitch.”

Nicky smirked. “I thought you were being nice for a second, but I’ll take it.”

“Bitch, you knew exactly what you were doing to me at the bar. You can’t tell me that wasn’t a dick move.”

“You liked it though.”

Gigi laughed, biting her lip slightly. “Hate to admit it.”

Nicky looked amused. “You’re cute when you’re embarrassed, darling.”

“You’re cute all the time. Drop dead fucking gorgeous, actually.”

“You’re one to talk, pretty girl.”

Gigi would be lying if she didn’t feel herself blush a little at that.

“So, about tonight… do you still want me to top? Because if you’re not comfortable we can-“

“No! No, no, I want you to top. Please.”

“Are you sure darling? Because if you want-“

“I’m sure. I don’t think I could top you if I tried.”

Nicky laughed to herself. “Aw, she finally admits it at last.”

“Fuck you,” Gigi whined, hitting Nicky playfully on the arm.

Nicky raised her eyebrows, a stern expression creeping onto her face. “None of that language baby. I wanna make you feel really good, darling, but I can only do that if you’re a good girl for me, okay?”

Gigi felt a lump in her throat. “I’ll try. I’ve never done this before though. Subbed.”

“That’s okay, angel, we don’t have to go too far.” Nicky smiled reassuringly at the girl. “But I know what I’m doing. I know how to make you feel really really good, so I need you to trust me, okay?”

Gigi wasn’t sure why, but she did.

~

“Put your hands above your head, bitch.”

“You get into character quickly, don’t you?” Gigi remarked, staring directly into Nicky’s eyes, which were centimetres from her face. She felt the weight of Nicky’s hips pressing harder into hers, forcing her against the hard wood of the apartment door.

“Don’t be cocky, baby. I already told you it’s not a good look,” Nicky replied, grabbing Gigi’s wrists and holding them above her head herself.

Nicky’s pupils were blown wide, and they scanned the face of the girl before her with an intimate precision that Gigi had never witnessed before. Gigi smirked. She liked this new side to Nicky, this dominant persona who seemed set upon making her unravel.

But of course, Gigi wasn’t about to make things easy for her.

With that, she leaned forward and planted another kiss on Nicky’s parted lips, her tongue sliding into her mouth and her eyes closing shut, transfixed by the softness that she buried herself into.

The kiss was short-lived, however, when Nicky pulled away sharply, one arm pushing Gigi back against the door. Her head bumped against it lightly, and a stern gaze took over Nicky’s features, a mixture of anger and lust. “Thought you were going to be a good girl for me, angel,” she said, tucking a strand of Gigi’s hair behind her ear. “Good girls don’t touch without permission.”

“I can’t help it. You just look so good,” Gigi husked, biting her lip sensually, and Nicky let out a shattered breath, Gigi’s dilated pupils meeting her own.

Nicky slid her knee in between Gigi’s thighs. “If you don’t start behaving, we’re going to have a problem.”

“What’re you gonna do about it?”

In one swift motion, Nicky pulled Gigi forward by her wrists, landing a slap on her ass over her black dress. “Bedroom. Now.”

~

The night was a blur of silk bed sheets and passion. The smell of sweat and sex was in the air, the cool breeze from the open window mingling with the heat on their skin. The marks of ropes around Gigi’s wrists and scratches on her skin and love-bites on her neck were still there the next day. And, so was Nicky, to Gigi’s surprise.

Gigi was the first to awaken of the two the next morning. The New York skyline was illuminated by the golden sunrise that seeped through the silk curtains. The plump pillow that Gigi’s head was buried in was soft against her bare skin, and she propped it up against the bed frame, sitting up a little as she stretched and yawned, hands rubbing her eyes. The cold morning air hit her shoulders as she made herself comfortable.

She found herself with only the littlest portion of blanket keeping her decent - the rest was wrapped around Nicky like a sleeping bag, and she curled it up in her arms like she was cuddling a toy.

She presumed that the duvet was her replacement for Gigi when she had rolled over.

Gigi looked down at the woman beside her, laying on her side, her face a picture of peacefulness. Her blonde hair was spread out on the pillow around her head like a halo, and even the remnants of mascara and eyeliner around her eyes didn’t distract from the purity of her features. Her mouth was open just a little, and soft breaths escaped her lips as her chest rose and fell like a metronome.

She was beautiful.

Gigi was extremely glad that she had let her stay the night at her apartment. To be honest, she wasn’t sure she would have been able to make it home after the night she had.

Looking at Nicky fast asleep, Gigi would have never believed that it was the same woman from last night.

But, she was glad that it was. She liked that Nicky could be sexy and dominant, and then immediately switch back to being caring and sweet.

The sentiment was true last night, with Nicky offering Gigi all the cuddles and kisses she could as they drifted to sleep. Gigi remembered falling asleep to Nicky aimlessly stroking her hair, whispering something french in her ear.

And god did Gigi need that.

The night was the hottest in Gigi’s life. Nicky had tied her to the bedposts, and made her beg for her to eat her out. When she finished, Gigi found herself doing the same for Nicky, her head being roughly thrust between her legs. And then she was being fingered, and the cycle continued until she’d come more times than she could remember.

It was dirty and humiliating, but god it was hot.

The best part though, was that she got to know Nicky some more. She was surprisingly such a sweetheart, taking such good care of Gigi after they played. Gigi didn’t think anyone could make her want to sub, but she especially didn't expect it to be someone who was really kind.

Trust Jackie to know the perfect woman.

It was then that Gigi remembered the bet.

Shit.

She knew that even if she didn’t admit that she subbed, her friends would find out one way or another. Drinks were on her this weekend. Good thing she’d saved a little money. She guessed she’d be hearing about the milkshake incident for a little while longer, too.

That was ok, she supposed. After the night she’d had with Nicky, it was worth the embarrassment.

Besides, without the bet she would’ve never met Nicky.

She looked down at the still sleeping girl, her nose scrunched and her brows furrowed. She was adorable.

Gigi was definitely going to ask her out on a date.

Maybe they could go get some milkshakes together.

[five-rivers]

Glass Beetle

Based on a prompt by 2fruity4u for the Phic Phight! Might be sort of... fragmentary, in parts.

.

Danny frowned at his hand as it flickered in the evening's fading sunlight. He'd been having trouble with his invisibility lately. Nothing so obvious, for the most part, but both Sam and Tucker had noticed him 'blurring' or 'fading' around the edges this past week. He'd been able to correct himself so far, pull himself back into focus, so to speak, but, if that flicker was any sign, this was getting worse, not better.

He wondered if a new power was coming in. Sometimes his other powers acted weird when that happened. He hadn't noticed anything like that, though.

Either way, there wasn't all that much he could do about this. It wasn't as if he could just ask anyone what was wrong with his ghost powers.

Actually, that wasn't quite true. He did have a few ghostly allies. Sadly, they all lived (resided?) in lairs that took hours and hours to get to from the Fenton Portal. Lairs that also moved. He didn't really have the time to go find them.

Honestly, with all the schoolwork that had been heaped on him and his friends, he didn't have time to go do anything that wasn't absolutely necessary. Including sleep. He would give a lot to just be able to go to bed now, rather than whenever he finished his math homework. His extra math homework, assigned in lieu of detention. But, no, Skulker had to show up again, this time with ghostly hunting dogs, and completely waste Danny's afternoon.

But maybe that was the real reason he was having trouble with his invisibility. Exhaustion. And embarrassment. The two seemed to go hand in hand.

Just that week... Ugh, he didn't want to think about it.

He perched in a tree in the park, resting, and, inevitably, thought about it.

He really hated the people at his school sometimes. Dash for dumping glitter all over him and calling him a fairy... as if that insult wasn't so old it was fossilized... all the other people in his class for staring at him... Mrs. Hall for calling him out for 'disturbing the class'... the inevitable interruption of said class by ghosts... the detention... and everyone staring at him and giggling behind their hands.

Not to mention the toilet paper and what Dash and his cronies had done to his locker. Carrying his waterlogged books around and trying to explain to the teachers had been... painful.

In other words, the A-list had been in a bullying mood this week. No wonder he wanted to be invisible.

He sighed and drifted out of the tree. He had his breath back, as much as he had it as a ghost, and it was time to go home and do math.

Of course, to put a cherry on top of this already horrible week, he was immediately shot. He tumbled head over heels, and instinct took over. He went invisible, hard, erasing his light even in the infrared and ultraviolet parts of the spectrum, the chill of the power washing over him. He didn't know what had hit him, after all. A lot of ghost hunters had special goggles for seeing ghosts only transparent in the visible spectrum. Ghosts could often see through invisibility.

He reoriented himself, scanning the area for his attacker, one hand on the thermos.

Valerie. Very confused Valerie, judging by how she was whipping her head back and forth, scanning the ground and the skies.

Danny didn't want to deal with her. He hid himself behind a tree and went human in order to confuse any ectosignature tracing equipment she might have. He never knew what she'd get from Vlad, the jerk, but he probably wouldn't have included anything capable of tracking a half-ghost in human form.

He let out a breath as Valerie flew away. Now it was really time to get home.

He let go of his invisibility.

The cool feeling on his skin didn't go away. He looked down. Still invisible.

He let go of his invisibility.

Still, he only saw a faint outline of his limbs, visible only to his eyes.

Oh, this was going to be bad.

.

Danny had snuck into his house while invisible before, but usually he had a choice about it. He couldn't just walk through the walls, because his parents had coated most of the ground floor with something that blocked phasing a couple months ago (and was also a truly hideous orange), and he couldn't climb through his bedroom window because they had rigged it with a special anti-ghost alarm after noticing an ectoplasm stain on his windowsill.

He decided to go around to the back door, so no one would notice the front door opening and closing on its own. From there, he'd go to the lab and use the portal. Hours of flying and missing his math homework were preferable to being stuck invisible indefinitely. If only his parents had invented something to counteract invisibility... But, no, they were too focused on making things that hurt.

Yeah, maybe he was a bit bitter about that.

Okay, the coast was clear. Good. He padded down the back hall, unwilling to go ghost to fly. The security system was set to ignore him in human form, but sometimes it still picked up his ghost.

He turned the corner into the kitchen and froze as he heard the hateful beep of the Fenton Finder. His father's head snapped up, away from his plate of (unsanctioned by his diet) fudge.

"There is a ghost ten feet in front of you."

Jack leaped from his seat, and slammed the button to activate the Fenton Anti-Creep System. Lights strobed, some of them green with ectoenergy. Danny yelped and dodged a laser, then a laser sword, then a metal-backed cutout of his dad's face.

He ran.

By the time he got out of Fentonworks (the deathtrap) he was out of breath, slightly singed, and definitely bruised. He also felt, weirdly, more invisible.

He frowned. Was he diving deeper into invisibility without realizing it? Why? Because he'd been startled?

He turned to Sam's house.

.

"Okay," said Jazz, over the speaker on Sam's phone, after he had explained his current predicament. "It sounds like a confidence problem. Just, tell yourself you want to be seen- No. You have to want to be seen."

"I do want to be seen," said Danny. "I've been over this with Sam and Tucker. I don't want to be invisible."

"You know that," said Jazz, "but do you feel it?"

"Trust me," said Danny. "I feel it. Can you not get them out of the house for a bit so I can sneak in?"

"Afraid not," said Jazz. "They've put us on lockdown until they find, well, you. Or tomorrow morning."

Danny groaned. He'd already called them to say he was staying over at Tucker's. He'd wondered at the time why they were so happy about that.

.

He hadn't managed even a flicker of visibility by midnight. Even his transformation rings, usually blindingly bright, went unseen. Stuff he picked up turned invisible, too. Anything he wore turned invisible.

Also, the constant invisibility was draining him. Ghost powers took energy, especially when he was in human form. He was exhausted.

Maybe he would spend all his energy and wake up visible. He could hope. In the meantime, he'd sleep in one of the Manson's guest rooms.

.

He did not wake up visible. He woke up just as exhausted and unable to so much as see his own outline anymore. That was new. Before, he'd always been able to see himself while invisible.

He had to ask Sam to call Jazz, because he couldn't hold and see the phone at the same time.

"It should be safe to come home, now," said Jazz. "I turned off the security system, and Mom and Dad are off chasing ectopuses near the mall."

"Oh, good," said Danny, sluggishly transforming. "I'll be there in a few."

He took the same route in as before, but, this time, only Jazz was waiting for him in the kitchen.

Since he was a younger brother, he snuck up on her and poked the back of her neck. She jumped about a foot, and glared at a bit of air several inches above his eyes.

"Danny," she said, "would it kill you to take things seriously for once?"

"It already did," said Danny. "And, honestly, you sort of walked into that one."

Jazz rolled her eyes, and pushed open the door to the lab. "Do you want me to come with you?" she asked. "We can take the Specter Speeder."

"Better not," said Danny. "I should be fine. None of my enemies are going to be able to see me, after all."

"Well," said Jazz, as they stopped in front of the portal. She looked over a foot to his left as she said, "Be safe, Danny."

"I will," he said, and launched himself into the Ghost Zone.

.

"Your sister thought you had a what?" asked Frostbite, amused. He, also, wasn't looking quite where Danny was. In fact, Danny kept having to dodge out of the larger ghost's way.

"A confidence problem," said Danny. His voice sounded weirdly quiet, even to himself, and he wondered if his voice would also be affect by whatever this was.

The large ghost suppressed a toothy smile. "While your current condition may respond to your emotional state, great one, and your powers are linked to your emotions, they are not the cause."

"Then what is?"

"You have a parasite," said Frostbite.

Danny didn't say anything for a moment, half-convinced Frostbite was joking.

"A what?" he squeaked.

"A parasite. Don't be concerned, it is relatively harmless." Frostbite paused. "For ghosts. I have never heard of a human or half-ghost getting one."

That was comforting. Not. "What kind of parasite?" asked Danny. "What does it do? I mean, other than force you to be invisible."

"Well," said Frostbite. He turned to face the dizzying array of screens and other technology embedded in the icy wall of the cave. He brought up a image that made Danny blanch.

"It's that big?" he asked, one hand kneading his stomach, as if he could thereby force the many-legged thing out.

"Yes. Actually, it's a rather small example of this species. This must be its first breeding cycle."

Danny's eye twitched. "Breeding cycle?" he asked, feeling even sicker.

"Yes," said Frostbite. "The malaperas eraro is very sensitive to light during its breeding cycle, but they are also very weak ghosts, unable to become invisible for long periods of time. So they find a host and use their host's abilities. Once the breeding cycle is complete, all of the parasites will leave the host, and symptoms will stop almost immediately."

"And how long does this take, exactly?" asked Danny, voice cracking.

"Ah, it varies, great one," said Frostbite. "From the point that the ghost is unable to become visible, no longer than a week, depending on the strength of the host ghost."

"I can't be invisible for a week!" said Danny, alarmed. "I have school! My parents will notice I'm gone! I'm already exhausted from being invisible for this long. I can't take a week of this!"

"Ah, yes. The fatigue," said Frostbite. His eyes flicked from side to side. "That is, actually, the reason for the variable time. The malaperas eraro cannot finish breeding while the host is awake. It waits for the forced invisibility to drain the host and drop them into a sort of hibernation. It takes longer for stronger ghosts to reach that point."

"Oh," said Danny. "Great."

"We will be more than happy to have you stay with us while you recover. We will provide everything you need, and keep close track of your condition. This is more of an inconvenience to most ghosts than anything else. Similar to, say, the common cold or chicken pox for humans. It is difficult to be reinfected."

That was something, at least. He didn't want to do this again. "You're sure it will be safe for me? I mean, I'm not normal. Maybe we should just... take it out?" He mimed pulling, even though Frostbite couldn't see him.

"That is a matter to consider," agreed Frostbite. "Due to your unique physiology there may be... unforeseen complications. That is another reason for you to stay here, where we can monitor you. If it becomes necessary, we can remove the parasite, but doing so is an invasive and rather dangerous procedure."

Danny briefly considered flying to Clockwork, who could probably do something about the time problem, but exhaustion weighed heavily on his shoulders. "Okay. Fine, I guess. Just- Could you- If it isn't too much- take a message to my sister for me?"

.

The room was cozier and warmer than the norm for the Far Frozen, in deference to Danny's smaller stature and warm-blooded human form. There were also a number of nice, safe nooks and crannies that were attractive from a ghostly perspective, and a large number of paper-wrapped items.

"What?" asked Danny, leaning back into Frosbite's fluffy fur. On the way over, they had come to a compromise regarding how not to run Danny over. It involved Danny holding onto Frostbite (teenage pride required that he refuse Frostbite's offer to carry him) and Danny had enjoyed the contact more than he wanted to admit.

"Ah, gifts from your admirers, great one. We all wish for you to recover swiftly."

"So I don't freeze everyone again and leave quickly?" joked Danny.

Frostbite chuckled. "Nothing like that. We enjoy having you here, great one. It is an honor."

Danny hummed and let Frostbite guide him to the nest-like bed.

.

Danny felt like he was sleepwalking the past couple of... whatevers. Honestly, he didn't know how long he'd been in the Far Frozen anymore. It was all sort of blurring together, and Danny found it difficult to focus on anything.

Frostbite was doing another body-scan on him today, to check where the parasite was and what it was doing. Danny wasn't enthusiastic. The table for the scanner had been built for someone much larger than him and was distinctly uncomfortable.

Right now, Danny was sitting in a chair across the room, a blanket wrapped around him, waiting for Frostbite to wave him over. It was useful, he had found, to announce where he was going to be and then stay there. People wouldn't trip over him as much, if he was where he was expected to be.

"Alright, great one," said Frostbite. "We are ready to take your scan."

"Okay," mumbled Danny. He stood up, walked halfway to the table, and then collapsed under a wave of dizziness and fatigue.

"Great one?"

Danny only managed to make a pathetic sort of mewling sound. His vision was all grey around the edges, but he could still watch Frostbite grope along the floor, searching for him, and hissed when Frostbite bumped into him a little too roughly for comfort.

After that, Frostbite picked him up, and Danny stopped forcing his eyes open.

.

He woke up cocooned in sadly invisible blankets. There were voices. Deep, rhythmic ones. He sighed and tucked his chin down against his chest. He was safe here.

.

He woke up again, hungry and grumbling. He complained until he got food and went back to sleep.

.

When was the last time he opened his eyes? It was dark.

.

"... have finished?" said the voices.

"... reconsider the surgery..."

"... preparations..."

.

Danny woke up.

He could see his nose. Huh. He'd never really noticed how visible his nose was before he'd been stuck invisible. Really. It was right there.

He went back to sleep.

[realllllfangirllllll]

Beyond Lovers || Chp.4

{More Than Friends Sequel}

Masterlist

Chairman!Jaehyun AU x CEO!Reader AU

Summary: You find yourself falling deeper and deeper in love with the former CEO after overcoming your fear of love. Although there were rough patches, both of you are now stronger than ever. However, you realize that maintaining a relationship and a company at the same time can be very difficult, especially if someone is out to destroy the both of you.

{ Previous / Next }

You were in awe as you walked through the building that was now lit up with purple, pink, and blue neon lights. It seemed it was only yesterday that Jaehyun proposed to have you as NCT’s CEO. You blindly accepted his offer not knowing how stressful it would be to weigh both online college and a company on your shoulders. Your eyes have almost gone blind from staring at a computer all day. From doing online courses to mapping out designs and promotions for NCT. You wouldn’t have been able to get through even half of it if your friends weren’t there to support you.

For the past few weeks, Soyeon and Mark have stayed up at the crack of dawn studying with you in hopes of finishing the courses required for the three of you to graduate on time. It’d be an understatement to say that the workload is difficult. At times, you even considered going back to college to learn face to face with a professor. However, Soyeon and Mark have always toughed it out and helped to make sure the three of you had the time for NCT.

When you have finished the crazy college workload for the day, you were faced with another workload from NCT. Photoshoots, coordinating, and managing the company left you absolutely no time to relax. You were just thankful your friends were suffering along with you. Soyeon, Soojin, Lucas, Winwin, and Ten were the models of the company. Since they were already professionals, half of the stress was taken away from you, not to mention that Ten’s ability to design saved the company so much time and money. Photoshoots also go smoothly with their professional opinions for improvements. On the other hand, Mark and Johnny were of great help behind the scenes. Mark was in charge of contacting future partners and other human resource duties while Johnny and you took charge of photography and video contents. The whole company was surprised, except for you and Jaehyun, that Johnny decided to retire from modeling. You and Jaehyun have always known Johnny’s passion and skill for photography. Plus, Jaehyun has always told you how guilty he felt to have made Johnny model with a “playboy” image back in SM. Taking both their thoughts into consideration, you used NCT as the perfect opportunity to settle both their concerns and wishes.

You walked through the crowded building remembering the countless nights the nine of you spent decorating and making the building look like what you all have envisioned for it to be: a place of creative freedom and a place that held no boundaries nor anyone to force a fake image upon others. With a big smile on your face, you greeted the people who congratulated you and had small talks with the guests of tonight’s grand opening event. You saw your friends enjoying their time eating, taking pictures, and just happily talking to other people. An ooze of happiness burst from inside of you. Although it was beyond difficult to start the company you and Jaehyun dreamed about, the endless efforts the nine of you put in resulted in a great outcome. 

You scanned around the room and stopped when you saw a particularly well-dressed man staring back at you with a bright smile on his face. Returning the smile, you subtly motioned for him to come.

“Hey there beautiful stranger,” the husky voice said.

You rolled your eyes at him as he wrapped his long arms around your waist. He stared at you lovingly and dove forward for a long kiss. 

Pulling apart, he said in a breathless whisper, “Congratulations Ms. CEO, this all happened because of you.”

Giving him a quick peck, you smiled and whispered next to his ears, “Well aren’t you lucky to be dating her.”

Smiling with his dimples exposed, Jaehyun tucked your hair behind your ears and gazed at you with loving eyes. “I sure am.”

Suddenly, you heard a buzzing sound in his pocket as he walked away to answer the call. You weren’t sure if it was because of the strobe lights or if you were just imagining things, but you saw a slight change in Jaehyun’s eyes. He seemed angry at first, maybe even furious, but when he made eye contact with you, his bright smile returned. You quickly brushed aside the doubtful feeling and walked toward him. 

Gently, placing a hand on his shoulder, you asked him softly, “Everything alright?”

With a light chuckle, he grabbed your hand and placed them beside him. As to assure you, he rubbed soft circles into the back of your hand and said, “I just got a call from our collaboration’s department chief. There were some problems with the contract.”

Pouting, you asked him, “So you have to go? I didn’t even do my welcoming speech yet.”

Jaehyun chuckled, pinching your cheek lightly, “I’ll see my famous girlfriend on youtube later. I know you’ll do great, but don’t forget to mention the handsome man who funded this whole project.”

You scoffed as he gave you a wink and started heading towards the exit. You saw him grab a glass of champagne before waving goodbye to you, disappearing into the elevator.

Sighing, you, too, took a glass of champagne from a passing waiter and gulped it down. You tried to calm your nerves as you gave yourself a mental pep talk. Truth be told, you were a nervous wreck on the inside even though you seemed poised and calm on the exterior. Memorizing your speech wasn’t the difficult part, after all, you planned to speak your immediate thoughts instead of drafting out a speech. This way, the people will understand your genuine appreciation toward them and the company. However, what made you break down with anxiety was the gossip and drama that surrounded you in the past. Although your dating scandal with Jaehyun became less of an interest to the public, there were still many people who doubted you and the position you carry. It took you a lot to fight down your insecurities to even get dressed for the event and show up. You didn’t want to disappoint your friends who all counted on you, so you shallowed down your fears and dragged yourself to the event with forged confidence, hoping nobody will notice your nervous breakdown.

You felt someone lightly wrap their arm around your neck and you turned around to see Soojin. Your best friend gave you an assuring smile and told you, “It’s going to be ok y/n. If anything happens, which it won’t, you have the eight of us to back you up.”

You returned a forced smile and replied, “It’s seven now.”

Looking at you with confusion, she asked, “Seven? Who left?”

“Jaehyun did. He had to deal with one of the department chiefs.”

“Tsk tsk Leaving his girlfriend on one of her most nerve-wracking nights. What a shame,” she shook her head and looked at you with a straight face, “I disapprove.”

You chuckled and lightly shoved her, “Shut up Soojin. He wouldn’t leave me if he saw how nervous I am. Plus, he has important business to attend to. It’ll determine all nine of our futures.”

Raising her arms up in defeat, she said, “Fine, fine. I’m just salty he took my beautiful girlfriend from me.”

You saw her pout as she leaned closer to you, and you pressed your hand on top of her mouth, shoving her away. “Please, you had countless boyfriends and now you try to claim I’m yours?” You looked at her with fake shock, “How dare you! You cheater!”

You both laugh, feeling better already that Soojin was there to shake off your nerves. Soon after, you saw the rest of your friends come over, encouraging you that you’ll do fine. You must say, it was nice to always have the seven of them by your side. Everything felt like it was in place as long as you and your friends were together, indifferent to the media, dramas, and gossips that could easily separate you all.

“Please give a round of applause for NCT’s very own CEO, y/n y/l/n!”

A roar of applause was heard through the neon-lit floor and you felt your nerves rising. Giving a small smile, you walked to the front of the podium as gracefully as you could. 

Taking a deep inhale, you let out your words loud and confidently, “Thank you for the warm welcome! I am so pleased to finally introduce to you, NCT.” Another round of applause stroke and a few cheers were heard. “Our company has been working endlessly to introduce to you all our wonderful models and designs. I would like to first, thank all of our NCT models for bringing this collection to life: Soyeon, Lucas, Soojin, Ten and Winwin,” through your anxious eyes, you saw your five friends waving to the crowd. You gave them a warm smile and continued, “These models are the center of NCT and my most precious friends. Please give them your utmost love and support.”

You continued through your speech with no mistakes and applauses were heard throughout the room. You started to feel at ease as you finished your speech with the words you wanted to say the most, “Last but not least, I would like to thank this one very special person. He has been the light of my life and the most supportive and helpful person to both me and NCT. Unfortunately, he had some matters to attend to so he won’t be here to introduce himself and talk to you all. Nonetheless, I would like to thank Jaehyun with the bottom of my heart. I love you and will continue to lo-”

A cold liquid flowing down your head caused you to freeze before you can finish your sentence. You tried continuing to speak but your eyes started to see red paint drip down from your hair to your face. You felt the crowd’s eyes stare at you as more paint fell down your body. Suddenly, you heard a few people push their way to the front of the crowd and curse at you.

“‘Love’ my ass!”

“Nice way to kiss your way up to the top!!”

“You’re nothing but a slut!”

Once again, fear and anxiety took over you. You didn’t know what else to do but stand there dumbfounded. No matter how hard you tried to muster up your courage to speak, nothing came out. The people just continued to shout threats and throw all sorts of foods at you. The room started spinning and your vision started to get blurry. You saw a swarm of security running towards the shouting people and Mark coming up beside you to call an end to the event. Just as you were about to lose yourself and fall to the ground, Johnny caught you by the waist.

You heard him whisper by your ears, “Hold it in, stay composed. Don’t let these idiots see you fall.”

Johnny’s words made you get a hold onto reality a little better as you stand up straight, acting as if nothing was wrong. You clutch onto his arms as the both of you walk towards the exit behind the backdrop.

———

• Sorry I’ve been MIA & S U F F E R I N G •

• I have too much work and I’m just a tiny girl so pls have mercy on me 🤕 •

• I’m also hella frustrated bc my card charged me for SuperM albums but I couldn’t place my order on the website like wtf does that even make sense to u •

• ANYWAYS HOW WAS JOPPING YALL LEMME HEAR UR REACTIONS •

• STREAM JOPPING 💎 •

[marculees]

i really hope this isn't offensive because i really don't mean it to be, but since you're epileptic, doesn't the flashing in concert videos and gifs cause any problems? you reblogged those of han with the tags flashing but you yourself weren't affected by it? how much flashing can a medicated brain take? i really don't know how to word these questions but i have some epileptic followers and i want to know what i can and can't reblog to keep them safe on my blog

No offence taken, its actually a very good point! The ratio of the gifs themselves are quite small on my screen, compared to being at/watching a concert or fancam in full screen. If the gifs were bigger, in single or double format where they take up more space on the screen, then that would be most concerning because my eyes would be forced to focus on them. Its why stuff like television shows and movies can be hard to watch, because we often have to focus on the entire screen and we can’t just scroll past like we would on desktop or mobile. Nighttime crime scenes with lights from police cars or ambulances, action sequences with a lot of lasers or shooting effects, or animation that involves excessive use of strobes are all examples of stuff that we can’t really look away from, especially if they’re taking up a lot of space on the screen. But with small gifs, I can scroll past a lot easier and look at the next gif instead. Still good to tag because not everyone is going to be on the same device with identical screen dimensions. The speed of the flashes are also key because they’re what triggers the seizures. If its just one flash during the gif and there’s a good few seconds before it loops back, then it should be okay. Its like taking a photo with your flash on - its only once so you’re fine, but if you have paparazzi following you then you’re in trouble because its a constant influx of flashes with no time between each one. I’d look out for anything to do with red carpets because I find those gifs or videos are usually the flashiest 👍

For that gif set in particular, Hannie having his little pout close to the camera with the singular flash is usually okay. Its only one flash and there’s about 4 seconds before it loops back. A seizure is triggered by 3-15 flashes per second. The second orange gif where he is lifting his hand and then the second-last one with the colours changing rapidly in the background would fall more into that category and that was why I chose to tag it. I looked away quickly and could focus on something else in my environment because they were quite small in comparison to everything else on my screen and the room around me. It wasn’t like an EEG where I’m sat in a dark room and forced to stare at a flashing light right in front of me💀 But some people might be on their screen in the dark - bad idea in general for anyone’s eyes but I know a lot of people do it because they’ll go on their devices before bed - so I’ll still make sure to tag for them too because no one likes something flickering up in their face in that kind of situation whether they have photosensitivity or not, and they don’t have other stuff around them to look away at like I would in my brightly lit room that can take my attention away from the specific gif/video and give me time to scroll past.

Honestly, if in doubt, add a tag! Always use the word ‘flashing’ in your tags; do NOT use ‘epilepsy’ in any way, as those then show up in the epilepsy tag on tumblr where most us go to have a rant together. Most epileptics on tumblr even avoid going through that tag now because of this problem. I’ve blocked various different tags such as ‘flashing’, ‘tw flashing’, ‘tw: flashing’, ‘flashing tw’, and ‘flashing lights’. If I come across a new one on my dash somehow, I add it to the list but these seem to be the most popular. If you’re a content creator yourself, don’t be afraid to slow down gifs to give time between flashes too plus slowing down stuff is sexy so why don’t we do that more and make it a cool aesthetic trend? people are more likely to follow trends anyway rip Don’t be afraid to reblog or create stuff btw its your blog! If the gif or video is flashy and you can’t help that, just tag it, that’s all! As you pointed out, I reblog stuff myself that I would tag, but I’d later skip the post with my trusty ‘K’ key if I went through my blog to find something else if I needed to 🤡 Small tumblr gif sets are much easier to handle than a fullscreen video such as Youtube or TikTok, and Tumblr allows you to tag stuff to automatically prevent it from being seen whereas those other social media platforms don’t have this feature and its rare to see a flashing warning before the beginning of a video that you’d have to pause before it autoplays. Whoever invented that colour changing disco lights filter(?) on TikTok is a sadist istg everyone uses it and I skip as soon as I see anything in an unnatural hue because I just know what’s coming. I only downloaded the app a week ago ffs 😂

...also something interesting about that specific gif set is that it did not originally come up with a blocked tag for me but when i went to click the link i reblogged from, one of them has now been added and it censored for me...i’m going to guess op forgot to tag and then added it in quickly after posting since the notes are still low and it was one of the first things on my dash

[yesloverboy]

Never Let You Go (mgk! Tommy Lee x Reader)

Requested: Anon

“I have 2 requests but they are completely up to your interpretation anyways, so for one like tommy taking care of his drunk girlfriend or friend or whatever you want and then another request would be tommy (lol love my tommy) where like the reader and tommy are friends and they’re at a bar and readers ex is there and shit goes down. Hopefully those make sense, do what you want!”

Note: Listen, I know it’s been a hot minute but my love for Tommy and Crüe will never die so thanks for being patient! Love y’all bunches and I will be posting about my updated writing schedule shortly. 

word count: 2,712

[Warnings: blood, violence, cheating, toxic relationships, swearing, and alcohol mention.]

permanent tags: @colsonbakersnoseringmain, @lululovesgwtw, @kingbouji3

mötley tags: @lauravic 

tommy tags: @chlobo6

 After your breakup, you were almost certain that not even all the alcohol in the world could drown your problems. Heartache left an unfillable void in your chest that wanted to suck every last bit of your happiness deep down inside, never to be seen again. Luckily, your best friend, Tommy, was determined to spend the entire weekend proving you wrong. According to Tommy, alcohol can drown any problem if you’re with the right people– and he just so happens to be your favorite person in the entire world.

 If someone were to ask you weeks– maybe even days –ago, you would’ve claimed that your boyfriend Kyle, of three and a half years, held the position of favorite in your heart. That is, until you found him grunting and thrusting into a woman that most definitely wasn’t you. Hell, she wasn’t even a woman you knew. As it turned out, your beloved boyfriend had been fucking other women on and off since they day you’d met.

 Teary-eyed and utterly brokenhearted, you went to the only person you knew who could hold you together at a time like this– Tommy. In his usual fashion, Tommy had greeted your desperate raps on his door with a goofy grin and open arms. However, once his blue eyes met your red-rimmed ones, his chipper mood quickly dissolved into concern.

 “Hey button, what’s the matter?” Tommy asked, using his long arms to envelop you in a tight bear hug. Button had been his nickname for you ever since grade school. Tommy had always been bad with names, and the rainbow buttons of your first-day-of-school overalls sealed your place in Tommy’s memory from that day forward.

 You had prepared what you were going to tell Tommy on the cab ride over but, the moment he uttered your nickname, everything fell to pieces. Big, fat tears welled up in your eyes, dripping onto Tommy’s shirt like heavy rain. To your relief, he didn’t press any more questions your way. Instead, he shushed you softly and tucked you through the doorway with a protective arm.

 It wasn’t long before Tommy had you curled on the couch, wrapped tightly in a quilted blanket with your head resting comfortably in his lap. He gave you time to cry out the rest of your frustration as he ran his long fingers through the snags in your hair. Tommy didn’t say much, even if seeing you in crisis mode devastated him to the core. You were always the strong one of the two of you, and he wasn’t entirely sure how to keep it together while you crumbled at his feet.

 After a while, your sobs eventually devolved into pitiful sniffles, allowing you to catch your breath enough to finally speak. When you finally mustered up the courage to tell Tommy what your boyfriend– well, ex-boyfriend – had done to you, his blood began to boil incessantly beneath his skin. Tommy wanted Kyle dead. Hell, deader than dead. If you hadn’t just been sobbing in his arms for the past hour, he’d already be on the phone with Nikki to plot your ex’s demise.

 Tommy physically couldn’t comprehend how a slimeball like Kyle could possibly have it in him to cheat on a girl like you for so long. You were patient, kind, and positively beautiful in Tommy’s eyes. For most people, a guy like Tommy is a lot to handle, but you never asked him to shrink himself in the presence of other people. You loved Tommy’s ‘too-much-ness’, as you affectionately called it, and wanted nothing more than to bottle it up and save some for the rainy days. Unfortunately, this day had been the rainiest of them all.

 Although he would never admit it, you were Tommy’s dream girl, and he would do whatever it took to make you feel like your old self again. Even if it were only for a few, fleeting moments in between bloodshot eyes and broken cries.

...

 It’s that same desire to make you happy that has Tommy dragging you to some sleazy new wave club halfway across town. You and Tommy are renowned metalheads in the L.A. music scene, but you can’t deny the way that the heavy synth and pounding bass lifts your spirits from the inside. As much as you despise its trendy nature, the appeal of cheap pop music isn’t entirely lost on you, and going to the last place anyone would expect to see you is exactly what you need right now.

 The club is packed full of patrons, each demonstrating new and interesting ways to incorporate nylon and neoprene into their glowing ensembles. You and Tommy undoubtedly stick out like sore thumbs, but you can’t help the grin that spreads across your face as he takes your hands and swings you across the dancefloor. You Spin Me Round blares through the sound system, causing the light-up floor to vibrate obnoxiously beneath your feet.

 Tommy picks you up and begins spinning you around in his arms at a dizzying pace, causing you to erupt into a fit of cringes and laughter. The two of you haven’t even made it to the bar yet and you’re already giggling and shoving each other like a pair of carefree idiots. Tommy’s childlike sense of fun and comforting grasp bandaids the gaping hole in your chest for a moment, but the fear of your all-encompassing sadness leaking out again makes you shiver beneath the strobing lights.

 As if he can read your mind, Tommy’s roughhousing ceases so he can stop and look at you. His dark blue eyes scan yours for any sign of an imminent breakdown on the horizon, but you quickly plaster on a brave face. You have no reason to hide the wave of sadness passing through you, but figure there’s no time like the present to practice looking fine in front of those you love.

 Before Tommy can ask if you’re okay, you bounce on your tiptoes and grasp at his shoulder for leverage. “I’m going to get us some drinks, okay?” you project your weak voice into Tommy’s ear, practically yelling over the pulsating music.

 Tommy seems to get the idea and offers you a weak smile as you turn towards the bar. Stay here, you mouth and Tommy shoots a reassuring thumbs up in your direction. With a shaky breath, you maneuver your way through the energetic crowd, doing your best to scout out the farthest available bartender. Initially, the crowd and the noise did a great job of clouding your memory, but now you needed a little extra help from some good, old fashioned hard liquor.

 You belly up to the bar, relieved that the music is just quiet enough in this corner of the club that you don’t have to strain your voice as much. Giving the bartender your best fake smile, you order yourself a double vodka soda and a Jack and Coke for Tommy. It feels like it’s going to be a long night, and you could use all the help you can get to even dream of keeping up with Tommy’s excessive drinking.

 Just as you’re about to grab the glasses and search for your lanky companion, you sense an all too familiar presence at your side.

“Y/N? Baby, is that you?”

 You suck in a breath, the sickly sweet tone of Kyle’s voice driving an icy stake into your palpitating heart. No, no, no, no, you flounder, this can’t be happening. You turn around, mouth running dry as soon as your eyes meet the confident gaze of your ex-lover. It was a look you had seen a hundred times before, and yet the familiarity of it all is exactly what’s bringing you to your knees.

 Kyle takes a step forward and you immediately find yourself taking an instinctive step back, the base of your spin quickly bumping harshly into the bar’s edge. Kyle rests a casual hand on the bar next to your hip, not exactly pinning you to the spot, but making it more than apparent that he doesn’t want you to leave just yet.

 “Thought that was you, sweetheart, I’d recognize that tight ass anywhere,” Kyle purs, looking down on you with a predatory gleam in his eyes, “Miss me yet?”

 The ice in yours and Tommy’s drinks rattles in its glasses, giving away the tremor in your nervous hands. You want to yell, scream, cry– anything, but you find yourself frozen to the spot. The memory of Kyle on top of that mystery woman in your shared bed replays in your head like a threat, reminding you that he never really loved you at all. Feeling small and pathetic in front of the man that abused your trust for so long, you silently pray that the floor might swallow you up.

 You grit your teeth as hot tears blur your vision, but do not speak. A sob starts to build in your throat and, before you’re able to release it, a flash of movement catches your eye. Looking past Kyle, you’re relieved to find Tommy storming over to the scene with bared teeth and clenched fists.

 “Hey asshole!” Tommy growls, jerking Kyle’s shoulder back in an effort to yank him away from your trembling form. The look of overwhelming fear and anxiety in your eyes fans the fire in Tommy’s chest, and it takes all of his strength not to drag your ex to the floor right then and there. In all your years of knowing Tommy, you never imagined he could ever look this furious and you find yourself getting scared.

 You aren’t scared of Tommy, no, you could never be– you were scared for Kyle.  

 Kyle just laughs and brushes at his lapels for show, raising his hands in mock surrender, “Easy there, man. I was just about to ask my girl if she wanted a ride home, is all. Isn’t that right, hon?”

 The cockiness in Kyle’s voice turns your stomach as he looks back at you expectantly, silently willing you to comply. Your eyes dart between him and Tommy, and you can already picture how the next couple of minutes are going to unfold.

 Tommy steps directly into your ex’s personal space, the visible height difference making Kyle shift his jaw nervously. To anyone passing by, Kyle probably appeared to be in total control, but you knew him well enough to recognize the look on his face. He’s in deep shit, and he knows it.

 “Funny you call her that, Kyle,” Tommy spits, his voice dripping with venom as he presses an accusatory finger into Kyle’s chest. “Make no mistake, I heard you had a girl– actually, a long list of girls. But Y/N? Yeah, she ain’t one of them. Never was.”

 Kyle laughs nervously, puffing out his chest in a weak attempt to seem taller. “Is that right? Then what is she, then? Your girl?”

 “And what if she is? What the fuck are you going to do about it?”

 Tommy’s face is only a few inches away from Kyle’s, the tension in the air so palpable that even the bartender across the way seems to be frozen it. The bass from the dancefloor thumps ominously in the distance, its hollow thud matching the heaviness of your heartbeat.

 To your surprise, Kyle is the first to relent. Casting you a bitter glance, he shoves Tommy’s chest away from his and begins backing slowing out of the room. His eyes never leave Tommy’s, watching him with the same caution as a zookeeper getting ready to feed a hungry lion. You breathe a sigh of relief, but it comes far too soon.

 “Fine, have her,” Kyle hisses, “she’s a lousy lay, anyways.”

 The moment the insult left your ex’s lips, his fate was sealed. Tommy’s restraint melts away as he lunges forward, his fist swiftly connecting against Kyle’s nose with a sickening crack. Blood spurts out from Kyle’s face and onto the glowing floor like a broken spigot, instantly causing your stomach to flip queasily. Even in the low lighting you can see splotches of ruby red seeping into the fabric of his stark white shirt.  

 Kyle stumbles backward, falling disoriented to the floor. He cries out in agony but Tommy continues to stalk forward, relentlessly hunting him into a corner like some kind of feral animal. You know it can only get uglier from here and, as much as you’ve enjoyed seeing Kyle eat his words, you really don’t want to add bailing Tommy out of jail to your to-do list.

 Before Tommy can cock back his fist for another hit, you catch his arm. The glasses you were previously grasping in your hands clatter noisily to the floor, the watered down alcohol and soda pooling lazily at your feet.

 “Tommy, that’s enough,” you warn, but the words are cushioned by tenderness you feel for him. All ever Tommy wanted to do was shelter you from all the bad things in the world, and you’d be lying if you couldn’t admit that he did it well.

 With an angry sigh, Tommy begrudgingly allows you to pull him to your side. Snaking his arm protectively around your shoulders, he frowns slightly as you shiver beneath his touch. It pains him to see you this way, shaking with anxiousness in the presence of a man you used to give all your love to– a love that he didn’t even deserve. Without thinking Tommy presses a gentle kiss to the top of your head, the touch so faint you almost miss it.

 “I’ve got you, button,” Tommy whispers, his voice barely audible over the music. Your heart somersaults in your chest as you gaze up at Tommy, your watery eyes connecting with his soft blues. Even panting and red-faced from his encounter with your ex, he still has the same happy face that drew you to him all those years ago.

 Without a second thought, you lace your fingers with Tommy’s, holding his arm in place as it rests on your frame. “Let’s go home,” you sniffle, nuzzling his bruised knuckles with the side of your tear-stained cheek.

 You lead Tommy out of the club, leaving Kyle moaning pathetically in a pool of his own blood. Not even a bartender or a bouncer cared to bat an eye at his pitiful display, and you can’t help but wonder if he would look the same after suffering a broken nose. Kyle may have left a permanent stain on your heart, but Tommy made sure he wouldn’t be able to so much as look in the mirror without remembering what he had done to you.

 The summer air is balmy outside the club as you and Tommy await the next available cab. You stand in comfortable silence, your form still pressed firmly against his side as he puffs on a cigarette absentmindedly. Tommy’s free hand curls around the ends of your hair, the small, intimate gesture causing you to blush.

 “So,” you say finally, breaking the silence, “your girl, huh?”

 Tommy’s eyes widen, his blue irises swimming in orbs of white. “Oh, uh, that? That was nothing– just, uh, don’t worry about it–” he stammers, his face flushing pink with embarrassment.

 With a grin, you rise to your tiptoes and place a gentle kiss on Tommy’s cheek, stunning him into silence. “Someday,” you whisper, “Maybe not today, but someday soon.”

 Your words tumble through the night air like a promise, intertwining with Tommy’s ever visible heartstrings and grasping tightly. Tommy always fell for girls hard and fast, but with you it was different. His love for you only grew with each passing moment, embedding itself in every look and every action until it all culminated into a single punch. You were what he had always been looking for, and he was exactly what you had been missing all along.

 Tommy holds you tight for the rest of the evening, playing with your fingers on the cab ride home to eventually tangling his legs with yours as the two of you collapse in a heap on his couch. No matter what happens, no matter how long it takes– Tommy would be yours forever, and forever isn’t nearly long enough.

Masterlist

[yastaghr]

Carried Skeleton 12

Summary: A new RESET sees Sans afraid of Papyrus, who can't take it and leaves. Chara wakes up as a ghost. The first of the seven souls comes down (Justice).

PLEASE MIND THE TAGS

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17443730/chapters/63949414

When Papyrus woke up from the reset, he had to run to the bathroom so he wouldn’t throw up on his sheets. The sight of his brother’s dust was going to haunt him forever, and the guilt that it had been his fault? Oh, that guilt was excruciating. Still, he had a script to follow if he was to keep Sans from suspecting anything. It wasn’t as though Sans could remember the resets, but he was sharp. Papyrus didn’t want him to catch on if he didn’t have to.

He stood up from the floor of the bathroom, flushed the toilet, and splashed his face off in the sink. Then he leaped up the stairs to make sure he wasn’t late to yell at Sans’ door. He made it just in time, according to his internal clock.

“SANS!” He called out, using the same tone and inflection he always did.

Sans’ skull poked out of his bedroom door. Papyrus assessed him in an instant. He was pale and sweaty with dark circles under his eyes. He must have had another bad dream. He opened his mouth to speak, looked up at Papyrus… and flinched.

Papyrus pulled back, almost recoiling from the raw fear on his brother’s face. No. No, that was- That was too much. He couldn’t… he couldn’t stand to see Sans afraid of him like that. It was too much - too much for him to bear. He didn’t want to be the source of his brother’s fear. Maybe it would be better for both of them if he went away. He had said that he would play with Flowey anyway. Maybe he should just stay with his older brother instead of his younger one. He could always come back next time to check if Sans… if he still…

His face hardened and he turned away from his brother, only to feel an insistent tug on his sleeve. Without looking he removed Sans’ hand and started towards his bedroom, saying, “I HAVE AN… ERRAND TO ACCOMPLISH, SANS. IT MIGHT BE A WHILE, MAYBE EVEN DAYS, SO PLEASE DON’T WORRY ABOUT ME.”

That didn’t seem to work. Sans must have sensed that Papyrus really didn’t mean to come back. He clung to Papyrus like a limpet clung to a boat hull. Papyrus sighed and shoved him gently but decisively into his bedroom and closed the door. He used his magic to lock him in. Then he headed towards his bedroom to begin packing. He was maybe two boxes in when, through the thin walls that separated his brother’s room and his, Papyrus heard Sans panicking. The thuds sounded like he was throwing himself against the door. That wouldn’t do! Sans had only 1 HP, he wouldn’t survive that if he did it too long! Even the intentless door would cause some damage. He needed to stop Sans from doing that, but how?

When Papyrus’ eye lights caught on the figure of his cowgirl action figure an idea occurred to him. The action figure was faded and peeling in places, but he could still make out the hoop that the cowgirl was stepping through. He knew ropes like those were used to tie up and control cattle. He also vaguely recalled stories of people being hogtied to railway lines. It sounded like the perfect solution to his Sans problem! Now all he needed was some rope. Hmm… maybe bed sheets would be better. He didn’t want Sans to rub himself raw trying to escape.

Papyrus glided into Sans’ room and caught his brother in his arms when he hurled himself out of the room. Sans was too surprised to react in time to prevent Papyrus from grabbing his sheets. He wrapped them around the squirming wiggle worm that his brother had turned into with not an inconsiderable amount of care. He didn’t want Sans to be hurt because of him. Not again.

Papyrus sniffed and tried to hold back the tears he could feel brimming at the corners of his eye sockets. His mind was filling up with two things that swirled and clashed like food coloring in water. One was the images of his brother dying, his brother’s dust, and his brother’s fear. They were flashing in front of his eyes like a strobe light, traumatizing him over and over again in his own head. The other thing that was his own worry. Sans was still so young. How could he cope with being on his own? Papyrus was his big brother, he should be taking care of him like he had promised Chara he would. Never mind that he was only 157 years old and wasn’t even legally old enough to be a sentry. He had to look after Sans! Abandoning him like this wasn’t… it wasn’t…

He shook his head and painstakingly tied off the last knot, holding Sans up and inspecting him from head to toe. His little brother was crying and struggling. His voice spell had given out on him, so he was making no noise, but the tears told all the story he needed. Papyrus gulped and turned his head away so he didn’t have to meet the accusation in those eye sockets.

“I’M SORRY, SANS. I JUST CAN’T… I CAN’T HANDLE YOU BEING AFRAID OF ME… FORGIVE ME.” With that he ran out of the room, out of the house, and into the woods.

=====

The first thing Chara thought when they woke up was, Wait. Aren’t I supposed to be dead?

They blinked and stared down at their body, looking for the wounds that had killed them. They didn’t find them, but they did find something else. Their body… their body looked like it had when they first fell down into the Underground. It was a child’s body. Not only that, but it was see through.

Okay, maybe I am dead, Chara thought to themself. Now to figure out-

“Hey, Yvwi Usdi! For why you here?” A child’s voice with an accent Chara couldn’t place called out from behind them. They turned around and saw them. Their face was serious, with a cast to it that Chara recognized as Cherokee. Their reservation wasn’t far away from the mountain if Chara remembered correctly.

Chara shivered at the thought of talking to a stranger - especially a human. They hated humans, but… maybe it was a necessary evil. They seemed determined to talk to Chara, so they might as well talk to them. “I’m… not sure what that means, but,” Chara looked around, taking their surroundings in for the first time, “I actually live here. Well, near here. My house is just a few rooms away. This is the spot where I fell.”

The Cherokee child blinked. “My people were not aware that there were Yvwi Usdi down here. That is, ah, ghosts? Spirits? They are a race of small, good, human-like creatures that help to guide my people and punish those who are disrespectful or aggressive.”

Chara snorted. “There’s a bunch of ghosts down here, but most of them are monsters. I think I’m the first human one. Or maybe I’m a monster now, too? That would be nice. I’ve always wanted to be a monster. But, well, I am… used to be a human, just like you. I live… lived down here for almost my whole life. I have three… two brothers and two parents. My family should be in New Home if you want to see them. They’re the king and queen of Monsterkind.” The Cherokee child stood to attention, then started to cough. It quickly turned from a normal cough into a hacking cough. Then the blood came up, and Chara’s indifference turned to worry. “Hey, are you okay? Humans aren’t supposed to cough up blood!”

When the coughing subsided the living child stood up and smiled grimly. “I am not, but that is why I am here. I have, in my chest, the cancers of the lung. I am dying. But my people still tell stories of the monsters and their kindness, and we regret not helping them in the War. We learned from the anisoi, the non-Cherokee humans, that it would take seven souls to break their cruel barrier. Since I will die soon anyway, I want my death to mean something. I will gladly give my soul for the monsters so that they might go free.”

Chara stared at them, their emotions swirling. It wasn’t like they hadn't had the same thought and acted on it, but that had resulted in not only their death, but the death of their oldest brother. They didn’t want any more monsters to die like that. But-

“You said it would take seven souls? Would those seven souls need to be taken outside the Barrier?” Chara probed.

“No, inside is also possible. Why?” The Cherokee child asked.

Chara’s face split in a slow grin. “I think… no, I know that monsters can find a way to store your soul. If Gaster could figure out how to make chocolate grow down here he can definitely figure that out. Then no more monsters have to die trying to get souls on the Surface.”

The human smiled slightly, the corner of their mouth quirking up. “That is excellent. I had heard of the monster who brought a corpse to the Surface… was that, perchance, you?”

Chara nodded. “I wanted my brothers and all the monsters to go free. I was old and dying, but the only way I could get Azzy to absorb my soul was to make him think that I wanted to see the flowers in my village one more time. I wanted to see the sun again… I probably shouldn’t have made him bring my body.”

The child nodded. “That was an error, but an understandable one. So, Yvwi Usdi, will you guide me to your monsters so that they can gather my soul?”

Chara nodded, grinning. “I will. Come on, uh… what’s your name?”

“Ama,” The child said, “It means water in Tsalagi, the language of my people.”

“I’m Chara. I picked it myself… my birth name is dead to me. My new name is short for character. I wanted something that wasn’t male or female but something else,” Chara explained.

The child grinned back at them, showing teeth. “Ah. I am Two-spirit myself. It means someone who does not fit as male or female, but as something else. I feel like no gender at all. My mother helped me pick a name that would fit that, and my father proudly announced it to the tribe. I hope your family did the same.”

Chara grimaced. “Not my human family, but the monsters did. Gender doesn’t mean a lot to them. They had a hard time understanding how I could be treated badly for something they see as normal.”

Ama smiled. “That is good, friend Chara. I look forward to the day when my people and monsters may teach the anisoi about that.”

Chara grinned, then motioned for the Cherokee child to follow them. “Me too.”

They lead Ama to their old house. It looked… the same. The tree still had no leaves and the courtyard was still empty. Chara wasn’t sure how long it had been since they died. Hopefully Mom would be able to tell them. They wondered if Azriel was going to be here as a ghost, too. Neither of them were there, though.

From there, Chara led the human through the Underground. It didn’t seem like anyone was around, but Chara figured that was because it was night time. They could see lights in a few houses, so the Underground wasn’t completely abandoned. That was good to know. The only reason that Chara would want the Underground to be empty was that the monsters had reached the Surface.

Finally they reached the Newer Home. Chara still giggled at Dad’s silly name. Ama asked, “For what reason are you laughing, Yvwi Usdi?”

Chara looked over their shoulder as they passed through the long hallway that led to the house and answered them. “I was just thinking of this place’s name. My Dad is… not very good at naming things. The place where you fell is New Home. The icy place is Snowdin. The wet one is Waterfall. The one with the lava is Hotland, and this? This is Newer Home. Again, Dad really sucks at naming things.”

Ama nodded. “There is a city that the anisoi call Catoosa. It is a city on a hill, and it’s name, in Tsalagi, means “on a hill”. Most of the places I know have similarly unhelpful names.”

Chara giggled again. “That’s pretty bad, I have to say. I-”

“Human?” A familiar voice said behind Chara. They turned around and saw their Dad. He was holding Sans and he looked awful. His fur was scraggly, his cheeks were wet with tears, and his clothes were wrinkled. Chara gulped. Something must have really bothered him for him to look like that.

“Dad?” Chara’s voice cracked. He didn’t seem to hear them or see them. He looked way too scared.

Ama looked between Chara and Asgore, then gulped and stepped forward. Asgore stepped back and Chara floated back. Ama looked… so resigned. So serious. So tired. “Are you the king of Monsterkind?”

Asgore nodded. “I am, my child. Why… why do you ask?”

Ama was interrupted by another of those awful coughing fits. Chara swallowed, seeing the pain on Asgore’s face. He’d always been so empathetic. That wasn’t always a good thing.

Ama smiled grimly. “I am Tsalagi, the ones known as the Cherokee, and I am dying of the cancers of the lung. My people regret not helping you in the war; you were always kind and compassionate, and we are sorry. If you can gather seven souls, you can break the Barrier. I am here to supply the first.”

Asgore’s face twisted up in even more pain, and his hand spasmed. Chara closed their eyes and ran away. He couldn’t see them, and they didn’t want to see what was going to happen next.

[embersoot]

Beyond the Thunderdrome pt. 1

With the subtlety of a Dwarvish cannon shooting air horns for cannonballs, Cesta kicked in the door, motioning with full arms to the entire tattoo parlor. It was a bonafide shop, furnished with all the things it should: an office, waiting area, a couple extendable chairs, and a wall filled with a gratuitous amount of varying guitars. Although the shop was relatively small compared to the more extravagant buildings owned by the Tradebarons, it was home. And home in Gadgetzan, where fat wallets are aplenty and the streets are filled with almost every known race in Azeroth, felt damn good.

“Can’t you see this is FRICKIN’ AWESOME, Qor-bear?”

The blind demon hunter deadpanned at her sister, folding her arms.

“Oh, uh, sorry.” Cesta scratched behind her neck, managing an apologetic smile.

Qorenys’s lips pressed together, unable to hide the fond smile brightening her face. Gadgetzan was a hazardous location, cartels everywhere, and bruisers all too ready to pound anything to a pulp if they caused trouble. But, perhaps, that may be why Cesta chose this location. Calling her younger sister streetwise was an understatement.

“It seems like an interesting location. Though, Cesta, I am concerned about how far away from any other main city will go.”

“Two steps ahead ‘a ya, sis!” She hurried into her new office. Red button under the desk. Red button under the--SELF-DESTRUCT IN FIVE MINUTES--Yellow Button! Definitely the yellow button! Wait... THAT’S THE PARTY BUTTON! Cesta scrambled to pull the override lever as if revving up a chainsaw. Qorenys looked to her sides, her ears ringing as the warbling alarms blared through the shop accompanied by confetti and strobe lights. Finally, after several yanks, the alarm went quiet. SELF DESTRUCT CANCELED. Several awkward moments later, a party horn blared out before the shop went silent.

“Why in all that is green on Azeroth do you have a self-destruct function in what is essentially your new house?”

Cesta held a finger up, looking from side to side and over her shoulder as if checking to see if the coast was clear. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Qory. Gonna tell ya a secret.”

Secret, her ass. After living with Cesta for decades, ‘Secret’ is a code word for ‘dumb shit’ or ‘sarcasm.’ Still, Qorenys leaned forward. Would it be the whoopie cushion, the airhorn, or the old ear-flick?

The younger twin dropped her voice to a whisper, cupping her hand around her mouth. “I have a self-destruct function here in case… I need to blow this shit the fuck up if, I don’t know, someone tries ta extort me or rob the shop."

Yep. That was about as asinine as the older twin expected. She dragged a palm down her face. “What’s wrong with just… a gun? Or better yet, you don’t even need a gun. What’s wrong with just burning them alive with felfire?”

“...It’s not as badass.”

“Watching someone who tried to extort you burn alive writhing on the floor isn’t badass?”

“No, Qory, what the fuck? That’s fucked up--But nah. Seriously. It’s because news spreads in this town quickly, and I’d rather not, you know, people know I’m a frickin’ warlock?”

“So you invite your demon hunter sister to break in your new place, proudly showing your green hair, and eyes that burn with felfire just like mine?” Qorenys chuckled, flicking her sister’s forehead. “If you don’t want people to know your power, you’re not doing it very effectively.

Cesta yelped, rubbing at the flicked spot with a puffed cheek. “I’m shit at disguises.”

“And lying, apparently. Tell me the real reason.”

“Hrumph.” The younger twin folded her arms, averting her eyes. She didn’t want to admit anything, but once Qory caught onto something, she rarely gave up the scent. “I thought it was cool.”

The twins fell silent, staring each other down. Cesta raised her eyelids--Wait. It was probably stupid to challenge an illidari to a staring contest. Instead, Cesta leaned in, or rather, she leaned up. She always hated that Qory was a few inches taller.

“To be fair, it is cool,” Qory conceded.

“SeeEeEE?” Cesta’s voice shot up several octaves, palms outstretched to prove her point.

“I just think the execution could have been better,” Qory remarked, knowing exactly how to playfully jab at her younger sister.

“ Fuck ya too, sis.”

“Love you, Cesta.”

“Love yer stupid face too, Qor-bear. BUT! Gettin’ back on track!” Cesta skipped over to the front windows, pulling the blinds up. At two in the morning, all that was left awake in this bustling city were the bruisers patrolling for any trouble and the city nightlife, blaring out muffled electronic music several blocks down in the aptly-named 'Swanky Town.'

“This place is perfect!” Cesta grinned wide. “We’re nestled right in the heart of the city! Cross streets are even badass too!: Gallywix-Sucks-Ass Boulevard and Noggenfogger Avenue. This building? Suite number sixty-nine.”

If the demon hunter still had eyes, she’d roll them. “What does having a coitus position for an address have to do with what you wanted to show me? The solution I assume you made to counter the fact that you are in, how do you say it, ‘Ass-End-of-Kalimdor-ia?’”

Cesta held a finger up, grinning wide as she slinked back behind her office desk. She just needed to make a note later to cover the self-destruct button with glass or something. But this time, Cesta double-checked that this button was actually green. Pushing it, a strange mechanical apparatus whirred in the corner. Its platform spun like a glowing disc.

“Meet my teleporter. Figured out how ta actually make one that didn’t conjure random loaves of bread or somethin’ whenever someone used it.”

As if on cue, the teleporter whirred. A banana flung out of it and splattered against the far wall. Thankfully, nothing valuable was on that wall.

“It appears rather than a bread problem, you now have a fruit problem.”

“Hey. I said, ‘bread-proofed,’ not ‘fixed.’ Look, all I gotta do is put a safety net or some shit on that wall. It’ll be great!”

"Cesta."

"Yeah?

"You're an imbecile."

[stilloutofmyvulcanmind]

Neon Gods Chapter 1

A/N - So this is the first chapter of a potentially longer work some of you guys showed interest in! This isn’t the definitive version, more of a slightly water-downed version I had to submit for a University project, but before I went back and did more, I wanted to know what people thought! :)

Word count - 2691

The name Borealis was far too pretty for such an ugly club. From the outside, it didn’t even look like a club, and the only way you would know that behind it’s grimy and dilapidated exterior were strobe lights and music that played so loudly leaving would make you believe you’d gone deaf, was, well, if you knew. The nightclub for misfits, criminals and those just looking to unwind, was the best-kept secret in the Industrial sector. Nightclubs, bars, or any form of establishment where a person could find a drink and some company for a few hours, had been strictly prohibited since the sector's formation, and any found guilty of running such a place...no one ever spoke of what happened to them. So when Borealis managed to continue surviving in its hidden location, it became unspoken law to not breathe a word to anyone you didn’t trust explicitly.

It was this way Astrid came to work there when she arrived in the sector. Her best, and honestly, only friend Lucra who already worked at Borealis, had taken pity and managed to secure her some shifts. That had been six years ago now, and she'd rather be nowhere else. The hours were long and meant they rarely saw the daytime, but it was always dark in the sector so it hardly mattered. The endless forests of factories billowed out so much thick, dark smoke from their metal trees that the sun was never able to pierce through to be seen anyway.

"Markus wants you back. Getting busy out there."

Astrid turned away from the window to see Lucra leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over his almost bare chest. He was dressed near identical to her, only his black leather pants were exceptionally tighter, and there was about five times the glitter covering the flesh on show. "I needed to get out and take this damned thing off for a bit. Itches like a bitch." Holding up the offending item, a monstrous bright pink wig, Astrid glared at it like it was the cause of every problem in the world.

"Could always dye it, darling," Lucra said, motioning to his own turquoise hair, slicked in gel to stand almost upright with yet even more glitter.

"Ugh with all those chemicals? No thanks. I’ll suffer through." With one sure and practiced movement, Astrid had the wig back on securely, tucking the few stray hairs of her natural brown colour away and out of sight. "How do I look?" She asked, walking over to her friend.

"Gorgeous. You'll get all the tips," Lucra laughed, spending a moment to fluff up the synthetic hair.

Rolling her eyes, Astrid laughed, "I wish. They get one look at you and start drooling over themselves!"

"Between us, we'll rinse them clean then!"

Stepping back onto the floor, the deep thrum of the bass music could be felt reverberating through their bodies, the rhythm steady compared to the higher-pitched techno beat that played over it. Beams of light flashed down from the ceiling, circling from red to blue to yellow to green to pink to red again in a quick sequence that made the eye ache if observed for too long. The smell of vodka mixed with tobacco, weed, and sweat hung in the air hot and heavy as some danced together, bodies pressing with barely a gap between them, while others sat at one of the many tables, laughing and drinking and forgetting all their troubles of back-breaking work and constant observation.

One of said tables, occupied by a group of young men, waved their empty glasses in the air to catch their attention. No words needed to be spoken over who would be the one to go over, both knowing they were Lucra’s specialty, he’d be the one to earn the largest tip, so he broke free from their path to the bar to walk over. Astrid watched him a moment, just to admire his skill of getting customers firmly in his grasp. Everything was a performance, he’d told her once when she was still learning the ropes. From the clothes to the brightly coloured hair, to the glitter that shimmered and sparkled in the dancing lights, appearing so differently to the dull greys and browns that surrounded them in everyday life. It enraptured them, drew them in like they were seeing a magical creature from one of the old stories. That was the first step, from there it was a case of demeanor. Friendly enough to make them feel special, but not so much it came across obvious that you were fishing for extra credits. Read the atmosphere, chat more if they were chatty themselves, be quick with the drinks if they just wanted to be left alone. It was an art form, really, and none did it better than Lucra.

Astrid stopped at an empty table, clearing up the dirty glasses and mess left behind. She’d be lost without Lucra, that was no secret. Arriving in the sector with barely more than the clothes on her back and a little spare cash, with no job or a place to stay, Lucra had taken her in, given her a home. It had been the start of the best friendship she’d ever known, and soon, they’d have enough to get out of here forever. Caelus was waiting for them. They just needed the tickets to get there.

"Daydreaming ‘bout your new fantasy life again, girl?" Markus asked from where he stood behind the bar, mixing up some drinks as Astrid set down the used up glasses.

"Not a fantasy if it can happen, Markus," she retorted, leaning against the edge and grinning.

Markus glared back at her in return, his one synthetic eye narrowing. He’d never gotten the other replaced, no one knew why since the rest of him was more machine than man these days. Astrid suspected that Markus just enjoyed wearing an eyepatch and looking like a grumpy cyborg pirate to hide the fact he was actually quite kind. "You’ll be thirty in a couple years, Astrid. You and Lucra. You need to start facing up to reality and this, here, is your life."

"Never gonna happen, old man. We’ll get there one day. Possibly a little sooner if you raised our wages?"

"And lose two of the reasons, folk keep comin’ here? I don’t think so." Markus finished setting the last of the vividly coloured drinks onto a tray and pushed it towards her. "Now do your damn job and get these to the table in the back corner."

Astrid was about to do as she was told when everything changed. The music was still thumping and the lights still dazzled, but the carefree atmosphere had turned chilly. Looking around, everyone had stopped. No one danced, no one drank, no one said a word. From their spot at the bar, it was impossible to see what was going on. If White Wings had found them the place would be in uproar. People would be running and looking for a way to escape. Shots would be fired, and chaotic terror would fill the room. This wasn’t that kind of fear. This was ice running down your back, heart in your throat, a still sense of uncertainty and dread.

Lucra appeared next to her looking confused as she and Markus were as the crowd of people on the dance floor started to shift, parting to let the cause of the disturbance through. Three men came into view. Two were short, below average height and balding. The other was taller with more muscle than the first two combined. He was definitely intimidating, but not a match for the bouncers Markus hired. No, his appearance wasn’t why people were slowly backing their way to the exit. They were doing that because of the neon bands that wrapped around their biceps, glowing brightly against their dark suits. They were Neon Gods.

Astrid looked away quickly as the men approached the bar, her stomach flipping the same way it does when you’re standing atop a high precipe looking down

"Table," one of the shorter men ordered.

Markus stared at them for a second, the realization that he was being spoken to directly to coming slowly. It hit him and he jumped immediately into action, robotic leg whirring and creaking at being made to move so suddenly. "Course, sir. This way, please." He had never been so polite as he led the men to one of the now quieter corners of the club, people jumping out of their way to make room for them.

"The fuck are Gods doing here? I thought they didn’t know?" Lucra hissed in a whisper, tearing his eyes from the men and back to Astrid.

"Markus said they didn’t, that we were safe from them." Her heart hammered in her chest, the room seemed to spin and it felt like there was no air left in the room, but Astrid managed to glance back around at them before looking away again. The shorter men wore green bands, while the taller just wore a white one. They were low level then. Acting bigger than they really were. No one else in the room knew that. Their ranks were kept secret for a purpose after all. It also meant that they wouldn’t know who she was. Her breathing slowed, and the death grip she’d had on the bar loosened just a little. She was likely safe, but her skin still crawled, and the sooner they left the better.

"I don’t like it." Lucra, braver than Astrid, turned resting his elbows on the bar as he watched the small party. The crowd had thinned considerably, and those who remained were already in the process of leaving. "They have him in the corner, the big guy’s next to him, keeping him there. The little ones are saying something. Markus doesn’t look happy," he narrated, an uncharacteristic frown marring his face. "They’ve agreed to something, they’re shaking hands. Big guy is letting him go and the others are getting up too."

"That was quick," Astrid summoned the courage to look around too, watching the Gods take their leave. She wanted to believe that whatever business they had that could be conducted so quickly wasn’t serious or had anything to do with her, but her gut said otherwise. The twisted knot failed to loosen itself as Markus walked back to the bar, barking at the remaining customers to go over the music.

Markus raised a metallic finger once he’d returned to his spot behind the bar, silencing the question on Lucra’s lips, and reached under the counter with his other hand. Silence fell as the music came to an end. "Thank Christ, finally some fuckin’ peace," Markus grunted, grabbing a glass and pouring himself a healthy serving of whiskey.

"What the hell did they want Markus?"

The other waited until he had downed the amber liquid, and set the glass back down with a clink. "They’re hiring the place out tomorrow night for a “business” meeting. That’s it."

"That’s it?! Markus, we can’t! They’re too dangerous."

"I’m with Trid," Lucra agreed, exchanging a look with Astrid. "We can’t be associating with the Gods."

"You two’re talkin’ like we have a damned choice! They made it pretty clear that there’s only two options. One we do as they say an’ get their protection. Or two, we don’t an’ they throw us to the Wings. Which’d you rather?"

Astrid shook her head, leaning across the counter. "Markus, don’t. There has to be another way."

"And what way is that? Huh?" Markus looked between them both, voice rising as he spoke. "This is my club. I own it. I’m the only one who decides how to run it. You two just work here, and If you don’t like it, don’t let the door hit ya on the way out." His words lacked the venom for the threat to be sincere, and Astrid knew he didn’t like it just as much as them. Not that it made things easier. "Both of you go home and get some sleep, and bring your A-game tomorrow. With luck, this’ll be a one-off thing and we won’t ever have to see them again.

Astrid was prepared to keep on arguing, but Lucra grabbed her hand as he nodded towards Markus. "Okay, okay. We’re going. Goodnight." He pulled Astrid with him as he left the club and out into the night. Rain came down in a fine mist that was hardly noticeable until it started to seep into your skin and make you shiver. Yet that wasn’t the cause of the chill that ran down Astrid’s back as they hurried back to the tiny amount of space they called a flat.

Astrid didn’t sleep, but then neither did Lucra. They sat up together, talking about everything and nothing while steadfastly ignoring the topic of the following night. It was a relief, that she wasn’t alone in her nervousness. Not only did the old phrase 'misery loves company' come to mind, but this way no extra questions were asked, and she was able to get away with pretending all her concerns lay with the fate of the Borealis.

The night came back around as gloomy as always, but there was a far more eerie feeling as Astrid and Lucra stood at the bar and looked around the empty club. It was never empty during opening hours, but the Neon Gods had ordered no public access the entire night, and so none there were.

Just after midnight, the group walked in, larger than the night before, primarily made up of white bands who took positions across the club floor, hands resting entirely unsubtly on their guns. The rest were made up of green bands and to Astrid’s surprise and horror a blue band who was escorting a few unmarked men over to a table. They were almost never seen out in areas like this, so this meeting with the other men must’ve been important. Markus took the lead and walked over to the group as they settled, but Blue Band completely ignored him, letting the greens do the talking. He paid no attention to anyone at all, leaving the unmarked men to shift nervously in their seats as he simply tapped on his phone instead.

She must’ve been staring too hard, or maybe he just knew something was amiss because before she could look away, his eyes snapped up and stared straight at her from across the room. Astrid spun around, pretending to listen as Markus returned and bitched quietly about the obscure drinks they had ordered. She needed to get a grip. She didn’t know his face which meant he shouldn’t know hers. But his band...he knew more than any of the other colours, enough to ruin everything.

"Get these over to them, Astrid. This lot don’t like to be kept waitin’."

Snapped back to reality, Astrid stared at Markus, and then at the tray of drinks in front of her. "I...I…" She couldn’t, she thought. To get that close would be too much of a risk.

"I’ve got them." Lucra stepped in and lifted the tray with ease.

"Whatever." Markus moved further along the bar, trying to observe discretely what was going on.

Astrid looked up at Lucra with a smile and a tiny amount of relief, "Thank you."

"We’re talking when we get home," he said then left with the drinks.

Dropping her head in her hands, Astrid sighed. Had her fear of Blue Band really been that apparent? Probably not, but Lucra knew her better than anyone so of course, he’d pick up on it. How much could she tell him? He wouldn’t let her brush it off, but she needed to keep him safe too, and the truth, the truth of who she really was, was not safe.

A hand landed on her shoulder, and thinking it was Lucra returning, she turned to look at him. The first and only thing she focused on was the band of neon blue.

"Kethra?"

Tagging: @bookcaseninja @sleep-depiravation @0dannyphantom0 @thevalesofanduin @goingknowherewastaken @oxymoroniccat

[soyforramen]

They all wanted her to be something she wasn’t.

It wasn’t hard to see, not when the entire institute was in the national spotlight, and her thrust into the middle of it.  After the bad publicity surrounding The Brotherhood and Apocalypse, Ororo needed some way to show the world that mutants weren’t a threat on their own.  She needed to prove that not all mutants wanted to take over the world.

But with Scott and Jean gone, she was left standing in the spotlight alone.  She needed someone to show how normal mutants could be.  And who was more wholesome than a couple who stayed together, who loved each other without being able to communicate it through touch?

Rogue and Bobby were the natural successors to Scott and Jean’s public image.  From all outward appearances they were deeply in love, partners in public and private.  They’d found love in a hopeless world.  And it wasn’t long before they were being groomed for leadership, him in the field, her in a public-facing role. 

After all, his mutation was useful in a fight and in recon.  Hers was defensive, plain and simple.  And who had a need for a mutation such as hers with all the side effects that came with it?

Ororo had done the math and discovered that Rogue was better suited to stand strong against the public onslaught.  They’d gain more sympathy for the cause if Rogue was at the front.  A girl with a mutation no one want for themselves or their children.  She was a girl who couldn’t touch.  A girl who could kill just by touching someone.  A tragedy that would break Shakespeare’s heart.

That was why after she’d graduated high school along with her peers, she’d been the one ushered into an administrative role.  Enrollment, contact with donors, invitations to private fundraisers.  She was no longer allowed into the field, her training sessions ending with Logan’s disappearance. It was expected that she juggle this full time job along with her class load at NYU, her major chosen for her in furtherance of the school’s mission.

Meanwhile, Bobby was traveling the world to put out fires in the name of mutant equality.  The only expectation put upon him was to be Ororo’s second in command in the field.

It was enough to make a girl scream.  She’d dreamed of more than this.  More than being a secretary, more than being someone else’s mouthpiece, more than being someone’s girlfriend, more than having to force a smile when all she wanted to do was scream.

She still hadn’t seen the Grand Canyon, or the Eiffel Tower, or the Rocky Mountains.  

Everyday she played her part.  She stood in front of cameras, microphones, and plead for peace and equality.  She kept up her grades, joined extracurriculars, and stood by Bobby’s side.  Because despite their mutations, they were still able to live a semi-normal life.  They’d stood together against homicidal maniacs, narcissists, and politicians.  He was willing to stay together despite her mutation and she… well that was the problem, wasn’t it?

Why was she even still here?  Together, with him?  

There’d always been rumors.  She’d ignored them at first, ignored John’s warnings, ignored Jubilee’s pointed looks.  He’d been discreet enough the rumors dissolved on their own.  Hangouts, and hugging, and talking, and long glances had been dismissed as paranoia, jealousy.  And besides, they’d said under their breath when they thought they were alone, could you blame him if he had?

It was all swept under the rug as easily as her own feelings about it.  Even when he and Kitty stopped speaking one day.  Even when he’d go out late at night and come home two days later.  Even when…

Before he at least loved her enough to hide it.  Now he didn’t seem to care.  And the longer they were together, neither did she.

That didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.  To be thrown over so easy hurt her pride.  Her ego.  Her sense of self.  He’d done what she’d always feared, sought solace and comfort in someone else because she couldn’t give him what he wanted.  Because he was too afraid to try.

Behind closed doors he didn’t try to act like her boyfriend anymore.  They were still friends, but only that.

The flame between them had long ago died out between his cold lips and her cold heart.

It would have been easy enough to have kept on like this forever.  Bobby chasing other girls while she lied to herself.  It was a contented life, even if it wasn’t a happy one.

Then he had to destroy it all by proposing to her in front of the whole institute.

He knew she hated this type of public confrontation.  They’d never talked about marriage.  They’d never broached the subject of the future.  

And yet.  Perhaps she should have seen this coming.  They’d been together six, almost seven years now.

It was silent in the foyer as they watched for her response.  No one blinked an eye when Kitty stormed out of the room.

It wasn’t the first time Rogue wished they could switch places.

She’d said the only thing she could with that many people watching.  And now Bobby was pushing for a spring wedding.  He wanted the symbolic renewal of hope, a tribute to those who’d died.  The wedding was supposed to stand for everything but their relationship.  He and Ororo had already begun the planning long before he’d asked.  

The only input she was asked for was what type of flowers should be on the alter.  When her response didn’t come quick enough, they’d chosen peace lilies and irises.  Peace and hope for the future.

Rogue had always wanted oleander and magnolias.

That day wasn’t the first time she’d wanted to up and run from this ‘perfect’ life.  And it wasn’t the first time she’d run away.  Because that was what she did when she was unsettled.  Anxious.  Lonely.  It was what she was good at.

Running.

Just like she had when Bobby wanted to take a ‘break’ from their relationship.  He’d found Betsy, she’d found Montana.  Just like when Logan disappeared and nobody could speak his name, she disappeared to Mexico and spoke the name of everyone she’d met.  Just like when Bobby had asked for her hand in marriage, she’d run to the boot of Italy,

And when it became public knowledge that Bobby was stepping out on her with a teacher from a sister institute, Rogue ran to Escape.

For the first time she ran towards the problem.  To find Bobby.  She knew he was here.  He’d left his phone on the bed while he went to work out, unlocked and open to her message.  All it took was a glance for Rogue to see who, when and where he was supposed to be that night.

Maybe Bobby wanted to escape too.

It didn’t take long to pack what little she owned.  Her mother’s ring, Logan’s dog tags, and the clothes she’d brought to the institute where barely enough to fill her purse.  Everything else she’d left behind.  The rest of it wasn’t hers anyway.  Not really.  It was either a gift from someone now dead or gone, or purchased with the institute’s money.  

She’d left a note and Bobby’s ring behind.  He wouldn’t need a reason, but Ororo would.  She owed her that much at least.

No one noticed as she left through the front door.  Everyone knew her by name, but no one cared to know her.  Those who did were long gone, graduated and out living their own lives away from this place.  

On the way to the club, she keyed in John’s number, desperate to hear from him.  An apology was on the tip of her tongue, a need to tell him how badly she’d missed him.  He’d never pick up, though.  Not with her number attached to the call.  She wondered for the thousandth time whether she’d made the right choice with Bobby.

When she arrived, she found Escape to be a club like any other.  Loud music, bright strobe light, dark corners, and free-flowing liquor.  It’s only distinguishing feature was a sign on the door that said ‘Mutants Welcome.’  Money was still money in places like this, no matter who spent it.

A couple jostled her on their way to the dance floor, and she moved around the edges of the room.  Her eyes scanned the floor, sweat beaded between her shoulders.  

She used to love clubbing.  The driving bass, the churn of strangers, the limbo where life outside meant nothing.  It was so easy to lose herself to the music.  

Bobby never wanted to go.  He claimed to hate the crowds and the loud music.

Turned out he just hated going to clubs with her.

There, on the dance floor.  Strong, sweet, tender, cheating Bobby.  His arms were wrapped around a lithe blonde woman who barely wore much besides snow white stilettos.  Hands on bare skin, arms pulled her tights, lips traced the curve of her collarbone. 

His movements held all the unspoken promises he’d never given Rogue.  

Her heart broke and mended all over again.

A man suddenly at her side broke her reverie.  She ignored his proffered drink.

“Hey, sweetheart, I’m Benny.  What’s you name?”

“Not interested,” she snapped, her eyes never leaving Bobby and the woman he was wound around.

The man cursed at her and wandered off to his next target.  

The sound must have caught Bobby’s attention because he turned and caught her eye.  It took a moment for his confusion to turn to panic.  He whispered something to the blonde and fought against the crowd to reach her.  

Rogue shook her head, a signal that he shouldn’t bother, and left through a side door.

She should be feeling pain, betrayal, heartbreak.  Something to show she cared.  Instead, she felt light enough to fly.  The future, her future, without Bobby, without the institute, without the X-Men lay ahead of her. 

Nerves drove her to run towards the street, exuberance kept her from standing still.

“Lookin’ for somethin’, cher?”

She turned to find a man smoking at the entrance of the club, leaned up against the brick wall.  He looked like something out of a bad 80’s film.  Long tousled hair that draped his face, held back by a knitted cap.  Dark shades and a leather jacket.

‘Freedom,’ she thought.

“I’m a mutant,” she said.  It was the first thing she’d learned would fend off any unwanted attention.  And if that didn’t, an explanation of her mutation would.

The man only tipped his head forward to look at her over his glass.  Coals of ember against infinity.  

“S’funny.  So am I.”

“Rogue,” Bobby’s voice echoed through the alley behind her.  “Rogue!”

“Do you want to get out of her?” she asked, breathless and wound up and ready to run.  

She’d taken a cab here, and there was none to be found.  By the time she ran to the end of the street, Bobby would find her.  She chewed on her lip and silently begged him to answer.

The man raised an eyebrow as Bobby’s voice grew closer.  

Just when she was ready to turn tail and run, the man reached towards her, a snake quick enough to bite, and tucker her under his arm.  The world went black around her and she reached up to find he’d tugged his cap over her hair.

She ducked her head into his jacket when Bobby came around the corner.  He passed them, still calling her name.  Whether the ruse worked or whether Bobby ignored her didn’t matter.  What mattered now was that she was free for the first time in her life.

Gravity couldn’t hold her down, not with this bubble rising in her chest ready to burst her into a million pieces.  Giddiness brought with it it’s own high, one that even that reality of her situation couldn’t touch.  All that could be sorted out later, for now she was her own woman for the first time in years.

Wrapped up in her own joy, she’d forgotten the man next to her.  

“Guessin’ you changed your mind,” the man asked.

She turned, expecting to find disappointment that she’d asked as a cover, anger she didn’t really want him.  Instead she only found a smile.  Laughter danced at the edge of his lips.

It was contagious, his smile, so she returned it ten-fold.  She shook her head.  Tonight, she didn’t want to go anywhere with anyone.  Tonight was hers and hers alone.  

Rogue handed him his cap back and slipped back into the club.  The music threaded through her blood, thrummed through her veins. She’d didn’t know where she’d go from here, but tonight she’d keep dancing on her own.