ookikufurikabutte · 3 months ago
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Your art is very pretty! I like the way you color. It’s very nice and feels like cinnamon marshmallow
oh my gosh 🥹 thank you so much 🫶
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hauntingblue · 2 years ago
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Who watches the Watchmen? Me rn lol. Dummy
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james-stark-the-writer · 2 years ago
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The Boys is the Undertale of superhero media
#james talks#like they both work specifically because of how they subvert expectations of the genre#if you watched The Boys without knowing anything about the culture it was responding to it just wouldn't fucking work as well as it does.#like yes The Boys is still a phenomenal show with a lot of relevant things to say but its subversive qualities come through in—#understanding how it is messing with our understanding of how we put superheroes on pedestals like Homelander is NOT just evil superman—#Homelander is a stand-in for how we idealize people in power because we see them as inherently heroic and someone working for us.#like being a hero is a business in the world of The Boys.#the first shot of Homelander is literally him walking into the frame with his American flag cape. HIS NAME IS FUCKING HOMELANDER.#like he's very clearly commentary on the state of the US fearmongering about criminals and immigrants and shit like—#it's very clearly commentary on fascism but like it just doesn't hit like it's supposed to if you don't know stuff like Marvel and DC and—#the place they serve in culture and what that means for us as a whole like—#I'll avoid going on a rant about the MCU's ideology of Perpetual War and how DC's whole thing is just glorifying violence—#(see: Zack Snyder's obsessive need to make everything in slow mo but also go watch Patrick H Willem's video on him)#but like Alan Moore's critiques of superheroes and fascism in Watchmen and V for Vendetta like you have to know what it's responding to.#Undertale is subversive obviously in the same way bc if you haven't played RPGs the game doesn't fucking hit for you at all.#see: Razbuten's video on what it's like for a non-gamer to play an RPG.#that video was what got me thinking about this at all but anyway like hopefully this makes sense#james rants in the tags#The Boys
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getvalentined · 7 months ago
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Getting back on my Zack Is Canonically Polyamorous soapbox because the people need to know and also the number of people accusing Aerith of being unfaithful in Rebirth is absolutely fucking ridiculous when taking Zack's romantic escapades into account.
There are spoilers here, and I'm tagging accordingly, but I'm not putting it under a cut.
We know for a fact that Zack is in a relationship with Aerith. We've known this since the OG, although we didn't know most of the details back then, just that they were together. In Remake, Aerith describes Zack as her "first love." In Chapter 11 of Rebirth, the first memories of Zack that Cloud reclaims are of him talking about how great Aerith is, and Cloud describes him as being "head over heels" for her. In Chapter 8, we found out that Zack's parents were able to recognize her based entirely on Zack gushing about her when he wrote home—and this is one of the most important parts, honestly.
Zack has a thing with Cissnei. We don't know how deep it is, but throughout Crisis Core (and even in the summer event in Ever Crisis) we can see very clearly that there is something between them, and it's never treated like a big deal. She's never completely honest about her feelings, so we can assume he didn't know that she saw him as anything more than a casual thing, but they have a relationship. It's made explicitly clear that this is the case when Zack returns to Gongaga and she lets him know that she's spoken to his parents, and he warns her that they're basically going to suggest that she marry him.
Zack's parents know about his relationship with Aerith and they also apparently know enough about his relationship with Cissnei to suggest that she make that relationship "official." They want her to join the family. They asked, she apparently reciprocated, and she lives in Gongaga after Veld is "killed."
Cissnei is also aware that Zack is in a relationship with Aerith, but that doesn't stop her from pursuing him anyway. She gets it and she's okay with it. She never, at any point, tries to push him away from Aerith—she's the one that tells him how special Aerith is, how important, how lonely. She's supportive of his relationship, and doesn't seem to feel that it makes her own feelings or their relationship any less valid.
Okay, so that's proof that the people around him are, at the very least, okay with him having multiple partners. That doesn't necessarily mean he's poly, though, maybe he's just a womanizer and everyone accepts it. Weird, but possible. He's really endearing so maybe they all give him a pass.
But no! No this isn't it at all! And we know it because of how Zack responds to Aerith being in love with someone else in Rebirth. When he finds out that Aerith is has feelings for Cloud, there's not a hint of jealousy in a single thing he does or says. He's disappointed when Marlene says it's because he wasn't there, but it's not disappointment in Aerith or in Cloud—it's disappointment in himself, because Marlene is right. He wasn't there. He couldn't protect her. There's also no spite there, he never responds like her feelings are wrong because he's here now and that means Aerith can rely on him again, and we know that because of how he responds to this information.
Zack finds out that Aerith has feelings for Cloud, and his immediate mission is to make sure that Cloud recovers as quickly as possible. Now it's not just for him, it's not just because that's his friend, it's because Aerith loves him (too) and that means he has to save Cloud for both of them.
He's fully supportive of Aerith and Cloud having a relationship, to the point that the last thing he says to Cloud when he gets thrown into a dying timeline is a request that he take care of Aerith. He's not exactly passing the torch here, because he's still alive—but he doesn't know if he'll be able to meet back up with a version of Cloud that is awake again, and he needs Cloud to know that he supports them in this.
And then, in the dying timeline where Zack is banished after fighting Sephiroth, he has the ability to synergize with Cloud from across the multiverse. The DMW limit break connected to Aerith is active in the space. All three of them are together here, just not physically; Cloud and Aerith are protecting Zack as much as Zack has been struggling to protect them.
Zack loves that Aerith loves someone other than him because that's how he is too. Zack has multiple relationships at the same time, he loves multiple people at the same time, he has emotionally intimate connections with multiple people at the same time. Why would he take issue with the love of his life feeling the same way?
Cloud isn't his replacement any more than Cissnei and Aerith are interchangeable, and Zack understands that, because Zack is polyamorous—and he's really happy that Aerith may be, too.
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wowa-bublord · 5 months ago
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hiiiii! I've been meaning to make this for a while but i forgetttt. falls over dead on the floor. I am Bubby, I'm 18 years old, I use any pronouns (mainly he/she/they). This is my whatever blog I draw or reblog whatever!!! You can find my commission prices here !!
my art is my art tag Bubby talks is just my random thoughts hehe Zack Lives AU is. self explanatory HEHEGFH, Zack survives the events of crisis core and takes care of a fully comatose Cloud while working with Tifa in Seventh Heaven. Sephiroth Gainsborough Au is a universe where Sephiroth escapes with Ifalna and Aerith as a child, causing a lot of changes in the story and the characters around him. A lot of soft stuff so far. A LOT of pain soon
outside of ff7, I've also drawn a lot of undertale fanart, moomin fanart, and ace attorney fanart I don't have a DNI, but I block really freely, and I don't like it when people tag my art as proship. I love 2 be tagged in things and I love getting asks!!! I try 2 respond to every ask I get eventually, If I don't respond I probably didn't get it so feel free to send it again.
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crisiscutie · 2 years ago
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Can I get a Sephiroth, Zack and Genesis catching his s/o running by them after slapping their ass and just waving before running into the nearest elevator to escape but the elevator is out of order..
Yes, s/o is a female and is the only female SOLDIER. Do whatever what you will with that information.
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Zack: At first, he is confused, at who or what the hell slapped his ass. But when he recognized the audible giggle (boi is an auditory learner ok?), it's game on. He'll call out her name with a laugh as he runs after her, his pace quickening when he realizes the elevator is stuck. His s/o was in a panic, her fingers flying across the elevator buttons, as Zack was looming closer. She is so scared, no way she will lose so soon. So she just kept pressing those buttons. This elevator was supposed to be fixed, goddamn it!
But just as the elevator seemed to respond to her input with magical timing, she heard Zack's voice leering her name from behind her, followed by his grin as he lightly returned her slap. His s/o would let out a frustrated huff, reminding him he was supposed to give her a head start. Zack would be confused, pointing out how that's fair when she slapped his ass out of nowhere? The two squabbled for a bit until they both jumped in surprise when they realized they were late for their training with Angeal. Without another moment to spare, they dashed down the hall, the smell of their sweat lingered in the air.
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Sephiroth: Like Zack, he would be very confused, and peeved that someone would do that to him. But he'll have the biggest mental facepalm when he catches wind of his speedy s/o's familiar hair color and sweet perfume. But even with her speed, he'd power walk toward her almost as fast as she fumbled unsuccessfully, with the elevator control buttons. His eyes glinted as he flashed a hint of a smirk on his lips. If only his s/o bothered to read the "out of order" sign...
As Sephiroth stepped inside the elevator with her, his s/o would nervously giggle, her hands nervously clasping behind her back. He'll quickly scan his vicinity to make sure there were no onlookers near. Then he'll sternly remind his s/o about his no "PDA" rule, even if seems like no one is nearby. With a playful wink, his s/o remarked that the risk of their relationship being exposed kept things interesting and thrilling. Out of nowhere, Sephiroth roughly grabbed her ass and squeezes it with one hand, pulling her close to him. He spoke in a low, sultry tone, the threat in his words being clear. Do NOT test him. Overwhelmed by a lustful fear, his s/o would meekly obey him, as he chuckles. He'll gently command her to follow him to the briefing room, as they kept Lazard waiting for far too long.
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Genesis: A part of him knew it was coming, just not within the Shinra HQ. He and his S/O had been laughing and running around in their mini game of "tag" for some time. They're at even a score now, but one of them gotta break that tie somehow. But to score a point while in a public area is a sneaky and underhanded move. So when Genesis' S/O cheapshotted him in public, he'll chase her down, with or without folks around. He can't allow her to get away with that!
His S/O wouldn't even be in the elevator for a few seconds, as Genesis was hot on her tail. He'd grab her and then give her the hardest slap on the bottom yet. His S/O would be feeling that sting for a little while. She would playfully ask him if he has to hit her so hard, and he would reply with a deadpan yes before laughing his ass off with her. Afterwards, he'll give her a passionate but short kiss and then inquire in a hushed voice if they will ever be able to break away from this tedious tie in their game. With a cheeky smile, she tells him she will never falter. His only response was a small grin. Afterwards, they head to their destination early to prepare for a LOVELESS reading with the Red Leather.
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lavellenchanted · 4 months ago
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wip wednesday
I was tagged by the lovely @beachy--head about a million years ago
I am deep in clerith brainrot right now, so I have several wips going and this is a section from one of them!
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"So you're my new bodyguard, huh?"
Aerith leans back against the edge of the table, head slightly tilted, eyeing him curiously. Something about her gaze makes Cloud almost feel like like she can see right through him, and if he were less disciplined he thinks he might have started shifting nervously where he stands.
Instead, he lifts his head up and gives a short, sharp nod. "Yes, ma'am. If --"
"Oh, no. Don't ma'am me," she cuts him off, waving a hand. "Makes me feel old. Besides, it'll be strange to be so formal when we're going to be spending a lot of time together, right? Aerith's fine."
"Uh. Right. Aerith." Cloud stumbles over her name a bit, but she beams up at him when he says it and for a moment all he can do is stare. He's never had a client greet him so . . . unguardedly before, like he's here for a friendly meeting and not because of threats to her safety. It's left him a bit wrong-footed and he scrambles to remember what he was saying before she interrupted and slip back into the cool, professional demeanour he's worked so hard to perfect. "I know Zack will have sent across my basic background information but if you have any questions or want me to run through my skills so you feel more comfortable --"
Shaking her head, she interrupts him again. "I don't mind about all of that."
He pauses. ". . . you don't?"
"No. I think Zack sent some stuff but I didn't really look at it. I just asked him to send me the cutest guy on his payroll."
Cloud blinks, at a loss for how to respond. Finally, he manages a half-strangled, "You what?"
With a blithe grin, Aerith continues, "Well, yeah. If I'm going to have someone hanging around me all day, they might as well be easy on the eyes, you know? I kinda thought he might claim that title himself, but I think he definitely made the right call sending me you."
The tops of his ears are burning and he can't stop the warm blush spilling across his cheeks.
What is he even supposed to say to that? He opens and closes his mouth several times but nothing comes out. He's not sure if he's should thank her, or tell her how goddamn idiotic it is to care more about your bodyguard's attractiveness than their skills, or get Zack on the phone to ask him what the hell he was thinking.
Then, through his embarrassment, he notices the laugh playing around Aerith's mouth and the way her eyes are sparkling and it suddenly hits him.
"You're teasing me."
"A little." She offers a brief, apologetic grin, "Do you mind?"
Usually his answer to that would be yes. He's never enjoyed being teased or laughed at. But somehow, watching her trying and failing to suppress a smile, he finds the corner of his own mouth curling upwards and he shakes his head. "No, it's fine."
Her shoulders relax a bit and she nods happily.
"I did read some of the stuff Zack sent - but what I actually asked him was to send someone I could trust, and feel safe with," she says softly, more seriously than anything she's said so far. Her eyes meet his, and Cloud has the sudden realisation that she's far more scared than she wants to let on. "He told me he had just the guy."
--
I'm tagging @emilykaldwen, @apinchofm, @roboticonography and my favourite meme buddy @theawkwardterrier ✨
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underground-secret · 1 year ago
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The Hunter and the Witch~ Dean Winchester x F! reader
Description: The boys and reader come to the aid of Sam's old college buddy after he is accused of a murder he swears he didn't commit. They discover a shapeshifter is adopting the likenesses of others and murdering people.
Warnings: cannon violence, not my GIF, shapeshifters, teasing, tension 🤭, choking, kidnapping, mentions and usage of guns, being tied up, murder
Tag list: @jesllianaquilesrolonsworld , @okayiamkassandra , @fablesrose, @ada--44
Word Count: roughly 8,000
(Not my GIF but we can still appreciate it)
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Skin
(Master list, Previous Chapter, Next Chapter)
The Impala comes to a stop in front of a gas pump, the slightly warmer breeze of late February brushing through the car as Dean opens his door, half sitting out the door.
“Alright, I figure we’d hit Tucumcari by lunch, then head south, hit Bisbee by midnight.” Dean announces. I hum in agreement with a little nod of my head, Dean looks back at me in acknowledgment and then at Sam, who has given no response or recognition.
He rolls his eyes, “Sam wears women’s underwear.”
“I’ve been listenin’, I’m just busy.” Sam shrugs his brother off, looking down at his PalmPilot.
“Busy doin’ what?” Dean shoots back.
“Reading e-mails.” Sam says simply, not even bothering to look up. Dean gets out of the car and rounds it, beginning to fill the tank with gas, “E-mails from who?”
“From my friends at Stanford” Sam replies.
“You’re kidding. You still keep in touch with your college buddies?” Dean scuffs.
“Hey I don’t see anything wrong with that” I chime in truthfully.
“Well, what exactly does he tell ‘em?” Dean switches his gaze to Sam now, “You know, about where you’ve been, what you’ve been doin’?”
“Thank you Y/N.” Sam begins with before actually answering Dean's questions, “I tell ‘em I’m on a road trip with my big brother and best friend. I tell ‘em I needed some time off after Jess.”
“Oh, so you lie to ‘em.” Den acknowledges.
“That’s not technically lying, he's just not giving all the details” I point out.
“Yeah, that’s still called lying. I mean, hey, man, I get it, tellin’ the truth is far worse.” Dean responds.
“So, what am I supposed to do, just cut everybody out of my life?” Sam asks, Dean shrugs, “You’re serious?” he adds.
“Look, it sucks, but in a job like this, you can’t get close to people, period.” Dean states.
“Okay well, what about Y/N? We’ve known her for a long time but she’s not blood related, and I'd say you’re pretty close to her.” Sam brings up smiling to himself as if he knows he won, before quickly adding, “No offense Y/N.”
“Non taken” I answer, curious to hear Dean's response.
Dean goes quiet, just staring at his younger brother with big eyes and a tight jaw as if to tell him to stop. Finally he answers, mumbling, “That’s different.”
Without missing a beat Sam immediately follows up with, “How so?”
This time Dean really doesn't answer, just kind of looks awkwardly around. Realizing he won’t get an answer Sam adds, “Exactly.”
Dean rolls his eyes, half turning away to check how much longer he has to be there for.
Suddenly Sam speaks up again, except this time without his cocky smile and sassy attitude, “God….”
Dean turns back ‘round quickly, “What?”
“In this e-mail from this girl, Rebecca Warren, one of those friends of mine.” Sam begins.
“Is she hot?” Dean cuts in, getting a look from both Sam and I before going back to the real situation at hand.
Sam ignores him, continuing his explanation, “I went to school with her, and her brother, Zack. She says Zack’s been charged with murder. He’s been arrested for killing his girlfriend. Rebecca says he didn’t do it, but it sounds like the cops have a pretty good case.”
“Dude, what kind of people are you hangin’ out with?” Dean exclaims, putting the pump back in its place and closing the tank he rounds the car again.
“No, man, I know Zack. He’s no killer.” Sam assures as his brother gets back in the car.
“Well, maybe you know Zack as well as he knows you.” Dean offers.
“They’re in St. Louis. We’re goin’.” Sam orders.
Dean chuckles, “Look, sorry ‘bout your buddy, okay? But this does not sound like our kind of problem.”
“It is our problem. They’re my friends.” Sam shoots back.
“St. Louis is four hundred miles behind us, Sam.” Dean says, looking through the rear view mirror. He meets my eyes and I give him a pleading, knowing look. He sighs as he pulls out of the gas station, he makes a U-turn now driving back the way we came.
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“Oh my God, Sam!” Rebecca greets happily, the long haired blonde smiling brightly.
“Well, if it isn’t little Becky.” Sam jokes bending down slightly with his arms open for a hug. She wraps her arms around him tightly, “You know what you can do with that little Becky crap.”
It’s odd but endearing to see Sam like this, being able to have a peek into what his life was like when he was away at college. When he was happy, things were a little bit simpler.
They break away and Sam turns serious, “I got your e-mail.” Her smile falters, “I didn’t think that you would come here.”
Dean steps forward and extends his hand, “Dean. Older brother.” She shakes his hand looking at him with a hint of confusion, “Hi.”
“Hi.” Dean says back with his cocky smile.
Her eyes wander over to me, as if signaling it’s my turn to introduce myself with a little wave, “Hi! I’m Y/N a, uh, good friend of these two.”
“Nice to meet you” She smiles back.
Sam, rightfully, cuts in, “We’re here to help. Whatever we can do.”
“Come in.” She steps aside leading us further into the house, Dean being the one to close the door.
“Nice place.” Dean compliments looking around the cozy well loved home.
“It’s my parents’. I was just crashing here for the long weekend when everything happened. I decided to take the semester off. I’m gonna stay until Zack’s free.” She explains, as we follow her through the house.
“Where are your folks?” Sam asks.
“They lived in Paris for half the year, so they’re on their way home now for the trial.” She answers as we enter the kitchen, “ Do you guys want a beer or something?”
Dean smiles, “Hey—“
“No, thanks. So, tell us what happened.” Sam cuts him off, definitely for the better. This isn’t the time nor the place for drinks.
She leans against the island as she begins, “Well, um, Zack came home, and he found Emily tied to a chair. And she was beaten up and bloody, and she wasn’t breathing.” Her voice gets all crackly, tears freely flowing, “So, he called 911, and the police—they showed up, and they arrested him. But, the thing is, the only way that Zack could’ve killed Emily is if he was in two places at the same time. The police—they have a video. It’s from the security tape from across the street. And it shows Zack coming home at 10:30. Now, Emily was killed just after that, but I swear, he was here with me, having a few beers until at least after midnight.”
“You know, maybe we could see the crime scene. Zack’s house.” Sam offers.
“We could.” Dean adds
“Why? I mean, what could you do?” Rebecca asked.
“Well, me, not much. But Dean’s a cop.” Sam clarifies, nudging his brother.
Dean laughs, “Detective, actually.”
“Really? Where?” Rebecca gushes.
Easily Dean shrugs, “Bisbee, Arizona. But I’m off-duty now.” It always amazes me how easily these two lie, well mostly on Sam’s part.
“You guys, it’s so nice to offer, but I just—I don’t know” She stammers
“Bec, look, I know Zack didn’t do this. Now, we have to find a way to prove that he’s innocent.” Sam explains, eyebrows scrunched together in seriousness.
“Okay. I’m gonna go get the keys.” She leaves us alone in the kitchen, walking down the hall to get those keys.
“Oh, yeah, man, you’re a real straight shooter with your friends.” Dean comments, lightly shoving his brother.
“Look, Zack and Becky need our help” Sam pleads.
“I just don’t think this is our kind of problem.” Dean shrugs.
“Oh come on Dean, it's the right thing to do.” I add, joining the pleading party. “Yeah and two places at once? We’ve looked into less.” Sam points out. Dean sighs but remains silent in defeat, he won’t win this one especially when it’s the both of us pleading with him. He didn’t stand a chance.
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The Impala pulls up across the street from Zack’s house, the white building in contrast with the yellow crime scene tape plastered on its outside.
We get out of the car, Rebecca having rode with me in the backseat, “You’re sure this is okay?” She asks Dean. “Yeah. I am an officer of the law.” Dean says all nonchalant as he leads us to the house.
Opening the door to this taped off house revealed a mess of blood. There was blood smeared on the walls and the furniture, a table cluttered with fruit, playing cards and newspapers as if a life was interrupted. And it was. One life physically gone and never coming back and another life, who is potentially innocent, sits rotting away in a jail cell. Rebecca remains strigid just outside the constraints of the police tape. Sam turns back to her, “Bec, you wanna wait outside?”
“No. I wanna help.” With tears in her eyes she ducks underneath the tape.
Dean and I walk slowly around the house, observing the messy crime scene. And although neither of us are actual police officers or forensic scientists it doesn't take a genius to figure out there was a struggle, based on the upturned furniture and the blood splatter alone.
Meanwhile Sam stays with his friend,“Tell us what else the police said.”
“Well, there’s no sign of a break-in. They say that Emily let her attacker in. The lawyers—they’re already talking about plea bargain.” She looks around the room and begins to cry, “Oh, God…”
“Look, Bec, if Zack didn’t do this, it means someone else did. Any idea who?” Sam asks her, over the loud noise of a dog barking nearby.
She shakes her head, “Um, there was something, about a week before. Somebody broke in here and stole some clothes—Zack’s clothes. The police—they don’t think it’s anything. I mean, we’re not that far from downtown. Sometimes people get robbed.”
Sam walks away from her with a nod. I then walk over to the half open front door, looking at the neighbors dog who hadn’t stopped barking the entire time we’ve been here.
I feel her come up behind me, “You know, that used to be the sweetest dog.”
“Oh, what happened to him?” I ask her, still looking at the black dog who bared its teeth as it barked relentlessly. If she hadn’t said anything I would think this dog was always aggressive, mean even.
“He just changed” She replies, half shrugging.
“Do you know when that change occurred?” I half turn to her.
“I guess around the time of the murder.”
I nod in confirmation, making a mental note, walking away towards the boys, a comforting hand on Rebecca’s shoulder.
The brothers stand in the hallway looking at a framed photograph of Sam, Zack, and Rebecca all together, talking over something I couldn’t quite catch. It’s bittersweet to think that even after Sam left for his “road trip” that his friends hadn’t forgotten him, had even kept up a photo of them all together.
“Apparently the neighbors dog suddenly became all aggressive around the time of Zack’s girlfriend's murder.” I retell the information I just gained. “Animals can have a sharp sense of the paranormal.” Sam adds.
“I was thinking the same thing” I nod along.
Sam turns to his brother, “So, you think maybe this is our kind of problem?”
“No. Probably not. But we should look at the security tape, you know, just to make sure.” Dean answers simply.
“Yeah.” Sam says
“Yeah.” Dean says back just as Rebecca walks over to us, “So, the tape. The security footage—you think maybe your lawyers could get their hands on it, ‘cause I just don’t have that kind of jurisdiction.”
“I’ve already got it. I didn’t wanna say something in front of a cop.” She answers, causing Dean to laugh (a little uncomfortably), “I stole it off the lawyer’s desk. I just had to see it for myself.”
“All right.” Dean says with the slightest hint of a smirk, leading us out just as he led us in.
After seeing the crime scene, Rebecca’s home stood as a total contrast. The clean cozy vibe of the home being completely absent of blood and the act of murder.
“Here he comes.” Rebecca turns her laptop towards us, pointing to the tape of Zack entering his house.
“22:04, that’s just after ten. You said time of death was about 10:30.” Dean points out.
“Our lawyers hired some kind of video expert. He says the tape’s authentic. It wasn’t tampered with.” She explains.
“Hey, Bec, can we take those beers now?” Sam cuts in, and if I hadn’t known him. Hadn’t known it was probably because he’d seen something he couldn’t exactly say with her around then I’d say it was a jerkish move.
“Oh, sure.” She gets up from the couch.
“Hey.” He calls out, forcing her to turn around, “Maybe some sandwiches, too?”
“What do you think this is, Hooters?” She replies back as she leaves the room. If I hadn’t known if I liked her before this I definitely do now.
“I wish.” Dean muttered in a hushed tone. I lightly smack the back of his head in warning. His head snapped towards me, and his eyes widened with confusion. “Don’t give me that look; you know what that was for!” I whispered, my words sharp as I poked his chest. He seized my wrist, his grip tight enough to send a shiver down my spine. The room seemed to grow smaller as my mouth fell slightly agape, and I gazed up at him through my eyelashes. He peered down at me, his green eyes seemingly a couple shades darker, a cocky smile on his face.
"Guys!" Sam whisper-shouted, and the small moment between Dean and me shattered like fragile glass. Dean quickly dropped my wrist, the cocky smile vanishing as he was caught in the act. My head reluctantly turned towards the taller man, although all I wanted was to keep my eyes on Dean, to feel his attention solely on me, but now it was all disrupted.
"Check this out," Sam rewinds the tape, seemingly unfazed by what he just witnessed. I clear my throat, attempting to dispel the lingering, fuzzy feeling that Dean's touch had stirred within me. This wasn't the time or place for distractions. Shifting my focus back to the reality of the hunt at hand, I watch as Sam rewinds the tape once more. In one of the frames, Zack stares directly at the camera, his eyes an eerie shade of silver, far from anything normal. Sam pauses the tape once again.
“Well, maybe it’s just a camera flare.” Dean shrugs, skepticism lingering in his voice.
“That’s not like any camera flare I’ve ever seen. You know, a lot of cultures believe that a photograph can catch a glimpse of the soul.” Sam informs.
“Right.” Dean says, unamused.
“No! Sam’s right! The belief has deep rooted ties to certain Native American cultures, it stems from the idea that a photograph freezes a moment in time and can capture a person’s spirit or energy at that moment.” I explained with a beaming smile, happy to share the fact.
“Do I even want to know why you know that?” Dean asks me to which I just shrugged, “I love fun facts.”
“Anyway” Sam continued, “Remember that dog that was freakin’ out? Maybe he saw this thing. Maybe this is some kind of dark double of Zack’s, something that looks like him but isn’t him.”
“Like a Doppelganger.” Dean concluded.
“Yeah. It’d sure explain how he was two places at once.” Sam finished.
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As dawn broke, the persistent nudge of the boys broke me from my slumber, rousing me from a deep, cozy dream. With a groggy sigh, I realized it was just 5 a.m., way too early for me. Regret gnawed at my bones as I recalled having given them the spare key to my motel room for precisely these sort of moments.
Reluctantly, I rolled out of bed and slipped into the comforting embrace of leggings, a sports bra, and a thick zip up sweater to fend off the early morning chill. As we piled into the car and set out for Zack's home once more, the chill weather and the steady movement of the car nearly brought me back to the darkness of sleep.
The car was now parked discreetly behind the house, and we stepped out, greeted by the morning's biting cold that nipped at our cheeks. "Alright, so why are we here at 5:30 in the morning?" Dean inquired, as he nursed a cup of coffee. "Mmm, yeah, it's way too early for all of this," I mumbled groggily in agreement.
"I realized something. The videotape shows the killer going in, but not coming out," Sam explained, gesturing toward the house behind him. "So, he came out the back door?" Dean pointed out, leaning against the hood of his car, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Right. So, there should be a trail to follow. A trail the police would never pursue," Sam clarified, walking up to a large red garbage can. "Because they think the killer never left. And they caught your friend Zack inside. I still don't know why we're here at 5:30 in the morning," Dean grumbled, taking another sip from his coffee.
Sam walked away to scour the area only to stop near a telephone pole, noting, "Blood. Somebody came this way." Dean and I exchanged a perplexed look before joining Sam near the smeared blood. "The trail just ends...?" I inquired, glancing around to confirm what we were all seeing.
Suddenly the loud blaring of an ambulance sped past us, the red, white, and blue lights illuminating on the houses it passed. Once again, we exchanged a glance that balanced on the edge of caution and curiosity. With that unspoken understanding, we swiftly returned to the car and pursued the blaring ambulance.
Upon our arrival, a slightly older Asian man was being forcibly guided into a police car, his wrists cuffed tightly. Exiting the vehicle, we approached a woman nearby, clad in running wear. I asked her softly, "What happened?"
"He tried to kill his wife. Tied her up and beat her," the woman explained, causing my eyes to widen and my eyebrows to shoot up in shock.
"Really?" Sam inquired.
"I used to see him heading to work in the morning. He'd wave, say hello. He seemed like such a nice guy," the woman sighed, her gaze fixed on the man being taken away.
Moments later we had split up, Sam and I together to semi-explore the crime scene, meaning the surrounding area since the police and a sizable forensic team were diligently at work. We were on the side of the house, scouring for any clues. Oddly enough, Sam sifted through garbage cans only to come up empty-handed. All we discovered was another trail of blood that suddenly terminated. We rounded to the front of the house.
"Hey," Dean called out, causing us to turn around. "Remember when I said this wasn't our kind of problem?"
"Yeah," Sam confirmed.
"Definitely our kind of problem," Dean nodded, sort of throwing his arm into it for emphasis.
"What caused the change of heart?" I inquired, stuffing my hands into my pockets to ward off the chill.
"Well, I just spoke to the patrolman who was first on the scene, heard this guy, Alex's story. Apparently, the dude was driving home from a business trip when his wife was attacked," Dean elaborated, nodding towards a burly police officer standing nearby.
"So, he was in two places at once," Sam stated rather than asked.
"Exactly. Then he sees himself in the house; the police think he's a nutjob," Dean shot back without missing a beat.
"Two evil doubles attacking loved ones in exactly the same way, how sweet," I remarked sarcastically.
"Could be the same thing doing it, too," Dean suggested. Sam looked up in thought, "Shapeshifter? Something that can make itself look like anyone?"
"Well, you know, every culture all over the world has shapeshifter lore. All sorts of creatures who can transform themselves into animals or the other way around or even into other men, like skinwalkers, werewolves, nanaue, etcetera," I reminded.
"We've got two attacks within blocks of each other. I'm guessing we've got a shapeshifter prowling the neighborhood," Dean added.
"Let me ask you this Y/N—in all this shapeshifter lore, can any of them fly?" Sam asked me.
"Uh…no?" I answered.
He turned to Dean, leading the way, "Well then we picked up a trail here. Someone ran out the back of this building and headed off this way."
"Just like your friend's house," Dean confirmed.
"Yeah. And, just like at Zack's house, the trail suddenly ends. I mean, whatever it is just disappeared," Sam explained as we followed the trail of blood all the way to an empty street at the back of the house.
"Well, there's another way to go—down," Dean replied. The three of us peered down at a manhole.
"How lovely," I mumbled, not particularly thrilled about having to go into the sewers.
Sam lifts the grate up, allowing Dean to go in first with a smile with me following next down. Surprisingly the ladder wasn’t sticky and full of muck like I thought it’d be, but still it was gross to be down here and I don’t think two showers would be enough after this.
The tunnels were dark and leaky, a constant dripping sound coming from somewhere. “I bet this runs right by Zack’s house, too. The shapeshifter could be using the sewer system to get around.” Sam says, looking around.
“I think you’re right. Look at this.” Dean answers bending down in front of a glossy slimy pile of blood and skin. He takes out his pocket knife, pulling some of the skin up the slime of it glistening in the dim lights. I had to stop myself from gagging.
“Is this from his victims?” Sam inquires, a scrunched look of disgust on his face.
“You know, I just had a sick thought. When the shapeshifter changes shape—maybe it sheds.” Dean pointed out, letting the goop of the skin fall back to the floor.
“Why would you say that?” I cringe, my question more rhetorical than anything.
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Dean opens the trunk of the Impala, taking out some bullets and entering them into the slots of the gun. “Well, one thing I learned from Dad, is that no matter what kind of shapeshifter it is, there’s one sure way to kill it.”
“Silver bullet to the heart.” Sam smiles, dimples on display.
“That’s right.” And as if on cue Sam’s phone rings.
“This is Sam.” He answers walking to the front of the car, remaining just in hearing range. And just as much as I hate to admit it, Dean and I stayed quiet to eavesdrop.
“We’re near Zack’s, we’re just checkin’ some things out.
What are you talkin’ about?
Why would you do that?
Bec—
We’re tryin’ to help.
….
Bec, I’m sorry, but—“ His hand drops to his side, sighing as he looks down,
Dean walks over to his brother with a half frown, “I hate to say it, but that’s exactly what I’m talkin’ about.” He pauses before continuing, “You lie to your friends because if they knew the real you, they’d be freaked.” Again he pauses, “It’s just—it’d be easier if—“
“If I was like you.” Sam finished his sentence.
Dean breathes out looking around, “Hey, man, like it or not, we are not like other people.” He pauses for a third time, “But I’ll tell you one thing. This whole gig—it ain’t without perks.” He holds up a gun at hip level, Sam takes it with a sigh and begins tucking it into the back of his jeans. He begins to walk away leaving Dean and I behind.
Dean walks back over to me by the open trunk, he leans against the car as I hand him a flashlight. “What’s with that pout?” He asks me, tilting his head down to catch my eyes.
“I’m not pouting” I smile, nearly laughing. “I happen to know you quite well, you were definitely pouting sweetheart.” He smiles now too, “Tell me what’s on your mind.”
I closed the trunk, Dean taking another flashlight from me so I could tuck a small gun into the side of my leggings as I balanced my own flashlight. “I’m thinking that…this job is destructive” I look up at Dean who waits for me to continue, “Seeing Sammy with Rebecca and how happy he was just seeing a friend from college, or that photo with the three of them all together. It was bittersweet to see that really, knowing that he was and can be happy without all this” I motion to the flashlights and the guns neatly tucked away.
“I know” he sighs, “lasting relationships ain’t exactly part of the job description” he smiles sadly and I know he didn’t really know what to say to me.
I gave him a slow nod, giving his upper arm a squeeze as I walked past him, “We should go before Sam starts bugging us for taking so long.”
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With guns and flashlights drawn, we cautiously treaded through the sewer, a squishy, unpleasant noise underfoot with each step. I’d definitely need to burn my shoes and clothes after this ordeal.
The sewer resembled a labyrinth, an intricate network of pipes and tunnels twisting and turning in every direction. Drips of who-knows-what fell from the ceiling. Despite our careful steps to avoid the puddles on the ground, I still felt utterly disgusted. There was not enough showering in the world to cleanse me of this event.
With Sam leading the way, his gun extended ahead of him, Dean broke the silence, "I think we're close to its lair."
"Why do you say that?" Sam murmured without turning back to acknowledge his brother. "Because there's another nauseating pile next to your face," Dean retorted, using his flashlight to reveal a slimy heap of skin clinging to a pipe. Sam leaped back, repulsed. "Oh, God!" He glanced down at his shoulder, which had been perilously close to the pile.
I moved my flashlight just past Sam, revealing a pile of discarded clothes. "I think it's lived here for a while."
"Who knows how many murders he's gotten away with," Sam added, turning to face us. "Dean!" He suddenly shouted. Both of us spun around to see the shapeshifter, still in its last victim's form, right behind us. The shapeshifter struck Dean, sending him crashing to the sewer floor, then sprinted away. Sam fired twice, the bullets whizzing just above my head. He missed.
I bent down to assist Dean, who clutched his left shoulder, grimacing. "Get that son of a bitch!" He grunted and nodded as Sam took off, leaning against the wall. Dean gestured for me to follow his brother.
Running in a sewer was just as challenging as walking, with overhead pipes requiring us to duck to avoid collision.
Sam reached a ladder and began ascending it, lifting himself up and out. I followed, feeling the cold night air surrounding me as I emerged. We stood in a park, a distance from where we had entered, scanning the surroundings. Dean struggled out of the manhole, still holding his shoulder.
"All right, let's split up," Sam suggested, concealing his gun within his jacket, out of sight from the passersby in the park. The fact that they hadn't noticed us emerging from a manhole was beyond me, but I didn't question it when it worked in our favor.
“All right, I’ll meet you guys around the other side.” Dean agreed.
“Copy” I answered in confirmation, I twirled to the left as Sam headed right, and Dean proceeded straight. Despite the cold air, I unzipped my thick sweater to conceal my gun while ensuring I could still draw it swiftly. Even though I was comfy I began to regret just wearing a sports bra beneath my sweater, my stomach and above my breasts open to the frigid air.
I walked cautiously, weaving through crowds, scanning both people and the shops that remained open. Yet, street after street, there was no sign of our quarry. No more than five to ten minutes passed before I spotted Sam standing by a crosswalk. I tucked my gun into my leggings, finally able to zip up my sweater. He must have caught sight of me approaching from the corner of his eye.
"Nothing?" he asked, even though he likely knew the answer. I nodded in confirmation.
"Hey," Dean's voice called out from behind us, prompting us to turn toward him. "Anything?" he inquired, arms outstretched. "No. He's gone," Sam replied as his brother approached.
"Alright, let's get back to the car," Dean ordered, and we complied, turning to cross the street.
“You think he found another way underground?” Sam asks, stopping at the side of the Impala.
“Yeah, probably. You got the keys?” Dean retorts.
“Hey, didn’t Dad once face a shapeshifter in San Antonio?” Sam turns around facing Dean.
“Oh, that was Austin. It turned out not to be a shapeshifter, it was a thought form. A psychic projection, remember?”
“Oh, right. Here ya go.” He throws Dean the keys who catches it with his…left hand, he opens the trunk of the car. Sam walks off towards the front of the car but I hang back, maybe I'm overthinking it but this isn’t something that I can just let slip by.
“Hey, Dean” I call out my gun trained carefully on his back, “Yeah sweetheart” He answers turning around. I fight the urge to cringe hearing the usual endearing pet name curl off the lips of someone who wasn’t Dean, even more so a being who looked like him.
Sam sees my movements and swiftly moves to the right side of his brother, “Y/N! What are you doing”
“Yeah, chill. It’s me, all right?” ‘Dean shoots back his arms raised in defense.
“Sammy, he caught the keys with his left hand” I explained through gritted teeth. In my peripheral vision I see Sam’s eyes widen in realization, he mumbles, “Your shoulder was hurt.” His hand moved to the back of his waistband, searching for his gun. But before he could reach it, the shapeshifter swung a crowbar from the trunk, striking Sam down. My gun went off twice, the first bullet missing entirely, allowing the shapeshifter to hit Sam once more.
The second bullet nearly finding its mark, grazing his shoulder. He turned his head slowly toward me, glaring up at me through his lashes. A bullet grazing his shoulder didn't seem to slow him down. He stalked toward me, like a predator closing in on its prey. But before I could pull the trigger for a third time, he used the same crowbar to knock the gun out of my hand. The sharp metal sent the weapon tumbling, 'Dean' kicking it behind him, it sliding beneath the car.
He grinned at me, and my eyes widened with a mix of fear and determination. As he swung his arm back, ready to strike me with the crowbar, I grabbed hold of it, both hands clenching the cold metal. He was undeniably stronger than me, so I braced my feet even harder against the ground, bending my knees for added leverage and pushing up against the weapon.
His feet swept under me, sending me crashing hard to the ground, my back absorbing the brunt of the impact. I grunted, pushing myself up on my elbows, preparing to rise. But he quickly knelt over me, a knee on each side of my hips. 'Dean's' large, veiny hand closed around my throat, gripping it tightly. I used my hands to try and push him off, but it was futile. With his free hand, he seized my wrists, pinning them to my chest. My head lolled back against the concrete street.
My chest began to burn with the desperate need for air, and tears welled up in my eyes from the pain. Black spots started to invade my vision as I gazed up at 'Dean' through half lidded eyes. “Come on, baby," he growled, his voice raspy as his grip tightened even further. It was the last thing I heard before everything faded to black.
In and out, voices sang in a disjointed melody. Dim lights blurred behind my closed eyes. Fragments of Sam's voice pierced through the darkness, the words struggling to piece together. "Where...he...?...Dean?"
I blinked slowly, my head swaying to the side and then back. With a deep breath, my eyes snapped open. We were in the sewer.
Sam sat directly across from me, tightly bound to a pole, a rope encircling his neck. Strangely, it wasn't a rope that constricted my neck but something cold. I lurched my shoulders forward, feeling the restrictive, itchy rope around my ankles, wrists bound behind my back, and right beneath my breasts. It was then that I noticed my sweatshirt was missing.
"I wouldn't worry about him. I'd worry about you," 'Dean' told Sam, seemingly unaware that I was also awake.
I attempted to move my bound hands, intending to use my magic to free myself from the ropes, but nothing happened. I couldn't sense my magic at all. Panic began to well up within me. I kicked my feet out in frustration, though beneath the surface, I was terrified. I couldn't feel my magic.
'Dean's' head snapped toward me, his gaze drawn to my soft whimpers of fear. "Are you wondering why you can't just...poof out of there?" I didn't answer. He crouched down in front of me, tapping the cold, constricting object around my neck, the sharp clicking of his nails against metal audible. "Iron," he whispered. He firmly grasped my chin, moving my face as though to savor what he'd done, offering me no chance to evade his touch. "From what I've learned from you guys, this has never happened to you," he murmured. He was right; while I was aware of what could inhibit a witch's powers, it had never been used against me
"Fuck you," I spat out, the curse word feeling alien on my tongue. I wasn't one to curse often.
"Oh, right back at you, sweetheart," he chuckled, rising from his crouched position and strolling over to a nearby table.
"What do you mean, 'learn'?" Sam asked him. The shapeshifter paused, gripping his head in pain and grimacing, then suddenly relaxed.
This time, he moved over to Sam, his voice laden with resentment. "He's got some serious issues with you. You went to college, and he had to stay home. I mean, I had to stay home with Dad." He corrected himself, "You don't think I had dreams of my own? But Dad needed me. Where the hell were you?"
Sam brushed aside his comment and pressed, "Where is my brother?"
The shapeshifter leaned in close to Sam, his words oozing with bitterness. "I am your brother. See, deep down, I'm just jealous. You have friends. You could have a life. Me? I know I'm a freak. Sooner or later, everybody's going to leave me." He retreated to another table, this time picking up a knife.
"What are you talking about?" Sam asked.
"You left. Hell, I did everything Dad asked me to, and he ditched me, too. No explanation, nothing, just poof. Left me with your sorry ass. But, still, this life? It's not without its perks," he laughed darkly. "I meet the nicest people. Like little Becky."
His gaze shifted to me now, his head tilted to the side in a taunt "You know, Dean would bang her if he had the chance." I strained against my restraints, and he turned back to Sam. "Let's see what happens." He walked away, grabbing a bag on his way out.
As soon as the shapeshifter was out of sight, Sam and I began struggling against our restraints. "Damn it," Sam grunted.
I mirrored his efforts, but anxiety washed over me, and my breathing became rapid and shallow. Panic coursed through my veins, I couldn’t feel my magic. The unfamiliar absence of my powers only added to my distress. Leaning my head back against the pole, I hoped that somehow, it would rid me of the constricting iron collar around my neck.
"Y/N, you've got to breathe," Sam urged through gritted teeth as he continued to struggle against the bindings. I tried to listen to him, taking a deep breath that got caught in my throat as I attempted to swallow a sob, releasing a low whimper.
Suddenly, Sam ceased his struggles, and we both listened. We heard movement and coughing coming from somewhere behind him.
"That better be you, Sam, and not that freak of nature," Dean's voice called out from a corner his, also tied to a pole.
"Yeah, it's me," Sam chuckled. "He went to Rebecca's, looking like you," Sam added as he continued to struggle against his ropes.
"Well, he's not stupid. He picked the handsome one," Dean joked as he continued working on his own ropes. “Yeah, that’s the thing. He didn’t just look like you, he was you. Or he was becoming you.” Sam explains further.
“What do you mean?” Dean asks.
“I don’t know, it was like he was downloading your thoughts and memories.” Sam shrugs as well as he can in his confinement.
“You mean, like the Vulcan mind meld?” Dean references, escaping his ropes. “Yeah, somethin’ like that. I mean, maybe that’s why he doesn’t just kill us.” Sam suggests.
Dean walks over to us, standing between the two of us. I urged him to release Sam first, my voice trembling. He nodded and moved behind Sam to undo the ropes. “Maybe he needs to keep us alive. Psychic connection.” Sam was quickly freed and stood up to stretch his neck and flex his hands. "Go see if you can find a drill or something for that," Dean ordered, pointing at the metal collar around my neck. Sam nodded and began searching the nearby tables.
Dean crouched next to me, undoing my restraints as he inquired, "What is that thing?"
"Iron," I mumbled, and his eyes widened in realization. He pulled out a pocket knife, I assume he picked up from the nearby table. I flinched slightly, even though I knew this was Dean, the real Dean who would never harm me.
"Hey, hey, it's okay. I'm just using it for the ropes," he reassured me, raising his hands in defense and displaying the knife. He glanced at his brother across the room, and I couldn't decipher their exchanged looks. I felt silly.
Sam approached with the drill in hand, "I got it," he said, kneeling on the other side of me to begin unscrewing the collar. It seemed to be a rectangular piece of iron cut from a sheet and then drilled into the pole around me, creating this confining device. The whirring of the drill close to my ear did little to ease my anxiety.
The rope around which had rested just below my breasts, fell free. Dean quickly moved on to the one binding my wrists, which came apart more easily, and then to my ankles. I placed my hands on my lap, my wrists slightly bruised from the rope, and finger imprints marked into my skin. I now dreaded seeing what my neck looked like.
Dean's large hands cupped my wrists, gently massaging my sore skin. His movements faltered when he realized his hands and fingers matched perfectly with the bruises. The whirring of the drill stopped as Sam shifted the metal slightly, allowing me to slip free. I shuffled away from the collar, standing up quickly, nearly stumbling over myself. The sensation of my abilities returning enveloped me, offering a sense of comfort.
Both brothers stood up from their crouched positions, and Sam walked away to place the drill somewhere.
Dean approached me slowly, as if I were a frightened animal. He paused just inches in front of me, his eyebrows furrowing as he scrutinized my bruised form. His hand reached up slowly, giving me the chance to evade him, but I didn't. I allowed him to cup my cheek, his touch gentle and in stark contrast to the shapeshifter. I reminded myself that the shapeshifter wasn't him.
His gaze was soft as he observed me, carefully tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear. He'd already seen the bruises, but his eyes dipped to my neck again, a touch of sorrow evident in his gaze. Just like my wrists, if he put his hand to my neck, it would match perfectly. I knew he would blame himself for this later.
With his hand still cradling my cheek, he brought my face closer to his. His lips pressed to the crown of my head, lingering there for a moment, and I melted against him. The urge to cry washed over me again, though this time it wasn't from fear, but rather from the overwhelming relief.
"Sorry to ruin the moment, but we've got to go," Sam's voice broke the silence from across the room. Dean didn't jump back or withdraw, instead his lips left my head as his hand slid from my face gently. His hand sought mine, and we followed Sam as he led us out.
Sam kicks open a grate, going out first into an alleyway. I crawl out after him, Dean following closely behind. The cold air nipped at us, our jackets nowhere in sight, and though that mixed with my bruising wasn’t the greatest fun in the world I at least got to see Dean in a tight light gray shirt. This probably shouldn’t have been on my mind at this moment but it was a nice distraction.
“Come on. We gotta find a phone, call the police.” Sam orders.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You’re gonna put an APB out on me.” Dean exclaims.
Sam shrugs, “Sorry.”
“This way.” Dean runs off down the street.
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We stood in front of a store window, a bunch of little tvs broadcasting the same news channel.
The reporter announces, “An anonymous tip led police to a home in the Central West End, where a S.W.A.T team discovered a local woman bound and gagged. Her attacker, a white male, approximately twenty-four to thirty years of age, was discovered hiding in her home.” A sketch of Dean appearing on screen, “
“Man! That’s not even a good picture.” Dean throws up his arms.
“It’s good enough” I answer, looking around at the passerby, “We should move somewhere more out of sight.”
“Agreed” Sam says walking off. “Man!” Dean complains following after his brother.
"Come on," Sam paused in the alleyway. "They said attempted murder. At least we know—"
"I didn't kill her," Dean cut him off.
"We'll check with Rebecca in the morning, see if she's all right," Sam suggested. But I couldn't picture her wanting to see us.
"Alright, but first, I wanna find that handsome devil and kick the holy crap out of him," Dean declared.
"We have no weapons. No silver bullets," Sam pointed out.
"Sam, the guy's walking around with my face. It's personal. I want to find him," Dean argued, crossing his arms.
"Okay. Where do we look?" Sam asked.
"Well, we could start with the sewers," Dean suggested.
"We have no weapons. He stole our guns. We need more," Sam reasoned.
"Oh," I laughed. "You want guns. I'll give you guns." I flicked my wrist, and a gray revolver appeared in my hand, just like when I produced the flare gun back during the wendigo hunt.
I handed the gun to Sam, adding, "How many do you want?"
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“I don’t think I can wait, I'm gonna go check on Rebecca now.” Sam said as we walked around some back streets, near the person in question's house.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea? No offense” I ask him.
“Yeah. You guys just wait for me don’t go into the sewers alone” Sam orders
“Sorry Sammy but do you really think i’ll be able to listen to that” Dean responds chuckling.
“Alright, fair point. Go, i’ll stay with Becca just don’t split up” Sam comprises, turning away to go to Rebecca’s.
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Guns raised, Dean leads us across a ‘room’ in the sewer. The chamber filled candles and chains, more piles of disgusting skin and blood on the floor.
A muffling noise echoes through the halls, Dean and I share a look gripping our guns tighter as we approach a figure covered with a sheet.
Dean bends down to the figure, removing the sheet to see Rebecca beneath it. Her hands and feet were bound.
“Rebecca?” Dean and I ask at the same time.
“What happened?” I ask as Dean begins to undue her binds.
Rebecca begins to cry, “ I was walking home, and everything just went white. Someone hit me over the head, and I wound up here just in time to see that thing turn into me. I don’t know, how is that even possible?”
“Okay, okay. It’s okay.” Dean finishes untying her, “Come on. Can you walk?” She nods, “Okay, we’ve gotta hurry. Sam went to see you.”
Even from outside her house you could hear the commotion and most likely fighting that happened inside. Dean crept the door open, gun drawn as he snuck in. I mimicked his movement falling after him into the living room.
The shapeshifter was on top of Sam, pinning him down.
“Hey!” Dean calls out to the shapeshifter. He gets off of Sam turning to the voice that beckoned it. Two shots ring out, through the heart and down the shapeshifter went.
Rebecca enters running over to her friend, “Sam!”
Meanwhile Dean went over to the shapeshifter that looked like him yanking back his necklace that was stolen, and it was probably bad that I hadn’t known it was gone till now.
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I sat in my usual spot in the back seat of the Impala, cozied up with my halloween blanket regardless of the fact it was early March. It’s my favorite and I won’t accept any criticism.
The early morning sun shone through the windows, we hadn’t slept last night, spending the entire time busy with the hunt and by the time it was over morning was already breaking and we had to leave to avoid the police. We stopped at the motel for our bags but that was it, we were going to bid our goodbyes and then head to the next state over to rest up. I wasn’t even able to shower, which was okay in retrospect, I'd feel cleaner mentally once we drove away from here. I’d thrown a random t-shirt I had over the sports bra I had been running around in for hours. We eventually did find our coats but I hadn’t taken mine with me, memories I hadn’t wanted to keep sewn into its fabric.
Dean leaned on the outside of the car looking at a map while Sam talked to his friend. Neither boy bothered me or had talked to me much in the couple of hours since the end of our hunt, perhaps too afraid to ask if I was okay or maybe they didn’t know what to say.
I looked out the window watching the trees dance slowly in the wind after waving bye to Rebecca, listening to the boys talk in front of the car.
“So, what about your friend, Zack?” Dean asks now ignoring the map.
“ Cops are blamin’ this Dean Winchester guy for Emily’s murder.” Sam jokes smiling, “They found the murder weapon in the guy’s lair, Zack’s clothes stained with her blood. Now they’re thinking maybe the surveillance tape was tampered with. Yeah, Becca says Zack will be released soon.”
Dean rolls his eyes, scuffing, before getting into the car.
We’ve only driven for a couple minutes before Dean brings back the subject of the hunt and everything that had unfolded, “Sorry, man.” Dean suddenly began.
“About what?” Sam responds.
“ I really wish things could be different, you know? I wish you could just be….Joe College.” Dean confesses.
“No, that’s okay. You know, the truth is, even at Stanford, deep down, I never really fit in.” Sam admits too.
“Well, that’s ‘cause you’re a freak.” Dean smiles that charming sweet smile.
“Yeah, thanks.” Sam laughs.
“Well, I’m a freak, too.” Dean adds
“You already know I'm one!” I topple on.
“See, we’re right there with ya, all the way.” Dean chuckles. “Yeah, I know you are.” Sam looks between Dean and I as he speaks.
“Those who freak together, stay together?” I offer with a smile, the car falling into laughter. The kind of laughter that lasts in the air even after it was over with, it was stupid of course but it left a warmth in my heart that blanketed me with just enough comfort to last me till the next state over where I'd be safe.
The car fell silent, big smiles on all our faces, “You know, I gotta say—I’m sorry I’m gonna miss it.” Dean announces randomly.
“Miss what?” Sam laughs lightly.
“How many chances am I gonna have to see my own funeral?”
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humanitys-strongest-bamf · 1 year ago
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"get me a damned matcha" | Chapter 9: February I
{{ Chapter 8: January I | Chapter 10: March I }} Chapter Directory
mutual pining??!?!?!
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✧ pairing ➼ levi ackerman x fem!reader, college x coffee shop x roommates!au ✧ summary ➼ After you find yourself plagued with misfortune due to struggles in your personal and family life, you find yourself needing to move last minute. As a junior in undergrad with little money and little social support, you considered yourself lucky when you found a sublease that was close to campus and was relatively cheap. Unfortunately, it seemed that your roommate did not seem to be so excited regarding your presence. ✧ content/warnings ➼ fluff, slowburn, mutual pining, idiots in love, alcohol, college-typical parties, floche being gross ✧ word count ➼ ~5k
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"HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!"
Oluo came barging into the classroom like a freight train, yelling at the top of his lungs. The Honors Society general members hadn't even come in yet, so the only ones that were forced to experience the unrequited enthusiasm were Gunther, Petra, and you. 
"God, Oluo, you're going to perpetuate this headache I'm rapidly developing," you grumbled as you shut your eyes and rubbed at your forehead.
"You're usually just as enthusiastic about this, prez'!"
It was true. In the past, you were stressed, but also quite excited about Valentine's Day. It was a day that was generally guaranteed to be dedicated to your romantic partner and used to carry heavy significance in your life, but that was before your relationship with Zack imploded. It wasn't even that you missed him. It was just that experiencing being single on Valentine's Day for the first time in years made your mood bounce back and forth all over the place.
"Well, I guess I'm not feeling it today," you said with a sigh. "Come on, let's get set up before the freshmen start coming in."
You brought the box of Nicolo's pastries over to the innermost wall of the classroom and began setting them on the plastic trays you had bought from the nearby dollar store. 
You were more than happy moping by yourself in the corner, so you found yourself pursing your lips when you heard Petra walk over. She went up to you and helped set up some of the utensils in plastic cups.
"You're grumpy because of Zack, aren't you?"
Petra was perceptive only when you didn't want her to be. You paused and a frown appeared on your face as you looked over towards her.
"This is what you decide to talk about?"
"There's nothing wrong with being single," she said with a shrug.
You groaned as you turned away to continue setting up the pastries, being a bit rougher with them compared to how you were handling them a few minutes ago.
"You think I don't know that, Petra?" you snapped. "If this is all you're going to talk about, Oluo needs plenty of help getting the drinks set up."
"I'm just saying," she responded, her tone still gentle despite your hostility, "just because you're single doesn't mean you have to be miserable today."
You shut your eyes and took a deep breath to keep yourself from snapping further at your friend. She really did have your best interests in mind, although that didn't help your mood.
"I get it, Petra," you said through clenched teeth. "Please change the topic or go help Oluo. I'm really not in the mood to be talking about this."
You watched Petra walk away through the corner of your eye. Although your mood wasn't great to begin with, it was now officially ruined. Part of you felt bad for snapping at her when she was only trying to help you feel better. If this was a few months ago, it was likely that you'd just give her a half-hearted smile before moving on. You didn't know what was up with you.
You weren't too preoccupied with getting into a relationship of any sort at this point, but it was still annoying being forced to spend the day watching other couples be happy next to each other. A part of you was envious, with another part of you being simply annoyed by the blatant PDA surrounding you for the next few hours.
You knew you had to prepare yourself if you were going to have anything even remotely close to having a good time at the party you were planning on attending tonight. It was Valentine's Day themed, which was already off-putting, but you felt obligated to go. 
Staying in, watching a television show, and ruminating about how miserable you were sounded more appealing, but you didn't want to be the only one in your cohort that didn't go to the party. Whether or not they were all actually going was up in the air, but you still felt a social obligation to attend, whether you liked it or not.
~~~~~
“Got any fun plans tonight, Levi?”
Levi effectively ignored Nicolo’s question as he continued pumping out the orders he was receiving for his station. Levi was like a well-oiled machine working his station, getting orders out at speeds most people couldn’t comprehend.
“I’m here, aren’t I?” he grumbled.
His speed and ability to multi-task and fulfill orders was much needed on a day like today: Valentine’s Day. He didn’t particularly care for the “holiday”, but the café served Valentine’s Day themed lattes for the overzealous undergrads that were trying to woo whoever had piqued their interests at the time before breaking it off in 2-3 weeks after the honeymoon phase passed. The café was obnoxiously red and pink. He couldn’t wait for it to be over.
Not only did his shift change, but he also had to suffer through seeing couples show off distasteful PDA. If he saw one more couple rubbing noses and kissing each other in the doorway, he was going to gouge his own eyes out.
“Yeah, but we’re only open until 5 today,” Nicole reminded him. “Whatcha got planned afterwards? Anything for Valentine’s?”
The passively annoyed expression he shot in Nicolo’s direction was enough to answer his question. Of course he didn’t have anything planned.
Not only did he not care for relationships right now, but the last one he did have wasn’t particularly memorable. The last time he was in one was some fling he had freshman year of undergrad that fell apart because he was too busy dealing with the financial aid bullshit that resulted from his uncle’s disinterest in him. His partner at the time didn’t understand and also didn’t put in the effort to understand. 
So no, he did not have any plans for Valentine’s Day, and he couldn’t see him having them anytime soon.
“You going out with that pastry girl that’s been hanging out here?” 
Levi chose to deflect Nicolo’s question with another question.
“Oh, Sasha?” he mused, slightly looking away as some color rose to his cheeks. “Not really, but I’m cooking a dinner for her at home tonight. I’ve never had someone enjoy my food as much before.”
“Hmm,” Levi mumbled in acknowledgement as he turned back towards his station.
Although he couldn’t imagine dedicating a whole evening just to cooking, he did somewhat understand Nicolo’s sentiment regarding how good it felt to have someone enjoy your cooking. Levi also got that same satisfaction whenever someone enjoyed the specific way he brewed his teas. 
He clenched his jaw as you popped up in his mind, as you were the most consistent customer that came in and really enjoyed his teas.
It wasn’t the same type of relationship as Nicolo and Sasha, however. Even if it was, he doubted you’d be interested in spending a whole night focusing on tea. He could already picture you babbling on about something regarding drama with your friends the entire night, which sounded like fresh hell to him.
"Are you just going to stay at home grumbling about all the papers you have to read?" Nicolo asked, pulling Levi out of his head.
Levi scoffed as he looked at him, neither confirming nor denying his assumption.
"You know, you really should get out there more! Might do you some good to see someone," Nicolo suggested before pausing, "although your abrasive personality definitely makes it more difficult."
Levi gave him a disapproving and unamused look.
You popped up into his head again. A relationship was out of the question. He already had you to deal with. Dating someone on top of that—especially after the bullshit that happened last month—and his school and work responsibilities sounded like an absolute nightmare.
"Not interested," he grumbled.
"At least get out more! Some stress relief might help with your focus on those papers you seem to be struggling to get through."
Levi didn't immediately shoot down this idea, but he also wasn't too sure on what he would be able to do. He wasn't particularly interested in parties and he didn't have too much of a social life. In fact, wandering through parties last month while searching for you was the most social activity he had gotten since Halloween. 
"Not a chance."
~~~~~
"This is the worst mistake of my life."
"Oh c'mon!" you said as you shoved Levi forward into the frat house. "It can't be that bad! A drink could also loosen you up."
Levi scoffed.
"I don't get drunk."
You rolled your eyes.
"Well, you were the one that insisted on coming with me."
"Yeah," he said as he glanced over his shoulder back at you with a scowl, "so you don't get fucking lost in the middle of the night again."
You rolled your eyes again, this time followed with a groan of exasperation. 
"You're so dramatic," you scolded as you gave him one final push before wandering off into the crowd. 
Levi watched your small form disappear within the sea of people and glanced at the door which was looking more appealing with every passing second. Part of him did regret coming to the crowded and rowdy party, but the thought of running around looking for you again sounded like an absolute pain in the ass.
You slightly glanced back at Levi who was shooting you a glare across the room. A part of you did feel guilty for what had happened last month—you drunk texted him, he dragged his ass around town in the cold looking for you, and then he took care of you after you caught a cold as a result of your reckless desire to search for food while freezing. You understood his ire, but his insistence on coming with you threw you off. He could've just said no if you texted him again.
Your eyes flashed up as you saw him making his way towards you. Upon looking up, not only did you see him, but you also saw quite a few familiar figures—mostly that of people who were not supposed to be there. 
One of the Honor's Society members blatantly stood near the drinks station, likely already at least two drinks in. Jean casually chatted with another freshman with black hair and freckles. You looked around to see if there were more Honors Society members that you had to turn a blind eye to. 
You recognized two others that weren't Honors Society members, but had shown up to some of your events. One of them was a blonde freshman that you were sure was the daughter of the mayor, although you never got close enough to confirm if that was true. She was interacting quite closely with an upperclassman with freckles that was wearing a brown ponytail and you had to avert your eyes to avoid staring. Your eyes landed right on Marlo and you had to quickly look away to pretend that you didn't see him drinking inappropriately. He was talking to another girl with short, wavy, dark blonde hair that was scowling at him as he looked awkwardly off into the distance, as if some message she was trying to send was being missed entirely.
They're definitely being more bold, aren't they?
It didn't surprise you. It was the spring semester. This was usually around the time that most freshmen that were initially hesitant on attending parties began to embrace it—whether that was a good or bad thing depended on context.
Levi gradually caught up with you and helped you push your way through the crowd, his hand gently ghosting over the small of your back. 
You felt chills running up your spine as you felt his touch. You had elected to wear one of your shirts that had an open back, so you felt his fingers directly on your skin. Your pulse hastened as you felt your face heat up.
There were a lot of people at the party. 
There were a lot of people, so it increased your anxiety about being here.
Yeah, that was it.
You shrugged off the chills that were rapidly taking over your body and made a beeline for the drink station. 
You didn't know what was going on with you. The last time you felt this anxious at a party was when Petra had triggered you about your parents and then at the Rumbling before that when you saw Zack, but it was different. While you couldn't say that you liked feeling this anxiety, it wasn't entirely unwelcome either. 
You flinched when you reached your hand out for the stack of cups near the drink station and felt your fingers brush up against Levi's. Heat rose to your cheeks, although you weren't sure if it was because you bumped hands with Levi or if it was out of embarrassment about the fact that you had even flinched in the first place. 
Luckily for you, it seemed that Levi was just as distressed, as the both of you immediately withdrew your hands.
"Sorry," Levi muttered as he cleared his throat, putting both his hands back into his jacket pockets. 
You shot him an awkward, brief smile of acknowledgement before turning back towards the drinks and pouring one for yourself before immediately running away into the crowd.
The source of your anxiety was Levi. You were at least emotionally self-aware enough to know that. You were anxious when he followed you closely to the drink station and then again once you had accidentally brushed up against him just now.
All that really meant was that you had to get away from him for now if you didn't want to be stressed during the entirety of this party. 
You were able to tell that you were slowly beginning to feel more nervous around him, although nervous wasn't really the best word for it. It wasn't really nervousness. Sure, the physiological signs were the same—your face would heat up, your pulse would hasten, and your breath would get caught in your throat. These were all signs that indicated anxiety, but at the same time, anxiety and nervousness didn't feel like the right words to describe what was going on. You couldn't quite pinpoint what it was and it was driving you nuts.
You easily disappeared into the crowd. Levi didn't follow. 
The whole point of him coming was to be there to drag your ass home if you got into trouble again, but he couldn't get himself to follow you. 
His hand felt like it was burning from where you had brushed up against him. He frowned at himself as he sipped on the drink he had poured for himself, immediately grimacing at the poorly made cocktail whipped up by inexperienced undergrads. He put it down and opted for a beer instead.
He didn't understand why he withdrew his hand so quickly, or why you had flinched. Did he startle you? Why did he feel so awkward afterwards?
Levi groaned to himself. He already regretted coming to the party itself. He should've just chilled at the 24-hour library and do literally anything else until it was time to pick you up. Everything could have been avoided had he just refused to come with. Unlike the Rumbling, in which he attended with Hange and Miche, he didn’t know anyone here. The only person he could be bothered to socialize with would be you, but he felt the increasing need to avoid you at all costs, despite his original reason for tagging along with you. He was stuck in the corner of the room, sipping on cheap beer while pretending that the crowd wasn’t actually as big as it was.
Your nerves quickly faded once you began drinking and chatting with some of your other classmates that had shown up, although you took care to avoid the freshmen that technically were not supposed to be there. The new semester had just started, so everyone was still in a fairly good mood regarding talking about school or even gossiping about faculty. Once assignments and grades began mattering, those topics would be nowhere to be found. 
Apparently some drama had been going on between Professor Zachary, the dean of the university, and the mayor and some of his secretaries over the legitimacy of the election. The drama had trickled down to the rest of the staff, leaving everyone—particularly the financial aid office—worried about future funding from the local government. 
While this drama generally wouldn’t have caught your interest in the slightest, your scholarship was a huge factor in you being able to attend this school, so you hoped that everything was over-exaggerated and that there wouldn’t be any actual issues. Otherwise, everything you had worked so hard for would have been for naught if you couldn’t pay your tuition.
Before you knew it, the house quickly filled up with people. You found yourself wandering back towards the drink station to haphazardly grab another drink. However, given the fact that you were more than a little intoxicated and that there were way too many people in way too small of a space, you found yourself stumbling over your own feet.
You tripped and immediately fell into someone's chest.
You panicked and immediately began to apologize out of embarrassment.
"Oh! I'm sorry-"
You felt both relief and further embarrassment when you saw who you had fallen into—Levi.
Blood rushed to your face as you leaned against him. You were so close that you could feel his pulse against yours. You could even smell the subtle scent of the cologne that he had put on in the morning, despite the stench of alcohol permeating the air otherwise. It was earthy and pleasant. It fit him well. 
You were looking directly into his gray eyes that held an unreadable expression. His hair fell perfectly over his eyes. He was wearing a simple button-up shirt with a black jacket over him and you didn’t notice until now how well it accentuated his figure—particularly his arms, shoulders, and chest—although that might have been the alcohol talking. At least, that's what you convinced yourself it was. Whether it was actually true or not didn't matter. Despite how awkward you felt, you didn't really want to move. You were oddly comfy. 
You felt those symptoms of your "anxiety" rising: your hastened pulse, your flushed cheeks, and your breath getting caught in your throat. Despite this, you didn't move.
The both of you stayed still for a while. You soon began to notice his hands that were on your waist after he had caught you. If your body was already reacting strongly to his hand on your back earlier, his touch on your waist was driving your heart rate through the roof. His touch was warm and firm. Chills traveled up and down your body as you made skin-to-skin contact with him. You felt your entire body warming up as you continued to look directly into his eyes. You didn’t want to take your gaze off him. Even the chaos of all the people around you seemed to have been lost on you as you stood agonizingly still up against him.
It was the alcohol. That'd explain it. Alcohol made you more sensitive and would explain your hastened pulse. 
After you rationalized that to yourself, you suddenly got up and cleared your throat, finally breaking your gaze from his stupidly pretty eyes. 
"...crowded party."
You vaguely heard Levi mumble.
"Y-Yeah," you said as you nodded at him. "Got crowded fast."
Levi didn't get a chance to respond and he was only able to watch as you immediately bolted away from him and into the crowd again to avoid looking at him. 
He clenched his jaw and sighed to himself. He was more than annoyed at himself for how awkward he was getting around you. Unlike you, he couldn't say that it was just due to the alcohol—and he wasn't even drinking that much in the first place. What was he thinking, holding you for as long as he was? He should’ve just shrugged you off him as soon as you got your bearings. Instead, he gazed into your eyes for much too long, unable to take the feeling of his hands on your waist out of his mind. The tips of his ears had grown pink as he held you and he only hoped that you were too drunk and that it was too dark for you to notice. He didn’t know what was going on, and he wasn’t particularly in the right mood or headspace to figure it out, especially not with you around.
At this point, you made it your personal goal to avoid Levi until it was time to leave. You found yourself sitting at the drink station, sipping on the not-so-pleasant Jungle Juice that you were too buzzed to notice tasted like shit. 
"Long time no see."
You heard a familiar voice and glanced over at the source. 
It was the same sophomore that you saw at the Rumbling—the 'lanky parasite' that Levi so rudely dubbed him as—Floche.
"...I guess not," you said as you stared at him, hesitant with your response. "You following me?"
He stepped closer.
"A girl as pretty as you, how could I not?"
Unlike at the Rumbling, when you were anxious and defensive from seeing Zack and therefore immediately rejected Floche's advances, you now did a shy smile, although it still felt awkward as fuck.
Although you rejecting him would have done little to stop him, he immediately began moving closer, and you could have sworn that his eyes traveled up and down your figure briefly. 
You were still uncomfortable—that hadn't changed—but a part of you appreciated the compliments. 
If you were less intoxicated and had a bit more time to sort out your anxiety regarding both your grumpy roommate and today in general, you'd be able to recognize your increased vulnerability that resulted from being single for the first time on Valentine's Day as well as your newfound dynamic with Levi. If you had recognized that, you probably would've told Floche to promptly fuck off again.
However, you didn't, and before long, you ended up exchanging numbers with him.
Levi stood still from across the room, watching that 'lanky parasite' flirt with you before getting your number. He felt himself get increasingly irritated the minute he saw Floche walking towards you with a suggestive look. He found it strange that he was so bothered by it, but figured that it was because his social battery had been drained for the night and that it didn't actually have anything to do with the exchange he was witnessing in front of him. 
His mood significantly soured once he saw the two of you exchange numbers. His grip on his beer bottle tightened as he chugged the rest of it in one go, tossing the bottle into the trash before walking towards you, under the guise of getting another drink.
Levi leaned on the wall next to you, clearly not having any actual intention of getting another drink.
"You come to these parties just to flirt with anyone that sets their eyes on you?"
The comment caught you off-guard. You blinked at him, unsure of how to respond to his oddly rude comment.
"Wh-What?" you asked defensively, taking slight offense to his comment once you were able to process it.
"Nothing," he mumbled. "It's getting too rowdy. Let's go."
At this point, a scowl was permanently plastered onto his face and you could tell that he was more than ready to leave.
You stared at him as he turned away and grabbed his car keys out of his pants pocket. He took a few steps towards the door before glancing back at you.
"You coming?"
You clenched your jaw, trying to swallow the increasing sensation of an uncomfortable lump in your throat.
"...okay," you whispered, getting up and following him out of the house. 
Levi looked at your upset expression and didn't say a word as he turned away and walked towards his car. He was feeling much too irritated to deal with anything other than getting into the car and driving home to forget this night ever happened.
~~~~~
The car ride home was silent. Levi had barely drank at the party and had been long sober by the time you actually got to leaving. You had drunk significantly more, although you were starting to sober up as well. 
You stubbornly looked out the window with your arms crossed, still trying to process how you felt regarding Levi's unexpected comment. 
You were offended. That much, you knew. It wasn't the first time he had insulted you, but some part did legitimately believe that the two of you had moved past it. You had come to terms with some deal about getting along with each other and he's been around during some of your more vulnerable moments.
Yet here he was, blatantly insulting you again. You were already somewhat emotionally compromised because of your unease regarding being single on Valentine's Day and you had been anxious around him all night, so his comment on top of all of that seemed to hit you much harder than any of his previous insults ever had.
"I'm not just...flirting," you mumbled.
He glanced over at you, clearly able to tell that you were upset with the way that you were avoiding his gaze and your low volume of speech.
It took him a second to respond. 
"...I know," he said quietly.
You frowned and then turned to look at him before speaking more audibly.
"Then why'd you say it?"
Levi didn't answer.
Not wanting to waste your energy fighting with him over his weird behavior, you let out a frustrated huff before crossing your arms and glaring out the window again. 
No words were exchanged for the rest of the car ride, or even during the walk into the apartment and into your separate rooms. 
You were more than irritated. Petra pissed you off at the meeting, you had been high-strung all night, and the one person you thought you could count on was acting weird and throwing snappy comments at you that bothered you on a much deeper level than they should have.
Realizing that you were too wound up to go to bed, you found yourself leaning against the railing on the balcony connected to your apartment. The cold winter air helped calm you down.
You turned towards the door as you heard footsteps approaching. You saw Levi's figure approaching from behind you, holding a bottle of beer in each hand.
He offered you one by raising it towards you and you stared at him, still frowning, before eventually taking it. He was still acting weird and you were still pissed.
You sipped on it in silence, glaring at the horizon as he stood quietly next to you.
"Sorry," he said after a while. It was quiet and part of you wasn't sure if you had actually heard him correctly.
You blinked at him.
"What?"
"The comment," he muttered awkwardly as he leaned on the railing and looked at the ground below. "Was just pissed from being at the party, I guess."
Your frown gradually softened as you looked at him. It was weird that he was apologizing, but it was also weird that you cared so much. Even after you had seemingly formed a truce with him, it's not like he suddenly became a pleasant person to be around. His personality was still abrasive and he still lacked a filter whenever he was annoyed, and you never caught him apologizing for any of it. 
You bit on your bottom lip subtly in an attempt to calm your nerves regarding the awkwardness that had been surrounding the two of you all night.
"Well," you finally spoke, attempting to break the tension, "good news is that you didn't have to chase me around this time?"
You heard a quiet scoff.
"Guess not."
"Told you so," you shot him a smug look as you took another swig of the beer.
"That's because I went with you, dumbass."
A small grin appeared on your face at his response. At least it had returned to your usual banter. 
"To be honest, I didn't even really want to go out tonight. Think I was trying to prove something to Petra."
"Oh?" he mumbled as he raised an eyebrow at you.
"Yeah," you said with an annoyed tone. "She kept insisting that I was purposefully being mopey over being single on Valentine's Day even though I kept on telling her I wasn't."
You looked over towards Levi once you noticed that he wasn't responding. He was frowning at the ground again.
"Nicolo was being a pain in the ass at the café today," he finally said. "Something about needing to get out more."
You found yourself smiling at the shared ire between the two of you.
"To us miserable singles?" you suggested before raising your beer as if you were giving a toast.
He gave you a skeptical look for a few seconds before sighing.
"Fine," he said reluctantly before clinking the spout of his beer bottle with yours. "To being miserably single."
He took a swig of his beer.
"Apparently," he added on, with a hint of heavy reluctance in his voice.
You glanced at him out of the corner of your eye as you raised your beer bottle to your lips.
You already knew Valentine's Day was going to suck this year because of all the bullshit that had happened in the past couple months, but Levi's presence made it just a little less lonely. You weren’t entirely sure what it was, but even just his presence was enough to make you feel not completely alone, something that none of your friends were able to achieve. He wasn’t actively doing anything to make you feel that way, but you still felt it nonetheless.
You smiled to yourself as you enjoyed his presence next to you. It was easy to forget your problems around him, even if it was something as silly as being single on Valentine's Day.
#: @levisbrat25 @gothgril69 @sckerman @berrijam @notgoodforlife @meowjaa @averysmolbear @roseofdarknessblog @bejewelledd @hhighkey @ayame236 @sad-darksoul @velouria17 @kamyru @l1zk4 @layenacreates @lamees004 @whoami-72 @highgoon69 @chaotic-on-main @levishotgf @nube55 @chosos-mascara @heichoucleanfreak @svftackerman
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rottenpumpkin13 · 1 year ago
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What does the gang get up to when they take a vacation to Costa del Sol?
AT THE HOTEL
_They arrive pretty late at night. Zack and Cloud want to room together. Cloud, who's never been to the beach before, tags along on Zack's insistence.
_Angeal does not under any circumstance want Sephiroth and Genesis in the same room together. "Genesis will set the hotel on fire and Sephiroth will smother Genesis to death in his sleep." Sephiroth and Genesis want to share a room because they want to prove that they're both mature and responsible.
_With enough begging and insistence, Angeal concedes. Maybe this time he'll get some peace and quiet in his own room. Sadly it takes -20 minutes for him to be dragged out of his room by screams, the sound of something breaking and the fire alarm going off.
_Zack and Cloud took their room service cart on a joyride around the hallway and it crashed into another guest. Sephiroth and Genesis got into a row over who gets a specific bed. It resulted in Genesis being petty and setting the bed on fire, to which Sephiroth responded by throwing Genesis off of the hotel balcony.
_Angeal goes on a "THAT'S IT! FUN'S OVER!" rant, forces Sephiroth and Cloud to trade roommates and finishes with "IF I HEAR ANOTHER PEEP OUT OF YOU FOUR WE'RE GOING HOME."
BY THE POOL
_The trio + Cloud have to manhandle Zack, pin him down and apply sunscreen on him after he refuses—"I'm not a little kid! I don't need sunscreen!"
_Then Angeal and Zack have a pool noodle battle by the poolside. Genesis lounges in the shade with a book, then proceeds to flirt with the nearest pretty thing in sight. Sephiroth teaches Cloud how to swim better.
_They find out Sephiroth's never played marco polo before so they do that afterwards :)
AT THE BEACH
_Zack buys a treasure map at the gift shop after Genesis convinces him it's legitimate (Angeal lectures him for an hour after it). Him and Cloud disappear on a treasure hunt.
_Sephiroth has never built a sandcastle as a child :( so Angeal and Genesis build one with him and end up playing in the sand and flying a kite :)
_This is of course BEFORE Sephiroth and Genesis decide to go surfing, which Angeal is opposed to because "NEITHER OF YOU HAVE EVER TOUCHED A SURF BOARD BEFORE. YOU'RE GOING TO DROWN."
_Sephiroth insists that it can't be anything too difficult for him *side eyes Genesis* and this results in him and Genesis having a surfing competition.
_It doesn't go well. They can't surf. Angeal has to swim out and grab the two before they're washed away by a wave, all while Genesis and Sephiroth squabble because "Sephiroth kept getting in my way!" and "Genesis is immature."
_Zack and Cloud appear two hours later with a shady duffle bag full of gil—"We found the treasure!" Cloud is literally shaking in fear.
_The Turks show up because a federal investigation in launched on the mysterious duffle bag. Apparently it's money stolen from ShinRa. Tseng in particular wants to know "HOW are YOU *points at Zack* involved in THIS???"
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sleepanonymous · 4 months ago
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W-Wip Wednesday? Should I do these? 👀 Because I am working on the Eli/Sid sequel, I promise 👀
obligatory selfpromo link here for the first part
“I fucked our bassist.”
The statement came flying out of nowhere, hitting Eli like a brick to the face. It had his eyes snapping up from his phone to stare at Zack, who was sitting in Eli’s desk chair, while Eli himself was on his unmade bed. They’d been quiet for the past fifteen minutes, with Zack idly twirling a pen between the fingers of his right hand and Eli scrolling through their band’s tags on Twitter. With how late it was, he figured Zack would eventually get up and face the drive back to his flat or would take it upon himself to crash on Eli’s couch. Whichever the drummer chose, Eli was not expecting that statement.
“What?” he asked before fully processing both Zack’s admission and the slightly teasing look he was giving Eli.
“You heard me,” he responded, still twirling the pen between his fingers.
Eli stared at him, a thousand questions fighting to pour forth from his mouth. When? Why? Was Sid any good? What happened? Don’t you have a girl? Who initiated it? Was this some ongoing fling or a one-time thing?
Thankfully, Eli stayed quiet, realizing the drummer wanted him to ask these questions. He wanted Eli to open his mouth and step into the sudden trap he’d laid. He didn’t give Zack the response he wanted, and simply shrugged before saying, “Okay,” and returned his attention to his phone.
“Okay?” Zack echoed, a smile evident in his voice.
“Okay,” Eli repeated again and attempted to give his friend an annoyed look. “What?”
“Nothing,” Zack’s smile only grew as he tossed the pen onto Eli’s desk and folded his hands over his stomach. They resumed staring at each other as if it were a game of chicken, and Eli strategically took the time to come up with another response.
“Congratulations?” he raised an eyebrow, pretending he had no idea why this subject was brought up.
another obligatory selfpromo link but this time to my ao3 for bookmark/subscription purposes
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ookikufurikabutte · 7 months ago
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quick question, do you consider sefi/kura to be a pr*ship? i keep seeing people call it a pr*ship but i don't really think that since there are a lot of fans, me included, that like the sane sephiroth timeline where sephiroth and cloud are just two softies in love. i'm not a pr*shipper but i get put off by fics or works that portray sefi/kura as toxic or sephiroth being cruel or evil to him, but i guess that's just personal taste? idk
i really don't think a ship being automatically "toxic" because it's the hero x the villain makes it automatically proship. that's one thing.
i literally have a gay oc pair that's sometimes put in a love triangle with the "villain" of the story. <- my last doodle i just posted btw.
i particularly just don't like sefi/kura for personal reasons, but also mainly because of their age gap. iirc sephiroth is like already in his 20s while cloud is 15 or 16 during parts of crisis core. i could be wrong about the ages, but as crisis core was my first ff7 game it just feels weird and offputting to me. this is also the same reason i put *not ship art* on my old comic of sephiroth and zack, because if i also recall zack is 16 at the beginning of CC, while sephiroth is again in his 20s & people started tagging my comic as seph/zack when i clearly drew him as his 16 y/o self too.
i don't break existing friendships i have over the ship because i know the ship has been around forever (and i am a grown ass man) but it's just not my cup of tea & never will be + my issues with it. i try to keep to myself + close friends in fandoms nowadays (especially with ff7 since i feel like too many people care about degrading either aerith or tifa and using zack's death to justify cloud's right to date either of them and i just gag. i hate straight people) but i don't like to get into these conversations because people are crazy & will screenshot anything to complain about ships & their right to be weird on twitter.
and i love sephiroth for his own character too, he's so cool and one of my favorite villains of all time. design wise, plot, everything. like yessir. but i just don't like him w/ cloud.
tldr; i would probably consider it, yes. but not because it's "toxic," but because of the age gap thing.
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kaonarvna · 12 days ago
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Work and health have had me tied up, but here's another little treat!
"Chapter" Name: Maintenance and Testing — Sector Zero, Midgar 199X
Summary: Late at night, beyond office hours, Zack checks on the forty-ninth floor's combat simulator to see if any of the FIRSTs are still in the building. He finds Genesis and Sephiroth using the training suite, although not for its intended purposes.
Tags: Slice of Life, Emotional Hurt/No Comfort(?), Implied Sexual Content, Implied Bottom Sephiroth??
Potential TWs: Enforcement of systemic homophobia in the workplace.
WC: ~3000 (8-16 minute read)
Short sample below the cut!
Maintenance and Testing — Sector Zero, Midgar 199X
The final half-dozen grains of rice pick up onto the bottom of Zack’s fork as he presses the plastic prongs down into them. He eats every grain. Only the tiniest slivers of meat gristle and smears of oily residue sit on top of the disposable container’s surface. Most of the stools in the sixty-forth floor’s canteen area have been flipped upside down onto their tables. The swish of caretaker sweeper mops and the quiet hum of the dimmed florescent lights are the only company left. Except for Sector Eight and market down below, Midgar has gone dark for the night.
Zack squints at one of the clocks behind a food counter. One of the hands points to nine, another to ten—he can’t tell which is which from this far. He checks his PHS just to double check. It’s ten to ten.
“Angeal’s still out…” he mumbles to himself, checking through his text messages with his mentor.
Zack’s rereads them in his head.
FAIR, Zack: how long u out for?? need feedback on sim session results pls
ANGEAL (WORK): Hello, I’m away from my PHS right now. I will be out of town until Friday evening. I will try to respond to my messages the day after I return. If you are getting in touch about an urgent work concern, please contact another first or the director for support. (automated reply delivered courtesy of SEPC Telecom Services)
“Is it urgent?” he asks himself, leaning back on the stool and staring up at the ceiling. He balances on the back legs, holding onto the tall table with one hand, his PHS in the other. “Everyone’s gonna be at home, but I’m not going to remember tomorrow, and…”
Scrolling through the PHS messages with Angeal, he stops and re-reads:
ANGEAL (WORK): Sometimes we do stay late. We (Sephiroth and Genesis, let’s be honest) can only really spar when no one else is on the floor. It is part of their risk assessments. If you ever see the sims booked out late for “maintenance and testing” it’s probably us, haha. Stay clear if you are still inside. Use other combat sims if you need them.
FAIR, Zack: lol ik sephiroth can WRECK outside, surprised hes allowed to fight indoors!! :)
ANGEAL (WORK): He is not supposed to operate inside Midgar unless there is an emergency for that reason, haha.
Genesis too.
“Ten at night…I mean, I could check…” he tap-taps through to his emails, checking the simulator timetable sent out earlier in the week. He zooms in and out of the spreadsheet, mumbling to himself about how much better it looks on the computer. Then he finds it at the bottom of the document: Simulator closed for maintenance and testing 21:00 Wednesday 29th – 02:00 Thursday 30th.
His eyes go wide. Zack double checks the date, before stuffing his PHS back into his pocket. Snatching his empty food container off the table, he briskly walks to the nearest bin, throws it out, then takes himself to the elevators. He presses the down button once, and then twice, and again, until he can hear the mechanisms inside moving.
...
Read the full piece on Ao3!
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one-winged-dreams · 9 months ago
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Loneliness
ship: what do angels dream of (adriel x angeal) (pl: zack) AUs: monster au (monster form references linked [1] [2]) source: final fantasy vii word count: 941
no proofreading we die like men
ANYWAY this is for platonic day for @cherry-bomb-ships Valentine's Day event :D
I had to do SOMETHING for Zack and a random bout of inspiration for this specific AU came to mind
tag list: @dearly-beeloved @camellias-and-coriander @rebel-wolf13 @sunstar-of-the-north @mahitoslittlebird @goldenworldsabound @edencantstopfallininlove @adoredbyalatus @dorothys-wife @faerie-circle-ships @kylars-princess @little-miss-selfships
"You guys are looking pretty mellow today!"
People would often question Zack about why he would talk to them, the monsters his friends would sometimes become. The very question itself never felt worth answering, he thought it would be obvious.
It's because they were his friends.
Angeal's Penance form rested on the ground, the bestial bottom half lowered in a laying position. And next to him, Adriel's Martyr form kneeled on his knees, leaning into Angeal's waist and softly caressing the teeth that made up his midsection.
They said nothing nor made any indication that they had acknowledged Zack's presence. The only sound in the room was Adriel's chime-like breathing and a gentle, almost metallic rumble from Angeal occasionally.
It was enough to bring a smile to Zack's face, the fact that despite his friends being momentarily lost to themselves, they still took pleasure in each other's company.
"Not interupting anything, am I? Don't need any privacy?" he teased, grinning at them.
The fact that it was not an ENTIRELY unwarranted tease was considered by many of the staff to be… Disturbing.
Still, they made no indication that they were bothered or that they noticed him at all, really.
Zack was the only one to ever get close by any margin. And in an entirely unheard-of fashion, the only one who would get close enough to actually TOUCH them.
But touch them, he did, coming up to kneel in front of Adriel and put a hand on his thigh. Something that would have had any other person torn to shreds by Angeal in the blink of an eye, but Zack only ever received an annoyed rumble.
Adriel had always been the softer of the two, even in these forms. His wing-veiled gaze slowly turned to regard him, staring him down for an unsettling few moments that were absolutely inconsequential to Zack. He merely grinned at the towering, ethereal form.
"Does someone neeeed… A Zack hug?" he laughed, holding his arms out in that signature fashion he had established for 2nd class's comfort so long ago.
The thought of speaking to these monsters in such a way was unabashedly ridiculous. Almost everyone agreed, but no one would say it to Zack's face. Not ANYMORE, at least.
As ridiculous as it was, Zack was always one to surpass expectations, and, with no fanfare whatsoever, Adriel's left hand lifted from Angeal's side, and his palm pushed against Zack's chest in a manner that was equal parts firm but gracefully gentle.
Zack laughed, wrapping his arms around Adriel's wrist in a friendly embrace.
"How's that, Adri? A little better?" He directed a grin upwards.
It was always baffling how much either Angeal or Adriel would respond to each other in any form.
Even more so that they would respond to ZACK.
Adriel's lips began to move, but the only sound was a chiming echo of whispered not-words.
Zack chuckled, shaking his head.
"Is that right?" he asked, clearly unable to understand but humoring Adriel anyway. "Day going okay so far other than…?" He gestured vaguely.
He was caught off guard by a nudge that nearly knocked him over, this time by Angeal. Chuckling incredulously, he turned his head, first regarding the massive limb that had nudged him, and then at the familiar face that never opened its eyes, let alone emoted.
"That good, huh?" Zack asked, gently pushing Adriel's hand away.
Neither of his friends responded, but somehow, Zack knew he had their full attention.
"Hey, between you two being married AND managing all this, a guy starts to get lonely, you know," he commented, smiling but with an amount of sincerity to his words.
Regardless of his own loneliness, Zack DID worry. Quite a bit, more than he was used to. No one ever expects their best friends to become unpredictable, ambiguously reasonable monsters. It was never a question about safety, it was always something along the lines of worrying if this state caused them pain, or if they were lonely, and sometimes even if they were being treated well. He didn't doubt that Reeve ran a tight ship that demanded the S and G types be treated with as much respect as anyone else, but did they hear the snide remarks? Did they acknowledge the fearful glances? And when it was only one of them, were they ever afraid…?
More ethereal whispers brought him out of his thoughts, not realizing his expression had changed. Incredulously, he stared up at Adriel, whose face was fixed on him intently.
"Uh. I don't understand, sorry…" Zack commented, finding himself wiping a bit of moisture from his eye.
A somewhat louder metallic rumble preluded Zack being nudged by Angeal so hard that he almost fell over.
"Hey!" he cried out, but as he tipped, he felt Adriel's hand catch his side.
"What are…" Zack trailed off, his glances shifting between his two friends.
They were both visibly watching him, and though neither of them had visible eyes, he could feel their gazes trained on him. And just like that, more moisture began to build up in his own eyes.
"You too, huh?" he chuckled tearfully.
If he had described the palpable feeling of their desire for his company to anyone else, they would have undoubtedly rebuked the very concept. They were monsters, half-mindless.
But as Reeve had told many a doubtful individual, nobody knew them like Zack did.
With one of his friends' giant hands on each of his shoulders, Zack laughed, reaching up to place one of his own on either of theirs.
"That's okay. I'm here with you guys now, yeah? That's enough for me."
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an-inspired-eternity · 11 months ago
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hiiii welcome to my blog i AM in fact annoying! 💖💖
as stated in my bio, my pronouns are they/them! i don't mind gendered terms (though i do prefer masculine ones, generally the consensus is "whatever description is funniest/makes the joke land the best") so long as you stick to they/them!
my youtube and ao3 are umbreno
shuffle au intro here
shuffle au outfits here
read wonder halloween
i have a rotumblr blog lol @worlds-normalest-unovan
PLEASE tag any m/f rui ships (i will make an exception for mizurui but only to a degree) or polyshow related content as richie don't look
other info below the cut
byf:
-save for a few select of things, i don't sort my reblogs with tag
-i reblog in bursts, queue basically only gets used for if i hit post limit, and i don't have a tag for queued posts, so you wouldn't know
-this is a multi fandoms blog. even with a major hyperfix i rarely if ever reblog exclusively one thing
-my dms are open but i cannot promise i'll respond, i'm not very good with starting or maintaining conversations
-i don't tend to reblog a lot of real world politics. tumblr is my safe space to post on the internet and i really don't have the mental and emotional energy for everything going on in the world
ff7
final fantasy vii og is my favorite game of all time, and i will reblog it. A LOT. especially when new additions come out like the remake trilogy. i do have sorting tags for it, but this is the only fandom i do that for. while my older reblogged posts are not fully sorted, generally how i sort them now (not counting character tags) is
ff7: default tag, if lone it usually has something to do with the general game as opposed to a specific character
ff7 party: as it says on the tin, the 9 main playable characters
avalanche: marlene, biggs wedge and jessie- or the group from the yuffie side story (or before crisis but i don't really cater to that game)
the turks: also as it says on the tin, primarily tseng reno rude and elena- but also cissnei or any other before crisis turks
soldier firsts: sephiroth, angeal, genesis, and zack
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ccaptain · 2 months ago
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KNOWING YOUR PARTNER WELL CAN POTENTIALLY MAKE WRITING TOGETHER A LOT EASIER.
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REPOST DO NOT REBLOG !!
NAME: sam!! yes with the !!. imperative (i'm joking) but I also respond to Zack!
PRONOUNS: she/her, they/them!
PREFERENCE OF COMMUNICATION: until I'm comfy giving you my discord IMs will have to do!
NAME OF MUSE(s): Kaeya Alberich. in fact, multiple Kaeya Alberichs. In his Fatuiverse, he named himself Ambroise Petrov. ...... I have a lot of verses ok-
BEST EXPERIENCE: OH, MAKING HIM A FUCKING. HSR VERSE. so many more interactions and people interested in my essential appropriation in the Enigmata path and lore..... sorry hoyov.erse. this is mine now. i'm making him friends and ships and i move the lore now
RP PET PEEVES / DEALBREAKERS:
- Do people still read an heartfelt, emotional reply from their partners and don't come yelling in their DMs about it as soon as they can?? That's the highest thing that puts me off on my list of Things That Put Sam off and you won't get the same effort off me if this happens consistently! sorry.
- everyone but me has square icons...................... where is the rotund. where is the round. PLEASE @ MY FELLOW ROTUND ICONS COME TO ME I'M AFRAID (I love y'alls icons im jk)
- If you start acting weird/spiteful because you assume my actions are sending a message you don't vibe with, your best bet is coming to ask me directly what I was trying to do/say. Me reblogging an ask meme/headcanon I made multiple times during the day is not to desperately attract your attention and coercing YOU specifically into sending me one: most of my rp partners have wonky timezomes but still want to read what I wrote/try to interact and this is faster than sending links to 8+ people. If you don't plot with me/send me ask memes, then there'll always be next time. Don't overthink it and don't make it weird, I exist in my own space and do my own things and I'll be happy if you want to vibe with me.
MUSE PREFERENCES: muses who have been damaged emotionally and still come on top of it ''well'' while hiding some sort of traumas...... muses with masks, multiple layers. onion muses that get vulnerable and get peeled layer by layer, painfully raw by the end of it. muses with skewered morals who learn with surprise that they can think in other ways than the ones they've been taught. in fact, H:SR Kaeya is an amalgamate of everything I like in terms of muse's personalities smashed together
PLOTS OR MEMES:  MEMES. faster to plot on, versatile, takes the awkwardess of the first plot off entirely if we're trying to interact, and I can adapt them to almost anything. I wanna say both, but plots are harder to start due to busy lives expecially if those require a starter :( i wanna say that we can mix both... start a plot with an ask meme that turns into a thread. that I can do and is a very good compromise for me
LONG OR SHORT REPLIES: 4 paras for each reply or assume I have been alien-napped by weird beings and switched with an impostor who wasn't left a script to follow to impersonate me.
BEST TIME TO WRITE: EVENING... if i'm not drawing or chatting with people or playing, I crack my fingers after my afternoon nap and kick in gear. lock in. ..... then I get distracted but that's another story
ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S): HOOO BOY I HOPE THE FUCK NOT. maybe i'm more like Wriothesley in terms of muses despite his blog collecting dust: I cope healthily and am normal? I think??
tagged by: i stole it from myself. ultimate thief level tagging: HMMMHMMHMHM who hasn't done this already... mmmmm @predvestnik and @dupliciti as usual but also @aguilareye @glacialswordsman and everyone else who would like to join in!
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