#(although I usually use 'character x character' for scene partners so maybe I should come up with a terrible portmanteau. ugh)

[onelungmcclung]

(anyone who'd be up for potentially being a sounding board/agony aunt, DM me)

#look nobody actually needs to explicitly hear 'no' that's why that's not a poll option #this is a gauging of interest not a democracy #kidd x rosie #masters of the air #mota fanfic #rosie rosenthal #jack kidd #I rarely tagspam; forgive me this one time. consider my quite nice gifsets. #and I care about ur blacklist #(although I usually use 'character x character' for scene partners so maybe I should come up with a terrible portmanteau. ugh) #txt

[innocentignorance]

Otome Review: Collar x Malice - Unlimited

So in Collar x Malice - Unlimited, sequel to Collar x Malice ,you get learn what it’s like to actually have a relationship with the guy of your dreams without anyone trying to actively kill you or whatever. I think this is actually a really nice take. Usually in otome games there is this huge drama or life threatening situation going on during which the heroine meets and falls in love with the love interests. Then after the drama is over so is the story usually.  In this game it basically tells what happens in that “Happily Ever After” that comes after playing the first game. Although you can still get Normal or Bad endings. Which is nice because, you know, such is life. So the story in this one is generally not as complicated as the first one since you basically solved everything and I can’t really write an overall summary since all the routes are very different and there is no common route. Also warning: may contain spoilers for the first game but I tried to keep it spoiler free for this one since you can’t play this game without playing the first one anyway.

There are also many side stories where you get some insights into some side characters, get to know them a bit better. There is also a story that is kinda the continuation of a bad ending of one of the routes in the first game. Which was honestly quite interesting and also really bittersweet.

There isn’t a lot that I have to warn you about in this game since the traumas that the characters have are not mentioned as heavily as the first game and you should really have played the first game in order to know what’s going on here. One warning that I should maybe make is that there is a bit more sexual content in this one so if you are maybe a delicate person who blushes at the mere mention of “sex” or kissing, consider yourself warned. So yeah. Warning :Suggestive Themes (Maybe??). 

Because I guess some people consider it steamy when they see their 2D boyfriend shirtless and hear him very vaguely reference sex. I am sorry if anyone is offended by this, I am just extremely salty about the fact that otome games portray love as something super pure and beautiful, and in order for love to be this way sex cannot happen, or it cannot be enjoyed. Like the heroine can never come out and say that she enjoys sex with her partner. Ugh. (I just want some R rated otome games. Usually I can go get my fill of smut between my beloved characters but this game surprisingly has very little fanfiction. I am so disappointed, I have no words.)

Anyway. Onto the routes!

Love Interests

Mineo Enomoto

This guy’s after story was really funny and sweet. Although it’s not my cup of tea, since he’s a bit too innocent and oblivious. But he actually got a bit smarter in this game AND he took off that eyepatch. Like, thank fuck, man. You use guns n shit and depth perception is a thing. So even though Mineo is a bit innocent for me, I think he actually makes good match for the heroine since she’s very much the same. They are both young and quite inexperienced but they are figuring it all out together which I think is beautiful. 

Takeru Sasazuka

God I love him so fucking much. Ehem. So Takeru’s route was very entertaining. In the first game he always had the “I couldn’t care less” attitude towards everyone especially in the beginning. He still has that harsh exterior going on but damn if it isn’t sweet inside. I honestly may be a little biased on this one since I love his character trope. But he goes through a genuine character development that was, I think, quite well-written since you don’t actually realize it all that much until a character points it out. His route was honestly a bit more realistic compared to the others in regards to how relationships work. They aren’t all sunshine and giggles. Overall, I love him. Could’ve been more “steamy” scenes or sexual interactions in general even if it was just implying . Still not too unhappy with the fanservice in this route. At least got to see him shirtless. Which is more than what we got in some other routes sobs

Kei Okazaki

So after going through even more trauma in the first game, my man’s honestly on his way to fixing his fucked up mentality. However, he’s not quite there yet. In Kei’s route you get to see how it is to have your work can kinda get in the way of your relationship. They’re trying to have a relationship between their jobs and Kei’s lingering issues and of course with some misunderstandings along the way but they manage to tackle it in the end. Of course nothing is perfect which is, in my opinion, a good thing since perfect relationships do not exist. There was also a lot of implications of sexual activity in this one because our boi here is one horny bastard. Honestly, I love him. If only he wasn’t trying to sugar coat his mental issues and stuff with that adorable but sometimes annoying smile of his. like no Kei this much jealousy is not normal stfu

Kageyuki Shiraishi

...

...

...

This bitch After going through so much fucking shit in the first game, here we are going through even more shit in this wonderful fandisk! Honestly if you were thirsting after him at any point, you’re out of luck cause our poor boi is in no condition to fuck. Dw he’s not injured or anything. Kageyuki’s route is the one with least fanservice of them all because he committed war crimes or some shit and no one trusts him now (understandably), except of course our protagonist, even though he turned himself in. Which is great and all but this only leads to a lot of yearning and heartbreak for both sides for the entire route. This route was also the most eventful route of them all, with life threatening situations and psychopaths from the past. Story wise, I think it was great. It just was not what you would expect from a fandisk content where you would expect to be witnessing the happily ever after of your OTPs. But in real life your actions have consequences and the power of love doesn’t fix shit. So yeah. Realism wins. Kind of.

Aiji Yanagi

Daddy? Sorry I can honestly say I really loved Aiji’s route. There wasn’t any drama between him and the protagonist and overall the route had a relatively mature take on relationships. They also addressed some things that weren’t really addressed in the other route like the LI’s and the protagonist’s families. It was quite satisfying which is not very surprising since Aiji has always been the most mature among the LIs in this game. But damn, my boi definitely lacks xp in the romance department like don’t give me all that shy shit bro you’re almost thirty fuckin act like it but it wasn’t exaggerated so not really an issue. The parts with his family were also really wholesome in the end although at first you’re like “throw these bitches out the airlock they are not touching my baby.” This is also the route with most fanservice, I think. In the other routes you could pretend that they weren’t doing anything *looks left and right and whispers* ‘sexual’ even with all the implications if you chose to be real ignorant but in this one I think it was a bit more obvious like we get a glimpse of inner boob y’all that’s like seeing an entire dick in a regular game but not too obvious. Overall, I recommend :D

#collar x malice unlimited #collar x malice #AIJI YANAGI #KAGEYUKI SHIRAISHI #TAKERU SASAZUKA #mineo enomoto #kei okazaki #otome review #ignoringinnocence

[anythingforspence]

the capstone - chapter one

Summary: Reader is a semester away from getting her masters in Psychology and duringher last semester she has to complete her capstone, or passion project if you will. This year, the professors decided that each student will be personally mentored by a psycologyst in distinct fields. When Y/N meets hers, she can’t decide whether she is lucky or if it will be a long 5 months.

Pairing: Female reader x Spencer Reid

Word Count: 1.8 k

Chapter warning: harsh language, sexy talk, no smut yet

A/N: omg tysm for all of the love on the teaser post. i hope i dont dissapoint.

Although I’m wide awake, I let my alarm clock keep beeping and beeping and beeping as I stare up at the white ceiling of my cheap studio apartment. My neighbor woke me up bright and early this morning by doing what sounded like lugging a dead body throughout his apartment. I lifted my head slightly just to slam it back against my bed, whining about being awake at 5:30 am. I’m probably just nervous. I have to complete this passion project for my psychology class by being mentored by a famous psychologist and write a paper about their career and their wisdom I guess. I have a meeting with my mentor today and I don’t know what to expect. My professor kept the identity of our mentors a secret. For the “excitement” and whatnot.

With a sigh, I swing my legs over the side of my bed and bend over to switch off the alarm. Resting my elbows on my knees, I run my hands down my face, basically prepping myself for the fact that I have to stand up soon. The moment I stand, I stretch all throughout my body, ending with my hands high above my head, stretching into the ceiling. My mouth getting ready to yawn when a bang was heard next door, like a book being chucked against the wall ajoined with my neighbors apartment causing me to yelp. I’m pretty sure I heard a chuckle in response to my scream. I glared at the wall, thinking of all the ways I could storm in there and punch my neighbor. I had two choices. I could storm in there and do all the things I wish I could do, or I could mind my business and get ready for the day.

Rolling my eyes I decided to just get ready. I still wanted payback, however, I blasted Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now by The Smiths as I head into the showe. I grab brown trousers, a white button up, and a sage green set of lace undergarments. Not that anyone would see them, unfortunately there has been a drought of sorts in my pants. I just wear them for the aesthetic. Getting undressed, I put on my favorite playlist with all of the songs that make me feel like I’m the main character in an indie film. I heard a light tapping at my door, like some wanted my attention but at the same time wished I never paid attention to them. I decided to ignore it and step under the stream of water in my shower.

Once I was all finished with my shower, I stepped out into my foggy bathroom. Singing along to Bug Collector by Haley Heynderickx, I start drying off and slip on my outfit for the day. I keep my hair in a towel to help it dry some so I don’t have to use any heat on my hair. For my makeup I decided to go for a red lip, neutral blush, mascara, and brows today. Something simple and professional. I let my hair out of the towel and brush it out, not doing too much to it. Blowing myself a kiss in the mirror, I grab my purse and wrap my student ID around my neck, letting it fall next to the golden flower chained to my neck.When I open the door, I laugh in shock at the note my neighbor left for me.“nice taste in music”

I felt something against my leg and knew exactly who it was. “Hi, Payton,” I sweetly spoke to the Sphynx cat at my feet. I named her Payton even though she’s not technically mine and just wanders through the apartment complex. I bend down to give her scratches at her neck. “How’s my cutie patootie. Did you see the asshole who left this not?” She just tilted her head more into my hand, telling me to keep on scratching. “Guess not.” I stand back up and check the time on my watch, “Shit”. I had five minutes to get there.

-----

A bell rang as I entered the coffee shop I was supposed to meet my mentor at, of course with my favorite mask on. My eyes scan the place a little before I walk up to the counter to order my favorite drink. “Hi can I just get a 16 ounce Earl Grey, please?” The barista said something along the lines of yes of course and how my total was 2.16. “Alrighty, thank you.” It didn’t take too long for it to be done. They weren’t very busy and it’s just a tea bag and hot water.

“Excuse me, are you Y/F/N Y/L/N?” 

Woah. His voice sent a tingle down my spine. Probably just because I haven’t had much human contact or the fact that I haven’t been laid in a while but, my god, what I would give for him to say my name again. But that was nothing compared to what I saw when I turned around. I’m just glad I was wearing a mask so he didn’t the way my lips parted when my eyes met his. He had curly brown hair and he dressed like an old man, doesn’t sound like much but for me, that’s everything. Oh my gosh, and he had nerdy little cute glasses? When I realized I was staring I averted my eyes and started blushing.

“Um, yes, hi, that’s my name. I’m so sorry, but what’s your name?” The tremor in my voice made me want to just drop dead. I’m a woman of science but if the Earth knew how to open up and swallow people, now would be the time to prove it.

“Oh hi. I’m Doctor Spencer Reid. I’m your psychology mentor. Did your professor not tell you?” He seemed so confused, oh my god he’s so cute.

“Oh. Oh my God I’m so sorry! My professor didn’t let us know who was mentoring us, just in case we did prior research or something. I’m sorry. But yes um I’m Y/N. It’s very nice to meet you, sir,” I kept on rambling, looking anywhere but his eyes. Unfortunately, it made me look like I was checking him out. Oh fuck.

Chuckling a bit, he goes, “Oh no your fine. No need to apalogize. It’s a pleasure to meet you miss Y/N.” Not going to lie, the way he said my name sent tingles to my pussy. Oh my god what is wrong with me! I can’t be thinking these things about the person who is going to mentor me! Stop being so horny.

I started to blush and I cleared my throat and gestured towards the window. “Um, should we go sit out there?”

“Oh yes of course. Please after you,” he said, his hand finding the small of my back, hitching my breath and making me nervously mess with the rings on my fingers. We sat at the iron tables outside of the coffee shop, he pulled my chair open for me, finally his hands off of me. I felt like I could breathe again but at the same time I felt sad, empty. He took off his mask to take a sip of what he was drinking and holy shit. He had some scruff and his lips just looked so inviting. I wanted to distract from the silence that was biting at me. “So, uh, what do you do?” My voice trailing off, making everything so much heavier with awkwardness and the sexual tension that was just coming from me.

“What do you mean what do I do?” Fuck. I looked so stupid of course he does something in pschology. That’s the whole reason you’re here.

“W-well, um, like what specific area do you work in?”

“I do criminal profiling with the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI.” My eyebrows bunch together in confusion. What does that have to do with psychology? Almost as if he’s reading my mind he continues, “We psycho analyze crime scenes, victims, bodies to understand why a criminal would do what they did, which helps us to understand the type of person they are, their background, and it leads us to the criminal, or unsub.”

“Wow that’s actually really cool. But, like, how does that all work?”

“Tell me, Y/N, when was the last time you had sex?” I didn’t say anything. I was so shocked. First off, how inappropriate, but also how did he know? “When I first walked in, you kept on looking me up and down as if you’ve never seen a man before. You keep fidgeting with your rings. Usually new jewelry makes people fidget but the stains on your fingers suggest you wear rings frequently which means you're nervous. Also ever since I’ve taken my mask offyou haven’t stopped staring at my lips. So, sweet girl, tell me when was the last time you were satisfied?”

I just sat there, gapping at him like a fish out of water. What was I supposed to say? Why thank you for asking, although the last time I’ve had sex was a year ago but the last time I’ve orgasmed has been longer? Before I could come up with an answer he got a phone call. Someone named Morgan needed him or something. Whatever it was, it seemed urgent.“Sorry our meeting got cut short, Y/N. Very important FBI business came up. Here is my card, has my name, email and phone number. I recommend calling me because I don’t usually check my emails or my texts. Your professor already gave me your contact information so I know how to find you. I am very excited for the upcoming months.”

“Oh- uh, thank you,” I whispered, still shocked. He grabs my hand so that he can hand me my card since I haven’t moved a muscle. 

“Oh and Y/N?” My head wips up at him and I let out a “hmm?” that could be mistaken for a moan. “Green is a nice color on you.” Confused, I looked down to see my button up shirt had popped open, letting my green covered tits be seen by the world. Eyes blown open, I immediately cover myself and say a thank you that sounded so embarrassing because my voice cracked. He just chucked and told me he would contact me soon. Before he left, I could’ve sworn he looked at me as if I was a sexy hollywood actress or something. But I brushed it off. Maybe he was concerned for me. After all, I had my tits out and made it obvious that I was desperately horny. God these five months will be awful if I keep thinking about Dr. Reid as a sex partner than a mentor. Then again the concept of having sex with your mentor can be hot. Nope. No. I should stop there.

#spencer reid #spencer reid x y/n #dom!spencer #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid smut

[masterthespianduchovny]

Part of the reason I’m so passionate about Mulder being understood as a character is because his existence literally influenced future fictional male characters.

I won’t call Mulder a flat out anomaly, but back then, he was a stark contrast to how men were usually portrayed: hyper masculine, rational (science), and logic based.

Mulder was masculine, but he also had what was seen as feminine attributes: compassion, sensitivity, his supernatural beliefs (yes, this too), etc. also, he wasn’t aggressive or posturing.

Because of this, directly and indirectly, Mulder influenced how male characters were written in many series.

And what makes this super important was that Mulder wasn’t seen as less than a man because of this. It was just accepted.

Now, as some of you have read previous post about how Mulder isn’t an anti masker, this is a continuation of that post. No, I’m not hung up on the assertion, but I do believe that topic opens up the discussion about the brilliance of Mulder’s character and why I believe some do not understand his character.

The series does several subtle things to ground itself and Mulder when it premiered.

1. Scully as the scientist and skeptic. Although she is there for Mulder in the universe, in real life, she’s there to serve as a mouthpiece for the viewer’s skepticism. Her existence is an important key to buying into the premise of the show.

2. Mulder’s credentials. Before we meet Mulder, we know he’s Oxford educated, graduated top of his class, majored in psychology, and was a brilliant profiler. He was so great as a profiler, people even talk about him at the academy. And then we find out he’s called “spooky.”

This establishes that Mulder isn’t out of his mind. He was/is a respected agent who is clearly intelligent and good at his job. When we meet Mulder this is further cemented when it’s revealed that he read Scully’s college thesis and could counter her arguments. Even the fact that he knows Scully was sent down there to spy on him underscores Mulder’s intelligence. The first scene literally is about this, so he wasn’t paranoid.

3. Mulder grounds himself. Often, Mulder says variations of “I know this sounds crazy.” It shows that Mulder isn’t off of the deep end and knows how his views are not only received, but how to level with people. If Mulder was just some guy who believe in wild shit and expected others to believe in it, the show wouldn’t have worked. It works because a. He knows how others see him and is willing to explain his beliefs b. he can prove how and why a conspiracy is going on.

Also, in addition to him not assuming people should just believe him, when he does expect people to be on his side (really in Scully), he points to their mutual experiences. Mulder constantly justifies his beliefs to Scully when she has no reference point to a phenomenon, but when she does, he references the shit ton of other cases they’ve worked.

Mulder is self aware and because of this, we are comfortable investing in Mulder’s crazy beliefs and theories. Mulder can be pulled back and rationed with.

4. He isn’t only intelligent, he’s well read. Mulder isn’t just book smart, he’s culturally knowledgeable. Mulder literally reads up on everything and has a reference for almost anything. Inadvertently, he validates other cultures and their beliefs. But, the fact that most of his knowledge can be traced back to a culture or cultures IS important. Mulder will explain the history of a thing and the various occurrences of it. You don’t find this in official, well respected books. He reads books, diaries, newspapers, etc. Mulder even listens to folklore.

He’s not pulling this shit out of his ass.

5. At the same time, Mulder can also be a skeptic. It’s not as pronounced as Scully or even just religion based. In “Clyde bruckman’s final response”, Mulder is skeptical of the psychic called to the scene and, as a result, kicked out of the room. This plays into the long running theme of Mulder’s instincts being right. Also, it’s a callback to ���beyond the sea.” Mulder believes in psychics, but he is skeptical of them at times, such as murders or well known psychics.

He places truth and finding justice over indulging his beliefs and blind belief. Mulder even explains why he doesn’t believe certain psychics, which is another way the show grounds him. He explained it in a perfectly logical way.

There are other instances of Mulder being skeptical with information he’s given regardless of believing a case to be supernatural.

6. This is why the anti mask argument frustrates me: Mulder not only believes in science, he uses it to legitimize his work. Most of his cases are solved with science. He constantly points out how Scully’s science saved him and the x files. And the sign Idance of this point when it comes to anti maskers is that most of the people who are anti mask are also anti vaxxers and anti science.

For Mulder, if Scully’s science proves him wrong a. Either he reformulates his theory b. Realizes something is missing c. Goes back to square one (looked for bigger picture). Mulder almost never discards science, he just doesn’t want science to limit, but rather, expand understanding. Their cases are just things that science hasn’t come across.

I must explicitly state this: Mulder’s cases are solved with science.

Mulder regularly reads up on science shit, which is how he’s able to follow most of Scully’s rebuttals and even provide his own counterpoints.

He sees science as a tool that can be fine tuned.

And circling back to how anti mask is usually anti vax and anti science, these people usually believe the most bat shit things, which some of the time includes anti Semitism. Think of the most popular bat shit insane conspiracy theories and genuinely ask yourself if you think Mulder would believe them. He would think those people are kooks.

7. He wants to believe. Although Mulder 100% believes in aliens, he knows he needs proof. Mulder sees all of this wild shit and knows it isn’t enough to say he’s seen it. He almost never takes anything as a given and understands that he needs to bring something to the table if he wants to be believed.

8. His talent as an agent was still respected. Something I love about the series, it’s a low key great way to develop the character. Skinner comments on Mulder’s talent as an agent, kersh labels him a lost cause implying that he was great at one point, Mulder’s former partner used his profile for cool points, Tom Colton uses Scully to get Mulder on his case, bill Patterson finds an indirect way to get Mulder on his case and used to drunkly praise him.

9. His sense of justice and compassion for victims overrides his beliefs. At the end of the day, Mulder wants victims to be heard and helped. Whether or not his beliefs have anything to do with the case in the end, he cares more about giving the victims answers. Maybe this is the thing that grounds him the most, or humanizes him and shows that Mulder is more than his zany beliefs.

This is why more Mulder meta is needed. There are so many topics prime for discussion and yet some overlook that for a quick joke. Like, dig into this man, people. There are so many gems and fascinating topics. 😩

#the x-files #mulder #x-files #fox mulder

[cutegirlmayra]

What are your opinions on shadouge, silvaze, and tailream? I personally ship all of them.

I usually ship canon couples, meaning the company has chosen to make a romantically charged dynamic between one or more characters.

In this case, I believe Silvaze is the closest to having evidence from SEGA that they do intend to hint a little more towards romance but not by much. So I do support that, though I don’t think the two will ever be what they were in 06. I do believe, however, that they feel the residual lingerings of their past partnership continually, leaving for a tragic ending... (common in children’s video game media due to the ‘Star Rule’ of characters unable to be together.)

Blaze literally says, “But... I’ve always sort of liked that about you.” And in japanese, THAT’S GROUNDS FOR A CONFESSION PEOPLE! (though I believe the japanese script is slightly different. It still holds some weight towards this.)

It’s actively hinted at how well they work together due to their ‘erased’ timeline where they were so close. And there’s the hint that Sonic Channel art gives of them being the ‘separated lovers’ in mythology.

Also, matching outfits of this concept on ‘Sonic Speed Battle’.

This weird hinting of ‘missing/pining’ for the other is just--grips chest--AWgh. So heart warming but so tragic!

As for Shadouge, it was originally hinted at that Shadow would rival Sonic with Amy, but this was quickly scrapped and instead, Shadow and Rouge formed some unlikely teaming up and they expanded upon that relationship. Rouge actively goes out of her way to hint towards liking Knuckles romantically, but deeply cares about Shadow and his well-being. It’s clear she may like him too, but all evidence suggests she’s really just his only true friend, but then SEGA stated they don’t actually hang out much due to Shadow’s solitary lifestyle. In otherwords, her caring about him is out of loving sympathy, and though Shadow respects her, doesn’t let her influence him. So, it’s another tragic thing where Rouge’s care seems one-sided, but we’re all aware that Shadow would help Rouge and Rouge would help Shadow, whether he acted like he didn’t care or not, we all know he’s a good guy deep down inside XD

Rouge is often shown to have deep feeling for others, mostly through Knuckles and Shadow, so this makes sense that she’d mourn for Shadow more actively, and Sonic--being highly observant of others needs--would sense that Rouge’s sorrow is sincere. It would make sense to give her that last article of him.

Character placement in any media is important, this shows that they are close, probably the only true friend he has that cares about him actively. As for romantic, I often state it thusly, “She’s got her arms around both men, waiting for one of them to step up and make the first move...” but in all honesty, it’s canon that Rouge likes Knuckles, and is supportive of Shadow. (She should be his close friend, what the heck, SEGA. So he acts like he doesn’t reciprocate her worrying about him, so what? He’d still actively save/protect/be there for her if she needed him to be! That’s close enough for this edgy dude to consider them partners!)

As for Tailream, sorry to break any hearts, although I think it’s nice and don’t mind it much, I know that it’s actually canon for Bakkun to like Cream.

Rouge finds a locket in Sonic X that reveals his crush on Cream. Cream is also shown many times with Tails, but it looks as though each of those activities is ‘play’ like with young children, but not so much with any romantic intention within the cinema placement I before mentioned. It would fit within Cream’s character to admire Tails just like she would “Mr. Sonic” as heroes who have continually saved her and the world. 

How is this scene

Really all that different from him making a sandcastle with Cheese?

This scene is useful, because it shows Tails trying to comfort her in the way you would a small child, and sets up his view of Cream as a friend and little girl. Amy is often depicted the same way when it comes to comforting Cream like this, and showing friendship with Tails as well. Meaning, they both give Cream the same treatment, Tails is not ‘favoring’ Cream in any way.

There are clear differences in ‘proximity placement’ when you examine this and scenes with, let’s say, Cosmo and Tails in how they’re ‘next to each other’ verses the others.

Everything on screen is a choice made by the specific people of the animation and show. Nothing but animation errors are “accidents”.

Even Vector’s day-dream.... is a way to hint that others are noticing Tails’s feelings for her.

In canon, Cream is far too young to love anybody, and Tails is shown to canonically like Cosmo, who is closer to him too.

Cream is a little girl, maybe with age, she would turn towards Tails in affection, but for now, Tails seems to be kind to her but not really interested in a romantic pursuit. I think as they grow up further together, something could spark, but I’m not sure. It’s got no clear evidence that SEGA was leaning towards that.

We must also notice that Cosmo only existed in the anime, even if Cream wasn’t always featured in every game, she is canon to the game world too. I would just argue that maybe Tails doesn’t have a love interest within the game’s canon universe? He’s young too, you know XD Sonic is speculated to have been 11 when he first met 8 year old Amy. So Tails still has one more year before he meets his fated lover, eh? XD (I’m just kidding, but it’s funny to say XD)

It’s also canon that Cream uses her polite innocents to manipulate others like Sonic uses his charm and cool, good, dashing looks to manipulate Amy XD

Clearly, he milks it.

He’s such a bad example for Cream, lol

I remember he was shown with bubbles and such which is common in anime to reveal his ‘trying to charm her’ but again, I think I’ve made my points XD

I still think with time, Cream and Tails could become a future ship, but Cream is only actually in Sonic X mostly, and there aren’t many ‘signs’ of Tailcream in games cause they never really interact all that much.

However, the argument does stand that they are placed around each other quite often. So maybe one day when they’re older~<3

But you could also counter and say... that they aren’t always placed next to each other in this manner, so open-mindedness and accepting if someone likes them together still has some merit, so let people ship what they like ;)b

When you think about it though... who else would you logically place with Tails then? Sonic and Amy are taken, Knuckles and Rouge, so... who? Cream makes sense if you’re trying to pair Tails with someone, you know?

#tailcream #tailsmo #shadouge #knuxouge #silvaze #ask cutegirlmayra #cutegirlmayra ask #sonic ask #ask sonic #sonic shipping

[cali-holland]

Cherry- Harrison Osterfield One Shot

Pairing: Harrison Osterfield X Reader

Prompt: When you and Tom are cast as co-stars in Cherry, you can’t understand why Harrison begins to act so weird about the sex scene… it’s not like you’re dating either one of them.

Word Count: 4100

Warnings: lots of talk about sex, making out, some swearing

A/N: sooo obvs the release details of the movie are gonna be off; I’m ignoring covid for this fic :)

Masterlist   Harrison Osterfield Masterlist

*Gif is not mine*

~~~

“A sex scene?” Harrison repeated, and Tom nodded.

“Yeah, it’s gonna be so weird.” Tom said. As they walked into their regular gym, they discussed the news that Tom had just heard over the phone- he’d just landed the role in Cherry a couple days ago, and he was told only this morning that there would be a sex scene involved in the film.

“Have they cast your co-star yet?” He asked, curiously.

“No. I haven’t even done screen tests with anyone else yet.” He shrugged. “I just hope they cast someone hot, you know?”

“Yeah,” Harrison laughed, still in disbelief that his friend was going to have to film a sex scene with a complete stranger in the coming months.

“Who would you want?” Tom asked and his friend looked at him quizzically, “If you had to do a sex scene, who would you want to do it with? A stranger or a friend?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t really given it much thought.” He tried to shrug it off, but his red ears told otherwise. He began to work on one of the weight machines, getting it to the proper setting for him, as Tom wandered over to a treadmill.

“Why did I even ask?” Tom chuckled, shaking his head teasingly, “Of course it’d be Y/N.”

“What would be me?” You asked, coming into the room to join them with a little more spring in your step than usual. Harrison went red in surprise at your presence, making you look at him confused. You three had a regular routine of meeting up at the gym to workout so your presence wasn’t surprising.

Back in Brit school, you had become close friends with Tom and Harrison. You had always harbored a crush for Harrison, unable to deny the attractiveness in his blue eyes. You were just too caught up in your own head to realize he felt the same. Neither of you made a move, neither of you could bear hurting the dynamic of your group. Tom was oblivious to the fact that you liked his best friend, which made it harder for you to even think about changing the friendship.

“Harrison needs a spotter.” Tom said quickly, distracting you from the previous topic.

“Uh, yeah.” Harrison cleared his throat, trying to control his scarlet face.

“I’ll spot you, if you spot me.” You teased, tightening your ponytail as you went to stand by him. You watched as Harrison began to life the weights, your eyes getting trapped on his muscles.

“Oh, Y/N.” Tom spoke up, pulling your attention from Harrison, “Did you ever get a call-back for that audition last week?”

“Yeah, I totally meant to tell you.” You laughed, turning to continue watching Harrison to make sure he was fine, “I got the job, not even a call-back. I just got it, but I don’t even know who’s on the project.”

“What’s the movie?” He asked.

“Cherry.” You replied. Harrison’s arms faltered and you moved quickly to catch and stabilize the weight. Laughing lightly, you asked, “Are you okay?”

“Cherry?” Harrison clarified. He looked almost horrified as he put the bar back.

“Cherry?” Tom added, stopping the treadmill.

“Yes, that’s what I said.” You nodded, looking between the two of them in confusion. “What’s up?”

“Y/N, I’m playing Nico.” Tom said, and your jaw dropped.

“We’re going to be in a movie together?” You replied, a wide smile growing on your face. In all the years you three have known each other and worked on projects, none of you had been cast in the same movie as leads.

“We’re romantic leads.” Tom stated as Harrison shifted uncomfortably on the bench below you.

“I didn’t think about that at all.” You admitted. Your excitement left your body as you thought of the film.

“Did they- did they mention anything about certain scenes with us?” Tom asked, almost hesitant as he glanced over at Harrison, who looked like he was quite ready to vomit.

“Fuck.” You groaned, piecing together how, yes, you were told your character had a sex scene and how Tom, as your partner in the film, would be the other person in that scene. “Well, filming will certainly be an experience.”

“I think I’ll just use the treadmill today.” Harrison stated, getting up from the bench and heading over to a treadmill. Tom started up his treadmill again, leaving you questioning Harrison’s reaction.

~~~

In some ways, you appreciated that Tom was your co-star for Cherry, but sometimes you just wished it was someone else- you’d rather have it be Harrison. For the next few months, none of you really talked about it, especially not the sex scene, because it put all three of you in an awkward situation; although, you still couldn’t quite tell why it was so uncomfortable for Harrison.

You had a week before filming started, and so you and Tom decided to practice your lines together. All three of you would help each other learn lines for various projects, but it felt better to have your actual co-star going through the scene with you.

“Want to run that scene one more time?” Tom asked you as the two of you sat at the dining room table, both of you holding your scripts.

As soon as the question left his mouth, Harrison came into the kitchen in nothing but loose basketball shorts that hung low on his hips. His hair was pushed back by a sweatband, fully displaying his sweaty forehead. He had been out playing basketball with Harry, and you were grateful for the clear view of his body from your seat.

“Yeah.” You nodded, distracted by Harrison. You not so subtly watched as he got himself a drink of water. 

“Y/N? Y/N, you there?” Tom waved a hand in front of your face, calling your attention back to him.

“Sorry, distracted.” You said, shaking your head. As you read your line, Tom looked over to see his friend in the kitchen. Tom’s eyes trailed back to your flustered form- he had caught you full-on checking Harrison out. He started to wonder if maybe Harrison’s feelings for you weren’t so one-sided.

A few more days went by of you, Tom, and Harrison enjoying your last days at home before leaving for Ohio. You stayed with the boys at their house, wanting to be able to spend more time with them. Tom started to notice your lingering gazes on Harrison more, and he wondered how he didn’t see it before. He already felt guilty about playing the role of your love interest in Cherry- because that meant he’d have to not only kiss his friend but kiss his best friend’s girl, and now he felt even worse thinking that you definitely liked Harrison back.

You were anxious about filming. You had kept most of your nervous butterflies down, but now it felt so real. Your flight to Ohio was in a few hours, and you couldn’t sleep. You found yourself sitting on the roof, looking out at the stars and trying to find some sort of serenity.

Kingston was quiet and peaceful that night, but the cool night breeze made you contemplate returning to your bed. You were about to give up hope and go inside when someone sat beside you.

“Can’t sleep?” Harrison asked. He was wrapped up in a blanket and wrapped his own around you, shielding you from the breeze with the warm blanket and pulling you into his embrace.

“Just stressed and nervous.” You let out a soft sigh, sinking into his warm chest comfortably. “I’ve never done a big movie like this.”

“You’re going to do great. I just know it.” He reassured you.

“Am I making a mistake though? Tom’s like a brother to me, and we’re going to have to kiss in the movie, amongst other things.” You felt him tense a little underneath you. “Should I have backed out?”

“It’s not a mistake. You and Tom have been friends for years. You can do this, it’s just acting.” Harrison said, but it felt more like he was telling the last part to himself.

“Why are you so weirded out by this? You’re not even in the movie. You don’t have to do any of this.” You asked quietly.

“You and Tom are my best friends. It’s weird to think you have a sex scene together.” He stated. There was a pause that filled the air; it was the first time someone had explicitly said “sex scene” since you had found out about the role.

“I feel a bit bad for you.” Harrison teased lightheartedly, “Tom’s probably a shit kisser.”

“Know from experience, Haz?” You joked, looking up at him.

“God, no.” He chuckled, smiling down at you, “There’s just got to be something wrong with him.”

“Oh, alright. So what’s wrong with me then?” You bit your lip nervously, sitting up to face him and letting the blanket fall from your shoulders. You watched as Harrison’s eyes trailed down to your lips momentarily before they met your gaze again.

“Nothing. You’re perfect.” He said. You could feel his heart start to race a little as you started to lean in. You were so close; his warm breath hit your face, your nose brushed his-

But he pulled away.

“Sunrise.” Harrison said, diverting his eyes away from you to the sunrise over your shoulder. You turned around to face the sunrise, wanting to hide the hurt look on your face.

You two sat quietly on the roof, watching the sun come up over the skyline. Your phone alarm went off, signaling that you needed to get ready to leave. You and Harrison went back inside and separated to your rooms, finishing up last minute packing.

“Tom, can I talk to you for a moment?” Harrison asked, stepping into his friends room.

“Yeah, what’s up?” Tom replied, transferring socks from his drawer into his suitcase.

“Y/N, uh-“ He sighed, crossing his arms in an attempt to find the right words.

“You okay, Harrison?” Tom asked. He gave his friend a concerned look at his flustered state.

“Y/N and I almost kissed.” Harrison admitted, making Tom smile.

“That’s a good step.” He replied, happy for his friend and turned to continue his packing.

“I pulled away from her.” At Harrison’s words, Tom looked back at him in confusion.

“Why would you do that? You’ve been wanting to kiss her for years.” He said. Harrison shifted uncomfortably, like he couldn’t form the words to express his feelings, “Is it because of the movie?” At his lack of response, Tom had an answer. “Haz, look, you’re my best friend. I’d never make a move on Y/N. This is just a movie, it’s not real.”

“I know.” Harrison sighed. “It’s just going to feel real.”

Before Tom could respond, you called out to the boys from the kitchen, informing them all that you’d made breakfast.

“We’ll talk later.” Tom said as he and Harrison exited his room.

But later was with you. Leaving for Ohio, you were with Tom and Harrison for every minute, and Harrison feared the conversation would never be finished. Meanwhile, you feared that you read too much into Harrison’s comment- maybe he was just being cheeky when he called you perfect, maybe he didn’t think that, maybe you were crazy for trying to kiss him. No matter what, filming started with you feeling hurt from rejection, Harrison feeling confused by his own feelings, and Tom getting caught in the crossfire.

The next couple weeks held an odd air between the three of you, building up to the day that you filmed the sex scene. You and Tom hadn’t even filmed a proper kiss yet; the scenes you’d had together only called for holding hands or intimate forehead kisses. Today, not only would you have to kiss Tom, but you’d also have to make out with him, touch him, pretend to have sex with him- and make it believable.

Your nerves were building all morning as you reviewed the script again and again. You hadn’t seen Tom or Harrison at all until you were called to set.

“Hey,” Tom greeted you, handing you a cup of coffee.

“Hey,” You replied, taking the cup but avoiding all eye contact with both boys. It didn’t help that Tom’s character started the scene off fully clothed, whereas your character conveniently happened to only be in her lingerie, and so you awkwardly stood with your fully clothed best friends as you wore a robe over your undergarments. It’s not like Tom and Harrison hadn’t seen you before in a bikini, but it was a completely different situation this time around.

“Tom, Y/N, it’s time!” The director called out. You and Tom set your coffees on the side table. You tried to ignore Harrison’s lingering gaze as you stripped out of your robe, revealing the black lacy undergarments. You and Tom walked onto the set, standing in your positions.

“It’ll be alright.” Tom told you, trying his best to comfort you.

“We’ll see.” You tried to reply in a lighthearted attitude, but you couldn’t bring yourself to even fully smile at the situation. You glanced over to where Harrison stood off-set. He was watching the two of you, and he even looked incredibly uncomfortable.

“And action!” The director announced.

You and Tom began the scene with ease, going back forth with dialogue. You pushed down your nerves when he kissed you, as scripted. Your hands tugged up his t-shirt while he led you back to the bed. You fell back onto the bed and he stood between your legs. He broke the kiss to pull his shirt off, but Tom got flustered as it got stuck.

“Cut!”

“God, how do they make it look so easy?” Tom groaned, fixing his shirt. When he realized he was still standing in the compromising position between your bare legs, he stepped back and cleared his throat.

“How was that as a start?” You asked the director.

“It was good. You two make it look natural” He said, making the nervous pit grow back to life in your stomach. He further suggested, “When Tom takes off his shirt though, start unbuckling his jeans to make the scene pick up pace. It’s not meant to be a sensual scene.”

“Gotta get right to the point.” Tom chuckled, elbowing you playfully.

“Let’s start it again.” The director ordered.

And you and Tom got back into your positions and ran through the scene again. This time, as Tom took off his shirt with ease, your hands went to work on his jeans. Soon, Tom was fully on top of you in just his underwear, kissing along your neck and collarbone.

The director called cut again. After a few more takes, he was still having some problems with the look of it all.

“The first take, you two moved so fluidly, and now it’s stiff and unnatural.” The director informed you and Tom, showing you the playback on the screen. You tugged your robe closer over your body, weirded out by the footage. He was right- it did look unnatural, but after so many takes, it only felt more awkward. It was taking a lot longer than either of you had expected, but, luckily with camera angles and editing, you and Tom were able to keep your underwear on the entire time.

“Let’s take a ten minute break.” He announced. You and Tom walked over to where Harrison stood.

“You guys looked great.” Harrison said, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

“We look awful.” Tom stated, making you nod in agreement.

“It’s taking so long, it’s just getting worse.” You sighed.

“Just try not to think of each other.” Harrison offered weakly. None of you were sure what to say about the bizarre situation, but you never expected him to offer advice.

“You mean like picture someone else?” You asked.

“Yeah,” he nodded.

“Y/N, we need to reapply your lip makeup.” Your stylist said, coming over to the three of you. You assumed she didn’t notice the awkwardness in the air as she applied more chapstick and lipstick to your lips. When she left, the director called Tom to the side to discuss tomorrow’s shooting schedule, leaving you with just Harrison.

“Must be boring, just watching the same scene over and over.” You said, trying to strike up a conversation with him.

“I haven’t been watching really. It’s too strange to watch you two act like you’re having sex.” He admitted.

“I hadn’t thought of that before- picturing someone else instead of Tom.” Now with the idea in your head, you’d try to picture Harrison during the next scene.

“It’s just a suggestion.” Little did you know, he wanted you to think of him, not Tom; he wanted it to be him on the bed with you, not Tom.

“Places!” The director announced, and you went to untie your robe.

“Hold this for me?” You asked Harrison, handing him the robe. He stood there speechless as you walked off back to the bedroom set.

The director called action, sending you and Tom back to making out on the bed. You thought of Harrison as Tom kissed you, trying to lose yourself in the scene. After a moment, the director called cut, claiming that was the best take. Wanting another angle for the last take, he started rolling again.

So again, Tom kissed you while you pictured Harrison. You thought of how Harrison’s lips would feel tracing over your skin; how Harrison’s hands would feel caressing your sides. As scripted, Tom began to move his hips against yours and started to kiss your neck. It was written that you would moan out his character’s name, but you were so caught up in your own thoughts of Harrison that you couldn’t even try to think about the proper line.

“Oh, Harrison,” You moaned and Tom halted his movements. Realization hit you immediately and your eyes opened wide.

“Shit.” You muttered. You dared to look over, past the crew, to where Harrison stood. You didn’t have to wonder if he heard your mistake as he was standing frozen in shock, eyes wide and face red.

“I knew it.” Tom chuckled from on top of you. His laughter died when Harrison regained movement and dropped your robe, exiting the set without another word.

“Are we done?” You asked, looking over to the director.

“We’ll edit it.” He nodded. You shoved Tom off from on top of you and hurried to grab your robe. Avoiding the crew’s eyes, you rushed back to your trailer with your head down. You let out a heavy sigh once you shut your trailer door.

“So,” You jumped, looking over to see a still red Harrison sitting on your trailer’s couch as if he was waiting for you.

“Well, I took your advice.” You said after a moment, sitting down awkwardly next to him on the couch.

“I could tell.” He nodded, fidgeting with his hands. “I didn’t know you thought of me like that.”

“Harrison,” you sighed. Before you could get anything else out, he leaned in and kissed you. When he pulled away, you both smiled.

“I’m in love with you, Y/N. I’ve just been too scared to tell you, and when I figured out you were supposed to do a sex scene with Tom, I couldn’t handle it.” He explained. You placed a hand on his cheek, smiling softly.

“I’m in love with you too. I didn’t want to do all that with Tom. I want you.” You said, leaning in to kiss him again. He wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you in closer to him.

And just like that, your concerns of the sex scene were free from your mind as Harrison held you in his arms.

~~~

Months later (a.k.a. whenever Cherry is supposed to come out now)

“Are you ready?” Harrison asked you as the car pulled up to the red carpet. You could already see the flashing cameras and bright lights outside.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” You smiled, straightening his tie one last time. Leaning in to kiss him, you said, “Damn, I’ve got the hottest date.”

“I think my date’s much hotter than yours.” He teased, going in to kiss you again. The driver knocked on the door, signaling it was time for you two to emerge from the vehicle. Harrison squeezed your hand reassuringly before you both got out of the car and started your walk on the red carpet.

You and Harrison had been red carpets before, but never as each other’s date. In fact, it was your first “major public outing” as a couple. Though it was for your movie with Tom, you were more than happy to show off Harrison. You two walked down the carpet together, stopping to talk to the fans and pausing for pictures. Tom made his way over to the two of you so that all three of you could get pictured together.

The press wanted pictures of you and Tom as the movie’s leads, and so Harrison stepped off to the side. They also called for individual shots of you before you got dragged into the carpet interviews, when all you really wanted to do was be with Harrison.

“So, Y/N, who’s your date tonight?” The interviewer asked, eyeing Harrison in the distance. You blushed, smiling over at him. He was too distracted talking to Tom to notice your gaze at first, but he smiled when he saw you already looking at him.

“That’d be my boyfriend, Harrison.” You answered.

“Do you want to invite him over here?” The interviewer suggested and you let out a small laugh.

“Sure.” You waved Harrison over to you and he wrapped an arm around your waist as he joined you at the interview.

“I’m getting the date questions tonight.” You teased, making him laugh.

“Oh I see.” He joked.

“How long have you two been together?” The interviewer asked, calling your attention back to them.

“Almost a year.” You replied and Harrison hummed in response.

“Now, how did the filming of the movie go, Y/N? You’ve been friends with Tom for years, right?”

“Yes, actually I went to school with Tom and Harrison, so we’ve all been close for a long time. It was definitely strange to act like a couple with Tom in the movie.” You laughed a little. You felt Harrison’s thumb begin to trace light circles on your hip; you knew it was his way of distracting himself from the nervous conversation.

“You’ve been friends for so long I would bet it’d be weird. Was it difficult to film that scene? How did you get through it?”

“Uh,” You chuckled nervously, placing one of your hands over Harrison’s on your waist, “We got through it by not talking about it. It was the most bizarre thing I’ve ever done, so it will definitely be interesting to sit through that tonight.”

Before the interviewer could press anymore, your manager came by, pushing you further down the carpet and inside the theater.

“That was the first time I’ve ever been asked about that.” You said quietly as you and Harrison took your seats. The seat beside you was open for Tom, who was still outside.

“You’re not wrong though. I don’t know how the three of us are going to watch that right now.” Harrison replied with a laugh.

“Well, I did get something good out of it.” You smiled, leaning in closer to him.

“Mm, and what was that?” He asked teasingly.

“One hell of a boyfriend.” You stated before kissing him passionately, not really caring about the rest of the theater filling up with the rest of the cast and crew.

“Hey, now, do I have to separate you two?” Tom asked loud enough to make you and Harrison jump apart from each other.

“I’m about to sit through two hours of you kissing my girl. I think I’m allowed to kiss her before the movie.” Harrison defended the two of you as Tom sat down beside you. You smiled at him calling you his girl.

“Yeah, yeah,” Tom playfully rolled his eyes. “We’re in an agreement though to not watch that scene, right?”

“Yes.” You and Harrison answered simultaneously.

As the movie began, Harrison gave your hand another reassuring squeeze, making you smile in the dark room.

And yes, when that scene came on, all three of you suddenly found the ground more interesting. And all three of you cringed from the sounds and the thoughts of it.

#harrison osterfield #harrison osterfield x you #harrison osterfield imagine #harrison osterfield x reader #harrison osterfield one shot #harrison osterfield fic #harriston osterfield fanfic

[thewritingstar]

Holding You Close

Im so excited to show my piece for the Fairy Tail Reverse Big Bang 2020!! It was hosted by @ftguildevents​ My amazing partner @lissy-doodly​ drew this piece  which inspired my fic!! I had a lot of fun and its cool seeing all of the art and pics being made! Enjoy!!

Pairing: Lucy x Juvia 

--

Juvia had thought it was a good idea at the beginning. Lucy had suggested a movie night after a very long week’s worth of missions. And Juvia was thankful that she did. Although she loved going on quests with Gajeel, sometimes she needed a well deserved break. After getting stuck in a magical void, being burned with steam and even being covered in a slime mages goop, all she wanted to do now was crash on the couch with her girlfriend and hold her close.

Even Lucy herself didn’t have the easiest week either. Erza had dragged her on some long mission that resulted in the celestial mage being sore in every place and a long lecture from spirits about her over use of magic. Not to mention a sparring match with Natsu that left both of their heads spinning and seeing stars.

The moment Juvia’s train had stopped at the station, she wasted no time getting to Lucy’s apartment. The water mage didn’t bother to stop at Fairy Hills and would rather see Lucy sooner than later.

Three fast knocks sounded on the apartment doors and in a flash the door opened to reveal Lucy standing in her fuzzy pink pjs even though it was just approaching dinner time. Juvia had assumed that she had gotten home early that morning and couldn’t be bothered to change into other clothes, and she couldn’t blame her.

“Lucy-sama!” Juvia said as she took the blonde by storm and hugged her dearly, feeling the others arms come around her soundly. She always loved to hug her. It was a feeling of certainty and comfort that made her heart beat a million miles a minute and she wouldn’t give it up for anything.

“Hey babe.” Lucy said and Juvia could sense the smile on her lips. She wasted no time leaning forehead and capturing Juvia’s lips softly.

Juvia’s tense shoulders relaxed and for a moment she felt like she could breath and take it easy. She placed a hand on Lucy’s cheek, deepening the kiss before pulling away and peaking her cheek softly.

“I missed you.” Lucy whispered as she nuzzled her nose against hers.

“Juvia missed you more.”

“Come on, it's cold outside.” Lucy smiled before grabbing her hand and picked up her bag.

The moment they stepped into her house, the smell of homemade pizza filled the air making Juvia’s mouth water. It reminded her of a small village they had traveled to on a mission, where they shared their first date at a small pizzeria. Juvia smiled at the memory of how Lucy had confessed her feelings and she wasted no time pulling her into a long awaited kiss.

Juvia shook her head and pulled away from her thoughts. “Lucy-sama, that smells divine!”

A small blush instantly blossomed to Lucy's face. “Thank you. You can go upstairs and take a shower and by the time you're done, dinner should be ready and then we can start the movie.”

“Sounds good to me.” Juvia said as she gave her girlfriend another peak on the cheek and found her way upstairs.

--

The water mage came back down stairs, now in her own blue pjs that had a cute little heart on the front. She smelled of freshly scrubbed lavender and vanilla and appreciated Lucy’s assortment of lotions and scrubs.

Lucy was still in the kitchen, oven mitts on and pulling out the small wooden boards that held the pizza.

“How was your mission?” Lucy asked.

“Juvia had a good time, some rough patches but overall, Gajeel and I succeeded.”

Lucy laughed. “Of course you did, you’re a Fairy Tail wizard! At least you came back in one piece. I was certain Aquarius was going to scold me into next year from using up too much magic.” She rubbed the back of her neck as Juvia giggled.

“I’m sure it was fine. You never back down from a fight so they should be used to that.” Juvia said as she looked outside and noticed a few droplets of rain coming down. “Oh, Juvia didn’t know it was going to rain.”

“You know they say there's supposed to be a thunderstorm.” Lucy said as she took out a cutter and sliced the pizzas.

Juvia grabbed some sliced fruit from the fridge. “Oh. Well I’m sure it won’t be too bad.” She looked to see Lucy frowning slightly. A small smile came to her lips as she hugged the blonde from behind. “Hey, it's going to be okay my love. I’m here to protect you.” She kissed just under her ear.

Lucy turned and angled her head to kiss her softly. “I know.” She smiled even though she dreaded thunderstorms. Ever since she was little, the dark clouds above that echoed with a loud bang, had startled her and she hated how she never grew out of her childhood fear.

“Why don’t you choose the movie, love?” Juvia said as she brought the plates over to the couch. “Anything you want.”

“Anything?” Lucy quipped and Juvia narrowed her eyes at her.

“Yes.” She said with uncertainty. It was as if a lightbulb sprang into Lucy’s head as she came over to the couch and put all the food down. A blanket was pulled from the armchair and soon the pair sat on the couch.

They started with a comedy movie as they ate. Giggles and random bursts of laughing filled the apartment as the plates laid empty on the coffee table. The credits rolled and Juvia hid her yawn as Lucy got up to change the disk.

“Another?” Lucy asked even as she selected the next film and Juvia shrugged as the blonde joined her back under the blanket. “Have I ever told you that I love you?” Lucy asked and Juvia met her eyes.

“Many times, yes. And I also love you.” Juvia smiled back but something about the way Lucy was looking at her, put her on edge. “Lucy?” She narrowed her eyes at her but the blonde only kissed the pout on her lips before quickly returning her attention to the screen.

“Such a tease.” Juvia whispered before leaning against her.

The opening scene started to play and Juvia’s eyes widened at the title.

“The killer mage?” She read and stared at Lucy. “A horror movie?” Juvia gasped.

“You said I could pick.” Lucy shrugged.

Usually the water mage never minded what Lucy picked, always enjoying her company, that would usually end up with one pressed against the other and soft kisses.

However, the water mage was not a fan of scary movies. She was known to have a killer stare and maybe she had been a part of Phantom Lord, but other than that, scary movies were a no go. No, Juvia preferred the happy endings and fluffy romance, not the blood and gore.

The past few movie nights, Lucy had been asking for something from the horror genre. Each time the thought of playing it would make Juvia's spine tingle and she would respectively decline. But even Lucy deserved to have her pick.

“Ready?” Lucy asked in a cheerful voice. Juvia only nodded as the play button was pressed and Lucy leaned back before throwing her arm around her shoulders.

Juvia hummed as she watched the movie play. She was a badass wizard who has faced harsh situations many times. She had been turned into a constellation, chained in a battle to the death with a friend and has even felt the chill of death in her system. She could handle a silly little movie. It was all fake anyways. Fake blood and props. The plot could even be considered boring.

At first the movie started with the happy plot. A couple of friends had been at a party on Halloween and decided to take up the dare to visit the so-called “haunted house” that was at the edge of the town. One character ranted about how an evil mage who killed those who didn’t possess magic lived there and another person just rolled their eyes and said they were being weak.

Another boring scene rolled on and Juvia was wondering if this could even be considered horror. But then they got to the house. The music shifted and by the time they walked through the door, a creepy doll was shown and Juvia’s stomach twisted.

Her eyes widened as she watched the main characters walk through the haunted house. The music turned mysterious and dark as the light to the lantern was blown out. A small gasp escaped the water mage's lips and she felt the arm around her pull her closer, a signal to let her know that Lucy was there.

“It’s okay.” She heard Lucy whisper. Juvia nodded before taking a breath and relaxing. Lucy’s fingers danced on her arm in a soothing way as a blanket was pulled on to them. “We can turn it off-”

“NO!” Juvia said quickly. She adjusted the blanket and leaned against Lucy, her head on her shoulder. “Juvia is fine, let’s keep watching.”

A small laugh came from Lucy as she kissed the side of Juvia’s head and put her eyes back to the screen.

How is she not afraid? Juvia thought to herself. This whole time a small smile was on her lips yet Juvia was practically shaking from a dog left out in the rain. She didn’t understand.

The music changed again and Juvia was priding herself for keeping her eyes glued to the movie. A close up of the main character, Rex was his name, came into view. Juvia thought he would be smart, she was rooting for him even though she knew how these things ended, everyone always loses no matter how hard or fast you run and try.

He had lost his friends a few minutes ago and was now climbing the stairs to a different part of the house. He tiptoed slowly, pushing a door open. The camera began moving to examine the empty room. It panned back to Rex who was looking pale as a piece of fresh paper. In a flash the killer jumped out from behind the wall causing a loud scream to erupt from Juvia.

“Look out!” Juvia cried before turning away, she couldn’t even tell if Lucy had screamed. Her voice over shadowed any other noise, even the sound coming from the tv.

She felt a cold chill run through her body as the blanket came to shield her eyes and her lips began to tremble. Instead of another scream, she only heard the slight giggle of Lucy. She didn’t dare to look up, too terrified to continue to watch and buried her head into her girlfriends chest. She felt fingers thread through her hair and more fits of laughter.

“This isn’t a comedy Lucy-sama!” Juvia whined but it was slightly muffled by her face being pressed against her. The laughing did die down and her fists tightened the sheets. “Lucy.” She complained again but the vibration of laughing still rang against Juvia’s head.

The water mage furrowed her eyebrows before pushing up and coming nose to nose with Lucy. The blonde bit her lips as she faced Juvia whose lips were in a pout and cheeks puffed out.

Juvia let out a huff. “Lucy!” Suddenly her face was held between soft hands.

“Im sorry Juv, you’re just so cute I could handle it.” She finally spoke with a bright smile. “We can turn it off, I just liked holding you close.” She gave her a wink.

Juvia sat staring at her still well in her hold. Her pout slightly curled up as she gazed into the celestial mages eyes.

--

Many people in movies and books talked about seeing stars in others eyes. They would say that constellations would dance around the iris, filling in as the color for the world to see.

“Juvia one day you will see the light and the stars in the sky. Dark clouds won’t be found when love enters your heart.” Juvia’s mother said years ago when she was little.

Over the years Juvia had stored away those sayings, never truly believing the words.

Until now.

--

The dark blue eyes rivaled the sparkle of green as Lucy's smile continued to be plastered on her lips.

A small laugh came from Juvia as she leaned and tapped her nose against Lucy’s.

“Lucy-sama, has anyone ever told you that your eyes are more enchanting than the galaxy?” She hummed and watched with pure amusement as the green eyes widened and the smile turned to a small effortless gasp.

“N-no.” Spoke the flustered girl and it was now Juvia’s turn to laugh as she placed her lips against hers.

“Well they should.” She whispered. All of a sudden a huge boom of thunder rolled from the sky above.

A high pitch scream left Lucy’s mouth and now it was Juvia’s turn to comfort her.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay.” Juvia hugged her tight.

“This is like a real horror movie.” Lucy whined as another roll of thunder came from above.

Juvia kissed her head and got out of the blanket, ignoring the protest from Lucy. She leaned down and took out the terrible thing people called a movie and popped in another one.

“There.” Juvia smiled. She came back to the blanket and Lucy rested against her as she turned the volume up to help mask the sound of rain and thunder.

The movie began to play and this time it was a story of a princess and prince, one of Juvia’s favorite films. She felt Lucy slightly shake like that of a lost dog in the rain and only tightened her hold and ran slow fingers through her blonde hair.

Even with the movie playing, Lucy was still on edge. Juvia lifted the remote and paused it and turned towards her.

“Juvia used to be afraid of thunder too.” She said. “But Juvia’s mother would tell her that thunder was just the sky’s way of letting out its worry before the rain would come and replenish the earth.” She held out her palm and formed a little water cloud.

“It’s pretty.” Lucy whispered as she stared at the small cloud and how a spark of lighting danced in her palm.

“You’re kinda like Juvia’s lighting. Pretty and bright, always lighting up the room you go in. Thunderous and bold, never backing down from a fight. Not to mention golden and beautiful.” Juvia said and a soft blush came to Lucy’s face.

The sky roared again and this time, Lucy shook less. It didn’t scare her as much as before because she was enchanted by the clouds and the way Juvia spoke. She leaned and kissed her softly.

“Thanks Juvia.”

“Of course my love.” She turned and resumed the movie. Lucy resting her head on her shoulder and becoming more relaxed as the story continued.

By the time the movie ended, Lucy had fallen asleep on top of Juvia, chest rising and falling peacefully as the storm danced above.

--

Hope you enjoyed!

#ftrbb2020 #fairytail #luvia #juvia x lucy #lucy heartfilia #juvia loxar #thewritingstar

[pocketmouse18]

Thank you so much to @herosofmarvelanddc @cloudypaws and @mtab2260 for the tag! This was so much fun to think about :)

(fair warning, I wrote too much for many of these...)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Just 2 :)

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

450,577 if I did my math right!

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Officially? Just 1 - Agents of Shield (two, I guess, if you count MCU as separate, since I use characters from both...). Off the record, many more than that! I have lots of bits and bobs from other fandoms that I tinkered with when I was younger, still getting the hang of writing, not brave enough to post things, etc. etc. Some of those include X-Men, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, the Fosters, Star Wars, the Hunger Games, the 39 Clues, and a few others I can’t remember. None of those will likely see the light of day, mostly because they’re unfinished, not very good, and just not reflective of who I am as a writer anymore, but they were fun to play around with at the time :)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

I just have the two, but The Important Thing is to Try wins, hands down, with 1227. Shoulder to Shoulder has 95, though, which I’m also very proud of! Important Thing has a definite advantage, being as long as it is, so I don’t know if that’s really a fair comparison between them.

5. Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Yes! Or at least, I always try to! I just can’t believe someone would be kind enough to take the time to tell me what they thought of my story, so I always want to take the time to thank them and return the favor :) Plus, as I’ve learned, it’s a fantastic way to get to know some really lovely people!

6. What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

Well... I technically only have one story that has an ending, at least on Ao3, and it’s not an especially angsty one, since it ends in Phil and Melinda getting married :) I have some angsty chapter endings in Important Thing, if that counts? I’m not even sure if any of my unpublished fiddlings have angsty endings (most don’t have endings at all lol)... I don’t mind writing angst, but I don’t know if I’m capable of making something without a happy (or at least hopeful) ending.

7. Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you've ever written?

Not really, unless you count AoS/MCU crossovers (which I guess technically count, but also I would argue it’s not a true crossover since (and I will die on this hill) AoS is a part of MCU canon). When I was younger I was a fan of playing around with crossover AUs more so than the actual characters crossing paths (so like, what if these characters from XYZ were demigods or went to Hogwarts or what have you, and not so much what would happen if the X-Men met Luke, Leia, and Han on one of their space adventures). I started writing a crossover between AoS and the Marvel Rising cartoon once (which again, not sure if that’s a true crossover, since Daisy was in Marvel Rising, but I digress), where Coulson tasks Daisy to work with Kate Bishop and Rayshaun Lucas to collect and train a team of young Inhumans, starting with Kamala Khan, but I ran out of steam pretty quickly when it got too plot heavy.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

I don’t think so. I’ve had some people not understand some choices that I made, but they asked it in a way that I thought was perfectly nice, and I was happy to talk about it with them. Sometimes people get “mad” at me when I cause pain and suffering, but I know that’s all in good fun :)

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Nope, not for me. I don’t read it or write it, personally. Writing a kiss is hard enough!

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge! Important Thing is probably too long and unwieldy to ever steal :P

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Someone once asked me on FFN if they could translate Important Thing to Russian, which was basically the coolest thing I’ve ever been asked!

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

A fic, no. I’d love to try sometime! I had a friend in college who I co-wrote with A LOT, though, so I know I enjoy that process, given the right partner. We wrote several short plays together (ranging from ~15-50 minutes in length, including one that we wrote in a single afternoon!), selected scenes from a larger (unfinished) play inspired by historical letters we found in an archive that were sent between a man from Massachusetts serving in the American Civil War, his wife, and his 8-year-old son, and several scripts for TV sitcoms (2 pilots for 2 different shows, plus additional eps for those pilots, and a couple of later eps for a different show that a classmate of ours wrote the pilot for - we were trying to practice what it would be like to be on a staff with a showrunner haha). The sitcom scripts in particular I’m very proud of, and could talk somebody’s ear off about if asked (one’s about ghost hunters and one’s about a DnD party!), but maybe that’s better saved for another post ;)

13. What's your all-time favorite ship?

That’s a very hard question for me! Mostly because shipping stuff is usually one of the last things to register for me when I’m thinking about shows/books/movies I like haha... I’m always a sucker for Philinda, and younger me was rather taken with Percabeth, I suppose.

14. What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

Hmm, several, really. The aforementioned AoS/Marvel Rising crossover I think could be really cool if I got it to work, but I don’t think that’ll ever happen. I also have a WIP that’s like an angstier version of a Hallmark Christmas movie AU where Daisy has to come home to her small town right before Christmas and figure out what she wants out of life, but I’m a little stalled out on that one, mostly because I’m waffling on who the charming love interest should be and because I don’t have enough of a plot, just lots of feelings about coming back home to a place you thought you had left behind lol.

I’d put Important Thing and it’s (as of yet) untitled sequel on here as things I want to finish, but I’m much more determined to see those through, so I don’t think they qualify for the “never will actually write” part of this question :)

15. What are your writing strengths?

I don’t know if other people agree with this, but I think I write pretty decent dialogue. My “training” (if you can call it that) is in, as you might have figured out by now, script and screenplay writing (those were the only creative writing classes I took in college). So having a sense of the rhythm a conversation needs to have and how to write dialogue that sounds mostly like how people really talk (but shined and tightened up enough so that it’s not actually like verbatim dialogue, which is far less interesting to read!) is something that I feel like comes pretty easily. I also think I do okay with similes and metaphors - my brain tends to work in that way. It’s easier for me to think of stuff (feelings, especially) in terms of comparing it to more familiar things than to just think of the thing directly, if that makes sense?

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

If I was being honest, this would be a very long section, but I know it’s not fun to read a big ol’ paragraph of someone self-criticizing, so I’ll keep it to one or two items ;) A big one for me is pacing, I think. I tend to write more than I need to and to over-explain things, so my chapters get very long and sometimes don’t really go anywhere? Until all of the sudden, they DO, because things need to HAPPEN! I’m a pretty rigorous self-editor, but I do have a really hard time cutting out sections (unless they’re really just not working), so even if it would help the pacing to leave out this conversation between character A and character B, I often can’t make myself cut it. I also think I struggle sometimes with balancing my ‘showing’ and my ‘telling,’ especially in the sense of me over-explaining certain things - like when it comes to feelings/facial expressions/etc, for example. I compensate for that in Important Thing by making it a part of a few people’s POV, but it’s not really a good habit to have in general. Also spelling! I’m really bad at spelling and run my stuff through robust spellchecks and text-to-speech before I post anything to make up for it :)

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I do it with some regularity, although I always get nervous about doing it wrong! It’s hard to avoid in AoS, where characters are spies and should (in theory, at least) have a working knowledge of multiple languages (”We’re spies, I thought we all learned languages?!”). Even in an AU, where characters aren’t spies, I like to try and pay homage to that, plus pay homage to certain characters’ native languages or just general multilingualism. I’ve spent a fair amount of time around people who speak more than one language, so I feel like it’s a natural part of groups of people to have more than one language spoken. I have a pretty good handle on written Spanish, a patchy idea of French, plus I know some Russian phrases from my dad and some German words from my grandfather, but I do rely on internet translation a lot. I usually run stuff through google, then run it backwards to see just how far off the initial translation was, then consult some actual, like, language learning sites to see if there’s particular idioms or common phrases that use different words than what google will give me, then run those words through backwards in the place of the original words to see if I can massage the whole thing to sound reasonably competent. Languages like Russian or Mandarin (which have their own alphabets/characters) are the hardest, since I have to also try and do a transliteration. I always try to put an apology/disclaimer in the notes any time I write in a language that isn’t English, because I’m sure I make lots of mistakes.

Also, I tend not to italicize words that are in other languages, because it looks weird on the page to me to set the other language apart like that (and because I italicize mainly for internal thoughts or emphasis, and usually what’s being said in another language isn’t internal or being emphasized). I put a rough translation at the end so we don’t have to pause the story for a parenthetical translation, but because the translation’s not right there, I try to either put in enough context clues that a person can still understand what’s going on, or I make sure that what’s written in another language isn’t critical to the overall understanding of the scene.

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Officially, it’s AoS, since that’s the only fandom I’ve published for. I think the first true fandom I wrote fic for was probably either Harry Potter (entirely populated with OCs lol, I just liked using the world/setting), Percy Jackson (a mix of OCs and canon characters), or X-Men (all canon characters). I was a bit of a latecomer to fanfiction, though, like, I wrote a ton as a kid, but mostly original stuff, because I didn’t know that fanfiction in its current form was even allowed until I was in high school lol.

Oh! I almost forgot one! I’m not sure if this really counts as a fandom, but it’s definitely the earliest version of fanfic I wrote haha... I was like 12 and I wrote more than one story of an OC joining Robin Hood’s band of Merry Men, and then also one of that same OC becoming a knight of the Round Table, so like... do what you will with that information haha.

19. What's you're favorite fic you've written?

I can’t choose between my two darlings :( I mean, okay, technically it’s probably Important Thing. That story’s my baby. It’s huge and I’ve been working on it for almost 2 years, and I’ve poured a lot of my heart and soul into it. I’ve fallen in love with the universe I built in it, so much so that I wrote an entire prequel and have very concrete plans for a lengthy sequel. But I can’t not crow about Shoulder to Shoulder (the aforementioned prequel!), too... I’m just really proud of that one - it has a lot of firsts for me. First completed story. First romance-focused story. First foray into expanding the Important Thing universe. But yes, if I have to choose, then Important Thing wins. That’s a story that I started writing exclusively for myself - to give myself characters I could relate to and to explore a style of AoS fic that I loved reading - and that’s a story I will always and forever be proud of.

I think most people have probably answered this tag game at this point, so I don’t want to accidentally retag anyone! If you haven’t yet, and would like to join in, please do! This is your invitation <3

[sassaetcie]

The Ashes of the Oven : Silver x Idia as a play with Lilia as the main actor

I really wanted to experiment writing a play since it’s really good to practice on dialogues and how relevant each words are to characters once uttered, but I’ve barely ready Sebek’s stories so... I guess I wasn’t that good in the end, but hope you’ll enjoy the first 3rd scenes anyway!

                                                      Scene I

LILIA VANROUGE: Please enter, please do enter, pray enter.

SEBEK ZIGVOLT: Is it truly alright for Silver to come into OUR dorm with the leader of another dorm, though?! I mean! Is it truly the best solution to this situation, Father?

LILIA: Pray, let this aside, your line is useless here, young lad. Silver is coming in with his, hm... soulmate, if I may say so. Let us show some courtesy, fufu. It is not everytime we get to witness true romance in reality, and especially a romance of the romances... Don't you find this beautiful, Sebek?

SEBEK: If you say so, Father...

LILIA: You will understand what I meant someday. Or perhaps you will not. Maybe it is better if you do not need to scratch this truth till you find this very truth, this very ugly truth. Truth is, after all, but another one facing change.

SEBEK: I hear them... IjusthopeShroudwon'tbeinsultingtowardLordMalleusorhewillfacemyrageforsureandbyragetheoneoftheworld.

                                                        Scene II

SILVER: Well... Good afternoon, old... Vice Dorm head, Sebek.

IDIA SHROUD: Eeeer... G-good afternoon... Vice Dorm head, Zigvolt...

LILIA: Well, pray call me Lilia, young Shroud. This title is one among others, and I may end up lost, fufu. And it would not be welcoming of us if you were to still face an exact hierarchy as we supposedly welcome you into our dorm. Shall I name... call you Idia? Calling someone by their parent's name can be as restrictive, I must say, but the choice is yours.

IDIA: O-oh... s-s-s-sure... I don't mind. I think?

MALLEUS DRACONIA: Hm, welcome, welcome. It is the first time you venture into our dorm, isn't it, Idia?

IDIA: Eeek! Y-y-yeah! It's not like I could have come here anyway... I mean, probably, considering how may work the mirrors and all... But it's not like I had business here anyway s-s-so...

SEBEK: Thinking you can break into your dorm just because...!!!

SILVER: Calm down, Sebek...

LILIA: As Silver said, please do not let rage corrupt you, Sebek.

SEBEK: But!!! He SHOWED clear hostility toward our dorm!!!

MALLEUS: Whatever, we barely have this kind of behavior around. For you are Silver's... beloved, I think? And since you seem to share some of my... bothers, I shall forgive you.

SEBEK: So Gracious... Our Master truly is Gracious... No, Graciousness should beg for its name in front of our Young Lord!

LILIA: So, dear Silver, have you come in order to present us your already known Dear one?

SILVER: I thought it was an usual thing to present one's love to a family...

LILIA: Well, this is what I used to read you when you were but a tiny lad, after all. It is not like we had that much different books, no matter how many we could grasp in our domain. I guess it truly shaped the inner parts of your skull, or perhaps carved... Fufu, whatever. I am honored.

SILVER: Wait, does that mean you've technically failed our education by reading us only one kind of literature...?

SEBEK: SILVEEEEEER!

LILIA: I apologize, Sebek, since Silver is right. I have indeed partially failed if you have come to think presenting Idia to us was mandatory... However, like I said, I am honored. Perhaps I would have thought of another failing if I had not met your beloved like this.

SEBEK: Let's stop talking in front of a potential enemy...!

IDIA: I mean if you hate me that much, I can go away, I have several raids to attend, lol. I was there for Silver and out of respect since Malleus... Draconia always had that cool vibe and so does Lilia, but if you don't respect me, don't even expect me to respect you, gehehe.

SILVER: See, you're being disrespectful again, Sebek... Idia isn't a goddamn enemy, for f... For real.  Shouldn't we follow our old man's wish and try to befriend instead of being agressive everyday, every minute, every second?

LILIA: I am glad you remember this, Silver. I would indeed like if Sebek were to be a bit less... zealous, although zealous definitely is not the term but whatever, a word can be another here.

MALLEUS: And for this, we shall pardon Idia's several arrogant lines, which were but answers to Sebek... To Sebek. Let us be at peace, be peaceful and talk.

SILVER: Yes, let's talk.

SEBEK: Let us... talk.

LILIA: Let us chat.

MALLEUS: Let us talk indeed.

SEBEK: Maybe Idia should try to challenge the young Lord to chess to see if he can last more than one turn... No, no way he could win against our great Lord!!!!! Silver, fight him!!!

SILVER: Sebek, please... Why are you just being so agressive, dammit...

SEBEK: I am not being agressive! I barely want to ensure he will fit... you! And the family!

LILIA: Oh?

SILVER: What do you mean again, Sebek...

IDIA: You're behaving like I will have r-r-responsibilities toward the family, what the fuck...

SEBEK: But you will!?! Do you really expect to... to...! To wed my brother, although not by blood but by soul, my brother although not by kin, my brother!!! As if you will only live a peaceful dream?!

IDIA: 'twas the plan, yeah? Lol...

LILIA: Sebek.

SEBEK: Huh! F-Father? Have I said something wrong...?

LILIA: Once again, you are pushing on Idia your own ideals. As I said before, I am glad to see my children...

IDIA: Okay so you're really a family, nice, don't mind me, just keep going...

LILIA: ...My children, as I was saying... to be so united under a strong bond. However... You should not call it family. 'Tis but an old belief, and old beliefs are as prompt to change as truth itself, if truth and not truths among this mysterious compass we are standing on. Therefore... You should consider Silver your precious friend, or your bro if I were to speak Idia's short but precise language. Of course, you can chose to keep on calling him your brethren, and I shall never entirely judge it, nevertheless shall you count on families and push them upon other. There is no such thing as a Family guidance in itself. There are only broken individuals playing with Fortune since the dawn of time, and rejecting these consequences into Luck on the yet-to-be-broken... or perhaps will they escape Luck and Fortune combined.

MALLEUS: I agree, Sebek. Although I am, once more pleased, with you being so concerned about the whole family, you shall not restrain Idia to our sphere. By doing so, you will restrict Silver as well... probably. And speaking of something as hollow as a family in front of Silver... Is cruel. I swear I will help you three at least, you four, maybe, but I cannot ensure I will be able to save all of you at the same time if something were to happen.

SEBEK: I apologize. I APOLOGIZE, FORGIVE ME LORD MAL... NO, LORD OF THE LORDS! I am. I have no right to utter your name... I should not even use "your" anymore!!! I will stain your... thine... thineself! With my language!

MALLEUS: Well, you are forgiven as long as you understood.

LILIA: Ahem! So, about this all, proving thing? I am interested in Idia, but not because Silver will perhaps be less able to protect Malleus because of dates, huhuhu!

SEBEK: F-f-f-f-father!!!! That was not what I...!

LILIA: Oh, is that so? How mischievious of I!

MALLEUS: That being said... I would indeed like to know as well Idia's... capacities.

SILVER: Eeeh, as long as you're all nice with him. Ahem! I do not see any problem, as long as he is also okay with it...

IDIA: I m-m-mean... it depends... what would you like from me...?

SEBEK: Whatever! You should not even imagine fighting with our Lord, because you will lose anyway!

IDIA: Never said that... And you ever stop simping or it's your only trait? You're so noisy...

SEBEK: !!! SEE!!! HE IS BECOMING ANNOYING AGAIN!!!

LILIA: What kind of human would not be outraged if you were to keep saying they cannot fulfill a single thing in their lives better than someone else than they probably barely know? Ufufu...

SEBEK: Urgh! I apologize!!!! I once again brought shame upon...

MALLEUS: Quiet, quiet... Let us stop there before another loop starts.

SILVER: Mhhh... If you really want to see how is Idia... maybe we should do some kind of fighting test?

IDIA: Eh?!

SILVER: From what I've heard, you even impressed Div... I mean, Teacher Crewel, didn't you?

IDIA: Oh, yeah. Sure did. Although I wasn't alone... I don't know how much of a cause was my partner, though...

SEBEK: But what if his damned technology destroys something...

IDIA: I mean, I still can challenge Malleus with chess, if you really want me to prove you I ain't that bad...

MALLEUS: Oh? So you do play chess? I thought you only were interested in... videogames. How wrong of me.

IDIA: Used to, yeah. Because of my... family, kind of. But I stopped playing the physical version. I play sometimes, but honestly, y'know, there are some chess games inside other videogames sometimes so... I think I'm doing pretty well. Especially when wi-fi hated me enough to want me to only play chess to hope for friends...

LILIA, aside: Dear, dearie, dears! What if Idia indeed ended up winning? Sebek would not like it for sure... and would for sure call him a cheater, a liar! But who is not a liar in this world, anyway? Huhuhu... But how would Idia react? How would this poor Silver react? Not well, I know it for sure. It is time to intervene again, and play the fool once more!

LILIA: Oh, my dears! Pray do not play chess, for my poor old heart would not bear such boring and repetitive activity, especially in my old times!

SEBEK: B—b—boring?! This game of wits that Lord Malleus masters so well, boring?!

LILIA: Yes, my boy, boring! Pray fulfill my wish of some strategical fight on a large-scale, yet a battle where no one dies! Even such a fake and tiny wish can be granted by someone who does not handle magic in the end. What shall you say of it, Idia?

IDIA: W-w-well... huh... I mean, sure but... Can you just record me instead of probably observing me? I don't want to hear you being disgusted by the way I use my... own magic, y'know...

LILIA: Oh no! We shall not be disgusted. I swear it on, hm... Peace between humans and other species. And well, we will not use magic for the... headmaster could watch us from afar.

IDIA: Why would you say something so cool?!

LILIA: Because my old self may be prompt to lie or forget among all of these years carving my brain and skeleton, skeletons, perhaps. Therefore, I shall be wise and swear of Fortune, for I know I will not betray my own last core.

SILVER: Let's just settle this before I fall asleep again...  

                                                       Scene III

                           One of Diasomnia main building's dining room

LILIA: Well, it sure will be interesting, but I do wonder if this needs to long or shorten.

MALLEUS: Oh oh? What may you mean?

LILIA: Nothing that matters, really. Only an old lad speaking his mind out of age, and age only, likely, likely, likely.

SEBEK: Huf... uff... Lord Malleus, Lord Lilia! Silver and... Idia are ready. They must only fight each other, right? Or have I forgotten something?

LILIA: No, no, my child. So far, we do not need to push anyone inside Diasomnia's castle. This dinner room will be enough for sure, as such. It is not like all of them are used, after all.

SEBEK: This isn't one of the best Dorms for nothing. We are not as much as the others because we are superior!

MALLEUS: Hm...

LILIA: Pray, Sebek. No such Words. They do not need to be uttered anymore. They have been uttered too much already, and have possessed many a kin. But, as Luck, we cannot allow Words to take over, can we?

SEBEK: H-huh sorry. Ahem! Look, Silver and his sword, as peaceful as ever! Although, well, this one is blunted for obvious reasons, I guess... And here comes Idia and his... staff? Such a peasant choice! No wonder he relies on technology with such bad instincts! Who would pick a staff as a reliable weapon when many good, excellent, swords lay in front of them!

MALLEUS: Should I make your mouth shuts itself, Sebek? I want to hear them and their fight. Idia might bring something we need in... here.

SILVER: Well, Idia, hope you're ready to fight, I won't go easy on you.

IDIA: Heh, so do I. I-I mean... There are still a lot of odds against me since I'm not that good when it comes to physical stuff but body isn't the only important thing in these kind of things so... My intellect stats are pretty high so it should be okay...

SILVER: En garde, then.

IDIA: Dude, I don't even have a sword, why would you say "en garde"?

SEBEK: Shut... Be quiet! En garde is just said here to be sure you are ready as well! ARE YOU READY, IDIA SHROUD?? ARE YOU?

IDIA: Yeah, no need to fucking shout... like really...

SEBEK: Then, let the fight begin. We will...

LILIA: Just go mad, my dear lads. No need for rules, for one. Just do not obliterate each other, for quite the obvious reason. Well, magic to attack is forbidden as well. Just in case one of you summon some thunder, we do not need this.

LILIA, aside: Well, actually, I may. But I should not meddle that much, for it may cost me much more than surmised.

SILVER: Alright. Here I come... Idia!

SEBEK: Silver's movements are as good as ever! We can really tell he has been training hard!

MALLEUS: Mhh, mh.

SEBEK: Ha! Have I bored you, Lord Malleus?

MALLEUS: No.

SEBEK: But...

LILIA: Sebek, Malleus does not speak of what is plainly sightable, unlike us. You should know, by now. And indeed, Silver has grown, as surmised. Hard work certainly went as expected. Causality does not disappoint on this point, I guess.

SEBEK: Ughh... I apologize... I still have a lot to learn. I will do my best.

LILIA: Well, when it comes to this, pray take a look at Idia. He has not lost yet.

SEBEK: That's true... That is true!!! Is that the power of the staff?!

MALLEUS: More likely Idia's own potential.

IDIA: Hehe... I may not be used to lot of movements and all... But a staff sure is easier to handle to protect myself than a sword would have been... And it's much lighter too!

SILVER: So you did chose accordingly to your own strength.

IDIA: Welp, rather my own weakness, but yah. Take that! Hehe!

SILVER: Huh! You dare... attack me when my blade is pushed backwards because of your staff?!

IDIA: Of course, I've been waiting for it this whole time, gwehehehe!

SEBEK: Idia is being an eyesore right now! Look at him acting all smug just because he was able to surprise us by not being absolutely useless!

LILIA: He is just enjoying himself, pray calm down, my child.

MALLEUS: Mhh...

LILIA: Oh! Silver has been cornered...

SEBEK: Huh! How?! Silver has been training so hard...

LILIA: Well, not against sly people.

SEBEK: What... do you think... Silver will lose?!

LILIA: Oh, pray, do not glare at myself like that! I cannot tell, I am just an old chap. It is not like I have all the knowledge of the world, nor can I foresight. I wonder how interesting it would be, anyway...

SEBEK: Ah! Silver has lost! But I'm pretty sure he just slipped...

SILVER: A defeat, still is a defeat.

IDIA: Y'all really are into really cool lines, huh? Well, I won so huh. Now? W-what are we going to...  do? Or talk about?

MALLEUS: Sending you back to your dorm... and room. It is getting quite late.

IDIA: Oh... yeah... Guess so... It's not like I've awakened anything in that old staff, huh. Ehm... will someone like... guide me through the dorm...?

SILVER: Oh, yes. I'll do it.

LILIA: Pray do, Silver. Good night, Idia.

SEBEK: You better not be late, Silver! Come back AS SOON AS YOU'RE DONE WITH YOUR MISSION!

MALLEUS: Spare my ears, Sebek... Please.

#twisted wonderland #twst #twst fanfic #twisted wonderland fanfiction #idia x silver #lilia vanrouge #diasomnia

[dbh-rping-sideblog]

Looking for a Detroit Become Human RP! (Gen, MxM, 1x1)

Hey there!

So,  as the title states I’m really craving a Detroit: Become Human RP. I’ll  just start off with some general information and then we can get to the  fun stuff! :D

First off, I’m female, 21 and my time zone is  GMT+2. I have about 5+ years of experience and really love  longer/detailed replies (although of course the actual length of my  replies depends on the scene and quality trumps quantity). I do try to  match my partner’s length but my replies usually fluctuate between 300 -  1,500 words.

I do enjoy plotting and world-building (any  headcanons regarding androids/life after the revolution etc. are more  than welcome!) but I’m also more than able to jump into a RP with  minimal planning beforehand. I’m mostly comfortable with purely Gen RPs  or MxM pairings. Please keep in mind that I don’t do MxF but I’m comfortable playing multiple  characters if wanted.

The frequency of my replies can vary a lot  but if I don’t reply for a long time it’s perfectly okay to message me  again! I’m a pretty patient person so it’s perfectly all right if it  takes you some time to get back to me.

I mostly RP via Discord,  but I’ve also done RPs via e-mail, GoogleDocs and tumblr before (and  would again, if you prefer those). I’m willing to try any other site/app  that I can access from my PC (since I’m a very slow typer on my phone  :D).

Also, I’m practically always looking for new partners so even  if you read this ad some time in the future and are unsure whether you  should contact me or not, just go ahead!

Now, here’s what I’m specifically looking for when it comes to D:BH:

Hank & Connor (platonic/non-romantic) :  I’m more comfortable playing Connor but I would also be willing to play  Hank. I’m more than happy to RP all sorts of scenarios (keep in mind  that I don’t ship them, please). I think a RP set after the revolution  would be interesting, maybe with Connor struggling to adjust to deviancy  and Hank helping him but I’m also open to other ideas. Maybe something  canon-divergent? Or Hank and Connor meet in some other way?

Hank & Connor & Connor &… : This  is a very specific idea and something that would require both of us  playing multiple characters. Basically, I would like to see Hank sort of  ‘adopt’ all the Connors we see in the game, so OG Connor, RK800-60 and  RK900, maybe even a fourth Connor? I’d also be open to shipping one of  them with Gavin or maybe Markus as a side-plot (but it’s not necessary).

Connor x Gavin:  I know this isn’t a very popular pairing but I would love to do  something with these two, they are probably my OTP for this fandom. I  can play either of them. I’m open to all sorts of plots or we can make  up something together.

M!Android OC x M!Android OC: I do  have a plot idea for this one, so we can either flesh that one out  together or come up with something completely different!

M!Android OC x M!Human OC: I  have a preference for playing the android character here but I’m more than happy to use a plot you have come up with or we can think of something together.

Ralph x Jerry: I have a slight preference for playing Ralph but I’d be willing to play either of them!

What I haven’t tried but would be willing to:

RK900 x Gavin: For  that I would have a preference for playing Gavin since I haven’t  tried playing RK900 before.

Connor x Markus: I would prefer to play Connor for this one. I think something set after the revolution would be very interesting.

Ralph x ??? / Daniel x ??? / HK400 x ???: I’d  love to give these side characters some love as well, this can be a  more complex plot with multiple characters or just two characters  (either romantic or platonic).

General things I like:

I  do love angst and hurt & comfort (as long as there’s a happy ending  eventually!). I’m alright with most themes apart from outright smut. I  also love RPs that focus on the characters, how they evolve and interact  with each other and I’m also interested in expanding on the world of  D:BH, like making up more detailed explanations for how androids work or  just sort of detailing what Detroit will look like after the  revolution, what sort of laws will be passed and how society will slowly  change. I’m really in love with writing about character’s inner  struggles, especially characters like Connor who I imagine struggles a  lot with his own deviancy and has probably internalised a lot of the  things humans say about androids. Connor is my favourite character so  I’ll be willing to play him against other characters even if I haven’t  mentioned them here.

Settings: pre-/post revolution,  canon-divergent plots or AUs in which there are still androids but maybe  there’s no revolution at all or characters meet in a different way (but  I’m not too keen on AUs in which there are no androids at all!)

I’m  happy to hear whatever plot you have in mind or we can come up with  something together, I’m pretty flexible when it comes to that!

Thank you for reading! <3

#dbh rp #dbh roleplay #detroit become human #detroit become human rp #detroit become human roleplay

[smolbeandrabbles]

Cold Night - Ralph Anderson x Reader (The Outsider)

GIF Credit: X

Sure Be Cool If You Did / Bienvenue From Hell, Mon Amour / Made in the USA / Under The Weather

Author’s Note: So, we’re still using book Ralph’s personality. Because that’s where I’d like to keep him! 

I just got this idea whilst thinking for a little too long about the show... And also this song, as ever, popped up on shuffle and went “You know what would be good...!”

And thus, you all get your 5th installment of Ralph Anderson

*Note, the DA is back to his book name, Samuels, for part consistency. 

Disclaimer: Characters and plot lines from The Outsider are all Stephen Kings / Thanks YM@S for once again providing some great lyrics from this album / Gif not mine - credit as appropriate.

Premise: As detectives and partners, it’s good from time to time to discuss cases... But sometimes you need something a little more than just discussion to help you through them... 

Words: 2063

Warnings:  All Fluff  - I just needed me some Sweet-Soft!Ralph.

_________ It was a cold night, we laid with each other just to stay warm Up all hours, not for the last time As it's a cold life, stay with each other one last time We could always run away some other night

Don't you let me go this time Don’t you let me go this time Don't go baby, it's time for us you know. Don't go honey, this way we'll never know Don't go honey, this way we'll never know

It was a cold night, the talk of forever kept us warm But even forever, doesn't last that long I say, say you'll never, say you'll never change

Say you'll never, say you'll never change Say you'll never, say you'll never change I knew the moment I met you I could never lose you I knew the moment I met you...

---

The house was unusually quiet. Not that it didn’t have its quiet periods, but when all three of you were in it at once it was certainly unexpected. You thought you knew the reason why, and shuffled from the room you were in - sorting books, and realising one was missing - through the house until you found him. Lying across the sofa on his back, holding the book up, not exactly engrossed, but turning the pages like he was paying attention. Ralph Anderson probably wished the case file had never crossed his desk – but then who else’s?

You leant yourself against the wall, arms folded until he noticed you. It was obvious by his body language that something was off. Which is why he was probably so quiet. He got through at least 3 more pages before he even noticed you were standing there. That was worrying, Ralph was the more observant of the two of you. And he liked to tell you that often. Usually by standing in the middle of the crime scene staring you down, hands on his hips; “yeah, what are you missing?”

No so today, although the fact that he didn’t look at you when he addressed you meant he might just have been waiting for the right time. “How do you read this?” You tipped your head to speed count pages; “...Strange words for a man who looks like he’s about a fifth of the way through it...” “I didn’t have anything else to do...” he mumbled, shuffling around on the couch. “Funny, you’re using all your tells...” you crossed the room to him in swinging lazy steps “Babe, what’s wrong?” He shrugged; “Nothing.” “If you wanted to take your mind off the case, may I suggest not reading a detective mystery novel?” He sighed, lowering his arms for a moment; “I just wondered if another detective could help me out? Like if I was missing something... maybe I could try another method? I dunno.” You frowned, “Well... you live with another detective... are they not good enough?” “I don’t want you involved in this one...” “Why?” You crouched “I’m a big girl.” “I know.” He laid the book on his chest and reached out for you; “...But I’m also aware you have a little girl...” fingers ran through your hair as he framed your face, the movement of his thumbs affectionate. You very nearly rolled your eyes “Ralph, it’s hardly Frankie Peterson 2.0...” “I know but I don’t want you involved - end of-!” “So you instead want to sit here and suffer in silence?” “Well...” it was a small smirk but it’d do “Yune isn’t available.” It was all you could do to chuckle; “Yeah well. Why doesn’t that surprise me.” You moved your hands to his shoulders caressing them gently - and hoping that would at least bring some comfort; “Baby, I’m here - talk to me.” “I know... I know I just...” Ralph sighed again, arm stretching further so that his hand covered your neck, meaning your hair now brushed against his skin. “...maybe that’s all I need right now?” You gave a soft smile; “What?” “You. Right here...” Then he applied gentle pressure and you knew what he wanted - you leant in to brush your lips to his; and he didn’t let you pull away - linking his arms behind your head. He successfully stole more kisses than you were going to allow him, before you propped yourself back onto your elbows. But one of Ralph’s hands still framed your face.

“Call me crazy... but... there’s something about you, Y/N... that I...” he laughed, quiet, breathy - like a private joke to himself “At points you are... erratic. But right now? You’re the most calming presence I think I could wish to get.” “Yeah?” You would disagree “Yeah.” He nodded, his fingertips moving in soothing patterns over your skin “...so I just need you right here... and maybe my head’ll clear a little.” “Well, you’re lucky I’m available and don’t have a date with the DA.” Though your smile was sweet “You know I would cancel on him for you, right?” He chuckled, leaning up to kiss you again as he took your hand in his; “I’m honoured-!” “Oh, no, it’s you that is doing me the honour of letting me of all people be your quiet space...” “Mhm-! C’mere...” Ralph pulled you from your position on the floor around the couch, and then tugged you down to lie with him, arms wrapping around your shoulders, he cuddled you close before kissing your hair. “I need you, Y/N... Real bad at times.” “Perfect balance.” You’d said it before… He’d said it before. Heck – so many people had commented similar you were starting to believe it. His smile was thoughtful “Beyond perfect balance. So don’t go changing on me...” “Wouldn’t dream of it...” you rubbed his back soothingly, “Now go on, you get on with thinking your case through. And I’ll try not to move...” “We’ll see how long that lasts...” he murmured, twining your legs with his in an attempt to make your promise a reality. “I love you... you know?” “...I did know that, I think, yeah.” “But I mean it. No jokes.” “Jokes?” You smiled gently, looking up into his serious blue eyes, and the way his mouth pressed into a thin line, furrowed brow creating those cute little wrinkles across his forehead. He worried too much. “Jokes? The Ralph Anderson I know doesn’t joke...” you kissed his forehead gently “Hush baby, you do what you need to. And I’ll be right here. We’re partners, y’know? I’ll always be right here...”

 ***

 Ralph had never been the only one to need quiet alone time to think on a case. And sure enough, as he solved a tough one, you gained a tough one.

You loved talking things out and ranting but... Ralph was your partner at work, and after you’d spent all day starting sentences with ‘yeah-! BUT-!’ or ‘Oh! And another thing—!!’ you didn’t want to bother him. Especially not this late at night. But this one was keeping you up. You wanted to prosecute... Samuels was being iffy with the evidence and kept saying; “bring me something else.” Even when you’d exasperatedly told him “There is nothing else—-!!!” It was times like this you wished you didn’t have to take the case alone. And this one in particular was keeping you up. If you didn’t find evidence, the person responsible wasn’t going away – and you already knew they were capable of doing it again.

Hence why at 2am, when Ralph woke up alone, you weren’t with him. His first thought was to check in on Reneé – as it nearly always was, sometimes you liked sitting in with her, but sometimes he just wanted to be sure that she was safe. He stood in the doorway for a little longer than he’d been planning, with a tiny absentminded smile, before realising that at 2am he should be looking for you. He closed the door on her with a smile; “Goodnight, Angel…”

After the light outside caught his eye, he found you huddled out on the back patio with a fire burning and a blanket around you in a chair. He sighed gently, pulling his jacket a little tighter: “Babe. It’s freezing, what are you doing?” “I just... needed some air.” You gave a shrug but didn’t look at him, “Clear my head a little.” He leans against the inside doorframe not quite committing to the cold night air himself; “Are you okay?” You chewed your lip for a second, “Yeah.” “Y/N.” You huffed, frustrated at his stern voice and gave an agitated snap back. “I’m fine.” “No you’re not; you’re using all your tells.” Ralph always thought using your own lines against you was pretty clever. And looked at least mildly amused as he folded his arms. You scoffed, unimpressed with his deduction and buried yourself further into your blanket; Ralph continued – peering across the back yard, submerged in darkness, aside from the occasional firefly. He raised his eyes heavenwards, to watch the stars for a little while. Because he didn’t know what else you could be looking at. “…Is it the case?” “Hmph.” Was as good as he got, and when Ralph cast his eyes back to you, it was the fire you were more interested in. “Isn’t it always with us?” You bounced your leg gently and chewed your lip, he was right. You wouldn’t give him that satisfaction. He kept his eyes on you, but was continually met with silence. Eventually Ralph couldn’t stand it, and the wind chill was beginning to make him shiver. He stepped down onto the patio and crossed to you; “Come on.” “What-” you didn’t have much time to retaliate as he pulled on your blanket bundle and hoisted you into his arms “Come on. You’re gonna catch a cold at best if you’re out here all night-!” “RALPH-! PUT ME DOWN!” “I will. Upstairs! In bed!” He glanced back at the fire and, satisfied that it would burn out safely in its own, carried you back inside. Glad that your blanket cocoon would stop you from fighting this too hard. Having said that, by the time he’d ascended the stairs your head was resting against his chest and you seemed pretty sleepy. He deposited you on the bed – glad you were at least in comfy clothes. “You’re gonna sleep though? Right?” “…I dunno. I might need to do some more talking over this thing…” Ralph let his breath escape in an elongated sigh; “Right…” He pulled the duvet over you as he settled down. “Then you’re gonna sleep, okay?” “…Okay.” Though your agreement was somewhat reluctant. You had to wiggled your arms out of the blankets to wind them around him as he pulled you closer. Flinching suddenly as your skin brushed his; “Oh my god – you’re so cold! What were you doing-!?” “Trying to get my brain to work.” “Well if that leads to pneumonia, you’ll be no use to anyone…!” He rubbed your arms until he was satisfied you were warming up, pressing kisses gently to your forehead. By the time he’d finished, and had laced his finger with yours, heads together – you were wearing his favourite smile, content and sleepy, a little bashful and shy. The one he saw most often if he did something sweet for you, the one just before your eyes would look to the floor and you’d tuck your hair back and say ‘Thank you…’ Tonight however you giggled, “I think… I could probably do this forever…” “Huh?! What, sit on the back porch freezing to death-!?” That only made you laugh more and you finally got him to do the same, “No.  Have you look after me…” “Ah-! You’ll be so lucky as me putting up with you forever…” But he was smiling, “…It’s what partners do, right?” “It’s more than some partners deserve…” You mumbled “Hey-!” He punched the top of your arm lightly “I won’t have you talk like that. Stop.” Then he took you back in his arms, “Y/N…” You snuggled into his chest, feeling his breathing, his heartbeat and the way his vocal cords reverberated through his body… his warmth… and you curled your fingers into his shirt. “Okay. Ralph. I’m sorry.” “You best be…” He rubbed your back as you curled into him, and then brought his knees up to wind his body around yours protectively “…Now, come on, softie – talk to me about this case…” “I love you.” He didn’t vocalise his laugh, but you could hear it in his voice - that joy could have been about how sleepy you sounded though. That you were switching off, finally “…Oh. I think that my detective skills helped me figure that one out a little while ago…” “…I’d like to love you forever… if you let me…” He opened his eyes, and watched you for a moment, but you didn’t reopen yours – just shifted to get more comfortable, and closer to him. He shook his head, with a smile; “Y/N…! The case-!” “T…tomorrow…” You yawned “It… can wait…” Ralph continued relaxing you until he was sure you were asleep, and only then did he close his eyes; “I love you too, you know.”

---

@menndelsohn​ @3134045126​​ @happyskywhale​ @wltz-bby​ #MendoTagSquad

I finally figured it out!

#Ralph Anderson #The Outsider #Ben Mendelsohn #Ralph Anderson x Reader #Anderson and Andersson Detective Co. #Harmony #Renee #117 #Don't be surprised if every man from this damn show gets written for #I mean some of you know what's coming ;) #That's it I don't really have anything else to tag this #Soft/Sweet #Short/Sweet #Linzi Writes #...I forget that tag so often...

[judgement-free-sideblog]

Dancing lessons.

Barry Berkman x reader

Hi there! So I was watching Friends yesterday and I came across the one where Joey speaks french, and then I was thinking about how in season 2 Barry already has his Headshots, and I wanted to write something about a false ability he could have put on his resume.

So this will be an 8 part series, and I will try to update it at least twice a week but can't promise anything.

Summary: Barry is finally cast in a feature, the problem? He said he could dance and now he can either disappoint Sally or found a way to learn some steps.

Warnings: Swearing, cheating maybe.

Part 1 ● Part 2 ● Part 3 ● Part 4 ● Part 5 ● Part 6 ● Part 7 ● Part 8 ● Epilogue

Part 1

A sharpie written ad in the door said: "Joe's friend callbacks" that could give him an idea of how unimportant this character was, because so far he didn't even had a name, nevertheless he was happy that they had call him back for a reason other than "You look good on the poster"

Although he was suspicious the "minor" changes Natalie and Sally had convinced him to do to his resume was the reason, he could not blame them, at first the page was empty and depressing, and now he appear to be a very compelling person, maybe someone he would like to be. Someone who could speak french and Italian, and had formal training in at least three styles of dancing, tango, salsa and tap.

Worst case scenario, they had said, there is someone better than you first and is just another bad audition. And so far it hasn't been a problem, people usually overlook that because they didn't need that on their movies.

But now it was different, there was at least three men in front of him and four behind all of them more or less his height and complexion, waiting to re read the lines for the upcoming movie, a place to dare dreaming. As far as he understood it was a drama about a men seeking meaning in life, and Barry was trying to be the best friend's best friend, he would have five scenes in the whole movie and was merely an excuse to make exposition questions and be gone for the rest of the movie.

Not a bad place to start, Sally said, and he might actually make connections and even find an agent. So he was there for some reason dressed with black loose pants and a loose blue shirt, just like the rest of them. Finally after another half hour or so the casting assistant exited the door and call for him.

"Hi, I'm Barry Block, reading for Joe's friend" He said looking at the people behind the table and he notice another woman there dressed as a ballerina, he was not entirely sure why.

"Fine, in this scene you are just finishing dancing with your partner, then Joe" The director point at a man who was already cast as the lead best friend "Yeah, Joe will call you to ask you something and then the scene starts"

Barry did as he was told, and when he was in the middle of telling Joe to go help the lead build the boat of his dreams or something like that the director interrupted him.

"Just one sec, Barry was it?" He said and Barry was already feeling the whole you are not what we are looking for speech coming. "It says here that you dance?"

"Um hum" He muttered every second more disconcerted.

"Tango? Janice you do tango right?" He asked the ballerina.

"No Andre, I only have a career in dance but I don't do tango" She said rolling her eyes "Of course I do" she and when the director look at her in exasperation.

"Then is settled, unless any of the other guys can dance we will go with Mr. Block here"

"Excuse me what?" Barry said a little lightheaded.

"Oh this scene, we originally wanted to have a big ballet dancing sequence that inspire Daniel, the lead to follow his dreams, but we scratched off because of the budget but since you can dance you and Janice can do a small version of it." Talk with Sophie on the way out we start on monday.

"Sure, thanks" he said with a calm voice and walked out to find the cast assistant.

"Mr. Block?" She said now a little more nice than when he entered in the morning. "You'll have to sing some documents and we will be ready"

"Sure, yeah fine, one question tho, what exactly does he mean Andre with me dancing with Janice?" He asked trying to sound casual

"Oh well since they are just adding the sequence I will say that they will tell you exactly what they want in a couple weeks and then you will have to rehearse with Janice and film it by the end of the next month" She said like it was no big deal.

"Two weeks?" He asked again and she could see that he was nervous.

"More or less, but I figure since you are an actual dancer that would be fine right?" He nod not very sure of her statement and she start looking in her purse and finally give him a card. "Look I won't tell you how to do your job, but if by any chance you are not convinced of what to do, you should go here, she may help you"

***

He shut the door of the apartment with enough strength to make one of the frames in the wall shake, of course he was furious. But it wasn't your fault and you wouldn't put up with his temperament. After 5 years of marriage Alan was finally beginning to understand that it was better to walk away and let things cool down before any of you could say something too painful.

And what could you say? You told him before you get married that you didn't want children and he married you anyway. He was not able to change your mind, that was no reason to scream and fight like that. You shake the thoughts from your head and pick up you bag, ready to walk down to the studio.

Your friend Sophie had made you a call earlier asking for your help with another lost case, and usually those pay well so you could surprise Alan with a nice dinner and maybe you would let him convince you to open up at the idea, at least for long enough to live peacefully.

You could tell who your new student was the minute you entered the studio, your assistant was talking with the other couples for the romantic dance lessons and he was in a corner looking at the door like he was planning an escape.

You take the attending list and seek for his name, Barry Block, you hope is not a sing of how hard will it be to make him move, but his large frame was telling you it will.

"Mr. Block?" You called him apart once you were dress in more comfortable clothes, he walked towards you and you could see he was at least 1 feet taller than you. "You work with Sophie right?"

"I do, I ... she said you could help me amm..."

"To make your dancing believable, yes, don't worry you are not the first nor the last actor that lies on an audition, but for future reference put something more achievable like learn Russian" You said part serious part kidding "Learning tango is complicated and demanding, is not just sexy dresses and fancy music, but since this is the land of dreams I can teach you a couple things"

"That would be great, and again I'm so embarrassed that this happened, but I need the job"

"Well that's another sad part of the story this class ain't cheap, and there's only so little I can do for you in three weeks"

"That's not a problem" He said immediately and took a little envelope from his pocket and gave it to you "This is for the first two lessons"

"Excellent, then we can start" You look at his clothes, jeans and a hoodie and very uncomfortable sneakers "You may need to change, and also stretch a little, we don't want accidents" you pointed to the dressing room and let him borrow a more lose pant and proper dancing shoes.

You finishes your lesson with the other couples and after and hour he, you and Macy your assistant were the only ones there.

"Ok for starters, that's not stretching" you told him once you saw he couldn't reach his toes. "Come sit here" You told him and sit in the middle of the floor with your legs completely extended and asked him to do the same.

"I'm not very use to this, I'm in shape as much as I can but this is different" He said awkwardly trying to reach his toes the way you did yours.

"If you don't mind me asking Mr. Block, why do you need the job?" You said standing up and helping him bend his back. "I don't think they will pay you more than I'm taking from you"

"Is not about the money" he said simply and took the hand you offered him to stand. "I need to prove myself I can be an actor, a real one, also my girlfriend is recording a show and I..." he star touching his hair distracted.

"You don't want to be left behind? Yeah I know what is like" You said to him. "Well in that case I would do my best, but for real you have to stop being so rigid" you said taking him by the hips and he flinch with surprise to then let go a chuckle

"I'm sorry" He said and you nodded and put your hands on his hips again "First we are going to have to work on that posture, lower just a bit your hips and bend your knees" You said pushing him down a bit.

"Like this" he said flexing down so much that he was almost at your height.

"Not at all, I'll show you, Macy come here" You call the girl who was already hiding her laugh behind a magazine, she put on some music on his phone into the speakers and walked towards you.

You took her by the waist and started just making simple walks at the rhythm of the music, showing him how he had to bend his knees but not making it all that evident, then when the next song star going faster you started making more quick moves and shen it turn slow you drag your leg inside slowly, and embraced Macy pulling her closer to you.

"Ok, I can definently not do that" he said once you were done, and you felt flattered to se some amusement in his face.

"I know, but we will figure something out" you smile at him and turn off the music to again trying to make him bend his knees properly.

#barry berkman x reader #barry block #barry hbo #barry berkman #barry berkman edit #Bill Hader #barry fanfiction #dance #tango #angst #comedy #drama #romance #sally reed

[rpingsideblog]

Looking for BatJokes and/or Joker (2019) RP! [MxM, Gen, Always looking]

Hello lovely people! As the title states, I'm really looking for someone willing to do either a Batjokes (Batman x Joker) RP or one set in the world of the new (2019) Joker movie! I’ll just start off with some general information and then we can get to the fun stuff!

About me: First off, I’m female, 22 and my time zone is GMT+1. I have about 8+ years of experience and really love longer/detailed replies (although of course the actual length of my replies depends on the scene and quality trumps quantity). I do try to match my partner’s length but my replies usually fluctuate between 300 - 1,500 words. I do enjoy plotting and world-building (and headcanons are always welcome!) but I’m also more than able to jump into a RP with minimal planning beforehand. I’m mostly comfortable with purely Gen RPs or MxM pairings. I’m comfortable playing multiple characters if wanted and I love angst and hurt & comfort. The frequency of my replies can vary a lot but if I don’t reply for a long time it’s perfectly okay to message me again! I’m a pretty patient person so it’s perfectly all right if it takes you some time to get back to me. I prefer to RP either on Discord, via e-mail or GoogleDocs or on Tumblr. Also, I’m practically always looking for new partners so even if you read this ad some time in the future and are unsure whether you should contact me or not, just go ahead! Batjokes (Batman x Joker): I can play either character and I'm familiar with (pretty much) every iteration of these two. I do adore Heath Ledger's version of the Joker but we can also use a different 'universe' for our RP (e.g. the version from the comic books, the Telltale game, other video games etc.) I do have vague ideas for plots for this one but I'd love to hear your ideas as well or we can come up with something together!  I'm up for either something more serious/'darker' or something more light-hearted so whatever you're in the mood for is fine with me! Joker (2019): For this I'll be content as long as it features Arthur Fleck as a main character (I don't mind whether I end up playing him or you do!). For a gen/platonic storyline I thought it would be fun to explore the possibility of Arthur really being Thomas' son, Thomas actually acknowledging the fact and focusing the RP on the dynamic between Arthur and the Waynes. As for pairings, I'm pretty much open to any MxM pairing here! I think Arthur x Male OC would be fun (although for this one I would prefer to play Arthur), or maybe Arthur x Travis Bickle (from the movie "Taxi Driver"). Another pairing I think could work would be Arthur x Bruce/Batman (from a universe where the two aren't potentially related/where Bruce is an actual adult) - but like I said, I'm willing to consider other pairings as well! That's all I can think of for now. If you have any more questions please don't hesitate to ask me! Thank you for reading! <3

#batjokes #batman rp #joker rp #joker2019 #joker2019 rp #batman #joker

[self-proclaimed-chaotic-good]

Take My Hand... | Carlton Drake x Reader (One-shot)

Words: 1908

Warning: Implied smut if you squint really hard, a load of cheesy fluffiness

A/N: Guess who’s been watching Crazy Rich Asians again and replaying the wedding scene?? I’m tempted to write a CRA AU but idk which character I should write it for. Carlton?? I have too much wips, I’m surprised I was able to do this one-shot.

It’s a modern AU where they all knew each other from high school/college and Carlton is still CEO of a company.

-

You stood with the rest of the bridesmaids, gripping on to your bouquet tightly. Eddie and Anne were finally getting married and you were the maid of honor while Dan was the best man. You could see Eddie shifting around nervously, fixing his tie as the music started playing. You gave him a reassuring smile and nodded over down the aisle where the double doors opened, revealing Anne in a beautiful white dress. Two little flower girls skipped in front of her, flying pink flower petals down the aisle, followed by a little boy carrying the black velvet box. Dan knelt to his level and took it from him, taking out the ring and handing it over to Eddie. He patted him on the back and stepped away. Eddie’s breath caught in his throat as Anne began to gracefully walk down the aisle, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down as he swallowed.

You grinned at the way the couple gazed at each other, happy that your best friends finally together. You turned away before tears could ruin your makeup, your eyes landing on your boyfriend in the front row. Eddie didn’t want him to be a groomsman, a decision that made your eyes roll, but it was his wedding and you had to live with it. Carlton ended up helping to pay for the reception, as a generous peace offering to Anne and to simply spite Eddie.

Carlton smiled in awe up at you, mouthing, “You’re so beautiful.”

“You, too,” you mouthed back, making him silently chuckle. He really looked good, though, sitting there with a white button shirt and tux and styled hair. It was different from his usual style of tracksuits under a suit jacket and a simple hairstyle.

You shook your head, distracting yourself with the pink and white flowers in your hands. The makeup was unfortunately not water-proof and you didn’t want it to run before Anne even reached the podium. Some people were already crying as the wedding proceeded, a few bridesmaids sniffling next to you. Due to their style, their vows had some comedic bantering that helped lightened the mood. Eddie even pointed a warning finger at everyone when they were asked if anyone objected, even pointing at Dan who raised his hands in surrender. Anne smacked Eddie’s arm and smiled.

“I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

Anne pulled Eddie by his tie and wrapped her other arm around his neck, making him stumble forward as she kissed him. You laughed, clapping with everyone else. Your eyes went back to Carlton who had been watching you to whole time. He sent you a wink and blew you a kiss that still made your heart flutter no matter how many times he’s done it.

-

Eddie had disapproved with the size of the reception, but Anne convinced him to go with it since they weren’t paying for it anyways. It was a time to celebrate their happiness with their friends and family after all. A band played on a built stage while Anne and Eddie danced with the kids, other guests dancing around them. The cake had already been cut and the champagne bottles open, so everyone was either having fun dancing or indulging themselves in dessert. You laughed as the kids continuously separated Eddie from Anne on the dance floor, thought he didn’t do much to protest.

Carlton came back with two cake slices, kissing you on the forehead. “What’s so funny?” he asked.

“The kids won’t let Eddie dance with Annie,” you said, laughing as one of the boys latched onto Eddie’s leg.

“Whose kid is this, serious?” Eddie shouted, pointing at the boy.

Anne waved you over to come dance with her. “Wanna join?” you asked Carlton.

“I don’t really dance,” he said, “but you can go on ahead.”

You pouted, making Carlton chuckle as he leaned over to kiss your lips. You sighed in defeat, taking one bite of the cake before joining Anne on the dance floor. Kids immediately swarmed you and Anne as the two of you spun around. One girl ran over to you and gave each of you a flower crown. Anne bent down first, allowing the girl to put it on her head and you followed suit, thanking her. She giggled and ran off to find her friends.

“Can you guys help me pry this koala off?” Eddie pleaded.

You and Anne exchanged a look and walked over to him. You knelt to the boy’s eye level, persuading him to let go. Then, an idea struck you as you thought of Carlton sitting by himself at your table. You whispered to the boy and his friends your plan, promising them more cake if they do it. They nodded enthusiastically, scurrying away to set the plan in motion.

Carlton ended up eating both pieces of the cake as he sat and watch you dance. He wasn’t much of a dancer, and it wasn’t like he had much opportunities to dance in the first place. It was always work for him and if he were to be invited to charity events, he would mostly walk around and mingle with prospective clients and business partners. He knew that you loved to dance, though. Waking up with your side of the bed empty, he would see you dancing around in the kitchen, singing along with your Spotify playlist. You would drag him closer and make him spin you around, which was the extent of his dancing abilities.

A grin automatically spread across his face as you spun around, your light pink dress fanning around you. That morning, you had to leave the hotel early to help Anne get ready for the wedding, so he couldn’t see you in that dress. He sat in the front row and was rendered speechless as you walked to the front, leading the rest of the bridesmaids. The way your (y/h/c) fell off your shoulders and down your back, the way the dress fitted perfectly around you and flowed around your feet as if you were floating. He couldn’t keep his eyes away from you.

You met Carlton’s eyes and smiled, turning to disappear into the growing crowd on the dance floor.

“Excuse me,” a small voice said next to him.

Carlton looked down and saw the same boy that was latched to Eddie. He smiled at him. “Hey, there, little buddy.”

“Princess (Y/n) said to give you this,” the boy said, holding up a pink flower crown and a rose with a note on it.

Carlton took them both, reading the note that was clearly in your handwriting. The boy had scurried off into the crowd as soon as his job was done.

“Meet me in the garden, my prince,” it read. “P.S. Yes, you do have to wear the flower crown.”

He chuckled, remembering the time you told him he looked like a Disney prince wearing a suit and had tried to convince him to dress up as Aladdin during Halloween. When he saw you in your Princess Jasmine costume, the two of you couldn’t make it to your friend’s costume party.

He got up and made his way outside, ducking away from the party and into the still night. The garden was well lit with solar powered lights lining the pathways and fairy lights strewn across the trees and around the gazebo where you waited. Petals were scattered on the stone pathway that led to the gazebo, a small set of speakers sitting on the steps next to your phone.

“You know, I should be the one making these surprise events,” Carlton said, drawing your attention away from the rest of the garden. He walked up to the gazebo and kissed your hand. “My princess, you’ve summoned me?”

“Yes, I have, my prince,” you said, playing along. You took the flower crown from his hand and placed on his head with a satisfied smirk. “Dance with me.”

“(Y/n/n)… ”

“It’s just us here, Car. Please,” you pleaded.

Carlton drooped his head as he thought it over. Although he was frowning, it was hard to take him seriously with that crown on his head and he really looked cute with it on.

“Okay, okay, just… don’t get mad when I step on your shoes or your dress, okay?” he said.

You grabbed his face and peppered it with kisses before turning and setting up the music on your phone. A string of melodic chords filled the gazebo as the music started. You led Carlton to the middle, wrapping your arms around his neck. He chuckled, almost nervously, as he fought the urge to look at his feet placement.

Wise men say… only fools rushed in… But I… can’t… help… falling in love… with… you…

He attentively placed his hands on your waist and drew you in closer. You decided to lead first until he got the hang of it, swaying side to side, but never breaking eye contact with him. You smiled as he grew more confident in his steps and allowed him to guide you around the gazebo. Your heart fluttered under his soft gaze, feeling so loved and adored as he admired how you look under the fairy lights.

“You’re perfect,” he whispered under his breath.

“I’m not,” you said, ducking your head.

He lifted your chin with his fingers. “You are. (Y/n), when I first saw you in that dress… seeing you down that aisle… It’s like I’ve fallen in love with you all over again.”

“Who knew the big CEO of Life Industries was a big sap? If Tony Stark heard you, he’d be gagging right now,” you teased.

Carlton rolled his eyes playfully. “Please, don’t bring up that billionaire playboy ever again.”

“And philanthropist, Mr. San Fran’s most eligible bachelor,” you added.

He sighed. “I don’t know why they keep saying I’m an eligible bachelor when I have you.”

“Maybe they think I’m not good enough for you.”

“Which I find ridiculous because it took me so long chasing after you and to have you notice me. You were just so intelligent and beautiful and funny, and I thought I wasn’t going to be good enough for you. Plus, you were friends with Eddie who hated me back in school. At least Anne was kind to me. She was the one that told me about you. I never thought you’d ever see me more than a friend.”

You laughed. “Well, back then I never really thought of being in a relationship. I had these goals set out before me and I felt that having a relationship will set things back. This was all coming from a place where the people I had been interested in hadn’t fully supported my goals and I felt discouraged. I never thought I’d find someone that would actually just… fit, you know, like a puzzle piece. It just felt right with you, but I was scared to rush things. I didn’t want to ruin our friendship.”

“Well,” he paused to twirl you around, “You’re still my best friend, but more.”

“Yeah? You’re going to give me that soulmate speech?”

Carlton chuckled. “No, we both know it by heart, just by looking at each other.”

So, take my hand… take my whole life, too… for I… can’t… help… falling in love… with… you…

For I… can’t… help… falling in love… with… you…

#carlton drake x reader #Carlton Drake imagine #Riz Ahmed #venom 2018 #marvel #oneshot #Fluff #CRA reference

[cherry3point14]

Mine: Ch2 - BELONG

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Dean x Reader Warnings: Show level violence, murder(?), little bit of angst Word Count: 4,586. Chapter Summary: Dean should know by now it’s impossible to escape hunting. Then again maybe that’s a good thing. A/N: Oh Dean, Deany, Dean-o. What are we going to do with you?

Ao3 if you prefer

The house looks the same. The same open window and blue front door but now there’s a shitty pickup outside of it instead of your Prius. I’m not supposed to know who Carl is beyond his name. I’m not supposed to know that he works as a plumber, elbow deep in actual shit. And I shouldn’t know that he doesn’t even technically live at the address we’ve pulled up at.

There’s a lot about this situation that’s fucked three ways to Sunday. Pulling up outside your house and pretending that Baby doesn’t have a regular spot here is pretty high up the list. The fact that I’m here to talk to you is probably higher up.

When Sam said we were coming to your town for a case I’d panicked. Obviously. He’d said it on the road. Five minutes out of the bunker and he's telling me with a casual flick of his hair that we're heading for Manhattan. Few towns over he’d said. Like I don’t know where it is. Had I missed something while I was there? Had there been a case that I hadn’t seen because I was too busy trying to figure out why you’re dating king of the douchebags? What if you were in danger?

Then we’d rolled into town with our usual shtick. Crime scenes and police department visits. At the end of day one, we know it’s a witch, on account of the hex bags. We both decide to stay local even if we’re only a few hours away from home. Easier to get this over and done with.

That's fine and dandy, or it would be if I wasn’t standing outside your house.

Because now it’s a little too close to home. Now the bad stuff might seep into your life and that’s exactly what I’m trying to keep away from you. Everything bad.

“Hello?” Carl yanks open the door a little too hard. If only you could see this. He has no respect for your home.

Sam and I both hold up our badges in the calm and measured way we’ve long since perfected. Luckily the glare on my face isn't out of character either, “I’m agent Sykes, this is my partner agent Aldrich.”

It’s easy to tell when someone is a sack of shit. They tend to look more than a little shifty when met with feds, fake or otherwise. And this guy? He clams up before I finish reeling off our fake names.

“What- I mean what can I do for you officers?”

Sam continues the well-oiled machine that is our double act. “We’re investigating the deaths of Andrew Hartley, Robert Smith, and Jerry Garfield. We’re aware you knew them from a local bar and we had some questions.”

The dick didn’t murder them at least because he breathes this big sigh of relief and opens his arm to usher us inside.

I want to bite my tongue, I do, I should. I just can’t help myself, “is this your place?” There is absolutely no way that I sound casual.

“No, Nah. This is my, erm, girlfriends.” Carl even stutters over calling you his girlfriend, while in your house, as if he doesn’t want to lock himself down.

Sam doesn’t question the detour except for a fleeting glance in my direction, so that’s good. That’s something he’ll want to talk about later. He knows there is a time and place though. So, he sticks to the script and launches into questions about the victims. Turns out they all drank together. Carl knew them from a bar, that’s it. A few more questions in and it happens. You walk through the front door.

“Oh, I’m sorry I-” you stop in the doorway with a brown paper bag in your hand and shake your head, remembering. “This is my house?”

It’s hard not to laugh. It’s impossible to contain my smile. This is the first time I’m in the same room as you since we met and somehow you got, even more, freaking adorable. Your face is all scrunched in confusion but there’s a flustered joke in your voice.

“Babe, these are some FBI agents investigating those guys from the bar I told you about.”

You don’t panic as Carl had at the mention of law enforcement because you’re a good person. “Right, of course. I’m sorry. Erm. Did you guys want some coffee or something?”

Any normal person can see that you’re offering a drink to the officials currently in your home. Your prince over there pipes up anyway, “babe can you get me a beer and something to eat?”

What has he done to you Y/N? What the fuck has happened that you think this chump is all you deserve? The pained half smile on your face is bad enough but the tiny, “sure,” that falls from it kind of fucks me over. There’s none of that fire you’d had while trying to impress me with food. There’s not even the strict concentration you’d had while pretending to be a waitress. Your shoulders fall and you shuffle to the kitchen. You’re not going there because you love to cook or even want to go. You going to the kitchen because you don’t know how to make the asshole leave. Or you’re afraid of being alone if he does.

I have to pretend it’s a cramp in my hand when I unfurl my fist. Stretching my fingers like they hurt from an ache and not because I’m aching to connect my fist with Carl’s face.

“I’m gonna see if she needs a hand.” I’m already standing so Sam can’t stop me. I at least have the sense to give him a look like I’m going to go ask her some questions. I need to appease him to avoid too many questions myself later.

I am going to ask you some things. Sam doesn’t need to know that they’re not about the case though.

When I walk into your kitchen I instantly regret my decision. This is your space and I should have knocked. I offer my services immediately to make amends, “can I help with anything?”

You must not get asked that a lot considering the confusion as you turn your head. “Erm, no it’s fine. I’m just… making some coffee.”

All FBI pretense flies out the window as I nod at the bread on the counter. “See here’s where you’re confused, that right there is a sandwich.”

“Would you believe I’m a chef?” If I wasn’t standing parallel with you now I’d miss the little smile on your face, the first one I’ve seen all day.

“That depends on how good the sandwich is.”

You laugh like you had the first time I’d come here to see you. I hadn’t heard it then, I’d only seen it and wondered what it sounded like. This time your hair tumbles over your shoulders as your head falls back. All the better to release the sound into the air. I don’t even care if they hear you next door. Let our cover go to hell if you keep laughing like that.

“This is going to sound crazy, to an FBI agent anyway, but I swear I know you from somewhere.”

You say it while stealing glances at me. And you steal glances at me while your hands keep moving, even with a knife in them. I didn’t expect it to come around so quickly, this test. This is when I find out if I’m crazy. Did we actually connect or is it all in my head? Somehow, I manage to keep my mouth shut, egging you on with a confused look like I’m trying to remember.

“Oh my god. You came to the diner, right? Two slices of pie and didn’t rate my burger.” You're smug for remembering first.

Now you’re pointing the knife in my direction with a grin on your face. If I didn’t know any better, I’m about to be murdered for my burger review.

My head half cocks in your direction, “that was you?”

It’s fucking heartbreaking, seeing the idea of me forgetting you and how you stumble over it. The same way you’d slumped when Carl spoke to you. Shit, I’m not him and you should know you’re better than that. Screw the car and your house, that’s what I need to work on. Making you believe you’re better.

You manage to shake off the self-doubt, although you replace it with self-depreciation. “I’m normally a mess at work so I guess you might not recognize me.”

“You weren’t a mess.” The space between us is a little smaller now to match the sincerity in my words. It’s the closest I’ve stood to you and the furthest away I want to be. “And that burger was top three, promise.”

The light returns to your face. The smile becomes genuine. Your hands stop moving. That connection is there again. The one I know you feel too because you remembered me.

And the coffee maker beeps in the background, interrupting.

I’d be mad about it if this was the right time for something more, anything. It’s not. Carl’s still in the other room and you’re still attached to him like a tetherball. No matter how much he knocks you for six, you swing around and come back for more. It’s ok because I’m here now and I know that this isn’t in my head. We connected over a crappy diner countertop and now I’m going to take care of everything. I’ll show you how you deserve to be treated Y/N.

I’m going to save you.

“How do you know Kelly Gray?”

I barge through the door he was stupid enough to open a crack. Carl doesn’t call out the fact that I’m not in my suit because I’ve established I’m the good guy already. But his face does lose all its color at the name. He's going straight past defensive to confrontational, “hey, you can’t just come in here!”

“I can if you want to stay alive now let’s try this again. How do you know Kelly Gray?”

My volume calls you from wherever you were like a moth to a flame. Or is my voice a beacon to you regardless of its loudness? Either way, you wander in, “what’s going on...?” There’s no concern in your voice because whether you know it or not you trust me, you're curious is all.

Carl starts to crowd you before you can even say hello, which pisses me off. I haven’t heard you say hello yet. Not to me. Our meetings have been me as a customer and then an authority figure. This time could have been different. You might have said hello.

“Babe, this jerk is just leaving. Don’t worry about it. Go back to the kitchen.”

“I wasn’t in the… what did he say about your life being in danger?”

I don’t know what’s worse. That this asshole assumes you’re always in the kitchen because that’s all he fucking knows about you. Or that he’s so goddamn stupid he’s trying to get rid of me when I’m here to save his life. For some reason.

Of course, you’re the only one who can actually throw me out. It’s your house, not Carls. And you’re not going to because you want to hear what I have to say. You’re more concerned about Carl than he’s concerned about himself. Your big heart is another thing I add to the reasons you deserve better. The reasons you're so good.

“Answer the damn question you son of a bitch.” Guess my FBI cover is shot to hell but at this point, I’m not losing any sleep over it. Sam’s hunting down the witch, I’m just making sure this idiot isn’t on the list for the same reason as her other hits.

He looks at me pathetically, like I'll have mercy on him. But I don’t know what he’s going to say yet, so I’ve got no idea what hope he’s holding out for.

“I knew of her, ok? The guys they all knew her. I- I just knew about her. Never met her.” Carl looks anywhere but at me while he lies.

It all starts making sense now. I know what got those other guys killed. I know why Kelly went looking in magic books for revenge. And now I know Carl was involved.

It would be kinder to encourage you out the room. Some case confidentiality thing. Then again, you need to hear this. You need the truth.

Squaring up to Carl is easy, especially now I know he really is a piece of shit. Not just for having you and making you so much smaller than you should be. Now I know Carl had you and still felt the need to get his dick wet somewhere else.

“I can’t help you if lie to me. Now Kelly? Sure, she’s a little crazy but she also killed your friends. Can you think of any reason she might have it in for you as well, Carl? If not, I can leave right now but you better think real hard about your answer.”

His eyes dart between the width of my shoulders wondering if he can take me before he decides he’s got no chance. Not completely brain dead. Then he gulps slowly and for once, does the right thing. “Yeah, ok. I knew her.”

In facing off with this prick I almost forgot you were there. He’s trained you into silence in your own home. Carl hasn’t forgotten because he trusts in your constant presence; quiet and dutiful, always. That’s why he doesn’t flinch when you speak.

“Who is she? What did the other guys- or you, what did you do?”

He looks at you for a good minute. His body is still facing me, still ready to fight me if necessary. He’s looking at you like it might be his last chance to. Could it be Carl actually has some sense hidden away under the seven layers of dumbass?

He doesn’t answer your question until he looks back at me. He tells me the answer because he can’t tell you.

“Kelly Gray is just a hooker that we all, well, you know. But Andy he- he didn’t pay up and then we all wanted to...things got out of control.” His voice is too hard and despite what he did he’s looking at me like it’s my fault for making him spit it out.

You gasp. It’s a tiny noise, nothing really. Although in the wake of Carl's confession, it might as well be a foghorn.

Where I’d normally be yelling at this charmer I look at you instead because I need to check on you. Your chin wobbles and there’s a quiver in your lip. All I want to do take you away from him, but still, you needed to know. It’s the only way you’ll ever move on from this bag of dicks who actually went looking for a way to cheat on you.

“Y/N…” He starts like there’s something he could say that would make this better.

You hold up a hand to stop him. He doesn’t just stop talking. He clutches at his throat suddenly, clawing at it actually, like he’s trying to pry it open from the outside.

“I… can’t…. breathe…” he wheezes. He’s hard to understand but not difficult to work out.

You step back, eyes widening.

Carl’s sudden asphyxiation lights the spark of anger in me that I’ve been holding back. I've seen too much of this case. I've seen what the other guys did. And suddenly I'm pissed. “Is this what you did to her? Try to choke her? Your buddies all died the way they lived. They died doing what they did to Kelly.”

But he is still choking. Unable to answer me or even react. He can’t feel guilty while he’s dying and I have to let him slip from my grasp. I don’t often root for the witch, by that I mean I never do. In this case, she might deserve a little revenge.

A blur rushes past me and steps between me and him. I realize it’s you. You pat his back and try to do all the things people do when someone is choking for non-magical reasons. “We’ve got to help him.”

My silence doesn’t slow you down as you try to wrap your arms around him and Heimlich the spell out. The fact that nothing is helping doesn’t seem to slow your roll either.

“Y/N!” The snap of my tone gets your attention.

“We need to help him!” You plead with a desperation that I resent. Desperation Carl doesn't deserve.

You’re right though. I need to save them all. The good, the bad and the fucking disgusting. Looking into your worried face is how I remember that I save people. That’s why I’m here in the first place.

“Y/N, I don’t have time to explain but this is a spell. We need to find the hex bag to stop it. It’ll be hidden somewhere, an um, a small material bag.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

Carl’s still standing there choking, fading at the edges. I grab you for your attention over him. Both hands on your shoulders trying to will some sense in you. At the same time, I'm trying to remember the reasons why I have to let you go eventually. “Y/N if you want to save his life I need you to look. Look around anywhere something small could be hidden. Move. Now.”

I hate barking orders at you but I’d hate it more if it didn’t work. Luckily it does. You nod and start pulling books out of the small bookshelf in the corner of the room.

This is your first rodeo, your last too if I get my way, so you have no idea what you’re looking for. You’re destroying more of your stuff than you need to while Carl’s gargles are the soundtrack to the room.

I know what I’m doing. My fingers feel down the edges of your sofa cushions while I text Sam that Carl is target number four. My hands sweep all the small spaces quickly. Behind the back of your DVR, I finally feel it. A lumpy piece of soft material.

I pull it out in my clenched fist, still out of sight, not that you’re looking in my direction. It’s heavier than normal but that might be because of the guy this particular hex bag is trying to kill. The lighter in my pocket is heavier still, it’s cold and unforgiving in my other hand.

God knows how long I stand there trapped in indecision. The metal of my lighter digs into my skin for how hard I’m pressing at the cap, teetering on the edge of flicking it open. Deep down I know I shouldn’t be hesitating. A flick of my thumb and it’ll be over, Carl will be saved.

But what about you?

How will I save you if he’s still alive? After this, you won’t be able to leave him even after what he admitted. You’re too damn loyal.

Carl’s close to the end now. He’s been struggling for oxygen too long. His skin is taking on a sickly color. I have seconds to save him, seconds. And in those seconds I figure it out. I figure everything out.

“You found anything Y/N?” I holler while the hex bag gets tucked into my pocket, my lighter returned to the other.

You shake your head, fear drenching you head to toe. I’ve forgotten how harrowing this must be for a civilian. Not just the dying person in front of you but trying to comprehend that there’s nothing you can do to save him. Only I can save him, and I have no intentions of doing that. My decision is set in stone. Sam might be able to help but he’d have to be driving a knife into the witch as we speak. I doubt he is considering the phone in my pocket beeps.

Even Sam knows not to text and stab.

Carl’s on his knees now and trying to keep himself up. “Oh god, he’s going to- I can’t watch this.” You turn to face the wall and wrap yourself up in your own arms. Hugging yourself as you collapse against the wallpaper. You can’t move out of the room, but you can’t watch so instead you exist in this limbo where you’re forced to listen.

It kills me you didn’t come to me, still, I get it. You’re not ready for that yet. I can wait and be patient because eventually, you’ll fall into me when you’re scared.

He takes one last shuddering attempt at sucking in air. It’s worse than his other efforts because even he seems to know that this one will be his last. There’s a noise that comes out of his throat that’s more than a closed windpipe. It’s hopeless and on the brink of death.

Carl is about to die, and you’re curled into the wall, so no one is watching the small smile on my face. It’s barely there but it’s there enough. A witch killed him, end of story. I just made sure that it happened. I made sure of it for you.

At some point, you get up and walk into the kitchen without looking back. I call Sam, he’s killed the witch because it had to be done no matter her reasons. I tell him Carl is dead and Sam sounds frustrated at having lost someone. Even after I tell him what Carl did, Sam still says he didn’t deserve to die like that.

I knew Sam wouldn’t understand which is why I don’t tell him about the hex bag I'm carrying around.

For the second time, I come into the kitchen without knocking. You’re sitting at the table staring into the darkness of the room. Only when I make it to the other side of the table do I see the silent tears rolling down your face.

“Y/N?” I don’t know how far into nothingness you’re looking so I announce myself despite standing in front of you.

Sadness has settled in your soul. I want to ask if this is for Carl or because you've experienced something that most people never do. I don’t ask because I don’t want to scare you. Or I'm afraid of the answer. Probably both.

There’s bottled water in the refrigerator and I have no idea where you keep your booze. You need something stronger but more importantly, you need something. You need anything to do with your hands while I tell you what I'm about to.

“We don’t need to talk about everything, but we need to talk about some of it.” I’m trying to be balanced, not too soft and not too cold. I might be coming off as unfeeling.

“You said a witch killed him. A witch?” The calm in your voice is eerie although you’re not looking at me so it's slightly less creepy. Instead, you’re watching your nails pick at the label on your plastic bottle.

“Yeah. My brother took care of her.” It’s the safest way to say he ganked Kelly. You’ve had enough death for one day. “But not in time. I’m sorry.” I’m not. “Witches are real and this one wanted revenge.”

You take a minute to absorb this. “Your FBI badge isn’t real.”

I’d chuckle if it was appropriate right now. You're not ready to joke about these things yet. “No, but this is what I do. Hunting and killing bad guys, bad things. Sometimes I need to pretend to get the job done.”

“What do I need to do now?”

You’re in shock, I get that, but you’re handling this too well and it’s freaking me out a little. I’m waiting for you to break so that I can pick up the pieces, but you refuse to fall apart.

“Let me walk out of here and then call the cops. His death- it’ll look natural. They’ll take him away.”

“And then what? I wake up tomorrow morning and have coffee where he… I’m sorry that’s not. That’s- it’s not your fault. I-I’m not your responsibility. I’m sorry.”

Oh, what you don’t know. You’ve been my responsibility since the minute I saw you. And you haven’t once questioned me walking out of here. That’s a given. You don’t understand what’s happening and your world has changed in a way that you don't understand. But you trust that I’m the good guy in the same way I trust you not to break me.

There’s a long silence. You drink some of your water swallowing more than necessary. Making sure you still can. I try to explain that the witch can’t hurt you in the same way she did Carl, hex bags don’t work like that. They're personal. But I can’t. Those aren’t the words on the tip of my tongue. The words I want to say are a big step forward. Too fast and too much. More than I would ever think about saying to anyone else.

You’re not anyone. You’re you. Y/N. You’re different and you're mine. Even if you reject me now I’ll know it’s because I asked too quickly. Rejection now will be nothing we can’t overcome in the future.

“If you want my brother and I, the guy you met, my partner? That’s my brother Sam. We have a place you could stay. Nothing weird, it’s just a safe place. Over in Lebanon, a military bunker. Might be good to get away for a few days?”

I’m not expecting a yes or anything close to it. I sound like a horny teenager or a puppy trying to rut against your leg. Your boyfriend, as much as it pains me to call him that, died in your living room twenty minutes ago.

“Do you do this for all the girls?”

It’s almost like there’s not a dead body next door, “only the special ones.”

“I know it’s crazy to even be thinking about it but a few days away would be good. I guess compared to witches a military bunker sounds normal.”

The word ‘good’ pains you to say and again I’m left wondering if you’re a little naïve. You have to be since you’re accepting my offer. I know I’m safe but how do you know that? Y/N is this why you’re mine? Because you need me to protect you from a world you trust too easily.

Suddenly ending up with Carl makes a lot more sense. It wasn’t only loneliness, you’re too trusting, too forgiving.

This once I’ll let it slide since it works in my favor.

Sam only asks once why we’re taking you home. He asks while we’re waiting down the street for the police to finish everything.

I tell him you need someplace safe to recover and he doesn’t say whatever he wants to in response.

It’s hours before we’re on the road and an hour and a half till we're home. The journey is familiar to me now. You don’t marvel at the bunker as much as most people do but you’re dead on your feet. Swaying like a breeze might knock you into unconsciousness.

I put you up in a room next to mine. You thank me not knowing the selfish reasons for my decision.

The jokes on me. Having you so close means I hear you cry yourself to sleep.

I want to tell you that you don’t need to worry. Everything here out will get better Y/N. I'll make sure of it.

Continue to Chapter 3

5eva tags: @divadinag @darthdeziewok @fluentinfiction @witch-of-letters @supernatural-teamfreewillpage Dean babes: @thewinchesterchronicles @akshi8278

#dean x reader #spn fanfic #supernatural fanfiction #dean winchester x reader #spn x reader #spn #supernatural #supernatural x reader #supernatural fanfic #dean x y/n #dean x you #dean winchester #MURDER(?) #the best tag #stalker au

[pass3rby]

Caught By Your Past

25th Part

Fandom: Assassin’s Creed Pairing: Altair x Malik Warnings: modern AU, mature, OOC, original female character; unbetaed.

A/N: Good morning, San Francisco (or any other city of your choice for that matter)! Let's kick the day up, shall we?

She was on her way back home from campus when her phone went off. Having to fish it out of the tangle in her bag – USB cable, flash disc, second one, tissues, earbuds, lipstick – almost made her regret her habit of towing around the whole tech station and then some. Almost. She stumbled across her phone soon enough and the thoughts of getting rid of all those things first thing after stepping over the flat's threshold, disappeared again.

Checking the display, she gave a dejected sigh before accepting the call.

“Yeah?” So maybe her tone held a bit of a fake cheer, but there was no need to ruin someone else's mood, was there.

“There's this place I've heard is pretty rad!”

She figured as much; an eagerness to check out new places was a well-known trait of her friend. Trademark, barely restrained excitement in Mary's voice hit her full blast and really, was she ever void of energy? Gie was yet to see her anywhere near depleted. It would feel so good to talk with someone of a similar exhaustion level to her own. Maybe she could call Evie... Jacob's a pain in his sister's ass, too. That might work.

“Enjoy,” keeping up with the current conversation, she went with a sudden spur of a moment and entered a convenience store she was about to pass by. Time to treat herself; who knows how it'll look at home when she gets there. While choosing a thoroughly inappropriate late snack, she might as well listen to Mary, gushing over this new hot spot.

With luck, she only wanted to spill the beans and details about the new place and that would be the end of it. Gie was out for count as it was, just happy to drag herself to bed. Normally, she would welcome an opportunity to go out, but the constant hot & cold vibes coming from an unnamed pair of lost cases was starting to take its toll on her. Just as she was leaving for today's lessons, she heard them yelling again. And although staying out would keep her away from that for a little bit, she was ripe for a generous hibernation, not an evening out.

“You have to come with us!”

So, Mary was gathering a crew for the night out. Gie went with a neutral response, while absentmindedly checking one of the apples on sale:

“Sounds amazing-”

“I thought so, too! Pretty sweet. It's in a nice part of the city, too. Kinda dingy street, but it's not like we're gonna get jumped there.” True social life enthusiast that her classmate was, her mouth went two hundred miles per hour already, not even waiting for the explanative part of Gie's negative response. Also, no to that apple. Neither unhealthy, nor with enough chocolate percentage in it.

Tough luck today, buddy.

Skirting the whole fruit & vegetables section, she dived further to the more sin enabling and supplying section of the store.

“Altair and Malik are at each other's throat again.” There. At least she could make use of Mary knowing about the situation. Saves loads of time otherwise spent by a lengthy explanation. Maybe she won't even need to ring Evie up, after all.

Her friend, being a trooper, jumped promptly over onto the new topic like a pro.

“Thought you said neither of them is Spanish. Or French.”

“They're not, smartass,” and that chocolate looked tempting. She wasn't going to lower herself to buying an ice cream bucket, but that extra large hazelnut milk chocolate bar had her name on its wrapping. “You met them both to know that yourself.”

“So what's the deal?” Mary's voice was intent on the topic, fully focused like she always was with everything she decided to participate in. A good friend although and at the same time because of her brazen attitude, right there.

Okay, chocolate. You're coming with me. Do not resist and I won't be forced to use handcuffs on you.

Apprehending the criminal, she turned on her heel to go fetch something to drink, too – before re-turning around to grab a second bar. Just in case.

“I don't know. I mean, they are sorta... all-or-nothing kind of deal?”

“So, they either fuck or hate each other.” The words coming from the phone stayed true to its owner's spirit – no beating around the bush, they mowed the topic right over.

A vivid memory of mum threatening to wash her mouth with soap whenever she 'slipped', popped up in her mind. Mary wouldn't've last one day visit at their house without frothing at the mouth – one way or another. Funny thought right there.

“Pretty much. Without the-”

“-fucking. Yadda yadda yadda. I don't know if I should laugh at your brother or rethink my gender and step between them and wait which one would grab my ass first.”

“Mary!”

“What? They're attractive! Ten out of ten would tap that.”

Most of her friends did not miss the opportunity to tell her how dumb she was to let Altair go when their pack of she wolves was out last Friday. Mary'd just shrugged. 'Well at least you're out of competition if the guys ever changed their mind' – that're her exact words. While at least one of the girls would mean them, the free-spirited drinker had been quite obviously taking the piss. Like right now. Tough empathy – that's what Gie called it; Mary was the best.

Mood getting back on its feet, having shaken off the gloom, Georgie chuckled wryly and joined in the game.

“You'd stand no chance anyway. They wouldn't even notice you there.”

“That bad?”

“Their eyes are boning each other constantly, only their bodies resist the pull.” Now, that was a relief to say it out loud. Gie picked up a flavored green iced tea out of a refrigerator before making a bee-line to the cashier.

“Mindfucked too much?” It was hard to tell whether Mary was home already or not. While such generous use of foul language would usually point you somewhere 'safe to express yourself' if not in the home base direction outright, Mary was known to drop an F-bombs on a daily basis wherever. In the middle of the class wouldn't be her first time either. She lived closer to the campus, though.

“More like not enough.” Putting the handpicked items onto an empty space next to the register, she greeted the employee before refocusing back on Mary. Her answer must've betray a part of her previous dejected mood, because the response was instant and spot on.

“Damn. You're not coming, are you.”

“Not feeling it, I'm sorry.” There was no denying that she felt better now, but she'd still prefer to stay home tonight.

“Alright,” Her phone transported a heavily put-upon sigh right to her ear, “You're excused this once. If they drag you into their depressive circle of hell, though, I'm gonna come haunt their asses.” Fierce friends had certain perks.

“Or hunt.” Gie shot back good naturedly as she was getting through the payment procedure. That going off without a hitch, she was out of the store in no time.

“What do you know. It could bring the same results.”

“Despair?” It would be hard to miss her snicker. The door of the store closed behind her and she got back on her track leading home with renewed vigor, failsafe mechanism safely tucked in her bag.

“Ha ha. That's what I get for caring about you.”

But when the phone call ended ten minutes later, she wondered whether Mary will have to be taken up on her offer, if it'll really come to that. Will there be silence when she gets home? What sort of scene will greet her?[P1]  To make the suddenly reinstated warzone even worse, the pair of undecisive fools was getting along pretty fine as of late.

Did Thor hit them with his hammer over their heads or something?

Now, arguments and bickering were a part of any relationship. Clashes were either handled or not and that was it; a 'make it or break it' sort of deal basically and again, a pretty standard one at that. These two? They had brought the art of disputes to a whole another level by the sheer amount of practice in pair. What was left there to argue about, though? She could swear that they've argued even about the water pressure in the shower already.

Taking a step back, maybe there was no need for them to make it official at all. They fought like a couple already, so there was a good chance that they had the partner software for encouraging staying together installed, too. But maybe not.

Them being as they are? Holding onto the remnants of their wild card statuses while also leaning over toward the other? It could bring literally anything. As of now, chaos and strangling of one another would be her bet on the most probable outcome, no matter what she really hoped for.

What truly boggled her mind was that the 'wild card' issue was more of Malik's signature there than Altair's. Sounding strange? Maybe because it was. If anything, you could always count on Malik being solid. As on him being a silent snide sniper. His words got the kill while his face might as well been cut from marble. That was his nature and it came with an objectively calm demeanor. All of that, her brother might rightfully pride himself for, because he perfected every single part of it to a state of art. Throwing him off, not to mention making his wall of tranquility crumble to dust wasn't an easy achievement.

Then Altair entered – or re-entered – the picture, turning out to be an equivalent to the proverbial fairy with a magical wand. 'Unusual' wouldn't even make the cut for an appropriate description of how out of character this was for her brother and still, the facts stood.

Not that she hadn't wondered about the strange enigma before; it only wasn't as important then as many other aspects that needed to be accounted for. But maybe it should have been. Altair's presence was undeniably toying with Malik on a full scale, so it was safe to assume that their whole relationship must've been even more complicated, elaborate or not, than she anticipated – and she gave a lot of room to possible variations of their history.

What was so bad about Altair that kept Malik doubtful?

Their personalities clashing could hardly be the reason – it obviously didn't matter even back in their heydays. Was he still hung up on the fact that she and Altair together were the plan A and the reason why the guy was here in the first place? Her brother could, indeed, hold a grudge. Was it the job? If so, then... Okay, it wasn't a traditional nine-to-five job where you are safely tucked in an office, she'd give Malik that. But Gie saw them together; this hesitating and dancing around each other would make sense only if they did not feel as strongly about each other anymore. To that, she called bullshit. She'd probably do the best to ask Altair about that when the soonest opportunity arises.

Using the key to their flat, she unlocked the door and nudged it ajar.

No sound.

Promising enough. Entering the flat, she put her bag on the bench right by the door.

Altair was passed out, half-lying behind the living room's low table, half-propped up on her beanbag in a position that suggested something was missing in the picture. The flat screen was still on, although only some commercial nonsense on low volume was taking up the screen there.

Before she could investigate the crime scene any further, different kind of muted noises caught her attention. They were coming from the direction corresponding with only one room in the apartment. That answered the question of where Malik disappeared to. Taking one deep breath for courage, she walked over to the kitchen.

“Hey.” Her greeting was on a cautious side of the spectrum, but nobody could blame her.

“Hey yourself,” Malik answered in kind readily enough if a bit distracted. Scanning what must've been instructions on a box of something presumably eventually edible, his attention taking its sweet time to shift onto her. Not that she minded; this wasn't bad compared to any kind of confrontation. She'd had it up to here of that.

“Coffee?” The offhand offer made its way to her, while Malik's eyes flicked back and forth between her and what appeared to be an instant version of Rubik's cube to him. An already made batch of coffee was the current main star of the kitchen counter. Steam coming from it declared that the beverage was fresh, too.

“Uh... I'll probably go with just tea? Thanks, though.” Perking up at that, he decidedly put the package back in the pantry, obviously finding the required amount of effort overly too much to bother with. It would also be Malik's attitude to food in general in a nutshell.

She was about to go over and set necessary things up to fix herself a cup, but Malik was one step ahead of her.

“The tests weren't bad then?” She watched as her brother proceeded to put water in the electric kettle before switching the thing on.

Oh.

“They were fine.” Since she had to wait for the water to boil, it was only sound logic to plop down on a chair – which was exactly what she did.

“Were they.”

“Stop it, you moron, you're not my parent.” Reminding him her adult status was a moot point now, but she did it anyway. Meanwhile, Malik poured himself a mugful of the steamy, tar black liquid, completely unperturbed.

“Look at the good news. The day's just gotten better for the both of us.” For all intents and purposes, his expectant look was interchangeable with the one of a hawk stalking its prey. She grudgingly conceded only because there was no other easy way of getting from under that type of scrutiny.

“I may not ace them both, but it wasn't as terrible as I expected. Professor de Sable took ill and our tests will be marked by a substitute teacher, so there's no way I'll get a bad mark on that one either.”

The nightmarish teacher had been picking on her ever since her first year of taking the course. She couldn't help but secretly think of his illness as a gift from above.

“I though you said you got a different lecturer already?” If Gie was ten years younger, she'd probably appreciate his brotherly frown much more. As it was, she could handle one numskull without any additional help.

“False alarm. That would be that substitute I've mentioned. Looks like the baldhead doesn't know when to-” Sensing warning in the air, she promptly changed the intended ending of her sentence:

“-leave the scene,” which was closely followed by a quietly mumbled “or kick the bucket” original version.

“You were saying?”

“I said that he apparently must've dig his heels in somehow.” Gie blatantly lied without an ounce of shame in her body.

The good thing about being raised into adulthood by a strict brother? He was still way more lenient than their parents would be. She held no hope of her brother believing that's what she really said, but he let her be anyway, because Malik himself thought that the guy was an asshole. But even better than that; any 'tight spots' like this one trained her in the façade game that Malik was a master of, too.

When he wanted to be, that is. Looking at him taking the box full of teabags in his hand, nose wrinkling in disgust, one wouldn't believe such a claim. If Malik could, he would hold that box like a bag full of dog presents, no doubt. Dork.

“Sheesh, you're a riot. Give me that,” Getting back on her feet, she stole the box which was offending her brother's sensibilities out of his grasp and fished out one teabag before storing the rest back in the cupboard. Right on time, the kettle switched off, too, so she threw the teabag inside an empty mug that Malik had left on the counter for that purpose exactly and poured hot over it straight away. Brimming with satisfaction, she looked over at Malik, who still did not bother to regain his stony decorum. As much as he was furrowing his brows, though, he was in a casual, laid-back mood.

“You should stop.” Still, his voice was as gruff as always. His nod towards her drink said all there was needed to decipher what he was referring to. She nonchalantly ignored the clue, pretending ignorance.

“With what?” She intentionally gave Malik an innocent look.

“Drinking that garbage.” As if she did not see that coming. The deadpan nag made her snicker for its utter uselessness. They had gone over this one thousand times already and yet, somehow, Malik never seemed to tire of it.

“You should stop,” she shot back to exact her revenge.

“With what?” Humoring her, he went along with the game, striking the familiar pose which included folded arms on his chest. His eyes were soft, though; contrary to their hard shine whenever adapting the posture in a serious conflict.

He probably expected her to say something along the lines of “nagging me about the tea” and to be fair, nobody could blame him for it since that was exactly what she wanted to go with. Initially. But a single, no matter how short, moment to rethink the opportunity was all it took to decide on a change. Biting on her lower lip, she went for it.

“Being so stubborn.” And she might as well ask for a sky to lean down and hand over some of its stars to her while she was at it. Honestly, Gie was well-aware of how her words sounded. But demanding an all-out annihilation of the character trait wasn't the point here. Therefore, she clarified:

“Why do you guys argue so much – really?”

Fully prepared to see him withdrawing into himself and closing off again, she faced a distinctly different reaction. While Malik was fast to catch onto what she was talking about, he showed no sign of being displeased with the topic.

“I argue with idiots in general. That's my job. I thought you already knew that.” Even busy with removing the teabag out of her mug after taking a careful, evaluating sip, it didn't stop her from pointing the obvious, encouraged by his response:

“Yeah, but not like you do with Altair...” It was much easier to continue pursuing the matter with his open attitude and his trademark scowl on vacation.

At last noticing that the issue was really troubling her, his blasé vibe evaporated out of the room. Sh- shrooms in a meadow. Counting her chickens way too soon.

“Geor-”

“I know I have no right to stick my nose into it, but what happened so wrong that you feel the constant need to butt heads?”

Silence and him clenching his jaw didn't look much promising in regard to her hopes of getting an answer when-

“We just do.” While his tone was even, and Malik obviously managed to reign whatever had made him grit his teeth in, all she got for her trouble was less than a bare minimum one would be able to work with. Before she could even let out a put-upon exhale at the cryptic reply, though, he gave in and elaborated further:

“It's the way we deal with stuff.” Now it was his turn to mumble something. What, Gie didn't manage to catch, “We've solved the... issue already, though.”

“So you'll argue less now?”

“Not likely,” if that wasn't a definitive statement right there. Splendid. She was starting to think that Mary was right. In one-year time, Italian mafia will pale in comparison. Relationship preferences...

Thinking back a bit, this was the first time Malik also openly addressed his relationship with Altair in her company. And what a fanfare did he chose to play it with. Speaking of that, on a closer look, Malik seemed this close to ask a question of its own, but he swiftly buried it expertly, shoving his attention into the caffeinated drink of his choice, he was holding. She could guess what this was about, though. Her brother was truly hopeless.

Ask who needs it spelled out for them again, brother.

“Hey.” Unphased, she walked over and started to unload stuff from the fridge that would make for a solid, good meal when rightly prepared. Chicken, vegetables and rice will do it.

“Hm?”

“I really don't mind, okay?” Malik took some time to react other than pin her with an intense gaze.

“Why?”

She smiled. For once, he was the dumb one.

“Because you're my brother.” Good and done with that, she pulled out a cutting board, issuing a challenge:

“Wanna cook together?”

“You'll tell me to get out in five minutes flat.” Was the gruff answer.

“That's not an answer.”

Keeping an eye on her with undisguised suspicion, he cautiously went to get a knife.

“The kitchen counter is not long enough for both of us.”

“I was here first!” Immediately calling dibs on the piece of furniture, she laughed as he swore.

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#cbyp #assassin's creed #altmal