#obsidian tutorials

[space-writes]

Obsidian Tutorial - Setting Up A Vault

I’ve decided to make a collection of mini-tutorials for Obsidian, since I figure those of you finding it from me and then going ‘wait what how do I use this??’ might find them helpful. By mini I mean really small: my goal is to explain one thing in each post, to keep it from being overwhelming. So without further ado, the first tutorial!

[ID purple decorative divider]

In this mini-tutorial, I’ll explain how to set up an Obsidian vault.

This is the first thing you need to do to get started. What’s a vault? Well, since Obsidian is at it’s core files inside of folders, a vault is just the folder where your notes are stored.

First, download and install obsidian

Next, when you open Obsidian, you’ll see a launcher like this:

[ID: A screenshot of the Obsidian launcher, showing a list of existing vaults and their file paths on the left. In the main section of the launcher are the options to create a new vault, open a folder as a vault, and to sign into the Obsidian Sync service. Below all of these is the drop-down menu to change languages]

Next to ‘create a new vault’ click create.

Choose a name for your vault and enter it under vault name. This could be as simple as ‘My Notes’ or the name of your writing project. I’m extra, so mine’s called Pantheon.

Click on ‘browse’ and select the place you want to save your vault. I suggest your documents folder, but you can choose anywhere.

Click create.

[ID: A screenshot of the Obsidian launcher, showing the options for creating a local vault. There is a box to enter a vault name, a button selector labelled ‘browse’ to select a save location, and a purple ‘create’ button.]

That’s it, you’re done! You now have a shiny new Obsidian vault to go play with. In the next tutorial I’ll go over installing a theme, so you can start making it look pretty which, as we all know, is the most important part of any writing program :p

[ID purple decorative divider]

check out my obsidian tag for more posts

check out the tutorials tag for other obsidian tutorials

obsidian resources masterpost

download obsidian

got questions? tutorial suggestions? want to say hi?

#obsidian md #obsidian.md #obsidian tutorials #obsidian tutorial #writing tools #trying to be better with image descriptions esp for tutorial things

[rosepehtels]

how to set-up dataview plugin | obsidian tutorial

obsidian has emerged as a powerhouse in the world of note-taking and knowledge management, offering a flexible and intuitive platform for organizing thoughts, ideas and information.

with this comes plugins offered by obsidian's community and most notable is the dataview plugin. today, i'll be walking you through the process of setting up dataview queries in obsidian.

what is dataview?

dataview is a plugin for obsidian that adds powerful data querying and visualization capabilities to your notes. it allows you to query and manipulate structured data using a simple and intuitive syntax, allowing you to create dynamic tables, charts and other visualizations directly within your notes.

installing the dataview plugin

to get started, refer to this post for how to download obsidian plugins or read the following steps:

open obsidian and navigate to the settings by clicking on the gear icon in the bottom left corner

in the settings menu, select "community plugins'

search for "dataview" then click "install"

setting up the plugin

define your data. define what data you want to query and visualize. this typically consists of adding metadata tags to your notes to categorize them. for example, you might add #task, #project, or #person to categorize them by task, project or person.

(see: how to add metadata to your notes)

2. create queries. now you can start creating your queries to retrieve and manipulate your data. dataview uses a simple query language that allows you to filter[[how to filter using dataview]], and aggregate your data in various ways. you can use the table directive to create a dynamic table of notes that match certain criteria or the `list` directive to create a list of notes grouped by a particular attribute.

basic query syntax: to create a basic query, you can use the `table` directive followed by filtering conditions like so:

```dataview

table

from #tag

where #condition

```

filtering: use `where` clause to filter notes based on specific conditions like so:

```dataview

table

from #task

where #status = "incomplete"

```

sorting: you can sort the results using the `sort` directive like so:

```dataview

table

from #task

where #status = "incomplete"

sort file.name asc

```

grouping: group the results using the `group` directive like so:

```dataview

table

from #task

group by #project

```

3. visualize your data. with dataview, you can also create powerful visualizations of your data directly within your notes. the plugin supports a variety of visualization types, including tables, charts, and graphs. You can use these visualizations to gain new insights from your data and identify patterns and trends that might not be apparent from the raw text alone.

this post was written with assistance of chat gpt.

--

my other obsidian posts:

obsidian resources

my review on obsidian

5 obsidian plugins for writers

my top 5 obsidian plugins

my obsidian tutorials masterpost

#obsidianmd #obsidian.md #obsidian md #obsidian plugins #obsidian plugins rec #writeblr #mine: obsidian.md #writers on tumblr #writerscommunity #creative writing #writers #writers and poets #author #ao3 writer #mine: guide #mine: resources #mine: obsidianmd #obsidiantutorials #obsidian for beginners #obsidianmd guide #obsidian dataview #dataview #obsidian markdown #obsidian tutorial #obsidian tutorials #how to set-up dataview plugin

[thespacelizard]

Hi! I saw your post about Obsidian (for note taking) and I was wondering how you added custom fonts? Or if there's some resources you could point me to that would help figuring out some tips and how to use it

hello!

so, the simplest method for custom fonts is to first make sure it’s installed on your computer (if you download a new font, right-click and hit ‘install’).

Then if you just want to change the base font in obsidian for either all of the interface, or for editing/reading mode, you can go into settings, then under ‘Font’, you select the ‘manage’ option, and there’ll be a text box/dropdown you can type in to find the font you want. Click ‘add’ and then that’s done!

If you want to do custom fonts for headings, or for specific pages/cssclasses (like I’ve done for Obedience and claws in my notes), then you will have to do a little bit of css, but it’s not as scary as it sounds i promise!

To make a cssclass, all you really need is a text editor. You can use notepad if you’re just doing a few little things, but if you want to start doing a lot I recommend getting one that’s more designed for it. I use brackets because it’s free and easy, but a lot of people use VSCode which is. too intimidating for me. and too much for my usecase anyway.

im getting offtopic. FONTS!

now, i am. out of date with all the new variables and also i write bad css, but the way I do it if I want specific header fonts is like this:

.markdown-preview-view h1 { font-family: COOL FONT; }

OR apparently, as I just learned in checking to write this, you can use ‘.markdown-rendered h1’ as the class. either seems to work…my css is very old.

now there is a way to do this for all headings at once without copy-pasting it for h1, h2, h3 etc but i don’t know how to do it right and at this point my css works and so i Leave It Alone

this only does it for Reading Mode, because i like having more ‘text-y’ fonts for writing and then pretty ones for reading when I’m done. to change things for live preview/source view, you need to do

.markdown-source-view.mod-cm6 .cm-header { font-family: COOL FONT; }

And if you want different fonts for different headers, change the ‘.cm-header’ part to ‘.cm-header-1’ (or whatever number of heading size you want.)

You can add things other than fonts in there as well, like font-size, text-transform, and other css classes. (this is why i like brackets, it suggests classes and property fills as you’re typing which is good because i. forget what the options are)

If you want to go poking around in obsidian to figure out which selector is doing what, hit Ctrl+shift+i on windows (for mac, I believe it's command+option+i), and it’ll bring up the developer console, so you can use inspect element to track down selectors. (selectors are the thing you put after the period (.) and tell the css which element to target)

I like to make custom css classes for things, and to make one of those, you just type ‘.classname’ before the variable you want to change. E.g. for claws it looks like:

.claws.markdown-rendered h1 { font-family: LEVIBRUSH; }

then to add that to a note, you need to add the ‘cssclasses’ property in the frontmatter. you can make the frontmatter with three dashes like this:

--- cssclasses: claws ---

or you can use the properties side panel and hit ‘add property’ and then make cssclasses. this then means that all the css wizardry you do prefixed with that class will only apply to pages with that class, which I really like for making unique workspaces for different projects.

adding your snippet

so now you've made your snippet, you just need to load it in. the simplest way is to head to Settings -> Appearance, and scroll down to where it says 'CSS Snippets'. Hit the folder icon, and that'll open the folder you need to save the snippet.

make sure you save your notepad or brackets or whatever document as '.css' first. you can literally just do this by right clicking a saved notepad document and changing the name to 'name.css' if you need to.

save that css document into the snippets folder, go back to settings and hit the 'reload' snippets button to get it to show up, toggle it on, and voila!

now what you can do is edit that snippet live in obsidian just by. editing it. and hitting save. it'll live update and you can tinker. that's all i do: have brackets and obsidian open at the same time and just. fuck about till things work. i like problem solving, so it's usually fun for me :)

resources!

Obsidian CSS Quick Guide - Share & showcase - Obsidian Forum → a quick guide to poking around and how to find css classes in obsidian

Headings - Developer Documentation → full list of css variables you can play with. this gives you an idea of just how many things you can customise in obsidian which is to say. all of it.

i also just recommend googling around about CSS and how to use it. W3 schools is usually my go-to, it’s pretty good. Or searching ‘how to do x with css’ and usually either reddit or stackexchange will have decent answers.

you can find fonts all over, and i know google is a bitch, but google fonts has a bunch of good fonts. that's where most of mine are from, honestly

#obsidian md #obsidian.md #this is such a quick and dirty tutorial but i hope it helps! #absolutely feel free to ask for clarification im still working on my 'giving tutorials' skills #most of how i figured out how to do things was frantic googling and trial and error so i am in no way an expert #my css is a frightening franken-mess we don't look too closely at but it works for me and that's all that matters #you can't *really* break things with css as well tbh #if it makes something weird just delete the snippet and it's fixed

[badkitty3000]

The Download:

Five Hargreeves x Reader

It's the end of the world and everyone you know is gone. After you find yourself at the Hotel Obsidian, you realize you have something in common with the rest of the remaining population. When Number Five takes a particular interest in you, and your special ability, the evening turns into much more than you expected.

The universe may be hours away from imploding, but you and Five are going out with a bang.

Chapters 3, 4, 5 (complete)

WARNING: EXPLICIT SEXUAL DEPICTIONS AHEAD!

Link to Chapters 1 and 2

Link to my AO3 Works

Chapter Three: Inside You

This artwork is also posted with KayBreezy's Bad Things. It's so good it works for both stories!

On that note, you pushed Five back so that he landed on the bed, sprawled out and staring up at you with anticipation as you leaned down, hovering over him so that your breasts were tantalizingly close to his face. As he ran his hands up your sides and back down again, you gave him one long, hard kiss before pulling away again.

“Are you going to keep teasing me all night or are we going to do this?” he asked. You could tell he was trying to be snarky but with his harsh breathing, it came off more desperate. Which you loved.

Nodding and giving him a sly smile, you stood up and closed your eyes. “Be forewarned. It’s about to get a little kinky up in your brain.”

You didn’t open your eyes, but you heard Five breathe out a quiet laugh. You concentrated, going inside your brain and gathering up all the files you wanted him to have. And there were quite a lot. Things that you had experienced with others that you liked and things that you were curious about trying. You thought quickly about the basics of sex and made a little tutorial that he could use, as well.

But the biggest file was filled with all of the things you were dying to have Five do to you. You wanted him to know exactly where to touch you, and how you liked it; how you wanted to be taken. But only by him. Because for some reason, you were dying to have him unleash himself on you. And you wanted him to be the last man you fucked before the world ended.

The golden orb floated in the air between you, growing bigger as your thoughts collected inside. Only a few seconds had passed and it was filled with everything you wanted him to know. With another push from your mind, the orb was absorbed into Five and his eyes briefly glowed with a golden light.

It took just a moment of him taking in everything before he sat up on the bed, feet still on the floor. A lustful smile slowly crossed his face and his eyes darkened. The sudden change had you on edge, like a rabbit cornered by a wolf and you watched anxiously as he stripped off his jacket, vest, and tie. But when he reached up, softly kissing your lips as he guided you back onto the bed, your body immediately relented to his touch; the sense of danger replaced by want.

And fuck, did you want him. You’d never wanted anything or anyone this badly in your life. How had this happened? How had this snarky, arrogant, man-child taken you apart so easily?  Maybe it was his eyes, or just the way he looked at you with all that intensity. Maybe it was the pent-up rage inside of him that you could feel dying to get out. Or maybe it was the pure fucking audacity he had to assume you’d just fall into bed with him. Which he was right about, but still.

“Thank you,” he murmured against your mouth.

His gratitude was oddly sincere and you kissed him in return, looping your arms around his shoulders and running your nails lightly down his back, feeling the warmth of his skin underneath his shirt.

“You gave me a lot to work with here, but I think I’m up for the challenge.”

Five had pulled away, a sly smile creeping across his face when he looked your body up and down as you laid underneath him. You matched his smile with your own.

“Then you better get to work. Because last I checked, the world was still ending and I’d liked to be fucked at least one more time before it does.”

He grabbed your ass, hard with one hand, while the other held his body over yours. He ground his hips into you and you could feel his obvious erection rubbing against your leg.

“Sweetheart, when the world finally ends, you’re going to be so fucked out, you won’t even notice.”

Your opportunity to respond with another witty comeback was cut short when you felt Five’s hand in your hair, gently tugging your head back, and his mouth on your neck. After a few soft kisses, you felt his teeth dig into your skin as he bit down. It wasn’t a hard bite, more like he was experimenting with you. But it was enough to send a quick flash of electricity down your spine and you arched your neck back, letting out a small whine.

It was playing right into his arrogance, letting him get the best of you like that, but you didn’t really care. Every touch of his hand or mouth on your body felt so fucking good, and if inflating his ego a little bit meant you could get more, then you sure as hell weren’t going to do anything to stop it. You could feel how he broke into a self-satisfied smile as he continued to tease you with small nips to your neck, your fingers digging a little harder into his shoulders.

“Since I suddenly seem to know that you want me to mark you all over, I assume you gave me that little insight?” he asked, his teeth and tongue tracing a line under your jaw.

“Yes,” you breathed out.

“And can I also assume that request was meant only for me?”

You sucked in a sharp breath as he moved to your collarbone with a sucking kiss. “Yes,” you answered again. You had a feeling that was going to be your answer for most of his questions going forward. There wasn’t much you were willing to deny him.

Five stopped suddenly, changing his position so he was straddling your thighs and he grabbed your wrists in each of his hands, pulling your arms over your head and pinning them to the bed, just like he had downstairs. His eyes were dark and full of lust as he leaned over you.

“I’m going to give you everything you want, and I’m going to give it to you rough, and hard, and loud; just how I know you like it. And I’m going to mark this beautiful body as my own so everyone will know who it belongs to.”

He gripped your wrists tighter and you swallowed nervously, even though every nerve ending in your body was on fire.

“But first, I want to hear you say it. Not just in my head. Out loud.” He smirked evilly. “Who does this body belong to?”

There was a sharp edge to his voice that was both threatening and pleading at the same time. You had never given up so much of your inner thoughts to anyone before, and having him present them back to you like that was intimidating. But, fuck, it was definitely working. You were going to do whatever he wanted from you; you already knew it.

“It belongs to you,” you managed to get out; sounding much more pathetic than you had intended. Your voice was strained and you pulled against his hands on your wrists, but he held fast.

“That’s my good girl,” he whispered into your mouth as he kissed you.

Had you been able to step outside your body and look down at yourself, you would have laughed. This young kid that was holding you down, somehow overpowering you, and calling you his good girl was way too bizarre to comprehend. But you were too busy letting out a long, desperate moan and pushing your hips up to pay much attention to the ridiculousness of it all.

You had downloaded what you wanted him to know into his mind, but he still had the free will to use it or not. So, there was still an element of suspense as you waited; wondering what he was going to do next. Would he use everything you gave him? Or completely take you by surprise?

Letting go of your wrists, Five ran his hands over and down your bare thighs, his fingers lightly brushing beneath the hem of your dress. Assuming he was going to take his time, he caught you off guard when he found the seam on the side of the skirt and ripped it open in one strong pull. The dress was split open on one side, all the way to your waist. You gasped, breathing heavily, even as you complained.

“Hey, I like this dress.”

“I’ll get you another one,” he responded wryly, even though the tiniest smirk was showing through on his face. “Right now, I want this one off.”

With another hard pull, the other side of the skirt was ripped open. Then, before you even knew what was happening, Five had pulled you up, and reached his arms around to your back. One forceful tug with both hands had the rest of the dress tearing down the back, the zipper pulling away from its stitching and leaving your entire back exposed. The cute, velvet dress that you had admired earlier when you put it on was now essentially a pile of rags.

“Jesus…”

You didn’t have time to say anything more as Five pushed you back against the mattress and pulled the remains of the dress away from your body and all of the way off. Left in your bra and panties, lying beneath him as he continued to straddle your legs, reminded you of your vulnerability. Five may be in a teenage body, but he was clearly stronger than you. Maybe it wasn’t that good of an idea to just trust him with your thoughts. He knew you wanted to be dominated, but what if he took it too far? The fact that he was still fully dressed further tipped the scales to his advantage.

His eyes traveled hungrily over your body, not touching you at first, just taking you all in.

“God damn it, you’re stunning” he growled, his fists clenching briefly like he was trying to control himself.

He moved so that he was kneeling between your legs, and you instinctively bent them at the knees as he leaned over you to kiss you roughly on the mouth. You moaned into him as he pushed his tongue inside and bit at your lips. His hands were on either side of your head, but he started gradually moving south. Your back arched as more bite marks and bruises were branded onto your skin; all down your neck and over your chest. There was no way you’d be able to hide them or cover them up. Which is exactly what he wanted.

Your moans were deep, followed by sharp hisses between clenched teeth after every sensual bite he gave you. The skin under each mark stung even after he had moved on to another, but the hurt was delicious. You wanted more. And your body writhed under him as he took his time. When finally, he was satisfied with his work, Five pulled back to admire the damage he had inflicted. A slow, one-sided smile spread across his face.

“Fuck, I didn’t think you could get any hotter, but I think I like you even better this way.” He ran a finger over one of the bruises on your collarbone. “There’s no doubt this is mine now.”

When he removed your bra, he let out a shaky groan before pushing your tits together, and running his thumbs over each erect nipple, followed by his tongue. It was embarrassing how much you could barely stand any more teasing from him. Your hips were pressing upwards, trying to get any contact you could as your clit throbbed from lack of attention and your panties were soaked through.

“Ah…please,” you whined, not even intending to say it out loud. It was as if your body had taken over your brain and it only wanted one thing.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart? Am I taking too long?” Five teased.

There was no warning, no hint of what he was thinking, when he reached down between your legs, shoving his hand into your underwear. The sudden sensation of his fingers on you, when you had been starving for his touch, sent your hips thrashing wildly into him, your head thrown back and a long, loud whine escaping from your lips.

His fingers leisurely stroked through your folds and over your clit. This was almost a worse torture than no touch at all, and you wanted so much more. The fact that you were completely coming apart for him was fueling Five’s confidence and he kept up the languid pace.

“I love how wet you are for me,’ he said quietly before kissing your mouth, and cutting off another moan. “Are you dying for me to fuck you right now?”

You didn’t care about the preservation of your dignity anymore, and you whimpered sad and pleading, clutching at his shoulders.

“Yes, god, please…”

With another irritating smirk, Five placed a kiss at the corner of your mouth. You were fighting the urge to push his hand harder into yourself, when he removed his fingers all together. With a wicked grin, he brought his hand up to his mouth and sucked his fingers clean, all while looking you in the eye. You didn’t think such a dirty act could be so hot, but there was the fucking proof as another rush of wetness formed between your legs.

“Sorry, darling. You’re going to have to wait a little longer for a good fucking. Right now, I want a better taste.”

You held your breath as he pushed your soaking wet panties off and moved his body down for better access. The minute you felt his tongue on you, your whole body arched and you grabbed the bedcovers beneath you in your fists.

“Fuuuck…Five!” you yelled, your voice strained and high-pitched in its neediness.

It wasn’t going to take long; that much was clear. Even though you had given him some basic instructions on what you liked in your mind transfer, you were pretty sure what he was doing went way beyond the basics. Maybe he didn’t have experience, but he sure as hell had good instincts, and apparently that translated to eating pussy, as well.

He didn’t let up, no matter how hard you bucked against him; his tongue swirling and licking through your most sensitive areas. When he started flicking his tongue over your clit, you were just about at your limit; but when he pushed two fingers inside of you while his mouth was still on you, you completely tipped over the edge.

“Oh god…don’t stop…please…yes…right there…OH FUCK!”

The spasms ripping through your body were hard and intense and you could feel each and every muscle contracting while you pushed yourself harder against him. Your cries were loud and could probably be heard by anyone that happened to be on the same floor. But, luckily or unluckily, depending on how you looked at it, there weren’t any other people around.

Five waited until your body had relaxed again and your whimpers had died down before fully pulling away and removing his fingers from you. He sat back, breathing hard, but smiling as he saw what a complete mess he had just made of you.

“Jesus…Christ,” you panted up at him. “I thought you’d never done that before.”

Five shrugged, the arrogance never leaving his face. “I told you. I’m the best at everything.”

It was such an outlandish, egotistical claim, and yet you had every reason to believe him now. You let out a breathy laugh and sat up, trying to compose yourself again. Even though your body needed time to recover post-orgasm, Five was still full of pent-up horniness and you could practically see it radiating off of him. You could also see it in his pants.

Climbing off the bed, you grabbed the collar of his dress shirt with one hand and pulled him up for a kiss, your other hand palming over his erection, rubbing it firmly over the outside of his pants.

He gave a loud groan as you kissed him, pushing into your hand at the same time. When you pulled away from his mouth, you grinned.

“If that dick gets any harder, you’re going to be ripping right through those lovely tailored pants of yours.”

Five pulled you roughly against his body with a grunt. “Then let me fuck you.”

You eyed him up for a second. You were absolutely going to let him fuck you; but with your own needs met for the time being, you were more than willing to wait a while and have some fun with him in the meantime. With a slow shake of your head, you closed further in on him, forcing him to back up until there was nowhere else to go and he was pinned against the wall. You pressed your naked body against him, kissing him hard.

His chest was heaving with loud breaths and he dug his fingers into your bare skin as he held tightly to your hips. As you reached up to start unbuttoning his shirt, your eyes met his and your mouth turned up at one corner.

After you pulled his shirt out of his pants, you spread it open and ran your hands down his firm chest. His eyes had closed again from your touch and his head tipped back against the wall as you sucked a red bruise on his neck, right under his jaw line. His pulse was racing beneath your lips. When you pulled away, you smiled with satisfaction.

“You’re so fucking gorgeous, Five. But I’m going to ruin this beautiful new body of yours. Because you belong to me now.”

You could feel the vibration of a shaky exhale as you marked another bruise on his neck and he wound his fingers tightly into your hair.

“Just let me fuck you…please,” he begged desperately.

You shook your head no, even as his fist tightened in your hair and he let out a low groan of frustration.

“You’re wound so tight right now, you’re going to explode the second your dick is inside of me.” Five moaned quietly with just the thought. “And no one wants that. So, let me take care of that problem first.”

You got to work unbuckling his belt and undoing his pants, all while leaving a trail of marks over his supple, fair skin. Working with touch alone, you found the waistband of his underwear and slowly ran your fingers inside, listening to his strained breathing as he reflexively jerked his hips toward you. The poor man had waited long enough, so you pushed the waistband over his nicely-sized erection, grasping the solid shaft in your hand.

Five let out a loud, drawn-out groan as you slid your hand up and down slowly, savoring the silky-smooth feeling of his skin. But you didn’t tease him very long and soon you were stroking him faster and firmly, lightly twisting your hand as you spread the leaked pre-cum over his length. Marking his collarbone with your teeth as you rapidly jerked him off, you couldn’t help but notice how it was turning you on, as well.

From the gasping, guttural sounds that Five was making, to his tightening fist in your hair, it was making you wet and you had to concentrate on what you were doing. You didn’t want to lose the momentum; he was already teetering close to the edge. You were surprised when you suddenly felt his hand on your wrist, stopping your movements. When you looked up at him, his face was filled with a mixture of desperation, lust, and worry.

“Stop…I can’t…I’m…” He was panting hard, his words catching in his throat as he tried to speak.

Taking your other hand and pushing him off of your wrist, you gave a tiny shake of your head. “Come in my hand. It’s ok.”

With just a few more strokes, Five was arching his back, his palms flat against the wall as he thrust his hips towards you, his cock throbbing as he came hard with your hand around him. Ropes of cum painted your hand and forearm, his strangled cry mixing with the shuddering of his body as you worked him through it. When he was finally spent and drained, you released your grip and he collapsed limply into the wall.

“Fucking Christ,” he breathed out, finally able to open his eyes and look at you again.

“Christ had nothing to do with that. That was all me,” you joked as you tucked him back into his underwear again.

It was the first time you had heard him genuinely laugh; it was short and breathy, but it was sincere and made you laugh, too. Feeling suddenly uncomfortable with the intimacy, which was weird considering everything you’d just experienced together, you excused yourself so you could clean up in the bathroom. As luck would have it, Five had found a room with an attached bathroom, rather than the community baths on some other floors. It was old and run-down, as most things in the hotel were, with a sad looking pedestal sink and separate faucets for hot and cold water. Still, there was clean, running water; which all things considered was kind of a miracle. Once you were washed off, you joined Five back in the room.

He was sitting on the bed, his pants zipped back up, but with his shirt fully off and lying next to him. As he saw you come out, he held the shirt out to you.

“I realized I destroyed your only piece of clothing, so you can wear this in the meantime if you’d like.”

The shy smile on his face, combined with his dark, tousled hair had him looking every bit of seventeen and you wondered briefly if you had actually done the right thing. But then he watched you as you tugged your underwear back on and pulled your arms through his white dress shirt, his eyes roaming over your body like he didn’t just have his face between your legs and his dick in your hand. You were filled again with that feeling, like electricity coursing through your veins from just one lustful stare.

Five stood up and closed the gap between you. The shirt he gave you was still unbuttoned but it loosely covered your breasts and hung down past your hips, with the black lace of your panties over your ass peeking out the bottom. He placed his hand lightly on your neck, rubbing his thumb over one of the bruises he had left.

“I like this. You, wearing my shirt and my bite marks. Makes me want to give you more.”

Your panties hadn’t even had a chance to dry out before they were saturated again. But you looked up at him, tracing your index finger over a red, mouth-shaped mark on his chest.

“I wouldn’t mind some more.”

Grinning in that arrogant way that you were inexplicably starting to crave, he gave you a quick but gentle kiss on the lips.

“Oh, we’re going to get to that. You’ve filled my brain with far too many things to be calling it a night already. And besides, one of the perks of being young again is the very short recovery period.”

“Well, that’s good to know,” you smiled.

Five started buckling his belt back up and your eyebrows creased together in confusion.

“Usually, you don’t get more dressed before banging.”

He gave a short chuckle. “I figured maybe I could go find you some actual clothes to wear since you may want them eventually. And maybe some drinks to bring back.”

You nodded and looked around the hotel room. There wasn’t much in the way of amenities and the orange glow coming from behind the curtain over the one window in the room made you feel uneasy. Five didn’t seem to notice your anxiety, though, and he pushed his hand through his hair to comb it back off his face.

“I’ll be back soon,” he stated before heading for the door.

“Wait!”

He turned back to you and you suddenly felt foolish for not wanting to be left alone. “You’re not even wearing a shirt or socks and shoes,” you offered up as an excuse.

Five shrugged and looked down at himself. “I don’t care. The odds of running into anyone are pretty low, and even if I do, I don’t really give a shit.”

You nodded, your mouth drawn to the side in contemplation, and you twisted your hands together in front of your body. Five finally noticed your hesitation, and he walked back over to you.

“You ok?”

“Yeah, it’s just…” you looked back over towards the window and then back to Five. Your voice cracked a little when you spoke. “I guess I’d rather not be completely obliterated while I’m all by myself. As dumb as that sounds.” You attempted a half-smile.

Five studied your face for a second and you weren’t sure how to read his expression. Was he going to make fun of you? Scoff and say it hardly mattered if you were alone or not, you were all going to die? You held your breath as you waited for him to speak.

“Yeah, I get that,” he said, with no trace of cynicism.

You swallowed. “Can I go with you? It’s probably easier if I find my own clothes, anyway. I do have what I was wearing before; I used the bathroom on the first floor to change.”

The corner of Five’s mouth turned up and he looked down at your current clothing situation.

“As much as I would love to watch you walk around in this outfit, do you really want to go out like that?”

You let out a soft laugh and looked down at yourself. Then you started buttoning up the shirt to cover as much of your body as possible. “Like you said, we probably won’t see anyone. And if we do, I don’t give a shit either.”

He nodded with a smile. “Ok, then. Let’s go.”

Five opened the door for you to walk out first, but not before he gave you one good smack on the ass as you passed by him, making you jump and cry out. But the look you shot him over your shoulder as you kept walking let him know you definitely hadn’t minded.

You and Five took the elevator down to the first floor, stepping out cautiously and looking both ways out of the doors to make sure there wasn’t anyone coming. With the coast clear, you set off in search of your clothes while Five took off in the direction of the bar.

After successfully locating your clothes and shoes that you had originally been wearing, you didn’t bother putting them back on. The plan was to meet Five back at the elevator and go back to the room. So, there was really no point in putting more clothes on.

On your way back, you heard raised voices coming from the lobby area. Concerned, you made your way over; close enough to see and hear what was going on, but far enough back that you hadn’t been noticed yet.

“…none of your god damned business, that’s why! And since when do you care what I do, anyway?”

“Since you just randomly left the wedding, then suddenly showed up down here, half-dressed and covered in an astounding number of hickeys! I think that might warrant an explanation.”

Five laughed in a way that even you recognized as dangerous, and you barely knew him. “You’re unbelievable, you know that, Allison? I don’t have to explain anything to you. If you want to blame me for everything that’s happened, fine, go ahead. But I am done apologizing. So, why don’t you go glare angrily at someone else? I’m done with your bullshit.”

Their loud voices must have alerted the others from inside the ballroom, and soon everyone was gathered around while Five angrily ran his hands through his hair. You still hadn’t said anything or moved any closer, but Diego spotted you across the room and his eyebrows raised in surprise.

“Oh, shit,” he said with a half-smile.

Following his eyes, the rest of the crowd turned to look at you. Your first instinct was to shrink back into the shadows, or turn and run back to the room. But you saw Five’s rage-filled face and felt bad he was being ganged up on. Plus, you had told him you didn’t give a shit if anyone saw you. So, in answer to all of the wide eyes and shocked expressions, you squared your shoulders back and walked closer; your bare feet padding across the threadbare carpet and Five’s dress shirt barely covering your crotch.

“Seriously?” you heard Ben complain from the back of the group.

Allison crossed her arms over her chest and jutted her hip out. “Well, if it isn’t the Whore of the Apocalypse,” she sneered.

“Fuck you!” you shot back, walking up beside Five.

“Excuse me?” she asked, taking a menacing step towards you.

You stood your ground and Diego shot an arm out to the side to stop Allison from coming any closer to you. Your stare down with her was interrupted by a sudden outburst from Klaus.

“Aw, you guys…look! They have matching tattoos!” he joked, referring to the marks on both of your bodies.

Lila laughed loudly and Ben huffed, but everyone else just stood staring back and forth between you and Five, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

“Uh, Five? Isn’t she a little old for you?” Luther piped up.

“Well, technically he’s older than her. But I see your point. It’s a little weird,” Diego added.

“Yeah, and have you ever even, you know…” Klaus made a hole with his hand and poked his index finger in and out of it, whistling, “aside from your mannequin wifey?”

Five gave him a death glare.

“ …who was lovely by the way,” Klaus added brightly.

“What if she’s controlling your mind right now? Would you even know it?” Viktor asked with a dismissive glance in your direction.

Five opened his mouth to say something but you jumped in first. “That’s not how my powers work and you know it! It’s the end of the world and you people can’t just stay out of our business? Jesus, you really are a bunch of assholes.”

Viktor looked toward you with narrowed eyes. “My brother’s business is our business. You, however; I don’t give a shit about you.” Then he turned to Five. “Why is she even here? She’s not a part of this family.”

Five was the one that cut you off from speaking this time. He shook his head slowly, his entire body tensed like a coiled snake ready to strike. You could see the muscles in his arms and chest flexing as he clenched and unclenched his fists at his side, his abdomen even more defined as his core tightened. His eyes were dark and dangerous, despite the tight-lipped smile on his face.

“You’re right, Viktor, she’s not. Which is just one of many reasons I would prefer her company right now than any of yours.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Diego demanded.

“Shit, we’re all going to be incinerated in a few hours anyway, so I might as well say it,” Five muttered to himself. Then he looked Diego in the eyes. “I am done.”

“Done with what?” Luther asked.

Five gestured to all of them standing there. “You. Us. This whole fucked up family. I’m done apologizing, I’m done trying to fix things for you, and I’m done listening to your constant whining. Because here’s the truth; we may be about to die from an imploding universe right now, but the only reason you’re still standing here at all is because of me.”

When they started to protest, Five held his hand up. You could see his body soften slightly, but he remained poised and ready to fight.

“The fact is, I am exhausted. All I have heard for the past few weeks is What’s the plan, Five ?, What do we do now, Five ?. I gave you the warnings and I told you my time jumps weren’t exact. You knew of the risks before you agreed to any of it. And then what do I get after I save all of your sorry asses? This is all your fault, Five, We never should have listened to you, Five, You’re the reason I lost everything, Five.”

His words hung heavy over the room. No one said a thing, although they all exchanged silent glances with one another.

Five’s voice quieted and his shoulders slumped a little. “You can count me out of your little voting ceremony with Dad tomorrow. I don’t really care if you go along with him or not. But I’m staying here. Because no matter what horrible thing he’s going to lure you into, somehow you’re going to make it my fault. So, like I said; I am done.”

He shouldered past Klaus to get to the bar and leaned over to grab two full bottles of what you assumed to be whiskey. Then he walked over to you, shoved one of the bottles in your hand and looked you in the eyes.

“Do you still want to come back with me?”

You just nodded your head; still trying to take in all that he had told his family. Without another word, he grabbed your free hand and pulled you along with him as he stormed out of the lobby and towards the elevator. You couldn’t help but notice that no one called after him or asked him to come back. No one yelled out a half-hearted apology or even cursed him angrily. They just let him go.

Once inside the elevator, he wordlessly yanked the stopper out of the bottle in his hand and tipped it to his mouth, swallowing down an impressive amount in one gulp. When he lowered the bottle again, he was breathing fast and hard from adrenaline and his chest was heaving.

“Are…you ok?” you ventured.

He turned to you with surprise, almost as if he had forgotten you were there, so lost in his own thoughts.

He nodded. “Sorry about that.”

“You don’t have to apologize. It sounds like it needed to be said.”

Five shrugged and the elevator doors opened to your floor. He took another sip of the whiskey as he walked out. “Fuck them, anyway.”

You weren’t quite sure if he was talking to you, or to himself, but you chose not to comment. Instead, you followed him to the room and let him blink you inside since you never did get the key to the door. Once you were inside, you set down your clothes and the bottle you had been carrying. Then you took the one Five had out of his hand without asking. He watched as you took your own long swig and set it down next to the other one.

“That’s enough for now. I’m counting on you to be able to perform certain duties,” you said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood and break Five out of his angry brooding.

It worked, because you saw that flicker of lust cross his eyes again. “Come here.” His voice was soft but forceful.

He pulled you to him with a hand on the small of your back and the other on the side of your neck, his thumb caressing your cheek gently. When he kissed you, he tasted like whiskey and sex and desire, and you threaded your fingers into his hair as he held you tighter. Without any more hesitation, you began to unbuckle his belt and undo his pants, at the same time that he moved to hastily unbutton your shirt.

“You’re not going to rip this one off of me, too?” you teased.

“Fuck no. This is an exquisitely tailored shirt. I’m not going to just ruin it.”

With a roll of your eyes, you pushed his pants and underwear down his legs and he kicked them off, at the same time pushing the dress shirt off your shoulders and onto the floor. He lifted you up with his hands on your bottom and you jumped up, wrapping your legs around his waist. Your kisses were intense again as you pressed your naked chest onto his.

When he laid you down on the bed, ripping your underwear off and climbing over you, he stroked your bare thigh and the curve of your ass. You could feel how hard he was as he pressed himself against you.

“God, this fucking body of yours…” he moaned.

“It’s your body, now,” you answered breathlessly and you pushed into him, letting him know you didn’t want to wait any longer.

As an answer, he didn’t take it slow or gently, thrusting his cock all of the way into you in one aggressive push. When you cried out and dug your nails into his shoulder, he let out a long and throaty groan.

“Oh fuuuck, you’re tight.”

With a slow pull back, Five pushed back into you again, the amazing feeling making you gasp and moan. Holding himself over you with one arm, he raised one of your legs up and positioned it so you were resting it on his shoulder. He grinned down at you as you tipped your head back.

“You like this, huh?”

“You know I do.”

You grabbed his ass with both of your hands and pushed him into you, making him suck in a loud breath.

“I also know that you like it rough,” he growled as he suddenly started thrusting into you hard and fast.

He was right, you did like it, and your answer came in the form of a loud and long cry, throwing your head back again and shutting your eyes. He continued to ram into you, snapping his hips forcefully so that your body jerked violently in time with his movements. Your nails clawed at his back and you could feel the tightness of his muscles as he put all of his energy into fucking you as hard you wanted.

It was amazing, this feeling of finally having him inside of you. Maybe it had only been a few hours since you had met, but it felt like a lifetime of wanting and waiting. He was putting his new-found knowledge to work, hitting just the right spot every time, so that you never wanted it to stop. As Five’s thrusts became faster and more intense, he grabbed onto the headboard for leverage, driving himself even deeper inside of you. His skin became slick with a thin layer of sweat as he worked to give you everything you craved, and his hair flopped down and stuck to his forehead. With each animalistic grunt and growl he let out, he clenched his jaw and closed his eyes.

“Five…” you gasped as you clutched harder at his body. “Keep going. I’m going to come. Just don’t stop.”

He gave another low groan and he slammed into you as hard as he could, his cock sliding in and out like it was made just for you. It was all you could take before the room was filled with your shrieks and moans, your fingers digging into his back and your eyes shut tight. You could hear and feel Five come inside you, pulsing into you as his body stilled and he pressed his face into the crook of your neck to muffle the noises that erupted out of him.

You and he must have had the same thought as you moved your leg to a more comfortable position, his body still on top of yours. When he pulled out, a mixture of his cum and your juices running out of you, he leaned down and kissed you and you ran your fingers softly over the red lines you had made down his back.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I should have pulled out.”

That had been your concern as well, but as the reality of the situation sunk in, you realized it hardly mattered. “It’s ok. I don’t think there’s enough time for us to have to live with any consequences of our actions.”

Five gave you a lop-sided smile and moved next to you, draping an arm over your waist and kissing your shoulder. “Just one of the many upsides of an impending apocalypse.”

With a laugh, you turned on your side so you were face to face. You gently brushed his hair out of his eye and traced his lips with your fingers. It should have been uncomfortable. You hardly knew him, after all. But now that the sexual tension was gone, you felt good lying there with him. You were relaxed and you felt safe. But that didn’t necessarily mean he felt the same and you quickly moved your hand away from his face and backed away a couple inches, just in case he didn’t want that kind of intimacy. This was supposed to be just sex; there had been no talk of what was going to happen afterward. It was quite possible he wanted to be left alone now.

So, you were taken by surprise when he pulled your body back closer and kissed you tenderly while brushing away your own hair off your face. You sighed and snuggled in closer. He turned on his back so that you could rest your head on his chest and he put his arm around your shoulder. You felt him rub his cheek against your hair.

“What else did you put in my brain?”

“Nothing, I swear. Why?”

“Because there is no logical explanation for why you have this hold on me. I don’t even know you.”

You traced the outline of a faded scar on his abdomen, wishing you knew more about his past and that there was more time to learn about it.

“First of all, that’s not how that works. I can’t make you do something you don’t want to do, or make you feel a certain way.”

“I bet you can. You just don’t know you can.”

You frowned and looked up at him. “Are you accusing me of something?”

“No. I’m just saying what I said before. That you most likely have untapped potential in there. And it’s possible that you could unintentionally use those hidden abilities without you even realizing it.”

You sat up and faced him, shrugging his arm off. “So, you are accusing me. You’re saying I somehow tapped into your brain and made you what? Feel actual feelings for me?”

When he didn’t deny it, you climbed off the bed, standing over him as he propped himself up on one elbow. You gave a sarcastic laugh and shook your head in disbelief.

“God, I’m a fucking idiot. I can’t believe I just helped some kid get his dick wet for the first time, only to have it thrown back in my face. What makes you think I want anything to do with you, anyway? I didn’t realize you were that arrogant that you thought everyone is just dying to have you fall in love with them.”

Your voice was shaking and you balled your fists at your side. You wanted to put your clothes back on, because fighting with someone while naked didn’t have quite the same impact. But you didn’t want to break eye contact, staring Five down and waiting to see what pathetic excuse he was going to come up with. You braced yourself for the inevitable anger from him that you had seen towards his family. But that’s not what happened. Instead, he had the nerve to look sorry; watching you intently with those stupid green eyes of his.

“Can you sit down please?”

“Fuck you!”

Five sighed heavily. “I’m sorry. For everything I said. But can you please come here?”

“Why should I?”

“Because I didn’t mean to make you upset. And I don’t want you to go.”

He sounded sincere and it’s possible you had overreacted in the first place. Just one of your lovely personality traits was flying off the handle with little instigation. After some hesitation and a dramatic exhale, you sat back down on the bed next to him. He was still lying on his side and he placed his hand on top of yours.

“Look, I’m not very good at expressing my feelings. A lifetime of isolation will do that to you, so I’m told. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have them. And I’m sorry I accused you of anything. I was just surprised, that’s all.”

Your body had relaxed again and you no longer felt as defensive. “Surprised by what?”

Five looked away for a second and then back to you. “Like I said; you’ve got this weird hold on me.”

“What does that even mean?” you asked, wishing you knew how to read him better.

“Take a look.”

“What?”

“Do whatever you do that reads people’s feelings. That way you’ll know what I can’t say in words.”

Your eyebrows creased together and you cocked your head to one side as you studied him. “Are you sure about that? Most people don’t like it. It disarms them. Makes them feel exposed.”

Five nodded. “I’m sure. I trust you.”

After thinking it over, you agreed and you laid down next to Five, facing him. “Ok, here it goes.”

With your eyes closed, you focused on penetrating Five’s consciousness. As you dialed in on his emotions, a golden, sparkling tendril of light started to form in front of you. The more you concentrated, the more it grew, until there was a shimmering strand of gold connecting your mind to Five’s. As soon as the other end of the tendril made contact with his mind, everything came flooding towards you at once. There was a flash of light behind your eyes and then your head was filled with rapidly changing emotions, flipping through your brain at warp speed. You gasped loudly and then you opened your eyes, breaking the golden tendril, watching it disappear into the air. Five had felt nothing and he looked expectedly back at you, waiting for your reaction.

All of his feelings were whirling around inside of you, and they were strong and deep. And very real. Shame, self-blame, regret; those rose to the top. There was anger and fear there, too. But underneath that was love for his family and love for life. And something else that was just for you. A combination of appreciation, hope, and contentment. He felt comfortable with you. He felt a kind of happiness.

“Five,” you whispered as you placed a hand on the side of his face.

“Do you believe me?”

You nodded. “I can’t make you read my emotions, but I can tell you that I feel the same. I feel safe with you. And maybe that’s stupid, but it’s the truth. I like being with you.”

He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t need to. You already knew everything. Instead, he rolled you onto your back and kissed you. It wasn’t like before, when you were trying to devour each other. This was soft and passionate, and you ran your fingers through his hair and down the back of his neck. You sighed happily when he nuzzled into your neck and whispered your name. You weren’t sure what was happening between the two of you, but it didn’t really matter. There wasn’t much time left anyway, and all you knew was that whatever it was, it felt right.

Chapter Four: Accepting Your Fate

“I swear, if you pour that vodka on that cereal, I am out of here.”

Five looked up at you, holding the bottle of vodka over a giant bowl of cereal, and wearing an irritated expression.

“Oh yeah, and where are you going to go?” he asked with one raised eyebrow and a small smile.

You shrugged and leaned against the counter. “I’m sure Ben would be willing to take me in.”

“Is that what you want to do? Spend the last moments on the planet listening to Ben?”

You shook your head with a smile. “Not really, no. But maybe there won’t be much talking.”

“You’re a bad liar,” Five said pointedly. But he set the bottle down on the counter, looking at you and waiting.

You had gotten your way and you beamed happily in his direction. Then you looked around the large, commercial kitchen of the hotel. “There has to be something else around here besides crappy cereal.”

“Not lobsters,” Five muttered under his breath as he watched you rummage around.

“Huh?”

“Nothing.”

You poked your head into the fridge. “Ah-ha!” you exclaimed triumphantly as you pulled out a package of cheese. “Perfect. I’ll make us grilled cheese.”

Five made a small noise of approval and let you continue searching for the bread and butter. As you got to work at the stove, he studied your movements. You could feel him watching you even though you were trying to ignore him; until you felt his hands on your hips and the soft exhale of breath on your neck. With the spatula in your hand and raised in the air over the pan, you stopped and closed your eyes, your body apparently not caring that you were in the middle of making food.

“You’re going to make me burn this, you know.” You tried to scold him, but the tremble in your voice gave you away.

“I was fine with my cereal and vodka. The grilled cheese was your idea.”

His voice was quiet next to your ear and his lips brushed your skin. You shivered against him, but you were determined not to let him win. You flipped the sandwich on the pan, happy to see that it was a nice golden brown and not charred black. Five continued to tease you, running his hands up your sides and kissing your shoulder, even as you continued to ignore him. When you were finished, you turned off the stove and stepped back, forcing Five to let go and back away.

Pretending you hadn’t been just seconds away from abandoning the sandwich and jumping him, you pointed to a cupboard.

“Can you find a plate?”

Begrudgingly finding a plate, Five handed it to you and you cut the sandwich in two for the both of you to share. You had to admit, it made a really good midnight snack and being with Five had worked up your appetite. It was even better when you both capped it off with a shot of vodka; and even Five acknowledged it was better than his original use for it. When you were both finished, he stood in front of you, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

“All this time I didn’t think I was hungry, but it turns out I was starving.”

You raised your eyebrows. “Oh, do you want me to make you another one?”

Five shook his head and smiled, resting his hands on your waist. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Oh…” was all you could breathe out as he loosely held your chin and tilted your head up.

“I’ve always taken care of myself and I never thought I needed anything or anyone else. But I think I was wrong. Because I like this.”

He kissed you and you let your eyes fall shut. “The sex?” you asked quietly.

“Not just the sex, although that is amazing. It’s all of these other things you’ve done for me. Standing up to my family and defending me, making sure I didn’t drink too much, asking if I’m ok. Making me food. No one has ever done anything like that for me before and I didn’t realize how much I was craving it.”

“Everyone deserves to be taken care of sometimes, Five. I’m sorry it’s taken this long for someone to do it for you. And I’m sorry we don’t have more time, but I’m glad I could at least show you that.”

“Thank you,” he murmured before kissing you again.

When he pulled away, you smiled slyly. “If we go back to our room, I can take care of you in a different way that is even better than grilled cheese.”

“What the hell are we still doing here, then?”

You laughed and dragged him out of the kitchen by his hand, narrowly escaping the hard pinch he was about to give your butt. When you finally made it back to the room, you were feeling light and happy, the looming oppression of the giant fireball outside having been temporarily forgotten.

The two of you were starting to get really good at removing your clothing in a fast and efficient way, and soon you were lying naked on top of Five, kissing him as his hands roamed your body. As you started to move your mouth further down his chest and over his stomach, you felt his muscles tense when he realized what you were doing.

“I can’t let the world end without making sure you experienced another one of my super powers.”

You heard him suck in a breath as you kissed the inside of his thigh. “You might not have anything to compare it to, but trust me when I tell you I give outstanding blow jobs.”

Five made another soft whining noise and you were having fun taking your time. With one hand gripping him loosely, you flicked your tongue lightly across the head of his cock; teasing. He inhaled sharply and you gave another soft lick before slowly moving your hand up and down the shaft. You only took him fully into your mouth one time before pulling back and off again, leaving Five desperate for more. While you leisurely stroked him with your hand again, you looked up at him.

“You know what’s weird? Why is it called a blow job? We’re not blowing anything. It should be called a suck job.”

Five ran a frustrated hand down his face with a groan before placing the same hand on the back of your head. “We can discuss the etiology of the phrase later,” he croaked out.

Your giggles were cut off by a choking noise as Five shoved your face down, giving you no choice but to fill your mouth with the full length of his cock. He moved his hand off your head as you slid your lips up and down; and he groaned loudly again.

“Fuck, that feels so good.”

Even though you wanted to show off your special skill, you still couldn’t resist continuing to tease him. You were too loopy with happiness; it was something you couldn’t even explain. Popping your mouth off of him, you looked up at him with big eyes and a wicked smile.

“You know what else is weird?”

“The fact that you don’t shut up?”

“No. The fact that I can suck your dick and that's fine, but it would be considered really gross if I used your toothbrush to brush my teeth. Weird, right?”

He pushed a hand down his face in frustration. “Well, you’re not sucking my dick right now. So, maybe let’s focus on that and not toothbrush etiquette.”

After another sensual lick up the underside of his shaft, you stopped again. “I just thought of something else…”

With a growl that made you laugh out loud, Five opened his eyes again and looked down at you, his breaths coming fast and hard. “What is wrong with you, woman?”

Before you could get out a sarcastic remark, Five had sat up and flipped you over so that he was pinning you down into the mattress. It had happened so fast you hadn’t seen it coming and you gave a tiny shriek that turned into a laugh until his hand was around your throat. One side of his mouth turned up and his eyes flashed with a dangerous glint.

“Oh, sweetheart. I don’t think you realize who you’re playing with here.”

The grip on your throat wasn’t tight enough to hurt, but it was enough to feel the pressure of his fingers digging into your skin, and you imagined the red marks they would leave in their wake. Your hands clasped onto his forearm, but you didn’t try to push his hand away. Instead, you stared up at him longingly, your lungs burning while you sucked in a hard breath.

His lips met yours with a ferocity you hadn’t seen in him yet, and he pushed his hand harder against your throat. When a strained moan drifted out of your lips, he drew back to look you in the eyes again.

“You need to learn to behave. Hold your wrists out for me.”

His voice was hard and demanding and it made you want to do anything for him with no questions asked. You held your wrists up together in front of you while you laid beneath him on the bed. He released his hold on your neck and sat back on his knees.

He picked his discarded tie off the floor next to the bed. The black silk was soft against your skin as he wrapped it around each wrist and tied it securely together in the middle. He obviously knew what he was doing and there would be no escaping this particular knot, no matter how hard you struggled against it.

After one hard kiss, sucking at your bottom lip as he pulled away, you saw pure lust flicker over his eyes; right before he flipped you over onto your stomach. With a hard pull backwards, his strong hands grasping at your hips, you were at his mercy as he rubbed his hard length along the warm, wet crease between your legs. The long, shaky whine you let out was muffled by the curtain of hair that fell around your face as you propped yourself up on your forearms. With your wrists tied together, you had little control over your body and you found yourself eagerly relinquishing all of your power to Five.

He was completely and wholly in charge of you, and you made sure he knew it by pressing your ass back into him and sighing softly, fully submitting to whatever he wanted. His hand passed between your shoulder blades and slowly down your back. You could feel the heat from his fingers on your skin and you imagined them burning long, red lines down your spine; branding you as his own. And in that moment, you were undeniably his.

His body covered yours, his chest pressed against your back as he held himself over you. He kissed your neck and your hair, rocking his hips into you so you could feel him hard and ready for you.

“You showed me that you want this,” he whispered. “But I need you to tell me it’s ok. Because I’m not going to hold back.”

You shook your head with a smile and looked over your shoulder, your hair still in your face. “Don’t hold back. I want everything you can give me.”

He was nuzzling into your hair, rubbing his cheek and nose over what was probably a tangled mess by now, and he made a quiet, happy humming noise before holding himself up with one hand as he pushed your hair to one side of your neck. Leaning in, his lips brushed feather-light across your shoulder. Then you heard the danger in his voice again, as his mouth grazed the skin next to your ear.

“Be a good girl for me, ok sweetheart? Just relax and give me what I want. And then after I’m through using you like the little fuck doll you are, I promise to make it feel so good for you.”

He pressed himself against you again, letting his thick cock nestle between your ass cheeks, and he let out a moan when he slid it back and forth a few times. The feeling made you push back against him harder, your head down and your ass in the air, whining like a cat in heat. Five chuckled darkly at your reaction.

“Look how desperate you are. And I seriously thought about fucking you in the ass, because we both know you want it.”

Five sat up on his knees behind you, pulling your hips back against his thighs, his cock still buried in your ass crack. His hand lovingly smoothed your hair and caressed your back, even as he talked in that sinister voice of his.

“But then I realized we don’t have the proper accessories handy, and even if you would let me just to please me, I don’t want to hurt you. So, while I would love to bury my dick deep inside your tight little asshole, we’re going to have to do that another time.”

He drew back, rubbing your backside with both hands before hauling back and smacking you hard on one cheek and then the other. You cried out and clenched your eyes shut, but it wasn’t from the pain or the surprise. It was because you loved it, and you wanted more.

This was one of the fantasies you had placed in Five’s mind earlier. You wanted to be dominated and used; fucked into the mattress and then praised for your good behavior. And he was right, you probably would have let him fuck your ass raw, because you knew how to behave and take it. You wanted to show him you could be a good girl for him.

His hands grabbed your tits roughly, and he jerked you up and backwards so that you were on your knees in front of him, your back flush against his chest. You could feel the rapid rise and fall of his body as he breathed hard into the crook of your neck, the muscles in your back burning with the way he was pulling you into him. But when he started to suck another deep bruise onto the side of your neck, you let your head fall to the side to make more room. The only thing holding you up were his hands on your breasts, massaging and squeezing them together, the tendons in his forearms tight as he held your weight against him. If he let go, you’d have no way to catch yourself, since your hands were still bound together.

The cry from deep in your throat was strangled and broken as you felt his teeth scrape sharply across the tender mark he had made on your neck. He moved you over slightly so that you were sitting on his thigh.

“God, you’re so fucking wet for me,” he groaned.

When you started to grind yourself onto his leg, unable to help yourself, he moved one arm down so that he was holding you around the front of your waist, keeping you still. His other arm stayed wrapped around your chest.

“I know you’re aching to get some relief, and I can feel you dripping down my leg, but you have to be good and stay still. Understand?”

Everything between your legs was engorged and throbbing, and you did want relief more than anything. But you nodded your head with a quiet whimper.

He kissed your shoulder again. “My good girl,” he murmured.

When he shoved you off of his leg, letting go of his hold on you, you fell ungracefully forward, landing on the side of your face until you could get your arms under you again. It was hard to see behind you, even if you craned your neck, but you could feel his hands on your hips, fingers digging hard into your flesh, as Five positioned you where he wanted you.

The seconds seemed to drag on forever as you waited, unmoving; the only sounds were your ragged breathing. When he used his knees to shove your legs further apart and you felt his hips against you, you held your breath in anticipation.

Then he was slowly and deliberately pushing inside of you, until he was as deep as possible, holding himself there as he listened to your desperate moans. His body was on top of you again, pushing you down, almost flat against the mattress, so that he could thrust into you while his mouth had access to your shoulders and neck. You squeezed your eyes shut, using all your strength to keep yourself propped up on your forearms as one of his arms wrapped around your upper body and the other held himself up for leverage. He gave one hard, violent thrust into you, pushing you forward. He paused, just long enough to leave you waiting, before ramming into you once again. 

"Fuck, yes..." you heard him murmur before he shoved himself into you again. "Just lie still, honey, that's it."

You couldn't have moved, even if you wanted to, as he pinned you down from behind. It was uncomfortable and scary, letting him have this much control, but you fucking loved every second of it.

“You take my dick so well. Just like that, baby. You’re doing so good for me, I know that perfect cunt of yours can take more,” he rasped.

Five continued to fuck into you, methodically and forcefully, pulling back slowly and slamming hard inside again. With each thrust, you could hear his rough, staccato grunts and feel his hissing breath against your skin. The sounds you were making were desperate and pained; the deep penetration of his cock only half of what you needed from him. But Five refused to give you any satisfaction in the way of his fingers. All of his focus was on his needs and how far he could push your limits.

“You feel so amazing…fuck! Do you even know how fucking good you feel? Only you could make me this hard.” He pushed violently into you again and you let out a pathetic cry.

“Please,” you begged, not even really sure if you were begging for him to stop or to give you more.

“Shh…you’re doing so well for me, baby doll. I’m so proud of you. Just a little longer, ok, sweet girl?” he praised, kissing your temple sweetly even as he rammed into you from behind. His groan vibrated against your skin. “God damn it, I could keep fucking you forever, you feel so good.”

But his thrusts started to come faster, and his chest was heaving on top of you as he let out a long and husky growl into the back of your neck, muffling it with your hair. He filled you up with his hot seed until he was fully spent; arms shaking as he climbed off of you. When you started to push yourself up, assuming he was going to let you, he pushed you back down until you were flat on your stomach once more.

“Stay right there, sweetheart. You did such a good job for me and I know you’re so close. Let me take care of you now.”

He pushed his hand between your legs from behind, putting pressure right where you had been missing, and you let out a loud scream just from the relief of it. As he pressed into your clit, you couldn’t help moving your hips against him so you were riding his hand.

“That’s right, keep going. Let me hear you, baby. Louder.”

He kept at it, his hand wet and sticky from his own cum that was spilling out of you. You sobbed and screamed his name until a long-awaited orgasm ripped through your body, leaving you a crying, shaking mess. Your hips gave a few more involuntary twitches before you finally collapsed into the bed again; limp and gasping for air. Five wiped his hand on the bedsheet and undid the tie around your wrists. Then he helped you turn over so you were looking up at him on your back, still trying to catch your breath.

“Was that good for you?” he asked, his eyebrows creased together in sincerity like he was waiting for his end-of-the-quarter performance review. “Is that what you wanted?”

You couldn’t help but laugh up at him. “Jesus Christ, Five! That was fucking amazing! You couldn’t tell?”

He was still looking worried and unsure and you sighed heavily, still smiling and shaking your head. “Seriously, if I could, I’d give you a glowing Yelp review. Five out of five wet vaginas…would come here again.”

That smug smile returned to his face and he leaned down to kiss you. “I’m kind of liking that smart-ass mouth of yours. It’s pretty cute.”

“That’s good. Because it’s the only one I have.”

Just as Five was helping you sit up, there was a loud knock on the door and you both jumped. He looked at you, questioningly, but you just shrugged your shoulders. It’s not like housekeeping was going to be stopping by.

The knock came again, this time louder and more insistent. Then you could both hear muffled voices outside, sounding like people were arguing.

“Fuck,” Five muttered under his breath as he angrily swiped his boxer briefs from the floor and yanked them on. “Fucking fuck fuckers…”

You watched as Five stormed over to the door and swung it open, his face twisted into a murderous rage. The three men standing outside looked suddenly scared and they stopped talking immediately. Klaus, Diego, and Luther glanced nervously at one another as Five seethed in front of them.

“What? What are you assholes doing here? And how did you even find me?”

More glances were exchanged and then Luther’s voice cracked. “Well, we, uh…we kind of heard some loud noises, so then we followed them, and, you know, we may have heard your name a couple times, so-”

Diego cut him off with a knowing smile, holding out his hand for a fist bump. “Seriously dude, I’m super impressed. Nice job, old man.”

The look on Five’s face did nothing to deter Diego, despite the fact that he was in immediate danger of losing his life. Klaus was more in tune to his brother’s wrath, and slowly lowered Diego’s hand before Five completely snapped.

“Look, we felt bad about how we left things, and we wanted to talk. That’s all,” Klaus explained.

“I don’t feel bad. I said what I said. There’s nothing to talk about,” Five barked back.

Luther sighed. “Please, Five, come on. We’re sorry. And we don’t want things to end like that.”

“Please, Fivey?

“Please, what? What do you want from me?”

“We just want to talk to you, ok? Can you at least just give us a couple minutes? That’s all we’re asking,” Diego said, suddenly very sincere.

Five sighed heavily and closed his eyes. “Fine. Whatever. Since I know you’ll just keep annoying me.”

Klaus made a move to step into the room, but Five immediately stopped him with a hand to his chest. “Absolutely not. You idiots can wait in the hallway. Give me five minutes.”

Klaus shrunk back into the hall, looking like a kicked puppy, while Luther rolled his eyes. But they stayed where they were. Five was about to close the door when Diego cried out.

“Wait, Five!”

Five paused and Diego took a step closer, leaning his head in and talking in a low voice as if no one else around him could hear.

“I’ve never heard Lila make noises like that. What’s your secret? Is there like a trick or a secret move you can teach me-“ he was cut off as Five slammed the door directly in his face.

“Fucking. Idiots.” Five raged under his breath, his hands clenched into tight fists.

You were still sitting in the bed, a sheet covering your body, as you stared at Five with wide eyes.

“Are you ok? You look like you’re about to murder someone,” you said with a nervous laugh, but not really joking.

“I’m fine,” he grumbled while he walked around, picking up the various parts of his suit off the floor.

You watched him quietly, not daring to say anything, as he stormed into the bathroom and shut the door. A few minutes later, he emerged, dressed in his full suit again, and he adjusted his tie. The confused look on your face must have said it all, because when he looked at you, he just shrugged and pulled the cuffs of his shirt down.

“I can think better like this,” he said gruffly.

“Ok…” your voice trailed off and you weren’t sure what else to say. The arrival of his brothers had thrown him into a weird mood and you weren’t sure how to navigate it.

“Wait here,” he said sharply.

Before you could snap back at him and tell him to quit talking to you like that, he disappeared in a flash of blue. With a huff, you got up, pulling your underwear on and walked to the door so you could eavesdrop. You could also peer out the peephole in the door, watching the four men as they stood in the hall looking anxious.

“Alright, I’m here. Talk,” Five demanded, his hands shoved into his pants pockets while he waited for one of the others to respond.

“Five, we’re sorry. We thought about what you said earlier, and you’re right. We have been unfair to you and we wanted to apologize. Before…you know…there’s no more time left,” Luther started.

“And we don’t blame you for everything that’s happened. Well, at least not anymore. It’s just that there’s been a lot of crazy, shitty things that have happened to us, and you did seem to be in the middle of it, and-“

Klaus cut Diego off. “What Diego means is that even though this may not be the most ideal situation we’re in right now; we know it’s not your fault.”

“Great. You apologized. Are we done here?”

You could see that Five was still staring them down, his body tense and the muscles in his jaw working.

Luther sighed. “Come on, Five, don’t be like that. We’re family. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

Five strode angrily over to Luther and glared up at him, his teeth clenched. “It used to. Until I woke up and realized we were never a family to begin with, and I spent my entire life trying to save you shitheads for no reason. Because look where it got us! Right back with Dad in another fucking timeline with the world ending again. And I can’t do a god damn thing to stop it!”

His words seemed to shock him as much as the rest of them, and he took a step back, his body relaxing slightly.

“Is that what this is really about? You think you need to save us?” Klaus asked.

Five didn’t answer, but his face had lost the rigidity and sternness that it had before. It was hard to make out from the door, but he looked sad and your heart broke just a little.

“Five, you did save us. You saved us as many times as you could. It’s just that the universe had different plans, that’s all,” Diego offered.

Five raised his head and looked up, then back at his brothers. “I tried. I tried and I failed. So, this is it and we just have to accept that.” He looked at Klaus. “I know you want me to believe that this version of Dad is a better version and we should trust him. But that’s not going to happen, Klaus, I’m sorry. He’s not interested in our safety, or our wellbeing, or our happiness. He never has been.”

Klaus looked down sadly, but he nodded his head and Diego turned to Five.

“Some of us are staying. But we’re going to stay together, and we want you to come with us. Because we are a family. Even if we’re the most fucked up family on what’s left of this planet.”

“But Dad is still trying to convince everyone, and he said he only needs two more. So, that’s still an option if you change your mind. The rest of us, we’ll be in the lobby at the bar, drinking what’s left of the booze and waiting out the end. And we’d love for you to join us,” Luther told him.

Five nodded solemnly and was about to explain that he was happy where he was, but then Luther continued.

“I know it’s none of my business, and I’m truly happy that you found someone to spend the rest of this time with. But you’re not being fair. She deserves to know that she has a choice. You can’t make that decision for her.”

Five glanced back at the door, and you flinched, thinking he could see you through the peephole, but of course he couldn’t. Then he turned back to his brothers.

“Don’t worry about me or her, we’re doing fine. Which is why I’m going to stay here. I won’t be joining you, I’m sorry.”

The brothers looked sad as they stood there, not saying anything, and the air hanging heavy with their words. Finally, Diego spoke.

“Alright, man, I get it. We’ll leave you alone. But just know that you are our brother. And we love you.”

Luther and Klaus nodded in agreement and Five tried his best to look angry again, but failed. He hung his head and shook it slowly before raising it again.

“Yeah, ok. I love you assholes, too, I guess. Now leave and go back to your wives and girlfriends and long-lost asshole brothers. It’s been…an interesting life together.”

There was a flurry of shoulder claps and hair ruffling and side-hugs and then the other three were on their way, leaving Five standing in the hallway alone. You didn’t want him to know you’d been listening when he came back in, so you hurried off into the bathroom to take a shower. While you were in there, you thought about everything you had heard. You were glad he had made amends with his brothers. But you wondered what Luther was talking about when he said Five needed to tell you about a choice you had.

When you were finished, you threw on the same clothes you’d been wearing, and you found Five sitting on the bed. He was in just his dress shirt and pants again, with his shirt sleeves rolled up. He smiled sheepishly when he saw you.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hi. You better now?” you asked sharply.

He nodded. “I know I wasn’t very nice to you just then. So, I’m sorry.”

“Thank you, I appreciate that.”

“I also need to tell you something.”

“Yeah, ok, what is it?” You folded your arms over your chest defensively, but then Five patted the bed next to him and you went and sat down.

Five took a deep breath. “I’m afraid I haven’t been completely honest with you. Well, not that I’ve lied, but more like I’ve withheld some information from you.”

You raised your eyebrows but didn’t comment. Five cleared his throat and continued.

“The truth is, you don’t have to stay here and wait for the world to end. At least theoretically.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know when Reginald mentioned Project Oblivion to you?” You nodded. “That’s his hare-brained scheme that could potentially be a way of saving the world.”

When you looked shocked, he held up a hand. “Don’t get too excited. Anything having to do with Reginald should be considered dangerous and he is most likely using us for his own selfish agenda. That’s how it’s always been.”

“But what is his plan?”

Five sighed and shook his head. “I don’t know exactly. But it entails going through some sort of portal into another dimension; another version of this hotel. But there’s more to it than that and we could end up just as dead.”

You frowned. “But we’re going to die here for sure if we stay. If there’s even a chance, why wouldn’t you at least try? If you die there, what’s the difference?”

Five looked at you with so much sadness and sorrow in his eyes, that you didn’t need to tap into his mind to read his emotions.

“Because I don’t want this to be his decision. I want it to be mine. If I go along with him, and I die at his hands, then he will have won again. But if I stay and accept my fate; then at least I’ll have died free from his control.”

He reached over and took your hands in his. “You don’t have to stay here with me, though. I want you to know that. It was unfair of me to have waited this long to tell you. And I would understand if you decided to go.”

You nodded thoughtfully, looking down at your hands that were clasped together. It seemed like a no-brainer. Why wouldn’t you take a chance if it meant there was a possibility, no matter how small, that you didn’t have to die in a fiery apocalypse? But you barely knew his siblings, and as much as you hated to admit it, you were still afraid of Reginald. You hadn’t known Five long at all, but somehow you trusted him. And when you looked into his eyes, you decided to accept your own fate.

“I’m staying with you.”

He looked stunned. “You want to stay here with me? Are you sure?”

You smiled sadly and nodded. “Yes, I trust you, Five. And I don’t trust your father. So, wherever you are, that’s where I’ll be.”

With a huge sigh of relief, Five leaned in to kiss you, squeezing your hands tighter in his own.

“Ok, then. We’ll do this together.”

When the tiredness hit you both, you laid down on the bed, Five holding you from behind. He pulled you in close to him and wrapped his arms around your middle. You hadn’t realized how exhausted you were and the feeling of his body against yours put you at ease; your muscles relaxing and melting into him as you closed your heavy eyelids.

“Thank you,” Five murmured sleepily. “Thank you for staying. I don’t want to be alone.”

You wiggled back into him and he tightened his hold on you. “I don’t want to be alone, either,” you said quietly.

In another minute, you were both asleep, with Five holding you in his strong embrace; the rise and fall of his chest already so familiar to you that you wondered how you ever slept without it before.

Chapter Five: Stay/Epilogue

You woke up with a sudden jolt, looking around for something that may have woken you. But all that you could see was the orange blaze from outside of the window. It was brighter now and lit up the whole room with a sinister, flickering glow. In another circumstance it may have looked pretty, like a fireplace or candlelight. But now it just looked like hell.

When you realized you were still alive, at least for the time being, you looked next to you in the bed. Five was gone. You called out his name, but there was no answer and he wasn’t in the bathroom. There was also no note left on the table. He was just gone. And you started to panic.

Scrambling out of bed, you threw on your shorts and t-shirt, trying to remain as calm as possible. Your heart was beating wildly in your chest and your pulse was deafening in your ears. As your hand turned the doorknob to leave, you took a deep breath and exhaled slowly to steady your nerves.

You decided to take the stairs rather than the elevator, peeking down each floor’s empty and silent hallway on the way down. When you reached the lobby, it was just as you feared. There was no one. You had overheard the others say they were going to camp out in the lobby bar, but there was no sign of them. Maybe they had moved the party into another room, but something in the back of your mind told you that wasn’t the case.

Swallowing down the rising panic you felt creeping up your throat, you continued to look around. You couldn’t hear anyone talking in the distance or even footsteps. It was eerily quiet and you found yourself tiptoeing in your bare feet, not wanting to miss any noises. This was it, you were sure of it. Everyone else had been sucked up or destroyed or whatever by the kugelblitz. And you were the last one left. It was your worst nightmare coming true.

When you were just about to give up and crumble to the floor in despair, you turned a corner into a large game room. You hadn’t known it was there, but there was another pool table inside, identical to the one in the lobby. There were also dart boards and smaller tables for playing cards. There was a very large picture window that lined one wall and looked out onto the courtyard. Or at least, it would have if the courtyard still existed.

That’s where you found him. He was silhouetted against the window, his body backlit by the orange and red fireball outside, his back to you. When you saw him, the immense relief you felt washed over you, mixing with your fear and anger until you exploded in a sudden rage.

“YOU FUCKING BASTARD! YOU ABSOLUTE ASSHOLE!” you screamed at the top of your lungs, your voice trembling and the tears already spilling over.

Five whirled around to see you doubled over, face shiny and wet, as you clutched at your stomach and leaned into the side of the pool table for support. You continued to scream, even though your choking sobs were making everything unintelligible.

“WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT? WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME? I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD, I THOUGHT..."

Five blinked over to you, grabbing you by the arms to hold you up, but you just collapsed into his chest, sobbing harder. You felt his hand on your head, stroking your hair while he held you to him. He may have been saying something to you, maybe that he was sorry, but you couldn’t hear him. You could only hear your own wailing cries and the blood pounding in your ears. After several minutes, when the crying eventually faded to hiccups and your breathing started to slow again, you wiped at your face but continued to let Five hold you.

“I’m sorry. I am so sorry. I wasn’t thinking,” he murmured as he kissed the top of your head.

You nodded miserably into his chest, still not looking up. “I was so scared. I thought I was the only one left.”

“I know, I’m sorry. I couldn’t sleep so I came down here and it didn’t even occur to me that you would wake up and think I was gone.”

Your hands grasped at his shoulders and he pulled you in tighter. “Don’t leave me again. Please.”

“I won’t. I promise.”

You exhaled a long, shaky breath; a few silent tears still slipping down your cheeks and onto his shirt. “I just don’t want to be alone when it happens.”

“Look at me,” he said softly, and you finally raised your head. You let go of his shoulders and he took your hands in his. “I promise I will never leave you again. We’ll go out together, ok? We’re a team now.”

You nodded your head again. “Yeah, ok.”

When he started to pull away, you grabbed onto his belt loops on either side of his waist and tugged him towards you. “Don’t leave.”

Five smiled down at you and brushed away the strands of hair that were sticking to your face. “I wasn’t going to leave.”

“No, I need you close to me. Please,” you whined.

It was pathetic and there’s no way in hell the old you would have ever begged a man to stay like that. But that was then and this was now, and things were different. You were different. And you didn’t care how you sounded.

“Ok,” Five answered quietly as he wrapped his arms around you.

But that still wasn’t enough and you pulled his face to yours with a hand on his neck, kissing him slowly at first but then starting to hungrily devour him. You were making desperate little whimpering noises into his mouth as you grabbed onto his body, pulling and clutching at him, even though there was nowhere else to go. He was as close to you as physically possible.

“You’re upset, maybe we shouldn’t…” he offered.

He was cut off when you reached between his legs and cupped his groin, feeling him grow harder against your hand as you rubbed him firmly. He let out a quiet moan and his eyes closed.

“I need you, Five. Please.”

You were practically in tears again with desperation. It was unhealthy and probably for all the wrong reasons, but you couldn’t help it. You needed as much of him as possible and as quickly as possible. It was the only way to feel ok again.

“I just think maybe you’ve been through a lot recently-“

Smothering him in hard kisses to shut him up, you stopped briefly to pull your shirt over your head, throwing it on the floor before undoing your shorts and letting them fall off of you. Five looked down at your body and let out a low groan.

“Shit,” he breathed out. “You’re not playing fair.”

He grabbed onto you, boosting you up onto the side of the pool table and stood between your legs. He was just as desperate for you now, but he backed away a couple inches and placed his hands on your shoulders so you would pay attention to him.

“Are you sure about this? I don’t want to take advantage of you.”

You shook your head, already not liking the fact that his body wasn’t against yours. “You’re not. I promise.”

It only took one look at your naked body and the hungry look on your face to convince him and he let you grab his shirt collar and pull him forcefully into you. You needed to feel his body on you, to feel his hot skin against you, and you desperately clawed at each button of his shirt until you pushed it down his arms and yanked the rest of it off. He kissed you with one hand in your hair and the other massaging your breast as you fumbled with the fly of his pants, finally gaining access and pushing them down his thighs.

When you grasped tightly to his firm cock and slid your hand over it, Five sucked in a sharp breath through clenched teeth and threw his head back. You moved forward a little, spreading your legs and guiding him inside. You were already soaking wet and he slid in with ease, pushing himself into you as you thrust your hips forward.

His mouth was on your neck as he slammed hard against you, shoving himself as far into you as he could manage while holding tightly to your hips.

You were delirious in your desire for him, not even making any sense as you scratched desperately at his back and shoulders, his arms and neck; pleading with him to give you more. There was no way he could be closer to you, with his mouth on your skin, his arms clinging tightly to your body, and his dick deep inside you. But it wasn’t enough. The tears were falling down your face again, mixing with the sweet taste of his lips.

He gradually slowed his pace, gently rolling his hips into you as his eyes locked onto yours and he wiped away a tear with his thumb.

“It’s ok, sweetheart, I’m here. You’re not alone, ok?”

When he called you sweetheart, it carried none of the teasing or derisiveness it had before. This time it was sincere and loving and you nodded, your body finally starting to relax a little and you let yourself give in; melting into him as he kissed you. But then your gaze drifted to the windows and he saw the fear in your eyes again.

“Look at me,” he said, turning your face back to him. “Focus on me. Can you feel that?”

Five thrust himself slowly but forcibly into you and you let out a breathy cry. Your body reacted and you pushed your hips into him again, letting go of his body and placing your hands behind you on the table to brace yourself.

“Yeah…it feels good,” you answered quietly, still maintaining eye contact.

“Then just focus on that. There’s nothing else, and you feel so good right now, baby.”

His hands grasped your hips tightly and you put all of your focus on him and the way he was making you feel.

“Five,” you sighed as your head fell back and your eyes closed. You felt his lips on your neck again and your legs wrapped tightly around him. “Keep talking. I want to hear your voice.”

He pressed into you harder, his movements deliberate while his breath was harsh and loud. You emitted a soft cry every time he rocked into you.

“I don’t need anything else. Just you. Only you.”

“Tell me you’ll stay.”

“I promise. I’m not going to leave you.”

Five’s hand was gripping your upper thigh while the other was around your lower back, holding you in place as he penetrated you harder and faster. His mouth was greedily sucking at your neck and jaw as he started to lose his control, pushing roughly into you as you used all your strength to brace yourself against the impact. It was blissful, this building feeling inside; how he knew just where and when to fuck into you, over and over again. You couldn’t get enough of his insistent kisses or passionate moans and it made you feel good; like you were high. And you wanted to keep that feeling with you forever.

“Oh god, Five…I want to be all yours. I want to belong to you.”

“You are mine, sweetheart. And I’m yours. And there’s no one else.”

He let out a shuddering groan as he came inside of you, the final thrust of his hips setting off a series of waves that spread over your body as you climaxed with him. Your entire body seemed to curl into him as your muscles spasmed and you moaned desperately into the crook of his neck, your fingers weaving tightly in his hair.

When you were both able to unfurl from each other, you smiled shyly at him and blushed. It was embarrassing, the way you had acted. But Five’s smile back at you was not mocking in any way and he kissed you gently before helping you down from the table.

“Are you ok?” he asked, his hands resting loosely on your hips.

“Yeah, I’m ok. I’m sorry…I don’t-“

“Don’t apologize, ok? You have nothing to be sorry for. And I meant everything I said.”

Even though you weren’t entirely convinced of that, you let it go and started to get dressed. After Five had put his pants back on, you both looked at each other and then to the terrifying fireball that filled the entire wall of windows.

“Can we go back now?” you asked nervously.

Not that it mattered where you went; no area of the hotel was safer than any other. But for whatever reason, the little homebase you and Five had made on the third floor felt safer. And you wanted to go back before you felt another panic attack creeping in.

Five nodded. “Come on, let’s go.”

Throwing his shirt on, but leaving it unbuttoned, he held your hand as you walked through the empty hotel lobby. You noticed his concerned glance to the bar area.

“Where are they?” you asked.

He shook his head. “I’m not sure. It’s possible they all went off with my father after all. Or maybe they decided to go back to their rooms.”

“Well, do you want to go look for them?”

He hesitated and shook his head again. “No, we said what we needed to. What’s done is done. There’s nothing more I can do.”

It wasn’t your place to say, so you offered nothing else besides a supportive squeeze of his hand. You didn’t think it was right for him to just give up that easily. Shouldn’t he at least make sure they were ok? But then again, you were the outsider here. You really had no idea of what they had been through as a family.

Once you were back in the room, you breathed a sigh of relief. You were ready to snuggle back into bed and go back to sleep, but Five was obviously agitated. He kept pacing the room, unable to relax and he had shut down again; not wanting to talk about anything.

“Five,” you started hesitantly. “It’s ok if you want to make sure they’re alright.”

He stopped pacing momentarily to look at you, then continued with his head down and his hands balled into fists. “There’s no point, I told you. There’s nothing I can do. There’s nothing anyone can do. If they’re gone, they’re gone. End of story.”

“Ok, yeah…I get that. But you’re obviously very upset and maybe it would just make you feel better if you found out for sure. Don’t you think so?”

Five halted again, his face screwed up in concentration and he let out a loud, frustrated groan, throwing his hands in the air. “Nothing but aggravation!”

You frowned with confusion. “What?”

When he faced you, you could see the muscles straining in his neck as he finally unleashed what he’d been stewing about.

“Them! All of them! My entire life…nothing but aggravation from them! Here we are, with probably hours left in this universe, and they decide to just fuck off with no explanation?! After everything was done. We had closure. It was final. But do you think these assholes can keep things simple? Of course not! Now I’m going to have to traipse all over this god damn hotel looking for them because they can’t just stay in one spot and leave me the fuck alone!”

You had to bite your lip to stop from laughing. But you composed yourself and spoke calmly.

“Five, I heard you and your brothers talking earlier.”

“You did?”

“Yes. And I’m sorry I eavesdropped, but I did hear what you said and I know you care for them. You’ll never forgive yourself if you don’t find out what happened.”

“It doesn’t matter whether I forgive myself or not. The world is ending any moment now, so what’s the difference?”

You cocked your head to the side and raised an eyebrow. “Just go. I’ll be ok.”

He shook his head. “No. I told you I wasn’t going to leave you again. I meant it.”

“It’s ok, really. I know you’ll be back. This is something you need to do by yourself, I don’t need to be involved.”

He looked at you thoughtfully. “I think I know where they are. Or least where they were. The White Buffalo Suite. I’m sure of it.”

You really didn’t want him to leave you, but he had already done so much for you. He was your protector when he had no reason to be. You felt that you owed him.

“Then, please, just go,” you insisted, making sure he was looking you in the eye.

Finally, he nodded slowly. “Ok. But I promise I will be back.”

“I know you will.”

He crossed the room to you, placing his hands on either side of your face and tilting your head up to look at him.

“I meant it, you know. I only want you. And I’ll be back; I won’t leave you.”

You blinked back the tears you felt forming again and swallowed the lump in your throat. But you knew he was telling the truth.

“I believe you. And I’ll be here when you get back.”

Without another word, he kissed you, and then he was gone; vanished in a blur of sizzling blue. You were alone.

The next half hour was anxiety-inducing. You had wanted Five to leave to find his family, you really did. But that didn’t ease the feeling of impending death that lingered in the air. You crawled into bed, lying down and covering yourself with the sheets, breathing in the scent that Five had left behind. It made your body ache to not have him near you, and you choked back the sobs you felt forming in your chest. It was so stupid. You weren’t a child. You could certainly be alone for an hour or two. But no matter what you told yourself, you were frozen with fear, listening for any sign that Five might be returning; the loud hiss and rumble of the kugelblitz outside a constant reminder of what precious time you had left.

The knock on the door made you jump and you sat up, thinking maybe you were just imagining things. But then it came again. Another knock; a clear and precise rapping that was most definitely real. You leaped out of the bed, not even thinking. You assumed it was Five and the thought hadn’t even occurred to you that he wouldn’t have knocked. He would have just blinked in like every other time.

Without looking through the peephole, you opened the door with a smile. But your smile fell immediately when you realized your mistake. Standing in front of you was none other than Reginald Hargreeves; hands clasped in front of him and an arrogant smile on his face. You gasped and took a step back.

“Hello, my dear. I hope I’m not interrupting anything?”

He looked over your shoulder and seeing that the room was empty, he took a step forward. That same fear that had gripped you when he approached you at the wedding washed over you and you were frozen in place.

“There’s no need to be frightened, child. I’m looking for Number Five. Is he here?”

You shook your head, unable to speak and Reginald chuckled.

“Do you know where he may have gone? I’m afraid it’s an urgent matter. As all things are these days.”

Finally, you found your voice. It was quiet and shaky, but you stood your ground and raised your head to face the man that terrified you. There was no way in hell you were about to tell him where Five was.

“I have no idea where he is. I haven’t seen him since the wedding. It’s just been me here.”

Reginald nodded solemnly, still wearing that knowing, half smile of his. You saw his gaze drift past you and land on the floor where Five’s suit jacket and tie had been left. He looked back at you, and his eyes narrowed just a little.

“I see. Well, no worries. I wanted to speak with you, as well.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you. It’s a shame that you have been raised to believe you have such limits to your abilities. Had you been under my supervision, your powers would be stronger than you could have even imagined. I’m sorry your parents never taught you any different.”

“Don’t talk about my parents,” you seethed through clenched teeth. “I know what you tried to do. Buy me from them so you could raise me along with your other neglected children. Thank god they were smarter than that.”

“You misunderstand, my dear. I only want to see you reach your full potential.”

“Like you did with Five? He’s a fucking disaster, and it’s all because of you!”

Reginald shook his head sadly. “Number Five does have problems, I will admit. However, that was not I that raised him. That was a different, harsher, version of myself. I have nothing but respect and admiration for my current children.”

You snorted sarcastically. “Yeah, right.”

During your back and forth with Reginald, you hadn’t realized that he had taken several more steps and was now fully inside your room. He closed the door behind him with an ominous click and you backed up, even more frightened than you had been.

“The truth is, I am in need of more of you. I need your powers to save us. To save the world. I don’t wish to harm you; you must believe me. I only want to give all of us a chance.”

Your brow was furrowed with confusion. You certainly didn’t trust the man. But what he was saying was just what you had thought earlier when Five told you about Project Oblivion. If there was even a chance of survival, why wouldn’t you take it?

“I don’t believe you. Why should I trust you?”

Reginald smiled genially. “Why don’t you look for yourself?”

“What do you mean?”

“Read my emotions. I know that you can. Then you will see that I’m not the terrible person you think I am.”

You scoffed, but didn’t say anything. You had to think. On one hand, you absolutely did not trust him. On the other, what was there to lose? You knew for a fact that no one could hide their true feelings from you once you were connected to their consciousness. It would be impossible for them to lie. So, you really didn’t see what the downside would be. You would either see that he was telling the truth, or that he was lying just like you suspected.

“Alright,” you stated, holding your head up high.

“Excellent,” Reginald grinned happily.

You concentrated as hard as you could. The golden tendrils emerged and started growing, heading straight for Reginald’s mind. Once they reached him, you closed your eyes and looked deep within him. You searched for his emotions and his true intentions. But there was nothing. Just darkness. Something wasn’t right. This wasn’t possible. He couldn’t hide anything from you. That’s not how this worked.

You heard him laugh quietly and sinisterly, while you remained connected to him.

“My dear…I thought you were smarter than that. I created you. I can control you.”

The sudden pain was searing as it ripped through your brain, your skull, and your entire body. Like lightning, it coursed through you, sending you dropping to your knees. You clutched your head, screaming in agony as the white-hot light pierced your eyes. The golden tendrils that connected your mind to Reginald’s pulsed and wavered in the air between you, but you couldn’t break them. He held you there, in complete control of your body and mind. You had been so stupid not to have realized what he was capable of.

Reginald stepped closer to you, eyeing you while you writhed on the ground. His voice was like fire as he spoke, the vibrations traveling through the tendrils and directly into the cells and neurons of your brain.

“I’m sorry; truly I am. You have quite the gift, and it’s a shame to have to do this. But I have no alternative, I’m afraid. My ungrateful children seem to have forsaken me, and I need a replacement, you see. I need you. Both of you.”

It was hard to breathe and you curled into yourself on the floor, gasping for air as tears rolled down your cheeks. It was useless to try and fight back. You had tried to break the connection and it was impossible. He was too strong. No matter what you did, he held on, the pain screaming through your body as he stood over you.

“I can stop this, you know. All you have to do is come with me. And the pain will go away.”

The action of forming words and expelling air from your lungs was excruciating, but you gathered all the strength you had left.

“F-fuck…you!” you cried, your voice grating with pain.

You heard him laugh darkly, and another sharp pain shot through your skull. “So spirited. How about you just tell me where Number Five is, then? I know he wouldn’t have left you. He pretends to be a hardened old man like myself, but I’m guessing he’s quite fond of you.”

“I don’t…know…” you sobbed, holding your head in your hands.

With another menacing step forward, Reginald stood directly over you, staring down at your twisting body. You couldn’t see his face, but you heard his voice echoing in your ears and your brain.

“You’ve made a grave mistake, I’m afraid,” he threatened.

As another bolt of lightning shot through you, this one somehow hotter and more painful than the last, you were only partially aware of what was happening outside of your body. There was a faint flash of blue light and you heard your name in the distance. There was an angry yell, and then you saw Reginald’s body drop onto the floor in front of you, his head lying limply to the side and the monocle dropping from his eye.

His neck had been snapped and his eyes stared forward, devoid of life. The pain that had been constant and pulsing inside of you suddenly ceased. With a small whimpering sound, you looked up and saw the silhouette of Five kneeling next to you. You couldn’t speak and it was still hard to breathe, but right before you passed out you heard him tell you it was going to be ok, and he held your head in his lap; the shadow of his face falling over yours as he softly kissed your forehead.

You weren’t sure how long you were blacked out, but when you woke up you were lying down in the bed, your body tingling and your head still aching.  But your lungs no longer burned and you could think clearly again. Someone was lightly stroking your hair and when your eyes fluttered open, the first thing you saw was Five.

He must have moved you to the bed, and he was sitting up against the headboard with your head in his lap again. His head was tipped back and his eyes were closed. But his fingers still carded lightly through your hair and you had a feeling he had been sitting with you for a while.

When you moved and started to lift yourself up, Five startled awake, disoriented at first, until he looked down and saw you awake. His face flooded with relief and he let out a heavy exhale.

“You’re awake,” he breathed out.

You sat up slowly, your head still foggy and your muscles aching. Then the memory of everything that happened came flooding back and you let out a loud gasp, whipping around to look at the spot on the floor where you had been tortured and you had seen Reginald’s dead body. The space was empty. As if nothing unusual had ever occurred there.

Five placed a hand on your arm. “It’s ok. He’s gone.”

When you turned back to him, you saw for the first time how tired he looked. And there was something else. A deep sadness that hadn’t been there before.

“He was in my head…I don’t know how…it was horrible…” you started to say, unable to fully understand everything that happened.

Five pulled you into him, holding you against his chest while he caressed your hair again.

“He was torturing you so you would submit to him and follow him to Oblivion.”

“It was like electricity burning through my body and my head felt like it was going to explode. I could feel him in my mind. But then…you were there and…he was dead.” You looked up at Five. “You killed him.”

“He was hurting you,” he said simply, caressing your cheek with his hand.

“Five.” You looked into his eyes and they were filled with pain. “He was your father.”

He shook his head. “No he wasn’t. And not only because this was a different version of the man that raised me. He was never our father. Because a real father would never do what he has done to his kids. And then when I saw him hurting you like that…” his voice trailed off and you saw him swallow. He cleared his throat. “Anyway, it’s done now. He’s gone.”

“I’m so sorry, Five. This is my fault. He came looking for you, but I didn’t want to tell him where you were, and then he told me to tap into his mind to see if he was lying and I did it. I don’t know why, it was so stupid. I’m so so sorry.”

“It’s ok. It’s not your fault. He had it coming, believe me. I probably should have done it a long time ago.” He chuckled humorlessly. “Ironic that he was the one that taught me how to snap a grown man’s neck.”

“Wait, what about your siblings? Did you find them?”

There was silence and you heard Five’s breath catch in his throat. “Not really. But I know what happened to them.”

“Oh no.”

“I was too late. He must have convinced them to go through the tunnel. I tried to go after them, but the entrance was sealed. They’re stuck in there now. Oh, and also he killed Luther.”

“What?”

“I found him in the suite, dead. The whole floor was covered in his blood. Someone killed him and I assume it was Reginald. I don’t know why though, but I’m sure it was all part of his plan.”

“Oh shit, Five. I’m so sorry. That’s awful.”

He didn’t say anything more, but you felt a sudden shift in your mind. Like it wasn’t just your thoughts in there anymore. You felt immense grief and sadness; along with an intense anger that was directed toward yourself. But they weren’t your thoughts and you hadn’t connected to Five’s mind.

“Something strange is happening.”

Five sat up a little straighter. “I feel it too.”

“It’s like…I can feel you. Your emotions. They’re mixing with mine.”

“And I can feel yours, I think. How is this happening?”

You shook your head. “I don’t know, I’m not doing anything to make it happen. I don’t understand.”

“Reginald,” Five said, as if that explained everything.

“What about him?”

“When he was connected to you, I had my hands on his head before I snapped his neck. I think maybe some of that energy passed through me. Which means I retained some of your energy, too.”

You sat there, trying to understand what he was saying. He was still in your head; you could feel it. And you assumed you were in his, as well. It was like you were connected by some invisible conductor.

“I think that’s why my body is still tingling. It’s like it’s connecting with yours. Do you feel that?”

“Yes,” Five said quietly. “I can feel it.”

You looked at each other, not really knowing what to say next or what to do. Your consciousnesses were joined together and there were so many emotions swirling around in your brain that it was overwhelming. His, mixed with yours, created a confusing blend that made it hard to think.

“Can you read my thoughts?” Five asked.

You shook your head. “No, just your emotions. Why, can you read mine?”

“No. But it’s the same for me. I can feel everything you’re feeling.”

You were both silent for a minute as you tried to process everything that was passing between you.

“Well, this is fucking weird,” you finally said.

Five laughed. “That’s an understatement.”

You looked at him with a small smile, the connection between you seeming to deepen as you looked into his eyes, and you touched the side of his face with your hand.

“Thank you, Five.”

“For what?”

“For everything. For saving my life; for staying with me and helping me not lose my mind. For giving me several amazing orgasms.”

He grinned. “You’re welcome. But I’m not sure I can take credit for the last one. You gave me some pretty good instructions with that download.”

You laughed. “I don’t think that was it. I’m pretty sure your ego is the driving force behind that particular talent.”

He shrugged with a smirk and pulled you closer to him so he could kiss you. “Perhaps that was part of it.”

His lips were soft on yours, but there was something new there. Like an underlying current of electricity. But not the painful, white-hot electricity that coursed through your veins when Reginald had ahold of you. This was a warm, tingling feeling. Like a quiet hum through your body. It was comforting and you kissed him back deeply, trying to get more of that feeling.

“You felt that, too?” he breathed when you pulled away.

You nodded. “It’s like I feel closer to you. Like you’re a part of me.”

Five looked in your eyes again. “You are a part of me, there’s no denying that. But it’s not just because of whatever weird thing is happening here. It’s because you came to me at the last minute; when I had no more hope left in me. I was drained and empty inside. But you filled me up again; with your spirit and your kindness. And several amazing orgasms.” You laughed, even though you felt tears forming in your eyes. “So, thank you for giving me that. I’m sorry I couldn’t give us more time. I think we could have had something good together.”

“I think so, too,” you whispered.

You could feel his sincerity and his regret that you had run out of time. And there was something else there, but you pushed it away because it was too painful to think about.

“I’m so tired. I just want to lie here with you. Is that ok?”

“Of course it is.”

You moved your bodies so that he was holding you to him from behind again. You breathed out a long, contented sigh and pulled his arms tighter around you. Even though you were exhausted you laid awake for a few minutes.

“Are you scared?” you whispered.

Instead of an answer, you felt a wave of fear wash over you before it dissipated again. It had been from Five. You didn’t say anything, just pressed your body closer to his as a comfort to you both.

“Do you believe in an afterlife?” you asked hesitantly.

“I’m not sure. My brother says there is. I’m not entirely convinced, though.”

“I feel the same way.” You paused. “I guess we’ll find out, huh?”

“I guess we will.”

“If there is, do you want to meet up sometime? Like a date?”

You were joking, of course; trying to lighten the mood. But you felt Five bury his face in your hair and he kissed your shoulder.

“If there is an afterlife, I’ll find you. I promise you I will.”

There was nothing more to say, so you closed your eyes and drifted off; your body and mind weak and tired from Reginald’s earlier torture.

***********************************************

The deafening sound woke you with a start. The room around you was blazing bright and you could feel the waves of heat pulsing in the air. The walls were shaking and the pictures that had been hanging there crashed to the ground. The lamp on the nearby table smashed into pieces as it fell onto the floor. But it was the sound that was terrifying. It was like a train heading straight for you at top speed, the noise growing louder with each second. You let out a cry of fear and you felt Five hug you closer to him.

“It’s ok, I’m here,” he said calmly next to your ear.

You turned around so that you were facing him, keeping your body flush with his as you held on to each other. You started crying again and Five brushed away your tears with the back of his fingers.

“It’s happening. This is it, we’re going to die,” you choked out.

You had hoped to be braver in these last moments of life, but the truth was you were terrified and you couldn’t hide it.  But Five appeared calm and the energy that you were picking up from him was peaceful and you welcomed it in, letting it flood your insides. It helped and you stopped crying. The noise was growing louder and the walls around you started to crumble, the glass in the window breaking into a million shards as it exploded all around you. You clutched onto each other even tighter, ignoring the tiny lacerations forming on your bodies, the blood painting your skin with pin prick dots of red.

“Just remember, I will find you. No matter what.”

Five spoke softly in your ear so that you could hear him over the roar of the fast-approaching fireball. With only a few seconds left, you opened your mind up fully, letting all of Five’s deep feelings wash over you. And you felt it. The one emotion you had been determined to push away. But you let it in, because there was no point in holding back now.

It was love. His love for you flowed into you and it was so strong that it momentarily blocked out the raging heat of the dying universe as it closed in on you. You held a hand on his cheek and gave him one last kiss. He could feel everything you were feeling, too. You had made sure he could. But he needed to hear you say it. He deserved to hear it from someone once in his life, even if it was the very end. Your eyes closed and you focused on his body and his breath and his heartbeat next to yours; making sure he heard you before the darkness came.

“I love you, Five.”

***********************************************

Epilogue

It was a Saturday afternoon, the fall air crisp outside and the sun shining low and into the tinted windows of the coffee shop. You sat in your usual spot, hunched over your book, idly sipping at your tea. This is where you spent most of your down time these days. The same coffee shop, the same table by the window if it was unoccupied, the same drink order. Your friends thought there was something wrong with you. They were probably right. But you’d been pulling away from them for the last few months anyway, so they had pretty much stopped asking if you were ok.

It had been this way for a year now. You weren’t sure why; there was no logical explanation you could come up with. You’d initially thought it had to do with entering your thirties and maybe it was a little bit of an early mid-life crisis. But then it stayed, enveloping you like a heavy blanket that you couldn’t shake from your shoulders.

One morning you had woken up like usual and something felt wrong. You tried to put your finger on it, tried to look back into your memory for something you must have forgotten. It was like that feeling you get when you walk into a room but forget the reason why you came there in the first place. Usually if you stand there long enough, it will come to you. This time, it never did.

And so, you went on with life; going to work, meeting up with friends, visiting your parents. Nothing had changed, it was all the same. Except it wasn’t. And you didn’t know how to explain it. There was just something…missing.

You started to decline invitations to parties or to dinners with your girlfriends. A couple times you had been asked out on dates by fairly good-looking men, but you lied and said you were in a relationship. You had lost the desire to interact with people. Even people you cared about. Instead, you found yourself in this same coffee shop, wiling away the hours, and trying to figure out what the hell happened to your life.

Something had happened to your powers, too. You no longer needed to concentrate so hard to read people’s emotions. The golden strands that would normally serve as a bridge from your mind to another were gone. It was concerning at first, when you accidentally gained access to the barista’s consciousness and was hit by a wall of boredom and mild depression. She hadn’t felt a thing, apparently. She just handed you your tea with a professional smile and moved on to the next person.

Even though it went against your moral code, you found yourself using your powers more often. Mostly just for something to do while you sat there, looking out the windows onto the busy city sidewalk. Anger. Doubt. Love. Anxiety. Happiness. Regret. Hope. Sadness.   They all spread through you in a whirl as the passersby went about their day, having no idea they were just cracked open by a girl innocently sipping a mug of green tea. You liked feeling everything they were feeling in those brief seconds. It felt less alone. Less empty.

Your downloads didn't require nearly as much time or concentration, either. And despite knowing that it was wrong, it was fun to surprise strangers with random bits of information as they entered your personal space. The subway was particularly easy, and you liked to watch the reactions of the other commuters when a new fact suddenly jumped into their brain. There was no longer a golden orb and the information was downloaded quickly and precisely from your mind to theirs. It was even more fun to give them incorrect information. Although, you still felt guilty about making one man get off at the incorrect stop just because you wanted to see if you could do it.

You glanced up at the window like you normally did, already bored with your book. You watched as men and women walked by; most of them at a much more leisurely pace since it was the weekend. When you saw him walking towards you, you didn’t think much of it at first. It took a few seconds before your brain caught up to your eyeballs. But then it hit you like a fucking brick.

Grasping the edge of the table with both hands, you squeezed your eyes shut and clenched your teeth as the images flooded through you. They came at you so fast, it was like one of those books that makes moving animation when you flip through the pages super-fast. But you could still see everything; you could still register what was happening. It was all there. The hotel, the wedding, the giant orange fireball outside, your fear and helplessness. And Five. His face and his body, the way his hands felt on your skin and in your hair, the sound of his voice as he whispered in your ear. How safe you had felt when he held onto you even at the last moment.

When the images suddenly stopped flashing through your brain, your eyes flew open and you sucked in a loud, gasping breath. The people around you turned and you heard one woman ask if you were ok. But you didn’t answer. You were too busy looking out the window, frantically searching for his now familiar face. But he was gone again.

Jumping up, knocking your tea over onto your book, you grabbed your purse and ran out of the cafe. You started hurrying through the crowds of people, ignoring their grumbles and curses as you pushed past them. You couldn’t see him anywhere. How was that possible? He had just been there, walking in this very direction. You had only seen him briefly before the images poured into your brain, but you knew it was him. Slightly older and with no three-piece suit, he had still been wearing a white dress shirt and black pants, his head angled down at the ground as he had walked with purpose, his dark hair falling over one eye.

That panicky feeling started to rise up in you again as you increased your pace, jogging in front of and around people, your eyes searching everywhere around you. So, that when you collided directly into another person, you let out a loud “oof” as you were pushed back a couple steps by the impact. You didn’t fall, but you lost your footing a little until a hand reached out and grabbed your arm, steadying you. In an instant, your body was filled with a warm, tingling sensation and you looked up.

When you locked eyes, you were both startled and you stood there staring at each other in the middle of the sidewalk, forcing people to walk around you. Finally, he spoke.

“It’s you.”

You nodded slowly, your voice trembling. “I remembered. When I saw you, I remembered everything.”

“I was just walking and then it hit me after I passed that coffee shop. And I remembered you. I don’t know how I didn’t remember before…but I knew I had to go back. For months something has felt wrong…it was always like-“

“Like something was missing?”

Five smiled. “Exactly. It was you. I was missing you.”

“Our connection with my powers. I don’t think it ever left. We just needed to meet again for everything to fit back into place.”

Five nodded as you both continued to breathe hard, staring at one another.

“Can I kiss you?” he asked, even as he was already pulling you closer.

“I think you better,” you answered with a smile.

It didn’t matter that you were blocking the sidewalk in the middle of the day, or that angry citizens were shoving past you and telling you to get a room. As soon as Five kissed you, another flood of memories came back. Only this time, it was that same soft electrical feeling through your body. That quiet hum of energy. And you could feel everything he was feeling again. Relief, desire, and love.

When you managed to pull away from each other, you still held on, your arms encircling his shoulders and his hands on your waist. He leaned down and placed his forehead against yours.

“You promised you would find me. And you did.”

“I’m sorry it took so long,” he said softly as he closed his eyes and kissed you again.

“Five? Does this mean this is actually the afterlife? That we’ve been dead the whole time?”

Five looked around and shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. This is real life. But it must be an alternate dimension or timeline, it’s hard to say. It looks like when the universe exploded, it created a new one in its place. Like a backup.”

“So…we get to just go about living our lives?”

“Looks that way. But now we can do that together. Assuming, of course, that’s what you want.”

You brushed a strand of hair off his face and smiled up at him. “I want nothing more.”

Five pulled you in tighter for one more kiss before taking your hand and walking over to the side, out of everyone’s way.

“I suppose we should start getting to know one another a little better. Outside of the bedroom, anyway. I feel pretty confident I know you well enough in that regard,” he joked as he rubbed his thumb over the inside of your wrist.

You raised one eyebrow. “I don’t know, I may have some super secret kink that I never showed you.”

He pushed you gently against the building you were standing in front of and held your face in his hand.

“Sweetheart, I would love to learn every kinky, sexually depraved thing about you. And I intend to indulge in all of them. But right now, how about we go back to that café you were in and we talk over coffee. You know, like normal people that don’t have the end of the world breathing down their neck.”

“I’d like that. Oh, but I actually only drink tea. I’m not a coffee person.”

The horrified look Five gave you made you laugh out loud, it was so overdramatic.

“What?”

Five shook his head in disappointment. “It’s a damn good thing I already know how good you are in the sack, otherwise this date may have ended before it began.”

As you giggled and kissed his frowny face, you sighed happily.

“I love you, Five.”

“I love hearing that again. And I love you, too.”

Link to my Master List

#five hargreeves smut #five hargreeves x you #number five x reader #number five #the umbrella academy #five hargreeves imagine #tua fanfiction #tua fanfic #five hargreeves #tua five #number five fanfic #five hargreeves x reader #umbrella academy #umbrella academy fanfic

[gwynndolin]

Also like it seems like EVERY tutorial for obsidian is so slathered in commitment to explaining how useful it is and talking about how specifically their learning style benefits from it like this is a Brand New Way Of Thinking , like bud I'm really just trying to figure out its weird jank markdown formatting and some shortcuts before I start trying to Chris Angel Mind Freak my shit

[caelyne]

Can you make a tutorial of some sort for how to make a graph / chart like that?

Sure! Please note, I'm not an AVID Obsidian user so there are Likely better ways to do this. But I'd be happy to briefly explain how i made my chart thingy. Speaking of which, you can download Obsidian here! its free!

First, when you have the window open, I went right into the Canvas view. You can create a new one here!

Before you, you'll have a big beautiful Nothing. This is the workspace! The first thing I did was to paste a bunch of icons for my characters into the canvas. If you drag them in from windows explorer, you can see their file name above the box. Clicking the item you've added to your canvas will pull up a a little menu above it as well, where you can change the color of its outline, zoom into it, or delete it.

For relationship charts, usually we want to draw connections between the characters that indicate their relationship to one another. So to do this, you'll find a dot on each side of the item's box!

It looks like this. Now to draw an arrow to another item, it's as simple as this!

The coolest thing about this is you can move the boxes around without breaking the connection. You can also click the arrow to pull up a similar menu I described above

The options there include changing the color of your line, adding a label, changing the form of its arrow (unidirectional, bidirectional, or even no arrow!)

Thats pretty much the basics of what I was doing in my relationship chart! Although I'll also include this since I got a few questions abt it. To group these items together, you just need to drag your cursor to highlight them. That menu from before will appear and you will be able to group them that way. Like so:

Apparently, you can also change the background of the group box with one of those options! Neat!

I think that covers everything? e3e Like I said, I'm not an expert with this application. But its very nice! I've seen people do very cool and interesting things with it. Hopefully this post can help :3

#catte.meow #catte.asks

[spitefulbull]

Get to Know Me (tag game)

Thanks for the tag @buffythevampirelover! Always happy to see ya in my activities!

Last song I listened to: "The Sky is Falling" by Jeff Williams (ft. Casey Lee Williams & Lamar Hall)

Last thing I watched: Obsidian Tutorial videos 😭

Last book I read: Sun Tzu's Art of War for research for my WIP

Things I'm currently obsessed with: RWBY, no shame. Also my WIP because it has literally infiltrated my dreams. The muses yelled at me to write it and so I shall.

Spicy/Sweet/Savory: My inner Taurus wants to scream all three, because it really depends on the mood. Right now I'm craving Spicy.

Relationship Status: Single Pringle 🥲

I feel like I've spammed enough people with tags in the last 48 hours, so I'll just leave it as an open tag this time 💚

#writeblr #writers on tumblr #writing #creative writing #writers #writer #writing community #writerscommunity #tag game #tag games #open tag

[jomindraws]

Hi! I am a fellow spec worldbuilder and am wanting to dive ever deeper into what i make because spending months on a singular world is not enough apparently lol. Any chance you could share what resources you use in your worldbuilding?

Sure thing! I've fallen into my own, convoluted system over time, but I can give you some resources to start! You don't need a subscription to a complex program-- just using Docs is good enough to organize! For complex organization, I like to use Obsidian which is also free ( and very very helpful).

If you're looking for some basic guides to start the geography of an Earth-like planet, I would look at Artifexian's tutorials... he has a sort of follow-along guide for a lot of tectonics etc, but its not necessary to follow exactly to the tee.

For spec bio/evo, Biblaridion has a FANTASTIC spec evo series which should get you a rough grasp on spec mechanics. Atlas Pro also has some good videos for following along Earth's paleontology and animal evolution to give you some ideas as well.

As for programs, like I said Docs works fine, although some form of Excel/Sheets/etc is good for calculations. I cannot recommend Obsidian MORE, it is a lifesaver. As for drawing maps and such, GPlates is OKAY for tectonics, but its not intuitive whatsoever. Although I make my maps on Clip Studio Paint, there are free alternatives like Krita you can use (or you can try Adobe Illustrator if you're feeling frisky). (For research, a lot of aforementioned ones should cover your back but I do recommend searching your local library for any books about ecosystems, phylogenetics, tree of life adjacent things, etc.) A lot of spec worldbuilding is pretty much a stone's throw into a dark chasm, so you have to use your own intuition and logic for a lot of it. Remember that the farther you stray from Earth-like, the less hard-science materials you will have to firmly go off of - BUT, the less boring and more """alien""" your life can get. So by all means, make your system life on an ice giant orbiting a dead pulsar !... but be ready to fudge some numbers.

#speculative biology #spec evo #spec bio #speculative worldbuilding #worldbuilding #worldbuilding avice #speculative evolution #spec advice

[nvrfknlrnd2rd]

okay so google drive is being a lil sketchy w AI stuff and it frankly makes me just uncomfy enough to look for an alternative.

the one that i have landed on (for now) is obsidian bc it works nicely for what i typically use google docs for (outside of academic stuff for college) and the reviews on the app store were MUCH better than evernote, which i also considered. so here are a list of what i consider pros and cons

pros

the organization! the style of organization works really well for me personally, with folders and the ability to link to other notes. this helps me keep character development and world building uncluttered during the process

tagging! you can set tags within each file, or vault, in order to better find notes or graphics. i haven't explored this a ton yet BUT it seems promising especially when files get bigger and more complicated

themes! you can customize the colors and themes inside the app (im using 80s neon rn) which isnt super critical for me but is helpful for people who benefit from being able to change that (i personally just enjoy it)

free use of like 99% of the app! the app itself is free and no app features are "off limits" without payment. vvv

cons

does NOT sync automatically. you CAN sync between devices but it is an $8 monthly subscription which i just cant afford on top of other monthly payments rn. maybe one day. (other payment plan is a $50/year fee for commercial use and priority support)

a little complicated. theres no real tutorial so anything beyond basics i've figured out by hitting buttons until they did something. if youre up for a little trial n error learning or asking other people about it, its fine

#google docs alternative #google docs #obsidian app #writing #creative writing #writers #writers on tumblr

[abbiistabbii]

Obsidian Quickstart Guide: Because the video Tutorials make everything more confusing than it needs to be

Set up three folders, Notes, Templates, Attachments.

Go into the Settings. In Files and Attachments, set the attachments folder to attachments and in Templates, set the Templates folder to Templates.

Make a New Note in the Templates called "General" and put this in it:

Category: Subject:

Your "Category" is going to be either #Notes or #moc, which stands for "map of Content", we'll get into that later. Your "Subject " is going to be the Subject or subjects of the note. Make your Subjects one or two words like "Biology" or "Books". While writing your subject, surround them with double square brackets like [[this]]. This will make them into links to ghost articles. Don't worry about that. Just keep making those subjects and reuse them when relevant. Studying Biology? Your subject like should have [[Biology]] in it. When you write your links, if your subject has already been linked, you can select it in the drop down menu.

Also in your notes, if you see something that is a major subject in your notes, like say, a species or an author, highlight the word and hit the [ button twice to make them into a ghost note too. don't just keep links in your subject line.

Do this for all your notes. If you have a vault for "everything", note down everything and anything following these steps. If you have a vault specifically for one subject, just note down everything for that subject.

Eventually if you look in your graph view you'll see a load of dots representing your articles with lines representing links. The Ghost Notes will be greyed out. Some of the Ghost Notes will be larger than the rest. Once they get big enough, click on one to Make it a normal note.

Write Category: #moc at the top. This will be your map of content.

Download the "AutoMOC" plugin from the community plugins. Once you activate it it should appear in your sidebar.

Go into your freshly made Map of Content, write # Backlinks to make a heading, and then click under it and click AutoMOC. This will link to all the articles linked there. You can also put notes about the Subject the MOC talks about.

If you have more than one device, put your Vault on a Pendrive. Not everyone can afford Obsidian Sync but Obsidian are designed to be all text files to they are ultra-portable. The Pendrive I have is a Dual USB - USB-C drive meaning I can plug it into my phone and access my notes through the Android App, as well as on Windows and Linux, so I can take notes while out and about. It's an Emergent system so go for it.

#obsidian #obsidian md #how to guides

[ragsy]

Coping with not playing starfield or bg3 by trying the outer worlds (the space opera RPG made by obsidian entertainment, not to be confused with outer wilds) again, and my review so far after finally having left the tutorial area is "👍 preddy good"

It really just feels like fallout in space which I think is a disservice to it's creative vision but I mean it as a compliment. Also my character is a 55-year-old ex cashier with a silver tongue and a trusty revolver and she is 👌👌👌👌

#ragsycon exclusive

[space-writes]

Obsidian Tutorial - Installing a Theme

Welcome to another Obsidian mini-tutorial! In this one, I’ll explain how to install a theme in your vault.

[ID - a purple decorative divider]

What’s a theme? Well, it’s like any other application theme: something you install to make the program look different. Here’s how to install one in Obsidian.

First, open your settings menu with the cog in the left sidebar.

Go to the appearance option in the left sidebar of the settings menu.

Under the themes option, select manage:

[ID: A screenshot of part of the settings menu in Obsidian. The ‘appearance’ option is highlighted on the left side, and the ‘manage’ button next to the ‘themes’ option is highlighted.]

You should see something like this now:

[ID: A screenshot of the themes gallery in Obsidian. At the top is a search filter option, and underneath are toggles for ‘show installed only’ and ‘light themes only’. The gallery shows a selection of thumbnails of different theme options]

Choose a theme you like! You can switch between them easily, so feel free to install a bunch you like the look of and play around.

To install one, click on the thumbnail in the gallery, click install and use, wait a few seconds, and there you go!

[ID: A gif demonstrating the above instructions being followed in the Obsidian theme gallery.]

Congrats, now you have a new Obsidian theme! Some of them have settings, for which you’ll need the style settings plugin to access. Don’t worry, the next tutorial will cover installing plugins if you’re not 100% on doing that.

[ID - a purple decorative divider]

check out my obsidian tag for more posts

check out the tutorials tag for other obsidian tutorials

obsidian resources masterpost

download obsidian

got questions? tutorial suggestions? want to say hi?

#obsidian md #obsidian.md #obsidian tutorials #writing tools #making it pretty is half the fun honestly

[rosepehtels]

5 reasons you should try obsidian for writing your novel

if you couldn't tell already, i am a huge fan of obsidian, specially for writing and thats all thanks to @space-writes. today i'll try and convince you to start using obsidian for general use by giving you my 5 reasons to try it!

my next post will be 5 reasons you should start using it for writing, adapted from @space-writes post.

linked notes for better organization

one of the most notable features of obsidian is its ability to link notes together. you can build personal wikis where all your notes are interconnected. this allows you to create a web of knowledge that mirrors how you think and connect your thoughts together.

markdown support

obsidian utilizes markdown, which is a markup language to format notes. markdown is really easy to use and you'll get use to it fast the more you use obsidian. it lets you focus on your content without getting distracted by complicated formatting options.

local-first & privacy focused

obsidian is local-first which means your notes are stored on your device and gives you complete control over your data. you're able to access your data anywhere as long as you can access your file explorer.

highly customizable

obsidian has many customizable options you can use to fit to your workflow. with a wide range of community plugins and themes, you can customize the appearance, and functionality of your vault really easily.

perfect for long-term knowledge

if you're someone who works on long-term projects or has a passion for lifelong learning, obsidian is a great tool. it has the ability to handle large volumes of notes and complex interconnections which makes it perfect for building a comprehensive knowledge base over time.

--

my other obsidian posts:

obsidian resources

my review on obsidian

5 obsidian plugins for writers

my top 5 obsidian plugins

my obsidian tutorials masterpost

#mine: obsidian #mine: guide #mine: post #writers on tumblr #creative writing #writers #writerscommunity #ao3 writer #writers and poets #author #obsidian plugins #obsidian md #obsidian.md #chatgpt #ai writing #writeblr #mine: resources #mine: ai #mine: resource

[magz]

Big Magz Promo! I’m making progress. I passed my first IT certification. I'm gonna be "babysitting" starting tomorrow. And I'm doing some creative / tech projects again.

My birthday is on December 9, and I live in the “third world” as a multiply disabled black native nonbinary person, with complications.

I do art, tech, and research stuff. And I help others when I can :P (silly tongue-out emoticon)

💚For me:

General Wishlist + Humble Bundle Wishlist (on sale)

My Ko-Fi + My Pay Pal + U.S. CashApp

Commissions - $3 fast drawings and 20% discount for November 2022 (Tumblr Post)

❤ For you:

Freebies on my ko-fi shop (to be expanded)

Tumblr Blog Backup Tutorial (Tumblr Post)

Tumblr Batch Block browser extension revival (Tumblr post)

To be Announced Later:

Charms and Spirits, prologue. (creative project)

Experimental music collection (music project)

Obsidian Example Vault, with note-taking / planning / organizing / reminder templates.

Resources and Help Page (public archive of useful information and links)

My Website's relaunch

My Old Tumblr Custom Themes Revamped

Article mailing list/collection (substack or medium)

...and more.

[Images: A banner of my art. Black vampire, brown doll, princess luna gijinka, cherry pie, and commission art of masked original character with radioactive dog. A public domain golden-colored divider image, with an ornate rose design. End of Description]

#photo post #o post #my promo #promo post

[theflintwarlock]

Flint knapping and practical magic

Now that we have discussed the basics of history and properties of flint, how can flint knapping be used in practical magic?

First, a few disclaimers:

1. Please do not try this indoors, without proper protective equipment

2. You will need some thick gloves- leather or gardening gloves that are designed to prevent cuts.

3. Protective eye gear is essential, especially when you're learning (which I'll admit I still am)

4. A thick towel on your lap will help prevent you bruising your legs as you work (I have done that before)

5. I am not an expert, this is just me sharing why I think more people should learn about flint knapping and magic. Please watch more detailed tutorials before attempting anything. It evolves sharp edges and the possibility to accidentally start a fire if you do it wrong.

That being said, hopefully I haven't scared too many people off. I am not a dextrous person myself and I have managed to do some rudimentary knapping, I even created a flint crow statuette. The tools that you can make can be extremely useful for Witchcraft, a handaxe for example can be used as an alternative to a ceremonial dagger. I use my flint tools for wood carving, simple stuff like creating touchwoods and small things. Another use if you're an artist is as a charmed pencil sharpener, to add some intention and protection from your ancestors into your work. But I am getting ahead of myself

How to find flint

Finding flint depends on your geographical location. For me, i collect flint from my family home in the east of England. East anglia is rich in flint and chalk as well as clay, anywhere you go you will find big chunks of flint on the ground. Look up your local area's geological background and this will help determine where you can find flint- in volcanic areas you are more likely to find obsidian than flint! Which is very cool, I'm jealous of you. The beach, however, is generally the best place to start wherever you are:

Look for large grey or white stones, flint generally has a coating of sedimentary rock.

It is especially fun to look for rocks with cracks down the middle that go all the way around- as they often have deposits inside. If you're not sure if it's flint, you can hit it with another rock on the beach (another HARD one, using chalk or sedimentary rocks will just break the chalk open.) And if it is flint it will shatter into pieces. Again please be careful. I like to chuck them a good deal away to open them up, and let gravity do the work when it hits other stones. A newly opened egde will look something like this:

The usual shine of flint tends to mattify on a fresh edge, but it still very smooth. When flint is being used as a brick to build a wall, this is as far as knapping goes. But for someone trying to make tools, you need to break it up again into smaller pieces.

For me, I just like breaking stones apart. I find it very therapeutic apart from the magickal elements. There is, however, something unquestionably magical about sitting outside and breaking open a stone, slowly learning with the gentle and rusty hand that a child in the stone age might have had. When I first did this, after watching an episode of digging for Britain, I had the genuine feeling that the people of the past were guiding my hands, teaching me how to work. It is an excellent, practical way to get closer to your ancestors during ancestor work.

I don't tend to worship my ancestors, but I do certainly lean on some of them for advice and guidance in times of strife.

Anyway, when you have a piece like this

On the further edge you can see that there are jagged edges where it has been knapped unevenly. This is a good way to get a sharp edge: you tap with another rock that is roughly the shape of your hand several times and eventually the flint will give. Here it broke into three pieces:

The iron deposits make this rock a slightly unusual one, but the principal applies for any piece of flint. Here it is especially important to be careful and wear gloves (in the picture I'm not wearing gloves because I'm a dumb dumb who cut my hand after this).

This piece is essentially a knife. You can see the slightly transparent edge, serrated. Generally an antler or bone would be used to shape this piece further. (I used chewed up antlers from the family dog)

You can see on the picture to the left there are cracks running down the larger piece. You can carefully remove a smaller piece from the larger by hitting it a few times with the same rounded stone, acting as your hammer. Here a piece came off that could be easily shaped into an arrowhead.

Laver flakes are created by hitting a larger piece precisely until a small, sharp flake falls off. These are difficult to do for beginners. Most of these sharp pieces shown are now on my altar, to add protection to the space and connection to my ancestors. Razor sharp small flakes have a tenancy to fall off, I collect these in a jar and use them for spell bags and jars. It is important to not leave them on the floor anywhere where pets walk, as they will cut into their feet. (And yours if you have a habit of walking barefoot in your garden/outside).

The best part about flint knapping in magical practice is that it's entirely free. Like I've said before, some of the best magical tools come not from commercialised stores but through your own practice and historical techniques that never required buying materials. Go forth and Forage, my flintlings.

For more information and a more detailed guide on things I can't do, check out this website:

https://exarc.net/issue-2016-3/at/recycled-flint-cores-teaching-tools-flintknapping-archaeological-open-air-museums

This YouTube video is also helpful:

Wessex archaeology flint knapping basics

#the warlock speaks #witchcraft #witchblr #flint magic #flint knapping #earth magic #stone tools

[gwynndolin]

i think what youre failing to recognize is that "people who watch obsidian tutorials because they want to learn how to use it" is a pretty small demographic compared to "people who watch obsidian tutorials because they like the idea of obsidian and being a big smart note taker". esp since the latter will likely continue watching videos for a while while the former can watch maybe one or two and then Get It

Yeah, i’m coming to realize that the whole pull of Obsidian is kind of a big circle jerk about expanding your mind and learning techniques. Like more power to you if youve found something what works for you i suppose; couldve done less with the intelectual masturbation of it all