#but if i made edits for em all i wouldn't have time to do the other days lmao | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

inkyvendingmachine · 5 months

Text

T'was The Night Before Crisis... Season 4, Episode 1

💀 Call of Cthulhu: Haunted Hijinx Masterpost 💀 Call of Cthulhu Season Four Masterpost (Coming Soon)

Warning: This campaign is an edited version of a Call of Cthulhu scenario from the Tales of the Crescent City book. While a lot has been changed, there IS spoilers for it throughout these posts.

WE'RE BACK. After over a whole heckin year of 10000 RP logs, we have returned with our final season of Cthulhu! It's been not just a year out of game, but a little over a year worth of in game time has passed too, and they boys are indulging in a chill, at home seasonal celebration... for now! Surely nothing weird will happen, nothing ever does around holidays for these boys obviously.

Happy Holidays!

Art Credit: @inkdemonapologist : sketching + inking @inkyvendingmachine : concept + colouring

A week. Two weeks. A month. A season. A year.

A whole year and a couple of months go by without any crazy outside force trying to rid the boys of… anything really. The time isn't exactly calm or empty… but compared to recent events, for a while, things were… kinda normal?

Well, except for when Joey got Peter to help him meet with Y secretly to prevent the gang from continuing to mess with JDS, or when Sammy and Henry realized mid tennis match that a version of Henry had slashed him right through the center. Or how the Prophet can just pop out now without ink. And how Susie has been brought in on all this, and perhaps brought in on even more than just the supernatural content as her bonds with Sammy and Joey grow tighter. And how Peter is actually moving to New York City now and ends up visiting Jack just as Beans goes missing and now there’s many little Beans kittens. And the summoning spell to ask the spirit that helped them in Haiti what will become of Sammy and Prophet. And the other summoning spell for Prophet to get his instructions from the Masked Messenger. And Sammy still can't tell where he's going half the time after uncovering some of Prophet’s memories. And Joey is still a bit hesitant to leave the studio if not being actively distracted. But other than that! It's been normal!!

And the boys have made it all the way to Christmas. Joey's received some parcels in the mail, from the Fowlers and Nicole. The Fowlers actually sent each of the helpful boys uh… 1000$?? That's a thousand. EACH. IN THE 1930s. For helping out… which I guess if stuck eternally in soul lake hell, wouldn't have that money anyways. But still, that's quite a lot for the time.

Meanwhile, Nicole has had time to move on from her heartbreak, and is ready to start a new chapter in her life, and as thanks, leaves Joey both the keys to her old apartment (the lease being paid up for a few years already) and to her previous car, with a guarantee she's giving these things up for better, not to worry about her. And totally not because maybe all the occult scratches and bullet marks in the wall makes the apartment hard to rent, or the fact that her car is an extremely recognized Mercedes, or that both of these assets were hounded by gangs for a bit after her magical mistakes…

It probably is actually all out of good will and appreciation, and these things will come in useful, especially if they do need to deal with more mafia or what have you. Joey doesn't need them tracking Henry's car home to his family or back to Jack's house.

With those gifts out of the way, the actual holiday is spent in Jack's house, with a big potluck meal. This holiday celebration includes a small group of friends and their families, namely, all the people Jack has befriended and also would be okay with the Lurker partying with em. The event goes well, Sammy gets to play through the night, Henry’s children get to hang out with a real Bendy and also a buncha newly grown-up cats, Henry gets to eat as many cookies as he wants…

That… slows down when Henry sees a yellow sign in a ribbon. But as soon as he tries to not lose his entire cool and freak out, it disappears… the ribbon was just a ribbon the entire time. Perhaps golden ribbons shouldn't be their normal holiday decor…

Meanwhile, Peter feels eyes on him and decides to move away from the window maybe, especially because it feels like he suddenly knew exactly which star in the sky holds Carcosa at the same time… surely a fine coincidence to have happened at almost the same time. But nobody else is acting weirdly, sooooo.

The night wraps up, with Susie and Norman heading out first, followed by Henry and his family. Sammy also heads home after being socially exhausted and desperately needing his alone time, and Peter helps Jack clean up some before heading out too. Jack heads to bed, only to find an already asleep Joey with a Spark sprawled on top of him, probably after he “closed his eyes for a moment” a little earlier.

The next day, there's technically work, but it's a short day because what's actually happening is a charity auction and party. A collection of “originals, signed by the creators” has been donated to help raise money for relief efforts in a few warring European countries, as well as the “entertainment” for the evening (Bendy cartoons, of course), courtesy of JDS, which means of course all the stars who signed the auctioned items were invited to the party as well.

Yes, even Sammy.

(And also Jack, Henry, Susie, and Joey of course.)

The event is being held at a yacht club, advertised to the wealthies of the city midst the great depression, with live music playing and glittering evening wear, and uh. Denis.

Y'know, Denis?? That rich guy from NOLA who invited us to the masquerade?? That Joey casually name dropped his legal name to in order to keep him from tracing himself and Sammy back to JDS, when they didn't know who or how dangerous their initial information gathering was.

Anyways, a quick little talking him in circles by Joey corrects that past mistake, as well as gets him the information that Denis is actually related to one of the people who put the entire event together. Ha. Good to know.

Of course it's difficult to shake him afterwards, since Joey is one of the few people Denis knows all the way up in New York. At least Joey actually has a fancy car to talk about now.

Meanwhile, in the quietest, emptiest corner he could find, Sammy notices something odd about the song that's currently being played live. It sounds familiar, and while surely there's been some Bendy music played this evening…. This particular song is not that. But it WAS composed by Sammy.

In NOLA.

When he was improvising with some random music on the street while hanging out on the balcony of his and Joey's hotel room. Properly freaked out by having a song from a very scary time literally come back to haunt him, Sammy runs to find someone, (Joey is still busy with Denis), and comes across Jack first. But before he can fully explain, the entire party is interrupted.

Chatter turns into hushed confusion as some pale man up near the front starts speaking in tongues. It's hard to tell if he's trying to perform some ritual or just incoherently rambling, but it doesn't matter! Because very quickly there’s a gunshot!!

And the Prophet? He's awake. He knows what that gunshot was. He's been waiting for this.

It has begun.

Of course the entire party breaks out in panic once the gun goes off. Joey doesn't know what sort of Eldritch nonsense was happening up front, but upon scanning the crowd and noticing Jack and Sammy together, beelines for the snack table to grab Henry and search for Susie.

As everyone is being rushed out, some of the boys manage to notice that not all of the panic is simply from the mad ramblings and sudden bullet, but also we've got some people in the crowd bleeding from their eyes. How festive!

Upon getting outside, the Yacht club is of course already being surrounded by security and the police, as the sudden gun shots quickly alerted locals to the nonsense going on. Nobody is allowed to bolt until an investigation is conducted and people are questioned, but of course Joey managed to sweet talk his way over to a telephone to make a very important quick phone call.

To one Peter Sunstram!

Turns out, between all their arguments, there are a few things they can agree on, which includes quietly spying on suspicious parties even though they should probably not be doing that if they actually wanna be safe but surely everyone will understand when they find out IT'S FINE.

Anyways Peter’s been keeping an eye on Y, and earlier in the day Y seemed to be performing some ritual before having some kind of … breakthrough? Revelation? Peter had told Joey of it, and in good faith Joey agreed to keep an eye out for WEIRDNESS, hoping that Y was upholding his promise to not be interfering with JDS anymore. But now this episode seems to have specifically happened, right at their exact event for the evening, so Joey does his best to pass along as much info as he can in that moment to Peter. As well as set up a backup plan in case anything else happens to them before they can escape the Yacht Club.

After some interviews with the police though, they’re allowed to go free. Listening to other partygoers' recollections they’re able to pick up a few more names here and there – the one who fired the gun up front by the bandstand is said to be another local gangster by the name of Johnny Nero, and the band playing on that bandstand one Red Leverett and the Jumps – but no evidence that really points the crew in any sort of serious lead. (including more commentary by Denis wHY ARE YOU STILL HERE UR NOT PART OF THE GROUP)

So having managed to collect everyone together, including Prophet returning Sammy to the front for the interview thank the lord (not that one)(not that one either)(maybe that one) the JDS crew head over to their very safe and secure hide away to talk about what just happened: that’s right, they’re going to Peter’s apartment.

And staying there through midnight! Listen, the last time weird shit started happening like this, everything popped off at midnight and there were panics all around. It’d be nice to know where people were this evening. And while they’re all sitting around waiting for that to pass, Henry and Peter can even talk about the really weird things that happened last night! Yknow, where Henry saw the yellow sign for a moment and Peter felt something watching him from space? Those very normal Christmas activities?

The group also gets informed about how Peter maybe has been keeping an eye on the Y that still hangs out in the city, and how Y was excited over some weird ritual. While he goes over that and also Joey and Peter guiltily kinda admit to their secret spying tendencies, Henry gets info from Linda when he calls to explain why he’s not home yet and how he won’t be home for a little while still. She’s remembered some research that crosses over with the prophecies they had gotten a month or so after the last big event like this. And Jack and Sammy bring up how they had been theorizing over who’s and what’s in the prophecies… for instance, that which the Phantom seeks, who bears already the scars of following the Mender’s lead….

Is it Peter? He followed Jack into the weird ghosty world. Is it Joey? He’s followed the Mender in other ways, and also literally bears scars caused from Jack’s healing. Or is it somehow Y?? Who seems… involved in this somehow, despite promising he wouldn’t be fucking around with stuff that might step on JDS’s toes again.

With no real conclusions, but midnight having come and past, people start to head home. Joey has someone drop him off at the studio, as after weirdness happened with any sort of occult stuff he’s interested in checking in on Bendy and the Stone. Since, those tend to be targets for this kinda creepy thing. Bendy is perfectly fine though, and hardly even noticed anything going on… So Joey picks up some of his notes and… finds himself unable to leave the studio. For some reason it just seems like the wrong idea… so he spends all night up researching, unsettled by how many non-leads he has into what will possibly happen next. It’s starting to feel like Haiti again, knowing that something bad is coming but really having no idea where to fortify with this information.

But he does have something new…

He has plenty of things new now, including his dream spell.

Peter’s not the only one who can spy, and while Joey is sure he’d hit some kind of barrier trying to peek in on Y’s dreams… just knowing whether the man was still alive, or possessed by some eldritch nonsense seemed like a good place to start. Maybe his excitement at the ritual earlier was coincidental…

The thing is, defying all reason, Joey’s able to step into Y’s dream just fine somehow.

This is probably not something he’ll regret doing later, surely.

[Next Episode] (not yet released)

#call of cthulhu: haunted hijinx #joey drew #henry stein #sammy lawrence #jack fain #peter sunstram #bendy the lurker #beans the cat

200 notes · View notes

strawberryfairi · 5 months

Text

Shuji Hanma | Headcanons

★ When he flirts with you; Black Girl Edition❣️ ★ Fluff; Shuji being ridiculously chaotic and you pretending not to love it

💎 DO NOT let this man's looks fool you. Shuji is a cornball ass bozo! I said what I had said💁🏾‍♀️

~He comes across so intimidatingly gorgeous, especially since he's so damn tall, but he flirts with you like he's still in high school because he thinks it's funny. Just the most unserious man to walk the earth.

~ For example: "You got any bandaids? 'Cause I scraped my knees when I fell for you, baby." He murmurs next to your ear with a wide, prideful grin. You give him your best side eye for a moment, then walk away shaking your head, attempting to force your smile down so he wouldn't get boosted off your reaction.

"You need to go on somewhere with your goofy ass. That was even worse than yesterday." You reply over your shoulder, the amusement all in your voice as you kept walking.

~He would never admit this out loud, but he loves the way you always roll your eyes and walk away trying to hide your smile from him when he makes a move on you. He follows after you every single time.

~Honestly he can be like that annoying sibling that won't stop bothering you when he wants to. Turning your bedroom light on then leaving with your door wide open type time...that's Shuji.

~He will absolutely insert himself into your daily life, and do it without warning. He just...arrives. ~Does not care about your feelings on the matter either^^, if he wants to be around you he will.

~You act like you'd never give him the time of day and he absolutely, positively loves it.

~You have to give it to 'em, he's definitely persistent.

~He's never satisfied with his encounters with you until you're completely bothered and/or utterly embarrassed by him.

~Example #2: "Get back! Why're you always doin' the most?!" You rant, covering your face with hands to hide the embarrassment as you walk. This man Shuji had started yelling out Michael Jackson lyrics in the middle of the sidewlak all out in public like he don't got no damn sense. Acting like he's in a music video behind you, people start to stare and mumble discreetly to each other as they passed by you two, only making the embarrassment ten thousand times worse.

"JUST KISS ME BABY AND TELL ME TWICE, THAT YOU'RE THE ONE FOR ME! THE WAY YOU-

"SHUJI! I'm bouta call the police on your stupid ass! Stop! 'Cause you can't even sing!" You holler over him, trying to come across as angry and annoyed as possible as you continue speed walking down the sidewalk.

~He definitely noticed the wide smile on your face....

~No no, getting serious for a second though, he'll definitely come through whenever you need his help. Especially if it involves beating some idiot guy's ass that couldn't take a hint. ~I mean, he's goofy and wild, but he's always reliable.

~Speaking of fighting, he loves to show off his skills when he can. He knows he's a great fighter and so do you.

~He loves the height and overall size difference between you too, and will definitely flex that regularly.

~He's not one to get sappy or particularly emotional, but whenever you're upset or crying about something he'll cheer you up in his own (ghetto) way.

~Example #3: You sniffled a few times, wiping your eyes with the back of your hand as you finished ranting about your coworkers at your stressful job.

"Yeah, that's a lot. So...wanna ride?" He asks, his tone plain yet a mischievous smirk made it's way onto his lips. Your face instantly scrunches up in annoyance.

"Shuji! Why can't you just like listen and-

"On my bike, on my bike!" He chuckles, waving his hands in surrender as you smack his shoulder.

"Then say that, not 'wanna ride'." You scold, giving him another one of your classic side eyes. He knew damn well that came across sexual.

The two of you spend the rest of the afternoon into night riding around town until you completely forgot about the stress of the day. It was a win-win in Shuji's mind. You weren't upset anymore, and he got to spend hours with the feeling of your arms wrapped around him for once instead of smacking him.

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

🧚🏾‍♀️A/N: Ugh, I love Shuji, he's such a goofy, tall cutie.

DON'T STEAL MY WORK✋🏾🛑

89 notes · View notes

saltydkdan · 4 months

Note

Are the JoJo's icebergs fun to work on? They look like a blast to edit and write! (If a bit of a large workload)

The Jojo Iceberg has been... interesting. On one hand yes! It has been a blast to work on in some senses! It taught me a lot about writing, and research, while also allowing me the freedom to experiment with editing and injecting my humor into scripted stuff in a more organic way. I feel like with each chunk of the series I've posted thus far, I've shown more and more confidence over time.

Plus you are right!! Once the audio editing is done, working on visual edits and gags is a blast. Sure it takes time, but I have a weird love for making smooth video edits for people to watch (even though like 50% of the people that view those videos probably just listen to em like a podcast without looking at it haha).

So that sort of stuff, yes! That's been a blast, and I've learned a TON that I'd never take back for the world!

However on the flipside, logistically this project was a nightmare from day one LOL. And this is the part where I try to dissuade anyone from EVER working on a longer project like this because god damn it's been a pain at times.

Keep in mind, the script (as it stands) is nearly 200 pages. That is the longest scripted work I've ever helped write in my entire life, and when I started I was NOT that experienced as a writer whatsoever. I'm a bit better now, but at times I still struggle.

I made the horrible decision to never put a cap on the script. For every new fact I learned, even if it wasn't a part of the original plans for the video, I would add it to the pile. No matter what it was. I was committed to making it as long as I thought it needed to be, not as long as it probably SHOULD have been to get done in a reasonable amount of time.

I did all this for a deep passion for the source material, and even after the final part comes out early this year, I plan on going back and correcting the very few mistakes or miswordings I had in the original videos when I put them all together in one MEGA video.

But that passion for Jojo is a blessing and a curse, and I hadn't realized how long a project like this would take me amidst all the other big projects like Friendlocke and HYHA.

Full disclosure, the script was first started in December of 2020. That's nearly 3-4 YEARS AGO by now. If I knew that putting all this together would take that long, I probably wouldn't have committed to it in the way that I did. In that time, I probably could have put out a TON of shorter stuff, but I was so committed to this that I just didn't and that very much hurt my channel in the long term.

Though to be real, I haven't worked on it consistently, I tend to jump on and off between projects to avoid burnout. However still, by the time it's all done, the Jojo Iceberg combined together will most likely be the longest piece of content on my channel (yes, potentially longer than Friendlocke Season 3, I estimate that it'll probably come out to around 6 hours in length if I don't cut anything down).

It's because of this that after this is all out there? I plan to NEVER tackle something this long ever again. Friendlocke and Jojo have drained my bones, and all I wanna do these days is work on shorter stuff. Though I guess in that sense, this project has really helped teach me a lot about the sort of stuff I want to make. So in a way, even the negatives have positives! There's always something you can take away with, even if your experience had some downsides.

Looking at such a long script and doing some math, it's made me realize that like... damn. I could DEFINITELY do shorter videos way more consistently in the future. And so that's what I plan to do :)

So yeah! Some positives and negatives. But overall, I learned a lot and that's all I could ever ask for.

Thanks for your question! Have a good one!

#saltydkdan #salty asks #jojos bizarre adventure

48 notes · View notes

kitthenameless · 5 hours

Text

I made this other post about the Emperor and Ansur once, but I had more things I wanted to say and couldn't quite fit in without muddying my point.

This is perhaps a bit of a reach, but this is not the first time I've found a portrayal of turning into a monster that I relate to as a chronically ill / disabled person who became ill later in life. It has nothing to do with feeling monstrous (I don't feel monstrous) or even body horror, and everything to do with how disabled people are treated by society and even those closest to us.

Obviously disabled people don't go around eating brains. We are not dangerous any more than abled people are. But becoming a mindflayer (or whatever monster) is comparable in the sense that, it can happen suddenly, and then your whole life is different, your body is not what it used to be (maybe visually, maybe the way it works or doesn't work now), and you need certain accommodations in order to thrive or even just survive. But people treat you differently now, you're not really given any help, and truthfully a lot of people would rather you just be dead. You're abandoned by society to figure out your new life and all its difficulties on your own. If you're lucky, you have some people who care enough to help you. If you're not lucky, you do the best you can in your desperation.

And that's why it feels so messed up to me that Ansur just gave up on Balduran/Emperor once he couldn't cure him. He clearly believes this is still Balduran, as shown by how he speaks to him when you meet him. So in his mind, he wasn't even trying to kill some creature that just had Balduran's memories. He was trying to kill Balduran. Who forcibly underwent a change to his body and accepted it and decided he still wanted a chance at living.

Edit to add: I'm pretty sure the Emperor even says it wasn't easy at first, so he didn't immediately embrace being a mindflayer. He came to accept it with some time, and that feels even more significant to me.

Like I said, I know becoming a mindflayer is not exactly the same as becoming disabled because mindflayers are dangerous. But also like I said, in my other post, the game shows us there are options to living ethically as a mindflayer. It's just that no one even helped the Emperor try to find them. And even so, he did his best on his own by eating criminals (which there is proof of, in a transcript).

I don't even blame him for disguising himself to the player at first. Look at how society treats freed mindflayers. Look at how the Emperor's own best friend and lover treated him. It makes perfect sense to assume we would hurt him or refuse to help him too.

Some people are so quick to forgive the companions for all the messed up things they've done because they have trauma. The Emperor has been through shit too though. He wouldn't admit to having trauma, but he was kidnapped, had his body forcibly changed, had his mind enslaved, had his lover try to kill him, had to kill his lover in self-defense, and was enslaved a second time. Sounds pretty traumatic to me.

Anyway. It's probably random to end this by talking about books, but that's what I do (literally, I also have a book blog), so. The other stories I also related to in this way were Dead Collections by Isaac Fellman (vampires) and Bored Gay Werewolf by Tony Santorella (werewolves). Maybe look 'em up, if you like that sorta thing.

#bg3 #bg3 spoilers #bg3 emperor #bg3 the emperor #baldurs gate 3 #baldurs gate 3 spoilers #baldurs gate 3 emperor #baldur's gate 3 #baldur's gate 3 spoilers #chronic illness #disability

14 notes · View notes

electricgoldtendercare · 1 year

Text

RULES ||J.M||

Plot: There are certain rules that come with traveling alongside Joel Miller

Warnings: Angst, pining, not fully edited

Hiiiiii, felt the urge to write for Joel and ended up having written so much?? I feel like it gets a little messy but I just want to get it posted because i’m working on smut that comes with it 🧍🏼‍♀️ comments & constructive criticism is always welcome and I thank every one of you who reads this and interacts ❤️❤️ Enjoy!!

7.6k

————————————————

Soon after Ellie had invited you to follow her and Joel on their journey, you learned that there were specific rules that went along with traveling with Joel. Ellie was just happy to have more company, especially someone who would indulge her shitty puns and happily answered her questions even if the answers were mostly bullshit. Joel on the other hand had a hardened exterior, you saw glimpses here and there of a softie inside but you knew that you'd have to get extra deep for more than a glimpse and he wasn't anywhere near ready to open up to you, or anyone else for that matter. As soon as you had met him you knew just by his demeanor that he commanded every space he occupied. He meant business, and not many people were stupid enough to fuck around near him long enough to find out what happens when you did.

His presence made it a lot easier to follow the unspoken rules, one glance from him meant you wouldn't step out of line again and he knew it. You'd like to say he appreciated it, that you wouldn't fight back on what he said when that's all Ellie enjoyed doing, but there was no telling when his face stayed stoic at all times. Rule number 1. Contrary to what teachers had told you your whole growing up, there were indeed stupid questions, and with Joel that was 99.9% of them. If you had a question, you kept it to yourself or hoped that it was something Ellie had already asked and knew the answer to. There were a few situations where you felt like you would explode if you didn't ask a question but you always prepared yourself for his annoyed huff and little comment that went along with it.

You were all in Bill's truck, driving down a random highway on the way to Jackson when you noted something along the side of the road and you couldn't keep the question from bubbling up. "Did you ever go to one of those, Joel? One of those massive superstores they were starting to build before everything happened?" You ask, eyes full of curiosity. Joel glances over at you, raising an eyebrow. He glances at the rear view mirror to the backseat where Ellie was fast asleep amongst all the bags and clears his throat. You realized your mistake then and there, prepping yourself before he spoke up. "Worked on some of 'em, actually." He says with a look on his face that you weren't quite able to read. "I remember taking Sa-um, yeah I went to a few with my brother. Lots of people, lots of shit nobody needed." He says and you nod, hanging onto every word he says like it would be the last time you heard him speak. "I went to one, like once. Feels like they were probably just a hotspot of activity as soon as people became infected and then once the looting started." You say, watching Joel nod. "Yup." And that was it, no need to push anything further, you were just excited to have asked him something that he had responded to well.

Rule number 2. If Joel told you to do something, you did it. Without question. This one was the easiest to follow, especially for you. You had a natural sense of submission and the air of confidence Joel walked around with made you actively want to listen to what he told you. After just a few weeks with the group you were already following his nonverbal cues. His eyes would darken and he would move his head a specific way and you were grabbing Ellie's hand and pulling her to a place where the two of you would hide. Ellie would stare at you incredulously considering her natural instinct was to fight whatever Joel told her to do. With a knowing look from Ellie, you'd shush her and look around the corner to make sure Joel was safe.

The three of you knew he didn't want anyone to take care of him, but just like your urge to take care of Ellie, it umbrella'd over to Joel as well. You remember the first time Joel accepted your help vividly, considering the fact that when he had accepted both you and Ellie had froze in place and stared at each other in confusion. He huffed and muttered something under his breath about not needing any help or something along those lines before relenting. You shook out of your daze to grab Joel's arm, pulling him into the bathroom of the abandoned gas station you had all stopped at to fill up. You tried to help him up on the counter but relented to just having him lean against it. Standing nearly between his legs, you start to use some of the clean water you had in your canteen to wipe off the wound covering his forearm. You had never noticed the way his veins stuck out prominently on his arm in such a beautiful way before, the almost permanent layer of dirt across his skin accentuating them.

"Joel watch out!" You had shouted, seeing the broken shelf just a little too late to warn Joel in time, seeing it slam down on his arm. A mix of clattering and Joel cursing up a storm was heard for miles you were fairly sure. Ellie helped moved the shelves and that's when you saw the large gash on his arm. "Joel, we have to clean that or it will get infected." You say, care and worry evident in your voice as you waited for the worst. "Yea, okay." He had said, shocking the two girls beyond measure.

Ellie walked through the doorframe with the whiskey and rags that you had asked her to bring and you thank her quietly, watching Joel's eyes widen as you poured some of the priceless liquor onto one of the towels, about to protest when you placed a hand on his bicep. "We'll find some more. I'm sure Bill & Frank have extra. It's the only thing I can think of that may help if there's any infection.." You trail off, dabbing at the wound. "Smart." He muttered, teeth clenched due to the slight burn of the alcohol on his open skin. You look through your makeshift first aid kit, something that you had been working on since the beginning of the pandemic which meant you had quite a large selection of bandages to use. Both Ellie and Joel knew you were very selective about how much you used, wanting to keep as much as you could for large emergencies that were sure to come up.

That wasn't the case for this, you used multiple bandages, wrapping almost an entire roll of gauze around his arm before taping it off. You were about to pull away and pack up when you felt his rough hands find their way to your waist, his gaze finding yours. The look in his eyes was something different than you'd ever seen and it took the air right out of your lungs. For what seemed like the first time in ages you were completely speechless, far too aware of how quick your heart was beating against your chest. So sure that even Ellie out in the truck could hear it so it must have seemed extra loud to Joel whose chest was brushing against your own. "Thanks Darlin'." He says, his voice still gruff yet much more breathy than it ever had been. His dark eyes glanced between your own light ones and your parted pink lips. Was he about to kiss you? There was no way, but why else would he be looking at you this way? "N-no problem." You whisper back, a flush coming from your chest up to your cheeks. God you wish you had a cooler response to this but your mind was taken over by Joel, Joel, JOEL.

As quickly as it had started it was over, Joel was pushing past you and out of the bathroom leaving you to just stand there more confused than you had been. "What the fuck?" You whisper to yourself, taking a few minutes to try to come up with any reason that what just transpired had happened, to rationalize it. With no reason coming to mind you found your way out of the building with your first aid kit and some newfound feelings towards Joel stirring in your chest. He was already in the truck, watching and waiting for you to come out. You notice that Ellie is in the front seat and for the first time since you began traveling with the pair you were not even interested in fighting for the front seat, climbing silently into the backseat and avoiding Joel's eyes in the rearview mirror.

——————————————-

It had been weeks since your moment with Joel in the bathroom and luckily things had gone back to normal fairly quickly. That was one of the many plus sides of having Ellie there, that girl's knack for breaking any ice that she wasn't even aware was there was one of her many talents. It was a particularly harsh winter and somehow you and Ellie, along with Tommy had convinced Joel to settle down in Jackson for at least a couple weeks. You were given a nice home there considering Joel's status of being Tommy's brother, three bedrooms which was three more than any of you were used to, a happy change. You knew even if it had been one bedroom that both you and Joel were on the same page about letting Ellie have it. The look on her face when she found out she got her own room was the happiest you'd seen her and there was no question between you and Joel. Joel had made sure Ellie had the room furthest from the front door, yours next and then his being the closest. You didn't care to fight with him on this, noting the same worry in his eyes that you always felt for the two.

That's what brought you to this moment, hearing Ellie's window slide open in the middle of the night. Your first reaction was terror, grabbing your gun from your night table and running to her room. The fear quickly dissipating to anger when you see her attempting to climb out. "Joel catches you, you're dead." You spoke up, causing the girl to jump and stare at you in shock. "Shit.." She muttered under her breath, climbing back in quietly. "Listen, please /please/ don't tell him. I was just going to meet some friends who invited me over...." She admits and you sigh, walking over towards her. "Why didn't you just tell me? Much easier for us to convince Joel as a team instead of him waking up to you being gone." You say with a raised eyebrow and she relents. "I know, I just...thought you might say no."

"I'm not Joel, Ellie. But I do agree with him on a lot, so you're taking your knife and a walkie talkie and if you are not back by 4 am you are grounded for like, a million months." You say, going to grab some things for her to take with her. You know Joel wouldn't approve but you also knew that this was Ellie being a normal teenager and you wanted her to have as much normalcy as she was able to get. You make sure the batteries are full in the walkie and watch her leave before stepping out of her room. You were planning on just heading downstairs to read until she came back but you came face to chest with Joel as you stepped into the hallway.

"What were you doing?" He asks suspiciously, going to grab the handle behind you. You grab his forearm, trying to quickly come up with an excuse or someway to avoid the conversation that was about to happen. It was short lived though, the look in his eyes telling you not to even attempt to bullshit him. "Let's go downstairs, and i'll tell you?" You ask, taking his large hand in yours and attempting to pull him towards the kitchen. He huffed, eyeing Ellie's door before giving in and following you down. You put on some water to boil, knowing that after you told him what was happening he wouldn't want to go back to sleep. You're not sure why you expected him to relax, to just sit down and wait patiently for you to explain what was happening. No, he was leaning against the corner right behind you, his arms folded tightly with an intense look on his face as he raised his eyebrows to urge you to speak.

"Okay.." You sigh. "You can't get mad...ok you can't get too mad. and you can't leave, you need to hear me out." He nods slowly, glancing towards the door. "Okay...I caught Ellie trying to sneak out." You say quietly, immediately noticing him tense up and stand straight like he was about to run out of the door. You quickly step forward and let your hands land on his arms again, giving them a quick squeeze. "I heard her window and ran in there immediately. Before you say anything I didn't have time to wake you up...anyways. She just wanted to go hang out with some friends and that's just...she's being a normal teenager! That's what we both want right? Growing up in this world fucking sucks so I thought that any sense of normalcy she can find or we can provide..it wouldn't be too bad." You say softly, watching each word you said sink in deeper behind his eyes. "I sent her with walkie talkies, her knife, and I told her to be back home by 4 or she's grounded for basically ever." You says, a small smile on your face. "Are you never going to talk to me again?"

It was a long pause, and the wheels in Joel's head were working overtime around the situation as you convinced yourself he actually may never talk to you again. "I'm glad you made sure she was safe." Is all he said, setting his hand on your waist lightly before moving to prep his mug for coffee. The touch immediately brought you back to those few months ago in the bathroom and you felt like the wind was knocked out of you once again. "Um...yeah, yeah of course. Her well being is my main priority. Along with yours, of course." You said, noting the sideways glance he gave you when you had said it. You fixed your instant coffee and immediately walked to the front room to sit by the fire and read. Part of you hoped he'd stay away from you, just so your mind could try to work out why the hell this kept happening to you and what you could possibly do to stop it. That hope was short lived when he walked into the living room, settling down on the couch next to you and kicking his feet up on the coffee table.

A comfortable silence surrounded the two of you, it felt almost...normal. Like you and Joel were parents waiting for their daughter to get home from her first date or something. You knew bits and pieces of Joel's past, that he had a daughter before everything happened but that was the extent. Had he done this before? Waited up all night for her to get home or was this a first for him as well? You had only just graduated high school when the pandemic started and you had given up on any hope you had to have your own family when you lost every single person in yours. Joel and Ellie were the closest you got, so along with this being a first for Ellie, it was a first for you. The nerves and excitement didn't stop your eyelids from getting heavy though, nodding off every few minutes while watching the clock and hoping 4 am would get there quicker. "You can go to sleep, I'll stay up and wait for her." Joel speaks, causing you to jump ever so slightly. You went to fight, words dying in your throat when you saw the look on his face, he was completely serious. You just nod, grabbing a pillow and blanket from the corner of the room. He debated heading up to your room but ultimately ended up laying out on the couch next to Joel, feet tucked up against the side of his thigh closely.

The next thing you knew you heard the front door click open and Joel's hand reaches to grab your leg protectively. You glanced at his hand before looking up to see an extra smiley Ellie stepping into the living room. "You're late." Joel muttered though it would be clear to absolutely anyone else that he was enjoying seeing his girl so happy. You glance at the clock and chuckle a little bit, sitting up and placing a hand on his bicep. "By 5 minutes, Joel. She's okay.." You smile and look up at the girl who just laughs, calling the two of you dorks for having stayed up for her but saying a sweet goodnight before going upstairs to her room. After a moment you wrapped a blanket around your shoulders and stood up, reaching a hand out to Joel. "We made it. Our little girl is all grown up." You tease, pretending to wipe fake tears off your cheeks with your free hand. It wasn't fully a joke, but it was the only way you knew how to approach the situation. Joel gives you a small chuckle, just shaking his head at you before standing up and following you up the stairs. You each make it to your own rooms and say goodnight, though as you shut your door you find yourself hoping that Joel would have invited you in to his room with him.

Okay, no. We're not even going to entertain any thoughts like that. For all intents and purposes Joel was basically your business partner, nothing more. There was no reason to want more, him having given you no hints that he would be interested in more either. You heard his snores in the other room and your thoughts were brought back to every moment his hands had touched you, even in the most platonic way, helping you through a small opening or pushing past you in a small room. Your skin suddenly burned, your core aching for any sort of friction to satiate this newfound urge. You cuddled under almost every blanket on the bed and pushed the thoughts deep down, far away from where they were right now before you force yourself to go to sleep.

—————————————

You were doing well keeping the thoughts deep deep down, getting better and better at it as time went by. If anyone noticed the longing stares you occasionally sent towards Joel they didn't say anything and for that you were grateful. That's why you were surprised when Maria pulled you to the side one day, asking how long you and Joel had been "dating" or whatever the equivalent of dating was in the end of the world. The look on your face was one of pure confusion and she quickly realized her mistake. "Oh, I'm so sorry. The way he looks at you...I guess I misunderstood the situation." She says and you took a moment before shaking your head quickly. "Oh, I'm...no don't apologize. There's nothing going on between Joel and I, but I appreciate you even caring enough to pull me to the side." You smiled, removing yourself from the situation as quickly as you could.

What did she mean the way Joel looked at you? Nothing seemed different, you would feel his eyes on you but his face would be empty, stoic. No evidence of any sort of feelings. Maria's question had been a catalyst though, and if you found yourself in a room with Joel alone your thoughts were completely overwhelmed by him. The strong scent of dust, leather, and musk taking over your senses and the urge to be close to him taking over. You found yourself leaning into his side when you were standing side by side, if it was your turn to do laundry you took extra time to wash his flannels, it was like a magnetic pull from your very core to anything that had to do with Joel. It became a lot more obvious to everyone around you as well. Ellie teased you constantly about your "crush" on Joel, wiggling her eyebrows when Joel turned away and she caught you staring. You knew the day was coming that either Joel would catch you staring or overhear Ellie teasing you but you couldn't help it at this point.

It was movie night and normally Joel wouldn't show but Ellie had begged him to come because 'the movie is basically about your life,' meaning it was about a grumpy cowboy and Ellie thought it'd be funny to see Joel's reaction when he realized. You weren't planning on going, especially because Joel was going and you felt like you needed a moment to breathe without him in your space. All that flew out the window when he entered your room the afternoon before. His hair was combed back and still wet from his shower and he had a fresh flannel on with his normal jeans and boots. You noticed that his mouth was moving but for a solid minute you were so focused on the facial hair along his jaw you were not paying attention to his words in the slightest. "Are you listening? You coming tonight or not?" He asks, patience running a little thin. "Huh? Oh yeah I'll be there. Sorry, got a little distracted." You smile, watching him just stare at you oddly before nodding and walking out of the room. Fuck. Me.

——————————————

It's official, you were going absolutely crazy. There was no other reason to explain the way you were acting. You walk over to Maria and Tommy's, asking Maria if you could borrow a dress for movie night. She gave you a knowing smile and let you pick one out of her closet. You thanked her over and over before heading back home to start getting ready. You told Joel & Ellie to head to the movie without you and you'd just meet up with them a little bit later. Your heart had skipped a beat when Joel double checked that you were okay to head over yourself but you assured him quickly and then locked yourself in the bathroom. Joel would have scolded you if he knew how much hot water you used for your shower but that's why you made him go ahead of you. You tried on the dress, staring at yourself in the mirror in shock. You hadn't had the opportunity to dress up this way since you were 18, almost 10 years ago and you had completely forgotten how it felt. The silhouette of the dress was absolutely beautiful and you racked your brain thinking of something to trade with Maria just to be able to wear this dress more than once. You dug through the drawers and cabinets in the bathroom, finding some beyond expired makeup to use. You put a little blush on your cheeks and used an old lipstick you had found and cleaned off. That's as far as you were comfortable with going with old makeup but you thought you looked pretty.

You pull on your winter coat and boots, chuckling at the look of your beautiful dress drowned out by a whole bunch of brown. You lock up the house and trudged through the snow on the way to the "theater". Walking in, you spot Ellie with her friend's and you give her a wave, noticing her do a double take at you and raise an eyebrow. You look away quickly and search for Joel, spotting him in the back on a bench looking miserable. You walk towards him, catching his eye and you don't miss the way his mouth falls open and his eyes widen slightly. You give him a small smile, taking a deep breath before shrugging off your coat to reveal your dress.

You were fairly sure you could hear Ellie from across the auditorium say 'holy shit' and that made you laugh a little bit. You glance back over at Joel and he was practically gawking at you now. You had never seen him look the way he did, especially at you, and the butterflies fluttering in your stomach were doing fucking gymnastics. You lay your coat on the bench and sit down next to him. Normally you wouldn't wait for him to speak but at the moment you were a big bundle of nerves and knew you'd for sure stumble on your words. Unbeknownst to you, Joel was dealing with the same feeling. He was never a man of many words but the moment he saw the makeup that lightly dusted your face his mind was simultaneously running a million miles a minute while also completely blank.

"You-uh." He muttered, clearing his throat. "Where'd ya find that dress?" He asks, mentally face palming. You bit down on your lip and played with the hem of it, unsure of how he really felt about it. "Oh, I looked through Maria's closet...I don't know why I just felt like getting a little dressed up." You explain quietly, glancing up at him through your lashes. He nods, clearing his throat "Well, you look nice." He says, avoiding eye contact and he seemed to become over interested in the movie. You smile a little bit, thanking him in a small voice before turning to focus on the screen. You catch Maria's eyes and she gives you two thumbs up, wiggling her eyebrows in a similar fashion to the way Ellie did. You blush a little and give her a small smile in response.

From the side of your vision you could see that Joel's head kept glancing over towards you every few moments. Every time he did, your cheeks flushed and you became even more self aware of how you looked in the dress. You were more than sure that if you had gone out in this dress before everything happened that you would 100% be hit on, not even in a full of yourself way, just simply the cut of the dress. Your chest was accentuated nicely and it fit your waist like you had specifically bought it in your size. In a wave of feeling overwhelmed you lay your head on Joel's shoulder, feeling him tense against your touch but soon after relax. You might have been imagining it but you almost felt him lean into your touch, his head laying against your own for just a moment. That was until Tommy walks over, causing Joel to stiffen up his back and away from you.

You felt your cheeks heat up, this time with embarrassment though at the move that felt like pure rejection. You pull your coat from underneath you and wrap it around yourself as he approaches the both of you. Tommy gives you a small smile, glancing between you and Joel. "Maria told me you were looking for a dress, you look real nice." He says kindly and you blush a little. "Oh, thank you so much, Tommy. Yeah, I was so excited that Maria had any! I have to find something to trade so I can keep this one." You joke and Joel clears his throat "We need to keep everything we have." He mumbles and you're sure you physically deflate. "Oh...yeah. No, I was just only joking.." You say, clearing your throat awkwardly.

Tommy watches the situation, raising an eyebrow before calling Maria over with his hand. He leans into her ear and whispers something before Maria speaks up. "Oh! Sweetie, the dress is all yours. No need to trade or anything. If you feel pretty, it's all worth it. I told Tommy when you walked in that I am pretty sure it was made exactly for you." She smiles and you are overwhelmed with the kindness both her and Tommy were showing you. You stood up and pulled her into a big hug, leaning over and giving Tommy a small hug as well. "Thank you guys, really. We're all so grateful that you're even letting us stay here, it's been truly lovely." Tommy shakes his head quickly, his arm finding itself around Maria's waist where you quickly imagined feeling Joel's arm on your own waist. "The three of you are family, you will always have a place to stay."

—————————————————

"Obviously you won't see me in a dress like...ever but you make me want to play dress up." Ellie jokes, leading the group of you into the house before grabbing your hand and spinning you around while the two of you laugh loudly. You catch a glimpse of Joel watching you two with the softest look you had ever seen on his face. Your heart swelled and you reached your hand out to pull him in to spin with you and Ellie. He does for a moment until you accidentally tripped on the rug and fell into his chest, his hands holding you up by your waist. "I think that's my cue to leave." Ellie says, her footsteps fading upstairs and to her room. The situation you were in had your heart racing and you could feel Joel's own thumping to the same rhythm.

You stare up at him, letting yourself gain hope that this was finally the time something would happen between the two of you. For a moment it seemed like he was leaning in but something switched in his eyes and you felt his hands fall from your waist. "You can find a place to keep that dress, it won't fit with our stuff when we leave." He said, pulling away before walking into the kitchen. You were shocked, feeling your eyes tear up as you felt the heartache take over once again. Before you had realized your feelings for Joel it was confusing when he did this but now it hurt. You sniffle, taking a deep breath before going to the doorway of the kitchen. "How many times are we going to do this?"

"Do what?" He grumbles, already nursing a glass of whiskey that Tommy had gifted the two of you. You furrowed your eyebrows while shaking your head "This! You give me signals that something may happen but then as soon as we're close to something you pull away. Do you want me Joel? Or not." Your whole body froze, tense as you awaited his answer. You felt like this could change everything, regardless of his answer. "No." Was all he said, and the heartache grew tenfold as you let his answer sink in. You nod, avoiding his gaze "Okay, have a good night." You whisper, going up to your room and locking the door behind you.

You fall down the door, tears spilling down your cheeks as you wrapped your arms around your legs and let all the emotions out. Of the few moments he had shown you that he might be interested there were so many more that had shown you he didn't but you still got your hopes up that maybe, just maybe he shared the same feelings you did. You hear a knock on your door, much too gentle to be Joel so you stood up to open it, being greeted with Ellie who walked in and locked the door behind her. "So...I heard what happened. I am just shocked because I really thought that there was something there? Are you okay?" She asks and you sit down on the bed, wiping your tears away with a nod. "I'll be okay, a little tears can be good for the soul. I don't want you to worry about any of this, I'll be fine. You worry about your friends, girls, things that teenagers are supposed to worry about."

"Hey, I know what its like to be heartbroken and...you're like a...well a mom to me honestly." She admits quietly, fiddling with her fingers. "I don't want you to be upset." She sighs and you stand up, pulling her into a big hug. "Your heart is too big, I swear." You smile, processing the confession she had just made to you. It helped put everything in perspective, yeah you were surviving but this had always been about Ellie and her future, simple as that. "I love you, and Joel like family and this is just a little hiccup. Things will go on like normal, I shouldn't have even let myself have a silly little crush anyways." You smile sadly, walking her to her room. "How about you and I go see the horses tomorrow? We can go visit Shimmer." You offer, and she nods excitedly. "Yes, please! Let's go." She says and you say your good nights, shutting her door before turning around to go back to your room. You see Joel at the top of the stairs and know that it was fully apparent that you had been crying. "Goodnight, Joel."

————————————

It felt trivial, crying yourself to sleep over a man while just outside the walls of the commune you were staying in life had almost completely ceased to exist. You felt selfish, like you had been able to endure and survive for the last 12 years yet here you were feeling like your prom date had stood you up and when you found him at the dance he was in the arms of someone else. You didn't think Joel would be interested in anyone else either so that was a small comfort that you wouldn't just see him with some random woman from the commune. At least you hoped that you wouldn't.

You got a few hours of sleep but you were up at 5 am, unable to rest any longer. You hung up the dress, hiding it in the back of the closet so it would be harder to see it and be reminded of what happened. You didn't have any group chores today but you needed something to do to keep yourself busy. You deep cleaned your bathroom and bedroom, going downstairs afterwards to do the same to the kitchen and living room. After about an hour you heard a door click from upstairs and hear heavy footsteps coming down the stairs. You took a deep breath, preparing yourself to put on a happy face and fake it till you make it. You look up when he steps into the kitchen and bit down on your lip. Of course he was freshly showered and looked extremely handsome. Fucker, he was too handsome.

"Good morning! I got some more instant coffee from Maria this morning and the water should still be hot on the stove." You said, going back to sweeping the floor. The memories of last night were hanging in the air, like a thick cloud of smoke threatening to fill the room at any moment. "Thank you." He says, trying his hardest to keep his voice soft. "Ellie and I are going to the stables today, I figured we should go check up on Shimmer and we could use some bonding time today." You say quietly, smiling at the memory of what Ellie had told you the previous night. You wanted so badly to tell Joel but things still felt weird and you didn't want any reason for things to get worse.

"Good idea, Tommy and I are going on a run." He comments and your head snaps up quickly. You hadn't been aware that they were planning a run and your stomach filled with dread. You opened your mouth to tell him that you could join them but you stopped yourself, know that wouldn't be the smartest idea. "Oh..how long will you be gone?" You kept your voice steady, proud of yourself for how normal you sounded. "Couple days. Shouldn't take too long, heading up North for a lead on some weapons and medicine." He explains and you nod slowly. "Well, um. Make sure you say goodbye to Ellie before you go, and you guys be safe. We need you coming back in one piece." You sigh, glancing up at him. There was another soft look on his face, but it felt almost pitiful and you couldn't stand the idea that he pitied you. He was about to speak when Ellie walked into the kitchen. "Woahhhh, what happened in here? Talk about tension!" She laughs, play punching Joel's arm. You smile a bit, not wanting to seem off for her sake. "Good luck, Joel. Ellie, I'm going to get ready to go." You said, leaning the broom against the wall and leaving the kitchen for Joel to say his quick goodbyes.

———————————

It was day 5 of Joel and Tommy being gone, already too long in your opinion and you were anxious every moment that they weren't walking through those gates safe and sound. Both Maria and Ellie tried to calm you down, explaining that the men had been on runs that were much longer than this but this just felt different. You knew every one of the people on the run were more than capable of keeping themselves alive and safe but Joel was out there. Your Joel. You spend your days helping out at the shops near the gate so you'd be the first one to see when they came back, and your nights were full of a few too many drinks in the kitchen so you'd actually be able to sleep. The pitied look in Ellie's face when she had come into your bedroom and saw you curled up in one of Joel's flannels that he had left was embarrassing but the only thing you could do was shrug, hiding your face.

For the first time in years you felt absolutely helpless. You had done just fine keeping yourself safe and sane before you met Joel but now it felt like he was just a part of you, the same way Ellie was. Ellie had come into the room at about 6 am on the next day, shaking your shoulder to tell you that Joel and Tommy had just arrived home. You jumped up, staying in your pajamas and Joel's flannel before pulling on some boots and immediately leaving the house to go see them. You didn't even question why Ellie had been up so early, focused on seeing Joel safe with your own eyes. The moment you saw him you yelled his name, his eyes had been searching and when they landed on you he visibly relaxed.

Despite the anxiety and the way things had been left 6 days prior you followed the urge to run towards him, wrapping your hands around his neck and pulling him close to you as if he'd disappear if you let go. "Don't leave for so long again." You whispered and you felt his arms snake around your waist, his breath fanning over your neck and you could feel him nod. After a long moment, you pulled away with your cheeks tinted pink as you looked around at many of the people you knew just watching the two of you. You clear your throat and take a solid look at Joel now, eyes widening when you saw quite a large blood stain on the side of his shirt. You were right by his side again, lifting up his shirt despite him trying to tell you over and over that he was fine and it had just been a cut. It was a solid gash on his side and you just pull him to follow you to the house.

Once inside, you help him lay on the couch and kneel on the side after grabbing your first aid kit. You were reminded of the first time you had done this, reminiscing the good bits before things went weird. "You're wearing my shirt." Joel comments and you blush, glancing down at the flannel and then back to Joel. "Oh, I just..I had just grabbed something. I'm sorry." You say, and he shakes his head. "It looks better on you than me, don't apologize." He says and you just nod slowly, focusing back on disinfecting his wound. Things were quiet for a while after that, besides some small winces and groans from Joel as you worked on his side. "You really scared me, being gone for so long." You said quietly, almost more so to yourself than you did to him. You felt his hand wrap around your forearm gently and your eyes found his. "I can't do this without you."

You watched as his hand moved from your arm and up to push some hair out of your face. You let your eyelids flutter close and you exhale softly, skin burning everywhere that he touched. You feel his thumb brush across your bottom lip and your heart races as you wait to see what would happen next. "I missed you out there, almost cut the trip short a few times just to come back to my girls." He says and your heart ached. This was what you had been hoping for for so long, his hands on you and his words so soft and sweet your brain felt foggy. You watch him sit up as best as he could, leaning forward and the moment his lips brush against yours the front the door slams open and you both jump away from each other. Ellie had helped put the horses away and in true child fashion, she had come in at the worst possible time. You let out the breath that you had been holding and quickly finished bandaging Joel's wound before you stood up and let Ellie come over. "Dude am I happy to see you, This one over here barely left her bed unless she absolutely had to." She teases, even though it was far from just a joke. You felt guilty for leaving Ellie to fend for herself the past few days, even if you know she would happily tell you that she could do more things on her own. You roll your eyes playfully and shake your head "You keep telling Joel all about my few days in bed, I'm going to go make us breakfast."

You felt Joel's eyes on you as you walked into the kitchen, stepping out of the way of the doorway before leaning against the wall. You couldn't believe what had just happened? You weren't sure what changed while he was gone but the way your skin still burned from where he had touched you and the fact that you could still feel his breath against your lips, you couldn't believe the way it was finally so close yet still so far. You compose yourself the best you can, going to get out some of the bacon and eggs Maria had gifted you three a few days prior and decided to wing a recipe for some sort of quiche thing. When you were used to 12 year old canned food, this was going to be nice and refreshing compared to what you were all used to.

You made Joel some coffee, setting up the table for the three of you before heading back into the living room to admire Ellie and Joe curled up and joking back and forth. You smiled to yourself as you watch them, seeing Joel's eyes wander to you. He attempts sitting up and you walk over, both you and Ellie helping him up. "Come on, old man. Let's get you up." Ellie teases and Joel muttered something back to her before getting up. "Breakfast will be ready in 10, Ellie go clean up before we eat." You say and she goes to fight before Joel shoots her a look that has her marching up the stairs to her room. You help Joel the rest of the way to the dining table and letting him sit down, putting down his coffee in front of him.

"I didn't get to tell you before you left, but the other night Ellie told me she sees me as her mom.." You smile, eyes watering slightly at the memory. "I swear I nearly cried when she said it, I thought about it all night." You say, leaving out the fact that you were mostly up because of Joel, but that wasn't important now. You sit on the chair across from him while you wait for the food to bake. Joel had a small smile on his face, sipping his coffee as he watched you. "You're a great mother to her. We're both very lucky to have you with us." You were speechless, your heart so full in that moment. Joel had never expressed anything near this and you were sure you'd be replaying this moment over and over forever. You lean over and plant a kiss on his cheek, smiling wider at the way his eyes crinkled at the corners. You hear Ellie jog downstairs, randomly stopping by you to give both you and Joel a hug before sitting in the chair next to him. "What was that for?"

"You guys just mean a lot to me."

#tlou fic #joel the last of us #joel miller #joel miller x oc #joel miller x reader #joel miller x y/n #joel miller fic

106 notes · View notes

fictionalmenaremytype · 5 months

Text

!PJO SHOW SPOILERS!

Quick little nod to the watch parter Walker, Leah and Aryan had for the Premier! It's so adorable and so funny, their friendship is amazing.

But my favourite part was Leah's "there's always a duo in a trio." Like yes, yes, there is, but the potential that has for edits??? Like right now, it's percy and Grover, but in season 5, that's going to switch, and I can already see Aryan bringing it up when the last olympian is released.

Episode 3 Highlights:

- THE CHOOSING CEREMONY! Oh my god, I was screaming! The way Annabeth's face lit up temporarily, then she returned to her cool, calm collectedness. You can celebrate Annabeth, you've been waiting forever for this! Personal headcanon that Malcolm was bombarded with her rambling excessively as she packed.

-THE SHOES!!!! THEY WAY THE WINGS WERE WOVEN OUT OF THE SHOELACES?!?! I'm a VFX fanatic, and that was so cool!

- Annabeth and Thalia's tree?? I almost cried oh my god. But Percy's line of "She met the fate of a pinecone" So funny but now is not the time sir.

- I have read these books so many times with the most recent being the beginning of December and it never clicked to me properly that Grover was both of their protectors. Like I knew that Grover found Annabeth and Grover was Percy's protector but the line of "He was my protector first." Was a real light bulb moment for me.

- The song on the bus! Oh my god I'm going to use that when my baby cousins fight. I really thought the clapping was going to be Alecto but it was Grover singing his happy song.

- Annabeth not knowing which snacks to get! I love her characterisation so much I don't think anyone could've done as good a job as Leah.

-The two furies! That was cool! Annabeth just stabbing Alectos sister as an answer to Alecto? Badass.

- The Medusa scene was so different to the book and honestly I preferred it. It was a scene I never really understood its use apart from to demonstrate Percy has a rebellious streak and Annabeth's fatal flaw is hubris. What do you mean a daughter of Athena wouldn't realise aunty ems was medusa based on the statues it's like Greek mythology 101. But the way they had to pick between Medusa and Alecto and the lesser of two evils! Tell me that's not foreshadowing for choosing between 12 O's and big bad K (speaking in code to avoid non-reader spoilers for future events.)

- More on Medusa, the plan??? Made so much more sense and I almost broke when Percy tried to suggest Annabeth left her hat behind!!

-PERCY SAYING HE THOUGHT ANNABETH WOULD NEVER BE HIS FRIEND! You cannot tell me Annabeth just felt like she'd been punched in the gut. All those years she's waited and she finally gets chosen for her wit and ability to stay on task but then the forbidden kid she's been waiting revealed it's actually because he hates her. Ouch.

- Them revealing why they didn't take the respective deals?? Brilliant.

- "they'll think we're impertinent." "I am impertinent" "but we're not" the trio in one foul swoop: reason, rebellion and reputation.

- I am unsure how I feel about Lin as Hermes, I think maybe he'll grow on me but he looked so pissed off in the elevator and then was so proud of their mischief. It was a good little moment.

#percy jackon and the olympians #percy jackson tv show #tv spoilers #percy jackson and the olympians

21 notes · View notes

sunghanne · 1 year

Text

STAR RACER － ENHYPEN GREASE AU SERIES | PART 3 🚦

racer!enhypen & flaggirl!reader

PARTS: PROLOGUE, PART 1, PART 2 , PART 4. coming soon...

TITLE: ST★R-RACER : PART 3. MAKING ENEMIES

feat. ENHYPEN, TXT, STRAY KIDS?!

PLOT: in a small town during the 1950s, seems the only thing keeping careless teenagers entertained are drag races where only the elite participate. and those elite are known as star racers.

WARNINGS: coarse language, sexual themes, sexist remarks, ooc idols, illegal acts, violence, tba...

TAGLIST: @lalalalawon , @strvlveera comment your @/user to be added!

WORD-COUNT: 8.5k

NOTE: heyy, in hopes to keep the 1950's setting authentic, there are sexist jokes so please watch out for that. because the reality is, that mindset was not rare to come across during those times. this chapter is NOT EDITED at all. i'm sorry if its not my best one. likes, reposts and comments are all heavily appreciated, thank you and enjoy!!

"ow, that hurts y/n! you've never done this before have you?!" the whining male cried out as you shushed him with a harsh tug of the tuff of his dark hair, his yells echoing off the bathroom walls.

you shot him a death glare through the mirror of your bathroom, standing behind riki's sitting figure with foil and bleach encased around his head like someone's grandma with a head of rollers, "no, but i know what i'm doin'! i saw this on a commercial, it's a piece of cake," you reassured, even snorting quietly in your throat at the stupidity in your words. riki wasn't sure whether to be even more terrified than before at such unhelpful guidance.

"if i come home bald, you're gonna tell my folks exactly what you'd done," he huffed as you painted a thick coat of hair dye on a handful of his strands. you tutted at his childish nagging and focused on the task at hand.

"the ladies are gonna be all over you," you sang while lifting a foil-covered bunch of his hair and waving it in the air for him to see in the mirror. his dark eyes shot open at the new colour enveloping his virgin hair, "look at that."

"shit, how many times do i gotta do this?" he asked when a concentrated yellow appeared from his roots to the ends of his hair.

you hummed at his inquisitive question and with a cheery smile you replied, "only around four times." his head was thrown back while he wailed out with a mocking cry, like a child on his first day of school. you nudged his head back forward with the bleach applicator in your hand so the foil wouldn't fall out of place.

"i better win this upcoming race," he sulked while sitting up properly as you enforced harshly. you giggled and immediately started teasing him if he didn't win, he'd be on a permanent ban from racing ever again. except, when the day arrived. you didn't know what kinda racer yang jeongin really was.

"shit," you cursed out aloud, having to almost yell it to be heard over the jostling barracks, feeling guilty, "we missed riki's takeoff," your eyes searched for sunghoon's and he ducked his head low am tousled some of his light silver hair in a fluster. you originally wanted to be cheering your heart out for riki's first race back in action but you were so lost in your conversation with chan and felix that you forgot all about it.

"right, yeah," sunghoon plainly responded, eyes scanning the scene of the flag girl skipping off to her side of the track, "he's made in the shade. let 'em be," he nonchalantly finished while the crowd's volume gradually decreased and currently in a waiting period.

definition:'made in the shade'. > success guaranteed.

"yeah, she'll be right," felix grinned, most likely referring to his mate, jeongin. you were curious about brace boy, particularly that last conversation he looked like he held with riki where riki held his pinky up and did a promise in the air. your attention was placed back onto felix who has turned away with a hand tucked into his pocket.

definition:’she’ll be right’. > he/she/they will do fine.

"you're a star racer?" you questioned the freckled-faced male diagonal from you and he shone a proud smile at your acknowledgement.

"that's right. why is everyone always surprised when i tell them this?" felix asked while turning his head to his familiar, chan. his voice uncertain and high-pitched at the backhanded reaction from you.

"you're just so friendly, the other stars i've met are too busy touching their gearsticks to come up to another star and chat," you explained and his nose scrunched at your misleading metaphor of gearsticks. sunghoon snickered beside you quietly, silently agreeing in his mind. you weren't entirely off the mark saying that, hell, soobin never cared for his opponent at the beginning or end of the event. too busy stroking his machine on wheels to unsuspecting girls from his side.

"aw, that's real peachy of you. where's this star of yours?" he wondered while pressing a flat hand above his brow bone and squinting his eyes, deliberately looking over sunghoon during his theatrical act. of course, only chan found this bit funny. sunghoon on the other hand was driving forward to brush his hand on felix's shoulder to spin him back around to where hyunjin stood.

"cut the gas. i need another weed," sunghoon demanded the childish counterpart of his, hiding his internalised annoyance for being overlooked. felix let out a toothy laugh and called out for the red-haired male several metres from where we stood.

definition:'weed'. > a cigarette.

hwang's fierce eyes faltered at the outlandish male calling his name in a deliberate baby voice and reluctantly came to his heed. leaving the makeshift spotlight of the lamp post behind him, his charming features were illuminated in the natural moonlight, half of his face hidden in the shadows. and as he approached even closer, he was surprisingly almost as tall as sunghoon.

"what is it?" he grizzled out, annoyance evident in the way he spoke at felix's antics. the male in question patted his disgruntled friend on the back and gestured towards sunghoon with his free arm like a tour guide.

"a cig for the gentleman here," the playful boy announced and hyunjin's dark pupils shrunk upon landing on sunghoon.

"park, where's your little groupie?" the newcomer asked, their voice tainted with boredom like he didn't care about the answer regardless. you were curious about their history together so you kept a keen eye on their interactions. hyunjin's slim hand hid in his jacket's pocket and when he retracted it, a cigarette was flown at sunghoon in an instant. your friend paused and reeled forward to catch the stick, startled. "need me to light it for you too, eyebrows?"

sunghoon's brows dipped at the name-calling from his opposite, ignoring such disruptive teasing and lighting his cigarette smoothly. he sighed peacefully, blowing smoke that lapsed the red-haired male in spite. the misty effect around the said boy with the mole beneath his left eye made you want to jump out of your sneakers and hope to catch a ride with him home. he had no reason to look so effortlessly gorgeous. eyes starting to water from the lack of blinking, a carefully placed hand spun you around towards the upper slope of the concrete walls.

"hitting the road so soon? tell lee i said hello," hyunjin's voice poured and you felt sunghoon's nails almost dig into your fabric-covered arm in frustration. he couldn't answer why the other men weren't with him, it'd only open more holes for the opposition to pry. so for your safety and his, the only thing he could do was turn his back and exit without a word.

"want a drink?" he questioned to break the defeating silence on the way up the slope. it felt like it was the two of you against the world, a familiar feeling with you and sunghoon being placed in difficult positions to crawl out of. it was so lonely, jungwon and sunoo didn't come with you and jake was somewhere in the crowd preparing for his upcoming race.

if you weren't sure which of the two boys from earlier would be against jake, you'd be safe to assume ruby locks. chan the creep was a close competitor but something about his appearance didn't scream racer. the reason you weren't familiar with this handful of boys was that they were not in town often. why? because they were from a nearby suburb and only came to your drag strip because it was better than whatever set-up they had. this only lead you to ponder what kind of people they were.

"yeah, please," you agreed to sunghoons suggestion and he changed directions of your footing to a nearby huddle of people around a foldable table, impatient hands of money held out to whoever was running the alcohol-selling get-up.

the rumble of an engine, the screech of tires, the painful sting of car oil and your sweet face amongst the strands of hair flying behind you. that's all heeseung could recall in his last moments of racing before everything turned cold.

when he saw you and sunghoon running away from him, getting chased by soobin, beomgyu, taehyun and kai, he knew he was at a loss. he fidgetted with his door lock, hands soiled in grease resulting in his fingers being slippery with the hard surface. then, with a dip in his legs, he limped out of his messy car and turned right back around to look at the state it was in. just his luck, the white shine of his vehicle was ruined by a clear brown slick splattered inside and outside it.

"fuck. fuck, what am i gonna do," he cursed while his wet fingers came in contact with the back of his hair, jostling his strands in frustration. he had two options, go to you and the mobs surrounding yeonjun or hit the road. he couldn't go home like this, and neither could he relish in humiliation from everyone. so, weighing his options, he began his journey up the closest slope with heavy footsteps.

he loathed the way his favourite jacket was now dirtied with car oil and his footsteps left marks on the dry pavement behind him. he just prayed to god that they would dry up by the time anyone else came to find him.

this side of town for heeseung was unexplored. the neighbouring school's turf, that's all he took in as his head turned while walking past the tall, brick building. the school for the higher-ups. the school where students probably didn't spend their after-school time in gas-ridden garages as he did. he had made quite the change in progress from the race track he crawled out of and now found himself deeper in the bramble bushes on the opposite side of town.

he smelled awful, like a gas station set on fire. he still wore his damp jacket, knowing it was a smarter idea to throw it off but the evening breeze was way too cold to discard it so easily. and, part of the boy believed there'd be a chance to save it when he got himself out of the mess.

a deafening beep of someone's car brought the boy out of his clashing thoughts when he found himself crossing a road, green appearing on every street light around him. his eyebrows furrowed and he clenched his teeth in annoyance, throwing up a middle finger to the driver as he picked his pace up while meeting the other side of the pavement.

he wasn't the type to dawdle stupidly. he was irritated at his thoughts tuning him out of the real-world enough to make him senselessly cross a road. also half irritated at the scare and the loud beep made his heavy shoulders flinch. he was wondered what was going on in the drag strip right now. the other school was having their bash and you were probably with the other boys heading home or to sunoo's diner for burgers and shakes.

just his luck, the neon wiring on a shop's board spelled '24hrs' stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the dark windows of already closed establishments. he'd found a 24-hour dry cleaner and maybe he didn't hate the previous rage road for rushing him to it. the entrance bells rang as he stepped in, his hand leaving a thin coat of car oil on the door handle.

the cleaning service smelled of lavender-scented washing detergent and the warm smell of an iron pressed to clothes, a nice change from his burnt tire-smelling 'cologne'. behind a run-down service desk was an employee, looking up from her newspaper, glasses tilting up her nose bridge. her face was partly distorted behind the tip jar that only had two coins in it. the stranger's mouth was parted, most likely surprised a customer even came in at this time of night or maybe at the appearance of heeseung who looked like he'd crawled right out of some swamp.

heeseung was just as surprised to see a girl his age working, assuming it was a family-owned business and she was most likely forced to stay late nights as punishment for bad test results. but, he knew he would be able to use this to his advantage.

"pick up for, er, nathan," he fibbed while fiddling with the cuffs of his jacket, praying to whatever god above that there was a customer named nathan. the girl's eyebrows raised, realising she actually had to do her job. so with the fold of her newspaper, she jumped down from her seat and tiptoed towards the long hanger racks with a collection of clothing hanging.

heeseung tailed behind her, proceeding to the opposite side of the two stripes of clothing racks and clicking the hangers together as he frantically sought clothes that could do the trick. long floral nightgowns, tuxedos, and even a wedding dress yet, no clothing fit for a teenager. "i'm sorry, no clothes under the name nathan," the employee fret while turning around to look at heeseung's opposite spot to hers.

he clicked his tongue in annoyance, not replying but only heightening his pace in scrolling through articles of fabric till his hands paused at someone's long pair of coveralls, clean and freshly ironed. he unhooked it and held it to the girl observing and smiled, "found it," he responded and the girl pushed her glasses up her nose bridge at the awkward feeling of being bested by a customer.

"really? oh, there we go then," she replied without a console and padded back towards her counter, leaning her elbows on the surface while picking her newspaper up. heeseung was silently celebrating in his mind at his successful act, treading towards the girl whose stationed right at the exit.

he calmly slid off his oily jacket and threw it on the edge of the counter she didn't lean on, a few rolling coins with it, "thanks, buttercup. i'll pick this one up next," the boy spoke with a wink at the broad. then, he pressed forward and left the building, stolen coveralls folded over one of his arms. as he disappeared from the store's large windows, he couldn't help a long arm of his being pulled back to his side in a celebratory dance, hoping on his light feet to an imaginary beat in his head as he skipped past dimly lit buildings.

you and sunghoon were regretful forgetting to watch riki's departure. because when he rolled in a fraction of a minute after jeongin, that's when hell broke loose.

you leapt up from your sitting position and pulled sunghoon with you to the middle of the track where riki had just parked. before getting a word in, the protruding male shoved through the circle of students encasing jeongin and raised a fist to the unsuspecting boy's face. about to strike, he was roughly pushed to the floor and met with the untamed clashes of three pairs of shoes.

"watch it, greaser!" chan yelled before laughing and settling his foot right on top of riki's reddening ear, earning a hiss of pain from the younger. your eyes widened in worry while you mirrored riki's shoving tactic to maneuver the crowd out of the way for you and sunghoon. you'd never expect such a rocky entrance from your friend.

"beat it!" you yelled while trying to shoo off hyunjin, felix and chan who had been kicking and stomping on riki's fetal position. sunghoon aided you by rutting his shoulder into the trio of men to make space for you. you placed your drink on the floor while ducking down to help riki up. he was roughed out, swipes of dirt in the pattern of shoe prints all over his clothes and face.

"what's the big idea?" sunghoon grumbled while glaring at the prosecutors, chan swiped his nose, sniffing inwards while his eyes searched the crowds like he was expecting someone. the look in the other two boys echoed the same reaction and sunghoon was taken aback by their behaviour. they were waiting for everyone else, jay, jungwon, sunoo and heeseung to interfere but no one came. sunghoon could tell, another light of pride flickering off in his mind. they weren't here.

only jake was running down the concrete slopes while his dark leather jacket flew behind him with every airy step he took.

"what's our prob? like you didn't just see your yoot strike ours first," hyunjin replied while his shoulders seemed to relax at the lack of our crew members. your head turned to riki as he grappled onto your hand and slowly unfurled himself, wincing during the gradual motion.

definition:'yoot'. > a younger sibling.

he wasn't looking at hyunjin, nor sunghoon at that. he was only staring at one boy. the boy with a sadistic grin spread across one cheek to the other, braces shown and all, "what happened, riki?" you questioned lowly in case you'd tripped on a wire that lead to the alarms going off in his head. his eyebrows furrowed while he wiped the back of his palm against his nostrils, a crimson fluid left behind on his pale skin.

"take a look at it yourself, this brute just dented jay's ride," he explained while your head flicked back to the boy's car he had borrowed from jay to use. jake positioned himself next to riki and viewed the area like a radar, a serious scowl on his face from his usual sweet smile.

"no rules in drag racin'," jeongin spoke up, and it was the first time you'd ever heard him. he sounded youthful and the cruel smile still on his face only added to it.

"you wanna pay for your damages? go ahead," riki rasped, a clothed arm against his nostrils to try and soak up his bleeding nose. the boy opposite to him only raised an eyebrow, looking over to his older peers like riki had just told a bad joke.

"i'm not the one losing the race, why would i?" jeongin rhetorically questioned while his smile finally dropped and only then did he finally give you the creeps. riki seethed through his teeth and stepped forward with hunched shoulders before he was stopped by sunghoon's hand.

"relax, he's just tryna bug you. ts'only the first race. jake and i got this," sunghoon reassured and rubbed his hand on riki's shoulder. the younger affirmed with a nod of his head and took a few steps backwards, almost bumping into you if you didn't move away at the right time.

"come on riki, let's get you fixed up," you persuaded the other and tugged on the cuff around his free hand. he reluctantly turned around, his eyes being the last of his body to disappear from the four boys.

"his mom came to pick him up, ain't that nice," you heard jeongin mock, only earning a small snicker from the crowd here and there. but you didn't care. cheaters would never have real skill and that's that.

you lead riki back towards the slanted pavement, in hopes of finding some tissues or an ice pack around somewhere. as you left lightly, you heard jake's voice question sunghoon about what happened and the crowd slowly disburse in preparation for the next race.

with a cold glass of beer against riki's sore face, his eyes never lifted off the concrete you two sat on. you clutched onto your long skirt and bit your bottom lip while mindlessly tracing your eyes on the tire tracks left in the dirt as jake and hyunjin already started their race.

"so... what really happened?" you asked the boy gently and he groaned at the forming bruise on his cheek that hurt every time he tried to speak.

"that son of a bitch' decided to play dirty when i was ahead of him for half the race," his voice was nasally due to the two twisted tissues stuffed up his nostrils and you could laugh at his state if it wasn't such a serious situation.

"he just rammed into you?" you questioned in uncertainty a boy so sweet looking like jeongin could be so fierce on the racetrack. but riki wanted to prove you wrong.

"yes. before the race, he told me no hard feelings for whoever won. so much for that act," he spat in betrayal, his gold locks draped around the sides of his face like a curtain. you assumed that's why riki held his pinky up before his race, motioning a promise to that flawed oath. you lightly chewed on the insides of your mouth, thinking his outrage seemed justified.

"what a joke," you commented while tucking a piece of your hair behind your ear and looked off towards the distance to not pile on the shame the boy was already drowning in.

"ts'tough. i wanted to win so badly. now everyone still thinks i'm a joke," he vented while continuing the shield on his expression. you immediately consoled the doubtful boy, a gentle hand stroking his back soothingly.

"that's not true. shit, i doubt anybody could handle the stress of being crashed into during a race," you pleaded while trying to cheer the boy up. he lifted his face slowly and his bangs fell to their correct placement, eyes lightened at your encouraging resolve.

"think so?" he asked in a low voice and you nodded with a small grin at his change in attitude.

"keeno," you responded and he sighed in relief while closing his eyes and rocking his head back.

definition:'keeno'. > keen, sure.

"this little kindness thing you do, is this what you learn in bible study, y/n?" his tone suddenly changed as he teased you with his usual banter. your eyebrows furrowed before you abruptly tore a tissue down from his nostrils and he cried loudly at the sting and the gush of blood that came out with it.

jake won his race. you were glad to see the smug grin wiped off of hyunjin's face upon his arrival. this glimmer of hope made your shoulders lift at the chance your crew could still win the night. it was you, jake and riki sitting together along the pavement waiting for the winner. riki's previous beer was now being used for its actual purpose and he gulped it down without a care in the world once his bruise stopped hurting and his nose quit bleeding.

jake was talking about how some pack of girls kept crowding around him like flies when he first arrived, hence his disappearance when you and felix first met. you thought it was a little funny why jake was always trying to run away from his group of fans every time he raced and riki made some comment about how jake probably swung the other way which he immediately denied.

the topic changed, rotating between what holiday jay was forced upon by his father, whether riki's voice had dropped yet and if heeseung was going to come back or not. where would he be? what could have taken him two weeks of his life from racing? not only was the absence at his desk at school starting to grow a pit in your stomach but also the doubt whether he was coming back or not.

you and the seven boys were childhood friends, in preschool, middle school all the way to high school the seven of you were inseparable. heeseung wasn't the kind of person to throw away years like that just for some hurt pride. so he had to come back.

the loud echo of an oncoming vehicle's radio sounded from atop the slope opposite your side. it was a roofless, bright blue automobile but the pack of men inside it is what surprised you the most. the two boys in the backseat were standing up and cooing like wild animals, fists in the air that held bottles of liquor. the people sitting on the concrete slope had to jump and run out of the road for the vehicle barging through them to avoid being squashed flat.

the men standing up only held onto the top of the front seat headers to retain their balance as the car veered forward down the slope dangerously to the point it could almost tip over. the air out of your lungs was socked out at such a stunt as the rolling vehicle came to a halt once it met the flat ground. the bass of the radio reflected off the pavement and you could hear your ears thumping to the same rhythm of the music before it clicked off and the four men jumped out.

"yeah, the boys!" chan's loud voice yelled while he ran from his previous viewing position to greet the other individuals with bear hugs and handshakes. your head steered towards the two boys beside you, curious about their reactions as well. jake's lips were parted and with clenched teeth, he fidgeted in his position steadily. riki's eyebrows were raised far enough for his forehead to crease in interest to what the appearance of these newcomers entailed to the event.

your eyes squinted while watching the figures below where the three of you say upon and their interactions. they behaved like sleazy, booze-infested apes who only knew how to communicate by yelling and wooing at everything. "who are they?" you questioned, not directed to either of your friends but jake took the initiative.

"that's the rest of their gang," he cooly replied and his lips licked out of habit and discomfort. if sunghoon didn't win, he would be the bud of jokes between the just-arriving men.

"shit, there's a mob of them," you cursed while counting up the numbers of your crew. four to eight did not look appealing to you at all.

"they're bad news," jake quietly continued while his eyes traced the furthest he could of the race track for any sign of sunghoon or felix. and you believed him. the appearance of such a feral group muddled with the only familiar handful of men you knew from them completed a perfect puzzle in your head. they were much worse than yeonjun and his group. way worse.

heeseung didn't have anywhere to stay the night. but when the company of his worn coveralls found him tiptoeing in the night, they invited him in. the owner of the repairman company, an old, balding man asked heeseung where he found the uniform which the boy answered shamelessly. unexpectedly, the old man laughed at such brutal honesty and offered heeseung a job.

so for the upcoming days, heeseung spent every day and night on the job, using the telephone outlet to call home and promise his temperamental mother that he'd be home soon and was just out with the boys. the owner of the establishment loved heeseung and his surprising work on vehicles.

"you seem to know a lotta 'bout cars, son. your old man a mechanic too?" his low antique voice asked while heeseung lay on a creeper on the undercarriage of a car, toying with something. a bead of sweat rolled down his dirt-staining temple while he licked his lips to answer.

"nah. just a knack i picked up," he lightly responded in such a bent-over position, his voice was coarse and throaty.

"impressive. skilled with your hands, aren't ya," the old man chuckled at his gag and heeseung just softly chortled at the dirty joke.

"no sweat," heeseung replied while focusing back on his work. that was the domestic dynamic he held with the owner who so generously offered food, shelter and a job to him. but all things come to an end and heeseung had a group to return to and a race to win.

and that's where heeseung found himself, sprinting out of the joint with nothing but a cigarette in his mouth and handfuls of scrunched cash stuffed into his pockets and crowded against his stomach as he ran away with the infuriated man behind him. of course, being at such old age made the owner give up easily and retreat to inside the store and to the nearest telephone for the police.

heeseung was smiling, laughing breathlessly at such a successful act that merely took a week and a half to achieve. the loud steps of his black converses came to a stop in front of the only store with a neon sign at this time of night. the dry cleaners where he could finally collect his jacket.

he swung the door open, ignoring the glare of the same girl at the run-down counter as he raced to the hanger racks to find it. the loud scratch of the girl's chair bounced off of the poster-ridden walls when she stood up in disbelief at the return of the boy who left her with a hand of dirty pennies and a destroyed jacket.

"nathan?" she abruptly spoke up and heeseung's pace faltered for a brief moment while he ignored her calling. she had a lot of questions in mind as to why he was running with wads of cash glued to him and why it took him to long to collect his jacket. "those aren't yours, are they?" her glasses adjusted on her nose bridge as two shakey fingers pressed against them. she was referring to his coveralls now soiled in stains. he had almost forgotten the fake name he used so he didn't even realise she was referring to him.

"s'course they aren't mine. you realise this world is full of cheaters," he rhetorically asked through messy heaves of his chest while still flicking through articles of clothing. he was drenched in sweat and, motor oil and dirt, almost as dishevelled as the girl first saw him. her hands, once preoccupied with the newspaper she once read grasped onto her long red polka-dot skirt, uneasy with such a mean response.

the brief moment of silence broke at the relieved sigh that left the tall boy's parched lips as he found his beloved jacket. before he could pad back towards the entrance, the bright flash of red and blue reflected off the windows as police cars drove past at a deathly slow pace. they were searching for him. heeseung's dark eyes widened and he ducked down in an attempt to hide before his vision was clouded by red and white polka dots. "nathan, behind here," the gentle voice above the endangered male brought him back to reality and the crisis he was in.

the employee gestured to behind the front desk and he complied, side shuffling on his aching knees behind it. the girl was like his reflection, mirroring his positioning to take light steps and use her wide skirt to cover his face while he made haste getting to behind the desk. he met with the grim dusty table legs and leaned his back against it with a clamouring heartbeat. the unnamed girl returned to her usual position, reading a newspaper but all the tiny printed letters were too blurred by her adrenaline to actually process anything.

police cars swarmed by, their loud tires burning rubber against the road outside and their brash sirens singing out. heeseung was more than grateful for the little helping hand as he would've been toast if he was still out in the open. the only thing he thought about was the son of a bitch who ratted him out and sent a flock of police after him. he'd understand one or two cars but half a street full was asking for too much. it wasn't like he robbed the man's entire life savings, only a till full.

his partner in crime only took the flashing reflection in her glasses as a signal that the police cars had finally passed by and she craned her guilty head down to the man below her. his pearly white teeth shone, smirking in his pleasing tactic of avoiding the authorities, "thought you were a good girl. turns out y'not," was the only sentence he formed as his nerves calmed as his breathing regulated.

the quiet girl suppressed the tint of red growing from one of her cheeks to the other at his words, turning away in an instant to not blow her cover. "hit the road, hood," her voice changed while she referred to the criminal acts of the boy and now realised the kind of character he was.

the smoke of heeseung's cig left an imperfect line in the air as he stood up cautiously, eyes darting through the wide glass panes to see if the coast was clear. once he confirmed it was, he graciously stepped out of the desk and back on his previous path to the exit. the nickname 'hood' amused the boy, as well as the sudden fierceness in the girl he only thought was innocent.

"thanks, sweetheart. my name's heeseung," he revealed through a light whisper before he ducked out of the thrown-open door and to the opposite direction the police cars came from. the employee raced to the doorway upon his departure and leaned her head out of it to watch as the male escaped to an alleyway hidden in the shadows.

a knot in her heart snapping at the thought it would be the last time she'd ever see the boy. she knew from the beginning the coveralls weren't his and she knew his name wasn't actually nathan. because the tag on the jacket he left behind was claimed with blue pen that spelled his real name. all she knew about the dangerous boy was that she had fallen head over heels for him.

heeseung swerved past tight corners, cautiously avoiding the open from the fuzz that was most likely circling the area. he was trying his best not to move so violently and risk papers blowing out his pockets so he stopped once and found himself in an alleyway between some grocery store and two large skip bins where the stink was more detrimental than being caught by the police.

fortunately, there was a telephone hooked to the wall of the grocery store and as long as it wasn't hooked up to the services of the actual store, this could be his one-way ticket out of this muck. so, within two beats he held the phone up to his ear and dialled the only reliable service he knew. park jay.

sunghoon lost. the ear-defeating celebration from the pack of animals in the middle of the track only rubbed salt in the wounds when sunghoon exited his vehicle and scrambled his hair in his fingers out of frustration. jake stepped forward and rubbed the dishevelled male on the shoulder out of encouragement but he didn't bite into it. the cold winds brushed against the equally cold atmosphere and it sucked having two losses in a row.

you stood beside riki and began to turn away as sunghoon and jake were an inch past you when felix's loud voice yelled, "that race was child's play. i thought you had more fire in you, but i guess you put out," he mocked cruelly, indicating something unrelated to racing.

"s'got a broad with 'em. whaddya gonna do on the way home? this a gangbang?" another male you never met before slurred out, clearly mixed with alcohol. the disgusting comment made your nose scrunch and riki's steps froze.

"ey, let me tap in then," another one drunkenly laughed while his arms were slung around chan and the previously spoken male.

"what'dya meant to do the other 23 hours and 45 minutes in a day, han?" hyunjin teased immediately and han was laughed at while the other boys yanked his clothes mockingly.

the laughing group of hyenas in contrast to your silent crew made you grow embarrassed by the inappropriate remarks. well, until riki's fist banged into han's snickering face and made the boy almost collapse like a folding chair. your eyes shot open, sunghoon and jake immediately spun back around to stop the incoming throttle the seven active men were about to induce on riki.

the mobs of drunken teens were reeled around the scuffle, making it almost impossible for your two friends to pull their youngest out of the rut. your fingernails seeped into riki's shoulders as you attempted to help them hold riki back from going any further than a punch against han and the other men did the same with the said male.

"bust a gut, but you'll be blown off when i get my hands on you-" riki hissed out, voice hindered by the violent thrashes he used to try and get out of the lock sunghoon and jake had on him. han's lips were sneering in anger, cheek reddening while fought against his kind.

definition:'bust a gut'. > laugh out loud.

'blown off'. > defeated in a race.

"bite me!” han yelled before getting shoved to the ground by felix and chan, the two men who were slightly guilty for their friends' behaviour having met you beforehand. you stole a glance at felix, eyebrows furrowed in anger at the switch of personalities the men had around their friends. you thought they were cool at first before their true colours showed.

"cool it!" chan shouted while han was still itching to get his hands on riki. riki finally complied with the grip on his arms, calming down his heaving chest that was so clouded by anger and humiliation.

"i'm warnin' you ever utter a word about y/n," sunghoon rasped, for once his pink lips not clouded by the smoke of a cigarette between them. felix gulped down dryly, eyeing you through the gap between jake and riki's shoulders sympathetically.

"these chicks're only good for one thing," the male with dark hair who previously brought up the idea of the 'gangbang' spoke so confidently and your stomach turned at his controversial words. riki's body jerked at the immorality of the other and sunghoon called out for him to relax.

"fuck up, changbin, for fucks' sake," felix cussed in irritation while turning to his aggravating companion who never got the hint of the situation. you hand rubbed at riki's warm back to continue to settle him down as a blanket of intense silence ensued, consisting of death glares being shot from one boy to another.

"if you're cruisin' for a bruisin', this is our turf and we can get you kicked out anytime y'want," sunghoon warned lowly and felix's head angled downwards at his threat. before he uttered a word, hyunjin stepped forward with his red hair stealing the attention of everyone else.

"how 'bout we settle this? let's cop this side of town so you looneys can't reach us," hyunjin suggested and it piqued interest with his clique nodding in agreement.

"this s'not your turf and neither is it ours," sunghoon retaliated referring to the other side of town owning it. and to be exact, he meant yeonjun and his lackeys' ownership. hyunjin's head tilted in amusement, one eyebrow raised at the correction.

"well then, better defend their turf or you'll be bruised by 'em too. lets race. same spot, same time, tomorrow," hyunjin gambled and for one, you knew bets like these never ended well. you bit your lip uneasily and stole a glance at sunghoon. his eyes didn't falter, and neither did he move an inch from his position when his hands clapped against hyunjin's in a passive-aggressive handshake.

"winner takes the turf," he concluded while he released his hand from hyunjin's robotically and started to turn around to his vehicle parked behind him. you, jake, and riki copied his mannerisms and with hunched shoulders, you refused to return the sorry gaze felix conveyed to you. the tension in the air broke and was followed up by the loud celebration of the opposition's win.

sitting on four leather seats, you and the three others leaned on the counter, chewing your nails anxiously at the upcoming rumble in 24 hours. "i mean, surely you can bring your salt shakers and maybe sprinkle it in their eyes," jake humoured while looking over at sunoo who burst out laughing at the idea.

definition:'rumble'. > a fight among gangs.

"effective, don't you think? five bucks if i land it in jeongin's eyeballs just for you, riki," sunoo joked, previously hearing all about the events thirty minutes ago. riki just sighed out a less than enthusiastic laugh, clearly still torn on jeongin and his personal fight.

"you learnt better than that to set up bets again," you spoke with upturned eyebrows, staring at sunoo with a smile on your face to try and get him out of the habit.

"five bucks is not gonna empty my wallet," he replied while pouting his lips slightly to exaggerate his pronunciation.

"you paid your debts back?" you questioned, sounding a little more surprised than you intended to and the male was almost insulted.

"yes, actually," he rolled his eyes at your tone and then shifted his gaze to sunghoon whose head was in the clouds somewhere, only the fog of a cigarette blowing out of him. your eyes traced the long, slowly wavering line of smoke all the way up to the ceiling that danced before it disappeared into the air.

"sunghoon," you called his name and only his eyes moved to the direction of your voice, which you flinched in your seat, "oh my god. he's possessed."

sunoo and make cracked up quietly, not wanting to bring the male back to his right senses by being too loud. because for some reason, sunghoon's spaced-out periods were entertaining to watch. "must be heeseung's ghost. hey hyung," sunoo piled to the humour and you chewed the inside of your mouth not to giggle as well.

"stop," you begged while silently laughing while tugging sunoo's wrist to try and stop his hand from waving like a robot at sunghoon as if he were greeting heeseung.

finally, sunghoon's eyes blinked and he awoke from whatever curse was placed upon him, "fuck. we are so canned this rumble," he groaned while his hands clawed at his roots, palms drowning his eyes in darkness while he covered them.

"cool it, hyung. we've got weapons," sunoo calmly reassured while sliding a bottle of ketchup to jake which the male effortlessly caught and raised in the air playfully.

"'m being serious. six of us and eight of 'em, if they don't bring any other hobos with them, we're dead," he responded while his hands dripped from his anguished face and resided on the table.

"it was your bet, jackass," jake's brows crossed as he placed the bottle on the table and crossed his arms. sunghoon grunted while he slowly looked back at the other.

"yeah, i know that. how else would i have gotten them off us," his dark faze darted to riki's unsuspecting face next, "some fucker decided to strike 'em first, not once but twice."

riki's mouth fell open in treachery at his scolding, "lay off, hyung. you saw the way they were talkin' to y/n," he retorted while his blonde hair bounced with every word he spoke.

"i saw, we were jus' outnumbered. it was a bad move," he explained as quickly as he could before you got the wrong idea. his reasoning made sense but riki still thought he was getting heat for shit.

"whatever," the younger scoffed, pride partly hurt when he recalled the amount it took to calm him down from lashing out at han further.

"hey, riki. you wanna drop jay's ride at his garage for jungwon in the morning?" you asked the other to change the subject and ease the growing pressure in the room. the boy nodded his head and jumped up from his stool without another word and you trailed behind him to the entrance, "catch you later."

"i don't get it, he would've done the same for you," riki opening complained, hair grasping at his roots in stress as he steered with one hand. you leaned your chin on the back of your palm, listening intently to his worries while the gusts of cold night winds blew past you through jay's roofless automobile.

"no one was in the right in that situation," you responded and riki's eyes flicked up to you in the rearview mirror for a split second while he tried to piece together why, "i don't care about the shit they said. i know the only girl they'd ever kissed is probably their moms so why should i," you grumbled and a quiet noise in riki's throat signalised that he was laughing just a tiny bit.

"so you agree with sunghoon hyung then?" he mindlessly questioned as he turned a corner and the come and go of neighbourhood lamposts illuminated him briefly.

"i didn't say that. riki, he would've done the same if heeseung or jay was also there. but they weren't. can't you see that their absence is affecting him more than you think?" you asked with a simple reflection and riki's lips closed while he thought about it for a second.

"you're confusing me," he blabbered while his eyebrows furrowed at your complex analogy. you hummed for a second to piece together a version that maybe he would understand.

"i'm saying that he was trying to keep you outta trouble. he was scared of them and scared you'd get hurt even more," you finalised and riki released the grasp he had on his blonde tufts while he sat up straighter.

"hyung doesn't get scared, y/n. we could've taken them, easily," he contradicted whilst he pulled up to jay's father's abode. you clicked your tongue at his stubborn disregard and unlocked your door to step out.

"you didn't see it but i did," you swore before knocking on the garage door a few times and awaited a response. jungwon was usually still here at this hour so you had nothing to worry about. riki stayed inside jay's car and tapped his long fingers on the steering wheel to an imaginary beat. the garage door finally revolved upwards and you saw the expected boy alone in the empty garage. your eyes widened at the lack of heeseung's car that left behind a few splatters of oil in the centre of the room it used to be in.

"where's heeseung's car?" you asked the boy and furrowed your eyebrows at the last remnant of the boy being gone. jungwon's cat-like eyes peered back at you and stepped to the side of a wall to make way for jay's car.

"what do you mean? i gave it away," he quietly muttered while carefully scanning your shift in expressions. your heart panged at the very words and although you expected it since it was a race for the pinks and all, this just revealed that the only reason jungwon spent late nights at the garage was to clean the vehicle for the enemy.

your mouth pursed and you steered your gaze away from jungwon, hurt, "oh. right," you mocked remembering the bet. you tried to hide your solemn expression through a thick lie, "i forgot."

riki turned off the engine of jay's car and stepped out after parking it in the middle of the garage, he tapped the hard metal of the vehicle and looked up at jungwon, "it's dented. when i took it out for a spin, i didn't know if be racing with some psycho," riki explained while jungwon walked away from you and towards the rear of the vehicle to see the damages.

"that's totalled," jungwon's eyes widened at the large vacant indent captured just beside the boot of the car. he slipped his white thick gloves off and placed them in the pocket of his coveralls, "you guys win or lose?"

"lose," you softly responded laced with a layer of anguish and defeat. jungwon's lips just downturn at the disappointing reply.

"i was about to catch some z's so i'll head out nd fix it tomorrow, cool?" he questioned the male who was striding closer towards him from the hood of the car.

riki's eyes show up and he immediately shook his head, "you gotta fix it sooner or later, i don't want jay to flip when he sees i've broken his car," he wailed while he put his palms flat together as if he were praying.

"don't flip y'lid, rug rat. jay isn't coming home anytime soon," jungwon conceived while he buttoned down his coveralls and took his arms out of the sleeves, revealing his clean white tee in comparison to the dirty pair of coveralls he wore. he linked the two sleeves of his coveralls and tied them around his waist, settling on his hips. from the lack of fabric around his forearms, you could finally see what laid underneath that baggy fabric. well-toned biceps formulated by the tired labour of car work.

"first thing in the morning," riki pleaded next and earned the eye roll of the older male as he turned on his heel and began to walk the other way.

"they still at the diner?" jungwon asked, knowing the usual routine of the guys after a race and completely disregarding riki's whining.

"i'll tell you if you promise to do it tomorrow!" riki yelled out from within the garages jungwon was already skipping towards the direction of the diner anyways. you just gave the asking male a nod at his question and that's all he needed to go. the male now left with you sighed through his nostrils and you made haste in clicking the automatic door button to start to close the door, leaving the boy inside. he screamed out and jumped out of his frozen position to meet you outside, making you laugh out at his skittish behaviour.

sunghoon was worried about being outnumbered. if sunoo and jungwon came with us tomorrow, that would be six to eight. it would be fine if the race really was just a race. but from the intense atmosphere where the bet took place, you knew it would most likely result in a rumble regardless of who won or not.

rumbles happened every blue moon or so. your crew never really thrived on gang fights but only did when it was necessary. and to get these stray kids off your turf was definitely needed. so you needed allies, at least a handful of them for undeniable succession.

that's where you found yourself outside snob-high. the place where you wanted to find the very man you dread. choi yeonjun.

86 notes · View notes

markipliers-madhouse · 6 months

Text

Hello? Hello Hello?

...Well, this place has been dead for a little bit, hasn't it?

Mentioned a little bit before on that collab piece I did, but figured I'd be better to do a full post bout it here!

So, this AU...has been laying dormant for quite some time, and there's not really any excuses for that. I've just been a little busy with school and life in general, but mainly...haven't had much motivation to do it in all honesty, and their's two main factors to that unmotivation.

1. I kinda realized I'd be needing to write a lot for this story, and though I love writing in general...the scope of this would be like writing a few novels if I continued on, and I just wouldn't have the time or sanity to do that, but more on that later for a solution...

And 2. ...I kinda fell out of FNaF for a moment. Well- Not entirely, I'll always love this series, but I guess it was mainly...the state of the fandom after one certain game...Security Breach. After that game came out, it kinda broke the fandom in half. One half being those who hate the game and left the franchise entirely, now seeing it as nothing but for kids and not taken seriously, and the other...well, actually kids. Y'know the ones. You know.

So that kinda left me kinda unsure for my AU, since I thought if I put stuff out now...it wouldn't really be that appreciated. From the start it was meant to harken back to the original classics of FNaF, but with the fandom mostly filled with newcomers for just this one game, and the original fans gone and unhopeful for the franchise, I just kinda...left this place dorment till I felt motivated again.

...And then the Ruin DLC happened, which gave me a spark of motivation. Seemed this franchise was starting to to head to a better place, getting some old fans back, so that's nice. Got me thinking more bout this AU again...

And then the movie happened, and now i've been slapped in the face with motivation.

SO- Guess that's my excuse for why things have been so empty, but now...I AM READY TO OFFICIALLY SAY IT IS STARTING BACK UP! And not just that...but starting fresh! ...Which, isn't saying much, since I only wrote two chapters for it...y e a h - But there's a reason I'm starting fresh, not just for improved art or retconing some of the mistakes of what I did give out, but mainly because...

I'm turning the AU into a comic!!

That's right! Gonna be drawing the whole thing start to finish! Figured this would be better to me since it's quicker then writing it all, and get to show and improve more of my art, so works out! (You can already kinda see some of that with the new pfp and header) Maybe might get some help in the future, maybe might dable in some animation, maybe a lot of things, but guess we'll just hafta see where it goes from here!

What does that mean for the previous content though? All...f o u r of it? Well, that stuff is gonna be non-canon from here on out! It'll be easier this way since those stuff have either some continuity errors that'll effect the story in the long wrong, or just simply I've changed my mind on some things and it'll be a bit more different! I'm still leaving them up, however! Just cause I think it'll be fun to see how far I've come, and ey some art pieces there weren't bad! ...Too bad...okay like one or two were d e c e n t

TLDR of it tho is this: AU's getting a reboot, gonna be made into a comic now, previous stuff is non-canon, and this page should be a bit more active now!

But yeah! Big things are coming, and I am excited to start up this AU again! I have so many plans for this story that I'm just hoping you guys will love, wanna do justice to both sides of the story! So keep an eye on this blog, might take a little longer, but hoping to get things officially and finally started soon!

And to prove some of that, before I go...you guys deserve a a bit of a sneak peak of what's to come, so...hope you enjoy these redesigns >:]

EDIT: THE SERIES HAS OFFICIALLY BEGUN- READ EM HERE- AH-

25 notes · View notes

fortunatetragedy · 17 days

Text

alright kids out of the pool it's 18+ nsfw shit time.

i'm procrastinating editing what i wrote earlier, so i went back into the previous draft of book 1 to find this vintage third draft version of a love scene that had to get completely rewritten bc sullivan fucked up the 1872 timeline with his autonomy.

for all the awkward love scene enjoyers in the house, here are 3,585 words of a sexually inexperienced 38-year-old having his first time with his older psychopath boyfriend. with mild transdimensional fuckery. that are going to end up in a junk drawer bc this is not how it plays out in the working draft at all lol.

stay hydrated.

The stairs behind The German House felt longer than he remembered, and darker. But for the steam-choked kitchen window, every portal Sullivan passed on his way to Royston's was cold and lightless. Felt as though he were sneaking past Melanie and everyone else inside, and found it did not matter.

He hit the balcony and took three steps before Royston opened his door with purposeful composure. It framed him as the picture of patience within its glow, though the flush to his cheeks suggested he had run up the stairs upon having the hour pointed out to him, or spying him out the kitchen window.

"Darling," Royston purred.

"Mister."

Rather than taking Sullivan into his arms the moment the door closed, Royston strode across the room, kicking off his loafers as he went. Sullivan realized he had been hoping Royston would embrace him, and yet he was not disappointed. It would have been nice, if everyone was wrong and that was the sort of man Arthur Royston was. But he hadn't been pinning the rest of the evening on Royston behaving any differently.

If that was the sort of man he was, they wouldn't be standing where they were. Sullivan understood. He had to understand. He held the doorknob, and considered what they were about to do.

Surviving this first night didn't mean he would survive the last, if Royston was as reactive and unemotional as Buck claimed. All he could do was treat the man with respect and see if he netted different results than the ones who had made him this way. He was this way. It would be easy for Royston to terminate this arrangement once it no longer suited him, and it would be easy for Royston to slip a knife into Sullivan's chest if he got it into his head that he had betrayed him. Wouldn't matter how long this lasted, or how much Royston claimed to enjoy his company. If Sullivan expected anything else out of him, he figured, that was his own damned fault.

Sullivan locked the door behind him, removed his saber belt, and slung it over the back of the chair.

Across the room, Royston flung his suit jacket onto the coat rack and loosed his suspenders. The only neat space in the room was the bed, which he passed by with purpose. His eyes were sharp and his posture wound as he waited for Sullivan to remove his field jacket and hang it in the unorganized bureau. To pick up one discarded loafer, then the other, and set them beneath his jacket. He pulled off one boot, then the other, and rested them beside Royston's loafers.

Hoping that sent a clear message as to his intentions, Sullivan shut the bureau door.

"I don't suppose you can leave the sword on?" Royston asked.

Sullivan tested the lock on the hall door.

"I'd have to leave the rest of it on as well."

"Say, there's an idea."

"Save 'em for next time, would you? I want everything off you next."

Royston clawed at the bow tie he'd donned for the evening and tossed it towards the nearest flat surface. It fluttered to the floor. Sullivan left it where it lay and went to him. His lover reached out and caught Sullivan by the ass and reeled him, trilling his tongue, pleased by what he had in his hands.

That the man he'd chosen smelled good, smelled like soap and pomade and an oil he could not identify, did not surprise Sullivan. That he was clean, that he was warm and healthy and relaxed, should not have. Yet the blood rushed from Sullivan's head as their bodies settled together. Royston knew exactly where it had gone, and pressed closer in recognition.

"Wait, Arthur, I--"

"I have been waiting for two months, Sullivan, don't you 'Wait, Arthur' me! A man has needs, and mine are you, inside of me, right now."

"Are you... certain that's how you--"

Royston silenced him with his lips at his ears.

"Angel," he said, "I rise certain, and I retire certain. This morning I arose certain. I've made the necessary arrangements. We have all night to talk, if that is your preference. We can even go downstairs and mingle with the others later if you so desire but right now, quit talking and ravage me."

No one had ever spoken to him the way Arthur Royston spoke to him.

Sullivan dove into Royston's lips and anchored himself in his arms. Their hands worked in uncoordinated tandem to finish unwrapping each other. By the time they reached the closest layer Royston was annoyed to have to stop so Sullivan could remove his undervest. So Sullivan could admire him.

"Arthur," he said, "in case I've not made this known to you yet, I would like to now: I find you absolutely breathtaking."

Royston laughed and said, "Oh, you. Here. Allow me to return some."

Taking firm hold of Sullivan's shirt scruff, Royston closed his eyes before he kissed him, and damn them both if Sullivan didn't know, then, that he had been breathed alive after lying dead for years. A numb body, a frozen heart, poured into a uniform every morning, nothing to do but keep marching time with entropy. Tobacco and mint and whiskey, heady and antiseptic, reawakened the nerves beneath his skin, the heat in his blood. Damn them both if kissing Royston wasn't better than breathing.

His lover growled when Sullivan broke the kiss, and scraped his shirt over his head, and his own hips flexed in response, reminding them to remove the final layer between them before seeking further friction.

When Royston found the gold chain around his neck, and the locket against his breastbone, his jaw dropped.

"You really are wearing it…"

"Of course I am," Sullivan laughed. "You gave it to me."

Sullivan rested his fingers over the X-shaped scar he found beneath the man's left nipple. Found the unmistakable shape of a low-caliber exit wound not much further down. That wound alone would have killed him, were he not possessed of such fair luck. He would ask about it later. He would ask him everything, later. He wanted to know everything, and to tell him everything.

Trembling, Royston caressed the ghost of a bayonet scar on Sullivan's right shoulder. Kissed it with lips Sullivan had not thought could be so gentle.

Royston's body told him what to do. He was not thinking. He was starving. As much as he wanted to bury himself in this man, all Sullivan did was think, too much, about everything. He pinned his hips to the wall, separating them, and Royston's head tipped to the side in question.

"Have you got oil?" Sullivan asked. "I don't want to hurt you."

"Don't be silly, everyone hurts—"

"I'm not everyone."

"Oh, darling, I know you're not. That's why you're here. Don't fret so much." Royston smiled and pet his beard, tugged his sideburn. "You won't."

"You're right. I won't. If you don't, I'm going to dress and go out and procure some. Trust me, mister, spit is not suited to the task you've asked me to perform, regardless of how badly I... want you."

Royston considered the matter a second longer, his thoughts his own, his eyes distant. Then he snatched a glass vial from inside the nightstand drawer, rolled it between his palms to warm it.

"The task, you say?"

"I..." Heat flushed Sullivan's cheeks, and he broke eye contact. Watched the steady, slow pulse in Royston's neck. "I apologize, Arthur. I'm afraid I've not been... intimate… like this with another person in a very long time. I've forgotten how to conduct myself."

"Why, that's hardly anything worth apologizing for. I never know how to conduct myself. Your concern for my well-being is admirable." Royston tucked his finger beneath Sullivan's chin and reeled in his gaze. An aurora in his own. "You are admirable. Save your breath and give me your hand, lover."

The smell of the extract graced his nose and reminded him of cinnamon.

"What on earth is this?"

"Oil of clove. The woman who sells it to me says it comes from a place called Madagascar."

"More, please. This is barely enough to cover a hangnail."

Royston's chest swelled, and he poured oil onto Sullivan's middle fingers with increased generosity. Capped the vial and tossed it onto the bed for later. Sullivan used his dry hand to tuck the curls behind his lover's ears. Wanting watched him. Royston spread his legs and arched his back, waiting, and Sullivan did not keep him there. He reached behind his lover to anoint him.

A soft and involuntary gasp left Royston's throat and drove a shiver through Sullivan. He wanted to hear it again. Tried to reproduce it, gentle as Royston would let him be. Royston's body opened for him, and he moaned, a hot sharp line carved from where they joined to his throat, as he slid his strapped right calf up the back of Sullivan's leg. Invited him deeper, past a tight band of muscle whose acceptance made them both gasp.

Sullivan caught the traipsing knee and encouraged it up his side.

"Aren't you going to disarm me?" Royston asked Sullivan's jaw.

"Do you wish to be disarmed?"

"Not afraid I'll stab you?"

"Accidentally, or on purpose?"

Though neither of them had touched the muscle at the base of Royston's belly, it had wedged itself between them to nudge Sullivan's navel, adamantine and slick from his ministrations. Royston's arms around his shoulders were taut. His breaths pulsed.

Of course he didn't want to take his knives off. Someone had tried to kill him not three months earlier, and then Sullivan had disappeared. He had left him alone in a town where he was not safe, with only the promise that he might return at the end of a long military campaign to sustain him. Royston had had nothing to hold onto but letters from a man he barely knew, and could not respond other than through an intermediary. He had been vulnerable long before they undressed each other.

"I don't think you've any desire to harm me, Arthur. I think you've been harmed, and I imagine that would make it difficult for you to trust that I won't harm you. I should tell you I am fond of you, and I have no intention of harming you, though I am afraid I would be rather cross, were you to purposefully poke me with a knife whilst I'm... making love to you."

Teetering, Royston sighed, "Oh, you."

Gentle, Royston reached down to retrieve Sullivan's hand and bring the glistening knuckles to his lips to kiss. Whiskers scratched the back of Sullivan's hand, and Sullivan was the one who shivered as Royston reached between them to take him in hand. Royston grinned when Sullivan groaned, and pressed another, sweeter, kiss against his cheek. Rested his forehead against Sullivan's temple as he covered him in the fragrant oil, in his precise hand. As he guided Sullivan where they needed him to be.

And he breathed, and he breathed, and he accepted him.

Never in Sullivan's life had he exercised such reverence when entering a sacred place. Forehead to forehead, centimeter by centimeter, he disappeared into the man he had chosen, in awe of him and what his body could do, of how vulnerable and human he was, if only for a few seconds. If only for a few seconds, Sullivan thought his lover would give himself over to pleasure, stay in this moment with him.

The man Sullivan had chosen was reckless. Each tick of the second hand insulted him. He lost patience with Sullivan's patience and braced himself on Sullivan's shoulders. Locked his calf around his lower back and sheathed him, far too fast.

It hurt, or at least caused him discomfort, and he would not say so, beyond a soft grunt he tried to swallow, that Sullivan heard because he was listening for every tiny sound he made. Sullivan would not enjoy the constrictive warmth Royston had drawn him into because he felt him flinch, felt his eyes close, felt his breath seize.

This was the manner of men Royston had passed time with. They did not care if they hurt each other. They did not even notice, he would have been willing to bet. It would have been over with soon enough. Royston was waiting for it to be over, now that Sullivan was inside him. That's what he was expecting to happen, regardless of how sweet they were on each other, because that was what had always happened. Because neither of them were young, and they did not have the rest of their lives ahead of them to recover from heartbreak and betrayal. They were both of them knitted with scars by the time they found each other.

Sullivan refused to add another scar to the litany on his man's heart. He would have rather walked away from him than ever be the reason he was unhappy.

Until he breathed again, Sullivan touched Royston's face, watched the tension ease where his fingers smoothed, and they did not move. Until he opened his eyes again, Sullivan kissed his forehead, his brow, his temple, all the muscles that were frowning, watched him turn towards the attention, and they did not move.

Until his lover returned to his body, Sullivan waited. They did not move.

"Sullivan?" he asked, dazed, as if waking from reality into a dream.

"Cole," Sullivan answered, unthinking.

"What's that, angel?"

"My first name's Cole. I just realized I never told you."

"... Cole Sullivan." The way Royston looked at him at he caressed his face, Sullivan was fool enough to believe he was as spellbound as he sounded. "Oh, you did make me work for that, didn't you..."

"This is work for you?"

Royston laughed, breathless, uncomfortable.

"That's not what I meant and you damn well know it. Don't stop, Cole, please..."

Before continuing on, Sullivan assessed the situation. Read the shaking in Royston's leg, he was bracing his weight so he would not have to rely on his partner. Royston didn't trust anyone. He was trying to trust Sullivan. He'd had hopes for how tonight was going to go, himself. He'd thought things would be different because he thought Sullivan was different.

Sullivan's dumb heart melted.

"Arthur," he said, "I recognize I have given you no reason to trust me—"

Royston's calf tightened around his waist, trapping him.

"That is not true," he said.

"—and that you may have trusted other men before, and that they may have violated that trust—"

Royston was panting, and gripping Sullivan with that deep muscle, threatening to cut off Sullivan's ability to form coherent sentences, but he did not interrupt again.

"—but all I want to do is love you. That's all. I don't want anything from you. If you decide you would prefer to… to be inside of me, later… even if you change your mind before we've finished, I… I do not have much experience in that area, but I am… willing to learn, if you will teach me, and I expect you to tell me to stop, if—"

"You have stopped," Royston laughed.

"Slowing ain't stopping," he said, and took gentle hold behind his man's trembling knee. Guided the leg to join the other around his waist. Royston scrabbled for purchase, tightened his arms around his shoulders, fingers hooked into the edges of the blades. Uncertain. "I don't like how you're shaking. You're the one in charge right now, Arthur. Not me. All I'm doin' is holdin' you, and I ain't gonna drop you."

They were on a precipice together. Sullivan gave him a moment to acclimate, let him set his teeth into his skin and run his hands over his back, inspect the muscles, accept that Sullivan was telling the truth. That he could bear his insignificant weight. That he would not hurt him, not tonight, not unless he asked him to. That he did not intend to let go of him, now that he had him in his arms.

Royston laughed. Relief flowed through their bones.

"Oh," he said, and laughed again, and buried his face in Sullivan's hair. "Oh, I can't believe I forgot how strong you are…"

"Tell me what you need."

Sullivan breathed him in. Breathed their heartbeats into synchrony. Held his lover's sit-bones in his hands, marveling at how they fit, how perfect they felt in his palms. Like this was meant to happen.

"Tell me what you need, and I'll do it, Arthur. Anything."

Resuscitated, Royston tightened his legs around Sullivan's waist and settled into his arms. Able to trust that he was safe, for the first time in his life. The moan that came up out of him sounded like a herald as he relaxed where he needed to relax.

"Oh, Cole," Royston breathed in Sullivan's ear, a proclamation just for him, not for anyone else, "you belong in armor."

Something had changed. Royston had changed, before they ever met.. This had never happened in any other world, and it would never happen again. Everything had changed, already.

Royston rolled his hips, and moaned deep in his throat, and Sullivan moved to keep time with him. They were meant to happen. They were perfect.

"Oh, that's good. Oh, Cole, that's so good. Faster. You can go faster. Yesyesyes just like that. Harder. Hard—yes! Oh you're good you're so good Cole thank you..."

Sullivan claimed Royston's beautiful mouth, savored the laugh that bubbled up in his beautiful throat, the faint taste of cloves on those beautiful lips. As they worked themselves together their bodies learned each other's language and their lungs fed each other air and Royston kept his eyes open, watching. Saw the question and grinned and ran his tongue up the side of Sullivan's face. This wild man's roots were growing into his soil. He welcomed them. He welcomed him.

Then Sullivan saw the nothing folks claimed to see. None of them had ever been this close and the ones who had had not been worth a damn. He was in the man's arms, in him, and he saw the night sky when he looked in his eyes. He saw creation and destruction. He could not see how it could be possible to be this close and want to hurt him instead of protect him, how anyone could ever be this close and not love him.

I can love him, he decided. I can love a man who looks at me the way he does even if he can't love me back.

Something in Sullivan's eyes whispered to Royston. He watched the revelation dilate his pupils. Fingernails raked and heels dug and Royston spurred him to flex muscles he had not flexed in so long they burned. Gentle pressure kept Royston's back against the wall, their lower halves aligned, so Sullivan would not crack his man's skull against the wall every time he buried himself in him.

Inarticulate, Royston grabbed a handful of his lover's hair and set his teeth into his flesh and trembled with the effort of not. His breathing a plea. He was holding himself back.

"I'm gonna if you do," Sullivan told him.

No more he and him, then. They took each other with them when they came.

Whether he wanted it to or not, Royston's throat sang out in praise of what they had done. He curled around Sullivan and locked him in place and cried out as they absorbed each other. Buried the sound in Sullivan's shoulder, loud enough that everyone in the building would have heard if he had thrown his head back rather than letting it be just for them.

And in the after, as they were clung to each other damp and spent and pulling for air, he returned his feet to the floor. His turn to take his lover's weight. He was ready. Sullivan collapsed against him and let his breath go. He'd catch it later.

"Good Lord, Arthur…"

"You," Royston sighed. Cupped Sullivan's face in his hands, eyes gleaming. Humor glistening on both their sternums. "Oh, there has never been anyone like you and I dare say there never shall be again." He kissed him. "You're mine." He kissed him. "I'm keeping you." He kissed him. "I'm keeping you forever."

Royston could have stabbed him then and Sullivan would not have seen it coming.

A realization came to him, late. Royston's hands had stayed clutched to his shoulders the entire time. One was in his hair now. He had not reached for a knife as he fucked, or as he came. He had only reached for Sullivan.

"You're mine," Sullivan mumbled, and burrowed deeper into his arms.

"That's right. I'm out of circulation. I'm done for. I've been yours since day one."

This must be why they called it falling in love. Now that he had hit the ground, Sullivan wanted to stay where he was, broken and dumb and warm. He couldn't move. He didn't want to.

Royston sought Sullivan's gaze, and earned it.

"Welcome home, angel."

Sweat cooled their skin as the dry Kansas air took it, and though they shivered, they kept each other warm. Neither moved except to hold the other tighter. His heart beat against his man's chest, and it beat, and it beat, and it beat.

#doom metal love story #rewritten scenes #smut but make it 19th century and weird #this was the “let me say everything i wanted to say last time and couldn't” loop ig sullivan talks so much lol

9 notes · View notes