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naomihatake · 6 months

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Solitude

you can find other zoro fics here: Naomi's archive

pairing: zoro x fem reader

tags: hurt/comfort, fluff, consumption of alcohol

summary: One would expect the swordsman to unwind after a battle, but there are times when he can't help but think. Alcohol doesn't always come in handy when a specific crewmate he grew fond of cuddled a tad bit too close to his heart.

word count: 3.3k

theme song: 'Daylight' by David Kushner

A/N: It can be imagined with both anime and opla Zoro. I don't know if he's slightly ooc or not, but I genuinely wanted to dig into this side of a relationship with the swordsman. The awkward times when he's getting used to it and simply accepting everything as a new part of his life.

I didn't forget about my multi chapter fiction, I just didn't find the inspiration for the 8th chapter. I couldn't help but write this for my own comfort and I want to mention that this original art of @tea917339 inspired me (check it out, it's absolutely amazing!!!)

I'm always open for your opinions and comments, so don't be shy about sharing your thoughts with me! <3

Usually, nights with the Straw Hats were lively, even after battles that left the crew members injured and bleeding. They would pick each other up and cheer up by simply bickering — that's what Zoro thought.

The same way Luffy's hand extended to help him back on his feet after he plopped down on the ground to rest. The same way Zoro reassured Chopper after the kid tried his best not to get emotional afterwards. The same way Sanji threw some remarks and the swordsman spat back in annoyance. And, for fuck’s sake, Nami reminded him for the tenth time that day he owes her berry for something he completely forgot about. Usopp was sighing in relief every time he remembered they escaped with life again while Robin agreed with a soft smile on her face. Truly, it was almost insane — Zoro wouldn't exactly call that a miracle because he's doubtful of its existence.

However, he couldn't bring himself to cheer up once the celebration of their victory was over and everyone went into their rooms. He was on the night watch and all he found himself capable of doing was burying in memories of all kinds, be it happy or not. With not enough alcohol in his system yet, it was rather hard to push those thoughts into the back of his head.

The swordsman sat on the deck, his back resting against the wooden cabin. Hidden from prying eyes, he found peace in the temporary silence. Rare were the times when the crew was so peaceful and it was usually during the night, when they were asleep, because otherwise they would've caused a mayhem.

The side of his mouth curled upwards at that thought. It was equally annoying and endearing, since in the months spent with them he found a lot of things about himself. Like the fact that he found his crew to be a family, like the way he sometimes found peace even in the chaos caused by them.

Or like the presence he grew way too fond of along the way. That witch — she truly was one, judging by the effect she had on him. Only a spell could've made his mind get so clouded, only some unknown force could've managed to soften his edges so well. She joined the crew from the first day and he believed that a spell had been casted upon him since the first time they gazed at each other.

Right. Zoro gulped down. The effect she had on him was equally annoying and pleasant.

Annoying because he should've focused on his promise to Kuina, not get lost in between fairytales. He wasn't by any means the charming prince riding a white horse and he didn't intend on becoming one anytime soon. It filled him up with feelings unknown to him. Zoro might be a fan of adventures and he had rather insane ideas — as one might say —, but such sentiments were an entirely new path to walk on.

First and foremost, it bothered him the fact that he wasn't sure he could fulfill both his promises and whatever the fuck was going on between him and the witch. He couldn't pinpoint what was happening, it was all in a blur, even if everything was clearing up whenever he saw her.

That's when he's reminded why he likes their relationship — what kind of, he didn't know. When he saw her, there were always sparkles in her eyes and the smile on her face would grow wider, lines of happiness appearing on her cheeks. The curl of her lips would make his heart skip a few beats and he would relax his shoulders unconsciously. Eyes filled with joy looked at him as if he was the very reason behind her purest sensations.

Also, not to mention how warm the depths of his chest felt when she was near. The heat would rise to his cheeks, which he sometimes found uncomfortable, but Zoro never ran away. A side of him wished so badly to go the other way and never look back, ignore her and those stupid damned feelings, but he never gathered enough courage to do so. Every single time, he would remain stuck, with his eyes stuck on her frame and fingers aching to touch and lips tingling to kiss.

God fucking dammit.

With a curse rolling off his tongue casually as he closed his eyes, the back of his head collided with the wooden wall he rested his back against. Zoro sat with his knees bent and feet planted onto the floor, only his Wado Ichimoji in his proximity. With its hilt glued to his shoulder, the sheathed sword was in between his fingers. By that time, he held it for comfort.

If that's what he could call it. The swordsman wasn't sure what else to associate it with. Or was it familiarity? The white sword was the only memory he had of a long lost friend and his first home at the dojo, by the side of his sensei. It was the only object tying him to his past, to his beginning, to times when he was much weaker, but determined nonetheless.

To care about his promise was familiar. Zoro wouldn't give it up — proof was the simple fact that he still achieved to become the strongest swordsman in the world. One day, he will meet Mihawk again and when he does, he will be stronger than the first time he encountered him at Baratie.

Looking back, it's been so long since. So long since a new life appeared before his eyes and he accepted it with no hesitation. He was a pirate, a Straw Hat, Luffy's first mate. The swordsman swore to help his captain achieve his own dream.

Those promises were familiar. The erratic heartbeats caused by the witch weren't. The sensation settling in the pits of his stomach when her gentle fingers would brush over his arm weren't. It was foreign and it didn't sit well with him.

Kuina.

He still saw her face in his dreams sometimes and it was usually her ghost haunting him. Other times, in her place would be one of his friends and each time it was harder to fall asleep.

When awake, memories of her replayed so vividly in his mind. Swords clashing together and whistling as they cut the air in half. A grin brightening up Kuina's face when he would fall on his butt and cuss her out again. They promised that one of them would become the greatest, but he was the only one capable of that, because her bones lay in a grave somewhere far away.

Zoro opened his eyes and stared at the night sky with scars scattered all over it. A calming view, even if there was tumult inside of him, hidden in between ribs that broke with each new pump of his heart. His brown eyes fell to the floor and he crossed his arms on top of his knees, gripping the sword tighter. His chest puffed up with air when he inhaled and he let out a heavy sigh.

“Zoro?” a soft whisper made him jump out of his thoughts.

The swordsman snapped his head and he was greeted by the sight of someone he didn't even know he was searching for. A side of him wished to say something along the lines of “fuck off” while the other side desperately wanted to soak into her presence.

A witch, indeed.

His eyes ran up and down her figure. She didn't seem surprised to find him there, in a rather hidden spot, which meant she didn't search for too long. Did she even search for him or did she also wish to be alone for a while? The first place to search for someone during night shifts was the crows nest.

She held two bottles of what he guessed to be alcohol and she swung them carefully before stepping closer. His chest tightened and he found it harder to breathe, even if it was inevitably easier than before at the same time. For some reason, she had that effect on him.

Maybe he knew that reason all too well, but he just avoided thinking of it.

“You told me we'd drink something together,” she reminded him in that warm voice of hers.

The sweet melody that calmed his nerves.

He didn't know what kind of energy radiated off him, but her behavior was far more gentle than usual. She wasn't hesitant, the witch never hesitated around him, she was just mindful of her actions and words.

He didn't know why for a second he saw understanding in the curl of her lips when she crouched down. Unconsciously, Zoro knitted his eyebrows together in confusion at her gestures.

The bottles hit the floor and she let go of them. Her eyes sparkled like they always did, but there was something different that time — a warmth they held only when she comforted Chopper or encouraged Usopp. Warmth similar to the shy rays of the sun of the morning, when the cold is still lingering and there's a specific scent in the air. Gentleness he only ever saw in her, because Luffy's kindness was different.

A warmth so humane that was visible for the crew alone or those in need of it.

The witch recognized something in his demeanor and Zoro had no clue what that was about. He could only see it in her gaze.

“I suppose it isn't really the perfect time for me to butt in, hm?” she whispered.

Like a promise only for him to hear. A secret.

“How'd you find me here?” he found himself speaking before he thought it through.

The question made her shrug.

“I pick up easily on your energy. It's quite unmistakable, y'know?”

There it was — one of the main reasons why she had the nickname of Witch both on the ship and outside of it. She's spoken about that for a few times and he had to admit he understood what she meant. However, the swordsman only felt those “energies” (as she liked to call them) in specific moments. He remembers that time in Lougetown when everything felt like energy instead of palpable objects, the reason why he won that fight.

Sometimes he seriously wondered if she hadn't met his sensei at some point in her life.

“What is it like?” once again, he asked before thinking.

The witch pulled her lips in a tight line and hummed, gathering the right words to describe it. Her gaze bounced around and she grimaced once, when she probably found her choice of words to be unpleasant or inappropriate — she always scrunched her nose when it was difficult to find the proper terms.

“It's sharp, but warm. Kind of steady, constantly flickering. For example, Luffy's energy is always all around the place and Chopper's gets out of control easily. Robin has the steadiest energy of all of us, even if it was kind of… strange lately.”

Zoro arched his eyebrow at the last piece of information and only received a hand waving through the air.

“Ignore the last part, I'm still figuring it out myself. No need to worry.”

The swordsman knew the energy she was talking about was different than what he felt when she was in presence, but he wondered if whatever laid in her heart interfered with her ability to distinguish his being from the others.

He watched as the witch looked at the bottles next to him and then clicked her tongue, deep in thought.

“I don't know if they'd help you tonight, but I'll let you be.”

None of those words were accusatory. They were all coming from a place of kindness and patience.

Suddenly, her fingers curled around his bicep, below the bandana wrapped around his arm. Skin on skin, her touch was hot and pleasant, even if very confusing.

What was she thinking?

His puzzled feelings were written on his face. Uncertainty laid in his dark brown eyes and his fingers held onto the sword tighter. He didn't even notice when the grip on his Wado Ichimoji loosened up.

Her gaze was reassuring as ever and she gently rubbed her thumb into his tensed muscles.

Zoro had to at least admit to himself that vulnerability was uncomfortable. Without spoken words, she picked up on it.

“I don't know for sure if I'll get to sleep tonight, so you could cut your night shift in half.” She's having issues with nightmares again? he silently wondered. “I'll be in my room, reading. Do what you see fit.”

Instantly, she was back on her feet with her back straight and walked away. The swordsman didn't know what happened or what he should understand.

He was utterly and completely confused. What just happened?

Oh. The witch gave him space and time to think. She also told him where she was in case he decided to grip at the promise of comfort and hold tightly onto it. The opportunity laid right in front of him and he was the only one to decide whether he used it to his advantage or not.

Zoro didn't notice when his shoulders relaxed. His body wasn't as tense as a few minutes ago, his back didn't feel as stiff. The exhale he left wasn't heavy anymore.

The swordsman knew what this was about. Maybe it was the time to just accept his feelings and get on with it. He had to suck it up and deal with it, even if dealing with her wasn't the right way to word it out. It always felt more like she was dealing with him.

With closed eyes, he remembered the last time her lips brushed by his. Gosh, it was so hot and his blood was bubbling like lava in his veins. It wasn't an accident, he intended on kissing her back with fever, but he had a hard time accepting everything. It was… weird. Facing that reality was troublesome.

She has yet to lose her patience. The witch remained firm and each one of her questions were answered by gestures instead of words — something familiar for him. She was far more skilled with expressing herself even when sensitive topics came up.

That was a miracle. Her presence alone could be compared to a miracle because it was completely unexpected and somehow always caressing him the right way. It was scary how accurately she could read him and the same applied to him.

The sky before his eyes continued to sparkle with stars and he remained still in his place. His fingers caressed the scabbard of his sword as he blinked in the darkness, the chill air of the night invading his lungs.

It was complicated and so simple at the same time. Zoro knew the answer — he just had to come to terms with it.

Just as age promised, the witch sat on the bed in her room with a blanket warming her up. The lamp on the nightstand by her side casted a golden light over the pages of a book sitting in her lap. It was hard to focus on the story — a captivating part of pirate's history, sometime before the appearance of Gold D. Roger.

Her thoughts were followed by the swordsman. Zoro's mood was… sad at best. She didn't expect to find him in that state, but she quickly came to the conclusion that leaving him alone might do him good.

She tapped her finger over the pages of the old book and clicked her tongue. Was it right to leave him? The witch never saw him in a similar mood and she also realized she didn't know how to help him. There could be a lot of ways to bring him back to earth or at least keep him afloat. Those ways were only known by him. All she could do was guess and hope for the best outcome.

Heavy footsteps echoed on the other side of the door. When it opened wide, there was Zoro's tall silhouette, his white sword in his hand and one bottle of alcohol in his other. He came closer, his face hard as a stone. The pink hue painting his cheeks was the only detail giving away the fact that he drank one of the bottles she brought hours ago.

“Why aren't you sleeping yet?” he said with a gruff voice as he plopped down on the mattress.

There were only a few hours left before the sun would rise up from the sea.

“You've probably guessed already,” she averted her eyes from his figure.

“Nightmares again?”

The witch only nodded, eyes focused on the book. Zoro let the sword against the couch.

“I won't fall asleep, so you could as well take a night off,” only then she looked at him again.

His darkened eyes have been locked on her since he entered the valley. The witch wanted to move, to eventually get away from his knowing gaze, but she knew there was no possible way to do it.

“Are you alright?” she blurted out.

She had to fill that silence with some kind of conversation. Maybe that wasn't exactly the wisest decision, considering his shoulders visibly tensed and he straightened his back. A frown appeared on her face. She regretted talking.

The witch figured out he needed more time to sort his thoughts.

“Why don't you go to sleep?” she tilted her head to the side. “The fight has worn us all out. You could rest for a while.”

“And you?”

“We'll be sailing for a few days. I can sleep ‘till afternoon.”

“Nothing will happen for as long as you're on this ship with us,” the reassurance slipped so easily. “Do you trust us?”

“More than anything,” the witch responded with a faint smile.

Several weeks ago, her answer and reaction would've been so different. She made so much progress since she first met them, her trust now fully laying in their palms. Long ago, she would've backed away at such a question and, if they were lucky enough, the witch would admit she “needs time to adjust”.

At first, all he did was lean close enough for his shoulder to touch hers. The swordsman only intended to enjoy some peace while he shared his booze with the witch. From time to time, she'd gulp from the bottle and then give it back to him before continuing her lecture. After each two minutes, the room would be filled by the rustling of pages.

It didn't last long until he fell into her trap and tiredness dragged him glued to her. With his head in her lap, Zoro bumped his nose in her thigh. The witch's fingers ran through his hair and he let out an audible exhale, eyes closing instantly. Greeted by darkness, he felt warm not only on the inside. The blanket she curled around herself earlier was now covering his upper body as he sunk into the soft mattress and her.

One of his hands curled around her knee and he dug his fingers into her flesh. Her leg jerked slightly at the unexpected touch, but when he tried to move away, she muttered a sweet “It's okay”, stopping his movements.

The oxygen in his lungs was exchanged with her perfume and he bit back a groan. Her voice was like a lullaby, even if there weren't many words rolling off her tongue. Zoro wasn't bothered by the light of the lamp, completely forgetting about the world around him once her fingers continued running through his hair.

His hand traveled up, until it fully rested on her thigh, the warmth of her body seeping through the thin material of her pants. Truth be told, he's never felt better.

She was a remedy. His remedy.

“Good night.”

Zoro heard her whisper solely because he was near her; otherwise he would've confounded it with the night breeze.

Maybe giving in to her affection isn't that bad.

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myers-meadow · 3 months

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Hellish beginnings

Pairing: Haarlep x Raphael, budding Raphael x Tav and Haarlep x Tav

Summary: After you paid the House of Hope a visit, you were gone before the master of the house even knew you were there. Yet, you left his personal incubus Haarlep with a delightful present that they just can't wait to share with their master. Perhaps this is not the last time you entered the House of Hope.

Warnings: none. Teen and up rating. They/them used for Tav, no appearance mentioned.

Wordcount: 578

beautiful divider by @cafekitsune. If you enjoyed, please reblog or comment! It is fuel to the fire that is my love for these characters <3.

"Oh, Raphael," Said Haarlep, in sing-song tone, as soon as their master entered his boudoir. "You'd never guess which of your clients paid me a visit today."

Raphael shed his mortal disguise as he walked over to the bed. By his walk, Haarlep could tell how their master's day had been. Not that good. Not that it mattered much to them, but it was good to know.

"I'm not in the mood to guess," Raphael answered, voice thick with displeasure.

"Only your most cherished one..." They said, and their form shifted. Raphael's little mouse laid on his bed then, draped casually, erotically over the ruby sheets. Raphael, who only barely paid attention to his personal incubus, did a double take. His eyes widened. For one joyful moment, he didn't know what to say. Haarlep's grin widened.

"Really?" He then asked, with one eyebrow raised. "Tav." His tone darkened. It was difficult to tell whether he was angry, or intrigued. You very well know that entering the House was forbidden as per your contract, the consequences could be devastating. He'd so hate to have to hurt you, just as you show such promise. "That is quite the surprise."

Haarlep adjusted their position, showing off your features in a different way this time. Giddy, they tugged alluringly at the straps of their underwear. Raphael, drawn in by the sight of you, climbed onto the bed. Haarlep was quick to make room for him.

"You like it?" They asked, rolling over and showing off your backside, curving your back like a cat doing a big lazy stretch. Raphael only hummed, but watched with eager eyes.

"I cant say I haven't thought about them..."

"They were so fun," Haarlep drawled. "Desperate and mewling after just a few kisses. Too bad you weren't there."

"I wonder why they came. If they thought they could break the contract-" Raphael clenched his fists.

"Oh, not to worry, they left without even getting that far. They just had a little gander at your archive, a little poke around the place. I'm sure this is their favourite room of the house. They spent the most time here, after all."

Haarlep changed shape again, into Raphael's glamour, determined to smooth over their master's anger. They laid a warm hand on his hip, trailing fingers up and down the formal doublet. With a flick of the hand, the doublet was gone. Hunger shone in Raphael's eyes, and Haarlep knew just a little convincing would be enough. It would be fun, to have a play with someone else for a bit. To have a third in the bedroom. They were curious to see what would happen. It was one of Raphael's known weaknesses that he got too involved in mortal lives, but this one seemed special.

"Surely it doesn't have to be such a big deal... They didn't do anything bad, after all."

Raphael tutted, finding comfort in the familiar touch. He played with the chains on Haarlep's outfit, tugging the incubus closer. "Perhaps we should invite them for a formal visit. Let us see if we can't talk this over."

Haarlep answered with a wicked grin. "They admitted they have thought of you too. I'm sure they'd be willing to... negotiate."

With his head falling back on the pillow as Haarlep pushed him on his back, Raphael laughed. "Oh, the plot thickens... Why don't you show me what it was about you that had our little mouse mewling, hm?"

#raphael the cambion #haarlep #haarlep x tav #raphael bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #raphael x tav #haarlep x raphael #raphael x haarlep #baldurs gate 3 #bg3 raphael #bg3 haarlep #haarlep x reader #bg3 #bg3 house of hope #raphael x reader #these characters are new to me; this was just a lil scene that popped up in my head while playing. please be gentle aughghg <3

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haveyouheardthisband · 7 months

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『 FAQ 』

USEFUL LINKS: Submissions spreadsheet (gigantic list of every band submission we've received. Song submissions are on the second tab. If this does not load on your device, you can view a plaintext archive here.) Data spreadsheet (List of every band that we've posted or are still in the queue, in order, plus occasionally-updated data for finished polls.) Song submissions form (Suggest a noteworthy song for a band that's already been submitted but not yet posted. First-come first-serve. These are linked in a readmore under the band's poll.)

⏭ Y'all made a mistake! / How do I get in touch? Please scroll to read the whole FAQ first. If your question has not already been answered, then send an ask. We don't respond to most asks publicly, but we do read them all. We do not often check replies or mentions. Do NOT send band suggestions via the askbox, it is for correspondence only. (If the question/comment concerns a specific post, you can also ping me @estradasphere in a reply, but asks are preferred)

───♫───────────── ⏭ Why was this poll tagged with [x]? Genres are usually from the artist's RateYourMusic page, if they have one. Country tags are also from RYM - we tag both formed/birth location and disbanded/death location. As for decades, we do not usually tag all decades a band was active for, just a few that contain their most popular output. If we get any of these wrong, please send an ask!

───♫───────────── ⏭ Why was this album art used? If the artist has an RYM page, the album art we use is of their most-rated album on there. If they don't, we use Spotify or Bandcamp or other sources. We tend to avoid album art that depicts potentially triggering subjects.

───♫───────────── ⏭ This artist is morally reprehensible! We do not endorse or support any artists posted here. We're asking if you've heard them, not if you like them - and doing a background check on every submission is infeasible. You are free to warn others via reply, reblog, etc. That being said, we may reject submissions at our own discretion.

───♫───────────── ⏭ Can you add a "yes, unfortunately" option? No, and we don't think this is the best perspective to have. Every band is someone's favorite! We are not intent on changing the three options we have now.

───♫───────────── ⏭ Can you post more/less of [x] genre? We run entirely off of submissions, and go through those mostly in chronological order. We do not control which bands get submitted. That being said, we do try to space out polls in the queue if there's a lot of submissions of the same genre/vibe in a row.

───♫───────────── ⏭ When will band submissions reopen? If/when we get through the bulk of the current submissions. Our backlog is so massive that this may not happen until 2026 (at the latest) though. Sorry!

───♫───────────── ⏭ When will my submission be posted? You can check our progress by looking at the submissions spreadsheet. Finished submissions are the ones highlighted turquoise. Keep in mind that we post once per hour, and you can probably estimate the date from there.

───♫───────────── ⏭ Why didn't my submissions post in the order I submitted them? We rearrange the queue if there's a lot of bands of the same genre/vibe submitted in a row. Or for no reason.

───♫───────────── ⏭ Why didn't my submission get posted at all? A few reasons this could happen:

Your band is still in the queue, just not in order (see the question above this one)

Your band has been submitted before (search the blog or the data sheet for them)

Your band is so obscure we couldn't find album art or genre info for them

We genuinely made a mistake: thought we did them already, or accidentally skipped them, etc.

Feel free to submit them again (though, if possible, please first search the suggestions spreadsheet to make sure nobody else has submitted them again already). If you're positive your submission got skipped, you can also send an off-anon ask or DM a mod, and we'll post a poll for them ASAP if the submission is valid. Accidents happen.

───♫───────────── ⏭ How do I suggest songs for multiple-artist submissions? See here and here.

───♫───────────── ⏭ What's the policy on vulgar/offensive band names or album art? Generally OK, but it'll be decided at our own discretion. In the case of album art, we try to find one of the artist's other works at around the same popularity, and if we can't, we'll trigger tag it.

───♫───────────── ⏭ Why don't you tag polls with the band names? Tagging it would put the post in the lap of every fan who follows or searches for the tag. For popular bands, we feel this would skew the results too much.

───♫───────────── ⏭ Can you trigger tag [x]? We currently tag common triggers like gore, nudity, body horror, and suicide (as "#____ tw"); if we missed a post with one of those, please let us know! As for implementing new trigger tags, sorry, we have enough on our plate at the moment and probably wouldn't remember it. We recommend using Xkit Rewritten's post block feature and/or Tumblr's built-in tag/content filtering.

───♫───────────── ⏭ Have y'all considered increasing the post speed to more than 1 per hour? We don't really want to, sorry! Making 24 posts per day to keep pace is enough work for us already, haha.

───♫───────────── ⏭ How many posts are in the queue? It's maintained at around 150-250.

───♫───────────── ⏭ Do y'all want/need another mod? Not right now. If we ever do, we'll make a post for it.

#faq written by rottel and formatted by eddie!#talk #Last updated Apr 9 2024

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stargirlstudio · 2 years

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College BF!Aemond Targaryen Headcanons

☆ Aemond Targaryen x Reader

☆ Nonspecified gender and no physical attributes mentioned

☆ This of course takes place at King’s Landing University (tagged as King’s Landing Uni-verse on my tumblr). For more works in this modern uni au click on the tag!

You and Aemond met during your freshman year and didn't start dating until sophomore year

You both went on your official date after the winter break and found out you will be in one spring semester class

Aemond will try to meet up with you on days where you’re both free. However, with your extracurriculars and his time with the university’s fencing team -- it can be hard

On days he can't take you out to lunch or go to a cafe, he does send you money through a transfer app, with a cute message or just the words “please eat”

If your club needs extra hands, he's more than happy to help you, whether that would be holding stuff in his car or helping carry needed supplies

Isn’t too into “school spirit” so he doesn't care if you steal his hoodies or beanies with the KLU logo on it

Took him a while to introduce him to his other siblings properly

You of course, met Helaena at the club fair, but you formally met Helaena when she invited both of you to an museum event sponsored by her club

You met Aegon at a frat party your freshman year and when he asked you what song you were listening to for a tiktok vid, but formally met him when Aemond treated you all to lunch

Aemond doesn't use emojis often and his texting style can be quite “dry” but he makes more of an effort to type more words

You raised an eyebrow when he used ❤️ for the first time

Aemond doesn't dorm and shares a very very large apartment complex with his siblings

Hightower 1 is a cushy luxury apartment owned by his maternal grandpa

Speaking of his other family members, if your relationship is getting serious his mother Alicent is insistent on meeting you so she books a nice dinner to meet you all

You find out she works in literary archives and you both spent the evening geeking over different texts which Aemond finds endearing

Aemond isn't one for PDA but he does kiss you on the forehead and hold your hand when you walk

AT HOME...completely different story. He already lets you crash at his place but the post lecture cuddles are something different

He'll have his arm draped over your waist with his lights dim, save for the lights over his reptile tanks

If it's another long night, he’ll whisper “I love you’s” and other things he admires about you

Most of the time his compliments have to do with your intelligence and he takes pride in being with someone as successful as you

But he does tell you how pretty you are. Everyone likes hearing that he does too you know

He's low key not good at taking pics of people. When you asked him to take a pic of you in front of something he stood like 🧍

He eventually learned but he sometimes to forget to bend his knees to get the good angles

However the pics you take of him? Godly

He's so camera shy and you respect that but occasionally he’ll blush when you tell him how handsome he is

“How are you not a model yet,” You said as you snapped his photo

Actually he's been scouted a couple of times when you were both were out but he brushed them off

“I don't know them. They could be scamming me,”

Aemond is...very offline. He doesn't get any current trends, memes, or other internet jokes.

The only social media he has is a LinkedIn, Goodreads, and Letterboxd - that's it

He only starting exploring more sites or social media when you would send a link to something

When he made an Instagram you weren't even his first follower, somehow it was Aegon

For the new socials he makes, he only uses it to like and comment on your post and his families. He also has a max 20-30 followers and follows 8 people

Aemond has made it a competition to be the first person to like and comment on your posts

Aemond is very reserved around people he doesn't know but he's observant

Every gift you received from Aemond was put forth with every thought and detail he remembers about you

Your favorite colors, flowers, what clothing item you have wanted, something he saw on your online wishlist. Or even something you had off handedly mentioned -- he will get it

One time you had wanted to get a special edition book set and he got it for you (and it was signed by the author)

He secretly loves the idea of coordinating outfits (although he wears dark colors, mostly all black). If you had on an accessory or an article of clothing that matched him, he would melt

He likes anime/manga but he's pretentious and likes the 90s-early 2000s ones. He thinks the current ones are repetitive

For your first Halloween, you did your own version of Howl and Sophie from Howl’s Moving Castle

Everyone established Aemond as being a jealous and possessive lover fair tbh

But I don't think he's confrontational nor is the type to yell at you if he felt jealous

He’ll snake a hand around your waist for his sake but he trusts you and isn't particular threatened by anyone

He holds his own intelligence and being in high regard trust fund baby shit

If anything, he kind of enjoys it because he knows no one else would interest you. He knows you well enough to know that you don't even care

When uni work is getting tough, he loves to hold you. Unwind with you. Or take you out. He'll order your favorite takeout if you both don't feel like cooking, he’ll put on a movie, one time you took a shower together and he felt like he was in heaven when you shampooed his hair

Sometimes, he is afraid that you’ll both grow apart after uni. Especially if both of your plans are vastly different -- which is why his kisses and his grip feel just a bit more desperate as senior year approaches

☆ A/N: If you enjoyed this and want to be tagged in Modern Uni AU! works including headcanons or my fic Academic (Dis)Honor, feel free to comment saying you want to be added to the tag list!

Comments and reblogs are supported and encouraged! I love to see that you guys are enjoying the work. If you have any suggestions for what you want to see (or even nsfw modern uni headcanons) let me know!

#king’s landing uni-verse #fic: academic (dis)honor #hotd fanfiction #modern hotd au #modern hotd #aemond targaryen reader insert #aemond targaryen x reader #modern au #university au #fanfic #headcanons #aemond targaryen headcanons

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nentofus · 9 months

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okay to like / reblog / tag / save / whatever!

thought i should pop my personal prompt list for this year's OC-tober here! for ease of reading, the prompt list is as follows:

The Introduction Week 1. Newest OC 2. Your favourite OC 3. OC who gets the most love 4. OC who needs a little more love 5. Show some Pride 🏳️‍🌈 6. Your favourite ship (romantic, platonic, found family, any relationship!) 7. Draw over an IRL picture - Alternate option: OC you'd most want to meet IRL

Appearance Week 8. Extra appendages (like extra limbs, eyes, etc.) 9. New hairstyle / New outfit 10. Gloves or socks? 11. Swimsuit 12. Mascot costume / Cursed outfit 13. Crossdressing 14. Wearing something from your culture!

Aesthetics Week 15. Cyberpunk - Alternate option: Vapourwave 16. Cottagecore - Alternate option: Lolita 17. Galaxy - Alternate option: Ocean / Forest 18. Monochrome / Noir - Alternate option: Light academia / Dark academia 19. Neon / Eyestrain - Alternate option: 2000s scene kid / Hot Topic emo 20. Rockabilly / 50s - Alternate option: Ah Beng / Ah Lian (lol) 21. Your favourite aesthetic - Alternate option: Your least favourite aesthetic

Fun Week 22. Song redraw 23. Collab cafe item 24. Limited palette 25. Family Feud 26. Idol / Band subunit 27. Fake screenshot 28. Barbenheimer

The End Half-Week 29. Your OC with a canon character 30. Your comfort zone / comfort character 31. Halloween costume dressup - Alternate option: Guts & glory / Free day!

I'll be putting the explanations for a couple of these under a read-more so that those who aren't interested can skip the rest of my blathering! Feel free to ask questions if y'all like! My ask box + the replies on this post are always open :D

---

General - I wanted to make another self-indulgent prompt list this year for OC-tober so I did :3 - If you do feel like following along, remember that your health, comfort and motivation come first! Do as much as you want or as little as you want, or feel free to mix up the order or skip the prompts you don't like! - The alternate options were added because 1. I'm indecisive and 2. If a certain prompt doesn't appeal to you, then there's another choice! - I always have OCs on the brain so if you want to mention/tag me in your posts please do! I'll be responding under my main blog @complementary-oxymorons due to the interaction limitations of side blogs + wanting to keep my art blog as my personal art archive.

About the prompts - I understand that some prompts can be a bit confusing so I'll try to preemptively explain some! - Day 7: Draw over an IRL picture - For some ideas, it could be like drawing your OCs on a picture of a beach as if they're there having fun! Or maybe you could draw little chibis of your OCs sitting on your shoulder / messing with your hand while you draw :D (please do be mindful about the risks that come with uploading IRL photos though!). If you're concerned about privacy but still want to involve your "IRL self" in the piece, a possibility is to fully re-draw / trace over the reference photo you took! - Day 10: Gloves or socks - Yeah this is just me finding an excuse to draw my OCs who wear gloves or draw them in some super cute socks / stockings. Which team are you on? - Day 20 alternate: Ah Beng / Ah Lian - I thought it'd be funny because someone put it on Aesthetics Wiki (link). To those who have ah beng in ur neighbourhood just put portable speaker escooter tattoo slipper can liao also if yall know the typical ah beng spotify songs can tell me pls ok xiexie i only know 小幸运 and heng ong huat - Day 22: Song redraw - Some ideas could be redrawing your OCs on album art, or adapting them into the visuals of a song as if they're covering it! (Like how vtubers do hehe) - Day 23: Collab cafe item - Create a food or drink item that represents your OC! Some IPs (anime, games, etc.) collaborate with IRL cafes to create a themed menu which runs for a limited time only. The items on the menu tend to be references to the IP and its characters (e.g. an orange-haired character in the game gets a menu item that's an orange soda with decorative sprinkles, or a character who loves curry gets a menu item that's a special curry dish, something like that). If you're still unsure, google stuff like "collab cafe"! - Day 25: Family Feud - Feel free to redraw your favourite Family Feud clip as your OCs because there are a lot of strong contenders kekdog - Day 28: Barbenheimer - Exactly what it is! Feel free to draw your OCs dressing up to go to either movie or something. - Day 31 alternate: Guts & glory - This one's for those who prefer a more bloody Halloween :D Feel free to gore it up in any way you like. Plush, candy, flower, extra visceral... get those guts some air!!!

#prompts #oc-tober #oc-tober 2023 #little chats

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reflections-in-a-critical-eye · 10 months

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I love to see my biases get the BB 1s, but when one starts making that their goal, hmm that kind of disconnects me from them as an artist.

I won't say more. I just wish artists I stan placed more focus on the art. Let charts happen naturally.

You're blog isn't like the blind fandom, so I am saying this here.

It's not hard to see through things. Chapter 2 has been interesting so far. I am not making any opinions based of things that are happening, but if it becomes a pattern with the artist, well... that's a problem.

Anon, we both know who were're talking about, lol. I'm gonna use the names, for the sake of making it easier for me to write a response.

A few weeks ago, I was watching this documentary about Wham. Some light entertainment for me initially, but it did offer me the chance for a fresh perspective. I don't exactly remember the details, but they've reached a point in which George Michael wanted to have 4 songs to reach number 1 on some chart, the fourth being Last Christmas. He was a bit obsessed with this and he also wanted to be a bigger artist. In later archival interviews, Michael actually mentions it was his ego as an artist because he knew he could. And he did, he outgrew the boyish band and the situation was almost ideal because Andrew, his bandmate, also knew that. It also meant getting away from their carefully constructed image, the object of desire for teenagers and women everywhere. For George, it was also about stepping away from performing a specific type of heteronormativity that can be found in boy bands. It never crossed my mind while watching it that his ego is too big, or why is he so obsessed with the charts. Maybe because it was all in the past and I've seen what the future would hold for him. Or that when I heard him talk about what he wants to achieve and his inner struggle, there was sincerity there and also that drive that only someone really young can have when they believe they can do anything.

I've read Jungkook's Weverse interview and listened to what he had to say during the Seven promotions. And while there may be some comparisons to be made to how George Michael came across when talking about his musical career, there were also some differences.

I'm glad to see Jungkook being more confident. I remember some of the things he used to say in the past, about his self worth, a lack of confidence and meaning outside the group. That wasn't healthy. And to hear him now, especially on Suchwita, it's a 180° change. But in his case, there's a very fine line between being confident and becoming cocky. And that's not a good look. It's almost like he's trying to project an image of a new Jungkook but one that is still in the works and not all parts fit perfectly together. He's going through a transformation ever since the hiatus, which I expected. It was about having to adapt to a different pace, life after 10 years of being part of a group. Jungkook was always trying to find his identity and this single is only one step in that journey.

But that doesn't mean that I as a fan and as a person, have to like it. If it doesn't match with what I'm looking for in the artists that I'm interested in, then so be it. I will talk about it, but I'll also not follow that person's musical career anymore. If I don't like the artistic direction and I don't like this overconfident, slighly exaggerated bravado, then that's it.

It's also impossible to not make a comparison to Jimin. Not for some dick measuring contest (it's what pjms and jjks are doing), but because there is room and justification for it. Both are from the same kpop group, both have embarked on a solo career and both chose a more mainstream pop music, as opposed to their older bandmates. And both got that BB 1. And what we can compare is song quality, artist reaction and how the company's response came across into fan spaces.

In terms of the songs, I could write entire essays because at the end of the day, it wouldn't matter. It's all subjective. There is no rule that says a number one song should be about some personal experience, or the singer should have writing credits on it. And I also can't take away my subjectivity. I will chose Like Crazy over a song that not only sounds like a Bieber tune from years ago, but also has lyrics as if they were written by the boys from Larry Clark's Kids.

As to the reaction, Jimin did exactly what I expected him to do. He was humble, grateful and emotional and we saw that when he turned on the livestream. It's what makes him who he is and how he always behaves. As opposed to that, Jungkook wanted to be appear cool. And for what? Especially when later he said how excited he actually was but he refrained from expressing that. Where's the authenticity that he seeks so much through his livestreams? Because he released a song about sex for which he never officially performed live the explicit version, that means that the attitude should match that? I know the next day he was live and he was really nice. But that entire event is tainted in my mind with this almost expectation and confidence that he'll get that no. 1 and after he got the western validation, they decided to remember there's fans at home too and went to Inkigayo.

Which leads me to the last point that shows the obvious bias and preference that cannot simply be denied when it comes to BH. It's even more obvious because the entire BTS brand was that there are no favorites, which is not the same strategy as with other companies and groups. And now, all of a sudden, there is. It's great that BH celebrates an artist's success and they can immediately put on a show. But it doesn't justify how the first one to have the achievement was ignored. I have to admit, I was happy when Jimin got his no. 1 because I thought it only meant more promotions, more Jimin, more of everything. Just to be left utterly confused.

I've put that all in the past and I really try not to get too emotionally involved because as an individual, it has no bearing on my personal life and it doesn't have that many negative effects on my fan engagement.

I side eye Jungkook for how he presents himself in official promotions, but then he goes live and all of a sudden, it's the Jungkook that I'm used to. The guy who is a dork and funny and grateful to his fans. The one who cries hearing fan songs and who still beats himself up for hours because he messed up a song. I do criticize some of his actions and statements, but I'm not slandering him. The guy seems like a genuinely nice person and I still like him. He's still one of my biases for many reasons. But me having this reaction to content catered specifically for fans to create a more intimate connection is something BH was always good at. We only have to look at all the BTS footage out there. They've perfected the way in which personality comes first a lot of the times. It's what draws fans in (aside from music) and what keeps them interested. I'm part of that.

I'm convinced that it's most likely that a Jungkook fan or army or whoever disagrees with me, will read all this and believe I hate Jungkook. Which would be a shame because all I'm trying to do is explain how complex this situation is. It's never as black and white as solo stans would like everyone to believe and it's not a debate that can be generalized and tossed aside as solo talk by the ot7 chorus. I'm sure there are a lot of reasonable people in this fandom still who are able to have more than one thought in their head and see that only through a naunced discussion we can look at facts, see what's an exaggeration and what's false. To be able to distinguish between facts and personal opinion and also to admit that. That's not possible if we're not looking at these people as complex beings, instead of victims and villains.

#m thoughts #jimin #jungkook #bts solo careers

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temporalarts · 21 days

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Hello there, I have noticed you’re a well of knowledge when it comes to iDKHOW lore. I’m struggling to find good sources of information and I’d like to learn everything there is to know; do you know how I can do this? Anything I can read/watch? I did a surface-level lore dive a year or two back but I don’t fully remember everything and I’m seeing some stuff around Tumblr I never knew about. Call me Sally Mae because I intend on uncovering everything I can about this band’s lore ;)

hi there! sorry for the late answer, have had tumblr deleted for a while.

important information about idkhow lore first:

it is NOT required to know anything about the lore of idkhow to listen or enjoy idkhow. idkhow's lore is meant to be additional story to the band and is meant for fans to explore only if they are interested. idkhow's songs/lyrics by themselves do not have story meanings. it is hugely important to recognize that idkhow as music and idkhow as a story are separate entities.

idkhow's lore is a metaphorical story for dallon's experience within the music industry and celebrity la/hollywood culture. everything in the lore is symbolic for something in real life (for example, TELLEXX is a metaphor representation of the music industry). i implore anyone getting into the lore of idkhow to treat the lore with gently and respectfully because of that reason.

idkhow's lore has mostly been uncontinued since 2020/2021 since the release of razzmatazz. SRCHPRTY (main character of the lore) has been an abandoned account since june of 2021. this is for a multitude of reasons, including dallon not wanting to have a story line with each album, lack of label support, and lack of time for the lore. because of this, a lot of information about the lore has been lost to time and is no longer available to the public. gloom division (idkhow's most recent album) does have a lore behind it, but has not had a story run like razzmatazz had yet (it could in the future, but gloom division didn't have the time or budget to at this moment). lots of amazing archivists in the community are trying to preserve the lost content over the years (ill link one available one below), but please keep that in mind while looking into the lore.

you may see mentions of ryan seaman (also referred to as subject B) mentioned in the lore and some resources. ryan seaman was the previous drummer of idkhow and is no longer in or involved with idkhow since september 16th, 2023 (due to various reasons i wont go into here, but if you dont know look up the information to why online). idkhow is now and currently a solo project of dallon weekes, but if you see any reference of idkhow being a duo or see him in resources that is why.

that out of the way, here is all the resources I could come up with!

introductory idkhow lore carrd, made by my good friend @fadeyouout! very good start to everything in the lore!

full timeline of all events from current idkhow lore, made by me!

very good place to start with the lore is the srchprty conspiracy video. introductory video to srchprty's research, basic backstory for srchprty, and the main 3 questions in the story.

ALL srchrpty diaries: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6! watch these chronologically as they build off one another.

if you haven't already, look through srchprty's twitter and instagram accounts. look through tweet replies/instagram comments. srchprty regularly interacted with fans while he was active and a lot of story building with TELLEXX comes from those interactions.

physical copy only extras in razzmatazz, lyrics for indoctrination and tomorrow people. razzmatazz physical versions came with two exclusive spoken word tracks, indoctrination and tomorrow people, both directly from TELLEXX.

TELLEXX documents, found in physical copy only extras in razzmatazz lyric book. includes a internal TELLEXX letter and volunteer subject consent forms.

archive of all of idkhow's instagram posts (2017-2022) made by abstracttheart on twitter. most of idkhow posts on instagram has been deleted over the years, so this is a great resource to see those deleted posts. you can most lore related posts from 2020-2021.

the mysterious world of i dont know how but they found me, dork magazine interview with dallon on the razzmatazz lore and its metaphorical meanings to him. VERY important read in my own opinion!

instagram highlights from idkhowindo: part 1, 2, 2.5, 3. their account has since been abandoned, but the archived stories are from the time of srchprty's activity and has a lot of good information in them.

questions i have answered about some idkhow lore topics in detail: what happened to srchprty, what is TELLEXX, and who is subject a. if you have any questions about the lore that you need answers to feel free to shoot me an ask in my inbox! idkhow lore is my special interest and i love answering any questions new fans have.

idkhow.com from 2020-2022 (recommend scrolling through archives of the website from wayback machine from august 2020-december 2020). the idkhow.com website during razzmatazz lore was ran by srchprty and was being recovered during the razzmatazz lore after a previous shutdown by TELLEXX in 1996.

TELLEXX stress evaluation test: may see this referenced around different lore resources, this is the official website for the test. as well as a article from the coder on how the website works to give results which is a very interesting read.

qwerty translator: TELLEXX/srchprty uses a code called QWERTY code throughout the lore, which is a letter substitution code substituting the alphabet for the QWERTY keyboard (ex: A=Q, B=W, etc). very helpful for decoding those codes!

most "niche" idkhow lore information comes from video/text interviews with dallon from 2020/2021! hard to find every single interview he does talk about the lore, but any dive into interviews from 2020 and you can find moments where he talks about razzmatazz lore. some instagram interviews from 2020 have been archived on idkhows youtube for watch.

indie pop, deep lore, and fan theories: how idkhow give there fans more than just music, tone deaf article on lore

i will update whenever i can with whatever i can find, but that is all the available resources for the lore of idkhow currently. if you (or anyone) have any questions about specific things within the lore, feel free to shoot me a question in my inbox and i will try my best to answer! enjoy!

#idkhow #idkhow lore #srchprty #tellexx

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wisecrackingeric-2 · 1 year

Text

Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy

Summary: Set in an AU where Luis doesn’t die in RE4 and instead joins Leon in his missions, the two of them are sent on a mission to Spain, where they need to travel on horseback. Only problem? Leon doesn’t know how to ride horses. But Luis does, and he’s more than happy to teach him how.

Aka; Leon can’t ride horses so Luis teaches him how, and gay panic ensues. Some cute domestic dialog and humour at the end, too. Already established relationship.

Word Count: 10,000

Trigger Warnings: Discussions of Religious Trauma & Childhood Trauma, Implied Sexual Content (Nothing explicit, I try to keep it as mild as possible)

A/N: “Leon praisekink who”- my partner reading this

This entire fic is basically an Autism infodump about my special interest in horses LMAO. From the moment I saw Luis I thought to myself “oh yeah. That man was a horse boy”

Also quick warning for mentions of religious trauma and just general childhood trauma!! But this fic is 95% just silly flirting and fluffy romance with Leon being a flustered idiot. Sexual content is only ever implied

Also also sincerest apologies for any poor Spanish, I literally used Google for all of this CHBSHDNSXJ

((This can also be read as a sequel to my fic ‘I Don’t Care, I Love You’ https://archiveofourown.org/works/47597077 or as a stand-alone!!))

—

“ What?! Hunnigan, can’t you drop us off in, like, a helicopter or something??”

Government agent Leon S. Kennedy leaned over Hunnigans desk in shock and annoyance, while Ingrid just sifted through her papers silently, not even looking up to acknowledge Leon's overreaction.

Hunnigan had just unceremoniously given Leon his latest government-mandated mission: a trip to the middle-of-nowhere Spanish countryside, where even further beyond that lay an old, rundown farm. Apparently it was quite popular for locals to spread rumors and campfire stories about the place. But to the government and Leon’s dismay, it was also suspected to be housed to an underground group of rogue Spanish scientists; who were (again, heavily suspected- which to Leon meant basically confirmed) to be using its empty status as a testing chamber for the hundredth new strain of T-Virus. Even more delightful, people in the closest village were reported to be rapidly going missing and were last seen near the farmhouse. How fun.

“Leon, I think you’ll live” Hunnigan finally spoke, rolling her eyes. “It’s only a two-and-a-half day walk from the village you’ll be dropped off at”

“ Exactly, Ingrid! A two day walk!!” Leon said, throwing his arms around dramatically. “Can’t you give us even a Jeep?”

“Leon, a helicopter would be painfully obvious. And there’s no roads to the farm, it’s just empty fields”

Leon huffed, folding his arms and giving Ingrid a glare. Before he could speak up to complain more, though, she’d already shoved a pair of plane tickets and a stack of government documents against his chest. “You and Luis Sera will be leaving in three days. If you’re that worried about your poor old legs, you can have some extra cash to rent a couple of horses”

From behind Leon, a woman spoke up;

“ Oooooooooo , is Mr. Kennedy going on a mission with his boooyfrieeend??” Claire teased in a sing-song voice, mimicking the cadence of a schoolgirl. Leon just groaned and grumbled back a “shut up, Claire”, which caused her to giggle.

After saving Luis from a stab to the back- literally - he’d returned back to America from Spain as a wanted criminal for his involvement with Umbrella. But with enough bargaining (and near begging) from Leon, the president himself was kind enough to pardon Luis. Of coarse, he still had to face consequences; and was begrudgingly forced to work as an agent for the government. He agreed, but on one condition: He’d work with Leon on every mission.

At the time of finding out, Leon couldn’t figure out for the life of him why Luis would want to stay with him. It made his heart flutter and his face flush at the mere thought of it. But after confessing his love for Luis in an underground basement of a mansion (a long story for another day), the two of them became even more inseparable than before.

Luis always had a hand on Leon, and vice versa. There was never a moment where they weren’t together. Which did turn some heads at the office. And Claire obviously wasn’t an idiot.

“ Loo-ees and lee-oon sitting in a tree, k-i-s-“ Claire was rudely cut off when Leon threw his empty coffee cup at her lazily, which she caught in one hand without even having to look.

And so, three days later, Luis and Leon dragged their pre-prepared exhausted bodies back to Spain over a 13-hour flight. Which Leon felt was a bit cruel, but Luis was quick to point out ‘ we’re going back to where we met, mi amor! ’, of coarse that wasn’t exactly true, but he appreciated the sentiment nonetheless.

Leon hated airports. But he hated them a little less with Luis by his side, consistently holding his hand and giving him small kisses on the cheek whenever he could. And getting stopped by the TSA for all his rings on his fingers. But that was besides the point.

By the time they’d landed in Spain, an escort car was awaiting the two of them- driving a few hours out of the city into the countryside gave the two men time to take a quick nap before they’d inevitably be thrown into another life-or-death situation. Luis took the opportunity to rest his head on Leon’s shoulder.

To both of their surprise, they weren’t dumped in the abandoned, half-dead wasteland of a village they were expecting: instead, Leon and Luis found themselves walking through probably the most picturesque, quaint little town they’d ever been in. It was situated on a small, rolling valley, with cobbled staircases and ramps dotted everywhere with clear roads and signs mapping out significant locations in the village. Each house felt unique; bright and colorful, most were painted a soft pastel color or, kept their natural brick and stone color- most houses had charming little chimneys and square windows, usually accompanied by some kind of vine or floral arrangement wrapping around the windowsill or creeping up the walls.

Convenience stores and bakeries were commonplace, and the whole place seemed to smell like vanilla and smoke.

Luis had his fingers interlocked with Leons’ as they strolled around the village, staring in awe at the quaint beauty of it all like starstruck tourists. They definitely looked the part at least, with comically oversized backpacks on filled with weaponry and supplies. The townspeople didn't have to know that, though. It was a far, far cry from the run-down village the two of them had first met in.

“Cariño, are we in a rush?” Luis asked, his eyes scanning over the appealing bakeries. “If not, we could perhaps stop and get some Ensaïmadas to eat? My treat” he winked.

As much as Leon would love nothing more than to nod and rush his partner over to the closest bakery to sit down to eat all afternoon with him, the sun was already high in the sky and realistically, he knew that were most likely on a timer. What with peoples lives possibly on the line and all. It took all of Leon’s mental strength to shake his head, “We probably are, unfortunately.” Noticing the small, tired look of disappointment on Luis’ face, Leon leaned over to give him an apologetic peck on the cheek. “I’ll make it up to you when we get home, promise”

Luis just playfully scoffed and rolled his eyes, “What? With those cheap American bakeries? Next time we’re in Spain, I’ll treat you to some real caro español la cena, bonito”

Thirty odd minutes later, Leon found himself at the bottom of the village valley leaning against a wooden fence-post, his head lulled to the side as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the afternoon sun.

Hunnigan was right, the fence backed into what felt like a never-ending sea of long, grassy fieldlands; the overgrown golden grass swayed gently in the wind, stretching on for miles onto the horizon. Leon could just barely make out some large windmills in the distance.

Luis had told Leon to wait at the gate that was supposedly their starting point for making their way to the abandoned farmhouse, telling Leon, quote; ‘ stay right there Guapo, I’ll go grab something that’ll make our trip a lot more bearable’

Leon hoped it wasn’t bakery food. As good as it sounded right about now, he didn't wanna start hiking through long grass with a stomach full of sugar.

A figure walking down the cobblestone ramps caught his attention- he couldn’t make out the details of the man with the sun in his eyes, but he could see they were leading along two horses at the shoulders, and could hear the iconic sound of their hooves clip-. Leon realized he was coming towards him, and as soon as he covered his eyes with his hands to block out the sunlight, he realized it was Luis; smiling at him as he held up the reigns to show Leon clearer.

“Oi! Yankee! Look who I found!” Luis’ grin was wide as he stopped the horses in front of him, looking very proud of himself.

Leon couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief wash over him; clearly Hunnigan had been merciful enough to give them some spare cash to rent some horses.

The one on the left that Luis was handing Leon was a dark bay, almost back color. It’s mane was short and shaggy, and despite its rounded young-looking face it was actually pretty big. The horse on the right was similar in stature, but was an off-white color, and had dark gray speckles splattered along its coat. Both horses were fully tacked up in possibly the most detailed tack Leon had ever seen. Not that he’d seen much horse tack in his life, to be fair, or paid much attention to them.

“…Luis, where did you find horses ?” Leon asked, a tiny bit of him expecting Luis to answer with an ‘I stole them’.

“I saw a small ranch on our way in!” He grinned, looking very proud of himself. “Hunnigan gave me some extra cash, so I asked the lady at the counter very nicely for the finest corcel they had”

Leon shot him a glare, “you flirted with the ranch worker?”

Luis gave him a fake gasp in response “what, me? Flirting? estoy dolido!” Leon thought for a moment he was being serious, but when he turned to see Luis fighting back his giggles, he knew his partner was truly being sarcastic. That lifted a little bit of the imaginary pressure off of his chest.

Leon extended a very wary hand to the horses nose- feeling a bit awkward, he wasn’t sure if he was supposed to treat it like meeting a new dog or not. He hadn't exactly been around many horses in his life. Luis must’ve picked up on it, too.

“Don’t be scared cariño, he doesn’t bite” he teased, clearly already well-acquainted with his own steed as its giant head was resting against Luis’ shoulder, looking as if it was about to fall asleep with him scratching its forehead. Leon could feel the warm breath of his horse on his palm as it gave him a curious look. Was that a curious look? Horses didn't really have much… expression to them. But Leon took it not biting his hand off as a sign to go ahead and give its nose a wary scratch.

“Yours’ name is Oso, and mines Flicka” Luis handed Leon the reigns, adjusting his own before pulling out the stirrups from under the flaps.

“Are your stirrups long enough?”

Leon blinked at him, giving him a classic deer-in-headlights look. While Luis was expertly adjusting straps and pieces of leather here and there, Leon just stood there like an idiot; he’s had absolutely zero experience with horses, and no clue how to even ride a horse. Let alone ‘check the stirrups’ to see if they were ‘long enough’.

When Luis didn't hear an answer, he turned around and gave Leon a knowing smile, his hands on his hips as he tilted his head to the side a little.

“You don’t know how to check, do you, cariño?”

He didn't know why, but Leon found himself stammering over his words the second he was put on the spot- if it was anyone else, he would’ve snapped back a witty remark in seconds. But Luis had some kind of superpower to turn his brain to mush and make his face beat up the second he held any sort of power over Leon.

To make matters worse, Luis made a little ‘ tut tut tut’ clicking noise with his tongue, shaking his head, he moved over to Leon’s side, their shoulders pressed against one another’s. Leon suddenly felt very exposed beside him, like they were meeting for the first time again. As if they haven’t literally spent hours at a time cuddled up to one another naked under the sheets. That was just the charm of Luis Sera, he supposed.

“Here,” Luis pulled out the stirrup from under the horses saddle, his voice somewhat low and husky as he murmured into Leon’s ear; clearly enjoying this.

“Just pull them tight and measure them against your arm, they should be the same length”

Luis ran a hand down Leon’s forearm, stretching it out to check if it matched the length of the stirrups. Leon wasn’t sure if he was imagining it, or if Luis was being extra slow and careful with caressing his arm. He silently thanked a god he doesn’t believe in when Luis stepped back to help pull down the stirrups on the other side.

“Need a hand up?” Luis teased, already gathering the reigns on his own horse.

“N-no, thanks,” Leon said, stammering over his own words. The last thing he needed right now was a hand on his knee. Or any more ‘help’ from Luis, for that matter.

‘ Goddamn you and your stupid pretty face, Luis’

Shrugging, the Spaniard was quick to slip a foot in the stirrups and swing his legs over, and Leon couldn’t help but note to himself how naturally Luis took to being on a horse. ‘ Maybe he’s done this before? ’ He thought to himself, eyeing up the way he positioned himself in the saddle with his legs bent expertly on the horses side. He looked far too comfortable to have only done this once or twice, at least to Leon. Who, very ungraciously, grabbed into the front of the saddle and hauled himself up the horse; hearing it let out a grunt of annoyance as he slid his over each side as gently as he could. Leon tried to copy the way Luis held onto his reigns; but he ended up just balling them up in a fist. Which surely wasn’t the correct way to hold them. Also, Was he sitting too far back? Leon didn't feel quite comfortable in the saddle, but he also didn't want to shuffle forward and bother Oso more.

And plus, If Luis actually was more knowledgeable with horses than he was letting on, Leon didn't want to look stupid in front of him.

“You ready to go, Yankee?” Luis called out from just ahead of him, already walking forward. But before Leon could respond, Luis turned around and gave him a half-knowing smile.

“…muñeco, why do you look nervous?”

“I’m not nervous” Leon retorted back, suddenly becoming aware of the way his face was beating up. His- probably inaccurate- grip on the reigns tightened. He turned away from Luis’ eye context, but the other man just turned his horse to walk closer beside him. Luis leaned ever so slightly over his horses side, just enough to break into Leon’s personal space. He looked up at him through his eyelashes,

“Don’t lie to me, muñeco”

“I’m not”

Leon totally was.

He wanted to turn away and cover his face with his hands so so badly, but neither of them wanted to be the first to break eye contact. Even if it meant Leon had to endure his face feeling like it was on fire.

Luis’ eyes drifted up and down Leon’s body; the blonde could almost see the gears turning in that pretty head of his as he examined him, humming quietly to break the awkward silence.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Luis met his lovers eyes again, giving him that crooked smirk that broke Leon every time without fail.

“You don’t know how to ride, do you, cariño?”

Ah, there it was. Luis caught him red-handed. Leon had never even been on a horse before, and this bastard could tell. His silence was enough confirmation for Luis to give him a lop-sided smirk. Leon could hear him whisper something along the lines of ‘ que harias sin mí?’ Under his breath, before he slipped off of his horse and made his way around to Leon’s side, all the while the blonde tried (and failed) to collect his scattered brain and save at least some of his dignity

“W-wait you don’t have to get off-“

“But how else am I gonna show you how to ride?”

Luis gave him an ‘innocent’ look up at him, and something about seeing the handsome man below him, staring up at him through his long fringe made Leon’s whole body heat up and tense. He had to suck in a breath when, even worse, Luis slipped his hands up his calf and thigh; Leon wanted to just die right then and there. He wanted to bury himself in a hole and never have to talk to anyone ever again. He just prayed that Luis didn't notice his (probably inappropriate) reaction.

“Can’t believe Hunnigan sent you out here without knowing how to even ride a horse” Luis gave an exaggerated sigh.

“Can you feel the horses shoulder? You should have your legs sitting just behind there”

All Leon can do is nod like an idiot, wanting so badly to pull his leg away from Luis’ hand, which was very gradually sliding further up as he positioned it behind the horses’ shoulder. But at the same time, Leon was thoroughly disappointed when Luis inevitably took his hand off of his thigh to cross his arms and inspect his posture.

“Now this is gonna feel really weird, but you should only have just the toes of your shoes in the stirrups. Then put as much weight in your heels as you can”

Oh yeah. Luis was actually teaching him how to sit properly. Leon forgot about that. As he was ordered to, Leon moved his foot so just his toes were sitting in the stirrups and he put as much

pressure down on his heels as he could; Luis was right, it did feel odd. He wanted to instinctively slip the rest of his foot back in and flatten it out.

“Point your heels down even more”

Leon did as he was told

“Even more”

“I feel like you’re just messing with me now”

Luis let out a loud, genuine laugh, clearly amused by Leons’ characteristic grumbling. His laugh was so, painfully contagious, Leon had a hard time biting down his own smile.

“I told you it was gonna feel weird!”

“But this just feels like my foots gonna fall out,” Leon complained in response, earning a little tut-tut from Luis.

“confía en mi, bonita, you don’t want a broken heel from this trip, I don’t think that’ll help our odds in the field”

Leon just had to trust that Luis knew what he was doing as he pointed his heels down even further, earning a satisfied nod from Luis.

“Good boy”

Oooooooohhhhhh there it was again. Leon was seriously considering jumping off the horse head-first with his badly his heart started hammering in his chest. He didn't even wanna acknowledge his jeans at this point.

“Now I’m gonna need your hands, muñeco,” Leon dutifully nodded as Luis leaned over to clasp his hands over his partners knuckles’. Leon just prayed he couldn’t feel his hands shaking- the blonde felt a little silly and embarrassed, in all honestly. They’ve held hands a million-and-one times before, why was now suddenly any different??

Giving a little hum of approval, Luis turned Leons’ wrists over so his thumbs were facing the sky. “Have your thumb resting on top of the reigns, and the rest of your fingers around it. Imagine you’re holding a bottle,” he instructed, and Leon moved to rest his hands like he was giving somebody a thumbs-up.

“Like this?”

“Sí,” Luis nodded, before sliding his hands up Leon’s forearms. Leon internally cursed himself for jolting a little in his seat.

“Remember amor, these are your steering wheels; don’t let go of them to hold onto the mane or the saddle,” with his free hand, Luis demonstrated fisting up a bit of the mane in his hand before letting go to pat the pommel of the saddle. Leon did his very best to ignore how close his hand was to his crotch.

“Trust me, if your horse spooks and you go flying, your saddle isn’t gonna do much to save you. You’ll just slip off”

“Gee, thanks for the reassurance” Leon grumbled back, finally gaining enough courage to snap back a witty response. At least he hoped it sounded confident.

“I’m just being honest” Luis laughed, giving his thigh a little pat. “Now, your reigns look short enough, but if for whatever reason you need them shorter, just slide your hands down the leather and adjust them however you want, muy bien? You should always be able to feel at least a little bit of tension in the reigns”

Leon nodded, tugging his reigns ever so slightly, noting that his horse didn't seem to mind; it’s ears were laid back, looking relaxed, if not a little sleepy.

“Now, give Oso a little squeeze with your heels”

A little confused, Leon did as he was told, and was surprised to find that Oso started walking forward; if not very, very slowly. He felt almost sleepy in his movements, and Leon let out a little noise of surprise. He was far too focused on the feeling of Luis’ hands on his legs to remember that, oh yeah, he was meant to be riding the horse. And it was gonna move. Obviously.

Luis began to walk alongside him, not that it was very difficult to keep up with his sleepy horse. “See why I asked you to put your heels down now, amor?”

“Y-yeah,” Leon stammered, shifting in his seat to get comfortable. He wasn’t quite used to the feeling of the horse moving underneath him yet. “I didn't think that’s how you made a horse, uh, go”

“I still can’t believe Hunnigan sent you out here with zero knowledge on how to ride a horse” Luis shook his head, kicking rocks as he continued to walk alongside Leon, who gave his horse another squeeze with his heels to at least speed it up a little. “Yeah, well, it’s not like they cover horseback-riding in military training”

“Maybe they should,” Luis have gave a playful wink,

“But then that’d mean you wouldn’t have me as your teacher”

“How dreadful” Leon scoffed. But he was right, he much preferred getting taught by Luis than some uptight military officer.

“Now, if you wanna get your horse to move to either side, just open your arms out, like you’re opening a door for somebody”

Sure enough, when Leon did as he was told, the horse moved to the right; almost as if it was following his hand instinctively. He couldn’t help but smile at his success a little, and turned his horse to the left to show off a little circle for Luis, which earned him a congratulatory clap.

“Sí!! You’re a natural, Leon!”

“T-Thanks,” Leon smiled to himself, swinging his legs a little like he was a kid again. He liked being praised by Luis, it felt a lot better than any kind of begrudging compliment given by the military officers back home.

“Now, if you wanna stop, just puuuull back your reigns close to your chest, and give them a little squeeze. If Oso doesn’t stop on que, just shorten your reigns up”

Luckily for Leon, Oso stopped right on que, directly in front of Luis, who was already giving the big horse a congratulatory scratch on the forehead.

“And those are your basics!”

“Those were just the basics!? ” Leon groaned dramatically.

“Don’t complain, bonito, we’ll be here all day if you do”

Luis was right, as much as he was uh…. Enjoying the other man’s ‘lesson’, they were on a tight schedule. The sun was already hanging high in the sky, and if they wanted to set up camp at the halfway point, they’d have to leave sooner or later

“Speaking of, we’re probably not gonna get anywhere by just walking” Luis pointed out, almost reading Leon’s mind. He was right, as grateful as Leon was to not have to walk the whole way, these horses walking speeds weren’t any better than his own legs. In fact, he reckoned he could probably walk faster than both Oso and Flicka combined. They seemed very…. Sleepy

“I’ll try to be quick, but ah.. I think you know better than anyone I like to take my time” Luis batted his eyelashes with a faux innocence, shrugging his shoulders and lifting his hand up to place it under his chin, clearly trying to get a reaction out of Kennedy. No shot. Leon was ready to stay stoic in the face of his flirting, even if he could feel his stomach churn a little.

“J-j-just get in with it then.”

‘ Very smooth, Leon’

“Fine, but you’re no fun” Luis fake-pouted. “I’ll get you to start with a walk, but while you’re at it, try standing up in your stirrups and balance. And don’t hold onto the mane or the saddle, remember”

Weird request, Leon thought to himself, but he did so anyways. It was weird, usually he prided himself in being actually relatively balanced for his size, but the movement underneath him made Leon wanted to instinctively reach his hands down and lean on the horses neck for support. But he didn't, and instead kept his eyes in between Oso’s ears, focusing entirely on continuing to move forward or turning in a half-circle every so often. Suddenly the way his feet were positioned in the stirrups made a whole lot more sense; his heels kept his legs a lot more balanced than if he had his whole foot in.

“Now, this part I can’t really… show you, you’ve just gotta feel it”

“ Great,” Leon mumbled under his breath, hoping Luis didn't hear.

“Can you feel your horses gait? It should be a one-two-one-two pattern”

It took him a second of focusing to try and decipher what Luis meant, but he figured out he was probably talking about the horses stride. Sure enough, when he counted the moment each hoof hit and lifted off the ground, he could feel that signature ‘ one-two-one-two ’ stride Luis was talking about. It reminded him a bit of jogging, except obviously, double the legs. He listened out for the clip-clop-clip-clop sound of the hooves, it was a much better indicator than trying to figure out the horses’ stride by pure instinct.

“Yeah, I think I’ve got it!” Leon shouted out, turning around again in another half-circle.

Luis smiled, “great! Now try sitting and standing up and down to the beat”

That was infinitely trickier than just standing up in the stirrups. Each time he sat back down, Leon found himself struggling even more to get up without getting unbalanced- and then he wanted to hold onto the horses mane for support once he was actually standing, and by the time Leon would finally balance himself up, the stride had already switched and he had to sit back down again. Not to mention, it was getting increasingly difficult to focus on holding the reigns correctly, or keeping his legs behind the shoulders. And he was only in a walk still.

“Need a hand?” Luis offered out his hand to Leon, walking alongside the horse as the blonde struggled to get the trick right.

“Would that be cheating?”

“Not if it’s helping”

Leon thought for a couple seconds before taking Luis’ hand; and something about the way he smiled up at him, walking underneath Leon’s usual point of view…

It made him feel….

Interesting.

Maybe he wanted to see Luis underneath him more. Maybe he just wanted Luis to praise him like this more often. Maybe this was just a sign Leon needed to get laid more often. Who knows.

But one things for certain is that Leon was not going to forget this image anytime soon. He wished he had a camera, or some way to take a picture of Luis; he looked perfect to Leon, his hair in loose curls with that stupid toothy grin on his face Leon loved so much. He made a mental note to buy a new camera for next time they traveled.

“Ready to try trotting?”

All Leon nodded, not daring to speak as he turned all of his once broken focus back to the task at hand, taking this ‘lesson’ very seriously.

“Just give him another squeeze with your heels and he’ll be off. Just sit up and down, you’ll be fine. I’ve got your hand if you need me, cariño”

With just a little bit of contact in his heels, Oso was off. Suddenly that ‘ one-two-one-two’ pattern became a lot more exaggerated as the horse rolled forward, picking up its legs and the pace in the process. Leon felt like he was being thrown up-and-down, struggling quite a bit to not bounce around in his saddle. It was a lot easier to stand up and sit back down like this, though, now that he had a clearer moment to sit back down and back up again. Leon almost copied the horses motions with his own, sitting up when the horse moved up, and sitting back down when the horse moved down. At least that’s how it felt.

Luis was jogging alongside him now, hand barely on his knuckles as he gave a laugh of approval, whipping his long hair out of his eyes. “¡sí Sí! lo estás haciendo increíble amor!” He shouted over the rising wind. “¡sigue adelante, lo estás haciendo genial!”

Leon couldn’t help but smile, a wave of confidence rushing through him at Luis’ praise. He tried his best to keep looking forward at the imaginary road in front of him, but he couldn’t help but steal a look from Luis everytime he turned an imaginary corner. God he wanted to lean over and kiss that man so badly.

“Do you think you can go any faster?”

“ Faster?!” Leon snorted, shortening up his reigns a bit in preparation.

“I can try!”

“Good enough for me!”

Leon gave his horse a very nervous squeeze again, and he was off; the trot became bouncier and harder to sit, but Leon was actually doing it. He turned in a large circle, just to impress Luis, who had since fallen behind and was getting ready to mount his own horse.

Leon slowed down when he noticed Luis waving him over, shouting something over the now almost whipping wind, eventually coming back to a walk to meet him at the gate again, his heart thrumming with adrenaline. He noticed Luis was turned around, grabbing something out of his backpack on the grass.

“I can’t believe I forgot about this until now, but look what the lady at the stables gave me for free!”

Leon’s jaw dropped in a look of comedically disappointed shock when Luis pulled out a cowboy hat from his backpack, grinning like a madman

Of coarse Luis got a goddamn cowboy hat for free.

“Luis you got a cowboy hat?!”

“Whaaat you don’t like it?” He cuddled the hat closer to his chest, almost looking a little disappointed if it wasn’t for big smile on his face

“I despise it” Leon was lying. He actually loved it, it was just so corny and so very Luis that he wouldn’t let the Spaniard get away with it. It was actually a very beautiful hat, with encrusted diamonds on either side, accompanying the dark mahogany-coloured stains, Leon was actually a little jealous of the hat. Just a little.

“You should go back to that poor lady and give it back, it clearly doesn’t suit you” Leon bantered playfully

“ Doesn’t suit me? ¡Díos Mío! You hurt me!” Leon grabbed his heart in a dramatic show of pain, leaning his head back to shake the hair out of his eyes for extra emphasis. He slipped the cowboy hat on, too, for good measure.

“I can think of a lot more ways to hurt you”

Leon….

Did not mean for that to come out sounding sexual.

And of coarse, that meant Luis caught onto it.

“ Oh?” He raises an eyebrow, walking closer to Leon’s side.

“Maybe you’d like to see me with it on in a different position?”

Luis’ hand left his chest to sneak up Leon’s thigh, just ghosting the fabric of his jeans ever so slightly.

Leon completely forgot how to breathe in that moment. Or speak, for that matter. All he could do was stare right back into Luis’ gray eyes, which were staring right up at him through his eyelashes, underneath the wide brim of his hat, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

“Well mí amor… you know what they say about saving horses.”

Leon snapped out his teenage-boy brain for a moment to be completely confused. Huh??

“What… what do people say about saving horses??”

Luis bit his lip, smiling, giving the brim of his hat a condescending flick.

“Well, to save a horse…”

Before Leon knew what was happening, Luis had leaned up on his toes to snake a hand around the back of Leon’s neck, pulling him down closer to Luis’ height, and closed the gap between them to indulge himself in a kiss.

Leon didn't need to think twice about returning the kiss, immediately taking his hands off the reigns to slip his fingers into Luis’ long dark locks; grasping at them to bring his lover closer, tilting his head to the side so he had better access to his mouth. Luis returned the favor, squeezing a little at the short hair on the back of his neck he had his hand around. Leon sighed into it the kiss, feeling Luis’ eyelashes flutter against the skin of his cheek as Leon inhaled the smell of old leather and cigarettes. Luis always tasted like tobacco. Two years ago, he would’ve cringed at the idea of kissing somebody who smoked. Now he kisses Luis like the man was his only lifeline.

Unfortunately, though; Luis inevitably pulled back from the kiss, earning a little whine from Leon he didn't mean to slip out.

“…You ride a cowboy”

Ooooooooohh . That made a lot more sense.

Still, though, it caught Leon off-guard regardless. He stumbled over his words, trying to scold, thank and tease Luis all at the same time while his brain turned into mush trying to process all

The words at once. The imagery of “ riding a cowboy ” was unwantedly stuck in his brain now. Not that he minded very much.

Maybe he would like to see Luis with the cowboy hat on more often.

When all that came out were little squeaks of noise, Luis gave him a heart-melting smile, before taking off the cowboy hat to set it atop of Leon’s head; taking the time to brush his blonde fringe out of his eyes.

“You look very gorgeous with that hat on, muñeco”

Leon didn't bother to hide his blush this time, readjusting his hat to sit more comfortably, slightly tilted down. “You think so?”

“I know so”

The two men just sat there, staring up and down at each other for what felt like an eternity; neither one wanting to break eye contact, lest they let go of the moment they shared together.

But… they also had to get moving sooner or later. And Luis took the fall and gave a little awkward cough, turning around to do the walk of shame back to his own horse; it was Leons’ turn to giggle now, watching his lover swing his legs over the white mare and adjust himself in the saddle.

“You alright there, Don Quixote?” Leon called out, the wind suddenly picking up again as he had to raise his voice. This got Luis’ attention clearly, as shot back a very genuine smile at the tiny reference. He always loved it when Leon made little references here and there to the novel he knew off by heart. And was especially fond of when he called him ‘Don Quixote’

“¡Sí, Mí amor!” Luis yelled back over the wind, already beginning to trot past the gate and into the never-ending sea of golden grass.

“Let us save the Princess Dulcinea!”

“Lead the way” Leon smiled, following Luis past the gate- feeling a little bit like they’d just crossed the point of no return, chasing the sunset to whatever perilous dangers they had to face next. For a few moments, Leon could forget about the fact that they were about to face a group of possibly very dangerous scientists, with god knows what kind of supernatural virus bioweapons at their disposal.

For a few moments, Leon could just enjoy the way Luis’ hair blew in the wind, tangling and encasing his handsome face as the pair of them trotted through the long, yellowed grass. Cold wind nipping at their ears and noses as the sounds of their horses’ hooves thumped against the soil, leaving behind a trail of flattened grass in their wake.

Maybe an hour or so had passed before the wind finally decided to die down. The quaint Spanish town behind them growing smaller and smaller, Leon felt the familiar pull of anxiety grip his chest. He was very used to the feeling by now, watching as his only escape back to normalcy fall away into the horizon line. He shook his head, cowboy hat still somehow surviving the wind. It was hard to look forward; the grass surrounding them was almost reflective against the sun, almost glowing a golden hue as it stretched on for miles- it literally looked like an ocean, with the way every blade swayed in motion against any small breeze whatsoever. When a particularly strong gust would come through, it would send a ripple through the grass- almost looking like waves as it passes by the horses legs. It was long. Too; easily tickling Leon’s calf’s.

Oso and Flicka kept an even trotting pace- never far behind one or the other, if not always by the same side. Which Leon was grateful for, it meant he could always be almost shoulder-to-shoulder with Luis; he could spend the time getting into a rhythmic trot staring at his lovers pretty features- his hair, his nose, his skin- as Luis’ eyes scanned the horizon nonchalantly, constantly with a relaxed smile on his face. The sound of the horses hoofbeats synchronizing would be enough to lull Leon to sleep, if he weren’t in the situation he was in. He could really go for a nap right about now. His legs were growing tired from having to stand and sit repeatedly, and the beating afternoon sun was making him sleepy and warm.

Another twenty odd minutes pass, and as precisely according to plans the two men pass by their first windmill; it’s clearly old, wood tattered and worn, creaking with every turn. Luis looked absolutely delighted to see the windmills, though; pointing to them excitedly like a little kid, turning back to Leon as if to confirm he was seeing them, too.

“¡mirar! Windmills!!” He smiled from ear-to-ear

“It’s just like in Don Quixote!”

Leon couldn’t help but smile back at his enthusiasm. “Do you think our horses match, too?”

“Alas, no, Don Quixote had a mule as his steed,” Luis answered back, eyeing up the second windmill they passed. “He thought it was a white stallion. And Sancho had a little pony, if I remember correctly”

“Your horse is a bit of a white stallion, though”

“ Hah!” Luis leaned down to give his horse a big pat on the neck, earning a satisfied snort from Flicka. Leon followed suit, ruffling up his horses’ mane a little.

“These windmills look a lot like the ones back at my old village, though,” Luis changed the subject as they passed under the shadow of the third windmill.

“They were old, too. I don’t think anyone took very good care of them”

Leon was happy to start talking again; the hour of silence was slowly getting to him. Plus, he never turned down the opportunity to learn about Luis’ childhood. Neither of them had…. An ideal upbringing. That much was obvious. But where Leon became closed off and sheltered, Luis seemed to bloom the second he was out in the real world.

“Slightly off-topic, but how do you know so much about horses…?” Leon inquired, careful with his wording when it came to anything about Luis’ past.

“Did your Grandfather own some, or…?”

“Sí, we had some horses grazing on the property our little cottage was in,” Luis started. Leon remembered that cottage; tattered and burnt down, he remembered finding various bits and pieces of Luis’ past in the rubble. At the time, he didn't think to carry any of it back with him. But now he wished he did.

“In fact, the one my Grandfather used to let me ride looked a whole lot like Flicka,” Luis absentmindedly patted his horses neck again, staring out at the horizon, seemingly lost in thought as he didn't even acknowledge the fourth windmill.

“There were plenty of horses around, though, they were our only transport around the village, so it was kind of impossible for me to not know how to ride, y’know?”

“You guys rode horses around?? What, you didn't have cars or anything?” Leon snorted, trying to sound lighthearted. “Did you grow up in a cult or something?”

“Actually amor, yea, I did”

Oops.

Leon forgot about that. He internally cursed himself every swear under the sun as he should not have forgotten that Luis Did in fact grow up in a real-life cult goddamnit!!!! Leon tried to save himself, his mind reeling with every apology imaginable

“I- I- I- I-I’m s-so sorry-“

“Nono you’re fine cariño!!” Luis assured him with a playful laugh, clearly picking up on the fact that Leon just thought he’d just completely fucked up their relationship permanently “you didint say anything wrong!”

“I feel like I should’ve remembered that, though…” he mumbled under his breath, hoping Luis didn't hear him.

“It’s weird, I don’t mind talking about… that with you as much as I thought I would,” Luis began slowly, also seeming to be careful with his wording.

“I think maybe it’s… because you get me, y’know?”

Leon knew. He didint need to answer with anything, he just knew.

He hadn’t talked about it very deeply witn Luis, but he’d opened up about his traumatic childhood a little in the past. A good portion of it was repressed, though; and he wondered if it was the same for Luis. He couldn’t help but notice some definite religious trauma underneath his suave persona- the way he talked about his experiences with the Spanish church like it was a horrible memory was ever familiar to Leon. But he also noticed Luis hadn’t been entirely shut off from his faith like Leon had; throwing up the Sign of the cross everytime they charged into battle, or the cross chain necklace he hung around his neck- Leon highly doubted he was still a religious man, but old habits die hard.

“My village felt so isolated from the rest of the world when I was a child. I never knew life could look so..”

“Beautiful?”

“..Yeah,” Luis turned his attention back to Leon, breaking away from his gaze over the horizon. For a split second, Leon couldn’t help but wonder if Luis was talking about him.

“I still feel fond about the little things from when I was little, though. I remember my Grandfather used to show me how to fish on weekends, and he used to take me horse-and-carriage riding up to the church on Sundays.”

Leon let him talk, enjoying the way a familiar smile crept up on his face.

“Sometimes he’d let me use his old TV, and I’d just spend hours watching those Vienna Lipizzaners, hell, I used to imagine myself being one of the riders, all dressed up like Don Quixote riding off into the sunset to save his Dulcinea”

Leon laughed at the image of a baby Luis, laying down in front of a rickety old TV like he was watching cartoons after school.

“You were a ‘Horse Boy’?” Leon teased him. “That must’ve been hilarious ”

“Sí,” Luis giggles along, breaking out of his own memories for a moment.

“But I grew up as a girl, so it was a lot less awkward”

“Oh yeah, uh, me too” Leon corrected himself. It weird to think that at some point in his life, Luis presented as a girl; he couldn’t even begin to imagine the beautiful man riding the horse beside him to look any other way than he did now.

“Just Trans things, I guess”

“Truly,” Luis smiled, still staring into Leon’s eyes as they passed by the sixth and final windmill.

Leon didn't notice it at first, too focused on his lovers face; but Luis had reached out his arm, offering his hand for Leon to take. He gladly did. Even if it was a bit awkward trotting along beside him.

“I’m… I’m very glad I found you, amor. I’m not sure how we managed it… but I’m so so very grateful we found each other.”

Leon could easily give a whole speech about how he should be the grateful one; how finding Leon in that dirty, zombie-infested village while desperately searching for Ashley, and narrowly saving him from that stab to the back from Krauser was easily, without a shadow of a doubt, the best thing that had ever happened in Leon’s life.

But Luis already knew that.

So he just squeezed his hand tighter.

“Me too… I know I don’t say it a lot, but I��m dead serious when I say you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me”

Leon could’ve sworn he saw tears welling up in Luis’ eyes, but before he could take the time to check if he was right or not, Luis leaned over his horse to give Leon another kiss. Leon leaned over his side, too, hopefully making the distance between them a little easier to manage.

The kiss this time was a lot less intimate, with Leon finding himself kissing Luis’ teeth half the time as the Spaniard struggled to bite down a smile; and when Luis smiled, Leon was never too far behind. He tried to nip playfully at his lovers bottom lip, scolding him for not being able to keep his grin down- but it was hard to stay balanced as the horses suddenly seemed to want to do everything in their power to throw the two of them off each other. Shaking their manes out and snorting, eventually the two men had to break apart as their horses drifted off to the side.

They were both a giggling mess at the comedy of it all.

“You’re an awful kisser on horseback, cariño”

Leon gasped dramatically, grabbing his hat to keep it from loosening “Ex- scuuuse me, but I didn't think I’d have to practice kissing on a horse to get your seal of approval!”

Luis threw his head back into the wind and laughed, kicking his horse along to speed up; Leon didn't even notice at first he was trying to run away from him before he was already far ahead

“ Oi!!! Get back here!!” He yelled out, hoping Luis could hear him over the rising wind.

“ You’ll just have to catch me!”

Leon was nervous to speed up, cautiously giving his horse another squeeze with his heels or two to just barely pick up the pace- thankfully, Luis slowed down for him, but was still just out of reach. He turned around to meet Leon’s gaze,

“Do you wanna skip the cantering lesson and go straight into a gallop, cariño?”

‘No, actually, not at all’ was what Leon wanted to say back. He was already nervous speeding up in a trot, and he had seen videos of people galloping on a horse before. If he was already struggling to keep balance now, it was highly likely that in a gallop he’d just slip off into the tall grass and never be seen again.

But…. Also, his legs were getting very tired. Riding turned out to be a lot more work than he was expecting. Any relief for his poor muscles would be welcomed.

And, plus… how could he say no to that face? Luis had a hopeful smile, waiting expectantly for his answer.

“…Uh, yeah, sure, I’m down to..” Leon hesitated for a moment, weighing up his options.

“But what if I slip off?”

“Then I’ll be there to catch you,” Luis responded.

Somehow, Leon didn't think that’d be realistic. But the mental image of his lover turning a sharp corner to dramatically save him from instant-death was very appealing.

And he trusted Luis. With every fiber of his being.

“Then tell me what I need to do”

Luis’ smile somehow widened, “attaboy!”

Leon forgot how nice it was to be praised by Luis. He would do any and every dangerous stunt under the sun if it meant hearing him say that again.

“Now, remember what I said about never letting go of the reigns?

“…yeah?” Leon was already getting anxious.

“Forget that. Actually, that’s a lie; keep holding onto your reigns. Just grab onto a part of the mane, too”

Leon did as he was told, grasping a fist of hair gently in his hands

“OK, now what?”

“Stand up out of your seat and lean forward, but not so much that you’re falling over Oso’s neck, just enough to be in a bit of a two-point position”

Luis demonstrated on his own horse, sitting up out of the saddle and leaning forward so that his back was laid out flat. It took Leon a couple tries, with his routinely falling back into his seat; but eventually, he found himself copying the two-point to the best of his abilities. It definitely took the pressure off of his legs, weirdly enough, giving them a well-needed relief.

“It’ll be easier to hold once we’re off!” Luis shouted backwards, his horse already switching gaits from a trot to a slow canter, waiting for Leon to catch up.

After waiting a couple moments to catch his breath, Leon finally sucks up his anxiety and kicks his horse along to move it into a trot. It was almost as if Oso read his mind, because in just a matter of seconds, the two pairs of riders were flying across the yellowed grass fields.

Luis was right; it was a lot easier to hold his position. Leon held onto the horses mane a little tighter instinctively, trying his best to not look down at the rushing ground underneath him, instead focusing on the sound of the horses’ heavy hooves hitting the soil. After realizing that he was not, in fact, actively slipping off the horse; Leon found himself actually enjoying this a lot more than he’d expected.

Leon was even brave enough to take one of his hands off of the horses neck to grab onto his slipping hat, laughing to himself as fringe blocked his vision every so often. It reminded him of speeding on his motorcycle, a bit, but a lot more.. freeing? That sounded cheesy.

Leon turned his head to see how Luis was holding up; and just as expected, his partner was giddy with glee. He even had one of his arms out to catch the wind, just smiling and laughing to himself as he galloped off in his own world.

Leon felt like he was in a corny horse-girl movie, off to save his fathers ranch on the black stallion he tamed with his ‘magical bond’. But he couldn’t care less. Not when Luis looked so gorgeous in the sun, his skin almost glowing and his long dark locks getting tangled and thrown back around his shoulders. Leon could stare at Luis’ body all day, the way his jacket he never seemed to take off hugged his chest and shoulders and hips perfectly. The gold floral accents occasionally glinting in the sun.

Leon could get used to this.

The two of them arrived at their designated Resting Point far sooner than they’d expected to, even on horseback. It was signaled with a long, fluorescent orange flag stabbed into the ground- another agent must’ve previously scouted the area for the safest place for the two of them to rest without danger. Despite their early arrival, though, the sun was still just beginning to set. And with no light pollution or city skylines in the way to full the glow, it almost blinded Luis while they struggled set up their makeshift tent; Leon offering his hat as sacrifice for the poor man’s eyes. The yellow grass didn't help much, either, it’s flaxen feel reflecting off the suns rays.

Eventually, the two men managed to flatten out enough grass to successfully pin up their tent. They only had one, but one was enough. Luis tied the horses off to one of their spare poles with a lead rope he had in his saddlebag, and took the liberty of un-tacking them both (mostly cuz Leon didn't know how). They both gave their respective horses lots of pats on the neck and scratches on the forehead, earning them a loud, heavy sigh. Oso was especially tired, grunting loudly as he rolled onto his side into the long grass- almost squashing Leon in the process. Luis, of coarse, laughed first and helped him up second.

They spent the early hours of that evening mulling over maps and coming up with strategies, sharpening weapons and making sure their guns weren’t jammed and could successfully reload. As the hours went past, the sun started to sink over the grass horizon. The windmills they’d passed earlier only now being tiny dots in the distance.

Leon cooked the both of them as decent of a dinner as he could with the supplies he was given- Luke-warm baked beans on toast. Leon was used to the gross food he was given on missions at this point, but still complained nonetheless. Luis complained alongside him, dramatically describing him all the better meals he could make with just their flimsy cooking pot and a makeshift fire. They ended up just snacking on the candy Luis had stolen off of the plane on the flight in after dinner.

Leon absentmindedly braided his sleeping horses mane as he watched Luis smoke, the sun now gone from the sky, leaving behind the most gorgeous pink-and-purple sea of clouds, the dim cooking fire being their only source of light, aside from the occasional flame from Luis’ lighter. They shared conversations over cigarettes; or at least, Luis did. Leon liked to just rest his head on his partners shoulders, watching the smoke from Luis’ mouth rise up into the air in coils and eventually dissipate. It was oddly beautiful.

Luis was beautiful.

Leon let Luis talk for as long as he wanted to. Occasionally joining in, or giving him a little him to reassure him he was still listening.

Eventually dusk turned to evening, and Leon had taken to laying in Luis lap; his hand running through the blondes hair, massaging his scalp and carding the strands out of his eyes. Leon was close to falling asleep just right then and there; feeling every one of Luis’ rings against his scalp, listening to his lover quietly sing a Spanish lullaby he did not recognise.

Eventually, it got completely dark, and the stars came out, as if they were shining just for the two of them. Leon was lucky enough to be able to experience seeing the milky away and hundreds of thousands of constellations in a remote area like this before, but it never got old.

He wondered to himself if Luis ever looked up at the same stars he did when they were younger.

“…Aaaaand that one’s called the Roosevelts belt”

“ Uh-huh. And that one?” Leon pointed up to a constellation that was very clearly the Great Bear, aka Ursa Major.

Leon knew Luis knew absolutely Jack-crap about constellations or star patterns. Leon had to learn the basics in his military training, but that didn't mean he actually remembered them at all.

Luis wanted to be ‘romantic’ and name as many stars as he could, just like in those old black-and-white Spanish romance movies. But instead of actually guessing the stars’ names, he just made them up on the spot.

“Uh…. The Monty Python,” Luis spat out, clearly making it up that very second.

Leon burst out laughing, slapping his shoulder playfully “Luis that’s a comedy group!”

“ No no es, tonto, it’s a very real constellation . Everyone knows about it,” he tried to make a serious face but to no avail. Even in the darkness, his smile was obvious.

“What do you think it is, then, muñeco?”

“That’s Ursa Major,” Leon said, matter-of-factly

“We had to memorize it in training, in case we ever got lost in the dark, or if we didn't have a compass on hand”

Luis just mocked Leon, clearly having been caught in his lies with a “ mimimimi oooooo look at meeee I know the the names of staaaarss”

Leon fell back into his lap in hysterics, trying and failing to whack Luis in the face to shut him up (gently, of coarse). “You are such a sore looser!!”

“It’s not my fault you’re a…. Uh..” as Luis tried to find an adequate insult to throw back, Leon reached up and swung his arms around the back of his neck, pulling Luis back down into the grass with him.

They laid there for a few seconds, everytime they tried to stop laughing they’d see each others face and just start laughing all over again. It had to have taken them a good few seconds before they caught their breathes again, their laughs eventually slowing down.

Staring up at the stars, neither of them wanted to leave each others sides. Sharing the occasional kiss on the cheek, they knew they had to go inside soon; the fire was already starting to dim.

“…Could you point out any more constellations? For me?”

Luis asked, his voice shy and genuine as his thumb was running over Leon’s palm.

He smiled, “I’m not very good at it, but… sure”

“I don’t mind. I just want to hear you talk”

They stayed like that for easily another hour. Only retreating back to their tents and warm sleeping bags once the cold had started to make Leon sneeze.

They curled up to one another, as close as they humanly could; if it wasn’t for the fact that the sleeping bags were tiny, they would’ve easily slept in the same one.

Leon could feel Luis kissing the tip of his cold nose. He was huddled against him, fists right up to his chin as he tried to stay warm, and he could feel Luis wrap his legs over his underneath the sleeping bags.

Leon was juuust about to fall asleep, seconds away when…

“Leon, do you think Ashley ever had a Horse-Girl phase?”

Leon involuntarily burst out cackling at the totally random question Luis just shot out of nowhere

“ D-do I- what???” He tried to ask in between giggles. Even in the darkness, he could tell Luis was grinning

“I dunno! I just thought of it now!! Ashley just seems like she’d have a Horse-Girl phase y’know??”

“Luis, Ashley spent a majority of her childhood as a boy before she got to transition, so I don’t think she would’ve had a Horse-Boy phase. But I’m sure you could ask her”

Leon could only just barely make out Luis’ wide-eyed shocked expression through the darkness

“ Ashley’s Trans??”

“You didn't know?!?! Luis !!” The two of them completely devolved into shocked giggled, unable to form cohesive sentences

“ Díos mío it feels like everyone I meet is Trans!!”

“Maybe you’ve got sixth sense for it” Leon teased. Luis paused for a moment and Leon hoped that meant he was going back to sleep; Leon was tired dangit.

“… I still think Ashley had a Horse-Girl phase-“

“Go to sleep Luis!!”

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velvetjune · 2 months

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List of unrelated Control (2019) things I noticed on my second playthrough:

Langston (highly likely) being behind the Tennyson Report that Trench was investigating: The report loudly criticized Trench and Darling for being “anti-esoteric” by pushing the FBC in the direction of science instead of faith. Langston’s comments that Darling gets away with his strange behavior because he’s charming, disliking but giving Trench some credit for even going with the Panopticon, mentioning how altered items need to be treated better with rituals and kindness.

Langston taking a traffic light altered item to a movie

The archives having Pandora’s box (aka Hiss in a mod box) along with two astral spikes. Why. I fought so much for that extra Darling video and Threshold Kids episode (it was worth it).

Trench, Darling, and Marshall’s inner circle and close relationship that destructed with the investigation into the Ordinary AWE and Dylan. All three of them being figures of the old Bureau Jesse wishes to change (Trench being secretive about the Hiss; Darling with Heston/Polaris; Marshall with the Foundation; All about Dylan). Wish the game hinted at their connection and past more. Maybe they’ll still be in contact through the hotline.

Underhill and Darling being old friends, maybe exes (?) who still care for each other. Honestly, I love the mild one-sided animosity from Underhill for Darling’s research getting more attention (that we know is because he was committing ethical violations with Trench) while clearly having fun hating on him and working at the FBC again. Even funnier that HR was looking into their possible relationship status.

Underhill dropping her career and life in England for mold. Iconic

The sheer difference between Underhill’s shocked and sad reaction to hearing of Darling’s death versus Pope not giving a shit (and saying she’s sure he’s happy as long as he can take in his surroundings). Love Emily

The amount of drama between coworkers and departments. I’m convinced working in HR at the Oldest House would single-handedly be the most stressful job there.

There’s no way the Blessed organization/Chester Bless won’t be a part of a future Control game

Spoilers for Alan Wake 1/2: The night springs manuscript pages reflecting what happened to Trench and Darling. Incredible. But it only feeds into my belief that Alan is great at writing fun, cheesy genre stories. He was made for writing over the top sci-fi or noir mysteries (or even musicals). Let him write a Goosebumps book

Spoilers for Alan Wake: The Vivid Dreams dead letter by Bowker being a reference to the Bright Falls AWE. Being in a lake and seeing shadows that whisper phrases.

Spoilers for Alan Wake: Zane’s shoebox from Alan Wake maybe being o.o.p. that was found in Ordinary, Maine, protecting its contents from the effects of the AWE. The mention back to Samantha Wells from the House of Dreams ARG where Wells communicated with Zane in her dreams. The shoebox effects could be replicated, but it mysteriously went missing in the FBC.

Spoilers for Max Payne 2: The Flamingo altered item on the TV being the same as the logo for the Address Unknown show in Max Payne 2 (…which was a parody of Twin Peaks,, and would later become the plot of Alan Wake 1 and 2)

Spoilers for Alan Wake 2 Final Draft: The HRA video with Darling quoting Space Oddity—“Commencing countdown, Major Tom” (same song at the end of Alan Wake). 665 Neighbor of the Beast for black rock quarry in Darling’s presentation and room 665 for Zane. The Darling music video at the Oceanview Jesse finds in her dream state possibly being filmed at the Dark Place’s Oceanview Hotel. No idea of these were all fun Remedy references to itself for laughs (665 is in Max Payne too), but it truly is incredible that it led to the Zane and Darling collaboration.

#a lot of these are obvious but i was Not paying enough attention when i got into Control years ago 😭 astounding how much i missed #this is mostly for me to look back on both for theories and laughs #control 2019 #this list would’ve been longer if i remembered to take more notes in my playthrough #long post

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ao3feed-jonmartin · 2 months

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Bad Man

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/As6y47B by howdysailor (I'm very easily and heavily inspired by songs, this fic is inspired by Bad Man by E.R. Fightmaster) Tim ambushes Jon after finding out about his "research" into the assistants regarding Gertrude's death. Martin helps clean up the aftermath, and Tim goes out of town for the weekend for some space. Jon and Martin spend some quality time together, and some personal feelings are revealed. _____________________ “You’re watching my house?!” Tim yelled in Jon’s face. Jon’s eyes were wide, and he was visibly shaking. He looked terrified. There wasn’t a doubt that if Tim wanted to he could seriously harm, if not kill him. “Tim, I-I’m sorry! I really- I don’t know- I was just-!” “You were just what? Trying to figure out if I’m the killer?” Tim laughed. Jon’s toes were the only thing touching the ground at this point and he was trying to pull his tie away from his neck. Maybe Tim didn’t realize he was choking him. Words: 3030, Chapters: 2/?, Language: English Fandoms: The Magnus Archives (Podcast) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Categories: M/M, Multi Characters: Martin Blackwood, Tim Stoker (The Magnus Archives), Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Sasha James, Not-Them Sasha James Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Tim Stoker, Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Martin Blackwood & Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Martin Blackwood & Tim Stoker Additional Tags: Protective Martin Blackwood, Mentioned Not-Them Sasha James, Tim beats the hell out of Jon, Aftermath of Violence, Violence, Angry Tim Stoker (The Magnus Archives), Hurt Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Cheating read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/As6y47B

#IFTTT #ao3feed #fanfic #tma #jonmartin #jmart #jonathan sims #martin blackwood #jonmartin fanfic

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agentwhiskeysdarlin · 1 year

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Labyrinth

Pairing: Jack ‘Whiskey’ Daniels X F!Reader

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: mentions of loss of a loved one, grief group, mentions of consuming alcohol, use of (Y/N) a lot (sorry it was one of those fics I couldn't not), mentions of a mugging, grief, angst of course, fluff, two Punisher references (I couldn’t control myself)

Word Count: 2.5k

Author’s Notes: Back when Midnights came out I had this idea to do a small series where I wrote fics based on some of the songs from the album. It didn’t quite pan out but I had been holding on to this one and one other in hopes I would pick it back up. Since that has been several months now I decided to go ahead and let y’all have this sweet story. When I first heard this song this idea came rushing in and I knew I had to write it. I hope it made up for the heartbreak of the last fic. More archived fics are coming. If you haven’t read my announcement and want to you can here. Also if you haven’t heard the song yet you can here. Big, massive thanks to my partner in crime and editor @clint-aww-no-barton. Y’all wouldn’t get fics from me if it wasn’t for her. I hope you all enjoy.

ao3 link

It only hurts this much right now

Was what I was thinking the whole time Breathe in, breathe through, breathe deep, breathe out

Your hands trembled, your heart pounded along with your head. That was what you got for drinking yourself to sleep the night before. This was the last place you wanted to be, the last thing you wanted to do. You had been pushed by your family and friends to do it, so to shut them all up and satisfy your people pleasing ways, you agreed. A grief group sounded so pathetic, but there was a small part of you that kept saying it just might help. A room full of people who were going through the same thing, or very similar to you, people who could truly sympathize.

You stopped at the bottom of the steps and took a deep breath in, you held it for a moment, closing your eyes before you let it out. Your breath came out in a white cloud in front of you and you watched it disappear before you made the step you had been so afraid to take. The warmth of the building hit you and you felt the frigid New York cold melt away. You shrugged your jacket off, placing it with the others. They were all still standing around holding hot coffee and talking.

“A new face. Something we both hate and love to see coming in. I’m Curtis,” a gentleman walked up to you with a soft smile and caring eyes.

“(Y/N). It’s nice to meet you Curtis,” you gave him the same fake smile you had been giving everyone for weeks now.

“The pleasure is mine. Get you some coffee and take a seat we’re about to get started.”

You gave him a nod and helped yourself to some coffee before sitting down. A man sat across from you, and you watched as he removed a cowboy hat from his head and laid it on his knee. Such an odd thing to see and you found your mind wandering. It did that more often than not. You would find a subject and let you mind run away with it, focusing too much on something meaningless. It was your form of distraction.

“We have a new member joining us. Everyone welcome Miss. (Y/N).” Curtis gestured at you.

You gave a shy smile, a wave and a simple “hi” trying not to meet anyone’s eyes. They all welcomed you with gentle voices.

“Since you’re new here why don’t you go first. Only if you like.”

Your stomach sank. You were hoping someone else would. You could hear someone else’s sad story before sharing yours. You hadn’t talked about it since it happened, but if you didn’t now would you ever? You took a deep breath in, you held it for a moment closing your eyes before letting it out.

“I lost the man I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with. His name was Jason. It’s only been, just little under a month. I have no idea how I’ve managed to make it through every single day. Sometimes it doesn’t feel so heavy but some days…some days it feels like I have the entire weight of the world on my back. It hurts so much…” you paused trying to will the tears away. “I didn’t think I could ever feel this much pain. It’s such an impossible feeling.”

“We all can agree with you. Would you like to share what happened?”

“It was a mugging. He gave them everything he had on him and they still…they still took his life.”

You stopped, feeling the anger grow in you like it always did when you thought too much about it.

“We were suppose to be getting married. We had a month before the wedding. I had…I had to call these people and tell them it was off and send things back. I…” your voice broke. Suddenly a tissue box was being handed to you from the man with the cowboy hat.

You looked up at him, seeing a blurry version of him as you took it. You couldn’t even speak just nod at him.

“You don’t have to share anymore (Y/N). Thank you for sharing what you did. It was very brave of you.” Curtis spoke with such gentle words and you nodded. “Jack and yourself have a very similar story. Maybe the two of you can talk outside of the meeting. Who wants to go next?”

You glanced at the man again and he gave you a small smile that didn’t meet his eyes. Was that what you looked like to others? It broke your heart even further. Everyone’s stories through the meeting made another piece of your heart break away. You listened to everyone and took in the process and their advice. Once it was over you stood and discarded your cup, before telling Curtis goodbye and heading for your jacket.

You slid on your jacket and glanced across the room, meeting brown eyes. Jack was watching you and you didn’t stop the smile you gave him. When he returned it, it was a real smile and it made warmth erupt through you. It made you wonder if you had been honored to get his first real smile. You almost stepped his way to go talk to him but then Curtis was in front of him. With a small sigh you turn and walked out into the brutal cold air.

*****

It only feels this raw right now

Lost in the Labyrinth of my mind

Break up, break free, break through, break down

You would break your back to make me

break a smile

The days drug by, some in slow motion others in fast forward. You lost yourself in anything you could. Trying your best to keep the crashing thoughts at bay, but sometimes they got the upper hand. Some days were spent in bed, sleeping and crying, screaming for him to come back to you. He never did. He never would.

The group was helping, you had to admit that. Everyone was lovely and supportive. Mostly Jack, who had started to speak to you more and more. You couldn’t lie, you looked forward to those talks. The two of you had grown close, always catching each other before and after meetings, to tell each other things about your lives. You finally had something that made you feel more alive again. Then the year anniversary of Jason’s death crept up and took you by surprise.

You had rolled yourself out of bed, not really realizing the date at first, until you were fixing your usual morning coffee. You looked over at the calendar on the fridge and it was like the date was extra big. Your stomach sunk and you slid down the kitchen cabinets to the floor. The memories of that day came over you, like waves pulling you out to sea with them and drowning you. You sat there crying for, you had no idea how long. When you finally willed yourself to stand and make yourself face the day, you realized what time it was. You were going to be late for the meeting. You contemplated not going in your head for a few moments, until reason won. You had to go. It was the best place to be today.

You stepped into the warmth of the building just as everyone was taking their seats. You caught Jack’s eyes and concern crossed his features. You knew you looked like a wreck, even with doing what you could to hide it. You slipped into your seat across from him not meeting anyone’s eyes. Curtis started the meeting and you zoned out, your fingers fidgeting with the scarf you had left on.

“(Y/n). (Y/n)?”

You jumped at Curtis’ sudden voice and your head went up looking over at him.

“I’m sorry. Yes?” Your voice gave you completely away.

“You want to share anything today?”

It was like they all knew. Everyone had this look on their face like they could already read your mind. You sat there for a moment your eyes going from Curtis to Jack who gave you a simple nod, a push.

“Today is the year anniversary. I didn’t even realize it was already here until this morning. It…it hit me like a brick, no a whole damn building. I feel like I just back slid so much and…” your voice shattered.

“No you didn’t back slide. We all have bad days, it’s all part of the process and part of life. Every day won’t be easy and that’s okay. The best thing to do is to just embrace the feelings and let them work their way through. You are doing a perfectly good job.”

Curtis spoke, and the others around you nodded their heads and spoke their agreements. You gave them all a small smile and wiped at your tears before nodding your head. The meeting moved forward and soon it was done. When you got up, people came to you and hugged you, most didn’t speak at all. And then Jack was in front of you.

“Hey listen uh, do you want to go with me to this diner right down the road? I know what you’re going through and I…I don’t want you to be alone today.”

You felt your heart skip a beat and you swore butterflies erupted in your stomach.

“Jack, I would love that. So much.”

“Great! You’ll love this place, that is if you ain’t been there before.”

The man went from slightly nervous to full on swagger in a beat and it made you chuckle. You could tell he was just as nervous as you.

“I don’t think I ever have, if it’s the same place I’m thinking of.”

Jack grabbed your jacket and helped you into it, before slipping his own on and the two of you headed out.

“So I have to ask where are you from?” You asked looking over at him.

“That obvious huh?”

“Just a little,” you both laughed and you swore it was the first time you had really laughed in a year.

“Kentucky. Born and raised. The company I work for was actually started there and then they decided to branch out to the north. I was already climbing the corporate ladder and they decided to put me in charge of the branch up here. I made the move and I won’t lie it was a very dramatic change,” he chuckled.

“I can imagine but look at you owning a whole branch of a business. That’s a big deal Jack. What company is it?”

“Statesman.”

“The liquor? Good stuff. I tend to lean toward well, Jack Daniels,” you laughed as you looked over at him.

“Well darlin’ funny enough that’s my full name sake.”

“You’re kidding right?” You stopped, your face heating slightly at the nickname.

“Not a bit. My parents had a sense of humor.”

“I’d say,” you both laughed again.

“This is the first time I’ve laughed since…”

“Well good. I’m glad I could pull it out of you. It’s a beautiful sound.”

You blushed again, looking down at your feet and smiling bigger than you should have. A tiny voice in your head kept telling you to slow down, but you just pushed it away.

“Alright this is it.”

You looked up seeing the small diner you’d thought he’d been talking about. Sure enough, you had never been here. You had always thought the place was cute with its theme. Jack opened the door for you and you melted at the heat that hit you.

“Hey Jack you want your usual?!” A cook from the kitchen window yelled.

“Yeah Frank give me the usual and go ahead and fix her one too.”

“You got it boss.”

You chuckled as you slid into a both in the corner on the left.

“Normally I’m all about a lady making her own choices but you gotta try this. Best burger in New York.” Jack seemed overly excited and you chuckled.

“I’m perfectly okay with that.”

“Here go Jack. What can I get you sweetheart?”

An older lady who was the waitress sat down a coffee in front of Jack along with a water.

“Uh I’ll have the same as him.”

“Coming right up.”

She looked at Jack and you swore she winked, which made Jack blush. When his eyes met yours you raised your eyebrows at him.

“Deloris is a piece of work,” he shook his head with a chuckle. “Well. Tell me about yourself? Were you born here?”

“Actually no. I was born in Virginia but we moved here when I was really little so I just consider myself a New Yorker.”

“Ahhh just a hop, skip and a jump from Kentucky. You have a little bit of southern roots though.”

“Oh yeah my mom definitely does. Her and my dad are both from Tennessee. They made both moves due to jobs.

“What do you do for work?”

“I work in a bookstore. I’m looking to own it pretty soon. Well I pretty much already do. The owners are this cute little couple, and they love to travel, so I figure one of these days they will hand me the keys and tell me it’s mine.”

“Do you want that?”

“Yeah I definitely do. I enjoy it a lot. I love to read and, um, write so it’s definitely the best place for me. Plus my apartment is only a block away, so it’s nice to not live far from work.”

“Wait you write?”

“Uh yeah,” your face heated.

“Nothing wrong with that. I think it’s cool,” Jack gave you a smile which you returned.

Before you could speak another word, food was being placed in front of you and the smell made you drool.

“Go on,” Jack nodded at your plate, excitement like a school boy all over his face.

You let out a laugh before you picked up the massive burger and took a bite. Your eyes fluttered closed and you let out a moan. You chewed and swallowed.

“Holy shit that is amazing.”

“I told you!!”

You laughed again at Jack’s excitement before both of you fell in to a comfortable silence as you ate. After you finished, you began exchanging facts about your lives and short stories. You had forgotten what it was like to feel content and, dare you say it, happy.

“You okay?” Jack spoke, bringing you back to the moment.

“What? Oh yes. I am,” you smiled at him and he returned it.

“I know I’m charming and all but it’s a little early to be daydreaming there darlin’.”

He gave you a smirk with a wink and you let out a laugh. It hit you in that moment. You looked at the man across from you. A man who had made you smile. Who had made you laugh. Who had made you forget, and you knew. You were falling in love with him. What a terrifying but thrilling feeling it was.

Uh oh, I'm falling in love

Oh no, I'm falling in love again

Oh, I'm falling in love

I thought the plane was going down

How'd you turn it right around?

Tagged: @jimmythegirl @arcadianempress @discogrrl @immundusspiritu @someplace-darker @thisis-theway @ohpedromypedro @scribbledghost @fioccodineveautunnale @princess-and-pedro @phoenixhalliwell @littlevodka @all-hallows-evie @mack4676 @perropascal @audreyshepbvrn @mswarriorbabe80 @kaqua @novemberrain221 @weasleywinchester

#pedro pascal #agent whiskey #jack whiskey daniels #agent whiskey x reader #jack whiskey daniels x reader #agent whiskey fic #jack whiskey daniels fic #agent whiskey x f!reader #agent whiskey x female reader #jack whiskey daniels x f!reader #jack whiskey daniels x female!reader #agent whiskey smut #jack whiskey daniels smut

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still-a-morosexual-help · 1 year

Note

I really really hope you're right, this just killed my motivation for everything. What happened with Solomare's story jar already left a bad taste in my mouth too.

I know I'll feel better in a few days, but I felt lied to when they said they'd continue the story and the app. And it's going to be even lighter and fluffier and a replacement for the main story line? One that new players will perfectly fit into? I was so looking forward to learning more about what would happen to Simeon.

Also not announcing it until last minute? For once I'm really glad I can barely afford food, because I'd be devastated if I had spent even a dollar. But maybe that's just me being poor.

I'm mostly likely going to stop writing for a while until I've archived everything important from the app, which is gonna take ages just in case anyway.

But anyway, are there any recent events you thought were better than usual? I've been too sick to grind lately so I haven't unlocked them. I want to know which ones to archive as soon as possible once the six months are up.

Sorry for bringing the mood down and the rant, but you seem to be the only positive one I follow that isn't outright calling people stupid or pathetic for being upset so I'm really hoping your positivity rubs off on me.

I do hope you keep posting for Nightbringer too! I have several issues with my hands so I don't think I'll ever be able to see the end of the og story line, and I especially love your analyses out of anyone else's.

Okay okay so they are continuing the og app and continuing the story, the only difference is they'll be continuing the mainstory in nightbringer and the og app will just be getting events. So the og app will continue the way it has since the end of s4 and new main story content will be uploaded to nightbringer (the devs did says this)

Not sure what happened with story jar but Obey Me! is solmare's most popular game. Objectively, nothing solmare has created has ever come near to reaching om! And I'm talking purely in the money making side of it - the anime? mangas? songs? merch? cons? VAs getting heavily involved in everything? Solmare's a business. As long as there's a fandom and a demand for it they're not gonna kill the og app.

Plus the majority of om's content is on the og app, with new content and old events still being released. If they wanted to kill the og app they'd stop releasing new content and updating lonely devil.

Since nightbringer will be continuing the mainstory from where they left off, they'd also need to move all of S1-4 the chats, call & devilgrams to nightbringer if they were gonna kill the og - and I'd imagine that's more hassle than it's worth

I do think we'd learn more about what happened to simeon;

• devs said they'd be continuing the main story in nightbringer so that'd include simeon

• nightbringer's current plot is about time travel and mc trying to find a way back home - so they will end up back in the current time at some point, where simeon's whole thing can be addressed

• s3 established that luke wasn't alive when the brothers were angels. If they intended to keep mc in the past they'd either have to scrap luke's entire character (?????) or retcon s3 which so far dropped the most lore

• thirteen (who's supposed to turn into a LI)'s first visit to the devildom happens in s4 and in nightbringer's op we see her in Diavolo's castle. Which means we're seeing the present timeline as well

....i think you're maybe panicking a bit too much? You definitely don't need to archive anything anytime soon. For well all of the reasons I mentioned above.... Maybe someday you'd have to but definitely not right now

Honestly I liked all the events🤷

No worries! And Yeah I think the thing people are forgetting is that Nightbringer is STILL Obey Me! I'm definitely going to be still talking about it

Ok so I have an exam in 2 days and I think I've answered every possible question about Nightbringer you could possibly have so I'm calling it here.

Won't be answering new asks until sunday. Everything posted will be from queue.

If you want to see my others asks/answers regarding Nighbringer just hit the tag on this post

#obey me nightbringer #asks #obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me!#shall we date? obey me!#swd obey me #swd obey me!#shall we date obey me #obey me simeon #om simeon #obey me! simeon #om! simeon #swd simeon #shall we date simeon

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sallowapologist · 1 year

Text

Jealous Boy

(yes, inspired by the unreleased Lana song)

Pairing: Sebastian Sallow x trans!Reader (ftm)

Word Count: 3.6k+

Genre: Angst, Fluff, & Smut (the holy trinity).

TW’s: Minor TW for brief mentions of a guy being a bit of a creep towards you, nothing major though.

Notes: I took it personally that there was a lack of transmasc mc fics out there, so that’s how this came about. I impulsively wrote this at you don’t even want to KNOW what hour- but I am finally done and ready to post it. Idk why I always decide to write and publish fics in one sitting.

Goes without saying, but this is set in their seventh year when they’re both of age. The beginning of the fic also only really makes sense from the perspective of you being in Slytherin, but to be honest it doesn’t make any difference beyond the introduction- so other houses are encouraged to read too.

The reader’s POV is that of the MC of the game.

I'll also be crossposting this to my ao3 account (swarmofbears) if you guys wanted to show it some love over there- i’ll definitely be writing more seb fics soon. Enjoy!

Brief Description: A celebratory party for the Slytherin quidditch team goes sour for you when Sebastian lets his emotions get the better of him.

He seeks you out, wanting to give an apology- but he ends up giving you so much more...

ao3 version here:

•─────⋅☾⋅─────•

Slytherin had just won the first match of the year.

After much pestering from students and faculty, Professor Black had finally allowed quidditch to return to the school curriculum. The season had opened with a tense match between Slytherin and Gryffindor, the ultimate rivals.

Sebastian had been stressing about it, often being his grumbly self whenever practice hadn’t gone to plan. It’d come as a surprise when he told you he was trying out for the team at the start of the year, but in line with all that happened in your fifth year, you figured he could use a distraction.

Plus, you certainly weren’t complaining about seeing him in his quidditch uniform in the slightest.

Subsequent to the victory, you and your fellow housemates paraded back to the Slytherin dorm to celebrate. Hasty banners were strewn across the hall and soft music was thumping in the background of the excited chatter.

You hadn’t really had a chance to congratulate Sebastian yet, him being swept up by the crowd sort of made it impossible to catch a moment with him. No matter, you assumed you’d find him at some point in the evening.

Eyes wandering the common room, you searched for either Ominis or Sebastian so you could make your way over to one of them. However, you suddenly feel a hand on your shoulder. Spinning around on your heels, you expect to find one of your friends in front of you, but you’re met with an unfamiliar boy clad in the same green robes as Sebastian. He must be on the quidditch team too.

“Miles Grimaldi,” the boy says with a lopsided smirk as he wets his lips with his tongue, hand staying put on your shoulder.

You attempt to shrug off the hand with a wary smile, tentatively replying with your full name to fill the uncomfortable silence.

Obviously not getting the hint, the boy- or “Miles” as you now knew- leans forward until his lips are almost touching the shell of your ear. You flinch back, but he only leans closer as he whispers, “I saw you in the stands at the match...how’d you like to have some alone time with one of your star players?”.

You flush red at this, not because you’re flattered by any means, but the close proximity and suggestive tone was all too much. An unsure noise slips out your mouth, your voice cracking as you franticly glance left and right, looking for someone to help you out.

That’s when you meet eyes with Sebastian from across the common room. Your eyes widen, attempting to signal for help. He must be too far away to pick up on your desperation, because all you’re met with is a look of...well you honestly have no idea how else to describe it but as pure...venom? That can’t be right. Surely he could see how fucking uncomfortable you were right now.

Sebastian shoots a glare in your direction, before downing the drink in his hand and stalking off into the crowd.

God he was a fucking idiot.

Realizing you’d have to deal with this sleezeball yourself, you flick your head back towards Miles.

“I’m sorry I-” You begin, before a familiar voice cuts you off.

“I think he’s aright, thank you.”

Thank Merlin. It was Ominis.

Miles turns around, seemingly ready to start a fight with whoever just interrupted him. However, the moment he realises who’s stood behind him, he nods his head- muttering out what could be an apology before disappearing into the crowd.

“Ominis- Thank Merlin you arrived, that guy was-”

“A total sleeze? Perks of being blind I guess, nobody seems to want to pick a fight with you.”

You chuckle at his comment, Ominis always had a way of making you laugh- whether it was intentional or not.

“Yeah, well, I‘m glad someone came to my rescue. Sebastian didn’t seem so keen,” you wryly comment.

Ominis frowns at this, sensing your dejected tone.

“How strange...Well, would you like to sit down together? I’m finding this crowd a bit of a challenge to navigate.”

There it was again, that dry sense of humor that always drew a chuckle out of you. You nod your head yes, before remembering that he can’t see you.

“Of course, here- I'll lead you.”

Ominis nods his head in thanks, taking your hand as you lead him to the luckily unoccupied couch, sitting on opposite ends.

As you open your mouth to ask Ominis what he’d gotten up to during the match (seeing as he couldn’t exactly watch it), your voice dies in your throat as something catches your eye.

A couple meters from you, you see Sebastian. He’s leaning against one of the stone walls of the room, arm resting above the head of some Slytherin girl. You don’t know her name, and you’re pretty certain neither did Sebastian- but apparently it didn’t matter. He’s leaning towards her, a smirk etched on his face as she giggles and shyly tucks a lock of blonde hair behind her ear.

Your heart drops. A thick feeling builds in your throat as you feel a wetness building in your waterline- you barely register Ominis calling your name as he notices your uncharacteristic silence. You attempt to steady your breathing, but you just can’t draw your eyes away.

As if he can sense your eyes burning into the side of his face, Sebastian looks directly at you with a look of...triumph. It’s that same look he gets whenever he beats you at a duel during one of the countless sparring matches the two of you have held in the undercroft between classes, only now, it felt more personal. More evil.

Suddenly, it seems as if he notices your watery eyes, and it must click for him- because without another word to the girl between his arms, he pushes himself off the wall and begins rapidly making his way across the room towards you. You barely acknowledge how his face has fallen into an expression of desperation, getting up and practically sprinting out of the common room. You think you hear his voice calling your name, but it doesn’t matter anymore.

You only barely feel bad for leaving Ominis like that, but it was too much. It was all too much. You can feel sobs begging to fall from your quivering lips, and you decide that you want to be anywhere but the dorm room you shared with the boy you had fallen so deeply for.

An idea springs to mind. The room of requirement.

Objective in mind, you quickly make your way through the winding halls of the school, desperately trying to hold on for a little longer. You could let it all out once you were safe and alone. Not here.

Finally finding yourself in front of the room’s entryway, you shove open the door, immediately allowing the emotion that had been building escape you. Harsh sobs wrack your body as you fall to the ground with your back pressed to the door, uncontrollable and overwhelming. Stupid, stupid, stupid. How could you have thought he liked you back? Nobody ever liked you back. You weren’t like the others.

Nobody wanted a freak like you.

Choking out dry tears, you lift your head shakily from your knees pressed to your forehead, scanning the familiar room. You get up gingerly, deciding to make your way to your bedroom here. You just needed to cry it out in bed.

Once you make it to your room, you immediately begin just that, letting it all out as you sit leaning against the headboard of your bed. You barely hear the click of the door.

“Y/N?” a soft voice whispers.

Shit, you forgot you’d shown Sebastian this room one day when he’d complained about the first years who wouldn’t stop chatting in the library while he tried to study. He must’ve followed you here.

Refusing to even acknowledge the boy stood a few feet from you, you speak into your knees.

“What do you want?” you croak out.

“I-”

You don’t let him finish his sentence, suddenly overwhelmed with rage as pure hatred courses through your veins. You flick your head up, shooting a gaze filled with malice his way. You don’t notice the way his eyes widen and his eyebrows pique in in shock, Adam's apple bobbing as he nervously swallows his words.

“Actually- no. I don’t want to hear it Sebastian. Just fucking leave,” you spit out.

“Y/N- please just let me-”

“Fuck off Sebastian!”

He goes dead silent, taking a step back. Utter fear is etched across his face, he’s never seen you this mad before. Not since that night. His bottom jaw quivers as his eyes glass over, staring at you, awaiting your next move.

You can’t help but feel a tug at your heart. After all, this was the boy you’d been pining over for years. You let out a frustrated groan, resting your head back against the headboard.

“Fuck Sebastian...why did you have to go and be an idiot.”

For once, it seems as if he’s at a loss for words. The easygoing grin that seemed to be permanently etched onto his face missing.

“I mean you just- I thought we- never mind,” you sigh.

Your eyes are shut, so you don’t notice he’s made his way towards you until you feel a weight on the mattress at the opposite side of the bed.

“...I’m sorry,” he whispers.

You open your eyes, finding yourself met with a slumped Sebatian. Insecurity is written all over his face, and he’s fiddling with his hands, avoiding all eye contact with you. You stay silent, hoping he gets the hint that you’re waiting for an explanation.

He inhales deeply, “I don’t know why I did it.”

“Honestly Sebastian, it’s fine- it's not even like we’re-” “No, it’s not fine.”

You’re silent, uncertain of this new territory. You hadn’t seen Sebastian this vulnerable since that night in the tombs, where you’d held him to your chest for what felt like hours as he sobbed into your chest.

“I just...I felt this- this feeling when I saw that guy hitting on you.”

“Wh- Miles? Seb, I didn’t want him to-”

“Which is totally wrong of me- you're your own person. I shouldn’t feel this way just because some guy was making you blush-” he mumbles out.

“Seb-”

“Which I think upset me so much because I wish I knew how t-”

“Sebastian!” you suddenly shout, grabbing his forearm. His head flicks to you, once again overcome with shock at your sudden shift of tone.

“Listen to me.” you order, making intense eye contact with him. You’d find the way his gaze falls into those familiar puppy eyes endearing if you weren’t currently battling the stubborn boy for a chance to speak your mind. He gulps, a slight red tinging his cheeks and the tips of his ears.

“That guy- Miles- He came onto me. I had to get Ominis to get the guy off my back, I was trying to get you to help me but you-”

“Oh my god...” he whispers to seemingly nobody, cutting you off.

“...What?”

“You were asking for help,” he states bluntly.

“Yes?” you scoff, “Did you not see the way I looked at you?”

“I thought-”

“You thought wrong.”

It’s suddenly eerily silent, neither of you knowing what to say next. Your brain is running wild with questions, completely lost with where this was going.

“I get it know,” he speaks into the silence.

“Get what?” you reply, squinting at him in confusion.

“I get what that feeling was...”

You feel anger bubbling to the surface yet again with just how cryptic the boy was being.

“Sebastian if you don’t fucking tell me what you’re on about, I’ll-”

“I was jealous,” he states with no emotion behind his voice, but the way his anxious eyes meet your own is enough to let you know it was a cover.

“...What?”

He quickly averts his gaze.

“I thought he was making you blush,” he mumbles.

“What? I mean no- he wasn’t- but why would it even matter if-”

“Because I think I’m in love with you.”

The sudden confession shuts you up, any words you had dying in your throat as your jaw hangs slack. It’s as if Sebastian’s just as surprised as you at the words that escaped him, eyes wide in terror as he gets up to flee the room immediately.

“Sebastian, wait-” you stutter out, reaching towards him, catching the sleeve of his robe between your fingertips.

He refuses to look at you, grimacing to himself.

“Just forget it-”

You’re not sure what it is. Maybe it’s the heat of the moment. Maybe it’s the overwhelming rush of pure adoration you’d suppressed for the boy for so long. Maybe it’s the way your heart is threatening to burst out of your ribcage.

You’re not sure what makes you do it, but you do it anyway.

You tug on Sebastian’s sleeve, with such a force that he falls towards you, on you. Before either of you can register this new position, you leaning back on your forearms as he has his arms braced either side of your frame with a knee wedged between your thighs, you reach out and pull his tie towards you- crashing your lips together.

It takes a second for him to realize what’s happening, before he begins to kiss you back in earnest. He readjusts himself, now properly leaning over your frame, right hand travelling up your neck to cradle your cheek. It begins innocent enough, years of yearning for one another being silently translated between the two of you, but then it gets filthy.

Lust sets the two of you alight, and suddenly Sebastian is just everywhere. His right hand is travelling all over your body, his knee pressing up against your crotch, eliciting a soft groan out of you.

The sound causes Sebastian to pull away for a moment, the caring boy you know briefly reappearing, before a deep hunger sets in his eyes. He leans forward, slipping a warm hand under your shirt.

“Fuck...I’ve wanted to do this for so long,” he mumbles against your lips.

Your brain is struggling to keep up with all that’s going on, so you forget to reply with words and instinctively grind down on his knee pressed between your thighs instead, a desperate moan escaping you.

As you prepare to roll your hips once again, Sebastian pulls away, and you let out what you would vehemently argue was not a whine at the loss.

“Wait- Y/N, are you sure about this? I don’t want to force-”

“Oh my god- you’re insufferable,” you groan, once again pulling his tie back towards you as you slip your tongue in his mouth, the welcome intrusion coaxing addictive groans out of him.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” he chuckles lightly when you pull away momentarily to catch your breath.

You smile at him, and for a second the two of you just stare at each other with what could only be described as pure love.

This lovesick haze is what distracts you, causing you to not notice the hand creeping towards the hem of your shirt, a soft tug pulling you out of your trance.

Sebastian raises an eyebrow at you, silently asking for your permission to take off your shirt.

He gently pulls it over your head after unbuttoning the first few buttons, and then he leans back and just stares at you.

You feel vulnerable, not having shown your bare skin to anyone since you’d had the surgery. You anxiously bite your lip as you watch his right hand tentatively move towards your chest.

His soft fingertips gently trace along the scar beneath your nipple, following it.

“Beautiful,” he whispers.

Your heart flutters, suddenly overwhelmed with relief. He seems to notice the way you finally breathe again, meeting your eyes with a familiar lopsided grin, leaning forward once again to capture your lips in a gentle kiss. You know what he’s trying to say, that he’s trying to tell you that he wouldn’t want you any other way.

After a moment, the heat between the two of you returns, and you’re pressing into him with newfound vigor as he pulls your bottom lip between his teeth. He’s now moving his mouth down your neck, softly nipping at the skin under your jaw- occasionally sucking to leave purple marks in his wake.

You chuckle at this, suspecting that the “jealousy” from earlier may be driving his actions.

Before you can throw a snarky remark his way, you feel his knee pressing back against your crotch, the pressure through your pants and underwear providing the perfect amount of friction for you to begin rolling your hips, chasing that euphoric feeling. Broken moans spill from you, urging Sebastian to continue his actions.

He pulls his knee away yet again, but before you can complain, the feeling of his fingertips pressing under the waistband of your boxers shuts you up.

“...This okay?” he asks, head tilted to the side.

“Mhm,” you hum, stomach doing flips at the edge to his voice.

At the confirmation, he swiftly unbuttons your pants, slipping them off whilst your eyes are stuck to his face. His hand rests on your lower abdomen, teasing you for what’s to come as he leans back in to kiss you slowly and deeply.

Frustrated by his antics, you impulsively take your right hand and place it on his own. He pulls back and looks at you with an inquisitive gaze, before he realizes what you’re doing.

You slowly guide his hand, slipping it under your boxers towards where you wanted him. Where you needed him.

His mouth is dry, in awe at the way you’re looking up at him through your lashes, silently asking him to touch you.

So he does.

He feels the slickness between your thighs, softly tracing circles around where he knows you want him. Sliding his middle finger between your folds, he dips his finger inside you, finally granting you the relief you had practically been ready to beg for.

He’s entranced by your face, obsessed with the way your bottom lip is caught between your teeth, chest rising and falling rapidly.

He suddenly dives back towards you, swallowing the whine you make as he begins to move inside you. He slips a second finger in, relishing the way he’s tearing you apart around his fingers. Your warm walls coax him in, and he’s happy to stay.

He tugs on your bottom lip with his teeth, before hovering his face above yours, uttering praises.

You can barely process anything other than the feeling of his slender fingers reaching inside you, the deftness of his movements destroying you as he begins to circle your clit.

“I’m close,” you stutter out, only encouraging Sebastian to increase the speed of his movements.

“You’re so pretty,”

“My pretty boy,”

“All for me,”

He’s mumbling praises again, the possessiveness tinging his compliments making you react in ways you probably shouldn’t, arching your back to press yourself closer to him as you whimper. You feel his kiss-swollen lips against the shell of your ear.

“Cum for me, love.”

It hits you suddenly, a string of curses escaping you before he swallows them up yet again with a passionate kiss.

When you come down from your high, you’re panting- overwhelmed by the whole ordeal. Sebastian retracts his fingers from you, a slick sheen coating them. He maintains direct eye contact with you, bringing his fingers to his lips and he sucks them dry.

A whine escapes your lips at the sight, and he merely grins at you before finally speaking.

“Maybe next time.”

You burst into laughter at this. It really isn’t all that funny- but you suspect the ridiculousness of the situation has finally caught up to you. Perhaps you simply just have no idea how to process what just happened.

The two of you fall into a fit of giggles, Sebastian coming to lay next to you. You both turn onto your sides, facing each other.

“So do you forgive me?” he inquires with a cheeky grin.

“Oh shut up-” you groan lightheartedly, grabbing the pillow underneath your head to hit him.

He bursts into another fit of giggles, and you join him. Once the giddiness dies down, the two of you are left staring into eachother’s eyes, once again filled with pure adoration.

“I mean it though. I really am sorry.”

“Seb...It’s okay. We obviously just needed to...” you glance down at your boxers, still slick with your arousal, “...talk.”

“Yeah. Talk. For sure,” he deadpans, causing you to lightly shove his chest, once again causing the two of you to burst into a fit of laughter.

“I like you, by the way. If that wasn’t clear,” you shyly admit once it dies down.

“God I’d sure hope so-” he chuckles, immediately breaking the tension.

After a comfortable silence, he reaches a hand towards your waist, pulling you in towards him.

“Hi,” he whispers, uncharacteristically nervous.

“Hey,” you whisper back, placing a soft kiss on his jaw before tucking your head into his chest.

The two of you don’t need to say much more, you could discuss the specifics tomorrow. But for now? All either of you wanted was to fall asleep in each other's arms.

Ominis remained on that couch you left him on, praying to whatever higher power there was out there that those two pining idiots had finally sorted their shit out.

Little did he know.

•─────⋅☾⋅─────•

#this is a repost because tumblr FINALLY fixed my account- so i'm no longer shadowbanned :D #hogwarts legacy #hogwarts legacy fic #hogwarts legacy fanfic #sebastian sallow #sebastian sallow x reader #sebastian sallow x you #sebastian sallow x mc #sebastian sallow fic #sebastian sallow fanfic

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