#the hard part is figuring out what would go well with grey and white though. like they're both neutral colours but still
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I laid out the crochet blanket I'm making for my cat, and she's lying on it even though she can only fit two thirds if her body onto it right now and this is making it all worth it 😭😭😭😭
#art#crochet#fiber art#would include a picture but i'm not about to doxx my cat (joking)#for real though it's only because it would ruin what little anonymity i have on this account </3#i got really worried that she didn't like the blanket because she was curled up next to it and would only rest her little cheek on it#if i had to guess i need only one more skein for the body and then i want to add a border and maybe tassels if i'm feeling nasty#i feel like she would LOVE tassels because she's playful and loves to play with anything but... i don't know yet#she almost swallowed string for no reason so i don't know if i trust her with tassels#the hard part is figuring out what would go well with grey and white though. like they're both neutral colours but still#nooo she's ASLEEP asleep on the blanket 😭😭😭😭#wondering if the border should be a hdc or a dc or a simple sl st though...#i was trying to follow a pattern that called for alternating sc and dc and i frogged all of it because it looked dumb on my yarn#so maybe i'll do a dc in honour of the pattern i did not follow whatsoever
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Viren is gonna live and here’s how
I’ve been thinking, technically Aaravos never says Viren has to be the one to kill the child because otherwise the spell won’t work. Yes, he says “You will sacrifice your other child” and “You must make the sacrifice” because in the moment he’s talking to Viren, but I don’t think the “you” is necessarily the important part - all that matters is the ingrediant the spell was named after. That the child is the sacrifice. And just like you can sarifice a lamb to a God despite not being a lamb parent yourself, the child can be sarifised by someone else. The ‘You’ is more of a red-herring. And the reason I think that is because of the foreshadowing in Viren’s dark-magic-dream-thing.
In his dream he sees Claudia walk into a body of water, which later actually happens and kinda breaks him out of his stupor. Two things are important here:
1. The order in which things are happening in his dream
2. When exactly the events in his dream are happening compared to what’s happening in reality
1. We see Claudia following Viren, saying “Daddy, look! I’m following in your footsteps!” while doing so quite literally and figuratively, essentially growing up. Her appreance changes but (!) it changes to how she’s looking at the time in the story, with her hair half white, her face completely normal. She’s walking straight past Viren (perhabs even surpassing him), not listening to him/unable to hear him, towards the black sun which coincidentally looks like the light of the Sunforge - as well as the light of the staff, obviously - after Aaravos corrupted it.
While she’s walking towards the sun/dark magic/Aaravos/you get the idea, Viren is unable to reach her and both get swallowed by the wave, that she either simply cannot see or doesn’t recognize as the danger it is.
Even under water he still cannot quite reach her - instead the scene cuts aways when he barely brushes her finger tip.
And leads directly to this:
Now, her hair is completely white (which we haven’t seen so far - Kpp’ar’s and Ziard’s hair still has it’s natural color just with white strands, and Viren’s is mainly grey, not completely white despite suffering from a very early on set of the effects of dark magic), she’s pale, she’s covered scaring. And she’s carrying the corrupted black sun staff.
She repeats Viren's mantra of “I'll do anything for our family, Dad. Whatever it takes. However dangerous, however vile“.
(I will.)
And after saying this, Viren once more reaches out to her
but she just vanishes, becoming completely unreachable.
2. While Viren is trying to save Claudia from drowning in his dream, Claudia is doing the same thing with him in reality. With one very important difference: Viren cannot reach Claudia, he cannot save her, cannot stop her from turning completely towards dark magic but Claudia saves his life.
Claudia is already dangerously close to Aaravos, telling Soren how great he is. And we had this wonderful foreshadowing in season 3:
Which, by the way, happens right after this:
In Katolis, she told Viren she’s there for him. In Xadia, it was “We're all that's left of our family, and I won't let anything break us apart.“ On top of the spire, she promised “I brought you back from the dead, and I am not about to let you go!“. And at the lake, right before walking into the water, she said “We've come a long way, dad. And I know this is hard on you but hang on.”
Claudia is doing what Aaravos told her because he told her he would save her dad. If he doesn’t, if Viren dies, I don’t think “oh well, I wanted to save him but he refused to kill Sir Sparklepuff and it had to be him, I couldn’t do anything lol too bad ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ you have a new brother now though!” will quite cut it.
Aaravos knows in order to get Claudia, which seemingly is at least part of what he wants, he has to save Viren. That’s why he calls her a valuable asset right after she talks about how she’ll be there for Viren, showing how important he is to her.
Viren is - in Claudia’s eyes - her only family. The only one who never left her (at least not willingly). Aaravos knows he’s the key, the only key, to her. And just like Viren was willing to do anything to save Soren, Claudia will be willing to do anything to save Viren.
The only way for Claudia to still be on Aaravos side after Viren dies would be in some kind of a revenge plot against group Callum and Xadia for killing her dad but a) even then I don’t see why she wouldn’t be angry, at the very least, at Aaravos too and b) why this couldn’t have happend right after Viren died for the first time anyway. If Aaravos could just manipulate her into seeking revenge there wouldn’t be a point in bringing Viren back in the first place.
Aaravos needs Claudia to fully turn to dark magic, to him, which she will do by performing the powerful spell of making Viren’s life permanent again. And at that point, despite being the reason all of this happened, even Viren - just like in his dream - won’t be able to get through to her anymore.
(and I don’t mean this in a ‘Claudia-is-going-to-be-irredeemable-rest-in-peace’ way but rather like ‘despite-Viren-being-done-with-Aaravos-she-won’t-be-done-with-him’)
#TL;DR I don't want my favorite character to die and might be reading too much into a kids show#I mean I don't want child numero 3 to die either - everyone should just hold hands and sing Hevenu Shalom Alechem#the dragon prince#tdp#tdp season 5#tdp s5 spoilers#tdp spoilers#tdp theory#tdp viren#tdp claudia#aaravos#viren#long post#mine#gonna spray everyone with a waterbottle until everyone gets along
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Yes, ma’am | Bob x f!Pilot!reader - Snippet
You know the drill 😂I've got a little snippet for you for the next Bob x f!reader oneshot. Planning to have this one up by Friday, Feb 9! Just gotta do some fact checking and, uh, finish writing the smutty part.
Anyway, enjoy this little snippet of a super self-indulgent oneshot I didn't even wanna post originally, cause I'm not sure about it being a) self-indulgent and b) reader's gonna have parts of my own background and plans for the future?
Six years. You’d been waiting for this moment for six years. Had worked hard for it. And now, as officers, family and other invitees were applauding and two of the Typhoons soared overhead, you were officially being dismissed as a Second Lieutenant for the first time. The first female Typhoon driver in the Austrian Air Force. And yet, it didn’t feel real. Not the way your classmates, other pilots with the rotary wing or other fixed-wing aircraft, clapped you on the back as they cheered. And certainly not the way your boyfriend of almost seven years, who’d been there for you every step of the way since you’d told him you wanted to try out for the Air Force when you’d first started dating, was grinning at you. No, he was positively beaming.
The fact that your parents hadn’t been able to make it to your graduation might’ve dampened your mood, if Bob wasn’t looking at you with so much love and pride, it made your own chest swell. You’d done it. Despite what everyone else and your own mind had been telling you from time to time, you’d made it. And, to be honest, you’d been terrified of Selection Day. Scared that even after already three years of consistently being top of the class and adamant about wanting to fly the Typhoon, your superior officers would tell you, they’d assign you to the helicopters or air transport.
Your heart was pounding in your chest, blood roaring in your ears as you pushed through the crowd and finally reached Bob. You were trembling by now, the adrenaline slowly wearing off, the world coming back into focus. And with it, the thought that you had to get Bob out of here as soon as possible. He’d chosen to wear his dress whites, while you were in your dress uniform with its grey jacket and grey pants (thank god, they’d actually let you choose whether you wanted to wear a skirt or pants and nobody had pitched a fit when you’d gone for the pants, explaining that you would “stick out like a sore thumb as is”, you didn’t want to add to that by being the only person wearing a skirt. The other female cadets in your class had all chosen the pants as well.) – and the new golden edelweiss on your collar. Fuck, if he didn’t look like he’d stepped off the pages of one of the romance novels you’d been devouring recently.
“Congratulations, darlin’. ‘m so damn proud of you,” he murmured before bending down to press his lips against yours in what had to be the most chaste kiss of the century. But you were still in sight of your superiors, so you couldn’t go too far. Especially since your relationship had already sparked enough gossip – and a three-hour briefing on what you could tell your boyfriend and what you couldn’t, not that you hadn’t figured out most of the things with you usually being on the receiving end of Bob’s professional silence. You didn’t feel like adding fuel to the fire, even though you positively ached to kiss Bob the way you really wanted to and to stick your hands in his hair and mess up that gelled back hairdo he was sporting.
You could feel your cheeks heat at the thought of how you didn’t even want him to take off his uniform. You just wanted to get him home and have him fuck you while he was still wearing his dress whites. “Thank you, baby,” you finally replied to Bob’s praise.
He raised an eyebrow and slightly cocked his head at your reaction, but you saw recognition bloom on his face when you lightly bit down on your bottom lip. He leaned in close to whisper in your ear. “Do we still have to go to any official dinners or parties, or do you think, we can jus’ sneak off?” His voice was rough, lower than it had been just a minute ago, and it sent a delicious shiver down your spine.
You briefly closed your eyes before you looked back up into those light blue eyes of his, trying to look as innocent as you could muster. “I’m afraid, there’s one more we have to go to. My new squad leader’s paying, and it would probably be good to get to know them a bit before next Monday. But I’m sure, they’ll understand if we don’t stay for too long.”
“Whatever you say, Lieutenant.” His lips stretched into a smirk, the kind of which you imagined only you saw on the regular, as another shiver raced down your spine and left goosebumps in its wake despite the June heat. Damn it. You knew, how much he liked it when you called him by his rank. But this? This was new. And you loved it. “You wanna take the lead when we get home?” He wrapped an arm around your waist and drew you in closer as you nodded.
“Hell yeah, I do.” You both chuckled at your response. Usually, you had no problem handing over control to Bob, especially in the bedroom. But sometimes, especially if things had been stressful and since you’d joined flight school, you liked to be the one to make him whimper and beg for a change. Tonight would not be any different. You grinned as your mind was already busy conjuring up ideas.
#sophie writes#fic: yes ma'am#bob floyd x reader#bob floyd x f!reader#bob floyd smut#bob floyd x you#top gun bob#bob floyd fic#robert bob floyd x reader
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jellicle lineups; part 1/4
hi catsblur ! today i am presenting to you the fruits of my labor. my own little versions of the jellicle cats; obviously based on the replica designs With Fun Little Twists ! such as, they are not naked. ramble below the cut, both on designs and some personal thoughts on the characters
these designs are very much first-draft, subject to change, blah blah. you will very likely be seeing me drawing them differently if i post more of them. i just. urrbhhh. i had 2 draw them....
and the clothes ! even though they're very feline i draw them a bit too human-y for the nakedness to not look consistently weird. i will be drawing them closer to the stage designs in some instances but for rn. clothes. it was a fun exercise in character design too
the kittens are all young adults, think 18-20 ! as much as i love headcanons like demeter being sillabubs mother, it shrimply will not work out timeline-wise. so headcanons like that will be delegated to like... siblings and stuff
victoria | 🍧 💌 🩰
i started out with victoria's design not only because of her being the Main Kitten, but because she has such a concise and clear aesthetic to me. she actually started out with a simple pastel brown dance practice fit before i decided that i wanted to make the outfits ornate(ish) and ended up with a proper ballerina getup
i also quite like when victoria is not just solid white with some grey (love ones that are more yellow or brown) so i colored her fur with some blue and pink-ish tones not only to add more depth but to resemble the trans flag LOL
and i wanted to try something different with making her a bit more lavender than baby pink. i also based her overall look on obc victoria, portrayed by cynthia onrubia :^]
to move on to character interpretation, i think victoria is partially deaf and mute. she primarily communicates through dance. as one of the oldest kittens she'd be 19 in human years
plato | 💐 🕯 🍬
plato's design doesnt stray too far from his standard replica design but i tried to add my own flair . i tried to keep the creepy porcelain doll aesthetic going w their face added some more depth like some other designs with different colors and bold face stripes
i also really like the outfit i chose for them. the flower in their hair and on their shirt is a peony which is a popular wedding flower :") because im a sucker for platoria and very much subscribe to the idea that the ball we see is their funny cat wedding in a way
the outfit is based on standard ballerino costumes but i tried to stray from it with the silky half-skirt thing and pointe shoes. lets go queer cats lets go
i think plato is also very quiet and that's why he and victoria were so drawn to each other. i also quite like the idea that he was a bit of a troubled stray before he found the jellicles. they would be 20 in human years
electra |⚡🥭 🔔
boy i STRUGGLED with electra's clothes i struggled so hard. i think i'm happy with what i ended up with though—i originally gave her the babydoll dress that sillabub has (inspired by artsed electra) but figured that i wanted at least one of the girls to be more tomboyish/butchy. thank you to that one production which apparently had electra be one of the raffish crew and get in on some of the boys' choreography
im very happy with what i did with her fur colors as well. silly little tortoiseshell :] its based on a nonrep but i have no idea which one. enjoy her freckles too
i think electra deserves to be a little spunky. [whispers] i also think shes bombalurinas little sister. she'd be 18 in human years
etcetera | 🎠 🍯 🏅
i needed at least one cat with a circus aesthetic. say hello to my magnum opus: jacked tumbler acrobat etcetera. it was only a matter of time until someone said fuck it and let one of the girls perform lifts and stuff. this is mostly because ive always really liked how shes usually the cat to do the flying trapeze bit and wanted to push it further
i also struggled SO EXTREMELY HARD with making her colors look nice and makeup distinctive but i figured it out in the end—thank you obc cettie for the mismatched eyeshadow and such. i also wanted to give a cat a short bob type of head fur/hairstyle and she fit the bill
nothing much about specific character notes other than like... i want to make her related to some of the cats but cannot for the life of me figure out who 2 assign. also she'd be around 19 in human years, a couple months younger than vic
sillabub | 🌻 🧋 🎼
i think of all of these little fellas sillabub is my favorite. several elements are balanced in her design—the standard jemima with a darker/reddish palette, the more softer and lighter sillabub design, the red eye patch from il sistina jemima, and the overall aesthetic of obc jemima with the big hair and wide, deepset eyes
i've seen her typical design critiqued by some people and wanted to incorporate those critiques by making her look less similar to demeter/bombalurina, adding more red to her body fur, and making her makeup more distinct and less... wooo girl give us nothing. and i included the squiggly on her collarbone
i also really REALLY love her overall aesthetic of sweet kindhearted girl NAMED AFTER A DEMON WITH SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG COLORING AND GIGANTIC SPIKED COLLAR !!!! so i decided to push it by making the collar definitely too big for her, giving her a slightly "edgy" outfit and making her hair resemble devil horns
as for character stuff, i think she has magical powers though i haven't developed exactly What they are yet. beyond her sweet exterior they trouble her. [whispers] i also think shes demeters little sister. she would be 18 in human years, a few months younger than electra and tumblebrutus
pouncival | 🌱 🩹 🍵
i struggled with pouncival's clothing design like i did electra's because i didn't go into drawing him with a particular gimmick in mind. but i think i'm happy with the casual formal look. it makes him look like such a kind young man even if he's a little shit
i did have a lot of fun trying to make his makeup distinctive from tumblebrutus'—so many fellas with brown eyepatches ! so his colors are more dark and striking. i also tried to make him look less like Typical Cis Man by giving him a bit of black lipstick
enjoy his freckles too
but like. i think hes literally such a little cis guy. nothing else for me to add for my specific interpretation of him it's all laid out. this guy fucking loves rocket league, fishing and chess. he'd be 19 in human years
tumblebrutus | 🎡 🥊 🍦
SWEET TUMBLEBRUTUS. i think drawing him here gave me a soft spot for him. with his outfit mirroring cettie's i didn't much struggle with that. his colors are also based on obc tumblebrutus
when i was first conceptualizing my own versions of the cats i wanted at least one of them asides from grizabella to have wavy fur. and idk what it is, maybe it's the lack of content for him, but i was really drawn to the idea of curly tumblebrutus!
i wanted their design to be distinctive from pouncival's so i made their colors softer, kinda watercolor-y. OH AND THEIR FUR IS ALSO MEANT TO BE A LITTLE TRANS FLAG COLORED
as for character, i think he is also a bit troubled, as a son of grizabella's. you heard me, people. i'm probably the first person ever to headcanon that. he'd be 18 in human years
AND THAT'S ABOUT IT ! thank you for reading this far, have a great day and stay tuned for more designs in the days to come !
#cats the musical#cats 1998#character design#chibi#sfw furry#victoria#plato#electra#etcetera#sillabub#pouncival#tried glazing this; didn't love the artifacting effect so it remains unglazed#i suppose i am laying down and dying at the hands of tech bros#tagging 98 because theyre all based on it as a baseline#my art
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Building Block Figs - Catching Light
Continuing on from the last Building Block Figs - Basking in the Sun and Building Block Figs - Beautiful Fight Scene in the Middle of the Lake, Part 1 and Part 2, we have this wonderful set.
These figs make me laugh - I love them so much! I don't know why, I just find them ridiculously charming.
This building block set is 1,544 pieces, measures 8.4 x 17.6 x 15.6 cm, and is rated 10 hours. I did indeed take all 10 hours to build this, if not a little bit more.
Here is the sales pic of what the finished product is supposed to look like:
Cute, isn't it? As usual, sellers do a much better job of setting the scene than I do. I will say, though, that I did make two little tweaks to the set to make it a bit more canon compliant. Can you spot them?
It'll be easier to tell as we get better pictures, so I'll get into it!
First, here's the box of doom bricks. Like the others, this came in a generic sales box, with a super handy little unsnapping tool, and a sticker with a black and white image of the set and QR code instructions.
Once again, you'll notice my line up of extra bricks from the previous sets hanging out in quasi-neat little rows. Originally I figured I'll leave them all out in case I ran short of any, but in reality, this set maker gives me extras of each color every time. Which is handy, as you will see for later posts, when I make some adjustments to the fig sets to make them a bit more canon compliant.
As you can see, there's a LOT of extra bricks left over. To be honest, there shouldn't be so many white bricks - those are from another set that I made a major change to. I'll post about that one tomorrow.
Here's the different order of assembly - I went ahead and started with the base and tree, as they suggest.
As you can see, this is a very beautiful terrain here. I did not remember this area being so green and flowery from the show - in fact, I remember it being kind of sandy and desolate, but my memory is pretty lousy, there might be a scattered flower or so. Let's check.
HUH. There is not a flower in sight, is there. Hmmm. Well, this is kind of gonna bother me. Maybe I should have looked up the inspiration before putting together the entire 10 hour plus set, huh! Well, the little flowers are easy enough to lever off.
Hmm, anyway, moving on (for now).
So a couple things here. First, as you can see, there are only two green colors. I mean, one normal color really - the light green here is actually a neon green. It's brighter than it looks here. It looks great here, don't get me wrong, but now all I can see is the very sandy terrain of that screenshot.
Second, I tried something a little different here. It actually takes a long time to sort all the individual bricks, so in an attempt to shave off some time, I decided to experiment with this set. As you can see, I dumped the entire bag out to the right and am just picking out individual pieces as I go.
You'll note it's now evening. This tree took a LONG time to build. I actually timed myself up to this point, and to get to this mostly-done state took 2 hours and 58 minutes. I was pushing hard, too, because I really, really wanted to get the whole tree done that evening before I went to bed. But there was no way. I was too tired and was hitting the point where it was less fun and more work. So, despite really not wanting to, I summoned my inner adult and called it a day here.
Fast forward through time to the next day, and I'm all bright eyed and ready to bust this tree out. And it's done! I like this tree a whole lot...I think they did a beautiful job modeling it. Imagine if they had the full Lego suite of colors and special pieces! It would be really something. I kind of like it this way though (although I would take more colors, I can't lie). It really has an old-school style charm.
You can see the grey rock there where Lao Wen will be propped up against. And of course, the cheerful greenery and pink and yellow flowers.
Feeling VERY accomplished, I put the tree aside, and moved on to A-Xu.
Yep, looks pretty good. I was a little surprised they picked the medium blue color instead of the dark blue color, considering how bright the dark blue color actually is. But this looks fine too.
I am going to proudly say that I did, in fact, knock this fig out in record time. I've put together two and a half A-Xu figs by now (the half is going to be explained tomorrow, I promise!), so this third one went like a breeze.
As you can see in the back, I couldn't help myself, I was starting to make a few little piles of the colors I was working on. The big messy pile of bricks was kind of a pain, and I had to keep resisting the urge to sort them out.
And here he is! All done. He has a very solemn no-expression on his little brick face, which is appropriate. Can you see how there's a little bit of a neck (nothing too saucy or anything), the thin white layer of his under-robe, and then the lighter blue layer? I love it. Very charming. We also have his black belt with a bit of the tails.
It was yet another evening by this time, but since I did manage to finish him before I went to bed, I did indeed sleep the sleep of the righteous.
I woke up even brighter eyed and with pep in my step, ready to rock this last fig out. 10 hour assembly time? I don't think so!
I had now made three Wen Kexing brick figures, so the fourth one was gonna be just as quick as A-Xu was, no doubt. I pulled up the instructions on my phone, and got ready to go. 95 steps for our battle-weary Valley Master, huh? Huh. That's kind of a lot. But considering A-Xu was 85, not too bad. The tree was 119, by the way.
As I looked at the picture, however, I noticed that they had Lao Wen's (virtually) omnipresent hair wispies here. Given that this red wedding costume is the one outfit where his hair is pulled back all the way, it kind of bugged me. Which is funny because I've never liked how he doesn't have the wispies with this hair style on the show. It's my least favorite look on him, which is too bad, because I did like how they at least mixed his hairstyles up some. In my defense, I feel like I'm right (so right!) about how much better he looks with the wispies with this hair style, because you could see it at the concert. And he looked spectacular.
Anyway. Warring between my extreme desire for him to have the wispies and the simple fact of it not being canon, I started to build.
I got the first big chunk done very quickly indeed. Many of these figs are done where you do a big piece, and then set it aside while you work separately on the next piece. This is where I was.
And that's where I stayed, for a long time. I built this piece three times. I had to completely disassemble the entire thing the first time I built it, because I was off on my brick count, and the second time I had to disassemble it down to the first third.
Part of the problem was the way the directions were. As you can see, they still have the first "set it aside" part showing up on the directions directly under the new piece. Unfortunately, all that red blended into each other when I rotated the image around, and it was very easy to accidentally think I needed more or less pieces than I actually did.
I went ahead and built it with the wispies, as directed...and then just couldn't do it. I disassembled half the head and re-built it again without them. I also think that this fig, just like Lao Wen, does not look as good without them, but canon is canon.
Unfortunately, it was so late and I was so tired by the time I finished him (and yet also pretty jubilant), that I forgot to take a pic of the finished fig! Yes, I literally finished this set late last night, despite my best intentions of finishing it up and then triumphantly posting about it on the same day. It did, in fact, take longer than the 10 hours build time.
It took a long time, in general. My finger tips have actually toughened up a bit, so they don't feel sore from snapping the bricks in place, but my neck isn't all that pleased with me from hunching over these various sets for so long. So, I've been taking a few more breaks to stretch and do other things.
But, I woke up early today, and very happily took this set's beauty pics in the clear light of the morning. I love it!
I love how this set all fits together. We have the tree growing over the edge of the base, and Lao Wen there leaning up against the rock. A-Xu is standing with his elegant posture, and their little brick hands are reaching out to each other. Cute cute cute!
Wow, this light is great. I clearly should get up early to take fig pics more often.
The tree looks great, I think (and not just because I spent hours building it!).
This is a good view of the rocks behind Lao Wen here, and his big ponytail (I do like this part of his hairstyle).
The green doesn't look so bad on the ground, I think. I'll pull off the yellow and pink flowers, and maybe make a brown patch on the corner closest to A-Xu. That'll keep it colorful but make it a bit more like the show.
A-Xu's hair looks great, as usual. You can also see how I removed the wispies on Lao Wen's hair. I'll get a close up later so you can see it better.
Shoot, not my best pic - can't really see any of the detail on A-Xu's glorious night-black hair.
There we go, now you can. Oops, I see I knocked a tiny piece out of kilter on the bottom of his hair, I'll have to fix that. But! Here you can see both changes I made from the instructions - the lack of wispies of course, and then I made Lao Wen's guan gold instead of white. This took a while too, because I didn't have enough yellow pieces. The only yellow I had from any of the sets was literally from the yellow flowers here and the few extra they gave me of it. I actually pulled a few yellow flowers off the base there and replaced them with green or pink, just because I needed them for his guan. I then also carefully checked to see what internal yellow bricks were covered up by the black of his hair, and replaced them with black so I could save the yellow ones for the parts that did show. I'm very happy with how it turned out! It looks just like the white one, except, you know, yellow.
I don't know why they didn't originally design it with yellow, given that it is gold on the show, and they had already included yellow bricks with this kit. Maybe they felt the white stood out more or something. Anyway, it was bothering me it was white, so I'm glad I was able to figure out a way to make it work.
Alright, we're back around! And a bit of a different angle here, so you can see the poses a little bit more clearly.
Alright, a true top-down pic here. May I just say one more time how much I like this tree! The detail in A-Xu's guan is really nice too.
The bottoms-up pics are always tough here with the bases. Not a flattering picture, sorry A-Xu!
A close up of our noble shixiong with his little hand outstretched...
...and our weary shidi. What a great set, I love it! I'm so delighted by it, I can't even tell you.
Alright! come back tomorrow, for the much hinted at next set. And the last one, for a while - I have to wait for the remaining sets to be sent to me.
(Come back tomorrow, she says, as she still has some assembly on the last fig to do! I'll wake up bright and early tomorrow, and hopefully finish up).
Material: Plastic bricks
Fig Count: 506
Scene Count: 35
Rating: They're actually both reaching for their light
[link to the Master Post Index]
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Fandom: Dragon Age: Origins
Characters/pairings: Alistair x Cousland
Chapter: 4/?
Rating: M
Warnings: Canon-typical violence
Fic Summary: The story of the Fifth Blight, in a world where Alistair was raised to royalty instead of joining the Grey Wardens.
Read it on AO3
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“Our task in the Wilds is twofold,” Warden Rhodri barked over his shoulder. He had said little as their small troupe had descended into the forest, following a scouting path until the palisade surrounding the camp had disappeared behind the trees, and now they stood on an outcrop at the edge of a small, marshy pond with the mire before them bleeding in and out of focus through banks of mist. Apart from the whining insects, the place seemed devoid of life.
“First, there are ruins to the west of here that used to be an old Grey Warden outpost. There should be documents there that we need to retrieve.”
“What kind of documents?” Daveth asked.
The Warden’s eyes narrowed. “Important ones. The second reason we’re out here involves the vials you were given. Each of you will need to fill one with darkspawn blood before we return.” He glanced upwards, calculating. “Sunset isn’t far away – we’ll have about three hours before we need to be back.”
“Is this another test?” Ser Jory’s eyes had flitted in every direction as they traipsed into the wilderness, but now they fixed into two hard, indignant points. “I’ve already proven myself. We would do better to prepare for the battle ahead –”
“Part of being a Warden means following orders,” Rhodri snapped. “We do what we must, and right now that’s heading west.” He touched his hand to the broad-headed axe belted at his side and started forward again without waiting to see if Jory had been sufficiently cowed by his words.
Daveth lingered a moment longer. “Hey, Your Ladyship – you’re going to get left behind.”
Rosslyn ignored him. A spray of delicate white flowers poked up from the moss at the base of a nearby tree stump, and she was stooped with dagger in hand to pry a clump loose from the half-frozen earth. She didn’t know which part of the plant the kennelmaster needed for his medicine, but the grim line of his mouth as they had stood over his sickening charges stuck like a burr in her mind. When she had brought him her hound Cuno, weary and footsore from their march south, the man had tutted and his whiskery grey brows had drawn down like a thundercloud as he harrumphed about the perils in asking more of an animal than it was trained for.
“There wasn’t much choice,” she had answered, stroking her dog’s ears.
“Aye, that’s truth enough to go round, and at least this one is only exhausted. I can fix that. Can’t do much for these others, though, not once the taint spreads, not now the gates are shut and no one will bring me the remedy.”
She knew which flower he meant when he described it. Nan had always called it ‘prick-my-finger’ for the daub of brilliant red at the centre of each shallow bloom; it grew in the sacred groves of the Storm Islands where only the augurs were allowed to go, and it was burnt at Alamarri funerals as an offering to the Lady of the Skies. She tried not to think about that particular use as she transferred the small treasure into a leather pouch tied to her belt, and hoped she could get it back to the kennelmaster in time.
When she straightened, Daveth still lingered at her side, his gaze a nervous dart between her and the retreating figures of Rhodri and Ser Jory. He offered her a nervous twitch of his lips.
“You waited for me.” There was no inflection to the statement, and he quailed under the intensity in her eyes.
“Yeah, well… I said I’d watch your back, didn’t I?” He shrugged. “We’re in this together, way I see it. Whatever happened to us before, we’re here now, and being a Warden is important.”
She turned away from him, fighting back memories of blood and fire and her father’s last breath spent on begging. “We should catch up with the others.”
As the party moved deeper into the Wilds, the silence around them pressed in, weaving its roots into the spaces between their ribs so that even Daveth’s attempts at humour and Ser Jory’s worrying eventually faded, and left only the faint jangle of armour to sound in the watchful forest. Warden Rhodri stalked ahead, a hulking, determined figure with clear experience as a ranger. He picked them the easiest path through gnarled copses and pools of ice-sharp water, every so often halting them to wait, watchful as a hart with the scent of a wolf on the breeze. Whatever he sensed remained a mystery to his three charges; they held their breaths, and then they moved on.
The quiet gave Rosslyn too much time to think. Numb exhaustion had dogged her footsteps on the road from Highever, a void of grief and black rage that made her biddable because it was simply too large for her comprehension, but seeing Alistair again had stirred something painful in her chest. Thoughts of him made the nightmare shrink back, but only in the manner of an awning drawn aside to reveal a vista of direct, blistering sunlight. His shoulders had filled out in the two years since she had last seen him, the angle of his jaw more defined and authority easier in the tilt of his brow, but his eyes were the same, rich and deep as a peat stream. The way he had looked her…
What bitter irony that they should be reunited now, when his title laid all before him and she – she had nothing left but blood.
Ahead of her, Ser Jory’s voice quavered as his nerves overcame him.
“Did you leave no one behind in Denerim?” he asked.
Daveth shrugged his response. “Bit of a luxury, having people to care about. There weren’t any Helenas, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“What about you, Ser Rhodri?”
“I’m no ‘ser’,” the Warden replied. “And no, there’s no one waiting for me.”
“I am sorry.” Jory ducked his head. “When I see my wife again, this will all be worth it. Knowing I kept her and our child safe.”
Rhodri’s gaze flickered back over his shoulder, but he made no reply. The furrow in his brow spoke eloquently enough to Rosslyn, who recognised the weight of unspoken guilt as the same shadow that had coloured Duncan’s words as he dragged her away from her home, her duty. It hadn’t stopped him. She doubted Rhodri would do better; his two other, blithe charges failed to notice the way his shoulders hunched as they chatted in low voices about bright futures, shrinking away from the truth that they were all dead soldiers marching.
Unwilling to draw attention to herself, to have Ser Jory ask after Highever and the people left behind, she turned away to watch the trees. The lack of birds disturbed her. In her father’s woods, the eaves teemed with game and the warbling songs of thrush, robin, and wren. The orchard hummed with bees in the spring and swelled with bright red apples in the summer– and all of it was now no more than a memory, a pyre burnt out and left to scatter in the wind. All of it her fault.
A flutter of blue caught her attention. Her hand went to her sword hilt, just for a moment before recognition hit. So familiar her heart thundered to be out of her chest, the sight set her off running before the decision consciously registered in her mind. The shouts behind her fell away in the crash of underbrush as she dived towards the banner, the golden Laurels on a blue field, which she had last seen crowning the ranks of the army, gleaming as it passed through the barbican onto the Imperial Highway.
Flies startled up in a black cloud as she burst through the final layer of scrub and came to stand in a squelch of mud in the middle of a massacre. Bodies lined the trail, darkspawn and humans both, some strung out like beads and others bunched together in knots where the fighting had been more sustained. The soldiers wore the standard leather face guards she had seen on those in the camp, covering the mouth and nose to avoid ingesting darkspawn ichor, but they had mostly fallen before they could draw their weapons, struck from above by a hail of crudely fletched arrows. Some had been taken to pieces. Parts were missing.
“Maker have mercy,” Jory breathed, when he and the others caught up. “Those are darkspawn?”
Rhodri grunted. “Hurlocks. Less clever than genlocks, but stronger.”
The ringing in Rosslyn’s ears meant she barely heard the exchange. Sword drawn, she picked her way through the carnage, the pit in her stomach growing more cavernous with every face she peered into that wasn’t her brother’s.
“What if they’re still around, waiting to ambush us right now?” Daveth’s voice, clipped and shrill.
“Part of a Grey Warden’s skill is the ability to sense ‘spawn, and mine tells me they’ve gone. East, to be specific. Half a day ago.”
“This darkspawn sense…” Jory started. “This is why we’ve been brought out here? To learn it?”
“In a manner.”
They were all Cousland dead. Infantry, lightly armoured, not house guard. She had trained with some of them, recognised them even under the blood spatter and the mud, though she didn’t know their names. None of them was Fergus.
“Help…”
She spun so quickly to the noise her neck cracked. The others heard it too, and the scrape of blades being drawn accompanied her steps towards its source. A soldier looked up at her, blue eyes creased with pain and his gauntlets bloody where he held them to the wound in his side. He had managed to prop himself up against a log, but there was no movement in him now except the laboured, uneven rise and fall of his breathing.
“Easy, sergeant,” Rosslyn murmured as she crouched next to him.
“My… my lady.” He gasped. “You shouldn’t be here.”
She swallowed. “Tell me what happened. Where is my brother?”
“Don’t… know…”
“Easy,” she repeated. A glance down told her he would not last.
I won’t survive the standing, I think. She pushed the thought away.
“The ‘spawn attacked us. We… we gave him time… to get away. I got knocked down. They thought… thought I was dead.” He tried a laugh; a bubble of blood collected at the corner of his mouth. “Not long now… eh? Been waiting…”
His eyes rolled back in his head, his breath a laboured gurgle that made her want to scream, but before she could flinch away he lunged for her, bloodied grip iron-strong on her arm. “You make them pay,” he hissed. “It’s up to you. It’s –”
The grip fell slack, the eyes cold. All she could do was stare at him.
It was Rhodri who stepped in to close the man’s eyelids and mutter an invocation to the Lady, a prayer she recognised. Her mother had taught it to her, along with many other things about the Alamarri gods, but when she had fled Highever, she had not even thought to voice it.
“What do we do now?” Jory asked.
“We need to deal with the ‘spawn that did this. They’ll be a threat this close to the camp otherwise.” Rhodri straightened, collected himself. “Keep your weapons out and your eyes sharp, and no talking. And you,” he added to Rosslyn once the other two were out of earshot, “never rush in and endanger your comrades like that again.”
She rose to her feet and tilted her chin, owning the extra inch or so she had on his height as she stared down eyes prematurely lined by care. “Or what? They might not have worked out yet what’s meant for us, but I’m no fool. You Wardens are fond of secrets, taking advantage of dying men to get what you want.”
“I know what happened to you,” he growled. “But you still breathe, and this is now the path you walk.”
For a moment, she contemplated what would happen if she gutted him, and simply ran – to find Fergus or else to return to Highever and take the vengeance she had promised to those left behind – but the thought flashed away again quick as a marshlight. So close, her blade would not miss, but in killing Rhodri she would condemn Daveth and Jory as well, left to the mercy of the darkspawn and an uncertain path back through the trees. Besides that, she didn’t have supplies for a long journey, only a small waterskin and no hunting bow or arrows; she had been taught how to survive in hostile country, but the first rule was always to avoid getting stuck unprepared. An unfamiliar forest in Guardian, where animals were scarce and edible leaves lay buried under layers of snow and earth, would not take long to prove her folly.
The Warden saw some of her intent in her expression, but did not flinch from it, only waited for it to pass into something less dishonourable. When she dropped her gaze from his and stalked away, the grip on his axe eased and he fell into step behind her, chivvying them all along the trail like a shepherd.
--
When they finally caught up with the darkspawn after another half an hour of walking, it was the noise and the stench of the creatures that betrayed them. They took no pains to hide themselves. Some of the trees had been cut down, and on their stripped trunks body parts and bones had been hung like Summerday garlands, with rude images of eyes and fanged mouths painted in blood beneath. From the clearing beyond, snarls and guttural strings of sound that might have been language echoed and bounced back towards them from the walls of the rocky outcrop they were using for shelter. A fire painted their shadows huge and grotesque against the stone, unaware of the group of Wardens creeping closer.
Rhodri signalled for the recruits to wait at the base of a crumbled statue that had been augmented with flayed horse ribs, the bones strapped to its back and spread wide in a grotesque semblance of wings. One lone hurlock loitered by the path beyond the reach of the fire, but only until the Warden closed the distance like a cat and slit its throat. With the scout dispatched, he gestured the advance. Rosslyn crouched and tested her way forward, shield low and sword held in a reverse grip to keep it from snagging on any errant branches. When she reached her chosen hiding spot, she pulled the leather guard up over the bridge of her nose, her gaze flicking between the shadow where Rhodri waited to give the signal to attack, and the rabble of darkspawn in front of her that squabbled over scraps of unidentified, half-cooked meat.
She forced herself not to look away from them, with their rough, ashen skin and bloodshot eyes. The clothes they wore were patchy and ill-made from animal hide and pieces of rotting cloth, their limbs sometimes guarded by mismatched armour but more often bare, exposed, showing easy points to strike. One was bigger than the others; it sat watching the arguments of its cohorts rather than joining in, its crude, horned helmet given a deference that singled it out as well as a battle standard to her tactically trained eye. Her muscles tensed, ready.
Rhodri burst from his hiding place with a wordless battle cry. The darkspawn turned. Their shrieks rose to a cacophony as Daveth and Jory added to the fray. Rosslyn saw her chance – the leader’s back turned as it hefted a rusty, two-handed axe – and she sprang for its unprotected back. Shield up, like she had been taught, to protect from any overhead blow, she aimed low and severed its hamstrings before rising in a graceful arc to sink her sword point into its armpit. Snarling, it died before it fully hit the floor, and somehow the rest of them felt it. They scattered like leaves, burbling with panic, and they were easy to put down.
A savage smile grew behind her mask with each new hurlock she felled; the inferno twisting inside her sprang loose, bereft of the targets it truly wanted to consume, and sated itself instead on the lives of the monsters scattering before her fury. Her sword flashed like molten copper in the firelight, her bulk a battering ram, her blows as precise as the strike of a heron into the water.
When it was over, her battle-blood spent and no enemies left standing, the other recruits hung back, wary. The winter air sawed in her lungs, black ichor dripping from her blade, and behind the leather mask the wolf’s grin still hung on her lips like it had the first time she had bested one of her instructor’s elite exercises.
Across the clearing, Jory shivered and poked the closest corpse with the point of his sword. “These truly are foul creatures. Even when my mother used them to scare me into behaving as a boy, I never imagined something so… horrifying.”
“You need a convenient bucket to lose your lunch in, Ser Knight?”
“There’s not much time,” Rhodri interrupted. “Collect your blood, then we move on.”
The two recruits bent to their task without complaint, though both sent sidelong glances her way as they held their glass vials to the wounds on the slain darkspawn and replaced the stoppers.
“What will the blood be used for?” she asked, without moving.
“It’s proof of your skills, for one thing,” came the answer, with a faint trace of hesitation. Rhodri frowned down at the hurlock leader. “Not many could kill an alpha so cleanly. You did well. Now come.”
The ruins of the Warden tower could be seen over the lip of the hollow. They had to cross a stream and mount a hill, following deer tracks past the charred remains of some ritual circle scattered with ash, but when they reached the circle of crumbling walls, Rosslyn doubted anything so delicate as parchment could have survived the weathering of what must surely have been ages. Bushes grew up between the old tiles and cracks in the wall, creepers strangled window frames whose glass had long since crumbled into sand, and a deep scent of green rot hung in the frigid air, trailing along exposed skin like the caress of a fingertip. While Rosslyn and Daveth kept watch, the others forced their way into the tower itself, through a door that fell to rusty, mouldering pieces under the blows of axe and shield.
“Where is it?”
“The chest should be somewhere over – no.”
There were shuffling noises, the sound of heavy stones being thrown on to soft earth, and with a flurry of curses the two men emerged a few moments later, coated in mud up to the calf and a confetti of wet leaves that stuck to their armour.
“Where’s the treaties?” Daveth asked.
“Gone,” Rhodri answered shortly. “Rotted away or stolen.”
“A beam collapsed on top of the chest they were stored in and broke the enchantment,” Jory added helpfully.
“So what do we do now?”
Rhodri shook his head and glanced back to the tower room, his mouth pulled down in a frustrated line. “We must return to the camp before dark.”
Already the sky had darkened, a bank of low, heavy cloud creeping from the southwest, but no rain fell. The whole forest stretched out beneath the crest of the ruined hill, a maze of narrow paths and a thousand places for the darkspawn to swarm through, to leach into Ferelden like ink spilled across paper. The group they had killed was just a small drop in the bulk of the horde, and they had only been so quickly defeated because they were taken off-guard, had needed an instant to reach for their weapons. As they started the winding route back to the encampment, the look that passed between Rosslyn and the other recruits showed she wasn’t the only one worried that the coming battle would not be so easy.
#dragon age#dragon age origins#dragon age: origins#da:o#dragon age fanfiction#alistair x warden#warden x alistair#alistair x cousland#cousland#warden cousland#alistair theirin#rosslyn cousland#korcari wilds#as the world falls down#My writing
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Actual Concrete S5 predictions from me
I feel like I've been fucking around with trying to figure out possible groupings for the next season, so I'm actually gonna go into what EVENTS I think are going to take place next season. Well, more like ONE event I know is gonna happen.
Will Getting Vecna'd (in some capacity):
I first felt like this would be too obvious, because Will has already been possessed before, but the evidence points directly to it. I don't think it will be the same as other Vecna possessions, namely because Will has a different bond with Vecna than Max and his other victims did. But, again, I'm like 90% sure its gonna happen. Why?
This image right here ! This image was posted by Noah before vol 2 dropped (I believe), and everyone assumed that vol 2 would have Will getting Vecna'd but that never actually happened.
And I will acknowledge the possibility that this could just be a joke made by Noah and he tried it on just to take a picture, but that also seems unlikely imo. Like I feel like these harnesses would probably be expensive and hard to get into yourself, so they wouldn't just let him run off with one? But I'm not involved in the production of ST so idk.
Actually, just realizing this as I go back to edit this point, Noah isn't wearing Will's clothes at all. He's wearing a white t-shirt and grey sweatpants. In the show he wears a blue long-sleeve undershirt and tan colored jeans (which you may be able to see in the bottom right corner of the mirror) alongside his yellow flannel.
Sadie doesn't wear Max's clothes here when she's harnessed up. This was in a rehearsal, not the actual thing. But I would imagine that they would A. maybe put their clothes back on in post-production (though this seems kind of unlikely) or B. have them dress in layers as to hide the harness and knee/elbow pads the best they can.
Will's actual outfit clearly being in frame in Noah's photo could mean he was going to put it on over the clothes he is wearing.
The second piece of evidence is this footage which shows the actor for Lonnie Byers at the table read.
Now, we don't see Lonnie at all during season 4. It's possible that there's maybe a cut scene with him in it, like a flashback? But I have no idea where they would put it. They don't show anyone in the Byers family having flashbacks in S4, and they're probably the only ones who would have any involving him.
Lonnie being present means we'll probably see him again. And because I don't think he would put in any effort into reconnecting with his kids he abandoned 5+ years ago, it's gotta have to happen in a memory, or flashback, or nightmare, or hallucination.
And who do we know that uses people's past trauma to get into their brains?
This queen right here!!
Now I know what you're wondering. If we're gonna see Lonnie in a Vecna-vision in S5, why was he at a table read for S4?
This leads me into my next theory:
Parts of S5 have already been scripted and filmed.
NOW HEAR ME OUT. This theory makes a lot of sense if you really think about it.
First of all, the production of S4 was delayed significantly by COVID. This left the writers with more time to potentially work on the S5 script.
Another huge hurdle for the crew of ST was the kids getting older. Nearly 3 years passed in between the end of filming S3 and the end of filming S4. Their characters were only supposed to age like 6 months.
Because of this, they tried multiple ways to make them appear younger, through wardrobe and even asking them make their voices higher.
They knew it was gonna take them at least another year or two before they could get to filming S5, and the actors would age more in that time. I mean, look at Finn Wolfhard. He already looks nothing like he did in S4.
The Duffers have stated that there was no way for it to not pick up where they left off.
Because of their insistence to shoot back to back, it's safe to say assume something happens right after S4 ends.
But I think they must have come to a compromise, where they inserted a time jump some time after that.
Lonnie's actor being present in the S4 table read and Noah in a harness (with the flannel he wears in the final episode) are kind of hard to explain if this isn't true.
Originally people thought a time jump would occur after episode 4 of S5, but I do think it's unrealistic for them to have already filmed half of S5. I do think it's feasible that they've maybe filmed episode 1 of S5, or they filmed parts of S5 that they want to play in flashbacks or just play in a non-linear fashion.
They finished this grid awfully quickly, and have said many times before that they already had most of S5 blocked out. I don't think it's super unrealistic for them to have scenes in mind that needed to be filmed asap to fit in with the story. This grid was probably more of a way to determine what part of the story fits in where.
Suffice to say, there's something fishy going on here.
Predictions:
I think Will will have some type of contact with Vecna right where S4 ends. Not necessarily being Vecna-d, but something to lift him in the air which would require a harness. I think Vecna would want to use his memories of Lonnie to turn him against his friends and family.
I think that Will may join him with the intention of double crossing him. This would bring the "super-spy" scenario back full circle.
But no matter how we look at it, Will being Vecna'd seems inevitable.
#in short: noah probably spoiled this shit#stranger things#stranger things s5#analysis#byler#will byers
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Costume Meta 5x17
I decided to do this weeks meta character by character this week because it flowed better. I’m also not going to look at every costume this week - some of them such as ones worn to a funeral, are hard to make comment on because there is little scope for a costume and for colour theory when it comes to funeral attire!
Young Jonah’s costume choices were very interesting to me because of my two theories - stripe and check. We started with a maroon top with blue stripes. When you look up the meaning behind maroon as a colour it has two distinctive and opposing meanings - it can be gentle, inspiring, confident and strong. But it can also be narcissistic, overly ambitious and arrogant - any guesses for which meaning we’re attributing here?? as I wrote about in my theory - stripes mean change - changes in the path you life is on - perfectly placed here because this is the moment when Jonah begins his new journey - the narcissistic hero complex journey.
We also see his grey tie is striped as well - adding to this theory of change happening and happening gradually. We also see him in a white check shirt with blue, green and pink check and a blue shirt with a white dot pattern - all indicative of his mental stage fluctuating and changing - figuring out that he likes the attention, the adulation and the power he feels it gives him - this is why in such a short space of time we see him in so many different colours and patterns.
Putting the rest under the cut because it got loooong!
Claudette being in a Yellow top for her funeral ‘order of service’ (I’m assuming that’s what was!) was a good choice - its signposting that the conversation over her death hasn’t ended yet - that there will be more ahead that relates to her death - obviously it was foreshadowing fro the episode itself, but its going to have ripples that reach out into further episodes - beyond just this season.
We saw a couple of interesting transitions for Bobby this episode - firstly the check shirt he wore to the funeral - a clear indicator of my check theory being at play - and the fact it was the funeral outfit shows that it connects back to Claudette - this is Bobbys clothing indicating to us that all is not going to be well with Bobby going forward. I don’t have my Bobby notes to hand, but we definitely haven’t seen him in anything patterned for a while and possibly at all in S5 (like I said without being able to look back at my notes I can’t confirm) so this marks a clear turning point for him.
The other interesting and change potentially foreshadowing as well is the change in colour of his undershirt. Bobby nearly always has a t-shirt on under his shirt and up to this point the’ve nearly always bee white - not in this episode though - we had one that matched the dark grey shirt he was wearing for most of the episode. The grey for both the shirt and t-shirt was dark and a really stormy browny muddy grey. To me this represents a shift in Bobbys mindset - one we’ve all been thinking is coming - well it seems now it has - the t-shirts always having been white before suggests that up to now, Bobby mentally has been in an okay place - white is clean and neutral - it is light - now though - that tee being stormy brown/grey - t says to me the internal storm clouds are gathering for Bobby. that t-shirt is literally foreshadowing Bobbys mental break down in the next episode and going forward into season 6 - we should all be concerned for our papa bear.
I do like it when a theory plays out and I’ve never been happier than when what I said about the grey Shirt Buck is wearing played out - I said about how it would relate to the idea of ‘complicated family dynamics - Buck relating to Taylor about their respective families and the complex nature of those relationships in 5x09 - and Eddie and Buck talking about it in 5x17 - and that being part of the conversation about going to Texas. When we get a repeat outfit the original wearing of it will always tie into the later wearing - we saw that play out here.
Interestingly we also saw it play out with the white hoodie - we literally see the cracks and fractures in their relationship widening in the scene where Buck is wearing it here - The jumper is not about Lucy (it never really has been) its about trust in the BT relationship - or the lack there of! When the still came out I also spoke about the jumper being a representation of the ruth being everything to Taylor - and how the scene might bring back ‘Dosed Taylor’ and it really really did.
While we’re on the subject of the white hoodie - this is another Buck sleeping outfit - man loves to sleep in hoodie, shorts and socks - its a bit weird, but adorable really!
The last two outfits we see Buck in are his Maroon sweater when he argues with Taylor and then all in black - black shirt and slacks with a grey herringbone twill jacket with a subtle maroon check pattern on. I spoke about my theory of when and why Buck wears maroon — and this arguement has done nothing to dissuade me from my theory - this arguement marks the true beginning of the end for BuckTaylor - this is the actual catalyst moment when Buck starts to see that Taylor hasn’t changed! The really interesting thing is that it then connects into the later outfit - the maroon check pattern literally connects what happens in the arguement scene with the subsequent scene of Buck and Chimneys apartment and not only that - it connects with the Taylor we see on the TV because she too is wearing maroon - I will come back to these connections when I talk about Taylor further down.
I answered an ask about my expectations for Eddies clothes going forward into season 6 and I said I wanted Eddie in more blues and richer tones - I got both here and I am loving it - I also said I expected to see his clothes fitting him better - and this is very much the case here - that blue shirt might be being worn open, but it is much better fitted!
The olive drab cargo trousers are typical Eddie and he wears them throughout 5x17 - they are symbolic of him going into battle - he’s readying himself for war in the above picture and then actively at war in the picture below. This is almost like the last vestiges of army Eddie (whether we will ever see Eddie entirely free from the army I very much doubt but I think we’ll be seeing less and less of the cargos as he heals) we are seeing less and less of this olive drab as 5b moves on - this is all so symbolic of his healing arc - that they have been confined to trousers right now shows the level of progress he has made - Eddie is becoming the real Eddie right before our very eyes!
I answered an ask about my expectations for Eddies clothes going forward into season 6 and I said I wanted Eddie in more blues and richer tones - I got both here and I am loving it - I also said I expected to see his clothes fitting him better - and this is very much the case here - that blue shirt might be being worn open, but it is much better fitted
Eddie wearing his ‘Buck date night’ shirt is an interesting one - there is obviously the fact that its a western style shirt which is a nod to the fact he’s in Texas, but the most important thing is how the two scenes we see in 5x17 connect with both the the balcony scene - the connection to the idea of ‘you were always going to fail’ and the idea of understanding family members differently depending on your relationship to them - the very thing both scenes explore - Eddies relationship to his various family members and how it differs - especially in relation to his own relationship with Chris and also Buck - who is relevant because he is the one in the earlier scene - receiving Eddies advice.
Eddie’s watch was incredibly prominent this episode as well - it was always worn out side of his shirt sleeve and we had multiple references to time - the cake, Ramon getting a watch, Eddie being running late etc.
I’m going to cover the rest of the Diaz’s in one because they are all interconnected - we have Tia Pepa in yellow - the colour of communication - the one person who maintains close contact with Eddie (especially now Abeula has moved back to Texas - so upset about this!!) she is the only one who sees him and Chris regularly now and they clearly have a good relationship so her wearing the colour of communication places her on Eddies side - which is backed up by the positioning of the family in the party scene. Abeula is wearing pastel colours - salmon pink at the party and a sage green when Eddie and papa arrive - the salmon colour represents being good hearted and a safe space for people its the colour of fellowship and of being beloved by others - all things we see from her in the party scene - especially towards Eddie. the sage green from the tamales scene expresses wisdom, intelligence and experience - again all things we see expressed in the scene. Both tops appear to me to be made of Honiton lace.
Then we have Helena - the choice to have her in such a mix of colours in a big bold print is interesting to me because she is the colours of all the other people in the scene - the salmon of Abeula, the yellow of Pepa the two blues of Ramon and the black of Eddie - to me that is a reflection of her dominating over the various people - the more of the colour the more she dominates over them - hence the least amount of colour is the yellow followed by the salmon - then the blues and finally the black - suggesting Eddie is the one she dominates over the most and Pepa the least - which is essentially what we see play out!
Ramon wears a green plaid shirt in the kitchen scene - and check theory wins again, but the green is also interesting - this is his retirement - his new chapter, his renewal. It is also the colour of health, growth and hope, but I think in this scene it is mostly about renewal. I’m literally just going to link to my answer to an ask about Ramon’s suit jacket because I’m trying to save myself some time writing the same thing twice!!
we see Chimney in silver grey shirt with a vertical stripe pattern - the choice of colour here is really fun - grey is about neutrality and insight, while silver is considered a colour of intuition and enlightenment - but it is also reflective - as in it reflects what it sees - so Chimney wearing this when he shows his faith in Hen and her observations is super appropriate and lovely. for the rest of the episode we see him in variations of black and grey - especially dark grey. The black is appropriate when they’re sneaking into Bobbys office because it means mystery and protection but also death and fear. The dark charcoal greys are combination of both the black and the grey meanings - showing Chimneys brushes with death n this episode, but also his stability and strength and also his faith in Hen.
As for Hen she gets to rock some really cool outfits and colours in this episode, and I love that after talking about wanting to see Hen in some teal at the vow renewal in an ask, we get to see her in some here - and it looks so good on her! in this instance the teal is representative of Hen always being wise, on the look out for danger and her objectiveness - super appropriate for the scenes we see her wearing it in. Then we have all the black - the first time its post funeral, so it is mostly representative of death, but it is also about mystery - Hen is trying to figure out what Jonah is up to - the mystery element, but it also shows her fear - her fear over what Jonah is doing and it is this reason the black we see her in for much of the rest of the episode is appropriate. I would also like to point out her K necklace being on such prominent display while she is held captive - it makes Karen present in the scene- representing the fact that Karen is off screen working to get the police etc to where Hen is - to get the help Hen and Chim need.
Then we have Hen looking fabulous a dark purple/ plum jacket with matching purple, yellow and navy blue tartan trousers. The check pattern still fits with my check theory in that it represents danger - only it being in trouser form rather than worn as a top - to me that’s suggesting that the danger isn’t to Hen herself, but to someone else - namely Chim - which is what we see unfold when Chim end up being the one in the most danger - he is the one who dies twice. I don’t know if this is something we see play out at other times, and it might only relate to the extended firefam - I might look into it during hiatus if I find the time! The use of dark purple is so perfect for Hen, purple has an air of superiority to it (because it is hard to produce and because it is fairly rare in nature making it more prized) so it can be intimidating, it is also creative, enlightening and it is the colour of wisdom, mystery and magic it also encourages support towards the wearer. All of this really sums up what we see in the scenes Hen is wearing it and Hen in general.
The steel blue pyjama top (and fluffy slippers) were an interesting choice, along with what I assume are supposed to be a navy pair of Bucks boxer shorts. Blue is such an interesting colour because it has such a wide variety of meanings - here the blue is combined with grey so we need to look there for meaning too. Blue generally speaking is a colour of integrity and confidence, trust and honesty, but it can also represent depression, the oncoming darkness, fragility and coolness or coldness. Grey is stability, conservative, unemotional, insightful and practicality.
While many of these can be considered positive things, they can also be viewed as negatives or traits that can be subverted. there is also the fact that when you combine blue and grey to make steel blue - the colour is cold - there is not warmth to be found here and in film we often see steel blue colours being worn by cold and calculating characters.
We have a scene where Taylor maybe sees Hen and Chim coming to ask her for help as a way of connecting with the firefam - something she hasn’t been offered before, so of course she is willing to help - she’s been looking for an in - she wants acceptance and to seem trustworthy so she provides the help asked for - she is therefore offering insight (because she is the one with the footage) all seemingly positive things. As the scene unfolds we see things changing - she claims integrity and makes promises. Things that would normally be seen as good things, but the steel blue twists the meaning - it is all calculating and you can see her integrity is actually warped - because she only has it if it benefits her - as in until she can figure out how to make use of something or someone - the old Taylor is very much still there and her version of ‘truth’ still means more to her than the potential for harm to others. The navy boxers are about showing a claim - its showing that Taylor has access to Buck in a way no one else does (and I’m not just talking sex - get your minds out of the gutter lol) - almost showing she’s taking over all of him - its essentially a show of control over him - that anything she does - he will go with her wants - as we see from the lack of Buck now present in the apartment - almost all his furniture is gone its very much more Taylor than it is Buck. Its an interesting choice because its so obvious (we haven’t seen her in his clothes before) that it is screaming that that access is going to be short lived because Buck might be willing to hand over every other aspect of his life, but he won’t compromise on his morals and on his family.
I mentioned in my Taylor and Ana meta how her all in black look from 5x06 made me laugh because she looked like a spy - in the classic female spy outfit sense. in that scene she was on the phone and being secretive about her father - well in a scene that mirrors that one, we again have Taylor all in black and on the phone being secretive! I said in that meta that the outfit in 5x06 was shouting that she was up to no good and that it was telegraphing that she as a character hasn’t changed, that she hasn’t grown since dosed and that her arc would bring us back to her untrustworthiness - well look where we are! The black onyx necklace is an interesting touch - Onyx is associated with bad luck - the Chinese believe touching it or wearing it brings misfortune! In other cultures it is believed wearing Onyx is symbolic of focus and drive - that it will keep you to task and moving forward in life regardless of obstacles. Basically choosing to have Taylor wearing that in that scene shows very clearly where Taylors priorities lie - with her job and that she views Buck making her promise not to use what she knows as an obstacle to be overcome or got round - it is highlighting that things are coming to a head, but that Taylor won’t be changing position - she is too entrenched in her beliefs and purpose!
Finally we have her wearing the russet red top and orange/ red russet jacket. the choice of jacket - designed as if the collar and lapel are turned up - showing us Taylor knows what she is doing and is preparing her self against the oncoming storm. The use of russet red is important - its a brownish red and is also the name of a specific type of coarse woollen cloth which in 1363 the poor (those with an income below a certain level) were required, by statute, to wear in England to declare their poverty. It is a colour considered to represent grave seriousness and fighting for ones beliefs regardless of outcome. It is also the colour of autumn - the moment when everything is dying (hello dying relationship!). Russet is a form of red, so the strength and power of that colour also applies, as does the fact that red is used to signal danger. the grey flecks you can see in the jacket also suggest the unemotional and stable aspects of the colour, while the rusty orangey tones also present speak of exhibitionism, superficiality and impatience. We are seeing Taylor taking emotions out of the equation, seeing an opportunity to further her career and not stopping to really think of the consequences (or thinking of them but not actually caring enough to keep her promises)
All of this is being used to show Taylor has cast her die and picked her hill to die on - the ‘truth’ means more to her than promises or trust, it highlights the seriousness of both the story she is reporting, but also that this is where she stands and she won’t compromise on it - it shows she hasn’t changed.
I mentioned about Buck also having the same colour check running through his grey jacket and that it was important. if we taketh basic meaning of grey - compromise running those russet lines through that grey is showing us that Buck is about to stop compromising himself and start fighting for his beliefs - that he is now seeing exactly where Taylor stands and realising its not compatible with where he stands.
If you made it to the end - I am wrapping you in a bear hug because I got a little carried away! As always I love to hear your thoughts!
tagging the usual suspects - if anyone wants adding (or if I forgot you) please let me know! @leothil @lovecolibri @moniquekatie @talespinner230 @loveyourownsmiilee @adamsparirsh @prettyboyandthekid @wanderingwomanwondering @fiona-fififi @oneawkwardcookie @mistmarauder @theladyyavilee @djdangerlove @kitkatpancakestack @reallysmartladymariecurie @outrunningthedark @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @mandzuking17 @matan4il @trashendence @mytherapybuddie @asharadine @hmslusitania @spotsandsocks @ekstasisandangst @tulipintulle @aknifespoint @dirtypixiewings
#kym costume meta#911 costume meta#kym costume analysis#kym costume things#911 costumes#911 costume theory#911#911 on fox#911 fox#911onfox#long post#colour theory#911 colour theory
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tell us more abt ur miqo??
Well, this is a pleasant surprise to get! Thank you for asking about her - I love her quite a bit, even if I'm not openly vocal about her. BUCKLE UP. :D
Possible MSQ spoilers below.
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Xerain is a Seeker of the Moon min-height Miqo. She's deep grey, almost black, with heterochromia eyes (one gold, one white.) with silver hair tips. She is a bit more feral looking than other miqo, what with having digigrade legs, claws, and velvet-like fur that covers her. If she removed her gloves/clothes, you'd see a line of fur up her spine from her tail, tufts of fur on her joints, etc. Her hair, usually tied up to keep it out of her face, is nothing but 80's megafauna catgirl poof hair. She is, canonically, a monk.
She doesn't have miqo tribe markings on her face because she was never in any tribe.
It's suspected that her parents were miqo and hrothgar, but its unclear who was who. She never met her parents, nor does she remember them. Her earliest memory was finding herself as a child in the desert outside Ul'Dah fending herself from the sandworms out there and stealing food/water from travelers. Hamon found her on one of his girl-spying adventures and, after seeing her square up against a worm many times her size with nothing more than her claws and teeth, took her in as a daughter... sort of. She grew up in the Pugilist's Guild before heading out on her big WoL adventure.
The scars across her nose and face are from her first encounter with Zenos. It was a painful reminder to never underestimate an opponent.
She tends to wear as little clothing as she can get away with. She finds it annoying and troublesome, but society says you gotta, so she does bare minimum. She is always never wearing underwear and her toga-like robes she wears has one breast exposed. The scions have gave up trying to force her into clothes, though Tataru tries. At this point, they don't even notice anymore, but people she's meeting for the first time are always a bit thrown off by whatever is happening.
Her previous life was being a very large, tall, and muscular Pandemonium creature wrangler - she was one of the ones you called on to drag troublesome creatures into the place to be handled further by Wardens. She lost an eye during one of these encounters (Hence her white eye now - she can see out of it, it's just aesthetic as Xerain.). Her coming back as a short, 'dim-witted' catgirl is all an act. She acts like an airhead and will indulge in more cat-like behaviors to get a reactions from others (Like sitting down and licking her toes clean like a housecat would), but she's actually very smart and very shrewd. The part of her that is still Azem wants to enjoy having a life without any cares or responsibilities, and anything that risks exposing that just has to be removed before the gig is up. In a way, 'Xerain' doesn't exist. It's just a fully aware Azem playing a part for fun and to avoid having to do responsible things unless they really have to.
The only person to figure out she's more than what she lets on is Zenos. Ultimately, this is why she couldn't let him leave alive, however. He knew too much so as fun as it was, he had to go. It was too risky for him to talk or use that knowledge against her.
She does, however, really like fish. There's a running joke she keeps a ton of dried fish in her pockets, along with whatever cool rocks and leaves she finds.
Her and Estinien are bros, and will often spar or give the other one a hard time, but all in good fun. They will, however, get violent with each other over the last squid skewer. G'raha and her are an item, but I'm suspicious it's because he's so easy to bully and embarrass and she gets a kick out of it.
She has a home in Kugane because the fish there is the freshest.
#This was fun#thank you for the interest!#I'm not used to getting asked about OCs or my WoL#so this was a really heartwarming surprise#thank you <3#OC#Asks#ffxiv#miqo'te#Xerain
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“What have you done?”
“What have you done!?”
The voices were so loud. They wouldn’t stop screaming, even after he slammed the door to his room a bit too harshly and fell against it because his legs just wouldn’t hold his weight-
The voice that was loudest was that of the man he had killed.
“Murderer,” it hissed, shadow flitting in and out of the corner of Alfyn’s vision. “You killed me,” it whispered, leaning close to his ear and sending chills down his back.
His breathing came in ragged breaths, he could barely inhale, let alone get the oxygen to his head. The room was spinning, his ears were ringing with the screams and taunts of the hurt and betrayed, he could feel every little sensation on his body and it felt so gods damned wrong-
Alfyn slammed the heels of his palms against his temples repeatedly, bringing his knees up to his chest. “Shut up. Shut up, shut up, shut up-” He myttered. He would have gotten on his knees and begged if he thought it would do any good.
There was a voice, one not belonging to Miguel or any other faceless shadow.
But there was still purple, a slight figure with a knife strapped to his thigh. To his hazy, addled brain, it looked like the tattered remains of the man in the woods had come back to return the favour.
Alfyn could still hear the snap of Miguel’s spine as he brought his axe down as hard as he could.
He pressed his back to the cold oak door, frozen. If Miguel was going to finish him off, he was sure making it easy.
He took in every last detail of the person in front of him, their voice echoing so bad he could barely register the words.
...Miguel didn’t have white hair. He didn’t have eyes that were the exact same shade of green as the spring grass in Clearbrook. Miguel didn’t wear a shawl.
Miguel didn’t speak to him in such a gentle way, didn’t move with such caution and care as this person did.
Miguel didn’t tuck his hair behind his ear gingerly as though afraid of burning his soft skin and flesh.
He recognized this person, this man. It wasn’t Miguel by any means. It was another, it was someone he loved and cared for and had healed no few times over the course of their travels.
“Theri...” He whispered, feeling the prick of tears forming. He didn’t bother blinking it back.
Therion moved closer, then jerked back. “...Can I hug you?” His voice was so soft, so gentle... It was hard to say no when Therion was acting like this.
“Please. Please, I- I can’t do this alone...” He sobbed quietly, and Therion brought him close. The weight of another against his body comforted him. The smell of roses and lavender flooded his nose, and he buried his face in the crook of Therion’s neck- his unwrapped scarf was the source of the scent.
He felt a gentle hand bring him closer, and he sobbed quietly.
Slowly, he felt himself calm down. It was a strange process, especially with the comfort of Therion instead of Zeph. Usually Zeph would simply hold his hand and talk to him to help him out of his panic attacks. Nina was the hugger.
-----
The two of them sat against the outside of the inn, cold grey stones against their backs and thousands of glittering stars above them. As their breath hung in the air, Alfyn let his eyes shut.
And instead of the glaring image of Miguel’s mutilated body in the forest, all he saw were burning stars, shining bright despite all the tragedy in their home in the universe.
MAVV… MAV!!!!!!!!!!!!
THGHIS. IS. WHERE DO I START
the just. entire part where all the sentences start with ‘Miguel didn’t’ hit me particularly hard because it��s like!!!! the whole thing in theri fics where he can’t help but see darius in alfyn!!!! now it’s the other way around!!!!! symbolism and stuff!!!!
the lil part about zeph and nina was very sweet, nina absolutely hugs alfyn on a daily basis
as you’re well aware I’m an absolute sucker for alfion hugs so. ye
AND. THE LAST SENTENCE??? MAV THATS A GENUINELY BEAUTIFUL AND IMPACTFUL PART TO END ON LIKE. WHOA!!!!!!
this fic’s going on the ‘fics I think about while im trying to sleep’ list
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The Nexus (part 2)
(Part 1)
Characters: Ben, Jack, Chris
Words: 7403
*
He stared at the wolf in front of him. It had appeared silently, catching him off-guard while he’d been on the lookout for fairies and trying to get closer to whatever was playing out in the distance. Instantly, Ben knew this was a warning.
Do not interfere.
It bared its teeth while slowly approaching, a signal for him to back off. Out of habit he reached for his gun, which was answered by a low growl, so he held up his hands to show they were empty and took a few paces backwards. And a few more. As soon as he’d retreated to what it deemed an acceptable distance, the wolf sat down on its haunches and waited, like a sentinel.
He wasn’t foolish enough to try and evade it – or worse, take it on – but he was very well aware of what this meant: they knew he was here, something that did not happen often. Experience had taught him that the Fae did not seem to detect him in the same way as they did other humans – he’d always assumed they simply weren’t interested in second-hand goods. To a wolf, the state of his soul didn’t matter, though. They only needed their senses, and he had no way around those.
“What do you want?” he whispered – unsurprisingly, the answer stayed out.
It simply observed him with yellow eyes, its ears perked up, alert for any possible dangers. Its fur was a mottled grey-and-brown with a darker streak along its back; the throat and chest area a creamy white. There was some old scarring along one shoulder, like it had been in a fight long ago. Ben noticed that both of its ears were pierced, leading him to believe this was no regular wolf. He sensed an intelligence behind its eyes – also, a regular wolf would likely leave him the hell alone.
Quickly cycling through his Fae knowledge, the options he could think of were either a Fae creature that could shapeshift; a once-human soul taken by the Fae; or a werewolf, although he disregarded that last one immediately. Only the most experienced werewolves could transform without the full moon’s help, and while Fae in nature they remained on earth, having no ties to this world.
Of the two options remaining, an ex-human would pose the least risk, although nothing in here could be trusted – he’d learned that the hard way. Luckily, nowadays he mostly didn’t have to rely on trust: what can’t be seen, can’t be bargained with; what can’t be bargained with, can’t be tricked. And despite the obstacle in his way, he wasn’t planning on letting it happen this time, either.
“I’m not here to cause trouble,” he told it.
“Only to observe.”
It blinked once, giving him no indication as to whether it had understood.
“Will you allow me to do that?”
It growled in reply, tilting its head slightly as if to say “we’ll see”.
“Alright then,” he mumbled, more to himself than anyone else.
Keeping one eye on his guardian, he tried to make sense of what was going on in the background. The Fae congregation was gathered around the Nexus, that much was clear. From experience he knew he shouldn’t get too close, lest he be detected, but from his current position he hadn’t quite arrived at that threshold yet. He would have preferred to get a little closer, but the wolf made this impossible. He suddenly wondered whether this had been the reason of its intervention: it was clear that some sort of ritual was taking place, perhaps it didn’t want the Nexus to be distracted by an outsider during such a time.
Trying to see through the mass of vines and antlers, he caught a glimpse of the figures present at the core of the ritual at the base of the Nexus’ trunk. There was the Root, in ceremonial dress, and a ring of Fae who were holding lights – a ritual he recognised as the luminus. It was a ceremony which usually preceded important events, during which the light, facilitator of photosynthesis – and with it, life – was honoured. It had always struck him as a bit odd that this was done during the night, but they must have their reasons. The Root was just in the process of handing out the last lantern, completing the circle, meaning that whatever was being performed was about to begin.
Only now Ben noticed the crelor, in the middle of the circle, right up against the Nexus’ trunk. It had been there all along, camouflaged against its bark. Its hands were pressed against it as if in a healing position, but it was unmoving, while the healing Ben had seen it do many times over had involved specific motions along the damaged surface. It was waiting for the ritual to finish, he realised.
His mind ran wild with the implications, trying to puzzle together what exactly was going on here and what it meant. Was this the main event of the evening? Was the Nexus damaged in some way? He didn’t see any notable scratches, disease or broken branches, but he knew that this didn’t mean anything, and there were many things that could be wrong with it. Apparently circumstances were bad enough for a crelor to cross unimaginable distances across country borders. And Ben with it.
The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on him. He had left this place, left his home behind, running from his past. Troubled by guilt, plagued by new obstacles found on his way, he had thrown himself into his studies of the Fae. His hatred of them had dragged him through it, given him something to focus on. And now? Now those same studies had brought him right back to the place where all of this had started, a last cruel trick of the creatures that had toyed with him, used him to their own entertainment. Oh, how he hated them. If it was up to him all of his knowledge, everything he’d gathered over the years would be used to destroy them, wipe them off the face of the earth for good.
But it wasn’t up to him. Logically, he had known that taking out the Fae – all Fae – would be impossible. As was the case with many hunters and those they hunted, there were always too many of “them” and never enough of “us”. Any kind of organised move was futile, as others would simply take their place after it was done. All they could ever do was react to those that posed a threat, and keep the people safe – a job that felt highly frustrating at times.
The lights started to shine brighter as the Root finished their incantation.
The wolf’s ears twitched restlessly: it sensed that something was happening behind it.
“You can watch if you want,” Ben indicated, his voice hushed.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
It stared at him blankly for a moment, then let out a growl and watched him with renewed focus.
“Suit yourself,” he shrugged.
Surrounded by a circle of lights, the crelor now started to glow as well. Streaks of light were travelling up from its roots – or rather: what was left of them after walking such an impossible distance – snaking throughout its body towards the crown of leaves surrounding its head, colouring it in a golden hue. Flowers made of pure light started to grow and bloom from within it, each one opening in a cloud of glittery pollen, like stardust. Ben had never seen a crelor sprout flowers before, let alone these flowers. He did a rough sketch of their shape for Janna, his every move watched by the wolf’s wary eye.
In its new, luminous form the crelor started a series of familiar movements. First it bent down to the ground, touching the Nexus’ roots, then moved its hands upwards, following the flow of nutrients inside the tree. After repeating this a couple of times, it started moving its hands along specific points on the Nexus’ trunk in circular motions. Ben had witnessed this practice before, although performed on regular trees: it was a healing ritual. He had seen the life return to withered trees within the hour, new leaves sprout, broken branches mended. It was truly a sight to behold, each and every time again. Even though they were Fae, he didn’t think he could ever find it in his heart to hunt a crelor.
The thing was: he couldn’t seem to find anything wrong with the Nexus. It looked healthy as ever, standing tall with vibrant leaves. But perhaps it required a closer look. He reached into his pack – which prompted another growled warning from the wolf – looking for his binoculars. Having found them, he held them up for it to see, to show he didn’t take out a weapon. The wolf gave him an undeterminable look in return, almost as if it was making fun of him.
“Just because you don’t want to look, doesn’t mean I won’t…” he mumbled, peering through its lenses.
The Nexus appeared to be just like the others he’d seen: big, tall, and full of totems. The ritualistic artefacts occupied the branches like a flock of unruly birds, their stringy limbs fluttering in the breeze, pieces clattering together like eerie wind chimes. Ben counted many effigies, but not as much as he’d seen in other places. These loops, crafted out of wicker or twigs, each served to bind a human to the Fae world, the energy of their soul sustaining the Nexus. In its centre, parts of an animal were placed; an animal that would become an integral part of the captured human, slowly changing them until they’d become unrecognisable. He’d witnessed the ritual once, purely by chance, and had been fascinated and horrified alike. More often, he’d seen its end results wandering aimlessly about the forest, eyes glazed over, their minds more animal than human. They were rarely dangerous, but he avoided them anyway, being deeply unsettled by them. The sight of them stirred memories he would prefer to keep locked away.
There were many more artefacts strung up, some of which he could determine the purpose of, based on the materials used. There were wards, meant to repel: structures wrapped in thorns and decorated with claws or teeth. Charms used for plant growth or a good harvest usually contained seeds or fruits, while charms for good fortune often included honey. Eyes signified the future; feathers indicated travel or great distances; spider silk usually marked a trap or trick of some kind – or it simply meant a spider had made its home inside of the contraption. Ben was in no way an expert: there were many more totems he was clueless about, and the things he did know he had gathered from human sources, never directly from the Fae – they’d never been very talkative.
One of them, however, stood out to him. A small human figure with glowing red eyes and a gaping hole in its chest. Thorns wrapped around its arms, like it was entangled in them. Above its head, tied to the string it hung from, was a piece of bone. The idol was made of straw; from its coloration he guessed it must have been put up recently. Ben had seen similar humanoid shapes before, but never like this. Thorns and a missing heart suggested captivity of some kind, perhaps loss of free will. The bone he couldn’t quite place, not knowing what creature it belonged to. And why were its eyes glowing? Whatever spell this idol was used for appeared to be active. Was a human present here? Would it be used to detect them?
A cold shiver ran down his spine as he wondered whether the idol was for him. That wouldn’t be possible, would it? Thorns, missing heart. No – they had no way of knowing he was here. It was a pitiful reward compared to what it had cost him, but he could safely walk amongst them –
Missing heart.
He peered at the glowing eyes again, two red embers inside of their straw casing. A puppet, he realised. Their puppet.
Not wanting to look at it any longer, he put the binoculars down, but still felt burning eyes on him. A glance at the wolf told him it was not the culprit, as it had given in and turned away to watch the Nexus. A furtive glance around the forest taught him nothing: if anyone was out there, they were well-hidden. Still, the gaze of unknown origin was almost tangible. Curse this place, he thought, focusing his attention back on the ritual.
The crelor’s movements had slowed down, focusing more closely on the section of trunk in front of it. To Ben’s surprise the bark had split open, showing a vertical strip of the lighter wood inside. Little currents of light travelled through it, from roots to leaves, reminding Ben of the way data travelled through cables in science-fiction movies. He supposed the comparison wasn’t far off; the energy ran through most of the forest, connecting everything, with the Nexus at its centre. The crelor had its hands on either side of the tear, and slowly but surely it became wider. He wondered what it was doing; it’s purpose was to heal, and this didn’t seem like healing to him. Perhaps the sickness was located inside of the Nexus?
The wolf glanced back at him for a moment, as if to check whether he was still there. But Ben knew very well that if he had tried to leave, it would know. When their eyes met briefly, the wolf looked away.
“Do you know what’s going on?” Ben asked it.
No reply.
“I guess not…” he mumbled.
He wasn’t sure what he was trying to achieve by talking to it – it wasn’t like it was going to answer – but it felt nice to share his thoughts with another being, even if it wasn’t a human being. He’d spent a lot of time on his own after leaving here so many years ago, only seeking out the local hunters in whatever area he would find himself – and after his incident with the Fae, not even that.
And then he’d met Janna, and everything had changed. They’d run into each other – quite literally – at a portal somewhere in the Black Forest, she while doing research, he while tracking a creature. He’d told her to go home, but she – stubborn as she was – had stayed, taking notes on the habitat of a plant – or something like that; he’d drowned out her babbling pretty quickly. He didn’t have time for chit-chat while he was scanning the area, or while he was driving a blade through the creature’s heart when it eventually showed up at the clearing. Only when they were no longer in mortal danger he’d really paid attention to her. They’d had the opportunity to talk, discovering that perhaps their interests were more aligned than thought at first. A partnership was born: he provided her with all of his gathered knowledge, collected new data inside the Fae world, and accompanied her when she herself were to enter – although it usually took a lot of arguing before he allowed her to go. In return, she had pulled him back from a ledge he hadn’t even been aware he’d been teetering on, allowing him to focus on something other than hatred, shame, or revenge for the first time in a long time. She’d saved his life – and stolen his heart in the process.
She had shown him that there could be beauty in the things he’d sworn to destroy. Until then, he’d only focused his research on the dangers, and how to most effectively take care of them. With her insight he’d realised that there was more to the Fae world than that: it was a complicated ecosystem with interconnected elements, which in turn influenced its Earth counterpart. When the Fae acted out, it wasn’t always simply because they were evil to the core (although he hadn’t yet given up on this belief): sometimes they’d been provoked, their home threatened. It was a fact that more humans disappeared in areas where the Fae felt marginalised; knowing their wants and needs could help in managing the damage they inflicted.
This approach felt like it went against his very nature; his gut telling him to take care of them, to destroy them so no one could be tricked by them ever again, while his head told him that provoking them would only cause them to lash out more, and cause more victims in the end. Victims that would be on his conscience. Did he really want to add onto that list? Wouldn’t that be exactly what they wanted?
A slight tremor in the earth pulled his focus back to his surroundings. An earthquake? In this area it would be a possibility, he knew. But this one seemed to be Fae in nature; a side effect of the ritual. The crack in the Nexus’ trunk had widened enough for someone to step through, and to Ben’s surprise that was exactly what was happening. The crelor had moved up closer, pressing itself against the interior, causing the streaks of light to shine brighter. Their pattern changed: instead of travelling upwards, the energy now seemed to flow from the crelor into the tree. It moved further forwards still, even though there was no more space for it to go – yet it appeared to make progress.
Ben took out his binoculars once more, confirming what he thought he was seeing: the crelor’s body was disappearing. Its arms, which it had been using to push forward, had vanished from sight up to its elbows, like it was stepping through a portal. But even from back here, Ben could tell that it wasn’t easy, as the surface didn’t exactly give way – it was still wood after all, magical or not.
Another tremor shook the earth and rustled the leaves around him. The gathered fairies now exchanged glances, but none of them spoke, observing the ritual in silence. It was subtle, but it was clear there was some kind of unrest amongst them. Was something not going according to plan? Or were they simply unfamiliar with the ritual, just like Ben? If he’d interpreted the situation correctly, this wasn’t something many of them would have seen performed before. He doubted any of them had even seen a crelor before. Would they be looking on in wonder, watching it for the first time?
He thought back to his encounter with Chris, a couple of weeks earlier, and the expression on his face when they’d observed it together. The young hunter had left an impression on him – despite his dependence on tech. Kids like him were the future of hunting, whether he liked it or not. Things could be worse: he could have been a fanatic. If one of them would have found the crelor, Ben wasn’t sure what he would have done. He couldn’t possibly choose the supernatural over a fellow hunter – or could he?
Involuntarily, he thought of Jack – another one of his infamous bad choices. He’d been turning their meeting over and over in his head, not being able to let go of it – and if he did for a moment, his broken nose would make sure to remind him of it. He couldn’t believe his son had changed so much. Sure, he’d seen his pictures come by every now and then, but to have him standing in front of him, in the flesh, was a feeling nothing could have prepared him for. He’d been thinking of things to say, rehearsing possible conversations in his mind, but he hadn’t been able to recall any of them in the moment. To be fair: he had been ambushed (he still hadn’t been able to figure out how Jack had managed to find him there), but he wasn’t sure if things would have gone any better had Ben picked the time and place himself.
What haunted him most – apart from the fact that everything Jack had said about him had been spot on – was that he’d been afraid. He’d looked his son in the eyes and had seen only hatred. He’d recognised the glowing embers of a Natural’s rage, so familiar to him from his brother, his mother, all of the Naturals he’d hunted… The energy had been tangible, like the electricity in the air during a thunderstorm, making the hairs on his arms stand on end. A thought had made its way to the surface: I’m not sure if I’ll make it out alive. He had looked at Jack and not recognised the boy he had raised – but he supposed the man in front of him was still the result of Ben’s actions. Or inactions, more accurately.
He’d been surprised by Jack’s strength, and his control over his abilities. Ben was certain that what he’d seen was but a fraction of the power his son had at his disposal. If he stayed around this area he would find out in time, he presumed. He just wasn’t sure whether he wanted to – actually, scratch that: he was fairly sure he didn’t. After all, he’d be at the receiving end of it, unless through some miracle they’d ever make up. And he didn’t see that happening anytime soon. He’d only spoken to Jack and Simone so far, but he was fairly certain none of his family wanted to see him. He wondered how much they knew of the situation, the real reason he’d left. Simone had seemed clueless. What about Christine and Tony? Would Jack have told them? Would they be Naturals as well? If they were, they sure as hell weren’t going to tell him.
Another tremor. Enough of the crelor’s body had been absorbed now, that whatever remained was not immediately identifiable as such. On the remaining part of its back the branches were still wreathed in light, but the flowers’ golden glow was dimming, their petals starting to droop. The “gateway” through the bark appeared to be closing, the dark exterior moving back to cover the vulnerable inner wood. It enveloped the crelor's form, its silhouette outlined by a band of light that grew slimmer and slimmer until the two sides touched and merged together. The flower petals withered; small embers of a dying fire drifting towards the ground, where they extinguished. The leaves traded their luminous gold for that of autumn, before a gust of wind shook them loose, spreading them in the vicinity. For a moment it was quiet, the gathered fairies all collectively holding a breath, unconsciously joined by Ben. He was not prepared for what followed.
A cacophony of sounds came pouring in from all directions, as if the forest had come alive all at once: birds shrieked, chirped and hooted, accompanied by the cries of small rodents and calls of what Ben assumed must be deer. But that was far from all. Many of the roars, growls and high-pitched shrieks he couldn’t place – he only knew he’d heard some of them before on hunts, and they did not belong to regular animals. In the distance a wolf howled, and Ben almost jumped when his guardian answered in kind. The Fae joined in with what he could best describe as a war cry, the ones in the trees jumping down from their perches and clasping each other’s arms.
A buzz of conversation replaced nature’s cacophony. Many of the fairies tried to get closer to the Nexus – without much avail since the light-bearers kept everyone at bay, their lanterns the only reminder of what had just taken place. If he hadn’t known, Ben would not be able to tell anything about the Nexus had changed. The shape of its trunk had changed minimally, sporting a slight bulge on the side he was viewing, but nothing that hinted at the crelor or the scar that had split its bark open only moments ago. He still wasn’t sure of the meaning of the ritual, or its goal – but whatever it was, the Fae seemed to believe it had been successful and were setting out to celebrate.
The wolf growled, having gotten up from its spot, moving about restlessly.
“You’re saying that’s my cue, huh? I think I agree.”
He picked up his gear and slowly got up from his perch, cursing his stiff knees. He wasn’t getting any younger.
“Will you allow me to leave?” he asked the wolf, which was observing his movement with a wary eye.
It stopped its nervous pacing to look him straight in the eye, holding his gaze for a moment. Ben suddenly felt vaguely threatened, although he couldn’t quite discern why. It was as if it was considering whether to let him go at this very moment – and it seemed conflicted about it. Had it received orders regarding him? Against any trespassers?
An intense moment followed, during which neither of them dared to move a muscle. Ben knew that trying to leave before having received permission would equal a death sentence, no matter the wolf’s final decision: making an unexpected move would cause it to react in kind. In the distance, the crunch of leaves indicated a figure heading in their direction; the wolf noticing it just a little before Ben did. Not breaking eye contact, it lay down on the ground, letting out a small whine.
Ben nodded gratefully, and slowly started to back away. As he turned his back to the wolf, determining where to head now while staying out of sight, part of him expected it to act up and jump him, or draw the attention of the Fae with loud barks. When no sound came he glanced over his shoulder, but only saw an empty stretch of forest where the wolf had been. Still, he knew the Fae would not be far off, and were very likely to be heading in his direction.
His mind still grappling to understand the night’s happenings, he hurried home as fast as his feet would carry him.
*
It took a moment for Jack to find himself again, to pull together the shreds of his consciousness that seemed to be floating off in every direction. He felt sore all over – no, more than that, like his body had been ripped to pieces and shoddily put back together again. A sound escaped his throat, he was unsure whether it had been human or wolf. Smells of the forest surrounded him – the familiar earthy scent of wet dirt and rotting leaves filling his nostrils. And his mouth. And his eyes.
He pushed himself up, coughing and spluttering, from where he had been face-down in the dirt. Immediately a wave of nausea rushed over him and he sank down again, rolling onto his side with a groan. He vaguely registered a blanket being placed over him and he decided to close his eyes for just another minute.
When he sat up again, his muscles appeared to have settled down a little, their protesting reduced to a dull ache he would probably be feeling for a while. Pulling the blanket closer around him, he noticed he was more human than he’d been before: no fur, no claws, no tail. He realised he felt strangely naked without them. Not only because he was, in fact, naked; but like some piece of him was missing.
“Here you go.”
The Root appeared next to him, offering him a steaming clay mug, which he hesitantly took.
“What is this?”
“Tea,” they smiled.
“…What’s in it?” he asked, carefully sniffing it.
They rolled their eyes.
“Honey. It’s funny: your friend asked the same thing.”
Jack turned in the direction they indicated, seeing a very uncomfortable Chris, holding his own mug with shaking hands. It didn’t seem like he���d drank anything.
“Chris!” he exclaimed, then immediately clasped a hand over his mouth – curse his impulsiveness.
“Don’t worry,” the Root smiled, clearly finding this whole thing amusing.
“Names don’t hold nearly as much power as you people make it out to be. And your friend already so generously supplied me with yours.”
Chris said nothing and stared at the ground, probably quietly cursing himself for having let the name slip. It was obvious he did not feel very positive about having to spend time in the Root’s private quarters. Still, he probably found it much more preferable than waiting outside, away from Jack and in full view of the rest of the Fae.
“Are you alright?” Jack asked, observing him.
He faintly nodded, his face pale.
“I just wanna get out of here,” he whispered.
“I’ll get you home,” Jack reassured him. He cast the Root a glance, thinking back to their earlier agreement.
“…I will, right?”
They showed him another of their mysterious smiles.
“I’d say your chances are about fifty-fifty.”
Chris almost dropped his tea.
“What?!”
“I like this one,” they grinned.
“So easily distressed. One has to find pleasure in the little things, when the big prize is out of reach.”
“That’s Fae speak for ‘I think I’ll let you go, since me and Jack are such good friends’,” Jack translated to Chris, adding in a wink.
The look Chris gave him in return very clearly read how can you joke at a time like this? The Root’s face read I can’t believe you still think we are friends.
Carefully, Jack took a sip of tea, letting its warmth flow through him.
“I’m guessing you don’t have anything stronger?” he grimaced while rolling his shoulders, which resulted in a weird crunching noise.
“I thought you didn’t want anything in your tea?” the Root said innocuously.
They stood up.
“Hold tight, I’ve got just the thing.”
“What are you doing?” Chris whispered while they were busy rummaging in a corner.
“We have to get out of here! Also, how do you know that stuff won’t turn you into a frog, or something?”
Jack scooted closer, ignoring the pain flaring in his body, and took Chris’ hand in his own – it felt clammy.
“Relax – they just changed me back.”
He ignored Chris’ pointed look – there would be a barrage of questions later, he knew.
“They didn’t have to do that; they could have just left me that way – I honestly expected them to. And we will get out of here – as soon as I can actually stand. Give me a moment.”
Chris’ face told him he hadn’t considered that.
“It still hurts?” he asked, then leaned in.
“…Are you alright? Did they mess with you?”
“I’m fine,” Jack waved him away.
“Just a little sore, is all. Little dizzy.”
“Dizzy” wasn’t entirely accurate. “Disoriented”, perhaps. Or “like the world got turned upside down”. Yes, that’s exactly what tonight had felt like. Earlier, when they’d gone out to find the Nexus, he’d seen the Fae world upside down in the reflection of the pond – now it was him that was upside down, looking at his life from a new perspective.
After the ritual had been completed and Ben had left, he’d wanted to make his way back to Chris, but had found his legs disagreeing with him. He’d been drawn to the Nexus instead, the familiar humming calling out to him, stronger than ever. Passing through a crowd of Fae who barely paid him any mind, he’d stood in front of it, looking up. He’d felt an energy he remembered from his dream: millions of interconnected pathways, flowing through all living things the way rivers flowed towards the sea. Earlier he’d been fighting the current, drowning in it; now he let it take him, carry him towards its destination through calm waters. It had felt like plunging into a cool lake on a hot summer day: first there was a shock as the coldness hit, quickly turning into a feeling of pure bliss as the water enveloped him.
He’d been shaken out of it when the Root, who had been caught up in other business until then, had kneeled down next to him and ruffled his fur.
“Good boy,” they’d whispered, sporting that familiar grin.
“The Nexus has accepted you.”
Jack had tilted his head.
“…There was a chance it wouldn’t?”
“Occasionally it decides to take people instead. Means they can’t be trusted. For you, I estimated that chance to be …above average, considering your history.”
“But it called me its child, earlier.”
“Many animals eat their young,” the Root had shrugged.
“But we can discuss this later. Now, let’s go find that friend of yours, before someone else decides they could use some entertainment.”
Jack had run a few paces to catch up with them, determined to have this conversation out of Chris’ earshot.
“Speaking of my friend…”
He still held onto Chris’ hand when the Root returned and sprinkled something into his tea.
“There you go.”
Jack looked at them expectantly, but they didn’t elaborate.
“Are you going to make me ask?”
“It’ll numb the pain and give you some energy,” they sighed.
“Honestly, I feel very little trust here, especially from someone who refers to me as his friend…”
“It’s not distrust, I’m just curious,” Jack shrugged.
“Also: how can we be friends if I don’t even know your name?”
They sat down, crossing their spindly legs. Dark vines snaked across them, then dug into the earth below them like roots.
“It’s Melli.”
They leaned forward, pointing a finger at him.
“This does not mean we are friends.”
“If you say so, Melli.”
They narrowed their eyes, probably regretting this decision already. Jack met their gaze, taking a triumphant sip of his tea. It tasted a little more bitter than before.
“The Nexus… is it healed completely now?” Chris asked, his voice still a little unsteady.
It was the first time he’d addressed the Root directly, Jack realised.
“It’ll need some time to fully absorb the crelor’s nutrients, but it has done a great job at restoring what it could. Crelors truly are masterful healers.”
“Too bad they have to travel so far to do it,” Jack observed.
“Did humans drive them away?”
“It’s true they aren’t very keen on humans,” Melli shrugged.
“But there weren’t many of them to begin with, back in the day. The terrain around here is a little too wet to their liking.”
“The Nexus must have a strong pull to make them come all this way, then.”
“Oh yes,” – Melli flashed their typical grin – “as you will find out in time.”
Jack felt a little nervous at the way they’d said it, or the implications made. It was true that he felt the Nexus’ pull, the subtle buzzing in the back of his mind – but right now he was only a stone’s throw away from it. He couldn’t imagine it calling him all the way across country borders – let alone the way he would react if it would. Would they really be able to reach him, no matter where he was? And would he be able to resist or be forced to answer?
He wasn’t sure what this new arrangement would have in store, but it was clear that Melli intended to call on him when needed. The wording had been a little too vague to his liking, but he hadn’t thought he could afford to be picky when they’d discussed it earlier. He was well aware that the price of a human soul was a steep one, especially that of a hunter. And however much he wanted to keep this to himself, he knew that Chris wasn’t an idiot. It wouldn’t take long before he caught on – but Jack really hoped he would at least keep his mouth shut until they were clear of this place. The sooner they were out of here, the better.
He cleared his throat, feeling a little awkward as he looked at Chris.
“Do you, uh, still have my clothes?”
Chris’ eyes flicked down for just a split second before focusing on his face again.
“…Right!” he stumbled, a little flustered.
“I’ve got them right here.”
He tossed a bundle in Jack’s direction.
There was nowhere to retreat for privacy, so Jack simply started putting on his clothes where he sat. Both of them would have had plenty of opportunity to see him naked by now – Chris especially – and he didn’t think Melli would even care. From what he’d seen, the Fae seemed to wear clothing mostly for decoration, not modesty. Melli was wearing nothing under their ceremonial mantle – unless vines counted.
Once dressed, Jack patted his pockets, then remembered he’d left his phone in the car since it would be useless here anyway. His cigarettes and car keys were accounted for, along with some odds and ends…
“Looking for something?” Melli smiled.
They’ve taken something, he thought. But how? Chris had held onto his things this entire time. While he racked his brain trying to figure out what it could be – a challenge without his powers – they held up a small bundle of twigs.
“My sticks!”
They arched an eyebrow.
“Yes, your …sticks. You won’t be needing those anymore.”
“How did you get those? Also: what?”
They observed him like he were a child asking too many questions.
“These,” they explained, holding the bundle between two long fingers,” are a human’s pathetic attempt at replicating a connection to the Nexus. It will fool a portal, but you’re basically announcing your arrival to every fairy in the vicinity. We don’t tell that to the humans, of course – it’s only polite to ring the doorbell when visiting.”
They used their free hand to gesture at Jack, who felt his piercing tug at his ear as if they’d pulled on it.
“You already have your own connection now – a real connection. It will still alert us to your arrival, but at least we won’t think you’re dinner.”
“Dinner?” Chris repeated with a tiny voice.
Melli’s smile broadened into a grin.
“Don’t worry, I’m not hungry right now.”
Jack knew that wasn’t entirely true, and it was definitely not the reason they hadn’t made a move on Chris, but he kept his mouth shut.
The Root returned their focus to Jack, still grinning.
“I should warn you: this time was an exception – bring a human again and we’ll assume you’re the delivery guy.”
“Noted.”
“What about B– …the hunter?” Chris asked, having found some of his courage again.
“He had plenty of rowan on him, yet went undetected.”
“I don’t know,” they confessed.
“For most humans, we can detect their energy and learn things about them. For you, for example, we can sense our blood on your hands.”
Their gaze lingered on Chris for a moment. He did not avert his eyes, but Jack noticed his knuckles whitening around the hilt of the blade he was holding, out of their sight.
“For the hunter,” they continued, in the same airy tone, “ – the other hunter – I can’t detect anything at all. It’s like he doesn’t exist.”
“Vanishing’s kind of his specialty,” Jack mumbled, earning him a curious look from Melli.
“It would be nice if we could make him vanish for good,” they suggested.
“Well, step one – removing the crelor from the equation – is done. Now we’ll have to see how to continue from there.”
Melli seemed doubtful, picking at a loose thread on the hem of their mantle.
“You still believe he will simply move on, now that his object of focus is gone?”
“Honestly? I have no idea. All I know is that we can’t assume any of his decisions will be rational ones. Judging by the ones he’s made so far…”
They looked up at him with calculating eyes, but said nothing. And perhaps they didn’t need to – since tonight, Jack felt like they could see right through him. Nexus, you little snitch, he thought while avoiding their gaze, knowing it wouldn’t matter. The Root was very well aware of the fact that there was more to his relation towards the hunter than he let on.
“We will discuss this another time,” they decided, to Jack’s relief.
“I have work to do, people to instruct. An initiation to prepare for. You need to go home and rest.”
Their demeanour had changed, Jack noticed. They were sitting up more straight, their tone matter-of-factly, like they were trying to distance themselves from these humans. It led him to believe that “The Root” was merely a persona, a performance they put up for the outside world. Melli could claim they weren’t friends as much as they wanted; the fact that they’d dropped that façade around him – multiple times now – still remained.
“Sounds like a great idea,” he agreed.
Jack rolled his shoulders, trying to pop them back into place. His joints were still acting a little funky, but he thought he’d be alright. The tea had surely given him the boost Melli had promised. It was probably best to let Chris drive, though, in case he’d crash.
“We’ll let you know when we have news on the hunter,” he said while preparing to get up – although his body seemed to disagree.
Melli answered with a single nod, having slipped back into their Root persona.
“And I will call on you when the time comes.”
Chris, already on his feet, eager to get out of here, cast him a questioning glance before stepping in to help him up. It would be easy enough to play it off with a lie, claim it simply had to do with his father – but he knew he should be telling Chris the truth, like he promised. Technically, he’d promised to “no longer do stupid, impulsive things” – it was a little late for that, he feared. The truth was the next best thing, right?
His entire body protested when Chris took his hands and pulled him upright, and Jack had to blink for a moment to remove the stars from his vision. Leaning heavily on his partner, he nodded back at the Root, who had now also gotten up. They strode outside, head held high, followed by Jack and Chris, who looked less graceful.
They are not to be harmed, Jack heard, in the strange tongue he could understand but also not. It hadn’t been spoken aloud, but pushed into his head in the way they had communicated through the portal. He realised the message hadn’t been for him, but about him.
Chris gasped and squeezed his hand, and only now Jack became aware of the fairies around them. They hadn’t been surrounded in any sense; they were keeping their distance, but Jack could feel their eyes on him as they moved in the direction of the portal – slowly; gingerly. Chris squeezed his hand as hard as he could – Jack wanted to do the same but was afraid he might break his boyfriend’s fingers.
They’d long left the fairies’ presence by the time they’d arrived at the portal, but neither of them dared to speak, scared of their ears, their eyes, their vines. Jack helped Chris through, like on the way in, then clambered up the tree with the last of his strength. This time, the both of them dropped like sacks of potatoes on the other end of the ride, remaining on the ground for a couple of minutes, trying to process the night’s events. Eventually, Chris was the one to speak up first.
“What. The. Fuck. Was that?”
“I second that,” Jack groaned, pushing himself off of the ground.
Back in his own world, he could feel the familiar glow of his magic returning to him, the whispers in his head eager to catch him up on what he’d missed. But the buzzing still remained, like a tiny insect flying around in the back of his mind.
“Let’s get going,” Chris said, offering Jack a hand once more.
On their way to the car, Jack glanced up at the sky. Even though it would still be a week before the full moon, he could feel it – in his jaw; his lower back. The wolf still felt as close under his skin as it had been on the other side. It didn’t come to the surface, patiently waiting its turn – but its moment would come, and Jack wasn’t sure if he would be the one to choose it.
This was going to be interesting.
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Home: Pt. 1
Summary: The group are trying to find their place in the Commonwealth, but the reader and Daryl, in particular, are struggling. The only thing they can do, it seems, is draw strength from each other.
Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Reader
Warnings: Mentions of violence, language, mild smut
Word Count: 2,484
Check out my bio for a link to my Masterlist!
Author’s Note: **SPOILER WARNING FOR SEASON 11, EPISODE 10, ‘NEW HAUNTS’.** Another one-shot inspired by 11B, because we are getting so much quality Daryl and I am loving it! I wasn’t really sure where this was going when I started it - I just wanted it to be the reader that came across him when he was wearing the Commonwealth armour for the first time, and it descended into mild smutty goodness. I always find it hard to, like, leap into sex scenes with Daryl without having a looooong build up beforehand (see pretty much every series I’ve ever written for him), but it kinda felt right in this moment, with them both feeling lost and needing comfort and familiarity and... Well, you’ll see. I really hope you enjoy!
Author’s Note 2: This was initially intended to be a one-shot, but, after multiple requests, I have written a second part. It will post on Wednesday 6th April 2022, and will then be found on my Mini-Series Masterlist.
*****
You missed your home. Alexandria. Of course, you’d known that it had been a special place, somewhere to be treasured, somewhere worth fighting for, but you weren’t sure you’d appreciated it enough until it had been destroyed in a storm, forcing you to evacuate whilst it was fixed up and made habitable once more. Hilltop was in just as poor a state, if not worse, and, really, the discovery of the Commonwealth should have been a blessing; just what you needed at just the right time. But it didn’t often feel that way.
The workers’ block smelled like neglect, musty and stale, and you wrinkled your nose, heading for the exit that would lead you outside into the fresh air and pouring rain. Ducking your head against the downpour, you were soaked instantly as you jogged down one set of rusting steps and immediately climbed another that stood opposite, hurrying in through the entrance to the first-floor corridor and squinting in the sudden gloom. From the apartments on either side of you, you could hear the low rumble of conversation, occasional bursts of laughter and the heavy beat of music, a song that you were sure you recognised from the time before. The internal walls were paper-thin, and, you thought, if these quarters were anything like your own on the other side of the building, they would be damp, the plaster mottled with sickening grey. It was an unwelcome return to a class divide that you’d thought no longer existed, and it filled you with fury if you let your thoughts linger on the injustice of it for too long.
Reaching the end of the hallway, you rapped on the door you sought, not bothering to wait for a response before pushing it open and stepping inside. It was eerily quiet, the only noise filtering in from the neighbouring tenants.
“Anybody home?”
“In here.” You crossed the main living area, stepping carefully over the bedrolls that were laid out on the thin carpet, and propped yourself in the doorway to the bedroom, casting your eyes over the narrow bunk before your gaze fell to the scowling figure standing in front of the mirror, his broad frame clad in boxy white armour. You couldn’t help the smirk that twisted your lips, though it quickly disappeared when Daryl looked to you in despair. You stepped towards him, reaching up to adjust the uniform where it sat on his shoulders and brushing away an imaginary fleck of dust from the smooth plate that covered his chest.
“Well, don’t you look official.”
“I feel ridiculous.”
You bit back a laugh, knowing that there really wasn’t anything about this situation that was remotely funny, and instead asked, “What do the kids think?”
“Ain’t seen it yet. Nabila’s got ‘em.”
His posture was stiff and unnatural, and he looked more uncomfortable in his own skin than you thought you’d ever seen him, without his usual leather vest and patched-up jeans. “You know it’s not forever, right?”
“Might be. They wanna stay, Jude an' RJ, even when Alexandria’s fixed up.”
“And you’d stay for them?” He shrugged, though you knew the casual gesture belied the lengths he’d go to to make the Grimes children happy. With Rick missing, presumed dead, and Michonne gone, it had fallen on him to keep them safe, watch out for them, and he’d stepped up. You thought there were others in the group that had been surprised by just how easily he’d taken to the role of guardian, but you’d known he’d had it in him all along. You still remembered the look on his face when he’d taken Judith into his arms as a newborn and given her her first bottle. He’d been wrapped around her little finger ever since, and his affection for RJ ran just as deep. “Well, for what it’s worth, I think you look good, Dixon. Kinda sexy, actually,” you teased, desperate to coax a smile from him, even if it was one of embarrassment, but the attempt fell flat.
“Don’t feel it.” He began to tug at the armour, rushing to get it off, and you moved to help him, undoing the straps that secured it so that he could cast it aside, tossing it into the corner and rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. “S’like playin’ dress up; make-believe or somethin’.”
“Kill house seemed real enough,” you muttered, and his jaw tensed, fists clenching at his sides. Unlike Daryl and Rosita, who had been recruited into the Commonwealth’s military, it had been decided that you didn’t quite have what it took to make the cut, something that still irritated you. You were sure that you could have taken down any one of their existing soldiers, given a chance, but, instead, you were allocated cleaning duty, and that afternoon you’d been assigned to clear up the blood and gore that remained after the exercise. “If you guys could try and leave less of a mess behind next time, I sure would appreciate it.”
“S’what ya get trainin’ with real walkers. Half’a them guys don’t even know how to fight hand to hand. Damn useless ‘less they got a weapon they can use.”
“Which is why they’re lucky to have you.” You arched a brow, as if it really went without saying. “We always have been. I guess it’s about time we share the wealth.”
He scoffed, and his fingers went to the hem of his shirt, tugging at it uncomfortably. “It just feels wrong, s’all. It all feels wrong. That job, this house, these clothes… It ain’t me, none of it.”
“Hey.” You stepped into his line of sight, forcing him to look at you and really hear you, unable to take his distress anymore as his pain made your heart ache. “Listen to me, okay? I know you, Daryl; pretty well, by now, I think. And I’m telling you the clothes look good; the armour looks good; the house is less than you deserve, sure, but it’s a roof over the kids’ heads, and the job… Yeah, it sucks, but you could do it in your sleep. You are stronger and more resilient than any one of those assholes, but you’re not gonna prove that if you skulk about with your head down the whole time. You’re Daryl fucking Dixon, man. You’re one of the main reasons most of us are even still alive. You were built for this world. Own it. Show them what you’re made of.”
“S’that what yer doin’? By moppin’ floors an’ takin’ out the trash?”
“We all have our parts to play.”
“Yer better than that.” He reached up to tuck a strand of your rain-soaked hair behind your ear, his touch lingering against your cheek for a beat too long before he pulled away, his gaze raking over you as you shivered at the contact. “An’, for what it’s worth, ya make the clothes look pretty good, too.”
You swallowed hard at the unexpected compliment, glancing down to where your damp shirt clung to your skin, highlighting the steady rise and fall of your chest. In all honesty, what you were wearing wasn’t a million miles away from the outfits you’d worn to fight at his side over the years, except that it was clean and well-fitted, and, you supposed, maybe it was that same novelty that had you marvelling at the way the sleeves of his black sweater hugged the muscles in his arms, showcasing every slight shift and flex as he moved, the material stretching over the broad expanse of his torso. Your mouth went dry, and you found yourself staring at the toes of your boots as you shuffled awkwardly on the spot, unaccustomed to being the sole focus of the archer’s attention.
“Hey,” he rasped, and, when you glanced up, he’d inched closer, crowding you back against the door, which closed with a soft click behind you. “Y’alright?”
“Mmhmm.” You couldn’t form words with him towering over you like that, the blood rushing from your brain in a way that had your heart racing, your pulse pounding in your ears.
“Ya never said why ya stopped by.”
“Oh, I…” You tailed off, trying to think back to what had brought you there in the first place, but, when you glanced up, his piercing blue eyes were burning into you, driving away everything but the here and now. “I don’t remember.”
He nudged his nose up at you, a small smirk playing at the corners of his lips, and you were transfixed, unable to tear your gaze away, lost in the intensity of the moment as he hovered there, the heat of his skin warming you to your core. There’d been a time when you’d thought there might be something between you and the archer, a fervour that seemed to flare up whenever you got close. You’d shared a drunken kiss at the CDC, a tequila-tainted clash of teeth and tongues in the corridor, after which he’d snarled at you - “The hell d’ya think yer doin’?” - before stalking away. You’d never spoken of it again, and, over the years, you’d forced your feelings down, flames fading to ash as he became your friend, your family, someone you knew you could depend on. Now though, it was as if the uncertainty of your current situation had stoked the embers, forcing you towards something safe and familiar that you could grasp hold of, and your hands moved of their own accord, sliding over his chest to cup his cheeks, his scruff coarse against your palms.
“Ya remember that night, back at the beginnin’?” he asked, his mind obviously wandering down the same path as yours. You nodded. “Y’ever think we’d still be here after all this time?”
“I knew you would.”
“Wouldn’t wanna be without ya.”
“You’d be just fine.”
“Nah.” He dipped his head to bring his face level with yours, giving you no option but to take note of the sincerity written over his features. “I wouldn’t.”
You crashed into him; that’s what it felt like. One minute you were standing there, just centimetres apart, tension thrumming in the air, building and simmering, and the next you collided, without any conscious thought, your chest crushed to his as your lips met. The kiss was hot and frantic, borne of neediness - the need to shed the expectations of those around you, to shrug off your own sense of disappointment and regret, to not feel so damn alone for just a little while. You could taste the lingering tang of tobacco on his tongue, combined with the sugar-sweetness of Carol’s cookies, and you drank it in, savouring the feeling of his mouth moving on yours, devouring you with a hunger that rivalled your own. Strong hands slipped to your thighs, hitching you up and pressing you into the wood, and you clung to him, wrapping yourself around him like a vine, pushing away from the surface behind you to propel him backwards until the backs of his knees hit the bed. He turned then, dropping you onto the slab-like mattress before immediately covering your body with his own.
Your awareness of anything but Daryl melted away as you lost yourself in the urgency of his touch, fingertips biting into your flesh as your nails drew patterns over his back, raised red ridges criss-crossing with ageing scars. He was so solid, so reassuringly there, the weight of him grounding you as you felt yourself beginning to come apart at the seams, your clothing long since discarded as he mapped every inch of you, experimenting, seeing what gasps and moans he could draw from your lips as he played havoc with your senses. You were completely at his mercy, pinned beneath him, and, when he finally sank into you with a low growl, your vision seemed to dim so that all you could see was his face: tanned skin slick with sweat, cheeks flushed, thin lips kiss-swollen.
So much had changed since you’d first met in that tiny camp outside of Atlanta, and yet the one thing that hadn’t was the relief that washed over you whenever you saw him, alive and okay; the way he made you feel like everything was going to work out because he would make sure it did, would protect you no matter what. And this, you knew, was his way of trying to make it okay for both of you, to give you an escape from this way of life that was so foreign and really not designed for people like you and him. So, when you felt his movements begin to stutter and stall as he lost control and tumbled over the precipice, you fell with him, the two of you soaring and spiralling into ecstasy together, it seemed, caught in the current of heady sensation that carried you. You were both trembling, gasping for air as you clutched at each other, trying to put off the moment when you knew reality would come rushing back in.
The slam of the door, followed by a shout from the living room - “Uncle Daryl, we’re home!” - was what did it in the end, cutting through the peace you’d discovered and bringing you down to earth with a painful jolt. Daryl jerked away from you, leaving you feeling cold and bereft at the loss as he stumbled to his feet and began to tug on his clothes.
“I’ll be right there,” he called, fastening his belt and running his hands through his wild tangle of hair before turning back to you, where you sat on the bunk, still a little fuzzy and vague as your high ebbed away. “Y’alright?”
“Yeah.” You forced yourself to nod, tugging the blanket around you, self-conscious now that he was fully-dressed. “Yeah, I- You should… go, be with the kids.”
“Ya sure?”
“Of course.” You stooped to grab your shirt from the floor, pulling it over your head and fixing him with a tight smile. “I’m okay, I swear.”
He made to leave the room, pausing when a sigh escaped you and retracing his steps to bend over you and press brush his lips against yours in a soft whisper of a kiss. “We’ll talk. When they ain’t here, we’ll… we’ll figure this out.”
“This?” you asked as he straightened up.
“Mmm, us.”
“Right, yeah… Us.”
You dressed quickly once he’d disappeared, not wanting to linger too long and have your sudden appearance seem strange to Judith and RJ, but, when you caught sight of yourself in the mirror, you couldn’t help but laugh at your dreamy expression. In so many ways you felt out of place at the Commonwealth, as if you didn’t fit in and most likely never would, and yet, by coming here, it seemed, you’d found out exactly where you belonged. Wherever Daryl Dixon was, that was home.
*****
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karma;
❥ 16k words | nsfw | eren x fem!reader
❥ content - eren eats reader out,, eren also fucks reader ;)
❥ you don’t care much for eren’s fuckboy habits until he fucks over your friend, and you’re left to deal with the consequences. and eren’s left to deal with a revelation neither of you saw coming
this is based off the song karma by summer walker, so feel free to take a listen!
"i just don't get it— like how foul could you be? if he didn't like me that's all he had to say, not play me like i'm some dummy,"
"historia," you stopped her ramble with a sigh, lifting your hand up as a gesture to say 'stop'.
"i told you, you should've just got with me." ymir snorted, throwing her hand around historia's shoulder, the blonde pouting, her eyebrows furrowing.
you place a hand on historia's lower back and gave her a condescending look. "i told you that you shouldn't mess with him, i wasn't trying to be dramatic or anything when i said that— i know eren... i gave you a heads up and you ignored it."
historia rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders. "i didn't ignore it, i just... thought it'd be different."
you scrunched your face up and pinched the bridge of your nose. "why exactly did you think it would be different?"
"instead of giving historia shit, _____," ymir emphasized your name, squinting her eyes at you. "why can't i just rock him? a good punch to the face is maybe just what he needs—"
"ymir, punching him will not solve anything. plus, i doubt historia wants you to punch him either."
"she can speak for herself, idiot. historia, my love, would you like me to knock eren out?"
historia sighed. "no, i don't want anyone to get knocked out. this is so confusing... and not to interfere with your friendship or anything but how can you just go hang out with him right after?"
you looked down at historia, removing your hand from her back and giving her a raise of your eyebrow, looking forward to wear the three of you were headed. you were going to hang out with eren; he was your closest friend who you met in middle school, and now shared a dorm with. it was finally spring break, and as his bestfriend you were invited to spend some time with him and his family for the vacation. eren had you pack bags for the weekend and wanted you to meet him in the front of the building, so that's where your feet were taking you while you conversed with your friends you met on your way. "historia, i said i told you not to fuck with him, what happens between you and eren doesn't have anything to do with me." historia frowned at you and looked down at her crossed arms and you felt a small sense of guilt curdling in your stomach. "i'll talk to him though."
"right now? cause he's right there." ymir said using her head to tilt towards the benches once she pushed the large doors to the outside open. you looked up and ymir was right, from a distance was eren standing up next to a shag of blonde hair and two other people that you couldn't identify as they weren't facing you. almost on cue, eren looked up, head whipping to your figure and a small smirk creeped up on his face until his eyes landed on the two next to you, that smirk dissipating almost just as fast, and him quickly averting eye contact, mumbling something that caused the rest of his acquaintances to turn their heads around. you shook your head and patted historia's shoulder noticing she was glaring at eren, but not as hard as ymir.
"yes, now... uh, i'll catch you guys later." you said waving off to them. "don't worry too much about him historia." and with that you began walking off towards eren. you studied his appearance, hair lazily threw back into his signature messy bun while stray pieces shied away from it. he wore a simple grey sweatshirt with black sweatpants to complete the lazy look, white sneakers on his feet, and when you trailed your eyes back to his face a boyish smile was present.
"hey." eren said simply, arms stretched out to pull you into a warm hug that you reciprocated, your arms wrapping around his midsection as he snuggled you into him, resting his chin on the top of your head.
"hey, eren." you cheesed, pulling back to wave to the rest of the group. "eren's brother," you watched zeke chuckle from where he was seated. you used your finger to point to yelena after, "yelena, pieck and porco!"
"i'm assuming you know my name and you're just being a fool." zeke announced, making you giggle and place your hand on top of his blonde locks. although you didn't see the upperclassmen much, you had no problem remembering their names, especially zeke and pieck as you saw them the most.
"right, of course i know your name, zeke." you smiled. "but what's the gathering about eren?" you motioned to the clutter of people, looking towards eren who's eyes were already on you.
zeke was faster than eren, answering the question before him causing eren to narrow his eyes at his older brother. "eren, my favorite brother here wants to take my car to see his mom and my dad."
you laughed at his words, the enunciation on the last part of his sentence making eren's eye twitch. "first of all i'm your only brother." eren said, rolling his eyes.
"and you guys share the same dad." you grinned as zeke nodded his head at your clarification, another burst of laughter being let out by you and pieck who shook her head at zeke's antics.
"hi, _____, it's been a while since i've seen you." pieck said, waving her hand as well, her head laid down against the surface below her.
"hey, pieck," you slid down onto the bench taking a seat beside her, porco's hand snaking around her back instinctively. "yeah it has, but that's because you're a year above me." pieck chuckled and nodded her head.
"precisely..." she hummed, moving a strand of raven black hair out of her face, eyes trained in the direction ymir and historia walked off. "who were the girls giving eren the dirty eye?"
your eyes followed pieck's. "oh, historia... and ymir." of course, her out of everyone would notice that. you silently praised pieck for being so observant. you looked up at eren to see him avoiding your gaze, his bouncing left to right.
"what did eren do this time?" zeke asked you, propping his head up on his palm as if he was genuinely interested in the conversation, although you were sure it was just to make fun of eren. pieck gave a confused look, her eyebrows coming together as she glanced between the brothers and you.
"more like what did the girls do to eren." yelena said calmly, a bored expression present on her face, her arms crossed leaning forward on the table.
you averted your stare at eren and propped your arms up on the table like yelena. "well, the blonde girl likes eren and they were talking or something, and um... he was messing with some one else at the same time. she's not happy about that, even though i told her not to mess with him."
"so what i'm hearing is it's her fault for messing with him after you told her not to? lesson learned." yelena scoffed, her large eyes portraying a mocking sorrowful expression.
eren shifted uncomfortably at the new eyes on him, letting out an exasperated sigh. "listen,"
"eren, you really can't defend yourself here." zeke cut him off, eyes widening to poke at eren's expense.
"i didn't know she liked me!" eren blurted out, hands flying out from his sides.
"so your brother's a dumbass too?" porco snorted, eren glaring at him with a huff, crossing his arms back.
"pock—" pieck started, being cut off by eren's rising tone.
"i'm not kidding, i didn't know!"
"so you didn't know a girl who you fucked and kept texting you after had feelings for you?" your retort was quick, head inching forward as your eyes narrowed at eren as if he was dumb causing eren to glare at you too, his lips in a thin line at your statement before placing his hand out for zeke to place the keys in his hand.
"okay, whatever, let's go."
"someone's upset." pieck added before placing her hand on your shoulder. "bye, _____, see you at the club tonight?"
"club?" your ears perked. oh, the club. as well as vacation for spring break, majority of your first and second years decided to takeover a club not too far from campus before people left off for their families. you had already packed a dress for the event when you packed your bags last night alongside eren. the event had just slipped your mind. "oh, yeah, yeah. if eren still want's to go."
zeke slapped the keys in eren's hand, you getting up from the bench with a wave to the remaining three, going to stand beside eren. zeke stood up as well, bringing you into a suffocating hug, his beard grazing your forehead before pulling back with a pat to your shoulder. "well, see you. tell miss carla i said hello because eren won't."
you smiled at zeke before eren grabbed your hand with his free one, giving it a small tug. "don't worry, i will zeke."
with a small "c'mon," from eren, he began pulling you away, you trailing after the boy until the two of you reached zeke's parked car. "you really need to get your own car." you murmured to eren as he opened the back door for you to throw your bag in, alongside his, then the passengers side before walking around to the drivers.
"nah, zeke's is good for now." eren slid into the driver's seat, adjusting the chair before starting the car, giving you a one over to make sure you were comfortable, noticing the way your face shriveled up at the smell of the car. "smells like cigarretes?" he asked you, a small smile upturning on his face, his expression almost softening.
you turned your head towards him with a reciprocating smile at his observation. "yeah, but it's okay. your mom's house isn't too far anyways." eren pulled out of the parking lot, letting your last statement resonate in the air while he watched for cars behind him, hand on the back of the head of your seat, brows furrowed in concentration while you opened up your phone, scrolling through your socials. you noticed the party tonight was the talk of today, almost everyone of your mutuals on your feed talking about it. it didn't sound too bad, and you didn't mind going either, getting to see your friends was enjoyable. "so we're going to that party?"
eren's eyes shot to your face from the rear view mirror, lingering for a little before going back to the road ahead. "as long as you want too— i mean, i want to. why? you don't have something to wear? i thought we packed last night."
"dummy, i'm just confirming with you. i have something to wear, you literally watched me pick out my clothes."
eren stayed silent for a couple minutes while beginning to grin at you unconsciously. "yeah, i saw it, the dress. i was gonna say you could borrow one of my moms if you didn't have one." he joked, looking to you to watch you give him a raise of your brow and an upturn of your lip.
"you're such an idiot." you looked back down to your phone to switch apps. "who's gonna be there that i know? i know sasha will probably go, i haven't seen her lately."
"me." eren said matter of factly, not even looking your way for a reaction.
you rolled your eyes, hitting him on the shoulder lightly. "i'm serious."
"im serious too."
"eren!" you whined his name, his look fixing on you again at the sound of his name before shifting away just as quickly.
"you know, the usual... sasha will probably be there, armin probably wants to see annie or something... connie... maybe jean, or reiner or whatever."
"or whatever." you mocked eren, lowering your tone to try to get his voice spot on, causing him to slap your thigh hard, you yelping and dropping your phone to rub at the abused spot, your leer shooting daggers at eren. "i'm telling carla when we get there."
eren only laughed, bringing his hand back to your thigh and moving your hand to soothe the supple skin with a flitting rub while you pouted at him. "she'd hurt me if i hurt you."
"you did!" your voice raising slightly, hand moving his away but not before pinching the skin on top causing him to hiss.
"sorry." his hand returned to your hand sitting on your leg, giving it a small squeeze of reassurance while he studied your face just in case you had a negative reaction.
you let his palm linger, the feeling almost comforting, and... and what? you couldn't pinpoint it, but for the majority of the rest of the ride, his hand stayed until he had no choice but to remove it when steering. a sense of anxiousness was relieved when he did, but you couldn't figure out why.
彡
"go inside, i'll get our bags, my mom will be happy to see you." eren said, signaling to his front door with your hand, and you nodded walking to the small house. a sense of nostalgia was washed over you. you vaguely remembered coming over to eren's house so often and spending so much time with him, mikasa and armin. of course, mikasa being so busy with her own studies could only visit so much, but there were many times she came back to visit alongside you and eren, armin occasionally visiting as well although he had family to go back to as well. you and eren constantly did almost everything together, from indulging in video games he used to side eye you for wanting to play with him, to helping his mom in the kitchen with a grumble from eren, to getting into heated arguments and having to sit on the couch with carla since eren would kick you out of his room, only to be scolded by carla only minutes later. it was all enjoyable memories, even the arguments, and thank goodness to the closeness of the college to eren's old house. you were able to visit and relive those memories so often, a sense of warmth washing over you each and every time.
not only were you thankful for the proximity of carla's house, but you were thankful for her constant efforts to keep you and eren close. she was the one who suggested requesting a shared dorm, the one who constantly asked eren to bring you over, the one that never failed to ask about you every time she called eren. if you and eren ever lost your bond she'd be the first to know.
you walked up the steps, the door already unlocked as carla anticipated your arrival. as soon as you opened the door the significant scent of linen and apple flooded your nose, along with whatever she was cooking up. the mass of carla's dark hair was in your line of sight once you turned your head to the side, her body stood in front of the stove, and she whipped her own head around hazel eyes almost bulging out there head when she spotted your figure at the front door. "_____!" she exclaimed, immediately dropping the pan she was holding back onto the stove and rushing to you, embracing you in a loving hug. "my baby, i missed you so much! eren brought you!"
and eren, always on time stepped in behind you, his tall figure towering over you and his mom with two bags in his hand.
"and my real baby, oh i missed you both so much." carla pulled away giving you chaste kisses on side of your face, her long eyelashes fluttering against your skin as she cradled your jaw with her nimble fingers. her apron decorated around her waist smelled of fresh cooking, but her perfume lingered as well giving off a haze of peppermint.
she moved towards eren, her hands cupping his face and pressing a kiss to his cheek as well, moving her fingers to tug on his ear playfully before drifting down to his shoulder, patting his chest then pulling the bags out of his hand. "mom—" eren murmured, twisting his face at his mom's protectiveness as she dragged the bags out of his hand, going over to place them beside the staircase before coming back over, hands clasped in front of her guests.
"no, you just came, no need to try to put stuff away yet." carla said with a cheery smile, still elated at the arrival of the two of you. "i'm so glad you're here, i just finished cooking so let's all sit and eat before you try to do anything else." she began walking back towards the pan she left on the stove, head turned back with a knowing look at eren who would try to go put the bags upstairs. "come sit." and you and eren made your way to the round dining table, four seats present, yet only three would be filled.
"where's dad?" eren asked as he sat down, pulling the chair out for you first while you fiddled with your fingers, watching carla plate the lunch she prepared.
carla's movements slowed as she sat in thought for a couple seconds. "oh... he's at work, like always you know." eren looked down, nodding his head.
"so how's school going?" carla asked, heading over to place down a bowl. "chicken pasta salad, it's good, eat." she used her head to motion towards the food.
"it's going good, luckily i don't have that heavy of a workload like others, it's bearable, but of course still hard." you replied, as she brought over plates and cutlery, setting them down in front of eren and you, both of you immediately scooping some pasta onto your plates.
"and you, eren?"
"it's fine, mom."
"how about football? is that going good?"
"yeah, it's good too." you winced at eren's lack of effort in the conversation, hitting his elbow with your own, him giving you a confused expression before he placed his full fork in his mouth.
"zeke told me to tell you hi." you told carla as she came to sit in front of the two of you, plating her own food, eyes widening at the mention of zeke's name.
"really?"
"yeah."
"well then how's zeke doing too then?"
"i don't know, i don't see him much, eren could probably tell you." you gave eren the opportunity to talk, looking at him to cue him to say something while you took another forkful of the pasta.
"he's probably fine too, i don't see him much either." eren replied with a shrug of his shoulders, picking at his food, and you sighed.
"how's sharing a dorm going? i hope eren's not too much, i know he can be a ruckus."
"it's good too, he's a better roommate than i thought he'd be at first." you let out a small laugh, remembering eren's old antics, how messy his room used to be, the dark green of his walls and the miscellaneous decorations he used to have sprung around. you couldn't wait to go upstairs and check that out again. "he's still a little messy—"
"but she always nags me to clean up so that doesn't matter." eren cut you off before you could attempt to compliment him and you rolled your eyes.
"i wasn't gonna say anything bad. yeah he cleans up a little more now but i always have to pick up a sock or something. plus, i'm the one who has to clean up before someone comes to visit. like mikasa or armin or something." you chose not to mention the countless girls that'd come in and out too.
carla pursed her lips looking up at eren with a slightly disappointed look. "you always have to keep your workspace and your room clean, eren. especially in the presence of others, i didn't tell you that all the time for no reason."
"i know, i know, mom."
"no you don't because if you did you'd keep your area clean in respect for ______." carla placed more of her food in her mouth with a shake of her head before moving her failing ponytail to her back from her shoulder, then looking up at you. her doe eyes were just like eren's, he was the spitting image of her and it's one reason why you could never forget her face. "how's mikasa and armin?"
"they're good too, mikasa couldn't come this time, she has too much going on i guess— but she's fine!" a slight moment of worry crossed carla's face, eyebrows turning up and lips frowning as she twirled her fork in the food in front of her.
"hopefully she can come next time, tell her to relax. poor girl, always has so much on her plate. i remember when she used to be here she constantly had to do eren's chores for him, what a doll."
eren scratched his head, looking down at his almost empty plate. "i did work too, she didn't do everything for me."
carla ignored eren's add on."and armin?"
eren answered before you could. "he's good too."
"i hope so, he's such a sweet boy." carla hummed. "so how long are you guys staying? and how long's your break?"
"only a week, we'll be here for this weekend cause zeke is gonna need his car back." your plate was almost finished as well, fork scraping against the ceramic.
"yeah, but later today we're heading back up to go to a party." eren said nonchalantly, eyeing his fork as he spun it in his hand.
"i hope that's okay with you— if you don't want us to go we don't have to." you hastily added in consideration for carla, eren's green eyes narrowing at you with a small frown. he clearly wanted to have some fun tonight.
"no, no! that's perfectly fine, you'll be here for the whole weekend, i'll let you kids have your fun." carla smiled. "i'm just glad you came earlier than waiting until after the party cause i know you'll get back late and i'll probably be sleeping. who's birthday is it?"
"it's not a birthday." eren stuffed the last of his food in his mouth, chewing before continuing. "just a spring break party before everyone goes home."
"oh? so that's what you do in college nowadays?" carla laughed, peering at eren's plate, content that he finished his food. you joined her in laughing, ushering yourself to finish up as well, knowing eren might get impatient with your pace at eating.
"i guess. there are parties all the time. but how have you been?"
carla beamed at your asking. "i'm good! nothing much, i wait for grisha to come home, although i'm usually just here alone. i have my hobbies though, i'm fine. i've been trying to make friends with the neighbors too, they have some younger kids that are enjoyable." as you listened to carla you finished your food as well, her getting up to gather the empty plates and take them to the sink. "thank you for asking, _____. eren, honey can you put the top on the pasta and put it in the fridge? i'll make dinner later just in case you want something else when you get home tonight."
eren pushed his seat back, standing up to do as his mom said, wandering towards the fridge. "that's fine, we should just give you a break, we'll eat the pasta again when we get back, you can just relax, right eren?" you said, watching carla and eren maneuver around the kitchen while you got up to wash your hands at the sink beside carla.
"yeah that's cool too. you don't have to cook mom."
carla pouted endearingly at the two of you with an "awe," leaving her lips. "the two of you are so sweet. i'll clean up, you can go upstairs now." and with that you and eren left her to her own devices, eren grabbing the bags at the stairs and almost pushing you up the stairs.
"that was good, i'm full." you sighed, as you walked beside eren down the hall until he opened the door to his old room. the walls were still a muddy green, a decision you're sure he probably regret now. miscellaneous posters decorated his wall, an oak desk sat idle in the corner of his room beside a collection of simple books. his bed was made, navy comforter sprawled out on the bed and plump pillows sitting pretty. his bed was big enough for the two of you to share, but carla always asked if you wanted to sleep in mikasa's room when you came. you always declined. "look at your certificates." you pointed to the certificates framed on the wall as eren set the bags down on the floor beside his desk.
"shut up." eren grabbed your wrist, pulling you towards his bed until you collapsed onto it beside him. “'m tired." he groaned, his face down into the cover below him, arm slumped over your waist where you laid. you were going to pester eren about his situation with historia, but you decided to leave him alone for the time being.
"you can take a nap before we leave."
eren turned his head to the side so his cheek was smushed against the bed instead, looking at your form, your head pointed towards the ceiling. "you wanna take one with me?"
you faced eren, giving him a stank face before poking his cheek. "just cause you're tired doesn't mean i am. i'll lay here though, i'll wake you up when we should start getting ready." you slipped your phone out of your pocket to check the time. "you have until like five thirty-ish. it's four."
eren squeezed your side, that same anxious feeling rising as he did so, pulling you a little closer, eyes shutting. "take a nap with me."
"no."
"c'mon."
"eren, i'm not tired." he opened his eyes again, piercing green blue hues staring at you head on. he removed his arm from around you, picking his head up and scooting up to his pillow, now facing away from you with a huff. "whatever, i'll wake you up later." he didn't respond, and around fifteen minutes after, once he was asleep you got up from the bed.
shuffling downstairs, you turned the corner to the living room, seeing carla seated on the couch watching tv. "hi, mrs. carla." you said lowly, her head turning back fast as usual, and simpering when she saw your face.
"you're okay?" her hand moved to find the remote, turning down the volume on the tv as you came to sit beside her. her soft hand found yours, grasping it. "enjoying the stay so far, right?"
"of course. eren's sleeping so i wanted to keep you some company."
"that's too sweet of you. he's doing fine too, right?"
"yeah, probably just tired from staying up all night. he was up pretty late yesterday." you reminisced on the small argument you had with eren just the previous night before, you pestering him about his reluctance to sleep, him making you irritable being on the phone with who knows in the dead of the night.
carla nods her head in understanding. "so tell me more about the party."
you look up to the ceiling in thought as she rubbed your knuckles. "well, eren wants to go more than me. i wouldn't have minded staying here if he wanted too, but i guess he wants to see some people."
'hm, are you going to see some people?" she wiggled her shoulders in a taunting manner, and you chuckled in response.
"nope, just gonna chill."
"well... don't get too drunk or anything. i want my babies safe...” she looked at you with large eyes, curiousity present on her face. “are you seeing someone?" she asked abruptly.
you were slightly caught off-guard by the question, but were a little glad carla felt so comfortable basking in your private life. "we won't, don't worry. but um, no i'm not."
"i see... is eren? anything he's not telling me?" you pondered, not wanting to tell too much about eren's own personal relationships despite it being his mom. i mean— would you want someone telling your mom about you breaking girls hearts? you decided to enlighten her a little bit, make her feel like she was somewhat apart of eren's romantic life.
"he doesn't tell me much either, to be honest. i guess he's just trying his luck with girls. he has no problem catching their attention anyways, so i don't think you have to worry much about that."
carla looked at you, an unreadable expression visible on her face through the small moment of silence. she let go of your hand, putting hers back in her lap. "i'm glad you know it too." she half joked, looking to her lap. "... trying his luck?"
you shrugged your shoulders, feeling a tad bit uncomfortable, letting your hand come up to scratch at your jaw. "something like that... i don't know, he's just doing his own thing."
carla's eyes darted back and forth between you and her legs, trying to find something to say, mouth opening and closing every time she thought she had came up with the right words. "_____, i really like you, and enjoy your presence you know. you're really great to eren, i appreciate that. i want you to keep looking out for him, i want the best for him. whatever he has going on, help him figure it out, be the best version of himself as possible."
your words were so vague but you felt like she saw right through them. her words were so vague and you had trouble deciphering them.
"... of course, yeah, i'm looking out for him, he's my bestfriend."
"yeah... that's also true." carla sighed, and you hope she didn't notice the confusion that crossed your face for a brief moment.
saving you from the slightly awkward silence, carla turned the volume up on the television, the two of you sitting and watching whatever was present on screen.
soon enough, eren's foot steps were heard, both you and carla turning your head to see eren standing at the bottom of the steps, and irritated tired look on his face. he rubbed at his eyes, moving away some of the stray hairs in his face before slapping his palm back down to his thigh.
"what are you doing?" his voice was rumbly and deep from sleep, tone impatient.
"talking to your mom?" your response was more of a question, carla patting your thigh for you to get up.
"its six thirteen."
"i left my phone upstairs with you, grumpy." you glanced to carla. "he's always like this when he wakes up."
"i can recall." a chuckle left her lips as she shooed you away. "the two of you can get ready."
so you followed eren back upstairs, toeing behind him until you got to his room. you scurried to get your attire and products from your bag, and with your belongings in hand, you went off to the bathroom to get ready and give eren his own privacy.
soon enough you were dressed and freshened up. your strapped blush silk dress adorned with ruches up the side hugged every curve of yours, while your hair sat pretty. you sighed in content, grabbing your perfume bottle and spritzing yourself, the smell of vanilla engulfing your senses. you looked at yourself in the mirror appreciating the way you looked, your lips glossed, and your earrings dangled just above your shoulders.
from the mirror view you could see eren come in behind you, his eyes trailing down your body from your reflection in the mirror. you didn't bother facing him, only stepping slightly to the side to take a look at him as well, a plain black shirt on his upper half, accompanied by black jeans as well, and some sneakers. his pendant hung in his hand, gold watch to match on his left wrist. of course, he never did much to his hair, as it was still pulled back in the same ponytail from before his nap.
"sit down on the toilet." eren side eyed you before sitting on the lid of the toilet, you coming up in front of him to pull the hair tie out of his hair. "your hair's a mess, and i'll put the necklace on."
surprisingly, no complaints from eren arose, he sat quiet as you carded your fingers through his brown locks, pulling his hair back into a neater bun, flyaways still decorating his face in a more purposeful manner. hair tickled the back of his hair as well, but you liked the messy look. you grabbed the pendant from his rough hands, unclasping the back before putting it around his neck, him leaning forward to give you a better angle while he stared down at your feet. "better."
eren looked over you from where he sat on the toilet seat, a calm face present. "aren't you gonna get cold? or your feet might hurt." he pointed to your white heels detailed with clear.
"i'll be fine," you dusted his shoulder before he stood up, once again towering over you, seemingly more intimidating now that he stood straight up. "i have a jacket that i'll put in the car."
you and eren made your way back downstairs, your jacket and phone now in hand, eren likewise. carla practically gasped at the sight of you two, her eyes growing like saucers at your attire. "you guys look so cute!" she came over, taking your hands into hers. "all grownup."
"mom..." eren exasperated, grabbing your wrist to pull you more towards the front door, away from carla.
"eren, it's okay," you pulled out of his grip, turning back towards her. "thank you so much."
carla smiled, heading towards eren. "and my handsome boy," she swiped at his shirt, making sure there were no dust particles on it much like you had did earlier, then tugging at the key pendant on his neck, straightening the necklace. "you guys be safe, i love you."
eren placed his hand over his mom's, moving it down from the chain and back into her own vicinity. "yeah, love you too." his hand made a 'come on' gesture, and with a tilt of his head, you were following him again. "let's go."
彡
"eren, wait." he didn't hear you, still making his way around the crowd of bodies, annoyance creeping up in your veins as you tried to keep up with him. "eren!" still, no response, only him still moving forward making you groan in annoyance. you rolled your eyes for the umpteenth time, and let them land on the bar next to you. "hitch!" you called out, her and the blonde next to her turning towards the sound of her name being called, who you soon recognized as annie.
hitch waved you over excitedly, almost bouncing in her seat at the sight of you. you made your way over, sitting beside her as she pulled you into a tight hug. "____, hey! didn't really think you'd be here."
"why not?" you hummed, bartender looking your way to see if you would hint that you wanted a drink.
"not sure, i just thought you'd be chilling in your room right about now. i was just telling annie about some boys, there's a lot of cute ones here if you want to get some."
"i'm good." you peered down at her drink, clear liquid detailed with greenery, a lime sitting on the side of the glass. "what are you drinking?"
"a mojito," hitch wiggled her eyebrows as she recalled the drink in a sing song voice. "wanna try it?" she pushed it towards your lips. you shrugged your shoulders sipping at her straw without a care. the drink stung a bit, your face twisting as you shook your head.
"i'll just get a martini. what's annie drinking?"
"dunno, probably water." hitch moved a piece of her hair behind her ear, glancing at the clear liquid in front of annie. "oh, yeah. like i was saying..." her voice trailed off to you as you began to talk to the bartender, ordering yourself a martini.
you sipped on your drink, only half listening to hitch. every time she tried to confirm that you were listening by going "right, _____?" you would nod your head even if you couldn't remember the last thing she said.
"_____, _____!" a familiar raspy voice was calling your name, pulling you out of your thoughts. you, hitch and annie once again looked towards the source of the sound, sasha's hand outstretched in your direction as she came forward, dragging along connie. "hey, you're here!"
you shot sasha a smile, putting down your drink and embracing her into a side hug, waving at connie as well. "hey, sash! yeah, how'd you know?"
"i went to go find connie so he could buy me a drink, and i saw eren and asked if you were here too. he said you didn't know where you were though, but what a coincidence." sasha made herself comfortable in the seat beside you, connie staying standing as there were no more seats to the left of sasha. "what's that?" she pulled your martini forward, putting it to her lips with no hesitance, beaming at the taste. "this, what's this?"
you laughed at sasha's antics, her presence making the event at hand all the more better, you missed hanging out with her, only having night classes with her the semester before. "it's a martini."
"yeah, connie, get me this!" connie let out a sigh and went to the other side of the bar where there was seating to comfortably order and wait for sasha’s drink. "he's so nice, i literally forgot my wallet, and that would've been so tragic if they had some good food here." sasha hummed, reluctantly pushing your drink back over in front of you. "how long have you been here?"
"not for long," you responded, taking another sip of your drink. "maybe like thirty minutes or so, eren left me like as soon as we got here so i've just been sitting with hitch and annie." you gestured to the girls beside you, hitch engaging annie in more conversation who almost forcibly listened, seeming to care less, although hitch told her anyways, getting the occasional nod from the blonde.
"oh, i've been here for like an hour now, i met this really cute boy. i don't know his name but he's blonde, and cute, like really cute." she clasped her hands together at the thought of the boy. "i danced with him, he was so nice, i need to find him again tonight." when connie returned with her drink she thanked him profusely, hugging his arm dramatically before letting him go so he could return to his other friends, waving off to you once more.
"well, find out his name maybe."
"i had it, i just forgot!" she pondered. "i think it started with an m, or an n or something, i don't know." you laughed again, taking another drink of the beverage in front of you ice basically being left in the glass, sasha beginning to drink hers as well. "you should come out to the floor and dance, it's literally so fun. plus, everyone else would probably wanna see you. historia is here! jean is too, and like— some other people."
"are you gonna finish your drink first?" you had no problem going out to dance, although you rather just watch from the outside.
"i'll take it with me. is that a yes? c'mon!" sasha exclaimed, picking her drink off the table and pulling you from your seat. you and sasha made your way through the surplus of bodies until you felt the surface under your heels change. you didn't see anyone you knew but you were sure sasha did as she perked up then looking back at you. "there's the boy, look!" you followed her direction of sight a boy with a middle part, blonde strands flopping at the sides of his forehead. he was cute for sasha, and the joy that glowed on her face made you smile.
you truly did miss her, and the excitement she brought into your own life, coercing you to go out to eat with her, begging to come over after classes despite it being night, and pushing you to attend parties and events.
"can i go over to him?" sasha begged, tightening her hold on your arm before making puppy dog eyes. "look," and with her finger she pointed towards a connie, him speaking while moving back and forth to the song playing loudly, music filling your ears. "connie is over there, i'll take you over." you sighed but couldn't help but cast a smile at her, her hickory ponytail bouncing as she took you over to connie.
connie was in the midst of talking to jean, who you recognized right off the bat, his ash brown hair scaping his neck, eyebrows lifting when he saw you approach with your friend. "connie— and jean, hey, jean. look who's here." connie glanced at you, then to sasha.
"i saw her earlier." he said, pausing from talking, his movements slowing. "but, hey again, _____." connie punched your shoulder lightly in a joking manner.
"well, i didn't," jean's hand rested on his chest as he spoke before pulling you into a hug moving the drink in his hand to the side as he did so, cheesing at you. "hey, _____. when did you get here?"
"when eren got here, if you've seen him."
jean's smile disappeared, an "oh," leaving his mouth blankly. "you look nice. how's everything?"
you stepped forward, closer to jean and connie as sasha left your side to go talk to the mystery boy. you grinned at the compliment, showing your appreciation. "thanks... i'm good, how about you?" you only really heard about jean through eren and sasha, also seeing him around campus more often than not. he was good company for the times you've been around him, but you and mikasa had to constantly get him out of scuffles with eren although they were pretty good friends.
"good, that's good. i'm good too. you're just now getting on the floor?"
"yeah, thanks to sasha. why? you wanna dance with me or something?" you joked, nudging jean's shoulder, earning a small laugh from connie as well that you could barely hear.
"jean you better watch it, this my girl." connie interrupted playfully, snaking his hand around your waist and pulling you closer in spite of jean. jean glared at connie before letting his drink run down his throat again, adam's apple bobbing.
"yeah, yeah, _____, wanna dance?" you complied, connie letting go of you and off to do his own thing as you came more up to jean, moving side to side with him as you mouthed the lyrics to the song. you relished in your movements, being able to loosen up and just dance, jean fluently following your movements as well, frequently mumbling the lyrics he knew. when granted you turned around letting your back hit jean's chest, his lip upturning as he looked down at you, watching you do your own thing. his free hand came down to your side to hold you in place as you danced, feeling the song playing. he studied your face from what he could see, noticing how carefree and relaxed you look. "looks like you needed a night out." he said loudly so you could hear.
"i guess. it's just nice to be able to see all of you at once, just letting myself live a little, especially since i don't get out a lot."
"you really don't. you should talk to sash more, have her bring you to some more parties or something like you used to always come to."
you bent over slightly, only so that you were no longer pressed flush against jean, letting your rear grind against him a bit. "you miss me? you can invite me out too you know, just depends if i'm feeling it that day or not."
"so you're asking me to text you more?" jean took your movements lightly, hand still resting at your side, his own body surprisingly cool albeit your actions, continuing to drink the beverage at hand.
you snorted picking yourself back up and adjusting your dress, swaying your hips once more. "jean kirschstein; always a flirt." jean and you both laughed, and he tapped your hip before gesturing towards the bar.
"you know it— but, i'm gonna get a refill, you enjoy yourself." jean began walking away, pep in his step and you chuckled to yourself, standing around until you took it upon yourself to find someone else you knew.
you walked slowly, looking for a familiar face, sasha almost nowhere to be found. you contemplated going back to the bar to sit down with hitch and annie again, or go converse with jean again, but you spotted armin wandering around almost aimlessly in the crowd as well, your face lighting up at the sight. "armin!" you called out, and thank goodness for his sharp ears, the blonde turning around almost immediately at the sound of his name. his smile was large and he came over,
"______!"
you brought armin into a side hug, a funny look on your face. "armin, hey. you looking for someone?" you asked, referring to his walking around just seconds before you called for him. the blonde scratched the back of his neck, nodding his head with a nervous laugh. "yeah, um... annie, i was looking for annie." your mouth dropped into an 'o', eyebrows lifting up in surprise. you remember eren foreshadowing that armin would be there for annie, and it made you giggle.
"annie?" you smirked, watching his eyes dart around the club, avoiding your eyes. "well, i think she's at the bar talking to hitch. want me to come with?" you weren't planning on grabbing another drink, as you could already feel some of the alcohol buzzing through, but you of course weren't drunk, and you needed it to stay that way.
you felt a hard slap of a hand on your shoulder, whipping your head back to see sasha all bugged eye standing behind you, a concerned expression crossing your face. armin, noticing the drift of your attention gave a curt nod. "no, it's fine, i'll find her." then walking off in the direction of the small bar.
"_____, guess what, guess what!" sasha exclaimed, turning you around by your shoulder, her cheeks high from smiling hard, face flushed from the countless drinks you assumed she must've had since you saw her, another one present in her hand as you spoke. you could only wonder who bought her it.
"hi, yes sash, what's up?"
"the guy— he's literally so cute, and guess what!" she repeated, eager to have you try to guess her next statement.
"um what? you got his number?"
she profusely shook her head, bangs whipping back and forth as she stabled herself on your shoulder, pulling down the dress she was wearing before leaning into your ear. "he can cook too, he told me he's a chef, i mean can you believe that? i don't even know if i want to take him home." she giggled before pulling away, eyes going up to the ceiling in thought. "i should probably get his number too, shouldn't i?"
"well if you're not gonna take him home then you should probably get that now."
"oh, no," her hand paused on your chest while she took a swig of the alcohol in hand. "i'm taking him home for sure, i just got to get the number too, he's so sweet!"
sasha's energy was a lot, her eyes darting around once more. "look, eren's coming over," she pointed with her drink behind you and you turned back to indeed see eren heading over to the two of you, his eyes pointed down at his feet as he watched his step around the excess bodies of sweaty people clashing around him, careful not to step on any feet. "i'm gonna go use the bathroom because i really have to pee, then i'm gonna get his number, ok?" sasha said, you saying an "okay," as she stumbled away to find the bathrooms.
just as she stepped away, eren stepped forward, him placing his hand on your lower back to push you more towards him and get you away from other people. "hey," he said in a louder tone for you to hear.
"hey." your feet moved with eren's as you noticed he was side stepping in an effort to dance less awkwardly, making you hold back a laugh.
"are you enjoying the party?"
"yeah, its nice. i've seen a lot of people so far."
eren peered down at you, eyeing you with another indecipherable look, his tongue sliding over his bottom lip and his eyes squinting slightly. he moved his hand to your side in effort to turn you around, leaning down to your ear. "enjoy yourself a little more, dance with me, i haven't seen you all night."
you looked at eren, his head near your ear causing the deviate hairs on the side of his head to tickle you. "i am... and that's your fault, you left me almost as soon as we got here."
eren ignored your last statement, pressing his palm to the dimples of your back. "lower." he droned, curiosity crossing his face as he wondered if you would comply or not, although he was just messing around.
"eren!" you slapped his arm, another foreign feeling coursing your skin as he tittered in your ear before pulling back.
"what? you're my bestfriend, i'm just messing, plus you'd be at like— my legs anyways." eren gave you a testing gaze, watching you lift a brow up at his slick words. with courage, you challenged eren, pushing back on him a little more, letting your backside brush against him in the slightest playfully. eren's hand stiffened on your side before he turned you back around.
"did you feel that in your legs?" you didn't think eren would take you seriously. you could play around with each other like that, and sometimes you did.
"woah, stop..." he let out a shaky laugh, it sounding more like a huff of breath. "uh, i'm gonna go head over for another drink... do you want one too? i'll pay." his voice came out almost in a pleading manner, but you shook your head brushing him off.
"it's cool, one of us has to stay sober— i wouldn't want you crashing zeke's car either, he'd kill you."
"whatever... but, you sure?"
"yes, i'm sure... i'm gonna go find somewhere to sit anyways, i'm kind of sick of standing."
"i told you your feet were gonna hurt."
"i didn't say they hurt, i said i was sick of standing, stupid. go get your drink." you pushed eren forward a little bit, him looking over you one more time before letting you go, heading in the direction of the same bar almost everyone you had encountered had sat at at least once today.
you wanted to find somewhere to sit, and it wasn't too hard, a broad seating area with small lounge couches and seating in the corner of the club, and sitting one of the couches was pieck, surveying the area, a peaceful expression on her face as she sat with porco. you mentally high fived yourself for spotting another one of your acquaintances, striding over, watching pieck's face practically glow at your arrival, porco not caring much. "pieck," you held your hands out, gesturing to the dark haired girl. "comes to a party, and lays down with porco for half of it."
"so you finally found me." was the first thing she said, intertwining one of her hands with yours and pulling you down to sit with her, laughing at you. "i was out there earlier, and now i'm drinking. pock here wouldn't even let me be out there for too long if i wanted too."
"and let those filthy hands touch you? damn right." he grumbled, arm swung around the back of the seat the three of you were seated on.
"see? pock; forever the life of the party." pieck mimics your earlier tone, using her hands to gesture out like you before the two of you burst into fits of laughter. "but, i saw you being the life of the party and dancing out there."
you scoffed. "barely, i danced with only a couple people, that's all."
"sasha, jean, eren." she leaned forward, bumping you with her hand that held her drink.
"why'd you say eren like that?"
pieck looked to porco, almost snorting at your obliviousness before looking back at you. "he was watching you when you were getting down with jean, then you kind of... got down with him too." her eyes got wide mockingly, before she giggled at her own words, downing some of her alcohol.
"barely," you said again. "i'm just friend's with both of them— and jean is just naturally flirty i guess. i'm just chilling, like you."
porco looked over at your last sentence, eyeing pieck with a muddled guise, her catching on before lightly rubbing his hand that sat on his thigh in security. "not chilling like that, pock, she means i'm just sitting around."
"i'm not stupid, i knew that."
another burst of short lived laughter from you and pieck, porco rolling his eyes at the two of your antics. "well eren and jean are over there now."
you glanced over at the direction of pieck's gaze, spotting eren seated beside armin and annie, and a new face you didn't even see all night, historia talking to eren with a black haired girl next to her, arms crossed. jean stood on the other side of them, leaning on the counter seeming to be listening intently. something seemed off about the conversation but eren seemed to be nonchalant about it so you didn't think twice. "so annie was still at the bar? i guess hitch left her." you said mostly to yourself, recalling when you told armin where the stoic girl was earlier that evening.
"yeah," pieck still heard you. "look at annie and armin," she used her drink to gesture towards the two.
"cute, almost makes me want to get in a relationship, surrounded by all these lovebirds." you said jokingly, specifically aiming your sentence to pieck and porco next to you, and not so much annie and armin as you weren't even sure if they dated.
"i could pluck a couple candidates for you."
"who?"
"i don't think you'd like my answer."
you shook your head at pieck, only letting the comment linger on your mind for a bit before letting your eyes wander back to historia and eren. they seemed to be having a heated conversation from the distance you were at, historia's drink in hand as she spoke to eren, her hands flailing at the same time while eren drank his own, seemingly half-listening. "was historia always here?"
pieck looked ahead to the bar as well. "i'm assuming you mean the blondie from this afternoon? i remember her, but i don't recall seeing her until probably just a couple minutes ago, why? you're gonna go over and say hi?"
"nah, she's a sweetheart though; she'd be happy to see me regardless, but, i think she might be a little annoyed with me because of what happened between her and eren. if i pass her later then yeah."
historia frowned as both her and you, despite your distance watched eren turn around to armin and jean, saying something that made jean burst out laughing and armin and the raven haired girl next to historia's jaw drop. what jean said after was inaudible from where you sat, but you could just see the words "eren," formed on armin's lip. your eyes widened as when eren turned back around historia's hand flew forward, drink wrapped around her fingers letting the contents inside of the cup spill forward onto eren's shirt, the red shade of the liquid seeping into it.
you gasped and pieck did too, her moving her hair out of her face to make sure the events that were splayed out were really happening. "oh my gosh," you muttered, standing up and taking long strides over to the bar.
armin's hand wrapped around eren's wrist, tugging him back before he could lose his temper on the small girl in front of him. "eren, leave it!" you could hear armin say, worry in his tone as eren shook out of his grip. but before he could do anything else in response you were in front of him, your eyebrows furrowed and your hands placed on the front of eren's shirt, avoiding the wet spots as you pushed him backwards a little.
"eren, hey, eren, stop!" you raised your voice slightly, his eyes still trained on historia who you stepped in front of, her stepping back, with the other girl, who you could now tell was mina, but you could only remember her so vaguely, hearing about her from eren more than seeing her more often than not.
eren looked down at you, his expression softening only a tad bit when he saw your own angered one as you tried to calm him down. you twisted your neck back to look at historia with a disappointed look, her looking almost surprised to see you here as well, as if she genuinely didn't know you'd be here. "historia..." you sighed more so to yourself before looking at eren's shirt again.
"_____, i can take him to the bathroom to help him." armin proposed, coming up beside you and examining eren's shirt as well. luckily because of the dark color it only looked like a water stain, but you knew it was irritating eren nonetheless.
"it's fine, i'll take him, thank you arm—"
"no, let's go, get your stuff." eren interrupted you, turning towards the barstool he was sitting on previously to grab his phone. his tone was low and domineering, almost telling you that yes, you were leaving right now, not that you had any complaints; you were already getting tired, hence why you took a seat with pieck.
"um, i left my stuff in the car, and i have my phone." you felt your chest to make sure your device was still tucked away, and it was, eren grabbing your upper arm and for the thousandth time that day, tugging you away. you could only look back with a sorry gaze at armin, noticing jean's still shocked expression, and realization dawning on historia's own face. you would have to shoot pieck a text later that night as well, as you could no longer see her as eren dragged you out the club.
once you took step outside the cold breeze hit your arm, but one of your arm's were still held captive so you couldn't rub your limbs to try and soothe the aching cold, getting annoyed by the way eren was pulling you along with him. "eren, let go." you pulled your arm back, and easier than you thought, your arm slipped out of his grip as the two of you reached the car. this time he didn't open the car door for you, both of you getting into your designated sides simultaneously, eren starting his brother's car again.
"what happened?" you asked almost immediately, eyes still looking down to the splotch of alcohol on his black top. you knew it would turn into a stain without the proper care of the material.
eren basically ignored you, looking over to your side once before beginning to drive off letting silence fall over the two of you. you huffed and looked out the window, resting your head on your palm and just letting eren's temper wash away with the car ride. you'd coerce him to tell you when the two of you got back to carla's house.
彡
eren unlocked the front door, letting you get inside first. all the lights were shut, his mom most likely sleeping, yet the two of you were still quiet.
eren almost immediately began stripping off his shirt, first starting by placing both of his keys on the counter, alongside his phone, while you placed your own belongings beside his. he took off his tee, pendant slapping against his chest once the shirt was off. you used your right foot to kick off your left heel and did the same with the reciprocating leg.
before he could toss his shirt onto the table chair you reached out, grabbing it and going to flip on the kitchen light, heading over to the sink. eren studied your movements slightly surprised by your immediate efforts to help him, which to him should be no shock; you were always willing to help eren, always one step ahead of him before he could make mistakes, always rushing after him before his mistakes as well.
he came over beside you as you studied the stain, your delicate hands stretching out the fabric to examine it further. "what was she drinking?"
eren looked up from his shirt to your face, you too concentrated on the shirt to notice. "how am i supposed to know?" you gave him a browbeaten stare, him shifting uncomfortably before speaking again. "i don't know... it was something red i think."
"i'm gonna hand wash it and put it in the dryer. next time you wash clothes you can wash it too." you murmured, turning on the sink water before drizzling dish soap onto the black material. eren watched you silently, almost in awe at your domestic movements, your hands moving faintly yet firmly when you scrubbed at his shirt. he decided to break the silence instead of continuing to watch you.
"... i was just talking to armin and jean, and then she came over with her friend."
you immediately scoffed, breathing air through your nose at his last words, not even looking back at eren. "her friend? you know her name eren, i know you do."
eren stared at his shoes, tapping his fingers against the counter he leaned against. "yeah, mina. well they came over, and she was just talking to me like normal—"
"eren." your tone was almost threatening— like a mothers warning. you were glad he finally felt the need to tell you about the events that your mind was pondering on, but the way he sounded like he was attempting to dumb down the story itched you wrong. eren could tell by the tone of your voice that you were slightly upset, and he decided not to push any further.
"well she started talking to me about everything, her and mina were like... interrogating me about the situation, how i... played them," the words felt almost foreign coming from eren's mouth. you could almost see him visibly cringing from the angle he was at beside you. "and then i said something that she took the wrong way, i said it to jean and armin, then she threw her drink at me." the more he talked the lower his voice got until it was merely above a whisper, almost as if the embarrassment was only just dawning on him.
you let the quiet simmer for a little longer, ringing out the fabric in your hand before rolling up the material and making your way to the laundry room, eren following behind like a lost puppy. you brushed your hand against the laundry room door, turning to eren for confirmation that it was the right room if you could remember, and he nodded his head. with a sigh you threw the garment into the dryer, setting it to dry for only twenty minutes then letting the dryer run.
eren once again let his eyes follow you as you stepped in front of him crossing your arms, your brows coming together creating a crease between them, and your eyes squinted at him. "so why'd you do it?"
no response, only emeralds darting around the room to avoid your own strong gaze. you weren't angry, no, as cliché as it is you were merely disappointed— maybe even irritated, and of course confused.
"hm? what'd you get out of hurting them?" you stepped closer, eren making no attempt to step back.
"... i dont know, i—"
"you don't know? you just doing this for fun? cause it's not fun for them, and it's not fun for me when random girls always come up to me, like historia; telling me about what you did." you pointed an accusing finger at his chest. "like, i just don't get it eren." your hand came up to your face as you pinched the bridge of your nose.
eren was almost at loss for words, only being able to listen to you speak, and only able to observe the array of motions that came and went on your face in a single minute, observe how you tapped your foot against the hardwood floor, or the way you tucked your lip between your teeth in frustration every time you took a pause in telling him off.
"eren... i'm not saying she was right for throwing that drink on you, because she's not, but you," another brief pause, and your eyes meeting eren’s, a sympathetic look on them. okay, yeah you weren't mad, you just wanted to know what was going on through eren's head. "you can't keep just doing them girls like that, thinking that nobody's gonna bite back."
"______, i'm sorry..." he didn't want you to be disappointed, he didn't want you to be upset with him. it was some kind of heavy guilt that turned his stomach. he took it upon himself to grab one of your hands, and surprisingly you didn't pull away, his fingers rubbing your knuckles in an attempt to soothe your nerves. "'m sorry,"
"eren, you're apologizing to the wrong person." eren genuinely didn't know what to say, he knew you weren't the person to apologize to but he wanted your forgiveness as well. you let go of his hand moving it to the key around his neck, fiddling with it between your fingers as a mere distraction. he watched your soft fingers move, and it gave him a sense of comfort and fidelity, a warmness in his chest.
"i know..." his tone was filled with culpability, and it made you feel bad despite the position he put your friend in.
"you know, your mom talked to me earlier." you unconsciously slid your hand up his chest to his shoulder. your touch, your touch was enticing to him whether you knew it or not. "she said she wanted me to help you out and help you be the best version of yourself as possible." your other hand went on your hip to steady yourself further, but eren pulled it away and brought it to his other shoulder, you giving them a squeeze that made his stomach flip. "so that's what i'm trying to do, because that's what she wants, and because i love you."
eren practically choked when the words left your lips. not that he's never heard it from you before, no, being his best friend for so long it was such a casual thing to say 'i love you', and it was actually repeated more often than not. but now, why did it feel any different now? "i love you too..." he said hesitantly, bringing his own hands to your forearms, massaging the skin much like he did your thigh the previous morning. "you're not mad right?"
"no, if you can do better for me i won't be." truth being, he'd do anything for you. you let your hands glide up until you were cupping his face, giving his cheek a playful pat to show you weren't mad at him, then coming back down to tug at his chain, like his mom did earlier. "c'mon, let's go get changed."
and it hit him— he was awestruck.
it all made sense, fleeting touches he would give you, the way he relished in your skin on his, wanting you to be in his presence— better yet in his arms. the way your own touch on his; like you putting his necklace on for him, or you fixing his hair, how he would look at you in awe as you did so, how it gave him a sense of calmness. you were always looking out for him, and he didn't realize he was looking out for you too, always a protective grip on you, pulling him along with you, watching you from afar when he had the chance, searching for you when you've been away for too long. and you, when you would check on him, fix his attire, fix his necklace, taking after what you've learned from his mom just showed the mutual bond the two of you had, but the longer the bond stayed cordial, the longer he longed for you more. so when your hand slipped from his necklace and you began to walk around him he couldn't help but whine your name lowly and tug you back towards him, abruptly spinning you back around and letting his hands hold your jaw as he pressed his lips against yours, not considering the impact of the action in that brief moment.
you were caught off guard, the feeling of his full lips on yours felt oddly good, but it wasn't right— no it wasn't right at all to you, but to eren it felt completely right, like you were made for him, his other hand pulling you closer by your waist, the silk material of your dress underneath his hand making him squeeze tighter as if his hand would slip away.
you tried pulling away, and eren could feel it, your reluctance and your hands trying to push him away, but just a little longer, a little more, a little bit more time for his lips to engulf yours, until you both had to pull back for air, your nails leaving crescent moons on his chest from your efforts to push him away from you. he heaved, a croak of your name coming out as you shook your head despite the feeling of the kiss you shared sending the butterflies in your stomach abroad. "eren, no... i can't, you‚"
"no," he was desperate, his voice having that same pleading tone from when he asked you to get a drink with him at the bar. "it's not like that, this is different!"
your eyebrows pointed upwards, something in you did want to believe him but you couldn't. but then again, what would make him want to do that? when did he ever start finding you appealing? was it the kiss just now that made you realize that this wasn't the eren you always tried to take care of? that this wasn't eren jaeger whos ears would get red when his mom would tug on them, or who convinced her to paint his walls an ugly green, or the eren that'd kick you out of his room? this was eren, who grew his hair out to his shoulders, who joined a sports team and gained abs that rippled under his shirt which you finally noticed, eren who would make small sexual innuendos that probably had more lying underneath it than you thought.
this was eren that kissed you, and you kind of wanted to kiss him back.
"i promise." his lips were flushed, much like his face, small wispy hairs from the bun that would never stay put for too long swimming around his face. his palm still lingered on your waist but his other hand was now gripping one of your wrists on his chest. he never knew how to keep his hands to his self, and that only increased now. you didn't even realize he was inching closer, practically begging for more contact. "my mom would kill me if i played you anyways."
and so you let his lips collide with yours again, your mouths moving in synchronization this time around. eren's hands fumbled for the laundry room light before he tapped your thigh signaling you to wrap your legs around his waist. you knew his intentions but you still obliged. he shut the door and you wrapped your arms around his neck as he carried you to the kitchen light, doing the same as the previous room, him carrying you carefully in the dark, taking his time to get upstairs quietly with you in his arms until you both were in his room, him finally settling you down on the bed and turning on a dim lamp on his desk.
"shit," he mumbled watching you splay out in front of him, although your knees were touching as you laid back to hide yourself slightly while eren fumbled taking his shoes off. your dress was sliding up your thighs, and if you opened your legs you were sure eren would get a clear view of the cotton underwear you changed into that morning.
eren didn't want to be too hasty, he wanted to show you that this was gonna be about you and your pleasure, to show you that this wasn't another one of his flings and that you were important, you meant something to him but he just couldn't see it until now. so he towered over you, watching the way you bit your lip anxiously and it made his heart skip a beat, you were so cute, and he always knew so but the thought only audibly hit him now. he massaged your knees, one of his favorite soothing actions to do to you, until he slowly pulled them apart, feeling you tense up. "it's okay..."
so you moved along with him, and likewise, your dress slid up some more, eren pushing it up to your stomach, you lifting your hips to help him do so. he eyed you, making sure you were comfortable, and he couldn't help but lean down to kiss your lips once more, before pushing you further up the bed so he could lean over you. "you want this too, right?"
you nodded your head, letting out a shaky breath as his kisses trailed down your neck, eren using his arms to support himself as he leaned between your legs. you could feel the denim of his black jeans pressing up against you slightly and you clenched, your knees hitting eren's sides. "you gonna let me treat you right, make you feel good?" more kisses down your sternum, until they reached the cleavage of your breasts, eren looking up at you with those recognizable doe eyes, and you pulled his head back up, fingers brushing against his ears.
"yes, eren." his name, his name on your lips never sounded so nice.
eren turned his head sideways to kiss your palm before giving you a boyish smile then tugging at the straps of your dress. "want me to take this off?" he was so verbal, it made you feel so safe and secure. when you nodded your head he began to slowly pull the fabric off of you. he took his time, feeling every inch of your body, every curve beneath his hands, the softness of your flesh against his knuckles. he almost groaned out seeing your body almost bare in front of him. you were so pretty, it almost wasn't fair that it took him this much time to take action. "pretty." he spoke under his breath, but you heard it, and your hand slowly went to your mouth to hide your smile, your other one wrapping around your own waist to hide yourself, and eren caught on, moving your hands. "stop hiding, beautiful."
the compliments went right up your spine, your eyes fluttering as he skipped over your bra and let his kisses head down south, peppering your stomach in them. he let his fingers run up against your sides, eyes looking up to you for a second to make sure you were comfortable to where his hands and mouth were headed. eren's fingers dusted the waistband of your underwear, his teeth grazing the material as well before he pulled back, letting them snap against your skin, you hissing in response. "eren," you whined, feeling yourself grow even slicker from his onslaught.
"yes?" he said almost tauntingly. you could feel his hot breath over your lower abdomen, and you felt like you were being tickled. he decided to be a little slower, moving his hands to your thighs instead, rubbing at them, his fingers ghosting over your skin the closer he got to your heat, and when your mouth dropped open, the smallest moan came out of your mouth when he let his palm rest over you, he couldn't help but rut his length onto your thigh a little through his jeans.
when your legs spread more between him, he took it upon himself to go back down to the same position he was in, holding one of your legs apart by your knee while the other one attempted to pull your panties over your legs. eren was growing excited watching your hips lift up and your underwear fly across the room. his eyes were dark, hungry almost as he watched you try to close your legs again, but his hand was still holding them open as he stared at your glistening cunt. "damn," he breathed out shakily, jade eyes swapping between the view of your face staring at the ceiling in slight nervousness, and your pussy, sitting pretty in front of him, for him. "let me taste you."
you nodded your head almost too fast, and that urged eren on, him settling himself in between your legs. "you're so sexy," his thumb gave your clit a few test rubs watching your hips buck up slightly, and you could feel yourself pulse, aching for more contact, but eren was being painfully slow. he let his thumb drop down lower until it slide between your folds, gathering your slick on the digit, pride filling his body at how much coated his thumb. "you're so wet because of me." way to fill his ego. you rolled your eyes with a small chuckle that made him reciprocate, the childish smile returning on his face.
"stop..." you said, letting your hand fall to your stomach, the small moment of laughter making you a tad bit more comfortable. eren closed his eyes, pressing his tongue against your clit before flipping it and dragging it down to your entrance. before you could even buck your hips up his hand flew to your side, his fingers pressing into your skin, holding your hips in place, a whine leaving your lips that egged eren on. "fuck," the new sensation of his tongue on you, simply sitting on your hole had you wriggling underneath him. he opened his eyes to watch you, your head thrown back on your pillow, mouth agape your hand now kneading at your breast, bra pulled down around you waist, and eren couldn't help but smirk against your throbbing heat.
"you like that?" his lips moved against you and you visibly shuddered, causing eren to chuckle.
"yeah..."
eren pressed a kiss to your clit before finally letting his tongue slip into your hole, a small gasp eliciting from you as you felt yourself clench around the wet muscle. he audibly groaned, the way you tasted and felt around him making him tighten in his pants. he pushed his tongue in and out, relishing in each of your gasps and the moans you tried to hide. he pulled back for a brief moment, bringing his fingers up to spread your lips. "don't hold back, i wanna hear you." and he slid his tongue up your slit before sliding it back in, essentially tongue fucking you, your back arching as much as possible under his restraint.
"eren, fuck— more," you hissed. it felt almost teasing, you needed something bigger, something to fill you up and fuck you good, and the thought alone along with eren's tongue venturing inside of you made you even wetter, and eren could feel it, slurping at your juices. the vibrations made you yelp out, his grip on one side of your hips tightening while he readjusted his fingers in a v-shape to hold your lips apart.
eren gave you a small break, pulling back for a brief moment to let you calm down before gently sucking on your clit. he let his tongue sit on it then went back down, this time taking his index and sliding it into you, a drawled out moan leaving you. your eyes squeezed shut, and no— no, it still wasn't enough, but it felt so good.
eren smiled to himself, seeing you shaking in pleasure, knowing it was him doing so, and let his fingers do some work, kissing up your thighs then nibbling on the skin slightly, your other leg sliding up and down on the bed and your toes curling. he pecked kisses back down your thigh until his lips met your clit again, lapping at it lightly and letting the cold air hit it before pressing his open mouth against it and sucking, small hums of content leaving him.
"i can't," you could feel yourself throb as eren pumped his finger in and out of you, curling them to hit that sweet spot inside of you and you almost cried out, that familiar feeling of an overload of pleasure creeping up on you. "i'm gonna come," and god, did he want to feel you cream all on his mouth.
"gonna come for me?" eren added another finger, feeling you squeeze around him as he continued to thrust them into you, letting his lips come back to lick at your heat as he fingered you faster while his other hand trailed up and down your sides instead of holding them down. you let one of your hands come back down into eren's hair, finding a grip on the brown locks and pushing his head down further, eren humming in content, sucking harder for your pleasure.
"yes, eren, yes!" you blabbered, the heat in your lower abdomen twisting around as you grind against eren's face until your orgasm tumbled over you, your hips stuttering, back arching while eren slipped his fingers out, taking both of your thighs on either side of his head and helping you come down from your climax while he licked at you until you were back calm yet your breathing uneven.
eren pulled off of you with a pop, his eyes meeting yours, but you only looked for a split second before you let them go down to his lips, covered in your wetness, and he smiled, his tongue slipping over his top and bottom lip. "you taste good, that was good..." he climbed over top of you until his fingers were prodding at your lips, asking for entrance so he could have you taste yourself, and you complied, lips parting and his digits slipping in while your tongue swirled around them. he curved his fingers, pushing them further down your throat as far as possible before slipping them out and coming down to kiss you, the taste of you even more apparent as your mouths met. he slipped his tongue in, grabbing your jaw and kissing you fervently, tongues dancing together for a bit before he reluctantly pulled away, pressing his forehead against yours. "good job."
your hands made quick work of pulling off your bra completely despite the ache from keeping your legs apart while eren shifted backwards off the bed as you watched him unzip his jeans, pulling down his pants until he was left in grey boxers. he pulled those down too, his cock slapping against his lower abdomen without shame and you nearly drooled when he took it in his hand, rubbing up and down the length while coming back over to his bed. you grabbed eren's hand, trying to keep your eyes off of his length making him let out a low laugh. "you scared?" he joked as you brought him down next to you.
"shut up— no, i'm not." your hands moved to his chest pushing him down to his pillows but eren sat back up, placing his own hands over yours.
"woah, it's okay, you don't have to." he realized you wanted to suck him off, but he didn't want to make it about him tonight as to not give you any ideas that any of this was temporary. he wanted to take it easy and pleasure you like he just did, make you feel good, and make you cry out his name, not vice versa. "you lay down." eren flipped the two of you, until you were back underneath him, and he took it upon himself to rub your breast, letting his thumb and index twirl one of your nipples between his fingers. his mouth came in contact with your other boob, talented tongue going to work at your reciprocating nipple for a brief moment before pulling back. "i don't know if i have a condom."
you glance up at eren, a frown forming on your face. you knew he messed around a lot and that somewhat worried you. "you don't have condoms here or something?" your eyes darted around his room.
"it's my mom's house, no i don't have condoms." eren was growing impatient, precum visibly leaking out his tip so he took it upon himself to smooth it down his length while he thought. "i'm clean though, i swear." he added. "i haven't had sex in a couple weeks either." you gave eren a wary look. "i'm not lying."
with a roll of your eyes you nodded your head and shifted around, but eren stopped you halfway, hand pulling your hip back down to the bed. "nah, i want to see your face, gorgeous." just as fast as he slipped out of his alluring mood, he slipped back into it and your lip twitched as his hand ran down your side until it was back at your thigh, eren pulling your leg further from the other. he looked down to position himself in front of you, mouth in an 'o' shape at the sight in front of him. he was about to fuck you, and fuck you so good. "you ready?"
"mhm."
so eren slid himself inside of you, both of you groaning simultaneously until he was buried at the hilt— and this is what you longed for. you felt so full and it felt so nice, the way he stretched you out was indescribable and your mouth hung open, small gasps coming out as your hand gripped at eren's forearm near your head. "fuck, you okay?"
albeit your eyes being squeezed shut and eren feeling like he was splitting you open, you nodded your head hastily, nails digging more into his skin. it had been awhile since you had sex yourself, so the feeling almost felt like your first again. "yeah... you're just, so— big..." you managed to breathe out. you should've kept your mouth shut, you could practically see eren's ego inflate, his lip twitching trying to suppress his smile.
he brought his palm to your face, smoothing over the skin with his thumb. "yeah? well you're so tight," eren pushed a little further until his tip was brushing your cervix, then his body coming back a little bit until his head was a distance above your pussy, collecting spit in the front of his mouth before letting it slowly drop down onto your clit, rubbing it in to soothe you further as he pulled out a bit, tantalizingly slow. "i'll go slow at first."
eren pushed in and out slowly like he promised, but it didn't last for long, his pace quickening fast, but luckily he continued to rub you in circular motions to help ease the pain until it melted into pleasure. "can't believe you're letting me fuck this pretty pussy of yours." he groaned out, his hips rocking against yours.
the way you wrapped around him, squeezing him impossibly tight wasn't fair. you felt exactly how he thought you would, maybe even better, and every thrust of him inside you had him holding back more and more. "shit, _____." his voice came out in a whimper, and his elbows were brought down to the bed while your legs wrapped around his waist in an attempt to pull him closer.
for you, the sensation was incredible, the way he pulled out just before he was no longer inside of you, then pushed in until you could feel him against your cervix, every time he hit it pleasure shooting up inside of you. it had your skin feeling tingly and your hands flying to grip at the sheets, small wails of pure euphoria coming out of you and edging eren on. "eren," you cried as his teeth began to nibble on your neck, sucking on it as well in efforts to mark you. his necklace sat cold against your chest as he sucked on your neck and increased your pleasure.
"yeah, i love hearing my name from you like that, say it again." he almost demanded, pumping into you harder, your body rocking on top of the bed with every time eren slammed his hips into yours, your wetness collecting on his pelvis. "again," he popped off from your neck watching the skin slowly darken, and he knew there'd be a hickey soon enough.
"eren!" you whimpered, rolling your own hips down into his, eren supporting himself on his arms again, bringing one up to wrap around your neck, giving a test squeeze. "fuck..." you choked out as he tightened his grip, almost surprised at the fact that you weren't trying to push his hand away. his fingers tapped against your neck before he pressed harder, coming down to kiss you again, tongue licking at your bottom lip, your breathing shortening from the lack of oxygen coming in or out. he pulled at your lip before making every thrust of his powerful, pulling out slow then coming back in strong.
"so you like when i choke you like that?" he mumbled against your lips before pressing his against your jaw. "you're so dirty... never thought you'd be like that." and finally he let you take in air, palm moving from your neck to your breast, giving it a nice squeeze.
eren lift your hips up a little bit so he could find that spot inside of you— and when he finally hit it you all but screamed, his hand slapping over your mouth and eren's eyes widening. "shut the fuck up!" his tone serious, as you forgot that his mom was only rooms over. you gave him a sympathetic look in apologies as he slid his hand from your mouth.
"'m sorry, but you feel so good..." you pouted trying to kiss him up in excuse. it had to have worked the way eren leaned forward so he could brush against your sweet spot again, this time you gasping.
"yeah? i feel so good?" he repeated.
"yeah."
"'atta girl," you were consumed in ecstasy, the praise, the stimulation, the feeling of his pendant against your skin, everything was surrounding you and that familiar feeling of your orgasm approaching began climbing again, you just needed a little more. "taking this dick like that— and liking it too." eren unwrapped your legs from his waist, his pace speeding up again. "i bet you want me to fuck you like this more often."
you groaned, your hand snaking down to rub at your clit again, and only after a couple rubs were you seeing stars, your back arching again, every nerve in your body being pinched as you came all over eren. a cry of his name came out over and over again and your eyes rolled to the back of your head.
he didn't stop, no, he was close himself, and the way you were pulsing around him as if you were trying to milk him was helping him to his end. your body went almost limp as you let eren finish. "fuck, fuck, i'm almost there too," he bucked his hips into you a few more times before pulling out and letting his hand finish him off, rubbing himself profusely until spurts of white came out flying onto your chest and stomach. "shit." he panted, and you were too, your breathing unstable, chest rising up and down after your orgasm. "shit."
eren rolled over until he was laid down beside you, your eyes struggling to stay open. eren let his rake over you, from the mark on your neck, to his cum splattered on your midsection, to the small sheen of sweat that covered yours and his body, causing some of his flyaways to stick to his forehead. he sighed in content before getting up to go grab a rag to clean you up.
"don't go to sleep yet." he said as he wiped and cleaned you up with a damp rag, cleaning himself off as well.
"why?" you mumbled with your eyes closed as you turned around so your face smushed against eren's pillow.
eren grabbed his boxers slipping them back on and contemplated handing you your underwear as well or letting you stay comfortable. seeing you wake up bare would cause a problem for him that he didn't want to deal with so he grabbed your underwear and helped slipped them on you, then rummaging through his bag for one of his shirts. "come on, let me put this on you." you reluctantly obliged, picking yourself up from his pillow and lifting your arms so he could slip his shirt over your head before climbing into his bed next to you, pulling you flush against him.
"you okay... was that okay?" there he went, checking up on you.
"yeah, you okay?" and there you went, doing the same.
"yeah... that was real good," eren kissed the top of your head. "i meant it when i said this is different." he rubbed your back, pulling you even closer, his legs tangling with yours as the two of you cuddled under the covers. it didn't feel as wrong to you anymore. a little weird? yes, but his words were reassuring. "i want something with you... i do. you do so much for me, we're always together, my mom loves you— i love you... i don't know, i just wanna be with you."
your heart was pounding in your chest, even through your tiredness. "can you show me you can be better first? work for me?" you didn't want to just hand yourself to eren that easy. "i want you to show me how much you love and care for me. get yourself together, settle down, then i guess you can settle down with me later."
"later?" it pang eren's heart a bit that he wouldn't be able to call you his just yet, but he was determined to do what it would take to get you.
"later."
彡
"_____, wake up, my mom made breakfast." your eyes opened slowly at the sound of eren's voice. you turned over to see him dressed, sweatpants and a shirt on his body, hair slightly damp from what appeared to be a recent shower. "get ready, i'll wait."
with hesitance, you got up and got yourself cleaned up and ready. you threw on some leggings and a sweatshirt as you didn't recall any plans with eren nor his mom that evening, and with that you and eren head downstairs, eren's hand holding yours as he pulled you down, but he didn't drop contact with you when the two of you got into the kitchen. instead of holding your hand, he hopped up on the kitchen counter pulling you between his legs where you stood.
"good morning, when did you two come home last night?" carla asked from her position at the stove, flipping a pancake before grabbing three plates from the cabinet next to her and then turning around to face the two of you. neither you or eren missed the suspicious glance she gave you when she saw your stances, holding back her question so you could answer hers.
"probably around twelve... we left early." you said.
"i thought so, i heard something last night but i remembered it was probably just the two of you so i went back to sleep." carla slipped the last pancake onto the stack then handed eren the three plates to place on the kitchen table. "am i missing something?" she said giving you two a one over as she gave him the plates.
"no. there's three people and three plates." eren said as he placed them onto the table, and you rolled your eyes at his stupidity.
"no, like... you guys seem comfortable today." realization hit him as he turned around to his mom trying to hide his stupid grin, which told you to not let him speak.
"uh, me and eren talked yesterday." carla raised an eyebrow at you as she walked past you to put the stack of pancakes on the table, you following behind her to take a seat.
"about?"
eren glanced at you then to his mom as she brought over a container of syrup and some forks and knives. "i'm trying to make _____ my girlfriend." he said blatanly, watching his mom freeze up as she put a fork and knife beside your plate.
"really?"
"yeah... he is." you couldn't decipher her reaction, until a small smile appeared on her face as she pat your shoulder and took a seat with you and eren.
"i'm glad." she hummed. "it took you guys long enough... but why is he trying?"
you avoided carla's eyes, concentrating on pulling a pancake to your plate as eren seemed nonchalant about the whole ordeal. it was his mom, so of course he'd be less nervous about it than you.
"i told him i wanted him to get some things together first."
carla nodded in understanding as she began cutting her pancakes. "i see. that's good, just let me know if anything okay?"
"okay." you and eren said the same time causing carla to giggle.
"i'm talking to _____ not you." her tone had a hint of excitement to it.
she was happy, and something inside you was too.
you weren't sure if eren getting a drink spilled on him was karma or luck.
#eren yeager x reader#eren jaeger x reader#eren x reader#eren jaeger#eren jaeger smut#eren yeager smut#eren yeager fluff#eren smut#eren aot#attack on titan#eren fluff#eren x reader smut#eren jaeger x reader smut
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One Wall Over: Geto Suguru x Fem!Reader
synopsis: you’re new in the neighborhood, but that doesn’t mean you’ll get a warm welcome from your duplex buddy.
wc: 3k
tw: nsfw, smut, annoying noises at five am, the works
a/n: ahhhhhhhhh! I am so excited to be taking part in this collab with @suna-reversed reversed for a super sexy jjk collab! Please check out the masterlist for the collab here and the other authors! SO EXCITED TO READ THE OTHERS! (The other title I had for this work is “First of All, How Dare You” because that’s literally me every time I see my hubby Suguru, but anywho!).
Moving in was a bitch.
For the first time ever, you have no roommates, no parents, and no pets - just you and your meager belongings moving into the little, two-story duplex a friend allowed you to sublet. As you stare out of the window facing the sparse front lawn, you wonder what your neighbor is like. They hadn’t come to welcome you to the home, but you knew they existed by the sound of the bass through your shared wall at five am every morning.
You assume they’re male or a couple, but you’ve never gotten a chance to see them with your own two eyes. So you kept a lookout day after day. At exactly four p.m., you would sit across from the window with a book and keep watch, the sun streaming in and illuminating your figure and crossed legs anchored on the window sill. But day after day, you wouldn’t see anything. The neighbor’s car wouldn’t even move an inch from the previous day. Everything would remain the same until the next day when you took your perch by the window.
It isn’t until you’re out on your front lawn, slaving over the flowers you maintained for a whole month - a new record - that the sleek Range Rover drives up to the garage on your neighbor’s side of the house. At first, you don’t notice it, your eyes firmly planted on the soil at the root of your orchid tree. But then you hear a car door slam, and you look up, watching for the person who would be exiting the vehicle.
A tall, black haired man slides out of the truck and slams the door shut, his locks tucked into a half bun and a white towel resting around his rippling shoulders. He slides his keys into his gym shorts and turns to walk into the house, barely noticing you on the front lawn in an ill-fitting t-shirt and dirty yoga pants.
He’s halfway to his front door when you find your voice and yell out, “Hey, neighbor!” You wave your hand at him in hopes that he would return the gesture, but you’re sorely disappointed when he only looks your way with disinterest and walks into the house without speaking. You frown at the encounter, hoping that he would return a little while later and explain his lack of manners, but he doesn’t, and you retreat into the house once more.
______________________________________________________________________
“Unzzz, unzz, unzzzz…” Both eyes fly open at the sound of the bass on the other side of your bedroom wall, the sudden noise jarring you from your sleep.
“Ugh…” Your eyes slide to the white numbers on the clock face, which politely remind you that it’s five-fifteen AM. Don’t confront him, don’t confront him. You wrap the pillow around your ears, hoping the gentle cushion would block out the sound. But for some reason, it gets even louder, and a groan escapes your lips. There were only two more hours for you to rest, but at this rate, you’d be up until it was time for you to wake and get ready for work. That just wouldn’t do.
The grey sweatpants deposited on the floor the night before are quickly jerked on, and you pad to the front door, not caring about your appearance as you walk the length of the porch over to his front door. Inhaling, you find the will to bring your fist up and pound on the door, hoping the sound would be angrier than you actually felt. Fear ate at your nerves while you waited. A few agonizing moments later, the door is yanked open, music floods outside, and your neighbor stands before you in just a pair of black sweatpants. Nothing else.
“What?” he gripes, sweat rolling down his forehead. As your eyes take in the full sight of him, you wonder what kind of sculpted god you had for a neighbor. You could even faintly see the v that would culminate in the bulge near the crotch area of the pants, which apparently is quite--
“Uh…” You had entirely forgotten what you had come over to his side of the house for, but as he leans on the doorframe and gives you a withering stare, you suddenly remember your complaint. “Your wall is next to my bedroom. Can you turn your music down?” You place a hand on your hip, trying to seem more inconvenienced than you actually were in that moment.
“Yeah, sure.” He shuts the door in your face, and you trudge back over to your side of the house, hoping the music would soften.
But for some reason, you swear he turns it up even louder.
_______________________________________________________________________
“Why don’t you just call the landlord and make a noise complaint?” your friend wonders over the phone, the sound of a frying pan in the background slightly overshadowing her voice.
“But you said you didn’t have any problems with him, Mariela.”
“Yeah, Geto was nice enough and didn’t bother me much. Not sure why he’s being such an ass now.” You hear an oh, shit on the other end, and Mariela hisses into the receiver, “Hey, y/n, I have to go; the risotto is burning. Call me back if you have any other issues, okay?”
“Okay.” You hang up and toss your phone on your desk, trying to focus on the words in front of you but failing as the sound of the bass filters through the other side of the wall again. For the fourth day in a row, you’ve been subjected to the sound of pure noise coming through the other side. Tonight was absolutely not the night, mostly because you had a presentation that took you all night to finish, and the clamor was interrupting your prep work for the bright and early eight o’clock meeting. You feel like Squidward, subjecting yourself to the endless noises from the grunting to the bass to the sound of weights clanking back into place.
It’s the sound of Geto’s groaning that sets you on edge the most. If it weren’t for the added noise of weights, you’d be convinced he was fucking someone. There was no way he could make so much noise and not know that he was disturbing your peace. Hadn’t he ever heard of headphones?
You snatch up your set of earbuds on your desk, place them in your ears, and try to turn up lofi music as loud as it will go. But that doesn’t work. Even relocating to the living room didn’t seem to fare you well, and you wonder if he truly had cranked up the music higher than before just to annoy the hell out of you. Finally, you toss your earbuds down and slam your computer on your coffee table.
You’d had enough.
Stomping over to the front door, you fling it open and bang on Geto’s door, hoping he would answer it in a rage so you could let out your frustrations. But when the door flies open, he’s dressed in only a pair of gym shorts, this time the outline of his dick even more apparent. But you’re not focused on that. You point a finger at him and inhale to begin your tirade; sick and utterly over his shit.
“Hey! Can you fucking turn it down?” Geto stretches out a hand, and for a minute you think he’s going to grab you by the shirt, but he pulls you inside by the wrist, crushing you against his chest. “What the hell?” You push away from his sweaty chest, backing into the closed door harshly.
“Lower your damn voice; the neighbors will hear,” he chastises, and turns away from you to grab the water bottle on the counter. The muscled man takes a long swig, then wipes his face with the towel right next to it.
“I don’t know what the fuck your problem is, but I’ve never been so disrespected in my li--” As you talk, he’s advancing on you, pushing back his long black hair back behind his ears and getting too close for comfort. Once he’s right up on you, you gulp hard, fully intimidated by his size and stature. The music suddenly stops, and you’re left in silence.
“I’m listening,” he mutters, staring down at you. “Please, continue.”
“I was saying…” your throat dries up. “What I meant was…” Your eyes travel from his chest to his navel, and then to the hand pressed against the doorframe.
“Uh huh…” He nods, squinting his black eyes at you. “You said you’ve ‘never been more disrespected in your’… life, right?” You don’t reply. Rather, you can’t reply. All of the words you could have ever said are now gone from your skull. “I highly doubt that, y/n.”
“H-how…”
“You’re Mariela’s friend. I’ve seen you quite a few times before you moved in here. Never thought I’d be living so close to you, though. Mariela’s subletting, isn’t she?”
All of these questions. And you can’t reply to a single one because he’s practically squeezing you between the door and his rock-hard abs. Or are you pressing yourself against the door to get away from the heat emitting from his body - oh, fuck; you don’t know.
“But I had to get your attention somehow.” The admission startles you so bad that you accidentally knock the back of your head against the door, touching the point of contact in pain and hissing slightly. Geto hums at your blunder, then pushes off of the wall to turn away from you. As he rotates, you catch a glimpse of his erection, now fully apparent in the atrocity that is his shorts. “The yard work wasn’t effective, the trips to the gym and back barely worked; shit, by now I would’ve thought you would throw yourself at me the first chance you got. I guess I had to make you mad enough to confront me.”
“You literally looked at me and said nothing the first time I saw you!” you retort, throwing your hands up in the air. “Then you almost bit my head off the first time I came over to tell you the music was too loud.”
“I didn’t expect you to come over the first time. Besides, I couldn’t figure out anything smooth enough in that short amount of time.” Geto shrugs, his shoulder muscles moving like water in the dim lighting of the living room. You look around at the furnishings, noting his impeccable taste in wood and red suede in conjunction with his minimal exercise equipment. “Coffee? You look like you’ve been up for a while.” He leans over a coffee-maker - one of those fancy ones that you’ve seen on TV - and slides a plain coffee cup into the holder.
“Uh, no thanks.” You turn to the door and begin to open it, but Geto clicks his tongue thrice.
“You’re just going to leave without getting what you came for?”
You pause for a moment, then turn back to look him over once. “Don’t you mean what you brought me over here for?” A lazy smile spreads across his face, and that’s when you realize that he’s charming, but not necessarily as suave as you first imagined. You shut the door and walk over to him, examining his physique as if you hadn’t just helped yourself to his tall, statuesque figure already. He allows you to look him over, eyes dedicatedly following you.
“Like what you see, doll?” You don’t get a chance to answer as he pulls you into his chest with a smooth movement, then presses his lips against yours. You instantly open your mouth so he can slide his tongue inside, and he does so without hesitation. Hands grasp at your flimsy night shirt, pulling it over your shoulders as he backs you up against the wall, hiking one leg up and wrapping the other around his waist.
As both of your hands tangle in hair, fabric, sweat, you wonder how long - just how long - he’s wanted to do this. But your train of thought is rudely interrupted by his lips trailing kiss down your neck and to your collarbone, where he pauses for a second, catching his breath. Fingers dance through his locks and he peers up at you for a second, drinking in your flushed expression and breathy exhales.
“Geto, please, I--” You’re silenced again by his lips, his thick fingers rolling past the waistband of your night shorts and right to your core, where he nestles them into your heat with ease.
“Goddamn…” The rumbling of his voice vibrates against your chest, and you gasp, feeling every stroke of his fingers inside of you. “So fucking wet… just for me.” Your vision narrows in on the black eyes watching your every move, the angle of your face, the way you tilt your chin to the side and shakily exhale. Everything is perfect. Maybe even better than he imagined at first. But you don’t know that, and you really don’t care to know. All you want is release and for that release to be at Geto’s hands. When he removes his fingers and hoists you onto the suede couch, your first reaction is to cry out in shock.
His hands roll your shorts down to your knees and then press your legs open, spreading you for him to examine.
“You’re a mess down there… perhaps I should help you clean up.”
“Huh?” The double entendre is completely lost on you in the heat of the moment. You watch as he leans down, then moves to lick your core with a flat tongue, stroking up before he goes down again and repeats his action twice. Your head finds the soft cushion of the pillow in ecstasy, and you let out a breath you didn’t realize you had been holding.
Geto hums down below, fully appreciating your taste before sucking on your clit, hard. You yelp, shooting up, but his hand presses you back down, eyes still closed. Fingers make their way up to your breasts, tugging at your nipples leisurely before tightening and pulling with more tension. “Oh, god, please…” Your hands find his head, and at the sudden application of pressure, he grunts again. And you’re left there in agonizing pleasure, dangling between an orgasm and a build-up of pressure, one stroke away from tumbling into the cavern of blissful unawareness.
Geto stops without warning, pulling back to watch you as he still tweaks your nipples with varying degrees of firmness. You tug at his shorts in a silent plea for him to discard them, and he waits a minute before sliding them off wordlessly. His length is impressive, you note, his cock springing free from his shorts and angled upwards a little. A condom is produced just as quickly, and he rolls it over himself before spreading you a little wider to accommodate his length. When he nudges his cock at your slit, you realise he’s a little breathless and shaking, but that all goes to the back of your mind when he slides inside of you with little resistance.
“Fuck, doll, that’s--” He groans just as you moan, both of you relishing the expanding feeling. “God, that’s perfect.” You whimper at his praise and bring your hands to his shoulders, holding on for dear life as he begins to pump into you. Geto’s lips find your neck and he sucks a hickey on your left side, placing another one neatly below it while his hands cup your ass.
“Does that feel good?” He whispers and you nod, completely at a loss for words. But soon, it’s not enough, and your fingers dig into his back. He’s fucking you slowly… too slowly.
“M-more,” you whine, and he delivers his thrusts faster, pumping into you and moaning loudly. Your fingers find his face and angles it towards your raised head so you can kiss him on the lips. He offers you that mercy - a deep, languid kiss - while he plows into you with abandon. Pleasure is the only thing on your minds - you just so happen to have found it in each other’s arms - and your orgasm is just within reach.
“Geto, I’m close…” His response to your words is to lift your left leg a little higher so it practically hung off the couch and in the air, deeping his strokes until they settled against your cervix, like someone tapping a soft rhythm into your stomach. “Shit, like that.”
“Yeah?” he exhales, looking at your face with a blissed-out expression, his cheeks reddening. You raise your hips to meet his with each thrust, hoping your orgasm would arrive before Geto came. There isn’t much you can do though, besides writhe beneath him and pull him closer to you, thereby making you and him almost inseparable. He’s merely rocking into your hips now, cock barely rolling out of you as before. And you can’t deny that it feels like heaven, not when you’ve been so frustrated for so long.
“I’m gonna cum,” Geto hisses into your mouth, and you nod, constricting a little to urge him on. What you fail to realize is that the constriction was just what you need to tumble over into the abyss of thoughtlessness, and your mouth opens to let loose a guttural moan as Geto fucks you faster and faster, chasing his own orgasm on the heels of yours. “Oh, shit,” Your neighbor sinks into you one final time, shooting his cum into the condom, but pumping in stuttered strokes as if he were really letting loose inside of you.
When you both fall from the heights of your sex-induced high, shoulders and heads are draped where there is comfort and space, little exhales from his mouth fanning across your breasts. Geto lifts off of your sweaty chest and looks you in the eyes before breathing:
“Maybe I should start my days with this instead of a workout.”
#geto x reader#jjk geto#geto suguru#jujutsu kaisen getou#getou x reader#jujutsu kaisen geto#getou suguru#geto smut#getou smut#jjk smut#jujutsuhub collab
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The Predicament
Prompt: from @october505, I can't get the thought out of my head where Mike is a younger alpha trying to deal with your heat for the first time. Walt, and maybe Sy (both alphas too) are there to guide him through. Just a/b/o stuff.
Characters: Alpha!Mike, Alpha!Walter Marshall, Alpha!Captain Syverson, Fem!Omega!reader. Whew get your holes ready.
Word Count: 2.8k
Warnings: a/b/o dynamics, swearing, smut, penetrative sex, oral sex (m receiving), size kink, knotting, bodily fluids, like a lot of them, just...so much come
A/N: Okay y’all. I’ve never written an a/b/o fic before so please don’t judge too harshly. If I got some details wrong I’m sorry, but this was certainly fun to explore! Written from the reader’s perspective to fit the prompt, however there are size and gender specifics mentioned, so I apologize that it isn’t entirely inclusive. Credit for Mike calling Walter “Boss” goes to @hope-to-hell.
When you’d purchased the little fixer-upper ranch home, you’d seen an opportunity to gain a little independence. A way to work toward something that belonged to you, that you could make fit your needs. Maybe it had been a small defiance on your part, to show that you could still do what anyone else could, despite your status as a small omega.
It turned out to be quite a different story though. The little house needed far more work than you had expected, and you quickly realized you were in over your head. It was time to hire out some help. A lot of help. A few newspaper ads and phone calls later, and you’d found what seemed to be the perfect crew.
The three large alphas had started their own construction business, looking for jobs to showcase their work and get their business off the ground. They were relatively new to the area too. A retired police detective and army Captain, both gruff, hairy, and in their 30’s, as well as the younger one, fresh out of college in his mid 20’s with an English degree and no idea what to do with it yet. After they’d offered to cut you a deal, being one of their first customers, you’d agreed to hire them quickly. That was how you’d found yourself in this predicament.
—————
Your heat started slowly. At first you barely recognized it as what it was. You’d been outside in the summer sun the last two days, supervising the work the three men were doing on your home, so when the sweat began gathering at the back of your neck, you hadn’t given it much thought. And when that sweat had turned to a full body flush by the second afternoon, you figured perhaps you’d had a bit too much sun, and excused yourself inside for a cool drink.
It helped. Briefly.
Thinking you’d cured your ails, and eager to get back to proving you could be helpful, you made your way to the open front doorway where the three large men were currently arguing over the length of screws needed for the porch boards.
“What’s the prob...lem...uhm…?”
You stuttered over your query as you drew closer, the force of their gathered pheromones hitting you like a brick wall. The sheen of sweat coating their large bodies only amplified the scent, and your head immediately began to swim. Something stirred low in your belly as all three turned to look at you.
“I, uhm...how’s it coming out here? I…thought I’d...check…” your speech slowed as your core heated further and you realized exactly what was happening. Their stares intensified as their bodies turned toward you.
“You feelin’ alright darlin’?” the Captain asked, taking a step toward you, only to stop abruptly as his nostrils flared and his pupils dilated. His look of concern quickly changed to one of hunger. A quiet growl rumbled from his chest unintentionally, causing a shiver to course through your body. You hadn’t noticed the other two drawing nearer, but you heard Walter’s deep baritone wash over you.
“Go back inside, omega.”
The command had you baring your neck on instinct before you caught yourself, a breathy sigh escaping your lips.
To your right, the younger one, Michael, rested his forearm against the doorframe, leaning closer. “I don’t know, Boss...I think I like her right where she is.”
Walter’s large hand gripped the back of his neck, causing Mike’s eyes to widen slightly as he was pulled back. He growled at the larger alpha but didn’t fight, his eyes still trained on you. The Captain still hadn’t moved from in front of you, his eyes intense and dark. When he spoke, his voice was gravel, as though he was fighting with himself to pull the words from his own throat.
“Inside. Lock the door.”
You were grateful for the repeated command, because you didn’t think your feet would have moved on their own. After an eyeful of the three men, their sweat covered muscles, and the two beards that screamed virility, you’d had to fight every instinct within yourself not to beg them to help with your current predicament. You barely managed to close the door, glaring at the lock as you turned the tumbler.
———
“We clean up, we leave. No lingering,” Walter barked out, tension clear in the tendons straining in his arms as he gathered up supplies.
“Boss.”
“No, Mike. Walt’s right, time to go,” Sy stated, struggling against his baser brain to do what needed done. “We’ll come back in a few days to start working again.”
“A few days?? You’re just gonna let her suffer in there? God she smells so fucking good. She needs a knot right now.”
Walter let out a low warning growl, but Mike’s instincts were weighing over his reason. He growled back, almost instantly receiving a smack upside the back of his head from Sy.
“Walt could knock you flat in half a minute. Now get your head on straight Mikey. She’s an unclaimed omega.”
“I’ve been with omegas before.”
“You’ve never taken an omega in heat before. You’d lose your yourself quick and probably do something stupid, try to bite her.”
“I would not, come on. You scented her, I know you did. She needs us.”
Listening to them from the window, your heat-addled brain agreed vehemently with Michael. You didn’t want them to go. They could fix this for you. Why were they leaving?
Get it together, you chastised yourself, letting out a heaving sigh. They were right. You should just lock yourself up in your room and let this pass. That sounded like the right thing to do. That sounds like torture.
You nearly keened as you heard the doors of their truck slam shut and the tires crunch over gravel as they drove away.
————
As it turned out, a few days only made it worse. Their scents were everywhere, marking each area of the house they’d been working in, driving you absolutely insane. Everything was too hot and you’d reduced yourself to wearing nothing but a thin camisole and panties. Your fingers gave little to no relief in your heat. You wanted one thing and one thing only. Well...three things. You were nearly feral by the time they returned.
When the sound of voices came from the porch, announcing their arrival, you would have ripped the door off its hinges in your haste if you could have. As it were, seeing Walter standing in the opening with his fist raised to knock, biceps bulging under his thin grey tee, you were reduced to a single word.
“Alpha.” The word was nothing more than a broken whine.
His eyes darkened, seeing you no more well off than they’d left you, hair mussed and the scent of your slick heat strong around you. “Fuck.”
“Told you she needed us,” Mike growled as he shoved past Walter and strode up to you. His hand captured your chin, tilting your head to nose at your neck, dragging in a lungful of your scent. “I’m going to help you, little one. Would you like that?”
You could only manage a small whimper, nodding your head as your thighs coated with your arousal at his nearness. Your hands unconsciously gripped at his shirt, pulling uselessly at his larger frame. He chuckled darkly.
The Captain belatedly joined the other two in the doorway, surprise coating his features as he took in the sight and scent of you before his chest heaved in a large breath and he groaned.
“Fuckin’ hell. She still not out of it?”
“Not even close,” Walter gritted out, the clear outline of his erection pressing against his jeans. “It would seem we did a disservice after all, leaving her here.”
“Damn right we did. I suppose Mike had the right of it after all,” Sy said, moving closer. His large frame crowded close to you from behind, his beard tickling your cheek as he drew in a deep breath of your scent. You could feel his hard length press into your back as he leaned into you. “You smell so fuckin’ sweet little peach. Shouldn’t’ve made you suffer here all alone.”
Mike’s hands were exploring your body lazily, but he glared at Sy when he touched you, earning a rumble in response from the bull of a man. Walter, easily the largest and most dangerous of the three, seemed to exercise the most control of himself, although even he seemed to be losing the battle. “Enough. She chooses if she wants this.”
The aggression in the air was doing nothing to tame your desperate need to be fucked, so you dug your nails into Mike’s chest through his shirt. “Need you. Now. All of you.”
“Mmm feisty. Don’t worry Sweetcheeks. No more waiting,” Mike said, lifting you up, which allowed you to wrap your legs around his waist, pressing your still-clothed core against his aching bulge. “We’re gonna take good care of you.” He started toward the stairs that would lead to your room, the other two close behind.
Bodily tossing your small frame onto the bed, Mike roughly pulled his shirt over his head, his plush lips stretching wide over white teeth in a wicked, feral grin.
Leaning over you as his hands gripped your shirt and pulled it up, he murmured, “I’m gonna fill you up babe, gonna give you everything you need.”
You could only whimper in response, too far gone in your heat and the excitement of having the three of them there. You arched up as he freed you of your shirt, exposing your breasts to him, begging without words. As he took one into his mouth, a large hand snaked into your hair, tilting your head up to the Captain’s awaiting mouth. He kissed you harsh and deep, tongue tasting you, and you gripped the back of his head to keep him close. Another large hand gripped your other breast before trailing down to your soaked core.
You broke the kiss with Sy, a whine escaping your lips. “No more teasing. Please. I need...now.”
That earned a collective sound of want from the men surrounding you. Mike pulled back, shucking out of his jeans and boxers, his length jutting proudly as he took himself to hand. Walter’s exploring hands went to your panties, tearing them from your body, only to be quickly replaced by Sy’s thick fingers pushing into you.
“God damn Sugar, drippin’ wet for us. You need a knot in you?”
You whined and nodded pathetically, thrusting your hips up against his hand, earning a lusty moan from him. “So fuckin’ eager. Look at you.”
“Move your hand, Sy,” Mike growled. You watched as Sy pulled his fingers from you, using his other hand to free his erection from his jeans before coating his length in your slick, pumping his fist with a groan. Mike’s eager hands flipped you over onto your stomach before pulling your hips back so you settled onto your knees.
The bed dipped, and you looked up to see Walter’s thick, hairy thighs kneeling in front of you, his impressive cock hanging heavy and hard right in your line of vision. You weren’t even sure when he’d shed his clothes, but you couldn’t even think to question it right then. His hand tilted your chin up. Swiping a thumb over the precome coating his tip, he pressed it past your lips and against your tongue. “Suck.”
You did exactly as told, savoring the taste of him as you felt Mike press against your entrance. You bucked against him in need, mewling around Walter’s thumb. “Easy, darling. Let Michael take care of you.”
Your entrance was slick and ready, and he pressed in with a groan. The feeling of finally being full was overwhelming. You’d needed this for so long. You cried out, moving against him, pulling the most delicious sounds from his throat.
As Mike’s hips began to pump, Walter lined his cock up with your mouth, which you gratefully opened to allow him in. The rocking thrusts from behind became more fervent at the sight of you sucking eagerly on Walter’s offering, drawing forth groans from both men. The Captain’s hand played idly with your nipples while he continued to stroke himself, cock coated in your sweet slick.
“Remember, Michael. No biting,” Walt rumbled. “Careful when you tie her. She’s your responsibility right now.”
The rules buzzed in Mike’s ear as his knot began to grow. He knew he had to exercise some control, but as he felt himself swelling with each thrust, his eyes traveled to the sweet, delicate skin at the juncture of your neck and shoulder. He pressed his nose against it, inhaling deeply. Each pump of his hips was pulling the sweetest sounds from your throat, driving him closer and closer to release. He let his teeth graze over your skin, reveling in the feel of your tight warmth. His fingers gripped your hips like iron, pulling you back against his groin, begging entrance for his knot as your cunt struggled to accommodate. He nearly lost all reason as it finally pushed past your entrance and he felt your walls grip around the impossible stretch. The need to claim you overwhelmed him.
Just as his teeth began to apply pressure, he felt thick, strong fingers thread through his hair and grip tight, pulling his head back in a cruel arch. Walter loomed above you both, cock deep in your throat, his eyes boring into Michael’s. “No. Biting.”
The words rumbled from his chest, and the combined sensation of the pain in Mike’s scalp and the fluttering of your cunt were enough to push him over the edge. You cried out around Walter’s cock as Mike thrust his knot in as deep as it would go, locking himself to you. He let out a deep groan as his sac drew tight and he began to release inside you, thick ropes of come spilling into you. The searing warmth of his seed filling you made your walls clench impossibly tight, your vision whitening as your climax consumed you.
Watching you fall apart around Mike was enough to bring Walter over the edge. He thrust deep into your mouth, his cock brushing the back of your throat as he came, feeding you his come as his knot swelled outside of your lips. You swallowed eagerly, the taste prolonging your earlier bliss, causing you to clench again around Michael’s knot. He groaned, spilling more come, making small desperate attempts to thrust despite being locked in place. When he was finished, Walter moved from his place, making room for Sy as he stroked himself to completion. Mike wrapped an arm around your middle, pulling you up against his chest to expose your breasts to Sy, who came with a grunt, one hand squeezing at his knot while the other stroked in a stuttering rhythm, spattering your breasts and chin with his spend.
Walter ran his large fingers over your come-covered breasts, feeding you the other Alpha’s seed before he leaned in to kiss you deeply. When he pulled back, his lips remained on yours, his low voice whispering, “What a good little omega you are.”
Your heart warmed at his praise while your body nearly collapsed from the exhaustion of taking on the pleasure of three alphas at once. Mike’s arms were the only thing keeping you upright at this point.
Sy settled himself on one side of the bed, Walt on the other, leaving space for Mike to lower you down in the center and curl around you, still tied together. They petted and purred, praising you for taking them so well. Cuddled in a cocoon of sated alpha, your heat settled for a short time.
Mike whispered in your ear as you drifted into a hazy sleep, “Get your rest Sweetcheeks. We’ve still got plenty of work to do.”
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