#|| this is short and the title sucks and i blame it all on the fact that my brain isn't awake yet~

[mayapapaya33]

I'm rewatching Exu: Calamity and I think they made a mistake with the name. The real title should be Exu: Actually, Vasselheim has good reasons for how it operates, even if they're dicks about it sometimes. Maybe it was too long, so they went with the snappier CALAMITY! Instead lol.

The end of the Calamity was only 840 something years ago. With Elves and dragons running around, some of them are definitely old enough where, if they didn't live during the Age of Arcanum themselves, their parents or grandparents would have and they would have been told a thousand stories of the fuck heads in flying cities who destroyed the world and were super annoying and dangerous long before they did that. Many more would be born during the latter part of the Calamity or raised by people who survived the Calamity who passes on those stories. Depending on the race we are talking anywhere from direct witnesses (Like the Bright Queen and Ludinus) to like 2-5 generations removed. Even humans with our short lifespans, it's really not THAT long, especially if you've got a bunch of old ass elves around teaching history class from a first person pov for like 500 years lol.

Intellectually people know that Critical Role, the world of Exandria is a post apocalypse story. Exandria is a scarred landscape that is just beginning to bounce back from the brink. But because it is recovering, it's easy to forget sometimes that it IS POST APOCALYPTIC. So people looking at Vasselheim in the modern day are like, 'bro, you really need to chill, everything's fine.' And Vasselheim is like... 'Chill? I do not understand the meaning of this word. And everything is fine... for now. We will be a bastion of civilization when the end times come once more. Fare thee well traveler.'

Then everyone rolls their eyes and moves on with their day. But if you really think about Vasselheim's isolationism and strength and distain for arcane magic in historical context, you can't really blame them. Are they over the top about their dislike of arcane magic? Sure. Is it quite possibly the most understandable over reaction in the history of over reactions? Also yes! They haven't made it illegal, they are just going to keep an eye on you, so you don't pull a Vespin Chloras and doom the planet to another few centuries of choked skies and sundered landscapes, that's all. Vespin was IN Vasselheim! Of COURSE they have strong feelings about it. The (Almost) End of the World began in Vasselheim due to arcane magic. If they had been stricter, maybe it wouldn't have happened at all!

And it really does paint their actions in Campaign 1 in a different light as well. Their isolationism can come across as shortsighted and selfish, until you view it from their point of view. Which is that they are constantly under threat, they know for a fact that Asmodeus wants their city destroyed, they are a bastion for the Prime Deities in a world filled with many heathens (lol that's where the dickishness comes in) and the Betrayer Gods would take any sign of weakness in their defenses and attack with glee. Hearing it in C1 it sounds like an excuse not to help against the Chroma Conclave, but it is literally just the truth from what I can tell. In BOTH Calamity and Downfall they have mentioned destroying Vasselheim being on the Betrayer God's to do list lol. If I was on a Betrayer God's to do list specifically, by name, I too would be somewhat paranoid and would not really want to disarm any portion of the city to go do something else. No matter how important the something else might be.

Vasselheim was basically like; Look, I'm very sorry to hear about your Dragon problem, that sucks, truly, but if we go out all willy nilly and leave this city undefended, it'll be fucked when we get back. When you have a real plan, come back and get us and we'll join you for the big fight. Until then, it's up to you, here you can have Kima as well, she's been desperate to get out of here anyway, and here's some supplies. We have larger concerns than one continent being attacked by four ancient Dragons. We are the seed bank for civilization for when shit inevitably hits the fan. We are the doomsday bunker for the Apocalypse, four Ancient Dragons are terrible, but they are not the Apocalypse. And they are right. Looking at it all in context, The Chroma Conclave are small potatoes. Horrific, monstrous, life destroying, but compared to the threat Vasselheim is preparing for, nothing.

They are the doomsday preppers of Exandria, except the threat is real and they are only letting their collective trauma and ptsd inform their decisions a little bit. They are actually fairly rational all things considered. This city withstood the entire Calamity. The stewards of the city must feel an enormous weight and responsibility to keep it safe going into the future. Imagine the pressure. Are you going to be the one to fuck it all up, after thousands of years? Sounds like a nightmare to me. The level of devotion and conviction required to keep something like that going is incredible.

[hummingbird-games]

2023 In Review (Indie Games)

Last year's! | 2021

I apologize in advance for how long this might be. As a reminder, I don't bash games here so even if I hated something with every fiber of my being...I ain't sharing. As a second reminder, my more in depth reviews and live blogging has moved to Gem's Game Gems so I don't clutter the HBG's main blog. Okay. ON WITH THE REVIEW!!

DEMOS

Diffraction (Demo)- A rainy day otome indeed. I love the quiet gentleness of this game, the two romance options, and the fact that our MC is a photographer and struggling with her art and stack of life "failures" (because...SAME!!)

Alaris - I was asleep and now I am awake: I came late for the advertised fae and dragon lore, stayed seated and waiting for Fenir zjgjdf. Oh, and I guess the mystery surrounding our MC's abilities LOL.

The Summit Library - When I say I was maaaaaad when I realized I blew through chapter 1 and would have to go back to waiting for more content??? LOL, I was very miffed. Anyhoo, check out this title for the gorgeous art, another intriguing mystery (like what is *up* with the magic in the poor library?? who or what is to blame?? 👀) and of course the lovely characters we've been introduced to thus far.

Of Sense and Soul - I'm a regency romance girl. Like after you strip away the other stuff, I am but a poor woman with simple needs: a good ass love story 🤧💛 It's about the yearning and the slow burn and the will they/won't they/PLEASEEE they...I've never been so charmed by a demo, and the full game is going to be amazing I just know it!

Made Marion - This project is a game I've been keeping tabs on for a hot minute but hadn't taken the time to sit and properly enjoy the demo. I'M SO GLAD I DID!!! It's in early access now, so I'm hoping eventually I'll be able to carve out some time to play, but guysss Velvet Cupcake is doing the Thing?!? No idea which love interest I'll go for first, but I had a fun time meeting the Nottingham peeps in the demo.

Herotome (Super Demo) - Oh gosh. Oh gosh oh gosh oh my GOSHHH. Where do I even began?? (Really the question is where the hell do I end because this is one of those projects I talk about a lot/think about a lot and surprisingly haven't run out of things to say zkjfksjd). Another game I've been following for a while, it 100% lives up to the superhero genre in its aesthetic, the characters you interact with, the music and sound design, and of course the slowly unfurling story. Jade and Mia had come out as my top faves, Warden is still there, like hovering in the backgroud, shhhh but I have a special place in my heart for Griffin too (that conversation we have with her?? I have so many screenshots just so I can go back and reread and sear the words in my brain. Like a weirdo. Yup.)

Celestial Crowns - Stats building, celestial royalty, dating sim where you fuck around and find out your choices directly affect your MC's personality?? I'm sat. I supported the Kickstarter and now I try to practice patience for the full game's release siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiighh.

OTOME/JOSEI JAM

Please note this is a SUPER abridged list for my sanity and I fell a little more in love with these 2 jams with each entry I played...

Intertwine - As embarrassing as it sounds, I've never given much thought to the "red string" thing, and I consume more than enough romance media LOL!! But Van is suuuuuch a beautiful man, the UI for this game is so interactive and lovely, the music is ALSO lovely, just lovely-love all the way around teehee. (Also this game encourages replayabillity so like, do with that info what you will.)

Spring Boy [Demo] - I believe this game is going through a complete rehaul, so my thoughts and feelings refer to the original jam entry I played. The art is bright and cute and it's a super super short demo, but I was intrigued by the other student we meet on our mission to plead with our professor about our bombed exam lol!

Assignment Due: Project Blue - IRl group projects??? Suck absolute ass. Group projects with a guy name Asher?? Suddenly it's my new favorite thing in the world 😁

Cryptid Campaign Manager [DEMO] - Remember the last time I looked over a cryptid dating sim??? Remember how I was SUCH a fool?? Good thing I didn't make that mistake again!! The prologue is such a tease but you get an idea of what the full game is gonna be like, and I'm excited to see where my career involving love (and politics) goes!

Heart Cage [Demo] - Yoooooo I stay my ass far far far away from yanderes (could never get into the trope or the character type). WELP. Guess I just needed to keep searching because I really downloaded this off a whim--well, the whim being one of my fellow dev peers playing and rating-- and proceeded to get sucked in 🤧I thought being a detective would be the highlight, but I guuuueeesssss I was more into the romance options than I thought. Oops.

Evernight - I tried to explain what this game meant to me on the side blog, but words failed me. I still don't know what to say other than I loved it?? Which is like ummm I say I love everything, and yeah I'm easy to please BUT Y'ALLLLLL if you play no other game, play this one. Please. Date a werewolf. Or a vampire. Or a fae. Plz. Also figuring out the mystery of your MC's abilities and past is just delightful, ugh.

Bright Oak (demo) - Anotha one I wrote about on the side blog!!! Play this one!!! The writing is lush and atmospheric and the characters are all delightful and it's another game with a mystery to untangle!

The Faithfulness of the Universe- This one gets the award for most unique all around entry that I played. Theeeeee prettiest pixel art to bless my eyeballs, and this tasty mystery concerning Fate and witch Faustina's future (or lack thereof 👀) and what it all means. As a player I very much want to know what it all means!

A Cup For All Seasons - Another game that needs its flowers y'all. It's short but super healing and super cozy and the voice acting and music really tie the gaming experience together???

The Working Woman's Guide to Burning Bridges - DEMO - It's the way I played the demo twice and I've been thinking about it ever since 😭😭😭🙃 obviously life happens and things come up, plus this was a demo. But. BUT!!! I am on my hands and knees prayinnggg the team gets together again to finish the game. I love playing as a stressed, lowkey bitter hot mess who doesn't have her life together 😂somehow the fictional version is soooo much more entertaining!!!

Keyframes (Spring Demo) - After the game College Craze, this is legit THE college, slice of life visual novel of my dreams. I cannot wait for the updated demo next year, and the Kickstarter whenever that rolls around. And now that the developer is on Tumblr, I've definitely been stalking the account and reading each new post like it's my day/night/weekend job 🤧

Hello Counsel 💋 - Okay I take it back, Evernight is like a 20/10 but Hello Counsel is like an 100/10 👁️👄👁️ This game is necessary for my mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health, alright? The banter ✅ the character designs ✅ the music ✅ the sizzling chemistry between Poise and Salem ✅ I wish this game had more buzz because IT'S SO GOOD!!! (also the dev, Miseri, is who I wanna be when I grow up. I've made it through almost their whole backlog of games and there are no misses and EVERY game is different from the rest and it makes it hard for a toodler dev--ME--to cope LOL)

Candied Hearts - Isekaied into a candy themed game?? Sign me TF UP!!! (Peppermint I love you dearly, you must understand.)

Fully Released & Played (at least 1 playthrough)

The Knight's Dilemma - I don't even know how I originally stumbled upon this??? I just know it had been in my backlog for a hot minute and I was intrigued enough to save it way back when. Y'ALL WHY DIDN'T I PLAY SOONER SKJFHFJFH! There's a couple different endings, I loved the voice direction, AND it's such a simple concept of a game that was just executed beautifully.

Trouble Comes Twice - If I had to make a top 5 list of romance VNs, guess who makes the list?? Guess. Guess guess guess. Have you guessed yet??? LOL! I have been in love with TCT since it's development days and with each passing month, waiting in anticipation, playing the Pateron beta builds, screaming on the main blog about every single thought I had about Jace and Hazel (shoutout to Jace for helping me figure out *me*) Lol if you're curious about said thoughts, those posts are on this blog and not the side blog.

Aelfric the Wondrous - 10/10 would love to forget my first play through JUST to have that experience fresh again 😭😭💛Cute and funny and a wonderful parody type game all around.

A Summer's End - Hong Kong 1986 - Goodness, there's no excuse for why this took me years to finish but anyhoo, I finished, I loved it, I recommend it! It's romantic and achingly authentic and the art is soooo gorgeous I literally can't stand it 😭

The Things You Do For Love - Unhinged yandere manages to entertain and garner sympathy and laughter from Gemini. And that poly ending is chef's kiss too????

Band Camp Boyfriend - There are a handful of games I found and loved before I began my game development journey, and this is one of them. BCB is so dear to me, because of the story and characters but also because of the Dynamic Duo creators and their team behind the scenes. I was never a band kid I was a chorus kid but just as the band geeks loved this game to pieces, us normal folks do too!! Even the boys who I didn't like I STILL managed to find joy in playing their routes (still have a few more to finish at the time of this posting lol, GOTTA GET THE FINAL ROUTE YO). Anyway, this game more than delivered for me and I hope more people keep discovering it!!

Belle Automata: Chronicle I [RELEASED] - While only Chronicle 1 is out at the time of this posting, I already know that the 2nd and 3rd parts are going to be just as amazing???? I wrote about this one on the side blog, so here's my copypaste that still rings true:  

I love TNP (The Nightmare Prince) but Victor’s route hit the sweet spot for me. Maybe it’s the slow(er) burn nature of this route, maybe it’s the reserved nature of Victor and watching him slowly start to care (AND NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THOSE FEELINGS TEEHEE) for me.

A Date with Death - I wrote about this on the side blog--again--. The demo. And then right after finishing a route. And then again where I was fully awake and still managed to sound deranged. No copypaste for that, I shall be nice. But yeah!! Another game where I was screaming at the sky about how much I love it and how I'll never know peace as long as I live.

Our Life: Baxter DLC - I need to offer an official apology to both Cove and Derek because falling head over heels, down the stairs, crashing into the parking lot, falling again but down a manhole for Baxter's infuriating ass was NOT on my 2023 bingo board??? HELLO???? I bought his DLC just to complete my OL collection. Was not expecting to love it this much. Was not expecting to be called to write fanfic and abandon all responsibilities to do this. WHILE DOWN WITH COVID TOO. Allow me to play the song of my people. *Send in the Clowns plays*

Our Cinderella - (this is so funny I'm taking about a side game before the main game LOLOLOLOL) Guys. Guysss. You guyyyysss 🥹if you're looking for a cozy, hilarious, equally oddly and wonderfully sweet short game, this is the one!! You may have your personal favorite Iggy ship (like me) but all the pairings are so amazing and just make sense lol!

Wylde Flowers - This is the only non visual novel game on here but it gets the spotlight because I did NOT spend 90+ hours on this game to gatekeep this beauty. No. It the coziest, the funniest, the funnest, the most addictive Switch game (after Teacup) I've ever played.

Fully Released (& still on 1st playthrough)

Garden of Seif: Chronicles of an Assassin - Life kicked my butt and then sat on me SO while I finally got my grubby hands on the full copy, I still have only played the entirety of the demo. But. We will return to this in 2024 and hopefully I'll have a full review for the next wrap up!

Our Wonderland - I looked back at the side blog and I can't believe it was only THIS year that I started OW??? Because I'd known of the game and the dev for longer than that??? So basically what I'm saying is that I was chicken shit for longer than I've been in love with this world that Developer Carrot has created kjzhhshggj. But OMG to get me, who is scared oh so easily to get hella invested in this clearly labeled horror game??????????????? And even with shit gets super absurd and hella disturbing, I cannot stop playing. At the time of this post, I'm only in Act 4, hence the category above, but it's only because I play each act in a sitting and lose track of space and time and myself. That's a compliment btw.

...

Okie!! That's 2023 in a nutshell! I played a looooot of really good games this year and while I would have liked to talk about them all, I think this list provides a nice overview.

Let me know if we share any favorites!

- Gemini 💛

[bvckleyydiaz]

have a seat - aaron hotchner

title: have a seat

summary: you convince aaron not to shave his beard just yet.

pairing: aaron hotchner x afab!reader

word count: 901

warning(s): smut (mdni), oral (f receiving), reader praising aaron, and a bit of hairpulling

a/n: you can all blame @montyfandomlove for this. it's their fault.

a/n 2: also, i am extremely out of practice when it comes to writing smut. so please forgive me.

“Honey, I’m thinking about shaving my beard,” Aaron says as he stands in front of the bathroom mirror.

You lean your body forward to look at him through the open bathroom door. “Aaron, I swear to God, you’ll be sleeping on the couch if you shave.”

He pads out of the bathroom with a smile. “Oh, you’re a fan of the beard?”

You nod. “Absolutely. Very much a fan of the beard.” You climb out of bed and wrap your arms around his neck, and his hands find purchase on your hips. “In fact, it makes you look like a sexy lumberjack.”

He chuckles and moves to go back to the bathroom. “Definitely shaving, then. Got it.”

You pull him back to you and plant a soft kiss on his lips. “I’m serious, Aaron. I think you look unbelievably sexy with your beard. Please don’t shave.”

Smirking down at you, he pulls your chest flush with his. “Yeah? What my baby wants, my baby gets.”

“All I thought about while we were away on this case was how much I wanted to take you somewhere private and fuck your brains out,” you whisper, stroking his jaw with you your finger. “I couldn’t stop thinking about how this beard would feel on my skin, between my legs.”

You let out a loud, shrieking laugh when you are suddenly lifted into the air only to be dropped down onto the mattress. “Aaron!” He shifts his body to lie down, his head supported by the pillows. “What are you doing?”

“Sit on my face,” he tells you.

You blink, thinking that you misheard him. “What?”

“I said,” he emphasizes as he pulls you close enough to him that you’re practically sitting on his lap, “sit on my face.”

“Now?” You bite your lip in a mixture of apprehension and anticipation. “We’ve never tried that before.”

“No time like the present.” He grins and smacks your ass lightly. “Get up here, baby.”

You rid yourself of your sleep shorts and your underwear, and you crawl up Aaron’s body to straddle his shoulders. “Hi,” you giggle.

He wraps his arms around your thighs and places a kiss on each of them. “Hi,” he smiles at you. “You ready?”

You nod. He lets you lean forward enough to where your bare pussy is hovering over his face. “Fuck, baby, you’re so pretty. And so wet for me, too.”

“Please, Aaron,” you whimper. “Don’t tease.”

You feel him chuckle against your lips. "Okay, sweetheart. I'll play nice."

Aaron being so close to the most sensitive part of your body is dizzying. His hot breath brushed against the outsides of your wet lips, and you couldn’t help but let out a moan. He hadn’t even done anything to you, and you were already falling apart. You cry out when Aaron tightens his grip around your thighs and pulls you onto his mouth.

“Fuck!” One of your hands reaches out to grab onto the headboard to steady yourself while the other one buries itself into Aaron’s hair. “Fuck, Aaron, you make me feel so good…” 

The praise seems to spur him on as he flicks his tongue against your clit and tracing the tip of his tongue against it. There is nothing timid about what this man was doing; he knows what he’s doing. He knows exactly what to do to make a wet, whimpering mess.

“Aaron, please… Fuck me so good…” The only answer he gives is a firm suck to your clit, so you assume he heard your breathy pleas loud and clear. He pulls you impossibly closer to his mouth. “Baby, you’re going to suffocate if you pull me any closer.”

He leans away from your cunt enough to respond with, “Then, I’ll die a happy man.”

He grips your thighs hard, his fingertips pressing into the meat of them. The thought of Aaron gripping you tight enough to leave marks sends a jolt of pleasure straight to your pussy, and you feel some of your slick drip into Aaron’s mouth. He groans and sucks your clit harshly as a thank you.

“Fuck, Aaron! Shit,” the hand in his hair tightens around the strands, and you buck your hips against his mouth. 

“If you keep this up, I’ll cum,” you laugh, breathy and light. Aaron does not stop at your warning or even slow down at your warning. In fact, he speeds up the flicking of your clit against his tongue, and he even reaches up to tweak your nipples. “Mm! Christ, Aaron… Yeah, do that again.” He does as you ask, this time pulling and twisting them between his fingers. It makes you see stars. “Oh, fuck yes! Aaron, I’m close, I’m close. I’m going to cum, Aaron, fuck…”

With one last firm suck to your clit and twist of your nipples, you came. You came so hard that you thought you were going to pass out. “Fuck…” He gives your clit little kisses and caresses your thighs as you come down from the height of your orgasm. Once you were sure you weren’t going to black out, you climb off of him. Your wetness shines against his lips and chin, soaking his beard.

“We’re definitely doing that again,” you pant.

He presses a wet kiss to your lips, the tang of your cum seeping into your lips. “Oh, absolutely,” he says when he pulls away.

[ikkosu]

So you know when you wear shorts in summer in a car with a leather seat that your legs stick to it sometimes? I've actually almost fallen out of car bc of that. And because of this experience, may I request this happening to the reader with any autobot of your choice?

THROUGH the glaze of the windshield, traffic churns at a slow, steady pace. Pistons chuff, creak and groan; beaten down by the glare of the sun, little by little the mottled blurs of car start to file out.

Everytime, you think you're going to wrangle out of this hellhole — a wide gap-like opening, blaring out like the heavens for freedom — you find yourself stuck in another junction, relapsing in the same fucking problem.

Stuck in the same place. Between mesh metal of blistering, practically burning from the sun, hot cars.It also doesn't help how raw to the bone hot the weather is.

Heat is seething through the Aircon. You're practically drenched, and the discomfort of having an already wet shirt matted to your wet spine is exacerbated by the goddamn ire before your eyes.

There's a truck, in front of you.

A very old truck.

And, fast?

Not it's greatest virtue.

A lump of irritation bites its way through your teeth. The backside of the truck sputters with black fumes. You're about to relinquish the title of an honorable citizen, when the radio warbles with a staticky breedle.

"You're getting sweat all over the seats, pipsqueak." Comes his sardonic chuff. The insignia lits up with every sass induced spool of his words.

At that you lift up your thighs, a kind of schlap followed after as a result of very sweaty skin latching on leather.

"Suck it cop-bot," You pat the steering wheel. "That's what you get for having shitty air conditioning."

A growl revved up from the engine. The wheel whirls away from your touch three-sixty at max speed.

"You can't expect me to accept the blame, can I? When all there is out there under that— that blisteringly — whatever you call that slag of a weather, is hot fraggin' air."

You blink at the sudden venom in his tone. Prowl's usually, eh usually, the type to keep it down when he's about to lose it : a scowl and a sharp tongue is good enough for lacerating the source of his ire.

For him to snap? Yikes. That takes a lot. A hefty lot. Even with Smokescreen, concierge of shenanigans — worst he's got is a swift chuck to the brig and cleaning duty for a year. And, that's just with a scowl and a low, steady tone.

Guess Cybertronians aren't immune to hot days, either huh. Sun's that bad.

"Is it getting to you too, Prowler?"

"What do you think?" He bites back. "Look at the thermometer. It's exceeding above the usual range of what a normal temperature should be. It's draining up the power in my cooling fans which drains up my fuel, which drains up energon. Which, at this moment, is scarce."

"Hard times, Prowler." You shake your head solemnly. "Hard times."

"You don't get a say in this." He grits out.

The car leers forward with a sudden jerk and your forehead kisses the steering wheel. Not the flat surface where the insignia lies but the edge. You know, the round handle? Bubbles of pain shoot out from the spot and you groan.

"What?" You whined. "It's already hot enough with my ass sticking to your seat — you can't leave me with any more bruises worse than this, alright?"

"Then keep that mouth shut. Or I'm shutting it off for you."

" We're stuck in traffic, though." You grope the steering wheel, grinning at the irritated growl of an engine when he tries to steer it away.

"Will you cut it."

"Hunkering down on a quick brawl in the street doesn't really contribute to the whole," You waggle your hands. " bots in disguise, kind of thing. Not really your style. Doesn't fit you, prowler. Doesn't seem to fit the muse of a..." You trail off, playful and purposeful with your tone. "...law enforcer."

He's quiet for a moment.

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah?"

"Uh huh."

He laughs : a quick sarcastic 'hah' and a chuff.

"Get out."

Yep. There, it is.

"Duly noted."

Your fingers wrangle the door knob. And, as soon as you struggle to pry it open you realize Prowl is keeping it locked.

"Where'd the angry coppa go?" You huffed.

"Oh, you'll see."

"Open the—huh?"

Your fingers grasps the open air, twitching around nothingness. The momentum propels you to slide off your sweat-lathered seat, lurching forward and face first into the hot, concrete road.

[moodymelanist]

dumb love (i love being stupid)

happy day 2 of @nessianweek everyone! I've had so much fun writing wlw!nessian that i just HAD to flip it around and do mlm!nessian too. hope you all enjoy <3 title from casual by chappell roan!

Summary: Five times Cassian didn’t realize he had a boyfriend, plus one time he finally got it. 

Word Count: 8.4k

Warnings: Smut at the end!

Read on AO3 here!

✵✵✵✵✵✵ Cassian 

1.

Cassian knew he’d put off doing his basic science requirement until the last minute, but it didn’t quite hit him just how long he’d put it off until he was standing in a biology lab surrounded by baby-faced freshmen. 

“Welcome to bio lab,” their TA greeted them at the top of the hour, taking the time to send everyone reassuring smiles. “Today we’re going to go over the syllabus, some really important safety rules, and, most importantly, how to succeed in this class. But first: assigned seating!”

Most of the assorted freshmen looked relieved at not having to figure out where to sit, but Cassian held back a groan. He was usually pretty good about finding partners or groups who were willing to do a little more of the work around his hectic club soccer schedule, but having assigned seats — and likely partners — meant he’d probably have to suck it up and put in a little more work than usual. That would be fine, though; he just needed to pass this class to graduate, and then next semester he could really let the senioritis kick in. 

There didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason behind how their seats and resulting lab partners were assigned, but Cassian had a sneaking suspicion their TA had paired him up with the only other senior in the room. Cassian had seen the eldest Archeron here or there over the years, mostly because he was pretty tight with the Vanserra brothers and Azriel was dating one of them, but he’d never been this up close and personal with the guy. 

Until now, anyway. The eldest Archeron was tall, only a few inches shorter than Cassian himself; his golden brown hair was parted to the side and pushed back from his face to reveal a pair of gray-blue eyes framed with pretty, bronze lashes. He was dressed comfortably in a white shirt and jeans, though Cassian had a sneaking suspicion those two items alone cost more than his rent, let alone the backpack that just screamed quiet luxury.

“Hey, man,” Cassian said once they were seated, doing his best not to look like he was staring. Which he absolutely wasn’t, but who could blame him? The guy had a jawline sharp enough to cut something, and those eyes were even icier up close. “I’m Cassian.”

“Earnest Nathaniel,” came the other man’s reply. He smelled really good, and it was a miracle Cassian managed to catch his full name with the way he was fighting leaning in closer to take a whiff.

“That’s kind of a mouthful,” Cassian replied jokingly. “Your parents must’ve had it out for you, huh?”

Earnest Nathaniel stared at Cassian for several long seconds, clearly unimpressed with Cassian’s joke. “Whatever nickname you’re about to come up with, I’m not interested in hearing it.”

“Whatever you say, Nes,” Cassian fired back, the nickname rolling off his tongue like it belonged there. 

“Don’t call me that.”

“EN?”

“Jesus Christ, no.”

“Nessie?”

“Do I look like the Loch Ness monster to you?”

“Didn’t peg you for a Twilight fan.”

“Didn’t peg you as such an idiot.”

“Okay, Nesbit.”

“How are these getting worse?”

“Nesseroni? Yes? No?”

“Definite no.”

“Mhmm… think I’ll stick with my first choice, then,” Cassian said with a victorious grin. “Nes.”

Whatever Nes was about to say back was cut short by their TA calling their class back to order, and Cassian sent the other man a pleased little smirk before trying his best to pay attention. He’d gone through enough sylly weeks to know the drill, but if it had the added bonus of getting under his new lab partner’s skin, then he was going to be the most model student possible.  

Still, Cassian must not have fucked up as badly as he thought he did, because Earnest Nathaniel — Nes, in Cassian’s mind — stiffly asked Cassian to grab coffee with him after class. It turned into a bit of a standing thing on Tuesdays and Thursdays, mostly to work through the bulk of their weekly lab reports, but they talked about plenty of other things too. Cassian was on the receiving end of a lot of witty one-liners, but he also learned about Nes’ sisters, about the books he liked to read, and even about the other man’s law school applications. 

Those were Cassian’s favorite coffee days, but he couldn’t exactly put his finger on why. Maybe he just liked making a new friend, or maybe it was just Nes himself. 

✵✵✵✵✵✵

2.

A week or two into October, Cassian caught a nasty cold one weekend and couldn’t shake it off by the time Tuesday's lab rolled around. He’d at least been able to email his professors and TAs to let them know he probably wouldn’t be in class this week, but he’d completely forgotten to give Nes a heads up before lab started. 

They’d exchanged numbers after that first day, and they texted here and there about anything from class to memes Cassian thought Nes would like to random soccer facts that Nes thought Cassian would care about. Still, Cassian wasn’t expecting Nes to be texting him from class when the guy was normally such a stickler for following the rules, so when his phone buzzed, he couldn’t help but be pleasantly surprised at the name on his screen when he finally discovered his phone half-buried beneath his comforter. 

Nes Archeron, 11:12 AM

????

Where are you?

Cassian didn’t have the energy to say much, and he was a little woozy from the strength of the medicine he’d taken about twenty minutes ago. He somehow managed to take a picture of him surrounded by tissues and Tylenol and typed out a short reply that he thought conveyed his predicament well enough.  

Cassian Hernández, 11:15 AM

[Attachment: 1 Image]

send help im dying

Cassian didn’t stay awake long enough to see if Nes had replied, letting the cold medicine pull him into an easy nap instead. He woke up about an hour and a half later to the sound of someone knocking on his bedroom door, and he was still too sleepy to come up with a proper sentence. “Huh?”

Azriel opened the door and poked his head around the corner, his nose wrinkling at the unpleasant sight of a sick roommate. “Your boyfriend’s here with some soup and more medicine.”

“Ha, ha,” Cassian said, sniffling very attractively. Not that it mattered; it was just Azriel, and they’d been friends for far too long for Cassian to care about what he thought. “You’re hilarious.”

“I wasn’t joking,” Azriel said back with a roll of his eyes. He opened the door fully to reveal Nes standing there with a steaming thermos in one hand and a grocery bag filled with cold medicine in the other. Once Cassian had fully processed that this was happening and Nes was very much standing outside his bedroom, Azriel turned back to Nes and said, “Good luck with him. He’s even dumber than usual right now.”

“Trust me, I’m aware,” Nes replied dryly. They exchanged a knowing glance before Azriel huffed a laugh and left them to it, disappearing down the hallway back to his own room. “You doing okay, Cassian?”

Cassian suddenly and intensely regretted not cleaning up the massive pile of tissues surrounding him. He probably didn’t smell great, either, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d brushed his teeth. So much for it not mattering. “I feel like shit.”

“Yeah, I bet you do,” Nes responded, though his tone seemed a little more sympathetic than usual. “I didn’t know what you had on hand, so I brought you some stuff. Hope that’s cool.”

“Very cool,” Cassian agreed. It was a really thoughtful thing to do, and something went a little soft and gooey and a little sad inside Cassian at the realization that he probably hadn’t been taken care of like this since he was in high school. Mostly soft and gooey, though, so he’d take it for the kind gesture that it was and leave the rest to examine probably… never. “Thanks, Nes.”

“You’re welcome,” Nes answered simply, the barest hint of a blush appearing on his cheeks. 

Instead of trying to clear Cassian’s bed, Nes had the much smarter idea of pulling over the chair from Cassian’s desk and sitting there. He put down the thermos — which smelled like chicken noodle soup, now that it was close enough for Cassian’s nose to pick up on it — and spread out his cold medicine haul across one of Cassian’s end tables. 

“What have you taken today?” Nes asked expectantly. 

Cassian wasn’t totally sure what time he’d taken his meds this morning, and he told the other man as much. “Uh…”

“Idiot,” Nes muttered, though it sounded fond. “Just try to eat a little something, and you can take some more meds when you wake up.”

Nes helped Cassian sit up so he could get a little something in his stomach, his touch firm against Cassian’s back as he shifted up on the bed. Cassian didn’t totally understand why he could still feel Nes’ hands on him long after the other man had let go, but he wasn’t going to question it. It had felt nice, and the soup was even nicer, warm and seasoned surprisingly well despite its source. 

“Don’t look so surprised,” Nes said haughtily, though he couldn’t keep up the act for very long. “I, uh… one of my sisters helped. Lucky for you, Elain actually knows what she’s doing.”

“Knew it,” Cassian said back. He managed a smirk before his nose started running again, and then Nes was taking the thermos out of his hands, offering him a clean tissue, and helping him lie back down. He didn’t even blink before holding up the trash can so Cassian could weakly toss the used tissue inside it.

“You need some more rest,” Nes informed him matter-of-factly. He put down the trash can and left it close enough to Cassian’s bed that he could throw more tissues inside it as needed. “I’ll text you when you should take some more medicine.”

“Okay,” Cassian agreed, his eyes half-closed already. He hated being sick and how much it took out of him, but it didn’t seem so bad with Nes here taking care of him for a little while. “Stay until I fall asleep?”

“Yeah, okay,” Nes promised. His voice had gone strangely soft but Cassian decided not to question it, much more focused on how good his pillow felt against his cheek. 

Before Cassian drifted off to sleep, he swore he felt Nes’ cool fingers gently pushing his hair back from his face. What a dedicated friend, Cassian thought before he was tugged completely under. 

✵✵✵✵✵✵

3.

Cassian made a full recovery by the end of that week, just in time to start prepping for fall midterms. However, the week after they’d taken their bio lecture exam, everything went to shit for several days, and Cassian had no reason why. 

He and Nes had gone for their usual post-lab coffee, and the two of them had been standing outside the library when a certain blonde friend decided to make an appearance. 

“Cassian!” 

Cassian turned from where he was talking with Nes to see Mor barreling up the walkway towards him, his arms automatically coming up to catch her as she leapt into his arms. “Hey, Mor.”

“Hey yourself,” Mor said back, a little out of breath from her short sprint. She squeezed Cassian tight before jumping out of his hold. “Where’ve you been, stranger?”

“Semester’s been kicking my ass, you know how it is,” Cassian replied apologetically. Mor had been trying to corner him for a catch-up lunch for weeks now, and while he hadn’t been intentionally avoiding her, things had just been much busier than he’d expected in his final year of college. “You know I wouldn’t ignore you on purpose.”

“Of course not, silly,” Mor told him with a little laugh. She put her hand on Cassian’s arm before adding, “You know there’d be hell to pay. I have you too well-trained.”

“Cassian,” Nes suddenly interjected before Cassian could respond, his voice as icy as his eyes. Cassian turned to see a muscle in the other man’s jaw working overtime as he stared Mor down. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your… friend?”

“Oh, shit, I’m sorry,” Cassian said sheepishly. Jesus fuck, where were his manners? “Nes, this is my friend Mor. Mor, this is Nes. We’re lab partners this semester.”

“It’s Earnest Nathaniel, actually,” Nes corrected coldly. His eyes zeroed in on where Mor’s hand was still on Cassian’s arm, and Cassian jumped out of her grip like he’d been burned. “I don’t do nicknames.”

“I’m Morrigan, then, if we’re being formal,” Mor replied with a roll of her eyes. Cassian didn’t know why things were suddenly so tense, but he’d do anything to get that blank look off of Nes’ face. “Aren’t you friends with Eris?”

“Since middle school,” Nes answered shortly. Cassian had to blink back his surprise; normally Nes was always ready to talk about how he and Eris had gone from bonding over being the two oldest sons in their respective families to being roommates all four years. He didn’t know what had changed now, but it left him feeling uneasy all the same. 

“Then we’ve definitely met before,” Mor responded. Cassian remembered that she and Eris had had a brief fling their sophomore year before Eris abruptly realized he was gay and had started dating Azriel not too long after. “We’ve probably seen each other around, at least.”

“I don’t recall,” Nes told her stiffly. He made a big show of checking his phone before sliding it back into his pocket and shouldering his backpack. “I have to go, I’m running late for something. Have fun with your friend.”

“See you… around,” Cassian finished lamley, watching helplessly as Nes’ long legs carried him halfway across the quad in record time. He turned back to Mor with a sigh. “I don’t know why he’s being like that.”

Mor stared at Cassian like he was the biggest idiot in the world for several long moments, eventually throwing her hands up with a loud scoff. “Az was right. You’re actually such a dumbass.”

“What?” Cassian said, totally thrown by Mor’s response. She just shook her head at him before she took off too, leaving him standing by himself wondering what, exactly, he’d done to piss off not one, but two people in such record time. “Thanks for the help! Not!”

Cassian still didn’t understand just what he’d done to make Nes so upset, but by the time Tuesday’s lab rolled around, he was determined to make things right. Nes hadn’t answered his texts all weekend, but after Cassian had reposted one of Mor’s Instagram stories from Friday night happy hour with her and her girlfriend, Nes was suddenly much happier to see him. 

Weird.  

✵✵✵✵✵✵

4.

October eventually turned into November, and Cassian found himself suddenly getting ready to play his last home club soccer game. It wasn’t nearly as intense as playing varsity, but he’d enjoyed having an outlet for all his restless energy over the years, and even more so getting to know the rest of the guys on the team. 

Cassian had mentioned his final home game in passing to Nes during one of their post-class coffee hangouts, but he certainly hadn’t expected to find him sitting in the bleachers on a rainy, miserable Saturday in early November. Usually the only other people at their games were close friends and family members, so it was a nice surprise to see Nes up there; none of Cassian’s other friends had been able to make it for various reasons, so he’d fully been expecting to be celebrated later. Even more surprising was that Nes wasn’t alone – Cassian could spot two other women up there with him, and judging by that familiar golden-brown hair, it could only be Elain and Feyre. 

Cassian waved happily from the field, grinning when Feyre and Elain immediately and eagerlty returned his wave while Nes’ just held up his hand in greeting. He knew how much Nes hated getting up early, especially on a weekend, and the fact that he’d dragged himself out of bed for a 10 AM game made something go warm and fuzzy in Cassian’s chest just like that day where Nes had come over to check on him. 

He didn’t have time to investigate that right now, though. He had a game to win, especially with an audience as important as this one, so he channeled all that sudden nervous energy into being the best left back he could. 

After the game — which they’d won 2-0, much to Cassian’s glee — he walked over to where Nes and his two sisters were waiting for him, having walked down from the bleachers in the time it had taken Cassian to finish up with his teammates. He couldn’t stop smiling at the fact that Nes had dragged himself down here just to watch Cassian kick a ball around. 

“What are you doing here?” Cassian asked once they were all standing together, still pleasantly surprised ninety minutes later. “I thought you didn’t believe in waking up during single digit hours.”

Nes flushed, much to his sisters’ clear amusement. “It was your last home game. Why wouldn’t I be here?”

“I don’t think I’ve seen you wake up that early since high school, Earnie,” one of Nes’ sisters teased. She looked the most like Nes, with her gray-blue eyes and high cheekbones, and she was bundled up in an oversized cream sweater and leggings. 

“How many times have I told you not to call me that, Feyre,” Nes grumbled, much to Cassian’s delight. 

“Not enough to make it stick,” Feyre retorted with a laugh. She turned back to Cassian and stuck her hand out expectantly, so he shook it and hoped she didn’t mind the grass and sweat on his hands. “It’s nice to meet you, Cassian. We’ve heard so much about you.”

“Don’t scare him off, Feyre,” Elain, Nes’ other sister, responded. She was the shortest of the three Archerons, and had warm brown eyes that crinkled around the edges when she smiled up at Cassian. “It’s nice to finally meet you, though. I promise we’ve only heard good things!”

“That doesn’t sound like Nes at all,” Cassian replied, teasing Nes just a little bit. He liked that Nes only showed his softer side to the people he cared about, and he counted himself very lucky to have somehow made it into that small group. “Lord knows I’ve given him plenty of things to complain about.”

Feyre’s eyes lit up like Christmas had come early, and even Elain couldn’t stop her smile. Cassian wondered what had been so significant about his words, though his question was quickly answered.

“Shut up, Feyre,” Nes said before Feyre could get a chance to comment.

“If you buy me lunch, I won’t say anything,” Feyre said back, “even though it’s extremely tempting to comment on this new nickname.”

Nes sighed heavily, clearly unable to resist Feyre for too long. “Fine, but nothing too crazy. I’m not made of money.”

“We literally get the same allowance, so objectively—”

“Well then, objectively, you should be able to pay for your own food for once—”

“I’m sure you’re hungry, Cassian,” Elain turned to him with a smile, clearly used to tuning out her siblings’ bickering. “You should join us!”

“Oh,” Cassian answered, touched that they’d want to invite him to their family bonding time. “Sure, I could eat.”

“Great!” Elain clapped her hands together before reaching out and yanking Feyre to her side, her grip appearing surprisingly strong for someone so small. She nudged Nes in Cassian’s direction as she said, “You two, stop your bickering so we can go get some food. Lead the way, Earn.”

Once Cassian got his gear together and changed out of his cleats, the four of them made their way to one of the fast casual places right outside of campus. Feyre and Elain were fun to hang out with, even if they asked a lot of strangely personal questions, but it was more than worth it for all the nuggets of information they gave him about Nes. It was more than a nice way to spend the rest of his afternoon, even more so when Nes paid for everyone’s food, but Cassian knew he’d pay the other man back in coffee and pastries after lab next week. 

Cassian eventually got up to use the bathroom, and as he made his way back to their table, he overheard the Archerons talking amongst themselves. 

“I really like this one, Earn,” Cassian heard Elain say. He slowed his steps to give them time for a sibling moment if they needed it, but he was strangely curious what else they’d say about him. Assuming they were talking about him, anyway. “He seems like a really good guy.”

“Yeah,” Nes replied, his voice strangely soft again. “Me too.”

Cassian wasn’t sure why hearing that put a smile on his face for the rest of the day, but he’d take it. He hadn’t known he was facing some kind of sibling friend test, but he was glad all the same that he’d passed.

✵✵✵✵✵✵

5.

The weekend before everyone went home for Thanksgiving break, Cassian got invited to an end of the semester party that one of the guys on the football team was throwing. Most of his other friends were going, so it was bound to be at least a fun enough time between that and the ridiculous amounts of alcohol that tended to be at these kinds of things. 

Cassian of course invited Nes, pleasantly surprised when the other man said he’d be there. Nes didn’t exactly strike Cassian as the party type, but maybe he wanted to let loose after a long semester just like everybody else. 

“Whose party is it, anyway?” Nes asked as they waited for their Uber. Nes had a car, but they both knew the odds of them both staying sober were slim to none, so he’d parked in the garage across from Cassian’s building so they could ride to the party together. Azriel and Eris were also going to this party, so Cassian figured Nes would maybe catch a ride back with Eris when everything was said and done and would come grab his car another time.

Cassian laughed, his breath fogging up in front of him in the brisk November air. “Now you’re asking?”

“Feyre and Elain said they might come,” Nes replied, rolling his eyes. He looked really good in a pair of dark jeans and the fur-lined leather jacket he’d stolen from Cassian’s closet, and Cassian had a hard time taking his eyes off him. “I can’t just send them in without any information.”

“Aww,” Cassian cooed. “What a good older brother.”

“Shut up, asshole,” Nes shot back without much venom. “Someone has to keep an eye on them.”

Cassian had learned just how shitty the Archeron parents were over the course of getting to know Nes, so he didn’t dare make another joke, not about that. Instead, he double-checked his group text with Rhys and Azriel for the information Nes had asked for in the first place. “Jurian’s throwing it. I think he’s one of Lucien’s friends?”

“Jurian’s alright,” Nes responded. He pulled out his phone and typed out a few quick texts before putting his hands back in his pockets, and Cassian had to stifle the insane urge to slide his hands into those pockets, too. “Besides, even if he weren’t, Lucien will help me keep an eye on them.”

“Don’t forget to have some fun for yourself, too,” Cassian told him. Nes always took himself so seriously that Cassian was almost hoping to see him let a little loose tonight, for once. 

“Don’t worry,” Nes said just as their Uber arrived. He held Cassian’s gaze for a few charged moments in which Cassian nearly forgot how to breathe. “I plan to.”

—

About an hour and a half into the party, Cassian could safely say they were both having a good time. Feyre and Elain had spent most of their time chatting with Rhys and Lucien respectively, so Nes felt comfortable enough leaving his sisters with them that he was actually drinking and laughing and generally letting loose the exact way Cassian had hoped he would. 

Cassian had a nice buzz going himself, even more so after he’d done the rounds and said hey to a lot of his own friends. He was playing some beer pong with Tarquin, one of his friends on the swim team, against Tarquin’s cousins Varian and Cresseida, and even though they were losing spectacularly he didn’t mind not one bit. Nes was still close by enough that Cassian could keep an eye on him, unable to look away as Nes laughed at something Eris had said. 

“It’s your turn, Cassian,” Tarquin pulled him back to the game, yelling to be heard properly over the music. Cassian took the ball and missed his first throw but sank his second easily, and he high-fived Tarquin as Cresseida jokingly flipped them off from across the table. “Nice!”

Their luck didn’t hold for long, however. Varian and Cresseida got their heads in the game and absolutely destroyed Cassian and Tarquin, who split the cups in half before downing one cup after the other. 

Whoever had decided to use tequila instead of beer deserved to have a perpetually warm pillow or something, Cassian thought as he finished his half of the cups. Even as big as he was, he knew drinking that much tequila in such a short time frame was only asking for trouble, so he just hoped the rest of the night would be worth it if he ended up throwing up tonight. 

Cassian really hoped he didn’t throw up tonight. He didn’t want Nes to see him like that, even though he’d definitely already seen Cassian all gross and sick earlier in the semester. Something about Nes just made Cassian want to be on his best behavior, and he was once again hoping that whatever he did would be enough to impress Nes’ high standards. 

Speaking of Nes, where had he even gone? Cassian looked around the room for almost a minute until he spotted the right head of golden-brown hair, and then he was making his way through the crowd to where Nes was still talking to Eris. He and Azriel had shown up to the party at some point during beer pong, both of them covered in hickies and Azriel’s hair way too mussed to be natural bedhead.

At the moment, though, Azriel wasn’t anywhere to be seen, and even though they were all friends, something about watching Nes laugh yet again at something Eris said made Cassian want to haul Nes away and keep him all to himself. 

Nes was still chuckling once Cassian came close enough to interrupt whatever conversation was happening, and Cassian was willing to do whatever it took to get that attention directed at him instead of Eris. 

“Heeeeey, guys,” Cassian said, casually throwing his arm around Nes’ shoulders like it was a thing they did all the time. It should be a thing they did all the time; Nes was the perfect height for Cassian to do that and a whole lot of other things that Cassian hadn’t considered until just now. “What’s going on?”

Eris looked like he wanted to laugh, but he swallowed it down. “Hey, Cassian. You having fun?”

“Yup,” Cassian answered, popping the p. “Soooo much fun.”

“You okay, Cassian?” Nes asked. He shifted his drink to his right hand so the left one could snake around Cassian’s waist, and wow was that a nice feeling. Almost as nice as hearing his name come out of Nes’ perfect mouth. “How much have you had to drink?”

“I lost beer pong,” Cassian replied, fighting the urge to turn and press his face into Nes’ hair. It was always shiny and perfectly styled and just long enough that Cassian would be able to run his fingers through it if he could, but he knew Nes spent way too much on his haircuts for that to be a reality. “Well, really it was tequila pong. They should rename it.”

“Or maybe you should be better at the game,” Nes told him, though Cassian could tell there wasn’t any real venom behind it. 

“Maybe you can be my teammate next time,” Cassian responded with a pleased little grin. What an excellent suggestion his brain had come up with. 

Nes just snorted. “Not really my thing.”

“We’ll just find something that is, then,” Cassian promised. Whatever it took to spend more time in Nes’ arms, he’d do it. “Pinky promise.”

“What are you, five?” Nes retorted, though he finished the rest of his drink and put the cup down somewhere just so he could brush his fingers against the hand Cassian had slung across his shoulders. Cassian seized the opportunity and grabbed hold of Nes’ hand before he could move too far away, interlacing their fingers and giving them a fond little squeeze. 

“Oh, thank God,” Eris said suddenly. Cassian looked away from Nes and his pretty, flushed cheeks to see that Azriel had returned to his boyfriend’s side. “They’re being disgusting.”

“Don’t be homophobic,” Nes said back with a roll of his eyes. 

“It’s PEMDAS, it cancels out,” Azriel replied with a sly little grin. That grin disappeared as he took a good, long look at Cassian, who tried not to squirm under the intense scrutiny. “Cassian, how drunk are you?”

“How drunk are you, Az?” Cassian fired back. 

Azriel rolled his eyes and turned his attention to Nes. “You should probably take him home soon. If he drinks any more he’s going to start throwing up, and nobody wants to see that.”

“Nobody’s going to throw up,” Cassian responded, frowning. He was not going to do that, especially in front of Nes. “I’m fine.”

“Sure, Cassian,” Azriel placated him. He turned back to Nes and added, “I’m going back with Eris after this, so… knock yourselves out, I guess.”

“Thanks,” Nes answered dryly. He squeezed Cassian’s hand one last time before letting go, ignoring Cassian’s pout as he pulled his phone out and started to call an Uber. “It’s time to take you home, Cassian.”

“But I don’t wanna go home yet,” Cassian said, still pouting. “Nessssss.”

“Too bad,” Nes said back. Cassian didn’t need to be looking at him to know the other man was rolling his eyes, though he liked watching Nes do it anyway. “Let’s start saying bye to your friends.”

Nes made quick work of guiding Cassian to the door while still managing to exchange goodbyes with everyone who mattered. Their driver was already waiting when they finally made it outside, and Cassian didn’t even mind sitting in the middle seat if it meant staying close to Nes. Cassian spent most of the Uber home leaning on Nes’ shoulder, thoroughly enjoying the way their thighs were pressed together in the backseat. When they got out of the car, Cassian also enjoyed the very firm grip that Nes kept on him as they walked.

Tonight had really been amazing.

“Where are your keys?” Nes asked as he corralled Cassian toward his building. Cassian mumbled out something unintelligent in response, more than ready to crash in his bed, and Nes sighed heavily. “Cassian, come on, it’s fucking freezing and you’re heavy as hell.”

“Left pocket,” Cassian eventually told him. He giggled as Nes shoved his hand in said left pocket and came up empty-handed. “No. My other left.”

“You’re even dumber when you’re drunk,” Nes grumbled, sticking his hand in Cassian’s right pocket and finally coming up with the keys. “You’re lucky you’re cute.”

Nes used Cassian’s key fob to get into the building and onto the elevator, apparently remembering the way well enough that he didn’t bother to ask Cassian for his floor. Cassian was far too busy trying to remain upright, finally throwing caution to the wind and slumping fully against Nes. “Mhmm. You’re warm.”

“You’re heavy,” Nes said, though he didn’t sound mad about it. He actually released a huff of laughter that tickled the side of Cassian’s ear before poking at Cassian a few times to get him moving. “Come on, let’s get you ready for bed.”

They eventually made their way down the hallway, Nes using Cassian’s keys to open the door to his and Azriel’s apartment. They managed to make it to Cassian’s room without bumping into anything despite not turning on any of the lights, though Nes turned on the lamp on Cassian’s desk so they had a little bit of light in the bedroom. While Nes busied himself with taking off his borrowed jacket, Cassian sat on the edge of the bed and fell backwards so he was comfortable.

“Don’t you dare fall asleep,” Nes said sharply once he noticed Cassian was laying on the bed. “You’re not going to sleep in all that. You’ll overheat in the middle of the night.”

“Says you,” Cassian said back, closing his eyes. Nes loudly snapped his fingers right in front of Cassian’s face, and Cassian forced his eyes back open just so he could roll them, hard. “Ugh. Whatever, Dad.”

Despite Cassian’s grumbling, he didn’t put up too much of a fight at Nes making him kick off his shoes and take off his jacket. He didn’t even mind taking off his shirt, since that’s usually how he slept anyway, but when it came time for Nes to coax him out of his pants, suddenly all bets were off. 

“Come on, Cassian,” Nes said, exasperated. He’d gotten Cassian to sit up while his other clothes had come off, and he was being really patient as he tried to unfasten Cassian’s jeans and take them off. “You can’t go to sleep in jeans.”

“No jeans for everyone,” Cassian said back with a loud laugh. He knew he was drunk and being more than a little annoying, but Nes certainly didn’t seem to mind as Cassian fumbled with the buttons on the other man’s jeans. “It’s only fair.”

“It’s not about fair, it’s about— hey!” Nes yelped as Cassian got the bright idea of suddenly yanking him forward. They overbalanced and Nes landed awkwardly on top of Cassian, who had developed a serious case of the giggles at the shocked expression on the other man’s face. “Really, Cassian?”

“Oh man,” Cassian replied, still giggling, “the look on your face.”

“Ha, ha,” Nes deadpanned. “Very funny.”

Cassian’s giggles abruptly stopped as he realized just how close he and Nes suddenly were. Cassian didn’t think they’d ever been so close before, and he found himself liking it, probably more than he should considering Nes was just trying to be a good friend and help him get ready for bed. It didn’t stop him from finally giving into the urge he’d been shoving down all night to bury his face into the side of Nes’ neck.

“Mhmmm,” Cassian said, breathing in the smell of Nes’ cologne and whatever fancy pomade he liked to use on his hair. Even underneath the smell of weed and alcohol and sweat from the party, he still smelled so goddamn good. “You smell good.”

“Thank you,” Nes said back, his voice a little strained. “Can I get up now?”

“Oh, shit, sorry,” Cassian said.

Cassian shifted underneath Nes, ready to sit them both up so they could stop fucking around and go to sleep, but it seemed the universe had other plans. As Cassian tried to sit up, he was completely unprepared for the hot stab of arousal that hit him as he realized their dicks were pressed together, and that it felt good. 

Really good.

“Fuck,” Cassian said, his dick already half-hard. He was torn between apologizing for making things weird and shifting under Nes again, but he didn’t know what to say to make either thing happen. He just laid there, his heart pounding out of his chest as he waited to see what Nes would do.  

Nes had frozen too, his full, pink lips parted in surprise. He stared down at Cassian for a few moments without saying a word, and Cassian braced himself for the worst. 

But then Nes rolled his hips against Cassian’s, thrusting against him with intention, and any and all worries Cassian had abruptly disappeared with the feeling of Nes’ very hard dick grinding against his. “Oh, fuck, you feel good.”

“Yeah?” Cassian breathed. Now that he wasn’t worried about Nes’ reaction, all that nervous energy had been replaced with pure hunger. He’d never been with another guy before, but that didn’t change the way he wanted to know what Nes looked like when he came.

“I’ve been thinking about this all fucking semester,” Nes continued, pausing briefly to yank off his shirt and kick his jeans off. Cassian could only gape at the sheer amount of skin suddenly on display, interrupted only by the dark blue boxers Nes was still wearing. “You have any lube?”

Cassian flushed as he realized why they might need that. “Um. I. No?”

“That’s fine,” Nes answered, yanking off Cassian’s jeans before climbing back on top of Cassian. “Take out your dick.”

Cassian had never moved faster in his life. He scrambled to pull his dick out through the hole in the front of his boxers, hissing a little as he touched himself. He was so hard it almost hurt, and he nearly stopped breathing as Nes reached down and wrapped his hand around Cassian’s dick.

“Oh my God,” Cassian breathed, though he was pretty sure it had come out more like a whimper. He’d earned plenty of notches on his bedpost over the years, but somehow this was the hottest thing that had ever happened to him. 

And that was before Nes started to actually move his hand. Cassian groaned when Nes began to slowly stroke him, his cock leaking like a faucet the entire time, and he couldn’t stop himself from thrusting upwards into Nes’ firm grip. “Nes, come on, please.”

Nes smirked down at Cassian for a few moments before deciding to take pity on him. He sped up a little bit, just enough to reach a nice, steady pace, and Cassian couldn’t help making helpless little noises every time Nes flicked his wrist upwards. After a few minutes of that, Nes finally pulled out his own cock and worked himself over a few times, his eyes fluttering shut at how good it must have felt, and then he was reaching for Cassian’s hand and placing it on his cock.

Cassian had thought things were intense before, but this was an entirely new level. 

“Jesus,” Cassian muttered, all of this going straight to his own dick. He’d never touched another cock before, but it wasn’t so different from touching his own. The angle and the way Nes’ cock felt in his hand were different, yeah, but that was a very welcome change. Nes wasn’t as thick as Cassian, but he certainly made up for it with the inch or two he had extra.

Once Nes had decided Cassian had done enough staring, he closed his hand around Cassian’s and started to show Cassian what he liked. Cassian was mesmerized by the slow, slick slide of their hands moving together over Nes’ admittedly very nice cock; he hadn’t stared openly at very many dicks in his life, but Cassian was more than happy to look at this one. He was even happier to look at the man it was attached to, doing his best to commit the look on Nes’ face to memory for reasons he wasn’t entirely sure of just yet.

“Yeah, just like that,” Nes groaned, his voice low. He let go of Cassian’s hand, apparently trusting him to keep the rhythm they’d set together, and reached for Cassian’s dick again. “Yeah, fuck, Cassian, that’s it.”

Cassian moaned as Nes started stroking Cassian’s dick a little faster than he’d done before, the praise and the perfect friction against Cassian’s dick absolutely doing it for him. They were both hot and slick under the other’s hand, and Cassian swore as Nes turned his focus to the very tip of Cassian’s dick. “Shit, don’t stop.”

Of course, Nes picked that exact moment to let go. “Relax, Cassian. I have a better idea.”

“It better be— oh,” Cassian cut himself off with a shocked gasp as Nes knocked Cassian’s hand out of the way so he could hold both of their cocks together in one hand. “Oh, God.”

“That’s what I thought,” Nes replied smugly. He shifted so their cocks were better lined up, and Cassian saw stars as Nes started to stroke both of their cocks together. Everything was slippery and hot and perfect, especially once they fell into rhythm that guaranteed the most friction between them, Cassian surging upward while Nes’ hips moved back, over and over and over again. Eventually Nes moved his hand out of the way so they were just grinding against each other, their cocks trapped between their bodies as Nes leaned down and completely covered Cassian’s body with his own, leaner frame. 

“Oh, fuck, don’t stop,” Cassian panted, reaching down to grab a handful of Nes’ ass so they could press together that much better. “So good, Jesus, you feel so good…”

Feeling Nes move against him was giving Cassian all sorts of ideas, mostly about what it would be like if he was fucking Cassian for real. Cassian’s rhythm turned frantic as he thought about Nes holding him down, fucking him hard, making him take it—

Cassian came with a choked off moan of Nes’ name, his come spilling across both of their cocks and setting Nes off. Nes drew it out for both of them until Cassian was squirming underneath him, not stopping the movement of his hips until Cassian was near tears and the pleasure-pain of it, and then the only sound in the room was both of their heavy breathing. 

Nes gracefully rolled off of Cassian and reached for a nearby towel, using it to wipe up their shared come as best he could before tossing it toward Cassian’s hamper. “Move over.”

Cassian didn’t even think to object, his head spinning between the tequila still in his system and the enormity of what had just happened between them. But Nes didn’t seem to be as affected; he just kicked off his wet underwear before delving under the covers. “Night, Cassian.”

Cassian guessed they would just talk about whatever that was in the morning, so he kicked off his own underwear, got under the covers, threw his arm around Nes’ waist, and let sleep take him. Nes’ feet were freezing where they were pressed between Cassian’s calves, but he didn’t mind that one bit. 

✵✵✵✵✵✵

+1

When Cassian woke up the next morning, he didn’t have the faintest clue how things were going to go. Last night had been beyond even his wildest fantasies, but the reality of Nes warming his bed was starting to creep in. 

Not that he had a lot of time to really ponder that, considering Nes was already awake and staring at him expectantly. They’d fallen asleep spooning, but they must have rolled apart during the night given Nes was now facing Cassian. 

Their legs were still tangled together, though. Maybe that counted for something.  

“Hey,” Cassian said hesitantly. He had a solid headache from last night, but he knew even that couldn’t stop this conversation from happening. “Um. Good morning.”

“Good morning,” Nes replied, his voice a little raspier and deeper than usual. It went straight to Cassian’s dick, which was not helping his creeping panic at the discussion they were about to have, though it was certainly another thing to add to his mental list of things Nes did that were incredibly attractive. 

He wasn’t even freaked out at his newfound bisexuality — he’d always thought of himself as open to experimenting, so it was nice to know that hadn’t just been a passing fantasy — it was more that he didn’t want to risk his relationship with Nes. Cassian didn’t know what he’d do without their coffee hangouts, or their text threads, or the way Nes looked at him like he was the biggest idiot on campus. 

“What are we doing?” Cassian asked hesitantly, knowing the only way forward was through. He just had to rip the band-aid off, and if that meant their friendship was done, he’d be okay. Eventually. “Are we… together now?”

“We’ve been together,” Nes said, an adorable frown appearing on his pretty face. Cassian wanted to smooth it out with his fingers. “What do you mean, what are we doing?”

“We’ve been together?” Cassian repeated. He was so, so confused, but also a not-insignificant part of him was incredibly relieved that Nes wasn’t going anywhere. “Since… when?”

“You can’t be serious,” Nes replied. When he realized Cassian wasn’t kidding, his frown morphed into a deep scowl. No smoothing that one out with his fingers. “Oh my God. You are being serious.”

“What are you talking about right now?” Cassian asked, realizing just how out of his depth he was. Had he missed something from before they’d hooked up last night? “I’m not fucking around, Nes. What’s happening?”

“I asked you out after our first lab,” Nes answered slowly, like he was talking to a little kid. “I brought you soup when you were sick, I came to your soccer game — you met my sisters, for fuck’s sake. We’ve been dating all semester, Cassian.”

“Oh,” Cassian said, unable to come up with something more eloquent as a lot of pieces suddenly fell into place. He’d chalked all of that — and the way it made him feel — up to Nes just going above and beyond in their friendship, but clearly there was so much more than that going on here. “Oh.”

“Yeah, oh,” Nes said back, irritated. 

“Is that why you were so mad at Mor that day?” Cassian asked, a light bulb suddenly switching on in his mind. No wonder Mor had said he was being such a dumbass; he owed her a massive apology. “Holy shit, were you jealous?”

“She was touching you,” Nes hissed, that muscle in his jaw working overtime as he thought back to that fateful afternoon. “Of course I was fucking jealous, you idiot.”

“You don’t have to be jealous, Nes,” Cassian replied. He couldn’t stop smiling, and the more worked up Nes got, the wider his grin became. “Mor doesn’t even like men romantically!”

“How was I supposed to know that at the time, Cass,” Nes retorted. 

“This is such a ridiculous argument, sweetheart. Besides, you know how much I like you,” Cass said, immediately gratified at the look on Nes’ face. “Oh, wait, you like that nickname.” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Nes immediately denied. Cassian knew it was bullshit from the adorable pink flush spreading across the other man’s cheeks. “Shut up.”

“Nes. Nesseroni. Earn,” Cassian said, running through all of Nes’ other names just because he could. He could do a lot of things now, apparently. “Earnest Nathaniel.”

“Just Nes is fine,” Nes grumbled. “All those other names suck.”

“Sure they do. Hey, do you want to be my boyfriend?” Cassian asked before he could lose his nerve.  

Nes sighed, but Cassian saw right through that from the pleased tilt of his mouth. “Yes. Fine. Whatever.”

“Just whatever?” Cassian repeated with a grin. He shuffled forward until their chests were pressed together and rolled them so he was on top of Nes, very much enjoying this new development. 

“Just shut up and kiss me,” Nes replied. Cassian was more than happy to follow orders, leaning in and closing the distance between their lips. Both of them had morning breath and Nes had a little bit of stubble tickling Cassian’s upper lip, but it was easily one of the best kisses he’d ever experienced. Nes’ lips were softer than Cassian had been expecting, and they parted easily so Cassian could explore with his tongue. The slick slide of their tongues immediately reminded Cassian of the way their cocks slid together the night before, but he forced himself to stay focused. They’d have plenty of time for mind-blowing sex later, if Cassian had anything to say about it. 

“Was that… okay?” Nes asked quietly after a few more minutes of kissing, his gray-blue eyes furiously searching Cassian’s hazel ones for the slightest hint of any discomfort. 

“So much better than okay,” Cassian answered. He didn’t want Nes to have even a single doubt, so he leaned in and kissed Nes again, though they were both smiling a little too much for it to count as a real kiss. “You make me so fucking crazy.”

Nes hmmed and they lazily made out for a while, though it wasn’t with any intent beyond just exploring each other’s mouths. When they eventually broke apart, Cassian just had to laugh at how much of a dumbass he’d really been all these weeks. At Nes’ confused look, Cassian said, “Don’t get mad, but… this whole time I thought you were just really invested in being my friend.”

“You’re actually one of the most ridiculous people I’ve ever met,” Nes said, though the effect was lessened given how pink his lips were from all the kissing. He pushed at Cassian, who rolled over so they were on their sides facing each other again. “Jesus Christ, how were you so oblivious?”

“I just thought you really, really liked me,” Cassian said back, still laughing at himself. God, he was such an idiot. “Platonically, though.”

Nes stared at him incredulously for several long seconds. “Should I be concerned that you thought all the things we did were totally platonic?”

“I figured it out in the end!” Cassian protested. Sure, maybe it had taken a ridiculously long time to come to what felt like a very obvious conclusion, but Cassian wouldn’t change it. Not when he got to be the one waking up next to Nes exchanging good morning kisses. 

“Yeah, after I told you to take your dick out,” Nes responded. He released a long-suffering sigh that absolutely delighted Cassian to hear. “Like I said… you’re lucky you’re cute.”

“Nah,” Cassian said, grinning. “I’m lucky you like me so much.”

His boyfriend — and wasn’t that a thought — didn’t deny it. Instead, Nes graced Cassian with a rare smile and said, “Yeah. Something like that.”

tag list: @perseusannabeth | @bookstantrash | @fieldofdaisiies | @goddess-aelin | @c-e-d-dreamer | @talkfantasytome | @whyisaravenlike-awritingdesk | @sv0430 | @talibunny30 | @unlikelypersonalknight1 | @champanheandluxxury | @lilah-asteria | @burningsnowleopard | @sayosdreams | @readskk | @simpingfornestaarcheron | @bellaful08 | @readergalaxy | @podemechamardek | @pearlfortears | @nerdperson524 | @jmoonjones | @kale-theteaqueen | @autumnbabylon | @hiimheresworld | @illyrianshadowhunter | @dustjacketmusings | @live-the-fangirl-life | @that-little-red-head | @sweet-pea1 | @brieq | @queercontrarian | @jsmelodies | @afflicted-with-wanderlust

[robinsno1lesbian]

What about the nsfw alphabet with neighbour!robin??

𝐍𝐒𝐅𝐖 𝐀𝐋𝐏𝐇𝐀𝐁𝐄𝐓 - 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐫! 𝐑.𝐁.

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: i think the title is pretty self explanatory!

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: 18+ mature content (MDNI), implied age gap (reader is 18+), fingering, oral (fem!receiving obviously), strap-ons, implied mommy kink, implied spanking, let me know if I missed anything! :)

𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: guys i’m alive i promise!! i’m currently on holiday and silly me forgot to bring her laptop. which means this was written on my phone. so if the formatting sucks or there are some weird errors, ignore the first part and blame the second on my weird autocorrection lmaoo-

a = aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

robin is so gentle with you after she has made you cum, especially because sex with her can be rough when the occasion calls for it. she always has a glass of water ready for you on the bedside table and holds you close to her through the aftershocks.she also peppers soft kisses all over your body, over the marks she has left on your neck and thighs etc.

b = body part (their favorite part of theirs and also their partner’s)

neighbor!robin loves her hand. she knows what they can do and knows just how strong they are. robin couldn’t choose when it comes to you. she loves everything about your body, loves to lay on top of you and kiss every inch of your body, loves to worship you and tell you how gorgeous you are.

c = cum (anything to do with cum basically)

robin loves to make you cum all over her face. she will eat the cum out of your pussy until you’re shaking on top of her.

(that’s also why one of her favorite ways to make you cum is on her face/over her mouth)

d = dirty secret (pretty self-explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

once, before you had officially gotten together, you lost your diary and couldn’t find it for days. that’s because it had been laying on robin’s bedside table, and robin had read through all of your dirty fantasies with a hand down her own shorts

(read about that here :) )

e = experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

since robin is older than you, she has definitely had sex with other women before. she knows her way around the female anatomy that’s for sure.

f = favorite position (this goes without saying)

robin just loves to bend you over any surface she can find and fuck you from behind until you’re a babbling mess for her, begging for her strap to go just a little bit faster.

g = goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous?)

robin’s whole persona can shift when she’s inside you. so she’s definitely more of the serious kind. yet when you let her know that something’s too much or that you’re genuinely too sensitive to continue, that changes immediately!

h = hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

for herself, as well as for her partner’s, robin really couldn’t care less. she will go down on you and fuck you into oblivion, whether you’re shaved or not. whatever your preference is really. as for herself, i’d say she shaves every now and then but still has that same dirty blonde hair down there.

i = intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

robin can be a real romantic with you, when that is what you need. with candles, slow music and sensual kisses and all. she will hold you as you cum all around her fingers and moan into her mouth when you’ve had a rough day and need her to.

j = jack of (masturbation hc)

robin definitely has got plenty of toys in store. and if there isn’t anyone around to help her out, she will use those on herself. i also think she’s an underwear-thief type of women and will use your panties in some sort of way to get herself off.

k = kink (one more of their kinks)

mommy kink, bondage, overstimulation/multiple orgasms, a bit of spanking every now and then you know the drill. i could also imagine neighbor!robin with a slight innocence kink tbh…

l = location (favorite places to do the do)

of course she loves to have you beneath her in bed, but robin can honestly work with everything.

m = motivation (what turns them on? what gets them going?)

i believe that varies depending on the situation. she definitely loves to see you in those short, little summer dresses you wear when the heat gets too suffocating.

n = no (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

robin is petty experimentally and there’s definitely not a whole lot she would say no to. she’s willing to discuss and try everything you might want to try out and won’t shame you for it etc.

o = oral (preference in giving or receiving, skills etc.)

robin is a great giver and besides, you’re her pillow princess for most parts anyway. she’s skilled with her tongue and could easily coax multiple orgasms out of you while she’s got her hear buried between your thighs.

p = pace (are they fast and rough? or slow and sensual?)

oh robin loves to get rough with you. she loves to have you on all fours for her, thrusting into you hard and fast. she also loves to mark you up, leaving hickeys and small bites all over your skin in the places where no one can see.

q = quickie (their opinion on quickies, how often etc.)

robin likes to take her time with you whenever you’re having sex. that doesn’t mean she won’t drag you into bathrooms at parties or finger you underneath the table top when she’s in the mood for that.

r = risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks etc.?)

your whole relationship is already risky, so pretty much everything you do comes with a certain risk. one that is most definitely worth the taking. again: robin will touch you underneath the table while you’re having dinner with friends/family or cover your mouth in the bathroom so that no one in the house will hear your desperate moans.

s = stamina (how many rounds can they go? how long do they last?)

during sex, robin definitely proves that her muscles aren’t just for show. she can easily fuck you through multiple orgasms without getting tired of it and, when she sees that you need more than she has given you, she will give it to you, no matter what. her skin might be sweat stained and she might be panting and groaning due to her sore muscles but she won’t stop until you’ve cum for her.

t = toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on their partner or themselves?)

robin owns plenty of toys, most of them for you though. her favorite is probably her strap (she definitely has multiple straps as well!).

u = unfair (how much they like to tease)

so much. she loves to have you squirming for her, loves to see the way your body trembles when she runs her tongue over your nipples while her fingers are spreading you open for her without any penetration just yet. overall, it’s fair to say that robin loves to tease you, to see just how much she can make you want her.

v = volume (how loud are they? the sounds they make etc.)

it is a rather rare occasion that you go down on robin, she definitely gets off from getting you off. the moans and groans she lets out while she’s fucking you don’t go unnoticed. besides that, you often catch her with a hand down her underwear whenever she’s eating you out, fucking herself to the taste of you.when you do get to fuck her, you’re surprised to see that she is far from quiet. even though it’s mostly praise for you, robin does moan for you. and when she does it, it’s loud, low and beautiful.

w = wildcard (a random headcanon for the character)

oh neighbor!robin loves to watch you play with yourself: sitting back on her bed and watching you riding your fingers, begging for her touch, walking in on you humping one of her pillows…

x = x-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

well as said before, robin is build athletically, has slight abs and muscles etc. honestly not much to say about that.

y = yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

she has a high sex drive. if she didn’t have you, she wouldn’t know what to do. probably pass out due to horny-overload.

when she’s away for work, she makes sure to call you and touch herself to the sound of your voice while she’s whispering dirty things through the speaker.

z = zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

she always makes sure you’re sleeping first. she holds you in her arms, covers you in blankets and makes sure you’re all warm and safe. only then, when you’re peacefully sleeping, can she go to sleep herself.

[startrekfangirl2233-writes]

Mm, Daddy Daddy

Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x Reader

Description: Being a student is hard. For your Master's degree, you have to contend with classes, labs, and assignments in addition to feeding yourself. You're treading water coming into the end of the Spring Semester when your roommate tells you she is breaking her portion of your lease and moving in with her new fiancé. You're left at wit's end and you're not sure how you'll make ends meet. Until, that is, a friend and colleague suggests a website called icanbeyourbaby.com. You're not sure what you'll find there, but Jake Seresin is not it. He's everything you've ever dreamed of and more. But can you keep him despite the contract the website insists you draw up? Will this ever be more than a short-term business arrangement? You hope so. Disclaimer: Female Reader, Slight BDSM, Sugar Daddy/Sugar Baby Relationship. This is also very clearly an AU! In this universe, Jake is a high flying, jet-setting lawyer, a very successful one. This is a story completely full of adult elements. It is for adults 18+ only. Minors Do Not Interact. Warnings: Reader gets paid for her companionship. This is a Sugar Daddy/ Sugar Baby agreement, after all. Word Count: 4354 Author Note: Hello, hello all you beautiful people! I'm insatiable and you only have @desert-fern to blame for putting this thought in my head. Fern, this one is for you! I hope you'll find yourself a Jake to entice you into studying and call you 'His Good Girl'! 🥰 😘 Also, the real ones know. The title for this fic comes from Sam Smith & Kim Petras - Unholy.

AO3: Cross-posted here! Wattpad: Cross-posted here! Anthology Masterlist My Masterlist

College sucks. You love learning, and you love being surrounded by so many different, amazingly talented people. What sucks is how expensive it is. Even with a scholarship, a roommate, and not one, but two full time jobs, you're just barely making ends meet. You've just gotten out of a double shift from hell when you walk into your apartment to see that Joanna, your roommate, has her boyfriend over. They're making out on the couch, and while you'd love to ignore them, you need to make yourself dinner and then write a ten page treatise on the effects of pollution on bivalves due tomorrow during your last class for your final grade.

Just as you're pulling your last Cup Noodles out of the microwave, making a mental note to buy more tomorrow, Joanna speaks up.

"Hey, Blue." She sounds nervous for some reason. "I'm glad I caught you before you headed to your room for the night."

"Hey, Jo!" You sound about as tired as you look. "What's up?"

"Well…. Austinproposedtomeandisaidyes." Her last words are too fast for your already stressed brain.

"One more time, Jo? Slowly?" You point to your head. "My brain's kinda fried and I didn't get any of that."

"I said, Austin proposed to me and I said yes." She's proffering her left hand out to you and you can't help your own squeal of glee as you examine the ring and congratulate her.

"Umm, you're the sweetest, you know that, Blue?" Why does she sound so sad when she’s telling you such nice things? "I hate to do this to you, but, um. Well, I'm moving in with Austin this weekend. Our landlady is letting me break my part of the lease, so the place is all yours."

You just congratulate her again, and watch as she and Austin retreat to her bedroom. When the apartment is quiet again, you begin to think. You dimly note how the fork in your hands goes clattering onto the countertop as you try to mentally catalog how many extra shifts you'll need to take to make your next month's rent payment and pay for classes at the same time. But no matter how you do the math, it doesn't add up. You'd need to work more hours than there are in the day and you still wouldn't have enough money. 

It's a conundrum that continues to churn away in the back of your mind as you slurp down the cold noodles and finish writing your paper. You'll need another roommate, at the very least. But summer break has already begun, and you're not likely to find one. Los Angeles is expensive. You mull it over for weeks, even after Joanna moves out. It's your lab partner at the Marine Institute, a girl named Samantha, who suggests an unlikely idea which might just be the most likely solution.

"Create a profile on this site: icanbeyourbaby.com. It's a sugar daddy/sugar baby site. It's full of older men looking for companionship. I started it a couple of months ago and I don't have to worry about anything anymore." It's true. Sammie doesn't look stressed or tired anymore. Her clothes are all new. You thought she'd just gotten a great job, which is why you'd asked if her boss was hiring. You'd never have expected Sammie with her neon pink and yellow hair, piercings and tattoos to be a sugar baby.

You turn the thought over and over in your head, trying to puzzle another way out of your situation without going into prostitution or living in the campus library out of a duffle bag for the rest of the year. When nothing else comes to mind, you fill out a profile on icanbeyourbaby. You stay as true to yourself as you can, feeling heat in your face and ears at the extremely in depth questions about sexual experience and kinks. Finally, you add a selfie taken recently at a friend's birthday party and hit submit. The congratulations screen is so cheery that you almost immediately want to slam your laptop lid down and curl up under your blankets. 

But you don't, because right as you try to, huge cheesy letters spell out "Congratulations, you got a match!" You're then routed into a chat window. You've been matched with a user called longhornlover, and when you click onto his profile, your jaw nearly drops out of its socket. 

His name, when you read through the details, is Jake Seresin. He's a lawyer working for a law firm downtown. He's just turned 34, and you can't quote this enough, he "needs a pretty girl on his arm for galas, dinners and parties, who is intelligent and able to keep up a conversation". Is this guy for real? At least the age gap isn't too bad. He's only 11 years older than you. Money is apparently no object and when you've flipped back to the open chat window, he's already messaged you asking you to meet him for coffee. 

You can't be blamed for saying yes, right? It's way too easy to sink into chatting with Jake on the app. He's more attentive than every man you've ever spoken to and he gives you butterflies every time he messages you good morning.

The day of your first date, you wear your best dress and walk out of your building, prepared to walk to the bus stop in order to make it to your date on time. You're definitely not expecting the shining blue Porsche idling on the street or the six-foot tall man leaning elegantly against the door. Jake's even more gorgeous in person. 

You stammer all over yourself as you greet him and then allow him to help you into the car, and whisk you away. He takes you to a little coffee shop outside of the city. The hostess leads you to a secluded booth and hands you a menu that is a leather bound book with no prices anywhere on the pages. It's quiet as you order an iced coffee and hand the menu back over.

"So, Blue, can I call you that?" At your nod, he continues, "Why did you sign up? What made you consider being a sugar baby?"

"Oh, I, um. My roommate just moved out, I'm working two jobs and I don't know if I'll be able to make rent, my school fees or be able to feed myself now that she's not going to be able to split rent with me." Your voice is quiet, ashamed. You're asking a stranger for money, practically.

"You're in school, your profile said. What are you studying?" He glosses over your shame so easily. Rich people really do have different cares from ordinary people like you.

"I'm at the University of San Diego getting my Masters in Environmental and Ocean studies." At his inquiring glance you continue, elaborating on the program a little bit. You finish up just as your waitress drops off your coffee, twirling her manicured nails in her hair as she smiles fetchingly at Jake. It's very satisfying to see how he doesn't respond to her at all.

"Thank you for telling me about yourself." He takes a sip of his coffee. "So what are you hoping to get out of this arrangement?"

This is the question you've been asking yourself non-stop for the past few days.

"I'd like to not have to worry about whether I'll be able to eat if I pay my rent and tuition. Or if I'll be able to sleep at night if I work and still have assignments I need to complete." You sip on your coffee, praying that all of your nervous sweating hasn't exposed the raccoon circles permanently tattooed under your eyes. "W-what do you want out of this?"

"I want you to be healthy and happy. And, when I have a company party or event to attend, I want you on my arm, smiling and being just as gorgeous as you are right now." His voice is so soft that the butterflies swarm up your esophagus.

"I can do that. Um, what about, um, sex things?" Your voice drops down to a whisper as you say the last words, sinking into your chair while furtively glancing around to see if anyone heard you.

"That's all up to you. I'd love to be able to call you my girlfriend and lavish a bunch of affection on you, including making you feel good. If that's something you're not comfortable with, then let me know." Jake's green eyes are glimmering with amusement as you stutter out your agreement.

Your eyes go even wider when he fishes an iPad out of his briefcase and pulls out a contract. He goes over every inch of it with you, making changes based on your comfort level, and then you both sign. That's how you became a sugar baby.

At the beginning it was all new and exciting. Jake deposited a quarter of a million dollars into your bank account the next morning, calling it your quarterly allowance. A part of you still doesn't believe that he's real. In the six months since that day, you've gone to no fewer than five parties, dressed to the nines in designer gowns with diamonds dripping off of your fingers, throat and wrists and been swanned around as Jake Seresin's girlfriend.

You love the kisses and possessive grip he has on your waist at those events. But you're at the point in your relationship, and it is a relationship - Jake had shredded the contract months ago, where you want more. You want the sleepovers at his penthouse downtown. You want him to call you his Good Girl and mean it as you bounce on his cock. So you take matters into your own hands. One Friday afternoon you let yourself into his penthouse, glad that at least you have the keys and don't need permission to do so. You set your bookbag down on the leather ottoman in the living room and pad into his bedroom. 

Jake's bedroom is your favorite place in the entire apartment. It's all pale wood and glass. His bed sits against the sole wall, a plush pillowy California King that you love taking naps in. You walk into the gigantic walk-in closet and pull out one of his button-down shirts, a pale cream one that you love seeing on his golden skin. The fabric is rich and silky and most importantly, ever so slightly transparent. You strip off all of your clothes and swathe yourself in the silky shirt. The cool fabric has your nipples turning into firm points and as you look at yourself in the mirror, you know Jake's going to love seeing you in his clothes, too. 

Then comes the next part of your plan. You settle down on the sofa with a throw over your lap and begin to study. Even though you have seduction on your mind, it's still finals season. Now, you wait. You're completely immersed in your Marine Law class when you hear the door open and Jake walks through the door. He's got a bag of groceries in one hand and his briefcase in the other.

"Hi, doll!" He sounds exhausted. 

"Hi, Jake!" Your voice is soft as you wave at him from your blanket burrito on the couch.

"How was your day, baby?" He sounds exhausted. You answer him from the couch, barely noticing him until you feel a kiss press against the side of your head. It's Jake, now dressed in just a pair of sweats with damp hair.

"When did you shower?" You can't help the confusion in your voice as you rub at your eyes from behind the frames of your glasses.

"Twenty minutes ago, baby." You can feel the amusement in his voice. "What're you so immersed in, huh?"

"Marine law." You keep scanning the slides in front of you, ignoring how his hands are tracing across your shoulders.

"Y'know, baby doll, I am a lawyer. So you can ask me for help if you want?" You can feel your resolve flagging as he sets your laptop down, unwraps you slowly from the throw, and tugs you into his lap. His hands trail teasingly over the bar expanse of your thighs, pausing at the junction of your hips, caressing the soft bare skin there.

"What do we have here, Baby Blue?" His voice is deep and velvety as he rucks the shirt up a little, knuckles firm against your bare stomach. 

"W-wanted to wear your shirt, Daddy." You can hear the rumble of his voice as he groans, trailing his fingers over your peaked nipples and back down to the apex of your thighs.

"And the rest of your clothes?" He's got a firm grip on each thigh, tugging them apart until your bare pussy is completely exposed.

"I-I took 'em off. Just wanted to be surrounded by your scent, Daddy." Your voice is a mewl as Jake massages teasingly over your clit, the barely there touches sending even more heat coiling through your veins.

"And you decided to be my good girl and study while you waited for Daddy to come home?" His calloused fingers pluck at your nipples with each word.

"Y-yes." Your chest is heaving, your mind going fuzzy and blank as Jake's - no - Daddy's hands rob you of all thought.

"You've been such a good girl, baby doll. D'you want your reward?" The fondness in Daddy's voice has you writhing as his hands open your tight walls up for him.

"Yes please, Daddy! Please!" He lifts you up with one thick forearm before working the sweats down to his knees. Now, you can feel Daddy's cock as it glides over your weeping hole as you wriggle in his lap.

"Come sit on this cock, Blue, baby." He punctuates the order with kisses that steal the breath from your lungs. You love when Daddy kisses you like this. You tug the constricting button down off, and carefully sink down onto his hard length. Daddy's cock is so big and thick that it nearly splits you apart. Each inch has your mouth open in a silent scream, and when he bottoms out, you're sweaty and exhausted. Your skin feels too tight and electric shocks are zipping across every inch that he touches. 

Daddy takes pity on you, letting you quiet on his cock, feeling how your walls clench around his length as you settle back against his chest.

"God, look at you, baby Blue. So pretty, my good girl, impaled on Daddy's cock like that." Daddy's big hands cup your tits, and you shudder before melting further into his arms. After several moments, he leans forward, tugging your laptop back onto your lap. "Gotta make sure my good girl is comfy. That she knows daddy is here for her always. Now, you sit here and study. If you're good, I'll fuck you until you scream later."

You're already so wet and aching for Daddy, that it'll be sweet torture to spend so long impaled on his length. His cock is pressing up against all the parts that make you see stars. But you're Daddy's good girl. So you do what he says. The first few pages, you're completely distracted, wriggling around in Daddy's lap, wanting more stimulation. But eventually you fall into a flow state, Daddy's presence comforting. 

You lose time. You must, because it's dark when the laptop closes and Daddy peppers kisses across your exposed shoulders. You're still impaled on his length, each thick inch pressing against your walls in the perfect way. You're slow to respond to the teasing caresses, nuzzling against the palm of Daddy's hand sweetly.

"Aww, baby Blue. You're so good for me, doll." Daddy's voice sounds so fond and it makes a small part of you light up. His praise and gentle words make you feel even better than his cock buried in you. When he lifts you off of his length, you sob at the empty feeling, weeping cunt clenching on nothing where it had once been wrapped around Daddy.

Before you can blink, you're splayed out on your back on Daddy's comfy leather sofa. He's crouched between your legs, gazing raptly at your heat as he pets across your hips and lower belly in slow soothing strokes. 

"D-daddy?" Your voice is tiny, as you try to swivel and nudge your hips closer to him.

"Yeah, baby doll?" Daddy punctuates his words with kisses against your inner thighs and your mound. Your mind whites out a bit at the pressure as he flattens his tongue over your fluttering, wet slit. His voice is smug as he continues, "D'you want something from Daddy, baby?"

You don't get the chance to respond, though. Between one breath and the next, you're being treated like a steak dinner placed before a starving man. Daddy feels like he's everywhere. His mouth and fingers devour you whole. Your entire body feels like a live wire, warring sensations dancing like electric currents across your skin as the band in your gut winds tighter and tighter. It feels like you're on a tightrope, dangling over a cliff.

Each heaving breath feels like too much and yet not enough oxygen is entering your lungs. You're begging and babbling, tugging on Daddy's hair in graceless sweeping motions as your mind forgets how to move or do anything than be at Daddy's pleasure. It's when Daddy growls against your cunt that you cum, screaming his name as your muscles lock with the force of your orgasm.

When you come back to yourself, it's on the cool satin sheets of Daddy's big bed. You feel wrung out and exhausted, mind floaty even as your limbs struggle to cooperate. You've just managed to sit up when Daddy wanders in, holding a condensation covered glass in his big hand. You make grabby hands for him, smiling as he drags you against his chest as you sip on the cool juice in the glass. 

"How are you feeling, baby?" You nuzzle in closer, sleepily peppering kisses across his chest. 

"Feel good, Daddy. Y'always make me feel good." The kiss Daddy presses against your lips consumes you body and soul. It takes several moments before you collect your frayed strands of thought.

"B-but, what about you, daddy? Did you cum?" Your voice is soft as you take his length in your hand.

"No, Blue, baby." His breathing hitches with each pass of your hand as you work his length in your fist. "But you don't have ta'...... Ahh!"

Each stuttering breath makes your smile just a little wider. Daddy's so pretty, his tawny mane of hair spread out against the pillow as a flush spreads across his chest. His big hand is curled around your bare hip as you slowly pump his length. 

"Doll, are you just going to tease me all night?" His voice is so fond as he tugs you close.

"No, Daddy." You melt into his chest as he kisses you. Each long slow slide of his tongue plundering your mouth has you pressing yourself closer. You kiss your daddy slowly, losing yourself to the touch.

"D'you want something baby?" There are big hands on your hips, stalling every movement as you try and fail to search for friction.

"Blue!" He's laughing now, peppering kisses across your pouting face as you fight to eke some pleasure out for yourself. But no matter what you do, you don't move.

"What're you searching for, huh, baby?" You growl as a result, stilling your hips as you suck kisses down his throat. You relish in the moans pouring out of Daddy's throat, brattily ignoring the teasing path of his hands across your lower stomach and breasts.

It's the sharp sting of a hand on your ass that has you squeaking and your mouth parting from the hickey you'd been leaving on Daddy's neck.

"Oh, baby. Did that sting?" As Daddy's big hands rub over your aching ass, you arch your back and try to nuzzle closer. But all that does is bring your bare skin closer to his mouth. The first wet press of his tongue to your peaked nipples has you moaning. You're so occupied by the dual sensations of the hands kneading your ass and the wet insistent suction of Daddy's mouth on your tits that you barely notice the pinching insistent pressure as Daddy's dick presses into you.

When Daddy finally bottoms out, you're already a drooling mess. This sugar baby arrangement is the best decision you've ever made. Daddy's a million times better than your first fumbling sexual experience in your prom date's pickup. His thick hard length in you has your pussy fluttering and already has you on the edge of an orgasm. When you're tipped onto your back in the sheets and Daddy starts to move, you're completely at his mercy.

Each thrust has you taking Daddy from root to tip. The entire room is filled with the lewd slapping of sweat-slippery skin against skin. Your breaths are punched out gasps as Daddy draws your legs up to his shoulders, holding them securely against his chest with one thick forearm as the other presses insistently against your engorged clit. Each brush of his calloused fingers coats them in your wetness and tips you even further towards your orgasm. You're babbling, hardly able to keep eye contact with the piercing, intent gaze Daddy's leveling on your sweat slicked skin. You cum with a scream, back arching off the bed.

"Aww, Blue, baby. Look at you! Fucked dumb on Daddy's thick hard cock." Daddy sets your legs back down as he pulls out of you and turns you so your back is pressed against his chest.

"You're going to be good, right Baby?" You're grinding your ass back against Daddy's ass unconsciously even as Daddy wraps a hand around your throat. You love having Daddy all over you like this. Even though you just came, you can't help wanting more. He uses the extra leverage to kiss your slack mouth until a thread of saliva stretches between your mouths.

"Daddy's gonna fuck your wet little pussy just like this with a hand around this little throat until you gush for me." His voice slows to a hiss as he teasingly runs his finger through your sensitive folds. "And you, baby. You're going to tell your daddy exactly how good he feels in that pretty little pussy."

You're nodding frantically, but that's not enough for Daddy. He smacks your pussy, tapping it until you're writhing against the steel hold he's got around your waist.

"Y-yes, Daddy! Yes! I can do that!" Your voice is a high pitched keen as you sob your relief at having Daddy buried inside you again.

He starts off slow, keeping the pace teasing as he pulls out of you until just the tip is sheathed and burying himself in you over and over again. Your hands are grasping onto his arms with all your strength, as you let Daddy chase his pleasure in you. His hand is firm against your throat, the pressure making you lightheaded and the sensations setting your blood aflame. With each slap of his hips against your ass you're telling him how good he feels. He's so big and thick you can't help it.

"Blue, baby." Daddy's voice is a purring growl which has your pussy dripping even wetter as your third orgasm builds. This one is going to be even harder than the last one. His hands pinch and tug at the heavy swell of your tits as they bounce with each thrust. "Cum for me, pretty baby. C'mon. You can do it. Cum for daddy."

"Yes, Daddy. Right there! M'so close. Wanna cum on your cock. Please. Please. Please. Please." You're still babbling for permission when Daddy's hands slide down to your clit and massage on the bud in time with his thrusts. When you come, it feels like you've been struck by lightning. You see stars behind your eyes as your orgasm builds and crests, seeming to never end. You vacantly feel Daddy empty himself in your sopping cunt, but that's it.

When you wake up, it's in the big bathtub in the master ensuite. There are hands carefully massaging shampoo into your hair and the water is steaming in the quiet night air. There's a deep relaxation weighing your muscles and bones as you blink yourself awake.

"Hey, Blue. How d'you feel?" It's Dadd- no, Jake, who's making you feel good.

"I feel so good, Jake." You kiss his wrist before turning so you can kiss him. He hefts you into his arms, not caring in the slightest that you're dripping soap and water all over his floor.

"You're back up, huh, baby?" At your nod, he kisses you before continuing. "I know you told me you've never been so far down before. And it definitely wasn't discussed. Was that okay, for you?" He sounds so worried as he sits on the tile with you dripping all over him.

"I'm perfect, Jakey. Perfect. It was everything I needed and more. If you liked it, I'd love to be your Baby Blue again?" You hope he'll agree. You love being Daddy's baby and brat.

"Absolutely, you can. But for the rest of tonight, how about we curl up on the sofa? I made some pasta and garlic bread." He grins at your nod before joining you in the tub again. This? You wouldn't give this up for anything in the world.

"Hey, Blue?" He sounds sated and sleepy.

"Yeah, Jake?" You cuddle closer to him and kiss his skin.

"Move in with me?" He sounds nervous. Like you’d reject him? After everything you’ve built a relationship with him? Not possible. You can’t believe what he’s asking you. You can’t even pretend to think about it. Your mouth runs away before your brain even processes the words screaming,  "YES!" while you kiss him until he’s breathless again. This man? You’re going to keep him forever.

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I DO NOT CONSENT TO HAVE MY WORK POSTED, TRANSLATED, OR PUBLISHED ON ANY SITES OTHER THAN HERE OR ON AO3 BY ME. IF YOU SEE MY WORKS ANYWHERE OTHER THAN HERE OR AO3, THEN THEY HAVE BEEN POSTED WITHOUT MY PERMISSION AND I WILL BE WORKING TO TAKE THEM DOWN.

[tohsri]

no title.

warnings: dick sucking ofc, deepthroating, nerdy virgin!reader x rebellious!gojo, may be ooc, kinda short ig word count: 980 words 💀 a/n: thanks @getosbigballsack for pulling me out of my writer's block, also i think i slowly went out of topic but i got carried away dont blame me

you walked into your shared room to see satoru playing video games on his computer, shamelessly cursing at the other person on the screen. god knows what kind of argument satoru was having with this stranger online, because it was sure getting a little heated between them. you didn't pay that much attention to it. after all, he was always having this verbal arguments as jokes. so you left him to his games and focused on your assignments, but it wasn't until his voice got louder; and he wasn't screaming out of victory. his face was scrunched up and his teeth were gritted, he was clenching so hard onto the controller his knuckles were white. even you were a little concerned by now, and a little scared at his behaviour. you decided you couldn't leave it alone once he slammed the controller onto the table, his hair a little damp from his sweat. despite his angry expression, you couldn't help but stare at him. even when he was mad, he was still so handsome. was this what he meant whenever he said you were cute when you were mad? his head was thrown back and he shut his eyes, but spoke up when he noticed you were under the table. "what are you planning to do?" he spoke in a gruff voice, pushing his hair back, even panting a little from seemingly how intense his game was. you placed your hand on his inner thigh, staring up at him with pleading eyes. it was so embarrassing for you to ask, but you had to. "can i.. uh, give you.. ah, a- uhm.." you stumbled over your words. "what is it?" his hand stroked your hair, making you feel less nervous. "canigiveyouablowjob?" you blabbered out, face flushed red with embarrassment.

he was a little surprised at your words, given how you're inexperienced, but seeing how cute you looked, he couldn't say no.

-------- you were licking his cock and sucking on his pink tip, tasting the salty precum as you continued to tease him a little more. but you decided to stop and went further on his dick, causing him to let out more sweet noises slip out from his lips.

he was moaning while you were sucking him so obediently, his hand grabbing a fistful of your hair. his hand was guiding you slowly, going just a little deeper each time. one of your hands were stroking his cock as well, the other clinging onto his thigh for support. you choked and gagged a few times on his cock, even if you didn't take it in all the way. but you couldn't help it because his cock was just so big that sometimes you went too deep. you wanted to do it for him, though, so he was surprised when you removed your hand, and you found yourself taking almost every inch of his dick into your mouth. it caused your throat to be uncomfortable, forcing you to breathe through your nose even more. when his tip was sliding in and out of your throat, tears escaped your eyes. before you could push yourself further, you found satoru pulling your head back, as much as he didn't want it to stop. however, he didn't want to see you suffer like this either. he stared at your glossy eyes with his blue ones, stroking your hair to calm you down. "slow down, you're taking too much." his said in a soothing tone, which made you feel a lot better. "start off slow, alright? i don't want my princess to suffer like this." you nodded and continued to suck on his cock, hollowing your cheeks out as satoru praised you. "mmh! fuck- ah, you're doing so w-well!" his breath hitched as you bobbed your head slowly, pulling out to twirl your tongue around the crown of his dick. his hand was pushing your head down, but not too far so it doesn't overwhelm you. what almost made him cum was when your hand moved to play with his balls, massaging them to make him feel even better with ecstasy. his hand on your head pulled you off once more, and he stood up from his chair. "is it okay if i fuck your face?" he asked with concern. he smirked when you nodded and he brought you out from under the table, grasping onto your head for support. he started out with small thrusts, being careful not to go too deep at first. his thrusts suddenly started to intensify as he released all his pent-up energy onto you, and you had to endure how his cock was going deep into your throat, stretching out the walls of your throat. you didn't want him to stop though, not in the middle of this. "fuck fuc- cumming! gonna cum in your- ah! throat!" his thrusts were getting sloppy and you could tell, and soon he released his load into your throat. you could feel his cum in your throat, and some in your mouth as he thrusted a little bit more. when he pulled out, you weren't expecting him to cum a second time on your face, which caught you off guard. luckily you were fast enough to close your eyes just before his sticky semen hit your face, which he wiped off after realising what he done. "sorry princess, i didn't know i was gonna cum, you were just too sexy and i couldn't resist..." he chuckled, kneeling down and grabbing some tissues from the table to wipe some cum off your cheek. "it's okay, satoru." you smiled softly. "i enjoyed it." he planted a kiss on your cheek before suddenly lifting you up, carrying you to the bed. he took off his shirt, smirking when he sees your flustered expression. "what? i want a round two, and i'll be gentle with my princess. so sit back and let me do all the work for you."

[ikemenomegas]

Our faults lie flattered

title drawn from the bard's Sonnet 138 summary: You ruminate on your relationship with Gojo Satoru, to whom you no longer owe anything, and wake up beside Shoko, to whom you owe much more than you've given cw: omegaverse setting, unhealthy (very) consumption of alcohol, brief emetophobia, passive thoughts about partners/mates following one another into death, canonical character's (probably permanent) death, implications of an afterlife, explorations of grief and abandonment

Do you dream about him still?

Shoko's voice traces smoky through the vaultless sky, an equal echo to how she'd looked at you - with pity and a physician's distant, seeking stare - a short glass in her hand, ball of ice melting into the whiskey inside. She'd asked the question as a mouthful of whatever cocktail you had filled your mouth with enough sweetness to forget how much alcohol was in it but for the way it burned its way down. Even that was more easily blamed on the kick of sriracha behind the aperol.

It gave her time to watch for the uptick in your pulse, or the way your chest tightened and made it hard to swallow.

No, you had said once it was down, the words thick in your throat. Really, I hardly think of him at all these days.

She'd frowned, which she really should have probably done more of considering you were again drinking to forget, for the soft, fluttering hints of better days before memory was shunted away into a dizzy haze.

It was true, but it was also intentional. Every ache in your chest was pushed aside, ever overwhelming tide was overstepped. After he'd returned from the box, you had already indulged in over a month of speculations regarding your intentions and his, even before he'd... gone, and how he had set you free.

You sucked on the herbed sugar rimming your glass. Free, all free, of obligation, of oath, of aching for something-- you slammed down the wide base of the stemmed glass, eyes shadowed.

It was true. If you didn't think on him, you would not remember him. You couldn't remember all the things left undone, unsaid, all the questions left unanswered...

He hadn't left you with even a scar to remember him by.

Your head was heavy when you lifted it and smiled, as much for Shoko's benefit as for the bartender warily eying you, fiddling with the towel swung over his shoulder as if unsure what to do with his hands. I'll get over it. I will. It's taking time, but I don't... I try not to dwell on it, Shoko, you know that, your tongue was clumsy, slow as you enunciated.

She knew, you knew she did, but it seemed suddenly very important to remind her. How you didn't think how in his last moments, the man you'd sworn your life to hadn't wanted you, how he'd said goodbye without looking back, how he hadn't known you weren't watching.

You were getting over your partner dying, it was not uncommon. One would always outlive the other. As much as it was not common to be cut in half...

You stomach had turned like you'd been upended, the room nearly spinning like you'd suddenly decided to stand on the ceiling.

A party trick, Satoru had called it when you'd done it before. You'd been full of paltry games and parlour tricks, magic disguised as slight of hand, light at your fingertips, fire on your tongue, hovering in the air like a hummingbird.

Couldn't one be forgiven, when they never knew they'd grow up with it, for enjoying that it was real, for finding magic a little beautiful for all that it was terrible?

Your hand went to your mouth and you could have laughed, loud and raucous and taunting, at the way the bartender grabbed for his towel. Shoko hadn't done more than press a hand to your shoulder to keep you from falling to the floor as you wobbled on the stool. You'd never thrown up on the battlefield, nor from old soup, not even from being nailed in the stomach by curses or fellow sorcerers or Yaga's awful little cursed corpses.

Being sick had been his thing. He'd get horrible nausea before his cycles sometimes and his breathe would smell constantly of the ginger candies you'd found for him to take off the edge.

Your smile threatened to falter and even behind your hand, you forced it wider to belie the soft, pained sound which left your lips.

You hadn't cried either, since he died. It hurt too much for that, a pain beyond reckoning, which you had no right to anymore. It wouldn't kill you, his death, no matter how much you almost wanted it to.

Shoko's glass was over half full and fully inviting, but it wouldn't knock you out fast enough for this to all go away, to lock itself back behind the wall your mind seemed to have built to save you from daze that lurked beyond, tapping at the barrier in unwanted moments.

He hadn't wanted this to hurt you. That is what you hoped, but even though you'd made the choice to follow his plan, to remove your mark, it wasn't what you had wanted.

Drinking had hereto seemed to keep dreams, good and bad, from intruding upon the kind of sleep which never left you feeling rested.

This, blue above and blue ahead, was much nicer than what you remembered of the bar - although it too had been fairly nice. A peaceful expanse of sand, water shushing on your right, a breeze whispering in your ear, gardens with wooden walkways tempting you inland on the left.

A frisson ran through the air, there was an unnatural slash through the trees, but you shook it away and it was nothing, gone, grown over.

Here, you relaxed, you were intent upon it. Although surrounded by water on all sides, seldom had coming to the ocean been a relaxing experience, not when you were constantly called to the scenes of natural disasters or into the orbit of fates far greater than your own.

The water was oddly calm.

You went closer, feeling sand slide soft between your toes. It looked like the tide was going out, the flat expense of saturated sand washed wet with each grasp of the waves. It smoothed things like glass, washing away marks and footprints.

Your reflection matched you step for step when you veered towards that boundary.

Watching that hypnotizing barrier was probably why you didn't notice the figure occupying this in-between until their reflection bloomed by yours.

Your head jerked up, lips parted in silent surprise.

He was facing towards the horizon, his back turned towards you although you should have been able to see his profile with the way you were walking... best to leave it alone.

The wind kicked up, ruffling the soft fall of white hair about his temples. It blew harder and harder, ruffling the sea into little white capped waves, and then it passed.

Things settled back down around the little bubble of disbelief that had halted your steps without a single any movement from...

His name still tasted like poison on your lips, your throat closed around it, keeping it from choking free.

At the funeral, they would have given him some long, solemn, symbolic precept name, making it safe for him to be called, but somehow you couldn't bring yourself to invoke him. Maybe it was out of fear, and certainty that there was no way for him to answer.

Instead, you shuffled forward, heels drawing dashed tracks in the sand as you dragged your feet.

His bulk was familiar as your pressed first your fingers - to check that he would not collapse into mist at a touch - and then your palms like the start of wings on his back.

Was it only imagination that said he leaned into it? Shifting his perfectly balanced weight a little bit further back as you leaned your cheek flat between your palms, your ear turned far enough to catch the imagined sound of his lungs as his ribs shifted minutely against your touch.

How long had you wanted this? How long did you have it? You'd given it up, from fear, from a petty envy that you'd thought yourself above. His grasp on your had been tenuous at best, tied as you were by choice rather than fate-

Isn't it fate to share the world at the same moment-

-and you had held on just as lightly, like letting light lay over your palms rather than trying to grip it tight where it would just slip away.

You had thought him made of distance. Was he incapable of connecting with others, or simply unwilling? It had always seemed to be part of both.

He is not warm beneath your hands, in the same way the light in this place must be sun yet is not warmth and the water that much be sea is not cool. But he is there. Whether in a memory or as a visitor, drawn here by lowered inhibitions, who knew.

You had spent years forgetting that for all the distance between all people, all things, they found ways to come together again, to intertwine, in resonance or coalition.

You breathed, once, twice. Now he shifted, unmistakable.

You took half a step back. Your hands slipped down the powder-soft material of his shirt, from his shoulder-blades, and down his ribs.

Once, many years ago, you had been warned that one could grow tired of his beauty. And that was true. Like a cut stone, as a whole, one could grow used to him, the eye drawn instead to new flickers and bends in the depths, glimmers from within rather than the form as a whole.

It was those glimmers of light which winked back at you, emotion condensed into memory: times he made the ache in your chest almost feel like two sides of a wound touching, moments in which you believed wholeheartedly and without force in the presence of his humanity. Remembering those first odd days of your courtship when you couldn't fathom why he would come to you for anything tilted things sideways before you righted yourself.

In the end, none of these hopes had been yours. Maybe they could have been. Had you forgotten that you indeed could catch sunlight, that you did it every day of every summer unless the sky was filled with thunder? In which case, the drum of that could be yours too.

Still, that would have made him part of you, and Satoru had always been resistant to being subsumed.

Regardless, you would never know now. He would always and forever have been only almost yours.

What are you doing here... I've missed you

You kept your hands pressed to his back even as you thought Of course someone would miss a near constant, we'd known each other for almost thirteen years.

This seemed to be the way it always was. When you missed him too much, thought about him too much, you ended up dreaming about him. Even before you had married him, after he'd stuck himself into your life like a thorn, there had been times it had eased the ever present loneliness.

And there had been just as many times that you woke feeling more alone than ever, knowing you would never get the version of Satoru that visited in your dreams, belonging only to you.

This Satoru, scarless and uncovered and determinedly not ash, spoke in echos. "I've missed you," he said.

It makes you grit your teeth against whatever is behind that wall, threatening to wash away everything you've tried to hold onto.

"If you say so." It leaves your lips careless, all your bitter feelings held back by habit, all the cruel accusations you never wanted to level at him.

But this time, there's nothing to salvage by it, so after a few moments, you let go of him, let that distance that never seemed to fade fall back between the two of you, and started walking.

He followed, tethered by consciousness or whatever stuff had summoned the object of both your longing and your ire.

In the back of your mind, you knew the scenery was changing, even though it didn't feel like it. It meant you didn't know how long you walked, the white shoulder of his shirt bobbing in and out of your peripheral vision. You let yourself feel the comfort of knowing he was there, of knowing that you belonged at his side for one more brief moment.

He sometimes talked like an imitation of a human. Greetings he didn't mean, inquiries to which he had no interest in the answer - or maybe he did. He liked people, heavens knew why, even if his attention seemed to move on as quickly as it was piqued.

He followed, seeming content enough, your momentary Eurydice. For some reason, the thought of turning around to face him was unbearable. You were afraid you wouldn't remember his face, or that you would remember it wrong, and wake up knowing that a little more of him had abandoned you.

Oh well, maybe it didn't matter, anymore.

You reached, briefly, behind you, like you'd sometimes used to do on the rare occasions Satoru walked home with you. Just like then, a shimmering dread filled your chest - only then it had been that he'd leave you grasping, fingers wiggling stupidly for him so everyone who walked by you knew beyond a doubt that your own mate didn't even want to hold your hand. There was no one here, although the beach had the warm, surrounding feeling of summer.

Anticipatory tears still began to prick your eyes, humiliation, disappointment brought on by a terrible confirmation of your worst expectations, dejection, it all rippled over you, just quick enough to take off the edge. It could only be your imagination that something soft as a breeze seemed to brush your fingertips before you pulled your hands back and fisted them in the long, light coat trailing from your shoulders.

One could neither see nor touch the dead after all.

This may be the last time you got to make your confessions. He'd returned to you in neither dream nor vision before this.

Why would he when what he wanted was where he had gone?

You took a deep breathe and blew it out. You were far and away old enough now to know acknowledging ill feelings dispelled them faster than trying to pretend you didn't have them. Mastering this was your power, take the blow, let it linger, and in this way it wouldn't hurt you. But he had always hit harder and faster than anyone else you ever knew, always able to overwhelm your ability to endure if you were in contact with him long enough.

Recalling the clean snap of both bones in your right forearm breaking is just as easy as remembering the look of surprise, of denial, of arrogance and somehow, of remorse, that had crossed Satoru's face the first time you'd let him hurt you.

What would it have taken to at least make sure that appearance of contrition remained, or at least perplexity in realizing it was his hand causing a pain that fit no specific purpose?

The inland treeline broke around a cluster of coconut trees, green fruits clustered beneath the leaves.

You looked up between the wide fronds.

"I wanted you to love me." I tried so hard not to have anything in me that needed saving. Somehow, it feels like you've been talking for hours, like you're answering a question he never asked. Sometimes you could walk hand in hand like that, like this, for what felt like hours, saying nothing, saying everything. The pressure would ease between you, leaving things feeling renewed, like after a gentle rain.

What kind of life was it where you crushed yourself down smaller and smaller, trying to make yourself unobtrusive among the noisy clutter that surrounded him? It hadn't been like that every day, but there had been days where you'd felt that you needed to be so small in order to earn the larger fraction marriage said you were supposed to be able to claim.

"I did."

A wet roll of your eyes, teeth in your lip. How ridiculous, how stupid, to coddle yourself at this stage of things.

"Liar." The dull accusation trips from your mind to your mouth even when it really is your fault. You should not have shrunk small even if it was your way (his knuckles had been warm right before they snapped your radius). You should have opened a way for him to let the soft animal of his body nestle against yours, build a den for him, let his infinity fill your well to bursting if need be. But I wasn't the one with a black hole where my heart should be. I should have loved you better.

I should have burdened you with being human instead of me. Was I not selfish enough?

"Not a lie," he said, voice low, musical and light at your back. And not there.

"A lie," you insisted in a half-whispered, miserable and lonely and alone. You'd been lonely for a long time. I should have loved you better, even though it wasn't me you loved.

He'd never held you, not like normal people were supposed to hold the ones they loved - like they needed them, like they needed the weight to hold them down, like they needed another body to fill the space between their arms.

In the way of dreams you were at his back again without every having turned to look at his face. You pressed your cheek against his spine.

"Lie to me." Your voice cracked in a pleading command, thick in your throat.

A heavy fine-fingered hand petted your head. In the way of dreams, he held you now against his chest without having moved. Had you walked down the beach at all or were you still trapped on that same stretch of shore?

"I do love you," he whispered after a pause, "I did. Best I could." So earnest, all that pointed, crystalline emptiness open to accept you.

Was it emptiness, or simply vastness? I had to believe I belonged in this world to survive it. Why couldn't I believe I was part of yours?

"I am never going to see you again," you whispered.

There was a smile in Satoru's voice. "I wouldn't be so sure about that. You miss me."

In the way of dreams, that last word was both binary and indistinct, me becoming something like 'us'.

Reflexive, bitter denial rose up in you. Refusing the embrace of longing so long had made it second nature. After many years and many lessons, the gaps in your defenses had been shored up well against loss. Perhaps too well. You wanted to hold tight the figure against you as much as you wanted to push him away.

In the salt-scented wind that picked up, you instinctually closed your eyes. When you opened them, he was gone and you were alone again.

You looked around for a short time before concluding in the strange taffy-stretched time of dreams that you really were alone. In that moment, a whisper carried on the breeze, unmistakable.

"We miss you."

You'd told him, your subconscious, to lie to you. The dream was thinning now, but there was just enough realism left for you to wrinkle your nose in the way Shoko was starting to tell you would stick on your face, and mutter "asshole."

Shoko hummed lightly, sighing and rolling over in bed. She'd never been a very sound sleeper, something that had once been reassuring as you always knew immediately if she was beside you. "Me?" She murmured, both offended and amused.

You made a brief, thin groan in the negative. Ah, your eyes hurt almost like you'd never closed them and your skin was ice cold even beneath a light cover. Summer wasn't all done, yet it felt so cold, all your warmth turned inward.

Moonlight shone so bright upon Shoko through the window, making her almost a toneless painting, both stark and somewhat impressionistic with lithe limbs peaking from sleeves and legs of a short pajama set.

You feel more tired having obviously slept, and dreamt, than you felt was comfortable upon waking. Blinking slowly caused the world to sort of shimmer at the edges, and the blocks of silver and black that shaped Shoko among the hotel linens were incredibly fascinating. You were still drunk then, although without the sour dizziness of hangover, so she must have gotten some water into you before you stopped remembering the evening.

Your closed your eyes shut tight.

You'd started to worry you'd forget it, but if only. His voice lingered like the taste of sugar syrup in your mouth, as good as if his lips had been on yours instead of his memory hijacked by your own faithless wishes, whispering in your ear.

It was easier to allow your guilt and your anger their few moments of devotion. They were your most constant companions now, you had known them even before you had known about others like you.

Moonlight comes in after, like a silver balm. If you'd had your choice, you would have been fully a night creature. Starlight and moonlight did not burn or press against you like the light of day did, ever seeking an outlet once you let its boundless, burning brightness in.

Once your power had grown enough to affirm itself, sunlight had been the easiest of energies to convert, almost instinctual. It pressed right against the skin and sunk in without needing to know where the edges of it were, it gave itself to you.

Suguru had loved to talk about sorcery, about magic, child hthat he'd been, with normal parents and from a country town like you. He had liked to talk about it with you. He had once guessed that the way you had been forced to learn so quickly to cycle power, to change it, had tried pushing a separation between it and you so it wouldn't burn you from the inside you, is part of what slowed your progress, your exploration as a sorcerer.

Surely he would be gratified now, to see the way you inhabited your body. Yet you did not feel one with your power (not like him). You inhabited it to, as it filled and moved from and through you, but you were never it and it was never you.

Nevertheless, moonlight washed over you like warm bathwater, and starlight like the touch of a faint summer breeze. You wished it were as cool as it looked with your eyes open.

Suddenly, you were very tired. You recognized it by now as the tug of sleep that sometimes came after drinking enough to loosen the perpetual balled tightness of your body.

Enough to admit you missed him and the quiet that surrounded him, the true cool of the waiting void between all things. He was so good at making one feel lonely, so familiar a loneliness it was almost easy to fall into it by memory alone... but no. There was someone in this room with you, in the bed. Her skin was warm. Her scent was cool.

You remembered meeting them, truly meeting them, not that first day in Tokyo when you'd barely cared what happened or where you were, who you met, what voices overlapped in the halls.

It had been like standing in the shade after spending years baking in a field in July. Only one of your tall trees was left.

"I am not sure," you mumbled sleep threatening to drag you back down, "I would have been good to you if I'd picked you from the start." It would be easier to stay silent, to let things remain as they were, not to risk her pulling away from you, but you'd done that once already, and look where it had ended. This acknowledgement brings you back to shallow waking, a fish hooked through the mouth.

Shoko's beautiful brown eyes are a little hazy but the shadows beneath haven't been as deep, not since they two of you have been away and Shoko has been able to sleep.

She blinks once, slowly. How did she see you? You had been altered, colored, by his presence in your life, strange and momentary as it had been.

"I think I was a special kind of awful, with you. What kind of person keeps giving someone hope again and again, when so much else points to never being able to offer more?"

It's all too easy to see how she tries to smile and doesn't manage it. It's not okay, so she doesn't say it is, but it happened and you're here anyway so she doesn't say it's not. You think that maybe she doesn't fault you for being selfish, but she also might have once wanted for more from you, more you couldn't give, more you gave to someone else.

The yawning empty you tried day after day to avoid ached in your chest as your own words from the dream came back to you. Some part of you both hoped and grieved that you would never see him again. Why should you? You might have stepped into your power, but there were plenty of times that, trapped between geniuses and impossible power-houses, you felt... incidental. You certainly shared no thread of fate with him.

The bitter old thought sent another pang through your chest, but you let it pass over and then through you.

There would be other lives, but none, you hoped and grieved, like this one.

For a very long time you had resisted the opaqueness of Shoko's eyes, acknowledging that she pressed her own wants even further down than you. She was stronger than you for not resenting you getting something that eventually you had begun to want.

She did not look at you with longing or expectation, or the apprehension you might expect. Someone had told you before that marriage made people into poor friends. You had told yourself it would not be so for you, yet you'd gotten swept up in your own private troubles just the same.

You wondered, if she wanted it, whether you now could offer her what could not be offered to you.

You didn't need another life, another chance. There was not much to be gained from starting anew with all these old pains washed away.

Your pinky twitched. Shoko smiled when she saw it but did not reach for you and you did not fight the heaviness in your limbs to try to move further.

She'd be there in the morning, you were sure of it, as sure as you were there would be more of these confounding nights where such thoughts swam about your head like fishes. There was time, now.

[angel-gidget]

Gidge's Intro to The Challengers of the Unknown

First off, who are the Challengers of the Unknown? They are a team of adventurers. Their comic originates in the late 1950's, and it ran until 1978, ending with issue #87.

Their adventures are supremely stereotypical of the time. They start off as very pulpy sci-fi fantasy in the 60's and skew more mystical/occult through the 70's. They functioned as Jack Kirby's rough draft for the Fantastic Four, but even so, have slightly different dynamics.

Origin: Four experts in their field concluded that their survival of a deadly plane crash was nothing short of miraculous. They noticed that the watch on one man's wrist had stopped, as if frozen in time. The men--Ace Morgan, Mark "Prof" Haley, Red Ryan, and Rocky Davis--concluded that they were living on borrowed time. They decided to use that time adventurously as the Challengers of the Unknown.

One of their earliest adventures caused them to seek the help of computer and robotics expert June Robbins. As June helped them save the day on more than one occasion, she became an honorary challenger. Many modern references to the roster include her by default.

The Team

Ace Morgan is portrayed as a pilot in the 60's and has his wheelhouse extended to astronaut as we veer into the 70's. Ace possesses an even keel that garners instinctive respect, and this is why he is the default leader.

Mark "Prof" Haley is their resident "egghead". Because nerds weren't cool yet, Prof gets occasionally teased about having more brains than brawn, but that's usually ended by him judo flipping whoever was talking smack.

Since 60's common knowledge didn't differentiate between a lot of sciences, Prof kinda knows them all. Since deep sea diving is his main schtick, he'd probably be introduced as a marine biologist today. The only thing that isn't his main wheelhouse is computers/robotics. There, he is very much outclassed by June.

Red Ryan is is a skillful acrobat and mountain climber. He is also an asshole. I mean this with affection or annoyance depending on the day. 90% of interpersonal drama with this team is from Red being sexist or generally shallow and opening his mouth about it. However, this is often used as a device, and the point is to show that Red is wrong. Then June or Rocky or whoever Red was poking at saves the day. He does occasionally use his snark to be actually funny, tho.

While many of Red's words tend to suck, his actions show a lot of loyalty to the team. Perhaps the most endearing thing about him is the love he has for his baby brother, which is major plot point of some arcs.

Rocky Davis is the team's gentle giant. He is an expert boxer and wrestler, and as such, is often teased for a lack of brains or looks. As sensitive as he may be about that, Rocky is no pushover, and will gladly attempt to punch whoever was giving him too much grief (usually Red).

In truth, all four of the men do poke fun at each other for being confined to their niche roles, but all of them actually do posses the ability to move beyond them.

They all pick up skills in science, fighting, and the arcane from working together. Pretty sure they were all born snarky, tho.

So who are my Top 3 Fave characters from their title?

#1. June Robins

June is a gal of many hairdos and many talents all through the 60's. A mistress of computer science, disguise, piloting, chemical experimentation, and alien diplomacy.

Sadly, as cool as she began, the 70's did not do her justice. She was gone from the team for like, half of that decade, and when she returned, they gave her some fandom bicycle drama and a lot of damsel in distress scenarios. But at least they gave her a uniform to show she was really on the team. I'll take that win.

#2. Tino Manary

Tino is introduced in a very fun way. When Red appears to die in the line of duty, a teen music celebrity begins to use all his fame and money to attempt an assassination of the remaining challengers. For revenge. Bc he blames them for Red's death. And why does he care?

Because surprise! He's Red's kid brother! Once he realizes the challs aren't to blame, he starts popping in on occasion to help them. Or just annoy them. Or both.

#3. Corinna Stark

When Prof got shot by an eldritch-summoning cult leader, he appeared to be at death's door. That's when the cultist's daughter, Corinna Stark, showed up. She stuck Prof in one of her dad's cryo-pods to save his life. She agreed that her dad was quite evil and needed to be stopped, provided the challs with new uniforms, and served the team as Prof's temporary replacement.

While she clearly knew more about the occult than the sciences, this proved pretty helpful for the things the challs were up against at the time.

Corrina was introduced in the 70's, during that time June was going mysteriously unmentioned. It's seriously a shame the ladies never met.

I suspect the writers were trying to see if Corinna could be a good replacement for June, but their expertise and origins were different enough that it would have been cool to see what they could bring to the team if they were on it simultaneously.

Am I done talking about this crazy comic? No, but I'm pausing for now.

[arcsin27]

Reviewing all the stories in junji ito maniac because I can, fuck you :)

The strange hikizuri siblings - uhh okay. Not scary nothing even happened. Okay a guy was a jealous simp, little kids are just like that, some guy threw up bread dough ig, then a ghost stared at everyone for a while and dipped the end

The story of the mysterious tunnel - Jesus Christ that was pretty spooky what the hell. Lost my marbles when he assumed the drop was water, and the kid in the ceiling fucked me up with her voice (dub) and screams

Ice cream bus - im never eating ice cream again. Jokingly compared the driver to William afton fnaf in the beginning but he was somehow worse. The dad pushing the kid away jumpscared me, then horrified me, and I needed a break from the show

Hanging balloon - so absurd it was kinda funny. The nonlinear storytelling added a bit if spook as I slowly realized who was at the window but idk the concept was just funny to me. Also I was so happy someone finally showed up to a horror plot strapped until I saw the result. Sorry random Chad with a crossbow, wish you coulda helped…

Four x four walls - thought something horrific would happen outside and he wouldn’t hear it but it didn’t, thought soichi was famous for being scary but he wasnt, I think this was like a comic relief in episode form. No spook, kinda funny

The sandman’s lair - *laughs nervously* what the fuck. No clue what happened, why would you tape yourselves like that, let me see his dream form damnit, the nature of humanity is we reinvent homestuck etc

Intruder - these kids are based tbh. Balls of steel, don’t blame the redhead, just move on with their lives

Long hair in the attic - also based, i had wondered where her head had gone but i shoulda known by the title, that grinding sound pissed me off tho

Mold - thank. God. It was in black and white. I choose to believe its dust. Also idc about culture or taboo if your floor is coated in inches of ropes and pools of mold just wear your damn shoes. Jesus Christ

Library vision - this one felt like it was calling out all of my anxieties about losing the things and memories precious to me. Also 10/10 Sean chiplock that final recital of hell of thorns was incredible and spooky. Also what the fuck was the ending

Tomb town - im never driving again. Also just call the cops surely you get a reduced sentence for actually reporting the crime. Other than that not scary lol

Layers of terror - im never picking my skin again. god ALMIGHTY why did i bear witness to this. Fuck that mom bro she sucks. I was thinking about how the proportions of human anatomy change as you age and how a toddler with such short limbs and a thick torso could fit inside an adult but uh… then they answered my question. And then it got worse. Funnily enough the 2yo looked like a monster id design

The thing that drifted ashore - was this supposed to be scary…? Oh boy they turned into fish people and promptly fucked off good for them ig

Tomie • photo - wow what bitches lmfao. Idk why she has a face growing out of her scalp hut I didn’t need to see the removal process. Or how botched the removal process was. Based that the photographer just fuckin moved on. “Damnit the blood ruined my pictures :/“ incredible.

Unendurable labyrinth - probably woulda been scarier if they were lost for longer but to me it looked like they took five steps, found the brother, seven steps, “aaaah we’re lost,” two steps, “theyre looking at me!” then suddenly the mummies have eyes, fade to black. Cool

The bully - I was sooo ready for retribution, then I got reconciliation and got even happier, then it turned into child abuse and I wanted to kill a bitch

Alley - pfft idk if its based that she killed those kids or not but it was extra based that they got revenge on her lmao shoulda brought a ladder bro

Headless statue - Jesus fuck that’s gross. Stop it. Also smash the statues again it worked brilliantly earlier. Or maybe jump out a window idk

Whispering woman - mega based. The nervous girl gains support and confidence, the attendant is freed from her abusive friend, the abusive friend gets violently killed, its just wins all around

Soichi’s beloved pet - once again a comic relief episode but tbh it was pretty funny, soichi was a lot less hateable this time too!

[bbgem329]

Things Are Never As They Seem—Chapter Twenty Two

Pairings—Sebastian Stan x Actress!Reader, Sebastian Stan x OFC (PR relationship)

Summary

You and Sebastian Stan have been dating privately for over two years. Everything is perfect until he is coerced into a PR relationship when he signed with a new agency to advance his career. Trouble ensues…

Warnings

MINORS DNI! 18++. Language. Angst. Fluff. Mentions of injuries. Hollywood sucks. Spoiled, rich bitches. Bullying. Did I miss anything?

Masterlist

—————

April 18, 2021

You waited, breath caught in your throat for the sound of the door closing.

Two pairs of heavy steps, one dragging more than the other.

A few shared words, both voices snippy and short.

Then finally the slam of the door.

You relaxed back into the door, suddenly able to breathe again.

For the past eleven days, you’d been living like this. In a space that constantly felt like you could cut the tension with a fucking butter knife. You knew it would be bad but never could you have prepared for just how hard it would be to be around Catalina.

Hate really was a strong word… But you could officially say you meant it now when you said you hated her.

You scrubbed a hand over your face, eye catching on the pup sitting at your feet.

“What?” You huffed, throwing your arms out to the side, “Can you really blame me?”

Bentley simply titled his head and made a little huffing sound but you got what he was putting down.

Come on, mom! I gotta pee, quit being dramatic!

“You’re right.” You pulled yourself off the door with another sigh, “Let’s go, buddy.”

You pulled open the door, checking the hallway to make sure you were all clear. Laughing to yourself as you did. You damn well knew everyone was gone. With the release of Sebastian’s movie Monday two days ago, Sebastian was asked to be ‘spotted’ with Catalina in Griffith Park.

She wanted in on some of the attention he was getting through the movie and TFAWS too.

They would walk a short stretch on the main path and Eli, Seb’s assistant, would walk behind them to take a ‘candid’ picture and then they’d post it on some random Twitter account. That was the plan you’d overheard last night anyways.

You didn’t really care, as long as it got her away from you.

They wouldn’t be gone long, at least, Sebastian wouldn’t. You were honestly hoping that his team would convince her to stay somewhere else for now. He’d been on their asses about it since the moment she showed up at your doorstep on your birthday.

Realistically, you knew she wasn’t going to leave anytime soon.

Not unless they made her.

But how much power did they really have over her?

Money talks.

And her parents, or better yet, her sugar daddy, were paying lots for this fake relationship. She was going to be sure that she got everything her way.

Yeah. You could say you’d definitely learned a lot about her this week. Things you certainly would have loved to have gone without knowing your whole life.

You weren't very surprised to hear that she had a sugar daddy and the he was the one that got her this arrangement in the first place, especially when you found out he worked for Sebastian’s agency. You didn’t know much about him other than he was some older Spaniard, who previously worked as a manager for some famous European singer and that he owned a big ass yacht.

But for some reason you were surprised to find that not only was Catalina a bitch but she was a messy bitch.

And by messy, you meant literally disgusting.

Your jaw practically hit the floor when you walked into the kitchen to find a pile of dishes in the sink that weren’t there before when you scurried off to your room when you heard her bedroom door open. And by the dried food caked across the plates, it was obvious they’d been in her room for more than a couple days.

“Murder.” You hissed, fists unclenching and clenching as you glared down at the overflowing sink, “I’m going to commit murder.”

You whipped out your phone from the lulu workout jacket you’d slipped on, sending a quick, angry text.

To Smexy Seabass:

I’m fucking TIRED of cleaning up her shit.

If she is going to continue to stay here, she needs to grow the fuck up and clean her shit or she needs to hire her own personal cleaning lady.

You winced as you read the text over again, regret already bubbling up in your chest as his text bubbles appeared.

To Smexy Seabass:

I’m sorry baby. I’m not taking it on you.

I know it’s not your fault. I’m just frustrated.

From Smexy Seabass:

I’ll handle it.

You aren’t the only one but I’m still sorry.

Love you tons. Be home soon.

To Smexy Seabass:

I love you more.

You couldn’t keep living like this.

You haphazardly slid your phone across the island before trekking over to the back door to let your eager pup out into the yard.

“I’m sorry, baby boy.” You cooed softly, “Go on. We’ll go for a run in a little bit.”

He ignored you, bounding excitedly into the backyard. You took a second to watch him zoom through the yard, racing from one end to the other.

Man, life must be good when you’re a dog.

You took a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds before releasing it—willing to stress away with it.

You couldn’t let her get to you.

You wouldn’t let her win.

It wasn’t comfortable for her either. You and Sebastian weren’t going out of your way to make her feel accommodated–you made dinner for two and ate it together, you planned outings that didn’t include her, watched movies in the common space, and had friends over.

And it wasn’t like she didn’t have other living arrangements. Her cousin lived not too far from here and sugar daddy owned a house a few blocks over.

The only reason she was staying here was to get under your skin.

She’d made that obvious within the first few hours of her stay.

You really had planned to go at it with niceties—kill her with kindness and all that but then she didn’t try to hide her distaste for you when she refused to shake your hand, instead eyeing it as if it was the literal scum on the bottom of her shoe. And then it was the looks–disapproving glares and judgmental once overs whenever you were in the same room. It wasn’t even forty eight hours before the comments started, snide remarks about your outfit, your hair, the amount of food you did or didn’t eat.

It had become downright unbearable to be in a room with her, especially alone.

Nothing she said ever truly bothered you. There was only one real reason a woman put another woman down; jealousy. She was obviously extremely threatened by you and insecure.

Still, it wasn’t something you should have to put up with in your own, albeit temporary, home.

The blatant disrespect and bullying.

Catalina was a child.

A spoiled, insecure brat.

Sebastian’s presence helped somewhat. At least when he was in the room she would act better and by better, she would ignore your presence completely.

You actually preferred that.

And if you were being completely honest, it was funny to watch her try and keep his attention when he only ever had eyes for you.

You were both gearing up to film so fortunately you weren’t home as often the past couple days but there were times when you wrapped up at work before Sebastian and found something to occupy your time to avoid returning home without him. Just yesterday you finished early and ended up hanging around his trailer until he was done. By the time you returned home it was well past eight and you were immediately bombarded by Catalina as soon as you stepped through the door.

“Finally! You are late.” Catalina beamed, shoulders straightening as she caught sight of Sebastian standing in the doorway behind you, “I’ve texted you a million times now, Sebby. I made you dinner.”

Never had you felt more invisible.

It was like you weren’t even standing there, she was looking right past you.

But it was probably a good thing, you supposed.

You felt Sebastian’s hand trail along your back, looping possessively around your waist to rest over your stomach. In that moment, you appreciated the way his body pressed against yours–grounding you and inadvertently including you in… whatever this was.

Finally her eyes flickered to you—only long enough to send a disgusted sneer in your direction.

Two could play that game. If she wanted to pretend you didn’t exist, you would too.

You leaned back into him, relishing in the warmth and comfort, and tipped your head back to shoot him a goofy, careless grin. One so full of love and adoration, that anyone with a pair of eyes could practically taste the sugary sweetness.

“Actually,” Sebastian dipped down to press a kiss to the top of your head and you didn’t miss the way Catalina’s eyes flashed with blatant anger, “Eli and Molly are picking up pizza for us.”

You had to swallow back a laugh. If it were anyone else, you’d feel bad but it wasn’t and she definitely didn’t deserve anything from him–not his time, not his attention, not his kindness.

Instead of brushing it off like a mature adult, she scoffed loudly, stomped her foot, and stormed off in the direction of the kitchen with her arms crossed over her chest and an ugly pout in her lips.

You turned in his arms as soon as she was out of your line of sight, “Pizza?” You snickered, your own arms wrapping around his neck as you lifted yourself up on your toes. “Does Eli know he’s supposed to pick that up?”

He threw his head back, not bothering to quiet his laugh as he wrapped an arm around you, pulling you tighter against him. He fished his phone out of his back pocket with a goofy grin, “Let me just call him real quick.”

You giggled, lifting yourself up further to peck his lips a few times as he fumbled with his phone, trying to find the right contact and kiss you at the same time.

“Yeah, hey,” He paused to kiss you again, “Will you pick up some pizza on your way over?”

“It’s going to be a long fucking summer.” You mumbled to yourself. “God help us all.”

You turned, heading towards the kitchen because those dishes weren’t going to wash themselves and maybe a good, hard scrub would release some of this built up anger coursing through your blood.

—————

Doing the dishes hadn’t helped, not in the slightest. In fact, it made you feel worse.

You couldn’t for the life of you figure out why you didn’t just leave them for her to take care of. Now she would expect you to just do them from here on out.

You were enabling her that way. And now you wished you had put them in her room.

You were feeling extremely out of control with her around. Staying in that house with her was suffocating you.

You were constantly on edge.

You didn’t trust her.

Not with your things. Not with your life outside of the limelight.

What if she took a picture of you while you were sleeping? Or naked?

What if she was plotting against you?

She’d leaked her ex's nudes out of spite, who’s to say she wouldn’t do the same thing to you?

You hated that she had that much control over you—that you let her get under your skin like that.

Your thoughts had run rampant and they grew louder and more persistent with every heavy step. Running usually helped to clear your mind and you’d chosen this quiet, scenic route for you and Bentley for the sole reason of turning off your mind and finding some peace.

Instead you got the opposite.

Your body felt tense. Your head felt clouded. Your heart, physically heavy.

You took a sharp turn, cutting down a different path to head back in the direction of the main road. Maybe running through LA would serve as a good distraction. Your mind would not have much time to overthink if it was too busy trying to figure out all the different people you’d no doubt come across.

It probably wasn’t the safest idea to run along the road, especially on a hill but you figured it would be fine during broad daylight and you knew the area well enough to know it was fairly safe. You really didn’t have to worry for your safety until you were further into the city.

You used the down hill slope to your advantage, laughing breathlessly at the way Bentley’s face looked blown back against the wind. Finally, the adrenaline you’ve been searching for hit you full force.

And all you felt was relief.

A content smile bloomed across your face, a healthy flush blooming your cheeks. You pumped your arms harder and pulled your knees higher with every stride.

Everything we be okay. Everything-

A car honked, slowed to a stop across the street, and then your name was called.

You didn’t even have time to react, Bentley cut right in front of you to dart across the street and somehow your foot got caught in his leash. One minute you were upright, the next you were laying flat on your back with a dull throb in the back of your head and a sharp ache in your ankle.

“Oh my God.” You blinked up at the familiar figure hovering over you, cerulean eyes swarming with so much concern, “Baby, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

If you thought your head was fuzzy before, it was nothing compared to now.

Your name was called softly, “Hey,” A pair of warm big hands cupped your face, “Please, say something or I’m calling an ambulance.”

Finally you inhaled sharply and it was only then that you realized the air had been knocked from your lungs. You licked your lips, mouth suddenly feeling dry, “How are you here?” Your eyes flickered over Sebastian’s face, “Am I in heaven?”

Out of all the things that could’ve come out your mouth…

Fortunately, this earned you somewhat of a laugh. A chuckle at best. But not from the man kneeling over you.

“She makes jokes.” You tilted your head to the side to find Eli standing over Sebastian’s shoulders. “She looks fine to me.”

You moved to sit up and your boyfriend helped you with a steady hand on your back and the other on your elbow. Your vision swam a little and you pressed a hand to your head with a groan, “What are you doing here?”

“I tracked your location and figured you were on a run.” Sebastian shrugged his shoulders a little, his hands trailing over your shoulders and down your back. No doubt making sure you were okay for himself, that you didn’t have any serious cuts or scrapes that needed immediate medical attention “I was going to have Eli drop me off so I could join you. I should’ve called and warned you.”

The look on his face reminded you of a literal kicked puppy and your heart clenched painfully in your chest. He would definitely blame himself, he already was if the blatant guilt in his expression was any indication.

Trying hard to bite back a wince, you pulled yourself up on your knees and threw your arms over his shoulders, “It wasn’t your fault. You had no idea Bent would react like that.”

Your whole body tensed up and your head whipped frantically around, “Where is he?”

“He’s okay.” Eli spoke up, drawing your attention back to him and calming your racing heart, “I put him in the car.”

You slumped back into your boyfriend's arm with relief, burying your face in his chest. You felt like crying, you couldn’t even begin to describe how mortified you felt and you could only hope to God that no one saw you in this position.

“We should go.” It was as if he could read your mind, “Are you okay to stand?”

You weren’t sure but you nodded anyway. Your head, back, and ankle hurt so bad. All you wanted to do was crawl in bed, forget this day, and start over tomorrow.

Sebastian took your hands in his and helped you to your feet. Your entire body was trembling, the adrenaline from the run and then the fall finally wearing off. There was no hiding your pain when you went to take a step and your legs practically buckled.

“Woah.” Your lover caught you around the waist, pulling you protecticaly into his side, “What hurts?”

“My ankle.” You rolled your eyes, breathing out an annoyed huff at the pointed look he shot you, “And my head and back.”

He didn’t respond but instead scooped you up in his arms and checked for cars before crossing the street, “We’re going to an urgent care.”

“Seb-”

“Don’t argue with me.” He cut you off, tone final, “You scared the ever living shit out of me. You can’t even put weight on your ankle and you hit your head. You are going to get checked out.”

“I’m sure it’s just sprained or something.” You sighed, dropping your head against his shoulder. You were just tired, you wanted to go home and cuddle in your bed, not deal with doctors and the risk of people seeing you. “No big deal.”

“I don’t care.”

Eli pulled open the door as you approached the car and Sebastian slid into the backseat with you in his lap.

“This seems a little excessive.”

“Shut the fuck up, baby.” He hissed, pressing a hand to your head, guiding it back to rest on his shoulder, “Just humor me. Please.”

You relaxed back into his embrace with a dramatic sigh, “Fine.”

—————

By the time you returned home from urgent care the sun had long ago set and your stomach was protesting loudly.

“I can walk.” You grumbled to Sebastian when he appeared at your door.

“Just let me take care of you, baby.” He pleaded, eyes all soft and big, “You have a concussion and a broken ankle. Please.”

You sighed, relenting by wrapping your arms over his shoulders and holding on tight as he scooped you up in his arms. “It’s not broken. A stress fracture isn’t technically a break.”

“Yes it is.”

Eli unlocked and opened the door for him, holding it as you passed through with a tired smile.

“Thank you.” You offered softly, mirroring his smile, “Seriously. We appreciate you.”

“Of course.” He responded, “What are friends for?”

Sebastian chuckled lightly, “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had.”

“Aw.” A sly grin split across Eli’s face, “Don’t get it all sappy on me now.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Your boyfriend laughed, shrugging as best he could with you in his arms, “Go on and get out of here. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Of course.” Eli hesitated by the door, one hand on the handle, “Are you guys sure you’re good? Do want me to pick you up some dinner?”

“Nah, man.” Sebastian smiled, shaking his head, “We’re just going to order something. Go home to your wife!”

“Okay.” He chuckled, “See ya tomorrow.”

“Bye.”

You both watched as he left, locking the door once he’d made it safely to his car.

“To bed with you.” Sebastian chuckled, tightening his arms around you as he began to make his way further into the house, “And then I’ll order some food. What you feel like having?”

You let your head rest against his shoulder, eyes heavy and head still pounding, “Something comforting and warm.”

“So,” He grinned, “Chinese?”

“Mhm.” You mumbled distractedly, finally taking notice of the silence and darkness that coated the entire house. Something you weren’t used to since the arrival of your unwelcomed guest. “Why is it so quiet in here? Where is she?”

“I sent her away.”

He said it so casually like it wasn’t that big of deal–like it probably didn’t take that much convincing.

“How?”

Sebastian didn’t respond right away, instead taking his time to flick the lights on in the master bedroom and then set you gently on the bed. He moved to gather a pair of pajamas and your fuzziest socks, “Do you want to shower?”

You looked at him like he’d grown two heads, “Sebastian.”

Finally, he turned to look at you, hands on hips and a tired look on his face, “I let her post about Monday.”

Your mouth opened and closed, “Like just for tonight?”

“No.” He approached you, setting the pjs on the end of the bed before taking your face in his hands, “My teams working out a schedule. She’s allowed to stay here every once in a while to make content to bait.” He brushed his thumb down your cheek, “And someone else will always be here when she is. You will never be alone with her.”

“How did you-”

“Know?” He interrupted softly, “She isn’t so quiet or sneaky. I’ve heard some of the stuff she’s said to you. It’s disgusting.”

“Thank you.” You leaned forward to rest your forehead against his, feeling nothing but relief. “Thank you so much for that.”

“I love you, baby.” He whispered, dipping down to press a soft kiss to your lips, “I want you to be comfortable in your own home and I couldn’t stand her being around either. I’m always going to put you first. I’m always going to have your back.”

“I love you.”

You shared one more tender kiss and a few quick pecks.

“Now,” He pulled back, wearing a lopsided grin, “How about a shower?”

—————

TagList

@justlovelifeblog @inlovewith3 @buckybarnesandmarvel @sleutherclaw @snugglingbucky @perlaluna @littlewhiterose

@idontwannagomrstarkk @abihaaa14 @eclecticpatrolroadlawyer @sebsgirl71479 @getofffmydick @eccentricnos @barnesml @aira1995 @sweetwritingfanficfriend @dhoruwolfie @unaxv

[bunbrii]

@js-sexchange-surgeon-steinman Couldn’t contain my reaction in the tags so hii, hiiiヾ(˶ᵔ ᗜ ᵔ˶) This is such a flow of consciousness post sorry if it makes no sense

If you follow me and have no idea what I'm writing about go read comic pls pls pls https://www.tumblr.com/js-sexchange-surgeon-steinman/760552467935182849/wishful-thinking-itp-comic-cw-animal-death

Just wanna start by saying THIS. THIS OPENING. Killed me instantly. ↓ ↓ ↓ owie ow ow

Oz’s guilt and self blame loom over the story like a guillotine it makes me SICK. Honestly I just want to gush over how soul sucking and painful it was to read this?? The story’s atmosphere is hopelessly heavy, dragging you into the same pit of despair as Oz while he searches for why everything happened and why it happened to him, until he can only blame himself. even though he's just a kid and there was nothing- nothing he could have done. Oz did everything he could, and failed. (how this all ties into the title arughh)

But even after Oz lists all the things he maybe maybe could have done differently, after blaming himself? Only to quietly admit "it's not fair..." that line has nested itself into my heart and is rotting me from the inside out.

small tangent but I love how the text is used to frame some of the panels. Like the part with Jeff, where the text is both a wall and a blindfold? And the part after, where Oz is laying in bed at and his description of the rabbit is boxing him in. (kinda like the closet in the next page) It's just very nice (Also "the meat inside sloshing" brought out such a visceral reaction for me 10/10 hate it)

The art was also super fucking good omg. I always talk about this when I ramble about art but all the lighting is so good the way you used the rabbit's eyes as a spotlight was so clever the way the rabbit's looks the same way at Oz as it does it's meal fknjwsfeik dakjwbsajdbk

And the section where the style changes were good they remind me of analog horror videos PLUS they look so legit?! The tv fuzz and pixelation effect look great (also haha love the go go go part *twirls hair* it's like I was hit with a shotgun blast)

Also it's horrible how you could also always sense the rabbits presence even when it's not there it still was watching stalking instilling paranoia. Uh well until the last page where it already accomplished it's goal. The ending completly drained me btw I was standing in the corner of my room like I was in the blair witch project

Additional into: I had to put my phone down and walk away when I saw this. Evil evil addition

So long story short yay good comic enjoyed very much yay yayy!!!

Honest hohesty I can keep going bc I feel like I've only glazed the surface I think I would enjoy dissecting this frame by frame- so beware >:3c

[trollsficrecs]

hello!! i have two recs!! the first is ‘When you were here’ by Cherrylette, it’s a really sweet Poppy centric fic revolving around her missing Viva before she even knows about her, its a lil angsty but very sweet

the second is ‘Wilting Poppies’ by PrincessPoppifer, this is a longer one that’s still in progress!! it’s an au where Poppy is the one captured by V&V and how she deals with her feelings and the world around her after that.

thank you so much for taking the time to start this blog, you’re a real one for it i’ve loved the fics that have been recommended so far!! keep it up my friend!!

thank you so much for the recs!! and yess this blog is a super good way for fic to get recognized, both new and old- especially bringing up old fandom favorites from the first film ahah

When you were here by Cherrylette - ao3, 2.6k - G, Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Ships Tagged: Branch/Poppy

To make sure the royal wedding went without a hitch, Poppy offered to stay at Bergen Town until the wedding. But staying at the troll tree bring a feeling she never thought she would feel.

Grief

OR

Poppy missing Viva before meeting her.

mod note: I just read this one and its super sweet!! albeit very bittersweet, but worth the short read :)

Wilting Poppies by PrincessPoppifer - ao3, 68k words - T, Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings (Incomplete)

Tagged Ships: Branch/Poppy

((PAUSED. WRITERS BLOCK I AM SO SORRY))

Poppy was the happiest troll ever. It was a title she held ever since she was a baby. After she was saved from the terrible Velvet and Veneer, however, she's finding it harder and harder to keep her happiness-- especially as she deals with the after math of having all of her talent sucked away.

Branch was the most miserable troll ever. That was until Poppy had come into his life. He blames himself for her being captured and can't bear to see his favorite flower wilt under the pressure of her trauma. It's a good thing someone once told Branch, "True Happiness is inside of all us. Sometimes you just need someone's help to find it."

[dialovers-translations]

DIABOLIK LOVERS LOST EDEN Vol.1 Sakamaki Saga [TRACK 5]

Original title: 魔力の暴走

Source: Diabolik Lovers LOST EDEN Vol.1: Sakamaki-hen

Audio: Here

Seiyuu: Toriumi Kousuke, Katsuyuki Konishi, Midorikawa Hikaru, Kaji Yuki, Hirakawa Daisuke & Takashi Kondou

Translator’s note: It has honestly been so long since I translated this CD, I almost forgot what happened, haha. I do think it’s interesting how these provide us with one ‘canon’ scenario in which Ayato is the one to inherit Karlheinz’ powers. Then again, he has always been the poster boy of the series and the default ‘adam’. I also find Laito’s role in this very interesting, because he’s completely on board with Ayato blowing up the whole world, lol. Gotta love that chaotic energy.

→  LIKE MY TRANSLATIONS? SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI!

TRACK 5: MAGIC GONE OUT OF CONTROL (35:30 - 42:36)

You stumble as Subaru drags you along.

Subaru: Ah…

*Rustle*

Subaru: Tsk…God. I had a bad feelin’ and seems like it was spot on too. 

You tilt your head in confusion.

Subaru: Don’t ‘eh?’ me! I noticed those guys were kind of on edge, so I figured that maybe you had gotten caught up in the mess. ーー And I was right. Fuck! …You’re to blame as well though! For lettin’ them do with you as they please! At least fight back a lil’! There’s plenty of ways to get away, right!?

*Rustle* 

Subaru: Your existence tempts us. 

You say sorry. 

Subaru: Ah, don’t apologize. …We’ve spent a considerable amount of time together so…I kind of understand how you think at this point. 

You thank him. 

Subaru: Che…Just when I thought you didn’t say ‘sorry’ for once, it’s ‘thank you’ instead? You really are too good for this world, aren’t you? Anyway, your neck…

*Rustle* 

Subaru: Those bastards really went to town on you, didn’t they? …Come here for a sec. 

You hesitate.

Subaru: Come on…

*Rustle* 

Subaru: I’m gonna do this…

He kisses along your neck to heal the marks. 

*Smooch*

Subaru: Mm…Haah…A Vampire’s saliva has a healing effect…You know about that as well, right? 

*Smooch* 

Subaru: Nn…Haah…Why do I have to bother with this? 

You thank him.

Subaru: Shut up! Stop thanking me every two seconds. I’m the one pullin’ the short end of the straw here. If you keep on spoutin’ random bullshit, I’m gonna suck your blood as well, understand? 

You flinch.

Subaru: What!? Does that mean you don’t want to get bitten by me!? …I’m pissed now.

Subaru bites you. 

Subaru: Haahn…

*Gulp gulp gulp* 

Subaru: Hah…This is your punishment…

*Gulp gulp gulp* 

Subaru: Mmh…

*Flap flap flap* 

Subaru: Are those…familiars? They seem to be in quite the rush. 

Subaru gets up. 

*Rustle* 

Subaru: I have a bad feeling about this…Oi, you! Let’s get inside the house. Hurry!

Subaru drags you inside. 

*TIMESKIP*

Shuu: …Ugh. Right when I had finally fallen asleep. What kind of trouble happened this time? It better not be some random bullshit. 

Reiji: While some might categorize it as such, the Familiars have come to report on a situation which we simply cannot ignore as members of the Vampire Clan. 

Kanato: A situation we cannot ignore…? 

Ayato: Ugh…

Reiji: Vampires who had moved to this world, have been getting murdered one after the other. 

Laito: Nfu~ I guess that truly is something we probably shouldn’t ignore. Still, I also don’t think it was worth waking us all up and dragging us here to the living room? 

Reiji: Uncle…Lord Richter has passed away. 

Ayato: …!

Subaru: …!? He died!? Who did it? 

Reiji: By some kind of organization who calls themselves the ‘Ravens’. 

You ask who they are. 

Reiji: It would be nice if I could answer that question. Point being, uncle was killed by an unknown group of people and afterwards, they pierced his corpse on the peak of Kaminashi Tower. 

Shuu: To show off…or perhaps warn us for what’s to come?

Ayato: …!!

Shuu: So, what are you going to do, Ayato? Are you going to hunt down the culprit or…?

Ayato: Why are you askin’ me? 

Kanato: Well…You are the head of this family, remember? 

Ayato: Like I give a damn! Besides, I don’t remember ever taking on that position. Don’t push it onto me!

Laito: Eeh~ ? Oh come on, don’t say that now. You were the one who inherited that man’s powers, remember? In other worーー

Ayato: Shut up!!

Reiji: Haah…Well, if you want to leave this case untouched, then we will follow your lead. 

You grab hold of Ayato’s hand.

Ayato: …!? What’s with you, Chichinashi? You’re not gonna tell me to get my shit together as the Heir as well, will you? 

You shake your head. 

Ayato: Then what’s your problem!? 

You frown. 

Ayato: So what!? Don’t go quiet and give me a proper answer!

*Thud* 

Ayato: All of you bastards just keep on goin’ on ‘bout me being the Heir or having these powers…Just shut the fuck up already!! These powers were forced upon me against my own will!! So…Why are you expectin’ so much from me!? It’s fuckin’ annoyin’...!!

His powers begin to charge. 

*Woosh* 

Subaru: …!! Ayatoーー!

Shuu: …! Oi, calm down!

Kanato: Kuh…Ayato…Not here! Stop!

Ayato: Shut up! Not another word!!

Reiji: …!! This is bad! …Don’t stand there spacing out, we have to run!

Reiji grabs hold of your hand. 

Reiji: Let’s go!

Shuu: Hey, you! Do you want to get sent flying by his powers? I’m sure you realize that would be meaningless, right!? 

Ayato: BLOW THE FUCK UP!!

Laito: …Nfu~ 

Ayato: ( …Everythin’ and everyone should just disappear…All of it!! This entire world…As well as these powers which were irresponsibly forced upon it…Every single thing! It pisses me the fuck off! Everythin’ should just…GO AWAY! )

ーー THE END ーー

[thegeminisage]

sigh it's time for a star trek update. i'm behind because i've been busy thinking about lucanis dragon age. all of these are voyager episodes!! i don't have to separate them anymore :(

i don't remember which days we did what but the lineup is "equinox part i," "equinox part ii," "survival instinct," "barge of the dead," "tinker, tenor, doctor, spy," "alice," "riddles," "dragon's teeth," "one small step," "the voyager conspiracy," and "pathfinder." tragically, these will be short because there's too many and i want to go back to thinking about lucanis dragon age.

equinox parts i & ii:

TEAR THE BITCH APART!!!!!! i have never been so thrilled to see janeway ready to rip into somebody. that other captain was vile and reprehensible

delicious when janeway and chakotay fight. kind of distressing but also very fun and sexy

seven is always so good but she was GREAT in this episode

the doc's ethical program being taken away :( im glad he and seven had that little moment together...ik theyre not canon or anything and it wouldn't be my first pick for seven ships but i wouldn't have been mad about it at all. their relationship is very sweet

survival instinct:

SEVEN OF NINE MY BELOVED

damn she really did drag 3 other people back into hell so she wouldn't be there alone. i love that

the philosophical debate was kind of weak though...like literally nobody is sitting here thinking being alive as a borg is better than being dead. what even was that

also, that isn't how this works. that isn't how any of this works. the borg don't get cut off and develop feelings on the fly. they don't remember who they are when they're magically removed from the amnesia collective. picard remembered who he was and knew what was happening to him the WHOLE TIME. the horror was in not being able to do anything about it! i really and genuinely hate to say it, but tng did it better

barge of the dead:

I LOVE WHEN B'ELANNA GETS COOL STUFF TO DO

she looked hot as fuck in that armor

i do like that in this episode you can hardly blame tom paris for being alarmed. 90% of the time i am like tom paris nobody asked you but if i a hardcore atheist woke up from a coma one day and started talking about how you guys needed to kill me so i could go rescue my mom from hell i would hope someone would have the compassion to hit me on the head again until i went back to normal

i like the idea of jadzia on this little boat until her friends got her into stovokor :')

tinker, tenor, doctor, spy:

this episode was bad when they showed seven's tits but everything else was really good

i wasn't sure about it at first because of all the adoration fromt he ladies but like it's ridiculous on purpose, you know? it was funny.

i liked it! i liked that the doctor got more rights and that he got something scary and dangerous to do

bonus of the borg transformations. hot.

also those little aliens were horrible to look at but i did like that one guy stanning the emh and then realizing he had his shit all wrong and he was cooked. really funny

alice:

this one sucked so bad. like idk there's nothing else to it. it sucked bad. b'elanna, dump him. i could be your man

riddles:

AAAAUGHGHGGH TUVOK

i really like neelix when he isn't with kes. i always forget until there's a good neelix episode and then i'm like oh yeah neelix! he and tuvok make such a good duo sometimes

tuvok in this episode...damn did we know tim russ can act? like he can fucking act

it's v much like the tos episode where spock gets jizzed on by that flower and learns to feel happy...but at the expense of his logic and his duty

the ending KILLED me. tuvok gave him so little except that one pun but thats like all you need

as fun as this was, it would have been even better if seven was the one walking tuvok through it all

dragon's teeth:

i liked the myth this one drew the title from. very fun

but also, What Prime Directive

we DID get good seven of nine content out of it though. i love when she and janeway are gay

one small step:

i started out feeling skeptical about this one because of the 23andme episode. i was worried they were going to be Too excited about history

nonetheless i did absolute shed tears during the funeral section at the end. i get it .gif

are they laying some chakotay/seven groundwork here? i kind of enjoyed it. did not like him telling her to knock off the attitude but it was otherwise very fun. i won't be mad about it

the voyager conspiracy:

i'd heard a lot about people either loving or hating this one before we watched it but i LOVED it

at first i was bewildered but even though the plot is a little weak there were so many good character moments i just can't get mad about it

the j/c candlelit dinner...mwah. they just do this on the reg??

also their mutual suspicion of each other. i would have been annoyed or perhaps distressed if it had gone on too long but it was the perfect amount of time to be just a little angsty and establish how well they know one another and how much they trust each other

AND bonus janeway/seven at the end that had me welling up. OOOUGH i love gay people

pathfinder:

THIS SUCKED SO BAD I HATE BARCLAY WHY WOULD THEY BRING DEANNA BACK JUST TO PROP HIS LAME ASS UP I HATE THE HOLODECK I HATE TNG GET IT OUT OF HERE

TONIGHT: "fair haven" and "blink of an eye."