#(maybe with some more planning and starting earlier tho LMAO)

[ratcash-wasgud]

hi! i just came by your work last night, loved it! stayed up reading it! 11/10 *cheff kiss* Are you up for a petition? maybe another mizuxreader, perhaps villainxhero kinda situation. the reader could be one of the money/sex hungry affiliated with the white man (not a white men herself but like a lap dog of someone with higher power than Abijah Fowle). instead of mizu taking Fowler she takes the *reader*, keeps her alive and makes her speak 7u7 maybe scream. they end up helping each other in the end after much fighting. ofc adding some nsfw there pfff if that wasnt obvious.

hope you see this! lmfao

Omg, yes!! Genius. This set something ablaze inside me (especially since I love witty villain characters). I was thinking about making this a one shot tho, but if yall want a second part tell me, and i'll try. Try. Anyways, this'll be more lighthearted than my other works. Oh, and I'm sorry if this isn't how you imagined the story to go. I interpreted some of the originaly show's story, but mostly I just wen't along with what's the easiest to get my own story going, and I probably got some cannon info wrong too, but please don't yell at me lmao.

Btw!! I'm really glad i got a request!! So thank you! If anyone has any other ideas, I'd be glad to try and working with it!!

Okay, enjoy!!

ℕ𝕖𝕜𝕠 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕖𝕤𝕥.

When Mizu pulled up to tea with Heji Shindou, instead of the half-blad old guy, she was faced with you. Some woman in strange clothing. It seemed like it was a mix of western clothing, and some japanese casual wear. You even had your hair down, letting it flow freely. How unusual.

"Ah, the infamous samurai who is tearing through anyone in his way!" You say with a smirk on your face, opening up your arms. "Come, come. Oh, and I see you've bought a dog too." You add, looking smugly at Taigen.

"How dare-" He starts, but gets shut down by Mizu quickly, and the two follow you to sit down.

"So, I've heard you're after the white men, huh?" You say, not sitting on your knees, but sitting down criss-cross style. "Why? What is it that you're after? Money?" You ask, starting to pour some tea.

"I don't need things like that. I have a vow. I swore revenge." Mizu says simply. "And what is it that you need from me?"

"Oh, nada." You shrug. "I'm just willing to offer a deal." You shoot the both of them a smirk. "I'd love to have that fat bastard dead too! My loyalty isn't with him at all!" You say it like it's the most exciting thing ever. "You see, that sack of shit has everything in the world! Money, power, connections...and he's still complaining! Ha! Meaning, he doesn't deserve it." You say as you lift your tea and take a sip. "I, on the other hand, would take much better care of his privilages."

"So you want me to kill him so you can take his place?" Mizu asks, highly suspicious. She glances at Taigen, who is still giving you a dirty look for your comment from earlier.

"Yap." You nod, tossing down your cup. "Fowler wouldn't be an easy target, so without my help, you could already start planning your funeral." You say, but now a small dangerous glint appears in your eyes.

"And why should I trust you?" Mizu asks, her eyes narrowing at you, but your smirk doesn't falter.

"You shouldn't. Didn't you mother tell you not to trust strangers?" You say with a chuckle and Mizu rewards it with a small glare. A small, but cold one. "Still, it's up to you. Do you wanna kill that bastard so much you're willing to take the risk?"

"And how do we know this is not an ambush? That you won't just kill us if we say no?" Taigen cuts in, putting his hands on the table which you reward with your smile getting smugger.

"Oh, please." You put your hands up in defense. "You really think I'd waste weapons and men on you?" You say, looking him straight in the eye. "And besides, you won't say no." You look back at Mizu. "My deal has only benefits for you. You'll just have to gulp down some self respect."

Mizu raises an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" She can't deny, having someone close to Fowler himself helping her would be a huge positive, but...you just seem so sly. Like a cat.

"Ah, you see, I can get you inside Fowler's little residence." You stand up to pull of a blanket off a big barrel. "You'd fit inside quite well. You're a scrawny thing anyways." You say with a taunting smirk.

"It's a trap!" Taigen says to Mizu right away, but Mizu seems unfazed and steps closer. "How exactly would you get me inside?"

"Aw, I wanted that one to be a surprise." You say with a mock pout. "Fowler thinks I'm out getting a good deal on sake, and I kinda am." You take the barrel's to of, revealing that it's half full of sake. "I'd have you delivered right to his nose."

"You'd die." Taigen cuts in again, and Mizu can see your eye twitch at that.

"Could you shut your lil' pet up? The adults are talking." You say, your smirk disappearing.

"She's obviously untrustworthy!" Taigen draws his sword on a whim, but he's met with a revolver to his head right away.

"Don't try that shit with me." You say, tilting your head at him, but you then seel Mizu's blade at your nape. "Touché." You mutter.

"So what now?" You ask with a smirk breaking out on your face again. "Kill me and lose your only chance at killing the man you swore to slay down? Ha! Go on then." You say, glancing over at your shoulder at her, and you see Mizu tense up.

Suddenly, you feel a sharp pain in your head and you fall to the ground. Mizu hit you with the hilt of her blade, stripping you of your conciousness.

The next thing you see is a capmfire and a siluette around you. As you blink a lot to clear your vision, you notice Mizu and as you look down, ropes around you. She tied you up.

"So you didn't kill me after all." You say out loud, getting Mizu's attention. "The other guy? The one with a bald spot and a funny glare. The dog." You look around.

"Away." Mizu shrugs simply. It's the truth though, Ringo is away in a nearby town, getting supplements for the road, and she left Taigen with a promise of a later duel.

"So...What is you plan now, big bad samurai? Try and torture me into telling you shit? Ha!" You say, wriggling in the ropes.

"I'm planning to exchange you for information." Mizu says simply, staring at the campfire. "I'm sure Heji Shindo would like to have you back."

You grit your teeth. "That old fucker doesn't give a shit about anything but his money and his dick. I'm sure that power hungry bastard is happy I'm gone." You say, scoffing. "But go on, try." Suddenly, you realize something. "What did you do with my gun?" You ask in a hurry, trying to feel around at your hilt.

Suddenly, Mizu lifts your gun, holding it between two fingers. "This?" She asks, looking at you from the corner of her eyes.

"Don't you dare lose it! I want it back when you're done with me!" You stomp your foot as much as you can.

"You know, for someone talking so big earlier, you're quite pissy now." Mizu says, rolling her eyes and you huff in response.

Then...as you glanced back at the fire, you noticed a small pot, boiling. You tried to lift yourself to see what's in it, but the ropes didn't allowed you to.

"...if I starve to death, I'm just gonna be a waste, you know." You mumble under your nose, and Mizu snorts. She then reaches for the pot, and pours out some what seems like soup into a small bowl and she puts it beside you.

You stare at the bowl, your eye twitching. "I can't reach it." You say, your eyebrows creasing together and she just looks at you with a small, amused grin.

"Huh." She says, leaning back on her hands. "Really?" She taunts you. Oh, this woman is horrible. Fine, you think. In one swift motion, you move your leg as much as you're able, and kick the bowl, spilling it all on Mizu.

Mizu's eyes widen and she looks down on her clothes. "...oh, you little bitch." She hisses at you.

"Come, kill me then!" You stick out your tongue childishly.

"You know damn well I could!" Mizu huffs back, throwing the bowl at you.

"Ha-ha, your whole little quest depends on me!" You laugh right into her face and wriggle your legs. Mizu almost growls at you and suddenly she picks up your gun again, and holds it above the fire, threathening to drop it.

"No!" You yell out, and fall forward, and bite into her ankle. Mizu yanks her leg away with a hiss and reaches down to pull you up by your collar.

"Okay, what's your fucking deal?" She says from behind greitted teeth.

"What's yours?" You ask right back, snarling right back at her. "If you'd wanted to kill me, you'd have done it by now. So, want me to talk? Earn it!" You say, getting closer to her face, trying to stand your ground.

"The fuck you want?" Mizu tosses you away, and sits at a reasonable distance from you. "To have Fowler dead? Then just tell me how to get in, and where he is!"

"I want you to untie me, and hand me back my gun!" You demand, and lift your nose, refusing to look at her.

"What's so great about this gun anyways?" Mizu picks up the gun again and looks at it more closely. It's obviously a western gun with a leather grip and engravings along it's barrel in the form of some kind of bird.

You scoff in response. "That was my first gun. It's special." You say like it's the most obvious thing ever. "I will bring it with me when I finally travel aboard, away from this stuck-in-the-past land."

"Huh?" Mizu raises her eyebrows. "You wanna leave Japan? For what?" She asks mockingly.

"Because! This place isn't wide enough for my potential! After Fowler is out of the picture, I will visit take his money and go to London. Start a new life and all. I will really bloom there." You say, rolling onto your back. "People will understand me there."

Mizu narrows her eyes. "I don't think people in Japan are the problem, you're just a common lunatic." That earns a chuckle from you.

"Says the guy who is set out to kill four men he doesn't know shit about." You says, glancing at her, and Mizu can't help herself, cracks a smirk.

"You have guts to talk back to your captor, you know." She says and lifts her eyebrows in amusement. She glances up at the sky too. The stars are very bright tonight.

"You won't kill me." You say, tilting your head so that you're looking straight at her. It's just now that she notcied how nicely the stars reflect in your eyes. Your eyes now look calm, and they don't have any slyness, or mischief in them at the moment. "It wouldn't benefit you." You shrug. "And torturing me would be useless. Pain passes."

"Say," Mizu starts, looking back at the fire. "You said that you're not loyal to Fowler. So who are you loyal to?"

"Me." You say withouth hesitation. "The one who I want the best for and I trust the most is myself. I'm not loyal to any old, egostical bastard with money, like most people in this country are." Say say it with disgust. "I never was and never will be loyal to anyone else, but me."

Mizu scoffs. "What are you, a stray cat?" She asks with a hint of amusement as she looks down at you. "That just makes you even more untrustworty."

You scoff back. "Who said that I want to be trustwhorty?" You ask, rolling your eyes. "Plus, I'm free. Well, not yet, but I will be. And it's not like you can say the same."

Mizu can't help but snicker. "Is that it? Freedom? I'm free enough, thank you."

"Naaaaah." You shake your head. "You're tied down by your own revenge. It tells you where to go, what to see, what to feel...if I told you where's Fowler, you'd get going by tomorrow. Even if I told you you'd die, you'd still go. Not because you want to die, but because that's the only thing you know. Revenge and rage. You'd jump in the well if I said Fowler's at the bottom of it." You say boldly, and look her straight in the eyes before you smirk slyly.

"You think you know everything, huh?" Mizu frowns and gets up to you, grabbing you by the hair. "You know nothing of me. I need this. I will throw my life away if I have to, to finish what I've started, so I won't think twice about taking yours too."

"You're all talk about killing me. Deep down, you know you need me." You taunt her. "You won't find that bastard withouth me. I work under his arm, I could get you there soooo easily, but you're throwing it away because you get too emotional." Your smirk gets even more smug. You kinda look like a cat, Mizu notices again. A cat that has just pushed off something expensive off a shelf, breaking it, and knowing it too.

Mizu noticed that sometimes you force that smugness into your little smirks. She sees it because the corners of your lips twitch. In reality, you are scared of her, but you'd rather die than let her see that. She never met a woman like you. She doesn't know how you got to the place you are, but she respects it. And still, you kow she could take your life. You're tied up, tripped of your weapons and vulnerable, yet you still taunt her. You're very annoying but somehow she can't help but admire your bravery. But the moment you're cornerned into a corner, you hiss and scratch.

After that, she lets you go and walks to be at a good six and a half feet away from you before she lays down, and decides to sleep withouth another word. Not much time passes when Mizu stays sleepless, but she hears you snore. And for some reason, she can't help but smile. You breathe through your mouth when you sleep. It's kind of cute.

The next couple of days are spent with Mizu travelling with Ringo and Taigen, and she drags you along too. Literally. She drags you while you're tied up. During those days, you managed to talk to Ringo a lot. Most of the time he's the one who's assigned to watch over you, and it doesn't seem like he has even as much as a mean bone in his body. You could even call some of your conversations pleasent. The other two on the other hand...you sometimes talk to Mizu and you two always end up in a neck to neck situation. Mizu wants to get you to talk, but she hasn't hurt you yet. She just always threathens you, yells and curses. You just flat out insult her at every chance you get though. It's not because you hate her, persay, but because you find it funny. You're being held captive after all, you need to use every chance you get to have fun.

Currently, you are left alone for the first time in weeks, as the others left your outside of town while they get something done. When you're sure they're out of seeing and hearing range, you start to rub the ropes on your wrist against a bigger rock you've found, trying to "saw" through it. When that irritating thing finally snaps, and you begind to get yourself free, you suddenly hear a very menacing sound from behind.

"The fuck are you doing?" You turn your head and see Mizu, glaring and gripping her sword. Fuck, you think and as she charges at you. You quickly throw away the rest of your ropes, and dogde out of the way. You didn't got to where you are now withouth knowing how to stand your ground, and defending yourself...and knowing how to cheat, of course.

You jump to your feet and get behind Mizu, and with one swift, forward kick to her side, you don't just get her to grunt and almost fall, you also send your gun flying from her side. By now, you've learned that that's where she keeps it. You're still just happy she didn't outright get rid of it. As the gun slides on the cold ground, you jump after it while Mizu regains her composure, and finally obtain it once again.

"Yes!" You silently cheer to yourself and point the gun at Mizu, who just looks at you, her blade covering half her face.

You gulp. Do you really wanna fire at Mizu? Kill her even? You did kinda want to kill her and betray her at first, but now you're...not sure. Sure, she's an asshole but...over those days as being her captive, you learned some things about her...she's not as heartless and cold. She fed you herself, she managed to keep you safe, even if she kept you in robes, and she just wants revenge...she even kept your gun safe.

But you can't show weakness. That's not what you stand for, so you shoot, but aim at her leg. She dodges of course, and manages to pin you down with her blade at your neck, but your gun at her stomach.

You just stare at her eachother, panting, not sure who's gonna kill who first. Mizu stares into your eyes, seeing her own reflection in them. Suddenly she notices that familiar glint in them, and how you swallow while panting, and how nose moves when you take a deep breath...and she feels her stomach fluttering. With adrenaling flowing through her veins and her skin haven't feeling contact with someone else's for so long, she makes a decision. A quick, and a little foolish one.

She pushes her lips against yours, her eyes closing and her breathing speeding up even more. And to her biggest surprise...you kiss back right away. It's all happening so fast. One minute you're nearly killing eachother, and in the other, you're passionately making out with her hands under your clothes, feeling your skin with your weapons thrown to the side.

"Asshole. You fired at me." Mizu mumbles into the kiss, her hands firmly feeling up the skin on your sides, while you rin your hands down her spine.

"Dickhead. You kept me tied up for weeks." You mumble back, gently biting into her lower lip, which Mizu rewards with a small gasp. Suddenly, she feels your hands under her clothes too.

"I knew it." You whisper. "A man could never have a soul like yours." You say and pull her back into a kiss. You feel her knees between your legs, pushing at your core, and in response you squeeze one of her breasts. Mizu starts to get rid of your clothes one by one, and as she does that, you quickly strip her of her own too.

Mizu's slander fingers slowly travel to your slit, but as she does, you grip her wrist and stop her. "No." You mumble. "Not like this." You flip her over (not easily though, she fights back even now), and look down at her naked form, quickly throwing away her chest bindings too.

"Fuck..." You mumble as you carefully align your core with hers, your clits touching, and moving together with every breath. And as you start to move gently, holding yourself up on your hands next to her head, you can hear her moan. She grinds back against yours, your juices mixing together. Even in this moment, it's as if you're both fighting for dominance. You don't know when will Mizu just reach up and choke you to death, but honestly? That's the best part.

You feel her hands around you, one clawing at your back, the other on your jaw...then cheeks, then lips, then the last thing you know is that she's forcing a finger inside of your mouth while you quietly moan and bite down on it. In response you push harder against her, almost squishing her clit with yours, which end in a louder moan from both of you.

"Can't...can't fucking take it..." Mizu moans, pushing her finger deeper inside your mouth before she retreats it, and uses her other hand to pull on your hair instead.

"What? Gonna cum? Ha." You manage to murmur out, not being able to stop your hips, feeling yourself getting closer to the edge too.

"You...fucking wish...ah!" Mizu's whole body twitches as you angle yourself a little differently, giving a whole new sensation to both of you, making you bite into her shoulder while she grips a handful of your hair thightly. And with that, a louder, choked back moan escpaed from both of you...being in perfect balance with eachother, and reaching your climax at the same time.

You stay there, just quietly panting and laying there, on top of eachother in silence for a while. You ahve your face burried into Mizu's neck, basking in her scent while Mizu still has her hand in your hair, feeling it's texture against her cheek.

"...you gotta go through a tunnel." You mumble.

"What?" Mizu perk up, lifting your head by your hair to look into your eyes.

"To get into Fowler's castle. You gotta go through a tunnel that is like...twenty steps away from the road's end and is filled to the brim with traps." You mumble, having your eyes open only halfway. "You gotta head East after you leave the last small village before the forest."

Mizu takes all that in. Now she knows how to get there...now she knows everything. "So that's what it took you to talk? For me to fuck you?"

"I fucked you." You say with a huff and get off of her, putting your clothes back on. "Well, I guess you got what you wanted, and I'm free too." You say, not really sure why. There are no ropes holding you back anymore, so...íthis is your cue to leave, isn't it?

"Wait, where are you going?" Mizu sits up, looking after you.

"Back to Fowler." You shrug. "I'm still his right hand. He probably sent men to find me." You sigh as you finish dressing up. "See you...at the castle." You say, look at her above your shoulder.

"..." Mizu narrows her eyes. "Fuck you." She spits.

"Check." You put on that so familiar smug smirk and hold up a thumbs up. "Spare me a seat in the audience when you cut his head off." You wave as you start walking away.

"...like a fucking stray cat." Mizu sighs, and before you dissappear, the last thing she sees is your wink.

[iraprince]

TIME FOR A PROCESS POST let's talk abt getting from this (client sketch - which, btw, i know other artists have talked about this plenty, but i LOOOOOOVE a client sketch as early direction on a commission. LOVE it)

to this!

at first we didn't know if the title was going to go across the desk, or over the central figure (emara's) head against the back wall. so there was a 1st version where we were favoring a higher title, then we started favoring the desk so we scrapped the clutter + centered it more

i used clip studio's 3D models (particularly for the chair, guard, + weapon crates) and perspective rulers to help with laying everything out at this stage, tho i abandoned the 3D pretty early on bc it's a bit too clunky for me. maybe i'll find it quicker to use w more practice!

(the rest under the cut!)

once the basic layout was approved, i threw together a value study to explain how in the final image all the clutter of the bg detail would be unified and pushed back. lately i find myself thinking abt value earlier + earlier in the process; planning ahead saves me a lot of time!

i fiddled with starting to refine things digitally, but then i got A BRAND NEW LIGHTBOX delivered in the mail with perfect timing (lmao) so i just ended up printing off the digital sketch, finalizing in pencil, + scanning back in

then comes five billion different steps of locking in values, again. i did everything greyscale first, but i didn't worry abt getting things super polished at this stage bc i knew color would factor in a lot to later decisions

this is the point at which presenting these wips "step by step" is kind of misleading; i didn't do these stages one at a time, but rather had a BUNCH of different lighting/shading layers that i kept toggling on and off as i worked to make sure everything was coming along well.

(to get some of these caps i actually went into the main file again and turned a bunch of stuff on/off just for the sake of getting specific examples, because actually when i was actively working on it there was rarely a point where i was actually working on something with "all lighting turned off and just the shading on," or anything like that; but i AM interested in showing what effects different lighting/shading changes had on the base colors, even if i wasn't really making these changes in a rigid order.)

i.e., just for the sake of interest, here's how the flat colors look without those adjustments!! but i honestly never looked at it like this on its own for long...i had all the shading/lighting turned off so i could see what i was doing while flatting, but i was constantly checking back and forth.

then tones added on top (which were actually just two copies of the tone folders in the above posts, set to linear burn and overlay) -

which makes it get HORRIFYINGLY dark, but that's when we go in and add a bunch of lighting adjustments.

the most obvious lighting change above is the big burst of hot pink light from the corner, but there was also some masked overlay + burn layers to pop out the guard + emara and make sure they were pulled out from the bg. if this were a standalone illustration, i maybe would have let the bg (and all that painstakingly drawn detail..........) stand out a little more, but a cover functions differently, and i wanted to make sure the eye goes to the title first. that means sacrificing bg detail even if it looks sick lol

then final touches! a lot of my very last touches are things that are close to invisible; gradient maps on very low opacity, noise, a little bit of scribbling on upper layers. the typesetting was all by the client, except for the lettering for "emara king's," which i did myself!

finally, here's a comparison of ⬅where i left off one night close to the deadline thinking "it's probably done, but i'll sleep on it just in case," then all the adjustments i made the next day with fresh eyes.➡ and that's it!!! phew!!! that's how i make a cover!

[cowboylikeyouu]

For the WIP game, No Other shade of blue but you, please!

oh my, i completely forgot the wip game ahahah sorry for the wait, here you go:

i started working on this THREE YEARS AGO???? it's not even THAT long, but i always forget it exists for like 6 months before writing another 1000 words and then forgetting it again.

the premise is basically: steve & tony had a Thing™ during that period when pepper & tony had broken up, but then civil war happened and yeah. pepper & tony get back together, get married, have morgan, endgame happens as usual BUT: instead of tony, pepper dies. which is. . . cruel, i know, but hey, she was canonically part of the final battle so in theory she could've been the one to get the stones & do the snap lol. anyways, then it's just a lot of depressed tony taking care of morgan and refusing to accept help, until he caves in and calls up steve one day and yeah, then they have their very very slow getting back together arc, while they're raising morgan. there're gonna be a lot of shenanigans with other characters bc tony's slowly letting other people back in his life, so it's actually just gonna be a shit ton of avengers family feels. i also have a fully planned out winterhawk spin-off to this fic lol. idk if i'll ever finish writing it tho, i have about 15k and most of it was originally written in german. i DID translate it and i wrote some of the later stuff in english, but i'm still SUPER unhappy with it. i love my german writing SO MUCH, but it tends to lose its flow when i translate it :/

here's a small excerpt, the grammar might suck as well, my english skills were even poorer back then than they are now lmao

Steve ignored his words and pulled out a burner phone instead, placing it on the counter next to Tony. Only one number was registered in it. Tony paused momentarily and regarded the phone with an unreadable look before swallowing hard and turning back to his plate.  "Haven't we been through this already, Cap?" He said quietly as if his voice would fail him if he spoke louder.  The movements of his hand holding the sponge became increasingly erratic, and Steve couldn't stand it anymore. Without thinking much, he put one hand on Tony's arm in an attempt to soothe him and stop his movements before using his other hand to carefully pull the plate from his clenched fingers and place it on the towel next to the sink. This time, Tony didn't even try to free himself from Steve's grip. "Maybe you're gonna use it this time," Steve responded and pushed the phone a little closer to Tony with his free hand.  Tony looked up from the phone to meet Steve's eyes, a sad smile on his lips. "Well, I'm sorry, but I don't think you and I were on such good terms the first time," he said, even more quiet than earlier.  Brown eyes that stirred so much more in Steve than he would ever admit stared into his, and for a moment, it felt like 2016 all over again. Like the time when Pepper and Tony had broken up due to personal reasons, the time when Steve had spent his days in Tony's building and his nights in Tony's bed, wasting time on kisses and sex and late-night promises. Like that brief, dreamlike period when everything had been okay for a few months. The calm before the storm that the Sokovia accords brought to their lives and their relationship. Then Tony looked away, and the moment shattered.  Steve found himself back in the present, where Tony and Pepper were no longer together because Pepper was simply no longer there, where the peaceful intimacy existed only in memory, and where the events in Leipzig and Siberia and the months without contact that followed continued to stand between them like an impassable wall. Steve didn't regret siding with Bucky at the time. He didn't regret wanting to protect his best friend, who had returned after seventy years, he’d do it again without thinking twice. But he regretted the naturalness with which he had thrown away Tony and all they had in the months before. He regretted more than anything not giving a rational thought to find a compromise that would allow him to keep them both in his life.

send me more asks about my wips if u want !!

[cannibalisticskittles]

got home a little after 1:00 and then launched into updating my sub plans bc. no way am i going to be good to work lmao. i normally wake up at 6 and it's 2:39 right now, even if emotionally i'm keeping it together, i will be so sleep deprived as to be less than useless

so. the deal with tonight. i'm working some shit out here and it's the gory details so. you've been warned.

my parents' neighborhood have a christmas celebration each year and they hire someone w/ a horse-drawn carriage; i think they work at one of the ranches nearby. buncha family came up for that.

i came back to the house earlier. i swap some laundry. i come downstairs and my dad is carrying my grandma onto the couch. surprising for several reasons; they had stayed back to ride the carriage and they shouldn't be back yet and... why is she being carried.

he's calling her name. she is... not responding. but he says "we need the inhaler" and leaves her with my grandpa so i think oh damn, okay, an asthma attack. the inhaler is found. but he's still calling her name trying to get her respond. she is... not responding. he says it sounds like she's maybe got something in her mouth or is trying to spit something up. at this point i have my phone out and i am mentally preparing to call emergency services. i figure he will tell us if/when that's needed but for now he seems to not think that's necessary.

...and then after a bit it becomes apparent that maybe he's not in a state to make that call. someone notes that my grandmother does not appear to be breathing at all now. "we should call," I say. "you or me?" to my mother. she doesn't know what to do; she's never called. i have; I call. my sister and her friend come down at that moment. my sister's friend is immediately leaping to help and checking her breathing/identifying a pulse.

emergency services says, based on my description, to start on cpr. i tell them this. my father is still trying to get grandma to respond. she's drooling out spit now. i repeat that cpr should be started. he's focused on trying to get her to spit out whatever he feels is in her mouth. i am trying not to scare him but if cpr is needed -- and it is -- then it is needed NOW. i repeat myself again and my sister's friend also urges this. this time, he listens, mostly bc of the friend i think, who gently shifts my grandma to her and then quickly takes her fully into her arms and sets her on the floor. i am cpr certified but my arm strength is fucking weak; in the trainings I've done, i can only maintain sufficient depth for a short period of time. even so, i am trying to answer questions over the phone while preparing to do compressions -- but the friend jumps into them

they are fucking flawless. perfect technique. enough that I immediately know that I can shift my full focus back to the phone call because she's doing everything exactly right. tho it's hard to shift my FULL focus; grandma is vomiting listlessly onto the carpet; i have to tell my dad to turn her head to the side bc the friend is putting her energy into those compressions

paramedics get there fast. they're there within 4 minutes of the phone call. i realize that we have a whole host of family members who went on that carriage who will be coming back soon so go to check in on that as there's nothing more I can do but be in the way inside

unfortunately people are already coming back. I spend some time outside, gently explaining to both teen siblings, one at a time, "grandma isn't breathing. paramedics are here. it's your choice to go inside or not but it might be a scary sight." and then fielding questions from the rest

it's probably soon after that that she's wheeled out but it felt like a long time. couldn't have been more than 5 minutes later tho.

then I spend a few hours with my teen siblings. waiting for further word from my parents. my sister gets a text that is not a sure sign of bad things..... but probably is. she goes upstairs to "put the kids to bed" which is mostly just saying "hey. stop. go to bed. you have school. turn your lights off. seriously stop playing for a while, go to bed" and then she hollers for me to come up. it's obvious what comes next but. yeah. grandma has a DNR on file which we didn't know about. grandpa makes the decision to honor her wishes. up to us if we want to be there. up to the teen sibs too.

sister wants to be the one to break the news to them. both think it's too hard to be there. sister and i decide yes we will go. even if not there for the moment, we will be near.

god. she looked. god.

i'm used to seeing people all tubed up. my cousin got the full course of tubes in her time in the hospital. more, even. but god it's a hard sight to see.

she never regained consciousness. by all accounts, she was likely not in pain. and when they pulled the tubes she breathed for a bit but passed quickly after, within minutes.

just. jesus. we don't even know what happened. i mean, she was 74. she semi-recently battled cancer. we knew it was coming. but like this? so sudden? walking and chattering and drinking cocoa and then unresponsive in her son's arms? vomiting in unconsciousness as her sternum is broken from chest compressions?

it's been a hard night. i compartmentalize. i am. okay. there was some grief. there will be grief again. but i struggle to conceptualize death and it never quite feels real to me so it will be. well. not a fully linear path out of this.

i didn't even say hi to her beforehand. i was in the shower when she got there and then she left to go to the carriages before i did, and then we weren't in the same group. jesus.

[seiwas]

this is a bit random (and admittedly and understandably weird?), but im trying to be consistent about waking up early and having a morning routine (lmao is this tmi); im writing/asking you because ur the first person that pops in my head when it comes to mornings (u shared before, if im not mistaken(?), that ur very fond of mornings), SO im talking too much lol, BUT im just really curious (and asking for advice honestly 😔👉🏻👈🏻) on how to stay consistent about waking up early… and loving mornings… 🥹

(u dont have to answer if this is weird! i understand, truly!!) (thank u very much 😭)

hi nonie!! not weird at all omg i find it so sweet that you’ve come to me for advice!! 🥹 i’m so touched!

i love that you’re trying to form a morning a routine—i’m a morning person and a lot of the success of my day hinges on how i start it!

i’ll put this under the cut in case it gets too long!! but these are the things that have personally worked for me!

the night before

get enough sleep! (sleep earlier bit by bit, you don’t have to do it all at once! making it manageable and sustainable is key 🥹)

drinking tea helps too (as long as it isn’t caffeinated)—anything to relax your body and mind!

things around you that can help

alarms help at training your body to wake up at a specific time, you can also adjust this 10 minutes earlier day by day so your wake time pushes back! (over time you’ll find that you’ll be able to do it on your own!)

getting natural sunlight in (personally helps me wake up the most. if you don’t have a window, maybe smth like a timed ac might help too!)

leave your phone far away from you, to the point that you have to stand up to get it! (so you don’t reach for it in bed and stay there and fall asleep again 😭)

the morning of

as soon as you wake up, get up. (this is really tough but it’s a mental battle 😭 you’ll def be sleepy 😭 but i can assure you, the sleepiness will almost always go away around 10 minutes after you get up and move around 😭)

fix your bed! (it can trick your mind into thinking that you don’t wanna get into it and mess it up again)

get some natural sunlight (it’s good for you and i think also helps w your circadian rhythm for later on at night! you can do this by either going out for a walk or if you want to stay in, some yoga by the window is nice too!)

go along your day as planned!

*naps in the afternoon may or may not be helpful, but as a general rule i try to avoid it! but if you really need to get some sleep in, a nice 20 minute nap works wonders for me!

consistency takes time so don’t shock yourself into waking up from 10am one day to suddenly 6am the next—it’s okay to take it gradually! if you want to love the mornings, you’re going to have to make it an enjoyable process for you 🥹

i personally love it because i like seeing the early morning light (not necessarily the sunrise but it’s a softer light right before it becomes really sunny!) (sunrises are also pretty great tho)

i also look forward to mornings a lot because i love breakfast and breakfast food, and i love making my matcha latte! little things like these push me to get up from bed immediately so i can start the day 🥹

i’ve found that it also really helps if i start my day with a workout, but i know this really depends on the person! i prefer it because i have the most energy in the morning and it keeps me awake the more i’m moving!

i hope this was helpful!! let me know if you have any other questions/update me on your progress!! this is so exciting 🥺 a fellow morning lover!!! good luck!! ☀️💗

[zwei-rhunen]

I JUST CLEARED SEPHIROT EXTREME WTF

>be me, it's like 10pm, i'm on BLU, i saw a party in PF earlier doing a spell run, I've never done that before. I've only used PF like twice lol. I wonder if it's still up?

>it's not still up, ah well. but i still see a listing for Sephirot EX that i saw like 30 min ago - a someone requesting help to clear for their friend and there's like 4-5 roles filled already

>well. i like sephirot hard. i dont remember sephirot extreme. i probably cleared it once with @lucia-dartancours a long ass time ago, maybe. sounds like fun tho i'd like to help out. i'll probably remember some of it during the middle of the fight or smth.

>join, be upfront that i'm "not experienced with this one" and i'll drop if needed. im told its all good and we'll figure it out, cool!

>duty begins, and i get.... the cutscene???? huh??????

>oh. suddenly, a shadow of the past echoes in my ear. flashbacks flit across my mind's eye as i recall asking @lucia-dartancours to do sephirot EX with me, but we cannot, bc alas, it is one of the few that is difficult to solo and may require a party.

>ohfuck.jpeg i am about to act very clueless in front of strangers

>"i'M nOt VeRy ExPeRieNcEd-" hi sorry guys, by that i mean it as in i havent seen this AT ALL EVER IN MY LIFE LMFAO OOPS

>sweating.gif

>okay i've seen exactly ONE video and that was when @ was soloing it on WAR, and i probably had just finished HW, and knew fuck-all about trials. except that it was cool and flashy and looked fun and maybe someday i'd do it, when i got past all this dang MSQ.

>welp i guess it's "someday".

>get full party, do fight, our first ever attempt goes REALLY well. we managed to clear the first phase and wiped at maybe the second towers/right after the first towers? something like that.

>i have no idea what i'm doing and ngl i'm surviving off of sheer beginner's luck up until the very end of this first attempt lmao. idk how i managed to survive that long.

>... and i did not manage to recreate that again, up until the tail-end of that two hour time-frame.

>we try again a few more times, then the markers get broken out to divide the group up into 2 parties

>LMAO'ing because me and the other first-timer get the kindergarten shapes... xDDD

> the mentors/experienced people lay out the plan

>i understand half of what theyre saying, but i keep the mantra "green=hug, orange=spread out"

>idk what colors mean when they refer to that but i'll figure it out/i think it's similar to zurvan with the hot/ice debuff mechanic (i later figure out this is exactly what that is)

>tbh, at first that "color" meant the tether color. but now i think you get that tether if you stand close to Sephirot, regardless of your debuff color. And im MNK, so at first i thought i was always orange b/c the tether color is orange, and i was always getting that tether b/c i'm always up close as MNK. but color refers to debuffs, i figured it out.

>not me sounding like a lunatic everytime we get to the debuff phase, muttering "okokokokok, orange is run, orange is run"

we keep wiping in the first phase, but slowly learn and adapt and improvise and overcome our way to the second phase before the duty timer runs out.

lol

>it is 11pm. someone mentions they can stay on until the next duty runout, i'm like same (bc it's 11pm lol). one of the healers switches to SMN for shields, tank offers to do a discord call to do calls, no one takes the offer, so we continue on-wards

>about midway into the second duty attempt, i finally understand what people mean when they say "stack in front of green bubble for the flash to bait the (whatever you call it), and then spread out", bc i started noticing the flash, and at one point i had died early and was able to kinda notice what ppl were doing, plus short snippets from @'s video from 500 years ago are coming back to me and i'm starting to remember this part of the video)

>so i finally stop dying at that part (i always kept getting wiped out by his flash attack bc i kept forgetting that it takes up the entire side of the arena T_T)

>i keep dying at the 2nd phase, when he does the flash and then the first middle knockback fist, and im like how tf does everyone else keep surviving. oh, is it arm's length? and someone replies about positioning and i'm looking at the screen like "okay 1-130, i'll just stare hard at everyone else and follow them" b/c up until that point i was focusing hard about the debuffs and trying to make sure i was in the correct zone lmao

>AT SOME POINT, i dont die + the stars align for everything else + we have just enough people constantly alive and suddenly we survive phase two and we're blowing past the fist slidey part and now we're killing the air add and there's a flurry of pings going off in chat from the tank and now we're in the stack and the fist is going across the floor and THANK GOD the third phase is mostly a repeat of the second phase and LB3 gets hit and we trim off the last few HP on his bar and ITS OVER WE'RE DONE OH MY GOD.

15 minutes left to spare T-T we got out at 12:15am lol but shoutout to the person who stayed up till 1am to see this through

a few things:

> green debuffers are supposed to "pass the tether" to the orange debuffers. i still have no clue how to do that. I thought it'd be like, we run to them. but the green bubbles are always in the way, and i never saw people touch each other. so i have no clue how we pass on the tethers lmao

>tanks also take both towers in the second tower phase. but also, people with orange debuff must take towers? i am still confused on that part. I'll probably watch a video later.

that was really fun!

but also

i think i'm going to stay far the fuck away from PF extremes for a bit lmfao

[chivesx]

A bit of the story of my ‘Back Fired Plan’ AU

❗️slight tw❗️mention of death, murder/killing, attempt of ’S’ word

I like to think that in the og au, Cupheads and Mugmans boss (Devil?) gave them the job to go find the toons that are looking for the Ink Machine peaces and you know kill them.

Just like in the Rouges comic Cup and Mug try to get rid of them but end up befriending them so they can gain their trust and then kill them. 

(Yada yada we all know the comic ended, Rouge never uploaded more to it, so we don’t know what happened. I do follow some amazing people here who are making continuations of their own to the story and they are so cool!)

Ye like in og version Cup & Mug tried to kill em, became friends, but what if they went with the og plan, of killing Bendy and Boris.....

In this AU Cuphead went with the plan of killing Bendy and Boris. Bendy being a demon comes back to ´´life´´ (kinda) to haunt and emotionally torture Cup for killing him and his brother. Plan back fires when Devil decided to take Mugmans life/soul as payback for Cupheads debts. (Mug is like dead dead now lol)

As to how Cuphead killed Beni, he shoot him in the chest and it went through him (easy enough). Killing Bendy was one of the hardest thing to do tho because they had become really good friend in that little time, but he was doing this to save his brother. 

Okay, now there’s only Cup and Beni left, everyone else is ded. :D Like I said earlier Beni just tortures Cup emotionally and wont let him forget what he did, he wants him to suffer and live forever in guilt. 

Beni starts to call Cup a Pup, like a puppy, cause if he reminds him of a hopeless scared little fragile puppy dog to mess with.

At one point Pup has had enough and just wants to end it by shooting himself. Beni wont let him however and rips/cuts off his hands. To Beni, Cupheads punishment would be to keep on living with the guilt of killing his friends and also getting his brother killed. (Yayy! good friend stopping a S word happening wow)

So like, Beni torments Pup and is living dead memory of what Pup did allowing Pup to never forget for the rest of his life what happened. But like Beni being just so invested on wanting Pup to stay alive so he can suffer, he also at the same time takes care of him lmao

Who knows, maybe at some point Bendys anger will fade and he’ll forgive Pup and they can actually just work on their friendship again, or maybe even more? Or maybe Beni starts to take pity on him, he’s gone through a lot already.........But is it enough?

[sanchoyoscribbles]

I've been wanting to do upgraded forms of my ocs for a bit now but I didn't necessarily wanna follow the ReTurn format (those feel a bit more like redesigns than proper upgrades!) kind of wanted to make them more coherent as a group while I was at it. it makes sense for them not to be super matchy-matchy at the start. they don't exactly work as a unit! (even the og 3 who are on the same team! they're so dysfunctional!) although they're probably too cluttered for typical tmm designs I feel like I can get away with it for upgraded forms...in universe these would be like. movie-only type ones. lmao

these aren't the finalized designs, but I thought itd be fun to show it as a wip so you guys can see what changes from early drafts to the final versions!!! and kind of explain my process ^_^

some fun design details: Cara's top +skirt topper is shaped like a star (I..plan to add MORE stars to her design somehow. maybe on her cuff buttons too. or on her cape somehow. I may change the shape of it to a star entirely?)

her and Sapote both have the bow+heart emblem belt Mira's og design has while Aqua and Persi have matching side bows on their outfits

Persi's design leans WAY harder into alien design motifs. considering changing her arm thingies to those wraps the aliens wear...

Aqua's is a lot looser and more flowy than her normal miniskirt dress! and her hair is a lot longer in a bun instead of her faux metal ponytail that can be used as a weapon in a pinch. I feel like an earlier aqua would shy away from having longer hair even tho she can change it whenever just bc she'd worry abt it (or looser fabric) in battle...

ALL of these designs have callbacks to early drafts of all of their beta/earlier designs (like, the designs BEFORE their current ones too)

Aqua and Mira both have hearts in their designs to match each other (debating leaving that for just those two or adding it to all 6 of them? )

Mira's LONG leg warmers...were my way of compromising my want to give her a clown-silhouette jumpsuit but being too attached to her lil pumpkin pant shorts lmao (also, kind of look like hooves. donkeygirl win) in general I feel like the long socks + side pony give her a slightly more mature look which is. good considering these designs would show up when time+character development has passed

Sapote's entire silhouette being moth-shaped! even her bows! (and return of her classic puffy ponytail which I Kind Of Like Better than her Current Twintails asdfkjh)

I'm still going back and forth on colors @_@ either going to do gradients, one solid color like black or white + their dominant colors, or gold accents on all of them or smth...we'll see!! again, these are very Subject To Change, just wanted to show a wip :D

[red-elric]

ive caught up w blue lock.... (anime only not manga sorry I usually dont read mangas lol) some Thoughts:

biggest critique is the use of the overpowered self insert characters lmao. like isagi is the generic japanese teen boy who despite having no significant athletic ability is able to rapidly improve and compete w some CRAZY talented guys, ego is the slightly older generic japanese 20 smth whose ideas about things are taken 100% seriously and given a bunch of money and little to no criticism ('cant argue w him hes RIGHT') for some truly batshit ideas. I’m not a huuge fan of that sort of thing (as I’m not the target audience) and it makes me roll my eyes p much constantly sorry :/

second biggest critique is that I CANNOT take soccer this seriously ksagjavshshfdsshhsh sorry but it is Not that big of a deal 😭 plus the amount of goals theyve been scoring from the start is super unrealistic I feel (tho maybe thats a biased opinion from the only soccer ive watched being whatever my dad has on in the english premier league or whatever??? idk I feel like those are always 1-3 goals total for the game for the most part)

HOWEVER. I do like the show I promise. listing good things now those are my only gripes really!!!

bachira is v v v good, he's my lil guy ❤️ I also like nagi a lot tho!! which surprised me bc hes not usually my character type but idk.... hes fun teehee. his relationship drama w reo and new friendship w isagi is keeping me SO hooked

general shoutout to all the side characters tbh; ive liked p much all of them so far?? also the drama squad of nagi/barou/chigiri all rooming together KILLED MEEE I love them sm

despite criticizing isagi in the first point I actually do also like isagi a lot LMAO. I didnt think I would but ive been really engaged by the way he thinks about the matches and puts things together, esp in the second selection! makes it somewhat more believable that hes made it so far but also just like. the connections themselves are v cool idk it feels like a good version of the whole 'ive planned this 30 steps ahead of u' thing

I also like how theyve been balancing the 'you need to work w a team to maximize potential' and 'you need to have your own individual skill to be worth anything' thing to! I was actually super pleased by the way barous arc ended; having him suddenly be willing to work w people wouldnt have felt right, but I wouldve gotten real sick of him if he never changed either, so him and isagi just fighting the whole time on the field was a cool way to resolve that!! new ways to combo and everything hehehe

bachira and isagis relationship is making me SOOO crazy u have no idea. they like each other so much and theyre so ready to throw hands at any moment but theyre literally making out while they play against or w each other ahhh. mentioned in the tags of my earlier post but I’m SO excited to see whether or not isagi actually picks bachira if/when he beats this 4v4; I feel like atm bachira hasnt really evolved explosively like everyone else yet so if that stays true and isagi ends up picking rin instead I’m gonna be SOO pumped to see how bachira responds to that!! I think thatd be a really cool growth arc for him and isagi both tbh. plus a nice parallel to nagi and reo since I think bachira would be less pissed and more motivated, might get the evolution that (it seems) reo isnt getting 👀 ofc I could just be wrong hahahaha

final mention I LOVE LOVE LOVE the ops and eds theyre so fun!! the songs are boppin hehehehe

[roboromantic]

spoilers for the end of Season of the Seraph and a little bit of Lightfall if you’re trying to go in completely blind

OUGH THAT SEASOBN FINALE..................

characters reacting to losing a loved one is like 100% guaranteed to make me cry so Ana having to “kill” Rasputin and then Elsise being there and them getting closer and working through all the stuff they have going on together is So Fucking Good.        

That said it’s very hard to buy Rasputin being completely dead given Bungie could always pull a “Hey look we discovered a ultra-secret submind hidden away somewhere! #RasputinLives!!!” or maybe “he never actually died, he just went dormant again to wait until Xivu Arath wasn’t a problem anymore” or even Felwinter...2!    actually speaking of, I gotta check the lore on how he became a Guardian bc like. did that submind “die” and get resurrected as Felwinter, or was his Ghost like “hey I know you’re not dead but you wanna be a Guardian?”

oh and I can’t believe they let us go back to the Iron Temple but wouldn’t let me climb Felwinter’s Peak 😔 I’m sure there’s a way to cheese up there but everything I tried just gave me the “you’re out of bounds” message and killed me. it was nostalgic to watch me corpse ragdoll down the mountain the first few times but then it just got annoying so I moved on. it’s a shame tho, I was kinda hoping there’d be a collectible up there

anyway. not to be the most predictable person alive but 👉👈👀 Big Robot Hot

also the second they started spawning ogres in I realized they very obviously have the same skeleton. nothing wrong with that but it was kind of weird, I don’t think we’ve had that many beings w/that kind of        shape.

I’m Very hype for the DLC and the changes that’re planned for the future but I gotta say I do Not get the thirst over Nimbus. they just look kinda ridiculous imo.

they look like a JoJo character or something         I think it’s mostly the baby face, it looks super out of place on the ripped body. I’ve found some pics of the other Cloudstrider and while I can’t get a good look at his whole outfit but from what I can see he looks a lot more cohesive

though I guess as tumblr user “roboromantic” who literally said a robot was hot earlier in the same post I don’t really have room to talk, lmao

[callsignspark]

jordan! thank you for your kind words 💕he government names her!! which we know he rarely does, so it has to be important! everyone say thank you to Bob for being the only one with a fully functioning brain. (he's so done with Bradley he even swore, which Bob doesn't do often!) poor thing, he's starting to think the pink couch is cursed. it's not, he's just a lil dumb. I wanted to make their conversation very clear and both of them understand why everything happened the way it did. which perfectly lead to us getting to see the pining and yearning and all the cute things from his perspective! they will have dinner together post-deployment! (it's just not exactly what they were planning).

oh bubs!!! definitely need to know more about those wonderful dreams tho 👀 - the dreams were equally sweet and horny (maybe I'll have to write a small blurb about that 👀)

lol tbh i’m shocked bradley even kept the bracelet on - he was threatened by Nat with physical violence if he took it off so he didn't lmao

he’s so fucking dramatic i love his old man ass - literally the grumpiest old man. like he's 37 and pouting at the table like a kid.

this is such a fun little detail! nat def falls for all those instagram restaurants and bars - LMAO she definitely does! she is no longer allowed to pick group outing places unless someone else reviews the location first (her choice is almost never approved)

hmmm and was the ‘something’ miss flora phillips perhaps?? - mayhaps. mayhaps not. yes.

jealous bradley 👀 it’s fun to see him jealous of harvard! i know we’ve talked about this, but i like how it’s harvard? and that harvard seems pretty close with bradley? it’s not a friendship pairing you see often? also i love the ref dress you picked for mary!! i just know it looks stunning on her! also i like that it’s green ☺️ reminds me of bradley in some way - him being jealous of Harvard is soooo funny to me because Brigham is literally a golden retriever of a person. like he's smart and intelligent (he's a navy pilot!) but there's also elevator music playing in that big head of his! when Bradley is not being a jealous dork he and Harvard are close friends! (it's not a frequent friendship pairing! the secondary Daggers need more love!) earlier this week I joked that Bradley and Mary adopt Bob as their little brother and Jake as their problem child. Brigham is also adopted, but he's more of the protective brother-in-law who is like "I'll kill you if you hurt her" to Bradley who is just like "Mary, make him stop" #goodbroBrighamLennox

this is so cute!!! - this man gets a nibble of attention from her and his heart starts pounding

i also like that it was neil that spoke up! it shows she has all the guys on her side and is friends with all of them? i like that it’s not just bradley? (reuben goes without saying obvi!!!) - I loved this too! the extended Dagger Family is very close so any threat against any of them gets everyone in a tizzy. sleazy asshole should just be thankful that Nat and Callie weren't there or he would be going home without his balls! (also please picture Bradley, Bob, Brigham, Javy, Mickey, Omaha, Billy and Aaron (Billy's husband who is not a pilot but also enormous) ready to jump across the table to defend Mary. how this jerk thought he had a chance is hilarious)

lil big wig smarty pants up here!! - she really is that. bitch. and we'll get to see her in action in a few chapters!!

WHO IS THE FIRST!?! IS IT HIS DAD?? (RE MAVERICK?) - Maverick? the useless walnut who took 30+ years to get together with his wife?

THIS IS SO CHEEKY AND CUTE OH MY GOD!! - Mary had two (2) drinks the entire night and she's wiggling her hips on the dance floor trying to entice him to join her (she didn't have to try at all but she doesn't know that)

oh hell no uh uh - the way this chapter was originally in Mary's POV and we got to hear all the terrible things he said before Bradley showed up. good thing Mr. Bradshaw didn't hear everything else that was said.

oh you stupid boy 🤦🏼‍♀️ i liked the bit you added about the bouncers worried mary was leaving with bradley and wanted to make sure everything was right!? irl not too common 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️ - the caveman instincts took over. idiot <3 (the bouncers saw one woman caught between two assholes and went "hmmm.. maybe we should double check on this one before we kick her to the curb." they are the silver medal mvps of this chapter.)

lol that’s an order tyvm!!! - she is pissed, ain't no one arguing with her tonight!

honestly yes! call him out! she tried to tell him at the super bowl party and he didn’t want to hear it and unarguably made it worse and then he has the audacity to be olivia rodrigo jealously jealousy all night!? uh uh - up until the part she was happily ready to accept all the blame (as she should) and then he acted like an idiot (TWICE!) and she's sick of it. so she's laying everything out (assisted by the courage of that tequila shot she took)

and i LOVED this part!!! i liked how clearly she spelled this out for him and how they’re going to have a real conversation about it? so many times that just gets glossed over in fics, so i’m really looking forward to it! - yes! sometimes important conversations are completely glossed over (or not even mentioned!) and I really want to show the uglier, not as fun parts of a relationship!

oh my gosh thank you for giving this to us from his side! i love his question of not being sure why she’s surprised? // i know i’ve mentioned it before but i love how sheepish and he was in that scene (but in hindsight mayhaps a little too shy…) // screaming about it - I always wanted to give his side at some point and I finally found the perfect place to do it!! him being confused as to why she's shocked is so funny to me bc his brain is like "I saw the outline of your nipples at 8AM and I've been fighting an erection every since." his is a tiny bit shy, mostly because he wasn't really planning to blurt all that information out but the words just kinda escaped! he was ready to get things moving!! (still made at Reuben btw)

i really like how you handled this and had her clarify it was built up in her head? that the original issue and freezing out wasn’t his fault (it wasn’t until after the super bowl party that is was his fault 🤦🏼‍♀️) - it was hard for her to admit that this whole thing is because of her insecurities. that was a lot of vulnerability for her. but she knew she needed to say it and she was able to!

ummm girliepop he’ll be so distraught if you do so best not!! - I didn't show it but he's literally scheming ways to get that sweatshirt back still smelling like her.

he thinks about it all the time - all. the. time. (very delicate - taylor swift of him)

AHHHHH THIS IS SO PERFECT ‘if you’ll have me’ you can have me any way you want me!! - "if you'll have me" like he's a victorian suitor!!!

oh sweet girl!! (and also sweet boy he’s been gone for her for 13 months 🤭) - is her obliviousness based on my own obliviousness where it took me four (4) years to realize a guy was flirting with me? maybe. lemme know if y'all wanna hear that story. (he's been sweet on her the entire time!!)

GOVERNMENT NAME!!! GOVERNMENT NAME!!! HE WANTS HER SO BAD (but seriously i’m so excited for their sunday night date!! the anticipation is gonna kill both of them!!) - the government name shall appear a few more times!!! (it's very exciting when it comes out!!) and only 85 days and counting for them until their dinner date!!!!

him being nervous about sharing the bed with her because of how his body might reaction like he wasn’t just on her couch a month ago hard as a rock 👀 like bradley i Get You, but also sleep in the damn bed!! - Bradley you literally admitted to thinking about almost having sex with her like two paragraphs ago, get in the fucking bed.

a woman after my own heart. yeah no fucking way you’re getting on my couch let alone my BED in outside clothes???? hell no, strip fly boy!! - is he gonna be thinking about how she told him to strip while he's on the carrier? oh yeah.

i liked that he asked and i liked that she gave him an honest answer? and then this was perfect too!! ugh i want them to snuggle up in bed tonight - now that they've talked about being honest that's what they're going to do their best to be. (and what if I told you we'll get to see them in the morning aftermath of this night???)

Mar[r]y Me - part six

pairing: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x Mariella “M&M” Vertucci (fem!OC)

summary: A love story told through friendship, laughter, and food.

series warnings: 18+ minors DNI, discussion of insecurities, difficult family relationships, discussions of food and alcohol use, discussions of body image, one (1) drunk asshole, conversations on what it’s like to be a fat woman trying to date in today’s society, warnings to be added as needed

word count: 5.9k

previous part | series masterlist | main masterlist

note: happy Friday!! it's August here in the real world but it's Valentine's Day in the Mar[r]y Me universe, so what will these two do surrounded by love and pink hearts? can't wait to hear everyone's thoughts!

part six - pancakes

God, I made a mistake.

Bradley has suffered through five days of the same thought on a constant loop. His brain started up the second he walked out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Only getting short reprieves when he had to fly. Even being asleep wasn’t safe; Mary had been consuming his nights, wonderful dreams of being with her intermixed with bad dreams of having to watch her with another man.

He felt like he was living one of those nightmares for the last three songs, watching Mary dance and giggle with some guy in his twenties.

I should be the one making her laugh. My hands should be on her hips, not his.

He cursed Natasha for dragging them to this stupid Valentine’s Day speed-dating event. Except, the speed dating isn’t actually speed dating; it’s some sort of convoluted speed dancing.

As announced by the host, there are only two rules:

Every person must wear the wristband they received upon entry; the wristbands correspond to your relationship status, so respect the color code system.

If you’re dancing, you have to dance with a new person for each song.

“Unless you’re really hitting it off with your dance partner.” DJ Socket had added with a wink before starting the night off with a horrible remixed version of My Funny Valentine.

Natasha, Callie, and Mary had laughed at the bad song choice before throwing back a shot of tequila and shimmying their way to the dance floor, pink wristbands glowing under the disco ball.

According to the event flyer that had been spammed in the group chat for the last two weeks, a pink wristband meant single and ready to mingle.

Bradley watches as the infant with a bad haircut tries to hit on Mary to what he thinks is a Justin Bieber song, absentmindedly playing with his own wristband. White. Here for fun, not to flirt.

He’s having a terrible time.

“Rooster. Rooster? Bradley!”

The use of his real name snaps him out of his thoughts. “Sorry, Bob, what was that?”

“I asked if you were okay. You don’t look great.”

He feels his heart clench a little bit. He’s always had a soft spot for the bespectacled man, Bob paying attention to small things that others rarely caught. Though even a blind person could see the way Bradley is staring at Mary, the pining radiating beyond the two high-top tables the Daggers had claimed as theirs.

“Yeah, just tired. It’s been a long week.”

Bob raises an eyebrow and opens his mouth, but Harvard interrupts him before he can investigate further.

“It’s weird seeing the girls in dresses instead of their coveralls.”

“I’m just wondering how they convinced Callie to wear heels. Omaha practically had to bribe her to wear something other than her Vans to our wedding.” Fritz says, his red wristband - taken and in love - flashing when he takes a sip of his bright pink drink. “God, these drink specials are awful! This is the last time Phoenix gets to choose where we go.”

The boys laugh as his face twists in disgust. Natasha is great at many things, choosing a good bar is not one of them.

“We should have let Jake plan; he found that complex with the mini golf and everything. That was so much fun!” Aaron adds before turning to Javy. “Where is Jake? I thought he was coming.”

Javy shrugs. “He was supposed to be here, but he texted me and said he wasn’t going to make it. Something came up, apparently. He said everything was fine, so I’ll check on him tomorrow. Make sure he’s all good.”

“Mary looks really good.”

Bradley stiffens, his mood dropping from happy back down to pissed off as steam pours out of his ears. She doesn’t just look good. She looks amazing. The light green, satiny material of her dress is hugging her figure just right, showing off her curves in the most delicious way. The slit up her leg showing off the thighs he dreams about getting his hands on again.

She looks gorgeous.

But Harvard doesn’t get to say that about his girl.

She’s not your girl. You fucked up.

“There she is! Can I get you a drink, ma’am?” Harvard stands up, holding his bar stool steady while Mary climbs on, scooting it in when she’s settled.

“If you’re going up, I’ll take a water, please.” She smiles at him, cheeks flushed from dancing.

“You want anything stronger to go with that water?”

“Vodka sprite, if it’s not too much of a bother.”

“You got it, sweetheart; anything for my new backseater!” Harvard flashes his toothpaste commercial-ready smile at her before making his way through the crowd to the bar. Him and his pink wristband quickly getting lost in the masses.

“I missed something. Backseater?” Javy asks.

Bradley watches her laugh and lean on the table, grabbing a chip after Aaron pushes the basket toward her. “He’s just trying to be funny. We’re both headed up to Lemoore next week - I’m helping out on some repairs, and he’s doing some sort of mentor program? I don’t know exactly. Anyway, Cyclone suggested we drive together since we’re staying at the same hotel. I told Brigham he’s driving since he insisted on getting this godawful 30-foot pickup truck, which makes me his temporary backseater.”

“Make sure you don’t eat anything before riding with him, or you’ll paint the windshield.” Omaha jokes.

She scoffs and rolls her eyes. “Please. If I didn’t hurl after a greenhorn took me up and executed one very poor barrel roll before getting himself grounded, I think I can handle Harvard’s driving.”

“You’ve flown?”

“Was it an FA-18?”

“How do you fuck up a barrel roll?”

“Did you like it?”

Questions are hurled at her from every direction, all the boys interested in the fact that their favorite mechanic had been airborne in the backseat of a fighter jet before they knew her.

“I did like it!”

Bradley’s heart warms a bit when she answers his question first.

“It was an FA-18, and I think we technically hit Mach-1, but my brain has burned the trauma of that hop from my memory. It was fun until that bad maneuver because when I say greenhorn, I mean green. Like as fresh as you can possibly be.” She shutters, only partially joking. “But I didn’t throw up, and that’s a major point of pride for me.”

“It’s only because you hadn’t eaten yet that day.”

The warmth disappears, again, when she smacks Brigham’s arm after he puts her drinks down. “I told you that in confidence! And I think it still counts because I’m a civilian and have done none of the training you guys do.”

“How did you even get permission to fly?” Javy questions, stealing a sip of her water, grinning at her when she glares.

“When I was in Florida, I got close with some of the higher-ups, and one of them arranged for me to go on a simple flight so I could see what it’s like. It was really sweet of him!”

“Who did you sweet talk into getting in a jet?”

“He sweet-talked me! Actually, it was more like he manipulated me. It came up that I’d never been on a flight - which is totally normal for an engineer, by the way - and he egged me on until I agreed to go up.”

“Oh my god, you got suckered into a ride with a flight school newbie? Who managed that?”

“I don’t know if you guys know him. I don’t think he was in Pensacola when you were going through flight school, but it was Admiral-”

“Hey, baby, wanna dance?”

Her face changes immediately, annoyance spreading quickly. “No. I’ve already told you I don’t. Leave me alone.”

“Oh, c’mon, you know you want this-”

“The lady told you no. I suggest you listen to her before we make you listen.” Omaha threatens from his position across the table. Bradley is happy that Neil spoke up before him because he wouldn’t have been so nice about it.

The pushy asshole looks around the table and decides not to press his luck after seeing eight men puffed up, ready to defend their friend.

“What a dick! He had a red wristband on, and he still tried to hit on you!”

“Welcome to being a woman, Mickey. Doesn’t matter if you’ve told them no or if they have a partner. Men will be gross and overbearing if they think it’ll benefit them.”

She sinks back in her chair, sipping her drink and sending a small smile to the boys in thanks. The group disburses a bit, most joining Nat and Callie on the dance floor, leaving Mary sitting with Fritz, Bradley, and Bob.

“Hey, speaking of gross and overbearing, did you hear the rumor that Admiral Cain is coming to the program review next week?”

It perks her back up; she excitedly leans forward, happy to talk about something else.

“Oh! That’s not a rumor, Fritz. That’s 100% true. He’ll be presenting his case for increasing unmanned drone research. But he’s going first on Tuesday, and then he’s back in Washington that same afternoon, so thankfully, we’ll only have to deal with him for a few hours.”

“Thank god, I had to deal with him for a little bit when I was at Norfolk, and he was worst. I know drones are getting more popular for high-risk missions, but they’ll never be able to fully replace pilots.” Billy clinks his bottle against Mary’s glass when she holds it up, swallowing the last of his beer. “You’ll have to excuse me; it looks like my husband wants me to dance with him.”

Bradley watches Mary stare longingly at the dance floor, her eyes following the happy couple dance in perfect sync with each other.

If you hadn’t messed up, that could be the two of you out there.

“So, what parts of program review do you have to sit in on?”

Mary turns, a soft smile on her face - Bradley knows her soft spot for Bob matches his own. Both of them protective over the younger man who cares so much, yet so quietly.

“I have to be there for almost all of it. I’m presenting a few sections, plus I have to do a shop tour and demo, which will be uber fun.” She rolls her eyes, knowing how some admirals like to knit-pick at how a shop is run and organized. “All my free time this week will be finishing my slides and polishing my presentation.”

“Wow, on top of helping with Lemoore’s repairs? You’re gonna be busy these next two weeks.”

“Very busy, but we’ve already done the repairs I’m helping with down here, so theirs should go much smoother! But I'm genuinely excited for program review because I’ll get to see some people I worked with in Florida! I think I’m going to try and poach a few of them that I really miss.”

“You’re gonna steal your friends to work for you?” Bradley regrets the question when he sees her face falter for a split second, realizing his tone wasn’t as joking as intended.

“Yeah, I’m thinking about it. They’re really smart and talented, plus it’d be nice to work with them again.”

The relief that breezes through his chest at her grin and kind tone quickly disappears when Harvard pops up and pulls her toward the dance floor.

“Hang- hang on!” She giggles, turning to Bob. “Would you mind keeping an eye on my purse while Brigham steps on my toes to bad 90s love songs?”

Bob’s, “No problem.” overpowers Harvard’s protests of, “I’m not gonna step on your foot again!”

She pecks his cheek, leaving a faint pink stain behind as she follows the Ohio man onto the dance floor. And for several songs, Bradley's stomach twists as he watches his two friends dance pressed close together.

“Why don’t you go dance with her?”

“She doesn’t want to dance with me.”

Bob scoffs. “You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I do.”

“Bradley, what happened with you two?”

He doesn’t answer; just keeps fiddling with the label on his beer and watching the dance floor. The two sit in uncomfortable silence for the first time in their friendship.

“I fucked up.” He confesses everything to Bob. The night on her couch, their interruption, the tiff just a few days ago. He doesn’t spare any detail, no feelings. “I still don’t know why I didn’t just let her explain! Even if I was mad that she was ignoring me, she had her reasons - she wouldn’t do something like that for no reason!”

Bob is stunned. He doesn’t know what to say to comfort his friend. None of the group’s theories had even been close to the reality of what happened.

“You can’t tell anyone what I just told you, not even Natasha!” Bradley is borderline frantic. “You’re the second person I’ve told, and I don’t know if Mary has told anyone, but I don’t want everyone knowing. I don’t want what happened to be the talk of the group.”

“I won’t tell anyone, Bradley. Not even Nat. But I do get bragging rights when the two of you finally get together.”

“That’s not gonna happen. I messed up too much, man.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t be too sure about that.”

He looks where Bob is pointing, watching as Harvard twirls away with a pretty redhead, leaving Mary dancing by herself. They make eye contact, and he can see the gears in her brain working. She turns around, hips swinging hypnotically, and he loses his breath when she peeks over her shoulder at him. Bradley’s heart soars when she wiggles a finger at him.

She’s calling me over. Maybe I didn’t totally fuck this up.

His joy is short-lived. The same red wristband asshole as before getting in her space, trying to grab her ass as she pushes him away. Bradley practically falls out of his chair to get to her.

“Get away from me!” Mary pushes the stranger’s hands off and stumbles back from the force, colliding with Bradley’s chest as he comes to help.

He steps forward, angling his body to shield her as she tucks herself into his side. “She’s told you to leave her alone at least twice now. Walk away before we have a problem.”

The sleazy man rolls his eyes, “Whatever, man.”

“No, not “whatever,” man.” Bradley steps forward, disregarding Mary tugging on his arm. Her pleas for him to stop falling on deaf ears. “You’re going to apologize to her.”

“For what? The fat bitch probably liked it. She’s practically begging for it in that dress.”

Bradley doesn’t even think. He lunges, ignoring Mary’s yell for him to stop and taking the asshole down with one punch. He doesn’t get a second one, security interfering and escorting all three out.

The rest of the Daggers make their way outside, everyone awkwardly huddled together as Mary assures the bouncers that she is safe to leave with Bradley, that he’s her friend who was just protecting her from the other man’s unwanted advances.

She’s mad when she joins them. A quiet anger that's palpable, making them all stay quiet instead of joking around like usual.

“Thanks for planning this, Nat. It was really fun until about five minutes ago. I’ll text you about dinner.” She says to the girls, giving Bob a small smile when he hands over her clutch. “Bradley is going to drive me home, but you guys should keep having fun. Brigham, let me know when you want to leave tomorrow, and I’ll see the rest of you when I get back from Lemoore.”

Her clipped tone and her heels furiously clicking on the sidewalk are the only physical indicators of her anger. The group watches her go, stunned. In the year since they were introduced to Mary, it’s the only time they’ve seen her get close to losing her cool.

They had seen her defend herself against misogynistic pilots, making them feel foolish without even raising her voice. They watched her bite her tongue when admirals talked down to her because of her age, letting Mav or Cyclone handle it. In the past eleven months, they had witnessed her ability to handle difficult situations with poise and grace.

But tonight was too much.

After having to deal with yet another demeaning asshole and Bradley’s rash, unwanted heroics, the rage simmering below the surface of her skin was threatening to finally break through.

Bradley follows at a slower pace, keeping an eye on her but giving her space to breathe. He startles at someone grabbing his shoulder, turning with wide eyes to find Bob with a determined look on his face.

“Take her home and apologize; let her explain before you explain your side, okay?” Bradley nods, giving a small smile to his friend. “It’s all gonna be fine; you are made for each other. You can tell me all about how right I am tomorrow morning.”

He makes his way to the car, unlocking and opening the door for Mary, the tiny bit of hope from Bob’s pep talk disappearing when he realizes that she’s giving him the silent treatment. Climbing into the front seat and ignoring the hand he offers, closing the door herself and choosing to stare out the passenger window when Bradley sides into the Bronco.

The drive to her house is quiet; the only sound is the oldies station Bradley turns on in hopes of getting Mary to talk to him. The closer they get to their destination, the more he goes from sad to annoyed.

I was just trying to help. She doesn’t need to ignore me.

They’re both fuming by the time he pulls into the driveway. She slips out of the car, hoping he’ll just go home, but he’s following behind her to the house. One step over the threshold, and he can’t take it anymore.

“Are you gonna stop ignoring me, or should I just go home?”

He watches her shoulders stiffen and feels his stomach drop her eerily calm expression. “I don’t know. Are you actually going to listen to me? Or are you just going to tell me that we should just forget this happened, too?”

“Don’t put that on all on me! This isn’t all my fault! You ignored me for an entire month!”

“Yes! Yes, I did!” She slams her hand on her kitchen island. “And then, when I tried to explain, you didn’t let me say anything! You just said we should forget everything that happened and move on! So I tried to forget! I tried to respect your wishes! But tonight, all you could do was watch me dance with other men!”

His mouth drops open; he didn’t realize she had noticed.

“Yeah! I noticed - you pilots have all the subtly of an elephant in a firework shop with its tail on fire! It’s one or the other, Bradley! We either forget what happened and we see other people, or we talk about what happened and go from there! There’s no in-between option where you get to be upset whenever I flirt with a man that’s not you! So what’s it gonna be? Are we moving on, or are we having a conversation?”

He can’t get words to come out. He knows what he wants, but he can’t speak.

“Well, Bradley?”

Say something, dumbass! She’s not going to wait forever.

She scoffs, rubbing her hands over her face. “I’m going to shower. If you’re still here when I’m done, we’ll talk. If you’re gone, well, then I have my answer.”

He’s frozen in her dining room, wincing back to reality at her bedroom door slamming shut. His phone is ringing before he realizes what he’s doing.

“Rooster? Everything okay?”

“I think I fucked up.” He runs a hand through his hair, messing it up even further. “We fought, man. She noticed I was watching her tonight and yelled at me for not letting her talk last week.”

“Where are you? I’ll come get you.”

“I’m in her living room.”

“You’re still there? She didn’t kick you out?”

“She said if I’m still here when she’s done showering, we’ll talk about everything.”

“You’re a fucking idiot, Bradley.” Bob’s eye-roll is audible on the other end. “Sit down and wait for her to finish showering so you can talk. If she wanted you to leave, she would have no problem sending you packing.”

“You think?”

“She was two seconds from throwing a wrench at my head last week, and I’m her favorite.”

“Well, I don’t know about favor-”

“I am. Now, sit down, shut up, and wait for her.”

The line clicks, and he decides to listen to the advice, depositing his wallet and keys on her entryway table before sitting on her couch. Sinking into the middle cushion, he thinks about the last time he’d been on this piece of furniture.

“You’re so hard.” He’s not sure why she’s surprised. She has to know she’s had him on the verge of an erection since she opened her door this morning.

“You’ve been pressed against me for two hours in these tiny little shorts with no bra on, and you smell good.” He shrugs, feeling sheepish as he explains what got him going.

“Bradley..” The way she says his name borders on a moan, and he can’t help the noise he makes when she pulls his hair.

If she does that again, I’m going to cum.

He grabs her ass and pulls her as close as he can, brushing his other hand up her thigh and boldly dipping into the leg of her pajama shorts, enjoying the scalloped edge of her panties. Their lips brush, and he’s about to move his hand to the gusset of her underwear - he needs to know how wet she is for him - when they’re interrupted.

Between reliving that moment and crafting his apology, he doesn’t hear the shower turn off or her footsteps coming down the hall, only noticing her when she sits in the chair furthest from him.

“I’m sorry-” They start to apologize at the same time.

“I’d like to go first if you don’t mind?” She requests, taking a deep breath when he nods in agreement. “I want to start by apologizing for the last month. It was wrong of me to kick you out that night and then ignore you for a month, and I wish I hadn’t done it.”

“Why did you?”

“Because I got scared. That night… I never do things like that. I never make the first move or act that bold. So the fact that I just climbed on your lap like that - without thinking about it or second-guessing myself - freaked me out. By the time I got Annie back to sleep, I had completely psyched myself out, and I was convinced you didn’t actually want me.”

“That’s- I- did I give any indication that I didn’t want you?” He sputters the question, unsure how she could think that.

“It’s nothing you did, Bradley. It’s all on me, my insecurities. Men rarely - if ever - have had the same… enthusiasm that you did. You were great; this is a me problem.”

“I don’t understand.” He leans forward, wanting to get closer without crossing the boundary she set with her seat choice. “If everything was so great, what went wrong?”

“I’m fat, Bradley.”

He sits up straight, shocked at her words. What does that have to do with anything?

“I’m sorry, I still don’t get what the problem is.”

“I know you don’t understand what it’s like to be a woman, but please believe me when I tell you it’s hard. People are constantly policing and judging your body. Men will just tell you what they think of your body, what they think is wrong with it - unprovoked. And it’s even worse when you’re fat.” She leans back, hugging a pillow to her chest. “I know you didn’t do any of that. But I’ve been fat since I was a kid, so I’ve heard it all for years. And not just men, but from family too. It’s hard to shake those experiences, to ignore the insecurities and just enjoy the moment.”

They sit in silence for a minute, Mary refusing to make eye contact while Bradley tries to figure out his next move.

“Can I come over there?”

The question surprises her, but she nods. His choice to kneel in front of her is another surprise; he can tell from her eyebrows reaching her hairline.

“I’m gonna take this, okay?” He gently tugs the pillow from her hands, tossing it on the couch so there’s nothing between them. When Bradley sees her shirt, his breath hitches in his throat.

She’s wearing his sweatshirt.

“Sorry,” she says shyly, noticing his stare. “I’ve been wearing it to bed; I promise I’ll wash it.”

And as much as he wants to linger in the revelation that she’s been sleeping in his clothes, he pushes through.

“Mary, I’m going to be very honest with you because I need you to understand how much I wanted you that night. Sitting there with you in my lap? That’s the hardest I’ve ever been; I think about it all the time. How warm and soft you were.” He slips his hands into hers. “And I know what you look like. I like the way you look. I like everything about you. Everything. Even the things you don’t like about yourself. You’re so gorgeous.”

He wipes her cheek, brushing a tear away.

“This past month hasn’t changed how I feel about you. I still want you. I’ve never not wanted you. I’ve had a crush on you since the moment Danielle dragged you through the front door of the Hard Deck.”

“Bradley…”

“Not done, still my turn.” He leans up, getting closer to her to get his point across. “I’m sorry I didn’t try harder to fix this sooner. I was trying to give you the space you wanted, but that was a mistake. After the first week, I should have told you how I was feeling, what I wanted.”

“What do you want now?” Her voice is tiny, and his heart breaks at how uncertain she sounds.

“Still you, honey. I know I said we should forget what happened, but I don’t want to forget. I want to do that again without getting interrupted this time. I want to take you out on a date. I want you. If you’ll have me.”

He watches Mary wrestle with her thoughts, her mouth opening and closing, not sure how to say what she’s thinking. “Just tell me, Mary, whatever it is. I want you to be honest with me.”

“I want that too. I want you. But I’m not sure if I’m ready for it right now.”

“What do you mean?”

“How long have you been flirting with me?” She nudges him back, scooting forward in her chair so her knees brush his chest.

He doesn’t understand the question but answers anyway, wrapping his hands around her legs, stroking his thumbs over her soft skin. “Since that night we met, I didn’t do too good of a job since you spent the evening playing darts with Jake, but that’s how long.”

“That was last January. You’ve been flirting with me for an entire calendar year. And I’m so oblivious that I didn’t even realize you were interested until you were grabbing my ass and moaning against my mouth.” She rubs her face. “So I just need some time to process this because I never thought this - us -could be an option.”

“Okay, how much time are you thinking? How do you want to do this?”

“I don’t know… there’s no free time. I’m gone this week, and next week is program review and prepping you guys for deployment. Then you’re in the middle of the ocean for two months.”

“Doesn’t really leave a lot of time for us, does it?” He jokes, squeezing her calves. “We’ll be back the first week of May. There’ll be a few days of debriefing, but then I’m on leave. Why don’t we grab dinner that Sunday? It can be as friends or as something more, whatever you want - whatever you’re ready for at that point. How does that sound?”

“You’re okay with waiting that long?”

“Mariella, it’s been a year, and nothing has changed since I saw you in that red dress. A few extra weeks where we’re just friends? That’s nothing if it means you’re comfortable.”

“I’m sorry I’m so bad at this.”

“Stop it. This isn’t all on you; I haven’t been the best either.” Bradley’s voice is firm, making sure she’s not placing the entire blame on herself. “We’ll work on it. We’re smart people; we can figure it out.”

“Thank you for being so understanding. I really am sorry about how I acted.”

“I’m sorry, too.”

Feeling lighter than they have in weeks, they look at each other and laugh when Mary yawns, her face scrunching up.

“Okay, honey, I think it’s time to get you to bed.” He stands, pulling her into a hug. “I’ll call you when you’re at Lemoore, okay? We’ll talk about our days, and you can complain about Harvard.”

“Why would I complain about Brigham?” She blinks up at him, her eyebrows creasing after a second. “Wait! Are you saying goodbye? You can’t drive home right now; it’s too late!”

He tries to argue but is cut off by her finger pointing at the clock, the two hands telling him it’s almost three in the morning. “Shit, I didn’t realize it was so late.”

“C’mon.” She pulls on his hand, leading him down the hall.

“What are we doing?”

“Going to bed?” She squeaks when he abruptly stops, tugging her off balance.

“Mary, I’m sleeping on the couch.”

Her face is baffled. “Bradley, you’re too tall; it won’t be comfortable. We can share my bed; we’re adults. We can handle it.”

His heart thumps. He wants nothing more than to crawl into bed with her, but he’s afraid of how his body might react to being next to her all night.

“Mary, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“You won’t. I also want you to be comfortable, so if you don’t want to share, I’ll take the couch, and you take my bed.”

“But-”

“This is the whole communication thing we just talked about. Believe me when I say that sharing my king-sized bed with you for one night won’t make me uncomfortable.”

Bradley stares into her eyes, searching for any hint of hesitation. “Okay, lead the way then, Vertucci.”

It’s awkward for a moment in her bedroom, the two of them trying to navigate this new situation together. But after some blushing and a few stuttered words, they figure it out. He’s just finished brushing his teeth when they discover that Bradley’s preferred side of the bed matches hers.

“Two peas in a pod.” He jokes as he starts to climb into bed, heart fluttering at the bashful smile on her face.

“What are you doing?”

He freezes, covers pulled back with his knee raised. “Uhhh… getting into bed?”

“Not like that, you’re not.” His wide eyes must give away his confusion and panic because she continues. “Bradley, you are not climbing into my bed, which has nice fresh sheets, with those clothes you wore to the club. God knows what’s on those chairs we sat on.”

“So what am I supposed to do?”

“You are wearing underwear, right?” He nods, feeling baffled by how this night has progressed. “Then strip, you’re sleeping in your undies.”

Bradley stands there, looking at her snuggled under her quilt, bathed in the soft light of her nightstand lamp, and still wearing his name on her arm. Based on how serious she looks, he’s pretty sure she’s unaware of how flirty her words sound. If she was any other woman, he would make an effort to flirt back, try his best to be sexy as he undresses. Turn it into a striptease.

But it’s Mary, and they just got back to a good place.

So he undresses how he does when he’s alone. Unbuttoning his black shirt methodically, taking note of how her breath hitches when he pulls the tight material off, but not doing anything about it. If he has any control over their situation, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future to make her lose her breath.

He does allow himself to make eye contact while he undoes his jeans, unable to pass up the chance to watch her watch him. He sees her scan his body, can see the hunger in her eyes, can hear the small gulp when she sees the waistband of his underwear appear. He stays steady, folding the pants and draping them over his shirt before slipping under the covers, keeping a respectful distance between them.

“Gonna turn the light out?”

She blinks at him as she processes the question, her eyes hazy from the late hour, and he thinks about how he would love to have this view every night for the rest of his life. He watches as she rolls over, eyes slipping down to the skin that’s exposed when she leans to turn the lamp off. She ends up closer when she rolls back towards him; he can feel the heat of her body radiating towards him.

“What do you want for breakfast?” Mary’s voice is soft, like being too loud will ruin the small bubble they’ve created for themselves. “Do you like pancakes?”

The question makes him think of his mom, how she used to make pancakes on special occasions and sometimes just because it was Tuesday. He never makes them for himself.

“They’re my favorite. Do you make good pancakes?”

“I make the best pancakes.” He can’t see her face, but he can hear her smile. “Night, Bradley.”

He mummers good night back, enjoying the way the mattress moves as she gets comfortable. The scent of her shampoo drifts over him, resurrecting the question that he’d been asking himself for a month.

“Mary? Can I ask you a question?” His voice is quiet, scared to ruin things but needing to know the answer.

She hums, “What’s up?”

“That night. If we hadn’t gotten interrupted, what do you think would have happened?” It’s quiet. He can hear her hands playing with the edge of the sheet, fingers nervously folding and unfolding the cotton. “I’m sorry, you don’t have-”

“No, it’s okay, Bradley.” A hand brushes his chest, warm fingers ghosting over his skin in search of his hand. She continues once their fingers are intertwined. “If we hadn’t been interrupted, we would have had sex. We would’ve made out for a while, and then I would have ridden you right there on the chaise.”

“Fuck…”

She makes a small noise of agreement. “I don’t know about after, though, if we would have had a better go of things that we have. It might have been worse, I’m not sure.”

“Can’t change the past. I’m just glad we’re fixing things now.”

“Me too.” Mary presses a small kiss to the tip of his fingers, squeezing his hand before rolling over. “Good night, Bradley; sleep well.”

“Night, Mary.”

I think I’m falling in love with you.

if you would like to be added (or removed) from the tag list please send an ask!

@gretagerwigsmuse | @bobfloyds | @hangmanbrainrot | @notroosterbradshaw | @princessphilly | @roleycoleyreccenter | @thesewordsareallihavetogive | @a-court-of-roscoe-and-baby | @katieshook02 | @hellojameshowyadoin | @aristotles-butthole | @atarmychick007 | @whatislovevavy | @kmc1989 | @sometimesanalice

fic tag | credit for dividers here

[gatorbites-imagines]

omg your sub dick grayson got me reeling

can i request a fic or headcanons for dick x male reader where reader gets jealous because someone flirts with dick or smth so he gets sorta possessive? reader takes dick home and pins him against the wall or the bed and leaves a bunch of hickies on his throat and jaw where its visible as like a possession thing?

maybe at the end there can either be fluff of like.. "sorry about that" and "dw it was hot" and cuddling kinda thing?? or more embarassment for dick when the other titans see and make fun of it a little?

only if you want tho.

ya:P

Dick Grayson x Male reader

Headcanons

Reader is also a hero cuz I like it that way

Hope this is alright lmao.

whys it so hard to find nightwing gifs

-          You and Dick had planned on going out for a date that day, as you hadn’t been able to spend much time together with you both being busy with your superhero lives and your work outside of it.

-          So, you had both taken the day off and notified the titans and the league to only contact you if necessary and met up to finally get some time together.

-          It started off with homemade breakfast in the morning, and you went on a walk around the nearby park where you could hold hands and talk all you wanted.

-          After this you both went to see an art gallery that was in town for a bit, and as you were walking around it together you couldn’t help but notice that a group of people seemed to be looking dick up and down and talk to each other.

-          Since you could read lips, you could figure out that one of them was single and Dick was just their type, and their friends were hyping them up to go ask him out.

-          You furrowed a brow and stood closer to Dick, sliding an arm around his waist and pulling him close.

-          Dick who hadn’t realized what was happening looked at you with a mildly confused expression before turning back to whatever art you were looking at and resting his head on your shoulder.

-          At some point you left to go to the bathroom and when you came back the very person you had seen earlier was talking to Dick, and getting too comfortable for your taste.

-          Dick himself seemed slightly uncomfortable with how close the person was, and from what you could hear as you got closer, how they were trying to flirt with him.

-          It made possessiveness bubble in your gut, and you furrowed your brows as you got closer, a faint scowl pulling onto your lips.

-          Dick seemed to release a sigh of relief as he saw you approaching, but his look became slightly wary at the grimace on your face.

-          As you reached them you wound an arm around Dicks waist again, making up some excuse that you had gotten a call from his family, and you had to go.

-          Dick was more than happy to take your excuse as an out and soon you were on your way. You couldn’t stop yourself from shooting the person who had been all up in Dicks business a dark scowl before pulling your boyfriend outside and into the car.

-          Even as the two of you drove home you couldn’t get rid of the possessiveness that had been bubbling ever since you saw them eyeing your boyfriend. Dick seemed to pick up on your less than stellar mood, as he took your free hand in his and held it.

-          When you got back to your shared apartment the feelings felt suffocating, you had never felt like this before, maybe it was because you hadn’t been able to spend much time together for days.

-          Part of you just wanted to mark your boyfriend up so everyone could see he was yours. So, when the two of you went into your shared room to change out of your day clothes, you struck.

-          When dick had changed out of his shirt and stood shirtless, you came up behind him and hugged him, nibbling at his shoulder, and kissing at the back of his neck.

-          Dick giggled a little at the tickle It caused. He thought you might be feeling jealous from earlier and that was what caused your less than happy mood.

-          You kept standing there, biting marks on his shoulders and neck, but at some point, that wasn’t enough, and you ended up on the bed, the feelings from earlier just growing stronger as you attacked his markless neck.

-          Dick wasn’t sure what had come over you, but just hung on for the ride. He threw his arms around your neck and pulled you in closer, as you just kept biting and sucking marks all over his throat and chin.

-          He leant his head back to give you more room, as he felt flustered by your display, running a hand through your hair as you created another mark right under his chin.

-          When Dick was sure there wasn’t a single area of his throat that wasn’t covered in your love bites, you pulled back and stared him in the eyes. The fire that had been burning in you earlier dying out and you start to feel flustered by what you’ve done, as Dick gazes up at you with a red face and blown wide pupils.

-          You apologize quietly, averting your gaze. Dick chuckles before wrapping his arms back around you and pulling you back down, making a comment about ow you shouldn’t worry because he thought it was hot.

-          You cuddle up in the bed, sharing small kisses and just enjoying each other’s company. Dick makes a comment that you can be possessive again and he wont mind, which causes you to turn a little red which makes him chuckle.

[venusfun]

Random astrology post🦩

What you might enjoy the most talking about?

I do not allow to copy or plagiarize my work @venusfun

The whole chart matters.

Mercury in the...

1st house -

I believe these individuals would like to talk about identity. Since this house rules over self. They probably like to talk about outer appearance and would give the best advice! This is a personality house, maybe these individuals would enjoy talking about MBTI or other personality types.

2nd house -

Money, lmao. Where to spend it? How do spend it? Anything related to finances, shopping. Also talking about cooking or food, any kind of perfumes, smells. Maybe singers too? Little side note: if you ever feel like your self-esteem is very low, go to the person who has Mercury in the 2nd house :))

3rd house -

Earlier school experiences, about siblings, cousins, etc. Like they can talk about almost anything...? Let's not forget about cars and other fun experiences that have happened in the way of some things. Languages... I'm sure they have one language that they very much adore. Books. Gossip.

4th house -

Home & parents. How was the home living environment, etc. A big topic could be - privacy. These individuals will tell those things only if you are a very close person. I feel like they would enjoy some secrets too lol. Hmmm... Maybe history topics. Past experiences. Random questions like how is your family doing?

5th house -

Woooow, they would probably love talking about hobbies and special talents. Creative things and how stupid are “5 min crafts”. Maybe they would be interested in talking about celebrities. Talks about theatres, drama, movies, series. Also, the future child looks or personality. Definitely having the best conversations at museums, festivals or concerts.

6th house -

These people usually like to talk about daily life. They would love to tell somebody about their routines, self-care, and even favorite animals. Just sitting in a cafe, drinking hot tea and talking about the new bitchy co-worker. Any kind of health topics. Doctors and small fears.

7th house -

Romance, sure why not. But I have noticed that they would love to talk about business plans. What business they would want to start. Of course, weddings and divorces. Fashion, trends. About a partner, they would have at school projects. Enemies if you have lol. Law, rules.

8th house -

Secrets and secrets. They would be more open to taboo topics. It's truly interesting to have a conversation with them. Deep talks about tarot, death, afterlife, astrology...mmm. They aren't afraid of very dark topics, those bring adrenaline to them. Also, midnight talks.

9th house -

Travel and adventures. Very fun experiences that have happened. Conversations about astrology, philosophy, and beliefs. Anything about college life or higher educations. Also, they give great advice about those things. Probably have planned their dream travel destination and detailed activities what would they do there.

10th house -

Conversations about career choices, achievements, and goals. They would maybe like to talk about “fame” life - Where they could be famous, how would they be famous. These people give the best advice about any kind of job interview. Talking about business or boss. They probably would like to try out a job as a CEO and would definitely share about this idea.

11th house -

Talking topics would probably involve their friends. Cool, funny stories about them. Sympathy. Charity. They would be the type to tell everybody what they wished in the birthday. Conversations about some very new technologies. Usually, horoscopes too. They need freedom in communications, so they can talk about literally everything.

12th house -

Since this placement is very deep, these individuals would enjoy talking about unconscious. Any topics that include psychology, astrology, and maybe even witchcraft. But tho they will rarely tell you about what would they be interested in. Dreams and sleeping habits. Hospitals and doctors. Spilling hidden fantasies at the night and regretting the next morning lmao.

------------------------------

Pluto-Mercury aspects [add taboo topics]

Neptune-Mercury aspects [add unconscious topics]

Uranus-Mercury aspects [add modern topics]

Saturn-Mercury aspects [add serious topics]

Jupiter-Mercury aspects [add philosophy topics]

Mars-Mercury aspects [add passion topics]

Venus-Mercury aspects [add partnership topics]

Moon-Mercury aspects [add private topics]

Sun-Mercury aspects [add self-expression topics]

------------------------------

Pallas-Mercury aspects [add more “wise” topics]

Vesta-Mercury aspects [add more inner self topics]

Ceres-Mercury aspects [add more care topics]

Chiron-Mercury aspects [add more pain topics]

Lilith-Mercury aspects [add more unallowed topics]

Juno-Mercury aspects [add more romance topics]

Like my posts? Support me on ko-fi💕

[morgana-ren]

SUBMISSION: How about a nasty sweaty incel shiggy waiting everyday for his dad to go to work so that he could have his relief with stepmom? 

Excellent submission! Love that. Love that a lot! I find it only fair to warn you, however, that I won’t be doing mommy kink for it. Mommy kink is one of my squicks, and one of the very, very few I have. I’ll do the closest thing to it though: Daddy kink. Also I find the irony of him making his little stepmom call him daddy to be absolutely hilarious.

Also this one is a great concept and I love it but it’s going to have to be a multi-parter cause it got a little bit long. Lemme know if you like the concept and I’ll continue it. Also this posted under anonymous for some reason so cheers to tumblr and its endless fucking glitches that it never fixes or seems to make any better.

Warnings: Noncon, dubcon, sexism, really gross incel behavior, nsfl things, masturbation, violent sexual fantasies, nefarious planning, horrible suggestions from even more horrible friends, absolute LOATHING of family, and entitled bastard.

There is only one thing on this planet that Tomura hates more than his father.

Only one thing can even compare to the level of abject disgust he has for his dad. Everything about the man is abhorrent and degenerate, only tolerated because Tomura is, admittedly, a NEET, and had no where else to go after graduation. But if anything- anything- could hold a candle, it would be his taste in women.

All women are trashy on some level, but his dad really manages to find ones that pretend so hard that they aren’t. Vipers behind the veneer of smiling faces clad in red lipstick and smart skirts. Always “kind”, always “thoughtful”, and always fleeting. Fickle, stupid bimbos charmed by his dads surface level charisma to quickly realize just how shallow the pool became.

Even his own mom was like that: She fucked off once she realized staying with him meant staying with his dad, and that was a sacrifice she wasn’t willing to make. So she left him to rot in this cesspit with his worthless father and no other way out.

He figures he can’t hold it against her, not as much as he’d like. A few weeks with his shriveled up paternal figure and most women quickly figure out they can do so much better. It’s in their nature to seek out the best, and that certainly isn’t Kotaro; A bumbling idiot with nothing to offer on the best of days. They don’t know any better, so they never last long after being brought home to meet his son, and those are the ones that even make it that far.

So when he starts yammering on about meeting yet another skank and how ‘in love’ he already is, Tomura’s eyes roll so far back in his head that he swears his retinas will detach. He makes a point to be around as little as possible, but somehow still manages to catch an earful about his latest fling and how excited he is for Tomura to meet her.

Great.

True to his word, Kotaro brings you home one evening, eager to impress his son with his latest catch.

His father had a lot of nerve dragging him from his room to meet you- his latest glorified slut. Adding insult to injury, you had the unmitigated gall to talk down to him like you were an adult and he wasn’t. Even though you had to crane your neck to look up and greet him, you still talked at him like he was some child. So different from you even though you were so much smaller than he was- barely even a few years older than he is, if even that. 

So polite, introducing yourself and gently shaking his reluctant hand, making a point to smile at him and telling him how happy were to finally meet him and that you’d heard so much about him. Your hands were so soft, so little in comparison to his own. He dwarfs his pathetic father, practically towers over you, yet you still talk to him like you’re the adult in the equation.

So young, so pretty, though. Far better than anything his father had a right to pull. They weren’t exactly swimming in cash, the house was nothing in particular to gloat about, and he’d done enough eavesdropping around late at night to know his father suffered a particular… ailment, so it certainly wasn’t sexual satisfaction keeping you around. What was it then? 

Probably nothing. You’d probably run off in a few weeks like they all do.

Kotaro is a worthless sack of drooping skin and aging bones; A ghost of a man not worthy of the phantoms he’s seen pass in his years. No longer the dominant male even in his own home: not with a stronger, more virile son coming into his prime under the roof as well. A beta male at best, withering away while his own son eclipses him in strength and intellect and physique. Tomura is in his mid twenties and blooming- His father… who even knows. He doesn’t care- he doesn’t bother to keep track. 

So, maybe you really are just a dumb little whore. It would make sense. Father dearest always had been a dirty old man; A raging pervert with wandering hands and lingering eyes. Always sets his predatory sights on some cute thing too good for him. 

Then again, the poisoned apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, now does it?

You’re cute enough you could have gotten some alpha at your beck and call, yet you’ve attached yourself to his worthless father who, in turn, parades you around like his most beloved trophy. Taking you to dinners he can’t afford despite your ‘insistence’ that you be allowed to pay, buying you things you claim you don’t need. Oh, how the moron dotes on his whores as if it’s enough to keep them anchored to him.

Strangely though, you don’t run off.

If anything, you sink your claws in even further, getting more and more comfortable and showing up more and more. Every time Tomura leaves his fucking room- which isn’t often- you’re there around the corner, smiling dumb and pretty and greeting him politely.

Fuck, he hates you. Hates your stupid voice, your shitty dresses, hates hearing his father happy for once.

It’s no surprise- but unwelcome no less- that he’d move you in sooner rather than later. Terrified to let you out of his sight for even a second lest you come to what little senses you have in your tiny brain and dump him. Of course, he’s quick to take on all of your burdens as his own, even if it means working overtime to support you. He’s always wanted another little housewife, and now he’s so close.

Tomura listens in on the whole conversation feeling sick to his gut.

You beg him not to- offering to pay your own way just like a good girl, but of course his dumbass dad will hear none of it. He’s more than happy to spend a couple of extra hours at work. His dad is so idiotic, so fucking blind. He’s playing right into it. He’s willing to be your workhorse if it means keeping you all to himself.

He’ll hear none of it. None of the fussing or the questions. You’re welcome in his home, he wants you there. It’s no imposition at all, he knows the house will be better with you around.

Except he forgets one crucial detail-

The son he leaves home alone with you every single day when he leaves. 

You’re nothing but a nuisance, something infringing on his private space. The time he used to get home alone to spend to his own devices is now split with you flittering around the house doing whatever it is bimbos like you do. Cleaning, cooking, pretending to read, whatever. He doesn’t have to see you if he doesn’t want, sure, but he still knows you’re there and that’s more than enough to annoy him.

It’s almost like you catch on to his animosity after a while. The way he won’t greet you back, the way he utterly ignores your existence. It bugs you, and as far as he’s concerned, good.

You try to slip him up, try to get close to him and make him like you. You always set a place for him at the table even after Kotaro repeatedly insists- truthfully- that he’ll never join for dinner. Even then, you always bring the plate to his door. He never bothers to answer- not after the first few times when he only opened it a sliver to see your stupid smiling face. After that, he didn’t bother answering. He’ll eat it of course- won’t pass up free food he doesn’t have to leave his room for- and then leave the dirty dish back outside where you left it. You brought it, after all. You can clean it up. 

All your efforts only get you mocked, and boy do you try so hard to get his affection. He even overhears you whining to his dad once or twice, not understanding why he doesn’t like you.

It makes him smile.

His friends- online of course, but still friends or comrades or kindred spirits or whatever- have more opportunistic ideas about it. His first post to the forum complaining about the new living situation was met with envy and awe- not necessarily the response he was expecting, though looking back on it, he supposes they were right. 

lmpwrst: Why u bitchin’? Ur living with a girl ur not related to and that’s closer than any of us have gotten u ungrateful ass

KingKockRool: Go jerk off on her pillow.

Stacystabber91: take a video hold her down and fuck her then idiot

KingKockRool: No wait till she’s sleeping and jerk it on her face

st8lker: Bet she’s ugly tho if she’s dating your dad lol

Oddly enough, he doesn’t agree. That’s one thing he understands about you, loathe as he is to admit it. His new ‘stepmom’, for all her annoyances, is pretty easy on the eyes. The kinda girl that would have caught his eye in an unrelated situation and earned a permanent spot in his spank bank. Thinking about it, the whole ‘dating his dad’ situation maybe threw off his judgement more than he realized.

He’ll let the jury decide: He finds a photo on your social media, crops everyone else out of it, and hits enter. Easy peasy. He saves it to his hard drive for later too. Might as well.

‘Here, you decide then.’

Thus the shitstorm begins. 

st8lker: Oh fuckkk fuck me mommy lmao

lmpwrst: Opportunity is wasted on u

Stacystabber91: you pussy punk bitch, i stand by what I said earlier. dont be a bitch and fuck the little cunt already

VolceliSwear: Whos the bitch

lmpwrst: Scratchy’s new stepmommy lol 

VolceliSwear: Nice. Hit it yet?

Stacystabber91: he hasn’t cause he’s a gigantic fuckin pussy like i told you all

VolceliSwear: Come on dude you actually have that gash sleeping in your house and you haven’t made a move? 

Stacystabber91: it’s not like she could say no cause you’re a big lanky bastard aren’t you? that’s one thing we got over the shortcels and you’re bigger and stronger than her so take what’s yours idiot or I will 

lmpwrst: I agree with SS lol U complain all the time about not having a hole to fuck and now u do

VolceliSwear: ^^ Isn’t your dad a limp-dicked prick who can’t get it up? Someone’s gotta do it so it might as well be you. Hit the bitch so hard and fast she doesn’t know what way is up

Stacystabber91: and send pics moron I want to see tits or I’m coming over there to do it myself

It’s an… intriguing thought. To be honest, he’s never actually considered fucking you before. Had the passive thought like he does with most girls he sees, but never stopped to think on actually doing it. For some reason, there was a mental wall between him and his father’s girlfriends. But why should there be?

Depraved little bastard that he is, he’s not above cornering a girl and forcing himself on her but he’s not keen on going to jail, so he’s never escalated past creepy photos and following the occasional broad a little too closely. Maybe a couple gropes in passing… okay, maybe a lot. But he’s never gotten caught- maybe the girls don’t report it or just couldn’t find him afterward. Either way, it’s all worked out so far because he doesn’t cross certain boundaries.

Most girls are repulsed by him and his repugnant behavior, so they stay far, far away. It’s like he’s a giant blaring warning sign that they tend to heed instinctively.

But you don’t. 

This is different. You live here, so close to him, so within reach. Just how close you are. How easy it would be for him to force you down and make you take it. Just how much time alone he really has with you since his father leaves and returns like clockwork. He’s got the entire day once his father leaves for work. And all night once he takes his sleeping medication. An easy, pretty little catch already wiggling in his web.

 ‘Maybe I will.’ 

That’s how it starts. 

Snowball into snowstorm.

With an idea and a lot of goading from his online buddies, a monster is born and weaned on his own depravity and escalates into something very real, and very dangerous.

Tomura is achingly familiar with the scene- he’s seen enough porn to give him ample ideas. But he’s got all the time in the world. It’s hard not to rush things considering how eager he is, but it’s safer to test the waters first. Get you nice and scared so you’ll keep your pretty mouth shut unless he tells you to open it for him. See how far he can get, how much he can toy with you before you finally catch on.

Who knows? Maybe you’ll fuck him willingly. You are a stupid little slut, after all. Most of you females are deep down beneath that holier-than-thou, stuck up bitchiness you hide behind.

So he starts with a time honored tradition. He steals your panties. 

The bathroom is cluttered with your shit. Your fruity shampoos and conditioners, your makeup, your perfumes. Tomura has a toothbrush and a comb he doesn’t use, a bottle of 3-1 for when he forces himself into a shower, and a singular gray towel, but the rest is between you and his father. Your body washes, your scrubs, your clothes in the hamper. 

It’s easy enough to fish out a fresh pair- only a couple of hours old. Some lacy contraption you must’ve been wearing beneath your clothes and carelessly left in the bin when you showered. It’s easy to pocket them before you hear him rummaging around, and maybe you’ll miss them, but that’s not his problem. Washer eats things all the time, doesn’t it?

He’s hidden back in his room, safely dodging you before he allows himself to indulge- Bringing them to his nose and inhaling the doubled fabric of the crotch so hard that it catches on the edge of his nostrils. 

Fuck, your cunt smell good- tangy and sweet but the tiniest hint of bitter. A couple of whiffs is enough to get his cock twitching, inflating into a painful hardness as he hears you walking around outside in the hallway. Shit, you’re so fuckin’ airheaded, walking around so oblivious as he tongues at the cloth that was nestled right up against your pussy until a few hours ago. He can taste you, sucking your left over essence through his teeth and he swears he’s going to cream all over the inside of his jeans if he doesn’t jerk off right now. 

He’s quick to drop his sweats and sprawl on his bed, thumbing the tip of his prick and licking gratuitous stripes up the slim of your discarded panties with his tongue. You’d look so good sucking his cock; On your bruised knees, face a slathered mess of cum and saliva and running makeup. Bulge in your throat from taking him so deep and trying so hard to please him like you always do- or maybe avoid a painful punishment because he isn’t above using his hands on you and you learned that the hard way.

The thought of your ruddy, soppy face makes him throb- fucking your wet little throat until you’re suffocating, pulling out to let you breathe only to cum on your face. Yanking you up to bend you over the stove and force you to make his worthless father’s dinner with his spend tacking across your face and his cock lodged deep in your cunt. Worthless fucking sack of shit that his father is, he’d spit in it too and make you serve it to him with a smile while your actual daddy watches you do it and rewards you later with his dick fucking you between your tits.

Fuck yes, that’s what he’ll make you do. He’ll make you call him daddy when he creampies you- the opportunity is too perfect to pass. He’ll fuck his father’s pretty whore as she screams and moans for daddy’s cock while his father is away at work to pay all her frivolous bills like the beta-cuck he is. None of the work and all of the reward- as it should be.

It’s not like Kotaro can fuck you, and his friends are right. Someone should. So why not him? Why not spread your legs for your boyfriend’s younger, more powerful son? Oh, sorry, did he give you the illusion that you had a choice? He’ll take what is rightfully his and there’s not a fucking thing you or his pathetic fucking father can ever do about it.

He plucks your panties from his face, moving them instead to work over his cock. It would feel so much better if you were wearing them- grinding your sweet little cunt against his dick, begging him not to fuck you but getting so wet all the same. The silky fabric feels so good against his hypersensitive skin, coupled with the clenched pumping of his fist as he daydreams about railing you into his filthy mattress until you’re too weak to even move on your own, his cum dripping from every one of your used holes. Limp, useless little whore too fucked out to even fight him as he fucks her in the ass again-

Fantasies swirl in his head, flashes of scenarios that tease him and work him into a frenzy. He’s going to cum hard to the thought filling you, your agonized face as the tip of him knocks against the opening of your womb, buried so deep in your cute pussy that he can feel the wall that keeps him firmly locked out of your guts. So close, so tight, so warm. He’s going to pump you full to the brim like the skank you are, fill you nice and thick full of his seed and then use you again and again and again-

He feels it in his spine, waves of pleasure furling at the base and congealing together impossibly tight, so ready to burst. His thighs flex, muscles in his stomach tightening and breath staggering. Searing white behind dry, clenched eyes and his cock twitches in his palm, knot bursting deep between his legs as his hand stills momentarily. His hands twitch, cock throbbing as thick ropes of cum spill over the slats of his fingers, splattering his stomach and the waist of his sweatpants and all over your adorable little panties. 

“Shit-” 

Shallow, shaky breaths, still seeing stars popping behind his eyelids. Fuck, he hasn’t cum that hard in- well, a very long time. Is it the thought of having something tangible soon? His very own cunt to abuse? Grinning, he looks down at the absolutely drenched pair in his hand, sticky with fresh seed.

He thinks so.

Instinctively, he wipes the excess off his fingers and onto his dirty, rumpled black sheets, swiping across his shirt and his skin. Just another ‘mystery spot’ among the rest, soon to become a crusty, flaked white stain on the fabric among all the preexisting ones.

With some effort on his part, he sits up, still trying to catch his breath. He thought post orgasm clarity might deter him from this path, but if anything, he’s even more determined now. Why should he sit and touch himself in a dark room when there’s a perfectly good set of holes to fuck wandering around freely outside?

Oh yeah, this should work out just fine.

There’s a knock on the door while he’s still wading through his gross thoughts, softly at first but then slightly more insistent. It jolts him alert, irritating him that he’s being bothered when he’s scheming. He’s already finished the dirty dead, all ready to put himself away for now but it’s still jarring none the less when someone comes around so closely to him wanking. A quick dash at the clock tells him it’s not dinner time yet, so what gives? Why are you bothering him now? Nothing is ready yet.

He tucks himself away and quickly buries your soiled underwear in the pocket of his sweats. Quickly wiping any remnants on the knees of his pants before swinging his door open, agitation palpable as he greets your stupid, sunny face.

Speak of the she-devil.

“Hi, Tomura! Just wondering if you have any laundry or anything you want me to take!” “N-”  He’s about to slam the door. About to. But you know what? You want his laundry? Sure. He’s got some for you.  “Yeah- yeah, sure.” 

He steps back from behind the door, letting it creak open a little as he rips off his freshly re-soiled sheets.

“Oh, good! Yeah, I’m throwing in my own so I’ll take your load too-“

Yeah you will.

Balling it up, he chucks it at you as you curiously peek your head in. You’ve never seen the inside of his room, but soon you’ll see plenty. He doesn’t know if you can feel the fresh cum on the sheets, but he’s willing to bet you can probably smell it. To your credit, you barely falter, even with the sheet cradled in your bare arms.

You’re probably having a moment of “understanding.” ‘He’s a young man with no girlfriend and no other outlet. Of course he’s going to wack off’ and all that. It’s cute, the way you pretend not to notice. That’s okay, he’ll give you something you can’t ignore.

He steps up to the door again, yanking his black shirt over his head and dropping it in your arms with a shit eating grin.

“Oh- okay, yeah-“

Your sentence halts completely as he starts to strip off his pants and you’re left staring in slight horror as your stepson strips down to his boxers in front of you before placing his sweats on the top of the pile you’re carrying- right by your face.

“I’ve got some more dirty boxers if you think you can handle anymore.” He’s grinning like a fiend, reveling in your poorly concealed discomfort as he leans against the doorframe, swinging out towards you. You’re backing away from him, desperately trying to keep your eyes up and away from his very exposed body, and especially the half hard cock tenting the front of his boxers. Your face is turning a viciously dark shade, stifling your breathing because he just knows what you’re refusing to see, you can almost certainly smell.

“Um- nope! This should be a full one! I’ll get them back to you soon!”

“Oh, take your time. No rush.” 

You scurry off down the hall much quicker than your usual casual walk, probably to scrub your arms clean with iron wool. Poor little thing, just trying to be nice and this is what it gets you.

He cackles something fierce as he shuts his door again, going to look for your ruined panties to post a pic but remembering they’re still in the pocket of his sweatpants, covered in his cum and saliva. A fun little surprise for you to find when you go through pockets to ensure nothing gets stuck in the washer.

And he notices, in the coming days, you stop leaving your clothes in the hamper- or even being able to meet his eyes.

Oh, this should be fun.

[hedgyhog-lawly]

Nothing fancy just a lil fic I quickly wrote for Valentine's Day and wanted to share here (originally posted on Ao3 under the same name as here :)

Note : Ok so I wanted to write a cute lil fic for Valentine's Day... Here it is XD Don't mind the poor writing, I started to write this the 13th at 8pm,went to sleep like an hour and a half after, continued to write the 14th between my school lessons and finished the 15th in the morning in the bus to go to school and before starting classes sooo yea xD (yes imma blame my not so good writing on a lack of time even tho I could've started earlier or posted it later, shhh XD). So uh ye, enjoy I guess xD and don't get your hopes too high LMAO - ALSOOO I got the idea from a rp I did in the Servamp amino and I used stuff from that rp ^^ last thing- I know my paragraphs are shit lmaooo I didn't feel like spending too much time separating them oops, but I promise I'll try better next time xD

Summary:

It's Valentine's Day, and Hyde has a date. But what would happen if that girl didn't show up? What if Licht was the one to come, and what if Hyde had it all planned from the start?

A random hotel in Japan, 13th of February

Licht was playing piano, as usual. And Hyde was laying on his bed, bored, so bored. Initially, he had decided to listen to Licht's music, but the violent teen's temper (and Hyde's habit of teasing him about pretty much everything) had resulted in a fight between the two, which caused a lot of kicks aimed at the vampire , and resulted in Hyde being kicked out of the room by Licht with an angry "Don't you dare come in here again or I'll kick you through the window!". Rude. Hyde was only trying to entertain himself, after all! Since the pianist seemed to be unable to do anything but play,leaving him forced to stay around, it was only fair for him to use Licht for his entertainment!

He sighed, shifting to look out of the window at the town. Since he's been kicked out, he had already grown bored of his other usual occupations, and the only thing left was looking outside, spying on the people that were doing interesting stuff. Well, maybe not *that*interesting stuff, but at least more interesting than what he was doing, he thought with a sigh.

As he was looking at the people, he let his mind wander. The streets were prettier than usual, many shops seemed to offer discounts and a lot of people seemed in a hurry. He tilted his head, wondering why. Did he forget about some stupid holidays…? He continued to look at the streets and the people, a bit confused, before it hit him, his eyes widening. Valentine's Day, how could he forget! Well, it's not like he had someone to spend that day with…. He hummed, going back to watching the streets, silencing his thoughts about how it would've been nice to have someone, and that it could be a nice moment. No, Valentine's Day was stupid, like Licht would probably say. Not that he cared about Licht's opinion on the matter, though! He definitely didn't.

He was lost in thoughts, still watching. People outside seemed to have fun… not fair. He wanted to have fun as well! But when you're alone, sometimes, whatever you try to do, it's not fun. It's not like he can ask Licht, this stupid angel is always locked with his piano, though thinking about it, Licht is the one who needs to go out, more than Hyde does, even if he's bored out of his mind. After a bit, the sides of his lips curled into a smile. Yeah, Licht *really* needs to go out. And since Hyde is so *generous*, he'll help him. He sat up, trying to think. How could he make Licht go out? He thought, still absent-mindly looking at the street. Then, his smile widened. The perfect occasion to make Licht leave his piano was before his eyes, in the street! Valentine's Days… He'll need a bit of thinking to find a reason, but he'll find something. After all, it's not like he lacks time.

~Several hours later, in Crantz's hotel room~

[...] "See, Crantz, that's why you need to help me! Licht needs to spend some time outside, don't you think?!"

Crantz listened to him, a slight smile on his lips "So you want my help to set you a Valentine's Day date with Licht, that's it?" Hyde's brows furrowed and he said loudly "No, absolutely not! I just think he needs to see the outside world more so he won't go even crazier than he already is, and since he won't go out by himself, won't listen to me, and that Valentine's Day is right around the corner, it's the perfect logical plan!" Crantz hummed "and the only way you thought of to make him go out was to fake being forgotten by your date so Licht would pity you and come instead not to leave you alone?"

Hyde shrugged, nodding "It did sound like a pretty nice plan when I thought about it."

"what if he doesn't care and says it's well deserved?"

"he won't want to miss an opportunity to make fun of me" he rolled his eyes

Crantz laughed and nodded, and with that it was settled; he'd help Hyde, for the sake of making Licht see the outside world and… because he's seen something in Hyde, something that maybe was worth letting grow, he thought with a smile, as he heard Hyde walking in the music room.

Licht was finally forced to stop playing in the evening, when Crantz forced him to leave the music room to eat a proper meal. He wasn't very happy about it, since he'd decided to practice the whole evening. After the meal, Crantz said that he needed to "talk" to him. Licht sighed, expecting another lecture on how he should focus on other things than the piano or how he should try and get along better with Hyde, so he was rather surprised when Crantz mentioned Valentine's Day, saying that it was soon. He frowned, wondering why Crantz would want to talk about that, and didn't answer, looking at him with a raised brow. Crantz hummed, trying "Anyway.. Did you know that Hyde had a Valentine? He's going on a date". Licht's face stayed neutral but he internally frowned. Why the hell would Crantz make him come to say that? He didn't *care * what Hyde was doing on Valentine's Day, or with who! He huffed "What does that have to do with me? I don't care what the shit rat is doing!" Crantz looked around as if to check if anyone was around before answering "She's not coming". A smug smile appeared on Licht's face "Of course. She's realized he's a demon and want nothing to do with him anymore" he replied, seeming a bit too happy about it for someone who didn't care.

"I don't know the reason, but she's more likely not coming, that's why… I need you to do something. Can you go in place of that girl? If he's left alone on Valentine's Day because his date didn't show up, we won't see the end of it, and I want to have a bit of peace ". Licht frowned, processing the information" You want me to go on a date with him on Valentine's Day? What the hell, Crantz ! " he answered, seemingly disgusted, though the tip of his ears were slightly pink. Crantz shook his head" Well, it's more… saving him so he doesn't stay alone? I understand, you're thinking that it'll be embarrassing for you if the girl eventually shows up… "

Licht scoffed" If she shows up, I'll make her leave! "

Crantz grinned and Licht immediately added with a frown" as an angel, I can't let a human be fooled by that demon. That's why I'll come. To protect the girl if she comes. "

Crantz hid his laughters and nodded, then starting to explain to Licht all he needed to know about the hour the place…

Licht was sitting on his bed, frowning. So low of that demon to try and corrupt an innocent girl on Valentine's Day! He'll make him regret that, regardless of whether the girl was to come. He spent the rest of the evening talking about it, probably angrier than he should've been.

~~~~

Valentine's Day, in the morning

Hyde woke up early in the morning, in a good mood. It would be a good day, he felt it. He did everything he had to do, humming happily. On the other hand, Licht was in a bad mood. He was annoyed by the fact Hyde had a date, and even more annoyed that such an unimportant thing could bother him. 'is it really that unimportant though?' whispered a voice at the back of his mind, but he ignored it. Of course it wasn't important. Hyde could date anyone, he didn't care! The only reason he did would be to be sure he didn't trick innocent people into dating him, that's all.' is it the only reason?' he huffed. Of course it was. He rolled his eyes, even more annoyed than before, and left his room, hoping to stop thinking about dumb stuff.

During the day, Licht was particularly mean with Hyde, snapping at him and kicking way more often. And of course, Hyde, seeing that Licht seemed pissed off, couldn't resist annoying him even more. In the earlier afternoon, surprisingly, Licht left his piano, apparently planning to leave the hotel. Hyde, rather surprised, asked where he was going but was only answered with a "An angel doesn't need to tell where he goes to a demon. If you follow me I'll break your bones." Hyde smiled at the usual threat but decided not to follow him. After all, he'll see him enough in the evening, he thought with a slight smile.

Licht was in town, going from shop to shop,searching for a present to Hyde. Since he would show up to his date, he had to bring him a present. And since he was an angel, it had to be a nice present. That was the only reason why he'd been searching for some hours now. Not because he wanted to buy something nice for Hyde, or because he wanted to comfort him for being left alone. Of course not, that demon deserved it, he thought, frowning at the thought that Hyde had a date with someone else. He eventually stopped by a nice Caffè and decided to relax there for a bit, ordering some pastries.

He relaxed while eating, his mind wandering. He didn't really know what to buy for Hyde… What did that shit rat even like beside Shakespeare and being annoying-? He hummed, thinking. Usually, for Valentine's Day, people bought stuff like chocolate or sweets… He could buy Hyde chocolate, too. He frowned, remembering the chocolate boxes he'd seen: red and pink, heart shaped with ribbons,... Too lovey-dovey. And Hyde would tease him *forever* if he were to gift him such a thing. Though he'll probably appreciate it, given how cheesy he was, he thought, unconsciously smiling. He shrugged, deciding that he'll buy chocolate here. After all, they were pretty good. And he would know, he was eating one right now. And the bonus was, the box wouldn't scream 'see it's a heart-shaped box because you have my heart!'. He quietly finished eating and bought a chocolate box for Hyde, then going back to the hotel.

Hyde's been excited the whole day, looking forward to the "date" with Licht, even if he wouldn't admit it to anyone. No, he was just being a good Servamp by helping his eve relax, that's it! He was pacing in his room, wishing time would go faster. Meanwhile, Licht was in his own room, trying to work on a new piece. Trying was the good word, since he wasn't really able to concentrate. Thoughts at the back of his mind were preventing him from fully concentrating on his music. As usual, it was Hyde's fault ;it was what Licht told himself, despite Hyde not even being in the same room. But it was Hyde's fault anyway, since he was the one Licht couldn't stop thinking about. Or more precisely, his date. He didn't like the thought of Hyde wanting to date people, he thought, frowning. Why so? He asked himself. Licht wasn't one to hesitate or not get what he wanted, that's why he eventually put his notebook away, scanning his mind, willing to understand exactly what was bothering him and what he could do to feel peaceful again.

~~~

In the evening, at the restaurant

Hyde was sitting at the table, waiting. Crantz confirmed that Licht had accepted, but Hyde knew it was still possible that he wouldn't come. He was nervously fidgeting, starting to think it maybe wasn't a good idea. Even if Licht was to come, what was he supposed to do then? It would be awkward…. He sighed. He should've thought about it earlier. It was a bad idea.

Licht was in front of the restaurant, looking at Hyde. As Crantz said, the girl wasn't there and Hyde was alone at the table, looking nervous. He stayed there for some time, looking at him. He was wearing quite formal clothes, and his hair was styled. Eventually, he came in and walked to the table,but Hyde didn't immediately notice him. Licht frowned slightly, standing in front of the table. He eventually lightly kicked Hyde's leg "Your date isn't going to come, but this angel came so you wouldn't look too miserable, left alone on Valentine's Day". Hyde looked up at him and forced a smile "What do you mean, Lichtan~ ? She's obviously just late". He rolled his eyes "Cut the act, demon. You look shitty" his smile dropped and he shrugged "If you came here to 'save' me, you shouldn't be insulting me, y'know". Licht huffed, calling for the waiter with a swift motion "whatever. Be glad I'm gracing you with my presence, hedgehog." he then turned to the waiter, ordering food then making the waiter leave. Hyde pouted, complaining "You didn't even let me order!". The teen glared at him "Whatever. A demon like you doesn't deserve nice food." he then went silent until his food was brought, starting to eat.

Licht was quietly eating, appearing slightly bored and annoyed. In reality, he didn't know what to do. His interactions with Hyde usually always led to a fight, and it wasn't often that he actually had to talk to him. After all, Hyde should be the one making the conversation, since it was his fault that Licht was there, he stubbornly thought. Hyde was fidgeting, uneasy. For once, he really wanted to try and talk with Licht, have fun with him. But Licht glare was making him feel stressed, and it's like his brain was slowly disintegrating.

Licht's food was finished and he called the waiter again, ordering a dessert, once more not caring about letting Hyde order. He once more complained when the waiter left, but was immediately silenced when Licht threw a little box at him. He barely caught it, surprised. His eyes widened and he looked alternatively at Licht then at the box. "W-what is that?"

"You're supposed to give gifts on Valentine's Day, aren't you?" he shrugged

Hyde stared at the box, eyes wide

Licht's brows furrowed and he leaned over, as to take the box back "I'll just take it back if you don't want it, shit rat"

He shook his head, holding the box "I-I'll keep it!"

He looked down at the box, carefully opening it, smiling when he saw the chocolate. He noticed a little card and took it, laughing slightly when he read the words on it, that were saying 'for the lonely shit rat that can't even get a date'. He looked at Licht "So mean" he said, but he was smiling. Licht shrugged "That's true. And if she did come, I would've made her leave, so that you wouldn't have been able to trick her demon". Hyde grinned "Trick her? Don't be like that, Lichtan~ I didn't trick anybody, girls just loove me~!" he was very surprised by Licht's gift and was still uneasy, so he used the one thing he always did with Licht, tease him, in hope it would at least initiate a conversation between them. Not really a smart decision, but Hyde unfortunately didn't realize it. He went on to continue talking about how popular he was and things like that, and the more he talked the more Licht was pissed off. He quickly ate his dessert, the sweet taste of the strawberry shortcake replaced by bitterness and anger, until he just couldn't take it anymore. He stand up, eyes glowing with anger, his half finished dessert on the table "I'm finished, I'm leaving. Meet me outside if you're not a coward." he said coldly, promptly leaving, anger palpable in his steps. Hyde blinked, surprised, before a shiver ran through his body. He fucked up, he really did.

Licht was waiting outside, angry. He came here so that Hyde wouldn't be ridiculous by being left alone on Valentine's Day, he even got him a gift, and all that stupid demon did was complain and talk about popular he was with girls, could you fucking believe it?! If he'd stayed longer, he probably would've smashed his head into the table, he thought angrily. Hyde shouldn't have done that, especially when Licht has just realized that very day that he liked him. As in, more than he thought he ever would, in a special way; he loved him. And he has decided to confess, that's why he told him to meet him outside instead of simply leaving.

Hyde was walking out of the restaurant, a bit stressed about the reason why Licht would tell him to meet him outside. He took a deep breath and opened the door, trying to silence his thoughts. Licht was standing outside, waiting. He looked at Hyde with sharp eyes "What do you think Valentine's Day means, shit rat ?"

He blinked, surprised by the question, but answered anyway "It's a day to celebrate our loved ones and spend time with them"

"I came here to help you, stupid demon. But if you wanted a real Valentine's Day you should've said so and just leave, at least I wouldn't have had to endure such a shitty evening" he huffed

Hyde shook his head "N-no, I appreciate that you came to help me, really- And what do you even mean by 'a real Valentine's Day?'"

"with someone you like, rotten hedgehog. I have no regrets, but do you?" he narrowed his eyes. This was basically his first attempt at confessing, implying he didn't have any regrets because he'd spent this evening with a loved one: Hyde.

"Even if my date didn't come, it wasn't that bad of an evening" he joked, totally missing Licht's confession.

Licht stayed quiet for some time before saying "an angel doesn't fall in love with a demon. Do you know why?"

Hyde shrugged "I don't. After all, there is no reasons not to so"

Licht glared at him "It's because demons are dumb, low, half-hearted, shy away from important things and trick people. An angel is a pure being with pure feelings. Will you once more act like a demon?"

Hyde was staring at him, lost. What the hell was Licht on-?

He frowned, kicking him when he saw he didn't answer " Do not take my feelings lightly, shit rat! "

He slowly blinked, parroting "Your.. .feelings? "

Licht didn't answer and looked at him with piercing eyes

Hyde gasped, finally understanding, and his body moved, as if without his control, and he pulled Licht into a tight hug

Licht stiffened but didn't move, about to ask him why he did that and remind him that he still had to answered, but he didn't, words leaving his mind when Hyde whispered "I love you Lichtan"

His eyes widened and he said with a small voice "You…?"

Hyde nodded, still hugging him close "I do. Sorry for acting dumb the whole evening…"

Licht frowned "What about that girl then? Why did you plan a date with someone else if you love me, demon?"

Hyde stayed quiet for a moment then looked up at him "... There was no girl"

Licht frowned, confused, and Hyde added "It was all part of a plan I'd set up to have a Valentine's Day date with you" he said cheeks heating, and Licht felt an agreeable warmth settling in his chest "maybe you're not that bad of a demon, after all…" he looked at him with a slight smile, his icy eyes warming up. They looked at each other for some time, then Licht moved closer, softly kissing Hyde, moving away immediately after, face dusted a light pink " Let's go back at the hotel, this suit is uncomfortable"

Hyde was grinning happily, feeling butterflies "It makes you look even more handsome~"

Licht huffed but his cheek reddened "Shut up"

Hyde giggled and grabbed Licht's hand, going quiet

Licht smiled slightly, squeezing his hand "You better buy me a Valentine's gift, demon"

"I will"

ALRIGHT THAT'S IT HOPE U ENJOYED IT AT LEAST A LITTLE BYYYE

[whomst-art-thou-whomst-whomst]

Texts from The Lost Tomb, part 3

I didn’t mean for this to stray into angst but like the lack of updates with Li Cu in LTR?? I had to do it to em.

Wushanju Crew Chat, 11:05pm

Li Cu: what’s up losers I’m outside

Li Cu: someone come on and open the damn door

Wang Meng: Language:(

Li Cu: fine, someone come on and open the damn door please

Snake Eyes Chat, 7:00am

Wu Xie: hey are you awake? Sorry I missed you coming in:) was finishing up some work. How was the end of your first semester? Did that geology paper go well? Did the food budget work out or do you need some extra money next semester?

Li Cu: yeah about your work

Li Cu: heard a little rumor

Li Cu: about you going through some stuff during ur recent trip

Li Cu: some stuff you maybe forgot to mention

Li Cu: and you told me we gotta check in with stuff, so this is me checking in, okay

Wu Xie: oh? What stuff?

Li Cu: idk just like

Li Cu: THE STUFF WITH YOU ALMOST FUCKING DYING FOR FUCKING MONTHS AND THE WAREHOUSE SHIT AND ERJING AND PEOPLE HURT YOU AND WHAT THE FUCK IS A THUNDER CITY AND NOONE FUCKING CALLED ME ABT THOSE PARTS ONCE

Wu Xie: oh. That stuff.

Li Cu: yeah asshat I’m in the kitchen whenever you’re ready to explain your fucking bullshit. Also you’re out of milk wtf how am I supposed to make breakfast here

Main Chat, 11:14am

Wu Xie: okay so it’s possible I fucked up a little bit.

Wang Pangzi: THERES JUST SO MUCH YOU COULD BE REFERRING TO I DONT KNOW WHERE TO START

Zhang Qiling: What’s wrong?

Honorary Wu Chat, 11:30am

Wang Pangzi: KID IM SO SORRY THAT PUNK IS A TRAINWRECK BUT YOU KNEW THAT

Wang Meng: Welcome home, Li Cu <3 not much has changed, ultimately.

Wang Pangzi: IT DIDNT EVEN OCCUR TO ME THAT HE WOULDNT TELL YOU EVERYTHING ABOUT IT ONCE THE REST OF US FIGURED IT OUT

WAIT HOW DID YOU FIND OUT

Li Cu: it’s okay. not your fault, uncle. Doesn’t matter how I found out. Wait wait hold on what do you mean “the rest of us figured it out” who figured it out

Wang Pangzi: SAY HELLO LIU SANG

Liu Sang: …hello.

Wang Pangzi: SAY MORE THAN THAT.

Liu Sang: uh…so you’re Wu Xie’s protégé, huh?

Li Cu: oh well howdy there homewrecker

Liu Sang: Excuse me??

Zhang Qiling: I think someone on the roof is calling me and I should go find out.

Wang Meng: I would also very much like to be removed from this conversation.

Wang Pangzi: AHAHAHAHA KIDDO IVE MISSED YOU

Li Cu: all I’m saying is aren’t you the little creep who’s obsessed with Xiao Ge

Liu Sang: ???

Zhang Qiling: Li Cu is referring to a brief period of irrational thought on Wu Xie’s part, where he mistakenly believed you to be a threat to our relationship.

Liu Sang: what do you mean a threat??

Wang Pangzi: WHAT DO YOU MEAN TIANZHEN HAD “A BRIEF PERIOD OF IRRATIONAL THOUGHT”

YOUVE MET YOUR HUSBAND RIGHT

Wang Meng: can you please take me off this chat.

Liu Sang: Wait, so Wu Xie told you about me, but…reading between the lines, he didn’t mention the cancer or anything bad that happened? Oh yikes.

Li Cu: don’t change the subject “Liu Sang”

if that is your real name

Like yeah you’re right abt it but still

just saying

heard you got good ears but I’ve got snake powers

kinda

so like no more funny business okay you superhearing harlot

Wang Meng: LANGUAGE, LI CU. IN THIS HOUSE WE SHOW GOOD MANNERS.

Wang Pangzi: LMAO OH DO WE NOW

Zhang Qiling: Li Cu, this is all unnecessary and childish. Please apologize.

Li Cu: you say that now bruh but apparently you weren’t complaining when he was all “idol this” and “idol that”

oh and hey Wang Meng while we’re here can I show you my business class grade report later bc Wu Xie is all “what matters is that you learned and enjoyed the experience” blah blah all eat pray love you know how he gets and I want to actually discuss areas to improve so that when I take over this joint I do better than Wu Xie? Tho that shouldnt be hard lol

Wang Meng: hurtful but accurate. I’ll bring my best red pen:)

Liu Sang: oh my god. I’m too jetlagged to keep up with any of this.

Wang Pangzi: BEST. DAY. EVER. IM SCREENSHOTTING THIS FOR HEI XIAZI.

Not A Homewrecker Chat, 11:52am

Liu Sang: Okay, we started off on the wrong foot.

Li Cu: I agree let’s start over

Start with how your little prank game almost got ppl killed

Liu Sang: And I seriously regret that. But we moved past that.

Wow, he seriously skipped over so much bullshit but didn’t skimp on mine, huh.

Li Cu: AHA so you ADMIT IT

Liu Sang: I’d like to think I’ve grown since then. That I’ve come to see Xiao Ge as a person and mentor, rather than an idol. I count Pangzi and Wu Xie as my close friends. I’m going to be staying here with them right now, I hope you can be okay with that.

Li Cu: see in my head you were going to be a lot less mature about it and I had a bunch of great follow-up insults planned

Liu Sang: I figured. I’d like us to be friends, though. Or at least not enemies.

Li Cu: okay but only bc you don’t know me yet so you won’t judge too much for this and I need to get this out to somebody I’ve been thinking about it for hours and my friends are still in finals and I’m stressing a little bit maybe

Liu Sang: ?

Li Cu: I yelled at dad

*Wu Xie sorry autocorrect

Liu Sang: …uh huh.

Li Cu: I yelled at him earlier. for keeping all that stuff from me. He started crying

Liu Sang: Wu Xie has been pretty emotional since we got back. Not necessarily your fault.

Li Cu: I made him cry right there at the kitchen sink and it felt like maybe the worst thing I’ve ever done

Snake venom and stabbings, no tears

Me saying I wouldn’t have gone to his funeral, all tears

Which I know was shitty to say but I was really mad

Liu Sang: If it’s any consolation, I think Wu Xie can understand the concept of being led by his emotions to make bad decisions…better than most people.

Li Cu: Xiao Ge came in then and looked weird

Like weirder than usual

Like he didn’t know which of us to be more mad at

Liu Sang: A common problem for the iron triangle, I understand.

Li Cu: I just ran out I didn’t have words right then and I feel stupid

but whenever they come back from their walk I’m gonna say sorry and stuff bc i could’ve come home to his funeral and I’m mad about it but also like. I could have come home to his funeral. I can get mean when I’m in a freakout mood. It’s not like I was scared or anything at all I don’t get scared really anymore ever but just like. Freaked out.

Liu Sang: He’s probably going to say sorry, too.

Li Cu: sorry I called you a homewrecker. Didn’t mean to slut-shame either

Liu Sang: I admit that after the initial shock, it was pretty funny. Super hearing harlot, it should be on my business card;)

Li Cu: this situation with Wu Xie is weird but kinda good ya know. And I have these freakouts sometimes that something maybe bad could happen to this situation. So consider this a shovel talk. But like, also not a shovel talk at the same time.

also I appreciate you saving his life and whatnot

Liu Sang: Noted. Now. Coffee?

Li Cu: sounds sick.

Be in the kitchen in 10. You can pick out what we watch for the household tv show tonight. no way is Wu Xie choosing some dry documentary about gravestone rubbings again. Pangzi just watches real housewives reruns and Xiao Ge won’t watch tv after he caught the last half hour of A Walk To Remember. Also i need my phone now to send some $ to Hei Xiazi since I owe him for…providing some intel

Liu Sang: Not even surprised.