#Finally made more Carmine art

[kukkakisu]

"Swim away, little fish."

[camilaxmartin]

Sorry to send another request! But this one is for Carmilla instead of Rosie. Maybe Zestial could introduce his friend or sister to Carmilla and she sticks around after meetings to chat/flirt with her? You can make as many changes as you like! I hope you're well x

beautiful?

navigation // rules // masterlist

summary: literally the request beside the fact i made it only about one of their meetings, zestial!friend!reader

warnings: make out session, cursing but i’m not so sure abt it

notes: I WAS SO SCARWS ABOUT THIS ONE BUT EVENTUALLY I LOVE HOW IT TURNED OUT!! hope you don’t mind i made them like this already on the first meeting but it just kinda happened:)

requests: open!!

you were a good friend of zestial for… as long as you can remember honestly. you two were always understanding each other and literally wherever he went, you went as well. when hell started gaining more and more overlords you two became sort of friends with alastor and always looked forward to meeting up with that strange deer man. the only person you haven’t actually met was carmilla carmine, zestial wanted you to meet her many times already but fate wanted it that you always had something else planned while he was meeting with her. at some point he started wondering if you just didn’t want to meet her but you reassured him that when another meeting with all the overlords will be thrown, you’ll go with him and finally meet her.

and there we were.

the day of the meeting.

you were running through the darkness of the cave looking for something to wear feeling your anxiety rising up more than it has usually. you groaned finding an old and dirty dress throwing it away and running to another hall of the cave in a search for something at least acceptably good. zestial appeared from the shadows next to you scaring you to your second death as he slowly tilted his head watching you.

“i’ve told you a milion times not to do that!” you groaned punching his legs as it was the only thing of his body that you could reach. his smiled widened at you as he looked around noticing the mess you’ve made in both of yours house. you knew each other so long there wasn’t a reason for you to split into separate homes when this cave was big enough for more than you two. zestial didn’t even flinch at your punch and his eyes started glowing more.

“what’s the problem lief? wherefore art thee in such a sweaty haste?” he asked as his smile widened even more like he already knew the answer. you groaned again and shook your head.

“i don’t have anything presentable to wear. i don’t want to be overdressed but also underdressed. it’s an overlords meeting after all. it’s been a while since i’ve been to one” you explained and groaned once more as zestial gently put one of his hands onto your shoulder.

“don’t thee w'rry, whatev'r thee weareth shall beest fine. nay one actually pays attention to what we’re wearing” he said softly and squeezed your shoulder gently, smiling down at you. you grabbed his hand with yours and smiled to him as well. zestial then narrowed his four eyes slightly and his smile turned into more of a smirk. “and t won’t affect carmilla’s first impression of thee” he added and you pushed his hand away noticing his implication.

“oh stop! i don’t want to impress her i just… you’ve told me so many amazing things about her what she is and what not and i don’t want to make a fool out of myself in front of her… or anyone! for that matter” you mumbled and zestial laughed softly at your words shaking his head as he walked over to a huge wardrobe in the room you two were talking in.

“you’ll beest fine. if 't be true you’ll alloweth me i wouldst chooseth this f'r the present day.” he said taking out one of your dresses that was more on the comfortable side than the presentable one. “carmilla shall appreciateth thy professionalism” he added and smiled at the mention of his friend. you rolled your eyes at him and grabbed the dress out of his hand looking at it while tilting your head.

“you really think i should choose this one?” you asked and he just nodded his head disappearing into the shadows again to give you some privacy to change. you groaned but decided to go with his choice, picking out some accessories for it, to try and make it look less plain.

you sighed looking at your reflection on the cave’s wall as it was made from clear quartz. you smiled to yourself and chuckled actually enjoying how you finally looked. zestial appeared behind you and smiled at your sight as well looking you up and down.

“thee behold ravishing, the lady shall loveth to meeteth thee” he said and took out his hand for you to hold as you needed to leave the cave now not to be late. with a wide smile, you took his hand and let him lead you out of the cave, grabbing some jacket on your way out so you wouldn’t get cold later.

you two met up with alastor on your way to the carmine’s property. alastor greeted you both with a wide smile (as usual) and complimented your outfit stating that he’s surprised you’d even dress up for something like this. maybe it wasn’t a full compliment after all, but you decided not to worry about him, after all he’s always been like that. as you reached the top floor, you were met with other overlords gathering for the meeting as well. rosie almost immediately walked over to alastor as she gave you a soft smile.

you smiled back and walked with zestial to the room in which the meeting was about to take place. zestial sat down in a chair close to the projector and you sat down next to him, alastor being on your other side. you started fidgeting with your fingers a bit waiting for the meeting to start and zestial put one of his hands onto yours trying to keep you calm.

as the meeting finally began you saw a demoness walking into the room with two smaller ones on both of her sides. your eyes immediately noticed her huge horns which only after starring at them for a while looked more like hair than actual horns. one of the girls that walked with her tilted her head noticing you sitting where you had, but she just shrugged it off and sat down next to the other one without making a scene about it. you almost didn’t catch it as you were still starring at the beautiful demoness in front of you. she had a stoic expression on her face as her eyes scanned the room and noticed you and zestial. her head tilted slightly yet her expression changed into a more pleasant one as she walked over to zestial.

“glad you’re here” she said to him with a smile as he gave her one back. you tried to stay calm.

“always a pleasure, carmilla” he responded and her smile widened even more. her eyes then moved onto you and literally read you off of your face yet she didn’t utter a word to you. her face went back to that stoic peace as she started the meeting explaining why she gathered all of you together and what were her new plans for hell.

when the meeting was finally done all of the overlords started leaving the room, leaving only you, zestial, carmilla and her daughters in it. carmilla was gathering all her notes from the table while her daughters were turning off the projector when zestial stood up and signalled for you to do the same. you quickly stood up and fixed your dress a bit as he smiled at you and then slowly walked over to carmilla’s side. you just watched him, standing behind the chair you were previously sitting in.

“carmilla, this is the lady i did want thee to meeteth f'r so longeth” he said and she immediately left her notes alone as her head turned to you with w soft smile on her face. “y/n, carmilla. carmilla, y/n” he said and moved away a bit so she could walk to you.

carmilla almost immediately walked towards you and stood before you taking out her hand for you to shake. which you immediately did praying to whoever was listening you that your palm wasn’t sweaty. “a pleasure to finally meet you dear” she said while shaking your hand and smiling to you wider than she’s before. you smiled back trying not to look too excited as you squeezed her hand softly in the handshake.

“the pleasures all mine, after all i should’ve met you long time ago” you said with a soft chuckle and she nodded with a remaining smile. her daughters watched the interaction with curiosity while zestial started smiling at the two demons noticing their curious gaze.

“better late than never” she chuckled and finally let go of your hand as she looked over to her daughter’s signalling that they’re free to go. the pair smiled to her and left in a hurry definitely having something planned for their time already. zestial caught your gaze and smiled softly to you, in a way that was supposed to show you he was right about not needing to stress about the outfit. you rolled your eyes at him yet carmilla was the first to catch it, as she chuckled softly and then looked over to zestial.

“do you two want to stay a while? we can do some catching up” she said mostly having zestial in her mind. you shrugged at her words and nodded not having anything else planned for the evening and expected zestial to do the same, but you were so wrong.

“sadly i can’t carmilla. ive did promise alast'r id seeth that gent aft'r the meeting.” liar. you knew he didn’t have any plans for tonight. you eyed him up and down but he chose to ignore your gaze. “but y/n already did agree so thee won’t beest b'r'd” he added and nodded to carmilla as a goodbye while walking over to the door.

carmilla frowned a bit not knowing about what exactly was she supposed to be talking with you while her friend wasn’t there but she definitely wasn’t going to throw you out as you’ve already agreed to stay with her. zestial smirked to you while he was leaving and you swore, you’d kill him when you get back home later tonight.

“we can get to know each other��� carmilla said with a forced smile as she sighed and gathered her notes again. you started fidgeting with your fingers again.

“it’s okay if you want me to go, i understand you meant mostly for zestial to stay with you” you said as you looked at her and started noticing more and more of the details of her face the more you were staring at her. she sighed at your words but shook her head no, taking all the notes into her huge hands.

“there’s no need” she said waving one of her hands as the other kept all the notes from falling out of her grab. “i’m sure we can think something out as i’ve already asked you too to stay” she said and walked over to one of the door turning her head back to you waiting for you to follow her.

you almost immediately followed her and she hummed opening the door to her office and keeping it open for you to come in as well. you gave her a quick ‘thank you’ as you walked in, and she nodded her head closing the door behind you. carmilla walked over to her desk and dropped all the papers onto her desk as she walked over to her chair next and sat down in it with a loud grunt from her throat, closing her eyes. after a second she opened them to notice you still standing next to the door as she moved her hand pointing to the chairs in front of her desk, telling you that you can have a sit. you smiled to her and immediately went to sit down as well.

carmilla closed her eyes again and moved one of her hands to stroke her forehead as if her head was burning. you tilted you head slightly.

“are you stressed?” you asked out of the blue and carmilla opened her eyes softly, looking at you halfy confused and intrigued with why would you ask her that.

“a bit” she responded and sighed, not keeping her profesional posture anymore as she got more comfortable in her seat. you smiled uncontrollably seeing her being comfortable around you enough to let herself loosen the straight up persona.

“what is bothering you?” you asked and carmilla scoffed waving her other hand in the air and rolling her eyes as she whispered something in spanish under her breath. you bit your lip looking at her trying to figure out if you should let her be or dig a bit deeper. “i know a few ways to relax” you said and carmilla chuckled at your words as she looked at your rather playfully. only after a moment you realised how your sentence sounded and chuckled as well, rolling your eyes in a more of a relaxed manner.

“and what would they be?” carmilla asked as she took her hand away from her forehead and continued looking at you, gently rising one of her eyebrows now as she fixed her composure and the way she was sitting. you decided to shoot your shot, it was hell after all, what’s the worst that can happen?

“you know, some people relax while having a massage, other prefer partying out their worries” you said as you moved your hands with your words, carmilla’s eyes noticing every small move of them. “and there’s people who say pleasure is also a good way to take away the stress” you added with a small smirk and carmilla started laughing as she put her hands on the desk for some support.

“you’re a bold one” she said still laughing and you just shrugged trying to keep the confidence but also wanting to see if this situation can turn into something more.

after she stopped laughing she took a deep breath and let out a deep sigh. “it seems having a good laugh helps as well” she said grinning and watching your whole figure sitting in the chair. you smiled to her uncontrollably and started playing with your fingers again. carmilla’s eyes immediately went down to your hands as she narrowed her brows and she now started to slightly lean over her desk. “don’t do that” she said looking at your hands and it took you a second to realise what she was referring to.

“oh, don’t worry about it” you said a bit nervously as you chuckled, yet carmilla’s gaze wasn’t getting any softer.

“i’m serious” she said and looked up onto your face again “don’t ruin your pretty hands with something as stupid as being nervous” she added and stopped leaning over her desk, leaning her back against her chair. you couldn’t help but catch her words and started smiling to yourself a bit.

“so i have pretty hands?” you asked and carmilla’s eyebrow went up at your question yet her expression stayed stoic. you smirked to her as you noticed her raised eyebrow and waited for her response. yet carmilla didn’t seem to be planning on saying something as she just looked down at all the papers on her desk, suddenly looking for something only with her eyes. you chuckled to yourself as you felt like you’ve stroke a jackpot.

“aren’t you going to respond?” you asked with a soft chuckle as you got up from your seat and walked over closer to her chair. her eyes were on you the whole time like they were always looking for some danger. you smiled more as you noticed her gaze and as you finally walked over to her enough to be standing right next to her chair. carmilla was looking at you a bit suspiciously but some curiosity was dancing in her gaze as well.

“what are you planning on doing now?” she asked as she turned her chair a bit so she was facing you fully now. you giggled and shrugged trying to appear nonchalant. lies, she saw better than that.

“i’m planning on waiting for you response” you chuckle as you put your hands on your hips looking down at her face. “and offering you a scalp massage” you added with a smile and carmilla’s eyes went wide.

“a scalp massage?” she asked a bit confused while narrowing her eyes at you. you chuckled and nodded your head.

“yes, it helps with headaches and stress” you explained and made another step into her direction closing the space between you more and more. “can i?” you asked looking at her pinned up hair.

carmilla bit her lip looking away from you as she closed her eyes and sighed, nodding her head. “yes, yes you can” she said softly and moved one of her hands to her ‘hair’, pulling at the ribbon that was keeping her hair up, pulling it out completely and letting her hair fall down.

you literally felt how your hands started shaking at the sight of her with her hair down and you couldn’t stop staring at her. your eyes roamed her up and down yet mostly they focused on her face and how beautifully the hair was capturing it. she cleared her throat feeling a bit uneasy under your gaze but in a nervous way, not an uncomfortable one. the sound took you down to hell as you smiled dumbly feeling your cheeks blush.

“sorry” you said as you moved your hands onto her head and started slowly slipping your fingers through her hair not even massaging her scull yet. “you just… i just wasn’t prepared to see you like this” you said and chuckled a bit at your own words. carmilla chuckled as well but decided to push her luck.

“like this? what do you mean?” she asked leaning back in her chair a bit more so that you’d need to take another step closer to her. you haven’t noticed she did it on purpose as you made that step closer now standing right between her legs. you looked down at her legs on both sides of yours and your face flushed even more, as you brought your eyes up again looking at the top of her head. carmilla hummed seeing your reaction and her eyes immediately went up to your face.

“you know…” you started as you remembered she’s asked you a question. your hands started to massage her scull finally and she grunted a bit at the feeling making your pink cheeks turn red now. “this… beautiful” you shrugged saying it as nothing else was coming into your mind. carmilla blinked at your words still looking up at your face but with a slight of surprise on her face as well.

“beautiful? you find me beautiful?” she asked sounding generous yet a hint of tease could be heard in her voice. you bit your lip and rolled your eyes making your fingers scratch her scalp a bit now.

“i do” you said nodding your head softly. “when i saw you entering that meeting i couldn’t take my eyes off of you, but when you let your hair down-“ you chuckled and heard her grunting again when your fingers pressed down harder. “i think beautiful is an understatement at this point” you added and laughed as carmilla felt her cheeks blush this time. she covered it up with a chuckle from her as well yet your eyes were able catch her rosy cheeks.

you started massaging her scull more now putting more pressure into it and trying to focus on it rather than on the fact how close you were to her and that she literally had you in her grip. carmilla closed her eyes at some point enjoying the massage and letting out many sounds showing how much she enjoyed your massage. you tried your best not to let them affect you yet your red cheeks were speaking for themselves.

you slipped your fingers through her hair more and more getting to more parts of her scull as carmilla was just sitting there enjoying it. at some point her hands moved from her armrests to your hips to keep you close and mostly, to keep her stable as she needed some grounding. you chuckled at the feeling and continued your ministrations actually enjoying the feeling of her hands on your hips.

suddenly, your fingers got stuck in her hair and you tried to get them out, gently pulling at her hair. you didn’t expect the hair to get so tangled around your finger but something you didn’t expect even more was the moan that left carmilla when you pulled at her hair. her hands gripped your hips a bit as the most beautiful sound you’ve ever heard left her mouth. making both of your cheeks flush, making yours turn from red to maroon. carmilla opened her eyes immediately and looked up at you as her hands were still holding you still at your hips. you looked down at her as well, making eye contact and not controlling the smirk that creeped up onto your face.

“you liked that, huh?” you asked and carmilla looked away her cheeks blushing even more. you chuckled and pulled at her hair again, on purpose this time. she didn’t expect it again and let out a high-pitched groan, bitting down on her lip almost immediately to keep her sounds in.

you smirked wider and made it your mission to pull more of that sounds out from her. carmilla looked up at you again and noticed your smirk knowing well that you were planning something. her hands gripped your hips tighter and you bit your lip as well, fingers dipping into her hair more. carmilla smirked seeing your reaction and closed her legs a bit so that they’d keep you in place, as well as right between them.

she moved her head a bit so she was more looking up at you know, but you were still able to massage her scalp. she looked at you with a smirk and some kind of lazy eyes as the moves of your fingers were playing with her a bit. you chuckled looking down into her eyes and enjoying the feeling of her legs squeezing yours.

“i’m thinking of letting you give me an actual massage” she chuckled and you looked away from her chuckling nervously as well. carmilla licked her lips and gripped your hips tighter her huge hands covering most of your waist.

“if you want it, i’m down” you replied and went back to scratching at her scull. she chuckled but then it turned into a moan when you found another good spot on her head, yet this time she wasn’t hiding the sound anymore. she bit her lip again but continued on softly moaning when your hands kept on massaging her scalp.

after a moment of silence between you two, one of her hand started to slowly move up your body touching your stomach, then your ribs, just so softly tracing the underside of your boob and then going to rest on your shoulder. you bit your lip at the feel of her hand and tried to keep a straight face as you continued on massaging her. carmilla chuckled seeing your reaction as her other hand gripped your hip again. you let out a groan at the feeling and she chuckled, her legs squeezing you once again.

“are you alright?” she asked suddenly and your eyes immediately went to hers. “you look a bit… red” she added with a chuckle and you rolled your eyes playfully at her but when her finger started gently stroking your collarbone you let out a sigh.

“said the one who’s just as red as i am” you replied right back and she smirked enjoying the confidence you were giving her.

“you’re bold, mi cariño” she said and you felt your legs going weak at the spanish nickname. she noticed as well and licked her lips, enjoying her affect on you.

“you seem to like me being bold” you said pushing your fingers a bit harder as she groaned and nodded her head softly, her fingers still tracing your collarbone.

“you have no idea how much” she replied as her hand on your hip started to stroke your body there. you bit your lip again and started to grow more and more impatient. as was she, but you couldn’t have known that.

you softly moved your hands from her hair down to her face and cupped her cheeks looking into her eyes like searching for permission. she smirked seeing your gaze as her hand gripped your hip harder this time, as did her legs.

“what?” she asked knowing exactly what you were asking for not using your words. you rolled your eyes at her question and leaned down a bit your nose almost touching hers now.

“can i kiss you, beautiful?” you asked and carmilla felt her cheeks blush again at the end. she took a deep breath in looking deep into her eyes and stayed silent for a moment just enjoying how the question hang in the air while her hands were touching your body and yours were touching her face.

her gaze softened after a second and she nodded her head. “yes, yes you can” she said and you smiled at her, the smile being the most generous one she’s ever seen in hell.

you moved her face up a bit, touching her nose with yours and you giggled, carmilla closing her eyes at the sound and smiling wide herself. after a second you moved your head down not even by an inch and finally touched her lips with yours.

when your lips finally connected both of her hands gripped your body keeping you close to her as if she was afraid you’d run away. you smiled into the kiss and tried to make it more of a soft one yet the way she was gripping you and the way her legs were squeezing your figure have shown you that she wasn’t in a mood for a soft kiss.

before you could even react her hand on your shoulder moved to your neck and pulled you even more into her, deepening the kiss as she swiftly slipped her tongue into your mouth. you moaned into the kiss and she just smiled fighting with you for dominance which after a while you lost. carmilla moaned as well feeling you finally submissive to her and her hand left your neck going back to your shoulder again.

you moaned again and as you were about to pull away she moved her lips from yours down to your jaw and then to your neck, leaving trails and trails of wet and sloppy kisses there, literally marking you with her black lipstick. you kept on moaning softly, as your hands went back into her hair pulling at it slightly, showing how badly you were enjoying yourself.

carmilla smirked at your reaction as her hand on your hips gripped you again. her mouth suddenly sucked a hickey on your neck and you yelped slightly tugging at her hair more. she moaned at the feeling and started softly nibbling on your neck pulling more and more sounds out of you.

when you two were going at it you haven’t heard the door to her office open, at least not until you heard a thud of something falling down onto the ground. you two immediately opened your eyes and leaned away looking towards the door. you saw both of her daughters standing there and noticed the small pile of papers on the ground as the blonde one must’ve been the one to drop it.

carmilla looked at them sheepishly and chuckled uncomfortably, tying her hair back and trying to act as professional as she could. the two girls shared a look and one of them bent down to grab the papers. after that they both rolled their eyes, one of them more annoyed while the other more amused.

“we will come back later, mom” the blonde one shot as they both walked out of the office shutting the door after them with a rather loud thud.

carmilla started laughing when they left but it was more of an uncomfortable and uncontrollable laugh yet it didn’t stop you from laughing with her as well. her two daughters just caught her sucking your skin off in her office yet for some reason laughing was calming you two down.

after this, you knew that anytime zestial would be meeting with carmilla now you’d definitely come along and maybe… probably… surely you will be meeting up with her now even without your shared friend.

translations:

"what's the problem lief? wherefore art thee in such a sweaty haste?" - “what’s the problem my friend? why are you in such a hurry?”

"don't thee w'rry, whatev'r thee weareth shall beest fine. nay one actually pays attention to what we're wearing" - “don’t worry, whatever you wear will be fine. no one actually pays attention to what we’re wearing”

"and t won't affect carmilla's first impression of thee" - “and it won’t affect carmilla’s first impression of you”

"you'll beest fine. if 't be true you'll alloweth me i wouldst chooseth this f'r the present day." - “you’ll be fine. if you let me, i would choose this for today”

"carmilla shall appreciateth thy professionalism" - “carmilla will appreciate your professionalism”

"thee behold ravishing, the lady shall loveth to meeteth thee" - “you look ravishing, she will love to meet you”

"carmilla, this is the lady i did want thee to meeteth f'r so longeth" - “carmilla this is the friend i wanted you to meet for so long”

“sadly i can’t carmilla. ive did promise alast'r id seeth that gent aft'r the meeting. but y/n already did agree so thee won’t beest b'r'd” - sadly i can’t carmilla. ive promised alastor id see him after the meeting. but y/n already agreed so you won’t be bored

all translations from here!

[tanema123]

Hello this is a little thing I’ve been working on thanks to your Yandere post. Velvette is the Yandere.

"My sweet Carmilla, do not worry I will take you from this nightmare and truly make you mine." Velvette said, smiling from the shadows in Carmilla's closet.

————————————

"Thou art mine tonight, my angel..." He said while a mischievous grin was spreading on his face.

"What do you mean by that...?" Zestial's grin spread wider. He crushed his lips to Carmilla's. He was surprised when she was just as hungry as he was. He rolled over to place her on the bottom of him. God, she was so beautiful! He removed his lips from her mouth and began kissing her neck.

"Zestial!" She felt a sensation in her thighs. Zestial once more began to kiss her lips and his hands began roaming down her waist, feeling the curves of her body. Carmilla could feel him harden which made her blush. He removed his lips from her as he slowly began to pull down her black nightgown to her waist. He smiled at her and whispered "beautiful" before he pressed his lips on hers once more.

This was a night they would never forget...

————————————

Velvette heard screams coming from Carmilla. Was that bastard hurting her?! She moved through her hideout and peeked through the door where she could see that demon thrusting inside of Carmilla!

No! She must save her! Zestial claims to love her and then rape her? But, then she heard that the screams from Carmilla were more from pleasure than pain. "Zestial, deeper!" She heard her scream. God, did she actually want that monster inside her? No! He must have threatened her. She was her lover not that spider freak! No, she couldn't.

Carmilla was her’s and only her’s.

(Oh my god. I love it. Someone made a thing inspired by my post. *Happy tears*

It may take a while for the drawing to be done I mentioned I will do. I had a plan, and it got derailed....

Some stuff sneaked in. And I have some requests to do. But... I can offer you this instead)

Velvette doesn't know how to read

Velvette stormed off in the direction of the V tower. She was grumpling about Carmilla the whole way. She can't love that spider after all!

She is hers!

Her love!

Her woman!

As soon as she entered the tower, she passed Vox and Val making out in the middle of the living room, easily ignoring them and trotting to her humble abode.

Upon entering her room and slamming the door, she didn't stop. Instead she passed directly to the small side door.

The evil smile was evident as a light of day. She opened the door and turned the lights on, lighting up the area. She breathed in the smell.

The whole room was covered from head to toe, in pictures of one and only, Carmilla Carmine. They showed her every angle, every clothing piece, every hangout place and some were even in various states of undress.

Velvette indulged in them for only a bit... Before heading directly to the table. She opened a drawer, pulling out a doll.

"Finally, the thing I was working on will be done."

She grinned, excitement evident in her face. The doll she was holding looked exactly like Zestial. She hates that man, but it's necessary for it to work.

Velvette out the doll on the side for a bit. Taking the knife in her hand, she went to the middle of the room. She cut her hand, letting the blood drip, before drawing a circle combined with ruins.

As soon as her blood stopped she continued the plan, putting the doll in the middle. She smirked.

"And the last ingridient"

She pulled a long green silky thread from her pocket. Only one spider in the entire Hell has a thread like this. She tied it to the doll, before stepping back.

"I can curse him. Carmilla will surely be mine now!"

Velvette started chanting in a demonic tongue. The circle glowing a sickly red colour, proving it's doing some sort of magic. As Velvette finished the last words, the glow dispersed in an instant, as the thread became crimson.

Velvette started laughing manically.

"Haha...Haha... muahahhahahahahsh.

It worked! Now surely she will be mine!"

....

The next overlord meeting, 4 weeks later, she turned up late like usual. She got places to be after all. But what she didn't expect was to Zestial actually be present. And for Carmilla not to.

What is going on?!

"Where is the old hag"

Zestial groaned in annoyance as she entered.

"She will come shortly... She has an announcement to make."

Velvette was confused. Carmilla was never late, and now Zestial says she has some sort of announcement.

What the fuck did her spell do if it didn't kill him!

Right then, Carmilla Carmine herself entered. She looked normal as per usual. A bit more tired, but that's normal for her. She stood in front of the table barely giving them all a nod in a greeting. Barely acknowledging her. Velvette is getting angry. Why hasn't she said anything to her!

Carmilla coughed once to get their attention. She looked nervous.

"Before we start a meeting I have an announcement to make... I will be leaving the position for a bit and Zestial is taking over till I return."

Why the heck is she leaving! What the heck is going on! Velvette was in disbelief.

"What do you mean you are leaving?! What kind of reason would make Carmilla fucking Carmine leave for "a bit". You are the biggest workaholic we know"

That sentence brought all eyes onto Carmilla. She shifted in her place. Zestial is staring at her... Is he giving her some sort of go ahead to talk?! What kind of bullshit are they hiding?!

Carmilla finally spoke.

"I guess... I should say... It will avoid any problems in the future. It appears someone did a spell a while back around 4 weeks ago. We can't really track it as the spell was done so long ago and I haven't had the symptoms for a while."

Velvette's eyes widened. She did the spell, but Carmilla wasn't supposed to feel the symptoms. What is going on?!!?Did Velvette mess up?!?! She couldn't, she used Zestial's tread!

Rosie was instantly worried. And asked the question they were wondering.

"We can see you are not worried about dying Carms, otherwise you wouldn't be saying it like this. But there are no obvious sights that you are sick in any way. So what is going on?"

Carmilla breathed in, before smiling softly and putting a hand on her stomach.

"It seems it was some sort of fertility spell as currently I'm pregnant."

....

Velvette's mind: Fuck.

AND THAT'S HOW PEOPLE VELVETTE ACCIDENTALLY HELPED THEM WHILE READING FROM A WRONG PAGE.

I'm so glad you wrote this mysterious person. I hope you like my little add-on. 83

[commenter2]

Scrambled Eggs review

We get to see the Hotel crew interacting without Alastor for a change, while Alastor meets up with some old pals when babysitting the Eggs.

There are Razzle and Dazzle, I was wondering where they were after the first episode.

With this being Hell, Pentious’ paranoia and want to defend himself must be common with the people. Maybe if there were less demons with asshole or perverted personalities we’d see that. Plus if this continues HH and HB is going to become like Family Guy and depend on that kind of stuff for every joke.

We finally got a name for the scientist from the pilot, Odette.

Carmilla Carmine, an Overlord centered on weapons. Her introduction could lead to some interesting fights.

Vaggie is kind of right, just because someone flips you off, doesn’t mean they want you dead. Niffty on the other hand is someone you should always worry about as she will likely want to do more than murder you.

It’s another example of how we wouldn’t have gotten the storyline if it happened, but I’m surprised Charlie or Vaggie (mostly Charlie) didn’t bring up the idea of having the Eggs join as part of the Hotel’s staff. They look like they could try and aid in cleaning and repair.

I also do like that Charlie didn’t, as so far I’ve seen a lot of examples where Vaggie sacrifices more in the relationship, so I’m counting this as an example of Charlie taking Vaggie’s word/side.

They made the famous Alastor pic of him eating deer into an animation!

BTW with his room being part swamp and the writer’s love of making memes, how long before we get a Kermit the Frog joke from this? If the writers ever decide to do that, they should get YouTuber DevilArtemis to help since he knows a lot about Kermit :)

Another change in Al’s voice when he said “that’s a lot less fun”. Now thinking back to the last episode, Vox had something similar going on with his voice so maybe it’s a common trait for sinners like them but I feel like that is a too simple reason for Alastor of all characters.

Another example of Charlie’s reality altering illusions. Did I ever mention who I think she could fight in an episode of Death Battle?

Is Vaggie afraid to lead people? It is an interesting idea but we have seen her doing just that before, though I guess those previous time could be considered “angry outburst/feelings”. I am one of the people who thinks Vaggie is a former Exorcist and if there is the slightest chance that is true, I could see this being a reason why she left. A bit off topic but going back to something I said in my Overture review, this also would have worked for the alternate idea of how it was common for Heaven losing Exorcist every year till now, as maybe they “lost” some because they quit during/after Exterminations.

Technically Husk did catch Angel, so there is trust their but annoy him and he’ll stop helping.

IDK how to describe it, but its nice seeing the fun art style that Angel and Cherri were drawn as in the pilot return for Angel, Husk, and Pentious here.

With the situation you and Hell are in Charlie, any progress should be considered good.

So that guy’s name is Zestial Modre. You think he talks that way because he is chronologically very old, or just for effect as I’m guessing he’s the Overlord of Fear? You think DC Comics/Warner Bros. would be okay with Vivzie if she gave Zestial a power similar to Scarecrow’s fear gas or have his full demon form look similar to Parallax, the emotional entity of Fear? Viv worked with Disney for a bit, so I bet Warner Bros. would be okay if it meant getting one over their rival company.

If you turn on subtitles, one of the Egg Bois is named Frank. I recall it being said that the Eggs are cloned from an original Egg, so could Frank be said original?

Sure Al, nothing suspicious happened during your break.

Not even the Eggs know about the name thing.

An Overlord meeting! 

I recall Zilla being tall, but not THAT tall. Also does any still ship her with that guy she was seen with in the pilot, the one who was laughing at Charlie and said they should leave?

Nearly everyone in Hell has sharped teeth, so how is Rosie any different Frank?

Apparently the VA of Carmilla is also a dancer, fitting given how Carmilla looks like a ballerina. Also as LK Yusei Fudo would say, “what is up with her hair”?

“Older generation vs. never generation” trope. How long before Velvette makes a “okay boomer” joke?

The Exorcist severed head! Didn’t see that coming! 

Now apparently there are theories of Lilith being disguised as Rosie, which I could see, but I do want to point out that she was shocked at the severed Exorcist head. Lilith seems like a kind of actor, so she could have acted being surprised but it’s still something that should be pointed out.

Looks like Zestial agrees with me that it’s possible that something else could have killed the Exorcist. Also that it sounds like he IS very old, maybe even older than Sir Pentious.

I’m wondering if this scene could help later on if there is a future scene where people blame Charlie for moving up the next Extermination, but then Alastor and maybe the other Overlords defend her by revealing the severed head. If it means preventing Charlie from having a “all is hopeless” scene then I hope it does.

It is interesting that the sinners are divided about if they should use the knowledge of knowing Exorcist could be killed to fight back or wait till they either learn more or to not risk having the whole Pride Ring population be wiped out. Both sides make sense but also have their flaws.

Looks like Angel and Cherri have some competition with Zestial and Carmilla for the title of number 1 BFFS.

“Respectless” is my favorite HH song so far. Really love how it switches between opera music and rap.

HOLY CRAP ODETTE AND CARMILLA ARE RELATED!!! THIS is going to be fun and lead to some interesting discussions, like is she (and the other girl Odette is always with) adopted or did Carmilla and the others die and get sent to Hell around the same time?

Again I get that this is an M rated show, but the series is already good enough that I don’t think it always need to rely on extreme violence and NSFW stuff, as it kind of killed the mood after seeing what happened in the next see. Again, Family Guy.

WHY! 

Another example of why the “Vaggie is a former Exorcist” theory could be true.

I bet Vaggie has been dreaming about thrown Angel to his doom XD.

Liking how Charlie said there are other ways to solve things, going back to an older comment about her and Lilith having different views of how to make Hell thrive.

I’m going to count this as Charlie and Vaggie’s first fight, but at least it’s a good one since its just Vaggie being mad at herself of her lack of leadership and Charlie being mad (more annoyed/concerned) of Vaggie unnecessarily blaming herself.

Confirmation that the other girl (named Clara) is also Carmilla’s daughter.

So Carmilla killed the exorcist. OR MAYBE she witnessed who really did and had to promise to not tell or else something bad would really happen to the point being the fall gal would be a slap on the wrist in comparison.

With Carmilla being against fighting Heaven, I wonder if she could become a potential Hell based ally of Charlie’s in the future. They both want to protect the people they care about from Heaven so I don’t see why not.

Vaggie’s line of “There’s so much I wished that I could say”, is ANOTHER possible hint at Vaggie’s Exorcist past.

Another great song, showing how similar Carmilla and Vaggie are, which again could help in making a future alliance between the Hotel and Overlord.

Yeah I shouldn’t be surprised that Alastor is going to keep the Exorcist info hidden, since he loves chaos. Also a possible an ally of that Roo character, who is on my list of possible characters being behind everything.

Again, Charlie and Vaggie are cute!

It’s adorable to see Pen sleep with the eggs like an actual snake.

SEE! THE EGGS CAN LEARN!

“character not realizing the dumb/innocent/etc. character is actually talking about something real and big to the story” trope.

I’m late bringing this up, but does anyone else think there should be end credit segments at the end of SOME episodes? I mean thanks to movies and videogames it is a surprise when there aren’t any, plus it would have been fun in some cases. Maybe they’ll do one for the season finale.

That was great episode! We got Overlords, great songs, hilarity, and some big reveals.

I really like the idea of Carmilla being a mother, as it adds more to the “always serious businesswoman” vibe she gives off. I’m also hoping it leads to pics where her daughters spend time with their “Uncle Zestial”. Speaking of which, he was a good new character to look about, reminds me a lot of Jack Skellington with a pinch of DC’s Scarecrow with his interest in fear.

We also got news about the dead Exorcist and while I’m okay if Carmilla did kill it with a weapon, I still like the idea of how she is taking the blame or else she will suffer by the hands of the true culprit. It also brings up the drama as the Vs could make this worse for everyone if they decide to get people to fight the Exorcist. At least if they do and fail, Charlie will no longer be the target of the sinner’s anger.

Nothing that bad besides that one creepy NSFW scene as it was annoying that it happened after a pretty big scene.Leave your thoughts about the episode below.

[dynmghts]

The day had dawned bright and early and Eijirou had slipped from the bed to set up the house ready for Katsuki's return home. He's still adjusting to life without hero work, and though healthwise this is the best course of action for him, there are days when he aches to be in the thick of it again, to be shielding his friends and bringing justice. There are some advantages however, like now when Katsuki's been working the nightshift so he could see his birthday in with Izuku before a couple of days off, and so he has the place to himself. Sneakily he has been making preparations for weeks, and now he brings them forth, the black and orange balloons and the dynamight-themed birthday banner and stickers them up, decorating the flat enough without over doing it.

From its safe storage, delivered by Mina after Katsuki had gone to work, Eijirou pulls his cake - baked lovingly with his own too hands, and iced too, albeit a little sloppily. This is placed centre of the table and around it the presents. The envelope with the information of the reservation to the restaurant Katsuki's been talking about since it opened (time off already squared with the agency), the limited edition All Might card that he knows Izuku doesn't have yet (bragging rights will be earned), the hero-themed snack basket that's been a staple since their school days (now containing some far more familiar names including their own) and the favourite of his gifts. This one is a small black box, but unlike years before the ribbon is an ombre of red and orange, which gives a clue to what's inside it. A blend of their colours, a symbol of togetherness, of union. He's had this idea for a while, there is no one else, there never will be.

"C'mon Kiri keep it together..." he nudges himself, fingers descending to his pocket where he can thumb two well worn keyrings, another symbol of their bond from their early days, given to him on a birthday previously. He's distracted from his musings by three flashes of the bracelet at his wrist and he smiles, tapping it back. Three flashes, three squeezes, three words. They've never needed to say it to know, they just did. So fiercely, so powerfully and he smiles at the thought. It means Katsuki's nearly home so he makes an artful mess of his unstyled hair and sets about making a drink, caffeine-less so Katsuki can grab a sleep if he wants.

Later they can venture into the mountains, he's already packed their gear and checked the list three times, to get away to be, and in the evening he's sure they'll friends will descend to socialise Katsuki as they always have done. But right now all he cares about is seeing Katsuki walk through that door and finally asking the question that's been sitting on his tongue for months.

The time's right, there won't be better.

At the sound of the door he turns and looks, familiar grin settling on his face as he sees the other, crimson meeting carmine, and he smiles widely. "Welcome home Kats, happy birthday!"

it's rare, he thinks, to be working a night shift - no less on his birthday. no less with izuku as his hero partner, who seems more than keen to have watched the hour click past midnight, turning to him with a bright smile and wishing him a happy birthday. katsuki is past the point of brushing it off. his eyes still roll at the look on his childhood friend's face, though, and he shoves him away with a huff, though not without a quick thank you... then a; focus on the patrol, you idiot.

katsuki hadn't made plans to make his birthday special, not beyond taking a few days off so he can spend time with eijirou. there was nothing spectacular about this year. yes, he was working the overnight shift on the day, except that was infinitely better than the initial rostering, where he was meant to work through the whole day instead. his demand of a rescheduling was the only reason his agency believed he had something planned. but any of his friends would say; no, bakugou katsuki didn't have any plans of his own. he just wants the next days off.

that isn't accounting for whatever his boyfriend had planned, of course.

when the patrol comes to a close sometime after sunrise, the blond waves his hero duo off while switching to comfortable civilian clothes. a glance in a mirror tells him the overnight work sapped him of energy he didn't want to give up. still, he ushers his way out of the agency and begins the trek home, taking his phone out to send a quick text to eijirou. he asks him if there was anything he wanted at the nearby supermarket he'd pass on the way back.

even if eijirou doesn't specify anything, katsuki still goes in. he still reaches for one of his boyfriend's favourite snacks like second nature. it's accompanied by a bottle of milk and a green apple to snack on, leaving as quickly as he entered, albeit now with a quick "happy birthday" from the cashier - who happens to know his birthday because of some media article. he manages a grunt of acknowledgement.

once their home is within about five minutes of walking distance, the blond reaches to the bracelet on his left wrist and taps it three times. nearly home, back to you. he figures eijirou will at least give him a warm welcome and a happy birthday himself, now that the day is well and truly upon them; there hasn't been a year where the red-haired man has forgotten, after all. it's become expectation. and in truth, this was something the bakugou was looking forward to, especially as he feels the buzzing three-syllable response around his wrist. almost like a see you soon.

katsuki turns the key and pushes the door open, bags quickly finding their way on the floor of the genkan as his combat boots follow suit. his jacket is shrugged off and tossed aside. the moment he meets the other's gaze, he treks forward from the entryway, head immediately finding purchase on eijirou's shoulder. ❛ gimme a few before you get all sappy on me. long mornin'. ❜

[ as if the blond's arms haven't snaked around the red-haired man's waist, properly embracing him despite his exhaustion, taking the moment to recharge without actually resting. ]

when a few more moments pass, katsuki pulls away with a quiet huff, moving past his boyfriend with hand slipping to grab at wrist. he tugs him along while he seizes the drink made for him, taking in the decorations adorning the flat; blacks and oranges and greens, distinct themes of the hero plastered over their space, from the grenades to the orange X's, even the explosions. it's... sappy. cliché, if he was honest, but he's learned that this was eijirou's brand of celebration. fun. even when the blond turns to him with a weary but nonetheless playful grin - ❛ didn't think you overdid it at all? ❜ - he knows this is the perfect amount of celebratory décor.

next step: acknowledging the spread on the table. ❛ when'd you get the cake? ❜ and when he learns that eijirou spent his time making it, he hums, the questioning furrow of his brows easing. ❛ looks great. i'll get a bite of it later. ❜ sometime after whatever sleep he can grab a hold of today. a part of him is suddenly more grateful than ever that he got blackout curtains installed.

calloused hands now work their way through the gifts. he pries open the envelope first with the expectation of it being a birthday card, but instead, he encounters the reservation information on that restaurant he has not shut the fuck up about. he runs his fingers over it. when he finally asks about the date transcribed on the paper, he grins at the mention of the day being scheduled off for him; of course eijirou already covered all his bases. it can't have been too hard to secure a day, either, with how much the blond works overall.

now, if it were anyone besides eijirou or izuku or all might himself, bakugou katsuki may have legitimately murdered any witnesses to the sudden spark in his eyes at the sight of a limited edition all might card among the gifts. limited edition. all might. he holds it like it's a treasure he refuses to let go of ever again, carefully turning it with observant gaze, quickly asking his boyfriend if it's certified real.

it's real. real, and absent from midoriya izuku's personal all might collection.

bakugou katsuki won't be beating that green-haired nerd at a game of who has more all might merch anytime soon, knowing who was the bigger fanboy of the two, but having something izuku doesn't?

katsuki doesn't linger too much more on that beyond a quick press of lips to eijirou's cheek, eyes crinkling with an earnest grin behind competitive edge as he moves on to the final two gifts. the basket is the most recognisable. he quickly makes out all the different bits and bobs from old and new heroes alike, spotting the hero names of their former classmates, all proudly displayed on snacks he likes and ones he hasn't tried yet. [ but if he is the most fond of the red riot ones, a reminder that his boyfriend still left a lasting impression in his short career, would anyone truly be surprised? ] he nudges the basket aside. as for the final gift...

the final gift is- a box?

a box, neatly wrapped in red and orange ombre ribbon.

❛ ei... ❜ the box is small, compact; it fits comfortably in the blond's hands when he picks it up, care taken to observe the material and furrow his brows when he stares at it, trying to piece together the newfound mystery. is it- is it what he thinks it might be? [ what else can fit inside a small black box, with colours mirroring their hero costumes? red riot and dynamight, a pair people still talk about fondly. a pair that remains a household staple. ] ❛ ei, what's this? ❜

his gaze turns its attention to the red-haired man, hesitant, but not apprehensive or wary by any means; it's hopeful. daring, even. his fingers dip into the loop of the ribbon to start unwrapping it, watching carefully for a reaction first.

for a moment, katsuki doesn't want to open it. not because he has a negative answer to the hypothetical that is rapidly becoming a reality, no! [ he has nothing in mind other than a resounding yes. ] but- he's sleep deprived. he's wearing whatever the hell he remembered to scrounge together when he went to work last night, suddenly and painfully aware of its disjointed appearance. he can't imagine that he looks his best right now... but the box is in his hands, and his boyfriend stands there, and he knows. he knows.

his life has been kirishima eijirou's for a long, long time. it will continue to be that way, if this is when he wants to ask for it - because bakugou katsuki already has the answer on the tip of his tongue, mind and soul already his, this only a shining formality. an everlasting promise.

he does take off the ribbon at least, but the blond ushers the box into eijirou's hands now, insists he do it right; that if it's what he thinks it is, he wants to hear it.

eijirou will barely have a chance to ask before the confident "yes" barrels out.

whatever was on the schedule for later, katsuki will go along with it, knowing that his other half would never lead him astray. for now, he takes his drink and a snack from the pile of new ones he's been given, fingers wrapping around a wrist while he tugs eijirou back to their room. he isn't planning to keep him there. one finger idly taps against the pulse in wrist, instead; stay with me. just for now.

come evening, with their friends who come together for the birthday celebrations, bakugou katsuki has a band around his finger. after that night, he keeps it on a chain, kept safe and close to his heart where he he won't lose or damage it.

they've never had to look at each other and confess their love verbally since their initial admission in high school, among the chaos of pursued heroism. they've always known it. when katsuki didn't have the words for it, their bracelets were the perfect way for him to display it instead; quiet and effective. three buzzes, three syllables, three words. eijirou always knew.

but in the not-so-distant future, katsuki thinks it'll be all he can say.

@resolutepath / katsuki's bday asks! <3

[quartings]

Looking back on X&Y's release 10 years ago...

I still remember queueing up in line for the XY release day literally a whole decade ago- my brother, dad, and one of my best friends were with me and we all went out to Krispy Kreme afterwards- I evolved my first Spewpa there to see which regional Vivillon I had!

Nowadays I can't even imagine pre-ordering a Pokemon game, since I have to wait and see if they perform decently, have enough content in them to justify the $60USD price tag, and whether their DLC is good if not. I've become an old, jaded, beaten-down adult since then, haha...

But enough negativity for now- there are so many good things XY had that we should acknowledge!

Fairies are one of the biggest- we've had them for 10 YEARS now, everyone! Remember when they released the XY demo before the game launch and everyone was hitting Sylveon with everything to see how the new type matched up with everything? And now, Fairy has been paired up with all but two of the other types! They've also become the most OP type now (which is an issue they were made to stop) but it could always be worse! Who knows, maybe in 10 more years, the type chart might be unrecognizable!

They even managed to model and animate over 700 Pokemon on a handheld game, plus all their extra forms! Nowadays, Pokemon games can't manage to do that for even 500 Pokemon on launch.

Mega Evolution was the first battle gimmick ever introduced, and to this day it still remains so much better than the others that we're all still hoping and praying it comes back. I know there were some qualms that mostly OP and popular Pokemon got megas, but naturally the solution shouldn't be "No Megas"- it should be "More Megas"! And we all know someday we're going to have to raid Gamefreak's vault for their Mega Flygon concept art- we know it's out there!! Anyways, I'm glad Megas still get respect in spinoffs- Pokemon GO, Mystery Dungeon, Smash Bros, etc. It gives me hope that one day they really will return.

But the more negative things about XY need to be addressed too- while the games themselves were good, a lot of people rightfully agree that they were the beginning of many declines for the games.

The extremely low difficulty for no reason- NPCs and bosses having miniscule teams with less than 4 moves, rarely any held items and a poorly-made level curve. I can't think of anyone before who thinks the games before were "too hard" or that they're now "just right". To be fair, they've remedied this every now and again with actual challenging bosses (Totems and Ultra Necrozma, BDSP Cynthia, Volo, Team Star Bosses, Sada/Turo, Kieran, and the Ogre Clan) but I do hope this issue gets fully resolved one day. It's not fun playing through 90% of the games mindlessly clicking through the same highlighted "super effective" button over and over.

The "overly friendly rival" problem that first started in XY has finally been fixed though- while Gens 6-8 suffered a bit from it, Gen 9 doesn't just have decent rival characters- Nemona, Arven, Penny, Carmine, and Kieran have been some of my favorite Pokemon characters ever!

The lack of postgame areas and things to do first started in XY. While Looker and Emma's story was great, it didn't offer much of a challenge and there was barely anything to do afterwards. And nowadays when we do get substantial postgames in Pokemon they're paid DLC. And as long as we're getting DLC from now on, can we PLEASE have one that contains a Battle Frontier, please???

Mythicals no longer having their own areas and quests also started in XY- so many unfinished areas in the game that should've gone to them.

Kalos is the only main Pokemon region to only exist in one iteration so far- all others were expanded upon with remakes, sequels, third versions, ultra versions, or DLC. I do hope in maybe 5 years or so we do get XY remakes that'll finally do Kalos justice.

Another problem that eventually got fixed is small amounts of new Pokemon- I remember being in total disbelief that Gen 6 only had 72 new Pokemon, waiting for more to get announced someday. But with Gen 9, we finally have generations containing well over 100 Pokemon again, which is a massive relief!

And one more major underrated change that Gen 6 brought to Pokemon- it's the first one to ever have a worldwide release! I still remember spending most of Gen 5 learning Japanese names of all the new Pokemon, moves, characters, etc while waiting for BW's English release. But nowadays we can all enjoy a new generation's launch around the world at the same time! That's another thing to be grateful for!

But yeah, in these last 10 years so many things have changed and many others have stayed the same- for the Pokemon franchise and for my own life! While not all of it has been perfect, it still blows me away how far we've come, and how much more we need to improve on! I was still a nerdy little kid who didn't know how to draw digitally when these games came out- and now I'm an adult who makes animated shorts and works at an animation production company!

I have no clue if I'll be ready in 2026 for SM's 10th anniversary and the 30th anniversary of the franchise overall! Maybe everything will be better or it'll have gotten so much worse. Either way, I'm happy to have made it this far with you all and can't wait to make a similar post for the 10th anniversary of this blog, too!

[velvetwarfare]

‘ WELCOME TO THE STAGE — THE ONE, THE ONLY! FIZZAROLLI! ‘

Betty grimaced as the audience suddenly became a tsunami of screams and hollers, strangers pushing into her and nearly trampling the vampire just to get to the front of the stage. Colliding with the cold floor below with an unceremonious yelp, the red head HISSED and had to keep her short temper in check — the last thing she needed was to be fired from her dream job right after obtaining it.

She knew Fizz was popular — and even popular was an understatement. He was an ICON — and the fact he took her as an apprentice and even lover was beyond her. Normally, Betty held herself up on a pedestal so tall that no one could possibly put a dent in her fragile ego. She was the GODDESS OF HER OWN WORLD. SHE WROTE HER OWN CHAPTERS AND CREATED HER OWN CHARACTERS. SHE WAS THE RINGLEADER OF HER OWN CIRCUS AND EVERYONE ELSE WAS FORTUNATE TO BE EVEN A CIRCUS MONKEY.

But the little imp was not a circus monkey. He was the clown — the true star of the show. Even if she felt like the ringleader, he still was STARS ABOVE HER. A part of her ENVIED HIM FOR ACHIEVING ALL THE ASPIRATIONS SHE YEARNED FOR FOR CENTURIES. THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE HER — THAT SPOTLIGHT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE HER AS A JESTER AND NOT THIS NOSFERATU - RIDDEN WAR COMMANDER. THE ENVY BURNED HOTTER THAN HELL’S FIRES.

And he was so nice to her. So kind, so patient, so gentle. Her quips made her feel guilty. Sarcasm became limited. Side eyes softened. She felt herself watering down her ANGER AND RESENTMENT — tending to a garden of thorns and nursing it into a garden of colorful flowers instead. Just for him. Perhaps he was more of a LION TAMER rather than circus star.

Watching him glide around the vibrant stage in a barrage of expert dance moves, the audience cheered and clapped along to his melodious voice. Betty slowly rose to her feet, feeling time slow as she digested his craft. All feelings of envy bled dry — and were substituted with something softer. Something more innocent, more cherishing. She could recall some time ago before his performance where she struggled to put into words what he truly meant to her. But what could possibly be described in just one measly word?

Tears streamed down her face in carmine trickles, the salt mixing with the last residue of venom. The bloodshot tint to her eyes had been gradually becoming white again ever since she was taken care of by Ozzy and his medics — and with this session of subconscious crying, they were finally pure white again. Her irises were a beautiful shade of foggy grey — a thunderstorm. She didn’t even register she was sobbing. Fizz definitely could witness the concerning expression on her face when he passed by her front stage — dumbfounded, starstruck, blanking out.

He was elegancy. Beauty. The perfect art of theatrics and drama. The innocence of a gentle clown. The dream that never died despite his past. Despite his deformities, he was still beloved. In another life, she could’ve been that too should the town accepted her vampirism instead of hunting her down. All she ever wanted was to be accepted and loved too.

And she found a genuine, healthy bundle of love with him. An attachment that wasn’t DETRIMENTAL NOR ABUSIVE. SAFETY — A FOREIGN SENSATION.

When was the last time she ever felt this happy and alive in all of her lives? When was the last time she felt HUMAN AGAIN?

That realization hit harder than any of her deaths.

As the lights dimmed and the performance ended, Betty stepped forward to take his hands in hers, her expression still out of it. There were no more red streaks, no more crimson scleras — no more traces of the Pride Ring’s damage. A hushed, shaky whisper,

“ Heaven, “

And then a bit louder for him to hear, staring at him as if he were the strangest creature she’s ever laid eyes upon,

“ That is my answer��Heaven.

You are Heaven. “

@hazbinhive

[wevelocityteampresents-blog]

OCTOBER 1ST

My schedule for the day was pretty packed. Besides trying to understand a specific class, I also had to design a new character for my website based on the results from last year's poll.

There were tons of potential candidates. But the most well-received ideas were a young Scottish Fold (Who could be a nephew for Angus) and a cat goddess. Both characters were always tied to a point where I thought I'd have to use a Pokétch app as a tiebreaker. However, once midnight fell, the cat goddess ended up receiving a vote more than the Scottish Fold and won the poll.

With the character finally settled on, I got to work on the design. Since I based her design on the Egyptian goddess Bastet, I used moons and rings as the main element in her design. She should be more older than Ann Boo and mature as well.

With Pokémon Violet, I mostly focused on training.

So PINK, you mean? (The outbreak event ended after that.)

I'm surprised that they managed to fix the graphic for Miraidon's box. It always had an orange on it. Even though this is the Violet version, and the box should have a bunch of grapes on it.

The rules for the new tournament came in today. I'm forced to use six of these Pokémon:

It's an interesting roster. But it's not something I've ever had trouble with.

OCTOBER 2ND

I've started work on another big project. I can't say much about it now. But it's a follow-up to a project I've worked on before.

I also managed to finish designing the new MEOWCO mascot. Her name is Cressaluna. I think she'd be the one pulling the strings behind a certain event that involves Angus.

In Pokémon Violet, I was getting ready to take Ogerpon back to her den. But not before messing around with a few things first.

To counter Bloodmoon Ursaluna and Sinistcha, I've brought Fruit Punch to deal with them. With Knock Off as a substitute for Throat Chop, she does just as well as in Sinnoh!

Figured she would want to tag along with me after all this time. I thought I'd fight her. But Kieran wanted to fight me instead.

It wasn't that tough of a match with the help of Greninja and Miraidon.

At least he fought for what he believed in. With Kieran taken care of, the only thing left to do at that point was to catch Ogerpon.

Of COURSE, the legendary Pokémon would want to fight me first before joining me.

I thought it would be a regular battle. But it turned out to be similar to the Titan Pokémon battles. To make things worse, Ogerpon switches to another mask once she takes too much damage.

She eventually used her Teal Mask, and became too much for Greninja to handle alone. Thankfully, Umbreon was enough to finish her off.

Not only did I catch another Ogerpon, but I proved yet again that Umbreon has finally gotten his strength back.

I thought that would be it. But after I got the masks from Ponsi, I was told to visit Carmine at the park.

I have no idea...

Before I had to study, I thought about training with my other Ogerpon.

I don't know which mask I should use against other Ogerpon. But I feel like the Cornerstone Mask should be enough to deal with the Hearthflame Mask and counter against other Cornerstone Mask users. My other Pokémon can deal with the other forms.

OCTOBER 6TH

Now that I have a design for the new site mascot, I've started working on a new art piece that features her, Angus, and Ann. I should probably restart with some different poses, though...

I've also gotten back into Pokémon Stadium 2. I've been learning a few new things at Earl's Pokémon Academy that I can use in matches at the Stadium and Gym Leader Castle.

OCTOBER 7TH

Since Pac-Man 99's servers will be shut down tomorrow, I've decided to play it for as long as I possibly can. Besides that, I've gotten better at memorizing some of the material for my classes. It's probably a result of how much my health has improved since the summer ended.

In Pokémon Violet, I made my way to the park to see what Carmine wanted. She wanted to fight Ponsi to see how tough Ogerpon could be. Ponsi wasn't strong enough to take anyone on. So I took my other Ogerpon with me. And it actually worked.

Since she was only interested in fighting Ogerpon, I fought her with just JiaranMiao. You can see how THAT played out in the Web Stadium.

After I beat Carmine, I was called by Briar to return to the community center.

I still can't believe it took weeks for me to finish this single "assignment"... Briar also informed us that she needed to return to Blueberry Academy with Carmine and Kieran to investigate something.

If they're that strong, I hope that school has something like a Battle Tower.

While all this was happening, Kieran gave himself a bit of a facelift.

I'd wait for the pass to Blueberry Academy to arrive. But there's still more things I need to take care of first.

OCTOBER 8TH

While I was on break, I played Pokémon Stadium 2. I only had the Gym Leader class exam to complete before I moved on to the Elite Four class.

After I was done in the academy, I went to the Gym Leader Castle to take on Pryce.

I would have also fought Clair. But I had other things to take care of.

Today was also the last day I had to play Pac-Man 99. I did pretty well in all the matches I played today. Sadly, I had to stop to study for a while. But not before checking out my stats. Even though I never became Pac-Champ, I was placed third on the leaderboard.

I'm in the top three, and that's all that matters.

[darlingandmreames]

2022 Fic Year in Review

Alright y'all, time for one of my favourite new year activities- looking back at all of the weird shit I wrote last year! I always love being able to look back and see all the things I've created and the progress I've made. So without further ado, here it is: Your Local Trash Goblin's 2022 Fic Year in Review!

Fandoms Written For: Inception (6), The Batman (2), Star Wars Rebels (1), The Guest (2), Encanto (1), Kingdom (1)

Total Word Count: 231,264

Fic With the Most Comments: With Words I Thought I'd Never Speak

Fic With the Most Bookmarks: A Remedy for Sadness

Fic I'm Proudest Of: Mile Deep Hollow

January

A Remedy for Sadness

Fandom: Encanto

Rating: General

Word Count: 3.5k

Summary: Julieta healed injuries and sicknesses with the food she made. But more than that, she used her food to show love.

I went through a brief period where I, like many on Tumblr, was absolutely obsessed with Bruno we don't talk about him and this was the result lol. I had a really fun time writing the sibling dynamic between Bruno and Julieta since that's not a dynamic I necessarily end up writing very often

February

Title: One Hand Above the Skin (My Head Below the Water)

Fandom: The Guest (Choi Yoon/Hwa-pyung)

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 3.4k

Summary: Choi Yoon had been told over and over that facing evil directly took a permanent toll on one's mind and soul. Park Il-do was gone but his minions weren't, and Yoon found himself starting down several roads he wasn't sure he could come back from in an attempt to handle it

My K-drama obsession during internship interviews lol. Excellent show, highly recommend it

Title: Warmth Untouched by Cold

Fandom: Kingdom (Lee Chang/Yeong-shin)

Rating: General

Word Count: 2.3k

Summary: If someone had told Yeong-shin a year ago that he would willing stay by the side of a noble, he would have laughed in their face. Long months of travel and late nights around a fire had bred a sense of familiarity and companionship, though, and the more Yeong-shin came to know the former Crown Prince, the more he found himself caring for the very human man who existed behind the title

Decided to rewatch Kingdom as a post-internship match treat, and ended up revisiting an old WIP I had for it! Unironically one of the most beautiful shows I've ever watched, please do yourself a favour and watch it

March

Title: Only Human

Fandom: Star Wars Rebels (Kallus/Zeb)

Rating: General

Word Count: 41.7k

Summary: After two years in the rebellion, Kallus had finally found his place. It hadn't always been a smooth process, but he'd found enough acceptance to get by. That didn't mean he didn't still have a few secrets, though, secrets he'd kept for most of his life. Between the passage of time and the chaos of moving the base from Yavin IV to Hoth, keeping those secrets was about to get a lot harder. But maybe that wasn't the worst thing in the world

My entry for the 2022 Kalluzeb Minibang! I'd had the hc of Kallus being partially non-human for a while, and it was really fun to finally write a story to go with it. Plus it has some amazing art!

April

Title: Running Through My Veins Like Sin

Fandom: The Guest (Choi Yoon/Hwa-pyung)

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 32.2k (on-going)

On GOD I am going to finish this fic eventually, I promise agdkfjdh. I absolutely writing Yoon in this fic and I have a wonderful arc planned out for him, so I AM going to finish it. I just got distracted agdkd

Title: Comfort is a Heavy Blanket

Fandom: The Batman

Rating: General

Word Count: 2k

Summary: Alfred knew why Mr. Wayne had let an injured Carmine Falcone into his house to give him treatment, but that didn't mean he liked it. It was a dangerous situation, and the realization that five year old Bruce had witnessed all of it just made it worse

Oh The Batman. I saw you in theaters three times and you gripped me like a rabid animal. I absolutely loved Bruce and Alfred's relationship in this movie as well as the phenomenally Autistic Vibes(tm) of Battison

July (aka A Very Busy Month)

Title: With Words I Thought I'd Never Speak

Fandom: The Batman (Bruce/Martinez)

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 24.6k (on-going)

Summary: In the year following the Riddler's attacks, Martinez somehow found himself involved at least peripherally with two of Gotham's odder figures: Batman and Bruce Wayne. For all his initial dislike of Batman, a year's worth of cases resulted in a somewhat grudging respect for the vigilante's intelligence and investigative skill, even if he never quite became any less strange and unsettling. Martinez developed a new found appreciation for Bruce Wayne as well, an odd but likeable man who was pleasant to work with in his own awkward way. During an investigation into a death possibly connected to Penguin, Martinez accidentally learns that the two odd characters he's spent an increasing amount of time interacting with over the past year are actually the same person, who's far more complex (and far more human) than he'd ever realized

If I wasn't prepared for the death grip The Batman had on my brain, I DEFINITELY wasn't prepared for falling into the Bruce/Martinez dumpster fire. I love them so much. I also got distracted while writing this fic, but I have the basic plot points mapped out, and on GOD I will finish this one too

Title: As Warm As Whiskey (And Ten Times Better)

Fandom: Inception (Arthur/Eames)

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 1.3k

Summary: Watching Arthur get drunk was a process Eames had seen many times over the years, but that didn't make him enjoy it any less

It had been too long since I'd written for my Disaster Criminal Blorbos, but I was about to fix that lol. A short fic inspired by an Inception30DayChallenge prompt

Title: Such Great Heights

Fandom: Inception (Arthur/Eames)

Rating: General

Word Count: 51.5k

Summary: When the market crashed four years ago, things went to hell for a lot of people. Eames has done okay, though- his job as a reporter at the New York Herald Tribune was secure enough that he managed to keep it, and he was good enough at it that he made enough to get by. He has a strict rule, though: no photographers. Working with freelancers has always been a crapshoot, and it's only gotten worse over the past few years. When the Rockefellers insist on a photographer for the Tribune's upcoming story on their new building, though, Eames is forced to choose between dropping the best paying story he's had in four years or working with Arthur, the freelance photographer hired on the recommendation of Eames' editor, Dom. He's an odd man who clearly has a past and who, as Eames spends more time with him, is just maybe worth getting to know a bit better.

My entry for the 2022 Inception Big Bang! It was inspired by a combination of a real life photographer and a surprisingly fun horror movie about WWI zombie parasites (no parasites or zombies in the fic itself). I had a lot of fun writing it, and it has some amazing art!

Title: A Stranger's Kindness

Fandom: Inception

Rating: General

Word Count: 2.9k

Summary: Long before a reporter met a photographer in New York, a young woman found a soldier in a field in France.

The story of how Arthur and Mal met

A short prequel to Such Great Heights! Arthur and Mal's friendship wasn't a central part to the larger fic, but it was a relationship I found really interesting while developing the story and I wanted to expand on it a little more

Title: Relinquish

Fandom: Inception (Arthur/Eames)

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 3.4k

Summary: Arthur liked to be in control, or at least on even footing with whoever he was interacting with. That was how he’d always been. Just…maybe not with Eames. The thought of letting someone else take control, letting Eames take control, was…different. Intriguing. Enticing. Enough so that he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it. Maybe even imagining what it would be like, more often than he cared to admit over the recent weeks, and what had started as a bit of teasing had started to become more and more serious in his mind.

This one's literally just porn. I had a lot of fun writing it lol

Title: Taking the Leap

Fandom: Inception (Arthur/Eames)

Rating: General

Word Count: 1.7k

Summary: Personal information wasn't something easily or freely shared in the world of extraction. But sometimes the risk of vulnerability was worth it

Trans Arthur and nonbinary Eames my beloved ^-^ this is the first entry into what will eventually become a series

December

Title: Mile Deep Hollow

Fandom: Inception (Arthur/Eames)

Rating: General

Word Count: 60.6k

Summary: Eames had worked countless jobs with Arthur over the years, enough that he had long since picked up on Arthur's on-job habits. Long hours, little sleep, too much work shoved into too little time- that's just what Arthur was like on jobs. The Fischer job felt...different though. Arthur didn't usually start jobs looking this tired or worn down, and his insistence that he was fine didn't usually ring this hollow. It was worrying, and Arthur's increasingly unconvincing reassurances weren't doing much to help.

Everyone in extraction had their limits, even Arthur. And Eames knew he was getting close to seeing what those limits really were.

This is the fic I'm proudest of this year. Not only is it the longest fic I've ever published, but it was also one that had been sitting in my WIPs folder for 2 or 3 years. I really loved the concept but had gotten distracted and never ended up finishing it at the time. I'm actually really glad I waited because I think I'm a stronger writer now, and this fic ended up better for it. It's one of the angstier fics I've written while still having a happy (or at least very hopeful) ending, and I'm really proud of how it ended up turning out

And that's it! Adjusting to my internship work schedule was a process so unfortunately that cut down on the amount of time/brain power I could spend writing, but I'm still super proud of what I put out this (last?) year. To ever increasing skills and another year of good writing!

-Your Local Trash Goblin

[eaterofpi]

Nintendo Direct 6-21-23 LIVE Reaction Post!!

I'm just going to put all my reactions here in this one post!! It's better then watching me live, cause I would just be like; "Pikmin 4 🙏" and make no audio responses to anything else!!

It's starting!!

Pokemon stuff?? Unexpected! Are they covering the DLC here instead of in their own thing? More details on the DLC is real.. Actual footage too!! The Teal Mask.. Lots of returning beasts... Carmine?? Poochy... Normal Wooper? Festival!! Evil Ogre... THE DOGE POKEMON... The Masked Pokemon... Blueberry Academy.. Lacey??? Minecraft Biome Dome.. Lots more returning Pokes.. What are some of these designs?? The thing.. It is nice to see footage of it at least..

Two people directing?? More details later.. Special event too.. I'm probably not getting that DLC though..

Sonic Superstars, I heard about it earlier during some other thing, it looks like they are making a goods Sonics game, after 5 billion years.. I'm still not getting it though.. too fast for my eyes..

Palia--- Free to play... Farming simulator.. FISHING!!! 🎣 I'm not going to get a free to play game, I already have enough of them..

Personas... Didn't this stuff get leaked or something? I'm not really good at any tactics games.. No way Byakko! The models seem nice

Mythforce- First Person Rougelike?? Seems interestings!! The cartoon astehetics is good! I kinda want to see more

Splatfest- I don't actually have Splatoon 3, mostly because I'm really bad at Splatoon, a bit too fast for me.. Strawberry or Mint Chip... Difficult choice.. I'm too indecisive!!

Detective Pikachu 2?? They finally made it?? Pokemon Sleep and Detective Pikachu 2 are finally released after many years... Pikachu with coffee looks funny. why is mewtwo there I guess that's the mystery they are trying to solve

Super Marios RPG!! I never played this one!! OH IT IS BEING REMADE?? THE NEW ARTSTYLE LOOKS SO DEFAULT MARIO, no way mallow, isn't the mallow plush like, super rare.. anyways, nice to see that the game is being remade.. This means so many official models too.. Although I wonder what they might change... No subtitle?

Huh?

PEACH RPG?? I wasn't expecting her to get one.. I kinda hope that Daisy appears.. Who is her compainion?

huh what on earth is happening?

ANOTHER THING?

LUIGI'S MANSION 2 DARK MOON SWITCH? So many remakes!! Next year!! Quite a year to look forward to!

Batsman- I kinda don't really-- Joker from the memes?? I hopes the "Ridders" isn't here!! Buff Joker.. What a odd design.. (Dork Knight) Oh, a trilogy

Gloomhaven- A Card and Tactical game? I really can't play it then, I'm bad with both!! I also kinda don't like this art style... so gloomy..

Just Dance- How many of these are they going to make!! I'm glad I wasn't streaming this, otherwise, I would get DMCA'd.. Streamers have to live in fear... How do these games even work? Live Service Just Dance??

Silent Hope - Finally.. an RPG without reading.. Why are they still making like, scream sounds... This sounds (Harvest Moon Cow?) there's dialouge 🤯

Fae Farm - Magical Rune Factory? Animal Crossings? Friends? Preorder Bonuses...

HOT WHEELS - The shift in voice tone!! Building your own tracks? Reminds me of Re-Volt... I miss that game

Manic Mechanics - Is this one of those Overcooked styled games? I don't have local players..

Rabbids Sparks of Hope - The Rabbids's designs are getting so out there.. KING BOMB OMB!! bunny bomb :)

Is this that Dragon Quest stuff? A Remake? Monster Wrangler? Kinda reminds me of that one.. CD game, where you like.. put in CDs and get Monsters.. seth or roth

Many announcements,, so fast.. I'm a slow typer..

PIKMIN!!!!!!!

ship sounds!! SO MANY RETURNING AND NEW STUFF MAMUTAS

WHAT DO YOU MEAN CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT??

UI??

OATCHI GETS A BAR?? TREASURE GAUGE??

DOG SNEEZE

HOUSE

OATCHI SO GOOD!!

OATCHI CAN BATTLE

GAMEBOY??????

CANNON BEATLE??????

CAVES!!!

LIKE THE PIKMIN 3 MISSIOM MODE?? 3 to life

BAD ENDING??? DANDORI?? Dandraff?? BAD ENDING IS CANON???? Olimar has become corrupted.. 30 days..

OATCHI SKILLS??

!?!?

YONNY??

THE NIGHT IS REAL?? NIGHT MAKES THEM CHAOS??

GLOW PIKMIN???

THE GHOSTS ARE REAL??? THEY HID THEM SO WELL

THEY CAN CHARGE????? PURPLES

SO MANY NEW THINGS!!!

I NEED THIS GAME

I will need to get this..

MORE PIKMINS??

HD PIMIN?????? PIKMIN 2???? >!!>!??!?!?!?!>L<#@JKNJESKNJF

HD PIKMin2???? DEMO PIKMINE 4??

HD PIKMIN 2/??

HD??? PIKMINNOW???

--- okay back to normal

metals gears

how am I supposed to be normal after "hey Pikmin2 HD download today"

The entire Pikmin game series (except Hey!) is on Switch..

I'm sorry Pikmin².. You could've never expected that...

Vampire Survivors...

bird musics (battles royale

I have no music skills

yo

I can't focus anymore..

How am I supposed to survived knowing that there's an HD remake of both original Pikmin games?

That's just like.. You can buy my favorites now

Marios carts!! Pikmin course... The bathsroom

Petey!! Double Dash!! Wiggler!! Kamek finally in Mario Karts.. it has been so long.. This summers.. I never actually bought it, I just play the tracks online..

More remakes.. There's a lot of this HD 2D stuff nowadays (I only see it in Nintendo Directs)

Now I can tell everyone to buy Pikmin 2... I can do a playthrough right before Pikmmin2..

NEW WARIO?? SMOOTH MOVES 2?? This is something I really want, Ialthough.. MARIO 64 DS?? I need to have more space.. PIKMIN!!!! Why do Wario games always use Pikmin 2 (swag) 😳

Warioware is awesome... A few more things?

Seattle? I don't think I can go there right now!!

Wait.. I wonder.. Pikmin might get more phyiscal copies..

Tears of the Kingdom.. I didn't end up buying it.. New Amiibo!!

The Finale..

NEW MARIO!! AHHH VOICE ACTING!!

New Style!! I really wish I could enjoy it, but my eyes stunk!!

Voice acting is scary!! New Flower...Woah.. Chaos....

Wonder...

luigi

peach

toat

DAISY??? DAISY MAINLINE?? YOSHY CARCTER? I'm claiming Daisy

That's somewhat soon!!

elephant marios

seriously mario why would you do that

DAISY!!

That was a VERY good Direct!!

The end

[frankendykes-monster]

@duel1971 sounded off in the replies so here we go~

Keep Watching The Skies!: American Science Fiction Movies of The Fifties has been an invaluable resource for me since late 2018 when I got back into this era of the genre, though I only just now got a physical copy of the two volume set. It's pretty exhaustive but its concept of what a "1950's" "American" film is a bit loose. Films that were produced in the 1950's but didn't come out until the 1960's are included, as are American edits of previously foreign films, which, okay, but it stretches the limits when including the 1962 release of Mothra (1961).

Trying to "figure out" Jack Cole lead to me to picking up Forms Stretched To Their Limits, a published adaptation of an article by Art Spiegelman for The New Yorker with layouts by Chip Kidd (truly...Spiegelman's finest work (sarcasm)). Where "critical study" and "celebration" and "photo book" and "reprint collection" begin and end is completely arbitrary with Forms, making it a bit hard to discuss or recommend. I will say that I was under the impression that Spiegelman didn't like superheroes so him writing a book about Plastic Man mostly was a surprise to me. Probably the most interesting thing is when reprinting full stories it switches from glossy magazine stock paper to newsprint, nice touch.

Kidd also did Shazam: The Golden Age of The World's Mightiest Mortal, which as far as I can tell is the only book that DC released to celebrate or promote Shazam (2019). It's mostly a huge photo reference book of merchandising and memorabilia surrounding Captain Marvel, which is a subject that had mostly been lost to time. Carmine Infantino had mention that comics companies have historically made the majority of their profits off of licensing rather than actual comics and yeah I can see it with all the stuff on display here.

Continuing with Cole, I also picked up some volumes of Yoe Books' Chilling Archives of Horror Comics, his and Dick Briefer's Frankenstein. Cole's volume is pretty exhaustive, collecting all of his horror comics from Web of Evil, which, he can draw some pretty disgusting caricatures ill say that at least. Briefer's volume is more of a highlight reel than anything with how thin it is, so the quest to read more of his Frankenstein shall continue...elsewhere...

I don't know what I was on a kick with 1950's horror comics but I've already mentioned Four Color Fear and The Horror! The Horror! here on Tumblr, both essential collections of material that wasn't published by EC, which gets all the attention with this genre in this decade.

Art Out of Time is one I was super excited about and it didn't disappoint, showcasing a ton of artists in comic strips and comics proper that did their job unconventionally. Some of the talent on display here (Dick Briefer, Fletcher Hanks, Ogden Whitney, etc.) aren't as "unknown" as they were in 2006 but plenty here still are; probably my favorite discovery so far is Gustave Verbeek and his comic strips that at first glance look like knockoff Winsor McCay stuff but reveal their oddities on closer inspection.

Finally we've got some Kirby and Ditko studies. Hand of Fire I'm not sure what I'm getting into yet, I just know Charles Hatfield sent out a public invite for anyone who wanted to contribute critical analysis of Kirby's work for a future book and my Devil Dinosaur proposal was rejected (the wounds are still fresh). I'm familiar with Chris Tolworthy's investigative work surrounding Kirby online so I was curious about The Lost Jack Kirby Stories; befitting a self-published work with little oversight, right now I'd say it's 50% legitimate uncovering and 50% conspiratorial nonsense that is just giving ammo to Lee sympathizers, but I digress. Mysterious Travellers is a political analysis of Ditko's entire body of work, I entirely grabbed it because I feel an obligation to grab all the stuff about Ditko published posthumously, of which we've totalled...three books in total now? Including Working With Ditko, discussing Ditko's overlooked time spent at DC in the 1970's.

Someone ask me about books I've recently gotten plz.

[ficsforeren]

The Last Song Chapter 15

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Eren Jaeger X Female Reader feat. Armin Arlert

Genre: Rockstar AU, Friends with Benefits, Angst, Smut, Fluff, Romance, Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn

Series Summary: Eren Jaeger has two personas, a charismatic lead vocal who has lost himself in fame, and a boy who struggles with depression, seeking for someone to bring him back to where he was twelve years ago. Where he only knew love in the form of your name.

Chapter Summary: Eren has lost so many people in his life, and when you walk away, he feels like you're abandoning him too. Chased by the ghosts of his past, he tries to keep his head clear. Right now, he just needs to find you.

Content Warnings: explicit sex (cunnilingus, blow job, fingering, hand job, car sex, dry humping, drunk sex, public sex, unprotected sex, one night stand, choking, treating women like objects, dub-con, corruption, face-sitting, sex toys, daddy kink, praise kink, slight degradation, etc), substance abuse (use of drugs, alcohol, tobacco), severe abandonment issues, childhood trauma, anxiety attacks, depression, adultery, physical abuse towards men and women, family issues, abusive parents, crude words, dark humor, mention of sexual assault/rape, harassment, car accident and child abuse.

Poster art by the most talented @rainbuniart (follow her on Twitter)

Eren stands icebound on his feet, his pupils blown as he rakes his eyes over the screen of his phone. The photo of him and Mikasa Ackerman sharing her bed comes into view. Their nudity is exposed to the camera, his tanned skin marked with scratches of her long nails and the carmine shade of her lipstick.

“Fuck,” he curses under his breath, his heart descending to his stomach. This is the first time he’s seen it. He didn’t even realize she took pictures of him on the night they spent together. Eren would’ve never let her if he knew.

And it only gets worse.

His thumb hovers above the screen, hesitating for a moment before he musters the courage and taps his finger against it. The voice message plays.

Mikasa’s breathy, seductive voice paints no effects on him other than disgust and vexation that grows stronger and stronger with each word he hears, like a roaring flame kissed by the wind. But there’s also panic rising within him, finally realizing that this was the reason why you were so agitated. Why you were so convinced that something serious happened between them—something more than just sex. The message Mikasa left him made it sound like they were in a relationship before. Like they used to date, even in love with one another, but nothing could be further away from the truth.

I need to chase after her. Eren decides as he turns frantic, spinning on his heels to snatch his jacket and his car key from the counter. I need to explain. I need her to know that this is just a misunderstanding.

But the question is, will you listen? It’s true that he hasn’t been completely honest with you, as he thought his honesty would only worsen the situation. You’ve been jealous of her, he notices that—he already figured that out when you called him during his overseas tour and asked him about his MV for Hero/Heroine. You had a perfectly good reason to be jealous. If he was in your shoes, he would’ve been too, perhaps even reacting a lot worse than you were. He didn’t tell you about the MV, that was strike one. He told you nothing happened between him and Mikasa, that was strike two. And now… this.

To his defense, he didn’t think he was lying when he told you that nothing was going on between him and her, but that’s only a matter of perspective. In his mind, they only had sex once—a meaningless, no feelings involved sex. Eren barely had any recollections of what happened that night. He was drunk, that was for certain, more intoxicated than he ever was. Mikasa kept him company for the night, she wanted him and he was okay with it, but that was it. He did that with countless other girls before. He had always liked the attention they gave him—made him feel alive, so to speak—but they never meant anything more to him than sex objects to satisfy his needs for the night. Mikasa was just another one of those girls. To him, she was nothing.

But to you, she was the projection of your biggest fear. She was everything you wanted to be—beautiful, strong, wealthy, successful, and a bunch of other things you wished you could have. You even admired her once, Eren recalled that too. Which was why he tried to reassure you with his words, that he would never care about her, or compare yourself to her, because you’re the only one in his eyes, aren’t you? You’ve always been.

But you don’t believe that. Not anymore.

Will she even believe you? The voice inside him speaks, breaking through the labyrinth of his mind, and pushes every good thought aside until it’s the only thing that’s left standing. Imagine if she said there was nothing between her and Armin, and you found that picture of them lying together in bed. What would you do?

Truth is, he wanted to tell you back then. His mouth was itching to form the words, the urge of being honest was there. “We slept together once, but it was a mistake. If I was in my right mind that night, I wouldn’t have done it. If I could rewind the time, I would’ve erased everything.” Those were the words that he didn’t have the bravery to say. Not with the ghosts of his past chasing after him.

Eren, look at my face! If you didn’t tell your father the truth, he wouldn’t have known! This is all your fault! You did this to me!

Carla’s voice still strikes like a clap of thunder breaking through the sky before the storm comes raging in. It causes the tiny hairs on his nape to raise, to plant turmoil in his chest, like a knife being dragged slowly across his skin, slicing his tendons.

Eren was afraid. If there was one thing he learned from the incident that happened between him and his parents—how him trying to stop his mother’s affair by telling his father the truth ended up with having his family torn apart—is that some things are better left unsaid. The burning pain in the shape of his mother’s palm that she left on his cheek was the proof of that.

Telling the truth would always be the right thing to do but it doesn’t always offer the right solution. Being honest has risks, and if you leaving him was one of those risks he had to take, Eren would rather stay quiet. He wouldn’t lie but he wouldn’t lay everything out on the table either.

He thought by not telling you about her would put you at ease, as there would be no way for you to find out, supposedly. Eren had tried his best to stay away from Mikasa, continuously blocking her contact and changing his phone number again and again whenever she discovered his new one. All he had done was to not make you worry, yet somehow, just like any other things he tried to bury in his past, they always managed to come back and meddle with his present.

Just go see her, Eren tries to distinguish the anxiety he has burning inside his chest. Just try to find her and talk to her. That’s all you need to be thinking right now.

It’s not too late.

But with every step he takes and every call he makes to find out where you are, his confidence withers little by little, fading like falling petals.

***

Porco’s calloused palm is pressing against the front of Pieck’s throat, his fingers long enough to enclose its sides. He can feel her pulse beating rapidly underneath, and the way she almost chokes between soft moans. He’s fucking her fast and deep, raw and merciless. Her skin reddens in the shape of his palms and teeth. The pressure he applies on her throat doubles the thrill that courses through her veins.

This is not something he usually does with other girls, nor did he ever been this rough with his past lovers, but Pieck… Pieck is something else and Porco knows her like the back of his hand, knows what gets her going, what makes her feel like the sky is falling and the only thing that matters left is for him to give her the pleasure that she needs.

How many times have they done this—him tearing the fabric of her dress apart and smearing her lipstick with his lips? Porco has lost count, but the excitement is almost the same as the first time. When his fingertips dance across her skin, she can feel the zest of it, just as intense, just as electrifying.

Pieck is insatiable in bed; her past partners might even call her a nymphomaniac when it comes to it. Porco, who had never been in a relationship where it’s only meaningless sex involved, knew that it was going to be a bad idea to be exchanging wet kisses and dirty words filled with lust with someone like Pieck, but he couldn’t stop. He had wanted her for so long, that even just the sight of her glancing at him during office meetings managed to stop his heart from beating. He wanted her not just for her body, but if that was the only thing she was willing to offer, what power did he have to say no?

If he could have it his way, Porco would’ve treated her much gentler, like a pair of young lovers exchanging body heat before war separated them on the first crack of dawn. His kiss would never bruise, his touch would never paint colors on her skin, and there would be no words being exchanged other than sweet whispers of her name and the praises that she secretly longed to hear. Porco would have loved that. He would have loved to love her, but he knows Pieck wouldn’t let him. She never did.

Deep in his heart, Porco always wishes that their sexual intercourse would evolve into something else, something more meaningful, because to him, it was always that way. Sex isn’t just about seeking release, it’s about having a connection—at least, that’s what he thought, but he knew no matter how much he convinced her so, Pieck would never agree. But he kept doing it anyway. Whenever she felt lonely, he would knock on her door, and he would taste the sweet flavor of her tongue mixed with the tang of gin and smoke. Pieck would turn around the second she was stripped bare to nothing but the necklace dangling around her neck. She’d land on her knees, her palms pressing against her sheets. She’d then raise her hips in the air, her face planted on her pillow, muffling the moans that broke loose when Porco split her open. “Harder,” she would always say, an urgent plea with her slurring her word, and he would comply with his heart breaking. Because he knew, once he did, it wasn’t going to be his name that would slip out of her mouth.

It would be Zeke’s.

It’s so easy to give up on his feelings, and he thinks, maybe he’s halfway there. He really likes that girl from the third floor of his office building, the one that he has gone on several dates with. She’s nice. She laughs at his jokes. She blushes when she catches him smiling at her during seminars. She adores him and she’s adorable. But when he touched her, her pretty moans, though delightful to his ears, did not feel right. Her little sighs, the way she kissed—everything felt like it was missing something. She’s so different, he thought, and it drowned him in misery once he realized that everything he did was only an attempt to distract himself. Because if he really liked this girl, he shouldn’t have been comparing her to Pieck at all.

And he should’ve stopped hoping that Pieck would feel something for him, especially when they’ve been doing this for months and there’s no progress in their relationship other than being closer as friends. But every time he touches her, like this with two of his fingers inside her mouth, her tongue swirling around them, he still wishes that he’s the only person she’s doing these kinds of things with. He still wishes that all this casual sex they’re doing could evolve into something more. That she would think of him as something more than a friend she trades body fluid with.

But she never did. He thought she never did. How could he not think so? They never talked about this. About their relationship. About the possibility of becoming something more. They never had their hands intertwined even if her legs were spread apart to welcome him inside. They never exchanged praises between heavy kisses. Every time he did, she would stop and reprimand him, telling him that she hated it. That she hated being called beautiful, and Porco knew that it wasn’t the word that repelled her; it was because of him. Because he was the one who said it. Not Zeke.

He was just a replacement for Zeke Fritz, and he should act like one.

Porco wished it could be different. He still does, but not as intensely as before. A huge part of him has given up chasing after her, as it would only serve him more heartbreak to deal with in the morning after. Sometimes he wanted to stop for good. To put an end to this friends-with-benefits relationship and just be a friend who offers a shoulder to cry on as a form of comfort and nothing more.

What Porco doesn’t know is that it’s all just an act on Pieck’s part. Every rule she made, every scold she uttered when things became too intimate—those are just her weak attempts at trying to stop them both from falling in love with each other. It used to be real when they first got together, but no. Not anymore.

She knew that he liked her from the start, in a way a little boy loved his first crush. She never saw him looking at her with dirty eyes, but she knew how much he wanted her body too, just like all men did. The old Pieck loved it when she was adored by a man in such an innocent way. It boosted her self-esteem, and she found it to be entertaining to shatter a man’s heart and watch him crumble to pieces under her spell. It made her feel powerful. Porco was just another pretty face, a better lay than any men she’s ever been with. So she asked him to keep having sex with her just for fun, and she told him that she loved Zeke as a way to rile him up. She could tell he was angry whenever another man’s name escaped her mouth, could feel the way he slammed his hips a little harder, his nails sinking a little deeper. And Pieck would be elated, knowing how much control she had over him. He was just a toy, her favorite one—a marionette with his strings tangled around her fingers. She did it again and again, wanting to watch him break but he never did. His love for her was persistent.

As time went by, they became friends and Pieck realized that it would be dangerous to keep this up. She no longer wanted to break his heart, as he was already broken so many times by other people. She felt sorry for him, even catching a glimmer of herself in him. They are the same, which was why she thought it would be wiser to stop having sex with him before it got any worse.

But at the same time, she didn’t have the will to do it. She loved the attention he gave her. She loved being adored and touched by him. But things should stay the way it was if they wanted to remain friends, so she kept pretending. She didn’t want him to fall harder for her, and she didn't want to start falling for him. Because this would all lead to nothing, right? They were both too skeptical when it came to relationship, with Pieck being too afraid to welcome another man into her life and place her faith in him, while Porco… He just didn’t trust himself enough to be with another girl, afraid that he would hurt another.

Porco is the sweetest man Pieck has ever been with, and she loves him dearly as a friend, as a brother, and maybe, if she lets herself be true to her heart, as a lover too. She finds it endearing, the way he always blushes with a scowl on his face whenever someone showers him with affection. I’m allergic to it, he would always grumble, playing it as a joke, but Pieck knows the truth. Porco is just so used to being in love with his partners, but not being loved by them.

He’s an altruist, Pieck would call it, the kind who finds joy by bringing that same feeling to others. He loves to pamper his lover, trying his best to protect them and satisfy them in every way possible to the point that his affection might feel overwhelming to some people. His past partners tend to find him to be too controlling, but it was just one misunderstanding after another. Whenever he asked them, “Why are you not wearing the dress I bought you?”, all he wanted was to see them happy for the expensive gifts he gave them. But they found it to be annoying as if he was doubting them. When he called and questioned them, “Where are you? Why haven’t you come home? It’s getting late—do you know how worried I am right now?” They thought he was being possessive, but that wasn’t it. Porco just cared too much, worried about every little thing. He just didn’t want his loved ones to get hurt.

Maybe it was because he showed his affection rather aggressively—and too straightforward—that it came off too strong for some people. But he has always been like that, hasn’t he? He’s a passionate, impulsive, headstrong man who tends to let his emotions take control. It’s both his strength and his flaw, and Pieck, although she used to be scared of that too, finds it to be something charming that defines him. The longer she spent her time with him, the more she knew about him, and the harder…

I fell for you.

“Porco…” Pieck breathes out, her lips bitten raw from the frenzy kisses they shared when they tried to disentangle every fabric off their bodies a moment ago. Tonight, she’s tired of pretending. She’s been trying to deny her feelings for so long, and she can no longer keep them bottled up inside. So when Porco flips her around to her stomach, one hand holding her waist from behind and another one aligning himself against her entrance, she shakes her head in protest. Tonight, she wants to see his face. She wants to land her hand on his chest, wants to hear the rhythmic sound of his pounding heart—one that beats so vigorously with every gasp and whimper she makes. She doesn’t order him around like usual, doesn’t force him to prioritize her pleasure above everything else. Tonight, she lets him take control. And she lets herself crumble in his arms.

It’s like a dream, Porco thinks, to hear his name—his own name—escape her soft, beautiful pink lips. It’s like a shot of adrenaline that sends his cheeks to glow bright pink and his stomach twisting in delight. Like a magic spell that keeps him entranced and bedazzled, turning him into a puppet that would do anything to satisfy her desire.

Pieck doesn’t know how long he’s been waiting for her to say his name like this—like he’s the only one that she wants, the only one that she needs. One moan of his name causes his entire movement to come to a halt.

“Porco..?” Pieck’s gentle call and a tender caress of her fingers on his cheekbone draws him back to reality. “Why are you stopping?”

His heart palpitates. “You’re…” He wets his lip. “You just said my name.”

Not Zeke’s. Not anyone else’s.

Mine.

Their eyes are locked together, deciphering each other’s deepest secrets. Fear starts to creep up his skin when he thinks, What if she didn’t mean to say it?

But Pieck smiles, so graceful and sweet, a stark contrast to the cheeky, sultry grins she tends to cast at him. She doesn’t answer him with words; she conveys it with her lips pressing against his, hoping that the chaste kiss will make him understand that she’s not using him as a replacement for someone else. That she wants him just as much as he wants her. That she wants him because he’s Porco Galliard, the man whom she adores with all her heart.

When she breaks away, his flush blooms on his face. “Can you… say my name again?”

“Porco—”

The man groans, stealing her breath away with another kiss as he uses one arm to hoist her thigh, burying himself deeper inside her. A certain angle makes her whimper out, “Yes, right there,” and she looks so irresistible like this, with her eyes clouded with lust, a shimmer of his reflection painted in her glassy dark brown eyes. She’s beautiful, breathtakingly so, and it kills him to not be able to say it out loud. “Pieck,” Porco breathes out, a bead of sweat rolls down to his chin. “Pieck, I—”

But their mouths meet again and his words are swallowed and that’s okay. They don’t need to be spoken. He could convey them with his kiss and she would understand. Porco moves his hand from her throat to her wrist, curling his fingers around it as he pins it down against the bed, right beside her head. Pieck relaxes into the kiss, tangling her legs around his hips as he picks up the pace, their orgasms closing in. “Porco,” she takes his earlobe between her lips. “Porco, you feel so good inside me.”

Porco shivers, his furrow deepens. “Fuck.”

When she feels his hips begin to stutter, she twists her hand free from his hold and reaches up to grab him, her manicured fingers filling the spaces between his calloused ones. Surprised, Porco separates their mouths but he keeps their hands intertwined. The sudden intimacy acts like a hammer ramming itself against his chest, stealing another moan from his lips when she holds his hand tighter and closes her walls around him, shaking in the bliss he’s given her.

His face reddens, overwhelmed by the emotions that come washing over him like waves in the storm. He tangles his other hand around her raven locks and he holds her head still as he kisses her deep, pumping into her until he releases everything inside, her name erupting between a string of expletives.

There’s an unspoken rule between them that reminds them almost immediately to break away and mind their own business as soon as the sex ended. No sharing little kisses, no cuddles, and no taking care of each other. Pieck would always be the first one who’d jump off the bed, telling him, “Can you wait outside my room? I’m gonna take a shower and I don’t want you to see me without my makeup on.” Porco would sigh but he would do as she said.

So, when Pieck holds him by the cheek and kisses him languidly, holding him close to her until she can feel his muscles relaxing, Porco’s ears glow pink. When she whispers the words, “Don’t leave me just yet, I still want to feel you,” against his lips, his insides are melting.

This is not right, he reminds himself, even when his whole body thinks otherwise. “What are you doing?” He asks her, pulling away slightly to observe her face better. The creases on his temple are prominent but so is the crimson that paints his cheekbones.

“I’m not doing anything.”

“This isn’t what we usually do, Pieck.”

“I’m doing something new for a change.”

“There’s a reason why we don’t do this.”

Pieck’s little mischievous smile falters as her chest tightens. Is he repulsed by it? Here she is, trying to show a glimpse of how she truly feels for him and he’s watching her with cautious eyes, his thick eyebrows sewn together. “I know,” she admits, voice sounding too weak as if she has been sick for days. She disentangles her arms from his neck before she shifts her gaze to the side. “I just… I guess I’m just feeling a bit lonely today.”

His frown starts to cease, his eyes softening at her words. “What’s wrong?”

She doesn’t answer. She can’t.

Porco notices the discomfort that’s growing in her chest. “Hey,” he frames her face, rough hand turns delicate as he guides her eyes back to meet his hazel ones. “You can tell me anything. You know that, right?”

He’s being a friend, Pieck knows, and it breaks her because she doesn’t need a friend. She wants him to comfort her like a lover would do. “Yeah. Thanks, Pokko.”

Her grin is impish, always the better actor but Porco remains unconvinced. Carefully, as if he’s still unsure if it’s wise for him to do it, the sandy blond-haired male brushes her loose strands away from her face. His gaze holds so many emotions inside, so many unspoken words and Pieck wishes she could stop the time to unravel them all. Porco tucks her strands behind her ear, and as he feels like his cheeks are bitten by fire, he leans down to lay a tender kiss on the spot between her eyebrows.

Pieck’s eyes widen shortly, her heart rate soaring. There has never been a man who treated her like this, and she never imagined that a simple forehead kiss would send so much thrill coursing through her veins. It isn’t just an innocent kiss. Porco is crossing the lines, just like she was a moment ago.

The color on their faces matches each other’s when Porco breaks away, with none of them having the bravery to lock gazes.

“What…” She clears her throat, fumbling with her words. “What was that for?”

“Shut up, I was trying to comfort you,” he grumbles in shame, shifting away from her. “Which now, I realize, is a dumb, sappy thing to do. Forget it ever happened.”

Pieck will remember it for the rest of her life.

Ah, damn it, she bites the inside of her cheeks. You’re not being fair, Pokko.

She flinches when he pulls himself out of her, his essence oozing out to coat the side of her thigh. Porco would love to clean her up and embrace her from behind as they sink together in her tub, but as she never let him do so in the past, he’s stopped himself from offering his help. Instead, he chooses to sit on the bed beside her, his back leaning against the headboard.

Pieck rolls to lay on her stomach, giggling, “Can’t believe you kissed my forehead. What are we, sixth graders?”

“Shut up.”

“I think my heart just skipped a beat for you, though.”

“Shut. Up.” After he messily ruffles her hair and covers her eyes with her bangs, Porco reaches out to grab a pack of cigarettes he left on her nightstand. He offers one to her but she shakes her head no so he sticks it between his teeth instead. “So,” Porco utters as he lights it up, a cloud of smokes filling the air as he deeply exhales. “What’s gotten into you today?”

Pieck slides her arms underneath her pillow, laying her cheek against it. “Nothing.”

“It’s not nothing.” Porco snorts, tapping the ashes off his cigarette on the edge of his ashtray. “We never did missionary before.”

She shrugs. “I just felt like doing it, that’s all.”

“Bullshit.”

“Why is that bullshit?”

“Because I know how you always tried to avoid looking at my face during sex.” The way he says it so bitterly makes it clear that it aggravated him deeply whenever she did it, as it reminded him of the fact that she was only using him as a substitute. It’s easier to imagine doing this with someone else when she doesn’t have to see his face, Porco always assumes it that way.

But that’s where he is wrong, terribly so. She doesn’t want to see his face not because she wants to imagine Zeke in his shoes; it’s because she’s trying her best not to think too much about him. To stop herself from being so attached to him. She didn’t want to make eye contact, didn’t want to cry out his name between kisses, didn’t want him to know the faces she made when he brought her to ecstasy in the way no one ever did.

Her tongue is itching to form the words, to let him know how she truly feels about him, but she’s still afraid. What would happen if they start dating each other? Her image is tainted, people are looking at her with leering eyes whenever she walks down the hallway. She doesn’t want them to start looking at him in that way too just because they’re lovers.

She’s known to be the most promiscuous girl in the office. Buy her a drink and she’ll suck your dick before she can finish it, she once heard a co-worker speak behind her back, pulling dirty snickers from the other males. But it’s okay. She’s fine with it. Perhaps, she’s even used to it. Even when she was still a virgin back in high school, people already called her a slut for no reason other than being pretty enough to steal their boyfriends’ attention away. She didn’t even try to be attractive; people just saw her that way. When she lost her virginity to a boy she claimed to love during prom night—one that she trusted to like her not because of her face or body, but for her heart and personality—she realized it was a mistake. He was the same, just like the other boys who wanted her body. That night, she told him to stop kissing her, and he didn’t. She told him to stop touching her, and he didn’t. She told him to stop, she really did, over and over again, but he slammed his palm over her mouth and forced himself on her in an abandoned parking lot, just a couple of blocks away from her house. And no one heard her cry. No one came to help. No one.

Every right she had of her body was stripped away from her that night. She was treated no better than an object, by the person she adored the most at that time. First, she felt fear. Then, she felt shame. Betrayed. And hatred, not just toward the man who didn’t give a damn about her feelings, but herself.

That incident changed her. Years passed by and she became stronger. She wouldn’t allow herself to feel guilty about that night, she learned to love her body back. But her perspective toward men, and sex itself, started to change. They became meaningless to her, everything was. Sex, relationship status, love—she stopped believing in it. Sex would always be just sex. And if people were going to take advantage of her anyway, she learned that it’s best to stop fighting back and go with the flow. Sex could be enjoyable if she stops resisting, she finds, and she was no longer scared of being objectified by men. She took advantage of it. She had lost her choice back then, but now she’s taken back control, both of her body and her life. In her mind, they don’t get to fuck her because they want to, they do because she allows them to. She didn’t do it to give them pleasure, they were the ones who had to pleasure her.

She was always dominant in bed, always the one who gave out commands, and Porco learned about it from how hard Pieck tied her sash around his wrist, binding both hands behind his back as she settled on his lap. It wasn’t just a game to her, wasn’t just a fetish or a kink she loved to try. It was an act of revenge. She was using him as she pleased.

But she wasn’t going to fall in love, that much she promised herself. They could taste her body but they would never have her heart. That’s how it was supposed to be, even with Porco. But Porco… It was never just her body that he wanted, was it? He wanted her everything. He wanted her heart first, and everything else second. Wanted to take her heart with him, wanted to engrave his name in her head until she could no longer think about anything or anyone else but him. And Pieck, for the first time in her life, feels like she’s willing to give it all to him too.

“Porco.”

The said male’s eyes flicker, seemingly more golden than ever underneath the dimness of her bedroom light as they find their way to meet her brown ones. It always sends shivers down his spine whenever she calls him by his name, as he is so used to being called Pokko or another pet name that is just as annoying—and endearing—to him. “What?” He runs a hand through his slicked-back hair, pushing back the stray strands that fall over his eyes.

“Are you…” Her voice turns quiet, gradually losing confidence and it’s very unusual for her to do that Porco almost forgets to tap the ashes off his cigarette. “Have you ever felt embarrassed being seen with me?”

The question makes him blink, surprised not just by her sentence but the way she said it—nervous and saddened. “What are you talking about?” He replies with a frown—his signature look, Pieck would say. “You’re asking me if I’m ashamed of being friends with you?” He scoffs. “Don’t be stupid.” Porco straightens his back, taking another puff. When she stays mute, he sighs. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on in your head right now, but as annoying as you are, you’re a decent person, Pieck.”

A faint smile breaks upon her lips. “Decent?”

“I meant, nice,” Porco corrects the word for her, rolling his eyes. “You’re a nice person. Annoying,” he emphasizes once more and this time, she’s the one who rolls her eyes. “But, yeah, nice.”

“Do tell me more.” She bats her eyelashes at him, teasing him about it and hoping it would make him blush but he sees something in her eyes: the sincere happiness that blooms on her face and how she desperately needs to hear someone speak words of comfort to her. He wants to ask what makes her feel so distraught that she has to ask this question out loud but he figures it can wait.

Crushing the rest of his cigarette on the ashtray, Porco slightly turns his body, facing her properly. “You’re kind,” he says, meeting her eyes but doesn’t have the strength to linger on them for too long. It still makes him feel shy, looking into her eyes and being stared back by her like this. “And you’re sweet. People might think otherwise from how vulgar your words are when you speak, but I know that you never meant any harm. I know how you always try to act strong in front of people—how you try to look like the shits they said about you behind your back don’t faze you but I know that sometimes, they did. That they hurt you. That they made you angry. But you never did anything about it, because you knew it would only be a waste of time. You didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of knowing that they hurt you. You wanted to prove that you were a better person than that bunch of lowlifes; that you were much stronger than them, and you did. And that’s why I admire you, Pieck. If it was me, I would’ve socked each one of them on the face.”

“Wow…” She blushes slightly. She knew how attentive he could be, she just thought she was a better liar than this. “I didn’t think you’d notice.”

“That their words got to you?”

She nods. “I always thought I hid it well.”

“Well,” Porco smiles thinly. “I didn’t at first. But when you kept calling me up for sex during an unreasonable hour and clawed at my back like a fucking demon, I kinda got the clue that you were pissed-off.”

They exchange glances before they melt into soft laughter. “Sorry,” Pieck says. “I’ll try not to do that next time.”

“Don’t. I think it’s hot.” He smirks. “But maybe trim your nails a little? Kinda hurt when I take a shower afterward.”

“Sure. If you let me peg you again next time.”

“Jesus Christ, I was this close at thanking God for not having that word mentioned in our conversation today.” But when she laughs about it, it spreads to his face like fire and Porco bites his lower lip to stop his grin from appearing.

Porco always looks five years younger when he doesn’t frown, and with that beguiling smile being showcased on his lips, Pieck has never wanted to kiss a man so badly in her entire life.

She raises herself from the bed, moving closer to him until she sits down before him. Pieck rests her hand on his lap, her body still bare with her quilt pooling around her waist. “Porco,” the sudden gravity in her voice makes him nervous. “Can I kiss you?”

He almost chokes, flustered from head to toe. He never expected her to ask for it, especially like this. “Do—” His voice turns a pitch higher. “Do you really need to ask first?”

“Well, it’s chivalrous for a man to ask his lady for a kiss beforehand.”

“Oh, I’m the lady here?” He snorts and she giggles, and just like that, his gaze turns mellow again. Porco leans in, his hand resting against the side of her face, careful thumb painting delicate strokes against her cheekbone. His eyes droop, fixated on the shape of her mouth. “Can I kiss you?” He whispers, gently gliding the pad of his thumb against the soft texture of her lips.

Her heart jerks, the butterflies in her stomach flutter their wings. “Yes, please.”

Porco tastes like a cigarette and the peppermint candy he keeps in the pocket of his jeans at all times. There are a lot of men who taste sweeter than he does, but no one kisses her just as sweet. The way he moves his lips, the way they slant them against hers. The way he sighs into the kiss, his eyebrows knitted in passion as he slides his hand to rest on her nape, his fingers curling around her wavy strands. He kisses her with feelings and that’s what makes it different. It's only Porco who can kiss her like this, who can tug on her heartstrings like she’s an instrument waiting to be played.

“Porco,” Pieck breathily whispers against his lips, “Be with me…”

Porco breathes heavily through his nose, his thumb pressing down on her chin to open her mouth wider. Their tongues meet, only the tips at first before she sighs and lets his slide against her own. He purrs at the contact. “I’m already here.”

“No, I meant—” She pulls away with her hand on his chest, catching him off guard. “Be with me… P-properly.” Porco looks at her like she’s the hardest poem he’s ever read and Pieck swallows her breath, the throbbing in her heart pumping more adrenaline to her veins. “Why don’t we take a step further?”

"I'm not following you, Pieck.”

“I mean, like, why don't we move in together?” She wants to bury her face in her hands, regretting her choice of words. Why is it so hard to just say ‘I want us to start dating’, Pieck chides herself. What you’re saying is ten times more outrageous than that!

“You want us to what?” He blurts out, eyes largening.

“You can be my roommate.” Her thoughts are jumbled, panic and shame making her words incoherent. “It’s cheaper that way, right? Plus, you’re almost here all the time. We can share a room and use the other one as your gaming room or something—”

“Pieck—”

“Or if you want us to have separate rooms like we’re roommates, that’s fine too! We can—“

“Pieck,” he stops her, placing both hands on her shoulders. “Calm down.” Her body turns stiff but with a sharp intake of breath, her tense muscles begin to unknot and all it’s left is just the shame that turns her pale skin scarlet. “Okay,” Porco examines her closely. “Let’s start over. What are you trying to say?”

Pieck moves to stand on her knees, gathering his face in her hands. She peers deeply into his eyes, feeling like her head is about to explode from all these emotions she has inside. “Porco, let’s do it. No more casual sex. Let’s do this seriously.”

“I—What?”

“If she could do it with Eren, why not us?” Pieck suggests, there’s panic in her eyes, trapped between being afraid of crossing the line and wanting it to happen. “We understand each other a lot better. I know how you used to have a crush on me in the past, and if you still like me that way—which I’m hoping you still do, then I’ll be honest and say that…” She’s running out of steam. “I’ve… been having feelings for you too…” Now that she’s saying everything out loud, she realizes just how embarrassing this must sound. But that’s okay. She can handle it. She just hopes her feelings for him don’t sound… shallow.

This is probably not the best time to talk about this, and perhaps she’s not saying this right. But this is her first time harboring these kinds of feelings for someone, feelings so intense, they make her brain turn to mush whenever Porco smiles a little bit too gentle than usual. Pieck doesn’t know how to say it. She just wishes he understands.

Porco’s jaw hangs loose on his face, staring at her like she’s grown another head. It’s so… bizarre to finally be at the receiving end of the words he’s been waiting to hear. It feels like a dream, and maybe it is, which is why he’s grinding his teeth together, trying to wake himself up but he can’t. This is reality. This is truly happening.

And yet…

Why can’t he say something? Why can’t he find the words?

“Porco..?” The thrill in her eyes slowly turns to dread. “Pokko, please say something.”

His chest tightens. Slowly, he clamps his hand around her wrist, taking it away from his face. “I don’t know if you’re really being serious or you’re just teasing me—”

“I’m serious,” she hurriedly confirms. “Dead serious. I know it must be hard for you to believe me after how I treated you all this time, and honestly? I can’t even believe that I’m saying this to you. Fuck, I don't even know why I have these feelings in the first place when all I’ve been doing was trying to stop myself from falling for you but—” She catches her breath, frantic for air. “I can’t. It’s no use, Porco. It’s impossible for me to not like you in that way. It’s…” She presses their temples together, closing her eyes while Porco holds his breath. “Real. What I feel for you is real. I’ve been trying to deny it but it hurts me whenever I see you spend your time with that girl, seeing you laugh with her in the hallway. I don’t want it.”

His head is spinning, around and around until he loses grip on reality. “You’re… jealous?”

“Jealous,” she chortles once at herself, pulling away just enough for him to catch her sheepish smile. “Yeah, I guess I am. I don’t want you to be with anyone else. I want to be the only one who makes you laugh that way.”

“But…” He croaks. “Your jokes are terrible.”

She blinks twice before she bursts out laughing. “Yeah.” She sniffles, wiping her eyes. “My jokes are terrible.”

Pieck’s laughter is a disease, one that’s contagious. Whenever she laughs, he’ll smile along with her. But not tonight. Tonight, Porco reaches out to seize her hand, his palm covering her knuckles. And he leans in close—close enough for her to feel the warmth of his breath fanning her skin. “Why are you crying?” He questions, so quietly as if he’s afraid that he’ll scare her away.

She doesn’t know why. She didn’t even realize that she was until he asked about it. Her emotions are all over the place—joy, loneliness, shame, fear, and hopes mixed into one. Ah, this is the worst, she complains inwardly, hating herself for it. I look so dumb right now. “I’ve got something in my eyes.” She promptly turns around, wiping every bit of tears away with the heel of her palm but they’re unstoppable. Damn it, stop crying, she begs herself, already feeling the way her body is shuddering with every broken sob. “I’m—I’m sorry, I don’t know why—”

To her surprise, Porco circles his arms around her petite waist, gently pulling her back onto his lap until she has her spine connected to his chest like a set of a puzzle. “Calm down,” he says again, his lips brushing like a flutter of butterfly wings against her shoulder. And Porco waits. He waits until her body stops shaking. He waits until her sobs turn into whimpers until eventually, they’ll fade into thin air.

This time, Porco takes the lead. “So, you’re telling me… that you want us to date?”

Her heart throbs. Resting her arms above the ones that surround her waist, she answers him with a weak nod.

“I thought you didn’t want to be in a relationship.”

“I want to have one if it’s with you.”

“Why?”

“Because I like you, Pokko, what else?” Pieck can’t see his face, and when he stays silent, every second that passes by feels like a rope tightening around her throat. “Porco…? Say something, please…”

“I want to believe you…” His voice is nothing but a murmur. “But at the same time, I’m worried that you misread your feelings.”

“It’s my feelings. How could I misread them?”

Because jealousy doesn’t always mean love, Pieck. “You do know there’s a reason why I said I didn’t want to be in a relationship, right? I’m a control freak—“

Pieck shakes her head. “You’re not.”

“I’m possessive. I get overly jealous—”

“I’m all those things too, why is it so wrong?”

“No, you’re not listening to me,” he chides gently, accompanying it with a soft kiss on the juncture of her neck. “You’re important to me, Pieck, but I don’t want to ruin what we have now because I know I’ll be that guy again if we start dating. And maybe right now you’re saying it’s fine—that you’ll accept that part of me too, but you don’t know yet. What if things don’t work out?”

She gives a moment to let his words sink in and Porco waits with a thrumming heart. He may sound mature and calm, but inside his chest, a hurricane churned.

“Yeah, I don’t think I can do it,” Pieck says, and Porco freezes. He didn’t think she’d give up this easily.

“Oh…” His chest constricts, smothering him. “Yeah… Well, I guess we should just stay where we are then.”

“No, that’s not what I meant.” She spins around on his lap, squishing both of his cheeks with her hands. “I can’t agree with you no matter what you say to me. I know I’m being so naive right now, but what I care about right now is that I’ve never felt this way toward somebody else before and I need you to feel the same way like I do. I sound selfish, and that’s right, I am selfish. You’ve been friends with me for years, you know that. I don’t want to have it any other way, Pokko. I can’t. I’m willing to risk it all if that’s what it takes to be with you. I’m willing to bet everything on this because I want you to be mine and mine only.” Pieck’s gaze is burning, even if her eyes are still misted by her tears. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there, isn’t that what you always said?”

Porco gulps, his eyes large in shock. “You’re… You’re being a bit possessive right now.”

“Yeah, well good,” she spits back, her tone a little bit harsher than intended. “That makes two of us then. So, are you going to say yes or not?”

“Why do you sound like you’re threatening me?”

“Because I am. Take me as your girlfriend or I swear to God, Porco Galliard, I will blackmail you. I know your secrets and I’m not afraid to tell literally everyone in the office that you have a heart-shaped mole on your cute little butt.”

She’s doing it again, Porco thinks, can’t help but be amused a little by it. Pieck may sound like she has all the control, that she could blurt every word and every feeling blatantly while staying unfazed but he can tell how vulnerable she is. How she’s scared of rejection, how she’s embarrassed about baring her heart like this without knowing whether he’s going to do the same.

Before his lips could curve into a grin, Porco steals her adorable pout with a kiss. Her hands grip tightly against his shoulders, conflicted between allowing herself to be swept by the sweetness of his kiss or to continue with the conversation. Thankfully for her, Porco breaks away.

“Y-you’re trying to distract me.” She covers her stutter with a grumble.

“Is it working?”

“No.”

“Well, then,” he kisses her again, parting her lips with his, running his tongue along her lower lip. It leaves her skin tingling, her eyes a little bit dazed. He breaks away, his thumb pressing against the corner of her mouth. “How about now?”

She can feel she’s about to lose the battle. “S-stop kissing me and just answer my question already!”

Porco laughs softly, shaking his head. “You are so annoying.” But his touches speak otherwise. He plays with her hair, his fingers curling against the pendant that lays between the valley of her breasts. He takes a moment, building the tension. “I guess…” He trails his fingers upward, following the shape of her clavicle. Pieck turns stiff, her heart beating loudly in anticipation. “You leave me with no choice but to say—”

The doorbell rings, causing them to almost jump off their skins. Porco stops his sentence midway, and Pieck groans, slamming her forehead against his chest. “Oh my God,” she whines. “If that’s the pizza delivery guy, I’m gonna kill him.”

“I didn’t order any pizza.”

“You didn’t?”

“Nope. I was busy fucking you ten minutes ago.”

“Oh, yeah, right.”

The bell chimes in again, growing persistent and Pieck’s glare turns more menacing with each ring. Porco chuckles, pressing a light kiss on her lips once. “I’ll get the door. Clean up and get dressed. We’ll continue our conversation later.”

Her pout returns, her bottom lip jutting out. “Can’t you please just say yes first?”

Porco climbs down the bed, the corner of his lips tilting up. “Later, Pieck.”

“But whyyyyy?”

His eyes turn crescent, laughing in the way she rarely saw. He leans in to give her a cute peck on her forehead, before he pulls away with his hand settled on top of her head, their eyes meeting at the same height. “Cause I want to see you suffer just a little.” His wink baffles her, painting her cheeks pink.

“I hate you, Pokko.”

“Be nice or I won’t date you.”

“Oh my God, just kill me.”

With another ring of the bell, Porco hastily slips back into his jeans and walks out of her bedroom, closing the door behind him to give her privacy. Yawning once as he pulls down his white shirt, he curls his fingers around the doorknob.

He finds you standing on the other side of the door, your eyes red and puffy, and your body shivering from the cold. Porco gapes, rushing to your spot to check on you. “Hey, what happened? Are you okay?”

“Can I…” Your voice quavers. “Can I stay with you guys for the night?”

***

“I think I can understand why he wasn’t being one hundred percent honest with you about it,” Pieck says as she helps you dry your hair with your towel. You have just finished taking a shower, your skin is still damp and smells familiarly like her shampoo. You have told your two best friends everything they needed to know as you tried to calm down. Your body is no longer trembling from the cold or your previous outburst, but the pang in your chest is just as wide.

“I know,” you weakly mumble back, “I know that he did it because he didn’t want me to worry, but… I can’t help but think what else has he been keeping from me?”

Your female co-worker, who’s sitting on the coffee table before you, leans back with her palms propping her weight, crossing her legs. “Everybody has secrets, honey. I’m sure you have something you keep to yourself too.”

Porco returns to the living room with three cups of hot drinks. He hands one to Pieck, “Coffee. Bitter like your soul,” he says and she rolls her eyes, muttering flatly, “Thanks,” with no sense of gratitude whatsoever. “And some hot chocolate for you,” he says, handing you your cup before he takes a seat beside you on the couch. “That’s your favorite, right?”

You take a sip, feeling the familiar taste hitting your tongue. “Yeah. Thank you, Porco.” He returns your smile with a light ruffle of your hair. “Your man is an ass but he’s not a jerk,” he says, blowing on his coffee. “And he didn’t really do anything wrong. He slept with her a long time before you got together, right?” He sees you timidly nod your head. “Then, you shouldn’t blame him for it.”

“I’m not blaming him ‘cause he slept with her.”

“Really?” Pieck asks. “‘Cause you kinda sound like you’re upset because of that too.”

You sigh, your head throbbing. “I guess I just feel a little bit… crushed, you know? I always thought it was a one-sided thing. Eren seemed like he hated her so much, like he couldn’t stand her because she was so obsessed with him. And I felt relieved because of it, ‘cause I thought he had zero interest in her. That there was no way he would want to be with her in that way. But it’s not true, is it? He liked her once.”

“I don’t think he did,” Porco says, leaning his back against the couch.

“Well, he liked her enough to have sex with her.”

“Having sex with someone doesn’t always mean you’re into them like that,” Pieck tries to cheer you up. “Maybe he just found her face attractive. Or her boobs.”

“Or maybe he just felt like having sex at that time and she was the only one available,” Porco shrugs. “No matter what it was, I bet it was nothing deep.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because we’ve done that,” Pieck answers you. “We’ve been having casual sex for more than a year. And I’m not talking about me and Porco. We’ve been sleeping with other people too, and there’s nothing serious about it. We said hi, we fucked, we had a good time, and we left. That’s it.”

“I’m sorry, I just can’t think that way because I’m not like you guys.” You can feel frustration building inside you again, followed close by exhaustion. “I’ve only ever had sex with one person my entire life and it’s such a big deal for me. I’m not the type who can meet someone at a bar and hook up with them in the next hour. Maybe Eren is that type—maybe it’s like you said,” you gesture your hand toward Porco, “He just wanted to hook up and she was the only one present at that time. But in my head, I keep seeing it differently. I can’t stop thinking that he liked her then. Maybe a little too much. And it scares me because what if one day…” You tarry, your hand clutching against the fabric that covers your chest. “What if one day he’ll like her again?”

Pieck and Porco trade glances in silence as you turn pensive. With a sigh, Pieck takes the lead. “Okay, honey, listen to me.” She leans closer and lands both hands on your shoulder, squeezing them lightly. “You gotta relax. I know that you think she’s perfect for him, but you’re the one he wants. Plus, it happened one time in the past, and he sounds like he regrets it big time to me. You just gotta trust him when he said that it didn’t mean anything to him.”

You pause, chewing on your bottom lip. “The voice message she left didn’t sound that way, though.”

“Maybe she’s just a delusional bitch.” Pieck throws her hands in the air. “Babe, are you seriously going to trust her words over his? You don’t know her but you know Eren. This is the same guy who literally punched a journalist on the face just because the dude mentioned your name in an interview. The same guy who told a thousand people to sing happy birthday to you. The same guy who told you secrets he never told anyone about. I don’t know about you, but it just sounds stupid to trust a girl—who’s an obsessed fangirl of his, by the way, just a crazy bitch like the rest of them—over someone you’ve known for like, what, a decade?”

You’re sinking further into your seat, guilt, and shame erupting from the bottom of your stomach. She’s right, you think inwardly, What the hell am I doing?

“Don’t be too hard on her, Pieck,” Porco reprimands when he notices how you seem like you’re on the verge of crying again. “It’s easy to think that way when you’re not the one facing the problem. She’s allowed to be upset. Give her some time to process this.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry.” Pieck exhales, not out of frustration, but as a way to keep herself composed. “Didn’t mean to get worked up like that. Guess I was just frustrated over something else.” She silently glares at the man before her and Porco covers his cheeky grin with his mug, sipping his coffee. Kicking him once on the shin, she returns to you, taking your hand and rubbing her thumb soothingly against your knuckles. “You okay?”

“I’m fine.” Your smile still doesn’t reach your eyes but it’s a start. “Thanks for listening, guys. I guess I’m just overreacting.”

“Hey.” Porco lands a hand on your head, bending down a little to match your height. “It’s normal to react this way. You don’t have to be embarrassed by it. Cry as much as you want if you feel like that can calm you down. And maybe it’s best if you stop seeing him for a while too, just to get your head clear.” His touch reminds you of how your dad used to comfort you, making you feel nostalgic.

“What if he comes here, though?” Pieck asks. “I mean, he doesn’t know my address but—”

“Easy,” Porco scoffs. “If he comes here, I’ll kick his ass.” You and Pieck exchange stare before she snorts, holding back her laugh. Porco turns flushed. “Why are you laughing?!”

“It’s just,” Pieck giggles. “Eren’s a lot bigger than you, Pokko.”

He narrows his eyes. “Size isn’t everything.”

“Oh, yeah,” Pieck says, sending a naughty wink in your direction. “I can guarantee that one.”

You grimace. “I think he’s not talking about dicks here, Pieck.”

They're ridiculous. They’ve always been that way, even during something serious like their monthly meetings or the end of Hachiko. But it’s precisely because of that, that you can feel like you can breathe a little. Feeling warmth spreading through your veins, you turn to Porco. “Thank you, Porco. I don’t feel like crying again—my eyes are about to pop out of their sockets. Can we do something to pass the time?”

“Well, you can help me cook for dinner. Would’ve asked Pieck but we know she’s pretty shit at it.”

“But you know what I’m good at?” Pieck crosses her arms on her chest, tilting her chin up proudly. “Fucking you dumb. With or without a plastic coc—”

“Woah, too much information there, guys. Please.” But it succeeds to make you titter, the heavyweight in your chest dissipating little by little. Standing up from your seat, you say, “Yeah, why not. I’m hungry. Where’s the apron?”

***

“Young master, there’s a man waiting inside his car outside the gate named Eren Jaeger asking to see you. Shall I let him in?”

Armin’s fingers stop cold from flipping another page of his book. He turns around to see his butler—Artur Braus—with his eyes largening in surprise. “E-Eren, you said?” His blood runs cold.

“Yes, young master.” The older male notices how tense the boy becomes once he confirmed his name. “Is it not the right time? Shall I send him away?”

“N-no, please, uh—” Armin clears his throat. “Send him in. I’ll head downstairs in a few minutes.”

“Certainly, young master.” As the butler takes his leave, the golden-haired boy sinks further into his leather couch, his heart rate escalating. He closes his book at the same time he shuts his crystal-like blue eyes, taking a deep breath.

What is Eren doing here?

The memory of his lips brushing against yours in the front of your apartment building sits at the front of his mind, and his heart pounds painfully before it plummets to his stomach. He must have seen it, Armin thinks, chewing anxiously on his lip. He must have been in her apartment when I dropped her off. He must have seen the kiss. There’s no other reason for him to come into my house, uninvited. He’s going to confront me about it.

It’s not fear that Armin feels building up inside him. He doesn’t know if you two have started dating properly yet but it’s clear that you’re both in love with one another and he deserves to receive a mean hook on his jaw for kissing someone else’s lover behind their back. He knows that. But that’s not what he’s afraid of.

He’s afraid to see Eren and witness the anger and the pain he’d inflicted on him written in his eyes. He’s afraid of the disappointment and the regret Eren holds toward him for thinking of him as a friend. Armin is still crushed by your rejection, drowned in guilt for kissing you without permission. Meeting Eren right now will only intensify those feelings.

Truth be told, even now, Armin still doesn’t understand why he did it. Usually, he wouldn’t even have the bravery to skim his lips against your cheek as a parting gift. But he kissed you, fully on the mouth, with all the feelings he held for you, overlooking the consequences of his action. It wasn’t like me at all, he admits in shame, scarlet looks pretty on his porcelain cheeks but the rest of his skin is turning pale. He has sent you text after text, stating out his apology in words that he spent nearly an hour composing. He didn’t have the bravery to call you, wasn’t sure if you would answer it. Even right now, three hours have passed and he still hasn’t received any reply from you.

The sound of Eren’s car pulling over at his courtyard snaps him back to reality. The reality where Armin has to face the consequences of his action. He has to face someone he once regarded as a close friend—he still does, but Armin can’t be sure if Eren still feels the same way. Not after he has betrayed him like this. Now that he thought about it, Armin hasn’t even told him about his feelings for you yet. His thoughts were too busy revolving around you that he could barely pay attention to anything else. And if he was a true gentleman, Armin would’ve spoken the truth to his friend before he made a move on you.

“I’m the worst,” Armin sighs, rubbing a hand over his face. But once the weariness in his eyes is washed away, a spark of determination stands in its place.

No. It’s not too late. It’s not too late to fix things.

We need to talk.

Once his resolve is clear, Armin hops down the couch and hastily makes his way downstairs.

There are no stars in the sky that night, covered heavily by thick clouds that rumbled above Eren’s head as he steps down his car. The butler ushers him inside, opening the front door that leads him to the foyer. “Would you like some tea, Mr. Jaeger?” Artur asks.

“No, I won’t be long.” Right at the time he finishes his sentence, Eren catches Armin’s eyes as the boy steps down the stairs. He doesn’t greet him, acknowledging Armin’s little smile simply by staring back at him.

Armin, though he finds the situation to be suffocating, is able to stay unfazed. “You can leave, Artur, thank you,” the young master dismisses his butler with a wave of his hand. Performing a polite bow, Artur excuses himself. Now that they’re alone, the tension is twice as heavy. “I’m—I’m surprised to see you here,” Armin starts awkwardly, “Shall we, uh, take a seat?”

“Where is she?” Eren cuts to the chase. Seeing the other boy frown in response, he mentions your name.

“I—” Confusion takes over his restlessness. “I dropped her off at her apartment a few hours ago. I thought she was with you—”

“We had a fight and she told me she’d go to your house.”

Armin’s jaw hangs loose. “But… She’s not here. She hasn’t even responded to my text.”

“Fuck,” Eren harshly curses under his breath, running one hand through his hair to push the stray strands that fall out of his bun. “Where is she then?”

He’s panicking, Armin thinks to himself, observing the little gestures he makes. It’s his first time seeing him behave like this. Did they fight because of me? The thought scares him further, making his fingers shake so he curls them into a ball. “Have you tried to contact her?”

“She wouldn’t pick up my calls.” Eren returns to his phone, quickly checking to see if you have responded to the nine missed calls he left you. Nothing. “I’m gonna keep looking for her,” he states, tucking his phone in the back pocket of his jeans. “Let me know if you hear anything from her.”

“Wait—Eren!“ Armin stops him in his tracks just when he’s about to turn around and step down his porch. “I think I know where she is. Do you have Pieck’s or Porco’s numbers on your phone?”

“I don’t. You?”

“Neither do I.” Eren’s shoulders droop low at his answer, heavy with disappointment. “But I know where Pieck lives,” Armin adds, bringing back some light into his eyes.

“Give me the address then.”

“I—I don’t remember what street she’s in—b-but I know what her building looks like. And I know how to get there. I… I can show you where it is, i-if you’d let me…”

Eren pauses with his jaw clenched. His eyes are cold and serious as he stares down at him. It’s clear that being with Armin for even a moment longer than this is the last thing Eren wants to do, and he’s not kind enough to at least pretend about it.

Armin casts his gaze downward, fidgeting. “I… I know you don’t want to be around me right now but… If you could give me a chance to explain… I’d want to talk things out with you…”

Armin is right. As vexed as he might be, Eren has very few options to choose from. Right now, he just has to be calm. He has to be patient.

“Grab your jacket,” Eren tells him, turning around on his heels and making his way out. “I’ll wait for you in the car. Be quick.”

Armin’s eyes widen in disbelief.

“Y-yes!”

***

“Turn right on the next corner,” Armin suggests and Eren follows his direction without a word. There’s anger radiating from his body, Armin can feel it like a torch burning too close to his skin.

Streetlight after streetlight, they pass them by until they flicker like fireflies in a ghostly forest. Armin despises the silence. It reminds him of the old days when his classmates leave him on the corner of the class, where he’s only accompanied by his thoughts—ones that are growing clamorous by the second, screaming louder and louder until his head feels like it’s splitting into pieces.

“Eren.” Armin barely recognizes his own voice, the way it quivers underneath the pressure of the tension. “It’s been a while since we last talked. I mean, really talked. Like… Like friends do.” If you still consider me as one, he quietly adds.

The other male lets the silence answer him for a few strangling seconds that last like years on Armin’s case. He only has one hand on the steering wheel as he drives straight, resting his other elbow on the door panel. “Don’t feel like talking to you right now, Armin.”

Eren could’ve just landed a blow straight on his chest with his fist and Armin wouldn’t complain. It would’ve felt the same anyway. “You’re… You’re angry at me, aren’t you?”

His jaw tightens but that’s the only answer he gives.

Armin sighs, his hands adjoined together as he rests them on his lap. How do I fix this? He thinks over and over again, his bottom lip seconds away from swelling from how hard he chews on it.

He’s transparent to Eren’s eyes, and it makes the taller male’s stomach swirl in discomfort. He might be irked at him right now, but he knows he’s not being fair. He should, at least, give him a chance to explain. “Left or right?” He asks, gentler this time, as he slows down near another intersection.

“Huh? O-oh, left.”

Eren swerves his car, pressing two of his fingers against his lips as he mollifies his temper. “What do you want to talk about?” He finally asks after a while.

“Eh?”

“You can’t focus on giving me directions if you keep having your thoughts to yourself. Talk.”

Armin can feel his heart hammering against his chest. “Umm…” Where should I start? Should I just head straight to the point? “I want to talk to you… about her.”

Eren has expected it, successfully keeping his composure as he gives the other man the chance to elaborate. “Eren, I know I haven’t been completely honest with you,” Armin continues, stretching out a hand to give him a signal to turn right after they pass the next traffic light. “I’m not sure if she’s ever talked about me, but… We became close when you were on tour. A-as friends.”

“Sure,” is his only answer and Armin feels a shiver running down his spine from how doubtful Eren sounds in his ear.

“Well, I—I like her more than that,” he hastily clarifies. “I think… I might be in love with her… No, I am…” He peeks slightly through his bangs, examining the other male’s expression in the dark like a frightened child. “But she never… She never felt the same way about me…” He grows quiet. “I don’t think she ever will…”

“So you kissed her to change her mind?”

The color drains from his face at once, head whirling around to face the brunette with his eyes largening in horror. “N-no, that’s not—” Armin has one hand gripping tightly against his seatbelt, fingers scratching against the fabric that covers his pounding heart. “That’s not why I kissed her!”

Eren doesn’t even spare him a glance. “What, then?”

Armin has his lips separated but his words die on his tongue. Dragging his eyes slowly to his lap, he mumbles, “I… I don’t know why I did that. I was… desperate. I wanted to have her so badly that my body moved before I could think my action through. I felt really bad about it. It was… I don’t think I can forgive myself for this. I’m sorry.”

Eren sneaks a glimpse, catching the regret on his face. “Why are you apologizing to me?”

“Because I shouldn’t have done it. Not to her, and not to you either. I knew you liked her, and I knew she felt the same way, and yet I—” He exhales sharply, loathing himself for his action. “I tried to steal her away from you. And I never talked about this with you, how I’m so in love with her—it’s driving me insane. I can… understand if you want us to stop being friends. I did terrible things to you.”

Armin’s apology sounds genuine enough to dampen the fire that’s blazing in his chest. Eren always has a soft spot for him. Not sure why, but he always perceives him like a younger sibling to him. One that is so pure and innocent, afraid of making mistakes and being hated by the world. “We all did shitty things in our lives,” he comments. “Don’t beat yourself up over a kiss.”

Armin moves his gaze back to him. “You’re… surprisingly calm about this.”

“I actually feel like punching you in the face once but…” He sighs, still sounding impatient but less irritated. “What good would it bring anyway?”

The shorter male straightens his back. “I—I could take a punch if that could make you feel better.”

“Don’t tempt me, Arlert.”

But there’s no venom in his voice, Armin can tell. Eren is upset, but he doesn’t despise him. A delicate smile breaks upon the shorter male’s lips, sinking back into his seat with his heartrate moving back to its usual speed. “Even before that kiss happened, I… always felt terrible and guilty for doing it behind your back when I knew that you were in love with her too.” He waits, waiting for Eren to correct his line, just in case. He doesn’t and the guilt that builds inside him doubles. “I’m the worst, aren’t I? Trying to steal another man’s girl behind his back like that and—”

“You didn’t.”

“Huh?”

“You didn’t steal her from me,” Eren lowly corrects him. His eyes barely have any light in them as he stares vacantly at the empty road. “She was never mine to begin with.”

There’s only heartbreak in his voice and nothing else, which somehow makes Armin feel ten times worse. “I thought you guys loved each other.”

“I am in love with her.” As the memory of his previous argument with you resurfaces—the way you stare at him with fury and sorrow written in your eyes—Eren adds in a strained voice, “But I’m not sure if she… still feels the same way about me.”

“Because of the fight?” Eren doesn’t answer. “A-are you fighting because I kissed her?”

“No.”

“Oh…” Relief washes over him but not for long. Confusion shortly replaces its spot. “Then… what happened?”

“Just focus on giving me the damn direction, Arlert.”

“S-sorry.” Armin quickly spins his head around to watch the road that spreads before him. “Keep heading straight. Turn right on the next corner. We shouldn’t be far from there.” Eren steps harder on the gas, following his instructions. “There, stop in front of that building.”Stopping, Eren parks the car at the edge of the street.

“She lives on the third floor, apartment 307,” Armin utters. “You don’t need to have access to enter the building, but… I don’t know if Pieck will let you in.”

“That’s fine with me.” Eren shuts off the engine, taking off his seatbelt. “I just need to make sure she’s okay.”

Armin blinks in realization. He’s not chasing after her to force her to talk, he ponders. He’s just worried about her. Armin smiles sadly to himself. So, he really cares about her, huh… “Can I ask one thing—i-if I may?”

Eren already has one foot stepping out of his car, wearing his snapback over his head. “What?”

“Why do you love her so much?”

Eren freezes, stunned by the question. It sounds silly at first, especially coming from a man who loves you just as much, but when he tries to answer, millions of reasons enter his mind at once and he can barely choose one. But there’s one thing that stands out the most.

“Cause she’s the reason why I’m still here.” Armin can barely hear him when he responds. “The reason why I still want to live. She’s my lifeline.”

He steps out and closes the car door behind him, not giving Armin a chance to respond.

***

The clock strikes nine at the same time the doorbell rings. You and Porco are standing next to each other near the kitchen counter, with you chopping off bell peppers and him stirring his stew. “Pieck, can you answer the door?” He shouts, “It’s already late and I don’t want to face yet another one of your booty calls.”

You’re still distraught. Your head’s in the clouds and your body’s gone autopilot. Usually, you would’ve at least snickered at that line, but your eyes are hollow, your hands moving so slowly until eventually, they stop moving at all.

Trying to garner your attention, Porco bumps his shoulder against yours, grumbling, “It actually happened once, you know.”

“W-what?”

“Me meeting one of her booty calls.”

“Oh…” You return your focus to the knife in your hand, pick up your pace and slice the rest of your bell peppers. “Was it awkward?”

“Kinda. He was like, ‘H-hello, I’m here to see Pieck.’” He impersonates mockingly before he sticks out his tongue like a child. “Yuck.”

It’s rare to see him acting this way, and you can’t help but furrow your eyebrows. “You seem like you’re in a good mood.”

“Maybe.” He aims to be secretive, but his tiny gleeful smile betrays him right away. You squint your eyes suspiciously, settling your knife down on the cutting board. “Hey, get back to chopping, lady.”

“Have you finally confessed your feelings to her?”

“No.” He scoffs, acting offended. Then his cheeky grin appears. “But she just did.”

“Oh my God!” You gasp, covering your mouth with both hands. “Porco, this is so great! I’m so happy for you!” You jump to hug his side, tangling your arms around his waist, and squeeze him with all your might.

“Hey, get off, I’m allergic to affection!” Porco protests, but he’s laughing with you, his usually stern expression relaxes as he sees you slowly returning to your old self. Finally, she’s smiling again, he thinks.

It’s not easy to keep you distracted, but Porco is doing a marvelous job at it and you’re more than grateful for it. The distress that swirls within you isn’t going to go away anytime soon, not until you have a thorough talk with Eren but, at least, Pieck and Porco’s love life can help you put a cloak over your feelings, allowing you to pretend for a second that you’re okay.

The doorbell rings again.

“Jesus Christ,” Porco groans. “Pieck, get the door! We’re busy over here!”

“Ugh! Why can’t a lady paint her nails in peace?” Pieck laments, tossing her nail polish harshly to the coffee table. She jumps down from her couch, marching toward the door with anger in her steps. “Okay, whoever you are, I was in the middle of—” She cuts herself short, gaping the second she sees who’s standing on the other side of her apartment. “Oh, shit,” Pieck exclaims, “How do you—”

“Armin gave me your address.” Eren is strung out, that much Pieck can tell even from the first glance. But to her surprise, he’s polite enough to cast her an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry for coming uninvited. I just—I need to know if she’s here.”

“Umm…” Pieck spins her head around, conflicted between telling the truth or lying about it. From where they’re both standing, they can only hear murmurs of Porco’s gravelly voice as he speaks to you, but you’re both nowhere in sight, hidden behind the wall that separates the room. “She’s… She’s not here.”

Then your voice echoes through the room, shouting something along the line of, “Porco, the stew! Turn off the stove!”

Pieck winces. “Okay, so she’s here.”

“Is—is she okay?”

“A bit sad, probably still pissed at you. But other than that, she seems fine to me.”

“Oh… Well, that’s good.” Eren lets out a heavy breath, a mix between a sense of relief that sweeps over him, and anxiety. “Is it okay if I talk to her,” he says, a plea more than anything else. “Please?”

“I don’t think she wants to talk to you right now.” The look of hurt that immediately paints his face makes her feel sympathetic. Pieck understands why Eren did what he did, and everything he has done, it was all in good intentions. For him to chase after her like this… Pieck muses, she doesn’t know how lucky she is to have him, does she? “I’m sorry, Eren,” Pieck offers a condoling smile. “Just give her some time to herself right now, okay?”

Eren curls his fingers into tiny balls of fists. Though he’s still on edge, his viridian eyes are determined. “I won’t be long, I promise. I just need to see her.”

He’s just as stubborn as she is. Pieck sighs, but before she can say anything, Porco walks back into the living room. They exchange glances and with a nod of his head, Pieck gets the signal. She sends Eren a weak smile before she leaves the two men alone, joining you in the kitchen.

“Is he… here?” You hesitantly ask Pieck the second she steps back into the kitchen. You’re still dressed in your apron, your fingers sticky with oil. You clamped them together tightly, your nails turning white. Pieck nods, a weak and subtle gesture, but acts as a firm confirmation that yanks harshly on your heartstrings. “Oh, God…” You lean back, spine pressed against the edge of the counter. “Pieck, what am I gonna do? I don’t think I’m ready to see him.”

She can see you panicking, your face contorting in different emotions at once. “I know. You don’t have to if you don’t want to. Porco’s trying to send him away right now.” She shifts closer, your shoulders grazing one another as she mirrors your posture. “He’s so worried about you, though. I don’t know him well enough but I can tell he’s freaking out.”

Every line hits harder than the first, and your heart hurts so much, you’re not sure if your eyes are watery from the pain or from the sadness that causes it. “I want to talk to him,” you say, your voice trembling. “But I don’t know how. Every time I think about him,” your voice cracks at the end, your tears threatening to spill. “I can’t help but think about her too. The picture, the way she had his arms around her—” You stop yourself short, knowing that if you continue, the rest of your sentence will come out in nothing but a choked sob. You close your eyes, taking a deep breath.

Stop it, you idiot, you berate yourself. You’ve cried enough over this. Don’t you dare cry again.

Pieck can almost witness the battle happening inside your mind. With sympathy written all over her face, she takes your hand. “Hey… It’s okay. You don’t have to hold it back. It will only hurt you more if you do.”

Why are you so weak? He came all the way here for you! He’s trying to fix things and you're just standing here, crying.

Face him.

Go face him right now!

With a sharp intake of breath, you discard your apron away and march back to the living room. You can hear Pieck shouting your name, asking you what you’re doing, and honestly? You don’t know. You’re still afraid to face him, but you know you’re going to hate yourself forever for being such a fucking coward if all you can do is run from your problem.

Eren’s eyes widen the second he sees you stepping into his line of vision. If Porco wasn’t on his way, you know he would’ve chased after you. “Baby,” he exhales in relief. “Oh, thank God, I’m glad you’re okay. I went to Armin’s place to look for you but he said—”

“Eren, I told you not to chase after me.”

He staggers on his feet, frozen by the coldness in your voice. His chest heaves up and down, his mind having a hard time trying to process the words he wants to say.

As you step closer, Porco gives you space, backing away but not leaving you two alone just yet. It provides you comfort, and a spark of bravery to speak more. “I’m gonna stay here for the night,” you tell him. “It’s already late. You can sleep at my place if you want. Your flat’s too far from here anyway.” And I don't want you to drive alone in this condition.

“It’s a misunderstanding.” Eren finally finds back his voice, but it’s tainted with jitter. “I never dated her. You have to trust me—”

“I don’t want to talk right now.”

“Okay…” He takes a step closer, his hand itching to hold yours. “It’s all right if you don’t want to talk, but let’s—let’s go home.”

You’ve tried your best to avoid his gaze but when his plea escapes him, you can’t stop your eyes from drifting back to his and it’s a mistake.

Has he ever looked this frightened before? This anxious? You wonder, a moment before you realize that this is not just a fight to him. You’re dragging him back to his past—to the night when his mother left him frozen on his porch, his cheek bruised but not as torn as his heart. You remind him of the trauma of losing someone important in his life, of being abandoned without giving him a chance to explain. You’re giving him the same treatment as his mother did, when you swore that you would never do that to him. That you would stay with him, forever and always.

Please don’t look at me like that… I’m not leaving you, Eren…

But “We’ll talk soon,” is everything you could say. Even then, your voice shatters and you can hear it. Must be because of the tears that are threatening to fall once again, but you don’t let them. You have to act strong. Right now, you just have to. “I promise you we’ll talk.” You offer him a smile, so weak, it’s almost nonexistent. “But not right now. Can you please leave?”

Porco sees the way you’re clutching hard against the hem of your dress, and he takes it as a sign. “Maybe you should go,” he tells you, and you nod, making your leave before the situation gets worse.

“No, wait—” Eren tries to take your hand to stop you, and Porco steps in, his grip around Eren’s wrist is hard enough to bruise. He stands on his way, his body blocking his path.

“Leave her alone,” Porco says, holding Eren’s hand mid-air. “You heard what she said. Give her some time. If you want to fix this, go home.”

Eren stops his gaze from drilling holes into your back, shifting it to the way the other male is gripping tightly onto him. Almost instantly, the distress and the frustration that you leave him with morphs into agitation. Eren harshly retracts his hand, teeth gritting when he says, “This is none of your business.”

“She’s my friend. Kinda makes it my business now.” Porco tilts up his chin, not intimidated in the slightest by the sight of Eren towering over him. “I think you’ve done enough today, Jaeger.”

“I still need to talk to her. She needs to understand that—”

“No, you need to understand,” Porco barks back, growing impatient. “She’s not upset because you fucked someone else. She’s upset because you did but you acted like you didn’t. See the difference?”

He’s right. Eren knows he’s right but it doesn’t diminish the fire within him. It only pours more gasoline into it. Eren bares his teeth, his hand reaching out to grab Porco by the collar. “You—”

“Eren!” Armin’s voice flits through his ear as he makes his way to where he’s standing. It stops him right at the moment before Eren can land a hand on the other male. “Oh my God, what—” Armin turns pale, shocked to see the tension spreading between the two men. Inhaling sharply, he clutches his hand around Eren’s wrist. “Let’s go. I can hear your voice from the hallway. You’re bothering other residents.”

Eren clenches his jaw, still swapping glares with the other male before he snatches his hand away from Armin’s hold. Without saying anything, Eren pivots on his heels, storming his way out.

“Sorry to bother you, Porco. I’ll take him from here.” Armin’s apologetic smile seems more like a wince than anything else. “Enjoy, uh, enjoy the rest of your night.” With a tiny bow of his head, he chases after Eren’s trail.

“Hey, Arlert.”

The said boy stops, whirling around. “Y-yes?”

“Next time you try to kiss a lady,” Porco scolds. “Ask for her permission first. You understand me?” Armin almost stops breathing. His face turns flushed, his thoughts scattered. As he tries to find his words, Porco demands harder, “Answer me.”

“Y-yes, I understand.” He almost cowers. “I’m…. sorry.”

“Have you apologized to her?”

“I have. M-multiple times.”

“Good.” Porco exhales, easing the tension. “Now, off you go. Try and get Eren to talk to you. He seems stressed out, maybe that would help take the load off his chest.”

Armin blinks, startled from the sudden change in his behavior. Not a minute ago, they were on each other’s throat, and now…

“You’re… actually a really nice person, aren’t you, Porco?”

“Oh my God, just go.”

***

The first thing Armin sees when he steps out of the building is Eren leaning his body halfway into his car, his hand rummaging inside his glove box. He’s jittery, body filled with tremors like an addict desperately need to find a release, which, in a matter of seconds, Armin would find out to be true.

Eren throws his stuff out one by one without care until he has his fingers curling around a tiny box of cigarettes and a lighter. He takes one with quivers running through his fingertips, hurriedly places it between his lips, and lights it on. He steps out of the car, leaning his back against the door, and draws smoke into his lungs.

When he exhales, it’s like he’s releasing half of the weight off his shoulders. The nicotine rush is a small high, light-headed pleasant hazy feeling. It doesn't last long, but it will suffice. For now.

“You okay?” Armin questions, watching the way the smoke swirls in the cold night air, a ghost dancing in the dark.

Eren can almost feel the panic that still bubbles inside his chest, almost turning into a string of anxiety attacks, one that he hasn’t had in a long time. He takes another puff, his cheeks hollowed as he sucks in. He holds the smoke in his mouth for a few seconds before he releases it. It burns his throat but it clears his head. Even if it only offers a tiny bit of clarity, it’s enough.

He can finally breathe, just a little.

“I haven’t smoked anything in months,” Eren reveals, his eyes empty as he watches the way the cigarette is resting between his fingers. The weight is almost unfamiliar after so long, might even feel a bit awkward. “This tastes like shit.”

Armin walks closer, leaning his back against a lamppost. “I wouldn’t know,” he replies, sticking his hands inside the pockets of his navy blue trench coat. His hair seems more golden under the light, but his irises are almost as dark as the night. “I’ve never smoked anything in my life before.”

“Good for you.” Yet, he takes another long, slow draw of the cigarette, leisurely blowing the smoke out of his mouth and nose. It’s like having his lungs wrapped in a warm blanket, only this time, Eren wishes it could burn everything away. So he doesn’t have to feel anymore. So he doesn’t have to be… afraid.

“Do you want to… talk about it?” Armin tries, hesitancy in his voice. He is certain the answer is no, but he decides to gamble anyway. “I’ve got two ears to listen if you want.”

Eren has been gazing at the starless sky as he smokes, but he slowly drags them back to Armin’s sapphire ones once he hears his offer. “Why would you want to do that?”

“‘Cause we’re friends.” It’s so natural the way he says it. Eren can’t sense anything but genuinity in it. “I don’t know if you still regard me as one, Eren, but you’ll always be my friend.”

“I’m a shitty person, Armin. You should find someone better.”

“No, you’re not,” the shorter male confirms, almost immediately. The firmness in his tone surprises them both and Armin tosses his gaze to his feet, recollecting his composure. “You’re not…” He repeats, fainter this time around. “You don’t know this, but… I look up to you, Eren. You’ve got everything I want to be. Strong-willed, talented, confident, and brave. I think I even… tried to be like you once,” he admits it bashfully. “I thought that if I resembled you in a way, even just for a little, then maybe… She’d look my way too…”

His cigarette lingers between his lips, his mind too distracted to take another puff. “That’s dumb,” Eren comments, taking another inhale. “Why would you change yourself for someone else?”

“But isn’t that what we do?” Armin lifts his face, peering into his eyes. “Isn’t that what you do? Trying to become a better version of you for her sake?”

The man turns pensive. The soft wind caresses his cheeks, making him sniffle from the cold. “It doesn’t matter.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve tried.” Eren drops his hand low, tapping the ashes off his cigarette. “I’ve tried to be better. I’ve tried my best to make her happy but in the end, I just keep hurting people around me. Just like how I always do.” Heaving a sigh, he throws his head back, resting it against the roof rail of his car as he closes his eyes. “It’s happening again and I don’t know what the fuck am I supposed to do right now.”

It’s the first time for Armin to see someone he admires looking so hopeless. What are they fighting about exactly? he ruminates, but he’s certain that Eren won’t say a word about it even if he asks. “Eren, she just needs some time to figure things out.”

“Yeah, but the more she thinks, the more she’s going to hate me for it.”

“She’s not going to hate you. She loves you.”

Both Armin’s sentence and intonation aimed to provide solace, but in Eren’s ears, they transform into a traumatic memory of his past—one that he dreads the most.

Of course, I love you, Eren. I’m your mother. No one in this world loves you more than me.

Get away from me! You make me sick!

Don’t ever come here again. I’m finally happy without you and Grisha in my life. I’m not going to let you ruin it, not again.

The cigarette slips off his fingers, a tiny spark of fire flickering once it meets the concrete. “What if…” He’s breathing heavily, his heart thrashing against his ribcages. “What if she leaves me too..?”

Eren is mumbling out the words, almost inaudible to Armin’s ears. “Eren?”

“What if she’ll never forgive me for this…” He’s speaking incoherently, murmuring the same words over and over. “What if she hates me…”

Don’t call me that. He hears your voice again. You’re making me feel sick!

Eren clutches a hand over his palpitating heart, his breath rasping in his heaving chest. She’s going to leave me like she did. The voices in his head are deafening. I’ll be alone again. I’ll be—

I don’t want to be alone.

Please don’t leave me alone.

“EREN!”

Like a hard punch to the gut, Eren is yanked back to reality with Armin’s fingers nearly cutting into the skin of his shoulders. He’s disoriented, the world revolves around him until it suddenly stops and the only thing that’s left spinning is his head.

Armin breathes out in relief. “Sorry for yelling,” he says, releasing his hold for him as he takes a step back. “I’ve been calling your name but… Seems like you just had a panic attack.”

A panic attack? No, not quite. “It’s just my anxiety acting up,” Eren states out, his voice sounding hoarse as if he’s been screaming for hours. “It tends to happen when I feel a bit… overwhelmed.”

Armin’s eyebrows are adjoined in the middle as he scrutinizes him, trying to catch every little sign his body gives. Eren was hyperventilating a moment ago, but it doesn’t seem like it’s getting worse. “Should we go see the doctor, just in case?”

“No…” His breathing is ragged, but the rope that’s tied tightly around his neck has started to loosen. “I just…” He lays one hand on the car, supporting himself as his knees threaten to collapse. “I just need to breathe…”

“Yeah, take a deep breath.” Armin looked like a ghost just a few seconds before, but now the colors have returned to his face. “Let’s get away from here. I’ll drive.”

Eren follows obediently, riding shotgun with cold sweat breaking on his temples. When was the last time he had an anxiety attack like that? He can’t remember but it used to occur quite often, especially when he was on tour, far away from where you were. It’s not something that suddenly comes without warning; it’s a result of stress that builds up over time until finally, it reaches a breaking point and his body gives up on him. Today is just another case of that.

His doctor has given him some pills but he never took them. Alcohol was the medication he consumed to make himself feel numb before the attack could happen. If it failed, he would try to think of you, think about how you’d smile at him between playful banters, think about how you'd call his name, how you always seemed so proud of him, how you always waited for his return. He’d think of you and he’d return. He’d think of you and he’d be safe. The ghosts from his past would never reach him when he had you in his mind.

But now… He thinks of you and he drowns.

Armin lets him sit still in silence, giving him a moment to sort out his feelings but what he doesn't know is, no amount of time would suffice to heal the wound in his heart, not until you come home to his arms again.

After a while, Armin breaks the silence. “I’m not good at giving advice,” he starts awkwardly. “And I’m not sure if you want to hear any of it right now, but… I think you shouldn’t be too hard on yourself, Eren. Couples, friends, even families—they fight all the time. It’s not the end of the world. You can fix this.”

Funny how he mentioned that. Because to Eren, it feels like the world is ending.

“We’ve never fought like this before,” the taller male speaks indistinctly. “We only argued over unimportant things, and we always made up within hours afterward.”

“So, this is your first real fight?” Eren doesn’t answer but he doesn’t have to. Armin gets the feeling that he understands him a little bit better now. Truthfully, he’s been feeling somewhat the same ever since he kissed you without permission. “Well, then, maybe this one just takes a little bit longer to fix,” he hurls a little smile at him, offering a glance before he fixes his gaze back on the road. “You’ll make up eventually, Eren, I’m sure of it.”

Eren doesn’t trust his words, but he won’t form a protest either.

“Instead of thinking too much about it, try and do things on your own for now,” Armin continues. “I don’t know what you’re fighting about but if you think you can solve even just a tiny bit of it on your own as you wait for her to calm down, then I think you should do that.” He slowly hits the brakes, waiting for the red light to turn green. “The most important thing right now is to not give up.”

Eren’s tongue lays heavy in his mouth as he speaks. “To not give up on what?”

“On her. On your relationship. On yourself.” Armin steps on the gas, one hand on the steering wheel, another one on the gear. “Fight back. If you think she’s going to leave you for this, then do everything you can to get her back. Be blunt, be loud, make sure she has no other choice but to place her attention back on you. You won’t change anything if you don’t try.”

Eren tears his gaze away from the window, watching Armin from the side. It’s the first time he’s ever heard him acting so solemn and he ponders, why would he go so far to convince me to be with her? “This could’ve been your chance.”

“Sorry?”

“To steal her away from me,” Eren clarifies and the pressure of his words almost causes him to hit the brakes abruptly.

Armin turns grim, taking a few seconds of silence to himself. His words hurt, there’s no denying it, but he won’t blame him. “I suppose I look like that kind of person to you now, seeing how I tried to make a move on her behind your back.” The coldness in his tone doesn’t match him and Eren wishes he could take his words back. “But I hope you can understand that I won’t do that to you, Eren.”

“Because we’re friends?”

“Because you love her more than I love her now.” Armin’s answer mystifies him. “And she loves you more than anything in the world. I won’t stand between you two. My only wish right now is for you to be with her. No, not just that. I want you to be happy together with her. I can’t give the happiness she deserves, but you can.” He exhales sharply, his jaw clenching. “And if it takes a hard punch on your face to make you stand again on your feet and do what you’re supposed to do to fix this, then I will stop this car right now and I’ll do that myself.”

Eren’s thick eyebrows are up and curved, horizontal wrinkles appear on his forehead as he’s stupefied for a good couple of seconds. “You’re… angry.”

“No,” Armin mutters, almost shoving his hand when he changes gears. “I’m frustrated with you.”

“Why?”

“Well, imagine seeing the love of your life falling for a coward who’s about to give up on his first fight.”

“I wasn’t going to give up.”

“Didn’t seem like that to me, Jaeger.”

He’s being so out of character that Eren can’t help but be distracted by it. Slowly, he finds the strength in himself to curve his lips upwards again. “You’re right.”

Armin scoffs loudly. “Of course, I’m right.”

“No, I was talking about how terrible you are at advising people,” Eren elaborates, a grin threatening to form. “That was such an embarrassing speech.”

“Jesus Chri—maybe I should just stop here and let you walk home instead.”

“It’s my car.”

He blushes, his nostrils flaring as he fumes. “Oh, be quiet.”

Eren keeps his smile to himself. He’s not fully recovered, not yet, and if he lets his thoughts drift back to the face you made when you told him to stay away from you, he knows he’ll react just like he did half an hour ago. But Armin’s words remind him of his purpose. He made a mistake but it’s not over yet. He can still fix this.

I can fix this.

***

Next Chapter

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[just-a-quirkless-loser]

Invective Pain

Alpha Bakugou x F!Omega Reader

Words: 2.4k

Requested by: @goatsenpaiultimate

Hehe, sorry for the wait you guys. It’s been a rough few weeks for me. Also, the song ‘Butterfly’s Repose’ by Zabawa is amazing to listen to while you read this💜

Warnings: harsh language, Bakugou being an asshole, angst

“Get the fuck off me.”

“Alpha, please.”

“I said, get off. What the hell is wrong with you? You’ve been too clingy,” you prove his point and cling to his arm.

“I miss you,” you try to nuzzle his neck so he can scent you. With your wolf quirk, it was getting harder and harder to stay away from Bakugou for long periods of time. Your instincts were on hyperdrive, always wanting him within your reach so you knew he was safe.

“Don’t you understand what ‘no’ means?” Bakugou tenses up as you continue trying to climb his body. Due to his inability to express himself, he’s still not used to your affections.

“I can’t help it,” you ruffle your tail to prove your point.

“Well, try harder to help it.”

“But, alpha-“

“No, I’m sick and tired of your bullshit. As soon as I come home, you want to climb all over me. I can’t even take a fucking shower,” you hunch into yourself as you take a step away from him. Looking back on it, he did have a point. You could stand to at least allow him a few moments to himself before you bombard him. But, it’s just hard on you.

Because of your quirk, you’ve always been the type to cling to people and try to protect them. You miss your parents because you considered them to be your pack but, that all changed when you met Bakugou. After a few months of dating, you moved in with Bakugou (your inner Omega told you she’d love to start her own pack with him). However, it’s been a difficult transition.

Bakugou normally takes your clinginess in stride but, it’s been hard for him lately. All he wants to do is take you underneath him and nuzzle you and treat you like a queen. But, he’s been dealing with this case. It’s been stressing him out and he’s never been the type to deal with stress in a correct way.

“I’m sorry.”

“Fuck, I- FUCK! Omega. I just can’t keep doing this. You’re fucking annoying. This was a mistake. We shouldn’t have moved in together,” his words stung in your mind like a swarm of hornets, making you yelp in your mind. Although, no one would ever be able to tell your inner turmoil from the calm look on your face. Why does he have to tear you down with his words? What does he gain from your dissociation? Does it bring him satisfaction to win the argument? Even at the expense of your heart? The same heart he swore to protect when he chose you as a mate.

“I’m sorry,” and you don’t understand why. You just stand there with a blank expression, no longer feeling that your heart is safe in his hands. And, that is worse than losing an argument the two of you have.

“Sorry doesn’t cut it. I’m tired of you sticking to my fucking side like a toddler. You’re always hovering over me. I need space,” you intend to give him all the space he needs. “Selfish extra.”

He doesn’t know what his words do to you as he goes to the room you share, bumping you out of his way. You want to cry, you want to chirp, you want to-to-die; without him-without your alpha- what is there to live for?

Your omega crawls to your heart, shriveling up like a raisin as if your soul has been sucked by a vacuum. You feel your heart drop; the first sign of Omega Depression and you don’t tell Katsuki. How can you?

He made it clear how bothersome you were in his life. You never meant to be a burden to him. All you wanted to do was love him and give him the love he lacked from his teenage years. But, it’s transparent that you’re not wanted by the person your soul has imprinted upon.

You sit on the couch, staring into nothingness. What did you do wrong? What was so wrong with wanting to love him? You feel weak. Maybe if Katsuki had someone stronger, someone who could take his invective words in stride, he’d be happier.

As you wallow in your own pain, Katsuki is upstairs taking a shower. Part of him feels relieved to finally have some space to himself and the other scolds him for what said; he barely remembers what he said to you exactly. All he knows that your face is blank so, he assumes it’s not too bad since you weren’t crying.

He walks out of the shower expecting to see you but, he’s greeted with an empty bed. He figures you just want space to be angry so, he lets you stay downstairs.

‘It’ll be fine tomorrow,’ it won’t. As he dozes off to that thought, you were downstairs stuck in your mind. It's your fault for always forgiving him after he’s verbally ruined you You just thought your love for him outweighed anything he said to you. But, your unconditional love has reached its limit.

You wait till he falls asleep before you break the facade (you still want him to get his sleep so he can wake up healthy tomorrow). You heave and whimper as you curl into a ball on the cold living room floor. You shake from the force of your tears, tears falling like rain in the spring. You’re trying to smile to stop the tears but, your mouth ends up in a horrible grimace as you silently berate yourself. Your hands scrape at your arms, nails taking patches of your skin as a way to distract your mind. You don’t sleep that night; you don’t sleep for any of the nights that follow.

When you hear your alpha’s alarm clock sound, you climb on the couch with your face smooshed to the cushions. Katsuki follows his nightly routine, not even checking to see if you’re okay. He just gets dressed for his patrol and leaves breakfast on the table for you, kissing your hair goodbye before he leaves out the door.

You’re once again crying as you just lay there. You don’t bother to call your job to notify them of your absence. If anything, you just lay there, your tail curled around your body as if it’s protecting you from the world.

You feel useless against your heart because you know you shouldn’t have allowed Bakugou’s temper to get to this point. You had suggested therapy and anger management to him many times but, he was persistent in telling you that he had it under control. You knew he thought seeking therapy was weak (as he thinks most things are weak) but, you just wanted him to think before he spoke.

You can tell that he’s tried to do better for you and you appreciate that but, it’s not enough anymore.

This was the last straw. Not because you still don’t love him but, because you’re now in your Omega’s Depression. It’s a fairly new phenomenon. The doctors warned Omegas and Alphas that their second genders could drive them into a comatose state if the genders were met with unfavorable conditions. Your omega has started the process and you can only hope that Katsuki figures that out before it’s too late.

At first, Bakugou didn’t think anything about your attitude. He just thought you were giving him space (which he hated. It feels weird to him to be alone when he was always with you and he’s too prideful to admit that) however, he knows something is wrong when you start to avoid him.

You don’t talk to him like you use to, you don’t cook his favorite spicy ramen anymore, hell, you don’t even come to bed anymore. It’s like two strangers living in the same house (well, roommates would be more accurate). And, he misses you.

“Why are you sleeping on that shitty couch?” He’s standing above you with his arms folded, head to the side so he can hide his blush. You don’t respond, dried tear stains on your cheeks.

“Not gonna answer? What you’re too good to speak to me?” He squats down to eye-level. His breath fans across your face, the smokey caramel of his scent bringing more tears to your eyes. “Omega?”

You still don’t answer. He takes that as you still being angry about the argument; he also notes the change in your scent.

“Tch,” he walks to the bedroom and comes back with a few blankets so he can make a small hammock beside the couch at your side. He slips into the covers, hand upon your waist so he can feel you. “Goodnight, Omega.”

The next day, you’re still in the same spot on the couch above him. He does his routine, this time spending longer at saying goodbye.

“I’ll be back, Omega. Cuddling wouldn’t be the worse thing when I get home,” you stare blankly.

“And, I put some of your favorite cookies on the table,” still nothing.

“I love you,” nothing. And, that’s how he knows that everything is wrong. He spends the day on patrol, withdrawn from his hero-work. All he can think about is that blank look in your eye, the stillness of your home, the taste of failure on his tongue.

‘I fucked up,’ he sure did.

He comes home and you're still in the same spot. He doesn’t even think you got up to use the bathroom. You’re the first thing he attends to when his boots cross the threshold.

“Omega, you need a bath,” you don’t move so he picks you up bridal style and carries you to the bathroom. Your body is sweating and that stench gets even worse. “Omega, I’m sorry.”

But, sorry doesn’t fix everything. Sorry is nothing when you truly hurt someone. Sorry is when someone feels obligated to correct their wrongs (not because they want to). Sorry is the Black Licorice of apologies.

“Have you gone to work?” No. He knows you haven’t but, he just wants you to talk to him. His alpha cries for his mate yet, she doesn’t respond. “Baby?”

The bath is spent in silence as you sag on him. His hand's card through your (h/c) hair, trying to release some of your tension. It’s such an intimate moment of him caressing your body as though you are a precious work of art. His lips latched onto the mating mark on the side of your neck, reminding you that he cares.

When he gets you out of the tub, he dries you with your favorite fluffy towel. His carmine eyes gaze at you adoringly from your navel, blonde hair resting against your belly. One in a while, he’ll kiss your legs and feet, silently showing how much he truly cares for you.

Night rolls around and you both follow the same routine as before; you’re laying on the couch and he’s laying beside you on the floor. You’re not eating and that terrifies him. Sadly, this goes on for another month. And, Katsuki is growing desperate to have his omega back.

“I allowed my anger to do this to her- to me-to us. And, now, I don’t know if I can help her anymore,” he joined an anger management group (which, coincidentally helped his public image as well) after he realized the argument caused the rift in your relationship.

And, you’re proud of him on the inside, even if you can’t show it. At least he’s trying but, your omega just turns a blind eye to his efforts. You commend Katsuki for not giving up though.

‘It must be hard trying to change and improve for someone and they don’t even acknowledge your existence,’ you do feel bad for him. It seems that your love does outweigh his words.

But, you’re dying. He knows it. You know it. It’s known. He just won’t accept it.

“Omega,” you’re unconscious. He came home from the weekly session to find you unresponsive (well, more unresponsive than what you’ve been). “Omega, fuck-please-I God I, please wake up.”


So, you’re at the hospital now. The antiseptic burns your sensitive nose as you’re propped up on the hospital bed, sheets crinkling under your body. The doctors told Bakugou that you didn’t really have long to live but, he just can’t allow you to go without trying his best to save you.

“Omega, please, look at me,” you look at him but, it’s like you’re not seeing him. Your eyes don’t have the shine they used to. “Omega, please.”

You can’t answer him. What if you said the wrong thing? You were clinging to life by a single strand of fiber, death clinging to your scent. You knew you couldn’t handle it if Katsuki’s words hurt you once more.

“Please, talk to me, yell at me. Hit me. Do anything,” you can’t. Your voice is stuck in your mind. “Get mad. Throw something. Spit on me! Push me away. Shit, anything. Please just please please pleaseeee, fucking, please. PLEASE I’M NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO BE WITHOUT YOU. Please stop looking like you want to die.”

“But, I do,” you hope he can understand.

“NO! NO NO! I FUCKING NEED YOU. I LOVE YOU,” he chokes on his words as he gathers your face in his hands. “I’m such a piece of shit. It takes you dying for me to realize how much I love you. But, I do. I love you so much it hurts. I can’t lose you.”

“Wipe your tears,” you brush your thumbs across his cheek to gather his tears. “I’m right here.”

“How can you love me still? Your will to live is fucking weak and it’s my fault! And, I’m sitting here asking you to hold on for me. You don’t even have to speak to me. Just stay here. I promise I’ll stay here with you. You can’t leave me.”

“Bakugou-“

“For fuck's sake, It’s Katsuki to you! I did this to you. I’m so sorry for what I said. I’m sorry for pushing you away when I felt I didn’t deserve your love. I’m sorry for making you feel the pain I felt all these years. I’m sorry for being a shitty alpha,” he cries in your lap as you pat his back. Your omega stores, crooning to help her alpha. You’re not dead; the future may look bleak but, you know it will finally bring you the love you longed for.

————————————————————————-

Tag List💕

@orokayagi @sakurashortstack @sinclairsamess

[siriusmydeer]

Hello! How are you? From the touches ask game can I request hand holding 30, kiss 9, and touching 27 with james potter please? Thanks in advance

the art of his eyes

james potter x gender neutral!reader

summary: your first kiss with james.

word count: 1.2k

warnings: mutual pinning, kissing, mentions of stomach pain, mentions of self doubt/insecurity

prompts: brushing against each other, linking fingers together for a second, first kisses, pulling the other one towards them

his eyes were delicate.

they were almost a cerulean sea of blues that was carved into a canvas, similar to an italian renaissance painting from decades ago that had reappeared in a museum only for the finest arts.

they were fragile, almost like beauty could be seen through his eyes. yet they were utterly angelic.

perhaps that’s why he was just your best friend.

as much as it clawed at your mind it didn’t cease you from gaping upon them for hours if you yearned for it enough. yet, the most you could obtain was a glimpse of even the slightest shimmer of cobalt blue.

from the time you were young, james had you completely enveloped around his finger just by his lingering words. the ventures of your eyes prominently beating carmine hearts that only increased from the duration of your friendship.

there were only particular moments that he could have your heart palpitating like it was your final day to stride around. distinctly when he had wiped a tear that was streaked upon your cheek, when he brushed your hair away from your face after the wind was particularly difficult, and the times he had cradled you in his arms whilst smearing a minuscule kiss along your brow bone after a hard day.

your trudges were deep, and exceedingly slow. your mind was attempting to decipher how much longer you could walk around while procrastinating before you went to find the gryffindor. your eyes desperately trying to venture into that cerulean sea of blue.

just in time as you were trudging down the courtyard, the birds finally making an appearance with their faint singing. the cocky gryffindor sauntered over to you in a disdaining manner, his brunet tresses laying messily on his head from the frequent gusts of wind mangling everyone's hair.

“hey,” he spoke breathily with a smirk, craning his neck in your direction. his brow creased at the daze contortion on your face, snapping his fingers once in front of your eyes to catch your attention.

“james, hey,” you said with a startle in your voice. you held a hand over your heart for a moment, sighing once with a faux smile before turning your head back in your previous direction.

it was the first saturday after the easter break had finished and students had left their homes after dreadful goodbyes from their families. students were desperately marking down their calendars for the weekend to arrive after completing their loads of homework from the previous week, the weekend excused for clamoring hogsmeade or the courtyard.

he continued to trudge with you in silence towards your destination, a normal contingency between the both of you so your adamant lack of speech wasn’t concerning him. but the boy had a handful of words that he was waiting to say, almost hoping they wouldn’t come out disorganized due to his immense trepidation.

as you both were continuing to stroll over to the clearing of grass both you and james had spotted in the duration of your third year you felt the brush of his hands against your own. they feeling was prominent yet faint, like a ghost who suddenly could touch. a minuscule moment where his fingers looped around your own, his frigid pinky finger colliding with yours. his other fingers following in a small dangle against your hand, and suddenly his touch was gone.

your breath took a sudden hitch in your trachea, stopping in your place when you realized you had been standing in your place of destination. he looked towards you once before contorting his body in front of your own so he could face you, “james.” you muttered.

at the deaf hours of the stygian night you had pondered how obvious you were concerning your feelings to the point where it could’ve brought you a churning pain in your stomach, and most times it did from the number of sparks and butterflies wandering freely in your abdomen at the thought of the gryffindor. little to your knowledge people had already thought you were a couple, the kind of couple that cuddled in private whilst your head was tucked under his neck and your hair tickled at his chin, the kind of couple that said their, i love you’s before class had begun.

“you’re being strange. why?” you quizzically inquired craning your neck upwards into his direction. your eyes finally deepening in a void the azure and cobalt blues swirling together to make only the peculiar bunch of colors in one glimpse of an eye.

“i was talking to padfoot, and—“ he paused for a moment to form his words that he was almost jumbling over to find. “i need to do something.” he finished by running his finger up to the point of your chin while the pad of his thumb ran across from your searing skin, holding your view in place to look at him. the swirl of his irises gliding over your figure with ease. it was like his gaze had a hold over you, freezing you in place. his heart was doing continuous somersaults, it rather felt like the palpitating muscle was about to scramble out of his chest in such a hast manner.

“do it, then.”

he breathed a heavy sigh the decision weighing on his mind, his thumb coming into contact with your distrait jutted lip. the smooth planes of your lip flicked down for a moment revealing the carmine skin that laid beneath. 

your breath hitching once more from his hands carving into the side of your waist as well as the apple of your cheek. your mind attempting to determine what was happening, the absentee of his words made it difficult to determine if he had been finally doing what you had waited for.

your intuition was confirmed when his lips were delicately placed against your own. he had planned to kiss you, but he didn’t plan for it today rather procrastinating the decision. he had planned to kiss you since he saw the stretch of your smile and his mind deciphered that he needed you way more than platonically. his conversation with sirius while the raven-haired gryffindor was almost pleading on the bend of his knees to ‘get his girl.’ was the tossing coin that landed on his answer.

his lips were smooth, fragile even, like you would break if he wasn’t delicate with you. there wasn’t a need for a rush. his heart only further clamouring in his chest when he felt the smoothness of your velvet-textured palm placed on his cheek, the pads of your fingers hitting the hair that was rooted onto the nape of his neck. your fingers had further melded into his jaw like it was meant to fit, similar to a puzzle.

the grip he had on your waist was only tugging you closer to the sculpting of his torso, fitting into the brunet's body with ease.

you pulled away, unaware of the time that had passed for the duration of your kiss. your hand still placed on his cheek, he nuzzled his nose into the palm of your hand. he placed a diplomatic kiss to the flesh before melding his cheek with your palm. the crimson burn arising to your balmy touch as he gazed upon you, every tranquil detail of your face. he wanted to memorize your image so every time he felt like he was in an abyss of emptiness he could remember the grin placed upon your face at this very moment.

“i could kiss you forever, y’know,” he whispered faintly. you could feel his midriff heavily respiring, a grin now dancing on his face whilst his cheek lay tilted in your palm.

“no, but i do now.”

taglist: @kittykylax @ronbrokemyheart @aspiringsloth20 @amourtentiaa @msmb @five-cups-of-coffee @emmaev @serenitywilderness @artemis1orion @miss-starkov @siriusbarnesslut @inglourious-imagines @i-love-scott-mccall @famdomhideout @hufflepogue @kirascottage @luvvninaz @miraclesoflove @black-like-my-soul @slytherclawbitch

[iphoenixrising]

DickTim Week 2021: Day 5 Winged!Talon Tim au

So. another dual prompt and I really regret nothing about this one tbh. I took tomorrow’s Talon and today’s Wings and made a Winged!Talon!Tim fic. Of course, I talked to the wonderful babes on Capes & Coffee about a what if combination and this just, whew. Careful, it might break your heart a little, but damn if it isn’t an interesting idea.

Not beta read, so don't be a hater :D

Previous Talon!Tim universe posts: The initial idea, Babe and I talking it out, Talon Training Ask, Ra’s vs the Court, Talon and Ra’s, Talon and Ra’s take 2, Talon and Shiva short.

**

Watching B take on the new and improved Talon is really the entertainment of the year.

Once upon a time it had taken all of them plus more to take down as much of the Court of Owls as humanly possible. Of course, like rats, the Bats knew there would be no way to get the entire Court or all the Talons, not when the upper echelons of Gotham had spent the better part of 200 years creating, storing, training, and obtaining more.

Politicians were investigated, corrupt cops removed, and criminals burrowed underground once word of what the capes did to save the day got passed around.

For the first time in years, crime in Gotham was at an all time low.

But, as the coin flip dictates, nothing good lasts forever. Trouble is always brewing below the surface to eventually rise to the top and try to take over.

Case in point:

The Bats of Gotham have come up against a new threat wearing the signature Talon armor, and the call goes out to all available capes for help taking on the undead mercenary before another crime family ends up in the Obituaries rather than Blackgate.

The fact the Court is still up and running after the Batfamily took them down in a fiery blaze that ended with all their Talons gone, Sensei exposed, and most the ruling families imprisoned or poisoned by Lincoln March, is like a kick to the abdomen after they closed that particular book. Worse, with a new Talon soldier is sighted running around Gotham, another circus kid has been kidnapped and turned into the right hand of the Court of Owls. Dick, with his absolute survivors guilt, is the one to make going after the Talon and whoever is still behind the scenes a top priority.

Which is how they find themselves in the middle of Knight’s Stadium facing down a Talon that is too short to be March. Red Hood, Nightwing, Robin, Batgirl, and Black Bat pretty much got their asses handed to them in the first twelve minutes. Pretty hard to understand until you take into account the new and improved Talon facing them now is terrifying in a completely different way than most undead assassins are.

He knows them.

He knows them in ways that lets him fight fast and furious with vicious accuracy, striking at weaknesses few of the vigilantes of Gotham realized they even had.

He isn't as big as Lincoln or even Cobb, not nearly as old. He hasn't been kept in cryostasis waiting for the next generation to need his skills. He doesn't have creaks in his joints from being put on deep freeze too many times.

This one is silent and efficient, obviously trained in multiple types of martial arts, is highly proficient with or without the standard Talon knives, is a master tactician, counters the majority of their moves with alarming consistency–

and the fucking Talon has wings.

Honest-to-God wings.

Everyone had assumed the metal monstrosities on his back were weapons of some kind, but the glint of steel in the streetlight flash a warning before the lumps moved in an arch, extending far out past his shoulder blades, slicing into Red Hood’s body suit with a razor-sharp edge, shredding the armor like paper.

It’s not enough he’s got weapons obviously made specifically for his skill set, it’s not enough he’s an assassin and doesn’t hold to the same standards of non-lethal combat, it’s not enough that he can use his wings to fly or to fight like he’s using another limb to kick the shit out of them, and it’s not enough that he effortlessly counters so many of their attacks that he has to have some kind of inside information on all of them and their fighting styles.

The knives are definitely a thing when the Talon can throw them hard enough to penetrate parts of their suits in between armored plating, which further drives the theory that this is a person they’ve dealt with before. Intimately. Few people in the world know how their suits are made. Even more, few people know particulars enough when their suits are constantly reconstructed.

The only thing on their side that tipped the scales in their favor–

–the Batman.

The wings threw him off his game, obviously, but not enough to stop B from holding his own with swift and merciless force.

It's like watching a dance of fast and furious fists, blades in Talon's hands glinting deadly in the night, finding B's suit over and over and over until he's made it to blood and bone. He takes every hit the Batman can dish out, head snapping back, left, and right with the volley of jaw-breaking blows and bone-shattering kicks.

None of it gives the Talon pause. When a move makes him drop a blade, another is already in hand, cutting into their body suits, wings flipping out to defend or distract, sweeping moves and well coordinated attacks.

The unnatural appendages are like another arm, another leg, an extension working on the same central nervous system, regardless as to how the Court managed to make it happen.

A jump kick off a trash can is a lucky shot as a wing catches B in the ribs hard enough to knock him into the wall of Mike's Famous Hotdogs. The only thing saving the Dark Knight from a concussion or permanent brain damage is the plating in his cowl.

It gives the Talon enough time to make a final bid for a battered Nightwing, Red Hood, and Robin struggling to their feet again, eyes for their fallen mentor.

Before he can lunge forward to start the attack yet again, the Talon just stops, pauses like he’s stuck or something, and in the span of a breath, both wings extend fully, flap powerfully once to propel him up into the Gotham night.

O tries her best to track his flight through the city, but no one’s arms are working well enough to toss a tracker on him.

She loses him over Cape Carmine, slams her palms against her system in frustration, makes sure she gets as much footage from the confrontation as possible.

After some sleep and a whole lot of bandages and ice packs, the Bat family meets in the Cave to watch the footage, breakdown the Talon’s fighting style, his weaponry, and make theories on his identity.

O helps out with readings she has of electronic pulses she managed to capture coming from the armor over his wings. She thinks she might be able to use it to track him if they can get close enough for her equipment to ping the signal again.

B makes a trip to Arkham since Freeze apparently hasn’t stopped producing the formula used to put Talons in cryostasis.

It’s not until Gotham’s power grid has a massive surge that O and the Bats can pinpoint a possible location, all of them invested in one hell of a fight to get the last rats still scurrying in the underground.

The plan of attack comes together smoothly once they’ve scoped out the location, seen the shady activity, and together, they make one hell of a plan.

**

And because, you know, Gotham, it is completely normal for the Court of Owl's headquarters to have a skylight.

Natch.

For this one, they've got Batgirl and Black Bat, Red Hood and Robin, Nightwing and B, a real family affair.

O's quiet voice over comms leading them through the maze of traps and empty rooms, abandoned libraries and spooky ball rooms. The laboratory isn't the most horrific they've all ever seen (because the Joker's summer place is literally the stuff of nightmares), but a few of them do gag on the smell alone.

The plan, however, goes horribly awry when the clear sounds of tormented screaming echoes from right under their reinforced bootheels.

Black Bat's fists clench hard, her breathing wheezes out when the tone, the utter agony goes right through her.

A shudder slides up Robin's spine as all of them turn toward the noise.

Without a flicker or a word, the Batman moves, strafing in the shadows toward the sound. He can't assume it's an innocent civilian with something the Court wants, but he's betting on the fact that scream will lead them to whoever is running the show.

The medieval room has bars and reinforced locks, implements hanging on the wall. The cement brick is stained rust colored with old blood, the vestiges of training, and the awful realization they've found another hidden niche in the city that always existed right under their noses is punctuated with the abrupt drop in temperature, with the sudden charge in the air, with the zzzzcrack snapping beyond the door, replaced with a muted buzzing Robin can feel in his back teeth.

B is already on his way to the roof, Batgirl down through the floor vent while Nightwing picks the locks with fast precision, knocking the tumblers around.

Robin and Red Hood stay close to the reinforced door, balancing on the balls of their feet, katana and .45s at the ready.

Black Bat takes the high road, ceiling tiles giving way under her Bat-a-rang. She gives a sharp nod before she's up and gone.

"All right. Ready?" Nightwing stands, cracks his neck, flips his escrimas in both hands, works his shoulders to prepare for the strain of each blow he plans to give.

"Ya betcha ass," Hood murmurs low, a cut figure with both guns at his sides, gloved fingers on the trigger guard.

"Don't disappoint," Robin snarls, "either of you."

"Nice pep talk, squirt," Nightwing snickers.

"Tt, back up your mouth with action."

"Better shuddap, Demon. Golden Boy ain't fuckin' 'round. Neither is the Bat. We get one more chance a' this asshole. We ain't gonna blow it again, ya feel me?"

"Finally, something we agree on, Hood."

"Other than N's shitty mullet?"

Nightwing swiftly glares at them both over his shoulder, unconsciously putting himself front and center of the trio, ready to be the first in once they get the signal.

– which is the sound of the glass raining down from the heavens.

Three booted feet kick the door hard enough to take it off the hinges, lying against the faded stains like a fallen body.

First step in the room is the complete opposite to what they'd all been expecting.

The two Owl masks aren't the usual, but a perversion of the originals, crudely drawn yawning mouths complete with fangs dripping blood.

But.

The boy on his knees, arms in a binder holding the appendages hostage at a painful angle, is dripping the real thing. Rivulets down his chest and where his back is partially visible. Some from the base of the wings going into the back of his shoulder blades where the skin is torn and raw.

The bar gag shoved in his mouth doesn't take away from the splatters on his chin, the bruising on his face, the swollen eye. But it's his wings that makes the Bats falter from the initial rushing attack.

His wings are without the armor, are bound straight up above his restrained body with hooks grotesquely puncturing through the downy softness, desecrating the beauty with blood and gore. The angle makes the pull to his back where the wings are part of him just another agony on top of atrocity.

"Fuck," from the first Owl mask, and a swift move frees the Talon's bound arms, the appendages flopping uselessly to the floor, only his trapped, tortured wings keeping him up on his knees.

The second Owl shoves the first back, "let him take care of them. Let's get out of here!"

The first Owl snarls out something low and foreign, the phrases rolling off his tongue.

The words lock into place, and the Talon's head snaps up, snarling around the gag in his mouth.

When his face is finally, finally visible, the protectors of Gotham are frozen in their tracks.

Familiar violet-blue eyes, too-long blue-black hair, cut jawline and pointed nose. Tiny scar on his right cheek from the time he caught Ra's al Ghul's ring across the face.

"Jesus Fucking Christ," is barely heard through the Red Hood's synths and in no way fully expresses his utter horror at what these dirty motherfuckers have done.

Robin wretches, bile burning the back of his throat once those eyes swing up to the masked parody of the Owls and his bare upper body is visible through the blood and sweat on his chest, when the scars peeking through on his collar bones form a half-visible Y-incision, when the coloring of the bared wings now makes sense (robin's wings, Damian Wayne thinks with his heart beating pitter patter fast, and his stomach in knots, they put robin's wings on him...).

And the hurt, agonized noise coming out of Nightwing's chest is the only noise he can make when those dimmed, dazed eyes swing from the Owls back to the vigilantes frozen in their spots, when there's no spark of joy or fondness or stubbornness he's so used to seeing staring him down.

The errant thought, the first instinct, is the only humane way to deal with this new Talon is to put him down for good wars with the man behind the mask that only wants to reach out, wants to pull the Talon into his body and curve over, to scream at the injustice of it all, to rail at himself for not even suspecting.

Another switch flipped and the hooks release his wings, blood splattering on top the old stains.

"Get them! Don't fuck it up this time or you won't get another chance," the second Owl shoves the Talon's injured shoulder in the direction of the horrified vigilantes.

They don't even bother to take the gag out of his mouth before setting him on his target.

A flap of wings, and the Talon is on his feet again, swaying only slightly. He's in the boots and pants from earlier, the rest of his uniform tossed carelessly behind him by his tormentors. A sweep of his feet and the knives glint in bare palms, a whisper of a sound.

The curved, clawed blade glints in the overhead light when the Talon raises it and cuts the strap of the bar gag in his bloody mouth, turns his head to spit it out without looking away from the vigilantes.

The Batman, grim and stoic in the face of this surprising turn of events, gives the barest nod. From her hiding spot behind the complex machinery, Black Bat takes off after the running Owl members, leaving the rest of the family to deal with their former third Robin.

The wings flinchingly flare out and their former bird hunches over, ready for the attack.

“Wait! Wait, wait, wait,” the Red Hood removes the helmet, leaves the domino underneath. He keeps one hand out in peace, slowly dipping down to put his helmet on the ground. “Is us, Tim. Timmy. Baby Bird. Is us. Yer family. Gotta lookit us, yeah?”

For the first time, the Talon speaks, “who’s Tim?”

And then he lunges.

**

The fight happens very differently this time.

The former power behind the punches is obviously dulled with the Talon’s identity reveal. He doesn’t hold back, is utterly ruthless with his attacks. He takes out B’s right knee, puts Hood down on the stained floor, knocks Robin into the wall with crushing force, and slams Batgirl’s head off the operating table.

He stands over Nightwing, wicked blade in hand and robin’s wings spread wide. He takes a knee, the sharp edge right above N’s adam’s apple, staring down impassively into the whiteouts.

“Timmy,” N spits blood, grunting when one knee pins his arm down. “Timmy, please. I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry. I love you and I’m sorry they did this to you.”

Those eyes don’t change in the slightest. “You should not have tried to oppose the Owls.”

“We beat them once,” Nightwing gasps, “and you helped us, Baby Bird. You were with us then, don’t you remember.”

“I was nothing before the Court perfected me,” the Talon replies emotionlessly.

“You were perfect before they ever touched you.”

“No,” and the Talon leans down, puts them a breath away. “The only thing you and those others do is put the criminals back in prison, back in Arkham for them to escape again, for them to kill and destroy over and over again. Like this, I can stop them permanently.”

“Oh Timmy,” and behind the whiteouts, Nightwing’s eyes spill over, his vision wavery. “Timmy–”

“Don’t call me that. Stop calling me that.”

“You know me, you know us. You have to remember–”

“Lies. All of it lies!”

Nightwing’s chest stutters, his fist clenching, “it’s not. None of it is. Not even this–”

And he’s fast enough to grab the back of the Talon’s neck, to lean up enough against the blade pressed against his throat, can bring their mouths together, can kiss him like he’s dying and the Talon is the only thing that can save him.

It’s sloppy and awkward because the Talon doesn’t know what’s happening, gasps against the vigilante’s mouth. The tongue sliding over his, the muffled moan in his mouth sparks something in the back of his brain where the Court of Owls could never touch.

When Nightwing pulls back, stares up at wide violet-blue eyes, when the blade falls away to clatter against the block, when the Talon’s mouth trembles and tears fill his eyes, when his wings flutter and falter, fold in on them both, when his voice goes hoarse with, “D-Dick?” Nightwing throws both arms around his waist and holds on.

[thanx-idonttry]

Soooooo I'm actually going through a lot with this kink irl so I decided to write about it!

“CORRUPTION”

Bakugou Katsuki x Reader smut!

The Fic I'm presenting as a thank you for all the notes. I really appreciate it!

Also this is for Kinktober!

Enjoyyyy!

TW: Degradation, A bit of edging, a smidge of quirk play, Dom/sub dynamic. Corruption, Rough sex, and Katsuki being a naughty man!

Based in the 3rd year sooo 18+

—————-

Bakugou stared at the young girl with hungry eyes, god he needs to get himself together. But he couldn't help staring at you as you talked to Mina, the way you looked to him drove him mad. You were so damn adorable! Wearing your hair in two pigtails, your (Favorite Hero) designed Knee Socks which made the short school skirt hotter, and the way you did your make up was light, making your look more natural. Bakugou always thought you had an adorable appeal to you, and that itself is was what made him interested in the first place.

Bakugou had a corruption kink, and he didn't realize it. The way you look and the way you are, so pure, makes him want to take all that purity, and replace it with sin. Of course you don't realize his hungry stares, in reality, Bakugou made you nervous! In more ways than one. He's always angry, loud, and obnoxiously competitive. Those were things that made you nervous because you never know when, or who will set him off. But he also makes you nervous by the way he towers over you, smiles smugly, the muscles! The fact that this man is Scary Beautiful along with "Scary" and "Beautiful." It's such a conundrum for you.

You were really nervous when he asked you to train all day with him, you didn't know what to expect, or to think. The whole time of training, he had your mind spinning! He was super close to you when it came to stretching, hands on and everything. His cologne was so alluring, the sweat dripping off him as the sun hit him in all the right places. And the smirk he always give when he's impressed at your moves and improvements. You found yourself gazing at him, admiring the beautiful work of angry art that is Bakugou. It also sent a pulse through your pussy, making you rub your legs together when he wasn't looking. God, what is he doing to you?

Bakugou noticed you staring, with your big, dough eyes. And god did it drive him mad. The outfit you had, (favorite color) training bra, and matching spank shorts. You looked like an Angel with your skin glowing, he had to catch himself from pouncing on you. "(Y/N), Follow me." He commanded, voice so husky, it pulled you in. He started walking back towards the dorms, but he took you through the back entrance. You were confused, but also curious. "Bakugou?" You asked in a soft voice, you saw him slightly react but, he didn't say anything. The way you say his name is really hard for him to keep his cool. He opened the door once y'all reached his floor, walked up to his dorm, opened it and motioned you to go inside.

Your heart was pounding, your body radiated with a nervous vibe that was impossible to miss. Bakugou noticed, and it made Bakugou's dick twitch. He's been fighting off boners all day caused by you, and here he go fighting off another one. "Go in. Now." He ordered you. You scampered in and he quickly followed behind you, closing the door and locking it. He walked up to you, closing his eyes and dragging out an loud exhale. "(Y/N)" he called to you.

"Y-Yes Bakugou?" You breath out, noticing his aura is changing. "Do you know what the hell you've been doing to me?" His eyes were darker, his chest was pressed against yours, feeling his toned chest.

"No, I don't." You honestly tell him.

"This whole... innocent vibe you're giving off, it's really driving me fucking crazy." He said as he stared at you with his carmine eyes, he bit his lip. "It makes me wanna reveal that this whole 'Good Girl' look you put on is a fucking lie. That underneath all that, you're a fucking slut." He said. You let out a soft gasp as you stared up at him. "I-I, What are you talking Bakugou?" You said, your mind was spinning and finding the right words to say were very difficult. He let out a primal groan as his hand found your cheek, caressing it softly before going to the back of your head. That's when he found a nice handful of your hair, and gripped it, pulling it as a warning to her. "Careful Kitten, that innocent role is just gonna get you into more trouble."

Your pussy was throbbing harder now from what he was doing to you. How?! How did he find out?! You made sure no one found out how desperately needy you are. How horny you really were, the toys and videos are just not enough anymore. A soft moan escaped your lips after he said that pet name to you. "That's right Kitten, let it out. I'll treat you like you want to be treated." He pulled you into a heated kiss, quickly turning it into a Make out session. You were so swept off your feet by how well the hot head could kiss. The look in his eyes as he pulled away from the kiss lit your body a blaze, and you were anticipating all his next moves. "Now the training bra, take it off." He commanded. With no hesitation, you removed the bra. Your nipples hardened when the air hit them, and Bakugou couldn't help but feel them. His thumb grazing over them, tweaking making your inner slut come out more.

Bakugou finally latched on to one of your breast, and instead of using his other hand to play with the other, it dove downwards. He shoved his hand past your shorts and underwear, feeling all your wetness as his finger ran through your slit and toyed with your nub. Bakugou pulled away for a quick second, shocked at what he felt. "Fuck.." Bakugou whispered as he realized how wet you truly were. "You fucking slut, how needy are you?" He smirked as he looked you in your lust filled eyes. You couldn't answer, you were too busy letting out moans and trying to reach your climax you desperately needed. You clenched your thighs, trying to trap his hand so he doesn't stop. His fingers were like magic as he played with your pussy, it felt so wonderful.

Your hands latched onto his shoulders for balance, your eyes closed tightly. Moans are getting louder, you we're almost there, then all of a sudden. Nothing, his hand was gone. You looked at him with desperation and disappointment. And he just reveled in that, knowing you need him so bad. He threw you onto bed, and climbed on top you immediately after. His eyes danced all over your body before swiftly removing your shorts, and underwear. He put the two fingers that were massaging your into his mouth, licking all your juices off them. The action itself made you moaned softly as electricity flowed through you.

"Say it." He said in a deeper voice, "Admit that you're a needy whore. A horny slut. Tell me how much you need my dick." You looked down to see the raging boner imprint in his sweats. You licked your lips, admiring how he had both length and girth. You didn't want anything but to wrap your lips around it. "I'm waiting, Kitten." He said snapping you back to reality. "I'm a needy whore." You said softly, "Speak up Kitten, it almost sound like you don't want me to fuck you" He teased. He started pulling away, and your eyes widened from panic. "I'm a horny slut!" You said louder. He smirked at you, coming back. "One more time." "I'm a needy whore! I'm a horny slut! Please! I need you to fuck me!" You chanted.

In the midst of your chanting, Bakugou had pulled his dick out, stroking it as he plunged two fingers into you with his tongue following after. Your body jolted as you let out a high pitched moan, he had to use his other had to hold you down by the waist. Seeing you come undone by his doing was such a turn on to Bakugou. He knew he could taint you, he knew he could bring the bad girl out of you. All he did was wait for the right moment. Almost like a predator stalking it's prey. To him you were such a cute, little, innocent Bunny, and he was a stalking, dangerous wolf. He finally lured her into his grasp, and he was gonna enjoy every single moment. It caused his fingers curl a bit inside you as he used his tongue to write his name on your pussy.

He also knew to pin you down with the other hand because he knew you would squirm. Another high pitched moan left you, as your eyes were rolling to the back of your head.Your mouth was agate as your tongue was hanging out from the pleasure he was giving you, your hands found his hair and gripped it, pushing his head further in. You we're reaching your climax again, then he pushed your hands away and pulled away. You lifted yourself up using your elbows for support, looking at him with desperate and frustration in your adorable eyes.

"Katsukiiiiii!" You whined from frustration.

Once you saw that he was stroking his dick, you couldn't help yourself. You got up and crawled up to him with his dick in front of your face. You saw the precum leaking from his swollen head, and you ran your tongue across the tip, collecting the salty substance on your tongue. Bakugou hissed, His hand gripped your hair tightly to hold you in place. " Open your mouth,and stick out your tongue" He ordered. Once Bakugou saw your tongue roll out your mouth, he basically shoved his dick deep in your mouth. He moved his hips, doing slow but deep strokes. The way his dick felt as it glides against your tongue felt like heaven, he even slap the head of his dick against your tongue. He stopped his movements, "You can close your mouth now." Once you did, he started making you move from the handful of hair of yours he got. Making you take him deeply, saliva gathered around which only drove Bakugou to go faster.

Once he was done using your mouth, he pulled you off him, pushing you back on the bed. He then motioned you to turn over on your stomach. Your eyebrows raised as you turned over. Shocked that he jumped into doggy style position, he got behind you and lined himself up to your pussy. He was rubbing and gliding his dick against your wet folds making you moan from pleasure. He then slowly started to sink his dick into you, neither of you could hold back the moans/groans and string of curse words as he kept going deeper and deeper. Bakugou was motionless after he bottomed out in you, enjoying how wet, warm, and tight you were. He pushed your head down onto the bed, leaving your ass up. Then he started moving his hips.

The way he rolled his hips into you deeply, his dick hitting all your places had you seeing a stars and colors. "Damn Kitten, you feel so fucking great clinging on to me. Almost like you were made for me, like I was really meant to fuck you up." He said as his hips slamming into you, loving your reactions. With each slam of his hips, your legs quaked and eyes rolled to the back of your head. Your walls clenched around Bakugou tightly, and  he let out hiss then a low groan of pleasure as his hot hand connected with your ass cheek. "D-did you just use your quirk on me?" You asked with a shocked voice, you were shocked that you enjoyed it more than you were shocked that he actually used it. "A little, don't act you didn't love it." He said still snapping his hips deep into you.

"You're such a bad girl, aren't you?" He said then he pulled out of you, flipping you over, then easily slid back into you. "You're a bad girl, but you're my bad girl. Right?" He asked looking dead in your eyes, when you didn't answer quick enough, he went deeper. Your eyes rolled instantly, causing you to close your eyes and scream out a "Yes!" Still looking you in your eyes, he adds "Yes what?" Wearing that famous grin. "Yes I'm your bad girl, Katsuki!" You chanted. Hearing his first name come out your mouth, did something to him. Hearing your scream/moan his name, your walls, seeing you underneath him, looking so beautiful with Sin radiating throughout your entire body made Bakugou feel a whole new feeling that was foreign to him.

'Am I falling for her?...' He thought as he looked at her.

That's when you felt it, your climax. It was so close. You grabbed onto Bakugou tightly as the string finally snapped. The moan you let out sounded like music as you came all over his dick. The wave of pleasure waving through you had you seeing white, as you dug your nails deep into his skin. It felt like your body seized up before finally, you go a little limp. You cumming on his dick just pushed him closer to his climax. Your walls milking his dick desperately, he let out another hiss as his strokes started getting harder, he was so close to his own peak. "Oh Fuck, Katsuki!" You moaned loudly, and that broke him. He pulled out and came all over your stomach and breast, the groan he released was laced with pleasure. He looked down to see your adorable ass all disheveled and covered in his seed. "Fucking beautiful." He breathed out before going to get you guys a towel to clean off.

You were literally on the verge of sleep, the workouts you got today wore you out. The feeling of the warm, wet towel startled you awake. You saw him smirking at you as he cleaned you off, "Tired?" He asked you, all you did was nod your head tiredly. Bakugou realized you're just as adorable sleepy then you are awake, and it almost got him going again. "Just make room, I don't need you taking over my own bed." He told you, causing you to smile. He's letting you sleep in here, maybe he's not such a big asshole after all. You scooted over, making room for him as he climbed into his bed. He pulled you closer to him, making both of guys heart thump in your chests. And all Bakugou could think about before he also drifted off to sleep was:

‘Fuck! I am falling for her.’