#HE RECOMMENDED ME SOME BREATHING EXERCISES
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Hello hello 👀 Will we ever see how John "works things out" after the ending of Frozen Out? No worries if that's where it ends! Love me some bittersweet ending, absolutely delicious work. Just wondered if you planned on continuing or not! ✨
Hey, Non, gonna give him a lil glimpse into my rambling notes dump doc where I ramble to myself...
I've been thinking about Frozen Out's Price and what kind of experiences/therapy would help him begin healing from his trauma. One of the things he needs is help reframing sex in his head from something that is done to him (degrading, humiliating, intended to highlight his weaknesses and deficiencies, an act of forced submission, his partner seeing him as lesser) to something he is empowered in and can enjoy as a full participant without it reflecting on his character (or how his partner sees him).
Therapists, particularly sex therapists, recommend different things as homework to trial, right? From cuddling naked in bed and moving your partner's hands to areas you want them to touch, to breathing exercises. What if one recommended a sex toy for Price to use on Nik? One he controls from his phone. It's a game, intended to be a bit of fun, but it puts all the control - literally - in Price's hand. The idea is that then Nik gets to do the same later.
Mutual vulnerability and trust.
They try it on a few days leave as they go about their chores. The agreement is that they don't do it halfway through a conversation because then they're forcing someone else to unwittingly participate in their sex life, no touching each other or themselves, not until the evening. Price gets Nik the first time when he's looking at different packs of pasta. He doesn't expect the huge burst of arousal as he watches Nik latch onto the shelf, a soft gasp punching from his chest, as he regains control despite the swells of pleasure building in his hips.
Price was worried the toy would be invasive...
So, somethin' be brewin', Non. There'll be more angst before that part but I was daydreaming about Nikolai deliriously humping a pillow that smells like John after being tortured by the toy all day, eyes misty, skin flushed, cock achingly hard.
John: Oh dear, Nik, 'm I gonna have t' muzzle ya, love. Look at you... (feeling powerful, horny and dominant af.)
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just clocked in sir! what do you need me to cover today?
YOU’RE LATE!! I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO GET ME THAT INTERVIEW WITH THE HULK LAST WEEK! HE DOESN’T STAY BIG AND GREEN FOREVER YOU KNOW!!
NOW GET OUT THERE BEFORE *I* START GETTING ANGRY. AND TRUST ME, HEH, YOU WOULDN’T LIKE ME WHEN I’M ANGRY!
I GET ALL RED AND BLOATED. NOT A PRETTY SIGHT.
#PLUS THE DOC SAYS ITS BAD FOR MY BLOOD PRESSURE#HE RECOMMENDED ME SOME BREATHING EXERCISES#daily bugle advice column
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P A R A D I S E // P O T I O N S!
PAIRING: Bill Weasley & You WARNINGS: smut!! so much smut!!, oral (giving, receiving), piv, sex pollen trope, loss of virginity, unprotected sex, creampies, all the makings of a bad porn plot **MINORS DNI** SUMMARY: As per Percy’s recommendation to his mother, you’re tasked to house-sit the Burrow while the family is away for the Quidditch World Cup. You’re Percy's closest friend and much like him, you are more than wary of his mischievous twin brothers, Fred and George. But what if their machinations lead you to something you’ve always dreamt of coming true? (8.0k words)
A/N: Been going through a bit of writer’s block recently, so hopefully a load of debauchery (as big as Bill's) breaks down that wall. I’ve been mad at how my sentences are coming out—they sound so redundant and boring. Also, I’m not great at editing my smut scenes because I get embarrassed reading them, so enjoy at your own risk. ;)
PARADISE POTIONS!
There was an undeniable feeling of late summer that nestled in the morning air, a pleasant marriage of warmth and wind. As you trekked up a tall, grassy hill, you breathed it all in. You were in disbelief that August had snuck up on you so suddenly. That meant only two weeks left of freedom before you were confined to a cubicle in the Ministry of Magic, wasting your life away.
‘It won’t be so bad’, you reminded yourself. After all, Percy Weasley would be there alongside you in the same department. He was your most supportive and reliable friend, contrary to popular opinion. And it’d been him that pitched the idea that you house sit the Burrow while he and his family were away at the Quidditch World Cup. Apparently, he’d told Molly that you were mature, responsible, and ‘very much like him.’ You had to tease him about the compliment he threw in about himself.
Molly would provide you room and board for the next week. Your tasks mainly included upkeep of the garden, feeding the animals, and ensuring the home didn’t seem completely empty as the whole family vacationed. Molly simply hated to keep an empty house.
“Good morning, Perce!” you greeted with a wave when you reached the tip of the hill.
He waved back from the main entrance. Then, he motioned for your luggage.
“How was your journey?”
“Uneventful,” you affirmed. “Though the walk up was great exercise. I feel very much awake now.”
“It’s quite the trek,” he agreed.
“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the orientation at the Ministry we had last week,” you gushed. “I’m so excited to start work.”
“Me too,” Percy agreed with a nod.
“Mum would like to have you in for a spot of breakfast,” Percy said.
“I’d be delighted.” You heard excellent things about Molly Weasley’s breakfasts.
Percy held the door open for you. The windchimes sounded from above you, signaling your entrance. You brushed past a fluttery overhead curtain. When the material unveiled itself, you came face to face with a long dining table. There were only six occupants: Ginny, Ron, the infamous Harry Potter, Hermione, Charlie, and Bill. You gave a small wave to the younger kids. They nodded wordlessly. You reckoned that in their eyes, any friend of Percy’s must be some masochist deviant.
To the side, Arthur was chatting with who you supposed was Amos Diggory, combing through their plans.
“Good morning, (Y/N) dear,” Molly greeted. You were glad she thought of you just as prim and proper and organized as her third-eldest son.
You took a seat with Percy. He sat where his newspaper and coffee mug laid, right in front of Charlie. With a nervous smile, you sat to his right and…
Your eyes immediately landed on Bill. He was Percy’s eldest brother, and by far the most handsome. You were embarrassed to admit that you’d always fancied him. Not in the soul-crushing-adult-love kind of way, but in a silly schoolgirl way. He was so tall, so subtly muscly from sports. And he was a little more fun than Percy, though you’d never tell him that.
But given that you were so young, there was no viable chance of anything happening. So, you chose to admire him from afar in the two years you overlapped schooling. You were now eighteen like Percy, but you maintained the fact Bill still saw you as a child, nothing else. It was an infatuation that would hurt no one, so you just let it be.
“Good morning, (Y/N).”
You suppressed a smile as he acknowledged you.
“Good morning, Bill.”
“Good morning, (Y/N),” sang Charlie.
You smiled. “Hi, Charlie.” Charlie was quite the handful. You preferred Bill’s calmness than Charlie’s calamity.
“I see it’s you who was tasked with watching our house,” Bill said. “I couldn’t have chosen better myself.”
“Thank you, Bill.” That compliment was going into your pocket for a rainy day.
Bill was still ever so handsome, appearances aging like fine wine, with his soft ginger locks that framed his sharp cheekbones. His blue eyes glinted in the morning sun. You peeked at his chiselled jaw and his—dare you say—kissable lips. His t-shirt barely hid the muscles in his arms. He might’ve been tall and predisposed to being lankier compared to Charlie, but you knew he had his own ways to keep fit.
You were so busy being entranced by Bill that you’d lost track of time and space. All you knew was that it was the best morning ever, sitting in front of him, surrounded by faint windchimes and the chirping birds outside to the window. Breakfast hadn’t even been served and you were already salivating thinking about Bill doing push-ups under the hot Egyptian sun, and that wasn’t even that deep in the gutter where most of your thoughts laid, in fact—
Suddenly, a large explosion reverberated through the house and shook the table. It jolted you and Percy. You yelped and ducked. When you regained your sense of place, you looked up. No one else besides you and Percy were fazed.
“What was that?” you asked Percy, trying to settle your heart.
“Fred! George!” Molly cried, walking over to the stairs with her spatula still in hand. “What have I told you about your experiments?”
“Sorry, mum,” George said, running down the stairs, a smidge of ash on his face. “That’s it for today, I promise.”
“I don’t want to hear this again, ever!” Molly shrieked. Then, she calmed down when she realised she was in front of guests. “Well, if that’s it, then help out a little bit, won’t you? We have to get going in less than an hour.”
“Sure thing,” George said with a smile. He ran over to the table and to the coffee pot. He gave it a jiggle, letting the remaining liquid slosh around. “Anyone need a top up of their coffee?”
“Mum made that pot, you can trust it,” Percy advised.
“Thank you,” you whispered back, and then looked up at George, “I wouldn’t mind a cup.”
George sauntered over and poured you a cup. “Coffee, Bill?” he asked.
“That sounds good,” Bill responded.
“You’ll have to wait another ten minutes then,” George said with a frown. He tapped the empty glass container. “I’ve just run out. If only (Y/N) didn’t drink for two.”
“Quit it,” Percy warned his brother with a low tone.
“I’m sorry,” you said. You were about to offer Bill your cup when Percy held out a hand to stop you.
“Keep it,” Percy countered as she shoved the white mug back to your side. “I wouldn’t trust anything they put out. I’m glad it’s you that took the last of what mum made.”
You kept your voice quiet and giggled. “I hope Bill has an iron stomach, then.”
Percy nodded.
While Percy could be harsh on his siblings, you were grateful for his looking out for you. To be fair, you were also skittish around Fred and George. They weren’t as easy to read as other people. A friendly smile often meant something sinister.
“Would anyone like some liqueur in your morning beverage?” Fred asked, skipping three steps as he ran down the stairs. He reached underneath his coat as if selling contraband. “I have whatever tickles your fancy. In fact, Georgie and I have been working on something we reckon will be extremely profitable.”
Molly shot him a glare. You shook your head politely.
“Don’t feel like you have to respond to his foolishness,” advised Percy. “He doesn’t deserve your time of day.”
“Loosen up, (Y/N),” Fred commanded. “If you hang around Percy all day and refuse any fun, you’ll both die virgins.”
You went beet red immediately. It was a shade that rivalled Percy’s in speed and depth. You prayed that Bill wasn’t paying attention to you.
“That is ENOUGH!” bellowed Molly who whipped around so quickly that she nearly decapitated George with her wooden spoon. She’d reached her boiling point. “I won’t have you ruining our morning with your distasteful conversations, especially with all our guests presents.” She charged over to Fred and handed him a stack of plates. “Go on, make yourself useful and set the table.”
“(Y/N), darling,” Molly said, her sudden change in tone a little frightening. “I’ve cleared out Bill’s old room for you. Since he’s heading back to Egypt right after the World Cup, he’ll share Charlie’s room for the time for the last night. There are fresh sheets and towels and a change of clothes if you need. You are welcome to use the bath right next to the room.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Weasley.” Fred’s comment about your virginity went through one of Molly’s ears and out the other. Thank Merlin.
“Coffee’s ready, dear brother,” George sang. “How do you take it?”
“Just black,” Bill responded. “Thank you, George.”
You peered at Bill through a sip of coffee. Your heart fluttered again. Summers were really the best. It was the only chance to see him again for a flicker of time, an hour or two, before he travelled halfway across the world again. In this case, in a week. As the meal went on, you stared at him so intently during breakfast that your fork speared your cheek instead of your mouth multiple times.
When breakfast concluded, you assured Molly that you’d take care of the dishes and ushered her to the door.
“I hope you have a nice time,” you said to Ron and his friends. He mumbled a thanks. You smiled at him, happy that you were making some progress with Percy’s younger brother. Your peace was ruined by Fred and George murmuring amongst themselves excitedly. You hoped it was about the World Cup and nothing else.
Arthur was doing a routine headcount when he asked: “Where’s Bill?”
“He said he had some emergency work to finish up for the bank,” Charlie said. “Keep the portkey open for him for another hour, and he’ll be sure to make it by then.”
“If you need anything,” Percy said, placing a hand on your shoulder. “You know where to find me.”
You nodded.
After the Weasleys left, you locked the door and headed back into the house. Knowing Bill was upstairs working, you got to tidying the kitchen in the quietest manner you could. You hoped the running water and the occasional clinking of dishes wasn’t bothering him. It would be really embarrassing if he came down to complain about the noise.
After the kitchen was cleaned, you went outside to trim the shrubs, water the plants, and feed the cows. You forced yourself not to peek at the front door to see if Bill had left. He probably had, and it hurt a bit that he’d gone without saying goodbye.
The temperature had risen dramatically since you arrived in the morning, and by the time you were done, you were a sweaty mess. Bill had likely gone which meant you’d have the house to yourself. You caved into the idea of a long bath to wipe the mud and grime off your body. You dashed up to the main washroom Molly offered you and began running the water.
When you were finished with your bath, you wrapped a clean towel around you and proceeded to your room. Maybe you could do some reading and take a nap before deciding on dinner, Your chest tingled when you realised it was Bill’s old room—how lucky were you? The first thing you noticed when you entered was that Bill’s room was clean and sparse. Molly had left a window cracked open to allow for a gentle breeze, and placed your clothes on the bed. You took a couple steps forward and let your towel drop on the floor to reach for your tank top when suddenly…
Your hand met a tuft of hair. Hair that was attached to a pale, sweaty head.
You screamed as you tumbled back, your bare bum hitting the wooden floor. Oh, where the heck was your wand when you needed it? You grabbed a pair of slippers in self-defence.
“Who’s there?” you said in the bravest voice you could muster. “You need to get out of here, now!”
The thing in the bed just groaned weakly. You saw a pale, shaking arm stick out of the covers. Whatever it was, it was at least human, hopefully.
Your hand grappled the top of the desk for your wand. Once you found it, you rose cautiously from the floor with the intent to peel away the covers. You’d dealt with Boggarts; you’d seen your worst nightmares in person. You treaded cautiously because the creature could rise at any moment. But it didn’t, forcing you to get closer.
Your heart almost stopped when your hands grasped the hem of the covers. Your life flashed before your eyes. You needed to survive. You needed to live to work with Percy at the Ministry come September. You needed to live for your family. You needed to live for the off chance Bill Weasley shared the same feelings as you—oh, you were about to die, what was the point of thinking about Bill?
With your wand in an offensive position, you ripped the sheets off.
But there was nothing.
Nothing at all.
What?
It took you a few seconds to process it, but this… thing wasn’t a creature at all. In fact, it was Bill Weasley. Well, an apparition of him of sorts. He looked extremely pale and sickly, his skin the shade of paper. His ginger hair stuck to his face, his sweat binding it like it was wet glue. There was an intense warmth radiating from his skin, and his body jostled slightly as the cold air hit him.
“Bill? You called out in complete disbelief. “Are—are you okay?”
He groaned in response. Slowly, he turned his head towards you. He looked even worse up close, or as worse as Bill Weasley could possibly look. His eyebrows were intensely furrowed, his breathing laboured, and he could barely open those pretty eyes of his—oh, not this again! Bill looked to be on death’s bed and all you were thinking about was how handsome he was.
“I don’t know what happened,” Bill breathed out. His voice was a mere rasp. “I was feeling fine this morning. I can hardly get up now. And I can’t talk,” he coughed as if to prove a point, “above a whisper.”
“Are you running a fever?” you inquired, concern thick in your voice.
“No, I don’t think—,” Bill mustered the strength to open his eyes. He looked startled. “(Y/N)?” he asked.
“Yes?”
“Where…”
You looked at Bill intently.
“Where are your clothes?”
“Huh?”
You looked down. Your mouth went slack. You were barer than the day you were born.
“Shit!” you exclaimed. “I’m sorry, don’t look, don’t look, sorry, sorry!” So caught up in the heat of things, you’d haphazardly abandoned your towel in exchange for your life. You scampered back to retrieve it and tied it back on yourself. When you looked up, Bill was, fortunately, turned away, and only a sliver of his naked back was visible to you.
“Is there anything I can help with?” you asked in a state of panic. ‘Besides giving you a show?’ On the inside, you had to laugh at the thought of a striptease benefiting Bill’s health.
Bill was looking worse for wear with every passing second, and you were just prancing around without clothes. “Your mother keeps potions in the cabinet, doesn’t she? I’ll go find an antipyretic--”
Bill swiped at his forehead with his palm. “I don’t think it’s a fever, well, to the best of my knowledge.”
“Then perhaps some water?” you offered. “Or some soup?”
“(Y/N),” Bill called. Your name rolled off like velvet from his lips. “Come here, please.”
Your eyes widened. Your heart was beating erratically and whether it was out of fear or anticipation, you didn’t know. Still, you complied and began walking over. The floor felt like pricks underneath your feet.
“Could you please take these sheets off?” Bill asked. “I might try to cool down.”
You nodded. “S-sure.” You pinched the hem of the bedsheet with your forefinger and thumb and carefully stripped the sheet off. Every second that passed unveiled a new, delicious sight: Bill’s toned chest, the crevice between his chest and abdominal muscles, the veins running down his forearms, and the shapely twin creases that led straight down to his briefs. A chill of disappointment ran through your body when you realised he was still clothed.
‘Stay focussed’, you pleaded with yourself. You were here to help Bill, not to take advantage of him.
“Is that better?” you asked Bill, but your eyes weren’t on his face. They were instead fixated on the centre of his body and namely, the very present bulge at the apex of his black briefs. His manhood had tented so viciously that it stretched the black fabric until it was translucent. Was that a spot of pink flesh or were you just seeing things? You gulped and tried to reign in your imagination.
Bill breathed out as the cool air kissed his skin. “Marginally.”
“I can bring the fan inside the room,” you suggested so quickly you almost toppled off the bed.
“Wait.” Bill’s hand grabbed your wrist before you could get anywhere. Your skin scorched. “Can you help me with one more thing?”
You were about to explode. “Sure, Bill.”
“Could you help me remove my briefs too?”
Your jaw had, at this point, permanently detached from your face. “What?”
“Just one last thing and my temperature should regulate itself.”
Was stripping really a remedy to Bill’s ailment? Shaking your head, you decided to help him in any way possible before running back to the bathroom to splash cold water on your face to ascertain that you weren’t dreaming. This definitely had to be a dream. Today probably hadn’t even started yet. Any minute now, your alarm would ring and you would wake up so disappointed.
“Alright.”
Slowly, you hooked your fingers underneath the elastic waistband of Bill’s briefs. His blue eyes fluttered close and his face twisted in relief. You suppressed a groan at the sight of Bill like this, pleasured by your every touch.
You’d never admit that Fred was right in his observation this morning, but it was true that you’d never seen a… penis in the flesh. But there was no turning away now as your hands worked to expose every inch of pink flesh hiding underneath Bill’s undergarments. It was deliciously lewd, the way his long cock sprang out from the confines of his boxers and nearly slapping you in the face. A tad closer, and the appendage would’ve swiped your cheek. Just inches in front you pulsed a swelling, oozing pink tip that was connected to a thick shaft that only seemed to grow slightly in girth as you stripped him.
You had nothing but anatomical pictures and the circumference of your wrist to compare him to, but even you knew he was bigger than average. Bill had, truly, the prettiest cock to ever exist. Pale, smooth, pink, but an angrier shade coloured the head. He was thick, but even thicker near the base. Veins painted his manhood like art. You almost had to wonder how he’d feel inside you, splitting your virgin pussy open. It would kill you.
Holy shit. You had to stop thinking, because you were getting yourself wet.
Bill raised his hips up to help you bring the last bit of his briefs down from underneath him. Your hand grazed the back of his thigh. The unintended action elicited a not-so-subtle moan from Bill.
“I’m sorry, I—,” Bill said, pushing himself up on the bed. His neck was flushed crimson and his breathing heavy. You had plummeted into the ocean with the saltwater flooding your ears; you could barely hear. You gulped as a bead of wetness suddenly spurted out of the tip of his cock and threatened to run down the length of it. “I reckon I was cursed or hexed by someone,” he surmised. “It’s not like me to require such things of you, or anyone for that matter.”
“It’s okay,” you whispered. Your hand was turning white with the deathgrip on your towel. “But Bill, did that… help?”
The smartest thing to do was to remove yourself from this conversation and call for help, but you kept pressing the topic. You planted your palms on the mattress and looked on in awe. Bill was well-endowed beyond your wildest dreams. You couldn’t stop admiring him.
Forgetting he was naked, Bill sat up. His cock curled closer to his navel as a result. “What?”
You ripped your eyes away from the bead of precum that’d captivated your attention. “When we touched. It seemed to bring some colour to your face.”
“Come to think of it, I reckon it did, yeah,” Bill responded. He furrowed his brows, his words dying on his lips. There was only one direction this conversation was going to go and you had steered it off the overpass and down the cliff.
You spoke up first. “Have you tried touching…”
“Myself?” Bill finished with a chuckle.
You blushed. “Yes, well,” you countered. “It’s not entirely unreasonable, and—”
“I have.”
You tilted your head. “And?”
Bill attempted to lift his hands, but they gravitated down to the bed. “Well, I’ve… tried,” he admitted sheepishly, “but it’s made it worse.” He chuckled and shook his head at the state he was in. “And now I can’t even manage to move my arm.”
“Oh.” You frowned. “But when I touched you, you felt better?”
Bill blew out some air which tickled the wet hair on his forehead. He gestured to his raging erection. “Can you… would you mind? You’re right, it might help.”
Would you mind?
Of course you wouldn’t.
“I’ve never, erm,” you countered. A blaze of heat rushed to your cheeks. You didn’t want to admit to Bill that Fred was right when he clocked you as a virgin, though it didn’t take a deep understanding of your person to come to that conclusion. You and Percy both looked down on dalliances as prefects back in school, even busting students in the act and sending them to be reprimanded. You reckoned Bill was going to find it uncool but it was better to be truthful. “I’ve never done this with anyone.”
He chuckled. “I figured.”
You wanted to shrivel up and die.
“But it’s absolutely fine,” Bill correctly quickly, knowing he’d offended you slightly. “You don’t need to have done it to know how to do it. I’ll guide you.”
You nodded. “Okay.”
He did his best to motion to the base of him with his hands. “Grip me firmly down here.”
You obliged, holding him at the base with your right hand as you clutched your towel in the other. For an usually flaccid body part, Bill was very, very hard and warm. All the blood in his body was concentrated into one area, so it made sense. You were grateful when your thumb still managed to touch the tips of your fingers because, well, he was quite big and you weren’t confident he was going to fit in your hand.
“Move up and down,” Bill instructed in between heavy pants. You nodded. When you started shifting your hand from the base to the head and back, he let out a low groan. His skin felt like velvet in your hands; he felt so good. “Yeah, just like that.” Precum dribbled from Bill and onto from the side of your fingers as you moved faster and covered more ground. Bill’s eyes alternated from open to close in erratic intervals as you began to adjust your speed and the tightness of your fingers around him. When Bill stopped talking, you reckoned you were doing a pretty damn good job.
Bill was powerless underneath you and you relinquished the feeling. But you wanted more.
So, you shifted from the edge of the bed towards the end of it, squeezing yourself in between his long legs. You never took your hands off him in the process so Bill was none the wiser about your mischievous movements. So, it was only when Bill heard the creaking of the bed that he looked up in surprise. By then, it was too late. You had already stopped pumping his shaft and leaned in to inhale the sweet musk instead.
“Can I?” you asked, batting your eyelashes.
Bill inhaled sharply, his cock duking out his brain for once the last shred of modesty. Oh, fuck modesty. “Only if you want to.”
In one swift motion, you leaned in and kissed the red and leaking tip. Clearly, it was you who really wanted to do this. When the soft skin of your lips met the soft skin of his head, Bill let out an audible gasp that was immediately swallowed by a throaty moan. He was not expecting you to be so brazen, so generous in your help. Little did he know you’d do anything for him at this point, his own affliction long forgotten.
“How does that feel?” you asked.
“Amazing,” he rasped.
You licked the precum—salty, a little tingly, you noted—off his slit with the tip of your tongue. He tasted so good. Bill threw his head back. The ridges of his abs crinkled as he tried to hold himself upright with his elbows on the bed. He wanted to see you. You smacked your lips, unable to wait patiently to devour your meal. Then, in a moment of pure deviousness and sheer horniness, you enveloped Bill’s tip around your mouth.
“Shit!”
This was the last thing Bill said before he fell back onto the bed. You took that as a sign of surrender; what you were doing felt too good for him to keep his defences up. He’d long stopped giving you instructions and let you take reign. Emboldened, you licked the slit with your tongue with Bill still nestled in your mouth. You then began to take him in further, as far as you could before he reached a natural stopping point at the back of your throat. Your mouth tensed—he was too big to fit comfortably inside. You sucked in your cheeks, hypothesising that a tighter fit would feel better for Bill. Sure, you were inexperienced, but you weren’t stupid or ignorant on the subject of what was pleasurable.
“Yes, that’s it, (Y/N), just like that.”
You forewent your towel in favour of holding onto Bill’s thighs, placing one hand on the side of each of his legs. Still, you pressed your breasts down on the bed to hide your nipples to preserve what little was left for Bill to still see. Then again, what was the point of dignity when his dick was in your mouth?
Bill’s hands quietly crept along the bedsheets and floated towards your head. From there, his long fingers wove and nestled themselves in your hair so deeply that it wouldn’t be easy for you to untangle yourself. Clever of him. His fingernails glided across your scalp, slowly, tenderly, like a predator circling their prey before the attack. Bill then started guiding your head up and down slowly, his patience clearly wearing thin and needing to take matters into his own hands--literally.
“Feeling okay?” he asked.
You nodded, unable to speak. Bill noted this and chuckled. You gave him a pointed look.
“Hard to look intimidating with my cock in your mouth, love,” he said, tightening his fingers around your hair. You grumbled something unintelligible. The wetness leaking out of your core spoke volumes for you.
Bill’s hands were fully entangled in your hair as he continued to lift you up and down. Slow at first, but he could hardly contain himself after the first minute. The way his big cock pulsed in your mouth, gods… The faster he commanded you to move, the more his visage grew streaked from the tears in your eyes. You tightened your grip on his thighs every time his cock glided across your palate and pushed itself down your throat. You did everything in your power to not gag or choke, but when he did strike particularly deep, you pulled off of him immediately.
“I’m sorry,” Bill quickly said. “Was that too much?”
You shook your head, wiped a wet line of tears from your face, coughed, and responded, “No, I’m fine.”
You crawled back to him and engulfed him without another word.
“Ah,” Bill breathed out. “Fuck, (Y/N). You feel so good.”
You shouldn’t be enjoying being used so much, but you loved it. Loved it especially when Bill held you in place and began thrusting into your mouth instead as a means to conserve effort and increase his speed. You were growing wetter and wetter with every compliment he spoke. You imagined Bill’s big hands gripping your hips, stilling you, as he thrust repeatedly into your pussy. You wanted to be used everywhere.
“Shit,” he growled, lazy eyes hovering on you. Deliciously lazy and so hazy. “I’m close.”
He stopped thrusting, but you hadn’t stopped bobbing your head up and down. You were so far gone in your quest to make Bill come that you’d thrown your own needs aside.
“Hold on, (Y/N),” Bill commanded. “Don’t you want to—ah—!”
You knew he’d reached his climax when his hips ascended and stilled above the bed. A deep moan left his mouth. Bill’s cock twitched heavily with every rope of cum that shot its way into your mouth. He didn’t quit until every crevice of your mouth was sloshing with his seed; he was a never-ending faucet of cum.
After a minute, you finally detached yourself from him, careful to keep the fruits of your labour in your mouth and not on the bed sheets that Bill’s mother had laundered so well. You swallowed all the cum in your mouth. It wasn’t as pleasant as the books and films had made it out to be—it was warm and slightly bitter, but it was Bill’s and heaven knew you’d do anything for him.
Bill threw himself back on the bed, his head meeting the pillow with a soft thud. He was still breathing heavily as he reposed. Though his hair stuck wildly to his cheeks—which were slowly regaining colour—his face expressed newfound calm.
Bill patted the pillow beside him, on the spot in between the wall and his body. “Come here,” he rasped, his eyes still closed.
You obliged and scooted upwards. Bill splayed his arm on the pillow to give you a makeshift headrest. You settled into the nook of his bicep. Through the corner of your eye, you stole little glances at Bill and the rise and fall of his chest. A warm, midday breeze fluttered through the open windows, the red curtains billowing out. Everything was so serene, so tranquil, so…Holy shit, what had you just done?
Just three hours ago, you were wistfully staring at Bill at breakfast, grateful to have seen him at all this year to feed your starving crush on him. Now, you were laying naked in his bed with him after giving him what you hoped was an acceptable blowjob. It was both great and terrible that you wouldn’t see him after today. How would you explain this to anyone if you couldn’t even believe it yourself? You needed to bolt and never see Bill again.
Bill snapped you out of your trance. “(Y/N)?”
“Yes, Bill?”
You turned around to find yourself reflected in his crystal blue eyes.
“Would you like to finish, too?”
“Oh, uhm!” Well, you hadn’t expected him to ask you that. “No, I’m okay.” An utter lie. Your pussy was pleading to be fucked. You sat up, preparing yourself to go. “I should finish up with my chores. You should get going before the portkey closes.”
Bill grasped your wrist again. “I don’t want to go.” He sat up with you and looked you straight in the eye.
He was serious. The intensity of his gaze was so overwhelming that you looked down. You sucked a quiet breath in.
“I want to make you feel good,” he said, placing a hand on your cheek. “Let me, please.”
You choked. Was Bill Weasley begging to go down on you? The resolute look on his face definitely extinguished any fight you had left in you. A fraction of a second after you nodded, Bill turned you over and kissed you. One hand remained on your cheek while the other wrapped itself around your naked waist to pull you closer until your chest was flush against his. If you weren’t focussed on how hard his lips were pressed on yours, you would’ve been more embarrassed about how your pert nipples were pressed against his chest. Bill obviously didn’t mind, in fact, he was trying to pull you in as close as possible, closing the last sliver of space between your bodies.
Bill tilted his head to deepen the kiss. His lips felt like hard silk—a walking contradiction— against you and now you wished to feel them everywhere: on your neck, on your breasts, on your stomach and in between your legs. You reckoned he should kiss heavily in between your legs.
Bill was all lean muscle and long limbs. He couldn’t splay out on the bed as easily as you could. He landed on his knees, then shifted you upwards until your head was resting against the baseboard of the bed. He spread your legs with his hands—so big that they absolutely swallowed you—using his thumb as anchors.
He looked back up at you. His eyes had darkened significantly, like a sudden storm that had broken through a clear day. Whatever drug was flowing through his veins, it was only growing more potent. “You’re so wet.”
You made an attempt to shut your legs. You were cycling through moments of confidence and embarrassment, and his words made you want to curl up and die.
“Don’t,” Bill said. “You turn me on so much. Who knew that behind such an innocent facade was a girl begging to be fucked?”
And just like that, your legs fell open in one buttery smooth motion.
”That’s it, such a good girl for me,” Bill praised. He leaned in and ran his tongue flat over your folds. You squirmed but his iron-clad hold on you prohibited any movement. You tried so very hard to quiet yourself as his tongue painted you in oscillating strokes. You gasped whenever he landed briefly on your clitoris. He hummed, pleased, and let the vibrations rock your body. Your breathing was dangerously unsteady as Bill pulled you closer to him and increased the intensity of his tongue. He unlatched one hand from your thigh and shifted them near your drooling entrance. Gently, he inserted a finger. Before you could jump upwards at the intrusion, he brought his tongue back to your clit to massage away any pain. “So sweet,” he hummed again. Bill kept his finger steady inside you until your squirming stopped.
“You’re so tight,” Bill whispered. He added another finger to your already taut hole. “I can barely fit two fingers in here. How do you suppose you’ll take my cock, hm?”
A rhetorical question. Instead of waiting for an answer, Bill began moving his fingers back and forth. You let out a small whine that you buried into the pillow. “Sh, it’s okay, just relax, darling,” Bill assured. In a matter of moments, Bill had gone from shallow little thrusts to burying his fingers to the hilt. The motion of his fingers curling inside you elicited a load moan from your lips, and your legs parted further in response. It was over when his stupid tongue found its way back to your clit; you nearly screamed. He flicked your sensitive bud over and over, building the pressure in the region. Between that, and Bill’s face buried between your legs and the wet sounds of his fingers inside you, you were just one thrust away from coming undone.
“Bill, Bill—” you tried to stop him, too scared to be thrown over the edge. But Bill showed no sign of stopping. When he sucked on your clit, you knew it was over. He had pushed you off the cliff. “Bill!”
You clamped down on his hand, but Bill hadn’t stopped moving; he was intending to fuck you through it. Waves of pleasure, sweetly punctuated by Bill’s nimble fingers, washed over you until you had no coherent thought left. You laid there for a minute, until your heart rate had finally settled back to normal.
“I’m getting impatient,” Bill chuckled. “Seeing you writhe around like that, coming on all over my hand, Merlin..”
You tightened your lips. “Me too.”
“What was that?” he teased, pretending not to hear.
“I’m getting impatient.”
“For what?”
“You know what for.”
He shot you a cocky grin. “I won’t know until you tell me.”
“Fuck me, Bill,” you almost screamed. “Fuck me, please.” It was killing you. You looked down at Bill’s manhood. He looked even harder and fuller than how you found him, if that were even possible. His cock twitched to stand at full attention when you shuffled back to him. You wanted to feel him, so warm and engorged, inside you, splitting you open with how big he was.
“You’re so needy, (Y/N),” Bill teased. He laid down. “Get on top of me, I want to see you.”
You clambered over immediately. You splayed a leg on each side of him and propped yourself up with your knees. Wordlessly, Bill pulled you in and your body listened. He met your lips for another kiss that showed no signs of being broken. Well, not until he decided to latch onto one of your nipples instead. His lips covered the circumference of your areola and sucked gently.
“Bill,” you whimpered, succumbing once again to his dexterous tongue. He swirled around your sensitive bud, flicking it back and forth, and sending little electric shocks down to your toes. You were getting so, so wet for him.
One of Bill’s hands trailed down to his cock and gave it a couple of strokes before he aimed it towards your core. You moaned every time he pressed against your throbbing clit before moving back to your opening and repeating the motion. You needed to come again, and Bill was intent on bringing you there. He rubbed the head back and forth, concentrating the slick to where he eventually wanted to be. He was showing great restraint; it was taking everything not to just thrust into you.
“You already feel so good,” he praised. “So wet, so tight, love, all for me. I can’t wait to fuck this tight pussy.”
Bill piled on the words and continued to ravish your breasts as a distraction of what was to come. The head of his cock was directly aligned with your opening that was weeping at the thought of him inside you. But the largest thing you’d taken ever were Bill’s fingers; he couldn’t possibly fit without absolutely destroying you. The universe couldn’t have gifted you with a warm-up, could it? Instead, it gifted you the girth of Bill. Still, you remained in place, readying yourself as he began to enter you.
You gasped at the first intrusion. You clenched Bill’s forearms in retaliation, your mouth parting in shock. You wanted him badly, but your anatomy wasn’t letting your desires take the front seat.
Bill placed a hand on your back. Stiff. “You’re tense,” he noted, kissing up on your neck. “Just relax. It’ll feel good, I promise.” You nodded, trusting him.
“Hngh—!” was all you let out when he pushed deeper. Your breathing fell out of sync as you tried to calm yourself. Maybe this was it, and all of him was already inside of it.
“That’s just my head inside you, love,” Bill stated, as if reading your mind.
You paled. “How are you so big?”
Bill chuckled in agreement before swallowing you in a kiss. His tongue found its way into your mouth, and you could taste the pure need radiating off him. He gave little shallow thrusts, trying to ease himself into you. Though it still burned heavily, a ring of pain, as he stretched you out, Bill’s pace was making it much more tolerable and frankly, more erotic.
When he was halfway in, Bill’s eyes fell shut in utter bliss. His hands gripped your ass cheeks, pulling them apart, as if it would help you sink further down on him.
“You take me so well,” he said as he continued impaling your poor little pussy. He never stopped littering you with kisses, whether it was on your lips, cheeks, neck, or breasts. He suckled your tits again when he rammed the thickest part of him inside you in one thrust.
You stifled a cry into the crook of his neck and tightened your arms around him. “Bill!”
“Give it a minute, (Y/N),” he assured, but his voice sounded garbled, so far away. “I promise, it’s going to feel so good.”
When he felt you relax a little, Bill began to increase the length of his thrusts, breaking into your pussy a little more each time. You fell onto him, the pleasure beginning to overwrite the pain.
Bill moaned as he sped up the slightest. “You’re so tight, (Y/N), tighter than I could’ve ever imagined.” His words only added fuel to the fire. “I can’t believe it’s me that gets to break into your pussy.”
“Then break me, Bill,” you pleaded. “Please. Harder.”
He chuckled. “You don’t have to ask twice.”
Bill looped his arms around you to hold you in place. From there, he began to drive himself into you faster, harder, just like a hole to be used for his pleasure, just like you had asked.
“Oh!”
You could hardly keep your eyes open as he assaulted your body. He tested different depths and angles, watching your facial expressions for the perfect one. His long, deep strokes were landing on the perfect place - a place that had you seeing stars. So pleasurable but just millimetres away from being too much, too painful. There was so much of him inside you. Your legs stiffened, almost cramping, as the heat increased in pitches in your core. Your hands went wild, trying to find a place to stabilise your body. They found refuge on the top of the headboard. In one particularly hard thrust, he sheathed himself completely inside you, the widest part of him spearing you open.
That was the precise moment you came undone, screaming. White obfuscated your vision as you lost control of your body. You convulsed on him, your pussy contracting around his cock like a vice. Bill continued to fuck you through your orgasm, bottoming out in you repeatedly, letting you ride out the pleasure for as long as humanely possible. You fell onto him like a rag doll, limp, worn out from your second orgasm. Bill could only smile at a job well done. He withdrew himself from you and flipped you over. He nestled his manhood back between your legs. You watched with excitement as his cock, covered in your cream, sprang to his navel. You felt so hollow without him inside you, and you were about to beg for him again, but he moved quickly. He leaned towards you, placing the head of his cock to your opening once again. But instead of delving into you like you had hoped, he rubbed himself against you, occasionally pushing into you the slightest.
Confused, you raised your hips up, trying to align yourself perfectly with his cock and push him back in. But your attempts were futile.
“Don’t do that,” you chastised when you realised he was doing this on purpose.
“Do what?” Bill asked innocently.
“Tease me like this.”
He smirked. “Who said I was teasing you?”
Just as you were about to retort, Bill drove himself into you when you were least expecting it, burying himself entirely into you. Your body shivered in pleasure, legs straightening and stiffening. You screamed when he quickened his pace, pounding into you with deep, full thrusts. His hands gripped your bouncing breasts, keeping them in place and occasionally pinching your nipples. Bill pushed himself to the hilt, then almost withdrew completely, before filling you up again as hard as he could. At certain points, he would hit a bundle of nerves that caused your toes to curl. At some point, you couldn’t tell the difference between pain and pleasure—it all felt so overwhelmingly good.
The lewd sound of his balls hitting your skin was heaven to your ears. In this moment, you wanted nothing more than to be filled with his seed.
“Come inside me,” you near screamed.
Your little request was enough to break Bill out of his trance. “What?”
“Come inside me,” you repeated.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes!”
With no reason to ask you to clarify again, Bill obliged. He gave a couple more thrusts, so powerful it forced your body to slide up over the bedsheets and your head to almost slam into the headboard. Then, he let out a loud, choked grunt, his eyes screwing shut. You could feel his cock twitch heavily inside you as he deposited his seed, filling your pussy. He hovered over you, exhausted, draining every last bit of him inside you. Both of you shared the same laboured respiration. You reached up and pushed back the ginger hair that was strewn across his forehead.
Bill began to soften inside you, but refused to pull out just yet. If you stayed here like this any longer, there was no doubt you’d meld together into one.
With a heavy almost regretful breath, Bill reluctantly removed himself out of you. You felt his cum trickling rapidly out of you and onto the bed sheets. You sat up to look. There was so much. it was smeared all over your sex, all over your inner thighs, and all over the sheets. There was no doubt there was more deep inside you.
You looked up at Bill. Much to your disappointment, he looked to be back to his usual, happy self. Your services were no longer required. And much to your disappointment, he was looking around for his briefs. Well, it wasn’t like you could stay in paradise forever.
“Thank you, (Y/N),” he said.
“Of course,” you responded.
Bill gave you a small peck on the lips which made you smile. Then, it all went downhill from there, as he returned not more than a second later for another kiss. This time, deeper, thick with more lust. The next kiss, he had you pinned you on the bed by the arms. Unexpectedly, you felt him harden against you once more. His cock was back its previous stiffness and trying to find its way back to your cunt.
He paused. “I’m not sure what’s gotten into me,” Bill admitted sheepishly.
“You mean you’re not usually like this?” you questioned with a smile. You didn’t mind it, not one bit.
He contemplated it. “It has been a while, but it’s highly unlikely for me to go twice, let alone three times a day.”
“Really?” You cocked your head. “Is that not—”
Before you could speak, Bill plunged himself into you once more. Your mouth went slack. It was quite an effective way to shut you up. Most of his spend was still either deep inside you or running down your inner thighs, but he was intent on pumping you full of him even more.
You had no complaints. Instead, you succumbed to the wet sloshes of his thrusts and messy kisses once again.
…..
In a tent one long Portkey away from the Burrow, a very different conversation was taking place.
“How do you reckon our Paradise Potions did?”
“Considering that Bill hasn’t joined us, I’d say pretty well.”
END!
#bill weasley smut#bill weasley x you#bill weasley x y/n#bill weasley x reader#smut#bill weasley imagine#why am i so horny!!#sex pollen#kinktober
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FML: Confidence
I had decided it was finally time for a change. A few years after college and sitting all day at the office had taken its toll. Twink death was here, but I wanted to have a chance at a few more wild nights before I hit my thirties. So, on a buddy’s recommendation I called up Dr. Webb. He had been touted to me as one of the best in his industry, able to help with all kinds of health and wellness. In my consultation, we discussed my goals. I talked about my concerns around aging and some of the weight I had put on. He probed a bit about my health and family medical history. He was so calm and gentle. It was so easy to talk with him I may have even disclosed more than I wanted to about my college days and conquests. At the end, he leaned back and read over his notes:
“If I am being honest, I am not sure what you are too concerned with. You may not be your youngest, but I wouldn’t say you are deviating too much from a health body at your age.”
“But Doc, I don’t want to just slide into my thirties. I want to get out there like I did just a few years ago.”
“There is nothing wrong with aging my boy. It’s scary for us all but we aren’t stopping the clock any time soon.”
“I don’t want to stop the clock. I just want to feel confident in my body again.”
He stroked his beard and thought for a moment, “Now that is maybe something I can work with.” The rest of the visit was boring. But by the time I left his office, I had a pack vitamin supplements, a list of recommended exercises, and a follow up appointment in a few weeks.
Over the next couple days or so, I diligently took the supplements, followed the exercise routine, and logged my daily progress. It was strange, I didn’t really see a difference, but did start to feel a bit better. The biggest change I think I felt though was a kind of hormonal rebalance. I think doc mentioned it. My sleep was slowly becoming more regular, mood swings improved, and my flexibility was improving as I followed my exercise routine. However, I think it was also starting to create a fixation. I would just need to see my progress, check if I was improving. Whenever I got a small chance I would just stare at myself and focus on my curves. Were they any smaller?
I mentioned it to Dr. Webb at our next meeting. He laughed it off, said it was nothing unusual. But he did send me home with some meditation files to help me relax and center my mind. Help me let go of my worries and all that. And I will confirm they were effective. I popped on the first tape that night, listening to breathing exercises and ambient white noise. Woke up an hour later feeling refreshed. I don’t think I thought about my body much that night. In fact, I hardly thought about anything. My mind felt so clear.
It continued like that for a week I think. To be honest, the days started blurring together a bit. The routine was really sinking in, abs became an almost unconscious part of my day. At some point though, I don’t know when, I did start to notice a change as I would finish the tapes. I would always come to hard as wood. My appetite for sex was off the charts, quickly becoming a nuisance to take care of myself, several times a day. I even had to take a break at work one day. That is, until one day I saw myself in the mirror.
I was getting ready for the day, and suddenly something in me shifted. I stopped pulling down my tee and stared at myself in the mirror.
Damn, had I always been this hot?
Something about the way my jeans hugged into my sides and the thick matted carpet stretching across my stomach felt new and exciting. My mind said it should have felt off, but staring at my gut and feeling its weight ripple as I rubbed it up and down, I was entranced.
‘I felt big, strong, and masculine’, a voice echoed in mind, and I couldn’t agree more. Instantly my plans for the day were shot. I needed to get out there and find someone to share this body with. I couldn’t keep it all to myself. I popped my top off and went on the prowl for a piece of ass to demolish. A few quick photos and I had some nameless twink on his way over for an afternoon delight. Within moments of his arrival, I felt a shift in energy between us. I was used to a kind of back and forth, pull and push as people met and flirted. This was all pull. It started slowly, as he sat next to me on the couch. Then, he placed his hand on my thigh and gently rubbed. I was soon no longer talking to him, I was giving him commands:
“Scoot closer to me.” He scooted.
“Rub my belly a bit, don’t be shy.” He hesitated for just a moment before gliding his hand over my furry belly.
“Feels good, doesn’t it?” He nodded limply. He was fixated on other things
‘A man gets what he wants,’ rang the voice in my head. And my patience was running thin.
The commands flowed from my mouth quickly:
“Take off my shirt”
“Take off your shirt”
“Lay on me a bit”
“Don’t mind the smell, I’m wrapping my arm around you.”
He quickly followed commands, even started taking huffs of my musky pits as he curled into my arms. I didn’t tell him to do that yet, but I felt so in control as this man was getting hard practically in my lap. It was time.
“Pull out my cock.”
“Put your head right there.”
“Open wide.”
“Suck, boy.”
It was just so easy to get him to comply. He was like putty in my hands. He just bent to my authority as I guided his willing throat, mouth, and tongue through the best blow job of my life. By the time I was ready to move on, a damp spot had formed through his shorts at the tip of his throbbing cock. It bobbed in the air a bit as I turned him around and pulled down his shorts. I took a moment to press myself against him, let him feel the power of my body.
“Bend over.” And he went down on all fours.
By the time my next appointment came up, I already had a small selection of boys willing to come over when I needed them. They were so small, I was almost worried I would break them in half. But it felt so freeing to discover this side of myself. Nothing could beat a twink sitting on my dick, begging for me to cum in him. I reported back to the Doc that I didn’t think I needed his services anymore. He said that he couldn’t agree more, and that even he was shocked at how much progress I made in such a short period of time.
“Now would you kindly put your shorts back on? They did not need to come off for this examination.”
“No,” I replied, “gotta take care of some business first. You want to show me that cute ass of yours.”
“I don’t think so, I…”
“Please doctor, with a body like this? I’m confident you’ll find your work satisfying.”
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hmmm what if gym sex with gym owner/instructor toji fushiguro. you know, they be fucking by machines and stuff 🫨🫨🫨
𝐒𝐇𝐄’𝐒 𝐀 𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑 . . . !
⟣ sypnosis. you thought it’d be just another day of you at the gym with your gym instructor, toji—though things were quick to escalate into a different kind of ‘workout’.
⟣ tags. gym instructor!toji fushiguro x female reader. exhibitionism, public, p in v unprotected, standing doggy ig, spanking, hair pulling, teasing, sprinkle of objectification / degradation, creampie, no to little aftercare, kinda pervert!toji as well. reader gets called ‘doll’.
⟣ note. yummyyumyummm.. this made me think of this ask t sent me & this fanart i need him so bad t_t not proofread btw. !
you were a newbie to the gym—your usual workouts consisting of the most simple sets; jumping jacks, burpees, crunches, squats, planks and push ups. an acquaintance of yours attends the same sports club and recommended you a certain gym instructor who works there most of the time.
his name was toji and apparently was good enough at his job for many other gym attendees to hire him in. you did the same and had started a few sessions with him earlier that week. toji was patient and quick to give you the needed feedback and advice on your workouts — a nice guy.
though, he did seem a bit intimidating, especially due to the fact that he was extremely bulky. your stomach did a flip once you first saw that dark-haired man.
the black tank top he wore almost every other day, his muscles that flex with each movement, the scent of his cologne you could smell whenever he got close and nonchalantly adjusted or corrected your form; that guy was more than simply attractive.
as your mind wandered and daydreamt about your gym instructor, your body was doing its needed squats. up and then down, inhale and exhale, tense and relax—you were on autopilot.
what you didn’t notice, due to the music blasting in your ears, was that toji had been wandering around the area. it was almost time for your own session with him where he’d do some cardio with you.
toji sipped on his water bottle, lazily approaching you from behind, your backside towards him. he looked around for a bit—this specific section of the gym was nearly empty at this hour of the day. except for you, him and. . . a random guy who was lifting weights in a far away corner.
toji’s eyes couldn’t help but flicker from your exposed shoulder blades to the curve of your ass whenever you squatted. it was very much intentional; not for the sake of checking on your squatting form, but more for the sake of his own needs.
it was like that almost every time he’s training with you—the gym instructor cannot resist the urges of subtly checking out that body of yours. more specifically, the curves of it. he could get a bit handsy when teaching you how to get the gist of a certain exercise.
you were a bit oblivious to this, because you thought that it was simply just toji doing his job. gym instructors were meant to help you along the way—instructing somebody and helping them get into the desired position by appropriately touching their body was part of that process. . . right?
you don’t know, but you also didn’t care. his touch on your thighs when he was correcting your form that other day, the way his big and veiny hands were gently holding your flesh; it was just way too appealing. even if he was doing his job, there was an undeniable attraction hanging between the two of you.
you couldn’t even count the many times where you ‘accidentally’ bumped into him at the gym just to hold a short conversation. toji’s eyes were everywhere—the sight of you out of breath, sweating whilst trying your best to look pretty when talking to him stirred his loins.
the dark-haired man knew you purposefully come and talk to him after each session. he knew that you always try to look confused in the gym when experimenting with a new machine just to catch his attention. toji knew all about your ���innocent’ acts and yet he was falling for them. hard.
you were too good at that game of seduction and if it wasn’t for him risking the loss of his job, he’d have fucked you long ago. he’d have satisfied both your desires right at the gym with everyone seeing—he craved for a taste of you. he needed it. sooner or later.
so, toji took his chance. ‘it was now or never,’ he told himself as he approached you from behind. his presence was only sensed by you when his hands came in touch with your body.
one hand pressed onto your lower back slightly, the other on your upper thigh, fingertips digging onto the fat to help it slightly backwards, pushing your hips towards him—
“how many times do i have to tell ya, hm?” toji’s raspy voice whispers in your ear, his figure looming over yours making you feel caged between him and the treadmill you were facing whilst squatting, “arch your lower back just a tad bit more, push y’r hips back properly—mhm, jus’ like that. good, very good.”
you surprisingly do as told even whilst you were caught off guard by toji’s sudden appearance. your heart was beating out of your chest by the proximity of your bodies like this; your palms were getting sweaty. and not from your workout.
“y’re definitely gettin’ the hang of it.” your gym instructor comments, a faint hint of pride in his tone. he retracts his hands from your body, however not before teasingly letting his fingertips brush against the bottom of your ass, feeling up its shape in that single second of contact— “how’s your workout been today?”
you knew that touch was intentional. there’s no other explanation to the lingering stare on your ass as well. his eyes shamelessly took in your thighs and hips as if he wanted to be all over them, to touch them like he’d longed for so long.
“good. was about to take a break.” you reply. truth was, you weren’t. you only said so since toji was chatting with you at the moment.
there was an evident tension between you two—the way you took a sip from your water bottle whilst your pretty eyes were focused on toji’s ripped physique, your gaze that darted from his eyes to his lips, chest, lower body and back up. . . that game of seduction had gone on for way too long. toji had to have you. right here, right now.
that’s how you ended up clinging for dear life onto the treadmill in the corner of the building, your leggings and panties pushed down to your knees and toji behind you with his hands using your hips as leverage—his cock finally having a taste of your warm insides after all this time of fantasising about it during your lessons with him.
“fuck. . knew this pussy’d be fuckin’ tight—almost can’t move due to how much y’re squeezing me, doll.” the man’s rough voice spoke out whilst your wet folds were spread apart to fit his cock all the way in, his size massive to the point it almost hurt, “there you go, takin’ it so well.”
your walls clamped around his dick like you didn’t want him to ever move out of you—like this moment was all you had wanted from your encounters up until now. toji curses under his breath at the sight he’s finally seeing;
you trembling whilst he was balls deep inside of your greedy cunt that swallowed every single inch, even if it stung. what made it even better of an achievement was the fact that your ass was properly in his view now, fat jiggling with each press of his hips against it.
“hnngh—fuck me.. ah, please!” your stifled moans almost make toji’s eyes roll back. he loved those sounds of pure pleasure that escaped your lips—the ones which you couldn’t contain behind that hand clamped around your mouth.
it was risky after all; fucking in an open gym. you didn’t know if that one guy on the other side of the area had already left or not. you couldn’t see through all those machines and pillars obstructing your view. you just went with the logic that if you couldn’t see him, he couldn’t see you.
toji—being the absolute tease that he is—had seen your eyes wander across the section of the gym you were in. oh, he didn’t like it one bit that your attention was on anything other than him and his dick slamming into your sloppy pussy;
he stopped his movements and torturously slid his cock out of you until the head was all what was left inside, prodding into you every now and then like he was going to slam it back fully, only for nothing to occur. toji bit the inside of his cheek; rough hand landing hard on the left side of your ass, the other side getting its turn a second after you whimper.
the process repeats which makes your back arch deeply, hips instinctively moving back and then forwards—basically fucking yourself on his cock. toji liked that desperation in you. that’s what he wanted to gain out of his actions.
“hah—ya can push those hips back properly now, ay?” your gym instructor exhales through his nose, hand traveling from your ass to your hair, yanking that low ponytail of yours back. his sharp eyes scanned your backside as if you were a piece of meat, his hips grinding against your ass, kneading the flesh with his pelvis, “remember this when y’re squatting again—the position of your back like this, the slight arch—fuck.”
even in a predicament like this, toji used it to teach you about your form during your squats. not that you knew what that man was saying. you were too focused on the way he was slowly stroking his dick in your pussy, wanting the tip to reach the deepest parts.
“shiitt,” toji sighs before a noise—almost a low whistle—forms in the back of his throat. the pleasure kept building up inside of him and he knew that he could cum just by a bit of grinding against that plump flesh of your ass, his balls rubbing against the curves of it, “this body of yours ‘s gonna make me lose my mind, doll.”
but, toji didn’t want to end it with that. he was here to give you the pounding of your life—teach you another lesson which was unrelated to your workouts; the lesson of what happens if you try to seduce a man like him.
toji wastes no time and grabs your hips again, angling his own to hit your g-spot with each rough thrust once he resumes the movements. each press to that sweet area makes your legs shake, lips moving frantically, though only incoherent and slurred words leave your lips in quiet moans;
“nghh! toji, ‘s too good!” you whine, your own hand still clamped around your mouth to keep yourself quiet. you were always vocal during sex, but it was a bit risky to let yourself go in a public space like this, “mmph!”
though, with the fact that you were getting the pounding of your life right now, there was no denying the fact that it was impossible to stay fully quiet. a few lewd moans escape—toji tugging at your hair each time as a warning,
“sshh, don’t w’nna get me fired, do ya?” the man behind you grins. he isn’t even worrying in the slightest that this moment was probably getting caught on the cctv camera footage in the gym.
toji could easily get rid of those himself since he works at the gym and has some internal connections, but it’d make it all so difficult if somebody were to catch you in the act, “if ya keep quiet, we’ll do this more often, yeah?”
you shiver at that promise. you could already imagine all the times you can have toji to yourself in the future; how he’ll press you to a bench and fuck you—or maybe he’ll even take you in bathrooms. it was such a turn on. that’s all what was needed to shut you up in an instant;
“good girl.” that gruff voice murmurs once more, the pressure in your stomach builds, the coils forming threatening to snap any minute now for both of you. toji’s self control was hanging by a thread.
that same thread snapped in half the moment you let out a whiny and vulnerable whimper in the form of his name. with one hard thrust, toji presses his hips firmly against your ass, grunting as he makes sure to dump his load the furthest he could—the warmth of the sticky liquid filling your senses eventually stimulated you enough to reach your own climax.
“easy there, doll.” your gym instructor thrusts once, twice before pulling himself out of you, leaving the mixture of fluids leaking down by your legs. he huffs at the sight, taking it in for a couple seconds whilst kneading your ass between his fingers.
toji grabs a tissue he had somewhere in the pocket of his sweatpants and wipes his tip before tucking himself back in his boxers—pulling his pants up and readjusting his appearance like nothing ever happened.
toji puts the used napkin in your shivering hand and nods at you. you were a pretty thing whilst fucked out of your mind, that he could indeed confirm in a singular moment of eye contact.
he sighs and leaves you to fend for yourself as he starts to walk towards the stairs that lead to the third floor, probably to take care of something. you never know what he’s up to when he’s not in the gym—a mysterious man.
before the gym instructor vanishes, he does leave you a hushed message on his way to the staircase, head cocked to the side to look at you from his peripherals whilst he walks;
“clean y’rself up and continue with your work out. will be back in a few to check in on ya.”
#sttoru writes.#jjk smut#jjk x reader#toji x reader#toji smut#toji fushiguro smut#jjk x you#toji x you#toji fushiguro x reader
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pushing and pulling | joshua hong
› pairings: joshua hong x female reader › genre: angst, fluff, smut (18+) › aus: nba player joshua, playboy joshua, love affair › word count: 8k
› 🎧: take you down – yugyeom | do me right – gemini | pushin' n pullin' – red velvet | middle of the night – monsta x | 100 ways – jackson wang | dumb – i.m | guilty – taemin
this post is connected a nba joshua playboy request (you can find it in my page on the reqs tag)
› nsfw tags under the cut
› warnings: slight hurt/comfort, toxic vibes, reader is married, body worshipping, oral sex, pussy drunk shua, soft-dom joshua, oblivious pining, love making, unprotected p in v sex, lotus position, a bit of cockwarming, creampie, reader is on the pill, joshua is kind of a jerk but sweet in some way, pet names: baby (hers)
› big big thank you to @cvntrlseecvntrlvee who beta read this for me and helped me edit and with the more tricky aspects of joshua pouring his heart out to you ( > 〰 < )♡
› also thanks to @glowunderthemoon who brainstormed with me and recommended 100 ways by jackson for this chapter. i wanna kiss your genius brain
› disclaimer: minors dni this post is intended for 18+ readers. please have your age stated in your description and try not to look like a bot please 🙂.
pushing and pulling
The elliptical beeped softly as Joshua forced it to a stop. He kept his breathing steady, but he couldn't ignore the impulsive need to wipe the sweat off his face.
He looked closely at his progress. Feeling content, he climbed down, wiped the machine and walked away to finally commence his general training.
The gym was particularly deserted. As expected from a Friday afternoon. Joshua had just finished warming up and moved to do some bench presses. It was his usual Friday routine, except he mostly went during the mornings.
But last night he couldn't sleep. And he didn't have any plans for the rest of the night, so, the gym it is.
He kept the music in his earphones at a high volume to drown out the music blasting from the gym's fancy sound system and the lonely goers who were working on the other weight machines.
Why do they have to let the weights drop that loud? So noisy.
He kept pushing the bar up and then slowly pressed it back down with a controlled motion, letting strained exhales escape his mouth. It was one of his favorite exercises to do. He was lying back on the bench, and staring at the ceiling, listening to music—he could reflect like this.
Until he sat back up on the bench, having finished his rep, and stood up to look for something to clean up the bench after him. That was when he caught sight of you, in the far distance of the gym. You were using a treadmill, looking straight at your reflection in the mirror up front.
Maybe you just got to the gym, he thought from the look of you. Your well-kept hair was braided, there was no sweat on your face from what he could see and well, he hadn't seen you until now.
Joshua kept doing his exercises as normal. But he couldn't shake off the tight knot that had parked in his stomach since he saw you there.
In fact, every time you crossed his mind he felt that way. And he thought of you constantly. He replayed over and over in his head the memory of the events that led you to the first time you kissed him.
It had been a rushed, heated kiss—but everything that happened before it took its time. At every chance, when you crossed paths, you'd sent him glances that, at first, obfuscated him a little.
Until one night, at a private event. After many suggestive looks exchanged between Joshua and you, in a perfect moment, your husband was out of the way and you got Joshua to follow you down a fire exit. One thing led to the other.
He didn't know you went to the same gym as him—though it could be something he expected since everyone on his team used it. It was quite the exclusive place.
He kept checking on you every now and then. It seemed that you were just running because half an hour passed and you hadn’t left your spot.
That's how he slowly gathered the little details about you, the bags under your eyes, the sad look on the features of your face.
So he kept to his regular training—working his lats, his triceps, biceps and then finishing with abs. Push and pull kinda day. It was supposed to be only pull but well, what gives.
Joshua moved from the last machine, cleaned it off, threw the towel away and walked towards the locker-rooms. Thinking of getting a shower, grabbing his stuff and heading home. Maybe drink a beer and hopefully, sleep.
"What are you doing here?"
Joshua removed his earphones. You had cornered him almost as if you had planned it, and possibly did. He looked over his shoulder as a precaution, the hall was empty.
"What are you doing here?" you repeated, your tone anxious and shifty eyes roaming all over him.
"Baking a cake," he responded nonchalantly.
"Tsk, fine," you scoffed and looked the other way.
Joshua paused and took consideration over what he saw in you, the stale, emotionless about you. Unusual. The features of your face looked torn, instead of the usual kindness he usually saw in them. He confirmed his suspicions that you weren’t sleeping well either when he saw the darkness under your eyes, and the paleness that stole the color from your lips.
Even with that dead look in your eye, Joshua was convinced that you were the prettiest girl he'd ever seen. Although all you and Joshua ever did was throw snarky comments at each other, sometimes while fucking, even then, he always thought you were sweet and cute.
"How about we start over?"
"What?"
"Hi?" Joshua joked. "How are you? No?"
"Josh," you sighed and took a hand to your forehead, where your fingers rubbed your frown tiredly. "Sorry, you know what, you're right. I'm being a little on edge."
Joshua couldn't blame you for that. In fact, he felt like he might be the only person in the world that would understand what you're going through.
He leaned in, his doe eyes reading you carefully. "Do you need to talk?" he asked, his voice devoid of all snarkiness. It was his usual tone, honeyed.
You raised your eyes at him, glinting in such a way that it only made the knot in his stomach twist harder. "Yeah, I–," you choked up. "I... uh..."
"Did you come here by car?" he promptly asked and he saw the spark in your eyes change. Excitement, fear, as if the answers you desired so greatly were all found in him, in that question.
"I walked," you frowned softly. "Why?"
Joshua dug on the inside of his sweats and pulled out the key to his car. "Black Audi A8," he instructed: "Wait for me inside. I'll take no more than 10 minutes."
You pocketed the key in your gym bag quickly. "What are you going to do?"
"Take a shower," he said and started to turn to walk down the hall. "See you there."
Joshua closed the door of his car, settling on the seat.
You handed him the key to his car. "Hi," you mumbled shamefully.
"That's better," he joked, taking the key and thrusting it into the ignition. He drove away from the underground parking lot. As soon as he was within the vicinity of his place and the silence had turned somewhat unpleasant, he sent you a glance. "It's been a while."
You had been keeping your head turned to the side. But you nodded, and you met his brief gaze. "Yeah I've... been busy."
Joshua kept his comments to himself from that point. His mind had started reeling instead. He parked on his spot and as soon as he turned the engine off, he opened the glove compartment, pulling out a cap.
"Here," he offered you the cap.
"Are you serious?" you asked, sending him a bewildered look.
"Listen, I'm not risking someone seeing you here with me and start asking questions," he emphasized those words, knowing what value they had to them.
Because he was the nation's favorite playboy. The one who’s got the eyes and heart of the media. The heartthrob. Ever since his career skyrocketed, this fame, this persona, it had been following him close by like a shadow.
Though all a lie, it seemingly had fooled you too.
"Fine," you said, taking the cap, which was his team's merch, putting it on with a huff. Then you mumbled with dry sarcasm: "How do I look?"
"Pretty, as always," he smirked and pushed the door to get out of his car.
You followed him inside the elevator, down a hall and into his apartment.
"I would've assumed we'd reach the penthouse," you quipped as soon as you were inside.
Joshua turned the first lamp in the corner of the living room. The curtains were drawn wide open, letting in the view of the skylight. He snickered as an attempt to deflect from the constant judgment of his character.
"Why is that?" he asked with a low tone and motioned you over with one of his large hands.
"I dunno," you mumbled and walked over to the fancy large couch. "May I?"
"Of course," he replied and went over to the open kitchen to open the cabinet, grabbing two short glasses. "Drink?"
"Sure, uh," you breathed out shakily. "I only assumed that you'd be like the rest of 'em, you know. Showy, living on the top of the highest building, throwing out money wherever you go."
"Pff," he scoffed, throwing some cubes of ice into each glass. "You've known me long enough to know that's not my style."
That comment seemed to rattle you a bit. You stilled in your seat and when Joshua offered you the glass of whisky, you stared at the ice cubes for a moment.
Joshua was your husband's best friend. You have been part of each other's lives for long enough to know that his lavish lifestyle was nothing compared to the one of your husband's.
But Joshua is nothing like your husband.
Jake, your husband, is the one that the media loves. He is the golden boy, team captain, the one with the most deals, money and fame. The guy who gets all the recognition for being such a good husband.
"Jake is cheating on me," you breathed, letting those words out for the first time since you found out. They hit you like a punch in the gut, and your eyes instantly brimmed with tears of shame, guilt and regret.
Joshua was still standing between the couch and the coffee table, right in front of you. So he sat down by your side, leaving his drink beside yours, not quite looking in your eye as he sighed.
"I know."
Of all the reactions you were expecting, all the scenarios you ran in your mind, you never thought that he would say that.
Because he was your secret.
"How long have you known?" you demanded with a strangled tone.
He turned his head to look at you now, your gazes met and he decided to take a large gulp of his whisky before replying: "Ever since he slept with the first girl."
"Then you've known for..."
"Does it matter?"
Your eyes stopped shifting from side to side, the frantic train of thoughts slowed down. "Yes," you said slowly. "How come you've never told me?"
"I was going to but," he exhaled softly. "You sought me out before I could."
"So you were fine with us fucking and never acknowledging it?" you were quick to put two and two but then, "Why?"
"I thought that was what you needed."
"Joshua..." you whispered. "Why? Are you okay with–, why would you never say something about it?"
"I'm okay with whatever you want me to be," he muttered, looking straight into your eyes now. "I knew you needed me, you didn't need to tell me why. I knew."
"So all this time, when you've taunted me about it, to tell him... was it all just for fun? To get yourself off, to make yourself feel better–"
"To play my part," he sighed and went for another gulp of whisky and when you didn't say anything, he elaborated: "Famous playboy. Isn't that the reason why you went to me?"
You looked away in shame. "You're also his best friend. I figured the more excitement you'd get the less I would have to explain," It was your turn to drink from your glass, which you did so slowly.
"Was."
Your stomach dropped. Something in you had worked that out already, but you needed to hear the confirmation from him.
"What?"
Joshua took the glass between his lips, pouring the gold liquid down his throat. "Soon as he started boasting about it. I went low contact," he paused, the glass still lingering in front of his mouth before adding with a hint of disdain: "The dumbass hasn't even realized that I don't want to talk to him."
He looked at you with caution, expecting to see you crying, showing some emotion. Instead, you were mindlessly staring at the ice cubes sitting at the bottom of the now empty whisky glass.
"How did you find out, anyway?" he risked asking, trying to keep your attention still. He felt like you slipping away in your thoughts was dangerous.
"He stopped paying attention to me completely, he even recoils from my touch," you mumbled and your lip quivered a little. "So I started suspecting."
A silence followed and as the seconds went on, Joshua started getting anxious.
You licked your lips, raising your eyes and finding his. "He keeps things from the girls he sleeps with inside a box," you rasped out dryly. "Lingerie, earrings, hair ties... I'm also sure he's taken them to the house."
"Jesus," he hissed, downing the rest of the liquid to discard the glass on the coffee table and rubbing his hands on his face, trying not to succumb to the overwhelming rage he was feeling. "I'm so sorry."
"I'm not sure if he either wanted me to find it or he's too stupid to actually keep it well hidden," you sighed. "It's driving me crazy these days."
"Do you have a plan? Do you know what you'll do?" he asked, trying with all his might to derive his attention back to you.
"I have nothing," you whispered.
"Does he know you went out tonight?"
"Jake's not in town. He flew out to visit his family and friends," you rolled your eyes and scoffed.
Joshua didn't need proof to know that was a blatant lie. And it seemed that you knew it too.
You finally set back the empty glass on the coffee table and let out a tired sigh.
"Can I ask you something?" you muttered with a tiny voice.
Joshua knew what was coming. So he relaxed on the back of the couch, shifting one leg over the seat to sit facing your body. He even propped an elbow on the headrest of the couch to lean his head on his fist.
"Shoot," he mumbled.
"Why are you doing this?" you glanced at him shyly. "You said that you no longer speak to Jake, but you pressure me to tell him either way. Are you–," you choked up again, but now due to your nervousness you started blurting: "Why do this, why agree to have an affair with me?"
"At the beginning, I felt sorry for you," he said reluctantly, feeling ashamed of himself as he looked away briefly. "You looked lonely. And I knew why. So."
"That still doesn't answer my question," you whispered, trying to read his doe eyes under the soft glow of the lamps.
He leaned his head on one side, reading the expression on your face. Your features had relaxed, no longer containing the anxiousness from before.
"Is it not obvious?" he asked back and felt his own heart race slightly, he paused and decided to say: "I'm also lonely."
You made no inquiry about the alleged rumors, everything that the media says about the women who keep coming and going in his life. But he hoped that you would catch onto slowly that it was all an act created by the media to attract people in. And he was their puppet.
"Do you mind if I ask you a question?" he returned, blinking slowly at you, unable to look at anything else but your face.
"Shoot," you echoed with a shadow of a smile.
"Do you still love him?"
You held your breath and avoided his gaze again. "No," you blurted out, guilt washing over you. "I haven't for a while. Thought that much was evident, though."
"I needed to know," he replied, feeling a light rush of ecstasy run through him upon hearing your answer.
You smiled, but there was no happiness to that smile. It was sad, and had bitterness written all over it. Joshua had to understand then that you lost a good chunk of your life when your husband decided to sleep around recklessly.
But besides the empathy he felt for you, he was livid. He wasn't a man to endorse violence, but he couldn't deny the fact that he has had to contain himself several times before when your husband was boasting about his affairs.
"Hey," Joshua whispered, running the back of his index finger on your cheek. "I'm sorry you're going through this. I really am."
Your brow furrowed a little and your eyes widened, making you look a little lost. "Thank you, Joshua. I'm sorry this probably wasn't the way you wanted your Friday night to go."
"I had no plans for tonight," he explained, blinking slowly at you, an endearing look in his eyes.
"What would a regular night look like for you anyway?" you asked, leaning back on the couch, looking at him with curiosity.
"You're looking at it," he shrugged with ease and nodded. "Minus you being here, of course."
"Be serious," you scoffed at him.
"I am," he rolled his eyes with feigned annoyance. Joshua only kept his playboy image by flirting around. every once in a while, he would take a pretty model or actress to dinner.
You seemed to ponder for a second, without tearing your eyes from his face. "Well, you not being what the world says about you is definitely something I didn't expect," you confessed.
It was Joshua's turn to smile bitterly. "Yeah, who would've thought that the real playboy was the team captain, right?"
Your husband was the team captain. You immediately flinched a little with the realization that your husband's whole public image of being the perfect man was tainted not only by himself.
"Too soon?" Joshua mumbled shamefully.
"No, it's okay," you replied and cleared your throat.
But Joshua could see the gears in your brain turning. He couldn't blame you, he knew the feeling too well. It robbed him of sleep and held his peace of mind hostage every day.
"I'm sorry for pulling you into all of this," you told him. Your eyes were sincere, dimming with some regret just before you looked away.
"Don't be," he muttered softly, putting a hand on your knee to bring you some comfort. "I wouldn't do this if I didn't want any of it."
The features of your face relaxed at that and you met his eyes again. Your pretty hand slid on top of his in a gesture of gratitude. Then a thought crossed your mind—it seemed a little crazy that in all of this mess, you'd find a friend.
Even if the lines of that friendship had become blurry.
Joshua turned the palm of his hand over, so he was properly holding your hand now. You gave him a gentle squeeze, a warm feeling flooding in your chest and that made you sigh.
Then without thinking too much, he took the cap off your head, pushing some hairs off your face with his free hand. You didn't care how tender his touch felt, you welcomed it.
"Do you want me to take you home?" he asked with a low honeyed voice.
You shook your head silently, your hand was still in his so you just took the liberty to play with his pretty fingers, lacing them with yours.
"No one is waiting for me there," you muttered with a tiny voice and Joshua felt your words punch him in the chest. He felt overwhelmed by the urge to make you feel better, to take the pain from you.
So he just let it overpower him.
His hand came up to cradle your cheek, driving your gaze back to his again. What he wasn't expecting was you leaning your face against his touch, your free hand sliding on top of his and you closing your eyes.
He ran the pad of his thumb on your cheek, feeling your soft skin, then trailed to your lips, caressing them carefully until you opened your eyes again to find his.
You pressed your lips on the pad of his thumb. It wasn't a suggestive kiss, there was nothing in your eyes that meant that fiery need to which you had pulled him out the fire exit that first night he kissed you.
It was an affectionate kiss. But it only made him want more. He craved the softness, the tenderness, he needed you wholly.
So he took his shot, leaning in to rest his forehead on top of yours, the tip of his nose pushing against yours gently and he heard your breath hitch with a tiny moan as your lips brushed against his. He waited like this, waited for you to protest against this, to push him away.
But you gave in not a second later, pressing your soft lips against his own in a slow, tender kiss. You sobbed out some nervousness when you broke away, only to dive right in again with a deeper kiss, wet lips locking slowly, as if meeting each other again.
Joshua released your hand that was previously laced with his, using it to find your waist and pulled softly, motioning you closer. You understood what he meant without him having to break the kiss to say it.
So you sloppily moved your knees on the couch to sit on his lap, straddling him. Your hands cupped his face, now demanding a hungrier kiss from him, which he responded willingly with a low grunt that coiled in his throat.
The kiss suddenly came to a stop with a smacking sound. Heavy breathing filled his ears before he opened his eyes to see the light frown on your face, your eyes desperately reading his features.
"What are we doing, Joshua?" you asked. Your voice sounded shaky and breathless.
"Going with it," he replied, heart pounding against his chest.
"But, after this. Where are we going with all of this?" you demanded and he knew you needed to get ahead of this. You were hurt and probably weren't looking to be hurt again.
Joshua squeezed your arm gently. "Wherever you want it to," he replied sincerely, his doe eyes looking up at you.
"Josh," a question formed on your lips, but then you leaned in to meet his lips with your own.
"Mm?" he responded, the soft lines between his eyebrows seemed to mark a little.
"Just..." you shook your head slightly and swallowed hard, thinking of the warmth in his hands parked in the small of your back.
Joshua understood the restlessness, the danger that you were putting yourself in by being with him like this. He felt it too. But he also knew that you thought about him everyday, all the time. Just like he thought about you.
He blinked slowly at you, with a warmth and homeliness that swept through him. "What do you want?" he asked.
You paused, seemingly absorbed by the question for a second. It was the first time in a long time that someone asked you that—it had been a while since you took into consideration what you wanted, too.
When you started this, you thought that having an affair with Joshua was a form of revenge. To get back at your husband for betraying you. But it slowly became something you couldn't stop, you became greedy about it.
Now, you weren't sure if greed was the only thing that you felt.
"I want you," you whispered, feeling a rush of adrenaline coursing through your body upon confessing it. "I don't care how. I just know that I do. I think about you every day and it's driving me crazy."
Joshua's heart pounded frantically against his chest, his eyes reading your face, trying to gather every detail in your features. He knew it already, but hearing you say it sent him into a frenzy. Nothing else mattered anymore.
His hand cupped the back of your head, pulling you into a kiss, lips sealing yours with a passion he didn't know he had inside him. He blindly searched for the scrunchie that secured your braid and pulled it, freeing your hair with a groan.
You shuddered when his fingers sank in your hair, grazing your scalp, holding a fistful to keep you in place as he kissed you hungrily, his plump lips exploring yours.
It was the first time he kissed you like this, without the haste or the snark. There was no fear of getting caught, no need to rush anything.
"Stay the night with me," Joshua whispered into your lips, feeling his breath catch under a surge of emotions.
"Okay," you whispered back without hesitation.
"Please," he added.
"I'll stay the night," you reassured him.
"Okay," he settled, pulling you into his arms, wrapping you as he kissed your lips hungrily, a soft moan spilling into your mouth when your hands cupped the back of his head.
Joshua felt torn between the need to do things slowly, he hadn't had the chance before to have you like this. Every time he's had the opportunity to kiss you or to have sex with you it's been in lonely corridors.
He didn't want to think about whether he would ever have you here like this again. He didn't want to think of the future and that made him irrational, careless.
Blindly searching for the hem of your clothes, he broke the kiss only to start undressing you. You raised your arms when he got rid of your hoodie you didn't see where it was thrown, Joshua was on your lips again, kissing you with urgency.
"Joshua," you muffled in his mouth. "Let's go to your room."
He nodded and wordlessly motioned you to stand up from his lap, fumbling for your hand to lead you down a dimly lit hall and pushed a door open, turning on the lights to the bedroom.
The room seemed dark upon first glance, the gray bedding contrasting only with the white pillows and the dim lighting of the overhead lamps. To your surprise, the scent of cinnamon hung in the air like a vague memory. As if a candle had been lit moments before he left the apartment to work out at the gym.
Joshua tugged at your arm, pulling you to his body so that he could wrap his arms around your body, leaning his head down to capture your lips with his own with a clumsy kiss as he walked you backwards until the back of your knees touched the edge of his bed.
"Sit down," he instructed softly. "Let me take care of you, yeah?"
Your breath hitched slightly, as your body began to heat up as soon as you sat down on his bed.
In one motion he pulled off his sweatshirt, exposing his bare torso. He had minor bruises and scratches on his sides and chest, but you knew it was normal, either from training or from how easily his skin bruised. Or both. While some looked old and faint, other bruises looked black and blue.
With little care for taking his time, he removed your clothes, he wanted you bare as soon as he could so he could finally see you. All the times he has been with you like this, all the times he's had sex with you have been fully clothed.
So when you laid in his bed, wholly naked below him, he sighed out his delight over you. He pressed a knee on the edge of the mattress, placing his hands at each side of your head to lean over your body.
He hummed as he pressed kisses in your lips, once, twice. "You're so beautiful," he muttered in between as his lips moved in yours seamlessly, melting into a more demanding and passionate kiss.
Your eyes sparked with some amazement when he pulled back. He wondered if your husband ever said that to you, because you looked befuddled for a second.
"Yeah, you are," he muttered, a small smile crowning his pretty lips. "The prettiest girl I've ever seen."
"Josh," you chuckled warmly. "Don't go all sweet on me now."
"What, you thought I couldn't be anything but horrible to you?" he teased, kissing the apple of your cheek.
"I like the way you are," you confessed when his lips trailed down to the underside of your jaw, making you whimper a little when he placed an open kiss at the base of your throat.
"Yeah?" he muttered, ignoring the feeling shaking his heart. "Why?"
"Y-you're softer than you let on," you stammered, fingers trembling as you grazed his scalp to grab his hair. "You are kind and fun to be around. You're nothing like the world says about you."
"Mmn now who's going sweet on me," he teased, reaching down to kiss your tits, littering kisses all over, not trying to be sensual or to arouse you. He was simply exploring your body with his lips.
But it was quite obvious that you would become aroused. Your body responded by tensing up under his, your fingers clenching into fists, one gripping the bed covers, the other in his hair.
"Josh," you whimpered, when his tongue lapped around one of your nipples, now teasing it with the tip of his tongue, tasting your skin with a delightful groan.
While he did the same to your other nipple, his hand cupped your breast fully, his fingers gently digging into your soft skin, licking your nipple, his tongue swirling around it. His lips wrapped around your hardened nipple and suckled at it slightly.
"Fuck," you breathed, your thighs clenching when a sharp arousing feeling shot through your body.
Joshua hummed softly, detaching his mouth from your nipple with a soft smacking sound and moved to plant a soft kiss on your lower lip. "Will you let me eat you out, baby?" he lifted a hand from the mattress to pinch your chin. "Mn?"
A hot wave sizzled beneath your skin in anticipation. "Yeah," you choked nervously. "Please do."
He smiled before diving in for another chaste kiss and climbed down the bed. His hands came up to grab your thighs from the underside of your knee and pulled your body down so your butt was aligned to the edge of the bed.
Joshua got down on his knees and you propped yourself on your elbows on the mattress to follow his movements, his hands motioning your legs to rest on his shoulders, holding your thighs to help you do so.
"You have the prettiest pussy," he sighed before pressing his lips on your pussy lips, right before lapping his tongue on your folds with a broad stroke, his hands gripping your thighs decisively.
You let your head hang back with a low cry of pleasure, sneaking one hand to grab at his hair again, holding for dear life. His tongue explored your cunt fully, not neglecting a single inch of skin, of your folds, drinking in your arousal.
Joshua darted a look at you. Your head was thrown back and your chest was heaving slightly, only to suck in a breath as his tongue slowly made its way up from your entrance to your clit.
"Oh, god," you gasped when he started pushing his tongue against your clit gently, teasing it first to get it to swell. The sizzling sensation beneath your skin only intensified, making you moan through clenched teeth.
A hand climbed up from your thigh and parked on your lower tummy, palm pressing back on your skin just as his tongue swirled around your clit in swift figure eight motions, unrelenting in their pace, perfectly drawing you closer to the edge.
You eased back on the mattress, biting your lip to focus on the flicking of his tongue on your clit, the way it made the muscles of your inner thighs twitch in response to the sweet teasing. "Joshua, 'm close," you sighed.
Joshua hummed in response, applying more pressure to his large hand on your lower tummy, his low moan vibrating against your sensitive bud.
You slowly fell apart, moaning his name loudly as your sweet orgasm sizzled beneath your skin, washing over you completely, making you tremble on his bed until you are half conscious.
"Joshua," you repeated his name over and over breathlessly. You had released his hair, laying languidly on the edge of his bed as you slowly came down from your high.
But Joshua wasn't done.
His tongue lapped between your folds, dipping into your entrance with a soft groan upon finding that your core throbbed for more. With a soft hum he returned to give your cunt a deep open kiss, making you flinch slightly.
"Josh, please," you breathed out. "I need you... right now."
You sat up clumsily just as he detached his mouth from your cunt, a shudder going through you when you saw the glistening wetness dripping from his mouth and chin, which he wiped with the back of his hand.
"Come here," you motioned when he stood up and you reached out to hook your fingers on the band of his gray sweats, looking up to his eyes as you pulled both his boxers and sweats down for him to step out of them.
You grabbed his cock with one hand, rolling your hand over to his bulbous head, smearing the precum gathering on his slit to give him a few pumps. You brought his tip to your mouth, giving him shy kitty licks before darting a look to his eyes.
His hand brushed your hair gently before cupping the side of your head. "I thought you needed me, baby," he teased and nodded his head to the bed. "Lie back."
You crawled backwards on his large bed and lied back at the same time that he crawled on top of your body, slotting himself between your thighs with a sigh.
"Let me be on top," you breathed, bumping the tip of your nose against his before kissing him. "Please?"
Joshua looked at you with some amusement written in his eyes, he thought of a snarky remark, to tease you before giving into your request. But instead of that, he nodded and rolled over.
"Sit up," you asked softly, moving on your knees to straddle him.
Joshua smiled and sat up, his hands immediately reaching out to grab your waist. "What are you doing, baby?" he chuckled breathily as you sat on top of him, clumsily wrapping your legs around him.
"Just let me do this," you said with a furrowed brow, scooting so that you could align your core to his cock, guiding with your hand before pushing your hips to sheathe him inside you with one thrust.
"God," he breathed out, the tone of his voice raw as his head dropped on your shoulder. "Fuck, baby."
"D'you like that?" you asked innocently, swaying your hips gently against his and biting back a moan over how good he felt stuffed inside you.
He slowly lifted his head to face you. "Yeah, baby," he sighed with an embarrassed smile as he added: "I missed you."
You shuddered upon hearing his confession. "I m-missed you too, Josh."
"Yeah?" he mouthed.
You nodded shyly. "All the time," you admitted.
You realized that you didn't have to go fast to achieve a high, you were just fine with rutting against his hips, feeling every inch of his cock sheathed inside your warmth. The pleasure written on his face was enough for you to stifle a moan, biting your lower lip.
His dark eyes glimmered under the soft glow of the overhead lights of his room, you saw his mouth part a little before he blinked and dropped his head in your chest, muffling a raw moan in your tits. His hands firmly placed on your ass, pressing down each time you sank down on him.
"Leave him," he muttered against your chest, leaving a trail of kisses leading to your heart.
"Joshua," you whispered, your hand slid up his nape, feeling his soft black hair.
"Leave him," he asked again, now lifting his head from your chest to lock eyes with you. "Please."
You thought of telling him all of the implications of that action alone. Because you've thought about it, you wanted to. You've thought about it countless times but there was always something in the way.
"I'll help you," he swallowed hard. "I'll protect you."
"Joshua," you insisted again. "Please, don't. I can't get you more involved."
Joshua let out a breathy laugh. "I think it's a little too late for that, baby," he said slowly, his eyes glinting with some emotion as you kept bouncing gently on top of him.
You read his face, the honesty in his eyes as he kept looking at you. "Are you sure?" you muttered, holding onto his shoulders with your hands to keep your pace steady.
But he held you through, guiding the sway of your hips with his pretty hands. He nodded with his head. "I've never been more sure about something."
A sharp pain twisted inside your chest, you shuddered and rested your forehead on top of his. "Why? What changed?" you whispered against your better judgment. But you needed this.
"I want to do this," he said, but that wasn't the whole truth.
"I don't want this to hurt you in any way," you muttered.
"Come on, baby," Joshua smiled softly at you, his hands sliding up the line of your back wrapping his arms around you. "Don't go all sweet on me."
"Please Joshua," you insisted, a slight tinge of urgency humming in your tone and you pulled your forehead back to see his face fully.
Joshua's mind began to reel. He considered two things, his most instinctive reaction was to lie and deflect the very evident truth (though not to you) that he was in love with you. The second one, and one that he wasn't too keen on, was to just tell you later.
His hands traveled down to your lower back, grabbing your hips to help you move on top of him with more urgency. He didn't need to finish, but he was hoping he would distract you.
You dug your heels into the soft covers to anchor yourself and started pushing against his hips purposefully. "Why now? Tell me," you whispered. And he saw it in your eyes, you were already suspecting.
"Stay with me," he replied, his voice low but full of certainty.
"I'm not going anywhere, I told you I'd stay," you replied, your sweet voice taking a tinge of concern.
He shook his head slightly. "I don't want you to leave," he said through a ragged sigh. "Stay with me."
He knew he was crossing a line, he was about to find out if you wanted him as much as he wanted you.
Your eyes remained on his, and he wished for a second to know what you were thinking. The rolling of your hips came to a stop and Joshua thought that you'd get up and leave. His heart vibrated against his chest frantically.
You gave him a slow nod with your head, it was almost a mechanical movement. Okay, you mouthed, okay.
"Yeah?" he whispered, his eyebrow arching slightly. He licked his lips before bringing a hand up to cup your chin and kissed your lower lip softly.
You nodded with eagerness now. "Yeah," you let out a soft laugh. "Why, where does this come from?" you asked.
"What do you mean?" he hummed, egging you to retake the movement of your hips, wanting to feel your tight walls sliding on him again.
You tilted your head back as Joshua moved his lips down your chin, trailing along the line of your jaw. And you let your eyes close to focus back to the motion of your hips, his hard cock on your fluttering walls and you moaned when his lips reached your throat.
"You were meant to be mine," he murmured against your skin. "He was introducing you to me, before everything."
Jake was supposed to introduce you to Joshua. But then he decided he wanted you for himself and you didn't meet Joshua until you were already dating your husband. And it was fine by him, he thought nothing of it at first.
But then he got to meet you.
"You are..." Joshua dipped his face on the crook of your neck, letting out a soft sigh against your skin. "You are the sweetest girl I've ever met."
His lips left an open kiss on your throat, making you squirm a little and moan. Your hand shifted from the back of his head to cup his cheek and you leaned your head, breathing erratically due to the movement of your hips on him.
"Leave him," he said again, but now you felt like you were losing him to a frenzied trance. His eyes were doing that thing again, glimmering under the soft lighting of the room.
"I will, I'll leave him," you hummed and your heart stuttered, breaking over the man that was looking at you like a lost puppy.
He moaned softly when you captured his lips with your own, his hands held your body, shifting to feel your skin, your back, your arms, until they parked at your thighs, kneading softly at the rhythm of the gentle sway of your hips.
"Joshua," you sighed a moan with some urgency.
Joshua turned your body over, pressing your back onto the mattress and slotting himself between your parted thighs to sink into your walls again with a loud groan from his part.
Now on top of you, he could do what he hadn't had the chance to until that moment. As he pulled his hips back, to then press against yours again, his cock dragging in and out of you, fucking you slowly, he could only think of one thing.
"Let me love you," he muttered with a raw tone, looking into your eyes, his hand met your cheek. "Be mine."
A sob coiled in your throat, making his eyes shift to your mouth and back to your eyes. He knew he had struck something in you, and he knew what you felt.
You gave him a fucked out nod, parting your mouth but no words came out.
"Mn? D'you want me to love you?" he asked with a honeyed purr, a smile stretching his pretty lips when you nodded again. "Are you mine?"
"Yeah, yeah," you whimpered between gasps he drew out with each thrust.
He grabbed your leg, hiking your knee up his shoulder to push deeper into you again with a loud cry of pleasure from your part, making tears gather on the corners of your eyes as he started sinking his cock in your walls again.
"I'm gonna love you," he gasped, the enunciation alone robbing him of air as he slowly pushed himself into a mad love surge for you.
Pleasure bloomed inside your body, inundating you with overwhelming waves, your mouth parted further and your brows knitted. The hand that wasn't holding onto him cupped his cheek, driving his gaze to yours.
"Are you gonna come, baby?" he hummed, enjoying the look on your face when you were close.
"Yeah," you gasped out lewdly, closing your eyes to welcome in the sweet wave of pleasure that shot through you briefly. "'m so close."
"Mmn, yeah baby? Gonna come with me?" he grunted, pushing his cock into your walls, his lip quivered slightly, letting out a raw moan through. "Want me to come inside you?"
"Yeah, please. Please, Josh," you whined pathetically, letting out a strangled moan as you slowly started to lose control, sweet pleasure washing over you, making your thighs shake. "Ohh god, mn, 'm gonna–'m–,"
"I know, I know, baby," he replied gently, feeling your walls clamping down around his cock, your warmth swallowing him, tipping him over the edge too. Joshua moaned in your mouth, spilling himself into you with deep hard thrusts.
"Joshua," you squirmed under the weight of his body as he fucked you through your long and sweet orgasm, making a mess on the bed covers.
With a couple of sloppy thrusts, he waited until you stopped shaking to ease your leg back to the mattress, carefully and pressed his chest against yours. He decided to remain quiet, relaxing into the gentle shock of confessing so much in a span of a couple of minutes.
But he just turned his head, bumping the tip of his nose against the underside of your jaw before pressing a kiss on your skin. Breathing tiredly under his weight you caressed his back with your hands, feeling his soft skin and you let out a soft hum.
"Should we... let's get cleaned up," you muttered after some time, breaking the peaceful silence.
The weight of his body between your legs had started to cause some discomfort around the joints of your hips, but even then you didn't want him to break away from you.
With heavy reluctance, Joshua peeled from your body, climbing off the bed and offered you his hand again to follow him down the hall and to the bathroom, where you washed.
"I can lend you some of my clothes," he offered quietly when you came back to his bedroom, wrapped in one of his bathrobes.
He finished putting on some black boxers when he raised his head and found you standing in front of his large bed. He sat down on one corner, reaching over to you and wrapped his long fingers around your wrist to motion you between his thighs.
"Are you feeling a bit better?" he asked, reading your face, he saw that the color had returned to your lips.
"Yeah, I am," you whispered, caressing his shoulder with the palm of your hand. "I'm a bit scared, Josh."
"I know," he admitted, brushing your damp hair with his fingers and tucking it behind your ear carefully. "But we can plan this together. You're not alone."
That made your glimmering eyes lock with his. It felt like a blow to your chest to come to grips that Joshua was willing to help you and even more so, that he loved you.
"Thank you, Joshua," you said, the knot coiling in your throat stealing your voice. "For everything."
Joshua just nodded silently, bringing your hand to his lips to press soft kisses in your knuckles. "Let's sleep, okay? We'll plan tomorrow."
You wore one of his t-shirts to sleep, wrapped in his manly scent and his gray bed sheets.
At the beginning, you laid facing each other at arm's length. He assumed that you needed space, as it was the first time you slept with him.
So he was beginning to prepare for another sleepless night, but this time he was looking at the subject of his unrest. Even if you were right there with him, the pressing matter of getting you out of your failing marriage by any means necessary was causing him worry.
It took him several seconds to realize that you were still awake. Your eyes were closed, but you slowly moved your body closer to his, until your face nestled into the warmth of his neck. Joshua sighed with a smile and that made you tilt your head back so you could see his face.
"Go to sleep, baby," you whispered, looking at him fondly. "We'll plan tomorrow."
At that moment, he wrapped his strong arms around you, giving you a slow, languid kiss that went on until he couldn't kiss you anymore, until his body begged him to rest.
Joshua doesn't know how he managed to fall asleep in your arms, he believes that it was the gentle rhythm of your heartbeat that served as the best lullaby he could ever ask for.
He wished for more nights like this with you, though he wasn't sure when that would be possible.
Nor of the consequences it would bring.
› a/n: this was supposed to be a drabble
but to answer your question @thatgirlfromwindsor: i think joshua is an ass man. yeah 🤔
if you liked this, lemme know! a comment, a like, reblog, anything is appreciated! drop me an ask if you wanna, send me your filthy reqs, or not ᨐฅ💖
anyway now, i swear that next update will be city lights pt 8, i promise hehe
love you all (⸝⸝ᵕᴗᵕ⸝⸝)♡
toodles
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#joshua hong smut#joshua hong x reader#svthub#joshua hong x you#svt smut#joshua hong fanfic#seventeen smut#joshua hong imagines#svt drabble#hannieween#ff:pushing and pulling#hannieween.reqs
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Hey! Please feel free to ignore but you did say to ask you about masks :P the ones I've found that are multiple layers for max protection are really stiff, which squishes my face and leads to gaps. Do you have recommendations? Thanks!
I know that there's a lot of noise about elastomeric masks but for me they're a nonstarter because of the stiffness you talk about. I think it's important to understand that most of the 94-95 standard masks that actually meet that standard are going to be plenty good enough where most people are concerned. Is it possible to catch Covid with a mask on? Yes. I've done it.
Is it likely? No. I'm immune compromised. This isn't data, but our experience has been that a combination of masks, reasonable common sense and good filtration are enough that despite having a school-aged child, a husband who travels for conventions, and me, immune suppressed, with a college student living in our house, I have only had covid twice, the first time was an unfortunate collision of me going to a store at the wrong time where a clerk had both covid and the flu and gave them to me, and the other one involved a family member not using a mask at a public event while eating. Even then, when I caught covid and the flu at the same time and isolated immediately with filtration and everyone coming into my space being masked... not one other person in our house caught it, and when someone else caught it a year later, the only people who caught it were sharing sleeping spaces. Our roommates did not catch it, and everyone was masking from the moment of the first positive test. When my kid got half-assed about masking at school, he immediately got flu and strep at the same time. I pointed out that his lack of care about it could mean a lot of missed school for him and serious health impacts for both of us, and he started wearing a mask again, and did not get sick for the rest of the school year. He HATES the masks that go behind the head and wears Armbrust kn95 masks exclusively (dark blue, lol) And it's pretty clear that without the masks he was getting sick a lot and with he just...doesn't. He is wearing them all day except for lunch through full school days, so that says something. Armbrust will send little behind the head doohickies to keep them off the ears but he never uses them. At $2ish per mask they're not the cheapest but he uses one mask for multiple days so it's not too bad overall cost wise. They have kid sizing, but he's in the regular adult size now at 11. Now, I'll talk about Armbrust for a minute because I really like the company. On pretty much every mask they sell you'll see a video of one of their people reviewing the mask and going over testing data... but they ALSO have reviews of almost every other mask on the market, bad, good and in between, and if you find a mask on Amazon or something and want to know more about it, search the mask name and "armbrust" and the youtube video and product data page will pop up. I've found several special masks for very particular needs by looking through their database for combinations of breathability and shape that weren't even masks they sold. So if you are struggling, take a look at the database, eliminate "failed" masks, look for the ones that meet your needs and then watch the video to see what he says about them first. There are some VERY inexpensive masks out there that work very well, and some masks that are incredibly breathable or incredibly high filtration and a few unicorns that are both.
Now Hubby is okay with the same KN95 masks that our son likes but he exercises and his lungs get a little touchy sometimes so he needs maximum ease in breathing, so using that database I found Dr. Puri masks. Here's the Armbrust review. Here's the listing I found them on. Hubby LOVES them. He also prefers behind the ear. About $1.50 each.
I *hate* behind the ear with a hot hate, they bug me. But I can't just use one type of mask all the time because I have EDS and neck issues so pressure there can be awkward, plus I get short of breath sometimes anyway (history of pulmonary embolism that long predates covid) and I have sensory skin issues.
Bar none the most breathable mask I've ever tried, which also does not fog my glasses, is the Drager mask. These are soft, extraordinarily easy to breathe through, and have a unique strap that makes on/off very easy, and lets you pull the top strap and let it hang around your neck if needed. Unfortunately it has a VERY snug fit across the nose and leaves marks on my cheeks, or it would be perfect, but it's a good option, and possibly someone with a smaller face would have an easier time. These are possibly the best filtering and most breathable masks on the market, so for high risk situations this is the mask I would use. They filter 99.7% in testing. They're a little more expensive at about $1.25 per when I checked today. For a good intersection of fit and comfort, but a little less breathable, are the ACI N95 surgical respirator duckbills. These do not leave marks, don't fog much, good seal around the face, and the single most comfortable head strap I've ever seen. The fabric is very smooth, it is sensory good, but the breathability is not as high. It's not hard to breathe through, it's just not as easy as Drager or Dr. Puri. But... They could probably pass an N99 standard by Armbrust's testing, as they filter >99.4% of particulate, where the standard is 95%. These are also incredibly cheap. If you get their subscribe and save discount (you can do every 6 months) you can get 50 for $25, so 50 cents apiece.
All of these masks are pretty soft, easy to wear, and very good at what they do.
The TL:DR though.... The important thing is to find a mask that you will wear consistently and correctly every time you need it. A mask that hangs on your face and slips is not a good mask for you. A mask you hate so much you make excuses not to wear it is not a good mask for you. A mask that breaks easily or makes it hard to breathe so you end up taking it off is not a good mask. If what you have isn't working, there are LOTS of things that might.
Last Armbrust plug: THEY HAVE A SAMPLER PACK. You can buy a pack of a zillion different types and styles of mask and try a bunch! And order the one you like best! If you aren't sick, one sampler pack can be tried by the people in your household so everyone can figure out what works for them!
Also, I used to get sick very very often and now I just...don't. Not from contagious viruses, anyway. I don't understand why people are so cavalier about it. I've been sick less since 2020 than in any given six month period in my entire life. Despite being on immune suppressants.
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Here's a headcanon/theory: Kim Dokja has been to therapy pre-scenarios.
There's a couple of reasons I think this. First, it's likely that as an underage witness of a murder he was assigned a child psychologist, at least for the duration of the case and court proceedings. And after he was adopted by his relatives, I think they would definitely recommend to take him to psychological counseling for the severe trauma he suffered at such a young age.
And they probably did. No matter how neglectful they might have turned out as Kim Dokja got older, they had accepted him and this would have been common sense, recommended to them by the court, and would reflect badly on them if they didn't follow through.
Second, he must have seen a psychiatrist after his suicide attempt as a teenager. Also an extreme scenario where there would be pressure on his relatives to do something about his mental health.
And thirdly, just the way he acts? Whenever he's in a stressful situation, his most common reaction is 'take deep breaths and staying calm'. He does this CONSTANTLY. Here's just some examples.
This FEELS like 'I've been to therapy and they taught me to do breathing exercises there'. His singular ability to stay calm during all kinds of stressful scenarios is one of the big reasons kimcom relies on him so much. And even when that fails and he has a flashback, when the Fourth Wall stabilizes him, the first thing he does is control his breathing again.
#4th wall xanax metaphor. maybe#kim dokja#rare kdj post from me i know#orv#orv meta#omniscient reader's viewpoint#my posts
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Personal coach Red Hood
Another quick one before sleep. This is honestly becoming a fun wind down exercise to relax before bed! I highly recommend just letting the words come as they come and disconnect for a moment.
Shout out to @impyssadobsessions and @emeraldsandamethyst for hyping me up as I write this fic! Thank you for the support!
Part 1 || Part 3 - Part 5
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Jazz flexed her right hand and picked up the wooden spoon again. Her knuckles were definitely bruised and it was going to be annoying for a day or two.
She sighed.
Not even making her favorite soup was proving capable of cheering her up anymore. She kept going back to Hood screaming at her after the bank robbery earlier that afternoon, how he grabbed her and pushed her away.
His constant rejection stung, and she wasn’t stupid — smiling and having a positive attitude wasn’t going to magically change his mind. She tried to prove she was smart, resourceful and strong enough; and if it wasn’t enough for him then there was nothing she could do.
She could try her luck with the other bats, but she didn’t know if he had already warned them about her or something.
Jazz tried the soup and winced. It was… not fine. Tasted slightly burnt and needed more salt. She shouldn’t be cooking while in a bad mood since she was messing even the soup she could do with her eyes closed.
A soft tap on her balcony window made her jump and then chide herself for being so easily startled.
She turned, finding the same vigilante she had been thinking about. What did he want?
He said something, but his voice was muffled through the glass, and with the helmet’s voice modulation she couldn’t make the words. Jazz pointed at her ears and shook her head. The man sighed, given how his shoulders slumped, and took off his helmet.
Jazz’s eyes were glued to the white locks of hair he had at the front.
“I want to talk.” He said.
She considered him — the disarmed body language, the tense lips that weren’t a smile, his fingers tapping the helmet. She was sad and a little bit mad about the incident that day but…
She checked the soup one more time and sighed, turning off the stove and putting the pot away.
“What do you want?” Maybe she could have said that less like she wanted to bite his head off, but she was tired and mad and hungry. And he had been an asshole to her for the better part of a month.
Hood just stood there, quiet. She raised an eyebrow.
“Your food sucks.”
Jazz took in a deep breath and moved to close her balcony glass door, considering the conversation over.
“Wait,” he stopped her from totally closing the door, “I didn’t mean that.”
She glared at the whiteouts of his domino mask. “You don’t have to lie, I know I’m not a good cook.”
“Okay, then your food has… room to improve?”
This made her chuckle, but it was more because of the face he made. He looked completely out of place, trying to play nice like this.
“What do you want?” She asked again, reopening the glass door. This time, she also made a gesture to let him inside if he wanted. Surprisingly enough, he followed, his helmet under one arm. “Want something to drink? I may have some apple juice, but I’m not sure.”
“Beer?”
“Are you drinking on the job, Mr. Hood?” She smirked, enjoying the way he huffed at her words.
“Call me just Hood.” He shook his head. “And I’m fine just like this. I’m not staying long anyway.”
She shrugged. “What do you want?” She asked for the third time.
Jazz watched him shuffle his feet and run a gloved hand through his hair. He was nervous, avoiding her eyes. He reminded her so much of Danny, and how hard it was for him to open difficult conversations.
“After— After you left, I saw the snipers. Thank you.” He added with a small voice. It was genuine. “They could have really turned the situation to something worse, and… and I couldn’t… I didn’t…”
“It’s fine. You were busy.”
He was talking about the guys on the rooftops that she took care of, and the reason why she couldn’t follow him into the bank on time before the lockdown. She tried to explain, but he cut her off so rudely so he might have found them tied up and knocked out where she left them.
He shook his head again. “I didn’t let you explain.”
“No, you didn’t.” What was the point in sugar coating? “You were, and excuse my wording, a grade A asshole.”
He chuckled. “Yeah.” He sighed. “That I am.” He cleared his throat but didn’t speak for a few moments. Jazz waited patiently as he gathered his words. “I’m not a good mentor. I don’t even know what I could offer you. And I’m a ‘grade A asshole’, but… You are one tough motherfucker to keep coming back again and again... And you did me a solid today… I guess what I’m trying to say is—”
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Yes, I will be your student.” She smiled and extended her hand. “When do we start, teacher?”
----
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Stress Relief
The way Roy Kent (and Brett Goldstein) live in my head rent free 24/7.
Pairing: Roy Kent x Fem!Reader (established relationship)
Warnings: Fluff, some making out, and Roy Kent being a cocky little shit
Enjoy!
You wiped your hands clean on a towel and smiled at the young man on the table.
“Okay Sam, you’re all done. Continue to work on those stretches at home and you’ll be in tip top shape for the game next weekend.”
Sam Obisanya smiled back at you, slowly getting up off the table.
“Thank you again, so much. I will do all the exercises you’ve recommended, and I will also look into Pilates classes.”
You gave Sam a quizzical look.
“You don’t have to do that Sam, it’s just a sprained ankle…”
The young man laughed.
“Oh no I know, I just am interested in Pilates. I’ve heard it does wonders for your body, core, and state of mind.”
Sam looked at you so genuinely, that you couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. He was absolutely precious. Sam smiled at you again and waved goodbye before exiting the treatment room. Between Sam’s ankle, Dani’s knee and Jamie’s hamstring, you had been working nonstop all week, doing your best to heal them as best you could.
You were jotting down notes in Sam’s folder when you heard a knock on your door.
“Come in!”
Roy Kent walked in, shut the door behind him and let out the deepest sigh/growl you’ve heard in a while. You looked up and put the folder down on your desk, taking a second to admire the grouchy coach. Roy stood there, arms at his sides and shoulders back in his usual stance. His biceps bulging from underneath the short sleeves of his coach jersey, the watch on his right wrist gleaming under the florescent lighting in the treatment room. Your eyes trailed to Roy’s face; his brows drawn together in their usual frown and his lips following suit.
“Well hello to you, too,” you greeted playfully.
Roy raised an eyebrow at you and rolled his eyes warm heartedly.
“Hi,” he exhaled, his deep voice reverberating through you. God you loved his voice.
You waited for him to continue, seeing the thoughts running through his mind. Roy took another breath and let it all out.
“These fucks have got me more stressed out than the “girls nine under nine” ever did. Fucking shits.” Roy points a finger to the door behind him. I swear, if I have to hear Zava go on about his fucking avocado farm one more time, I’m going fucking quit and go back to being a fucking pundit.”
And there it was. You nodded sympathetically and moved off from the desk you were leaning on and waved your hand to the table in front of you, signally Roy to have a seat. The coach followed suit, letting out a huff of air as he did. You stepped on a mechanical lever underneath the table, causing the table to lower so that Roy was at a comfortable height for you. You placed your hands on his shoulders gently before giving them a tight squeeze.
“You’re not going to quit, baby. You just need a second to relax. You haven’t been to Maureen’s house in a few weeks now that I think of it. When was your last yoga session with the ladies?” You pressed down on Roy’s shoulders again, feeling the immense amount of tension he was keeping at the base of his neck.
Roy grunted at the feeling of your hands, slowly leaning into your touch.
“Maureen’s been dealing with her son’s upcoming wedding, and Carol’s neice is going through a divorce so we’ve all been pushing back our next yoga date.”
You smiled at how invested Roy was with his little yoga group. He always managed to melt your heart with the simplest of things.
“Well then, the solution is simple. You need a little bit of stress relief. You’re so tense Roy, all this pent up pressure isn’t going to do you any good. I’m going to take care of it, okay?”
You spoke as gently while beginning to massage Roy’s shoulders. You’ve been told by the team that you give the best massages known to man. And while it was part of your job as the team’s physio, right now you weren’t a PT. You were Roy’s girlfriend, ready to help your man relax. A few moments pass in silence, the only sounds in the room were of Roy’s deep breathing, and occasional moan whenever you came across a particular tender spot.
“Fuuuuuuuck” Roy groaned, relishing in the feel of your hands digging into the knots in his neck and shoulders. “That feels incredible,” he sighed, getting lost in the feel of it all. You smiled to yourself, glad to be able to help him in any way. Thirty minutes go by until you could no longer find any strained muscles under his shirt. You gave Roy’s shoulders one final squeeze, leaning down to give him a small kiss on the back of his head.
“All done. Hope you’re feeling a little less stressed, my love.”
Roy turns his head to face you, his eyes glossy as if he were in a dreamy state of mind.
“That was fucking mind blowing and exactly what I needed. Fuck you’re amazing. Thank you,” he praised, slowly turning his body and swinging his legs over the other edge of the table so that he was facing you. You beamed at his compliment, moving forward as well so that you were standing in-between his legs, the table allowing you to finally be able to stare directly into Roy’s eyes. Those deep, chocolate colored eyes that you’ve been in love with for quite some time.
“You’re welcome, baby.” You reply, leaning forward to give Roy’s a quick yet sweet peck on his lips. You loved the feel of his soft lips, plush and pillowy against your own. How something so soft could voice so many “fucks” in a day, you’ll never understand. But you loved it nonetheless. When you pulled back, you noticed Roy’s brows had softened significantly and there was a look of adoration in his eyes. You were sure it mirrored the look you gave him 95% of the time.
“Once Maureen and Carol get settled, and your yoga routine goes back to normal, your stress levels won’t be as high anymore. But until then, I’m more than happy to help you relieve it. Whether here or at home, you just come to me and I’ve got you. Okay?”
You gave Roy another little peck before you felt his lips twitch up into a smirk. You pulled back to find him looking at you mischievously. The hands that were unconsciously placed on your hips while you kissed began to slowly slide up your sides and back down to your hips.
“Going to help me relieve some stress, hmm? And at work no less? How naughty.”
The look he gave you in that moment set your insides on fire, and Roy took that moment to pull you closer to him, arms locking behind you to keep you in place. You couldn’t help the smile on your face as you wrapped your own arms around his neck, scooting as close as you could, your chest pressed up against his.
“Me? Naughty? I’m an angel,” you teased, drawing a pretend halo above your head.
Roy growled and leaned in, claiming your lips with his. You sighed into his kiss, your nails gently carding through his hair at the back of his head. Roy broke the kiss first but didn’t relent, moving his lips to your neck and planting wet kisses up and down the column of your throat. You felt your knees weaken, like they always did whenever Roy found that deliciously sweet spot right below your ear. You gasped, and Roy smiled onto your skin, kissing his way down slowly once more. His hands began to roam your body as yours found purchase on his shoulders.
“Oh God, fuck,” you whispered and giggled as you shivered when you felt Roy lick and suck at the base of your throat. Roy’s deep chuckle vibrated against you.
“Aww baby, you can just call me Roy,” he mused and rolled your eyes.
“Little shit,” you said breathlessly, pulling back as far as Roy would allow you, his arms still trapping you to him.
“As much as I’d like to continue this, I do have both Bumbercatch and Zorreaux due for an assessment soon. Buuuuut I can absolutely help you with your little stress relief issue at home later, okay?”
Roy smiled at you and nodded, grunting in agreement.
“Just one thing though, darling. You and I both know it’s not a “little” stress relief issue. Shall I remind you of last time, when you struggled to get all of me insi-“ you immediately cut him off, your hand cupping over his mouth, a blush engulfing your cheeks.
“Shuuuush! Shush! You know what I meant for fucks sake. Anyone can hear you, these walls are paper thin, you heathen!” You berrated, a giggle bubbling in your throat. Roy laughed against your hand and kissed your palm while you shook your head at him.
“Glad you’re feeling MUCH better, Coach Kent. Now shoo, send in Bumbercatch if he’s out there and I’ll deal with you later.”
Roy continued to smile at you and when you removed your hand, you got the full effect of his perfect smile. You couldn’t help your own smile as Roy hopped off the table and retreated to the door. You crossed your arms across your chest again as he turned around one final time before winking at you before exiting. You heard him loud and clear as he made his way back to the locker room.
“Oi! Bumbercatch! You’re needed in physio. Move!”
You shook your head and laughed to yourself before you wiped down the table and set up the room. This was going to be a very long afternoon.
#roy kent x reader#roy kent x you#Roy Kent x fem!reader#Roy Kent oneshot#Roy Kent imagine#Roy Kent fanfic
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Drabble Roulette: Helmut Zemo + Mob AU
Hey hey! This weekend (July 6 -7) I’m going to be playing drabble roulette! I’ve curated a list of characters, tropes, AUs, and kinks and I’m spinning the wheel! Hopefully I can do this once a month as a little writing exercise.
Character: Helmut Zemo
Warnings: this drabble includes illegal activity and drunkeness. Please mind these warnings and take care.
Explicit, 18+. Please reblog and leave some feedback.
A giggle bubbles up from your throat. You don’t know why it’s so funny. Maybe it’s the absurdity. Maybe you’re just tired of being the other one. Or you’re drunk. Very drunk.
You glance over at Shantal. She’s making eyes at the guy who brought her a lime twist cocktail. He’s into her too. And Traci grinds on the dance floor with a buff guy you know spends more time in the gym than doing actual work. And you, well, you get the cream of the crop, don’t you?
As the man approaches, you try to ignore him. Try not to see him. Maybe he’ll get the hint. You’re really not interested.
He doesn’t. He sits beside you on the long bench behind the table and sets the second martini in front of you. You repress a cringe. You hate to be rude but you can’t help another giggle.
He looks older up close. You could tell before he’s beyond your age range. Do you have one of those? Not like you have a vast field for selection. Next to the young studs your friends have reeled in, his seniority is even more stark.
“You look lonely,” he slithers.
You put on your best smile. It’s hard. You’re mortified.
“Um, thanks, that’s nice but...” you look away and wet your lips, laughing again. “I’m sorry I’m not looking--”
“Mm, you could’ve fooled me the way you keep peeking over at your friend. You are rather green.”
You wince at the insult. You’re not jealous but you do wish you could find them as east as Shantal. You shrug.
“I appreciate the gesture but I think I might be a bit... young for you,” you suggest.
It’s his turn to laugh and he does. Heartily. He stirs the cocktail with the toothpick, three olives skewered upon it. He raises his chin and inhales through his nose, looking around the flashing club. Why is he even there? It can’t be much fun hanging out with coeds at that age.
He looks at you smugly, “do you have any idea who you’re laughing at?”
His expression turns dire and your stomach drops. Something in his dark eyes strangles you. You shake your head and look at the stemmed glass.
“Sorry, I don’t think we’ve met,” you utter.
“We’re meeting. Now.”
“Right,” you hesitate. This is awkward. You don’t know what he wants you to say. “I am the designated driver so--”
“Don’t lie to me,” he sneers. “I’ve watched you keep pace with these sluts you call friends. You’re slurring right now and I can smell the vodka on your breath,” he leans in, “I’d rather taste it.”
“Excuse me?” You sputter.
“You’ve got a pretty mouth,” his eyes flick down to your lips, “go on, have a sip.”
“You’re gross.”
“I bought you a drink so don’t be so impolite,” he retorts. “I’m sorry, did you have a line up?”
He peers around again, even more smug than before. That hurts.
“You know, you catch more bees with honey--”
“I already own you,” he insists, “you’re in my club, you have my liquor in your stomach, and you are sat at my table. So, show some manners and drink what I give you.”
You shake your head. This man is confounding. Is he flirting or demeaning you?
“I recommend you weigh this very carefully. I don’t just own this snake’s pit. The landlord you pay for their basement, I know him. He pays me his dues. And the college campus, yes, well, several professors have a taste for gambling, and I suppose you would need to deal with the banks...”
“You’re lying--”
“Perhaps, would you like to find out the hard way or the easy way,” he reaches over and taps the glass before you, “I do find gin does go down rather smoothly.”
#helmut zemo#dark zemo#dark!zemo#zemo x reader#drabble#drabble roulette#mcu#marvel#falcon and the winter soldier#captain america
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Come What May
Summary: On what Gale believes is his last night alive, you cannot give him your body. But there are countless ways to declare love, and infinite ways to express it.
An alternative act 2 romance scene, featuring a Tav who is a cleric of Ilmater. "Come What May" is a song from "Moulin Rouge".
AO3 link
Non-18+. Angst with a happy ending.
Trigger warnings: references to prostitution (Tav's mother), sexual trauma, grief/bereavement, graphic depictions of illness, Gale's suicidal ideation.
A/N: This fic is a response to the anon who requested an alternative act 2 romance scene between Gale and a Tav who wants to save intimacy for after marriage. I feel that I should apologise because I am clearly incapable of writing a straightforwardly sweet/romantic piece which does not involve trauma and angst of some sort. I have no idea why this happened, please forgive me.
Please note the trigger warnings and exercise self-care. It is, however, angst with a happy ending.
I highly recommend listening to "Come What May" from Moulin Rouge during/after you read this.
I deliberated over whether to post this. It feels like my weakest work, and I feel slightly ashamed about it. I'm still not sure if it's good enough to post, but decided to bite the bullet because I wanted to give it to the anon who reached out. I really hope it does bring some comfort and enjoyment to someone out there.
I cannot thank my dear friends @inglorionamy-ammy and @dekariosclan enough for being truly wonderful beta readers and helping me with some major edits on this piece. Thank you and I am forever grateful for your kind hearts and keen minds.
“I’m in love with you.”
There is anguish in Gale’s eyes. His voice trembles with fear and urgency. You feel it all, a sunbeam shooting through the blue-green haze he has conjured around you. For you.
You gaze at him, breathless. Nothing compares, not even the beauty and wonder of his creation. When Gale looks at you, you do not feel dread, that ancient squirming beneath your skin. He is not the lumbering colossus of your nightmares, leaving a trail of whimpering bruises on your mother’s flesh. When he is near, you feel a yearning to draw closer, not away. You had never thought that possible with a man.
In that moment, you are possessed by a wild terror. An agonising thought that he will slip through your fingers, as though he never was. His last night alive.
Your heart surges, and you cannot stop it. You answer without thinking.
“I’m in love with you too.”
Panic seizes you. Your admission is a sacred boundary crossed. A bulwark broken. You have the urge to bolt before all is lost.
But then Gale’s face lifts. It radiates with a smile, and all at once, you are beaming with the knowledge that you are the cause. Fleetingly, you let yourself imagine the miracle of seeing that smile again and again for the rest of your days. It is not a leering grin from which you flee, nor a repulsed grimace from which you hide. Sometimes, in his presence, there is something about solitude that no longer feels like safety, but loss. It bewilders you.
He huffs out a laugh, and you are mesmerised by the curl of his eyelashes, delicate as butterfly wings.
“That’s a relief. It’d be a shame to spend my final hours making an ass of myself.”
There is a flame in his eyes that sets you alight. You cannot look away. You do not want to. Something swollen simmers in the space between you, just as it had that night when the Weave had made you one.
He dips towards you. You are drifting towards him, dizzy from his scent. It is like nothing you have breathed before. There is no trace of sourness, no stale grease. It is sandalwood and leather, scrolls and soap. You are entranced by the plump curve of Gale’s lips, the soft earth of his eyes. In your mind, you see the smooth curve of his shoulders, broad and welcoming. His feather light fingers turning a page, like a sculptor’s touch on setting clay.
The glaring marks on your mother’s neck, withering into wounds. The blood of her scabs, pooling in her navel.
You flinch.
Confusion flits across his features. You shift away.
“I'm sorry,” you manage. “I can't.”
You are winded by his spasm of hurt, a storm of despair, rejection, doubt. Part of you wishes you did not have this gift, this curse of Ilmater - to read others’ pain, to feel others' suffering so deeply it becomes your own. And you know, as you reel from the chains you cannot shed, that you should say no more. But you cannot bear it. You cannot let him suffer from a lie.
“I love you,” you choke. “But I can't.”
His brows steeple. He is silent. The thought that he does not believe you is a torment. You cannot be another loss, another reason for him to believe his life means nothing. To convince himself there is no one who would mourn his death.
The words spill out as though you are clutching, searching.
“I made a vow.”
He sucks in a sharp breath. “A vow.” His gaze darkens. “You're promised to another.”
“No.” You jerk your head, frantic. “No. It’s not that…”
He stiffens, as though he is braced for a blow. That he would expect harm from you is devastating.
“I made a promise to Ilmater,” you confess. “I can't be… intimate with anyone. Not like that.”
His eyes widen. You notice that there are flecks of gold in the brown of his irises, flaring with surprise. You fumble for proof, excuses, anything to skirt around the edge of it. The scar inside you that no one but Brother Rogier has seen. Your burden, your wound. Yours and yours alone.
“It keeps me safe.” You sound frenetic. “So that I can heal. I can't be charmed, or harmed by phantasm. Ilmater protects me from–”
It is ridiculous. You feel it as you speak. To suggest that such feeble protections would keep you from the magnitude of his love, when he is certain he will soon be dust and ash. Insulting. You are ashamed.
Disbelief curdles in the tight line of his lips.
“Please. There’s no need for that.” He looks away. “You have a compassionate heart. That much is clear. But there's no need to go to such lengths to spare what remains of my pride.”
You stare at him, bereft. “Gale–”
“I understand perfectly.” His voice is broken glass. “And I would never force my heart on someone who doesn't reciprocate my affections, no matter how pitiful I may appear.”
He turns his back to you. You can no longer see his face. This is the right thing, you tell yourself. The good thing. He will walk away, and you will remain intact. Safe. You will endure.
But a frenzy has come over you. As you watch the sagging of his shoulders, the clenching of his hands, you realise that you do not want it. You do not want this sacrifice, this secret.
You want him.
You have never wanted anything so much.
You lurch forward. He spins around at the desperate questing of your fingers, lacing into his. You fall to your knees, pressing his hand to your heart. Recognition sparks in his eyes as your tadpole brushes against his.
“Please,” you whisper. “Let me show you.”
****
She used to be beautiful, you thought, kneeling there beside her. You stared at the welts marring her olive skin, her scarlet hair flaking to rust. There was a sore on your mother's thigh, weeping with pus, and you looked away when Brother Rogier pressed on it, ashamed at your squeamishness.
You had seen far worse, waiting in dark alleyways and side streets while she heaved, clamped against the wall by some hooded giant, or kneeling as a grunting shadow loomed over her. You had never felt disgust or shock, only vague impatience, as you watched her finish and rearrange her skirts. Coins jangled in her pockets as she took your hand, bounding towards the promise of candlelight in the distance. Later on those nights, she would hold you close in a warm bed, lulling you to sleep with whispered songs. With a full stomach and a formless hope, you ignored the greasy stench of strangers’ sweat which she could never shed.
It angered you, how nauseous you felt, as you listened to the bubbling crackle of your mother's breathing. You were only ten, but you were no longer a child, and you knew her moments were numbered. To feel disgust as she lay there, leaking into a peeling pallet, a guttering flame - it was the greatest betrayal. A sin you could never forgive. When Brother Rogier covered your mother's modesty with his usual gentleness, you started to cry.
You had been suspicious of him at first, stooped and shrouded in his tattered grey robe. You had never met a priest of Ilmater. All you could see was his bald head, so shiny it looked wet, and the backs of his calloused hands, hairy as a beast’s. When he first took hold of your mother after her collapse, you screamed.
But he did not scold or strike you. He spoke to you softly, as an equal, not a child.
“I want nothing from your mother, or from you,” he said. “I have sworn a vow of chastity.”
He had crouched to look you in the eye. It was a dignity you had never been given before, as the ugly runt of a streetwalker. It made you feel like he truly saw you, in a way that no one but your mother did.
“It means I will never take a woman or a man. She is safe with me. And so are you.”
And you were. With him, you felt safe. He was the only other person who would touch her, when the sickness ravaged her body and her mind. He tended to her in the temple with poultices and prayers, giving you food, water and shelter. She was well beyond thanking him by then, all speech and thought swallowed up in decay. Yet when her fire was snuffed out, he was the one who stood with you, cleaning her for burial. He was the one who anointed her so carefully, so reverently, for a return to Ilmater’s embrace.
“Ilmater sees you,” Brother Rogier had said. “He bears your suffering.”
And as you wept into your mother's cold, hard hands, with Brother Rogier steadfast beside you, you thought of every stranger who sucked and thrust your mother's beauty out of her. You thought of their relentless claws in the darkness, and Brother Rogier’s tender fingers in the light. You thought of your life, broken and empty, but for Ilmater's unexpected kindness.
And you made a promise. You promised you would never give your body as your mother had. All that you were, all that you had, you vowed to give to the Crying, Broken God, the one who stood with you and endured.
****
There is a tiny scar near his temple, framed by a dew drop of a mole. You had never noticed them before. As you lie facing him, cocooned in the illusion of the lush grass beneath and the boundless night above, you drink in every pore of his bronze-kissed face, every shadow that lifts as his gaze roams over you. You feel it like a caress, drifting over the patches and blemishes marring your skin, and for the first time in your life, you do not feel the need to hide them.
“Tav.” His voice is so low, you strain to hear it. “I’m so sorry.”
He draws closer. He has seen the gaping hole inside you, and he remains. You can feel his longing to comfort, his desire to heal. It is a familiar urge, your second nature. It would be a gift, if you could accept his reassurance. If you could rest in his embrace. If only.
He senses your hesitation. Abruptly, he pauses, his fingers hovering above yours.
“Is this… alright?” Worry twists his features. “Are you comfortable with–”
“It’s alright.”
He gestures between you. “Because if it makes you feel uncomfortable, I can–”
“It doesn’t.”
He frowns, questioning, fretting.
“I'm sorry.” You look down. “I'm sorry I can't…”
He jolts. Your breath hitches as his fingers find the point of your chin, tilting your face up to meet his.
“I love you.” His brow quivers. “There are countless ways to declare love. Infinite ways to express it. The joining of bodies, the pleasures of the flesh…they're but one stitch in a vast tapestry. My love for you goes far deeper, burns far brighter.”
You gaze at him, motionless. When you speak again, your voice is torn.
“I want to. With you. One day, when I’m not...”
You grimace as the images flash through your mind. The weeping scratches on your mother’s breast. The oily sheen on her calloused skin. You try to blink them away.
“When I can, I want to.”
He nods slowly, firmly. He shines, as though there are no more shadows between you. That there never could be.
“It’s different with you.” You try to explain. “When I’m with you, I don’t have to hide. When I’m close to you, I feel…safe.”
You know it is not enough, but it is all you have. You can only give him the truth, no more, no less.
“You’re not like the others,” you say finally. “I… want to be with you. To…touch you.”
You clasp his hand. There is the faintest glow of lavender that trails down the muscles of his neck, a glinting sliver of his chest through the opening of his robe. You look at him with concern. He grimaces slightly. You think you see a trace of embarrassment, but you are not sure.
“I - ah –”
His mouth opens, closes. He struggles for words.
“Is it hurting?” You wince. “We can try that poultice again, I have some in my–”
“I’m alright,” he huffs. “I’m quite alright, Tav.”
“Are you in pain?”
“Not…quite.” He shakes his head. “Not now. It’s–”
He bites his lip. There is a strange silence, as though you have reached a frontier you cannot pass. And yet, the intensity of his gaze draws you, like a thread tethering your soul to his. Your fingers follow its path, hovering over the dark ring at his centre. He tilts his head, and almost imperceptibly, he nods.
His eyelids flutter at your touch. The lines of the orb feel like a scar, a stitch sinking into his skin. There is a coldness to the purple pulse under your fingers. You notice that Gale has stopped breathing. You draw back.
“Am I hurting you?”
“No,” he answers immediately. His lips are parted. You catch the wet glimmer of his tongue. “Not at all.”
He clears his throat. You swallow. For a moment, you cannot look at each other. He runs his hand through his hair, while you fuss at your tunic. A hushed heat falls over you, and as if on cue, you both roll onto your backs, fixing your gazes on the celestial canvas.
It is quiet for a long time. And then your hand returns to his, as if it belongs there. You trace the grooves on his palm, as he caresses the callouses of your knuckles.
“I would wait an eternity for you.” His voice is rough, fractured. “If only I could…but the orb, the fate Mystra demands of me–”
“You don’t deserve this,” you choke.
He scoffs, a burst of anger and disgust. “I was foolish. Selfish. It was unconscionable. I endangered everyone around me–”
You spin back to him. “You don’t deserve this, Gale. Not this. Not her abandonment and punishment. Not any of it.”
He stares at you. There is both a hardening and a softening in him as he wrestles with your words. You understand. You know how it feels to grapple with a burden, haunted by whether you can ever lay it down. Plagued by whether you should.
A tangle of hair falls into your eyes. Slowly, tentatively, he reaches up to tuck it behind your ear. Your skin tingles from the ghost of his touch.
“I could never tire of looking at your face,” he breathes. “Hearing your voice, seeing you smile. Watching you laugh. Being with you, basking in the miracle of your presence.” He closes his eyes, as if committing you to memory. “When the time comes, this is what I’ll picture. Only you.”
The sorrow of his smile floods you. The resolution, the resignation in it. All at once, you are drowning. He gasps, flinching forwards.
“Please.” His thumb draws gentle circles on your cheek, brushing away your falling tears. “My love, please don't cry.”
He speaks with a tortured awe, as though no one has ever wept from his pain.
“I would never want to bring you grief. Only joy. Beauty. Happiness and wonder.”
“Then don't do it.” You try to stifle your sobs. “We can work this out together. You don’t have to die.”
You cup his flickering hand against your skin.
“Any goddess who would ask you to do this isn’t worthy of your love. You're worth more than any mistakes you’ve made. So much more than this cruel forgiveness. You’re… everything.”
Ilmater would never ask this. He would see Gale, his regrets, his triumphs, his goodness and kindness. His love. Ilmater would bear his suffering as his own. He would walk with Gale through the roses and the thorns. You wish you could make him see.
But he does not see it. “Please don't cry,” is all he says, as he wipes away your tears.
***
“What's your happiest memory?”
It feels like a deflection at first. A misguided focus on your sorrow instead of his own. You do not want to back down. You want to convince him that Mystra is wrong, that he deserves to live, that he should endure. But there is a plea in his question, a ragged insistence, and you cannot refuse him.
You close your eyes as you consider.
“My mother loved to sing,” you start. “When she sang, it was like time stood still. Her voice was so beautiful… I can’t describe it, but I remember it. Everything about her was beautiful… until she got sick.”
You feel your mother’s crimson waves, wrapped like a veil around you. The cradle of her arms, so thin and willowy, yet strong as spider silk.
“Just before she got sick, my mother took me to a tavern to see Red Millie. A singer - you won’t have heard of her, but she was a celebrity around our parts. The barkeep took one look at us and tried to throw us out, but we managed to hide away at the back.”
You remember your glee, sneaking with your mother through the gaps in the crowd, shrouded in shadows. There was a whimsy, a spirit within your mother that no amount of degradation and destitution could ever kill. Not until the very end.
Gale’s jaw clenches. “Blind prejudice. Needless cruelty, to deny such simple pleasures to a woman and her child. What I wouldn’t do to give that fool a piece of my mind.”
A tide of tenderness washes over you. You squeeze his hand.
“It wouldn’t have changed anything. But thank you.”
Reluctantly, he eases. His anger moves you in a way you cannot describe. You are reminded of how Brother Rogier chased off the boys that spat and threw stones at you, as though there was nothing that mattered more than your dignity.
“It was incredible, anyway,” you go on. “My first time at a real show. It was the only time I saw my mother’s face light up like that. Red Millie had red hair just like hers, and a voice that could bring warriors to their knees. And that night, she sang this song, a song I’ll never forget.”
It takes you unawares, how clearly you can still hear it. How it echoes inside you like a temple bell.
“Afterwards, my mother looked at me like she’d never done before. She was smiling, and there were tears in her eyes, and she held me so tightly I thought she would never let me go.”
Your chest heaves. She is a bottomless ache. You struggle to find your breath.
“What was the song?” Gale asks softly.
The grasp of his hand stills you. No one but Brother Rogier has ever heard you sing. You have always thought your song fragile, brittle, like thawing ice. It has always been a secret part of yourself, set aside for your mother and Ilmater alone. But when Gale asks, it is a foregone conclusion. Something you give him freely and without reservation.
And so, with your tears mirrored in his eyes, you sing him your mother’s song.
“Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place
Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace
Suddenly my life doesn't seem such a waste
It all revolves around you
And there's no mountain too high
No river too wide
Sing out this song and I'll be there by your side
Storm clouds may gather
And stars may collide
But I love you
Until the end of time
Come what may
I will love you
Until my dying day”
****
“Come.” He stands suddenly, lithe with determination. “I want to show you something.”
He reaches down to you, and when you take his hand, the world around you dissolves into a whirl of blinding light. You stumble, but with his fingers intertwined in yours, there is no space inside you for trepidation. There is only wonder.
He strides forward. You gasp as a vista of oak, marble, and vellum streams from his free hand. Not for the first time, you are enthralled by Gale in his element, working miracles from the Weave. You marvel at the sculptures and paintings that appear around you, the plush seats and ornate walls enlivened by the spines of a thousand books. Within this sanctuary of deep reds and gilded greens, open tomes and scribbled notes gleam in the glow of the fireplace. All you see and feel and smell is Gale.
“This is my home in Waterdeep. The centre of my universe.”
You stand speechless, taking it all in - the gift of Gale’s trust, the purity of his love as he bears his soul to you. With a flourish, Gale leads you towards an intricately carved piano that waits in the corner of the room.
“This is beautiful, Gale.”
You are referring to all of it - Gale's art, his home and haven, Gale himself. But Gale beams down at the piano with a special focus.
“It was my mother's.”
His thumb grazes its elaborate markings. There is such a delicacy in the gesture. An act of worship.
“She gave it to me, when I finally got my act together and moved into my own place. What a day of joy and mourning that was.”
He chuckles, brimming with memories. You wish you could see them all.
“She was a marvellous pianist, back in the day, when her fingers were nimbler. Truly exceptional. She was no wizard, but to hear her play–”
His hands dance, fervent with admiration.
“She played with such passion, such unparalleled mastery, that her music had a magic of its own.”
He gestures to the bench in front of the piano. As you sit, your thigh brushes against his. His fingers trail idly over the keys.
“It was always a treat as a child, to perch here beside her and watch her play. No matter how much of a menace I'd been, how exhausted she was from the endless havoc I wreaked and all the questions about the universe I demanded she answer. No matter how incandescent she was with me for burning this or summoning that…”
He gives a huff of affection.
“She would still invite me to sit beside her and listen. Every time.”
Gale's smile illuminates every part of him. It is a smile like no other, a fixed star in an endless night.
“She sounds like a wonderful woman.”
He bobs his head. “Indeed. Formidable, and fearsome, and wonderful. You would like her. And she would adore you.”
There is an instant before he holds your gaze - a flurry of his fingers, a low murmur. And then, the piano bursts into life with a familiar song that shatters your heart into a thousand pieces before restoring them one by one, sealed in gold.
You are shaking. “Gale,” you whisper through tears. “The song–”
He takes your hand and presses it against his cheek. You feel it all - the roughness, the smoothness, the swelling storm, the steady sea. There is so much more you want to tell each other, things that spill over the seams of speech, lapping at the edges of all your empty spaces. In this moment, you do not need it. You simply listen.
****
You are sitting on the balcony. Framed by golden shafts of sunlight, he looks like a vision from your dreams, real and unreal at the same time. You know everything around you is an illusion, a haze of yearning and remembrance. Yet it is truer than anything you have ever seen or felt, greater than all your nightmares, the spectres of the past. It is his world, melting into yours, making you one.
“My favourite spot.”
He pats the velvet seat beneath you. Dust motes shimmer in the rising air.
“Many times, evening turned to night and back to daybreak once more while I sat here, lost in words.”
He looks out into the horizon, the shifting waves and seagulls soaring overhead. You are reminded that he has created all of this from memory. The undulations of the arches before you, the chiselled grooves of the stone floor beneath you. The bustling docks and well worn buildings of Waterdeep in the distance. The empty wine glasses on the table, reflecting the setting sun. You feel the love and longing in his creation. You see the mourning in his frown, the dark determination in the twisting of his mouth. A farewell.
“You'll come back here,” you tell him. “When this is all over. You'll be back.”
He turns back to you. There is a faltering, a crack in his conviction. You hope, with every ardent prayer within you, that it is enough.
Your hand seeks his. “What's your happiest memory?”
A fleeting surprise passes over his features, but there is no hesitation.
“This,” he says. “Now. Being here with you.”
You are taken aback by the force of his sincerity, the gratitude that glistens in his gaze. Of all his accolades, all his many accomplishments and adventures, of all the people he has loved and lain with, this is what he cherishes most. You, bruised and battered as you are. Only you.
“And for you, I’ll wait.” He clasps both of your hands in his. “I'll wait for as long as it takes. A thousand years could pass, and I'd still be here, waiting.” His lips curl. “If you'll still have me, that is.”
You cannot help but laugh at his unexpected pun, and the hint of pride in it. Your cheeks flush with the implication of his smirk. It takes you a beat to register what he has said. When you do, you halt.
“Is that a promise?”
He freezes. Desperately, you search his face.
“It's a promise.” You surge forward. “You're going to wait till the day I can give myself to you completely, mind, body and soul. You're going to live.”
He looks down at his hands, wrapped up in yours. You can feel the roiling inside him, the relentless battle between hope and sacrifice. And when his eyes meet yours again, you are overcome by a love that blazes through everything hidden and broken within you.
There is the ghost of a nod, and his hair skims your neck as you reach for him. When your lips find his, he trembles, his hands questing, coming to rest at the small of your back. You cup his cheeks, and the caress of his tongue against yours is a prayer answered. A vow.
In the warmth of his embrace, you watch the weary sun take its dive into the sea. He holds you close, and as the piano whispers your mother’s song, you let the gentle rhythm of his breaths lull you into sleep.
******************************
Liked this fic? Check out my other work.
#gale dekarios#gale of waterdeep#bg3 gale#bg3#baldurs gate 3#gale fic#bg3 gale fic#gale fanfiction#gale romance#bg3 gale fanfiction#gale x tav#gale x oc#baldurs gate 3 fic#baldurs gate 3 fanfiction#bg3 fic#bg3 fanfiction#bg3 gale romance
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Go ahead, rip my heart out
Part 2 of the make it worse before it gets better (part 1 here | ao3)
rated: t | wc: 1283
There was a little bit of a whirlwind once they knew what was going on. Maddie was going to call Chimney while Eddie let Bobby know, and then the message would get passed on to Hen.
Bobby and Athena were the first to arrive, followed by Chimney, followed by Hen. It felt all too familiar, gathering together in a hospital waiting room sharing information while waiting for news on Buck.
"What even happened?" Hen asked, looking between Eddie and Maddie. "Have you called Tommy?"
Eddie sighed, hating that he was going to have to break the news. "Buck came over to mine last night after Tommy broke up with him. We split a six pack and he slept on my couch. When I woke up this morning he was having cardiac symptoms so I called for an ambulance and here we are."
"They're still doing testing but the doctors think it's broken heart syndrome." Maddie added.
"Is that even a real thing?" Athena asked after a beat of silence.
"The clinical name is takotsubo cardiomyopathy. It's a sudden weakening of a the heart muscle." Hen explained, sounding like she was repeating verbatim something she had read in a medical textbook when she was in medical school.
"Yeah." Maddie replied, nodding at Hen. "It's often caused by sudden physical or emotional stress. Like the loss of a loved one or a break up. That's why it's called broken heart syndrome."
read more below the cut or on ao3
Once Buck was done with the testing and was allowed visitors, Eddie, Maddie, and Bobby joined Buck to hear what the doctors had to say.
"The scans we have done are showing an enlargement of the left ventricle, which is the standard presentation of takotsubo cardiomyopathy. We're going to need to keep you in for a few days, for continued monitoring, but the outlook is good."
"What does it mean for work? I'm a firefighter." Buck asked, still sounding a little out of breath but nowhere near as bad as he had before Eddie had called 911.
"Well, you are going to be out for a while. Maybe on light duty behind a desk for a few months. But the majority of people recover to full health. The heart muscle usually heals within a month, and it's generally around two months for patients to get back to full health. We will continue monitoring, so you won't be able to return to full duty until you have received the all clear from us."
"What is the chance of recurrence?" Maddie asked, sounding a little worried.
"Recurrence is seen in the region of 4 to 10 percent of cases, and there is no solid way to guarantee prevention. But we recommend eating well, sleeping well, regular exercise. If you haven't already, maybe look into therapy to talk about the emotional stressors both on and off the job."
"I have been in therapy, but not for a while. I guess I need to call Doctor Copeland." Buck sighed. "What about complications?"
"That was going to be my next point. Complications are rare, but as a precaution we will be starting you on blood thinners, because of your history of blood clots. The complication we are most concerned about in your case is a blood clot in the heart wall."
"Great." Buck slumped back into his pillows, seeming defeated.
"I'll give you some time. A nurse will be in shortly with your medication." The doctor said, before leaving the room.
"Buck, as soon as you're cleared medically, you can come back. If you're still on blood thinners, it won't be a deal breaker. I won't make that same mistake again." Bobby assured him.
"It's not." Buck sighed. "It's just hitting all the greatest hits right now. Someone I love has left me again, god I've lost count of how many times that has happened. I'm back on blood thinners, like after my leg was crushed. Worried about my heart health, like after the lightning strike. I just can't help wondering what's next?"
--
Working without Buck felt strange. They were back on shift a couple of days after Buck had been admitted to the hospital, and everything just felt slightly off. Eddie knew that they all should be used to working down a man between all the injuries and health scares they'd accumulated over the years, or all the times personal reasons had kept them off the job, like the months he was working at dispatch as a liaison. Hell, they hadn't long had Bobby back at the head of the 118. But Buck, he was the glue that held their family together. Eddie had heard the stories from before he'd joined, before Buck had joined. People had been friends, but not family. It had been Buck's stubbornness and huge heart that had turned the station into a family.
And he couldn't help worrying. What if something else happened to Buck? Sure, Buck was in hospital, and it was the best place for him to be. And he was already responding to the treatment. But there was always that what if. Everyone else had told him that Buck would be okay, that the doctor had assured them that he would make a full recovery. But they hadn't seen him. Only Eddie had seen how he'd been that morning. How terrifying it had been to see his best friend in so much pain, not knowing what was going on.
The only thing keeping him going was knowing that Buck would never be alone for long. Even while they were on shift, there was a revolving cast of friends and family that would continue to check in on him. Maddie, Athena, Karen, Carla, Pepa, Josh, Linda, Sue. People that could stop by for a few minutes, others for a longer visit. Somewhat replicating what had happened when Buck was recovering from the lightning strike, but more to keep him company while he was in the hospital than having people constantly on his doorstep to check in without actually letting him rest.
--
It was a four alarm fire at an apartment complex near the end of shift. There were so many houses on scene, Eddie tried to focus on the job rather than trying to figure out who else was involved. He had noticed the 217 engine, and could only hope that Tommy was on air support. He wasn't ready to have that conversation. Hell, he wasn't sure he would be able to have that conversation without it turning to anger. What could he even say to the man who had just broken his best friend's heart so bad it had landed him in the hospital.
"Diaz." He was just packing down the equipment at the end when he was approached by one of the 133 paramedics. "How's Buckley doing?"
"Better. He's responding to treatment, still in hospital." Eddie replied.
"That's good to hear, we were pretty worried about him. Thought it could be some delayed reaction to the lightning."
"No. It- uh-it's a type of cardiomyopathy." Eddie said, choosing his words carefully. Not wanting to share too many details of Buck's health. "The doctor said he should make a full recovery within a few months."
"Nothing keeps you guys at the 118 down for long. Let him know we're all thinking about him."
"Will do, thanks man." Eddie nodded and the paramedic left to join the rest of the 133.
Eddie finished loading the equipment back into the engine, and made to get in, when he noticed Tommy standing a few feet away. He didn't want to acknowledge him, but Tommy beat him to it.
"Eddie," Tommy's voice sounded a little hoarse, a slightly distant look on his face. "Where's Evan?"
#bucktommy#bucktommy fic#evan buckley#eddie diaz#evan buckley whump#platonic buddie#buckley siblings#tommy kinard#tevan#make it worse before it gets better#atimeofyourwrites
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A Review of John McWhorter's Woke Racism
While I was reading through White Fragility @limeadeislife recommended I might check out John McWhorter's book, or maybe more of an extended pamphlet, Woke Racism: How A New Religion Has Betrayed Black America especially because I was looking at White Fragility through the lens of how it resembles what I understand about certain right-wing Christian cultures.
I'm not entirely sure how to approach McWhorter's book.
On the one hand, unlike Robin DiAngelo, McWhorter can put together a cogent argument in the format of "A leads to B, which suggests C" which DiAngelo never bothers to do, which means the book is both a breath of fresh air after White Fragility but also that I found myself wanting to argue with some of his tangential political views about, say, education, just because they were coherent enough to argue against.
But in terms of the central thesis, the book is, openly, aimed at left-wing centrist types who find people like DiAngelo utterly inexplicable, and less directly at members of DiAngelo's ideology who are starting to question the dogma.
In fact, I did enjoy this roasting of White Fragility
"Robin DiAngelo's White Fragility, for example, reads in the present tense like a bizarre exercise in mind control created by someone bent on manipulation and getting paid. That's a misinterpretation: It is a work-book based on principles foundational in seminars of critical race theory, which its author sincerely believes in, promoting it out of a sense of benevolent mission."
I both feel that I should, for consistancy's sake explain why this invocation of Critical Race Theory doesn't bother me too much while at the same time feeling that this would be a boring tangent of interest only to a handful of people who are constantly annoyed with me.
But this leads to my big issue with the book, which is that it is very "101". This book is aimed at me eight years ago; by 2020 I had already deprogrammed myself and if you are reading this tumblr you already think this stuff is obnoxious nonsense as well, and you'll be very familiar with most of McWhorter's arguments (Including his trade school advocacy and belief in ending the war on drugs). You already read about and were outraged by the egregious examples he cites.
There's room for a deeper book about all this stuff, which delves more deeply into both the history of ideas and the culture of the religion that McWhorter sees.
The Ideology With No Name
McWhorter doesn't actually use the word "Woke" in the book. He says he finds it dismissive, and the phenomenon is serious, but I also do get the feeling that he knows that a bunch of the people shrieking about "wokeness" are as mendacious and dishonest as DiAngelo and her ilk.
There's a silly bit in White Fragility where DiAngelo writes:
"[Charles W.] Mills describes white supremacy as 'the unnamed politcal system that has made the world what is is today.'"
Which... Like. You named it in that sentence.
In fact, one of the major propaganda victories of DiAngelo et al has been to assert that they do not have an ideology, that they are merely anti-racist, and that any anti-racist movement or person obviously agrees with them, and anybody who disagrees is disagreeing with anti-racism as such.
So there just isn't an agreed upon name for the particular thread DiAngelo is part of.
McWhorter calls the ideology "Third Wave Anti-racism" and the people who follow the ideology, "The Elect" after an essayist named Joseph Bottum who I have not yet read.
Basically, McWhorter sees third wave anti-racism as a religious movement rather than a political movement, and I also agree that it has a lot in common with Right Wing American Protestantism in particular. I thought I might just go over some of the parallels, some of these are things McWhorter goes over in his book, some are my own thoughts or expansions of my own thoughts based on things he says.
Anti-Racism is the Gospel, by which I mean "The Good News". There is a strain in American missionary work that professes to be baffled that anybody rejects the Gospels. The Gospels are obviously true, and obviously good. The fact that Jesus Christ died for your sins and rose from the dead is as obviously true as the fact that the sky is blue. And so anybody rejecting the Gospel is pathologized the same way that you would pathologize someone who insisted that nobody has ever seen a blue sky. You can't admit that maybe the Gospels could be false, or that the evidence for them is anything less then overwhelming, so you invent psychological reasons for why non-believers insist on saying things that are obviously false. DiAngelo specifically is like this, she constantly acts baffled that anybody would respond to her wisdom with anything other then sheer gratitude. White Fragility asks the question, "Given that everything I, Robin DiAngelo, say about race is true and helpful, why do people get so angry when I say it?" It sounds like I am exaggerating but I promise she says this in almost the same words in the introduction to the book, which I'd quote if I hadn't already returned it to the library.
Racism is Original Sin, This is so obvious that basically everybody who is opposed to third-wave antiracism has picked up on it. It's held that every white person is inherently racist, and we can't ever stop being racist, we can only acknowledge our racism and attempt to minimize the damage. But something that I think has been talked about less is that this can be used to enforce hierarchies. Something that happens often in Christian circles is that when a leader of the community is found doing something corrupt or bad, the response is, "Of course, it just goes to show you that every one of us can sin, but the leader has repented his sin and been forgiven by Jesus Christ, so if you don't forgive him as well it shows how unchristian you are." Meanwhile, if you are found to be sinning, well, doesn't it say something very bad about you that you let yourself do this despite the community looking our for you? A similar thing happens with this "We're all a little bit racist" two-step. DiAngelo's racism is the unfortunate problem with being raised in a racist society; your racism is evidence that you haven't done the work.
Your everyday life is the battleground between God and Satan One of the reasons Christianity appeals to people is that it elevates the everyday struggles into amazing battles for the universe. Your decision about whether to masturbate while thinking of that hot barista is actually a demon from another plane of existence locked in a deadly battle for your soul with the creator of the entire universe. As much as third-wave Antiracists talk about systemic racism, in practice they are really heavily focused on inter-personal racism. DiAngelo specifically professes that once enough white people have healed our internal racism, systemic racism will sort of... disappear in an act of pure white person will. Whether you talk over Monique from HR is elevated from petty office drama to a very battle for the soul of America and the fate of her minorities.
Have you heard the good news? One of the silliest tropes in American Christian media is when our Christian heroes run into people who have never thought about Christianity and don't know anything about the bible. Of course, that idea is absurd; Christianity is one of the major political forces in America, it's basically impossible to be ignorant of it, but because it doesn't have a hegemony, it's adherents often pretend that it has no power at all and only a tiny elect even know about it. Third-Wave Anti-racism constantly does the same thing, asserting that Whites just don't think about race or racism even as millions of them rush out to buy White Fragility. Because Third-Wave Antiracism does not have a hegemony in the US, this is taken as evidence that it is utterly powerless and nobody has even heard of it, even though that is patently absurd.
I've Done Everything The Bible Says, even the stuff that contradicts the other stuff! McWhorter points out that often, third-wave anti-racists will applaud both of two entirely contradictory opinions: e.g. if whites move out of minority neighborhoods, that's white flight and evidence of white racism. If whites move into minority neighborhoods, that's gentrification and evidence of white racism. From outside, this looks like, and frankly is, pure hypocrisy. But what it does in practice, and I say this from inside experience, is build out a social hierarchy. On the lowest rungs (The ones I used to occupy) are the people who actually believe this. We are surrounded both by obvious contradictions and by friends, coworkers, and celebrities telling us that actually all this makes perfect sense, and we assume everybody else just has access to a secret knowledge that allows them to resolve these apparent contradictions. What I very slowly learned, which lead to my conversion from the culture, was that this is not the case. You don't actually figure out some crazy third way out of that dilemma, you just move to the all-white suburb because you just had a kid and you're worried about crime, and then you occasionally publicly confess how guilty you are that you did it, and that it just shows how far we have to go. The people on the highest rung are, from what I can see, people who are so utterly lacking in self-awareness and so incapable of putting together a logical argument that they simply don't understand the contradictions in their own world-view, and just confidently do whatever.
Man, I've tried to write this a couple of times and it feels like it gets away from me.
One last trope in Christian media is the unbeliever who doesn't know anything about Christianity, but he reads the bible and then comes away with the exact political beliefs of a 21st century right-wing Evangelical. Which is of course absurd; the idea that you could reconstruct Evangelical beliefs on gun control or border security by reading the Bible is patently insane, but there is a cultural bonding ritual that comes from explaining how actually all of modern day Republican politics actually comes from the bible. People who don't get it are the outgroup, people who do are the in group.
I thought about this a lot while reading White Fragility. The ideas in it are not complex; rather, they are contradictory (Or at the very least, in extreme tension with each other) and explained incredibly badly.
This allows us to identify the in-group and out-group; our in-group are the people who are already so familiar with her ideas that they can take her rambling nonsense and explain that actually it's a bunch of simple, correct ideas (I can absolutely do this, by the way), while being confused or hostile marks you as a member of the out-group.
I may just make a different post about the other thing I wanted to talk about, which is how this stuff is different for black and white people.
McWhorter and a couple of other people I talked to reminded me that there were foot washing ceremonies during some of the George Floyd protests, and I just want to remind you all that any white person who washes the feet of a black protestor is symbolically casting themselves as Jesus Christ.
#Okay there are a couple of other symbolic interpretations but that's not a pithy way to end things#And also those other symbolisms are equally muddled#Woke Racism#john mcwhorter
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MY JOURNEY/ PROGRESS WITH THE VOID STATE
If you checked my post below this one at the bottom of the post I was saying i was trying to enter void state using yoga nidra (Jason Stephen yoga nidra his worked the best for me) I didn’t enter last night bcuz my muscle was jerking so I thought it would mess up my progress buttt it was just falling asleep quickly so if I js ignore it and didn’t pay so much attention I would’ve entered the void state and that’s what it’s going to happen tonight im deciding and allowing myself to go in the void state finally after so long (since 2021) im gonna stop yapping and update yall later but yesterday was night 1 so the first update will be from yesterday night
5/16/24 - did the guided meditation (Jason Stephen’s) at 2:00 am 2x and affirmed and didn’t enter bcuz of the muscle jerks I was having .
same day - At 5:00 am rn i did the meditation and affirmed but i was not in right state it helped feel relaxed kinda but i was not focused on the meditation. so it didn’t get me into that state of deep consciousness that i tapped into 2 days i wasn’t focused on what he was saying and was kinda late to his commands some i didn’t even know what to focus on buttt i sooo recommend his yoga nidra and I spelled his name wrong it’s Jason Stephenson yall 😭but like i was saying i recommend his vid sm 2 days ago when I was focused on it I felt idk how to explain it but like a good light headedness when I was done . So I js wasn’t focused enough tho. I needed to ground myself kinda but yh guys happy manifesting and shiftingggg🫶🏾✌🏾
5/17/24- didn’t do it 😁
5/18/24- i just tried a 2hr yoga nidra guided meditation by ally boothroyth and I didn’t even do deep breaths I js laid there focusing on my breath listening to her talking. I didn’t do any deep breathing exercises bc I’m not really good at them and I’m lazy 😭 i wanted to do a longer version bcuz I js thought it was better bc it’s 2hrs and Ik I’m gonna probably enter/wake up in the void by then and I’m not a fan of silence it makes me bored and fall asleep i started seeing a light white flashes it wasn’t literally flashing at me but like yk when ur under water and u see the waves type shii thats how it was and then my left hand started feeling floaty and then I started feeling like I was spinning like I was a roasted pig on a bonfire and yea then I opened my eyes! im definitely going to try this tn !!! I’ll update u guys tmrw!!!!!!
5/19/24- I tried it this morning and my hand felt floaty that’s it my end time was 23:22.
5/25/24- hey guys ik I’ve been distant and im ngl i haven’t rlly been doing anything these past few days i going to stay off of tumblr for a while and stay consistent with my void journey but off social media i love u guys sm and im thankful for u guys sticking by me and watching my progress. once I get into the void I’ll come back and tell u guys my experience and what I manifested im going to stay on tumblr and give u guys advice !! So farewell for now my bunnis until I come back 🩷 - ariisrealities
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[CN] MLQC Lucien’s The Sea No Longer Distant MQ translation (Part 3/3)
⚠️ SPOILER ALERT!! ⚠️
This post contains a detailed spoiler for an MQ that has not been released in EN yet! Feel free to notify me if there are any mistakes in the translation~
[Warning]: The content of this MQ is pretty explicit and may not be suitable for individuals under the age of 18 (CN server). It is recommended that those who do not meet this age requirement refrain from proceeding beyond this point.
Translation under the cut!
Previous Part=> [Click Here]
—[Part 5]—
I don't understand Lucien’s words.
The problem that has been troubling us does not have a final solution.
Perhaps neither his stubbornness nor mine is wrong. Maybe all we need is a few days of rest, or to reap some successful rewards, and then we can move forward.
It's just... I feel like there are some very important answers that I've overlooked.
??: MC, since you're free, wanna come play beach volleyball?
Producer Xiao Cui excitedly runs over from afar, grinning at me.
Xiao Cui: We're just two players short!
MC: [unamused] "Two players short"? You haven't even found anyone to play against!
MC: [worriedly] Besides, I'm not that great at volleyball.
Xiao Cui: Hahaha, it’s fine as long as you can hit the ball over the net~ Besides, we have Professor Lucien!
Lucien hears this and just smiles, turning to look at me.
Lucien: Do you want to play?
MC: If... you're not afraid of losing badly with me on your team, I guess getting some exercise wouldn't be too bad~
Before sparring with Xiao Cui, Lucien earnestly guides me through some simple warm-up exercises.
Then, he skillfully volleys the volleyball. Despite the sea breeze, I catch it steadily.
The azure sky seems clearer and brighter than usual. The breeze sways the palm leaves and also lifts up his hair.
I don't know if it's because of the exercise or him in front of me, but my heartbeat feels faster than usual.
MC: Lucien, have you played volleyball before?
He seems to think about it seriously, then nods slightly.
At his cue, I pass the ball to him again.
Lucien: [in an unsure tone] Oh, it seems I did play a bit when I was in the States*.
He quickly glances at the ball and the court, appearing to have already calculated where the next ball will land.
Perhaps even Lucien himself doesn't realize it, but right now his lips are slightly lifted, and his eyes sparkle with pure joy and relaxation.
MC: ...You would forget something like that?
Lucien: Maybe I subconsciously felt it wasn't a memory worth keeping.
Lucien: After all, when those people hit a bottleneck, they'll want to waste time playing around with anything, no matter how irrelevant.
Lucien: They called it ‘changing their way of thinking’?
Lucien: [chuckles] Sometimes, if I was unlucky, they'd drag me along for a friendly match.
MC: [laughs] How is that unlucky?!
I laugh and accidentally miss the ball, sending it flying far away.
Lucien: They called it a friendly match, but they'd make me direct the offense, and if we lost, we'd have to review it…
Lucien: [despite his words, there's a subconscious fondness in his tone:"] It was a waste of time and very troublesome.
Lucien's voice drifts over with the sea breeze, and before I can react, Xiao Cui is already positioned across from me, eagerly raring to go.
Although it's just a casual game, everyone is playing with a competitive spirit.
As the volleyball flies over the net at high speed, he quickly shuffles into position and bends his knees slightly, mirroring the ball's trajectory.
His forearm muscles tense, sending the ball soaring perfectly towards me.
With barely a step, I leap and spike it over the net.
MC: Woah!
Even with my limited volleyball experience, I can instantly feel the precision and power of Lucien's pass.
But as the ball is hit back and forth, especially with the sand and sea breeze, he still seems to be struggling to hold on by himself.
I really want to try hard to catch the ball, but the increasingly heavy breathing and hot air make my steps feel heavier, and my arms and wrists are starting to ache.
At the same time, as we get into the rhythm, the ball's speed keeps increasing.
We seem to have entered a state of urgency, tension, and desperation, yet neither of us is willing to give up.
Even though I'm exhausted, I start running again.
A ball is spiked straight into the open front court. I almost instinctively run forward and scoop it up…
…Bumping it high into the air.
The sky is clear and vast, and everything seems to slow down. I subconsciously hold my breath and look up.
The ball continues to fly, passing through wispy clouds and seabirds, falling towards the edge of the court.
A small splash of water enters my vision, and the vast ocean shimmers with light as Lucien already stands beneath the falling ball.
He also maintains his gaze upwards, and then finally slowly turns his eyes towards me.
Lucien: ...So that's how it is.
His expression looks so gentle as he lifts the ball to a higher place as soon as it touches his fingertips.
The blinding sunlight blurs my vision, and in this moment, I finally understand.
What is your own mood, and what is that very important answer?
The ball soars high with the wind, giving me plenty of time to slowly adjust my pace and posture. I let out a breath and—
It lands steadily in my hands, as if those words that have never been spoken reach me in the silence.
Xiao Cui: ...Boss, why don't you hit it back over the net!
Panting, I watch as Lucien walks toward me.
Lucien: Let's... take a break.
✂— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Lucien and I stroll along the beach in the sunset, shoes in hand. The gentle tide washes over our ankles, and for a moment, neither of us says anything.
After an unknown amount of time, Lucien stops.
I turn my head and see him standing a few steps away from me.
The dense evening mist falls upon the distant shore, and darkness creeps in from the edges of the horizon.
Warmth and coldness seemed to pour onto him at the same time, making Lucien look so enigmatic at this moment.
MC: [smiles softly] Lucien, I just suddenly realized something that I have always overlooked and taken for granted.
Gazing into those dark eyes, I smile at him.
MC: In my heart, Lucien is also ‘the best’.
MC: Before, I would only think that you were physically tired, but neither your mind nor your heart would ever stop.
MC: Even though that seems to be true, I seem to have forgotten to ask you…
I put away my smile and look at him with utmost seriousness.
MC: Are you... also afraid of stopping?
The surging tide echoes ceaselessly, just like a restless heart.
Most of Lucien's face is hidden in shadow, making his expression a little difficult to perceive clearly.
In that dark sea, does that ever-forward gaze hold too many struggles that I cannot fathom?
Lucien: Perhaps, in the time when I couldn't yet define it…
Lucien: I have felt fear too.
His voice is light as if it had finally descended after thousands of days and nights of contemplation.
MC: ...What are you afraid of?
Lucien: Afraid of death.
At that moment, Lucien appears a bit cold.
Lucien: Perhaps, I often feel that "stopping" is equivalent to death.
In the entirety of those urgent years, his hasty footsteps never looked back.
Truth and death are always accompanying each other, both has been beautiful and captivating enough for long time, making every moment spent in vain seem particularly wasteful.
Lucien: But... you appeared, and I hope you can slow down your growth at your own pace.
MC: I know.
Lucien: But maybe that's not the case.
A blank confusion seems to appear in his eyes, making him seem so real.
Lucien: Long before I realized it... I already needed you by my side more than I had imagined.
Lucien: I didn't have such high expectations before, because I thought you were already good enough as you were, but you always... always walked by my side.
His hoarse voice drifts through the last rays of fading light, igniting a warmth that envelops my entire body.
Lucien: You once told me that you would definitely catch up with me.**
Lucien: And I don't know when it started, but I've gotten used to it, and I took it for granted that you would definitely be here.
MC: And I will always be here.
Lucien: Yeah, so I forget.
He squeezes out an incredibly tender and loving smile, tinged with a hint of heartache, and slowly walks towards me.
Lucien: I forgot that you actually worked very, very hard... to keep yourself walking behind me.
Lucien: I thought achievement was only natural because I was arrogant and selfish, and I thought everyone should follow my steps.
Lucien: I took your presence by my side for granted, enjoyed your company, and the feeling of you dreaming with me.
Lucien: But I forgot…
Lucien: That you will get tired.
His voice is so soft, it's as if something breaks the dam with it, blending him with the dusk and merging into another sea.
Lucien: I'm a fool, aren't I?
Tiny kisses fall on my face, making the person in front of me both blurry and clear.
MC: I don't want to let down your expectations or make you wait for me, but I really want to dream with you.
Lucien: [very, very softly] I know.
MC: But I'm really tired, Lucien.
I feel Lucien's arms wrap around me in a hug, and hear his voice against my ear.
Lucien: Mm, it’s very tiring…
Lucien: And I am tired too.
It’s not only when you’re lost that you’re allowed to stop; when you’re tired, it’s okay to stop as well.
It's not about stopping for others, but also about giving others the signal that it's ‘okay to stop’.
It seems so simple, but for him, it's so difficult and unfamiliar.
No one had ever told him this, or perhaps someone had hinted at it, but he was always in too much of a hurry to ever seriously examine it.
Until there is someone in his life that he can't let go of, making him uncomfortable yet also helpless.
She had given him this feeling many years ago, and now, as the branches and leaves grow deeper into his marrow, he knows he can no longer escape.
He finally sees the lightless sea clearly, realizing that the starting point that had long disappeared is now far, far behind him, and he no longer needs to fear stagnation.
Behind him, there seem to be many ships, large and small, with unfamiliar and familiar faces, and in the instant of turning sideways, he sees her.
Lucien: My dreams already have you in them.
Tears and kisses blend together as Lucien gently lifts me as if he is holding up my entire world.
Lucien: [whispers softly] I think... you can't leave anymore.
MC: I've never considered that option.
I lower my eyes to meet his gaze, lost in that depths of the ocean tide, and devoutly kiss him.
With a contented sigh, our lips and tongues lovingly entwine, and we ardently seek to leave a mark on each other that melds into our very flesh and blood.
Our body heat and scents mingle, colors both similar and different blend beyond distinction, like water dissolving into the sea, leaving no trace of their differences.
It's just that we are both intentional, deliberately wanting to linger a little longer and stain the other person's whole body in our own colors.
The tide rises and falls as he and I entangle in a dance. But just as he wants all of me, I want all of him.
I want all his fears and brokenness, all his longing and love, until his soul is bare.
Even I am startled by this greed of mine and can't help but laugh.***
Lucien laughs as well. I don’t know why, but I always feel like he knows.
MC: Love is truly troublesome, isn't it?
Lucien: [whispers hoarsely] But it also makes me incredibly satisfied.
His hoarse voice falls to my lips, and I feel him filling my entire world, leaving no room for retreat.
Lucien: So... I'll gladly bear it all.****
— — — —FIN (but there's one bonus story + short reflection under this T/N) — — — —
[T/N:
It turns out that what she overlooked was her own expectation of him—that he could keep going as long as he didn’t feel physically tired. They see each other as the "best" and, even if they don’t mean to, they unconsciously place the ‘expectation’ on each other to always move forward and reach ever-greater heights… This date provides them the opportunity to grow through reflection:”
*: Him mentioning his time in USA! You can read more about his friends in Monochrome Scenery.
**: It's from what MC said in Fantasy Book Date! Just as this date mentions again and again, the path he walked on is a lonely one. It’s because MC has been working hard to accompany him so he doesn’t feel as lonely; and on this date, Lucien realizes that he’s been taking this for granted.
And, while before I highlighted them mirroring each other imperfection, now I want to highlight how they mirror each other desires~
***: MC’s ‘I want all his fears and brokenness, all his longing and love, until his soul is bare. Even I am startled by this greed of mine and can't help but laugh.’ this is a mirror to Lucien’s most classic line; “I am insatiable and I want your everything.” . Just as Lucien longs to ‘have’ all of her, she also longs to greedily ‘have’ all of him, whether it’s the good or the bad.
****: Lucien’s last line is a direct reference of MC’s line from Aquarium Date. This might get missed because Elex translated it differently ahah. The Chinese idiom 甘之如饴 (gān zhī rú yí) literally translates to “as sweet as syrup.” It is used to describe someone who willingly endures hardship or difficulty, often with a sense of satisfaction or joy. So, even though love is ‘troublesome’ and can cause suffering, just like her, he’s willing to endure it as if it’s a sweet thing.
✂— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
—[Memory Silhouette - Like-minded people]—
Seagulls fly low, stirring up dense foam of waves.
My colleagues and I are sitting around the beach chatting when one of the editors suddenly seems to remember something and shows us their phone calendar.
Editor: Comrades, let me tell you a horror story.
Editor: In three days, we'll be back at work. Why does vacation time always fly by so fast?!
Assistant Director: Shh, don't ruin the fun at the happiest time!
Screenwriter: ...Hey hey, the boss is right there. Is it really okay to be so openly "sick of work"?
With that comment, they all turn their gaze towards me, the "boss." I shrug helplessly in response.
MC: If I could, I wouldn't want to work either.
Editor: No way, the boss has to work. If the boss doesn't work, who's going to pay us~
Everyone bursts into laughter.
At that moment, I spot a familiar figure through the crowd and quickly raise my arm, waving enthusiastically.
MC: Lucien, over here~
Director: The boss's boyfriend is here, make room, make room.
With a whoosh, the colleagues beside me immediately scoot aside, kicking up a puff of sand in their haste.
Under everyone's gaze, Lucien smiles and sits beside me, his fingers discreetly intertwining with my pinky behind our backs.
Lucien: Hello everyone, I hope I'm not interrupting anything.
Editor: Of course not. We were just talking about how our vacation is almost over, and we're very, very reluctant to go back.
Lucien: If you're really that reluctant, the boss is right here. Why not take a few more days off while you have the chance?
MC: That’s right. As long as you have leave left in your attendance record, I’ll definitely approve it.
Editor: Seriously? I have half a year of compensatory leave! I want to take half a year off!!!
Assistant Director: **** you, just quit already!
Editor: Boss! Approve it!
MC: In your dreams!
A group of people laugh and joke heartily, but only Lucien ponders silently as if he is quietly observing something.
Lucien: As far as I know, editing is one of the more demanding jobs in the film and television industry, with working through the night being quite common.
Editor: Alas, there’s nothing I can do about it.
Editor: Sorting and organizing dozens of terabytes of footage, and syncing audio tracks—it's all very tedious work.
Editor: And if you do it long enough, lower back pain, varicose veins, and tendinitis will all come knocking. The "side effects" are pretty severe!
Lucien: Since that's the case, do you continue doing it because you really like the job?
Lucien's question makes the editor pause, then quickly straightens up and declares their loyalty to me.
Editor: Of course, boss, I still really like this job.
Editor: Editing is the soul of a film. Without an editor, even the best shots and stories can't be properly expressed.
Screenwriter: Hey hey, the screenwriter is the soul of the film.
Director: I have to disagree. The director is the core of the team!
Although they are arguing, each person's face is filled with smiles, their eyes brimming with passion and longing for their dreams.
Editor: But... how should I put it? It's a bit of a stretch to say it's purely for the dream.
Editor: You know how tiring it is. How much is a dream worth? Isn't it all for the salary and this group of people?
Editor: It's still more fun to dream together.
Everyone is stunned for a moment, and I blink my eyes.
Assistant Director: You're starting to get sentimental, huh?
Screenwriter: But it's true, I'd rather work overtime to write scripts for everyone than for those **** clients.
Watching my colleagues playfully bicker beside me, I can't help but smile, feeling an indescribable sense of gratitude.
When we get back, I'll give everyone a raise. And I'll earn even more money so we can all dream even bigger dreams together.
Dreams are built on the foundation of reality, and I'm lucky to have met partners who make them bloom even more beautifully.
Lucien: [murmurs quietly]...I see.
A soft voice falls in my ear, and I come back to reality to find Lucien murmuring something.
MC: What’s wrong?
Lucien: I just suddenly realized the meaning behind many seemingly meaningless moments in the past.
Lucien: If I had understood this sooner, I might have achieved better results with a gentler approach.
Seeming to sense my heavy gaze, he turns his head.
Lucien: Why are you looking at me like that?
MC: [smiles softly] I actually think you should be luckier than me.
Lucien: ...Why?
MC: Because scientific research is harder than what we do. For a long and uncertain outcome, there are still many people who choose to walk with you.
MC: They are all such talented people, but they all believe in you and are willing to dream with you.
His eyes seem to be filled with a surge of complex emotions, causing him to furrow his brows involuntarily.
Lucien: I thought it was just a sort of give-and-take relationship.
For some reason, his words made me feel a sense of loneliness.
Many words surge in my mind, but in the end, I only hold his hand.
MC: Perhaps humans, as these strange creatures, are more complex and greedy than you think.
✂— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
[Lux’s Short Reflections]
And with this, the MQ translation is done! :>. Personally, this one is probably the hardest translation I’ve ever done because of how poetic and delicate the words are... But! It still has a very interesting theme and ‘problem’ that I never thought of and I enjoy translating this one~
Lucien has… always been someone who moves ahead of others, and many people admire him and want to follow in his footsteps. However, his rapid pace unintentionally creates invisible pressure for others to keep up. Lucien struggled to understand why he caused this pressure and reflected on it, trying to find an answer. Perhaps, as a genius, he finds it hard to grasp that others need to work harder to reach his level, or maybe he moves so quickly that he doesn’t have time to reflect.
After opening up his heart to her, Lucien finally realized he also needed to rest. He understood that his hurried pace wasn’t just an instinct but a fear of stopping, which he equated with death. After realizing how far he already is in the ‘sea’, he finally grasped that he doesn’t need to keep pushing himself so hard and creating pressure for himself, as he has already come a long way. He can also feel exhausted, even if it’s not physical tiredness just like in last year's Distant Similarity MQ.
So, it’s okay to take a break, not only if you no longer can move forward, but also if you feel ‘tired’. If you're still reading and feeling like you're ‘not good enough’, take a moment to look back and see how far you've come. You’re wonderful for making it this far, so don’t forget to give yourself a break as a reward~ And lastly… thank you for reading!
#putting my short reflection at the end u.u enjoy!#mlqc lucien#mr love queen's choice#mlqc cn#mlqc spoiler#mlqc#mlqc translation#mr. love queen's choice#mr love lucien#mlqc xu mo#mlqc spoilers
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