#I assume it was moved to research notes because of how long it is but idk

[arolesbianism]

Horrible realization that if I go through with recollecting all the oni logs then I'll have to actually find out how to get "a seed is planted" like for realsies this time. Maybe I should just cheat them all in actually. <3.

[prdx-invdr]

୨୧⸝⸝﹕it’s salty in the middle of those sweet moments.

SUMMARY! for reasons unknown to him, you seem to absolutely hate lee anton. on several occasions, he’s tried to hate you right back, but found that it can be difficult to dislike someone when you’re completely infatuated with them.

PAIRING! lee anton x fem!reader

GENRE! college!au, slice of life, swim team!au idk what to call it actually but anton and reader are both captains, fluff, angst (kinda), (one-sided) enemies to lovers WC 6.6k

WARNING! swearing, reader is mean to anton for a while, miscommunication, i have no knowledge of swimming as a sport and had to do a lot of research for this one so sorry if this contains some inaccuracies, not proofread

NOTE! when anon requested this i jumped out of my seat bc rivals to lovers with anton was my very first wip on this acc but i scrapped it and this gave me an excuse to write abt it again

anton thinks the world of you while you think nothing of him. he’s unsure of how someone he thinks of so highly could hate him so much, and he’s even more unsure of how he could still be so enamored by you despite knowing that you feel the exact opposite way about him.

he gave up on trying to understand the root of your hatred towards him long ago.

at first, he assumed that you were just jealous of the fact that the boy’s swim team had a bigger budget than the girl’s. this wasn’t anton’s fault by any means, but he thought that you might’ve been taking your anger out on him due to his position as team captain. the school administration seemed to simply favor the boy’s swim team over yours, and even anton knew that it wasn’t fair. the favoritism meant that anton’s team received better funding, which inevitably meant better… everything.

anton vividly remembers the glare that you’re always giving him only growing in intensity the day he and his team stepped into the pool area wearing their brand new goggles and swim trunks. he recalls the way the other girls on your team looked down at their own worn out swimsuits upon seeing anton’s team’s new attire, and he felt terrible. if it were up to him, he would’ve entered the room wearing the same faded blue swim jammers he and his teammates were forced to wear at the start of the semester if it meant you’d stop looking at him with such disdain in your eyes.

if this had been the reason behind your distaste for the boy, he would’ve understood. but the hatred you held for him extended beyond swimming, too.

“your hair looks stupid like that,” he hears you mutter from behind him. he turns around, an indifferent expression adorning his features to mask his nervousness.

the fact that you still manage to get the boy’s heart racing and his palms sweating despite your cruel words is baffling to him.

anton’s teeth sink into his bottom lip, wanting to retaliate but not having the slightest idea what to say. “my hair looks like this everyday,” is all he can pathetically exhale.

you’re still staring at him with a furrowed brow and he stares back at you, perplexed. he wonders if you have anything else to say to him or if you were insulting his hair for the pure fun of it. he thinks he’d be fine with either, because at least you’re talking to him.

he feels like slapping himself in the forehead at his own lovesickness.

after a few moments of silence, you scoff, signaling with your hand that you want him to move out of your way.

wordlessly, anton obliges, stepping aside and watching as you continue on your way to whatever class you have next. he notices merely seconds afterwards that the hallway he’s currently standing in isn’t narrow in the slightest, meaning you could’ve easily gone around him and still insisted on making him move. he wishes he could dislike you— he really does.

anton turns around to find sohee and seunghan now leaning against the wall, having observed the entire interaction between you and their love-struck friend. sohee looks at him pitifully while seunghan claps, slowly and sarcastically.

“don’t,” is all anton says to them, hanging his head. he knows that they’d like to drill another lesson into his mind about how he needs to stop letting you push him around like that, and he’s not in the mood for it.

“anton, my man,” seunghan sighs, putting an arm around his shoulders. “i get that you like her, i really do, and that she’s pretty and all,” he feels anton’s shoulders momentarily tense at his words, “but i don’t think she’s into you. like, at all.”

anton shrugs the older boy’s arm off, shaking his head. “i don’t like her,” he lies through gritted teeth. sohee and seunghan share an unamused look.

in actuality, the two of them were there to witness anton fall for you firsthand. when their younger friend first saw you and two of your friends walking through the quad area of campus, they watched the way his eyes widened and the way the oxygen left his lungs. they recall thinking that anton’s heart would burst out of his chest and fall right onto the grass below the three of them. his friends were in disbelief that anton was currently standing in front of them and denying his feelings for you when they quite literally saw him develop said feelings in real time.

when anton found out that you were captain of the girl’s swim team, it only solidified the way he felt about you. being captain of the boy’s swim team himself, he thought it was the perfect setup. he was too shy to nonchalantly walk up to you and initiate conversation, but he had the notion that swimming would make good enough of an excuse.

his hopes of becoming acquainted with you through your shared interest in the sport were crushed almost immediately. when he first tried to strike up a conversation with you, you sent him a scowl that intimidated him into walking the other way. on a separate occasion, he attempted to talk to you again, only for you to turn your head and pretend that you hadn’t heard him. he hasn’t tried to initiate anything ever since, the only time the two of you ever interact being whenever you glare at him or make a remark about him in passing.

he never found out what your problem was when it came to him, and he doesn’t think he ever will.

anton sees sohee and seunghan’s solemn faces and scoffs. “i’m serious, guys!” he complains, “you’ve seen the way she acts towards me. why would i like somebody like that? that’s like setting myself up for failure.” his chest tightens as the words leave his mouth. he only said that so his friends would drop the subject, but he knows that there’s truth behind his statement. the two boys only exhale disappointedly.

sohee purses his lips. “if she didn’t absolutely hate you for no reason, you guys would probably look good together,” he comments. seunghan nods, “too bad she’s got a stick up her ass.”

for whatever reason, anton wants to defend you and tell his friend that there is no stick up your ass— you’re only hostile when it comes to him. he realizes how pitiful that sentence would sound to sohee and seunghan and decides against saying it out loud.

“stop being hung up on that girl, anton,” sohee chimes, putting a hand on his friend’s arm, “there’s plenty of fish in the sea. you would know all about that, right? since you’re a swimmer and all.”

seunghan hits sohee in the arm jokingly. “he’s on the swim team, not a fucking merman.”

“he’s so cute, are you kidding me?” you hear rei practically squeal as you step into the locker room. she and jiwon are both already wearing their swimsuits, and the latter looks up upon hearing you enter the room.

“who are we talking about?” you smile, setting down your backpack. it’s late in the afternoon and you’re relieved to be done with your classes for the day, finally able to do what you love most.

“um,” jiwon begins, “no one in particular. right, rei?” your friend sounds a bit on edge as she turns to the girl sitting on the bench beside her, who shrugs. “we’re talking about anton,” she replies, earning a slap on the arm from jiwon. “ow! what the hell?”

jiwon watches as you halt your process of taking off your shirt, about to change into your swimsuit. she knew that your mood would turn sour at the mention of the boy; it’s a known fact amongst the members of your team that you hate lee anton.

“you think anton is cute?” you turn to rei, frowning. the girl lets out a huff of air, her bangs moving in the process. “i don’t see how you don’t,” she mutters, “and i don’t get why you hate his guts either. he’s super nice.”

you continue changing, the two girls looking away from you as you do so out of respect. “you wouldn’t understand,” is all you say in response. jiwon bites her lip, feeling bad for the boy. she’s seen it all— the fleeting, longing glances anton sends your way, and the scornful looks you send him in return. she doesn’t comment on it, not wanting to upset you, but a minuscule, intrusive part of her desperately wants to know what’s going on between you and the captain of the boy’s team.

rei, however, seems to know no boundaries. “would you be mad if i dated him, then?” she chortles, giddily kicking her legs. not facing you, she doesn’t see the way you grow tense at her question. you open your mouth to respond when a knock at the locker room door startles the three of you.

the door opens a fraction and you turn to see yujin pop her head inside. “are you guys almost ready?” she asks, scanning the room before her eyes land on you. “oh, hey, captain,” she smiles, eyes forming crescents. you wave, and the older girl continues. “coach wanted me to remind you guys that we have a joint training session today,” she clenches her teeth for a second, eyes moving to jiwon and rei who are wearing matching nervous expressions at the reminder. “you know, with the boys team,” yujin finishes, not daring to look you in the eye in fear of how you might react.

as captain of the team, you were curious as to why your coach would want to remind you of that, seeing as you were often the first person to obtain this information. upon deeper thought, you realize it was probably because even your coach knew about your hatred towards anton and wanted you to stay focused this time around rather than glaring at him every few minutes. you almost let out a laugh at the thought.

“you hear that, captain?” rei teases, “prepare yourself! don’t let anton distract you this time.”

you throw a towel in her direction, earning a grunt from her. “i should be telling you that,” you scold, “seeing as you’re obsessed with him all of a sudden.”

rei laughs, and you’re unsure of how to feel when you come to the realization that she didn’t disagree with your statement.

once you finally leave the locker room, you come face to face with your sworn enemy himself.

anton doesn’t look in your direction for as long as he normally does, memories of your interaction from earlier in the day flooding his mind. no matter how small of a gesture it is, your teammates take notice of it. “he’s not staring at you today,” gaeul whispers, shocked.

you only shake your head. “like i care,” you spit, crossing your arms, “i prefer it that way, actually. he should focus on his own team.”

wonyoung puts her hands on your shoulders from behind, lightly shaking you. “loosen up, okay?” she advises, her own eyes drifting over to anton’s team. as if on cue, anton looks over at you for a moment, watching as you joke around with your teammate. he wishes that you were even half as nice to him as you are to your team, wondering what it would be like to laugh with you the same way wonyoung is right now.

noticing anton’s preoccupied state, one of his teammates calls out to him. “captain!” anton turns his head away from you, looking his teammate in the eye. “yeah, taesan? you need something?” he inquires, getting back into his leader headspace. taesan looks over anton’s shoulder at your team, making the inference that he had been distracted by you. like always, taesan thinks to himself.

“do some stretches with me, yeah?” he says, wanting anton to fully dedicate himself to practicing instead of letting you pose as an obstacle.

anton is a good team captain— any of his teammates can attest. but it feels like anytime you’re in his presence, he’s only able to give 80% as opposed to his usual hundred, the other 20% being spent completely fixated on you.

he walks over to his dark haired teammate with a nod, agreeing to help him warm up. he thinks it serves as a more productive way to pass time than staring at you like a lovesick idiot.

“i was thinking,” taesan starts, copying the way anton does shoulder stretches to loosen his joints, “well, me and leehan were talking about it, actually. we should do a bonfire later, at the beach,” he tells the older boy.

anton licks his lips, nodding absentmindedly. “just you and leehan?” he asks, looking around the room for the boy in question. he sees leehan standing in the corner looking disinterested and waves him over. with an inaudible sigh, leehan reluctantly joins the two boys who are now doing tricep stretches. taesan shakes his head in response to the question anton had posed, “no, i meant, like, the whole team,” he corrects. “tell him, leehan,” taesan nudges his teammate.

“i hate stretching,” leehan murmurs, gaze aimed towards the white tiles beneath him. “about the bonfire, dumbass,” taesan deadpans. leehan perks up at the mention of something that he actually cares about. “oh, yeah! we’re gonna invite the whole team,” he grins, “it’ll be a blast, anton. you’ve gotta go.”

anton thinks it over, biting the inside of his cheek. “it’s already kind of late though, no?” he points out, causing the two boys on either side of him to groan. “bonfires are literally supposed to happen at night,” taesan comments at the same time leehan says, “don’t be such a buzzkill.”

“is the girls team invited?” anton can’t stop himself from asking, earning more groans from the two boys. “i don’t want to go through the trouble of inviting them,” leehan complains. “yeah,” his friend nods, “plus, he’s only asking because he wants their captain to be there.”

taesan’s comment makes anton come to a halt, and he’s now the only one out of the three of them no longer stretching. “that’s not true,” he defends himself, “i just feel kind of bad. i mean, we already have a bigger budget than them, and stuff.”

“keep telling yourself that, champ,” leehan grumbles. “we see right through you.” anton steps forward, looking at both of them simultaneously. “guys, seriously,” he says lowly, “i feel bad.”

taesan lets out a laugh, “right, you feel bad that you won’t be able to make heart eyes at y/n tonight.”

anton rubs his palm across his face, frustrated. “here’s an offer for you. you either invite the girls team, or…” he pauses, attempting to appear intimidating, “you’re not allowed to have the bonfire at all.”

the two boys scoff in unison. “you can’t just do that,” taesan snorts, “you’re our captain, not our mom.” anton scratches his head at that, disorientated. “look, i— okay,” he tries again, “i don’t know. i’ll buy you guys food, or something.”

it’s now taesan and leehan’s turn freeze in their places. “why didn’t you start with that?”

practice ends faster than you wish it had and you hoist your bag over your shoulder. you turn to jiwon and rei, about to ask if they’re ready to leave when you’re interrupted by two loud voices. “girls! hey!” you turn your head to see two members of the boys swim team— who’s names you never bothered to learn— running up to you and your friends.

“hey,” one of them pants, “don’t leave yet.” you look at your friends once more, studying their expressions that look just as confused as yours. “anton wanted— ouch!” the boy is interrupted by his friend slapping him on the arm harshly, as if he had said something wrong. “all of us, i mean, wanted to know if you girls would like to join us tonight,” the boy finishes, rubbing his arm while sending a subtle glare in his friend’s direction.

“join you.. in doing what, exactly?” you inquire, serious as ever. the two boys seemingly grow smaller under your intimidating gaze as if they hadn’t anticipated your somber attitude. “we’re doing a bonfire,” the other boy replies, pointing his thumb in the direction of the rest of his team. you look over the boy’s shoulder, your eyes landing upon anton, who is already looking at you. upon seeing your eyes scan over him, he looks away.

rei claps her hands together a few times, “we’ll be there! thank you for inviting us.” her words startle you and you open your mouth to protest. you had just been seconds away from telling the boys in front of you that you weren’t interested.

“yeah, count us in!” jiwon chimes, and you want the tiled floor below to swallow you whole. “you guys have fun, then,” you tell them, eyes swimming with boredom, “i’m going home.”

“no!” the boys in front of you shout in unison, startling you and your team. “you have to come. especially,” one of them pleads. “and why is that?” you put one hand on your hip, intimidating them further.

everyone already seems to know the answer to your question before the boys can even formulate the words to say it. “our captain wants you to.”

your teammates all but drag you to the beach against your will, uttering complaints about how you “need to learn how to have fun” and how they’ve “been waiting for something exciting like this to happen”.

within the first 5 minutes of your arrival, you’ve already tried to escape more times than your friends are able to count. wonyoung had to keep a tight grip on your wrist to ensure that you wouldn’t go anywhere, and you swear at the girl in your head for being stronger than she appears.

“i can’t believe anton himself told his friends to invite us just so he could see y/n,” rei mutters, astonished, “do you have any idea how lucky you are?”

“that’s definitely not the reason,” you deny, already wanting to drop the topic, “they probably just thought it would be funny because everybody on the planet knows that i hate him.”

and while taesan and leehan are most definitely aware of your hatred towards their captain, their reasoning for inviting you and your team really was because anton wanted to see you.

“invite the girls team!” leehan mocks, intentionally making his voice sound higher, “i feel sooo bad for them!” anton pays no mind to the way he’s being blatantly teased, his eyes trained on you. “feel bad for them my ass,” taesan comments under his breath, “he’s already making heart eyes at her, just like i said.”

“you’re a real masochist, you know that?” leehan adds, waving a hand in front of anton’s line of sight. the taller boy blinks in response as if he had broken out of whatever trance you had him under. “that girl doesn’t even try to hide the fact that she hates you, and you’re still, like, obsessed with her.”

anton sharply exhales through his nose, not needing another reminder of the fact that you dislike him and that he’s stupid for helplessly pining after you.

“i’ve heard that a million times,” he retorts, “and i’m not obsessed with her. in fact, i’m starting to hate her, too.”

he thinks that lying to his teammates is just as difficult as lying to sohee and seunghan, only receiving humorless looks in response to his statement. “right,” taesan scoffs, “you hate her so much that you forced me and leehan to invite the entire girls swim team just so you could see her.” anton lightly hits him with the back of his hand, muttering, “i told you that’s not the reason.”

all three boys turn to look at you, arms crossed and unamused. “oh, man,” leehan laughs, “she’s bored out of her fucking mind.” anton watches you carefully, your eyes burning a hole in the sand beneath your shoes. “why don’t you go talk to her, captain?” taesan teases, slapping his friend on the back boyishly. anton staggers forward about a centimeter due to the impact, looking back at the boy. “or anyone on the girls team, for that matter. since you made us invite every single one of them,” leehan quips.

but anton thinks that talking to you would only dampen your mood even further, and he doesn’t want the glare that you’re currently directing towards the sand to be aimed at him. “try talking to her, right there,” leehan points to someone in your general direction and anton follows his finger with his gaze, “naoi rei. she’s one of y/n’s closest friends, i think.”

taesan lets out another scoff, “yeah, but she’s not y/n. anton wants y/n, not the next best thing.”

jiwon and rei stand next to the bonfire, and you overhear one of them comment on how it isn’t as big as they were expecting it to be. you see wonyoung and yujin sitting on some large rocks a short distance away from the shore. you quickly scan the perimeter looking for gaeul, who you find sitting on the sand and looking up at the stars. your friends are all enjoying themselves— why aren’t you?

as per usual, you want to blame your discomfort on the fact that anton is in your vicinity. but how exactly could you do that when he hasn’t interacted with you all night?

come to think of it, your last interaction with the boy in question was earlier today when you told him that his hair looked stupid. you shake your head at the memory— you hadn’t even meant it. you actually liked his hair, but you’d rather drop dead than admit that to him. you hate lee anton with a burning passion, and you hate that you like his hair.

you hate that you’re currently sitting here wishing that he would come up to you and say something. after all, your friends dragged you here and his teammates made it seem as though your attendance was obligatory. the way you see it, the least anton could do after subjecting you to all of that is talk to you. you suppose that you can’t really blame him for not wanting to, though. you kick the sand beneath you at the realization.

you’re not sure how much time you spend thinking about the boy you swear to hate with every fiber of your being, but you conclude that a few long minutes must’ve gone by, because suddenly you look up and find that both your team and anton’s team are gathered around the fire. you watch them carefully, eyes wandering from individual to individual.

you see yujin laughing with some guy from the other team. you see the two boys that invited you and your friends to this very event. finally, your eyes land on anton, and you regret it almost immediately.

he’s nervously scratching the back of his neck the way you often catch him doing. he’s got a bashful smile on his lips as he looks down at whoever he’s currently talking to. you crane your neck to see who that may be, and find that it’s none other than your own teammate and friend— naoi rei.

you make a face of disgust that no one sees, and only then do you realize that you’re still standing a good distance away from the large group. “oh my god,” you scowl. you run a hand over your face, conflicted. you already hated being here, and seeing anton converse with one of your closest friends might’ve just made your attitude towards this whole situation a million times worse. you know that rei is probably over the moon right now, looking up at him with a twinkle in her eye and a girlish smile.

you want to be happy for her— you think that any good friend would jump at the sight of their teammate getting along with the person they find attractive— and you swear that you would be if the person she was talking to was anyone but him. you tell yourself that it’s because rei deserves better than him, ignoring the way your heart plummets. he was only going to chase after you for so long.

you shake your head rapidly as if it would rid your mind of the thought, not knowing where it came from in the first place.

you need to get out of here— asap.

you hate lee anton and you hate that you like his hair and you hate that you spent a decent amount of time tonight wishing that he’d speak to you.

you hate that you even care in the slightest that he’s currently flirting with your best friend and you hate that almost everyone here managed to convince you that he and his teammates invited you simply because he wanted you here.

you discreetly make your way around the group, advancing towards the shore. you don’t think anyone sees you as you do so, hearing the sound of their laughter grow more distant with each step you take towards the sea. as you continue moving forward absentmindedly, you don’t realize that you’re already knees deep in the water until a salty wave crashes into you, reaching the area below your thigh.

“what are you doing?” your head quickly turns to find the source of the voice and you scowl once you realize who it is.

of course, anton chooses now to finally talk to you.

you turn back around, ignoring him, because that’s how you are— you think about him more than you’d ever like to admit and act indifferent towards him once he’s in your presence. anton watches as you turn your back to him, unsure of why he assumed that this interaction with you would be any different from your interactions in the past.

nonetheless, with bravery that he didn’t even know he had, anton continues talking. “you could get sick if you go any further,” he blurts out.

in truth, anton had been watching you through his peripheral vision as he was conversing with rei, and saw as you treaded through the sand and into the water. he excused himself— he had been looking for a way to escape the conversation anyway— and followed your silhouette that was now standing in the ocean, letting waves collide with your legs.

in retrospect, he should’ve thought of something to say to you beforehand, because if the mere act of him talking to you wasn’t enough to piss you off, anton was sure that lecturing you about how you could get sick from swimming at night would definitely cause you to flip your lid.

his suspicions appear to have been correct, because you whip your head back around and give him an angry look. “what are you doing here?” you spit, expecting him to flinch and avoid your gaze the same way that he always does.

“why can’t i be here?” he presses, furrowing his brow, and you’re the one that flinches. “do you own the ocean?”

you’re sure that steam would be coming out of your ears right now if you were living in an old cartoon. you clench your fist, taken aback.

“why do you hate me so much, y/n?” anton pleads, unable to prevent the million dollar question from leaving his lips. this is a position he never thought he’d find himself in; confronting you about your unadulterated hatred towards him while your entire bottom half is almost completely submerged in the ocean.

your lip quivers and you clench your teeth as you feel your resilient facade start to crack. neither you nor anton are sure where his daring attitude came from, but it seems to be catching both of you by surprise, because even the boy in question moves to wipe his palms against his jeans to rid them of their clamminess. “answer me,” he demands, his voice as soft as it normally is and yet it still intimidates you.

you turn around for the forth and final time, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of discovering the root of your distaste towards him. anton shakes his head, although you’re unable to see it, and sharply inhales in preparation for what he’s about to do.

he cautiously takes a step forward, letting the water dampen the cuffs of his jeans. he cringes, but proceeds nevertheless, mimicking the strides that you had taken minutes prior.

before you’re able to prevent it from happening, anton is standing directly beside you, jeans darkening as the water seeps into them, and you nearly jump out of your skin.

the tall boy leans forward, and you lean back. “answer me,” he repeats his previous words in a hushed voice.

you’re looking down at the water that the two of you are standing in and anton thinks it’s funny, for a moment, how the roles seem to be reversed— you’re tense and apprehensive while he’s bold and collected, trying to crane his neck to meet your downward pointed gaze.

“you should know the reason why,” he hears you speak under your breath. you finally look at him, eyes narrowed. “you’re making fun of me, aren’t you?” you question, and he recoils.

“i’m not— what? why would— why do you think i’m making fun of you?” anton sputters, genuinely appalled at the accusation. he’s unable to wrap his head around what kind of thoughts might be running through your mind right now.

“because there’s no way in hell that you don’t know why i hate you, lee anton,” you say, words flying from your mouth hurriedly. “there’s no way you just let me push you around and stare at you like you’re the scum of the earth if you don’t know the reason why. you have to know,” you look into his eyes in search of an answer but you’re only met with confusion.

anton shakes his head. “i don’t know, y/n,” he begins, “i really don’t know, and i’m sorry if you think i’m playing a prank on you right now, but i’ve never been more serious about anything in my life.”

he looks down momentarily, his eyes landing on his wet jeans. when he looks back up, he’s zoned in on the way the moon makes your eyes look as though they’re sparkling, and he thinks it’s beautiful. “you may know this already,” he starts speaking again, “but i’m in love with you.”

he makes sure not to stutter or appear anxious in the slightest, afraid that if he made the slightest mistake, he’d try to prevent the words from leaving his mouth. and he needs you to know.

your lips part, his words shocking you more than anything else that has taken place tonight. “i’m always lying to my teammates and my friends, saying that i don’t like you because they think i’m insane for chasing after someone who wishes i didn’t even exist,” anton continues, his tone becoming sorrowful, “but i can’t lie anymore. especially not to you.”

by now, both of your hearts are pounding, and you’re sure that they would be audible if it weren’t for the sounds of the waves crashing. “so, no,” he says, “the reason i let you push me around isn’t because i know why you hate me. it’s because i’m in love with you, and no matter how hard i try, i can’t stop.”

he waits for you to respond, eyes trained on yours. you finally start speaking, lowly and carefully. “there was this guy,” you tell him, “you used to hang out with him last year. i would see you and him laughing together all the time, with two other friends of yours.”

taking in your words, anton ponders who you could be referring to before his eyes widen slightly. “wonbin?” he asks, although he has no doubt in his mind that you’re talking about his older friend. wonbin, seunghan, sohee and anton were practically attached at the hip during the latter’s freshman year of college, and when wonbin made the decision to drop out in order to pursue a career in music, the other three were left to fend for themselves.

you scoff, despite wanting to contain your hostility towards the boy after his confession. “i don’t know his name,” you mumble, “but yeah, that’s probably him.”

anton nods, urging you to continue. he’s finally going to find out why you’ve disliked him for as long as he can remember and he doesn’t want to waste a second. “he told me that you liked me,” you say, watching as the boy flinches in your peripheral at your words. “and i was so happy at the time because i liked you, too.”

it’s anton’s turn to be stunned by your confession, not believing the words that are coming out of your mouth. “i would always look at you, but you’d never look at me back. when your friend— wonbin, i guess— told me that you liked me, i thought that meant you would talk to me,” you shake your head at the memory, “but you never did. it was like i didn’t even exist to you.”

you keep talking, quietly, “every single person who knew me knew that i liked you. one day, i saw you guys laughing together like you always did, and then it clicked in my brain.” you’re silent for a moment before you continue. “i figured that you must’ve known that i liked you, too, and told your friend to say that to me as some sort of cruel joke.”

anton is yet again appalled at your words. “you only seemed to start caring about my existence at the beginning of last semester. you tried to come up to me a few times, and i always assumed it was because you were finally feeling bad about the whole wonbin thing and wanted to apologize, and i didn’t want to hear it. it was around that time that i started hating you.”

you scratch the back of your neck, not having thought that you’d ever admit any of this to the boy standing beside you. anton swallows before he thinks over his next words. “i didn’t know about any of that,” he assures you, and he can sense that you doubt his words momentarily because he starts talking faster. “i’m not sure what prompted wonbin to say that to you, but i can tell you this,” he whispers, “i’ve been in love with you from the very first time i saw you, and no amount of insults or glares from you is ever going to change that.” for a moment, even the waves of the ocean seem to still, leaving only the sound of anton’s voice ringing in your ears.

you’re not used to feeling this vulnerable, and the fact that you’re sharing a moment like this with lee anton— the man you (no longer) hate— sends a shiver down your spine. you find yourself searching for a sense of familiarity, even if it comes in the form of playful banter rather than the usual insult.

“say that again,” you tell him, and he’s unsure if you’re being serious at first. when silence lingers in the air, he finally begins speaking. “i’ve… been in love with you since the first time i saw you,” anton says, unsure. you shake your head, displeased.

“put it in the present tense,” you purse your lips, crossing your arms. anton lets out a curt laugh, now realizing that you’re actually joking with him. so this, he thinks, is what it feels like to laugh with you. “i’m in love with you, y/n,” by now, he’s adorning a smile that reaches his eyes, head slightly tilted towards the ground bashfully.

“wanna know something, lee anton? i think i might be, too.”

weeks later, you’re swinging open the doors to the pool area, the smell of chlorine crashing into you as you step inside.

the boys team is in the middle of practicing, leehan and taesan— who’s names you finally learned after enduring weeks of their relentless teasing, always having to hear a complaint from them about how their team captain is even less focused than before since the two of you started dating— spotting you almost immediately. they let out exaggerated groans, knowing they now have to witness you and anton grossly interact.

“captain!” taesan calls out with dread lacing his tone, “your girlfriend is here.” upon hearing that, anton, who is currently in the pool, whips his head around so quickly that you’re almost positive he could’ve gotten whiplash. you wave, and rather than exiting the water, he swims over to where you stand on the poolside. looking up at you, he smiles, slightly out of breath. “hey, lovely,” he says, removing the goggles from around his head so he can study you better.

he pays no mind to the sounds of his teammates gagging in the background, not looking anywhere but at you.

to say that both your team and anton’s team were surprised upon hearing about your blossoming relationship with the boy would be an understatement. not only did both teams have to grow accustomed to the fact that you no longer hated anton, but they also needed to get used to the mere concept of you two dating each other. it wasn’t as though you two no longer served as distractions to the other, however— if anything, you both stared at each other even more than you had previously, the difference being that now you looked at anton with adoration in your eyes rather than resentment.

“i don’t know if seeing you two together makes my heart want to explode with joy, or if it makes me wanna throw up,” you recall rei telling you during practice one day. anton has shared similar stories, stating that although both taesan and leehan are happy to see their captain in a relationship with the girl he’s been pining after, they hate the way anton apparently never shuts up about you during training.

you look down at the boy, flashing him a smile of your own. droplets of water threaten to fall into his eyes, but he doesn’t seem to mind. “hey,” you hum, “i won’t bother you long. just checking in.” anton shakes his head, water spraying the floor beneath you in the process. “you never bother me,” he says.

“oh, hush,” you wave your hand dismissively. “i’m serious. hey, can you come down here for a sec?” anton asks, gesturing for you to crouch next to the pool. you give him a suspicious look, morphing your lips into a tight line. “anton, i’m not letting you pull me in there.”

he shakes his head again, letting out a laugh. “i’m not gonna pull you in,” he tells you, and you still aren’t convinced. “y/n!” he whines, stretching the final syllable. you look to the ceiling for a moment, letting out a scoff before kneeling down next to the pool.

in a swift motion, anton grabs your shoulders and lands a kiss on your lips. it’s wet from the water of the pool and you pull away, wiping your mouth with your sleeve. anton is laughing as you swat at his arm, muttering something about how he got your shirt wet.

anton sees an opportunity in the fact that you haven’t stood up yet, fully wrapping his arms around your shoulders, nearly causing you to fall into the chlorinated water. his laughter only increases in volume, and his teammates don’t think they’ve ever heard him laugh that hard. you let out a yelp, feeling the water continue to seep through the fabric of your shirt. you struggle against his embrace, and he shows no signs of releasing you. “lee anton! oh my god— i hate you!”

you both know that you’re lying.

AUTHOR’S NOTE! this is my 30th time trying to post this but we move

[writingwithcolor]

Sri Lankan Fairies and Senegalese Goddesses: Mixing Mythology as a Mixed Creator

[Note: this archive ask was submitted before the Masterpost rules took effect in 2023. The ask has been abridged for clarity.]

@reydjarinkenobi asked:

Hi, I’m half Sri Lankan/half white Australian, second gen immigrant though my mum moved when she was a kid. My main character for my story is a mixed demigod/fae. [...] Her bio mum is essentially a Scottish/Sri Lankan fairy and her other bio mum (goddess) is a goddess of my own creation, Nettamaar, who’s name is derived from [...] Wolof words [...]. The community of mages that she presided over is from the South Eastern region of Senegal [...] In the beginning years of European imperialism, the goddess basically protected them through magic and by blessing a set of triplets effectively cutting them off from the outside world for a few centuries [...] I was unable to find a goddess that fit the story I wanted to tell [...] and also couldn’t find much information on the internet for local gods, which is why I have created my own. I know that the gods in Hinduism do sort of fit into [the story] but my Sri Lankan side is Christian and I don’t feel comfortable representing the Hindu gods in the way that I will be this goddess [...]. I wanted to know if any aspect of the community’s history is problematic as well as if I should continue looking further to try and find an African deity that matched my narrative needs? I was also worried that having a mixed main character who’s specifically half black would present problems as I can’t truly understand the black experience. I plan on getting mixed and black sensitivity readers once I finish my drafts [...] I do take jabs at white supremacy and imperialism and I I am planning to reflect my feelings of growing up not immersed in your own culture and feeling overwhelmed with what you don’t know when you get older [...]. I’m sorry for the long ask but I don’t really have anyone to talk to about writing and I’m quite worried about my story coming across as insensitive or problematic because of cultural history that I am not educated enough in.

Reconciliation Requires Research

First off: how close is this world’s history to our own, omitting the magic? If you’re aiming for it to be essentially parallel, I would keep in mind that Senegal was affected by the spread of Islam before the Europeans arrived, and most people there are Muslim, albeit with Wolof and other influences. 

About your Scottish/Sri Lankan fairy character: I’ll point you to this previous post on Magical humanoid worldbuilding, Desi fairies as well as this previous post on Characterization for South Asian-coded characters for some of our commentary on South Asian ‘fae’. Since she is also Scottish, the concept can tie back to the Celtic ideas of the fae.

However, reconciliation of both sides of her background can be tricky. Do you plan on including specific Sri Lankan mythos into her heritage? I would tread carefully with it, if you plan to do so. Not every polytheistic culture will have similar analogues that you can pull from.

To put it plainly, if you’re worried about not knowing enough of the cultural histories, seek out people who have those backgrounds and talk to them about it. Do your research thoroughly: find resources that come from those cultures and read carefully about the mythos that you plan to incorporate. Look for specificity when you reach out to sensitivity readers and try to find sources that go beyond a surface-level analysis of the cultures you’re looking to portray. 

~ Abhaya

I see you are drawing on Gaelic lore for your storytelling. Abhaya has given you good links to discussions we’ve had at WWC and the potential blindspots in assuming, relative to monotheistic religions like Christianity, that all polytheistic and pluralistic lore is similar to Gaelic folklore. Fae are one kind of folklore. There are many others. Consider:

Is it compatible? Are Fae compatible with the Senegalese folklore you are utilizing? 

Is it specific? What ethnic/religious groups in Senegal are you drawing from? 

Is it suitable? Are there more appropriate cultures for the type of lore you wish to create?

Remember, Senegalese is a national designation, not an ethnic one, and certainly not a designation that will inform you with respect to religious traditions. But more importantly:

...Research Requires Reconciliation

My question is why choose Senegal when your own heritage offers so much room for exploration? This isn’t to say I believe a half Sri-Lankan person shouldn’t utilize Senegalese folklore in their coding or vice-versa, but, to put it bluntly, you don’t seem very comfortable with your heritage. Religions can change, but not everything cultural changes when this happens. I think your relationship with your mother’s side’s culture offers valuable insight to how to tackle the above, and I’ll explain why.  

I myself am biracial and bicultural, and I had to know a lot about my own background before I was confident using other cultures in my writing. I had to understand my own identity—what elements from my background I wished to prioritize and what I wished to jettison. Only then was I able to think about how my work would resonate with a person from the relevant background, what to be mindful of, and where my blindspots would interfere. 

I echo Abhaya’s recommendation for much, much more research, but also include my own personal recommendation for greater self-exploration. I strongly believe the better one knows oneself, the better they can create. It is presumptuous for me to assume, but your ask’s phrasing, the outlined plot and its themes all convey a lack of confidence in your mixed identity that may interfere with confidence when researching and world-building. I’m not saying give up on this story, but if anxiety on respectful representation is a large barrier for you at the moment, this story may be a good candidate for a personal project to keep to yourself until you feel more ready.

(See similar asker concerns here: Running Commentary: What is “ok to do” in Mixed-Culture Supernatural Fiction, here: Representing Biracial Black South American Experiences and here: Am I fetishizing my Japanese character?)

- Marika.

Start More Freely with Easy Mode

Question: Why not make a complete high-fantasy universe, with no need of establishing clear real-world parallels in the text? It gives you plenty of leg room to incorporate pluralistic, multicultural mythos + folklore into the same story without excessive sweating about historically accurate worldbuilding.

It's not a *foolproof* method; even subtly coded multicultural fantasy societies like Avatar or the Grishaverse exhibit certain harmful tropes. I also don't know if you are aiming for low vs high fantasy, or the degree of your reliance on real world culture / religion / identity cues.

But don't you think it's far easier for this fantasy project to not have the additional burden of historical accuracy in the worldbuilding? Not only because I agree with Mod Marika that perhaps you seem hesitant about the identity aspect, but because your WIP idea can include themes of othering and cultural belonging (and yes, even jabs at supremacist institutions) in an original fantasy universe too. I don't think I would mind if I saw a couple of cultural markers of a Mughal Era India-inspired society without getting a full rundown of their agricultural practices, social conventions and tax systems, lol.

Mod Abhaya has provided a few good resources about what *not* to do when drawing heavily from cultural coding. With that at hand, I don't think your project should be a problem if you simply make it an alternate universe like Etheria (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power), Inys (The Priory of the Orange Tree) or Earthsea (the Earthsea series, Ursula K. Le Guin). Mind you, we can trace the analogues to each universe, but there is a lot of freedom to maneuver as you wish when incorporating identities in original fantasy. And of course, multiple sensitivity readers are a must! Wishing you the best for the project.

- Mod Mimi

[hoshiina]

pairing: hoshina soushirou x gn!reader (no prns)

request: Hii im the anon who ask for the wips and i saw the blurbs you have. IM VERY MUCH HOOKED with the third ones where hoshina loves reader's smile🥹 relating to that maybe i would like to add(if you want, but feel free to do seperate if you want) soft moments with hoshina x reader who felt like she being the most pessimistic person regarding love(not anti but just felt like she doesn't deserve it) so she is on denial when hoshina make a move on her

notes: reader is usually rather energetic, talkative reader, hoshina thinks you are "beautiful" at some point, TYSM FOR THE REQ!! sorry it took so long omg

wc: 1300

Something was wrong— terribly wrong. There was no way someone would want you, let alone your vice-captain who could have anyone in the world. Not your vice-captain who did everything with such care and looked after everyone so preciously. And definitely never your vice-captain you were terribly in love with.

There must be some mistake. Or else he wouldn’t have just said what you thought he said.

“Pardon me?” you asked.

He looked a little flustered and you had never seen such an expression on him, confusing you further. “I love you,” he said again, softly. “I’d love to know if you’re in a relationship.”

The way he spoke so carefully added to how nervous it made you feel— it was so different from how he usually talked to you. Now, you were lost to say the least, because you couldn’t think of one reason why he would like you, let alone romantically. Under normal circumstances, you’d assume you were being played with or that this was a silly prank or dare, but you knew that Hoshina wasn’t one to do something so horrible. So what was happening?

“I am not…” you said, still confused, but the visible relief in his eyes made your heart tighten. Oh gosh, is he serious?

“I’m… thrilled,” he said, and he wished you goodnight and left. While you were terribly flustered to know he liked you back, there was a voice in your head that wouldn’t stop making you feel anxious. Something felt so odd to you— to be loved back. To be loved back by him. You enjoyed talking to people so you talked to him often, but never had you thought he'd think of you like that. Having a naturally talkative personality, it was true that both of you had fun talking to each other, but you had accepted that your love was unrequited ages ago. When would he have possibly fallen in love with you? The more you thought about it the more impossible it sounded. As thoughts of him circled your head, it’d be morning before you knew it.

It'd be hard for him to point out exactly when he fell in love with you, because he was in love before he knew it. Before he knew it, he'd catch himself following you with his eyes. He adored watching you work, because you made everything look exciting. Of course, he saw how you groaned at the paperwork you had to do, but he'd see how the little things would put a smile on your face.

He liked the work he did, he liked all of it quite frankly. From neutralizing kaiju all the way down to the research he had to do— rarely did he think something was a chore to do, but if you were around to laugh at something silly he found or mutter about the binders and binders of files that the 3rd division just doesn't have space for anymore, he'd start looking forward to these moments.

While he knew you were like this with everyone, he hoped that you were happiest with him. It would mean everything to him if you looked forward to doing seemingly mundane work with him too.

However, while he loved so much about you, there was one moment specifically that made him realize he wasn't moving on. His heart would be yours forever at this rate. You'd look so horribly tired after all this work, and yet, if someone needed help with anything at all, you'd still smile and ask them what's wrong. You'd find the energy and speak to them so kindly. You might not have the energy you usually had, but you'd be so happy to help. Even if they couldn't tell how exhausted you were, he could. He knew how much you did for everyone in the division, and he thought you were stunning when you did so. You were the most beautiful when you had that lovely smile on your face that seemed to light up his world.

He loved you so dearly.

You loved talking to people, so there always seemed to be something for you to talk about. A new finding you wanted to share or a terribly random thought that popped up in your head. While you naturally talked to most of the people in the division, you looked forward to talking to Hoshina the most. The way he'd always listen so intrigued at your dumbest thoughts and laugh at the smallest things you said meant more to you than one would probably think.

And if you shared your daily happenings with him, he'd share his with you too. To say you loved these moments would truly be an understatement. Nothing could possibly make you happier.

However, you knew he was like this with everyone. His laugh would always manage to keep the morale of the division up and he'd never miss potential problems in the condition of any of his officers. You knew he was a sweet person, but also the best one could ask for in a vice-captain. You weren't special— he was like this to everyone. You knew better than anyone else.

You couldn't imagine anyone falling for you, let alone the kindest person you'd ever meet in your life. Let alone the person you'd probably love for the rest of your life.

Yet, here you were, alone with him this afternoon working away through paperwork and it was quiet. Eerily quiet. He was the first to break the silence.

“I rather dislike the rain,” he said, looking out the window. “It’s been raining all day.”

You paused to look outside as well. “No, you’re right. I don’t mind the rain, but I hate how dark everything is.”

“Yeah,” he said. More silence.

“Sorry, I’m awkwardly nervous now,” he said, eyes fixed on his work. “I didn’t mean to make things… weird.”

You could tell he probably didn’t want you to, but you couldn’t help but look his way. Your eyes widened and your heart filled. You weren’t afraid to say much, but you were afraid to talk about this. However, you thought you’d be able to if you were talking to him.

“I just… can’t imagine that you’re… in love… with me,” you said, looking down at your paperwork. “Sounds too good to be true. I know... sounds unlike me, right?”

Immediately he looked up at you, shocked to say the least. You could tell he probably wanted to ask why, but he thought for a moment more.

“What… would I be able to do to show that I am?” he asked. “You’re the one I love… you always will be.”

Your eyes widened. “I just… don’t know why,” you said honestly. “Why me?”

“Because I love you,” he said. “I love a whole lot about you, but I love being with you. I enjoy spending time with you and watching you enjoy the life around you. Is that too simple?”

It took you a second to reply, but you felt a lot better. “No, not at all,” you said. “Because I feel exactly the same way.”

“You’re kidding”

“Absolutely not”

“I’m going to kill you if you’re lying,” he said.

That made you laugh. “You know I wouldn’t,” you said, and yes, he knew you wouldn’t.

“Hey, Hoshina,” you said, avoiding eye-contact. “If I get worried… will you tell me again?”

“I’d tell you until you get sick of my voice,” he said while getting up to kiss your forehead. “I love you so much.”

[harlequinlestat]

To Hold Me Like Water

Pairing: Astarion/GN!Reader or Astarion/GN!Tav Word Count: 1.4k+

Notes: This fic was completely inspired by this post by @skitpost. It's just a little fluff piece exploring Astarion's ears. It's my first fic ever, and it the first time I’ve written something that wasn’t a research paper in years. I was just really inspired to write something for Astarion. A huge thanks to the incredibly talented @redrocketpanda for editing this for me and making amazing suggestions on how to fix it up!

You had always been intrigued by Astarion’s ears. 

Though you would never dare admit your fascination to him or anyone else in your party, you routinely caught yourself watching how his delicately pointed ears subtly twitched whenever he was listening intently to his surroundings. In fact, the way his ears moved ever so slightly when he became particularly emotive was one of the first things that endeared him to you after he made your acquaintance by throwing you to the ground and holding his blade to your throat.

His ears were irritatingly distracting to you, and you longed to touch them. Partly because you were curious how they would feel against your fingertips, and partly because you yearned to see his reaction. You had never touched an elf’s ears before, and you had heard rumors that they were particularly sensitive.

Your relationship with Astarion had progressed in an altogether unpredictable manner over the past few months. What had begun with flirtatious banter and trysts in the woods had developed into something much more profound and intimate. Yet no matter how close you felt emotionally and physically to Astarion, you could never quite convince yourself to reach out and caress his ears. The thought perplexed you. It didn’t matter that you had shared your body with Astarion and known the feeling of his skin against yours - the sheer act of providing a gentle, comforting touch to what you assumed was a particularly sensitive part of his body felt far too intimate. 

You assumed your daydreams would remain simply that, until one evening in camp.

The evening had started as typical, with your party enjoying a simple dinner. The day’s battle against an Absolutist stronghold had been particularly bloody, and your friends were exhausted as they sat around the campfire, barely sharing a word. They had all retired early in preparation for the fight ahead, and you and Astarion had withdrawn to his tent to perform what had become one of your nightly rituals. 

There had been subtle changes in Astarion’s character since he defeated Cazador and gained true freedom. Rather than hiding his true emotions with sarcasm and charm, he had gradually become more sincere in his interactions with you. Despite this, there were certain parts of him that you assumed would never change, one of the most irritating being his vanity. What had started as a joking offer to pick the remnants of battle from Astarion’s perfectly coiffed locks had become a near nightly routine for the two of you.

Astarion lay languidly between your thighs, his weight resting entirely against your chest as he read through another one of his countless tomes. The two of you sat in silence as you meticulously began removing the gore from his still nearly perfectly wavy hair. He occasionally hummed in appreciation or made a stray sarcastic comment about your hands being too rough for his liking, but the two of you were relatively silent during this time, simply enjoying one another’s company and the dimming glow of the fire.

Tonight, Astarion’s hair was caked in some particularly dense patches of dried blood, and your typical routine was simply not enough to cleanse him to his liking. You had aided him in bathing in a nearby stream prior to this, your hands massaging and tracing his muscles as you removed dried blood and dirt from his skin. He had been unwilling to completely submerge himself in the water, and thus you had resorted to using a damp rag to lift the small amount of remaining blood from his hair and scalp. He appeared at ease against your body as you gently scrubbed with the rag. As the exhaustion of the day set in, your hands became sloppy in their movements as you rushed to finish the task so that you could sleep. Your eyes felt heavy, and you weren’t aware of your proximity to his ears until it was too late. 

Your fingers delicately grazed the tip of Astarion’s ear for just a moment, your boddy immediately tensing in response. Astarion’s breath hitched in his chest, the muscles of his back tense against your chest. You couldn’t see his expression from this angle, but you assumed it expressed discomfort.

“I’m sorry, Astarion. I didn’t mean to,” you practically whispered, a sudden fear taking root in your chest. Astarion remained silent, but he did not immediately move to leave you. Your mind began racing, trying desperately to figure out how to fix the situation.

“It’s…quite alright, darling,” he stated. He slowly turned his head to face you. The first thing you noticed was the uncertainty in his eyes as they cast downward - then the slight blush to his cheeks. As his eyes returned to yours, you began to piece together what had happened - Astarion had enjoyed your gentle touch.

“I’ve never been touched like that before.” His words were quiet and tinged with an uncertainty and lack of confidence you rarely witnessed. 

“Did you like it?” you asked, a blush beginning to creep onto your face against your wishes as you began to hope against hopes that Astarion would allow you to touch him again.

Astarion thought carefully for a moment before slowly nodding his head. “You know I love your touch, pet,” he attempted to smirk. You knew him too well -  this was an attempt to hide his apparent embarrassment and confusion with his usual sarcasm. Yet he seemed to know the charade was no use with you. He sighed. “I did enjoy it,” he stated plainly, allowing himself to lean back against you in defeat.

“Would you like me to do it again?” you questioned, waiting with bated breath.

Astarion’s eyes met yours again. Despite the conflict you could see within his eyes, you also saw the inherent trust he had in you and your relationship. “I think I would like that,” he whispered.

You smiled reassuringly at your lover as you gestured for him to lie back against your chest once more. He quickly complied, closing his eyes as his head rested against your chest once more. You could still feel some residual tension in his muscles as you prepared your hand. You started by gingerly running your fingers through his mostly cleaned hair, faintly scratching his scalp with the edges of your fingernails. Astarion began to relax against you once more as you massaged his scalp. Once his breathing slowed and he began melting to your touch, you allowed yourself to carefully begin tracing the outer shell of his ear with your index finger. 

Astarion kept his eyes shut, his head turning toward your touch, as if seeking it. 

As your fingers began to trace the pointed tip of his ear, you heard him release a sigh.  A smug smile began to pull at the corners of your mouth as you watched the normally ever-composed man melt into your touch. This is what you had desired for so long, and you now realized that you had admired Astarion’s ears not because they were so different from your own, but because they were his. Pride swelled in your chest as you realized you were the first to touch your lover’s ears and make him feel this way. This was uncharted territory for the both of you, and you were not going to let the moment go to waste. The outer shell of his ear felt firm and strong against the gentle touch of your fingertips. You admired the subtle variations in Astarion’s breathing as your index finger danced from his lower ear to the tip. You lavished particular attention to the tip of his ear, staring in near wonder as it twitched against your hand in response. Once you were certain Astarion was comfortable with it, you allowed your second hand to begin tracing the shell of his other ear. The elf looked at ease in your hands.

It was then that you realized you were probably the first person in centuries to see Astarion in any state of vulnerability.

Tears stung at the corners of your eyes as you continued your gentle ministrations. After a few minutes, he gently reached for your hands, letting you know that his sensitive ears were beginning to feel overstimulated by your touch. When he turned his head and observed your soft features and the tears you attempted to hide, he repositioned himself to kneel between your thighs. His deft hands carefully clasped your cheeks, and he pressed his forehead to yours.

“This is a gift, you know. I won’t forget it,” he whispered, then slowly pressed a gentle, yet firm kiss to your lips.

[mistydeyes]

hey, can i please request headcanons of 141 boys with reader that is a youtuber?

omg yes ofc! i used to (and still am) a HUGE YOUTUBE WATCHER so this was so fun to do :) thank you again for requesting!

vidcon but the uk version

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summary: You're not any regular civilian, you're a Youtuber ;) In all seriousness, here's some headcanons of how the boys interact with your channel and support you!

pairing: 141 x YouTuber!Reader

warnings: swearing

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price - beauty and skincare

you were already big on YouTube when you met John

he can't go into a Sephora without someone mentioning your latest video or TikTok

someone would assume you were an employee based on how you were able to help the fan pick out the best skincare and makeup

he was shocked at the sheer number of brand deals you participate in

he also is in awe at the corner you had dedicated to your ring light and makeup desk with a nice camera set-up

when you eventually move in together, he's just used to the number of parcels you get daily

he will insist on at least giving you some money when you do a beauty haul (even though you tell him you don't need it)

one time he tried to surprise you by picking out some things that you mentioned

now your most popular video is “trying out makeup that my boyfriend picked out”

his only annoyance is when you accidentally stain one of the face towels

eventually just buys a new set meant specifically for you when you wash off a look

you're planning on having a new video where you do skincare on him and finally get at some of his blackheads

soap - gaming

prior to meeting Johnny, you already had a sizable channel

you primarily did long lets plays and the occasional stream

your setup is absolutely gorgeous -i'm talking led lights, two monitors that have the best processing power, pro gaming chair, and posters

it took awhile to curate but it's your baby and you make sure he knows that

loves watching you game and will occasionally keep you company for those long streams

it reminds him of when his younger siblings would watch him game on their early Playstation and X-Box consoles

your subscribers love when he's there though because he has the best reactions

your most popular video? "my boyfriend plays five nights at freddy's ⚠️headphone warning⚠️"

despite having amazing technical skills on the field, his multitasking sucked and he would always forget to check on foxy or overuse the battery

you had a great time editing the video after and emphasizing the jumpscares

he won't subject you to rewatching your videos with him but he likes watching other channels or collars you've done

"This guy is absolute shite" "I know, that's why I don't play multiplayer with him anymore"

he'll be so excited if you ever get invited to a big event like Pax, E3, or Gamescom

you basically have to keep him on track as he loves stopping in artist's alley and looking at all the trinkets and merch people are selling

make sure to bring a huge suitcase because your game room is getting a few new additions

gaz - internet documentaries

think of Internet Historian or Down the Rabbit Hole vibe

your channel is dedicated to internet phenomena like Florida Man or the movement to Storm Area 51

you'd tell the facts of the trend and then add a few funny commentary pieces

usually your videos are 45 min to an 1 hr long so a lot of work goes into it

it's more of a hobby than anything but Kyle always thinks the amount of research you do for it is insane

"Babe I think you need a new laptop" "Why?" "I always know you're about to make a new docu-series because it sounds like a fucking airplane takin off"

once your laptop doesn't sound like its going to blow up, he'll be sure to keep you company as you write down your script

"Did you know that there was a convention for X or X happened?" is how most of your conversations go

he'll always smile and let you give him a spark notes version of what happened

will be the one telling you too sleep and that you can continue editing tomorrow

loves when companies send you things for ad reads

hoards all of the items from Dollar Shave Club and Raycon (his absolute favorite sponsor of yours)

he'll occasionally watch your videos while he's cooking or at the gym

always loves learning something new even if its about a failed furry convention

"I liked your latest video" is such a huge compliment from him because he knows how much effort you put into it

he'll occasionally feed you ideas that he sees while he's scrolling through social media

"You should do something on Hat Man" "WHO??" "Yk the guy you see when you take too much Benadryl, apparently Soap sees him too"

ghost - asmr

tbh doesn’t think much about your channel

you’ll just occasionally leave the room to record or crack some slime in front of a camera

however when your channel is mentioned in conversation, he considers revisiting

“have you heard about this asmr thing?” Gaz asked the group and Soap immediately interjected

“OH YEAH some of them are amazing to watch alone,” he said with a wink

“Like this account-“ Soap wasn’t able to finish his sentence before Ghost snatched the phone out of his hand

“Sorry just couldn’t see it” he apologized and he tried to suppress his disgust that someone else was listening to you at night like that

after that, he takes another look and watches a few of your more popular videos

ofc its your series roleplaying as a nurse or doctor taking care of someone

as well as one where you act like a sleepy girlfriend waking up next to their significant other

he will never say that he watches your videos but you do notice the uptick in views and likes (it's a cute little secret of his)

one time you attempted to ask all these questions about being in the military to help you write dialogue for your latest combat medic series

"People seriously want stuff like that?" "You'll be surprised, not tell me what you usually have in your pack"

he will cringe when you pull your asmr voice on him and whisper in your ear

"Cut that shit out."

[twistedwonderlandshenanigans]

Valentine's Day...Gifts They Give You?? I Think. IDK.

HAH SCHOOL CAN KICK MY BUTT BUT BY GOD AND THE DEVIL WILL I SHARE A LITTLE BIT OF LOVE!! (I'm suffering Jesus fucking CHRIST this course is gonna eat my fried up brain for breakfast lunch and dinner) This is done assuming they're pining for Yuu, save for Ortho he's Idia's little wingman. GN reader as always bbssssssssss if anything seems canon divergent, check out my HCs lmao

Heartslaybul Ace: He thought about making it super romantic, like he spent the week leading up to Valentine's day brainstorming ideas on napkins and doodling on scrap paper, trying to come up with a way to ask to hang out that would make it feel different than normal, but not so obvious that he...you know, likes you. He ends up showing up at Ramshackle before class with a box of chocolates he bought the day before and a bit of a blushing mess. "I just got these because who knows how much Sam will have by the end of today, you owe me half, ok?"

Deuce: He absolutely called his mom to ask for some advice, and asked his dorm mom (Trey), to proofread the hand written note he had meticulously written and supervise while he tries to make a heartshaped quiche. Why quiche? Well he knows you guys have...Memories about eggs, and he remembers it fondly, and he knows that quiche freezes well, so if he makes a big batch, you can eat what you want and have a readily available breakfast to just pop back in the oven whenever you want it - hopefully you'll remember him each time you do, and you'll ask for more when you finish it! He ends up at Ramshackle a little disheveled and out of breath, trying to make the quiche early enough in the day that he could make it there before breakfast so maybe you could share a meal before class. "It's still warm??" "Yeah, I ran here as fast as I could once it was cool enough to handle." "You didn't have to..." "I wanted to! You're more than worth the effort it took to be here on time." Trey: Mans has a major advantage in that he is great in the kitchen, but he can't just make your favourite dessert. He can do that any day. No, for weeks ahead of time, he plans, makes, tests, and revises a new recipe, something that is unique and meant to be for you. It's more effort than he normally puts into his work, but it's so worth it when he shows up at Ramshackle in the evening to deliver his gift and a small note, though he gets shy. He leaves it on the front door step, knocks once, and moves to hide by the side of the house, relying on Grim's nose to bring you to the door if you didn't hear him knock. Seeing the way your face go from confusion to joy and excitement as you read the note is worth every moment he spent crouching. He knows tomorrow you'll want to talk to him in person, but for now, that's more than enough for him.

Cater: Consumerism Capital lmao. He has a really sweet, genuine gift to give to you, but the time he's spent with his sisters makes him second guess whether or not something is "good enough". So, yes, he will have spent 72 hours painting a fucking masterpiece on a phone case for you, or a pair of shoes you said you wanted, or a skateboard so you guys can skateboard together, or something you mentioned you wanted offhandedly months ago, but he's not sure if it's enough, so to "make up" for his "shitty handmade gift", he buys a shit ton of Valentine's day merchandise! He shows up with the giant teddy bear, the bouquet of flowers, the chocolates, the sappy movies, a trending perfume and some sort of specialty drink he picked up at a cafe. Depending on your reaction to all that stuff, he might actually give you the gift he worked on, otherwise you'll see it by accident or something and he gets embarrassed and a little flustered because What If You Don't Like It, Isn't Everything Else Better Than That Thing I Worked On Specifically For You. Treat him gently please. That's a personal request slkdjfhlskdjf

Riddle: He's new to this. So of course he researched long and hard on how to best express his interest in you without trying to push anything on you. Cater tried to show him cute stuff on social media, but it all seemed so scripted, disingenuous, or so over the top he couldn't see himself doing it that way. Or on the other end - they were couples, well into their relationships and living together- that wasn't where he was with you, at least....not yet. He ends up watching, reading and listening to tutorials on how to put together the perfect bouquet - his beloved rose garden would have more than an aesthetic use now, and with a little magic, a beautiful gradient came easily to the bunch of roses he arranged beautifully. Before you, this holiday just seemed ridiculous. Maybe it still was, but he would indulge if it meant it brought a smile to your face.

Savannaclaw

Jack: He can't be direct for the life of him, not in terms like this. The night before Valentine's day, he's still stumped on what to do for you that won't be...inherently romantic and obvious, but show that he cares about you!! His eyes end up settling on his little cactus and he ends up finally getting an idea. Somehow after class, but before you got home, he managed to gift you your own tiny cactus. He left it sitting in a box, a small knitted coaster of sorts sitting underneath the flower pot - he put it in the box just so that the yarn wouldn't snag on the uneven wood outside of Ramshackle- and a tiny cowboy hat sitting on top of your cactus. It had been from one of his little siblings dolls that ended up in his bag from the last time he'd gone home, but either they didn't even notice it was gone, or he could get them a replacement later.

Ruggie: "Do you have plans for Valentine's day?" "Yep. Wait for it to be over." He doesn't really care for Valentine's day, but the sale that starts on the 15th? Goddamn, yeah, he's gonna capitalize on that....and he might even like you enough to share a little bit of it...maybe while watching a movie....and snuggling up under the same blanket at Ramshackle...that he may or may not have snagged from Leona's pile of Really Nice blankets....all it takes is for you to say you want some chocolate or treats too.

Leona: He really doesn't care for Valentine's day and all the shit that comes with it, but his sister in law asked him to at least try to make the best of the day. Initially, he was going to...at least try to contest it, but ultimately decided there was a simple way to do it. He ends up firing you a quick text to meet him in the greenhouse. While the way he pulls you into his little nest for napping is rather unceremonious, once you've settled he tucks a pink camellia behind your ear before abruptly telling you he's going to sleep and you're welcome to join him or you can get out of there if you want. He hopes, that just maybe, you'll be able to identify the flower he gave you and find out what it means.

Octavinelle

Floyd: Azul is making him work overtime for Valentine's day, he doesn't get up early enough to do anything Before classes, and by the end of his shift he's EXHAUSTED and MAD. He likely has the wherewithall to bring you a serving from the special menu in a takeout container before flopping down on the couch next to you, then onto you, just looking for a little bit of physical affection. The next day he does feel a little bad for not making you feel as special as he could have, so he'll wake you up with breakfast in bed. Jade: Again, he's been working overtime but he was more ready for Valentine's day than Floyd. While he can't take you anywhere on the day of, he has an easy hike and picnic planned for the weekend if you'll join him. Despite being in the wild outdoors, he's determined to make you a dish that would be worthy of serving at the lounge. He will not handle being asked to stay home very well, but ultimately will if you want that more....but it's going to be in your backyard.

Azul: He had so much on his plate leading up to Valentine's day with marketing, organizing shifts and maximizing profit. But, some of that profit was already planned to be set aside specifically for you. It was about time that you got a bit of a leg up, right? I mean working for Crowley can only pay so much, and he's the head of the dorm that represents generosity anyways. So on the day after Valentine's day, he shows up in the evening with a laptop, and envelope with cash, and a grin, ready to show you the wonders of ✨investing✨. He may have forgotten you still...want to go home. He'll backtrack a bit and offer to help you find contractors that will renovate a part of Ramshackle for you.

Scarabia

Jamil: He didn't even bother trying to plan something for himself with you. How could he? It was a holiday, as ridiculous as it was, it meant that Kalim would inevitably want to celebrate it on the dorm level, and Jamil, of course, would have to plan and organize and arrange everything in order to make it work out. However, that didn't mean he wouldn't make sure to invite you. It didn't mean that he wouldn't make the time to ensure your favourite dish was served. Or that your favourite song would come on during the dance party portion of the celebration. Or that he wouldn't check on you just as, if not more frequently than he did on Kalim to make sure you're enjoying yourself. And if you're not, if it's all too much, he accounted for that already and will show you where you can stay until you feel okay again. Of course, if you show up an hour or two early and demand (you can't ask, he'll say no) to be given a task to lighten his burden, he might just admire you a little bit more (even if he still says no).

Kalim: Valentine's Day means partayyyyy time!! There's gonna be food, and dancing, and games, and lots of people, and live music because he, Cater, and Lilia are gonna perform, won't you come see him?? He needs you there so he can perform the best he ever has!! Come on Yuu, please??? They did actually practice, because they had to change a few lyrics so that it could be a better cover for Valentine's day and he was thinking of you when they modified it, so can you pleeeeeeeease come?

Pomefiore

Epel: He isn't sure whether he wants to continue a tradition he had from home or not, where he would show up at school with handmade lollipops and give them out to people....but his class at primary school was soooo much smaller, it wouldn't make sense to do it here for everyone. Not to mention, he usually had his grandma help him make them, he's never done it on his own. He likely does it for all the first years in his little friend group because he doesn't want to be obvious to anyone person that maybe...he likes them a little more...however your lollipop is the only one that seems to have no imperfections. Funny how that worked out.

Rook: Screw your alarm clock, he knows when you wake up anyways and will be outside your window, serenading you until you wake up. Even if you end up rolling out of bed lookin like a sewer rat and peaking out the window, once he knows you're awake he'll start reading poetry to you. He kinda just lingers until you're done getting ready enough to come great him outside, where he gives you a single rose and a few sheets of paper that he's written his poems about you on. He'll kiss the back of your hand and offer to escort you to class. ** I just want to say, for as much as I gripe about Rook in other posts, I genuinely believe that if he knew or found out you had no Valentine, no plans, and nobody treated you, he would, by the end of the day, at least have left a rose and handwritten note on in front of your door apologizing for not having asked to be your Valentine earlier and going through and complimenting you, though the note is completely anonymous. Rook is a bleeding heart (hehe Snow White ref) and regardless of his feelings for you/your feelings for him, he wants to make sure Valentine's day is positive for you.

Vil: Ugh, Valentine's day. It's a tacky, meaningless holiday that corporations push for the sake of profit. He agrees to model stuff still, sure, he has to in order to try and keep up with Neige, but he hates it. He gets his nails done so that they are jet black. Part of him wants to go goth for the day, but really that would be an overreaction to something so minor. He rejects any Valentine's day gifts, and likely won't want to do anything special, so if anything, you get to see a slightly out of character Vil as he either facetimes you to make sure you've been drinking water today and rant about the industry and how it's ruined Valentine's day, or. You send him a really cheesy gif wishing him a happy Valentines day and he very reluctantly replies, but tells you to never do that again (and it segues into Above).

Ignihyde

Idia (+ wingman/little shit Ortho): Ortho didn't really intend to snoop, but his big brother just left his phone out in the open...well he threw it onto his bed and mumbled something about being a loser. According to Ortho's analysis of Idia's phone, he hadn't been on a mobile game, so what got him so worked up? He sifted through until he found the culprit- the draft of a really sweet...and yeah, kinda cringey message he had written out addressed to the prefect of Ramshackle. Eugh he didn't need to read that...but...but Yuu should. He sends the message for Idia right before his brother comes back into the room, mumbling about how he needs to delete something. His eyes go wide as saucers as he sees not only has the message been sent, but the prefect has read it and is replying in that very moment. Idia reprimands Ortho immediately, but gently until the Prefects response comes through and Ortho confirms the tone is positive. Diasomnia lord help me it's one in the morning

Sebek: Wasn't going to do anything until Lilia mentioned...."exaggerated"...just how important Valentine's Day can be to humans. His decision to try and come up with a last minute gift only amplifies if he sees someone else give Yuu a gift, and ultimately decides with a certain degree of defeat just to buy something from Sam's shop. He decides something practical is best, but gets a little distracted around the candles. Surely in Ramshackle you would appreciate something small, aromatic and it even offers a small bit of heat! He decides to go through with it, but it's only noon, surely he can customize it a bit more before the end of the day. Lilia ends up walking into Sebek's room at around 10:30, only to see him struggling to stay awake as he wipes off paint from the lid. Based on the discarded tissues around, he hasn't been satisfied with any customizations he's tried to make. Lilia gently encourages him just to write a quick note, and he'll deliver it to the prefects doorstep for him so he can get to sleep. Sebek insists it's not perfect, but is forced to accept defeat as Lilia ushers him to bed, reassuring him that the prefect will still appreciate it.

Silver: He knows that he struggles to stay awake, so he starts on his project long before Valentine's day so that he can work on it whenever he has the wherewithall to do so. Come Valentine's day, he has the gift with him during class, and ends up sitting outside of Ramshackle, passed out next to the door waiting for you to show up so he can hand you his gift, which turns out to be a dagger. No, he didn't make it, but he wanted to research the best option for someone of your size and stature, the quality, where to purchase it reliably, to make a small write up on how to care for it properly, what it can and should be used for, and activities it's not suggested to use it for, but you technically "can". It also gives him an excuse to come see you more often to teach you how to use it- often teaching someone is a great way to learn and will add another layer to his training. Lilia: He's been around for so many Valentine's Days, he probably knew the fucking saint it was named after. That being said, he loves to make the most of life, and that doesn't stop here! Get ready for a home cooked meal, you don't have to worry about dinner tonight sweetheart, Lilia's got it covered. Or he'll pay for take out. Or both, to make up for the mess in your kitchen.

Malleus: He's been aware of the holiday for years, but has never really had a reason to celebrate it. But now there's someone who isn't scared of him. Someone who, perhaps if he asked, you would allow him to spend time with you. He ends up daydreaming about the activities the two of you could do together, from making gargoyles to learning to make ice cream together, he ends up spending the entire day like that. Though he's a bit frustrated at his loss of time, he writes out a heartfelt letter to invite you to join him in those activities at a later date. He'll either wait for you outside, or if its too late in the night, simply slide the letter under your door.

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

I was gonna do Che'nya and Neige and even Rollo but its. its way too late, I'm hungry and I have a STATS class tomorrow RIP me.

[queenofallimagines]

Satan if you were a satanist before you arrived in the devildom

A/n: listennnn in between getting dragged by the Lucifer chat bots, writing two really long fics and having brain worms about this Au I’ve had so many thoughts and Satan has landed in my radar☺️ asmo and Simon are NEXT bc guardian angels are a whole DIFFERENT can of worms

I’m gunna use like ACTUAL satanic lore mixed in w the game lore

Satan:

- okay so boom

- Right off the bat he can tell you are different

- Sitting back waiting to see how you react to everyone

- Takes note you’re much more respectful to him than the rest

- Thought you were walking on eggshells because you were terrified of him but you ain’t scared at all

- You see through all his pranks

- “He’ll probably see that coming a mile away. Try moving it over here Lucifer don’t check there.”

- Color him impressed

- Does see you don’t really freak out like his brothers when he goes into one of his little rage fits

- When he offered to make the pact with you to piss Lucifer off you were really caught at a pass

- Like for one you technically already have a soft pact with him being a devotee

- But also you don’t want to disrespect him by saying no

- Choosing to not get on Lucifer’s bad side because you still do have a mission to do in that attic, soyou politely decline

- “I’m sorry, but I’m not going to make a pact with you that isn’t built on a mutual trust and understanding”

- He’s always told you to sniff out a trap and you were NOT falling for it

- Blinded by rage for not getting his way, that’s when he lashes out

- He feels something weird in his chest when he looks at you in that moment but he can’t quite understand it. Like a tugging feeling at the back of his head trying to tell him something

- When you get caught I. The middle of the whole “they’re the same person thing” you just roll your eyes

- “No shit they’re not the same person🙄😒 Satan and Lucifer couldn’t be more different, Lucifer is the morning star and Satan is more tricker than anything :/ crazy how yall don’t do research”

- Ngl he almost fell for you right then and there

- He cannot STAND that especially when humans call anything and everything Satan and refer to him and Lucifer like they’re the same person.

- Looks at you with star eyes for a second before sticking to you like glue. He’s very fascinated with you and wants to study you under a microscope

- Ask you if you’re like Solomon and have been studying for years

- Did you manage to get your hands on some devildom textbook somehow?

- Maybe even some texts form the celestial realm

- “Not really but that would be super cool to read.”

- He himself hates misinformation so you be correcting all the demon brothers with the quickness

- Lucifer is very annoyed and Satan is elated

- Notices you looking at him a lot, like you’re analyzing him

- Ofc he’s blunt and isn’t gunna beat around the bush he asks you what you’re doing starring at him like that

- “It’s really nice to see what you actually look like… if you’re shape shifting all the time and this is the form you stay in full time it’s… nice to see you face to face”

- Confused for a second because he doesn’t often make trips directly to the human world even for a summoning

- “Well I mean, in the human world we don’t actually know what you look like. The only book that has a description of what you looked like and are has the pages mysteriously ripped out and have never been found. I assume that was your doing?”

- Shocked pikachu bc he fr forgot he did that in his younger years

- His mischievous tendencies have been delegated directly to Lucifer, he understands the value of books now

- “Ah,,, I do recall doing that. It would make sense why you’re starring at me so hard.”

- Blushes when you call him a pretty boy

- Like he’s in his room kicking his feet giggling

- You bring him his offerings directly

- He won’t even realize you’re doing deity work with him and is just excited to spend time with you

- Whenever you come back home from class or whatever you give him little things you got in your way back or snacks he likes

- Nobody has ever seen satan smile this much

- Lucifer peeps when it’s your turn to cook dinner you just so happen to favor foods Satan likes and uses ingredients he does to cook too

- Will be very suspicious of you mirroring his behavior

- Satan is none the wiser truly he’s assure at familiar feeling is like some star crossed lovers stuff and you were meant to meet by fates hands

- Has so many cute cat themed things in his room from you

- Lucifer is not liking how you seem to be trying to gain his trust for your own reasons but he can’t sense anything malicious.

- He can’t pinpoint any alternate motive for this behavior

- Satan will not notice until someone points it out to him

- Lucy straight up asks you why you’re getting so friendly with him

- Mammon also chimes in that you seem like you’re sucking up to him, and Satan feels conflicted be he doesn’t like how they’re accusing you but also the fact that you might be just being nice to him because you want something is setting his nerves on fire

- Rolling your eyes you shoot back at Lucifer that you’re just worshiping Satan like you usually do

- The old man is takes aback and Satan is like…. I beg your pardon?😀

- “Satan has been my patron for years now, the only thing that’s different is that I can give him my offerings and ask him for help directly”

- Mammon is chewing the carpet he’s supposed to be your first man!

- Satan is flabbergasted and is searching his memory for this information

- Before he remembers

- “How did I not notice??”

- “I thought you knew??”

- “NO???”

- Dinner is wild bc now asmo asking for embarrassing memories of you

- Rip bc Satan gon tell it ALL😭

- I feel like he’d be the type to keep a log so he might not remember every single face and name because he does fuck with some people who summon him

- Grabs your notebook from his room and starts reciting shit BAR FOR BAR

- “Oh yeah i remember this! You were quite a rowdy child picking fights with everyone. Your temper was awful”

- “YOU DO NOT GET TO FUCKING SAY THAY TO ME!!”

- laughing because he’s taking a stroll down memory lane and he’s dragging you along

- Can feel your anger a mile away, he’s in your ear now more than EVER going “don’t you want to go apeshit?”

- Constantly encouraging you to loose your temper on Lucifer

- He feeds off your rage and it feels almost euphoric to him, because he’s an instigator if anything😭

- “Where the fuck is your rage?? Lucifer was definitely disrespecting you👀👀”

- Exhausting

- Lucifer will get on him about having you up for hours on end reading and studying when you need to sleep

- You will NOT fail any class not on his fucking watch! He’s gunna make sure you excel in this exchange program academically

- Even if he’s not who you ask for things he’s helping you

- “Do NOT as belphie for help with dream interpretation I’ll help you!!”

- Very proud to show you off

- “Y’all see MY human?”

- Mammon is trying not to start problems on purpose

- He will probably bend you over Lucifer’s desk bestie it’s inevitable

- If you’re intimate before he knows he’s really gentle and makes sure to take his time with you

- If it’s after he will be rough and mean

- He definitely cares about you and loves you but he will pretend he’s using you as a toy

- As if he’s your god and you’re nothing but a lowly mortal designed to be used and filled up by him

- Choking you out and breeding you for hours on end

- Will be so incredibly gentle with aftercare it’s almost like he’s a different person

- “Look at you drooling and can’t even keep your eyes focused. Pathetic. You’re too stupid to think of anything other than how I’m ruining you”

- Makes you struggle to walk every time

- Gets carried away and marks you everywhere like diavolo asking you why there’s a hickey on your ankle😭

- Almost buys you a collar if Lucifer didn’t stop him

- Wants you to know you belong to him and you’re his little follower

- Tells you how good you are for him and gives you a nice reward

- “You’re so good for me, so eager to please and make me happy. My human deserves a reward hm?”

- Cocky asf for no reason PLEASE humble his ass!!

- Gets off on it when you pin him down and call him pathetic

- “The great avatar of wrath Satan himself bouncing on my lap like a whore desperate to get off.”

- He’s literally turning to mush for you

- Whimpering and looking at you with teary eyes

- “P-please I need to cum I’ll do anything”

- Bites back a moan when you coo at him that he’s so pathetic needing a mortal to get off

- He can feel how mean you are and your anger through your pact and it’s making his body buzz with excitement

- Panting and wiggling his hips he’s begging you to fill him up

- Call him a good kitty and he probably won’t be able to last

- Likes when you punish him like best his ass fr leave bruises make his ass bright red!!

- He’s really just attached to you and will cause a big issue when you have to leave the devildom at the end of the year😅

[merakiui]

RAHHH WAIT WHILE WE R ON THE TOPICS OF PERIOD SEX. CAN WE TAKE A MOMENT TO TALK ABOUT WHICH GENSHIN GUYS WOULD EAT OUT/FUCK DURING A PERIOD?

AAAAAAA OMG YES........ under the cut because I rambled a lot. ;;;;

The most obvious one who would do it in a heartbeat is Childe. He loves the sight and smell of blood, and the fact that it's coming from between your legs is even better. He'll have you crying out while he spends so much time between your legs, all too eager to taste you and listen to you fall apart on his tongue and fingers. He'll fuck you while you're on your period as well. He loves the way your blood stains his dick when he's thrusting in and out. Playfully cooing at you when you beg him to ease up because it's too much: "Aww, can't handle it? That's too bad... down here seems just fine. You're taking it like it's nothing." <3

This is my own personal bias seeping through, but I wholeheartedly believe Scaramouche/Wanderer would adore period sex. I think Scara enjoys fucking you while you're on your period, whereas Wanderer enjoys eating you out just a bit more. There's this whole power/control thing Scara wants to have over you, so he's probably not getting on his knees for you anytime soon. But he will fuck you for as long as he wants, teasing you the entire time. Having your blood on him is all too exciting. As for Wanderer, he'll pretend like it's a tall order, playfully scoffing at you and saying something like, "What would you do without me? You'd be helpless, wouldn't you?" But if you even suggest that someone else do this for you, he's quickly putting that smart mouth of his to work. Try saying that again through all of your moans. :)

ALBEDO OMG........ it's all for "scientific research" because he's curious and would like to know how the human body operates in more detail. Really, this is his own nerdy cover. He just wants to taste you and feel you, blood and all. orz of course he probably collects samples because there's this clinical side to him that wants to know you down to the alchemical level. ;;;;; he spends way too much time stuffing his fingers inside you and stretching you open, curiously observing the blood that coats his digits and making note of all of your reactions.

Razor....... this one is also obvious. He smells blood and assumes you're hurt, so his first instinct is to either patch you up or lick it better. The latter comes into use when he pins you down and spreads your legs to get a closer look at your pussy. Razor's a bit inexperienced and sloppy, roughly gripping onto your thighs, but he means well. He has to keep his mate safe and content, after all!

Xiao........ XIAO!!!!!!!! He's so determined to protect you. He's very accustomed with the scent of blood, so it doesn't take long for him to smell it on your person. Xiao's a little stern when he tells you to stop moving so he can check you for injuries, but he's sincere. Why do you seem so casual? Aren't you hurt????? He cannot fathom the concept of a period because he's never known about such a thing. He's about as virgin as they come. ^^;;;; but he'll do anything to ensure you're happy, forever and always, and so even though he may not know what he's doing at first he'll eventually fall into the rhythm. Karmic debt is cold and cruel, but pussy is warm and soft. <3

I feel like Kazuha would be into it........ he's so sweet about it, too. T^T maybe you're embarrassed to have leaked on the sheets while sleeping beside him, but he assures you it's fine. Things happen. Besides, there's nothing to be ashamed of. It's normal. He'll make you feel so much better about it, and soon you're falling apart on his fingers or mouth. He praises you all throughout it.

Gorou!!!!! This is also a Razor situation. He probably prefers eating you out more than he does fucking you, but the latter is also quite good. He's really such a sweetheart and he gets pussy-drunk SO FAST. OTL even more so when you're on your period.......

Itto!!! >:D truthfully, what won't Itto do? He'll do just about anything for his pal, best bud, partner, lover (you're all of these things to him hehe). He adores you omg. You only need to tell him that it hurts and he's ready to provide, whether that be by eating you out until your cramps are soothed or by fucking into you (he'll be slow and gentle; he promises!). Anything for you. <3

This may be unexpected (or not) but Ayato. I think he just likes the idea of staining those pristine clothes of his in your red. Or ruining white sheets...... there's something very thrilling about it. Also, you're just so sensitive whenever you're on your period and your libido has you begging him for even more.

Definitely Tighnari. He could just mix up something to help soothe your cramps, but why would he do that when he could indulge instead? Besides, this method works very well and you seem to enjoy it just as much as he does. Why would he ever trade that?

Cyno......... I can't explain it, but I feel like he would enjoy period sex... there's something so addictive about sinking into your wet warmth and getting blood on his cock while you dig your nails into his shoulders and rake his back bloody. >:D

Baizhu. Something something doctor's orders!!! Prescription to soothe cramps is not a calming herbal tea but the doctor working you open on his fingers or fucking into you sweetly and slowly!!!!!

Omg,,, speaking of doctors, how could I forget the man himself!!!! Dottore is a creature. He loves period sex. Perhaps some of his clones love it more than others. It's easy to tell depending on who's fucking you or eating you out. He has this deranged sort of smile as he watches you come undone.

PANTALONE.......... I just know he loves getting your blood all over his face and fingers and on his clothes. He's a big fan of simply cockwarming you while you're on your period and only getting you to orgasm by clitoral stimulation. AAAAAAA OTL

Wriothesley can and will spend his entire afternoon between your legs. He doesn't mind the mess. It doesn't bother him. Rather, he's busying himself working you towards your nth orgasm for the day. If you come to Wrio with a problem, you better be ready for him to solve it. He'll make sure you won't be feeling any cramps for the rest of the day after he's done with you.

Another personal bias, but I like to imagine Lyney also enjoys period sex. Maybe even Freminet, but he's too shy to ask you if you'd be okay with it...... >_< AAAA but Lyney!!!!! He reminds me of this audio. T_T Lyney sniffing out your period........ you seem to have cramps and that's no good. Allow him to ease them and this time there's no magic required hehe.

Another bias, but my beloved Gaming!!!!!! I think period sex with him is always a sweet activity. He's so gentle and caring,,,, so focused on making sure you feel good and that you'll have enough orgasms to get rid of the cramps. And of course he has plenty of snacks on standby for when you want to snack during breaks. Leave it all to him! You won't have to lift a finger. Just lie back against the cushions and let him make you feel good.

OH OH!!!! Capitano.......... I've seen some portray him with a long monster tongue and methinks that is very delicious and so true!!!!! Capitano using that long tongue of his to eat you out, and it can reach places that your fingers just can't and and and AAAAAAAA!!!!!

[laughhardrunfastbekindsblog]

The Start of Something New

Summer of Bad Batch 2024 | Week 10 | Prompt: "Just when were you planning on telling us that?"

Summary: This was the start of something completely new for Tech, and Hunter couldn’t be happier for him. POV: Hunter Rating: G (Word Count: 2971)

Read on Ao3

Notes: Yes, this is another Tech Lives story! The first part of the story takes place pre-"Tipping Point" (episode 14 of season 2); the second part of the story takes place post-epilogue/post-my other Tech Lives work. ( @domino-twinss This isn't exactly a chapter 2 for Lost and Found, but it kinda works as an unofficial follow up?)

Hunter leaned back, resting his elbows on the garden wall in Shep’s backyard, and closed his eyes briefly, welcoming the slight breeze that played across his face. He had just returned from a long but productive day helping move supplies to rebuild more of the homes damaged in the tidal wave. Tech had apparently finished his task of restoring power to the dozen or so homes that had been completed, for he had already been sitting at the table looking at his datapad when Hunter had arrived. Wrecker and Omega, who had both spent the day down at the docks, should be coming back any minute…

Hunter heard the telltale sound of running footsteps, and smiled as his brother and sister burst through the gate. Omega greeted him with a happy grin and a wave, but it was to Tech that she directed her first statement.

“Lyana says the reason why you came in late last night was because you asked Phee to go out on a boat with you,” she declared, her face bright with curiosity as she rested one hand on Tech’s forearm and slightly shook it in her excitement.

“When were you going to tell us you spent time with Phee?” Wrecker asked in barely concealed delight.

Hunter, his brows raised in mild surprise at this revelation, awaited the answer. He had assumed Tech had been on the Marauder completing one of his many research projects yesterday evening; he would never have guessed his brother had actually gone out with Phee.

Tech, who had remained completely unperturbed by Omega's enthusiasm, now glanced up from his datapad, looking slightly puzzled by Wrecker's question. “I wasn’t planning on saying anything," he replied. 

Omega and Wrecker both visibly wilted in disappointment at this answer, and Hunter had to bite back a laugh. Omega quickly recovered, though, and eagerly patted Tech’s arm again.

“Well, since we know about it… Come on, tell us! How did it go? How did you decide on taking a boat out at night?" 

Tech shrugged. "Phee mentioned she is interested in sea creatures, and many of the species found near this island have bioluminescent traits that are especially well observed at night, even with a full moon. I concluded she might enjoy some time on the water to see them.”

“You spent the entire time talking about the creatures and bioluminescence, didn’t you?” Hunter cut in drily.

“Most of the time, yes. What else were we supposed to talk about? At any rate, Phee is already remarkably well versed in marine science, and she was quite interested in learning more about the aiwhas on Kamino. I was more than happy to oblige.”

“I still can’t believe you weren’t going to tell us about it,” Wrecker protested.

“We’ve all spent time with Phee before, you know,” Tech stated, as if that fully explained his lack of disclosure.

“Yeah, but not on a date!”

 “This was not a date. It was simply a friendly outing.”

Wrecker groaned in frustration, but Omega piped up again. “Well, we’d still like to hear about them!”

At Omega’s plea, Tech sighed and capitulated. “Very well, if it’s so important to all of you…”

“Good, you’re all back!” Shep called from the doorway. “Oh, Tech, Phee told Lyana and me how much she enjoyed last night.”

“That is… gratifying to hear,” Tech said steadily, seemingly ignoring Omega’s giggle, though Hunter got the distinct impression that, in this particular situation at least, the more solemn Tech appeared, the more embarrassed he was actually feeling. 

“Dinner is about ready,” Shep continued gamely, “just a few more minutes.”

“Anything I can do to help?” Omega offered, moving toward their host.

“Well, if you want, you can help Lyana get the plates,” Shep smiled.

“I’ll come with you,” Wrecker instantly volunteered.

As the others trooped into the house, Tech silently put down his datapad and stood to follow them, turning back when Hunter spoke.

“Are you going to invite Phee to join you on more friendly outings?” Hunter asked, careful to keep any hint of amusement out of his voice.

“I intend to, yes,” Tech replied without hesitation, before his expression shifted; and while Tech often wore thoughtful expressions, Hunter had never before seen this particular brand of introspection on his brother’s face – it was almost as if Tech, for the first time since he had learned to speak, was grappling for the right words to express his thoughts. “She… is an exceptional woman,” he finally finished, a touch awkwardly though clearly sincere.

And as Tech made his way toward the door to join the others in the house, Hunter smiled.

This was the start of something completely new for Tech, and Hunter couldn’t be happier for him.

*******

Hunter, glancing out the cabin window, saw that Tech had returned from his visit with Phee and had taken up position standing by the low wall that separated the property from the long stretch of rocky soil leading out to the beach some distance away.

Gesturing to Batcher that she should stay where she was, curled up comfortably by the table, Hunter stepped outside to join his brother. It was perfect weather, a light breeze was stirring the air, and Omega would have been enraptured by the scenery of the sunset if she were here; but Tech had already pulled out his datapad and was taking notes. Hunter smiled a bit – despite time, aging, and critical life experiences, some things never changed, and Tech’s curiosity combined with his need to always keep his mind and hands busy were among those things that remained constant.

Any concerns Hunter may have had about Tech being able to adjust to life on Pabu with brothers who had changed so much in the intervening years had been short lived. The impossible had happened – the entire family was reunited – and the growth and life-altering changes they had each experienced in the past decade or so only served to enhance their immense gratitude for the chance they had to all be together again. Tech had offered to continue helping Omega and Echo with decryption and other coding tasks for their rebel missions, but only in a remote capacity; he sympathized with the Rebellion’s cause, of course, but he wanted to stay on Pabu. And while Phee had said nothing aloud upon hearing of this decision, none of the brothers had missed the fact that her stays on Pabu had progressively lengthened over the past year.

Hunter knew Tech and Phee had become extremely close ever since Tech’s return – the spark of mutual interest that had existed early on between them had quickly grown into a flame – and the two of them spending the entire day together had become the norm; but as he stood next to his brother now, Hunter could tell something was different, something had changed today - and Hunter couldn't be more thrilled.

“So, when were you going to tell us?” he prodded.

Tech looked at him, eyebrows slightly raised, but couldn’t keep a small smile from playing on his lips: he knew Hunter knew exactly what had happened. “Tonight,” he replied levelly, “when Omega contacts us. She always includes Echo in her transmissions, and that way we can tell the whole family at once. At least, that was the plan,” he finished wryly. 

“Do you have a date set yet?”

“If Omega and Echo can come by month’s end, we will wait for them; if not, it may be sooner. Phee and I want to be married before we begin any travels.”

Hunter was careful to keep his expression and his voice steady, even as his heart now sank. “So you won’t be staying on Pabu?”

Sometimes Hunter wondered if Tech had somehow developed enhanced senses of his own; based on the glance Tech gave him now, Hunter thought the other must have somehow sensed his dismay. “This is still our home, Hunter. Phee says she was already considering retiring for some time before I returned, and you know she hasn’t set off on any acquisition operations for months now. But the news of what the Empire did to the refugees on Ghirtin II really shook her. She says it’s high time a liberator of ancient wonders became a liberator of modern people. She wants to do more to help those displaced by the war, and I want to help her.”

Hunter nodded and even managed a smile. He had known the moment he had witnessed Tech’s face light up upon first seeing Phee again that his brother was as devoted to her as he was to his siblings, and devotion such as Tech’s knew no bounds. And Hunter had been thrilled both for his genius, quirky brother and the strong-willed, witty woman who had always been such a loyal friend to the entire family; he had known they would make each other immensely happy, and Hunter, who had only ever wanted all his family to be safe and happy, couldn’t wish for more.

But…

“What is it, Hunter?” Tech asked almost gently.

Hunter sighed. “I’m happy for you, Tech," he said sincerely. "I know you and Phee will take care of each other – and really, the two of you combined will be unstoppable. It’s just…" taking a breath to give himself time to gather his thoughts, he continued, "It’s been almost a year, but it still feels like we just got you back. I don’t…” he trailed off, feeling that it would be far too selfish and shameful for him to say aloud I don’t want to let you go again.  

It was moments like these that made him realize he had never, ever fully released the grief and shame of his failure as a leader, as a brother, as he had watched Tech fall out of sight on Eriadu. Even now, after finally and unexpectedly being reunited, and with so much good happening in their lives in spite of the stranglehold the Empire had on the galaxy, Hunter still felt the pang of regret of all the years missed, all the time Tech had spent lost and alone, working so hard on his own to regain his lost memories and discover where he belonged…

Hunter couldn’t look at his brother, and blinked rapidly to will away the tears.

He felt Tech place a firm, reassuring hand on his shoulder. “I know,” Tech said in a voice that prompted Hunter to look at him despite the threat of tears; and in the long moments of silence that followed, the look in Tech’s eyes said it all: he not only knew exactly what Hunter felt, he understood – and he wished Hunter would finally forgive himself for circumstances that had been outside any of their control.

“We’ll be here on Pabu far more often than we will be away, though,” Tech now continued matter-of-factly. “Besides, compared to any trouble Phee and I may find ourselves in, we all are in significantly greater peril whenever we allow Wrecker or Crosshair to man the boats during fishing expeditions.”

Hunter snorted – this observation was unfortunately all too accurate – and Tech gave a small smile.

“Well, just let me promise you what I promised Omega: if you or Phee ever need us, we’ll be there,” Hunter said.

Tech nodded. “It is, perhaps, obvious; but if you ever are in need of anything, you only need ask,” he replied.

Grinning now, Hunter slipped his arm over Tech’s shoulders, with Tech soon following suit so that they stood arm in arm, side by side, brothers as they always had been and always would be, come what may.

The sun’s last rays were now slipping beneath the horizon, but there was still enough light in the minutes before twilight that both brothers could clearly see Crosshair and Wrecker now coming up the path to the cabin. Hunter and Tech turned to greet them, and Wrecker waved as he drew closer, before abruptly stopping and dropping the package he was carrying, a wide smile stretching across his face as he looked at Tech.

“Don’t tell me, you and Phee are getting married!” he exclaimed.

Sure hope Tech and Phee weren’t planning on keeping this quiet, because with how loud Wrecker is, the entire island knows about it now, Hunter thought with amusement. 

Tech, as usual, was unflustered as he replied, “Well, since you clearly already know about it, there's not much point in me telling you.”

Crosshair’s initial look of surprise at the revelation now turned into a smirk. “Did you ask Phee, or did she have to ask you?”

Instantly intuiting that an overly detailed explanation was forthcoming as an answer, Hunter settled in for the inevitable as Tech replied: “Well, we came to what might be termed a mutual understanding regarding our status as partners some time ago; but last week I came to the conclusion that it was time for me to issue Phee a formal request for her agreement to our eventual commitment to each other as spouses, and I completed that objective today."

"Tech, you can just call it a proposal, we all know what that is," Hunter muttered. 

"Wait, you were planning this for a week?" Wrecker said. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Yeah, we would have helped," Crosshair added. 

"That is precisely why I didn't tell you," Tech said candidly, earning outraged squawks from the other two and a chuckle from Hunter. 

"She said yes, so I guess you did it right even without our help, Tech," Hunter said, clapping his brother on the back. 

A new thought had obviously struck Crosshair, for he now frowned a little. "Wasn't Phee talking a few weeks ago about wanting to help transport refugees or something?"

"That is correct," Tech nodded. "I'll be going with her."

"So, you won't be living here anymore?" Wrecker asked, looking rather crestfallen now. 

"We will, we'll only be traveling occasionally."

"Oh, well that's alright then," Wrecker smiled, lightly knocking against Tech's shoulder. 

Crosshair couldn't hide the flash of sadness in his eyes upon hearing that Tech would be leaving, even if only for a short while; but his smile was genuine. "Good man, Tech," he said; and Hunter knew that, while any separation would be painful, Crosshair would fully support his brother in this decision. 

"You're going to tell Omega and Echo tonight, right?" Wrecker asked eagerly. 

"Yes," Tech said, adding wryly, "though at this point, if Phee and I didn't tell them, you probably would." 

"We should head in now to get all that put away before she contacts us," Hunter interjected, nodding at the large package of supplies Wrecker had dropped; and the brothers moved to act on Hunter's suggestion. 

They had put away the supplies and just settled in to await the transmission when a brisk knock sounded on the door and Phee let herself in. One look at the brothers, and Phee shook her head ruefully. 

"They all know already, don't they?" she addressed Tech. 

"Yes, though I myself did not tell them," Tech answered. 

"I should have known they'd figure it out themselves," she said, settling down next to Tech and sharing a quick kiss with him before grinning cheekily at Crosshair's usual grunt of mock disgust at the display. Tech took her hand in his, as had long since become his custom; and she squeezed his hand affectionately in return as she continued, "We just waiting on the rebels now?"

"As usual," Crosshair nodded. 

"Do you want to share your news first, before Omega catches us up on her end?" Hunter queried.

Ever since Omega had joined the Rebellion, Phee had joined in on every transmission whenever she happened to be on Pabu, and was well aware of the typical flow of these conversations. Now, she glanced at Tech before shaking her head. "Nah, let Omega go first. No need to break tradition."

"Any minute now..." Wrecker said. 

At that moment, the communications array beeped to indicate an incoming transmission, and Wrecker lunged forward to accept the message. Omega's image, with her bright smile and uplifted expression, blossomed into view before them; surprisingly, Echo appeared directly beside her, rather than coming in as a separate transmission. 

"Hi!” Omega greeted them before excitedly continuing, “Guess what? Echo and I have been assigned to the same mission! Can you believe..."

Omega's eyes had been roving over her audience; now, her gaze falling on Tech and Phee, she abruptly paused, eyes widening, before she let loose an ecstatic high pitched squeal. 

"You two are finally getting married??!?"

The surprised silence that followed was quickly broken by Wrecker bursting into a hearty guffaw, and Hunter couldn't help chuckling at the sight of Phee's stunned face. Tech, of course, remained composed as ever, though his lips curved up into a smile. 

"How could you tell?" Crosshair, clearly holding back a laugh, asked Omega. 

"I don't know," Omega replied, waving her hands helplessly at them as if this would help explain the unexplainable, "it's just obvious!"

"Good thing we didn't try to elope," Phee joked.

Tech just shook his head resignedly before saying, "If these three" - gesturing to Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair - "figured it out, I'm not surprised Omega did as well."

"Congratulations," Echo put in, nodding cordially at the pair. This was all he managed to say, however, before Omega erupted with more questions. 

"How did Tech propose? Or did you ask him, Phee? When is the wedding? It'll be on Pabu, right? Can you wait for us to come? Will you be getting your own house now?" 

And as Tech and Phee began explaining all their plans, Hunter, quietly basking in the celebratory atmosphere, sat back and smiled. 

This was the start of something new for Tech and Phee, and Hunter couldn’t be happier for them. 

@summer-of-bad-batch

[something-tofightfor]

Liminality: Part 14

Pairing: Frankie Morales x Female Reader

Word Count: 8,392

Rating: R - the general themes and tones of the previous chapters carry over, but there's no outright violence or sex.

Summary: As the plan comes together, and you and Frankie attempt to get his friends on board, decisions are made that not everyone agrees with.

And when you two take some time apart to give everyone breathing room, you make a discovery that gives you plenty of new information, and the chance to make the first move.

But as is typical with Frankie and his friends ... nothing goes according to plan.

Author’s note:

Here we go.

I really like this chapter, and I hope you do, too.

Masterlist (for the journal entries and all of the other 'extras' + previous chapters)

The time apart from Frankie gave you a chance to think clearly. 

Even though it was only a couple days, you used them wisely - and thanks to the rain, you spent the majority of them indoors. He’d been right; the storm had been little more than rain and some wind, and while the lights in your hotel had gone off briefly, you hadn’t been in the dark for long. 

And Frankie called you during those two days, checking in in the morning and before bed, along with sending photos and texts throughout the day. In another situation, it would have been overkill, and made you feel like he was trying too hard. But you understood that he was doing it to prove to himself that you were alright, and to let you know that even though you were apart, he was still thinking of you. 

Will sent you a few messages, too, asking how your leg was doing and how you were enjoying your trip. You knew that those replies were going to the entire group, all of them on alert thanks to what you’d revealed about Tom. 

You wondered if they were sending updates to Tom, too - like they had in the past. But you didn’t dwell on that, because instead, you went back to what you’d been doing for years prior to meeting Frankie: going over your notes and findings.

Having all of your research - and Alec’s - in front of you was helpful, as was the opportunity to focus on it. 

You hadn’t had so much time to yourself in months, and you used it wisely. You were almost certain that Tom had met the wolf that turned him at a prior realtor’s conference, and you spent hours poring over his social media friends and photos. There were tons with the men you knew, both in uniform and out. There were even more with Molly and Tessa, and people that you assumed were extended family based on facial features and last names. 

But Tom was also tagged in photos from the conferences and even a few dinners throughout the years, and it was those you paid the most attention to. You made a list of all of the people that had started to appear in his photos and comment on his content in the previous 16 months, and your search was made much easier when you realized that he’d joined a group specifically for realtor friends…and its members list was public. 

Three of the names popped up repeatedly, and when you searched them further, two of them were connected to each other in different ways, too. It was a man and a woman, her long auburn hair braided and hanging over her shoulder in nearly every photo. He was taller and stocky, with piercing eyes and a smile that didn’t reach them. 

They’d gone to college together, their photos going back well over a decade, and at about 3 am on your second night in Punta Gorda, you found it. 

The photos were grainy, since they were from 2013 and 2014, but they clearly showed the man’s arm wrapped in a bandage and the woman pointing at it with a look of mock horror on her face, and then, a few months later, the two of them relaxing on a boat somewhere, his arm exposed … and a brand new scar that looked suspiciously like a bite mark near his elbow. 

The second photo also showed what looked like a long-healed mark on the woman’s inner thigh, which meant that if you were correct, and they were Tom’s connection to the Chaos line, she had been the one to bite the first man. 

From there, you researched as much as you could into her history, and after an hour of searching through that, you got your confirmation. The woman’s name was linked with one that had shown up in Alec’s research as a possible Chaos wolf. I’ve got him. I’ve got him and if I want, I’ve got them, too. 

You didn’t know where Tom’s bite was, or how he’d hidden it from Molly, but it had to be in a place that would have been covered, even if he went to the gym or the beach with any of the guys. His inner thigh, like hers? Or maybe his side? You frowned, thinking. His back or chest? 

You took one more look through Tom’s recent photos, foot tapping restlessly on the floor while you scrolled. In the previous year and a half, he’d posted a variety of pictures from different locations, including a few from the beach with his family. 

After taking a much closer look than you would have liked at one of him sitting on a low chair, legs spread, you determined that the bite wasn’t there. So it’s on his upper body. 

There were a few shirtless images, too, and in all of them, his left arm was never raised. There was only one that showed a somewhat clear view of that side of his body, and when you zoomed in on it, you saw what could have been a discoloration from scar tissue. But that could have been from anything. Shrapnel, getting shot, something going wrong during the missions… there’s no way to know. 

But it hadn’t been there in earlier photos. It hadn’t even been there when Tom had posted a picture of the tattoo on his shoulder. It was a small thing, but it gave you something to go off of, and you made a note of it to show Frankie and the others. 

You went to sleep at 5 that morning and woke up a few hours later, quickly packing your room and carrying your things back to the car. It was still drizzling, but it seemed that the worst of the rain was over, which would make your drive back to Tampa simpler than the one south had been. 

You used that time to think, too, trying to come up with a plan that would work to draw Tom back out to the RV during the next full moon. He’d never gone back to the previous month’s crime scene before, but he’d also never attacked anyone that any of the guys knew before, either. And now that he knows I’m planning on staying, and that I’ll be out there with Frankie as often as I can … 

What you didn’t know was what Tom’s end game was. You didn’t know what he hoped to achieve by hurting you - or continuing to hurt others. Part of you wondered if he was just doing it for fun and because he could. Another part of you wondered if he was making up for the fact that he was no longer in uniform and getting sent out on missions where he was able to do whatever it took to complete them. 

The others had settled into life after the military, but Tom was the exception.

Frankie was doing what he loved, Pope was able to take care of his family and kept himself busy with Yovanna and the small logistics company he ran. Benny and Will had the bar - and the fighting and training - which kept them focused and fit. 

Tom had the same dead-end career that he’d taken up before the South America trip, and by his own admission, wasn’t very good at it. He had the money to do whatever it was that he wanted - in any part of the world he wanted to go to - but he’d stayed in Tampa with his family, and continued to work in a job that he didn’t need and didn’t make him happy. But he chose to do that. He could have decided anything else, and being unhappy doesn’t mean that the only solution was to become a wolf and hurt people. 

As you passed Bradenton, it clicked. 

Tom was doing it for the attention. He’d been the group’s defacto leader throughout their entire enlisted time together, and then afterward, too. But when they’d come home from South America and been forced to deal with Frankie’s bite - and wolf status - the focus had shifted from them looking to Tom for leadership to doing whatever was necessary to help Frankie find answers, and to keep him safe and hidden. 

You probably wouldn’t ever know for sure because there was no way to ask him without playing your hand, but all of his behaviors added up. He wanted to be a leader again. He wanted to have people following his orders and doing what he said. He wanted people to fear him and what he was capable of. He’d proven himself over and over during mission and assignments - by the admission of everyone in their group… and once the need to do that was gone, he’d had no purpose. 

And even though the Chaos line was well established and likely didn’t need someone to lead, they needed other things that Tom could provide: strength, ruthlessness and financial support. He’d traded one group for another, and didn’t seem to care what he’d given up in order to achieve his goals. But hurting me still doesn’t make sense. He has to know Frankie would care. He has to know that he’d want to do something about it. Going after me was a risk. 

Drumming your fingertips against the steering wheel, you bit your lip. There was a solution, and you knew Frankie wouldn’t like it. But it has to be mentioned … and I need someone on my side. 

Reaching for your car’s touchscreen, you dialed out and waited for an answer on the other end. 

“Hello? Is everything alright?” 

“Hey, Yovanna. Everything’s great.” You closed your eyes and nodded. “But I need your help. Are you going to be home in about an hour and a half? I need to run something by you.” 

— 

“He’s going to fucking kill me.” Pope’s words were muffled because his hands covered his face, but you still understood all of them. “He’s going to kill me and then bring me back just so he can kill me again.” 

“He is not.” Yovanna swatted at him, her expression set into a glare that you never wanted to be on the receiving end of. “It is a good plan.” 

The three of you were waiting outside on Pope’s back deck, untouched glasses of lemonade on the table. They were beside each other on the larger couch and you were curled up on one of the single chairs, the sun just beginning to set. 

Frankie was planning on meeting you when he got back from visiting Carmen, and though the plan was for the four of you to head out to dinner, you didn’t know if that was going to happen. 

“It’s not a good plan. It’s a stupid one, but it’s the only way I -” Pope cut you off, looking up and at you from between his fingers.

“It’s not stupid.” He sighed, sitting straight up. “It’s actually really smart. He’s just not going to like it.” 

You agreed, and even though you knew it would be difficult to make Frankie understand, you thought it was possible. “There’s still a lot to work through,  but unless we start now, there’s no way we finish before the next full moon and I just … I want this over. I don’t want anyone else to get hurt.” 

You heard a car door slam, and all three of you listened for a few seconds, waiting to see if it was Frankie arriving. It’s got to be. He said he was close. 

“Here we go.” Pope closed his eyes and then leaned over, kissing the side of Yovanna’s head. “Hope you’re ready to see Frankie lose his shit.” 

Turning in your seat, you watched as he opened the gate and stepped into the back yard. Your breath caught at the sight of him, even though it had only been a couple days since you’d said goodbye. He wasn’t wearing a hat that night and his curls were exceptionally tousled, sticking out wildly over his ears. His facial hair was longer than you’d gotten used to, too, and as he got closer, you bit your lip at the sight of him, repositioning yourself so that you could stand. 

“Stay right there.” He held up a hand and shook his head, speeding up as he stepped up and onto the patio. “I’m comin’ to you.” He leaned over when he made it to the chair and used both hands to brace himself on the arms. “Missed you.” 

He didn’t say anything else before he kissed you, but as soon as your mouths met, it was clear that he didn’t need to. Missed you too, Francisco. You stroked the back of his head before he pulled away and then took a seat, jerking his chin in the direction of Pope and Yovanna. “How was your trip?” 

“Great.” He grinned, running his fingers through his hair. “Carmen was excited and it didn’t rain for one of the days, so we went to the zoo.” His grin widened. “She’s getting so damn big and wants to run everywhere.” Pope laughed and you grinned back at him, heart breaking at the fact that in only a few seconds, you’d ruin the few days of peace that he’d had. But I have to rip the bandaid off. “See you made it back in one piece, too. Rain bad down there?”

“Not really, no.” You reached for the drink in front of you, lifting it and taking a small sip. “But I still spent a lot of time inside, thinking.” His expression fell slightly, but Frankie didn’t say anything. “There’s something I need to talk to you about, Frankie. You’re not going to like it, but -”

“That doesn’t sound good.” He frowned, leaning in, and you watched his eyes flick over to Pope and then back to you, his jaw twitching before he spoke. “Did you change your mind? Are you leaving? Are we -”

“No, Francisco.” You moved before he’d even finished, scooting to the edge of your seat and reaching over to cover his hand with yours. “Of course I’m not leaving you. That’s the last thing I want.” It hurt that his first thought was that you were going to abandon him, and you wondered if that was a constant fear of his - specifically when it came to you. I hope not. “I love you. I told you I was staying here and I meant it.” He put his other hand atop yours and curled his fingers against it. 

“Then what do you need to talk to me about? And why here? In front of them?” 

“I needed backup, Frankie.” Wetting your lips, you reached over with your other hand and actually took his, linking your fingers together. “Because you’re not going to like this at all.” 

Time was against you, and even though it wasn’t the way you would have liked to explain your plan to him, you had no other option. 

“I’m going to remind you, ‘Fish, that this is my parents’ place. So you have got to keep it together, alright?” Pope cut in, warning - and a little amusement - in his tone. “Let her talk.” You felt his fingers flex, but Frankie only nodded at his friend, never taking his eyes off of you. 

“The moon is less than two weeks away, and all we’ve gotten so far is that we think Tom will come back to the RV and try to finish me off.” It was a crude way to describe your situation, but it was the truth. “But we can’t know for sure, especially since he’s supposed to be in Orlando that night.” 

He nodded slowly, but stayed quiet. You could almost feel the tension in the air, and when you risked a glance over at Pope and Yova, you saw her give you a slight nod, though there was apprehension in her eyes. Here we go. 

“I think he’s doing this because he misses the way he felt when you were enlisted and he was the go-to guy. I think he sought the Chaos wolves out because he wanted to feel important again, even if none of you knew it. And I think, Frankie, that he wanted to attack me to prove to you that he’s always one step ahead of you, and that even though you’re … different now, you still couldn’t keep me safe from something like him.” 

It didn’t entirely explain why Tom had attacked the others throughout the summer months, but it was a start, and despite his uncertainty, you could tell that Frankie agreed with you. That’s good. 

“You need answers, and to get those answers, we need confirmation that Tom’s a wolf. He’s not going to admit it if any one of you confronts him. He’s too stubborn, so you … we have to catch him during a full moon, and to do that, we need to know exactly where he’ll be.” Frankie was frowning, the lines between his brows deepening by the second. But I’m right. Pope and Yova agreed with me and I think Will would too. “Frankie, I need to make him want to come back to the RV on the full moon.” You took a deep breath, closing your eyes. “I need to piss him off so he’ll come after me again.” 

“No.” He pulled his hands free and stood up, holding one out toward you, pointing with a single finger. “No, that’s not going to happen. You’re not using yourself as fucking bait for a werewolf that we can’t -”

“It’s the only thing that’s going to make sure he comes back to the RV.” Pope sighed, leaning forward and rubbing his eyes. “If he thinks she’s a danger to you - or to himself - he’ll act. We saw how he fucking reacted when we questioned him with Lorea and the money. This will be the same.” 

“I can’t believe you’re just going to agree to her doing this. She could get hurt, Pope. I can’t be there, because Tom won’t show up if he can smell me. And if one of you fucking shoots him before I get back, we won’t get answers. This isn’t going to work.” He looked back at you, head whipping back and forth. “You’re not doing this.” 

“I am, Frankie.” Even though your heart was racing and you hated going against what you knew was only him trying to make sure you were safe, you didn’t budge. “I’ll meet with him under the guise of talking about another apartment, and I’ll just … casually mention something that’s intended to rile him up.”

“What would you even say?” He scoffed. “And that means you’d be alone with him. He doesn’t deserve to be in the same room as you, and you want to meet him somewhere and -” 

“Tom won’t hurt me while he’s human.” You were sure of it. “He -”

“‘Fish, she’s right.” Pope leaned forward in his seat, hands hanging between his knees. “He’s hiding behind the wolf the same fucking way he hid behind the uniform and behind the secrecy of the shit we did after.” He cleared his throat. “Pissing him off gets results. How many times have we seen it before?” 

Frankie didn’t reply right away, instead looking between the three of you with a pained expression on his face. You wondered what he wanted to say. You wondered what was running through his mind and how he was going to try to convince you not to do what you’d suggested. 

“He needs to feel like he is smarter than you. Than all of you.” Yovanna spoke up, standing and stepping in front of Frankie. “He wanted to kill me and my brother instead of leaving us in Peru. He would have done it and he would not have been sorry.” You looked over at Pope, watching as his lips parted and he stared at the woman, eyes wide in surprise. “She has obviously done something to make him mad already, Francisco. He would not feel threatened by her otherwise.” 

“Threatened by what?” Frankie threw his hands up, shaking his head. “She’s done nothing but come here and -”

“He is threatened because he feels like she is taking you away from him.” Yovanna reached out, putting her hands on Frankie’s arms, just above his elbows. “You have told no one for years, not even me. But her? Yovanna leaned in, looking up at Frankie. “You told her after only weeks. You told her and you spend all of your time with her and she accepts you. And that means you do not need him as much. Whatever he thought would happen by becoming a wolf doesn’t matter anymore, and that scares him.” 

It made perfect sense. It was about more than Tom needing or wanting to be in charge and the one they all looked to in a pinch. It was about more than protecting Frankie’s secret or keeping their secret about Lorea. It was all about Tom’s ego, and it seemed that Yovanna had figured things out long before anyone else had. I understand why Pope loves her so much.

“Maybe he wants you to figure it out.” You spoke as soon as the thought entered your mind. “Maybe he thinks that if you figure out that he’s the other wolf, the two of you can … bond or something? He probably figures that you’d understand wh-”

“I haven’t killed a single goddamn thing that isn’t furry or feathered since South America.” Frankie reached up and gently removed Yovanna’s hands before he sat back down, dragging his fingers through his hair. “Why the fuck would he think I’d be alright with him going out of his way to kill people? How could he think I’d forgive him for hurting … fuck. Is he really that stupid?”

You had an opinion about that, and if her expression was any indication, so did Yovanna - but neither of you spoke. 

The yard was silent for almost a minute, even as Yovanna retreated back to the couch and sat down, Pope pulling her onto his lap. It was you that finally broke the silence, scooting all the way to the edge of your seat and reaching for Frankie’s hands. 

“I’m going to do it with or without your agreement, Francisco.” Linking your fingers together, you squeezed. “But it would mean a hell of a lot to know that you’re on board with it.” 

“What if you’re wrong?” He looked up at you, and you gasped at the sight of his red-rimmed eyes. He’s crying over this? “What if all of you are wrong and this backfires? What if he hurts you and then runs, and then we have to worry about him coming back and hurting someone else that we care about?” He gestured to Yovanna. “You? Or Will’s wife? Fucking Carmen?” 

Frankie pulled his hands free from yours, the loss of contact hurting more than you thought it would. “We won’t let that happen.” You whispered the words, lowering your head. “He wouldn’t run. He wouldn’t do anything that makes him look weak.”

“And if he even went near Carmen, it wouldn’t just be you that was fucking angry.” Pope cleared his throat, saying Frankie’s name. “We can figure out the details in the next couple days, but as much as I don’t want to admit it, I think … I think this is the best option. Put Tom on edge. Make it so he has to act.” He sighed. “It fucking sucks, but … it’s the best shot we’ve got.” 

“Wait.” Frankie cleared his throat. “If he’s going to Orlando for the conference, how can he come to the RV? They track attendance at that shit.” 

“The registration fee was only a couple hundred bucks, Frankie. Even with a hotel I don’t think he’s going to be too concerned about that.” You took a breath. “The only issue will be whether or not he reaches out to the woman that turned him, because -”

“You know who it was?” Pope cut in, eyes narrowed. “How?” 

It only took a few minutes for you to explain what you’d found, and bring up the Facebook profiles. They looked through them wordlessly while you watched, chewing on your lower lip. “And if he tells her? Or this other guy? Or someone else that he reports to?” Frankie handed you your phone back, his face set in a scowl. “What happens when a whole pack of wolves comes here looking for him or looking for me because of what I fucking do to him?” 

“They don’t …” You sighed, rubbing your temples. “As far as we know, the Chaos wolves don’t stay in packs. It’s not like Ashley’s group, or other smaller family units.” You paused, looking between the three of them. “That’s one of the reasons it’s so hard to find them. They’re usually alone, and from what we’ve gathered throughout the years, it’s … why there’s so much turnover.” You sighed. “To them, Tom’s just one of many. He hasn’t interacted publicly with either of the two in just about a year, so to be honest, she probably just recruited him and then he went somewhere else to learn from -”

“He was gone for three weeks last year.” Pope snapped his fingers and then pointed at Frankie. “Remember? Molly took Tessa somewhere on vacation, and then he said he was going to make the most of the time they were gone?” He laughed, swearing under his breath. “We thought that asshole went to a fucking cabin somewhere up north, but instead he went to werewolf bootcamp?” 

It shouldn’t have made you laugh but it did - and the sound seemed to ease the tension between all of you. Thank God. “It makes sense.” You swallowed hard and then took a deep breath. “And so does no one coming to his rescue if he’s in trouble. They’re known for drawing focus to themselves, but what Tom’s doing is … too much. They won’t want the attention and sending multiple wolves to -”

“He would not call anyone.” Yovanna laughed, the sound bitter. “He would never tell them he needs help or can’t handle a human woman.” She curled her lip and looked directly at you. “He has too much pride.” She nodded slowly. “This is a good plan.” 

There wasn’t much more to say, and so a few minutes later, you stood, taking a slow breath. “I’m going to go. I know it’s early, and we were supposed to get dinner but today’s been a lot.” You got a sympathetic smile from Yovanna, but it was Frankie that spoke up. 

“Which house you going to? Because if it’s the one you’re renting, I’m going with you.” You hated to admit how much you liked it when he got protective, but the look in Frankie’s eyes as he said his piece made your chest burn. 

“I…” Shaking your head to clear it, you sighed. “I need to get clothes, so mine.” You’d moved a few things into Frankie’s place, but the majority of your small amount of possessions were still in the rented apartment. “But I don’t need to stay there tonight.” 

“Well, then.” Pope stood, crossing his arms. “The four of us can get dinner later this week. Yova and I are hungry now, though. So… get the fuck out of here.” He was joking, and with some good-natured grumbling on Frankie’s part, the four of you began saying your goodbyes. 

He paused next to his truck when you got to your car, but after a few seconds, he closed his eyes. “I’ll follow you, alright?” You wanted to question his hesitation but chose not to, agreeing before you climbed in and started the ignition. 

The drive over wasn’t long enough to get lost in thought, but by the time you parked, you knew that you needed to say something. And when he parked behind you, the door of his truck slamming as you got out of your own car, you started. “Frankie, we need to -” 

“Not now.” He was on alert, his eyes bright and his fingers curled into loose fists by his size. “I need to focus.” It was the closest he’d ever been to actually being rude to you, but you let it slide when he beelined it for the front door, positioning himself between it and you. “Key?” You handed it to him, and when he used it to open the lock, Frankie stepped inside without turning back to look at you. 

You followed closely, eyeing the interior of the space, and trying to figure out if anything was amiss. The living room looked fine, but when your eyes made it to the kitchen, and then to the bedroom, you froze. “The door is open.” He was here. “Frankie, I closed the bedroom door before I left. I’m sure of it.” 

He moved in that direction without speaking, and when he pushed the door all the way open and disappeared into the bedroom, you stayed put, waiting. Did he think I was lying about going out of town? “If he was in here, he didn’t fuck with anything.” At the sound of Frankie’s voice, you moved again, taking the few steps necessary to reach the bedroom. “I don’t smell anything, nothing’s torn up. Your suitcase is still closed and -”

“He moved it.” You entered, walking over to where the luggage was and pointing. “The zipper pocket was facing out. I always leave it like that when I leave my stuff in hotels or rentals. It’s just me being paranoid usually, but … not this time.” 

“What the fuck was he looking for?” He took his hat off, scratching at the side of his head. “There’s no way he knows what you’re really doing in Florida, so what the fuck would he have found?”

“Maybe…” You sat on the edge of the bed, shivering at the thought that he’d done the same. “Maybe he was seeing if I’d written anything about you down? I don’t know what he thinks I would have found, but… I don’t know.” 

Frankie sat beside you, waiting a few seconds before reaching over to settle his hand on your knee. “I really don’t like the idea of you meeting him alone.” 

You’d wondered how long it would take for him to bring it up, but the fact that he’d pivoted from finding out that Tom had actually been in your apartment while you were gone back to your potential meeting with him spoke volumes about just how worried he was. I get it but it has to happen. 

“I don’t like it either. But we need to get him to that RV, and he’s already attacked me once, Frankie. If I give him a reason to come out and finish the -”

“Don’t even think that.” His fingers curled, Frankie hissing out the words. “I get it, but I can’t… I don’t want to hear it. The fucking thought of him…” He trailed off, and when you looked over, you saw that his head was lowered, his eyes on the floor. “I don’t think he’ll attack you when he’s human, either. I think he’s got too much to lose if he did it as Tom. But he’s so fucking unpredictable, I can’t know for sure.” He sighed, the sound heavy. “I wish I could go with you.” 

“I know you do.” You put your hand atop his, keeping your voice soft. “And there’s no way to know for sure. But it’s a risk we need to take, Frankie. Because even if you never know why he’s doing this, you still need to … stop it.” 

“What are you going to say to him?” He looked over at you then, meeting your eyes. The look in his almost broke your heart; he didn’t just look sad, he looked scared, the fear making them glisten. “And when are you going to ask to meet?”

“As close to the full moon as possible.” He sucked in a breath, his eyes widening. I know. “And before you tell me just how dangerous that is, I get it. But the less time I give him to figure out how to react, the better. He seems like he responds emotionally, and that’s what I’m counting on.” 

“You fit right in.” He smiled, though it was brief. “With us, I mean. You might only have half a plan, but you’re focusing on the important shit.” That made you laugh, and as you did, you leaned over and rested your head against his shoulder. “Get your clothes and let’s go back to my place.” He kissed the top of your head, sighing again. “And I don’t know why you pulled that bullshit at Pope’s - I know you’ve gotta be hungry, so we’re gonna drop your car off at home and then go get something. How’s that sound?”

You didn’t miss the way he’d casually called his house home after inviting you there. Oh, Frankie. It was deflecting from the seriousness of the situation you were in, and both of you knew it. But we’ve still got more than a week until the full moon … so for tonight, it’s fine. 

—  

The morning you were supposed to meet Tom, you woke up with a ball of apprehension in your chest. 

It persisted even as Frankie pulled you tighter against his body, arms wrapped around you and urging you to tuck your face against the side of his neck. “Cancel.” He whispered the word, mouth hovering just above your ear. “Don’t meet him today.” His hold on you tightened and you exhaled, concentrating on the steady beat of his heart. 

“I have to.” You pressed your lips against his bare skin, keeping your eyes closed. “This is our best shot at ending this.”

“I’d rather never end this than risk losing you.” He backed away, saying your name, and when you’d locked eyes with him in the early morning light, he spoke again. “I fucking mean it. Your life is worth more than -” Oh, Frankie. 

“To you it is.” What he was saying loosened the tightness in your chest, but it didn’t change the truth. “Frankie, the people that he’s killed in the last couple months also had people in their lives that felt the same.” You repositioned yourself so that you were comfortable on the pillows and could look over at him without lifting your head. “If … when this is over, you’re stopping him from hurting anyone else, not just me.” 

“I don’t care about anyone else. I care about you.” 

“That’s not true. You care about Carmen. You care about Becca. You care about Pope and Yova and Benny and W-”

“What are you going to tell him?” He sighed, running his hand slowly up and down your bare arm. “Have you figured it out yet?” 

“That I’m going to start looking into wolves. That I’m going to see if I can use my contacts from past projects to look into the paranormal and figure out if there’s anyone I can put you into contact with or anyone we can maybe get more information from.”

“But we’ve all been looking for years, and found nothing. Why would that scare him into stopping you?” He frowned. “It’s a start, but it’s not enough, and -”

“I’m going to tell him I found someone out west, maybe somewhere in Oregon or some shit, to talk to. That they seemed to know something, and that after this next moon, I’m going out there to investigate.” 

“Why Oregon?” 

“Because between me and Alec, we’ve got information about wolves out there, and if we were able to find it, then Tom and his connections probably know about them, too.” You paused, thinking. “I’m not sure they’re still there, but it wouldn’t surprise me, and I think, Frankie, that Tom will want to keep me from finding anything out. I think he’s been purposely misleading you this whole time to keep you in the dark, because how else would he have found something and no one else did? And if I tell him that I know something, even if it’s an unverified lead, I think it’ll scare him.” 

“Do you know how much I hate to admit that this is a decent plan?” He reached up, following the line of your brow with his fingertips. “You’re playing at his ego. You’re giving him a lead to chase that won’t go anywhere, but it’ll still make him want to stop you from finding that out. Why the fuck are you so willing to do this? You’re putting yourself in danger, and -”

“Because I love you. Because I understand how dangerous he and other wolves like him are. The Chaos line isn’t usually this ruthless, Frankie. They start shit and they hurt people but they’re not usually serial killers.” Saying it out loud made it real for you, and if the look in Frankie’s eyes was anything to go by, it made it real for him, too. “We have to stop him, and if that means doing something unpleasant to give you the chance, I… I’ll do it.” 

“You’re brave as shit, d’you know that?” He was still scared for you, you could tell by the way he held you, but he spoke like he’d resigned himself to your decision. It won’t always be like this. “What time are you meeting?” 

“Two.” You twisted one of his curls around your finger, biting your lip. “And we’re meeting close to Ironhead’s so if I need to make an escape… Will’s working today.” He nodded. “I’m going to be alright, Frankie. I’ll update you as soon as I’m done.” 

“He’s going to be a little unpredictable since the moon’s the day after tomorrow.” Frankie swallowed and then curled his lip. “I’m fuckin’ wound up, so I can’t imagine what he’s feeling.” You’d counted on that - Tom’s emotions getting the better of him and causing him to think and act irrationally. “And if you can, pay attention to your heartbeat. He’ll sense anxiety. He’ll … fuck. If he thinks -”

“Frankie.” You inched closer, hooking one leg over both of his. “Of course I’d be anxious. I’m about to go back into the woods with you after being attacked. And I’m also contemplating going alone to a different state to seek out other wolves. This is all supposed to be new to me, so if I wasn’t nervous?” You laughed, head moving across the pillow toward him.  “There would be a problem.” 

“Good point.” He mumbled the words before kissing you briefly. “I know that we’ve been talking about some pretty serious shit, but…” He rocked his hips forward, grunting. “You’re naked in my bed, and -”

“I could use the distraction.” And I know you can, too. You kissed him again, nodding. “You don’t have to ask me twice.” 

— 

You were early to your meeting with Tom, and you used the time to try and calm your breathing, like Frankie had suggested. It was easier said than done, but when you reminded yourself that it was literal lives on the line - including yours and Frankie’s - you were able to focus. 

When Tom’s truck pulled into the parking lot and drove by your car, you took a final deep breath, put your phone into your bag and reached for the handle. Here we fucking go. 

He was dressed casually, wearing dark jeans and a t-shirt, and you wondered if, like Frankie, the closer he got to a full moon, the warmer he ran. Probably. It’s gotta be a wolf thing. “Hey.” He jerked his chin at you, the lopsided smile on his face making you want to throw up. “Isn’t this the same Dunkin’ we met at the first time?”

“It is.” You got closer, walking with him to the door. “I thought since it was close to your office, it would be easy for you to meet here before you go back to work.” 

“I’m not working today, actually.” He opened the door and waited for you to step inside before he followed. “I’m meeting you and then going back home to pack. I’m driving to Orlando tonight.” 

You joined the short line and stood in silence as you ordered your coffees, making sure to pay for Tom’s as well as yours. He didn’t even offer. “Checking in early for your conference?” He nodded while you waited, his eyes moving over the few people seated around the restaurant. “Well I won’t keep you long.” I can’t. I can’t physically… 

“We should go sit outside.” He pointed using the hand holding his coffee. “Couple tables out there.” That suited you just fine, and when you were both sitting on opposite sides of the table, he spoke again. “You could have just emailed me.” He sipped his drink, watching you over the lid. “We could have set something up for when I get back.” 

“We could have.” You lifted your cup, agreeing. “But I wanted to do it now, just in case any leads come up over the weekend while you’re in Orlando.” Just fucking get to it. The sooner you do this the sooner you can leave. “I’m staying in Tampa, Tom. Frankie and I are …” You didn’t want to elaborate on your relationship, but you knew you had to. “Neither of us planned on it turning out this way, but I’m going to need a more long-term place to stay.” 

“No shit. You’re staying?” He laughed, his smile wide. It’s so goddamn fake. “Just like that? What will your family think?” 

“It’s pretty much just me. I’ve got some cousins, but I don’t see them much. None of them are going to care what I do.” Alec cares, but it’ll make him happy to know I’m finally doing something for myself. “And after … everything, I think me staying is best, don’t you?” You swiped your thumb over the plastic of your cup, wiping off a bed of water. “That’s a pretty big thing to walk away from.” 

“It is.” He drank again. “I’d be pretty upset if I was him and I’d told you everything and you just … left.” He tipped his head to the side, eyes narrow. “Be pretty shitty of you to abandon him after he trusted you with a secret like that.” Fuck you. “So you want me to look for an apartment for you? Where? What’s the budget?” 

You gave him some bullshit numbers, telling him you wanted to stay within fifteen or twenty minutes of Frankie’s place and to his credit, Tom actually took notes on his phone, nodding along as he typed. He repeated the information before he set his phone down on the tabletop, reaching for his cup. Time to change the subject. “Benny’s going with us to the RV.”   

“Yeah?” You nodded as he shrugged. “I’m surprised Pope doesn’t want to go.” 

“He did. But Yovanna’s got plans out of town or something.” You waved a hand in the air, sighing. “And since Will went last time and you’ll be in Orlando…” 

“I’m kinda shocked you’re going.” He narrowed his eyes, tilting his head. “After last time. You’re not afraid it’ll come back?” He’s fishing. He’s too fucking cocky. Unbelievable. 

“I’m going because I want to be there for Frankie, Tom.” You spun your straw around, the frown on your face deepening. “I need him to know I accept what he is. And no, I’m not afraid it’ll come back, because that hasn’t been the pattern. All of the other attacks that have been in the news have been at different locations, never the same one twice.”

“You really looked into this shit.” He dragged his fingers through his hair, still eyeing you. “Talking about patterns and attacks and -”

“I did. That’s what I do. And …” Ok, here goes nothing. “And I think I found something else, too.” His eyes flashed in the sunlight, but Tom stayed quiet, waiting. “I think I found more wolves.” 

“What?” He stiffened, narrowing his eyes, and you could almost feel the change in the air. “More wolves?”

“I didn’t want to tell Frankie until I was sure, because I didn’t want to get his hopes up, but yeah. I think… I’ve been emailing with someone for a little while, and I’m almost positive that they’ll be able to tell me more about wolves in general and about why one of them would be doing what the other wolf in Florida is doing.” 

“Did you tell them? About ‘Fish I mean?” He leaned in, nostrils flaring. “Because you said you wouldn’t.” 

“Not about Frankie specifically, no.” You leaned back to put distance between you - the motion reactionary, and not one you could stop. “I just strongly hinted that I’ve been in contact with a wolf, and that there’s a second one that’s causing chaos and bringing a lot of unnecessary attention, and the two -”

“You fucking idiot.” He hissed the words out, lip curled into a snarl. “All they’ll have to do is look up an increase in animal attacks and they’ll know where we are. You just put a target on his -”

“I did not.” You stood, pointing a finger at him. “I haven’t once mentioned him by name. I haven’t used my real name. And when I meet them in person, I’m still going to be careful, because I’m not stupid, Tom. But he deserves to know more about being a wolf. He deserves to have some help, and if it can give him an advantage when it comes to getting rid of the other piece of shit wolf that tried to kill me last month, I’ll do whatever it takes.” He scoffed, leaning all the way back and crossing  his arms, head moving back and forth slowly. “What? What’s that look for?” 

“You really think you can just come here and be his fucking savior?” Tom rolled his eyes. “Do you know how many women have tried that? How many times we’ve tried that? He probably wouldn’t even still be clean if he hadn’t gotten bitten, and -” How dare you. 

“You’re a shitty fucking friend to him.” You grabbed your cup, fingers tightening around the plastic. “In a lot of ways. But this is…” You leaned in, the anger blooming in your chest, and stared straight into his eyes. “This is something else.” Tom laughed again, tilting his head back briefly. But when he met your gaze, there was no mistaking the reddish tint to them, and it froze you in place. Get out of here. Get out of here now. “I thought you’d understand, because you’ve been trying to help him since South America. I thought you’d be happy that I might have found answers for him.” But first … “Unless you don’t want him to learn more about wolves, Tom. Is that it? Are you so fucking desperate to keep him in the dark about it and relying on your protection that you purposely keep information from him?” 

“Don’t say another goddamn word.” His eyes narrowed. “You need to stop right fucking now.” 

“Or what?” You set the cup down, the anger flowing through your body and making your heart pound. “Are you going to attack me again, Tom? I bet not, since it’s broad fucking daylight and you can’t hide behind the wolf this time.” 

You realized what you said as the words were coming out of your mouth. Shit. Shit shit shit. Straightening up, you took a step backward and toward the parking lot, never breaking eye contact. Oh, fuck. “Well that’s a surprise.” He smiled, but there was no warmth to it. “And you still came here today?” He leaned over the table, the smile widening. “I don’t know whether to be impressed or think you’re really fucking stupid.” 

“I’m not afraid of you.” You inched forward again, even though every muscle in your body was screaming at you to turn and run the other way. “I think you’re a coward.” Tom was silent for a few seconds and then he cleared his throat, his shoulders relaxing. 

“You should be. And so should he.” He gestured to the parking lot. “Go. I’m not going to stop you.” He rubbed his jaw with one hand, nodding. “Not today, at least.” You glared at him for a few more seconds before turning and walking back toward your car, fighting the urge to sprint. He said your name after you’d taken a couple steps, and you paused long enough to look back over your shoulder at him. “Tell ‘Fish I’ll see you both in a couple days, alright?” 

He laughed then, covering his face with both hands, and you took the opportunity to get back to your car, sitting down and locking the door before you put your seatbelt on. “Fuck!” You yelped the word out as you started the ignition, pulling out of the space and going back toward the road without giving Tom another look. “Fucking idiot. How could I be so stupid?” 

You held it together the entire length of the drive to Ironhead’s, parking and then walking across the lot on shaking legs. Will was behind the bar when you entered, the blonde talking to a brunette sitting on one of the stools - but when he saw you he immediately excused himself and headed in your direction. 

“Are you alright?” He put both hands on your shoulders, concern evident on his face. “You look -”

“I fucked up. Will, I really fucked up. I just met with Tom, and …” He swore quietly before putting an arm around you and guiding you down the hallway and toward the office. Once you were inside, he locked the door behind you before turning to face you again. There was no kindness in his eyes then, just cold, steely resolve. 

“What happened?” 

“Will, it slipped. He knows that I know. He -”

“I guess that means we won’t have a problem getting him out to the RV this week, hmm?” Benny appeared from the smaller room, leaning against the doorframe as he spoke. “Shit’s about to get real, isn’t it.” 

—

[czenzo]

Watch Out for Skull – Chapter 1

[ao3] chapter links: [ 1 ] [ 2 ]

summary: Lucy takes on a cat-sitting job for a stranger, hoping for a quiet week in a nice London flat, with free food, no bills, and enough time to finish an art commission. But the cat is a menace, and the stranger’s friend is ridiculously charming—and a huge distraction.

rating: T words: 1,669

note: heyy it's me again back with ANOTHER au with Skull as a cat, because it's so damn fun to write. a huge shoutout to my friend @vryfmi for being the sweetest guy ever—his responses to the WIP snippets I shared and his amazing drawings of cat!Skull are things I keep going back to every time writer's block rears its ugly head again, so thank you vry! <3

“How do you feel about cats?”

Lucy looked up. “Cats?”

“Cats,” Holly repeated. She reached out one manicured hand to roll the die and move her piece across the board (Lucy was losing miserably, but it came as no surprise. Holly was a beast at board games). “My friend’s going on a trip this weekend and is looking for someone to cat-sit for a week. He asked me first, but I’m terribly allergic.”

“Which friend?”

“Someone I know from school—George?”

Lucy shook her head. Holly had many connections from her school years (‘posh southern school’, as Lucy once called it, much to Holly’s chagrin) and Lucy was quite content with keeping her distance from them. “Never heard of him.”

“He’s an incredibly smart man. I think he’s going on some sort of research trip.”

As she mulled it over, Lucy rolled the die (a measly 1). “Will he pay?”

“Oh, yes. And he’s promised to stock his kitchen up with nice meals and baked goods.”

This caught her attention. “How long is he away for?”

“A week.”

“What’s the cat like?”

Holly cocked her head. “He’s… interesting.”

Lucy considered this. “And how’s George’s cooking?”

“To die for.”

“I’m sold.”

–––

Lucy checked her phone for the hundredth time.

She stood in front of the door to a flat, overcome with the feeling she was at the wrong place. There was no way an academic who ventures out on research trips would decorate his front door with a sign that said FUCK OFF, I’M WORKING, with a sticker beneath that said COME BACK WITH A WARRANT, right?

Someone loudly cleared their throat behind her. “You gonna knock, or what?”

Lucy whirled around to find a woman—or at least, she assumed it was a woman, but it was somewhat hard to tell beneath the obnoxiously bright puffer coat and wide-brimmed hat. She wasn’t dressed for the weather at all—or, perhaps, she was trying to dress for every single kind at once, if the wellington boots were anything to go by. One of them was tap tap tapping against the floor.

“Er—sorry,” Lucy said, heat flooding her face. “I wasn’t sure if I had the right address. Do you know if a guy named George lives here?”

From beneath the giant hat came a vaguely amused look. One wellington boot took a great big step over to the door, and out of a coat pocket came a fingerless-gloved hand which rapped against the door in a quick, much-too-loud tune. “Let’s find out.”

After a long moment of silent tension (in which Lucy considered whether the cat-sitting gig was worth suffering through the potential social humiliation of it being the wrong door), the door creaked open, revealing a bespectacled man with rather unkempt hair. He squinted at Lucy, but let out a smile upon spotting the puffer coat behind her.

“Flo,” he said in a simple greeting, before turning back to Lucy. “And you are…?”

“Lucy,” she said hurriedly, “Carlyle. I’m here for cat-sitting. We spoke over the phone?”

“Oh, yeah, of course. You’re Holly’s friend. I’m George, and”—an ear-splitting, impertinent meow came from behind him, making him wince—“and that’s Skull. Come in, both of you, but be careful. He’s not meant to go outside.”

“That’s understandable,” Lucy said as she squeezed through the gap he left with the ajar door. “The city can be quite dangerous for cats.”

“Oh, it’s not that I’m worried about. He’s just so fucking annoying, I’d get endless complaints from the neighbours.” George paused. "And, yeah. He'd probably get squashed by a car in the first five minutes.

“He’s a little shit,” the woman—presumably Flo—said as she entered after Lucy.

“Holly did say he was… interesting.”

“That’s one word for him,” George grimaced. “But it’s why I offer food and money for it. Can’t complain about an attention-seeking cat when your mouth’s full of a good curry.”

A small, dark mass circled George’s legs. Skull was a rather lithe cat, and remarkably swift, but what most caught Lucy’s attention was the peculiar markings on his face. Amidst the short, black fur was a cluster of white patches, making his face look like—

“Ah,” Lucy said. “I understand the name now.”

George scooped the black hole into his arms—his sleeves rucked up, revealing an array of undeniably claw-shaped scratches etched across his skin—and gave him a blank stare. Skull stared back, then looked at Lucy, and let out another long yowl.

Both George and Flo frowned.

“He’s usually dead quiet,” Flo said, reaching a hand into her hat to scratch.

Skull continued to stare at Lucy and let out a series of little chirps before wiggling out of George’s grip. Lucy rested her art case—a large, terribly inconvenient thing to carry on the tube, but it was the only thing that would carry all the supplies she needed to work on her current commission—against the wall to free her hands, which she held out to Skull to show him her scent. He gingerly sniffed them before letting out another strange noise.

“He’s usually completely silent,” George agreed. “I’ve never seen him like this before.”

“Does that mean he likes her or hates her?”

George mulled this over. “Maybe both. But before you have a chance to scamper, Lucy, let me show you the kitchen and the freezer stuffed with Tupperware.”

He wasn’t kidding; the freezer truly was jam-packed with servings of various home-cooked meals, ready to be reheated and scoffed. In the fridge was a Swiss roll, freshly baked this morning with the cream still setting, and on the counter was a cooling loaf of bread.

Flo scoffed. “Bloody hell, have you even had time to pack or have you lived in the kitchen for the past week?”

“I’m a master at time management, thank you very much. Use anything you want in this kitchen, Lucy. Also, feel free to use my room for your art stuff. I tidied best I could, but frankly I don’t really care if you get paint anywhere." He eyed her over the rim of his glasses. "As long as it doesn’t get on my comics.”

Lucy blinked in disbelief. A whole week in a nice flat, with a fully-stocked kitchen, no bills or rent, just for looking after one little cat? She couldn’t help feeling like she was swindling this poor man.

George talked her through Skull’s feeding times—a pouch of wet food in the morning, a bowl of biscuits in the evening, be sparing with treats or he’ll just start begging for them 24/7—and pointed out his favourite spots to cause mischief.

“If he gets on the bookshelf, try and get him down, or he’ll gnaw on my books. Also, try and keep him away from the kitchen in general, if you can. He once somehow turned on the hob and almost burnt the place down. And never leave food unattended for long, because he will gobble it all up in a second flat—shit, I need to put that loaf away, actually. Oh, and he can be very trigger-happy with his claws. Try not to startle him.”

Lucy nodded along, wondering if she should be making a note of all this, until George pointed to the small table in the kitchen. “It’s all written on there, in case you forget.”

“…On the table?”

“The cloth,” George clarified. “That reminds me…” He rummaged around in a cupboard and produced a pen, which he handed to Flo. She took it from him with glee and made a beeline to the table. “She likes to leave something on it every time she visits. It’s practically tradition, now. Don’t draw another dick, Flo, be more creative.”

“Fuck off. I’m drawing another dick.”

Lucy felt a weight against her shin and looked down to find Skull head-butting her. When he caught her eye, he let out another yowl.

“That really is weird,” George mused. “You’ve got my number, just in case. The numbers for the vet and their emergency line are on the fridge, too.”

Lucy sucked her teeth. “Hopefully I won’t need those.”

“Nah. You’ll be alright.” He pointed to Skull. “Don’t be a knob. I’ll only be gone for a week.”

Skull head-butted Lucy’s leg again.

Flo rucked up one puffy sleeve to reveal a watch. “We need to get a move-on. Train’s leaving soon.”

“Yeah, yeah. Give me a minute.”

“Oh, are you going with him?” Lucy said, glancing between the two of them. Holly had mentioned George had a research partner. She was certain they were shagging—though she’d phrased it in a politer, more Holly way (something along the lines of “more than platonic”, or “having intimate relations”, or a similarly silly roundabout way of saying it). It only just dawned on Lucy that this may be the shagging research partner in question.

“Yeah. He’d be lost without me.”

“I heard that!” George called from the bedroom. He emerged soon after, sporting a large bag on his back not dissimilar to the one currently weighing Flo down. Stood together, they were an interesting, but definitely odd pair.

Lucy narrowed her eyes. Yeah, she could see it.

She followed them as they waddled to the door, eyes bright and ready to make new contributions to the academic world.

Flo reached for the handle, but George held up a hand in warning. “Watch out for Skull.”

Right on cue, the creature sped for the door. He attempted to whizz through Lucy’s legs, but in one swift motion, she plucked him off the floor and into her arms. In response, he looked her dead in the eyes and screamed.

“Oh, that was smooth,” George said, with a hint of admiration. “Yeah, you’ll be just fine.”

She waved them off down the hallway as George reminded her to call if anything went wrong.

Then suddenly, she was alone.

Skull cried out again and butted her arm.

Well, not quite.

end note: don't worry, Lockwood fans—he may not be present now, but trust me when I say those lanky legs appear in literally every chapter after this one thanks for reading! comments/reblogs are always appreciated, and my ask box is always open! :)

[mysticmellowlove]

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPRvDLHse/

Saw this today and it has me thinking(more specifically slide 7 and 8)

Business woman x yandere

She has all these ideas for business and charity projects but since she has so many ideas she can find it alittle hard to come up with the driving force for all of them and that’s where yan steps in.

He’ll do anything to impress her so I just imagine his cute little brain coming up with these genius plans of action and showing them to her. I mean he has like 25 step plans and crazy layouts that are beautifully executed to a tea.

He just hope she likes his ideas and when he hands her a blueprint to let’s say some architectural design and she sees how good he did she looks at him and is just like: “Baby you are an absolute GENIUS!” And giving him all the kisses.

He is the muscle force to our desired reality we Stan a creative king 💪

note; honestly give me two people working in harmony! loving this idea of mutual support

warnings; soft hours, subtle yan, fem reader (req), gn reader,

Work has been stressing you out lately. It had all been long hours and hard work, some people would assume that being in the creative field was a piece of cake when in reality it was mentally and socially draining. You had withstood years and years of business deals, negotiations and vigorous planning. Finally, today it had paid off.

You had presented your city plan for the newest district, a mix of walkability and practicality all with green aesthetic surroundings. It had been your dream to change the dreary sight of your home city. You wanted to live here with pride and now... now you had managed to get there. Your childhood vision had been realised and now you were going to see it come true. This was a massive step not only for you but also for the environment. For people...

It was all placated smiles and polite nods until you reached your apartment, the one you would soon be donating because you were moving to the new district. As soon as the door swung shut you couldn't help but squeal in delight. With a rush of energy you launched yourself into your boyfriend's arms and hugged the life out of him.

In your peripheral you could see him grinning as he swung you around joyously. As of a couple years ago he had been by your side, the fuel to your fire. He took care of the technical side of things, planning out deliveries and harder design choices. He scoped streets and plotted roads, chose colours and researched plants. Your eyes slid shut as the first relaxed breath left your mouth and you sunk into him.

"You did it baby." He cooed as he carried you over to the couch. With your head still buried in his neck you shook your head.

"No, we did it." You squeezed your arms around him before letting yourself flop onto the couch. His smile was as bright as the sun as he looked down at you with that cheery look on his face that you loved so much. He was like a real-life golden retriever, always so eager to please and bouncy. He was a great influence actually. On those days where you just wanted to give up and hide away he would always be there to support you.

He hummed as he happily went into the kitchen, his whole body seeming to vibrate with energy. You knew he had been working hard as well, he tried to hide it but not much escaped you. He would work into the night, his computer in front of him as his eyes drooped and his bags darkened. In those moments you knew that he was looking to you for inspiration. When he thought you were sleeping he would whisper about how he would do anything to turn your dream into a reality, how much he wanted you to smile.

He would always kiss you before opening one more city draft, just one more before he would finally give in and sink into your arms. Sometimes you wondered if he knew you were awake in those moments but you also selfishly hoped that you were getting to see a secret side of him. One that you had all for yourself.

"Come on. Wine! We're celebrating." He yipped as he came out of the kitchen, a bottle and two glasses in his hands. You grinned, celebrating with him sounded perfect.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for telling my sister that I didn't find her instagram post funny and that I didn't want her to send me things like that again?

I (32f) have never had a good relationship with my sister (34f). We have gotten somewhat better over time, but we have always had a strained relationship. We are about as opposite as you can be. Social rights issues? No compromise. ACAB? Constant disagreements. Politics: best never mention them. TV Shows? No interest at all. Music? We cannot stand each other's music. We genuinely have nothing except our blood and the fact we were raised by the same people in common.

I am currently in the process of finishing my PhD and live on a different continent to her. We have been vaguely trying to talk and maintain a cordial friendship from afar.

For the past four months I had been preparing for a conference that I was organizing, leading, and moderating. It was a massive project that will be a huge part of my dissertation research, and it went very well. The day after the conference I had a long career planning discussion with some academic advisors, and spent about three hours talking in my second language with my own advisor. The combination of everything left me genuinely exhausted to the point that I woke up the day after it all still too tired to move.

After I woke up, I realized I had a text from her containing an instagram link - no comment, no notes, no context, just the link. I know I wasn't in a perfect headspace and still needed more sleep, but I clicked it because usually she just spam sends me instagram videos about random baby rearing things she finds funny. I don't find any of them amusing, but tolerate them because she seems to enjoy it. I usually just nod my head or offer a few responses to show I've seen it and move on.

But this video was different. This video was, as far as I can tell, an influencer attempt at selling an AI. It had a young woman walk into a classroom with the onscreen text describing how "my professor is the same age as us and she has her phd!" and when she was asked how she got it, the video shows how the "teacher" went onto Youtube, put Youtube videos into this AI which created an algorithm to summarize the video. It ends with the words "University is a joke in 2024".

I was....genuinely offended. After everything I had been through working on this conference and with years of thesis work, I was just hurt. I watched it a few times, trying to understand what it was even trying to say, and could come up with no good reason for why she would just send it to me. So I wrote back to her "idk how you even want me to respond."

She said she thought it was funny, and I asked her if she understood why I wouldn't find it funny. She wrote back "because you lack my sense of humor smh." I tried explaining why I was upset and reframed it in the context of her job. She doubled down that she thought it was funny, but that it was because she thought it was amusing anyone would think they could get any kind of degree like that.

I explained that AI is genuinely a problem in universities right now and that our students are using it to get through their classes and it's causing a lot of chaos with profs trying to crack down on it. Then I told her it felt like she sent me something just to annoy me.

The argument continued from there. I asked her not to send me stuff like that again, and she asked how she was supposed to know I would be triggered by an AI video, and that I was being oversensitive, and how it was my fault for always assuming that she is plotting to piss me off and that she can never show an interest in my life without me having a "feelings dumpfest" and calling her out for being a bully.

I don't understand how she could think sending a video to me saying "university is a joke in 2024" with no context at all would be taken as a joke in the first place. And I felt like if I didn't tell her I didn't like this kind of video and why it made me upset she would keep sending things like this to me I'd have to keep seeing and ignoring future posts.

AITA for telling her I didn't think it was funny and to stop?

Should I have just ignored it and gone back to sleep? (At this point that's what I felt like I should have done...)

What are these acronyms?

[peripaltepsy]

BEWARE OF "body mod advices" - they can be dangerous and LETHAL.

(this post was about a deactivated blog but extends to any possible future blog like it)

edit3 since he deactivated: Red told me in the DMs that he WILL be more careful about all this risk stuff, I believe he is going to do better. Im sure he's a good person and he also was extremely civil in the DMs. Since he's not here to defend himself anymore I'll gladly take his side and say that despite this mess, all Red wanted to do was indeed reduce harm and potentially save lives. Good luck on all your endeavors, Red, I wish you a beautiful and successful career and that you have a great positive impact in the atypical dysphoria community, both on and offline. I don't know how my post truly impacted you, I'm so sorry if you're feeling bad. You acted the best way you possibly could.

Second, if Red comes back, DO NOT HARASS HIM, let him be himself and don't let his past hold them down.

Third, all my points still stand for their deactivated blog and any potential body mod tips blogs in the future. Please everyone, take care, stay safe.

Past edit: DONT HARASS any possible blogs like hers, just REPORT and spread awareness, (also don't make the same mistakes as me: TALK TO THEM FIRST)

Past edit: minors please interact with this post, forget my bio for this one

Past edit: editing editing the post since I talked to Red and he isn't bait. I definitely should have talked to them in DMs first. I sincerely apologize. So sorry Red! To those reading, don't make the same mistake as me, ok? Always talk to people privately first, I genuinely fucked up bad. This mistake of assuming others intentions, can traumatize them. If I were in Red's shoes I'd be traumatized. So yeah, I fucked up bad.

Their intentions are genuine but my point still stands that its extremely dangerous and can't qualify as harm-reduction / end edit note

alright, I'm not transid/radqueer but you guys need to REPORT AND WARN OTHERS of these accounts as soon as they appear. Do not entertain them, no matter how desperate you are to transition. You can become a victim of dangerous charlatanism.

LONG POST AHEAD, VERY IMPORTANT NEVERTHELESS

Archive to what i'm about to post

Red claimed to be "a non-professional surgeon, planning on getting better with practice." Bad move!

Red has told me he's pursuing a medical degree and won't actually do non-qualified surgery.

.

Red: "The blog is centered around an idea of "extreme" body mods that I would like to explore further, [...] things like breaking and re-mending bones, creating new joints, replacing skin, etc."

My point: the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and your blog was unsafe.

.

To any possible counterarguments: "But they (people following/asking advice) know the risks!" That's victim-blaming. Red gave himself the responsibility to give harm-reducing advice, but he didn't do a good job.

"But I know the risks!" You can't possibly know the risks because Red doesn't know either or "kinda knows" but has not properly informed his audience, it didnt give sources, oversimplified their advice and failed to provide accurate information about risk. Or gave plain misinformation.

Again I'm not transid, I can't possibly imagine what you're going through in order to try anything at all to feel better, including trying experimental surgery not legally available or not researched at all. However, please please please do not become a victim of medical deceit or whatever tf it's called. Even if the blog owner tries their best to be reliable.

They might sound confident, but they do not know what they are saying, what they're telling others to do.

.

Ask: "How would I make my skin gray without tattoos?" (DO NOT SHAME THIS USER BTW)

Red: "[...] I assume you want permanent grey. To do this, it's pretty simple, although it'll take a lot of time. Basically, what you want to do is to constantly be exposed to lots of silver. Any product with silver in it like specific lotions and skin creams. also fish, milk, mushrooms, and whole grains tend to have silver in them! So tldr, consume lots of silver!"

STOP!!! DONT FOLLOW THIS ADVICE!!! DONT OVER-EXPOSE YOURSELF TO SILVER!!! "Silver toxicity causes argyria. Silver toxicity occurs when too much silver is in your body." <- from a simple research on "too much silver in blood"

THE RESULT WILL BE ARGYRIA. EVEN IF YOU DO IT SLOWLY, YOU ARE BUILDING UP A HEAVY METAL IN YOUR BODY. THE GREY SKIN IS NOT PRETTY NOR WITHOUT GRUESOME SIDE SYMPTOMS.

Yall. Anything in excess will fuck up your body, including iron, vitamins, and silver.

To whoever asked Red, I don't know your mind, but I'm sure you'd love to live a happy life with grey skin! You'd love to have a body you're comfortable with and looks rad as hell! But you wouldn't be able to enjoy it if you're deeply sick with ARGYRIA, WHICH IS WHAT RED'S ADVICE WILL GIVE YOU!

.

Ask: "How do I get darker skin without going too dark? I’m pale and burn easily, I just want a color similar to Lin Manuel Miranda" (AGAIN DONT HARASS THIS USER)

Red: [...] "expose yourself to the sun more! As you do this, you'll get tan which will protect you from future burns and make your skin slightly darker, do this enough and you can engineer your skin to be as dark as you want!"

THATS MISINFORMATION! Yes you may tan to get darker (Lin's tone may or may not be achievable to you) but one: it's not permanent unless you're constantly going out; two: SKIN CANCER!!!! DONT OVER-EXPOSE YOURSELF TO THE SUN!!!! USE SUNSCREEN!!

TO ANYONE SEEKING A MUCH DARKER TONE: YOU CAN'T "GO AS DARK AS YOU WANT TO" BY TANNING. Just look at people who have lived their whole lives outdoors like farmers! White people can't tan to black! There's a limit to how tan you may get! Are you seriously gonna risk skin cancer for an impossible thing???

.

Red: "Self amputation is really dangerous! You should learn how to use a tourniquet, that way, you can stop the bleeding! [...]" WHERE ARE YOU GETTING YOUR SOURCES, RED?

If anyone reading this is seriously thinking of amputating themselves, and will not change their minds no matter what, please just have someone immediately drive you to the hospital. I do not support such operation and you can still die or get horribly sick even with your best precautions, but you better receive actual medical attention and stay alive rather than trying to heal it yourself. Because what you'll most likely get from following Red's advice is DEATH FROM BLOOD LOSS. Again, if you absolutely cannot get rid of this dysphoria with therapy, or manage it at least, or have a doctor do it for you, I still would NEVER suggest you do it yourself, but IF you end up doing that then at least please go straight to the hospital instead of trying to heal it yourself.

.

Red: "do not try and break your own bones to make modifications! [...] Get another person (Like myself) to help you with the bone breakage instead."

NO ONE KNOWS WTF THEY'RE DOING. YOUR FRIEND DOESN'T. RED DOESN'T (as they advertised in the post). NO ONE IS GOING TO GET MODIFICATIONS LIKE THIS. NO ONE IS GOING TO BE HAPPY. EVERYONE IS GOING TO BE EITHER IN PAIN, RISK OF HORRIBLE INJURIES OR TROUBLE WITH THE LAW. FUCKING AROUND = GUARANTEED BOTCHED OPERATION.

Also, now that Red has clarified she won't perform surgery until having an actual degree, you can't really go to her XD

.

Red: "Some advice for surgery [...] This one's important, make sure your patient is strapped down and properly sedated, if they move, even slightly, you risk hitting a vital artery or organ, if you do hit an artery, don't panic, this is why you learned how to use a tourniquet! if you hit a vital organ though, odds are you won't know how to fix that, so be extra careful with abdomen and face surgery!"

Thats still promoting medical malpractice, mutilating and potentially killing friends, dangerously downplaying surgery so much, this is not harm-reduction

.

Ask: "I want to be blind in one eye, but more-so in the sense of extreme but not total vision loss. I want to do something permanent in the future!" (AGAIN DONT HARASS THIS USER)

Red: Well, a simple fix to your problem is just get some calcium hydroxide in your eye and wash it out a few minutes later, this should lead to permanent, extreme (but not total) vision loss in that eye. Keep it in too long and it can cause total vision loss so be careful!

Ok so, it's great that you're trying to come up with alternative ways for users not to kill themselves by gouging their eyes out, but you've still failed to give them the full picture

From a quick search "calcium hydroxide in the eyes": Exposure to the skin can produce burns, painful irritation and necrosis, and exposure to the eyes may cause severe pain and vision loss that can be temporary or permanent. If calcium hydroxide is exposed to the skin, contaminated clothing should be removed, excess amounts of the chemical should be wiped off and the affected skin should be flushed repeatedly with water. Victims of calcium hydroxide exposure to the eyes should flush their eyes with water continuously for the first 15 minutes, but all cases of external exposure should receive immediate medical care. Inhaling calcium hydroxide through the nose or mouth can also cause immediate, painful and potentially life-threatening complications. Throat and nasal passages may become painful and swollen, and the swelling may restrict airways, making breathing difficult or impossible. If the calcium hydroxide particles are carried all the way to the lungs, this may further complicate breathing. Victims of this type of exposure should be taken immediately to a fresh air environment, and emergency services should be contacted right away. Administration of oxygen and emergency respiratory assistance may be required.

.

Red (answering an ask): "the question shouldn't be what DO people replace their skin with, it should be what CAN they, after all, just because it's never been practiced or very rarely practiced doesn't mean it's bad or impossible! Of course, my personal favorite skin substitutes are rubber and red velvet, I am also a big fan of stainless steel."

(Don't promote such an operation). THIS OPERATION IS BAD AND IMPOSSIBLE TO SUCCEED. SKIN CAN ONLY BE REPLACED WITH SKIN. SKIN IS A LIVING ORGAN. ANY OTHER SUBSTITUTE WILL CAUSE YOU TO LOSE BODY PARTS OR DIE.

YOU KNOW HOW PEOPLE WITH TRANSPLANTS NEED LIFE-LONG MEDICAL ATTENTION SO THEIR BODY DOESN'T REJECT IT? HOW TF WILL YOU DO THIS WITH FUCKING RED VELVET?

YOU WILL FUCK UP YOUR BODY'S IMMUNE SYSTEM A THOUSAND DIFFERENT WAYS.

ANYWAYS. CROSSTAGGING FOR REACH. PLEASE EVERYONE REBLOG. THIS IS SERIOUS SHIT.

[infiniteeight8]

Has there been any ironstrange the aliens made them do it?

I took this as a prompt, so there is a ficlet under the cut below, but just in case, yes, there are several full length fics of this nature!

Researching Human Mating Rituals by hitokiridarkempress (Outsider POV, which is the alien and thus an unreliable narrator)

Only a Matter of Time by tisfan (My personal favorite of these)

Undisclosed Desires by mokiwrites **Note that the sex in this one is particularly rough. Mind the tags.

There are probably others, but those are the ones I was able to find most easily.

And now the ficlet, under the cut for obvious reasons and also for length.

-

Tony waits, naked and utterly stone faced, while Stephen speaks with their captors. As grateful as he is that magic is able to bridge the communication gap, inventing a universal translator has just moved up his priority list a few steps. He doesn’t care how many linguists tell him it’s impossible; surely a specialized AI can be constructed that can do the job. He does not appreciate being left out of this conversation. 

Finally, Stephen turns to Tony with a grimace. “They’re scientists studying alien mating rituals.”

“It was that or porn producers,” Tony says dryly. His and Stephen’s nakedness, the large bed, and the porn still playing on the monitors made that much clear. “They do realize that we’re both male, right?”

Stephen nods. “Yes, but they make a distinction between mating and breeding. Gender is no barrier in mating studies.” 

Well, there goes that easy out. “And it doesn’t matter to them that we don’t want to have sex?”

“Unfortunately, no.” Stephen sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “As far as I can determine, their culture quite literally doesn’t have the concept of consent. I spent almost that entire conversation trying to explain it to them, but I know nothing of their culture, which means I have no reference points to give them—and that’s assuming they have any relevant reference points.”

“Well, fuck. What are our options then?”

“We can continue attempting to explain consent,” Stephen says, “with the knowledge that even if we get through to them, they may then simply switch to attempting to obtain our consent. At which point we’d have to get into the concept of duress.” Tony grimaces. Not promising. “We can fight our way out. Or we can have sex.”

Tony raises his eyebrows. “Give them what they want?”

Stephen shrugs. “It’s an option.”

“What are the chances a fight doesn’t result in casualties?” Tony asks. The only weapon they have is Stephen’s magic, but Tony’s hopeful he can repurpose something of the aliens’ tech for himself.

“To us? High,” Stephen says. “To them? Practically nil, not least because we know nothing about their anatomy.”

Damn it. Tony isn’t fond of the idea of killing a bunch of aliens who don’t even understand what they’ve done wrong. “Do you have a preference?”

Stephen gives him a long look. “Of the options available, I’d prefer the sex,” he says finally.

“Yeah,” Tony sighs. Part of him is disappointed. If Stephen had wanted to fight, Tony could have talked himself into it. But he’s not surprised; Stephen has a deeply ingrained respect for life. “All right, fine. Tell them to turn off the porn, turn the lighting down by about 40%, and provide a safe lubricant. No in person observation. Also, if they tell anyone of any species what happened here, it will be a major incident between our people.”

The ensuing alien chatter goes on for much longer and contains much more back and forth than Tony expected. If those simple requests are a problem, Tony is going to revisit the fight option.

Finally the aliens leave. “What was all of that?” Tony asks when they’re gone.

“They’re scientists,” Stephen says. “They wanted to know why these were requirements.”

“Great.” 

It takes less than ten minutes for all Tony’s conditions to be met, which leaves him and Stephen standing naked next to a giant bed. The tube of lubricant sits on the bed. Despite the gentler lighting, it’s one of the least sexy moments of Tony’s life. He sighs. “So. How—”

He’s cut off by Stephen’s mouth on his, scarred hands cradling his face. The kiss doesn’t feel forced or businesslike. It’s hot, and wet, and it makes it miles easier for Tony to respond, to put his arms around Stephen and pull him close. The sudden press of miles of skin against his is a momentary shock: Tony had briefly forgotten they were naked. He gets with the program fast, though, running his hands over Stephen’s body and making silent note of the spots that make him shiver even as the kiss continues.

Eventually Tony pulls away. Stephen is flushed, eyes bright. Tony takes his hand, gently, and draws him up onto the bed. There are no covers, of course. They’d interfere with observation. But the bed itself is soft and comfortable. Tony rolls Stephen under him, catching his eye quickly to make sure that’s okay. Stephen smiles and pulls Tony into another kiss, and that’s good, that’s a relief. Usually he’s happy either way, but in these circumstances, he’d really rather top.

Diving into the kiss, Tony does his best to put the circumstances out of his mind. Stephen is making some lovely noises in the back of his throat, and he’s spread his legs to let Tony settle between them, and he’s hard now. 

Tony settles in for a slow grind, because he’s not about to let any bed partner of his leave disappointed. Perfunctory is not in his repertoire. Though really, he thinks he might enjoy it even more than Stephen, because the sorcerer is reduced to desperate squirming and impatient moans of, “Please, Tony,” in surprisingly short order. Tony makes him squirm a little more, just for the pleasure of seeing Stephen so totally undone, flushed and sweat sheened and wired with arousal. He’s gorgeous. 

“All right,” Tony surrenders eventually, and coats his fingers with the lube. It’s good stuff, and the first finger slides into Stephen easily, drawing a deep moan from him. “That’s it,” Tony says quietly. “Just relax and open up for me, beautiful. It’s going to be so good, I promise. I’m going to fill you up, and you’re going to squeeze me real nice, aren’t you?” Stephen whimpers, hips lifting into the thrust of Tony’s fingers. Tony works him open steadily, murmuring in his ear all the while.

“I’m ready, Tony,” Stephen gasps eventually. 

The temptation to tease him is huge, but Tony wants him wrapped around his cock even more, so he obliges, lining himself up and slowly sinking his slick cock into Stephen’s hole. Somehow, he feels even hotter around Tony’s cock than around his fingers. “Fuck, you feel incredible,” Tony says.

Stephen laughs breathlessly. “Isn’t that my line?”

Tony grins. “Both is good.” 

And God, it is good. By the time he’s buried to the root he’s breathless from the clutch of Stephen’s body and has to take a moment to catch his breath. Stephen’s holding onto him, now, hands hardly trembling at all with the tightness of his grip and that’ll probably hurt later, but he doesn’t seem to care now, eyes wide and dark with pleasure.

It only gets better when Tony starts moving, ecstasy pulsing up his spine, hips snapping forward in a rhythm that comes from somewhere deep inside. He plunges his cock into Stephen again and again, and he might have tried to draw it out except for how hungry Stephen seems for it, urging him on and on, faster and harder. 

Tony finds his gaze fixed on Stephen’s, absolutely captivated by the need there, the urgency. The moment when Stephen throws his head back and breaks, crying out as his orgasm tears through him, etches itself into Tony’s memory. He’s incredibly, absolutely glorious. Stephen goes slack in the aftermath, body open and receptive, but he doesn’t stop Tony’s desperate thrusts. Instead he welcomes them, and when Tony comes he buries his face in the curve of Stephen’s throat as he shudders through his climax.

They have a few minutes together, but the moment Tony’s cock softens enough to sleep free of Stephen, the aliens are back in the room. Tony lifts his head and gives Stephen a wry look. “Not big believers in afterglow, I guess,” he says dryly.

Stephen laughs. “I guess not. Come on, let’s get out of here.” He slides out from under Tony, the translation spell already blooming, but first… first he gives Tony a quick kiss.