#I’m on my second to last week and my final projects are very long and dumb and unnecessary

[crybaby-bkg]

YES I know I said I’m taking a little hiatus from writing on here to focus on finishing my original works, but I’m close to 3k and I kinda wanna do an event!!!!! Im not sure of what though so suggestions are welcomed!!!!!

[honeykaes]

a renter's deal

pairing: renter!kaveh x afab!reader II 2.2k

warning: smut, 18+ content, minors do not interact, afab!reader with no set pronouns, cunnilingus, fingering, reader had a previous crush on kaveh, unambiguous if kaveh knew, reader is a landlord, unedited

synopsis: your old college-friend (and crush) Kaveh hadn’t paid rent yet. Just as you draft an email to inform him of the consequences, you hear a knock at the door wish a kaveh desperate to pay you back in other ways.

Cicadas loud chirping echoing from outside as your a/c continuously blast to avoid the hot temperatures of the summer from creeping into your apartment complex. It was the end of the month as the next loomed over in a couple of days. As the landlord, this was one of your busiest times. From working on paperwork moving people out of apartments to finalizing paperwork and credit scores to move people into the apartment, you had your work cut out for you—especially when it came to residents paying their dues for their apartments.

A fan blew past you, causing your body  to shiver as you shake your head trying to focus again on the laptop in front of you. An excel sheet on the screen greeted you back, tracking everyone’s payments. Apartment 125, Tighnari, paid in full. So did apartment 243, Aether and Lumine,  before they moved out.

As you scrolled down, you noticed only a few people had not paid you for rent yet despite today being the last day of the month—including your old college friend, Kaveh.

You and Kaveh were once friends in college before losing contact after graduating. He was always very popular and friendly, a heart of gold that always managed to get hurt by one situation or another. He was now a pretty-well known architect trying to start his own firm. 

You helped him through his breakups, his tests—his ups and downs, as he did the same for you. You wanted to reconnect when you first worked with him, moving in to his complex but things weren’t the same. The two of you aren’t the same 18, 19 year olds staying up late and going to a midnight movie showing before an exam like you used to—you both were in your late twenties, different responsibilities and interests pulling you.

And that scared you, so you gave him space.

Since the economy had slowed and businesses and organizations were interesting in building more projects anymore, Kaveh suffered immensely, scrapping anything he could to try to pay rent at the last minute to you. You felt bad but you didn’t want to pry either. 

You let out a sigh, clicking on your emails as you began to draft. Since he was late on payment, a meeting needed to be scheduled and fees processed to strategize a plan. You didn’t want to evict the poor man; or anyone for that matter.

Just as you finished drafting the email, you turned your head hearing a knock at the door. Placing your laptop on your coffee table and rising from the couch, you expected a resident to inform you about something breaking or not working. Your lips parted in shock to see Kaveh at the door. 

Kaveh seemed completely disheveled, long blond ombre hair, a mess unlike its usually tidy self. His clothes were wrinkled and unfastened as if he had just woken up and immediately ran here. He leans along the wall near your door, chest heaving loudly as he struggles to catch his breath.

“Kaveh?! Are you alright?!” you stammered out. Kaveh puts a finger out to signal to give him a second before he finally catches his breath.

“N-No. I’m so sorry I’m late on rent,” he groaned. “I am working with this school to create a playground but they won’t be able to pay me until next week. I’m a bit short with rent with my current funds.”

Your lips curled downwards before lifting your head to to nurse the headache threatening to form from the stress of the situation.

“This isn’t the first time you’ve been late, Kaveh. I can’t grant you a grace period. I really need that money in full,” you murmured. Kaveh turned to face you, scarlet eyes misty in desperation. Your heart withered seeing him in this state, but you feared bugging would put you on a tight spot with your boss.

“Please (Y/n)! You got to understand, I really tried this time. I can give you what I have and give you the remaining next week! Then I’ll be good to go for next month,” Kaveh yelled out. 

“Kaveh, let’s continue this inside, okay? I’ll get you a glass of water or some tea to calm your nerves,” you beckoned, as your own anxiety began to creep in your stomach, you open your door beckoning Kaveh to come inside without a potential audience watching the two of you.

As he nervously entered, stifly sitting himself at the couch as you leave to enter your adjacent kitchen.

“I am only short 500 out of the 1500 dollars for rent and utilities. I can surely give that to you next week,” Kaveh called out as you prepare some glasses of water for you two. You sigh once more, leaning yourself against the fridge trying to figure out what to say without hurting your old friend’s feelings anymore.

“Kaveh, technically it wouldn’t be 500 but 1000. 100 for the late fee and 400 because this is the second time, along with the 500. I don’t make these policies, my bosses do,” you replied solemnly, guilt beginning to eat at you.

“Then what can I do to prevent the late fees from occurring!” he asked.

In college, whenever he was in a bad situation, to make him feel better you always started off with a ridiculous joke to catch him off guard before giving some sound advice with a smile. Oftentimes, he’d be smiling back, hopeful and taking your feedback and lighthearted jokes for the better.

Grabbing the glasses of water, you walked back into the living room placing the waters on the coffee table and closing your laptop.

“I don’t know, fuck me or something,” you idly murmured out before chuckling. Just as you were about to give him actual advice, Kaveh fell to his knees in front of you, wrapping his arms around your legs. You gasped, flustered,  body shifting in embarrassment feeling his close contact.

“Kaveh! What are you doing! It was a joke! Y’know like I used to do in college!” you stammered out. Kaveh lifted his head up, eyebrows slightly furrowed in determination.

“Well, I’m not! I wouldn’t mind it at all. If this makes those pesky late fees go away, I’d be more than happy to do this and more!” Kaveh replied. You tried forming words from your quivering lips but your mind seemed to be malfunctioning, feeling his lips beginning to trail along your thighs, placing soft kisses along the skin.

“...Please (Y/n). For old times sake?” he whispered. 

Your heart tugged remembering the big crush you had on him before and the drunken kisses you shared with him as you attending parties together leaving you longing for more—the memories were flooding you like a tidal wave.

“...Okay, Kaveh…”

With a small smile gracing his sun-kissed face, Kaveh hands trailed up as his fingers hook on their shorts and the waistband of your underwear and gilded them down. He leaned his face in, puffs of his hot breath causing your body to shiver from the sensation as your clit began throbbing in anticipation.

His face tilts closer, darting his tongue out as he trailed a long swipe between your folds. The muscles curled up to brush against your clit, jolts of pleasure rooting through you from the sudden touch. He swirled along the bud of nerves, hands squeezing at your thighs. Your hands reached over to his hair, playing with the soft curls and losing yourself to pleasure.

He flicked his tongue along the nub, feeling your hips beginning to rock along his face. A low groan emitted from you as you ground yourself against him, his lips circling around your clit before beginning to suck. He continued to switch from sucking to rapidly flicking and circling his tongue on your clit while his hand crept up to squeeze your ass so he could keep up with your movements.

As he continued, one hand eventually left the globe letting two of his fingers sink into your dribbling cunt, coated with your arousal and his saliva. He pumped them deliberately slowly, your legs shaking from his delicate touch, wanting more.

“Kaveh,” you whimpered out, hearing him slurp continuously as your slick graced his mouth. He nuzzled his face deeper into your cunt, as his fingers pumped inside your pulsating walls, curling and massaging themselves to get you closer to your high.

Shutting your eyes, your hands traveled to your chest and squeezed it tightly as your voice began to rise, feeling Kaveh’s tongue press harder against the button. You throw your head back, as your high finally reached you. Kaveh struggled to keep up with your movements as he continued to thrust his fingers inside of you, nursing your high before it fell down. 

With slight jitters, Kaveh finally leaned away, lower mouth completely coated in your slick. His tongue was parted out, strings of your arousal still connecting the muscle with your cunt. Your tired eyes stared down in embarrassment, cheeks warm in shame as Kaveh wipes his mouth in content.

You could see the bulge poking out from his pants.

“W-Well! You’ve done your part! So—”

You're interrupted by Kaveh rising from his knees on the floor and connecting his lips with your own in a passionate kiss. You can’t help but moan, feeling his tongue, stained in your juices, roam inside your own mouth as he pulled you closer. He momentarily broke the kiss, both of you trying to catch your breaths, lips hovering by your own.

“I want to ensure that you don’t go back on your word though. So please, let me ensure your pleasure…” Kaveh breathlessly begged, claiming your lips once more. His hands wandered to your waist as pinned you against the wall—paintings knocking roughly from the sudden movement. 

Breaking the kiss once more, he zipped his pants down, revealing his throbbing erection. His cock was flushed, shivering as he took a hold of it as precum budded at its tip, dripping down to the rest of his length. He pumped it a few times with a shaky moan erupting from his lips before using another hand to slightly light your leg up near his small waist.

Your lips trembled as the tip of his cock spread past your folds trying to find your entrance, gathering up the abundant slick drooling from you. As Kaveh lined himself up, he placed his lips by your ear and with a low groan, sank himself inside of you. 

He grunted loudly when he finally bottomed out, cock nestled deep inside of you. He pecked at your neck before snapping his hips back, thrusting himself inside of you. The paintings hit the wall rowdily to the pace of his thrusts. 

“I hope you’re enjoying my end of the d-deal…” Kaveh grunted out, pressing his lips against your ear so you could hear all of his little noises. You moaned in response as Kaveh reached over to press tight circles along your overstimulated clit. 

“Y-You made me so sensitive,” you admitted, as you chirped, feeling Kaveh shifting his angle pistoning inside of you so he was not hitting that spot he desperately wanted to find.

“T-That’s the point. I want to make you cum so hard. I know you can…you're so close aren’t you, eshgham,” he whispered, nibbling on your neck. Kaveh could feel your walls beginning to cave in and spasm, signaling your end was close. 

“K-Kav—” Kaveh captured your lips as you reached your second climax, your body shivering pinned against him. Hips sloppily faltered as he furrowed his eyebrows to try to control his own temptations and guide you down your high once more.

As glossy lips part from your own, Kaveh slipped his cock out, pumping it rapidly before a desperate groan emitted from his lips before biting down to try to be quieter. Ropes of cum shot from his tip, smearing themselves on your thighs. 

He watched as his cum glided down the curves of your wobbling leg. He let your other leg down before supported your weight on your body with a small smile.

“Easy there…you’re probably very overstimulated. Let’s get you all cleaned up in your bathroom. Where is that,” he asked. You tiredly pointed into the direction of your bedroom as he guided you toward it. As he opened the door, he gently set you down on the rim of the porcelain bathtub before reaching to grab a rag on your towel rack.

“I’m sorry for going a little overboard. I just wanted to ensure I had done my part. Keeping my end of the deal is important to me,” he murmured, wetting the towel up with some soap before wiping it down to clean your legs. As he wiped over your cunt, you whined at the burn of overstimulation getting to you.

“...So, please, please please don’t go back on your word, (Y/n),” he begged, with large  pleading eyes. You sighed once more, but to his surprise it was a lot lighter in tone than earlier.

“...You don’t have to pay rent at all for this month, okay? I’ll cover it…just focus on getting the money for the next month,” you whispered. Kaveh lit up as a grin curled on his face. He leaned in placing a tender kiss on your forehead as your cheeks fought against a blush.

“...I missed you Kaveh…” you admitted. Kaveh brushed part of your hair away.

“I missed you too.”

[honest-moth-of-silver-grove]

The Red Tieflings Bachelors (Rolan and Zevlor) Reacting to You (Tav) Thanking Them

Featuring: Rolan/Tav; Zevlor/Tav

A/N: Just a little something that popped into my mind while working to clear the writer's block. I was feeling very low the last week or two, so I apologize for my inactivity here. And then I was on vacation with my family. Thankfully, I’m feeling better now. (Currently working on Yandere! Alucard Part 4 and the next ask. Yan! Part 4 will probably take a while because it's long-form (not hc), so expect the ask after that to be posted first.) 

Rolan

🔮 It was just another bustling day in Sorcerous Sundries when you decided to stop by,  a newfound magical item in hand. To no one’s surprise, it appeared your favorite tiefling wizard was too busy sorting through the inventory of Ramazith's Tower to man his shop, seeing it was his programmed illusion who greeted you with a relatively uncharacteristic amiable tone.  

“Welcome to the Sorcerous Sundries. Is there something in particular you’re looking for today?” 

Knowing Rolan, in reality, his body was pacing around Razamith’s Tower, nearly tearing his hair out, as he obsessively mumbled, sorting through the piles and piles of books and scrolls Lorroakan had gathered in his time. The compelling image in your mind was such a stark contrast to the one before you, that you bit your lip to prevent your signature mischievous smile from dawning across your face. 

“I believe Rolan left something upstairs for me.” 

The illusion looked at you, eyes narrowed, presumably scanning its programming for an appropriate response. Yet, just as Rolan’s Projection opened his mouth to speak (in all probability to deny you entry) your conversation was interrupted by a boisterous halfling patron, hoisting an item that he declared comprised of defective magic. 

Never one to waste a distraction, you took the opportunity to make your way up the stairs of Sorcerous Sundries to its second floor and into the correct portal leading to Razamith Towers. 

Upon entering the portal, you were met with the familiar sound of Lia and Cal bickering with none other than the new proprietor of Sorcerous Sundries himself. 

“If you simply spoke to them instead of pining inside this tower all day and night…” Lia went straight to the point as usual. 

“I am not pining!” You could hear Rolan answer, in his usual defensive tone. 

“I think what Lia means to say is, it would be easier for all involved if you were to simply ask them-” Always the mediator, Cal must have jumped in. It did not surprise you, seeing as how he was rather skilled when it came to talking his siblings down. 

“Ask who what?” You interrupted, the concrete visage of Razamith’s Towers finally greeting you. Despite having known the tiefling family for months now, you were always amused by their antics. “Does Rolan have his heart set on an apprenticeship with yet another asinine wizarding master?” You had a feeling Cal and Lia were referring to something else entirely, but you’d prefer to speak to Rolan alone about that. 

Rolan rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed by both your sudden presence and your insistence on teasing him. “I no longer require a master, nor a teacher. Lorroakan gathered enough magical books and knowledge within these walls for me to teach myself all I could ever wish to know.” Behind him, his pointed tail lashed sideways, always ending with an upward flick of the point. To a fellow tiefling, his irritation would have been quite obvious. Then again, you were not a fellow tiefling. 

You nodded, ignoring Rolan’s wilful tone. You had become accustomed to his many displays of false irritation and indignation. More often than not, your headstrong ally was more bark than bite. “That may be,” you continued. “But in case it isn’t, I’ve brought you one more tome for your collection.”

Rolan’s entire posture, tail included, stiffened upon hearing your words. The tiefling wizard was in disbelief. A gift? For him? But, why?

Lia smirked, before elbowing Cal, whose own knowing expression soon followed suit, spreading across his face. Nodding to each other, two brother-sister duo walked off, leaving you and Rolan alone, standing in a near deafening silence. 

“It’s a tome on the origins of The Weave, or, at least I think it is. That’s what Gale told me anyway.” 

Rolan's previously erect shoulders slumped at the mention of your former traveling companion’s name. “Ah yes, Gale, The Great Wizard of Waterdeep. How is he faring these days?” 

“Better,” you answered honestly. “It seems not living with a ticking time bomb just inside your chest does a man some good.” 

Rolan brushed off your attempt at lightening the mood, pushing past you to a stack of unsorted books piled on an end table to your left. “I assume the two of you have kept in touch then?” 

“Rolan!” You mock gasped. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were jealous.” 

“Pfft, you’ve clearly let the title of Hero go to your head. Why would I be jealous of a mere professor at Blackstaff Academy when I possess an entire library of magical writings, a shop full of magical items, and several arcane cannons to defend all of the former?” 

“He’s a very respected professor, and there’s something to be said for enjoying the simpler things in life.” 

Rolan scoffed once again. “He had the power to be a God and turned it down. After enduring all your group did, taking on the shadow curse, fighting the goblins, destroying the Absolute, a job instructing ungrateful, know-it-all brats hardly seems like a reward.” 

Now it was your turn to roll your eyes. “Well, it’s what Gale wanted. But I do have to wonder,” you slowly stalked towards the red tiefling, “If a very coveted and respected position of authority isn’t something you'd consider a reward, what exactly qualifies as recompense to the mighty Wizard of Razamith’s Tower?” 

Slowly, you trailed a finger up along Rolan’s robed arm, delighting in the little gasp that slipped from his lips. 

He both hated and loved how you could make him feel like this. How just one word, one look from you could leave him a needy, wanton mess, how he longed for you to step even closer, for his body to press up entirely against yours. In the back of his mind, he imagined what it would feel like for your strong weathered hands to run down his red infernal skin, but that time, with no gloves or thick robes in the way. 

Rolan was certain you knew the degree of power you held over him. He was sure you delighted in pushing and prodding at his buttons, drawing out each one of your visits with flirtation and playful verbal sparring.

“What… about…a…?” you enunciated each word with another swipe of your finger across his robe’s velvety material, your face moving ever so slowly closer to his. 

Finding his composure, Rolan shrugged off your advances with a shaky sigh. “Spit it out already. I don’t have all day.” Defiantly, he turned to face you, calling your bluff. His lips were mere inches from yours: red, plump, and just begging to be kissed. 

Never one to back down from a challenge, you continued to press forward, pressing your lips to his. 

With a breathy sigh, Rolan’s tension melted away as he melded his mouth back onto yours. 

Reaching up with one hand, you cupped the back of his head, ever so gently pulling him even closer to you. 

Rolan moaned into the kiss and moved to grab your waist, but before his hands could secure you in his grasp, you stepped away just as smoothly and silently as you had stepped forward. 

Embarrassed and flustered, Rolan flashed you his pointy teeth in a frustrated groan. “Why must you tease me so? Have you not grown tired, frequently coming here just to pester me?” 

You beamed, proud to see your previous suspicions confirmed. “No,” you stated, matter-of-factly. “It’s too much fun! Besides,” you held the book out for him to take. “You didn’t seem all that excited about my earlier thanks, and that simply wouldn’t do.” 

Rolan rolled his eyes, accepting the tome with a huff, his tail back to swishing violently behind him. “Was that what that was? And here I thought you were trying to come up with new ways to annoy me.” 

“Annoy you?!” You mock gasped. “Surely my kiss was not that bad.” 

“For a ‘thank you’, that kiss was highly inappropriate, it! Well…” he trailed off, his cheeks somehow blushing an even warmer shade of red. 

You tilted your head, encouraging the tiefling to go on. 

Rolan avoided your gaze, pretending to find interest in the book you had just gifted him. His voice was quiet, but also self-assured. “It was entirely too short of a kiss to count as a ‘thank you’. You might as well just have given me a peck on the cheek.” 

Rolan continued flipping pages of the tome, doing his best to act uninterested in your kiss and your presence, even though the both of you knew all too well it was a lie. 

“Don’t worry,” you started to take your leave, giving Rolan a playful pat on the shoulder. You paused for a moment, leaning into his ear to whisper, “I’ll make sure the next time I pester you goes more in your favor.”    

Watching your form retreat into the portal, Rolan brought a finger to lips, just ghosting along the surface you had latched onto not seconds before. 

Emerging from their eavesdropping positions, Cal and Lia could not help but give Rolan a pair of mischievous smiles. 

Watching as the whirls of the portal spun around you, you overheard one last bit of conversation just before your body was transported back to the upper floor of Sorcerous Sundries.

“Not one word,” Rolan warned, his stern body language failing to conceal the pleased sound within his voice. 

“Told you to just ask them out.” 

“Lia!” 

Zevlor

⚔️ It had been some time since you defeated The Absolute. Of course, despite the changing season, much of Baldur’s Gate was in need of repair and renovation. While Halsin had taken many refugees to his new settlement in Reithwin, a part of the former Shadow-Cursed Lands, many chose to remain in the city and restart their lives there. Being a frequent flyer of the city yourself, you found it easy to visit those who chose to stay behind. One such individual, a former Hellrider called Zevlor, was someone you found yourself visiting more than the others. 

You shifted the rather large rectangle basket within your grasp, moving it so it rested within the crook of your left arm as you freed your right hand, before raising it to knock upon the unmarked door before you. Faintly, you could make out whispered gossip floating up from the stairs behind you, but you paid the hushed voices no mind. Sure, to outsiders it may have seemed odd that the savior of Badlur’s Gate was so keen on visiting the same acquaintance, one who resided in such simple dwellings, but to you the luxury afforded as a hero and adventurer paled in comparison to a good conversation between friends. 

‘Friends’. The word echoed in your head, like a schoolmarm repeating the dishonest words of a misbehaved child. 

In truth, you found yourself more drawn to the older paladin than perhaps you’d like to admit. You found your admiration and respect for the former Hellrider only grew with each passing visit, and now, there was hardly a day the tiefling did not fondly cross your mind. 

Then again, those silly girlish feelings would no doubt ruin the peaceful nature of your current relationship with Zevlor, so you pushed them aside in favor of maintaining a friendship while pining rather than speaking your truth and risking having no relationship at all. 

Hearing a shuffle of objects on the other side of the door, you smiled and released a breath you didn't know you were holding. It was just like any other day, there was no reason to get nervous now. 

“Ah, Tav,” Zevlor opened the door with a soft smile, “Right on time, as usual.” Always the gentleman, Zevlor stepped back, holding the door open for you. 

“My parents always said punctuality is a virtue,” you smiled, remembering their words fondly. “As much as I try to embody their lessons, this life doesn’t present many opportunities to do so, so I like to fit them in where I can.” 

Zevlor hummed, closing the door behind you. “They must be proud of you. Not every parent can claim their daughter is one of the great heroes of Baldur’s Gate.” 

Walking over to the settee just beyond the door, you took your usual spot seated on the right-hand side of the rather cramped sitting area. Despite being inside Zevlor’s home many times, you still found yourself amazed at how the tiefling managed to move around without knocking his tail into everything. 

The furnished room Zevlor currently resided in was a single-room loft, settled above a rather quaint little cafe spot in the lower part of the city. It wasn’t much, and it had very little privacy, especially for visitors, but that was little concern of yours. And despite Zevlor’s constant apologies for the small space, you felt more at home seated inside his little apartment than you did your camp at times. 

In the corner opposite the door, a cast-iron stove and a washing basin with a faucet were secluded just beyond a shutter-style room divider. You knew from previous visits that was where Zevlor always warmed the kettle for your meeting tea. Next to the settee you were seated on was a single dresser, about waist high. Upon it sat the few various plates and utensils Zevlor used daily as well as the collection of mismatched tea cups and teapots. And despite never seeing the inside of them, you assumed the drawers of the dresser housed his clothing and armor. Although, you must admit you were rather curious as to how he got his chainmail and breastplate to fit. 

Directly across from the settee, on the opposite wall was a twin-sized bed, undoubtedly too small for the tiefling paladin, even if he was never one to complain. Zevlor always kept it neatly made, the sheets all tucked in evenly, almost as if no one had slept in it the night prior. You supposed he had no choice, if he wished to entertain guests, as there was no way for their eyes to avoid it. Then again, a part of you had a feeling that order and precision were just key elements of who Zevlor was. Despite no longer being a Hellrider, and having long broken his oath as a paladin, several of his attributes like discipline and respect went far beyond any former occupation or title. 

Setting your surprise gift onto the wooden coffee/dining table before you, you answered Zevlor’s observation with a much more melancholy smile. “I’d like to think that, if they were still here, that yes, they’d be proud.” 

Taken aback by your revelation, Zevlor’s face fell before he recanted. “Tav, forgive me. I did not know your parents had passed. But I do still believe that regardless of where their souls may be now, they are looking upon you with pride.” 

Careful not to accidentally knock you with his tail, Zevlor retrieved the teapot, ready with tea already steeping, and two of the mismatched cups, before he returned to be seated next to you. 

Due to the tight nature of the room’s layout, and the small stature of the settee, every visit between the two of you resulted in your knees touching. In the beginning, Zevlor was overly apologetic, insisting he could instead sit on the bed, and allow you to have the sofa all to yourself, but you insisted the proximity was more than fine. You knew many people still saw tieflings as devils, monsters, or hellspawns, but you were not among them. The tieflings were just like any other race you had encountered on your journey: they were simply doing their best to survive. 

If anything, the hardships Zevlor and the tiefling refugees endured before arriving in Emerald Grove only made you respect them more. You were no stranger to hardship. You knew how difficult it was to have to get back up after you’ve been beaten; particularly how hard it was to accomplish the sixth or seventh time around, but it was something Zevlor managed to do with dignity when leading his people. 

You knew he did not see it similarly, his mind having been temporarily corrupted by The Absolute, but you would have fared no better if it was not for The Emperor’s intrusion. Truth be told, few minds ever could have resisted such a powerful psychic force. And even though several of Zevlor’s former tiefling friends and allies held him in contempt to this day, you could not bring yourself to agree with them. 

After the tea had been poured and sipped, your comfortable silence gave way to conversation. 

“How long will you be in the city this time? Any adventures planned for the future?” Zevlor asked. 

“I do have some news,” you admitted, placing your teacup down. “I’ve been thinking of this for a while now, but I needed some time to come to terms with it.” 

Zevlor motioned for you to go on. 

“Well, it’s been nearly seven months since our victory against The Absolute, against Gortash, Orin, and Ketheric Thorm. The former Shadow-Cursed Lands have blossomed into a new hope for so many people. I’ve thought about hanging up my adventurer’s hat. At least for now.” 

“I see. And what will you do with all your spare time? Travel? The Sword Coast has much to see, or so I’m told.” 

You shook your head. “I’ve been thinking of settling down.” You fiddled with your fingers, hands resting in your lap. “Maybe starting a family.” 

“Oh,” came Zevlor’s deflated response. “I see.”  

You placed a reassuring hand on Zevlor’s shoulder. “Don’t get me wrong, I love helping people. And I want to continue to do it. But I think I can do it differently, in a way where I can have both, ya know?” 

Zevlor nodded, clearing his throat. “Yes, certainly. It makes sense. You’re young, you want to live life to the fullest but you also don’t want to live it alone. I understand perfectly.” 

Seeing Zevlor’s downtrodden posture, you brought your hand down from his shoulder and placed it on top of his. “The reason I wanted to tell you was because, well, I was wondering if perhaps you’d like to come with me?” 

Zevlor’s eyes snapped up. “I’m- I’m sorry?” 

“I found a house, a cottage in east of Reithwin. It’s nothing fancy, and it’s most certainly in need of some major repairs but there are two rooms. It’d be away from the chaos of the city, in a town itself that is starting anew. I thought, there’d be a chance, you’d prefer those circumstances as opposed to living here.” 

Zevlor swallowed harshly. “I’m not certain what to say. You’ve already been such a help to me and my people. You’ve forgiven me even after… I do not know if such an old tiefling like myself is worthy of such kindness.” 

“Oh Zevlor,” you sighed, pulling the older man in for a reassuring hug. “You deserve this kindness and more. You’ve survived so much, and you’re the reason so many others have survived. You stood up and fought The Absolute’s Army when it descended upon the city. You could have hidden. You knew what kind of power it had, you knew all too well the way it could destroy your mind. But you chose to do the right thing. You’re incredibly brave, and I wish you could hear me say that and believe it.” 

Letting Zevlor go, you could see the faintest bit of water welling up within his eyes. But to further spare the former Hellrider any embarrassment, you thought it best if you took this time to go. 

Standing up, you carefully slid over the rectangle box towards Zevlor before making your way toward the door. 

“What’s this?” Zevlor asked, taking a good look at the box. 

“Oh, I saw them at the market the other day, and I wanted you to have them.” 

“Tav, please,” Zevlor started, his hands held up in protest. “You’ve already given me so much. I couldn’t possibly-” 

You cut him off before he could start his whole self-deprecating spiel up again. “It’s nothing big, just a token. I wanted you to have your own set. That way, even if you don’t wish to come along with me, we’ll be able to use and enjoy them when I come and visit you here.” 

You opened the door, letting yourself out. But before you descended the stairs, you turned to face Zevlor one more time. “I’ll be at the Elfsong Tavern for a few more days, I have some things to get in order, some other people to see. I want you to know we’ll still be… friends if you don’t change your mind. Although,” you spoke, a relaxed smile upon your face. “I truly hope you will.” 

You reached for the doorknob, pulling it closed behind you. 

Zevlor waited, listening to your footsteps as your boots descended the stairs. When he was sure you were not going to return, his clawed fingers moved to carefully remove the top of the box, being mindful not to scratch the contents inside. Once the lid was off, the softest of gasps escaped his red lips. 

Nestled in the box was a matching tea set: one teapot, three teacups, three saucers, one sugar bowl, and one cream pitcher. The rims of everything were painted to look gold, and the main design itself was a collection of watercolor flowers, each very dainty yet boldly elegant. 

Gently, one of Zevlor’s hands grazed over his knee on the part where yours rested against his just moments ago. 

“Friends,” Zevlor spoke aloud. The word repeated inside the Hellriders mind. But unlike the commanding voice of The Absolute, it was soft and sweet and entirely in your tone. And in its echo a second word emerged, although similar in sound and nature, the weight of it felt differently settled upon his heart. 

‘Family,’ Zevlor thought looking down at the tea set you gifted him. ‘Yes, I do think I would like that.’ 

A/N 2.0: Can you tell how much of a soft spot I have for Zevlor? Related Fun fact I took a BG3 personality quiz once, and it said that I’m him due to my longtime suffering and constant masochist desire to keep doing the right thing even though life punishes me for it…

(个_个)

As always, please Like and most importantly, REBLOG!

Also if you enjoyed it, consider Tipping Me Via Kofi! <3 

[supernovafics]

𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐃 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐓

"i'll be there for you" universe masterlist

pairing: bestfriend!roommate!steve harrington x fem!reader

word count: 1.8k words

warnings: explicit language, a lil bit of angst w/ a wholesome ending<3

summary: in which you and steve take a late-night trip to your favorite diner

general note: everything in this universe/series can be read as standalone oneshots but to understand the full “lore” it would prob be best to read the other stuff too<333

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Fall 1985

It was four long hours of your life that you’d never get back. But, you were glad that all of the work that you had to force yourself to do all night was finally over. 

It was somehow always in moments like these— where you procrastinated until the last possible second to do something that had been assigned weeks ago— that you sincerely wanted to drop out of college; and you’d barely even been there three months. But you also knew that you definitely could not do that because of your parents. 

So, instead of even pondering that thought too much, you pushed through and forced yourself to start and finish a project for your Psychology class that involved a shit ton of writing and research. It was a project that now made your head pound heavily in your skull from focusing on that one tedious thing for hours upon hours. 

With a loud sigh, you closed the books you had open and then stood up from your desk. A part of you wanted to immediately flop onto your bed and fall asleep, but then there was the other part that wanted to do something else entirely. And then suddenly the thought of the diner that was only ten minutes away and had amazing milkshakes became the only thing on your mind.

You switched out of the wrinkly old t-shirt you had on and put on a different oversized one that was less wrinkled, and then slipped on a pair of sweatpants. Steve was sleeping right then, you were pretty certain of it, but you still wanted to give him the opportunity to partake in this impulsive late-night decision you were making. So, when you exited your room, you headed toward his and walked in. 

You refrained from turning on the light because you didn’t want to startle him awake, and instead simply sat down on the edge of his bed and lightly poked his back before whispering, “Hey.”

He only shifted a little bit and didn’t turn to face you. “Hm?”

“I just finished my stupid fucking midterm project for Psych and I’m going to the diner because I’m in dire need of a strawberry milkshake. You wanna come?” 

“It’s one in the morning,” He mumbled, still barely moving and you weren’t entirely sure how he was actually able to be so accurate with what time it was. 

You took his response as his way of saying no without actually saying it. And honestly, you weren’t too surprised by that answer because it was then that you remembered that his shift at Family Video earlier had been longer, and apparently more annoying, than usual. So, you decided not to try and further convince him to come to the diner with you. 

“Okay, I’ll be back in an hour,” You said as you got up from his bed. “I’ll bring you back onion rings and your own milkshake. You can have it for breakfast when you wake up.”

“I’ll come,” Steve said before you left the room. He finally shifted around and sat up so that he was facing you. “The onion rings will suck in the morning.”

“Very true,” You nodded and then smiled as he got up and found a random hoodie to put on. “I’m sorry for waking you up, but I’m glad you’re joining me on this little adventure.”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

You drove Steve’s car, because you liked driving it more than your own, and he slept the entire ten-minute ride to the diner formally known as “Third Street.” The name had always been somewhat amusing to you because the small place was actually on a street called Cliffview. 

It was empty aside from one man sitting at the counter with a coffee mug in his hand and a woman occupying a booth, reading a book with a soda and a plate of fries in front of her. You briefly wondered what their stories were, what brought them to a diner at nearly one-thirty in the morning. 

You and Steve took your usual seats at the booth that you always sat at, and even though Robin and Eddie weren’t there at that moment, you two still decided to sit on the same side of the booth; it felt like second nature to do so. There was probably never a moment where you and Steve didn’t sit on the same side of any booth.

Since there was barely anyone in the diner right then, your orders were quickly taken by your waitress Cheryl, and they came out much faster too— a strawberry milkshake for you, a vanilla one for Steve, and a plate of onion rings for you two to share. 

You took a long sip of your drink and internally sighed in contentment because somehow that milkshake made all the work you’d done and the fact that you were keeping yourself awake to come here even though you were exhausted completely worth it. 

The two of you ate and drank your milkshakes in comfortable silence for a little while before Steve scooched down a bit in the seat and leaned his head on your shoulder.

“I actually am really sorry for waking you up,” You told him. “I forgot how long your shift was today, and I know you’re so fucking tired right now.” 

“The onion rings and milkshake make it okay,” He mumbled, and you couldn’t see him, but you had the strongest feeling that his eyes were closed. “Tell me about your project.”

You reached for your drink, taking a sip from it before responding. “Hearing about that will definitely put you to sleep.”

Steve hummed. “Maybe I wanna hear a bedtime story.”

You laughed a bit. “Okay, well in that case, definitely not because I don’t wanna get dirty looks from the other people in here when you start loudly snoring.”

“I don’t snore.”

“Mhm, yeah, of course, you don’t,” You said, the sarcasm completely evident in your tone, and he poked your side which made you laugh again.

You placed your hands in the pocket of the hoodie he was wearing because they were cold from you holding your glass. “Okay, this has nothing to do with that dumb project… But, um, how mad do you think my parents would be if I dropped out of school?”

Steve’s answer came immediately. “They would blame me somehow and kill me.”

“That would quite literally never happen,” You said with a shake of your head. “My parents love you too much to be mad at you for longer than even an hour.”

“Okay, yeah, maybe that’s true. So, instead, they’d actually kill you, and then that would suck more for me than you because I’d have to live without you.”

“I think I’ll take that as a compliment,” You said with a small laugh before grabbing an onion ring.

“But, anyway, you’re not quitting school, so this hypothetical situation doesn’t matter,” Steve told you and then lifted his head off of your shoulder so that he could take a quick sip of his milkshake. “You were barely able to convince them that you didn’t want to go to the University of Chicago. I think they’re still somewhat in mourning over that.” 

Probably from the moment you became old enough to even think about college, your parents were pushing the idea of the University of Chicago onto you. Both of them had gone so it felt like the obvious choice for you to “follow in their footsteps;” well, the obvious choice mainly in their eyes. And for a while, you were okay with going in that direction because it felt like an easy option, and you were way too fucking smart not to get in, and when January rolled around you found out that you did. 

But then the thought of leaving Indiana, leaving your friends, leaving Steve, became something that no longer felt “okay” to you. And then there was the fact that you were still completely unsure what you even wanted to do, so it felt dumb to you to go to a school that was really good and really expensive without a solid “plan” for your future.

However, your parents were way too persistent and strong-willed to let you give it up that easily. So the compromise that was ultimately settled upon was that you’d do the two years of community college here at the one close by and then you’d transfer to the University of Chicago and finish your last two years there.

At first, the thought of that felt fine to you, but now it felt like something that you weren’t sure if you actually wanted to do anymore, even though it was still basically two years away. 

“Sometimes it just feels like a waste of time,” You said with a small sigh. “I still haven’t found that thing yet. My thing. What I wanna do.”

“You’ll find it.”

“Maybe it would be a good thing if I did quit, though. I could work at Family Video with you and Robin. Wouldn’t that be fun?”

“Yeah, it would be,” Steve nodded. “But, you don’t really wanna do that.”

You started picking at the now half-eaten plate of onion rings that sat between you two. “Technically, that’s true. But, that’s only because I don’t know what I wanna do at all.” 

“I think you just gotta give it some time. You’re way too smart not to be in college right now. One day you’ll walk into some class and it will all just suddenly click into place for you,” He told you, and he sounded so certain and sure. 

Somehow his encouraging words always managed to placate your thoughts; the type of existential thoughts that would usually only happen in the middle of the night. And you were glad that you had Steve to pull you back up before you spiraled harder. 

You let his words sit for a second before you slipped out of the booth and went over to the counter, smiling at Cheryl as you paid the bill. When you went back, settling in your spot next to Steve, he slung an arm around your shoulders. 

“If you did actually quit school, I’d fully take the blame and let your parents kill me,” He told you.  

You knew that you weren’t going to do it; you’d never be able to muster up the courage to pull the trigger. Therefore, you would instead just continue to live in this awkward phase that felt weird at times and hope that it would eventually work itself out. 

However, it was still nice to hear Steve’s words right then. 

“Thank you,” You responded, smiling at him and then mimicking his words from earlier. “But if you did that, then I would be the one suffering more because I’d have to live without you.”

He nodded thoughtfully at that. “Okay, new plan then. We just let them murder both of us.”

You laughed a bit as you pushed yourself even closer to him, putting your hands into his hoodie pocket once again. “Deal.”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

let me know ur thoughts<333

(requests are open for stuff you wanna see in the universe/series!🫶🏾)

[wildemaven]

first anniversary | dieter x poppy

A Sweet Creature

Ava Greene sits down with actor and friend, Dieter Bravo. Hollywood’s new leading man gets candid about life in front of and behind the camera. He talks about his latest movie, his commitment to his sobriety and his newest role— husband?!

Ava Greene: You're approaching three years sober now, how are you feeling?

Dieter Bravo: Probably the best I’ve felt in a long time. Sobriety is a day to day progression that I take very seriously, and I try to not lose sight of that even when I’m having bad days. Though, I’m grateful bad days have been few and far between at this point in my sobriety. I can attribute that to the support system I have built for myself through friends, family, my sponsor that I still work with and most importantly my wife who keeps me grounded daily. They all continue to keep me in check and remind me how awesome my life is, especially right now. Staying clean is a full time commitment, and it’s really a beautiful thing.

AG: You followed in your famous parents footsteps by going into acting and your career and struggles with sobriety have been well documented but your parents have rarely commented publicly, are they supportive of your work and your journey?

DB: For me, I don’t need them to make a show of it by commenting or sharing their thoughts publicly to know they support me. There was a point in time where they did all they could do for me, but ultimately it had to be my choice to make the decision to get clean. Thankfully, we’ve been rebuilding our relationship over the last few years. And being in the public eye for most of our lives, the last thing we want is for outsiders thinking they have a say in our lives. In short, yes I have very supportive parents in all aspects of my life and I’m so happy for that.

AG: This is your second project since rehab, are you viewing this as a comeback or a fresh start?

DB: Comeback? I didn’t know I left… Kidding! Sure, some might say it’s a comeback. A fresh start. Whatever analogy best fits the narrative is fine by me— and I don’t mean that negatively in any sense. I mean, you’ve known me long enough to know I just try not to focus on any of that stuff, messes with my fucking brain waves. I just see it as me doing what I love with a new perspective and a different approach to choosing what projects I’m going to give my time to than I have in the past.

AG: What can you tell us about this project and the character you're playing?

DB: I had the best f*ckin’ time while shooting this film— sorry, but the emphasis was needed. I was really drawn to the vibrancy that this script evoked, even with the serious nature of the storyline and characters. I couldn’t stop thinking or talking about for weeks afterwards. I’d sit with my wife at breakfast and we’d discuss the script and my character for what felt like hours. I knew after I heard her feedback that I needed to be apart of this film— she might have said I’d be stupid to say no to it, in her own loving way.

The film is really about the process of rediscovering yourself. Navigating the challenges that come along with being at your lowest point and leaning on the ones who have been there for you. It’s about finding love in its purest form when you never thought you were deserving of it.

I found bits of myself in this character as we were filming, it was very much a cathartic experience for me. I guess you could say it was art imitating life in a weird way.

AG: There's already been some buzz about this year's award season, do you think this is finally your year?

DB: Ooooh! Is it too presumptuous for me to say yes?! I’ve started dusting the spot where I plan for it to go. I sound like some sort of pompous idiot! Now no one is going to go see it!*

I take it back!

In all seriousness, ‘cause I’m sure Poppy and my agent will be rolling their eyes when they read this. If all I get is a couple nominations, that alone feels like winning. A shiny statue would be nice though— just saying.

AG: You've talked often about your love of art and you recently purchased a gallery. Are you planning to publicly pursue other creative endeavors?

DB: I won’t be joining American Idol anytime soon if that’s what you’re asking. Oh, you weren’t referring to my ability to hold a note during our many karaoke nights— noted!

How did you put it? Other creative endeavors? I’ve got a few art pieces in the works right now that I’m itching to dive back into when I get home. I’ve got a major gallery in LA lined up later in the year for an artist spotlight exhibit, they’ll be housing some of my work through the next year. Shoutout to my wife for getting that all lined up while I was away shooting this film.

AG: What's next for Dieter Bravo? Any other projects lined up you can tell us about?

DB: I’m looking forward to some downtime I have coming up. Poppy has the summer off, so we’ll get to finally live that newlywed life. Settle into the role of doting husband while she does her thing at the gallery.

AG: Off the record, if you got married and didn't tell anyone I will kick yours and Poppy’s ass!

DB: We’re celebrating our one year this month actually. We eloped quietly last year right after we got engaged— wanted to keep it to ourselves for a little while. Which reminds me, you and Bryony should hop on a call with Poppy after this. Seeing as I let the cat out of the bag and this is our announcement— surprise!

Huge shoutout out to @gnpwdrnwhiskey for allowing me to borrow her Ava from Conversations with a Movie Star for this. Ava was so gracious and even wrote the questions herself. I’m so grateful for Lellen and all her support and advice she had given me throughout the writing process of Sweet Creature!

Sweet Creature Celebration

[getfuckedblr]

this is the one. the most popular fic in the harry potter fandom. the fic that got me into fanfiction. the fic that i sobbed to for months after reading it.

i tried to bind this three separate times over the last two years and bro the first two sucked ASS. it was legit the very first fic i tried to typeset which is like, not the greatest thing to start off with LMAO. it looked funky, i hadn’t fixed any of the spacing, my footers didn’t match the text font or size. it was very much a baby binding.

the second one was my first time using a cricut and there is a very steep learning curve w the cricut, especially in creating designs that aren’t too complex or too plain. i tried to copy one of the popular printable book jackets and omg i spent weeks modifying my designs and printing and reprinting on my cricut and it looked like trash when i was done.

so finally, we have come to this.

i got really into quartos during the winter and was like omg the editing process for this would be so much more manageable if i broke it down into years! so then i did lol. it allowed me to customize each chapter into sections so i could add the chapter title to the footers, and break down graphics into separate years so i didn’t have 100 pages in one canva file. it was just a lot easier to feel accomplished having broken it down bc this fic is a MONSTER.

every chapter heading is the same - just the swirl. i gilded all the chapter titles using toner reactive foil and my laminator (she broke in the middle of this project. i ended up having to buy another laminator, and about 3 packs of foil from icraft. this is my most expensive fic binding to date🫠). i included the songs ms.kingbean put at the top of every chapter, and the bootleg tapes and christmas special.

i am seriously so proud of how this turned out, and can’t believe it’s actually done. sorry this is super long, but this really was a labor of love. they’re not perfect, i’m still really bad at measuring and cutting straight lines, but i’m satisfied. really satisfied.

[wuxian-vs-wangji]

When All the Work is Finished (Part 1: PayuRain)

Summary: What's the best way to unwind after weeks of hard work? Rain and Sky skip the monthly races to finish some homework, but when Prapai and Payu go back to their respective homes, they find something very unexpected.

Part 2 (PrapaiSky)

For my fanfic library, visit @rhysand-vs-fenrys-vs-writing.

To read on Archive of Our Own, click here.

Part 1 (PayuRain)

“Rain, do you need help?”

“I’m fi- hey!” Rain was red-faced and exhausted as he staggered into Payu’s house one evening, weighed down by several packages.

Saifah ignored what the little man was going to say, taking several boxes off the top of Rain’s pile, enough that the boy could finally see what was ahead of him.

Rain groaned as he stumbled to a table and deposited the two boxes he was left, his arms trembling with exhaustion. He stretched his arms in front of him, felt something pop loudly in his shoulder, and smiled.

Saifah set his own boxes down and leaned on the pile, watching Rain with a bemused look. “You have a car. How far did you carry all of this?”

“I did it for the exercise.” Rain dodged the question. It was true that he had left his car at Payu’s when he went out to pick up the packages. But the problem was-

“What did you do to the car?”

“I didn’t do anything!” Rain insisted, then caved to Saifah’s raised eyebrow, “The engine light came on yesterday.”

The race had come at the worst possible time this month. Payu was spending most days- and weekends- at the office, and before that Rain had been consumed by exams and projects. He hadn’t seen Payu conscious in three weeks. Combine that with all the last minute checks Payu ran on bikes the night before a race, and a guilty Rain couldn’t possibly add to Payu’s load. When he finally slipped into bed at three in the morning, he’d been pale.

After so long apart, it was normal that they would play with each other’s bodies at least a little, but Payu only pulled Rain tight to his chest and was asleep within seconds.

Of course, Rain wasn’t the only one who knew the kind of pressure Payu had been under. Saifah only sighed, “Good call then. I’ll take a look tomorrow. Do you need a ride to the race?”

Rain was a fixture at the event, where he liked to wander with Sky or watch Payu run about and work.

But this time, Rain shook his head, “Sky is coming over to help me with an extra credit project.”

“I’ll leave the gate unlocked then. We had to do a surprise break replacement earlier and it threw the schedule off. I’m only here to grab a change of clothes.” Saifah straightened up and checked the clock. The sun was still setting, glittering just above the guest house roof. There was still a lot to do before the race that night. 

Normally, Saifah would chat with Rain a bit, maybe tease his brother’s little boyfriend until his face turned bright red. But tonight was already off to a stressful start, so he just waved a farewell to Rain and left him in the foyer. 

Rain pulled out his phone and pretended to be busy until he heard the gate clang and peeked out to make sure Saifah’s car was gone. Then, Rain walked over to the gate and quickly locked it.

Unless he reappeared suddenly- which wasn’t unusual for Saifah- Rain might have finally managed to trick one of the brothers with a lie. For his part, Sky would also tell Prapai that he was going to Payu’s later to work on the extra credit project.

The two friends had finished and handed in their projects days ago, but…

When Rain asked Sky to help him in this lie a week ago, Sky had thought about it for a long time as his ears turned pink and a blush came across his cheeks. And he’d gone with Rain to- well… Sky had his own order to pick up, and his own incentive to lie and ditch the race.

Prapai was out of town on business until recently. Sky needed a night with Prapai as much as Rain did with Payu.

Doubt nagged at the back of Rain’s mind as he returned to the house to ferry the packages upstairs. It was going to take time to get everything ready, that was why he needed a time when Payu was going to be away, but…

I didn’t know there would be a problem with one of the bikes.

Rain was still pretty hopeless when it came to cars, but he’d studied while Payu worked in the past, and he remembered when Prapai brought his beloved red Ducati in for a brake change months ago. It took a few hours- maybe not much time in all, but the day of a race was when Payu usually allowed himself a rare nap to prepare himself for the long night.

He slept deeply and soundly in Rain’s arms until long after the sun rose, but if today proved to be stressful as well…

This will make him happy.

He’ll hate this.

It’ll help refresh him.

He’ll be too exhausted.

Rain brought the boxes upstairs one by one. His footsteps were heavy, his mood was getting darker and darker. By the time he was done, he was no closer to deciding what to do than he’d been when Saifah first mentioned the brakes.

It was then that his phone chimed with Payu’s special ringtone.

[Your boyfriend is working so hard, don’t you have any pity for me?]

Rain smiled as he read Payu’s message. 

If he was in the mood to be pouty, then things couldn’t be too bad, right? 

Rain opened his camera roll and selected a photo from back when he and Sky genuinely were working on their extra credit projects- one showing the majority of the model assembled, only a few hours of work left to do. Rain saved the photo in case he needed to sell his lie- in this one, his bare leg was stretched out into the frame. Innocuous when he sent it to Sky, but for Payu…

His phone pinged again, this time with an audio message. Rain smiled and turned up the volume.

[“If you bait me like this, I won’t take responsibility for what happens later.”] A low growl from Payu.

Rain always knew Payu liked to play with his legs when they had sex, kissing and biting while Rain moaned beneath him. But it was only recently that he realized just how much Payu liked them. A naked leg sticking out from beneath the blankets could make Payu’s eyes darken with want.

Rain slipped into the downstairs bathroom, out of sight of the walls of windows, and quickly removed his pants to take another photograph of his unmarked thigh and send it to Payu as a provocation.

Alright… Play it is.

---

---

Darkness filled the house- but not the kind of darkness that would alarm anyone. It was a gentle darkness, broken by the occasional table lamp. The inhabitants were asleep, the light meant to guide a weary soul up to bed.

Rain spent hours preparing it all. The darkness he waited in was whole and unbroken, even if the room was brightly lit. 

P’Payu will hate this.

P’Payu will love it.

He’s just going to pat me on the head, say he’s sorry, and I’ll have made him feel like crap. He’s already tired, he’ll feel like he disappointed me too.

He’s… he’s going to be… happy?

He won’t even come home. Remember how P’Saifah promised to fix my car? It’s because he knows P’Payu is too busy.

The sound of a car door closing made Rain jump. It was faint, but he’d been listening so carefully. His mind whirled- he’d just convinced himself Payu wasn’t coming home, so who could be here? Saifah? Saifah wouldn’t dare come into Payu’s room at nearly four in the morning when the door was closed… right?

Maybe Rain was mistaken. Maybe it wasn’t a car door, or it was a neighbor who-

The opening and closing of the door downstairs was not something Rain could mistake. His ears strained for even the slightest sound, and it wasn’t long before he heard weary footsteps. They were a bit slow, a bit too forceful, but Rain knew the sound of Payu’s feet on the stairs. Knew it as clearly as his voice.

His heart pounded so loudly that for a moment, Rain imagined he couldn’t even hear the steps anymore.

He listened in silence with baited breath as the footsteps became muffled on the rug outside the door.

The sound of the knob turning.

The kiss of cool air across Rain’s skin.

Payu’s surprise was marked by a soft but sharp inhale. Time froze for Rain as he balled his fists, trying to hide the trembling.

When Payu found his breath again, he remained frozen in place, unable to accept what his eyes were showing him.

Rain bit his lip, imagining the expression on his face.

Payu- who loved to do the most lewd things to Rain, and yet always controlled what happened. The charismatic and Dominant Payu… had the wind knocked out of him by his little boyfriend’s wanton display.

The first box Rain opened contained a hinged silver hoop, almost large enough to fit around both of Rain’s thumbs simultaneously. It was the object he was most nervous about- one that wrapped almost painfully tight around where his penis and testicles connected. If the salesperson was to be believed, it would make it almost impossible for him to release, no matter how badly he wanted to. At the same time, it would make him harder and more sensitive than even he usually was.

It wasn’t the tightness that scared Rain, it was the thought of going insane, trapped on the edge of cumming until Payu flipped the little latch on the side and let him free. Depending on Payu’s mood, that could take… hours.

Second came two tiny silver clamps that were tightened onto the pink buds of his chest and connected by chains of varying lengths- depending on what Payu would like Rain to do. For this display, Rain had used the smallest chain, which had three small loops in the middle for a series of weights that were set in a small box beside Rain’s form.

The third package contained something Rain knew Payu would love- a harness for his face that could either hold a ball gag or- what was dangling around Rain’s neck now- a rounded silicone mouthguard. Payu would be free to push the guard up so that Rain’s teeth rested on a special channel and his mouth was locked open for Payu to use as much as he wanted.

If the third package was something Payu would especially love, the fourth was something special for Rain- a vibrating plug that was sitting deep in his entrance- the control sitting beside the weights for his nipple clamps.

Only three pieces remained after Rain inserted the plug (and, to be honest, played with it a little.. Just to be extra sure it worked): the first was the tight black blindfold that Rain now wore. It was sculpted to his eyes, slightly raised at the center, and allowed not even a sliver of light through. He honestly didn’t know if his eyes were open or closed even now, which is why he could only imagine Payu’s face.

The next (and heaviest) parcel contained a firm message to Payu in case everything else was too subtle-- Rain wanted no say in what Payu did to him. A loop of padded black leather wrapped around each of Rain’s legs just above the knee and connected via metal chains to matching cuffs around Rain’s elbows, forcing his legs apart and his arms back as he knelt for Payu now, but on the bed, he would remain splayed and unable to move on his own. Leaving him utterly at Payu’s mercy.

As for the final box- it had a few smaller dildos, some flavored tubes of lube that Payu might enjoy, and a basic set of restraints that Rain had run under the mattress of the bed and laid out neatly- each with their own wrist and ankle cuffs, should Payu decide he wanted his boy tied up there.

Rain had been saving up for… quite some time.

It was such a lewd display that a piece of Rain’s mind worried Payu might just turn around and walk away. Or, more shattering, apologize and help him out of the various contraptions.

Rain had never dared ask Payu to play with toys in bed, and now he’d bought… quite a few. Would Payu like it? Or did it go against the kind of sex he liked- Rain submitting to him in body without anything else needed?

Doubt filled Rain’s heart as the silence stretched on. He shifted slightly, drawing an uncomfortable spasm from the vibrator in his rear. He was on the floor in front of the bed, but he couldn’t feel any footsteps to tell him if Payu left or remained. There was no sound of breathing. Even the cool air from the hall seemed to die away.

His stomach twisted and he shifted again, trying to close his legs and maybe preserve some decency. The silence only grew louder. He began to tremble and felt tears gathering at the corner of his eye, so ashamed that even though his mouth was free, he couldn’t bring himself to ask Payu to… to just forget the whole thing and help him get out of the cuffs.

“I- I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have-”

A strong hand grasped Rain’s throat as Payu’s mouth crushed against his. Rain couldn’t do anything but part his lips and accept the vicious force of Payu’s kiss. It was hot and hard and brutally hungry. Payu held Rain’s head and neck tightly as he made the small man accept the tongue that probed deeply in his mouth.

Rain wasn’t braced for the ferocity with which Payu crashed against him, and he shifted back in a way that knocked at the plug in his ass, causing Rain to cry out against the pain.

The hands released Rain’s neck to feel his shoulders, ankles, the ring around his member- Payu found the ridge of the plug and knew what had probably caused the yelp.

Something brushed against the blindfold- Payu’s fingertips. He felt the dampness at the edges where tears were caught in the fabric. Payu often teased Rain to the point of crying in desperation, but he knew from Rain’s paleness that these weren’t tears of desire. Bound as he was, without eyes to read, Payu could still tell what Rain was thinking.

“You have no idea what it feels like, seeing you dressed up for me,” Payu hissed against Rain’s ear. He placed a knee on either side of Rain’s bent leg and ground himself against Rain’s thigh so the boy could feel how hard he was in his jeans. “You have no idea how perfect you look.”

“I don’t- Mmmph!”

Payu didn’t let Rain object. He slid the ring up into the boy’s mouth, pinning it open.

Rain’s body jerked and he cried out as Payu’s fingers traced the aching rim of his rear where the skin was stretched around the vibrator. Clearly, he found the controller on his own- Rain let out a desperate and uncontrolled moan as it began to vibrate softly inside him.

When he thought Payu was going to reject him, it was cold and unbearable. Now, with the heat of Payu’s kiss, it felt… amazing. The ring around Rain’s little tendon became even tighter as he hardened.

There was a low curse, and Payu’s warmth vanished, followed quickly by the sound of clothing hitting the ground.

“Idiot,” Payu hissed in his ear. Rain heard something scrape against the floor. Payu had picked something up. Desperate to distract himself from the tingling feeling in his rear, Rain tried to think of what it might be. His answer came when Payu set something cold and round on Rain’s thigh.

“Why didn’t you use this?”

It was one of several containers of lube that Rain had set aside.

“I wanted you to pick.”

Payu had felt the dryness around Rain’s hole and realized… the boy must have used his own spit to force the plug in, not one of the new bottles of lube. And he must have been waiting for at least ten minutes already (twenty, actually. Rain couldn’t feel his legs from kneeling so long). 

Payu opened the cap on the lube and slid the bottle across Rain’s skin. He brushed the base delicately around his tied balls, and let the coolness press against the stretch of skin between them and the swollen, red entrance. Just as Rain began to whimper again, the bottle disappeared.

Something cold, thick, and wet dripped down Rain’s member as Payu pushed him back, back, back. Until Rain had to adjust his feet so that he could lay on his back, his legs parted, hands pinned beneath him, and fully on display for Payu.

He jumped at first, then sighed as the cold helped dull the pain. It was different from the lube he normally used, but with his mouth pinned open, it was difficult for Rain to get enough air through just his nose to try and smell which flavor Payu had used.

Sweat beaded on Rain’s skin and he broke out in goosebumps as the cold of the lube gradually warmed, then began to tingle.

One bottle wasn’t scented. It was smaller than the others, something Rain wasn’t sure about, but the boss at the shop threw in free, since Rain ordered so much. A lube that they said would make Rain more sensitive.

Powerful fingers pressed against the metal knot, then rubbed the liquid onto the stretched flesh. Rain closed his eyes (not that it mattered) and shivered as Payu began to pull and twist at the vibrating metal inside him.

It felt so big now- how had Rain ever managed to force it in? Payu paused a few times to retrieve the sample of lube and add more of the liquid, dutifully massaging the tight ring to convince it to open.

“Relax.”

It was the only warning Rain received before Payu took hold of the plug and pulled. Rain’s back arched and he shouted out around the mouthpiece as Payu began to slide it in and out at a steady rhythm- the vibration in it growing stronger.

“Nghnn!” Rain screamed as the plug was twisted so that it pressed hard against his p-spot, the pressure and shudder warming the lube that now filled his insides too. He shook his head side to side, writhing as Payu’s hand pressed hard against his stomach, until he could feel the metal inside Rain’s body shifting and moving.

Pain was crashing into pleasure, turning into a creature Rain didn’t know how to fight. He felt himself draw up, but the metal ring holding him closed prevented more than a few thin drops of precum from escaping his little snake. 

It was agony- but the kind that made drool fill his mouth. Rain’s entire body was shaking as he tried to finish. He felt himself clenching around the plug so hard that Payu finally yanked it out, in case Rain hurt himself. Cool air mixed with the teasing heat of the lube as Rain’s entrance gaped, begging for an erection to tighten around.

Payu devoured Rain’s skin as the spasm passed, then creating more as he licked and sucked at Rain’s trapped length.

“Ah… ah! Ah!!” Rain could only yell, his mouth pinned open and his body too overwhelmed to do more than grind himself shamelessly against Payu’s face, sobbing and moaning without release.

Payu only sucked harder and harder, basking in the desperation of his boyfriend as the little one fought so hard against the restraints he himself bought.

Trapped in darkness, unable to beg for what he needed, and without the ability to climax, Rain was now in some kind of wonderful hell. His insides were melting under the heat of the lube Payu poured around his entrance, and the mouth around his tendon felt better than he could imagine.

If Payu spoke, his voice was drowned out by the high pitched moans and whimpers that escaped from Rain’s mouth. The tears that drenched the blindfold now were filled with desperation and need. Rain began to roll his hips in a way that drove Payu insane when Rain was astride him, trying to make him desperate. It wasn’t impossible for Rain to cum with the hard metal around him, but he’d need Payu inside him.

Then Payu suddenly stopped moving, and climbed away. Rain’s whole body was on fire and he screamed in frustration. Something hard and heavy set down beside his ears. Without warning, he felt pressure on the opening of the muzzle as something began to push in.

Even lost in a growing haze of desperation, Rain couldn’t believe his luck. Payu was lowering his burning erection into the little man’s throat. Rain tipped his head back and relaxed his throat, breathing through his nose as his mouth was filled more and more.

He couldn’t stroke the shaft as it eased in, close his lips around that wonderful, thick length, or taste the saltiness of Payu’s precum with his tongue. All Rain could do was lay there and let himself be used as nothing more than a hole for Payu’s pleasure.

If it was even possible, Rain thought he felt himself getting harder.

Payu knew Rain was in the mood to be taken roughly. He gave the blind, bound man only one gentle thrust before he began to pump his hips and fuck the hot, tight throat in earnest. Rain felt something wet and warm wrap around his own cock as he tried to time his breathing to Payu’s movement. 

Payu’s teeth gently scraped against his most sensitive skin and Rain shouted around the length thrusting into his throat. The sensation on his tormented little snake was on the dangerous edge of tolerable- territory further from pleasure than Rain usually ventured. With the angle of the assault on his throat and the way his mouth was pinned open, the sound that came out was more sultry than intended.

Not an objection, but an invitation for another scrape of sharp teeth along his curving length.

A desperate groan escaped from Payu as his hips pumped into Rain. It reverberated around the base of Rain’s cock and drove bolts of pleasure straight through him. Whatever was left of Rain’s mind braced for the absolute agony that was pleasure without release.

His body tightened and he struggled to inhale. Payu was too big for his poor throat and Rain couldn’t breathe fast enough through his nose. As his mind filled with a desperate fog, Payu abruptly changed the teasing on his cock, opting to seal his mouth around it and nearly swallow the head. At the same time he reached down and began forcing the buzzing plug back into Rain’s hole with a smooth, unrelenting force.

Something blasted through Rain’s mind, shattering him completely as his hips bucked up to meet Payu’s mouth and release was ripped through him in spite of the metal ring. Every eruption of cum into Payu’s mouth brought a violent and viciously painful pleasure. Rain’s eyes rolled up into his head. His entire body seized up, shaking at the fire that ripped screams from his throat in spite of Payu still in his mouth.

If it weren’t for the guard on the gag holding him open, Rain wouldn’t have been able to stop his teeth from biting down hard on Payu’s most sensitive part.

Rain began to shudder and thrash beneath Payu as something even more powerful ravaged his body. His legs tried to kick, his hole constricted harder than he knew was possible around the plug that Payu still forced in and out of him, and that now-burning lube made him feel like his entire lower body was one raw, hungry nerve. Rain screamed again and a moment later was drowning in thick, salty musk as Payu cried out and released into him.

Fire and lightning danced beneath his skin. He wasn’t sure when he took the deep, shaking breath. Rain had no idea when he even swallowed the release that Payu’s bucking hips forced down his throat. Bright lights flashed in Rain’s blinded vision. His body was shaking uncontrollably.

Rain didn’t try to think too much- he wasn’t even sure he could anymore.

The sound that came from him was half-mad and weak. A shuddering, shivering whine.

His body was rolled over so that Rain was pinned on his stomach, but he didn’t have it in him to care. Cold air kissed his cheeks as Payu undid the clasp of the gag. A light touch pulled it away, but he felt a growing wetness around his cheek- Payu’s release, or his own drool pouring out from his open mouth. 

The blindfold stayed in place.

A sudden, intense spasm at his hips reminded Rain that the plug was still inside him, no longer vibrating. It shifted and moved, grinding against his most sensitive spot. The throbbing heat of the lube made his sensitive hole ache, and the hot mouth kissing his shoulders quickly turned the post-climax shivering into fresh trembles of desire. 

Payu fucked him with the plug, but it was the deep, desperate moan that Payu breathed against his ear that made Rain harden once again.

Rain wished his little snake stayed dead. He couldn’t move, could barely manage more than the softest of whimpers as- with a sudden wrenching motion- Payu yanked the vibrator from him at last. As metal slid over the liquid inside him, Rain shuddered. Were he free, he might have released again.

His toes curled and he whimpered once more.

Without the plug he felt empty, painfully so. His ass gaped where it had been stretched to the maximum. Rain could feel it twitching- opening and closing. Begging for something else to fill it.

He didn’t want it. He just wanted to be left alone.

No, wait. That was the opposite of what Rain wanted. He wanted to be filled, used, and fucked until he couldn’t breathe anymore.

Rain was both desperate for and somehow dreading what he knew would come soon. Payu would bury himself inside Rain, their bodies fitting together as if made for one another. His mind couldn’t decide what it wanted. His body wasn’t sure which it needed- to be filled, or left alone?

That was why Rain bought the muzzle with the ball, and Payu knew it.

He left Rain twitching on the floor for a moment and returned to brush gently against Rain’s mouth. “Rain?”

His voice was hoarse, but soft and sweet. Rain offered the smallest of nods. With great care, Payu lifted his head and fit the new muzzle on, sealing off Rain’s mouth. Rain tried to swallow around the ache in his throat, but the memory of Payu taking his mouth without mercy made him shiver in anticipation.

The spread of Rain’s legs, thanks to the binds connecting them to his upper arms, meant his ass was raised and on full display for Payu. His hubby knelt beside him and didn’t hesitate for even a moment to bury his entire length inside with a single sharp thrust.

As much as the plug prepared him, Rain wasn’t ready for the sheer size and heat of Payu slamming into him. He screamed against the gag, then groaned loudly as Payu set a torturous rhythm. Pull out slowly, slam in hard, stir his hips to force the shaft to grind against Rain’s insides, then slowly pull out once more.

Payu’s hand slid up from Rain’s hip. For a moment, the delirious man thought he intended to take hold of the little one’s tendon and stroke in time with his thrusts. He’d forgotten about the other toy.

There was a sudden, vicious sting in the pink raisins of his chest. Payu had a tight hold of the chain. Now, every time he slammed into Rain, the force sent the chain swinging and delivered sharp twists to Rain’s nipples. He was almost overwhelmingly sensitive on a normal day. Between the still-tingling sensation of the lubrication and the pulsing of his vice-caught cock, he had no hope at all. 

The screams and cries of Rain into the ball at his mouth drove Payu crazy. His slow and patient movements became faster and rougher. The thrusts shortened, but became wildly fierce as Rain tightened and screamed. He was calling out something, but even Rain wasn’t sure what it was. Not Payu’s name. Whatever it was, Rain was chanting it on a loop, over and over again as the gag prevented him from forming clear sounds.

Rain might not have been able to understand, but Payu could guess.

Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!

Rain was yelling that thing that drove his hubby crazy as Payu crashed against him. Heat erupted deep inside as Payu released without warning. He pumped his hips, driving the cum further into the little one. Rain rarely went a day without being filled by Payu, but three weeks had passed since their last time together, and his groans were vicious and hungry at both the sensation and the fact that Payu wasn’t getting soft.

Rain’s cock was nearly purple and dripped with desperate need. It twitched pathetically as Payu’s grasp bruised Rain’s hips and the air filled with the intoxicating musk of sex. Even Payu was gasping for air. His normally iron composition was breaking. He dropped against Rain’s back as the final ropes of cum erupted into Rain’s body, his voice ragged and groaning with every breath.

But he still didn’t stop thrusting his hips. Forcing himself to keep moving, keep torturing the boy beneath him who was trapped in his little vice and shaking so hard that he no longer had the strength to let it out against the force pinning him.

“I want you to watch this,” Payu’s voice was low and commanding again. He undid the blindfold.

Rain’s eyes had rolled up into his head. He was shivering and flush, his face shiny with the drool or release that had dripped from his lips. Still inside him, Payu bent down and left featherlight kisses along Rain’s jaw and neck. As he sucked at Rain’s Adam’s apple, the other managed to regain enough of his faculties to look down.

Payu noticed in an instant and he rose from Rain’s back. A darkness filled his eyes that both frightened and thrilled Rain, he felt himself clench around Payu’s cock. 

Something was on the floor beside the two men- something Rain had set on the table with the lube when he set all this up.

The question in his eyes was clear enough.

“I’ve been thinking of doing this to you for a long time. I just didn’t know you were thinking of it too.”

An almost impossibly long cock made of ridged silicone, about half as thick as Payu’s own member.

Rain’s eyes went wide as Payu grabbed the tube once more and coated in the silicone in more of that lubricant that was already driving him (and probably Payu as well, buried in Rain as he was) insane. Rain’s tendon twitched and white liquid dripped from the head. He was terrified of the dark lust in Payu’s eyes, and yet already fantasizing about what it would feel like to have something so long- a couple inches longer than Payu himself- buried inside his body.

Payu’s free hand undid the latch holding the cuffs on Rain’s ankles and wrists together. Rain was still bound at the wrists, but the worst of the tension was off his shoulders, and Payu could flip Rain onto his back, his legs free to drape on either side of Payu’s. 

But Payu didn’t insert the silicone cock into his hole. He pushed his own back in with a long, slow thrust, then held the false one beside him.

Rain finally understood what Payu was wanting to try- and it wasn’t something Rain had ever imagined.

He closed his eyes in acceptance and fear and braced himself. Payu grabbed his hair roughly and pulled until Rain opened his eyes wide. He shook with fear as Payu pushed the silicone against the side of his own cock, using his length as a helpful guide as he forced the second shaft into his boyfriend.

 Rain screamed against the gag and thrashed his legs- but if it was in pleasure or pain, even Rain couldn’t tell. Payu had to release his head, and Rain hit it against the floor a few times as he thrashed, until Payu paused long enough to grab his discarded shirt and shoved it behind him to act as a pillow.

While he was bent over Rain, Payu raised an eyebrow in question, his dangerous eyes filled with barely contained lust. Rain loved to be taken roughly by Payu, but the older one always kept it just at the safe edge of his tolerance. This was something further than they’d ever done before.

Payu was offering to remove the second cock and retreat back within the realm of what Rain was alright with.

By then, all Rain could think about was his torturous need for release, however he could get it. He pushed his hips down as best he could, screaming into the gag as another few centimeters slid inside and forced him open. His back arched, which only made him feel even more painfully full.

Payu wrapped his palm around the base of the dildo and bit his lip hard as he shoved it in. The motion was fluid and unyielding, and Payu didn’t stop until it was fully seated. No matter what sounds Rain made.

Rain’s eyes bulged and he stopped breathing for a few seconds at the depth and pressure of the second cock. His toes were splayed, his cock dribbling, and he stared wide-eyed at the ceiling. What fractured pieces of his mind that Rain had managed to pull together after his release were long gone. He couldn’t feel anything beyond the two long rods shoved so forcefully into his poor little hole.

He stirred with a gasping cry as Payu tipped him onto his side and straddled his leg, setting himself even deeper. Payu pulled the cuff entirely from the foot around Rain’s raised leg and hugged it tight to his chest to use for leverage. His free hand went to the chain still between Rain’s nipples, which he grabbed as if it were a convenient handle.

Payu began to thrust.

The pressure inside Rain was incredible. The two cocks sat on either side of his p-spot, and when Payu moved it felt as if it were being sawed between them. A kind of pleasure Rain didn’t even know existed burned through his body and made him let loose a primal, near animalistic scream into the gag. A scream so loud that, were it not for the object muffling him, it would surely have been heard throughout the entire house- and maybe even by neighbors outside.

Rain was by no means quiet when Payu fucked him- or if he tried to be, Payu took it as a challenge- but this was a new kind of sound entirely.

Something moist and soft traveled the length of Rain’s foot. He managed to turn his eyes only far enough to see Payu’s tongue complete its journey. Payu loved to kiss Rain while he fucked the boy. Deprived of lips to crush and bite, he concentrated on the sensitive skin between Rain’s toes.

Payu never stopped fucking him around the ridged cock, not even as he took three toes into his mouth and began to bob his head just as he’d done when he made Rain cum through the binding. He set the motion of his head counter to those of the thrusts and sharp yanks on the chain that connected Rain’s nipples.

Purple and swollen, Rain needed release so badly that it overrode all of the pain his lover was inflicting on him. He needed to touch his cock, to stroke it and force it to erupt in spite of the impediment he put around it. Rain’s hands were still trapped, so all he could do was scratch at his own back and scream over and over again as Payu gasped, threw his head back, and once again hot pressure exploded inside Rain’s body.

He was being filled with rope after rope of hot cum- something that usually made him finish in an instant.

But there was no relief. He didn’t have the strength to defy the metal binding.

Payu released his foot and leg. His ears were red and he was panting, but weariness lined his entire body. He was spent.

Payu pulled his withering length from inside Rain with a vulgar pop . He eyed the white cream that dripped out along the silicone. Even without the object of Rain’s desire still inside him he was shaking, nearly vibrating as he twitched and pulsed.

It took some time to undo the restraints on Rain’s wrists. His arms collapsed to his sides, utterly useless. Payu removed the cuffs from his arms and legs, then the gag.

His hand reached for the metal band tight around Rain’s cock. That was when the boy’s raspy whisper stopped him, “Don’t… take it…” he couldn’t form the words. Not after everything his mouth and throat had been through.

The meaning came through well enough as he tipped up the knuckles of a violently shaking hand, barely managing to touch the silicone hilt of the cock that still filled him. The one Payu planned to fuck him with and grant a final release.

But Rain wanted it out without achieving his own release. Payu obeyed, sliding the object slowly from inside Rain. The boy gave little response to even indicate he could feel that it was gone.

Payu’s hand returned to the metal clasp around Rain’s balls and the other nodded. Rain had moved his heavy fingers up to his chest to clasp the chain between his nipples.

When Payu flipped the small catch that released the metal, his other hand helped Rain yank down hard on the chain, ripping the clasps away from his nipples and sending a vicious and violent bolt of pain through his body. Another titanic scream tore from his broken throat as his cock was finally freed and tried to release- but the pain from his swollen red nipples slammed into the cresting wave and shattered it.

The need to cum was painful and raw. His cock was dripping onto his abdomen in a steady stream now. Rain wanted to cum so badly that he started crying in Payu’s arms.

Payu didn’t move a single muscle as Rain fought his battle. He just stared at him, confused and unsure of what his role should be. When the throbbing had eased, Rain twitched, trying to pull Payu down on top of him. The two men held each other, and Payu claimed Rain’s mouth with a deep, hot kiss.

His bites were gentler than they normally would be, the kiss not as aggressive and claiming. He gently rubbed Rain’s sore nipples, and massaged the bruises on his wrists from where he’d fought the cuffs too hard. After a moment, Payu offered a hot palm to rest against the bruised and aching base of Rain’s cock where the metal had set.

“Tell me what you want,” he broke the kiss to whisper to Rain after what felt to both like an eternity. The other member was still throbbing and purple, pinned at the very edge of release. He’d only had one true climax early on, whereas Payu managed three . And the lone orgasm was made more difficult, and intense, by the agony Rain endured with that clamp.

Rain couldn’t speak. He rolled his hips, hissing at the soreness that was rapidly settling in. It would have to be quick.

As he so often did, Payu understood without needing to be told. He rolled on top of Rain more fully and covered the boy’s mouth with his own. There was no biting this time as they kissed. Payu’s hair formed a curtain against Rain’s cheek as he stroked Rain’s tongue with his and wrapped a large hand around both his and Rain’s cocks.

Rain wanted to cum one final time not bound, but in Payu’s gentle embrace, with the heat of him alongside Rain’s desperation. For his part, Payu’s pace was slow and measured as he stroked the two together- though his own tendon wasn’t getting fully hard again any time soon.

When Rain’s breathing grew strained, he released his lips to nibble and suck at Rain’s ear. Payu rolled his hips, rubbing himself until- with a seizing gasp- Rain erupted across their stomachs and chests. Though quiet, the force of the release was hard enough to reach his neck, and his entire body shook so violently that he felt no different from the vibrator Payu had inside him earlier.

Payu pulled Rain up to sit in his lap as the boy’s body went limp and his eyes rolled up into his head. He brushed the strands of Rain’s sweat-soaked hair away from his face and licked the release from Rain’s throat and chest with gentle devotion. Rain stirred slightly in Payu’s arms as he worked, and he let out a thin and painful moan of thanks.

It would be a wonder if Rain’s voice recovered even in a week.

When Rain seemed somewhat awake, Payu carried them both into the shower, where he sat on the floor holding Rain’s shaking body as hot water rinsed them both. The only sign of life in the limp body was a flinch and a sob as Payu’s long fingers so gently scooped some of the release from inside his hole. 

Payu toweled Rain dry afterwards and laid him gently in bed while Payu picked up the toys on the floor, cleaned the messy ones, and returned with a small bottle of gel to soothe Rain’s entrance somewhat. It wouldn’t spare him from a sore day, but it would make things a little easier. 

Rain stirred as Payu’s fingertip pushed some of the gel inside. Rain felt as if Payu and the toy were both still inside him, he was aching in places he’d never ached before, and the growing stiffness in his groove was so deep that it felt as if he had been split in two. 

“I don’t think I can walk,” his voice was so hoarse that Rain choked on the unexpected pain. Payu flashed a savage grin as he brought a glass of water over.

“After a rest, I’ll do what it takes to make sure you can’t.”

“Promise?” Rain smiled, but his eyes didn’t open again. He rolled onto Payu’s chest as the other settled into bed, assuming his position in Payu’s arms.

Payu wrapped himself around Rain, intertwining his legs through the other’s. He held him tight, safe, and close, “I promise. I have next week off.”

Payu kissed the top of Rain’s head gently and turned off the bedside lamp so that they could drift off to sleep the day away as dawn broke outside.

He had questions- so many questions about where Rain found his new haul of toys and what possessed him to try them all out at once, but that could wait for another day. This was the perfect end to a hard couple weeks of work. A heaven Payu couldn’t believe was within reach when he first opened the door and saw his submissive little Rain tied up on the floor, obediently waiting for his daddy to come home.

Payu breathed a laugh and ruffled Rain’s wet hair, squeezing him even tighter as they both fell asleep with smiles on their faces.

---

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Part 2 (PrapaiSky)

[thebestofoneshots]

Gilded Constellations | wolfstar x reader

Series Masterlist | Previous episode

Pairing: Wolfstar x Reader Word Count: 7.2 K Warnings: none Prompt: Things finally start to make sense, maybe you'll finally discover one of the mysteries that have been surrounding you This IS a wolfstar x reader fic, but it's incredibly slow burn. They won't start all dating each other until we're very deep into the story, but I promise the long wait will be worth it.

ANNOUNCEMENT:

In a couple of weeks I'll make a Q&A to cellebrate Gilded Constellations reaching 100,000 K words. And I'd love for all of you to be a part of it. So send in your questions, they can be anything you want, things like: How did you get the idea? Where does inspo come from? writing tips (I mean I don’t know much but anyway), character design, fancast, fav characters, things about me, about my plot notebook, literally anything you want, ask away (just state: For Q&A event or something) <3

Chapter 14: Maybe I’m Amazed

Monday October 25th, 1976

You and Remus had a presentation today, but he wasn’t anywhere to be found. You waited near the door of the classroom, with your notes in your hands, looking over them while tapping your feet on the ground, toying with your ring, and turning to look at the hall every couple of seconds, hoping to see him miraculously arrive. But he didn’t, in fact, it was the second time that day people you expected to see were nowhere to be found. 

You were also supposed to go flying with James and Sirius in the morning like you did every single day, but neither of the boys made it. You went up to knock on their room’s door, but nobody answered, and after waiting for a few minutes, you decided to go for the morning flight by yourself. 

Professor Flitwick saw you at the door, looking nervous and smiled at you empathetically from his desk. When your class was just about to start you sighed and walked closer to him. 

“Professor, I don’t understand what’s happening, I’m not sure if Remus will make it. He didn’t tell me anything, I haven’t seen him since yesterday and I–“ 

“It’s ok,” he said calmly “Mr. Lupin is sick, I was informed.” 

“Sick?” You asked with a frown. 

Flitwick nodded, “I believe he and some of his friends all ate something that upset their stomachs at Hogsmeade on Saturday, they’re at the nurses’ office.” 

You opened your eyes wide, that was your lie. But if the boys really were at the infirmary, then it meant something had happened to them on their stupid prank last night. 

You frowned, almost wanting to run off to see them, but resisted the urge to do so “What’s gonna happen to our presentation then? He’s worked so hard on it, I wouldn’t want him to lose his grade.” 

“You can present with him next class,” he told you comprehensively “It’s ok Miss (Y/LN), take your seat, don’t stress too much about it. I know you’ll give a brilliant presentation once your partner’s feeling better.” 

You nodded “Thank you, Professor,” you told him with a smile and went to take one of the seats. 

The class started, Lily and Marlene had worked on their project together and they went first, talking about the properties of wordless magic and then making a very small presentation, teaching some volunteers to make sparks with their wands without saying a word. Tom and Marlene were next, and they gave a talk about the dangers of dark magic and so on. A couple other students asked for volunteers, and while in normal situations you’d have been among the first to raise your hand, today was an exception, you were a little too busy, tapping your feet under the desk and looking at the clock every couple of minutes. 

At some point you decided you had to do something, so you took some parchment out and wrote a small note: 

Hey Puppy! You all right? I missed you and Prongs on our morning flight today… Remus missed our presentation too, tell him Flitwick said we could present next class. Are you all really at the infirmary? Because I know for a fact it wasn’t something you ate… Unless you actually ate something last night, I wouldn’t put that past you lot, but I’m sure that’s not it. I’ll keep an eye out for your answer plane. 

You read it over a couple of times and then started to bend it into a very small paper plane that you left over your desk. When class was over you used the same spell Remus had used at the beginning of the course so that your little plane landed close to Sirius. 

It wasn’t until you were in the middle of transfigurations that a different paper plane landed over your desk, you carefully unfolded it and started reading:

Hey beautiful! Thanks for that strong vote of confidence! We didn’t actually eat anything bad. Remus says he’s sorry for missing the class, and that he’ll do your homework for a week to make it up to you, I’m jealous! 

We really are at the infirmary though, last night’s prank went awry and we accidentally got attacked by Grindylows. We’re all right, Remus got the worst of it anyway… But we came to check on him first thing in the morning, that’s why we didn’t make it to the morning flight. Your rumour somehow got all the way to Poppy, and when we went to check on Remus she gave us some medicine and had us stay in the infirmary to check on us… so it’s basically your fault. 

Anyway, you should still come see your poor boyfriend in the infirmary, pamper him with kisses and offer him some tasty treats… at least.

ps. Since I haven’t retrieved the ones from last week, that would mean you owe me six so far…

You smiled when you finished reading, Sirius was a total flirt, and you loved that about him. When you read over it though, you frowned, that was the second time Remus got hurt after a prank, and if they were attacked by Grindylows, there was no way they were just fine, those little creatures could be absolute savages, you’d know, since one time a friend at your older school had fallen on the lake and been attacked by those nasty little water beings, she had to be taken to the hospital wing, and stayed there for a week. Of course, Remus was bigger, stronger, and a more advanced wizard, since that had happened to her in 3rd year, but regardless, Remus must be pretty battered up, again. 

Finally, you sighed and went back to trying to turn the quill you had in front of you into a bird. Not that you were doing too good at that either.  You let out an exasperated groan after your 3rd try of only getting a beak and little legs to appear on the quill. 

Professor McGonagall approached you  “Everything ok Miss (Y/LN)?”

You nodded, the air of exasperation remaining regardless, “I’m really struggling to get this right,” you told her “This is the first time I ever done transfiguration, and no magic had been this challenging for me before, it’s just…” 

McGonagall smiled understandingly “Would you mind if I got you a tutor? I know a couple students from your year that would be more than willing to help.” 

“I… uh… I’m not really that close to everyone in my year…” 

McGonagall raised an eyebrow, you were pretty much already a member of one of the Gryffindor friend groups, and the rumour that you and Sirius were dating was already spreading too “I was thinking Mr. Lupin could help, and from what I gather you’re already friends…”  

“Oh… Remus? Yeah, we’re close!” 

“Excellent, I’ll tell him once he’s back on his feet. Poor boy, he must be feeling pretty tattered up today.” 

You nodded “Yeah, he shouldn’t have eaten that.” 

“Eaten what?” She asked, confused. 

You arched your eyebrows “The thing at Hogsmeade that made them all end up in the infirmary…” 

“They all?” Minerva quipped “Who else is in the infirmary?” 

“Sirius, James and Peter.” 

“They are there?!” She asked, seemingly surprised. You frowned, how did McGonagall know Remus was in the hospital if she didn’t know the boys were there too?

“Isn’t that the reason Remus was in the infirmary?” You asked, rather confused. 

“The reason he–? Oh right, yeah right, must have slipped my mind.” She said and stepped away. 

You frowned, there were many things that did not make sense with Remus Lupin, you’d already accepted that, and moved on from it, since he was one of the best people you’d ever met, but this, this was just off. McGonagall was not the type of teacher to whom things just “slipped her mind”, and that was a fact. Unless she knew Remus had been in the infirmary for another reason, and if that reason was that he’d been attacked by Grindylows, then that would imply she knew about the boys’ prank and was covering for them, which made even less sense. 

And today was not the first time things were weird, it was like some teachers knew something that you didn’t. And it was all somehow related to Remus. And you really did not want to pry, but your mind, being naturally curious, could not stop thinking about it. And it all seemed so familiar; like you only needed to find the one little string that would solve the entire mystery, and it was just there for you to reach out and pull, but somehow, you were trying to find the tail end with your eyes closed. Maybe Remus really did blindfold you the first time you met, but instead of using the physical blindfold, he’d used an intricate web of half-facts and untold tales. Of course, he didn’t owe you any kind of explanation, and it was not like you were going to ask but a part of you really, really wanted to discover the mystery. 

You spend the entire class pondering all the little things that didn’t make sense about Remus Lupin, thinking of trillions of ways in which they could be connected to each other, but nothing seemed to make sense. No matter how much you racked your brain, you could not find the string to tie it all out. You were so focused in uncovering the mystery that you didn’t even realise when the class was over. 

“Hey (Y/N)! You ok?” Tom said as he shook your shoulder, snapping you out of your thoughts. 

You nodded “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” You said, but your head was pounding from so much thinking, and to be honest, you did not want to deal with divination class, so you corrected yourself “Actually, would you mind telling Spellman I’m feeling a little dizzy, and that I’m going to the infirmary?” 

Tom gave you a look and nodded, the two of you stood together and started walking towards the door “And where are you actually going to?” He asked, curiosity getting the best of him. 

“Hm? Oh, to the infirmary actually, I’ll just pass by the kitchens first.” 

“The kitchens?” He asked confused as you both continued walking towards the stairs. 

“I’m taking some food for the boys,” you explained, Tom nodded, but still looked confused “They got caught up in the excuse from yesterday and Poppy got them to stay in the infirmary to check on them.” 

“So you’re just feeling bad as an excuse to go see your sweet boyfriend,” he teased. 

You nodded “Yeah, and my friend who got attacked by Grindyllows.” 

Tom frowned “Grindylows? At this time of the year?” 

“Yeah, why?” 

“It’s weird, when the lake starts to cool down they disappear.” 

You frowned at that, yet another puzzle piece to solve, but by then Tom was already walking towards a different set of stairs “See you around, hope you feel better, I’ll tell Spellman where you went,” he said loudly. Tom really was the worst liar you’d ever met. 

“Thanks Tom,” you managed to say before scurrying through one of the hall entrances, so people wouldn’t notice the weird exchange you’d had. 

Once you got to the kitchens you knocked on the frame and asked the elves if you could have some food, they nodded and started preparing you some snacks to go, you asked around, hoping to find Nimbbletwist, but the elves told you that she’d been commission to something by Dumbledore that particular day. When they were done you thanked them profusely and waved goodbye. You grabbed the package of food and after placing the entire thing inside your backpack you started walking towards the infirmary. 

Once you were next to the huge, half-opened doors, you slowly slipped inside, hoping not to cause too much of a stir inside, but the place was pretty much empty, other than the hushed whispers you heard at the end of the room. A curtain was covering the boys from your sight, and muffling their voices. 

“We need to find a better way to deal with your furry little problem,” You heard Peter say “Moony’s been going pretty wild the past few times.” 

“Ehm…” You cleared your throat, whatever the boys were talking about, the fact that they were whispering about in an empty room, meant that the conversation was secret enough for them, and you were not planning to eavesdrop on some of the nicest people you’d met. “Morning boys,” you said with an awkward wave. 

Sirius smiled the second he spotted you, Peter looked like he’d seen a ghost, and Remus looked too tired to care much about you having shown up almost out of nowhere. But James was the first one to speak “Hey (Y/N)! Sorry we missed the morning flight.” 

You nodded “Sirius told me all about your mishaps,” you said as you walked closer to them, you looked around trying to find a sitting spot, and when you didn’t you resolved to stay standing “Brought you guys some snacks.” 

“You actually did?” Sirius asked with a dashing smile, eyes shining in content. His girl had brought him snacks, and she looked as lovely as ever while doing so. By then, you were already turning your backpack in front of you and pulling the little pack the elves had built for you. So he helped you hold it as you pulled the food pack and placed it on the bed besides Remus. They’d packed sausage rolls, pork pies, scotch pancakes, Jaffa cakes and tiny Bakewell tarts, Peter dug right into the sausage rolls, like he was starving. 

“Poppy didn’t give you boys any food?” 

“She gave us soup,” Peter said in between bites “It was so bland and tasteless, she said it’d make our stomachs feel better.” 

“I thought it was good,” Remus said with a shrug. 

“Yeah, you got the one with spices,” Peter complained “You should’ve said we had a headache or something instead.” 

You raised an eyebrow, “Since when are headaches something 4 people can have at the same time?” You retorted. 

Peter shrugged in response “A magical headache or whatever.” 

“At least, thanks to you, we didn’t get in trouble for skipping class,” James said with a shrug. 

“Exactly, that’s my girl!” Sirius said with a wink, then he grabbed your arm and pulled you onto his lap, you arched your eyebrow at him once you were comfortably sitting on him “You looked like you were tired.” 

You laughed, shaking your head “Yeah, sure Puppy, if you say so.” 

“Don’t think I’ve stopped counting,” he said as he wrapped his arms around you a little tighter, setting the two of you in a more comfortable position. 

Finally, you turned to Remus, he wasn’t eating any of the things you’d brought, James was munching on a pork pie and even Sirius was enjoying a Bakewell tart, but Remus looked genuinely beaten up. He had a sharp gush on his face, and another one down his arm, probably many more underneath his clothes and bandages. Just when you started to pay attention to the open wounds, and realising how different they were from the ones your friend had gotten when she was attacked by Grindyllows, Sirius spoke again “You’re wearing your ring today,” he said pointing at it as he grabbed your hand to look at it. 

“Found it in a drawer as I was getting ready in the morning,” you told him “seemed to match the mood of yesterday.” 

“Because of the moon and the stars,” Sirius agreed, paying a closer look at your ring, you nodded, “It’s very beautiful,” he said, slipping it out of your finger and testing if it would fit in his pinky, it stood out among his thicker rings, but he didn’t seem to mind. 

“Won’t you eat anything?” Peter asked Remus as he munched on his fourth sausage roll. 

“I’m not really feeling it,” Remus responded. 

“Mmm… Actually–“ you said as you placed a cookie in your mouth to bring your backpack to your lap again. Sirius took the cookie from your lips and held it for you, you turned to him and whispered a small “thanks,” before you continued to rummage through your bags, “It’s here!” You said as you pulled out a chocolate bar. It was the same brand Remus always carried around, and you’d bought a few at Honeydukes over the weekend. You’d decided to always carry one in your bag, to offer to Remus when he was feeling off, just like he’d done for you several times. You handed it over to him. 

The boy smiled as he grabbed onto it “Thanks love! Don’t deserve it after I failed you for today’s presentation.” 

“Don’t be silly Rem, you had an accident,” you told him motioning to him on the bed. 

“And where’s my chocolate bar?” Asked Sirius as he leaned his head over your shoulder to give Remus a better look. 

“You don’t get one today Puppy, I only packed one in the morning, sorry.” 

“And you gave it to Remus instead of me?” He teased, playing offended. “You do remember I am your boyfriend right?”  

“Well, clearly Remus was the one to save all of your asses last night,” you said pointing at the bandaged boy, and then at the rest, who barely had a scratch on them “However the hell did you get into a fight with Grindylows?” 

“We were trying to get some gillyweed,” Remus responded while he pulled on the paper of the chocolate bar to open it “for a special prank we wanted to do on the Slytherins.” 

“With gillyweed?” You asked with a frown. 

“For a potion,” James added “took the recipe from one of Grandpa’s old journals.” 

You narrowed your eyes at James, but nodded, Who knows? the Potters are pretty much experts on potions, they’d know. “Did you get it?” 

Remus shook his head “We were too busy with the Grindylows.”

“I could maybe help you–˝

“–No!” Remus, James, Sirius and Peter said at the same time. You closed your mouth at that, taken aback by their answer. 

“Love, you did see Moony, right? Do you wanna end up like that?” Sirius reasoned. 

“Well… I’m a good swimmer, I could scare the Grindylows away with bombarda or something–”

“–don’t worry about it,” said James “We decided we would buy it in a magazine and get it delivered, we don’t wanna have to go through that again,” he motioned to Remus. 

“But thanks for offering,” Remus added “It’s very brave of you.” 

You shook your head, “those stupid Slytherin boys have been getting on my nerves lately, whatever prank you do to them, I’d love to help.” 

“They’ve bothered you again since the broom incident?” Sirius asked. A shiver ran down your spine as you remembered the way Evan had pulled you over the railing last night. 

“Nothing I can’t deal with, they’re just a bunch of cowards.” 

James looked at you with apprehension, he thought it was his fault that Barty had started to pick on you, after all the ball you threw at his face had originally been directed at him, not at you. You wondered if the boys had heard of yesterday’s commotion in the astronomy tower, they probably hadn’t, they wouldn’t be relaxed at all. 

Sirius yawned from behind, closing his eyes as he leaned closer to you, resting his head over your neck. “You boys should go get some sleep,” you told them when you noticed that it wasn’t only Sirius who was sleepy, James’ shoulders were slumped, and he normally stood straight, while Peter was sluggishly munching onto his fourth sausage roll. “I’ll stay with Rem, I need to wait for Poppy to come anyway, I want something for my headache.”

“You’ve got a headache?” Remus asked with a frown, “Why didn’t you tell us earlier?”  

You tried to shrug but stopped when you remembered Sirius still had his head over your shoulder “You looked a lot worse,” you said with a teasing smile. 

He shook his head with a breathy laugh, “Don’t put yourself second luv, I’m fine, I’m strong! See?” He said as he raised his arm and as if to show off his muscles. 

You laughed, he wasn’t lying, but it was still funny. “You sure you can stay luv? What about your classes?” Sirius asked. 

“I’ll catch up later, it’s easy. It’s not like we have transfiguration.” 

“Still having trouble with that?” Peter asked politely. 

You nodded “That’s literally the cause of my headache, couldn’t get a feather to turn into a bird. McGonagall said she’d give me a tutor.” 

“How delightful,” Sirius said ironically. 

“My thoughts exactly,” you agreed, “but then she said it’d be Remus, so it’s fine, we’re already working together in so many other classes, he must be getting sick of my face.” 

“Oh shut up, I would never,” he said as he broke off another square of his chocolate.

Sirius extended his hands towards him “Gimme soooome Moooony!”

Remus rolled his eyes, but extended his hand with a piece towards your boyfriend anyway, when their hands brushed against each other Remus hissed “What the hell Pads?” He said with a frown, looking betrayed. 

Sirius looked at his hand, his eyes widened as he saw he was still wearing your ring, your silver ring. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to shock you.” 

“Shock him?” You asked confused, that wasn’t the reaction you’d expect from someone who’d gotten an electricity shock. Let alone Remus’.

Remus nodded, “I’ve got a small cut in my hand,” he lied “It was rather unexpected.” 

You looked at him with a bit of a frown, you hadn’t seen any cuts on his hand. James suddenly stood up and clapped, gathering everyone’s attention “Well, if I don’t move now, I’m falling asleep on this chair. Pete, Pads, you coming along?” 

While you turned your head to look at James, Remus threw a look at Sirius, who frowned apologetically and mouthed “I’m sorry, I forgot.” 

“I’m coming,” Peter said, standing up after James. “Need anything from the dorm?” He asked Remus. 

He shook his head “I’ll catch up with my homework later.” He responded. 

“I’ve got a couple of books here in my bag, we can read something while they go sleep.” You offered your friend with a smile. 

“Sounds great!” Remus responded with a smile. 

“Nerds!” Sirius teased. 

“Pads?” Peter asked, “You coming too?” 

Sirius nodded, burying his head on your back as he hugged you tighter. 

“You don’t have to go,” you told him since he didn’t look like he wanted to let go of you just yet. 

“Why don’t you come nap with me instead?” He mumbled, voice a little muffled since he still had his head pressed to your back. “You smell really nice today.” Truth be told, Sirius thought you smelled nice every day, but with some of the dog qualities still lingering on him after the previous hours of being a dog, he was both extra sensitive to smell,  and extra clingy of his human too, not that you knew any of it. 

“Let the poor girl breathe mate!” Peter teased. Sirius just groaned in response. 

“I’m gonna stand up luv,” he told you, you were about to stand, but he just stood up while still holding onto you, and once he was up, he slid to the side, and dropped you right back on the chair. Well then, I guess that works too, you thought. 

“Bye Puppy,” you told him as he walked towards his friends. He raised his hands, showing 9 fingers up and raising his eyebrows. You rolled your eyes, but also realised he was still wearing your ring on his pinky finger “Oi my ring!” 

“I’m keeping it as collateral,” he told you, “‘least until you pay up what you owe.” You gave him an amused smile and shook your head as he left. 

“What do you owe him?” Remus asked once the boys were gone. 

“He hasn’t told you about that yet?” You asked casually “says he doesn’t like being called Puppy–“ 

“–that’s a lotta crap.” 

You laughed “Yeah, well he charges a kiss for every time I call him that.” 

Remus raised his eyebrows, now he was amused “he’s just taking advantage of you love…” 

“Is he though?” You said back with a little smirk “The way I see it is a win-win situation. He gets to be all flirty and I get to kiss his pretty lips.” 

“Touché,” the boy agreed, he too thought Sirius had pretty lips “Can I tease him with the nickname too?” 

“All you want,” you replied with a smile “if he tries to kiss you, though, don’t blame me for it.” You both laughed, and a comfortable silence followed, then you remembered you still had books inside your bag and pulled them out, setting them on the bed beside him. He grabbed the one at the top when you noticed which book it was, you pulled it from his hands. “You can’t read that one.” 

“I can’t read… A Wizard's Handy Handbook of Spells?” He asked as he read the cover name from your hands. 

“It’s not that,” you added, holding it tightly between your arms. “It’s… not actually A Wizard's Handy Handbook of Spells, I charmed the cover.” He arched an eyebrow and tried to take it from your grasp, you pulled back but it was too late, he had it in his hands again.  Remus had an awful lot of energy for someone who had been badly hurt just a couple of hours ago. “Remus, give me that!” 

“I wanna know why you charmed the cover first,” he said while dangling the book in the air. 

You looked at him with a frown and jumped forward to try and grasp the book from his hands, but he pulled it back, to the side of the bed. “Remus!” 

“Am I gonna have to read it?” 

You stood up, and extended your hands over him, to try and get the book that was on the other side of the bed, but your feet got trapped with your backpack strap and you ended up falling over Remus. He groaned as your body crashed over a particularly nasty bruise. Your scent filled his nostrils from the closeness, Sirius was right, you smelled awfully nice, a little like him too.

“Shit Rem, I’m sorry,” you said standing up as soon as possible “I didn’t mean to–“ The brusque movements had caused his shirt to rise up slightly and you actually saw the nasty bruise your body had crashed against, you looked at it with a concerned frown and then back at your friend “Remus…” 

He averted your gaze, he did not like being pitted “I’m fine.” He said once he turned back to you, using his free hand to pull down his shirt again “I’m strong, remember?” 

“Yeah, someone falling over a bruise hurts, no matter how strong…” 

He shrugged, he’d definitely had worse than you falling over him “You’re light, didn’t hurt much.” You looked at him, sighing “and you smell nice, no wonder Sirius wants to have you on his lap all the time.” Finally, you laughed, shaking your head as you stared at your friend. Remus realised you had a really nice laugh as you did, he shook his head from the trance of staring, he wasn’t sure he’d ever found a girl as pretty as you. “Will you tell me what kind of book you were trying to hide from me, or will I have to figure it out myself?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“It’s a spicy romance novel,” you said avoiding his gaze, he smiled diverted. The more you know, he thought. “It was recommended!” You added. 

“Yeah, sure.” 

“It was!” You insisted “By your little Ravenclaw girlfriend, actually” 

“Nina Blythe?!” he asked in disbelief.

You nodded “Are you sure you don’t want to date her? She’s clearly into the good stuff.” He gave you a look and you laughed, Nina was beautiful, but she definitely still had a baby face, like Remus had said when you told him she had a crush on him.

“She’s not really my type.” 

“Which is…?”

“None of your business, of course.” He replied sassily, and then changed the subject “How spicy?” He asked, curiosity taking the best of him. 

You shrugged “I’ll tell you when I get to the spicy part,” you told him with a shrug, taking the book from his hands, he let you do it without any fuzz this time “But um…” you pointed at one of the other books on the bed “this one’s good, you’d like it.”

“Is it also spicy?” He teased. 

“Remus!” You complained, “Not every single book I read is spicy!” 

He shrugged “Wouldn’t shame you if you did.” 

You rolled your eyes and let out a breathy laugh. “It’s not spicy, but it is really good.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” he said, taking the book and opening on the first page. Soon enough the two of you were comfortably reading. You were so engrossed in your book that you’d totally forgotten the initial reason you’d gone there. But as you continued flipping pages, it was like the string you had been trying to reach earlier was finally there, shining brightly for you to take it, and tie all the mysterious facts into one sole explanation. As your eyes moved through the words in the book, the description of the male lead started to resonate with you…

Remus was strong. Remus had a lot of scars and bruises all over his body, and they were definitely not caused by Grindyllows, he always carried around a calming draught and had other rather strong painkiller potions in his room as well, he tended to stay away from you when you wore your silver ring, literally jumping from your grasp when you touched him with it on one time, and was also visibly mad at Sirius when he brushed over his fingers with it on, as if they both knew something you didn’t –electric shock, my ass. 

McGonagall knew he was in the infirmary, no, she expected him to be in the infirmary today, yesterday was full moon. 

When you told him that he could get the Fluxweed he said he was good at catching so he switched with you, he would’ve had to harvest it on the full moon. All the boys got really suspicious during the full moon, and the two times you’d seen the full moon happen in the castle, Remus and all the boys had disappeared. Peter was talking about “a furry little problem” just before you cleared your throat earlier. James had joked about his romance novel being called “The Beast Within.”

In the boggart class, when you got a werewolf, all the boys had tensed up, even the way Lily had approached you, constantly looking back and forth between him and you. 

You looked up at him, Remus looked tired, Remus had a great sense of smell, Remus got a lot more irritable around this time of the month, Remus was ripped even if he didn’t look like the type to do much exercise, in fact, you’d never seen him do exercise. Remus Bogart had been the moon. Remus was right in front of you, looking like he’d been up all night and yesterday was full moon. 

Remus’ nickname… Remus’ nickname was fucking Moony! 

YESTERDAY WAS FULL MOON. 

Finally seeing clearly every single thing that didn’t make sense in your head, all the half-told tales and the lies and the inconsistencies, “You’re a werewolf…” you mumbled, almost in a whisper. 

He had been too distraught with the book to notice, so he looked up at you “Sorry, what was that, luv?” 

Your head started swirling with fast thoughts, Remus hadn’t told you himself. Remus probably wanted his lycanthropy to be a secret. Remus had gone to great lengths to hide it. You’d barely met him a couple of months ago and you were sure most people didn’t know about his condition, other than a few teachers, the boys and, maybe Lily. She probably knows, in the bogart class, she seemed alarmed. But Marlene, Mary, Beth? They probably have no clue. What right did you have to know before the people who’d met him years ago? Whoever the hell were you to butt in on this boy’s life? Even if he’d become one of your closest friends. I do not want to make Remus uncomfortable. I do not want Remus to hate me for prying. “I.. uh.. Do you like golf?” You improvised, almost cringing at yourself for how stupid your question had been. 

“Golf?” He asked with a frown.

“Aha…” you continued “the muggle sport, Golf. With uhm.. sticks and small balls,” you then made a little golf swing with your hands. 

“Yeah, I know Golf,” he responded, still confused “Never played it tho.” 

“Me neither,” you responded honestly “This character though,” you pointed to the book “Seems like- very obsessed with it.” 

Remus frowned and leaned forward on the bed, to try and get a glimpse of the book, you remembered that you were literally on the page about the scars on the werewolf’s body and you instantly dropped the book. It closed shut on the floor. You leaned down “Oh no, I lost my page.” Maybe you were a worse liar than Tom in the end. 

Remus arched an eyebrow as he saw you leaning on the floor, you looked rather desperate. 

“You okay?” You nodded and sat back on the chair. “So… how was it? spicy?” 

“Not much so far,” you responded honestly “just very in-depth descriptions of the male lead’s toned abdomen from the time they went to swim on a lake together.” 

Remus nodded, maybe he’d have to borrow the book from you at some point. “And you’re liking it?” 

“Plot’s good, yeah. Very enlightening.” 

“Enlightening?” He asked, not quite understanding how abs would be enlightening, but who knows, maybe they are. 

“Mhm…” you said when you realised the slip-up “What about your book?” you decided to drag the subject away from the spicy werewolf book and onto the one Remus had instead. 

“I’m loving it, actually. I didn’t know you had such great taste in books.” 

You smiled at the compliment “The portrait of Dorian Gray is an absolute classic, it has some of the most killer quotes I’ve read in my life.” 

“Nowadays people know the price of everything–“ he started.

“–and value nothing…” you finished the quote for him, “And there are so many others, you won’t be able to stop.” You told him with a smile, “Like… the only way to get rid of temptation, is–“ 

“–to yield to it.” He said at the same time as you did, a certain glimmer in his eyes when he did. 

Out if nowhere the images of the kiss you’d had at Marlene’s party came back to Remus, he remembered how soft and gentle you’d been, he remembered how your hand over his shoulder had felt, how kind your lips had been to his, how you’d tasted of fresh berries and potions, how after the kiss was over you looked genuinely pleased but cracked a joke to ease the tension, how contagious your laugh had been… how sweet you smelled that day, always with a hint of Sirius’ scent from how close you were to each other. What the hell is wrong with me? She’s dating Sirius! She’s dating Sirius –my crush best friend– Black, he thought. He snapped himself out of it as soon as he could, coughing up a couple of times to clear his throat. 

You looked at him, with a bit of concern and stood up, quickly walking towards the nightstand to pour some water on a glass and hand it over to him, he took it, fingers brushing against your small hands. He cursed himself for feeling something when they did, he’d rather feel nothing at all. Why must you be so kind?, he thought as you waited for him to finish drinking, to put the glass back in his place.  “Thank you,” he mumbled. 

You just smiled kindly “That’s what friends are for.” No, he thought, the boys were rarely as attentive as you were, and Lily, well Lily rarely visited after the full moon, even if she always took a moment to ask if he was feeling alright. Maybe that was why he was feeling so weird all of a sudden, he just wasn’t used to being cared for the way you cared for him. He then started to wonder if you were that nice to everyone, or only to your closest friends, he wanted to know if you also carried around Peter’s or Prong’s favourite treats in your bag, or if you had ever given chocolate to Tom, Alex or Teddy, if you borrowed books to Lily, or if you laughed along Nina the same way you did with him, he felt a tiny pang of jealousy when he imagined those things happening. Remus, stop it! he told himself, by then you’d already sat back in your seat, and found yourself engrossed in your book. Or at least you were pretending to be, in really you were still cursing yourself for asking if he liked golf. 

When you noticed he was staring you turned to him with a diverted smile “Do I have something in my face?” 

He seemed to be snapped out of his own thoughts “What?” 

“You were staring,” you told him, pretending to be uninterested as you still looked at the book, in reality, you were wondering if maybe he’d heard you ask if he was a werewolf and if he was considering how to kick you out of his life for butting in on his private business. 

“Ah…” he acknowledged “I wasn’t…. I was thinking of last night’s accident,” he lied. 

“Of course,” you responded, “Grindylows must’ve  been horrifying.” 

He nodded, absentmindedly and the two returned to your respective books. 

Series Masterlist | Next Chapter

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Raead more Marauders Fiction

[chlobliviate]

Wolfstar Microfics - Drama

Words: 668

@wolfstarmicrofic

***

“Did you see the cast list?" James was practically vibrating as Sirius took a final drag on his cigarette outside the school gates.

“Yeah, you and Evans? I give it a week before she smacks you or drops out.” Sirius said sharply. “Did you see some new kid got Pete’s part?”

“It was never Pete’s part, Pads. That was wishful thinking. The boy can’t sing to save his life. He only auditioned because you threatened him.”

Sirius huffed, “I thought it would be a fun bonding thing for our last year. We’d be Sam, Bill, and Harry and it would be magical.”

“Well now we’re Sam and Bill and the set designer and that’s probably good. Nobody needs Pete singing Our Last Summer. They’d be wishing it was their last summer.” James clapped his friend on the shoulder, “So what do you know about the new kid?”

“Nothing, I don’t think I’ve ever even seen him. I’ve heard the girls talking about him, though.” Sirius added, “Maybe you need to watch him around Evans.”

“Nah, I’d know if she fancied someone.”

“You think?” Sirius laughed. “Come on, we’re late for rehearsal.”

They snuck into the auditorium just as the head of drama, Professor McGonagall was starting her speech. Sirius caught Marlene’s eye and gave a little wave, she stuck her tongue out in response. He looked around for this mysterious new kid. What was his name? Lupin? He saw someone sitting next to Lily that he didn’t recognise, but couldn’t tell much from the back of his head.

When McGonagall was done, she announced that they’d be working on Voulez Vous as an introductory number as it featured everyone. She split them up into Sopranos, Altos, Tenors, and Basses and it was then that Sirius saw the new kid for the first time.

James nudged him after a couple of seconds, “Move, you prick.” Sirius turned to look at him, eyes wide, before he shook himself out of it, because Remus Lupin, new kid, was bloody gorgeous. Light brown hair fell in curls across his head, green eyes with long lashes, and a nose that most people would probably argue was slightly too big for his face. Several scars decorated the left side of his face, one cutting through his full lips.

He looked at Sirius and smiled shyly as James pushed Sirius across the room to where the tenors and basses were grouped. “You must be Remus!” James said. “I’m—”

“James Potter and Sirius Black,” Remus cut in, in a surprisingly deep voice. “Your reputation precedes you.” He ran his eyes up and down Sirius before focusing back on James. “Anyway, it’s good to meet you, I guess we’ll be spending a lot of time together.”

“Good to meet you too, mate. Is this tenor or bass?” James looked around. “I’m in the wrong place. See you later Pads. Nice to meet you, Remus.”

James, the traitor, left Sirius alone with Remus in the group of only five basses. He was having trouble forming words, so he just smiled at him.

“Alright?” Remus asked, “Lils made it seem like you never shut up, and now I don’t know if I can believe her about anything.”

“Nah, Evans is alright.” Sirius blurted out. “Uh, long day.” He shrugged. “So you’re new?”

“Started in January.” Remus smiled. “So, new-ish. I think I know my way around now at least.”

“Well, you can always ask me if you get lost.” Sirius cringed internally, What the fuck was he saying? “I mean, James and I know a few shortcuts.”

Remus’ left eyebrow raised slightly, “Shortcuts?”

“Yeah, like, there's a corridor between the science block and the drama department that’s supposedly closed off but…” He grinned, “It’s still accessible and might save you five whole minutes.”

“Five minutes in a secret corridor, huh?” Remus smirked at him and Sirius’ brain short-circuited. He was very grateful for McGonagall calling for quiet so she could start teaching the individual parts. He was so fucked.

[disappearenceofsomeone]

[SECOND PART HERE!!!]

small note!!!: I am…. bad at characterising!!!! or at the very least, just bad at portraying characters accurately , so take every action these stupid sillies do with a grain of salt (it’s a first time for me !!!! hopefully it’ll be better the next time I do this!!!!)

SPECIAL THANKS TO MY POOKIE OF ALL TIME @egotisticalweirdo FOR HELPING WITH DIALOGUE BECAUSE I KID YOU NOT WHEN I FIRST SENT IN MY DRAFT TO THEM THEY TOLD ME AUGUSTINE SOUNDED WHITE AS HELL 💀

OHHHH MY GOD IM FINALLY DONE!!! AUGEIWHSKSJA IM GONNA CRY IVE NEVER DEDICATED THIS MUCH TIME FOR A PROJECT LIKE THIS… AT ALL… IM SO NOT USED TO THIS!!!

anyways I’m gonna ramble about past self’s bad decisions here BECASUE I KID YOU NOT I WAS KINDA BEATING MYSELF UP AFTER THE TWO WEEKS THIS TOOK !!!! WHY DID I THINK I COULD GET THIS DONE WITHIN TWO WEEKS THATS INSANE… so uh yeah this took a month because my motivations can only last that long before I get tired of doing the same thing!!! 

another thing! I am notoriously bad at keeping an artstyle! so if some scenes looks wonky or coloured weirdly or just different altogether, you can blame past me for somehow never taking note on how they did things. ALSO I DONT JNOW WHY THEYRE SHADED DIFFERENTLY!!!! I never got the memo of making things consistent oops that’s gonna be smth to work on…

anyways!!! Im still very happy I got this done!!! it sucked ass after the first two weeks but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited to post this!!! I hope you guys enjoy!!!! I am sweating bullets as of typing this I do hope people like this

[prettyboysdontlookatexplosions]

three weeks down, 12 to go… i said yes to a new student which i’m kind of having second thoughts about but well too late now. (they’re taking the hunter test, so going through january, which is nice since most of my others will be dropping off in december.) that brings me to 12 total, two of whom are twice a week, and also meant that this was another 7-day tutoring week (at a little over 35 total hours of work), lol. the good news is that the content development race is over, with all sets for this leg of the project having been claimed, and while i have a few to do i no longer feel the pressure of “if i do these too slowly i’ll miss out on more hours.” which is already a huge psychic lift! i am not fully prepped for tomorrow’s sessions but i am tbh not worried about it for various reasons, including that tomorrow i will work on some answer keys while watching the indistry finale and it will be nice and chill.

MOST excitingly in work news, i found an app that combined with my new love affair with the apple pencil will i think allow me to compose my work to do lists as i dreamed… thrilled beyond the telling of it tbh. we’re so back.

my room is still very messy but i did a bunch of dishes today. i have not done many of my little habits but i hit five workouts & 70k steps. i think i am going to do as a redditor suggested and treat this 10 week workout program as two 5 week ones with a break in the middle to keep working out but take it easier for a week or so, which means i’m more than halfway done with the first “leg” and also gives me a place to do my covid vax (i don’t… love… that covid vax season coincides with my busy season lol). i have not given a lot of conscious time for fun or rest this week but i kept it moving on a busy donation day for free store & i had a really good zoom talk with my friend i have a standing zoom date with & tonight i got to see faith/void fuck it the hell up on the lower east side with several fond familiar faces in attendance. i also did finish the patrick radden keefe book about human smuggling in chinatown although it came so down to the wire i wound up screenshotting the last 20 pages to finish after libby took it back. today i looked at the silly magicians fic i started right as things were kicking into full gear and found that i still liked the little of it that hours recently spent content developing. in the next twelve weeks there WILL be times when i wonder why i am doing this to myself but i’ve been at this long enough to know now that the answer is that this stretch is what makes possible things elsewhen in the year like sending a few emails and fucking off because i have cramps or i have plans or i’m very busy reading an entire middle grade fantasy series in a single month, plus ofc all of the sleeping in. my goal so far has been to get through it without feeling crazy and so far i feel pretty sane!

[linonyang]

[19:42] bang chan

pairing: non-idol!bang chan and gender-neutral!reader

genre: fluff, established relationship, domestic au, college au

warnings: none

word count: 1.7k words

note: hello i am back! here’s a quite messy and somewhat plotless fic (bc i’m kinda rusty rn in terms of writing rip) that i just did on the spot jhsdfjfadsfa i’m still working on some of my wips so i wrote this for now! i also decided to write this bc i relate with reader enjoying being alone lol i hope you enjoy somehow :DD

tag list: @awooghan @hwangsify @xiaoderrrr @cosmic-railwayxo ​ 

© linonyang - all rights reserved. please do not copy, translate, modify, repost, or claim as yours.

It felt relieving to spend an afternoon class alone after spending most of your morning classes with classmates with whom you had no choice but to talk. To sit on your chairs and endlessly communicate with many of them was so exhausting until the point where you’d jokingly admit that you don’t want to talk to anybody for thirty business days to recharge.

Perhaps, it’s not a joke at all?

You’re finally on your way back to your apartment after spending a few hours walking around the campus, cooling down in the library, and finding something to eat for dinner on your own. You did not forget to buy food for two, since somebody’s waiting for your presence in that apartment of yours.

To be frank, Chan totally understood your eagerness to spend some time alone after your classes. He isn’t the type of person who feels tempted to not attend another daunting set of classes the next day just because he’s overwhelmed. He doesn’t get overwhelmed in public settings easily, especially since he is used to being surrounded by people.

Chan has known you for so long that he understands how you work as a human being.

He always waits for you at your apartment until sundown so he can bring you—in a way better mood, obviously—in his arms. If his last class in the morning finishes earlier than usual, he could grab you away from your friends for a comfortingly silent lunch if you’re not feeling to talk to any of them. He will always understand every time you send a text message that you want to spend time with him instead of other people.

It's really because he knows and understands you so well.

When you push your door open to your warm abode, Chan greets you with a lovely smile and long arms wide open. You drop your takeout food on your desk, walk up to him, and fall down onto him where he is, lying on your bed.

“This feels so good…” you drag your voice, almost feeling like you’re embraced by cotton. Chan chuckles and ties his arms tighter around you. “That project we did almost ended me, I had to buy some chicken wings to celebrate my survival,” Chan hears your muffled voice as you rub your face on his soft hoodie.

Chan traces shapes on your back and grins. “You did very well, love. You really deserve those chicken wings,” he almost cracks up at your choice of reward. “But first of all, why chicken wings?”

You snort and look up. You almost forget to answer him after staring at his angelic face for a few seconds. Fixing your position, you propped yourself on your elbows, your body still on top of his.

“Love, can’t I eat something delicious after constantly injecting myself with caffeine in my blood for the past weeks?” you can’t help but giggle at the sight of Chan sighing in disappointment. “I worked hard for that project! If I slacked off by sleeping all day, maybe things wouldn’t be as decent as what happened earlier,” you tell him. Moving some of his curls away from his eyes, you continued, “The coffee was worth it to some extent, I believe.”

He hums, “I believe I need to monitor your caffeine consumption over the next few days, baby.” Chan raises his eyebrows obnoxiously, “And let you eat more chicken wings instead. Is that okay?”

Your eyes light up at the idea of someone else paying for your food, “Yeah, as long as I’m not the one paying!”

He lets go of one of his hands on your back to gently caress your cheek. “So…” he drags his low voice, eyes glinting, making you chuckle in amusement, “Am I allowed to steal you from your friends for the whole month?”

Chan fondly gazes at the sight of joy reflecting on your face, not minding your last statement. He has been so happy being in a relationship with you. He loves you and your whole soul, and he’d treasure all of the times he gets to see your smile. He would give you the world just to give you the joy you deserve after every slump and hurdle you need to pass through. The world has been rough on you, and all he hopes is that he’s someone you can rely on just to feel comforted and validated.

“They’re going to make fun of me when they’ll know that I will abandon them for you,” you shortly stop there to tease him. Chan interprets this as a no from you, and he frowns. “But hey, I’m going to be with you, and I’d love that more if I’m being honest. So, yes, please take me away and bring me everywhere you want to go,” you finally continued.

Chan squeals and returns his arms around you to embrace you tightly once again. “You’re going to stick with me for a very long time, I’m very excited.” He continues to embrace you and rock you together side to side in delight.

You nuzzle his neck and agree, “But can I do the same stuff after class?”

“Oh, your alone time, you mean? Yeah, that’s absolutely fine,” he smirks, “unless you are okay with a clingy man silently following you around…”

You lightly bite his shoulder in response, Chan yelps and laughs. Your actual answer right beside his ear, “I guess that wouldn’t be that bad, right? If the love of my life is the one behaving like the dog he is, I wouldn’t mind him joining me in my alone time.”

“You’ll never let that dog thing die, aren’t you?” Chan remembers that you’re such a tease, and that’s just how you return the same energy since he does joke around with you quite a lot.

You nod in agreement. “You’re my pet, and I’d love to take care of you. I never knew you could bark like an actual dog!”

“I was communicating with Jisung’s dog, _____! He wouldn’t understand if I speak to him in English,” Chan excuses.

Cackling, you bring yourself up, away from Chan’s arms. “Oh, shut it! You tried so hard to act like a dog, it was cute and funny,” you respond.

Getting out of bed, you reach for the takeout on your table, “Let’s have our dinner in a bit!” You hear your boyfriend groaning and complaining for a solid ten minutes during your whole preparation for your dinner.

When you place the final piece, the glasses, on the table, you feel arms laced around you once again. Chan’s now the one nuzzling your neck, and you can’t help but mumble in amusement, “You are so clingy today, love. Did you miss me that much?”

“I… really do miss you, baby,” he softly spins you around to face him. “And today, maybe I kind of feel the same way as you feel usually, I realized I didn’t have that much time with myself or you today, so I feel like staying with you tonight.”

It is real that birds flock with the same feather. Not that you expected Chan to keep up with the same amount of energy every day, but you know times like this hit him once in a while.

He recharges with you.

You let him stay whenever he wants to be with you for the whole night. Aside from bonding through dinner and dishwashing, you two also get your own peace by doing your own work. It’s a win-win, you once said before, when Chan was feeling clingy like he is right now and both of you are in your own battles—dealing with final exams and projects. You spent the night typing away in your laptops and highlighting a stack of books and ending the day in each other’s arms.

He is so grateful that he gets to stay with you.

You reach for his hand and peck on his tender cheeks. “We’re in this together, I guess,” you purse your lips. “So don’t worry, we have the whole night together as usual. When you wake up tomorrow, I’m still beside you, okay?”

Chan nods and thanks you, pulling the nearest chair for you to sit on. He sits on the chair beside you and lets you put your leg on top of his.

Small acts like this make Chan fall in love with you all over again. There are things that you do that are reserved for him and him only. Those were signs that you’re his and he’s yours.

“Thanks for the dinner, _____,” he mumbles, slowly moving his head on your shoulder. “I’m going to start stealing you from your friends tomorrow, we’ll have lunch together, my treat,” he glances at your face above his. You nod your head and smile in approval, feeling thrilled that you’ll be with him once again, away from many people.

In a world where you get crushed by the weight of demands and pressures, you get to take your time and slow down at night with him. Perhaps you can conclude that Chan being with you hits differently than being alone. His presence is enough for you to feel better, and you hope your own presence can heal him to some extent like what you’re doing right now.

Awaiting by the dark night is the sight of the two of you, snoozing together under the blankets. The skies are pleased with the sight, and they want to give you a night without peril—silence, tranquility, and a beautiful sun to awaken you later on.

When your eyes open, you are welcomed by an adorable snuggling Chan, both arms and legs clinging onto you. You find your phone to check the time, and you decide to give yourself more shut-eye, it is too early to get up and prepare for another exhausting day after all.

Both of you are obviously not ready to face another day, but you two get to return home to see each other, and maybe that’s enough for you to go through the taxing mornings.

[theflagscene]

Wait! How!? When!? Where!? How is White suddenly there!? How did Tee meet White!? You can’t just play upbeat music and have the boys running around to show the passage of time and not explain how the fucking villain of the story got the most adorably innocent lil princess boyfriend on the planet!

Phee, bringing Jin on a date to the same place you and Non liked to go is just weird. I hate people who use the same ‘date’ spots for their new partners that they used with their past partners and no, this isn’t me projecting, why do you ask!? Lmao 😂 shut up it’s still tacky af

‘Friend’ the dreaded word.

What is with the ass slapping and window sex!? I mean, I get that they’re supposed to 18 year old boys, who are by definition perverted, but that was some porn level shit. Also, again, no prep. Phee wasn’t even the one blown so it’s not like they were even using spit for lube, or an already lubed condom. What is this, another ABO show? Just having the dudes slick and sliding all over one another apparently.

Ta’s got a decent ass at least, good for him.

“Did you cheat on my brother?” Nah, pretty sure they broke up when Phee saw him being raw dogged by the teacher and then told him to go die, but whatever helps you sleep at night Tan.

“Don’t fall in love with him.” Yeah, I think it’s too late for that.

Oh, mom is not looking so great. Hmm, something tells me that video isn’t real. Mom knows what’s up, it’s finally hit her, her baby’s dead. The actress did a fantastic job of a mother realizing the truth of the death of her child, it’s a startling realization that does take your legs out from under you. Your mind blanks, you can’t think about anything but the last time you saw them, the last terrible thing you said, all you can do is try not to scream. - That got a little too dark and real, sorry.

news.boc.com Cute BoC, very cute.

How long were Phee and Jin supposed to have been fucking by now? Weeks? Months? Because Jin has gotten very emotionally invested very quickly, which is appropriate for teenagers I suppose.

Two years, so they’d be in their what, second year of uni? Tan has gone full mad scientist I see.

Wait, he called to tell Tan that his mom was dead and it was her funeral that day and he just showed tf up! When his dad thought he was still in England!? Lmao, that’s fricking hilarious. I know, I know, wrong reaction to this scene but I’m weird, what can I say.

Oops, bye bye daddy. No wonder Tan is so fucking nuts! That would drive anyone insane. He literally needs Non to be alive otherwise he’s lost everything for nothing.

Is Tan his own guinea pig for his drugs!? Jesus dude, get some help.

Question, were Phee and Jin fucking during their time at university too? Or are you telling me all this ‘I love him’ crap was from one night of decent dick and a few ‘best friend dates’? Like the math ain’t mathing, establish a better timeline here for me when it comes to their relationship because in the first episode it made it seem like they were screwing around for a really long time, months at the very least. But now it seems like they fucked around a couple times in one 12 hour period, Jin decided that was enough to wanna date, caught Phee in a mood because of the fake news report and then they just… what? Kept fucking? Stopped? Jin carried a torch for him for over two years after one night together? Acted like a scorned lover for years because of a single teenaged tryst? Not to be that guy, but girl, you’re coming off a little desperate. I need a more accurate timeline!!!

“This won’t kill them.” Tan, could you try and be a tad more convincing when saying that?

That was a fantastic look from Tan to end on, ngl. Although someone needs to save baby White!

Next episode, we’re back in the present for the most part it seems. Jin somehow still trusts Phee, Fluke somehow gets the gun back and oh look, he holds White hostage, poor bb did nothing, leave him alone! And Tee clearly does know what happened to both Non and Keng as he runs up onto the roof where his uncle is to see the pair… unconscious? Dead? One of each?

I want some backstory about how White fits into all of this next time as well, that would be great. Although considering how little the timeline of events during grade 12 are fully explained, I doubt knowing more about White would make very much sense at this point.

[ericdeggans]

My Best TV of 2022: A (Unexpectedly) Long List

This is not a problem I expected to have, early in 2022.

Back then, the quality of TV shows was so disappointing, I considered writing one of those cranky, old-school critic’s columns complaining about how the glut of shows in our modern, streaming-fueled media environment was ruining everything.

I should have just waited around a bit. Because, even though I was mightily disappointed by some of the biggest TV projects on the docket – everything from CNN+ to Lords of the Rings: Rings of Power (the repetition in the title should have been warning enough) – lots more TV shows surprised and delighted me this year. Too many to fit on a top ten or top 12 list.

In fact, there were too many to fit on this excellent roundup prepared by me and five other critics at NPR.org (we each got about eight choices). And I will fess up now – I didn’t vibe with FX’s Reservations Dogs in its first season, so I didn’t keep up with the second and it’s not on my list. Many apologies to devoted fans of a show I’m very glad exists and so many love. But I’m not among you devotees (at least not yet).

Here's my list of fave shows from 2022, in no particular order. It’s by design very subjective, so I welcome debate, but it’s about what touched ME on TV this year:

Andor (Disney+) – Started slow, but turned into a masterful reinvention of the Star Wars universe, focused on the gritty, merciless beginnings of the Rebel Alliance. Who knew a Star Wars show with no lightsabers, no Jedi Knights and no Force could be just what the franchise needed? REVIEW

Atlanta (FX/Hulu) – The last two seasons, both released this year, weren’t nearly as impactful as its first two. But this show remains an excellent showcase for creativity and ambitious storytelling in portraying the lives of a quartet of Black millennials.

Here’s a Q&A I moderated w/Atlanta cast and producers at SXSW

Better Call Saul (AMC) – This Breaking Bad spinoff stuck the landing in series finale that capped both the origin AND ending stories of criminal lawyer Saul Goodman. REVIEW

Abbott Elementary (ABC) – Sidesplitting mockumentary-style comedy about teaching in a Philadelphia school that is so good, because it’s absurd humor is so close to the actual truth. PROFILE of star Quinta Brunson.

The Patient (Hulu) – Steve Carrell delivers his most impressive dramatic role as a therapist interrogating his own messy personal history while kidnapped and forced to help a serial killer. REVIEW.

The U.S. and the Holocaust (PBS) -- Star documentarian Ken Burns reveals how antisemitism in America busted the myth that the U.S. was always on the side of the angels as Adolf Hitler took power in Germany and began implementing his Final Solution.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount+) – Focused on the Starship Enterprise 10 years before James T. Kirk would take command, it’s a welcome return to a rollicking, adventure-a-week series that recalls the spirit of the original Trek series better than any other modern reboot/revival. REVIEW

Severance (Apple TV+) - for review, click here

Only Murders in the Building (Hulu) - REVIEW

Euphoria (HBO) - for review, click here 

A League of Their Own (Prime Video) -REVIEW

This is Us (NBC) - interview w/creator Dan Fogelman here

Sidney (Apple TV +) - REVIEW here

Under the Banner of Heaven (FX/Hulu) - for review, click here

We Own This City (HBO) - for interview w/EP David Simon, click here

Barry, season three (HBO) - for review, click here

Stranger Things (Netflix) - REVIEW

We Need to Talk About Cosby (Showtime) - PCHH discussion here

Harley Quinn (HBO Max) - 

The Sandman (Netflix)

As We See It (Prime Video) - REVIEW

The Good Fight (Paramount+)

The Dropout (Hulu) - 

The Crown (Netflix) - DISCUSSION here

The Handmaid’s Tale, season 5 (Hulu)

Ozark, season 4 (Netflix) - REVIEW here

Ms. Marvel (Disney+)

[maniacalgenius]

heyyyy everyone!!!

so!! i had my exam(s) yesterday. 64/75 on the solo one and 71/75 on the group one, which i’m happy with. of course i’ve already put the numbers into my spreadsheet, and i will only need 2/3 of the points on the last exam (which isn’t cumulative! whoop!) to keep my A.

since the pressure is so little for the third exam, i’m taking it as an opportunity to practice studying really well for exams, so i can feel confident about my ability to do so in the fall.

it’s been a pretty chill last day and a half; after my exam yesterday, i picked up food and went to study with my best friend at her house. (we planned this earlier because she was stressed. i forgot to ask the prof to send me the next lecture to study, so i mostly just yapped and drew flowers on my iPad.)

then my mom and i went to the bookstore to get a present for a friend. (of course, after i found said present, i also found something for another friend and stuff for school for myself.) then we went home, i took a shower, went to bed and i was asleep by like eleven. (ahh, the life.)

this morning i had a very nice surprise, which was that my organic chemistry professor from last fall/unofficial mentor was in her office! so i was able to bring her early birthday presents and had a nice little visit with her! and i got to say hi to the prof i had in the spring, who is also lovely :)

it’s a long story but basically she was the first prof to treat me like a person and not an aggregation of grades. going to her for help shut off my fight or flight response and allowed me to just try my best. since last fall, i go to her office all the time to study and chat. and i drive her son to and from places when she’s busy with class :) i’ve decided that i’m going to call her dr. sandwich here for anonymity.

anyways! after that i had some time before class and my prof had sent me the lecture so i went to the student center and took notes. class itself was really nice today; she did an extra credit activity, so i’m glad i was there for that.

after class i came home and worked on my little painting for my best friend’s birthday. i can’t wait until it’s done!! and until i get to give it to her next week!! then my mom and i had dinner and i studied some more. didn’t use the forest app because i was simultaneously watching Harry Potter and that felt like it would be cheating 😂

here are some pictures from the past few days:

1. my little brought me flowers when she came to visit and when the sunflower was finally on its last leg my mom decided to use it for one of her projects!

2. snowball!!!! in this house we are all about the Little Treats

3. baby blanket i made for my big sister to give to her friend :)

4. new (ish) lunar chronicles covers!!! i want this set so badly :] (i’m pretty sure this is the second time that i have taken a picture of these covers and added it to the “books i want” album in my phone 😂)

5. the flowers i drew on procreate while i yapped and my friend studied!! the blue one is my favorite, the other ones were more of a warm-up but i still love them <3

the plan for the rest of today is: read my Bible, get ready, go pick up my friend and go to our other friend’s birthday gathering, take friend home, go home and go to bed :))

here is my plan of attack for the next exam:

- notes on part 12, quizlet 12 (it’s amazing what you can get done with the help of Harry Potter)

- notes on part 13, quizlet 13

- notes on part 14, quizlet 14

- notes on part 15, quizlet 15

- read through all flashcards twice

- star most important terms

- memorize important terms

hopefully i will be able to keep myself motivated to keep up as we get through the different parts. only three left!! i’m going to try to get ahead this weekend since a friend is coming to stay at my house next week in between moving apartments; i’m also going to spend this weekend trying to make progress towards fixing my sleep schedule.

☙ song on loop: while doing notes today on campus i had “temporary bliss” by the cab playing.

☙ current book: last night i finished rereading the sorcerer’s stone!! i was definitely not half falling asleep. i don’t have the chamber of secrets on iBooks sadly and i don’t want to pull my physical copy off the shelf because i already have too many physical books that i’m trying to read floating around in my house, so i think my next comfort re-read will be another childhood favorite series, the sisters grimm.

☙ hours studied today: on my little app i have 40 minutes spent studying so far today. however! i also used it during class to keep myself from getting distracted because it blocks everything else on my phone, so i have another 1 hour and 9 minutes from that. hopefully this method will work in the fall when i have a bunch more hours to spend in class.

that’s all for now folks!!

xx

[elvenbeard]

WIP WEDNESDAY

Yes I'm actually doing this on a Wednesday wooo :D

I just went back through all my tags of the last month and man, you guys ;__; <3 I'm not good at keeping up with tumblr atm and I don't have something to share every week, so I think once a month a WIP Wednesday might be a good compromise XD Thank you for all the tags!!

@theviridianbunny @dreamskug @ouroboros-hideout @lokiina @therealnightcity @chevvy-yates tagging you all right back!

So, with that off of my list of works in progress, as is answering all the tag games and quizzes, some projects I'm working on atm:

Writing: Love is stored in the olive jar (WT) - Chapter 13

It's done, but still needs a lot of editing, as it got very heavy on dialogue in the end and I want it all to flow more nicely and make it a bit more scenic XD Too many instances of "she looked up again" or "he paused for a moment/second" xD But I'm getting there! Here's a snippet from the already somewhat polished beginning:

“Alright,” Fuentes said as she finally caught her breath again, “I suggest we cut straight to the chase.” “Yes,” V nodded, “Thank you again for taking the time.” “Of course,” Fuentes nodded, “I have to admit, I have been thinking about you and your case a lot these past days. Even with the limited knowledge I have so far, I still believe I may be able to help. If you are willing now to tell me more about your condition now, of course.” ‘Willing’ wasn’t the word V would use, it was more a necessity at this point. “I will,” he said, “But only if you can provide me with a certain level of security.” Fuentes shifted in her chair slightly and frowned, then she opened one of the drawers of her desk and pulled out a tablet. She turned it on and began to search for something on it while maintaining eye contact with V as best as she managed. “You’ve come here today as my patient. As far as I’m concerned, everything, anything that we discuss, falls under the doctor-patient confidentiality. My contract with the Little China MedCenter binds me to treat your data and information with utmost care and discretion. All data we store is locked away securely, all in accordance with your Trauma Team policy. I can resend you the patient information papers and contracts, although I think most of them you should already have…” “I care less about the MedCenter than about what you personally do with the information I’m going to give you,” V said, and Fuentes stopped her search, narrowing her eyes slightly. “I’m not sure what you’re alluding to,” she said, still polite, but significantly more tense than before. “Nothing,” V shook his head carefully, “This is just not something I tell random strangers on the street… no offense, of course. If I have to play with open cards, I need you to as well.”

In which Vince hates doctors but has to trust one now, boo XD

Writing: Some drabbles :3

Inbetween the longfic I still have some ask prompt drabbles to fill that I'm looking forward to tackling soon! And in a sudden burst of inspiration I wrote out a long although not very serious convo between Vince and Johnny the other day xD I'd love to turn it into a (VP) comic maybe, but I'm not sure yet XD

Art: Nothing new since last time, slowly chipping away at some bigger projects inbetween

VP: Currently no concrete plans for a bigger project

Although I wanna do more "days in the life" for Vince!! And I wanna play around more with some poses though and have a very soft set to share that I gotta edit a bit still ;_; Tomorrow probably!

Also, I'd like to turn the interface thingies from my recent "V as NPC" projects into shareable templates, that is also on my wip/ to-do list! Just wanna gather some in-game reference shots first :D

Modding: 👀👀👀

I'm working on a little something maybe, and I'm so excited :DDD Just gotta relearn how to do Archive XL, it's been half a year xD And I fought MLSetup Builder so fucking hard, but now I know how to edit MLMask Setups, so that's a victory at least XD And I have a base for a very kitschy coat :3

But yes, so much to that so far! See you again in a month or so probably with an ever-growing pile of wips xD But maybe some more writing, maybe some more art, and maybe a finished mod after too long 👀