#There’s so many directions I could go with it

[rosecentaur1916]

The irony is that I kind of had this happen. I worked at a Small Tobacco Shop in my home town for less than a year. The owners also own a party shop on the other side of town so that's why I said kind of... anyway! I had worked for them for 11 months or so and over that time even though it was decent pay (took a little over $600 home every two weeks back in 2018) they gave me a ride home every night (I had to walk everywhere as I had no car or even a license), and sometimes let me comp my cigarettes (I quit in 2020) they were mentally and emotionally abusive. So much so my direct manager, who was the youngest brother was so mentally and emotionally abusive to me a customer came in and asked if he had hit me! When that happened I knew something was wrong. I mean, I had a feeling when I'd have to close up the shop and go have a cry in the bathroom pretending I was using it. I was the only one running the store, but they had surveillance camera's up and would call me if they found any shoplifters (which price of anything that was shoplifted came out of my pay) or I was doing something I shouldn't be, which was barely anything. I was so bored because I had come from a small box pharmacy chain and was used to facing and cleaning quickly. I had gotten so fast at it that I had lots of time to spare and had seen in other small businesses that people read books or wrote or did a myriad of things between customers when the shop was empty. So, I started to read at first - got in trouble... so I couldn't do that anymore. Then I tried writing... had to negotiate to be able to keep that... it worked. Thank God... so I wrote. I wrote a lot. When I didn't have anything in my mind that needed to be written I started to do little exercises to keep the boredom at bay. Got in trouble for that too.

Yes, yes what about professionalism. Exercising, writing or reading in store isn't professional blah, blah, blah. I only did it between customers and when the story was emptier than a ghost town. I'd keep an eye out on the front of the store. There were so many advertisements for cigarettes you could barely see into the store, but I had gotten sharp at being able to see through the cracks when a customer was coming and made sure to make myself available, presentable and professional before they came in. Putting down my pen, or shoving my book under the counter. All of the abuse and boredom came to a head and I couldn't take it anymore. I was so beaten down that I could barely function at home... where I was *also* being abused. Something had to give - so I quit the job. My boss had the audacity to tell me I couldn't quit. He tried to give me back my professional quitting letter and tell me that I couldn't quit. I said okay, and never went back. Leaving behind a refurbished first generation iPod that he said later he threw away. Asshole. Lo and behold about six months later the Tobacco Shop was completely closed, storefront completely empty and every single part of the counter, displays and product stuffed into the party shop which was their first business. I had quit and the shop had gone out of business. I was astounded, because that means they couldn't find anyone else to work for them. I didn't know they were probably going to be unable to find anyone else, I just couldn't take the abuse anymore and quit for my own mental health. ...And that's the story of how I shut down a business by quitting.🤷🏻‍♀️💜

[nobodyfamousposts]

Scarlet Lady Top 10 Favorite Characters: Number 10

For @zoe-oneesama

Okay, I realized as I was writing these that there is way way WAY too much to each of these and why to be able to put them all into one post, so I'm breaking them down into individual essays focusing on each one to keep them palatable.

So without further ado....

Number 10: EVERYONE

Yeah, I know it may be cheating but at this point it was the only choice I could make.

I came to regret making this list, specifically because I couldn’t seem to make up my mind as far as who all would be on it. I reread the entire series. I kept switching people in and out as I was reminded of characters or scenes I loved. And I came to a realization that there is no character in the whole of this series I didn’t enjoy to some extent that they didn't deserve some love in this list and I kind of wish I could have added all of them just to give them all some spotlight.

Yes, it is partly because everyone is vastly improved compared to Canon. But as I reread the series, it came to mind that if Canon didn’t exist and I didn’t have the comparison between the characters, I still very much would have loved this series and everyone in it.

Cause and Effect Exist

It's important to have a setting in which the characters and their actions make sense for the world they live in. When the setting is supposed to be modern day earth, we need the people to be able to show that they are capable of surviving in it on a day to day basis without being so massively incompetent that they would do something like accidentally ingesting poison. Or forgetting how to breathe.

I would think it would be obvious, but sometimes Canon makes me wonder. Which is never a good look for a show that is supposed to have some level of seriousness and involve superheroes.

Here’s the thing Canon can’t seem to get: when a majority of the things that go wrong in a plot are because of everyone having to be stupid to make the plot work, you have a problem with the writing. Changing the material in a story so that younger people can enjoy it does NOT mean dumbing down the characters and throwing in arbitrary lessons with no real reason to them. Even if the show itself is geared towards kids, you can’t treat the audience like they’re stupid.

In Scarlet Lady, the people aren’t stupid.

Silly, yes. Wrong, often. Overdramatic, definitely. But while they may make stupid choices sometimes, they aren’t so dumb that anyone should have concerns about their ability to function at a higher level than an overcaffinated 2 year old.

They’re fooled initially the way many of us would be with a biased story that hits the news first. Oblivious to the problems in a situation that they logically wouldn’t have much direct insight into. Prone to making mistakes and incorrect judgement the way that anyone would. That's normal. That's expected.

But they’re not so incapable as to forget things that happen right in front of them between one day and the next. Or even between one scene and the next.

Things carry over. We see cause and effect. We see consequences—bad and good. And those consequences extend not only for the episode or season but for the entire series.

Aurore KNOWs Alec cheated her before and maintains a tight control over him and prevents more of his antics.

Adrien and Alya maintain a cold attitude towards Lila for some time after her reveal as a liar. And it even remains a point against her as used by Chloe as herself and as Scar to discount what she says.

The boys of the class remember Adrien’s “love letter to Marigold” and try to win him her merch because they’re bros like that. 

Adrien himself remembers the instances of his dad being a massive prick and instead of being surprised and “sad boi uwuwu” each time it happens like it’s supposed to be a surprise that the massive prick would choose to be a prick, he very clearly moves through the stages of grief to the point of a sort of acceptance that involves planning around and even for him.

Gabriel’s horrible parenting and general lack of concern for Adrien or his wellbeing as he ends up a casualty of various akuma attacks was played off for laughs when such incidents occurred. Then they were brutally called out against him in the Finale as a way to counter his claims of doing everything for Adrien’s sake. And the big reveal of the Birthday Scarf…utilized in the last way anyone would have wanted.

And Chloe is perhaps the biggest example as her antics ARE NOT forgotten or ignored by anyone. The classmates still interact with Chloe and are relatively nice to her, but they don’t just forget that she’s treated them horribly. They don’t act surprised when she does anything horrible. Nor does anyone just laugh it off or excuse it as “just who she is”. We see follow up to her behavior—the class fully expecting her to cause trouble and actively try to plan around it. People calling her out on past behaviors. And even bigger consequences as time goes on. Such as Adrien breaking off the friendship. And a blink and you miss it fridge logic moment in Ikari Gozen when you realize that when they said she was banned from all future Gabriel-involved competitions, they meant it.

The fact that by the time the big reveal happened that Chloe was Scarlet Lady, no one was shocked.

Story-wise, this is showing the passage of time and the effect the events of the story are having. It’s showing that there is lasting impact and that what happens to the characters matters.

Meta-wise, this is Zoe rewarding us for paying attention.

Continuity exists in Scarlet Lady. Time exists. The people exist. When anyone does anything, you get the sense that they aren’t operating in a vacuum. The things they do matter. There are consequences. There is an impact. And if there is an impact in the story, there will be an impact on the audience.

Which leads to…

Character Depth/Character Growth

Usually in TV shows of this nature, if there ARE character arcs for the side characters, they only occur over the course of a single episode devoted to focusing on them before moving on elsewhere. 

Canon didn’t give us that much at all in favor of having every episode that should focus on other characters learning and growing instead forcing Marinette to be wrong in some way and learn an arbitrary lesson that often would have better served for someone else.

In Scarlet Lady, the arcs we get are impressive for all that they’re relatively unobtrusive. They aren’t big. They aren’t world-ending. And the thing is, most change in life isn’t. It can just FEEL that way.

Like the way it felt for Kim when he first found out Ondine liked him and then had his confession to her screwed up.

And the way it felt for Kagami when she lost that first match against Adrien.

Then there’s the way it felt for Chloe when she was dismissed by her mother, had her popularity go downhill, and ended up losing her Miraculous.

…or the way it felt for Adrien when he discovered his dad was Hawk Moth.

The reactions we witness are in a great part due to actions outside of the characters’ control, but are ultimately a result of the experiences they have had and the ways they have changed as a result.

The question becomes: are the characters that we meet at the beginning pretty much identical to how they are at the end? Is the world?

The answer in Scarlet Lady is no.

Whether because the characters themselves change or our perception of them does, we can see that they have all undergone some sort of events that create a difference between the start and end points.

Not all of them HAVE to undergo some big emotional arc. Not all of them NEED to. But the characters still mostly go through some sort of growth by the end that I feel make them stronger and healthier people.

You’ve got the big life-altering changes like Lila and Sabrina.

You’ve got the little changes like Nino and Ivan.

You’ve even got the most minuscule, beginning stages of change in Chloe.

You’ve got growth that creates such perfect setup with Mylene when she starts off scared and traumatized by how things went with Stoneheart then is the one who confronts him in the end. And the parallel between the finale and the beginning when she returns him to normal by kissing him just like they did in that first episode to change him back then, too! (Just….GOD, I CANNOT GET OVER THIS!)

You’ve got them reaching out and making friends and relating to people they hadn’t before.

And by the end of it all, we get characters who feel like people rather than props.

They don’t all have to change. They don’t necessarily need to go through an entire emotional arc and back again. They just need to be part of the world they’re in.

Nino doesn’t just pop into existence when Adrien or Alya need someone to interact with. Kagami isn’t just a non-horrible or non-evil love rival for Adrien or a stepping stool for him to “practice“ at being in a relationship before it’s time for him to try the “real thing” with his endgame pairing. Luka isn’t just a decent guy who is the only actual form of support for the female lead and yet only lacking that precious “male lead” title or all around just not “Adrien enough” to fill the role.

Adrien isn’t just a “sad boy” meant to be a main love interest, Villain’s Morality Pet, and the one everyone idolizes and chases after just cuz he’s the male lead and that’s how you show he’s desirable I guess. Marinette isn’t the atlas keeping the story alive because no one else is apparently capable of learning lessons and changing, or even just the bare basics of functioning as individuals. Chloe isn’t just there to be horrible for no reason and get away with it so she can continue to be horrible until the writers suddenly need her to be sympathetic.

And the rest of the classmates aren’t just some Greek chorus there to fill the background.

We see them interact. We see them making jokes or jabs. We see them even…*gasp* having different opinions!

And on something as major and life-controlling as feelings about the “Hero of the City” no less! Why, that’s the sort of thing that would break up friendships and determine who you can sit next to at the cafeteria! The horror! The scandal!

And…oh hey. This puts the characters in different groups. It links them with characters other their Canonically designated pairings and groups. This lets them disagree on things and not need to vilify any of them. This creates implications that add depth to the story and to the people in it.

The characters can disagree without being enemies. They can be wrong without having to be evil. They can make mistakes without having to be stupid. And they can change and grow—both for better and worse.

And we see both and in different ways. SO many different ways.

Adrien goes from excited and impulsive to buckling under the forced responsibility and weight of a partner who hinders more than she helps.

Lila goes from selfishly bad and self-serving to selfish but friendly with better direction of her talents in a less self-serving way.

And Chloe just goes from selfish and bad to selfish and worse..

I mean, it says something that the combination of Lila’s growth and Chloe’s fall from grace resulted in Hawk Moth being unable to use Lila as a tool for his Heroes Day plot like he originally intended.

The key is that whether they necessarily grow or become better people, these characters are still IMPACTED by the events around them and AFFECTED as a natural result of the world they live in. 

You can’t help but feel for them in some way as a result. It’s part of why I love them.

The other part of why I love them is a bit more epic though…

Crowning Moments of Awesome

If there’s one thing I love, it’s seeing characters be awesome. I love it when characters get to be awesome. I would love to see more of it. Especially when the ones involved are characters you wouldn’t normally expect or get to see have a chance to shine.

And it’s when you see these characters be awesome that you really get the sense that yes, this character would work as a hero.

Seeing Max help against Robustus. Seeing Kim help against Odine. Alix stepping in during Pharaoh, calling out her brother’s fan fiction, and helping the heroes escape the security system at the Lourve. Alya stepping in during Copycat to clue Chat in to what’s going on and later keeping Anansi distracted to keep her away from Chat while he’s trapped. Rose kicking Nightmare!Chat in the face to defend Marinette even when she’s on the run from her own nightmares in Sandboy. Luka leading groups twice to stepping in and helping the heroes deal with akumas. Nathaniel standing up for Marinette and Sabrina when they’re accused in Rogercop and then helping the heroes in Reverser.

These little moments of support make such a big different and really make it make sense that the heroes would trust these people with magical jewelry to help them in battle.

And the little moments of characters being petty or strong or smart or turning the tables or just showing off what they’re capable of. Even without superpowers.

Adrien getting petty revenge for Nino and finding a tactic to counter Gabriel in the future.

The Police Force in Rogercop just saying “Nope” to obeying an obvious akuma. 

Zoe manipulating akumas twice to help the heroes. Her two Reasons You Suck Speeches to her mom and Bustier.

Every instance of payback that Tikki gets against Chloe.

Everyone in the Finale. Just…EVERYONE in the Finale. The characters who manage to avoid akumatization by either spotting the flaws in the illusion or refusing to give in to fear and even protecting others. Nora smacking any akuma that enters the home. Claudie pulling off Power Mom and ordering Max to stop attacking the city then helping to calm him down. Prince Ali and Juleka freeing Rose by kissing her! Chris, Ella, Etta, and Manon saving Mylene! Mylene saving Ivan with a kiss in a direct callback to how they first got together in Stoneheart! (Yes, I am still stuck on that!) Ondine saving Kim! Lila and Sabrina saving Alix! Luka facing Riposte alone and unarmed and then Kitty Section saving Kagami! ALL of the Heroes making a final comeback to help take down Hawk Moth for good! Just—AAAAAH!

How could Miraculous have peaked with this in Season 2 when this is Grand Finale material? Because there are few things more awesome than getting to see ALL the characters the heroes met and befriended and helped throughout the course of the story stepping up at the final battle to help take the Big Bad down!

Like…can we just take a moment to appreciate how everyone gets a chance to stand out in some way? Not all of them necessarily good, exactly (looking at you Andre). But still stand out and be memorable. Even characters who didn’t originally get much focus. Especially characters who were originally functioning as cardboard cutouts to fill a scene.

Anyone remember Aurore? How for the FIRST akuma in the pilot of the series and one who is quite frankly the most interesting and noteworthy, we don’t really get to see her again except in the background.

In Scarlet Lady, we got to actually look in to the contest and how she lost as well as the aftermath. She wasn’t some arrogant showoff who deserved to lose to the “sweet down to earth rival”, she was a girl who legitimately tried her best and had valid reason to be upset. Seeing her get revenge on Alec for cheating and humiliating her on live TV was well worth it.

Or how about the Photographer? Just there to take photos of Adrien in the park for a photo shoot or be the school photographer, but otherwise has no personality and is only remembered for his weird “spaghetti” line.

In Scarlet Lady, his role is two-fold. He acts as a sort of supporter for Adrien in his crush. Taking really good pictures of him being happy with the girl he likes. Taking more class photos at the behest of this girl for the sake of a friend who missed out on the class picture. And then there’s his OTHER role as a sort of antagonist to Chloe. He becomes one of the only ones in the early seasons willing and capable of dismissing her tantrums.

They’re both given more character. They get moments to stand out and BE awesome. So is everyone.

EVERYONE. From the classmates and big named characters we see regularly to the side characters who only appear once or twice. They all get some good scenes and focus that give them their own identities. All of them are memorable. None of them can really be ignored or forgotten. And part of what made making this list so difficult was that I found myself getting attached to pretty much everyone as I came across each of them that I couldn’t quite make up my mind.

Everyone in this fic has done something to make me happy and warrant my approval. Even the characters I normally wouldn’t like at all had their moments to shine and elicit an “okay, that was cool” from me.

Thus I grant this spot to everyone. To all the characters I don’t get the chance to mention. To all the ones I like albeit somewhat less than others. To all the ones I know are horrible but can’t help but like regardless. To all the ones I fought with myself for THREE MONTHS over which one would get this spot.

I love all of them.

[heavyhitterheaux]

Auntie Uno

See Me Through You Blurb

Synopsis: You steal your nephew from your twin's house. Again.

Pairing: Husband!Joe Burrow x Wife!Reader

Requested by: a beautiful anon 😍

Series Masterlist

Please Do Not Repost My Content Anywhere

Your cell phone rang, and you knew that it was only a matter of time before it did. Peeking over to see that it was your twin brother, you answered and put it on speaker.

“Hello twin.” You said as you adjusted baby uno on your chest.

“Pebbles!”

“Yes? Why is the nature of this call so frantic?” You asked knowing exactly the reason why.

“Why am I signing for the delivery of a 75 inch television!?” Ja'Marr asked as he handed the delivery guy the clipboard back.

“Oh, that’s for the baby.”

“The baby? WHAT? WHY? Whose baby are we talking about!?”

“He needs it so he can watch Ms. Rachel in HD. That's why. Don't ask me silly questions. And my baby, obviously.” You replied as Joe had finally come out of his office. You guessed that he was in there reviewing film, but looked highly confused to see you holding his nephew.

Joe mouthed ‘When did you go and get him?’ as you then heard your frantic twin.

“And wait a minute… did you? WHEN DID YOU COME AND TAKE HIM!? I literally got up to answer the door and now he's gone.”

“Hmm, don't know what you're talking about little brother.” You said to him as Joe reached down to take little uno from you. 

‘Just now.’ You finally mouthed back to Joe as he nodded his head.

As he started to play with him, it instantly made you smile knowing what your future was going to look like. Joe was amazing with children and you knew that he was the perfect person to have yours with.

“You know EXACTLY what I'm talking about. Stop doing that!”

“Well you got an attitude earlier when I called and only wanted to talk to him instead of you so I went and got him myself so we can discuss his big ass headed father in person.” You responded and Joe couldn't help but to bust out laughing.

“Is that? JOE STOP LAUGHING AT HER. SHE'S NOT FUNNY.”

“Yes, she is. One of the many reasons why I married her.” Joe replied as he smirked and leaned down to kiss you. 

“See that's why you my number one opp.” He told you as you heard him walking and assumed he was coming to your house.

“Love you twin.”

“No you don't! You love to torture me!”

“Look, I am about to feed you tacos, so shut up and be nice to me.” You told him as Joe simply walked off with baby uno making you throw your hands up in protest.

“Good, now open the damn door!”

“Lose the attitude and I just might. BABY! BRING ME BACK MY BABY!” You yelled in Joe's direction and you could hear him laughing.

“Which one!? Me or baby uno!?”

“Don't play dumb! You didn't help me on my mission to sneak him out to do hoodrat shit with us as I was doing mission impossible rolls across the floor so I wouldn't get caught!” You told him as you got up to open the door and was met with Ja'Marr who hung up the phone once he saw you.

“Where is my child and where are the tacos!?”

“Your baby is currently being held by my baby and the tacos are being delivered in like ten minutes.” You told him as you moved to the side in order for him to be able to come in.

“I swear you live to stress me out.” Ja'Marr said as Joe finally emerged with your nephew who was currently munching on his baby snacks that you and Joe kept in your pantry for him when you would watch him.

“I love you too, twin.” 

You immediately walked over to them and pinched his little cheeks before kissing them. He proceeded to give you a little smile and you could see two of his teeth on the bottom row starting to come in.

“I didn't know that I literally had him for the both of you.” You heard Ja'Marr mutter as he made himself comfortable on the couch as both of you made a face at him.

“Uh, obviously. This is our trial run before I actually get her pregnant.” Joe told him as he sat down next to him and baby uno was now moving back and forth between them.

“And spare me the damn details. I still remember walking in on the two of you at LSU and have been scarred ever since.”

“You are literally so dramatic. I was covered.” You replied as you rolled your eyes as the doorbell rang again.

“Uh, yeah, with Joe's body. And is that the tacos? I'm starving!” Ja'Marr told you and you gave him a tight lipped smile.

“I… Pebbles, what is that look for?”

“That's baby uno's g-wagon. He has to match his favorite auntie.”

“I…. You cannot be serious. Joe, get your wife.”

“Nope. She was your sister first.”

[helianthus-tarot]

FUTURE SPOUSE: Challenges to overcome or events to experience before meeting them

As written in the title. I posted the extended version on my Patreon which includes at what stage of life will you meet 👀❤️ There are also other 90+ readings on Patreon so definitely check it out, pick a card reading is posted every week plus extra mini pac every month! 🎉

Disclaimer: Here | Instagram: Here

Instructions: Focus on the topic and ask yourself the question. Choose a number/picture that you feel the most drawn to or that you can’t stop looking at. Trust your intuition. May the message resonate. Let me know which pile you choose! Feedback is appreciated!

Like my readings? Tip here!

PILE 1 

Challenges to overcome or events to experience in your life before meeting them: 2 of Swords, Wheel of Fortune, 7 of Pentacles, Knight of Swords, 8 of Cups. 

I think it’s got something to do with a change in your life path; things in your life moving in a direction that is unexpected, or that is different from what you initially visualised your life to be. There may be some external events that will be contributing to this development, that will be nudging you in this direction, or that will make you aware of this path. For some of you, it will involve a change in fortune; meaning that, if you take this new path that is being presented to you, you may feel like there’s a possibility that you can change your fortune. For others of you, this path will come to the surface the further you work in the direction that you think you are going. It’s like, let’s say you are currently working on X, but the more you work on X, the more Life directs you to Y path, or the more Y path becomes visible to you. X and Y may be related, they may be logical outcomes of each other. Like, pursuing a film major and wanting to work at X company, but then instead of going to X, you are presented a choice to go to Y organisation instead which will take you to a place you didn’t consider before. It’s that kind of event. 

Whatever it will be, you will have to make a decision, and this decision may cause some internal conflicts; you won’t know what you should choose. For many of you, this decision may involve you leaving something behind; this could be a place, an old idea of how you think your life should develop, it could be a project or skill you’ve been working on, or it could also be a relationship, if you’re in a relationship. For the latter, it feels like the typical event in films where one character has to break things off with their partner because they are asked to move, or they want to take on a project somewhere else and they can’t make the relationship work. This change of events may also highlight what isn’t working out in this relationship, path or place.  

You may also be asked to assertively solve your problems; the solutions may be presented to you by Life itself, and you may come to a standstill where you have to make that decision. In order to progress, in order to reap your hard work, you may need to be more assertive or direct in pursuing certain things, and this will lead to a change in fortune. So yeah, there will be introspection, inner conflicts, not knowing which decision to make—your heart and your mind will be pulled in different directions, or you’ll feel like there are many things that make it difficult for you to make a decision. But I think, at the same time, the answer will be clear to you. There may be a change of perspective, or Life may show you something which will make it clearer to you, and you may choose to move on from whatever it is in the past, in search for something better for you, in the direction of what you believe will help you progress and change your fortune. 

Advice for you is to stay centred in yourself, maintain that emotional balance and maturity, and be patient with yourself. I think the answer will be obvious, but the process of coming into the answer may require you to be confident in your ability to make decisions, it may require you to sit in your feelings and hear yourself out, it may require you to have a mature outlook instead of just following purely feelings or purely logic. For some of you, you may also need to believe that if you’re destined for a relationship, it’s not going to miss you. If you’re destined to be with someone, your relationship isn’t going to fail. There may need to be some reliance in the Universe with regard to your relationships, and about your emotional fulfilment. To remain strong in yourself, and trust that whatever wish or hope you send out to the Universe will not miss you even if you suddenly change your direction. I do feel like there’s a strong message that you will take this new path or that you will follow the direction that Life shows you; whether or not you’ll leave behind your current relationship (for those of you who are in a relationship). 

EXTENDED VERSION IS ON PATREON! At what stage of life will you meet them? What will be going on in your life at that time? Will it happen when you are living your dreams, or when you get a new job, etc? Find out here! 😘❤️

PILE 2 

Challenges to overcome or events to experience in your life before meeting them: The Lovers, 9 of Cups, 6 of Cups, The World, Wheel of Fortune. 

I think you will be pursuing your passion here, or dream, especially something that is related to your past or childhood passion. For some of you, you will do this just for fun; it’s just one of the things that you’ll do because it brings you enjoyment, and it makes you get closer to yourself. It feels like a desire to express the highest form of yourself, or to be in that joyful and dreamer energy; this dream, passion, path will feel achievable to you. For others of you, you may have a bigger goal; you will have imagined that pursuing your passion or doing this thing will eventually lead you to something bigger, like you could move to a bigger stage, you could go global or international—there's something with the external world, I’m talking about something big, something that will feel like destiny to you. You may have imagined this for yourself, and because of this, you’ll pursue whatever path this is.  

Regardless of what your goal will be, you will reach it and you will live that experience; it will feel expansive, it will feel lucky, it will feel like you’ve achieved your dream or wish, it will feel like this is one of your highest accomplishments—especially one that represents who you are, your talents, your soul. It will make you feel like you are on the track of self-actualisation, or you have done something that has a spiritual meaning to you. Something will reach an end (this is not negative) and reward will come, and you will enjoy it. So you will have done something here related to what I’ve just mentioned—possibly passion, wish, etc—and you will feel on top of the world, you will feel achieved and things in your life will feel like it’s moving in an interesting direction, a bit unpredictable but it will feel expansive. For some of you, you’ll meet your person either during that stage (after the end / achievement has just come to be) or after this stage entirely; but for others of you, the message will be in the next section. 

This may involve you meeting someone from your past, especially past lovers or partners. I’m not sure if you will get into a relationship with them again (some of you might, and they might be your future spouse). But either way, you will feel positive about this past encounter—or this past encounter will lead to you getting in touch with yourself and pursuing what brings you the highest enjoyment, which will eventually lead you to your person. Of course, like I mentioned before, for some of you, this is you reconnecting with your childhood memory, passion or dream, and you will do something about it that will lead to a sense of achievement and accumulation of experience, and it will feel lucky. This may also involve getting in touch with many people—there could be many emotional interactions or connections here—especially with the general public. For others of you, this may be talking about people online, people abroad, people from different countries. I think your life at this point may also make so much sense; there are a lot of circles in the cards, so it feels like something that started in the past and will reach the point where it connects back to where it begins—so it becomes whole. You will feel whole too. This will generally be a positive experience. 

Advice for you; keep working on yourself, your path, your skills or whatever it is that you’ve got your eye on. Constant learning, constant improvement (but with curiosity and light-heartedness of a child, instead of stress and jadedness of an adult) and constant movement towards what you feel called to—these will eventually lead you to your person. Your progress and movement do not have to be fast; they just have to be consistent. You are advised to hold on to that optimism, the belief that can you do amazing things. You are also advised to connect with the society, community, the world around you—what I meant by connect is not necessarily socialising; it’s more about your emotional connection with the world outside yourself. Connect that to the work that you are doing. For some of you, this may feel a bit exhausting sometimes, so take your breaks, but always come back to that hopefulness and that diligence, and put in the effort to reach the stars. 

EXTENDED VERSION IS ON PATREON! At what stage of life will you meet them? What will be going on in your life at that time? Will it happen when you are living your dreams, or when you get a new job, etc? Find out here! 😘❤️

PILE 3 

Challenges to overcome or events to experience in your life before meeting them: 7 of Pentacles Rx, Justice Rx, 3 of Swords Rx, 5 of Swords, The Fool. 

Yeah, this will be a challenge. For some of you, this challenge has been brewing under the surface, so it will come out and you will realise it or you will be made to realise it—you can’t pretend it’s not there anymore, or you can’t try to hold on to it anymore, you can’t try to prolong the heartache anymore. For others of you, certain events will be obvious but some events may be quite hidden, so at first you may not understand what’s truly going on (what forces are at play), or what you are supposed to do. And when you do realise it, you may try to suppress or hold off your emotional reaction to it, not sure why. It could be that you will try to hold on to something here, something you’ve been putting effort into or investing yourself in, something that you are emotionally attached to—anything like that. 

I feel like for many of you, this challenge will involve people. There may be misunderstandings, arguments, or disagreements, or people misjudging you / your intention and words. For a few of you, it may feel like bullying; I’m not sure if it is, but it may feel that way. It’s like within a friend group, something happens, and people take sides and you feel like you are standing alone. Something like that. For some of you, it may feel like you’re trying to manage multiple perspectives, or juggle different sides / opinions to the point that it’s hurting you. For others of you, it will be a battle of some kind, it could be related to law—I'm not seeing anything super big or significant though so this may be something like contract issue or small dispute. There will be a feeling of being treated unfairly though, like there will be unfairness somewhere, some kind of injustice and imbalance. You may also feel like you can’t freely express your hurt about the situation; because for some of you, the unfairness or injustice may be hidden. Like you will be able to feel it but it may not be addressed out in the open. Some of you will hurt some people’s feelings or you will get your feelings hurt when you defend yourself or argue your case. 

Whatever the event may be, it may put a halt to or make you have to abandon the previous thing that you’ve been working on. You have been building something here; this could be anything like a path, project, job, programme, skill, investment—something that you put effort into because it’s getting you somewhere, because you want to progress. But because of the conflict, you may not be able to continue, or your effort may feel like a waste. It’s probably not really a waste though. Whatever it will be, you will start anew; you may take a new path, and it will feel more liberating and exciting than whatever these restrained energies are. For others of you, it’s precisely because you will be taking a new path that this conflict happens, almost like your new path disturbs or goes against some people; in this case, I think you will still proceed with that new path, but the progress may experience some kind of delay, until you overcome this conflict, so this will be like, a blockage. You will end up learning from this experience.  

Advice for you; don’t be too accommodating or kind. King of Cups in reverse fell on top of Justice in reverse, and when I took it, I kinda accidentally dragged the Justice. So I think both cards are related in some way. I think one of the contributing factors to that imbalance may be your tendency to understand the other parties, to accommodate them, to want things to work—but this can only work well for you if they do the same thing. But if they don’t, it can become unbalanced, and you may be treated unfairly as a result. Don’t think too kindly of people; I mean, don’t start being suspicious of everyone, but if people have shown negative traits to you, don’t explain and give positive meanings to those traits to yourself. If you have a tendency to give yourself to others too much, maybe restrain that a bit more. You’ve got to support yourself first before you do it for other people.  

Some of you are a bit too nurturing that people take advantage of that. You may also have a strong sense of responsibility, so you give yourself too much sometimes. Remain centred in who you are, your beliefs and your values—regardless who will be questioning you or starting issues with you here. Be mature, don’t add to the fire, but have confidence that you know what you are doing and you are doing the best for yourself here. Don’t settle for less—for example, if you get involved in some kind of dispute, make sure you get your fair share / compensation because you deserve it. So there needs to be that feeling of ‘I deserve to ask for this, or to be treated this way, or to hold this position without being disturbed’, because it’s a basic thing to ask for.   

EXTENDED VERSION IS ON PATREON! At what stage of life will you meet them? What will be going on in your life at that time? Will it happen when you are living your dreams, or when you get a new job, etc? Find out here! 😘❤️

PILE 4 

Challenges to overcome in your life before meeting them: 4 of Pentacles, 6 of Wands, 10 of Swords, The World, Page of Cups (Ace of Pentacles). 

I feel like there will be several, and these things may be different from one another. You’ve got multiple energies here, and I asked how these things connected to one another, you got Ace of Pentacles. So it’s either one event leading to another event and to another event—or multiple things happening at the same time and they’ll just end up leading you somewhere new. It is also possible for some of you, that these events, although they may look different, all of them will be related to material opportunities. For example, in order to pursue those opportunities, you may experience these events. Or experiencing these events will eventually open up material and financial opportunities for you. 

Now what are the events. There will be something with regard to your home life, most likely your house, or your physical location. I feel like it’s been or it will feel quite difficult to live there, or something won’t be that satisfying, or you will feel like you’re storming through difficulties or inconveniences, or you’ve got to hold on to this place for whatever reason (like a lease) before you can move on to the next one. So it will feel that way. It won’t be that unpleasant, I mean, you will still have your stability but you may feel like you need to hold on or deal with some things.  

Now, another thing that you may experience is a victory; you will feel on top of the world. Some of you will feel achieved; some of you will feel celebrated, as in, people paying attention to you, people recognising you, people admiring or respecting you—this could be people abroad, or more than just one or two people. You may have been working on something, and that thing may reach an end and you will get the reward. This victory may come with some downsides for some of you. Since it will involve people, sometimes it may feel like a burden, or it may make you stressed out for some reason; some people will feel too passionately or emotional about what you are doing and they may start causing some scenes. This could be the reason for 10 of Swords.  

For others of you though, 10 of Swords is a separate matter. You will experience a mental and emotional hardship. It will be either something that has started long before that ending happens, or it will feel like you have got to move on—because things are ending and stressing you out and you can’t do anything about it anymore. It’s related to a heartache; I got 3 of Swords when I asked for a clarification. It may be related to a breakup, or a relationship ending. The odd thing is, I’m not getting a strong negative energy from 10 of Swords. Some of you may experience the heavier version of it, because this is a general reading, but for some of you, this may be like... an accumulation of stress that has been burdening you and so you will finally be pushed to the end of it, and realise that you can’t take it anymore, you don’t want to think or feel hurt about the same thing anymore. It can simply be mental or emotional exhaustion from having putting in a lot of work / effort.  

I did mention achievement; so whatever that will happen here, whether it’s positive or not, you will feel like a stage of your life is completing. It feels positive though. Some of you will be graduating, completing a program, a contract, project. Some of you may go abroad, or relocate; some of you will connect with people abroad, people from different countries, or simply people online through this achievement. You may also feel more connected to the world, and wiser through this experience, like you can see how the world works and what is connected to what—having a mature understanding of the world and the interconnectedness of it all. This could also be related to your passion, heart desires, creativity, or the part of you that is drawn to the arts—so you may be led to explore your idealism, your artistic inclination, a hobby that you’ve been wanting to explore because it speaks to your emotions and soul. It feels very soft and genuine and like opening a box containing parts of your soul as a child. It will feel joyful but in a quiet way; you will feel content with what you have at that time and what you want to do. I think this will be the light that you will follow, which will lead you to more material opportunities, which may lead you to your person.     

EXTENDED VERSION IS ON PATREON! At what stage of life will you meet them? What will be going on in your life at that time? Will it happen when you are living your dreams, or when you get a new job, etc? Find out here! 😘❤️

[justhereforthecupcakes]

@rosie-tyler Funny you mention Daniel spitting.

I actually wrote a very dark and sad AU fic in which Daniel spits in Terry’s face during the infamous arm lock moment in the 5x05 fight scene… with tragic results.

I’ve decided to post it below. Please be warned there are VERY dark themes and TW subjects. Otherwise, I hope those who read enjoy.

Something You’ll Never Forget Series

Title: Something You’ll Never Forget (I Know I Won’t)

Pairing: Daniel LaRusso/Terry Silver

Disclaimer: do you really need one at this point, or do you honestly believe I own the franchise?…. Why yes I do, write any checks to me please!

Warnings: N/C, Sexual Assault, Physical Assault, Edging, Forced Orgasm, Obsession, Anti-Asian slur, Terry Silver is his own warning, in fact Terry Silver is flat out delulu

Summary: Daniel makes the mistake of telling Terry Silver to blow him. So he does.

“You really ought to be careful what you ask for, Danny Boy.”

Daniel lay on the floor, naked below the waist, trembling and giving broken little whimpers from both the assault and being kept on edge for the last 20 minutes by Terry’s mouth and hands. He was straining oh so beautifully against the silver silk scarf binding his hands behind his back.

His cock straining even more.

Terry was glad he decided against blindfolding him; it would have heightened the sensations for his boy, but seeing the conflicting emotions of shame and arousal in his expressive brown eyes was far more rewarding.

They had fought, ending with Terry trapping Daniel’s arms with his own, taunting him.

“You never had the strength, did you?”

“Blow me, asshole!” Daniel had spat out, before spitting in his face.

He also never did learn to watch his mouth…

He’d struggled at first, alternating between panic and anger, pleading and cursing at him to stop; then the tears followed. But eight minutes in, the anger and tears subsided as Daniel gave up fighting. Resigned to Terry’s ministrations, his breaths now coming in delicious little gasps, and moans.

He loved the fire in his boy, but Submission was a damn good look for him.

Terry’s pants were definitely much tighter than they were 20 minutes ago. He ignored it, though. That wasn’t exactly easy considering Daniel’s thighs were quivering in the most provocative manner — if he only knew just how badly Terry was tempted to take a bite of his inner thigh and truly mark him.

For now…

Daniel let out a choked moan as he massaged his balls, lips teasingly brushing over his cock.

Oh he was going to enjoy hearing his boy cry out in ecstasy when he finally let him come.

But not yet.

He would make him beg next time - and there would be a next time, giving Daniel this small taste has without a doubt ensured that.

Perhaps he’d even take a hand to his backside for his insolence, as adorable as it was. Administer blow after blow until his cheeks were glowing.. until he was deliciously squirming and writhing in his lap, begging for Terry’s forgiveness… for mercy…

But, he didn’t want to totally break him just yet. Breaking him too quickly would have him running or fighting him even harder.

He knew his boy — he’ll always be his boy, no matter how old he got — and he was a stubborn thing. Regardless of how many years had been lost between them, he knew not to rush him. Daniel would need time to accept his feelings if he was to come to him on his own.

Besides, this was meant to be a gift, an incentive, a little nudge in the right direction…

… Still, his boy did need a firm touch. He needed to learn.

And Terry just couldn’t help himself.

“Do you have any idea how you look right now?”

A gentle kiss to his swollen cock.

“Has it ever been this good with your wife?”

Daniel remained as stony-faced as he could manage in his position.

Admittedly, it was an unfair question to ask — and an irrelevant one.

The one that mattered…

“Has a man ever touched you like this before?”

Because he needed to know. And because he’d seen Lawrence and especially that sl**t-eyed Toguchi sniffing around his boy, like Daniel was a bitch in heat.

Well, he supposed, in a way, he is.

And Barnes… well, he got the message.

The grimace on Daniel’s face was enough to confirm he hadn’t. And the elation it brought him. It meant Terry would be his first in so many ways.

God, it meant he’d stayed faithful.

That alone earned Daniel his reward.

He grasped him tightly then, sealing his mouth over the head and giving him firm strokes; his other hand teasing his perineum — that did the trick.

Daniel let out a strangled cry, involuntarily thrusting his hips and himself further into Terry’s mouth. It wasn’t long until Daniel threw his head back, letting out a guttural moan as he came hard.

Watching him fall apart and completely come undone truly was a sight to behold. Something he’ll never forget.

And neither will Daniel.

Underneath the flush from his post-coital daze, he looks shellshocked.

Understandable; his boy had never experienced this kind of pleasure before.

Daniel was no doubt experiencing the full onslaught of the feelings and desires he had kept buried all these years, the ones Terry had just forced him to confront.

It was long overdue. Terry had accepted his feelings, and now it’s time for Daniel to do the same.

Time for Daniel to come back to where he belonged.

He gently takes his face in his hands and kisses him before he unties him and leaves; pocketing the silk scarf.

It won’t be long before he’ll finally have the pleasure of seeing what his beautiful boy will look like riding his cock.

Until then, the scarf that had touched Daniel’s beautiful hands was now wrapped around his cock. And he imagined his boy would feel just as smooth around him.

So he waited for his boy to come to him.

And waited.

But his boy never came.

No, the next knock on his door were two LAPD officers with a warrant for his arrest.

The charge: sexual assault of Daniel LaRusso.

He made bail, of course.

But to add insult to injury, he was almost immediately served with a Temporary Restraining Order barring any contact with Daniel and his family, and instructing him to stay a minimum distance of 100 feet away for the next 30 days.

How he managed to obtain one so quickly… The judge listed on the order was part of LaRusso’s little country club, no doubt.

He’d have her charged with collusion and disbarred.

GODDAMN LITTLE PRICK!

Even if he wasn’t convicted and placed on the sex offender list, the charges alone would severely hamper, if not totally derail his plans.

LaRusso, you little bastard… you fucking tease!

He planned this.

Somehow he’d planned this and once again Terry had underestimated him.

He would have given him the world.

Okay, Danny Boy. Okay.

Now the real pain begins.

Title: Breathe

Sequel to: Something You’ll Never Forget (I Know I Won’t)

Pairing: Daniel LaRusso/Terry Silver

Warnings: MAJOR CHARACTER DEATHS, murder, strangulation, rape, stalking, obsession, suicide, Terry Silver is his own warning, in fact Terry Silver is flat out delulu

Summary: After the events of “Something You’ll Never Forget (I Know I Won’t),” Terry makes bail… and now… the real pain begins.

He wept softly as he rocked Daniel’s too still body in his arms…

He understood, too late, his boy simply wanted to know if he mattered more to him than Cobra Kai.

This had been a test to see if he would choose what mattered most, and he’d failed.

He’d been waiting for him at Miyagi-Do.

He just wanted to… he doesn’t know… but he needed Daniel to know.

Terry needed Daniel to know that for all the things he’d ever experienced… Viet Nam… the fear… the trauma…

Never had he experienced heartbreak like that at the hands of Daniel LaRusso.

His Danny Boy…

There were moments he was sure Daniel was pure Cobra, more than he or Kreese ever were.

He thought he’d never been more sure than the moment he learned what his boy was capable of: Orchestrating his arrest, the restraining order… setting everything he had worked to rebuild to burn to ash once more.

All of his patience and planning… all his years of therapy… gone with one look from his boy… a single threat of walking away…

But when he came out of the shadows, and Daniel jumped back, and ordered him to leave — screamed for him to get out.

Out of nowhere his anger dissipated; instead, Terry broke down and fell to his knees, grabbing Daniel around his waist, begging him… “don’t make me go, don’t push me away, please”…. never had he willingly shown such weakness and vulnerability in his life…

… and still Daniel tried pulling away… panicking and screaming and tripping them both to the ground with Terry on top of his back…

“DON’T TOUCH ME! DON’T TOUCH ME!”

The cruelty in his boy.

And, God help him, his anger has returned and turned into an all consuming rage. All he could think was how much he wanted him to hurt! To make him suffer for the way he had deliberately made Terry suffer, and break him for it.

Because Terry was suffocating and he couldn’t breathe…

So he wouldn’t breathe…

He wound the silver scarf around the swanlike throat and pulled tight… tighter…

"Terr—" he'd choked out, before his eyes rolled back and he finally went still under him.

And he was done waiting, done drawing this out. No, this was pleasure for Terry and pain for Daniel.

“I told you not to play with fire,” he voice shook in fury, as he undid his belt and pants, before roughly yanking down Daniel’s, “didn’t I?”

He took one moment to appreciate the enticing view, smoothing a hand over the cheeks he could only dream about over the decades; now a reality in front of him. Any ounce of regret he might have felt at their first time ruined by fury and blood was overtaken and consumed by that decades old darkness that had been caged too long.

There was no going back.

He took that one moment before spitting into his palm, and greasing his cock with the barest amount, because he didn’t deserve lube… he deserved every second of the torture he was about to endure…

And he shoved in, uncaring of the damage to delicate flesh and the blood that followed — satisfied even.

“You used me!” thrust “You used me for a trophy” thrust “and then walked away” thrust “without a backward” thrust “glance!”

His hands yanked upward on the silk material, pulling the scarf tighter, while pushing down between Daniel’s shoulders blades. Daniel couldn’t cry out, could barely breathe, body twitching in agony; didn’t matter - he knew he was in excruciating pain, while he was in utter bliss.

He was so very right after all… his boy was as smooth as silk on the inside… Smooth as velvet… He never knew people actually saw stars when they came.

He let his breathing come back under control… but his hands… were still pulling on the scarf around his boy…

… who was laying too still…

NO.

He jerked his hands away from the scarf and turned his form onto his back, and frantically tried to give the breath he'd stolen from him back… mouth-to-mouth… chest compressions… mouth-to-mouth… chest compressions…

BREATHE!

God, Danny - sweetheart - please breathe…

He tried listening for a heartbeat, but the horrible wail that tore from him drowned out the sound that wasn’t there.

He simply dragged his boy up into his arms, silently crying as he rocked him, whispering apologies and begging forgiveness to unhearing ears.

He doesn’t know how long he sat there, doesn’t know how long it was before he was discovered by Lawrence, Toguchi and (regrettably) Daniel’s children.

He knows their presence is the only reason he woke up in a hospital three days later, miraculously still alive… in pain (though it would never come close to what he felt when Daniel’s body was ripped away from his arms)… but he was still alive…

Just another regret.

A regret he remedied when he plead guilty, and requested the death penalty. He’s not the first convicted murderer in history to do so; but it still sent shockwaves through the Valley.

But he didn’t do this out of any sense of nobility… not even because he deserved to die for what he did… no, again he was selfish - he did this to see his boy that much sooner.

The only solace he had found through this tragedy was when he belatedly realized that his name was the last thing the love of his life ever breathed.

And so he was sentenced to death by lethal injection.

But he was given a surprise visit by Samantha on the day of his execution.

She didn’t want his apologies, she wanted to know why.

“Nothing I could tell you would ever make sense, nor should it. All I can tell you is that I wanted to believe I could change. I tried to pretend I wasn’t a monster, but I am. And your father… despite what I’ve done, I love him.”

And he loved me.

But he left that unspoken. She would never accept that. Never be ready for that.

Like father, like daughter.

Predictably she reacted in shock and denial, but he held her gaze and allowed her to see the naked and undeniable truth from him. The rage was still there, but so too was the quiet realization and acceptance of his admission.

“I’ve never felt more pain than the moment I realized what I’d done. I’ll never forgive myself for it.

“You don’t have to forgive me. But, Samantha — don’t let this consume you or your family like it did me.

“For over 30 years I’ve thought of nothing else but all the ways my life could have been different if I had just made a different choice - the right choice. I wanted something beautiful, and I had the chance to have a future with him… but now, if I could go back and change everything, I’d go back to the start of it all… and I’d kill Kreese. And me.”

That surprised her.

“So that you, your dad, and your family could live a happy life. Safe.”

She sat, unsure of how to take that. “But you can’t.”

“No,” he admitted, “But you will be safe from now on, Samantha. I’ll be going soon, and I’m taking Cobra Kai with me. It’s already done. It’s only a matter of time - they just don’t know it. And one day, you and your family can stop looking over your shoulder. It’s the one unselfish thing I can do.”

He watched her, the daughter they never had, leave knowing she would be safe.

He briefly wondered what she would do with the money he was leaving her and her brother… how she would react when they discovered they were among the beneficiaries, but no point in dwelling.

And when the guard came for him, he didn’t cry, he didn’t have second thoughts, he did not beg for mercy. Not even as they strapped him down. Not even when they inserted the I.V.

This was Mercy, unintentional as it were.

Daniel was waiting for him on the other side.

And he would find in death what he could not find in life — Love.

He was still smiling as they depressed the plunger.

Title: The Roots Are Strong

Sequel: Breathe (Third in the Something You’ll Never Forget series)

Pairing: Daniel LaRusso/Terry Silver

Characters: Daniel LaRusso, Terry Silver, Johnny Lawrence, Samantha LaRusso, Anthony LaRusso, Amanda LaRusso, Miguel Diaz, Carmen Diaz, Robby Keene, John Kreese, Kim De Eun, Chozen Toguchi, Mike Barnes.

Warnings: MAJOR CHARACTER DEATHS, death penalty, references to murder both past and present

Summary: Terry is executed, and everyone deals with the aftermath.

Samantha was curled next to Miguel on the couch, Anthony passed out on the other side of her, his head on her lap and a protective hand on his shoulder. He had progressively grown even thinner over the last six months.

Even Johnny had tried to get him to eat more — couldn’t help it. Kid was starting to look as skinny as his dad during his pencil thin days of high school… Always had to fight the urge to shove a sandwich down the little twerp’s throat back then.

Amanda had seemed to age ten years. A heavily pregnant Carmen was by her side doing her best to provide comfort.

The rest of Miyagi-Do/Eagle Fang were scattered about, keeping watch. Standing guard.

It was happening. Right now.

Johnny, Mike, and Chozen were present to make sure the bastard was dead and gone. No tricks this time.

And Robby.

There was no stopping him.

“He was there for me and I stabbed him in the back - I never even got to apologize… I need to be there. I need to see that asshole pay. He’s the reason for all of it.”

Johnny nodded.

“Ok, you’re 18 now. You can decide. But if it gets to be too much, then we’re out. No judgment. And no questions. Ok?”

It was incredibly anti-climatic.

But the son-of-a-bitch still died smiling.

Whatever. Hell will wipe it off his face the second he lands there.

They switched off the monitor once he’d flatlined and closed the curtain.

And that was that.

Afterwards, everyone departed, and it felt like a fucked up version of everyone walking out of a Sunday matinee.

Show’s over… time to go home…

But the son-of-a-bitch was gone.

That was one down as far as Johnny was concerned. There was still a fight left for what remained of Cobra Kai and Kim Da-Eun.

Or so he had thought.

Their demise had been anticlimactic as well.

Kreese met his end in prison the day of Silver’s execution.

A shank to the jugular and no one was talking.

No one cared.

With Kreese and Silver gone, Kim Da Eun had simply packed up and left.

If she planned to continue her grandfather’s legacy, it wouldn’t be in the Valley. And that’s all that mattered.

When Silver’s lawyer reached out the day after his execution, all of them were prepared for a battle beyond the grave. Something they should have seen coming.

No one expected he’d named Johnny and the LaRusso kids among the beneficiaries of his will.

They still expected some kind of trap. A deal with the devil. Maybe a cursed rabbit’s foot or something.

“To Samantha LaRusso and Anthony LaRusso, daughter and son of Daniel LaRusso, I leave a total sum of $200 million dollars to be split equally between both parties.”

He hadn’t counted on Anthony being the one to explode. He had been so quiet and shut down the whole time. But they all knew it was coming sooner or later.

He popped out his chair and almost up ended the desk before Johnny and Chozen were able to subdue him.

“Does he think money can fix this?! NO! I don’t want his goddamn money. I want my dad back!”

Amanda and Chozen had ushered him and Samantha out of the office.

“To John Lawrence, I leave in its entirety the title and brand ownership of Cobra Kai, LLC, to include its dojos—“

The rest he’d left to various charities and anti-bullying organizations, blah blah blah.

Douche.

In the end, they had each taken the inheritance.

Sam and Anthony had no clue where to go from here, though.

But Cobra Kai was now officially his. He knew what had to be done.

He’d retired the moniker and sold most of the dojos — there’d been a lot. He made a decent sized fortune, more than enough to secure a house — a real house — for his family, close enough to the LaRussos… he could afford to send all three of the kids to college if that’s the route they took...

Cobra Kai was gone.

And in its place stood Miyagi-Do — now officially co-owned by Chozen, Sam and Anthony, with Amanda acting as trustee until they reached 18; and with Johnny and Chozen as head instructors.

Carmen and Shannon managing the finances and accounts.

Finally.

The head of the snake had been cut off.

It was over.

For Cobra Kai. For Kreese. For Silver.

For Daniel.

But Miyagi-Do would live on, and be here long after they were gone.

All of them were going to be okay.

Because the roots are strong, so the tree will survive.

A/N: Terry did NOT see Daniel when he passed over. Nope. He woke up in his own Hell Loop losing the 85 tournament and watching Daniel walk away, smiling, over and over and over…

oh, sex? actually, can you just beat me up homoerotically so i can go home and jerk off about it later?

[cherbii]

VELVET!

ft. Toji Fushiguro

summary -> being a mob wife comes with its perks; riches, glamour, and your smitten mob husband who would do anything to prove his love for you, even if that’s taking you in the middle of the casino!

warnings -> language, violence, deaths, murder, dead dove do not eat, smut! p in v, creampie, fingering, multiple orgasms, public sēx, voyeurism, mdni

Smooth jazz played on the gramophone in the casino, the dim lights match, creating a warm ambiance. It all bounces off the gold of Toji's thick ring, wrapped around his ring finger.

Toji Zenin had many titles: godfather, kingpin, mob boss, don, capo. It didn't matter, because to you, he was your husband, and you were his pretty little wife he'd kill for.

You'd sit next to him when he gambled, like as of now, sat in a dazzling dress, makeup done right, eyeing the way his muscles bulged in his shirt or the way he sucked on the cigar.

God, you were a lucky woman, but Toji was a lucky man.

You didn't whisper a word of what he did to anyone, not the suspicious cases of money he had, or the blood stains you'd find on his clothes, none of it mattered, because you love the man too much to let him go.

Another mob wife sat next to you, one of a lesser clan, sipping on a dry martini. "I get bored sitting here, I'm not good at gambling so I don't play, if I were, I still wouldn't." She told you through her glass.

The corners of your lips turned up. "You don't have to tell me twice, but in a way it's nice. I get drinks and a great show of my husband winning." You replied, raising your own glass to your lips, a boulder of a diamond shimmering in the ambiance.

"Tch, you're such a kiss ass. I bet you are just waiting for the moment he loses and snaps." The other woman commented. She had a slight smirk on her face as she took another sip.

Meanwhile, Toji continued to play poker, he kept winning hand after hand, showing no emotion or signs of trouble, as if it were all simple.

A noise of amusement left you, your drink rippling in the glass. "Oh, darling. Please don't get this twisted, you see, my husband never loses." You said before finishing your drink.

The woman beside you scoffs as she finishes her drink as well, "So you're just his pretty accessory then."

You could hear the click-clack of the cards hitting the table. Toji was yet again winning another round. "Or rather, he's mine, don't you think?" You shot her a grin.

She grits her teeth, seemingly growing irritated, "I bet you're only with him cause of his money." She spits back.

Again, Toji kept winning round after round, not even breaking a sweat.

Your lips pursed as you attempted to suppress your grin. "You're right, I'm in it for the money," you said. "Definitely not because there's love, or passion, or orgasmic sex, no."

Her jaw dropped, completely frozen on the spot from your words, meanwhile Toji turned to look at you, his eyes filled with a devilish look and a smirk on his face. He continues to play poker, however, he seems rather entertained.

A few men at the other tables also look over in shock by the sudden bluntness to your response.

You could hear another man make a comment, "Jesus, I wonder what else that mouth can do." They snicker, earning a glare from Toji that made them shut up rather quickly.

You gesture by tipping your glass in the direction of the woman's husband. "Why? Does he not fulfil or fill you? Poor thing, must be why you're so stuck up." You murmured to her.

A sharp inhale was heard from the woman, you had clearly struck her ego, she knew that. Her cheeks flushing in anger.

Toji smirked as he continues playing, he just knows this won't be good. He was rather enjoying it, he was entertained.

The woman takes a small sip, clearly pissed but trying to keep a calm demeanor, "That isn't the point. But I wouldn't expect someone like you to understand." She says sharply, still with a tone of anger behind it.

Toji could be seen smirking, clearly showing that he isn't even listening to his poker game anymore. His attention completely stolen away by the bickering. You raise a brow, watching as she flagged down another waiter. "To understand what? That I'm not fulfilled, nor filled?"

She scoffs once again, she clearly didn't pick up on you throwing her words back at her on purpose.

Toji couldn't deny that he enjoyed when you defended yourself, it made him proud, it fueled him. He also couldn't deny that he loved watching you fight back, cause it was a turn on. He was a man of power and influence, but no one had a tighter grip on him than you.

"Please, I bet he doesn't breathe your way," she huffed. "Probably to busy getting with other woman than to pay attention to some gold digging whore."

"Oh don't call me such names," you wave a hand dismissively in the air before your voice dropped. "It's only reserved for my husband in the bedroom."

The other woman seemed stunned once again by your words, Toji nearly choking on his cigar. He began coughing loudly, though it was mostly to cover up his laugh. He was clearly amused. He then quickly regains his composure.

Before she could reply, you turned to look at your husband. "Baby?" You pouted.

He slowly glances, his lips slightly curling upward, he could see that you were planning something to piss the woman off even more and he was quite excited. He hums while he replies, "Yes, doll?"

You let out a sigh. "The bitch next to me doesn't think you fulfil or love me? Isn't she right?"

Toji grinned as he licked the scar on his lip. "She's right." Toji sarcastically said.

The woman's jaw dropped once again, this time in pure shock. Her own husband was now glaring at Toji, however, Toji simply smirked, continuing with his sarcastic response.

The other customers had their own reactions, some shocked, some holding in their laughs.

Other people had now been paying attention to the interaction, rather than Toji's gambling. They were all shocked by your boldness and Toji's response. Toji seemed excited, loving the little show that was playing out.

"You don't fulfil me? Ah well, guess I'll have to find someone who does," you feigned a look of sadness. "Maybe Shiu will."

Toji chuckled lowly, the game discarded, with the hand closest to you, he reached up and grabbed your chin. "No, doll, Shiu won't, but, let's play a game."

"What game?" You asked. His grip on your chin was gentle yet firm, you could see a smirk across his lips yet also a dangerous glint in his eye, his own type of way to say he was being serious, but also excited.

The others who were watching simply watched in curiosity, this was quite the show.

Slowly, he forced your head to turn, until you were staring at the woman's husband. "You're going to tell me if you think these men here can fulfil you, alright? Let's start with him." Toji told you.

Toji's voice was low and firm, the other woman was now staring at you, she clearly couldn't believe this was actually happening. The husband of the other woman now had a scowl on his face, he wasn't pleased by Toji using his wife to prove a point.

However, Toji's tone changed to a more loving one, as you could tell his grip on your chin was gentle, not wanting to hurt you by mistake.

You let out a hum as you thought, eyeing the man and ignoring the copious amounts of glares you got. “I mean, I guess but he doesn't seem like he has stamina, y'know. Not someone who could last more than a round."

The other woman could be heard making a choked noise as the other men burst out laughing at your comment, some were shocked by how blunt you were being.

Toji didn't even try and hide it, he laughed. He found it all hilarious, he loved every moment of it. He loved watching all the men look at you, some seemed jealous, others intrigued, and some shocked. He took pride in that, they could look but never touch.

Toji could see the scowl on the man's face, clearly pissed. He knew you were still going to go off, Toji was loving this whole thing, but he was also very much aroused by it.

You felt him steer your face until you faced another. "And him?"

Toji held your chin in place, letting you look directly at the man. The man seemed a bit older, a well dressed fancy man, probably some sort of office worker or something.

That's when you heard the loud choking noise once again, Toji had to stop himself from laughing, this was amusing to him. The older man sat slightly frozen, looking directly at you and then at Toji.

You smiled at him. "I'm sure he could, he has grey hair so he's older, and must be more experienced."

The other woman couldn't speak, she was in complete shock that you kept going and now it seemed you were actually considering it. Toji smirked, feeling his grip on your chin slightly tighten.

The older man had a surprised look on his face, though he was more smug now, he did like the idea.

"One more, doll," Toji said before moving your head until you faced the last man. "Now him."

Now you faced the last man, a younger man with blonde hair and a well dressed suit on as well, who was trying to control his expressions.

"No, too young," albeit him looking your age. "Probably would last three seconds."

You could hear the two other men laughing once again, the other woman was completely speechless at this point, probably ready to snap at any minute.

Toji couldn't stop himself from laughing along with the men, it was like watching a train wreck. He then made the game just a bit harder, pulling your chin back to him.

"Okay, now the actual last one. What do you think? Think I can satisfy you?" He asked, staring into your eyes.

You could see the glint in his eyes, it was clear he loved having all the other men looking at you, as if you were his possession.

Toji was excited, he loved seeing the faces on the other men and loved the way you spoke to them.

"You might have to show me, Toji, once we're home."

Toji smirked, letting a small chuckle slip from his lips, he knew he had it in the bag. His hand moved from your chin to your thigh, patting it gently. He was getting a little hot and heavy from the current scenario.

This entire show had the whole casino intrigued, men were beginning to stare at you as if they had any shot.

"Oh, doll. Why wait? Clearly these people think I'm...subpar." The word tasted like poison in his mouth.

He glared at all the men, though he had his signature smirk still on his face. He began to rub his hand up your inner thigh, his gaze never once leaving you as he spoke.

Toji chuckled lowly, as if he was mocking the men. He knew they never had a shot with you anyway.

"Right now?" You whispered, a gasp caught in your throat as his hand moved higher.

His smirk grew wider, you could see the lust in his eyes now, he loved the way you spoke, he loved how you were playing along now.

He leaned in close to you, his voice a low tone as he replied. "Right now, doll."

Almost out of reflex, your legs spread, giving Toji more access to where you yearned him.

Toji loved watching the reaction from everyone else, how they were all still watching. Meanwhile, his fingers grazed you through your clothes, he was a tease.

He felt himself beginning to grow excited from others looking at you and the fact he knew you were also being turned on from it.

Toji glanced around, noticing the men were starting to stare more and more at you. He loved knowing that they all wanted you, but it was clear that you were his. It was only his touch that you could feel, only his eyes that you could look at.

He continued to rub his hand on your inner thighs, keeping his fingers barely touching you. He then leant back before grabbing the crystal glass and downed the drinks, at the same time his fingers shifted, now running over your clothed core before he slammed the glass down.

With a long sigh, Toji reached a hand into his pocket and pulled out the shiny, black gun. "If anyone here tries to object or even stand up, I'm putting a bullet between your eyes. Now we wouldn't want the lovely ladies to see that, now would we?" Toji said to the men.

The men sat quietly, seemingly intimidated by the threat, though their eyes remained on you. You could see them staring, they had a mixture of jealousy, sadness, and shock.

Toji loved the current scenario, the men's reactions to you, watching all of them squirm in their seats, just because they knew they couldn't have you. It was exciting for him.

You groaned, feeling the patch in your underwear and the pressure Toji applied grow.

Toji smirked. You were his, and it was clear no one could take you away. He could see the other men begin to shuffle in their seats, as if trying to hide their obvious excitement.

He turned his head to look at one of the many bodyguards Toji hired. "Kick everyone out but these at this table." He briskly said to one.

The bodyguard began to herd the rest of the men along with their wives out the casino. Some of the men were still shooting glances your way, but others were trying to avoid making eye contact with Toji. It seems his reputation as a mafia boss is still well known.

Toji smirked once again, looking back at you, his fingers continued to rub you through the fabric.

Now it was quiet, except for your soft whines, having pairs of eyes watch you, or avoid you.

"I don't feel very fulfilled, Toji." You whined, raising your hips to push yourself closer to his fingers. Toji chuckled, loving how you sounded, how desperate you were for his touch. He loved seeing the other men react to your noise, they wanted you as much as he did, yet he had you all to himself.

He then began to rub you even more, he wanted to see the other men become jealous.

"So greedy." Toji tutted, sliding his hands to the edge of your panties to pull them to the side.

He licked his lips as you continued to make small whimpers. You could tell by the look on his face that he loved how this whole scenario was playing out, he loved watching all the men stare as his finger teased you.

He knew how jealous they were, he also knew that only he could give you what you wanted, not them.

A loud curse flew from your lips when his calloused fingertips found your aching clit. "Fuck, Toji."

Toji smirked, the other men were completely jealous as they watched the scene. He chuckled as he began to rub you in small circles, enjoying the sounds you made.

You could see by their faces how they wished this was them, but it wasn't, it was Toji, only him. And that drove him wild, as did those noises that flew from your mouth.

Toji continued rubbing you, loving how you kept making noises for the men to hear. The men still had their eyes on the scene, seemingly not knowing what to really say or even not daring to say anything at all, lest they meet Toji's wrath. A few men tried to move their attention elsewhere from you, but it was obvious that it was difficult.

"Come here baby, sit on my lap."

He removed his hand, glistening with your arousal, and allowed for you to climb on his lap, back facing him, before your legs spread and his fingers went back to the previous actions.

Now on his lap, Toji could see and hear everything the men were watching or not reacting to. You could see their faces, filled with jealousy, sadness, and pure anger that it wasn't them with you. You were all his.

As Toji began to rub you again, his lips landed on your neck. He wanted to mark you in front of all of them, to show you belong to him and him alone.

"Open your legs for me wider, doll. Let them see that fucking pussy." Toji instructed as his other hand went to hike your dress up your hips.

You could hear the men shift in their seats as they watched, some of them were trying to get comfortable, you could see by their flushed faces that they were completely jealous, but wouldn't even dare look away.

You moved the way Toji asked, his fingers sliding along you, as the other men watched the display. Toji loved being the only man you could ever want or

His fingers moved down, now prodding at your weeping hole before pushing in two of his thick fingers, cold ring pressing against your thigh.

Toji let out a groan at the sound it made. "Hear that boys? That's the sound of fucking success."

The other men watched as you made noises of pleasure that Toji earned.

You moaned, feeling his fingers curl and push against that delicious spot within you. "Oh my god, Ji!"

You could feel his smirk against your neck, he loved seeing the men's expressions on their faces. The way they saw what you could do for him, how you could moan for him.

He chuckled lowly, not wanting to make a loud noise. He loved that they watched, unable to help but stare.

Your soft lips fell open and your back arched. Toji groaned, you squirming against him was providing some pleasure to his aching erection.

He continued to thrust his fingers in your pulsating cunt. Toji knew the other men wanted you as much as he did, and loved every second of this, it sent him on a power trip.

"Mm, my pretty little wife," Toji purred into your skin, tongue dotting out to lick over the teeth indents on your skin. "Show these boys how I make you feel real good."

The men watched as Toji began to tease your skin, some of them wishing they were Toji, but they weren't. They could watch, but they could never have. Toji loved calling you his, he loved being able to call you his wife, he loved doing it all while the men watching, seeing what you did for him, what you provided for him.

Your head fell back. "You're so good to me. I—ah—love how you make me feel!"

His grip on your thighs tightened, enjoying how you fell against. Toji loved showing off how you couldn't be anyone else's no matter what anybody thought.

"My good little wife, you sound so pretty." His fingers pumped in and out of you at rapid speed, wet sloshing sound echoed into the velvet of the casino.

Toji eyed the man to his left, seeing he was visibly turned on.

"You. Are you enjoying my wife's reactions? Does seeing her get pleasured arouse you?"

The man's face turned a deep red, completely caught in Toji's gaze, as the other man noticed what was happening, he shot a small glare at the other. However, you could see the mans eyes were completely on what you and Toji were doing.

He remained quiet, not daring to admit his arousal, but also unable to turn away. Toji clicked his tongue. "I asked you a question, boy."

The man swallowed, a lump in his throat as he spoke, in a quiet voice, as if ashamed. "Yes..." He said, not making eye contact with anyone, not even looking away from the display, unable to turn away.

Toji nodded, a grin splitting his face. "Good, and you?" He turned to ask the older man who'd been staring at his lap.

The older man sat there, his face flushed as if embarrassed or ashamed. He gulped before answering, knowing if he didn't that he would suffer the wrath of Toji. He cleared his throat, "I...am." He replied, his voice barely holding it together. He couldn't look away either, he had grown attached to how Toji and you were.

"Yeah, how could you not?" Toji asked rhetorically, fingers still ramming into you, sending waves of pleasure to course through your veins before he looked at the woman's husband. "Now you, are you enjoying the sight of my pretty wife?"

The woman's husband sat in his seat, trying to avoid everyone's stares and not look at the lewd display the two of you were showing. He cleared his throat as he replied, a small tinge of bitterness behind it. "No, absolutely not." He said, though he was completely lying.

Toji knew it, you knew it, and everyone who saw could tell. Toji wanted a reaction.

Toji let out a sound, it was almost a growl. "No? You don't like my wife?"

The man swallowed, clearly lying. "No, I don't." He continued to lie, though his eyes seemed to move to look down a bit, the sounds of your pleasure as Toji worked you filling the air, filling that man's ears.

"To…ji…l want to cum!" You whined, withering on his lap, feeling a fire burn in your lower tummy.

Toji smirked, he could tell that it was starting to drive the man mad, his eyes couldn't keep away. Toji wanted to rub it in, so bad as he continued to please you.

You could hear the man groan as you moaned, the men all began to have flushed appearances on their faces.

Toji loved it all, all the jealousy, jealousy from men watching his wife be pleasured by him, it made him feel powerful. You could hear Toji chuckle low as he whispered to you, leaning to your ear as he kept his voice low, so only you could hear you. "Say it louder for me, doll?"

You mewled, your vision going hazy, making the casino lights blue into one bright mess. "I wanna cum, Ji! Need to cum on your fingers—aw fuck— please!"

Toji loved how you reacted, but he loved more how the men were jealous. As you said your response, all could see they were getting antsy.

One by one their eyes darted to different locations, some of them even began to bounce their legs slightly, as if getting impatient.

"Shh, doll, I got ya. But first I need to talk to this gentleman, okay?" He said to you, planting a kiss below your ear before facing the woman's husband again. "So again I ask, do you have a problem with my wife? Do you not like her?"

The man continued to look away, he knew you were off limits, so was his wife. He kept his expression as best as he could. He cleared his throat, "I don't find her attractive, nor do I like her." He replied.

The other men were all growing frustrated, one of them shifting in their seat almost every other minute, as if they wanted to leave.

Toji chuckled, his fingers curled into once more, having you see stars. "Ya hear that, doll? He doesn't like ya. What a fool."

All you could see in that moment was stars, pleasure coursing through your body as Toji hit your sweet spot without mercy.

The woman was beginning to get jealous as well.

“'Ji! ‘Ji! so close!” You moaned.

Toji loved the way you called his name as you felt pleasure, it drove him wild.

Toji could see the men were growing envious, he loved seeing their glances, the way their fists were clenched. He loved the way their legs were shaking in their chairs, desperate to give into the pleasure they saw you in.

"I hear ya. Cum for me doll."

You knew Toji wasn't going to deny you. Meanwhile, all the men could hear your call of pleasure as your body tensed on his lap.

Some of them could see a bulge growing as they sat, trying to hide the fact it aroused them to watch. The whole ordeal made Toji feel in charge, made him feel like he was in control, he was addicted to it.

"Fuck!" You screamed, orgasm crashing down on you like a tidal wave. As you cried out, a low groan from many of the men were heard in the room, you could tell by the sounds of men shifting in their seats that they were getting antsy. Toji was loving you and the attention the men were giving, he knew that you were only his.

There was a look of pure jealousy in the woman's eyes as you cried out, the man's wife trying to hide her jealousy with a poker face, but Toji could see right through it all, loving every second of showing you off to

Everyone, you were his and he loved showing it off to people. The men were growing jealous, their faces red, their fists clenched, the sounds of groans and grunts filling the room, the woman had a jealous expression on her face, as did the other ladies who arrived before the situation started.

Toji pumped his fingers in and out of you until you slumped, blissed out. He extracted his hand, fingers glossed with your cum, craning his neck to look at the man.

“Ya sure ya got a problem with her?”

The man couldn't control his facial expressions, jealousy apparent in his eyes as he stared at the gloss on Toji's fingers.

The men seemed to grow antsy, some seemed angry that they couldn't have you, others jealous and annoyed by the situation. However, it was a mixture of both from the man who sat before Toji, his words slipping out before he could think.

"I said she isn't that attractive." He said in a snappy tone.

"That's unfortunate." Toji sighed, hand shooting out to grab his gun, flicking the safety off before cocking it to the man and without a blink of the eye, shot him in the chest, the sound resonating in the casino.

You could hear the men shout as the sound of the gun rang out, blood hitting the ground. A dead body laid limply on the chair, however the men didn't seem to move, as if in shock at the sudden turn of events. Though some of their eyes drifted to the sight, as if they were happy he was no longer the threat.

Toji placed it back down, the gunmetal wet with your arousal now before his lips found your neck. "For the record, doll. I think you're the most beautiful woman in the world." He whispered to you.

Your heart fluttered. "Thank you, baby. I think you're the most handsomest man ever." You replied, twisting your body around to face him, legs cradling his waist.

He wrapped his arms around your waist, keeping you close as you sat on his lap. A small hum of appreciation escaped his lips as you called him the most handsome man. He had a small smirk on his face, loving the fact that the men sat there and watched him hold you, loving how you belonged to no one other than him.

"I'm the luckiest too. Not everyone gets to have a wife like you." He raised a thumb to caress your cheek

His words sent you crashing forward, slamming your lips onto his, fingers curling around his collar while his around your waist and in your hair.

Toji could taste the lipstick on your lips, the taste he had fallen in love with over the years, the way your taste is mixed in with his. The way your fingers curled around his collar and in his hair, your body against his. He loved every second, he held you close, he held you so only he could have you.

Not a single man could touch you without suffering a fate similar to the man laid on the ground.

Toji held you close, his tongue dancing with yours, his hand on the back of your head holding you, making sure you didn't slip away. "Hmph...Toji?" You asked softly, pushing yourself closer to him.

His eyes stared into yours, he hummed to let you know he was listening, though he didn't remove his hand from the back of your head.

"I don't think they got the message enough. Show them how you really pleasure me." You purred, reaching a hand between the two of you to squeeze at his clothed bulge.

His breath hitched, you could feel him twitch as you did. A smirk grew on his face, loving you, loving how you felt against him. And most of all, his gaze drifted to the men, who had all seemed to still stare.

He would make sure they got the message, that you were his, and only his. He moved his hands, pulling your face close to his as he whispered into your ear, low enough so only you could hear.

"How would you like it, doll?" His breath tickled the skin of your neck as he spoke, though he didn't hesitate to continue the moment. He knew exactly what he was planning, but would see what you wanted first.

A shiver ran through you. "I want it rough, ‘Ji. I don't want to walk for days, and l'd like everyone here to never forget...if they make it out alive."

He smirked, loving the way you answered. "My good wife, of course, I'll satisfy you." He spoke softly into your ear, before his hands slid down. He ran the tip of his fingers up your thighs while locking eyes with the men.

His fingers found your dress and in one fluid movement, he ripped it almost in two, exposing more of you to him. "Toji! I liked this dress." You huffed, looking at the slit that ran almost over your whole stomach.

Toji chuckled, his eyes staring at your almost ruined dress. "I'll buy you as many dresses as you want, doll. I’ll get them custom made if I have to." He replied as his hands moved to your thighs. He began to gently caress them, rubbing small circles, as his gaze remained on your now exposed body.

You sighed, raising your hips to access his belt. He kept a firm grip on your thighs as you raised your hips, and moved his own, as if helping you in your quest.

His eyes moved to all the men watching, his smirk still on his face. He had so much power in this moment, that only he knew.

Hastily you unbuckled his belt, desperately wanted to free him. His breath hitched with every small movement, every small pull of material that you did towards his belt. He wasn't in control of his actions, all he cared about was you. He helped you by pushing himself at just the right angle, helping you along as you unfastened his belt.

You sighed when it came undone, now tugging his pants down, boxers somewhat going with, now exposing the tuft or hair he had at the base.

He groaned, the sight of it was making it hard for him not to do anything just yet. He could see the excitement in your eyes, and could tell by the looks on the other men's faces how they wished they had this.

"Help me, 'Ji." You huffed, leaning back.

Without hesitating he lifted you up a bit, not lifting his hands from your thighs as he did so. He then began to help, pulling his pants down a bit, but leaving his underwear for the moment. "There ya go, doll." He said, his words filled with a deep tone.

You grunted, hands flying for his boxers and yanking them down, exposing his long, thick girth. It swayed back and hit his stomach, angry red tip weeping with precum.

He groaned with a slight chuckle from his lips. His breathing began to get heavier, every movement you were making was getting him more riled up.

He was starting to get excited from showing off, as well as showing how in power he was, and how you never had to worry for anything, because no one could take you from him. Your eyes moved to his, you could see his usual eyes, but also a sense of danger behind them.

You felt yourself clench at the sight, already hiking your hips up to take him.

Toji then adjusted his grip and you, shifting you so you were more on top of him and able to take him more. You could see the men's hands gripping tighter to anything as they watched the two of you.

Toji stood up with a grunt, holding you with his muscular arms as if you weighed nothing. "You ready, doll?"

You could feel the power behind those muscles, the fact he could hold you up so easily was a turn on to you, and clearly to the men. Toji kept you close and secure as he asked you.

"Uhuh, show the-show me how good you make me feel."

With a smirk on his face, he pulled up and down slightly, and then thrusted upward. He wanted to let out a groan, but was fighting it back, at this point he didn't care much how you felt, he wanted to show the men watching how he could please you, how you were his.

He held you close to his chest as he began to raise you by your thighs, using them to do most of the moving as he kept you close so he could hold onto you. The men watched closely, the way you and Toji were acting with each other, the way you seemed to melt with everything Toji did.

He used you like an object. Cock slamming into you, balls slapping against your ass, having you cry out.

"Fuck, yes!"

Toji grunted in pleasure as he continued, wanting everyone to hear you, hear how good you feel, hear how good he makes you feel.

If you looked up, you could see the looks on the men's faces, how a few of them were shifting in their seats, how they wanted to be the one getting you to make these sounds.

He held you under your shoulders, fingers flexing against your skin. He held you so securely, yet his grip was firm, like he was afraid you'd slip away. He wanted to pull you close, kiss your neck, but he also wanted the men to see everything.

So, Toji took a step forward before placing you on the betting table, cock still relentlessly bruising your cervix. One hand moved to your waist while the other swiped over your breast and pulled at the fabric of your dress, freeing your bouncing breast.

Toji's mouth watered at the sight. He brought his calloused thumb over your peaked nipple.

You could see Toji's smirk, he was almost loving watching the men who were jealous. How you had that effect on him, even as the jealous onlookers glanced your way, he still was obsessed with you.

"So gorgeous. So goddamn gorgeous." Toji praised, hand trailing over your stomach before it returned between your legs, thumb sticking out to rub away at your aching clit.

You could see Toji's eyes rake over your body as if he was taking everything in, how he felt so deeply about you. The men's eyes were also trailing all over you, how your body reacted to every small movement and touch Toji made

Your arms flailed around, crashing into the chips, sending them jostling down. "F-Fuck, 'Ji! Just like that!"

A few gasps were heard, though it mattered nothing to Toji. All he wanted to do was to make you feel good, and make the men feel as inadequate as possible because they had no chance.

His gun lay by your hip, still coated in your previous arousal, it way almost symbolic, dare I say, of the situation.

Quick, rapid gasps left your lips, you choked on moans at the same rhythm his thumb flicked your bundle of nerves. "Hah—ah—won't last long—!"

In the moment, Toji could tell you were close, that was all Toji could focus on. He wanted to show the men how you were only his, to make them jealous, to make it clear you belonged to him, only him. He kept his eyes on you, seeing pleasure roll through your body. He loved all of this, loved every second of his actions

"I know, doll. You wanna make a mess for me?" He knew he was going to bring you to a release soon, he knew you were going to be in complete bliss under him. He could still hear the sounds of discomfort from the men watching.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" You changed like a mantra, nails digging into the material of the table.

Hearing you, feeling you, watching you, it was a complete turn on for Toji.

His breathing was heavier, not as heavy as yours, but heavier. He wanted to see you like this all the time, like this in front of everyone so they all knew they didn't really know anything and weren't worthy of a chance

He added his forefinger with, now pinching your clit. "Cum for me, doll. Need to feel my wife cum on my cock." He grunted, only for you, he knew he owned every second of this, and it was driving him wild

Pleasure wracked through you and your whole body shook as you came hard, getting your cum over Toji's cock, thighs and even the table below you.

Toji grunted as you came, you could see his eyes dark as he watched you. The other men's breathing grew harder as they watched, some of them shifted, they just couldn't look away.

You could hear the way most of them were breathing, like they were holding back from something, like they wished they were Toji, but couldn't be, they weren't worthy

"Fuck, doll. Gonna fill this greedy cunt up." Toji grunted, fingers digging into your hip before he spilled inside you.

When Toji finally reached his peak, you could hear a few sounds of relief from some of the men. However, they were all still jealous, how they wanted to be the one who was able to do this, yet they weren't.

Toji didn't move for a moment, he wanted this moment to last forever, the look on the men's faces, all of it, only for you. He let out a small grumble as he held you close, his breath could.

You could see Toji's breathing hard, he could keep going if he wanted, but he felt he had his fill. He wanted to show everyone around that they had nothing on him, all the men in the casino watched you both with jealous eyes. You could still feel his hands against your thighs, still holding you close.

With a wince, Toji pulled out, his grip grew a bit tighter around your thighs. His eyes were low, trying to catch his breath. You could hear some of the men let out groans, trying to disguise it as a cough, though it was obvious.

Toji's breathing was still heavy, his eyes still dark from the whole ordeal. He began to pull himself up to be standing, and began to pull you with him

He looked to the side, at the young man next to him, seeing he had a large wet patch on his crotch. "Shit, doll. Fucked ya so good the boy creamed his pants, heh."

The man’s face was bright red, the fact that he had made such an obvious reaction, but couldn't hide it very well, was obvious. You could see the men trying so hard to maintain their composure, but it was obvious to tell some of them were jealous as well.

Toji began to gently straighten his clothes up as he held you, still making everyone watch, and still showing off your body

He then grabbed you and spun you around to face the woman, even though you were dripping cum, tit still out, makeup running down your cheeks. "Tell me, girl. Does she look fulfilled to you?" He asked her.

The woman was shaking. "You killed... my husband." She whispered, trying not to look at her husbands body that limply sat next to her.

Toji clicked his tongue, and let out a chuckle, ignoring her words. "That's not answering my question,” Toji replied, his grip tightening on you slightly. "Just answer the damn question." Toji said, his tone was harsh, almost threatening.

The woman flinched at Toji's harsh tone, and let out a shaky breath. "...Yes." She muttered

Toji smirked, it moved his scar. “That's fucking right,” he turned back to you. “Come on, doll. Let's get out of here.” He slid his jacket off him, before he threw it around your shoulders.

As he slid his jacket around you, Toji began to walk, guiding you out of the room, showing you off to the men in the process. You could see the men watch you all the way out, they looked upset, envious, desperate, though they said nothing.

"Oh, one more thing," he turned to face you, one hand reaching for his pocket, other cradling your jaw. "Kiss me, doll"

You could see his eyes, still the dark, possessive eyes he had only for you. You knew he liked showing you off, but he still wanted something only he got.

When you looked at him, you thought you saw his gaze become softer, only for you. You were the only one who could see him like this, the only one who could see Toji like this. You knew you were the only one in the world who could get his attention, and he wanted a kiss.

Your lips were bruised, but still beautiful, the lipstick he loved was smeared slightly. He could see how you looked still a little dishevelled, but perfect in his eyes, to him, you were perfection. You were the only thing he would ever call perfection, he smirked softly as he waited for you to kiss him.

So quickly, you threw your arms around him and crashed your lips onto his. He kissed you back, his one free hand resting on the back of your waist. He pulled you close, still in front of everyone in the casino. Toji wanted everyone to see how you belonged to him, how he was the only one who got your kisses, your time, your everything.

"Don't turn around." He murmured to you, and that's when you heard it. The cocking of a gun, the screams, gunshots, then silence, all while you devoured the whiskey you could faintly taste on your husband's lips.

You ignored the mess behind you, focused on how his mouth moved with yours, how you could taste him through it all, how his other hand rested on the back of your jaw, how you heard his breath mix between kisses. While Toji seemed cool and calm, you could tell he was just as into the kiss as you were.

Then, he broke the kiss. "I love you, doll." There you stood, outside the casino, the cold air hitting your face, you could still feel your lipstick smeared, your legs shaky after everything, your legs slightly numb.

Toji held you close, he didn't want to let anything happen to you, he wouldn't allow it. He loved you, he had for years. You were his, only his, and he would tear anyone who got close to you to shreds.

God, did you love your mob boss husband.

on Pinterest and what do I see? crazy coincidence

&& if anyone saw how the “” looked different, it’s coz I copied this from my wattpad book i made specifically for this account 😼

[elryuse]

HERE WITH ME

YUNJIN X MALE READER

TAGS : LOVING SEX, INTIMATE, IDOL GIRLFRIEND YUNJIN, LOVEY DOVEY

WORDS : 3,9K

This is another Commission for My Friend @dav1233555 from Tumblr. Hope you liked it.

Y/n sat quietly in his apartment, his mind racing with thoughts of Yunjin. He could feel the weight of her exhaustion, the toll her recent comeback preparations had taken on her. The rehearsals, the long hours, the pressure to maintain her position as a member of the famous K-pop group Lesserafim—it was all too much for her, and Y/n couldn’t bear to see the spark in her eyes dimming.

Yunjin had always been a bright light in his life, full of energy, laughter, and kindness. He knew that she gave everything to her fans, but Y/n also knew how much she needed rest, how much she needed to feel appreciated and loved—not for the idol she was, but for the person she truly was.

So, Y/n had a plan. He knew just the thing to make her feel special, to give her a moment of peace amidst the chaos. It wasn’t grand or flashy—no expensive restaurants or extravagant surprises. Just something simple, something meaningful. He was determined to make her feel loved.

The day of the date arrived. Yunjin had spent hours rehearsing and preparing for her next stage performance. She was exhausted, but her commitment never wavered. Y/n, however, had prepared a quiet evening for her, one where she could forget the world for a while. He quietly waited for her to finish practice, his heart racing in anticipation.

When Yunjin finally stepped into the car, her tired smile warmed Y/n’s heart. He could tell she was running on empty, but she was always so gracious, never showing how deeply the exhaustion was affecting her. As he drove, Y/n kept the conversation light, joking and teasing her about small things to keep her distracted.

"Where are we going?" Yunjin asked, her curiosity piqued as she noticed they were driving in the opposite direction of her usual routes.

"You'll see," Y/n replied, a playful smile tugging at his lips. "I promise you'll love it."

The car eventually stopped in front of a modest, cozy restaurant—a place that had always been her favorite. It wasn’t a fancy, high-end spot with glittering chandeliers or paparazzi flashing their cameras. It was a small, tucked-away gem, where the staff knew her name and the food was always comforting. It was where Yunjin first introduced Y/n to the world of spicy Korean stews and sizzling rice cakes, and it was here that they had shared many quiet evenings together before the fame and pressure of her career had taken over.

Yunjin blinked in surprise as Y/n led her inside, her eyes widening as she recognized the place. She was quiet for a moment, taking in the familiar sights and smells. "You… remembered?" she whispered, her voice thick with emotion.

Y/n smiled warmly, leading her to their usual corner table. "I remember everything about you, Yunjin."

As they sat down and ordered their favorite dishes, Yunjin’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears. She had been so focused on her career, so wrapped up in the whirlwind of promotions and performances, that she had forgotten how much she needed moments like this—simple, quiet moments with someone who cared for her unconditionally.

Once the food arrived, Yunjin didn’t hesitate. She reached across the table and took Y/n’s hand, squeezing it gently. "Thank you," she said, her voice shaky. "I didn’t realize how much I needed this."

Y/n smiled, his heart swelling with love. "You deserve this and so much more, Yunjin."

She looked down at their hands, her thumb tracing the back of his. Her emotions were overwhelming, the love she felt for him too much to contain. Without thinking, she leaned forward and pressed her lips softly to his. It was a tender kiss, filled with gratitude, affection, and the deepest appreciation she had ever felt. The kiss was slow, almost hesitant at first, but as she pulled away, Yunjin’s eyes were filled with nothing but adoration.

"You’re perfect," she whispered, her voice barely above a breath. "I feel so… loved."

Y/n smiled, his thumb brushing her cheek. "I’m glad you feel that way. You’re everything to me, Yunjin. Don’t ever forget that."

After finishing their meal, the two of them made their way back to their apartment, the night still and peaceful. Yunjin couldn’t stop smiling, her exhaustion forgotten as she wrapped her arms around Y/n, holding him close.

"Thank you," she said again, her voice full of emotion. "Thank you for being such a wonderful boyfriend. For being so thoughtful, so loving."

Y/n laughed softly, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "It’s nothing, really. Just doing what I can to make you happy."

As they entered their apartment, Yunjin leaned against him, still holding onto his hand. "I don’t know what I did to deserve someone like you, Y/n, but I’m so thankful. You make everything feel so much easier."

Y/n kissed her forehead once more, his heart full. "You deserve every bit of love and happiness. You’re my everything."

In that moment, they knew that no matter how hectic the world got, no matter how demanding Yunjin’s career became, they had each other. And that, above all else, was all they needed. After they eat and enjoyed their meal, Y/n brought her back home, where the two rested, cuddling and enjoying each other's company. Yunjin desperately needed to rest since, she'll be having another crucial practice wth the group.

"Y/n, I’ve missed you so much," Yunjin whispered, her voice trembling with exhaustion and emotion. Her lips brushed his ear as she clung to him, her body warm against his in the dimly lit backstage room. The faint hum of the crowd outside was a distant echo, drowned out by the sound of their breathing.

"I missed you too," Y/n murmured, his hands sliding up her sides, feeling the curve of her waist beneath the glittering stage outfit she still wore. "You were incredible tonight. Everyone could see how hard you worked."

She pulled back just enough to look into his eyes, her fingers tracing the line of his jaw. "So hard," she admitted with a shaky laugh. "Months of practice, and I think my body might actually give out on me now." Her smile softened, and she leaned in again, her lips tenderly grazing his. "But seeing you here… it’s worth every ache."

The kiss that followed was slow, almost reverent. Yunjin’s lips pressed against his with a quiet intensity, her fingers tangling in his hair as if anchoring herself to him. When she finally pulled away, her cheeks were flushed, and her breaths came in soft, uneven gasps. "I love you," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I don’t know what I’d do without you."

The day had started like any other—early. Yunjin had been up before dawn, her alarm buzzing insistently until she silenced it with a groggy hand. The comeback preparations were relentless, and sleep had become a luxury rather than a necessity. But today was different. Today was the day.

Her group’s comeback performance was scheduled for the evening, and the air backstage buzzed with nervous energy. Makeup artists darted around, stylists adjusted last-minute details, and her fellow members practiced their lines under their breath. Yunjin sat quietly in front of the mirror, staring at her reflection. She looked polished, flawless even, but her eyes betrayed her exhaustion.

That’s when he walked in.

Y/n had surprised her, showing up unannounced with a small gift in hand—a single red rose wrapped delicately in tissue paper. "For luck," he had said, handing it to her with a smile that made her heart skip a beat.

"You didn’t have to," she had replied, but her grin gave her away. She tucked the flower into her vanity mirror frame, its vibrant color standing out against the chaos of the dressing room.

He stayed with her while she prepared, offering quiet encouragement whenever their eyes met in the mirror. When it was time for her to go on stage, he squeezed her hand. "You’re going to kill it," he said firmly. "I’ll be watching from the side."

And she did. Her performance was electric, every move precise, every note perfect. She poured everything she had into those few minutes on stage—months of grueling practice condensed into a single, shining moment.

Now, backstage, the adrenaline was fading, leaving her drained but exhilarated. She clung to Y/n, her body leaning heavily against his. "Take me home," she murmured, her voice muffled against his shoulder.

He kissed the top of her head. "Let’s get you out of here."

The ride back to their apartment was quiet, Yunjin curled up against him in the backseat of the car. Her eyelids drooped, but she fought to stay awake, her fingers intertwined with his. When they finally stepped inside their apartment, she let out a sigh of relief, kicking off her heels and sinking into the couch.

Y/n followed, sitting beside her and gently massaging her shoulders. "Long day," he said softly.

"The longest," she agreed, tilting her head to rest against his hand. "But you made it better. You always do."

Their eyes met, and for a moment, neither of them spoke. Then, slowly, Yunjin shifted closer, her hands finding his. She traced the back of his hand with her thumb, her touch light but deliberate. "You’re perfect," she whispered. "I feel so… loved."

His thumb brushed her cheek, his gaze steady. "You are loved. Don’t ever forget that."

She leaned in then, her lips pressing softly to his. It was a gentle kiss, filled with gratitude and something deeper, something that words couldn’t quite capture. When she pulled away, her eyes shone with affection. "Thank you for being you."

Y/n chuckled, his fingers threading through her hair. "Just doing my job."

Her smile widened, and she stood, tugging him up with her. "Come on," she said, leading him toward the bedroom. "I want to show you how much I appreciate you."

Inside the room, she turned to face him, her fingers deftly undoing the buttons of her stage outfit. Each one came undone with deliberate slowness, her eyes never leaving his. The fabric slipped from her shoulders, pooling at her feet, revealing the smooth curves of her body.

Y/n’s breath hitched, his eyes darkening as he watched her. "Yunjin…"

"Shh," she murmured, closing the distance between them. Her hands slid up his chest, pushing his jacket off before undoing his shirt. "Tonight’s about us," she whispered, her lips brushing his jaw. "No schedules, no rehearsals. Just you and me."

Her touch was unhurried, teasing, as she led him to the bed. She pushed him down gently, her fingers trailing down his chest as she straddled him. "You take care of me all the time," she said, her voice low and sultry. "Let me take care of you tonight."

Her hands moved lower, and he groaned softly, his hips lifting instinctively. "Yunjin…"

"Patience," she teased, her lips curving into a smirk. She leaned down, her breath warm against his ear. "I want to make this last."

Yunjin’s smirk deepened as she leaned back, her hands still grazing Y/n’s chest. Her fingers traced lazy circles over his skin, the touch light enough to make him shiver but not quite enough to satisfy the ache building within him. She was in control now, and she was going to make sure he felt every second of it.

“You’ve been so patient with me,” she murmured, her voice soft yet laced with a teasing edge. “Through all my practices, all my comebacks, all my stress… you’ve always been there.” Her lips brushed against his collarbone, her breath hot against his skin. “Tonight, I want to return the favor.”

She shifted off him, standing at the foot of the bed. His eyes followed her every move, dark with desire, as she slowly began to unbutton her blouse. The fabric parted inch by inch, revealing the smooth curve of her shoulders, the dip of her collarbones, the lace of her bra peeking through. Every movement was deliberate, calculated to draw out the tension between them.

Y/n’s hands gripped the sheets, knuckles white as he resisted the urge to reach for her. “Yunjin…” he said, his voice rough, strained. “You’re killing me.”

She chuckled softly, a sound that sent a jolt of heat straight to his core. “Good,” she replied, letting the blouse slip from her shoulders and pool on the floor. Her hands moved to the waistband of her skirt, undoing the clasp with agonizing slowness. The fabric slid down her legs, revealing toned thighs and the soft curve of her hips. She stepped out of it gracefully, leaving her in nothing but her lingerie.

Standing before him, she was a vision—confident, radiant, and utterly captivating. Her gaze locked with his as she reached behind her back, unhooking her bra with practiced ease. The straps slipped down her arms, and she let it fall, baring herself fully to him. Y/n’s breath hitched, his body reacting instinctively as he drank in the sight of her.

But she wasn’t done yet.

Her fingers hooked into the sides of her panties, and she bent slightly at the waist, drawing out the moment even further. The fabric inched down her legs, revealing more and more until they joined the growing pile of clothes on the floor. She straightened, completely bare now, and Y/n’s resolve shattered.

“Yunjin,” he said again, this time more urgent, his voice thick with need. He sat up, reaching for her, but she stepped back, shaking her head with a playful smile.

“Ah-ah,” she chided, wagging a finger at him. “I’m not finished yet.”

She turned away from him, her movements fluid and hypnotic as she swayed her hips. Her hands trailed up her sides, brushing over her breasts before tangling in her hair. She glanced over her shoulder, catching his eye as she bit her lower lip. The look sent a bolt of electricity through him, and he groaned, frustration mingling with pure, unadulterated lust.

Yunjin climbed back onto the bed, crawling toward him with feline grace. Her knees settled on either side of his hips, her body hovering just above his. She leaned down, her lips brushing his ear as she whispered, “Tell me what you want, Y/n.”

His hands found her waist, gripping her tightly as if afraid she might disappear. “You,” he breathed, his voice hoarse. “Always you.”

She smiled, pleased with his answer, and pressed a kiss to his neck. Her teeth grazed his skin, making him shudder as she worked her way down his chest. Her hands followed suit, exploring every inch of him, tracing the lines of his muscles, lingering in places that made him gasp.

When she reached the waistband of his pants, she paused, looking up at him through her lashes. “Still so patient,” she teased, her fingers dipping beneath the fabric. She tugged them down slowly, her touch feather-light as she exposed him fully.

Her hand wrapped around him, and Y/n’s head fell back against the pillow, a low moan escaping his lips. Her grip was firm but not tight, her strokes slow and deliberate, designed to drive him to the brink without letting him fall over. Every time he thought he couldn’t take anymore, she pulled back, leaving him desperate and aching.

“Yunjin…” he begged, his voice breaking. “Please…”

She smiled, leaning down to brush her lips against his. “What do you want me to do?” she asked, her tone innocent despite the wicked gleam in her eyes.

He groaned, his hips lifting instinctively toward her. “You know what I want.”

She laughed softly, the sound like music to his ears. “I want to hear you say it.”

He hesitated for only a moment before surrendering to her demand. “I want you,” he admitted, his voice raw with need. “All of you.”

Her smile widened, and she finally relented, positioning herself above him. She lowered herself slowly, inch by torturous inch, until she was fully seated. His hands gripped her hips, guiding her movements as she began to ride him, their bodies moving together in perfect harmony.

The room filled with the sounds of their breathing, their soft moans and gasps, the rhythmic creak of the bed. Yunjin’s head tilted back, her hair cascading down her back as she lost herself in the sensation. Her pace quickened, each thrust bringing them closer to the edge.

“Y/n,” she gasped, her nails digging into his chest. “I’m close…”

He growled, flipping her onto her back without breaking their connection. His thrusts became deeper, more urgent, as he chased his own release. Their eyes met, and in that moment, everything else faded away—there was only them, only this.

“Come with me,” he urged, his voice rough with emotion.

She nodded, unable to form words as pleasure overtook her. Her body tightened around him, and he followed her over the edge, their cries mingling as they clung to each other.

They lay there afterward, tangled together, their breaths gradually slowing. Yunjin rested her head on his chest, her fingers tracing idle patterns on his skin. “I love you,” she whispered, her voice soft but full of meaning.

Y/n pressed a kiss to the top of her head, his heart swelling with affection. “I love you too,” he replied, his voice equally tender.

For a while, they simply held each other, unwilling to break the spell woven around them. But as the first rays of dawn began to filter through the curtains, Yunjin stirred, a mischievous glint in her eyes as she looked up at him. “Think you can keep up with me for round two?”

Yunjin’s mischievous glint lingered in her eyes, and Y/n felt a shiver run down his spine. He knew that look—it was the same one she had given him backstage after her performance, the one that promised something electric. Her fingers trailed down his chest, light as feathers but with an intent that made his breath hitch. She shifted closer, her lips brushing against his ear as she whispered, “Round two… let’s make it unforgettable.”

Her words were like a spark to dry kindling. Y/n groaned, his hands immediately finding her waist, pulling her onto his lap. “You’re going to be the death of me,” he muttered, but there was no real complaint in his voice. How could there be when she looked at him like that—like he was the only thing that mattered in her world?

Yunjin laughed softly, her hips grinding against him in slow, deliberate circles. “Promise?” she purred, her voice dripping with teasing sweetness. Her fingers tangled in his hair, tugging gently as she leaned in to kiss him. It wasn’t like the tender kisses they’d shared earlier. This one was hungry, demanding, and utterly intoxicating.

He responded in kind, his hands sliding down to grip her thighs, lifting her slightly so he could adjust beneath her. The way she moved against him was maddening, each roll of her hips sending sparks through his body. She broke the kiss, pressing her forehead to his as she guided his hands upward, positioning them on her breasts. “Touch me,” she breathed, and who was he to deny her?

His thumbs brushed over her nipples, already hardened from the intensity of their moment. She gasped, arching into his touch, her nails digging into his shoulders. “Just like that…” she murmured, her voice trembling with need. Her lips found his neck, kissing and biting lightly as she continued to rock against him, the friction between them building to an unbearable heat.

“Yunjin,” he groaned, his voice rough with desire. “You’re driving me crazy.”

She pulled back just enough to meet his gaze, her eyes dark with want. “Good,” she said, her tone dangerously playful. She slid off his lap, standing before him with a smirk that made his stomach tighten. Slowly, deliberately, she began to peel off what little clothing she still wore, her movements fluid and hypnotic. Each piece fell to the floor with a soft rustle, until she stood before him completely bare, her skin glowing in the dim light of their bedroom.

Y/n couldn’t look away. She was stunning—every curve, every inch of her seemed designed to drive him wild. She stepped closer, climbing back onto the bed and straddling him once more. Her hands pressed against his chest, pushing him back until he was lying flat beneath her. She leaned down, her lips brushing his as she whispered, “Your turn.”

He didn’t need to be told twice. With quick, eager movements, he shed his own clothes, tossing them aside without care. When he was bare, she smiled, satisfaction gleaming in her eyes. “Perfect,” she murmured, her hands roaming over his chest and down his abdomen, stopping just shy of where he desperately wanted her to touch.

The teasing was unbearable, but he loved every second of it. She was in control, and he was more than willing to let her have it. But then she shifted, positioning herself above him, and he couldn’t hold back any longer. His hands gripped her hips, guiding her down until she sheathed him completely. They both moaned in unison, the sensation overwhelming.

“Fuck,” Y/n hissed, his head falling back against the pillows as she began to move. Her pace was agonizingly slow at first, each rise and fall of her hips drawing out the pleasure until it bordered on pain. But then she sped up, her rhythm becoming erratic as she lost herself in the feeling.

Her hands braced against his chest for support, her nails leaving faint marks as she rode him hard. “Y/n,” she gasped, her voice breaking as she tightened around him. “I’m so close—”

He groaned, his hands moving to her waist to help guide her movements. “Let go, baby,” he urged, his voice strained. “I’ve got you.”

And she did. Her body went rigid, a guttural cry tearing from her throat as she came undone. The sight of her—her head thrown back, her lips parted in ecstasy—was almost too much for him. He followed her over the edge, his release hitting him like a tidal wave as he spilled deep inside her. “Yunjin,” he choked out, her name a prayer on his lips.

For a moment, they simply clung to each other, their breaths ragged and hearts pounding. Then she collapsed against his chest, her body trembling with the aftershocks of her orgasm. “That was… incredible,” she murmured, her voice barely audible.

Y/n wrapped his arms around her, holding her close as his breathing slowly evened out. “You’re incredible,” he replied, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “I don’t know how I got so lucky.”

She smiled, nuzzling into his chest. “I’m the lucky one,” she said softly. “You’re everything I’ve ever wanted, Y/n. Everything.”

They lay there for a while, content to simply be together. But as the minutes passed, Yunjin stirred, her hand tracing idle patterns on his skin. “Thank you,” she said suddenly, her voice filled with emotion. “For always being there for me, for supporting me… for loving me.”

Y/n tilted her chin up, meeting her gaze. “There’s no one else I’d rather be with,” he said sincerely. “You’re my everything, Yunjin.”

She kissed him then, slow and sweet, pouring all her love and gratitude into the gesture. When she pulled away, she smiled, her eyes heavy with exhaustion but still shining with happiness. “I think… we should sleep now,” she said, her voice tinged with laughter.

He chuckled, nodding in agreement. “Yeah, we probably should.”

But as she settled against him, her head resting on his chest and her arm draped over his waist, Y/n couldn’t help but smile. Even asleep, she was beautiful—his idol, his girlfriend, his everything. And as he closed his eyes, he realized he wouldn’t have it any other way.

The End

[airaatsu]

Heyy could you maybe write smut about min-su x fem!reader x se-mi? Where maybe Thanos like made fun of him before for being a virgin, and min-su now feels insecure so reader and se-mi decided to comfort him and it ends w them having a threesome?

No pressure if you don't wanna write/don't feel comfortable!! Have a good day/night ! :)

«—Se-mi x Fem!Reader x Min-su—»

Summary: Minsu is getting bullied by Thanos and his lackey about being a virgin. Now it's up to you and Se-mi to change that;)

A/N: I wrote this in a hurry, so please tell me if there are any errors in my writings! This is also going to be the first fic I post here, so enjoy!<3 (ALSO! I got the MDNI banner from cafekitsune! Many thanks♡♡)

Warnings: NSFW, oral(fem receiving), p in v, quickie in the bathroom, SMUTTTTT

“Min-su.” Se-mi called. You both walked back to your corner of the place after receiving dinner from the guards. “What’s wrong?” You asked, taking a seat beside Min-su, who just stared down at the food placed on his lap. He looked a bit more down than usual.

“What, did one of those assholes over there pick on you again?” Se-mi nodded her head in the direction where Thanos and that annoying lackey of his are before taking her seat beside you, taking a bite on her bread with a slight frown on her face. Her frown only deepened when he didn’t respond, she was about to stand up and have a word with the two if You hadn’t held her back.

“Hey, calm down.” You let out a sigh before turning to face Min-su. “Alright, what happened? What did they do now?” You asked, letting go of Se-mi’s arm once she sat back down beside you. “It’s alright.. they didn’t do anything.” Min-su replied, opening the plastic wrapper of the bread before taking a bite.

“Then what?” Se-mi looked like she was getting a bit impatient, she was practically shooting daggers at Thanos and Nam-gyu. Flipping them off whenever they looked her way. “They know I’m a virgin..” Min-su whispered, his shoulders tensing up a bit now that he confessed what was bothering him. “Okay.. and?” You followed, raising a brow at him. “Nothing’s wrong with being a virgin, Min-su. The only people who worries about that kind of thing are those brainless idiots back there.” Se-mi added. Pointing at Thanos and Nam-gyu, who seemed too engrossed with their conversations to notice..

“They said I would die being a virgin, especially in this place.” Min-su continued, now fidgeting at his the end of his jacket sleeves. You and Se-mi shared a look before a small smirk formed on your lips. “We can change that.” Se-mi smirked, finishing her own juice box with one go. “W-What? What do you mean?” That seemed to catch his attention enough, staring at the both of you with wide eyes. You could tell how surprised he is. “Well... How about this.” You leaned in closer, your breath tickling the skin of his neck. “Meet us at the bathroom later when the lights turn off. M’kay?” You leaned back, chuckling at how adorable he looked right now, all flushed and flustered. “You okay there, Min-su? You look as red as a tomato.” Se-mi teased, her smirk turning into a grin.

After that exchange, time flew fast, before you know it, you’re already stuffed in one of the bathroom stalls. Sitting on Min-su’s lap, for someone who seemed so timid all the time, You never knew how strong his grip could be. His hands were firmly holding you by your hips, keeping you seated on his cock while he sat on the closed toilet seat. You would’ve teased him by now, how he looked so adorable even like this, whimpering at the slightest movement and touches if it weren’t for Se-mi who has you moaning and gasping, she was kneeling down between your legs. Keeping your legs open with her hands on your thighs, sucking and licking your overstimulated clit in a way that has you coming over and over. Pair that with Min-su being inside you, thrusting up into your tight heat while those adorable whimpers left his lips.

“She feels good, doesn’t she, Min-su?” Se-mi pulled back, replacing her lips with her thumb. Rubbing you sensitive bundle of nerves while Min-su continued to fuck you. His head buried in the crook of your neck, breathing in your scent while also trying ro suppress his own noises. “Look at you, we’d have our own mini waterfall by now from how wet you are.” Se-mi laughed, pulling her hand away just when your about to cum again before standing up. Making you whine out. “Se-mi.. w-why—” “Shh, don’t worry, princess.” She cut you off, letting her pants fall on the floor, pooling down at her feet. Her hand ran through your hair before stopping on the back of your head, gently guiding your head towards her crotch. “What are you waiting for, princess? Go ahead and suck like a good girl.” She smirked, placing her right leg on your shoulder to give you more access. Too fucked out to say anything, you just complied, pressing your lips on her pussy, your hands eventually finding their way on his hips, holding them to keep you steady on Min-su’s lap. You sucked and licked, practically making out with her pussy. Your eyes rolling in the back of your head whenever Min-su would hit that spot inside you with his cock. Moaning into her pussy, sending vibrations through her, making Se-mi moan out as well.

“T-Tight..” Min-su whispered, groaning into your neck as he continued to thrust up into you. “Hm? You like it when it’s the two of us, huh, Princess?” Se-mi cooed. Biting her lower lip, sucking in a breath as she grinded against you faces. Bucking her hips against your lips. You couldn’t do anything but moan and whimper, you didn’t think having a threesome with both Se-mi and Min-su would feel this good.. this experience just proved you wrong. Min-su’s cock felt so good inside you, hitting that sweet spot over and over.. it made your brain turn into mush, and with Se-mi grinding into your mouth like this, it made you see stars. “Fuck, yeah, just like that.. you’re doing so good, Princess.. just a bit more.” She murmured.

“’m gonna cum..” Min-su whimpered, his thrusts getting more erratic, “M-Me too.” Se-mi breathes out. And with a few more thrusts. You were cumming on Min-su’s lap. Making a mess on his cock. Moaning softly when you felt his warm seed fill you up. His dick twitching inside of you. While Se-mi came on your mouth, making a mess on your face. Well, you looked and is too fucked out to even care.. let’s just hope the guards or other players won’t find this mess you made in this stall.. the guard standing guard outside probably already heard your shameless moans and groans. Oh well, not like they’d care.

What’s important now, is that Min-su is no longer a virgin, no reason for Thanos and Nam-gyu to tease him now.^^

[uncle-fruity]

Decided to read the article. I absolutely believe that what the author calls "male flight" has some validity to it, but it doesn't seem to be a reason men have given themselves, and it seems reductive to put the decline of men pursuing education solely on misogyny. Not to say that misogyny isn't a factor, because I agree that the article's thesis lines up with historical trends of devaluing anything seen as "feminine" work, and I know enough sexist men to know that many do have an aversion to being in anything they consider women's spaces. I'm not sure that I fully agree that the main reason men aren't pursuing education is the kind of direct misogyny described in the article, but I also don't have any evidence to the contrary lined up, and it's certainly within the realm of possibility.

Early in the article, the author lists out other reasons that have been cited to partially explain the decline in men's enrollment:

[Image Transcript: Other reasons I came across while researching for this article include:

-- Men can make more money without a college degree than women can, so women need college more.

-- Higher rates of alcohol, drug use, gangs and prison for boys negate college as a viable option.

-- Colleges are usually left-leaning, so right-leaning students increasingly don't feel comfortable there. And more men than women lean right.

-- Men join the military more than women.

-- A man will sometimes have to provide for wife/kids before he can finish college. /End transcript.]

Unfortunately, the author did not give citations for any of those claims, nor did she spend much time explaining why she thought these reasons weren't major factors -- or not as notable as the reason she gives: the rise of women in higher education. It would have been nice to see where that information was coming from. Particularly the point about higher drug and prison rates would be nice to have some context for. To be fair, there is a section just before the part that I cited that does give some sources for some of the other reasons people have attributed to the decline of male enrollment.

And, actually, to be extra fair, I'm gonna post that part as well, because it might be helpful. So this is the part directly before the passage I just cited:

[Image transcript: The Pew Research Center has found that boys are more likely to think they don’t need a degree for the jobs they want, and when they do enroll in college, work opportunities lure them away.

Ruth Simmons, president of A&M University thinks “the problem is the way we treat our boys in k-12. They turn away from school because of the negative messages they get at school… Behavior that is rewarded for boys doesn’t fit well with good student behavior.”

Another college president, Donald Ruff believes it boils down to money. “Honestly I think it’s the sticker shock. To see $100,000 that’s daunting.” /End transcript.]

I have little to add about this passage, I just thought it would be helpful to include.

The author also does not seem to consider race in her argument beyond drawing parallels between white flight and male flight. As far as I could tell, this article gives few statistics about the races involved. Is the influx of women predominantly white or predominantly non-white? When we talk about men not enrolling, is there any racial element being considered -- are non-white men enrolling at higher or lower rates than they used to? Are we talking primarily white men not enrolling, or is this male flight evenly distributed across racial demographics? How do these demographics play out? Because, to me, it seems like misogyny and racism could both be at play here. If more black women than ever are going to college, it is likely that male flight is in tandem with white flight, but to actually make that claim with any amount of credibility, we would need more information, which the article does not provide/is not focused on.

To be clear, I do not have the answers to those questions. I am merely speculating. This is one of those cases where I'd need to spend more time looking at other sources to get a broader view of the issue, including the sources the author included, the ones she used to support her claims, and the Freakonomics episode she mentions.

On that note, there's this interesting passage, which comes off as sorta... idk... I don't have the exact words for it. Undermining her own point a little? I'll analyze this feeling I have more after the image transcript. (Also, the "they" that is mentioned at the beginning of this passage is referring to the Freakonomics podcast.)

[Image transcript: They mentioned that there is one subset of men who out-enroll women. Which subset might that be?

Gay men.

While only 36 percent of US adults have bachelor’s degrees, 52% of gay men do.

"If America's gay men formed their own country, it would be the world's most highly educated by far.” - Joel Mittleman

At the Joel Mittleman quote in the podcast, I leaned forward…yes… surely now we will wonder why only straight men aren’t attending college… yes? /End transcript]

I feel like this passage gives a passing glance at intersectionality and then just hand waves it away to prove something about straight men. It just strikes me as something that should be explored more if the argument you're making is that men are leaving for misogynistic reasons. Because we should all know by now that gay men are perfectly capable of being misogynistic and that there are definitely gay men who don't want to share spaces with women. Is it that gay men overall tend to be more in touch with or comfortable with femininity, and are therefore less deterred by the presence of women in the classroom? I guess I'm honestly just confused as to how gay men factor into this conversation and why this deviance from the overall trend is not explored. It seems extremely relevant to the conversation?

Also, the article up to this point has been saying that men -- as a general category -- are choosing not to go to college. Is it true that the article is talking about straight men only, as this portion seems to imply? Are we considering gay men as somehow not men or unaffiliated with the rates that men are choosing college? Does the presence of more gay men in academia also mean that this "male flight" is also in part due to homophobia, or is homophobia not being considered as a factor the same way race doesn't seem to have been factored in?

Finally, how do trans men factor into this conversation? Were they counted as women or men? Were they considered at all? If they were, that certainly is not represented here.

So, I guess my overall impression is that this is an interesting and compelling thesis, but the specifics are missing in a way that makes the author's argument fall flat. I think this article would really benefit from a more intersectional approach. I also believe, as with all social issues like this, that the problem is never just one thing, but a combination of things, all of which need to be considered to address the underlying systemic issues that get us to this point. I absolutely believe the author is on to a big part of the problem, but I think her scope is limited and she needs a more solid foundation of information to build her argument on.

Idk. Read the article for yourself and see how it hits.

Why aren't we talking about the real reason male college enrollment is dropping? (Celeste Davis, Oct 6 2024)

"White flight is a term that describes how white people move out of neighborhoods when more people of color move in.

White flight is especially common when minority populations become the majority. That neighborhood then declines in value.

Male flight describes a similar phenomenon when large numbers of females enter a profession, group, hobby or industry—the men leave. That industry is then devalued.

Take veterinary school for example:

In 1969 almost all veterinary students were male at 89%.

By 1987, male enrollment was equal to female at 50%.

By 2009, male enrollment in veterinary schools had plummeted to 22.4%

A sociologist studying gender in veterinary schools, Dr. Anne Lincoln says that in an attempt to describe this drastic drop in male enrollment, many keep pointing to financial reasons like the debt-to-income ratio or the high cost of schooling.

But Lincoln’s research found that “men and women are equally affected by tuition and salaries.”

Her research shows that the reason fewer men are enrolling in veterinary school boils down to one factor: the number of women in the classroom.

For every 1% increase in the proportion of women in the student body, 1.7 fewer men applied.

One more woman applying was a greater deterrent than $1000 in extra tuition! (…)

Since males had dominated these professions for centuries, you would think they would leave slowly, hesitantly or maybe linger at 40%, 35%, 30%, but that’s not what happens.

Once the tipping point reaches majority female- the men flee. And boy do they flee!

It’s a slippery slope. When the number of women hits 60% the men who are there make a swift exit and other men stop joining.

Morty Schapiro, economist and former president of Northwestern University has noticed this trend when studying college enrollment numbers across universities:

“There’s a cliff you fall off once you become 60/40 female/male. It then becomes exponentially more difficult to recruit men.”

Now we’ve reached that 60% point of no return for colleges.

As we’ve seen with teachers, nurses and interior design, once an institution is majority female, the public perception of its value plummets.

Scanning through Reddit and Quora threads, many men seem to be in agreement - college is stupid and unnecessary.

A waste of time and money. You’re much better off going into the trades, a tech boot camp or becoming an entrepreneur. No need for college. (…)

When mostly men went to college? Prestigious. Aspirational. Important.

Now that mostly women go to college? Unnecessary. De-valued. A bad choice. (…)

School is now feminine. College is feminine. And rule #1 if you want to safely navigate this world as a man? Avoid the feminine.

But we don’t seem to want to talk about that."

[ghostgirl-22]

i like the idea that art doesn’t masturbate without patrick, it’s some weird hang up he has, idk. anyway, patrick knows this and will go long periods of time without masturbating just to torment art <3

Oh I love your mind darling <33

CW: 18+ !NSFW! Explicit

—-

It probably started getting Pavlovian pretty quickly. Art needs to do it with Patrick at the same time or he can’t finish. Literally can’t come. It’s like Art understood everything Patrick taught him about touching himself except that people normally do it alone. Not with their roommates or friends. Definitely not in the same bed, while talking to each other about how good it feels. Patrick guiding him through it till he’s filling an old school sock with jizz, while gasping and breathing in Patrick’s ear, then falling asleep on Patrick’s chest.

But after years and years, it’s a whole thing. It might be okay with Patrick if Art wasn’t so repressed in every other fucking way. Patrick wakes up often with his fingers tangled in golden curls, legs intertwined with Art’s long soft ones, usually fully aroused. And then it’s just Art disengaging. Pretending none of it’s anything and they’re just bros. And it’s okay. It’s fine. Art has all kinds of ticks and weird hang ups this is just another one to add to the list. And Patrick doesn’t usually want to pass up an opportunity to have Art moaning in his bed even if it’s fucking frustrating after. Hell, it’d be nice if he could get a kiss every once in a while, Patrick actively fantasizes about putting his lips on Art’s, but that would mean acknowledging it. Which Art would never do.

Patrick isn’t vindictive. He swears he’s not. He just likes teasing. And Art is so high strung and easy to tease. And fine, maybe he does want to torment him a little. The same way he torments Patrick. Making it feel so intimate and sexual and then pushing Patrick away saying sex has nothing to do with it.

So some nights when Art gets in his bed, or asks if Patrick wants to put the mattresses on the floor and lie in the center of the room, usually an indication that he’s horny and wants to jerk off, because he’s never gonna be direct about it. Patrick will go through the motions, having already jerked off in the shower before bed and he’ll just pretend to be sleepy, or too caught up in the movie or whatever they’re watching and wait to see what Art will do. Patrick’s done it for a day or two in a row before, just curious about how Art would react. Usually he doesn’t do anything. He’s pretty passive. But recently Patrick’s been stretching the time.

It’s been two weeks now and Patrick can tell Art is losing it. He doesn’t even have a girlfriend at the moment so he’s got no way to release.

“Patrick,” he whines when Patrick feigns sleepiness.

”Yeah?” Patrick sighs, stretching out.

“Um…”

He can tell Art is frustrated, wants to complain but doesn’t know how without acknowledging it. Patrick smiles to himself and rolls over pretending to be so sleepy.

“Um can’t we… can’t we…”

“What?” Patrick rolls his eyes, he can’t even say it.

“I was hoping we could… you know,” he says, he sounds so whiny and desperate. He’s been dizzy all week. Barely able to focus on school or tennis. So fucking pent up. He’s horny all the time, cheeks always in full blush, eyes always dilated. So many ruined orgasms when he tries to do it alone. Near constant blue balls, erections flagging and coming back at all kinds of weird times. Like when he has to hide it during class when their 45 year old English professor walks in wearing a knee length skirt. All because he can’t make himself come unless he’s in bed with Patrick and Patrick’s doing it with him.

“What?” Patrick says.

“Patrick, you know,” Art whines. “We haven’t done it in forever.”

“Done what, I’m so tired,” Patrick fakes a yawn. “Practice has been kicking my ass.”

Art doesn’t say anything for a minute and then, “You’re fucking doing it on purpose,” he mutters, quietly.

“Doing what on purpose, sunshine? Sleeping?”

”Can we just fucking jerk off? Please Patrick, it hurts,” Art cries. The first time he’s outright asked for it.

Patrick smiles and rolls over. Art is flushed, his clear blue eyes are wet and he’s doing that pathetic shivering, sniffling thing he does when he cries. Patrick’s cock is filling up so fucking fast.

He touches Art’s swollen cock lightly, “Oh sweetheart,” Patrick says, pretending to be surprised, like he hasn’t felt it night after night. Rising and eventually flagging when Art falls into a fitful sleep. Art’s eyes flutter closed from the slightest touch, the tears pooled inside spilling down his cheeks as he sniffles and hums. Patrick watches him, Art starts grabbing at it too while Patrick slips it out and starts touching him properly. He’s moaning like it’s such a fucking relief for him, and fine, Patrick’s going to cave.

“You really can’t do this without me, can you sweetheart?” Patrick whispers.

“Mm, need it,” Art moans, lost in headspace. Patrick doesn’t usually get to touch him but now that he has he’s not sure he ever wants to stop, their hands are tangled up together sliding up and down, along the length. He gets a little more daring and leans in pressing his lips against Art’s parted ones.

Art is still, just breathing into Patrick’s mouth. Patrick teases his tongue along Art’s bottom lip and Art sighs. Then all at once Patrick feels Art’s tongue darting into his mouth and they’re kissing. And it feels so much better, so much more erotic than anything Patrick imagined. He doesn’t want to stop touching Art but he’s so hard he finds himself rubbing off along Art’s thigh.

Art barely reacts. He’s moaning, licking into Patrick’s mouth, so wet, he’s got his tongue all over the place. He starts shivering minutes later, gasping, and Patrick can feel the sudden rush of fluid along his palm where he’s gripping Art’s heated cock and suddenly Art is painting him with so much come.

It gets all over Patrick’s pajama pants, some of it on his stomach where his t-shirts riding up, thick heated ropes of it and Art is just whining against his lips as it pours out of him. He’s so loud their neighbors can probably hear him.

It’s so fucking hot, Patrick knows he isn’t going to last. Art is breathless, panting against Patrick’s lips when he’s done. And Patrick’s using some of Art’s spend as lube when he shoves his hand into his own pants and starts jerking himself off.

He comes one second after Art begins actively kissing him again. Then they’re just kissing, kissing, kissing. Slow, deliberate, wet kisses, while Art explores every inch of Patrick’s mouth with his tongue. They’re doing it for what feels like hours but is probably less than thirty minutes before Art is pushing himself up. “I gotta pee,” he says, stumbling to his feet. His hair’s all over the place, skin flushed, lips kiss swollen, eyes so bright. Sunshine.

Patrick knows Art needs to clean up, it’s another one of his things. He can’t sleep with it all over like that. So he changes his clothes while Art is in the bathroom and then uses it himself. Nothing changes after that, Art falls asleep on top of him. Patrick wakes up in the morning, all tangled up with him. He’s disappointed when Art wakes up and pulls away from him disappearing into the bathroom. Imagining that last night just made things even more fucking confusing. But then Art comes out and crawls back onto the bed to curl up with him, until it’s time to get ready for class and even lets Patrick kiss him on the cheek. And Patrick decides it was definitely worth it.

(Sorry if this doesn’t make sense, it’s even less proofread than usual and I’m all over the place writing lots lol)

[sourw0lfs]

my kingdom come undone

written for @steddiebingo countdown to midnight prompt: forced proxmity rating: t words: 537 tags: fantasy au

“Unhand me now!”

The shout bounces off the walls and reverberates through Eddie’s brain, quickly followed by the scrape of metal on stone as the door to the cell that’s been his home for he doesn’t even know how many days now gets yanked open and a young man gets shoved inside. He stumbles slightly, whirling to glare over his shoulder at the guard that pushed him before he’s even fully righted himself. It doesn’t do anything besides earn him a chuckle as the guard leaves, and the man’s shoulders slump in defeat as he turns again to take in his surroundings.

It doesn’t take long for his eyes to land on Eddie, given the size of the space, and once they do, the slump in his shoulders straightens again. Eddie is no fool. He knows a show of bravado when he sees one, but given the circumstances, he thinks he can let a little posturing slide. He knows he would do the same if their roles were reversed. That doesn’t stop him from giving the man a cheeky grin and asking, “Are you staring because I’m too handsome to look away from or is there something on my shirt?”

There are plenty of somethings on his shirt, considering it’s covered in dirt and grime, but that detail feels unimportant. His newfound roommate bristles slightly, face sinking into a scowl that would make a lesser man cower. Eddie doesn’t cower.

“I wasn’t staring. I just wasn’t…” The man deflates slightly, settling somewhere in the realm of annoyance, narrowing his eyes into a mockery of a glare as he looks in the direction of the nearest wall. “I wasn’t expecting anyone else to be in here.”

“Well here I am.” Eddie’s arms sweep out in a showy gesture. “And seeing how that door is locked up tight, I fear you may be stuck with me.”

“Hopefully not for very long.”

Eddie’s still outstretched arms swoop inward again, finding a home over his heart. “Well consider me wounded!” he exclaims, slumping back into the wall dramatically. “And here I thought we could be friends.”

“I don’t even know your name. How could we possibly be friends?” the man remarks dryly.

Grinning and extending one hand, Eddie says, “Name’s Eddie, so now you do know.”

His words earn him a heavy sigh, but the man finally steps away from the cell door. Once he’s left the shadows, Eddie finds himself stuck as the one that’s staring because the man the shadows reveal is actually probably the most handsome man he’s ever seen. He’s so busy staring that he jumps when a hand wraps itself around his own.

“Steve. It’s nice to meet you, Eddie.”

Steve.

Not quite the name he’s expecting. Doesn’t quite fit the face he’s staring at, eyes darting quickly between freckles and hazel eyes and the most perfect lips Eddie’s ever seen and chestnut hair curling gently around delicately pointed ears—

Wait. Stop.

“Holy shit, you’re an elf!” Eddie can’t stop the exclamation, brain catching up to his mouth two seconds too late.

Steve’s hand rips out of his own, going up to trace over the curve of the point, and his eyes go impossibly wide. “Fuck.”

[luci-in-trenchcoats]

It’s My Job

Summary: The reader’s having a rough night but the stranger at the bar decides to offer some assistance when she has nowhere to go...

Pairing: Bodyguard!Dean x reader

Word Count: 1,200ish

Warnings: language, tiny bit of violence

A/N: Enjoy!

______________

Someday you’d have to thank that boy in seventh grade that taught you how to throw a punch. 

Don’t put your thumb inside your fist unless you want to break it. Do a small twist of your wrist right before impact to deliver more momentum. Throw your body weight behind it to make it hurt more. That’s what you got for being lab partners with the class bad boy but at least you had a chance because of him. 

He neglected to tell you your knuckles would ache, your skin would scrape open and bleed, or even that the adrenaline would make you so jumpy you’d nearly trip on your own feet when you sprinted the hell out of there.

It was eleven at night, your feet taking you to the nearest open door, a bar from the looks of it. You took a deep breath when you got inside, nearly groaning when you saw how dead it was.

“We’re closing up. Tuesday is an early night,” said the bartender, the lone man at the bar swigging down the last of his drink, slapping a few bills down and spinning in his seat to stand.

“No, you don’t under-”

“Out,” said the bartender, your head shaking. “Or I call the cops. I’ve had enough shit for one night.”

“No, I need the cops, I-”

“Out,” said the bartender, shooing you out after the man, the door closing up tight behind.

“No, I...” you said, turning your head to catch sight of the man from the alley hanging out by a wall about three stores down.

“Hey,” said the man nearby, scratching his head, the expression not matching his sour face. “Can you pretend to give me directions while you tell me what the fuck is going on?”

“What?” you said, glancing behind him, the guy’s face in a snarl.

“Don’t look at him,” said the man, making shoulder shrugs like he was confused. “You said you need cops and your hand is messed up so I’m guessing douchebag down there did something?”

“W-Was walking and he grabbed me but I hit him and ran...” you said, remembering what he said, fake pointing to an area behind him, wearing a forced smile.

“I see. There’s a black muscle car just up the street behind you. You walk that way and I’ll deal with the asshole back there,” said the man, a dark smile on his face. 

“But-”

“Trust me, kind of my job, sweetheart,” he said, pretending to make a thank you expression, spinning around and walking down the street. You tried to do what he said, not taking too many steps before you heard a thump on the ground, your head turning to find the man shaking out his hand over the out cold alley guy. “He went down like a lightweight. A little proper training and you probably would have gotten him out yourself.”

“Y-Yeah,” you said, the guy pulling his belt from the loops, tying it around the alley guy’s wrists.

“That’ll keep him until the cops show,” said the man, pulling out his phone, giving it a few presses. “Hey Derek...Yeah, it’s Dean. You on duty tonight? Got a pervy assclown down near Chuck’s that could use with an ambulance and an assault charge...he went after some chick in the alley nearby. She got away, bumped into me...yeah, I’ll be sure to tell her what a lucky night she’s having...see you in a few buddy,” he said hanging up the phone. “Cops will be here soon.”

“Thanks...Dean,” you said, the man chuckling.

“You’re very welcome whoever you are,” he said with a smile, squinting his eyes. “You seem super familiar, like extremely familiar. We didn’t go to the same school or something, did we?”

“I’m...I’m in a movie that just came out,” you said, glancing down. “I didn’t realize...”

“Ah, I’ve seen that trailer a thousand times. They won’t stop playing it,” he said, glancing back at the alley guy. “Scumbag like him probably doesn’t give a shit if you’re famous or not. You might want to think about some protection though...maybe a self-defense class at the very least.”

“Maybe...maybe I’ll do that,” you said, nodding your head. “Thank you.”

“I don’t wanna,” you groaned a few weeks later, sitting in a conference room at a protection agency, your manager rolling her eyes at you.

“Okay, your knight in shining armor had a point, Y/N. We were headed down this road anyways,” she said.

“But I took the class. I can kick someone’s ass now,” you said, earning a small laugh from her. “You did too! Anybody messes with us, we got this.”

“Alright Rambo,” she said with a giggle. “Maybe you don’t need one all the time but for events and stuff. Besides, maybe you’ll find a cute bodyguard? Find the Costner to your Houston.”

“I ain’t no damsel,” you said, crossing your arms as the door opened.

“Oh, well that’ll make my job...” said the man in a suit, blinking his eyes at you. 

“Dean?” you said, standing up. “What are...”

“I’m a bodyguard,” he said. “When I said to get some protection, I didn’t think you’d actually take me up on that let alone pick my agency.”

“He’s cuter than you said he was,” said your manager, giving Dean a little wave.

“Sara,” you growled, Dean smirking down at you.

“Would you like to start the interview, Ms. Y/L/N?” asked Dean, nodding to the chairs.

“This may seem entirely unprofessional but why were you drinking at a bar by yourself late at night?” you asked, Dean raising an eyebrow.

“I was supposed to go on a blind date that night but got stood up. I was somewhat pissed off so I had a drink or two,” he said. “You should give her a call and thank her.”

“You think I didn’t have the situation handled myself?” you asked, Dean shrugging his shoulders.

“Maybe, maybe not. I took the guess work out of it for you though. That’s my job. You don’t have to wonder if I’ll kick the guy’s ass. You know I will,” he said.

“You’re kinda cocky,” you said.

“You’re kinda stubborn,” he said.

“You’re hired,” you said.

“Already knew I was,” he said, looking you up and down. “My manager will provide you both with a full work history on myself as well as work with Ms. Saxley over there to determine your needs more specifically.”

“That’s it?” you asked, Dean smiling but all business.

“No, you and I are just getting started. Let’s get a coffee down the street and see how well you can follow a few rules to start with.”

_____________

[rynan16]

It was a dreary day, as it often was in Gotham. Danny was just returning from the funeral of Jason Todd, his core heavy and head fuzzy. He enters his store, only to see that his time here is up. The 5 years are over, and it’s time to go. Danny falls to the floor, no longer holding back the tears. It feels like his core has cracked from the grief. How can he just leave now, of all times? Won’t he even be allowed time to grej e before they go? A little giggle snaps his mind back to reality. Is head snaps in the direction of the sound, comming from the corner nook that the store always set up for him… for Jason. His core was thrumming with painful hope, and then, his eyes found the source of those light giggles, and Danny’s core soared. There he was! It was little Jason, his Jason, in the corner, sitting in the corner, reading a new book, just like he used to do. Danny couldn’t help himself, he rushed over, grabbing the little Robin in a tight hug, startling the little ghostling.

It’s been a few weeks now, since the store packed up and took them to a new location. Danny was filled with so many mixed emotions the night he found Jason, the night they left. Now having processed his emotions a little more, he’s been thoroughly enjoying telling Jason stories of all the adventures he’s been on, and people he’s met. He’s even gotten to take Jason to his haunt, and show him the library. Seeing the way the little bird’s eye’s lit up at the sight, made Danny’s core thrum with delight. Yes, Jason may have died, but he was safe now. Danny would keep him safe.

The store has been hoping dimensions much more frequently than it used to, only staying in one place for a week or two at a time. Danny’s not sure why, but he’s been enjoying all the adventures he’s been able to go on with Jason, so it doesn’t bother him too much. It’s been a couple months now, and the holidays are comming up soon back home. Maybe he’ll be able to bring Jason with him, he knows that they would absolutely adore Jason. How could they not when he’s so precious, after all?

Something was wrong. Jason was starting to have glitches in his powers. Moments where he would loose his flight and fall back to the floor, or he would get stuck partway through a bookshelf because he became partially tangible. Danny can’t figure out what’s going on, h

no, no, nO, NO, NO…. He’s gone. The only thing remaining being a small shade of a little Robin, that still happily filters around the store. Danny gently holds the little bird in his hands, cradling it close to his core, as he sobs, having once again lost his Jason.

Time moves on. He still misses Jason terribly. Still mourns, still grieves, still looks in the corner, hoping, no expecting, Jason to be there. But time moves on, and eventually, a new normal is established. Danny takes some solace in the small little shade that still happily flits around the store. It’s not the same Jason that he wishes to come back, but… it’s a piece of him, and he takes comfort in that fact. Back when it first happened, he had rushed the little Robin off to Frostbite and explained the situation, hoping that maybe, just maybe, he could help somehow. Frostbite had shaken his head sadly, saying that he had never seen a case like it before, and there was nothing he could do to help. The store moves around less now. Staying in most places for months at a time. Never as long as when they found Jason, but it went back to it’s usual routine. Sometimes Danny wondered if somehow, it had known. The store had stayed just long enough to take Jason with them, down to the exact day, and during his short stay with them, they had gone on more adventures in more places than he had before up to that point. It felt like the store had known, and that it wanted to give Jason as many adventures as it could before he would leave them again.

‘Why am I here again? Why have you brought me back to this dimension? I do not wish to relive these painful memories.’ Danny uncomfortably nuzzles the little Robin perched on his shoulder, an unconscious habit he had picked up when he was particularly missing Jason. He stared wistfully out the door, wishing to see his little ghostling come rushing through the door, but he knew that was impossible. Jason… his Jason, was gone. He was so lost in thought that he didn’t hear the little bell on his door jingle as it opened, didn’t notice the familiar presence entering his store. Then the little Robin perked up, and flitted off his shoulder. Danny quickly reached out to grab it, frantic, not wanting to loose the last piece of Jason he has left, but he is unsuccessful. The little Robin lands on the new person’s shoulder, and gently nuzzles the crook of their neck, chirping happily. That when Danny notices. He looks at the figure, a red hood covers their face, but he can tell. He can feel. This is Jason Todd. Alive and in front of him. His breath hitches in his throat, and his eyes go all misty.

“Whoa, this place was gone when I came back… man, I’ve missed this place.”

He’s back, Jason was home. And this time, Danny was going to do everything within his power too keep it that way. His little ghostling would stay safe, even if the world was ending, nothing would dare lay a finger on his little ghostling anymore.

DCxDP fanfic idea:Vanishing Bookstore

Danny opens a bookstore. Initially, it was his private library, a place tp store all the books he gather from different parts of the glob and different Earths.

Mr. Lancer finally wore him down, causing Danny's love of reading to blossom at the end of his Freshman year. The teacher did so by having him come in person to speak about any kind of book as makeup work, as long as he learned how to dissect what he read and get proper reading comprehension.

Danny found that he could enjoy literature if he wasn't forced to write an essay afterward. But spending lunchtimes with his English teacher arguing about Narina's moral concepts was practically the same as the essay; it was just funnier.

It was the final push he needed to move to the next grade. By the skin of his teeth, but he did it. Mr. Lancer had been so proud of him.

That summer, Danny had been grounded for various weeks due to the ghosts attacks taking him away from his school and chores. Since he wasn't allowed to watch TV, or use the computer Danny had chosen to pick up books from Jazz's young adult fantasy shelves.

He never looked back.

Suddenly, it was like Danny could only go somewhere with something to read. He jumped genres but always fell back to fantasy, escaping into magical worlds between pages. Something about that reminded him of exploring the different worlds within the Infinate Realms, and Danny found himself addicted.

It became his entire identity. Sam was the goth girl, Tucker the tech geek, and Danny the book nerd. His friends and family quickly learned that any gift-giving event was going to lead to a long list of books Danny was waiting to get his grabby little hands on.

Even the classics Mr. Lancer once had to fight him to read were entertaining now that he understood their subtext and inferences that used to go over his head as a kid.

Jazz took him to get his library card which became Danny's most prized possession until high school graduation. Once Danny got his first part-time job- working for Sam's family company but hey if he had a rich friend who was willing to pay him to answer calls who was he to say no?- Danny started buying his own books.

He shopped at local second-hand bookstores, online websites, and chain bookstores and even ventured into the Ghost Zone to see what literature wonders they had to offer. He found that his human money had a far better exchange rate then he was expecting, making it possible to buy a lot more and at cheaper prices in the Zone.

He even found parallel words that sold the same books he was reading. Once, he saw a book he had waited two years to release at a marked-down price because that world had the book out for five years. Danny almost died of joy to find the special edition.

His room, which once had nothing by NASA, was now filled with bookshelve after bookshelve of his treasures. His parents allowed him to expand his little library in the attic once he ran out of room.

Danny had no idea what to do when his parents asked him what he planned to do once he ran out of room there. By that point, he had started to move the older ones into his Haunt in the Ghost zone, amazed that it had shifted into a Libary that rivaled the likes of Libary of Alexandria. He had so many different ones that he could organize by all ten categories of the Dewey Decimal System in his Haunt, making him wonder if he had consumed that much writing in the past four years. (He had. His parents were worried)

Ghosts had even started asking if they could visit his library, and before long, he had opened one of Ghost Zona's first Public libraries. His only charge was that if a new ghost wanted a library card, they had to donate at least three books. His collection grew and grew with each passing day.

Blob ghosts appointed themselves as Danny's librarians, carefully filing his newest additions to his growing delight. Danny now always had something new to read.

He consumed so much that a new title was bestowed onto him. Danny Phantom: Master of Knowledge.

Though that was a rather silly title if you asked Danny, he enjoyed a good read whenever he was awake. Just because he learned while reading didn't mean he was the master of it. However, he did gain a massive patchwork of knowledge that he could usually apply anywhere, making people assume he was all-knowing.

That did not solve the problem of getting too many books, and often, he found copies of the same ones added to his shelves again and again. His blob ghosts didn't think to reject copies because then ghosts couldn't visit his haunt and would be denied books.

Danny would never deny anyone books. He just had to figure out what to do with the copies and old books he was no longer interested in.

Jazz told him to try and have a yard sale of the ones he no longer wanted, and seeing as there were some series he could go without, Danny gave it a shot.

He made a surprising amount of money, but it was far from the amount he had spent to purchase them. Still, watching people get excited as they walk away with bags of books more than made up for it. After his third yard sale, Danny made up his mind.

He would attach a bookstore to his Haunt.

He wasn't sure how since his library had built itself. It seemed unwilling to add on to it that it was a slightly different business. His haunt only expanded to accommodate the library that he was building there. It took reading five rare books that Clockwork had gifted him to find what was once lost knowledge.

Haunt Manipulation.

It was risky, but Danny created the Infinite Realms Bookstore with enough concentration, some runes, a dash of overly powerful ectoplasm, and some of his core bits. He chose to run this one because the blobs seemed frightened of hackling with customers, and frankly, seeing people be happy was a different kind of rush.

Things were fine for a few years. He didn't need to work now that he had a steady cash flow—though sometimes he had to find someone willing to trade for US Earth 23-19 dollars. He was his own boss with his books to read, his body not needing sleep or food while in the zone, and his ability to lose himself in between pages whenever he wanted.

Then, his bookstore fell off his haunt. It was like an apple falling from a tree- it grew too heavy for the Haunt to handle- flinging Danny into a nearby Earth portal. Luckily, he could get back to the Zone with the spell he placed on his backdoor, and his haunt was in the same place as it always was.

It turns out that Haunt Manipulation is no longer an extended practice because it cannot anchor anywhere. It vanishes and reappears randomly, lingering for a few months. Danny finds that the last haunt like this is now named the House of Mysteries.

At first, Danny was really annoyed by this, until he realized that he could once again walk among humans and spread his library to different worlds. He especially loved it when he appeared in areas where he could teach people to read.

Something about introducing people to his obsession was almost as fulfilling as his obsession itself.

He became a strange but wise man in some worlds and a god of knowledge in others. Danny was having the time of his life, flinging between timelines, exploring dimensions, and still being able to port back to his regular Haunt that connected him to his home.

He saw his parents every Thanksgiving and Christmas. He was able to be the Best man at Jazz's wedding, saw Tucker become the head of his own tech company, and was one of the first to meet Sam's girlfriend between his exploring.

Infinite Realms Bookstore's newest location was on an intriguing Earth behind Danny's home world regarding technology. It was a crime-infested city with far too many problems for its own good. His bookstore also chooses to plant itself right smack in the middle of the worst part of town.

On the far back wall, in the elegant letter, it read "Five years," meaning Danny and the bookstore would be here for five years before it vanished. Strangely, it was the longest time that it had lingered in one place.

Danny suspected that Infinite Realms Bookstore was starting to develop a mind of its own. His books were organizing themselves overnight now, and he was sure he never saw any blob ghosts about.

That did not stop him from happily opening his doors to Crime Alley anyway. The morning of his first day in Gotham, while sipping some coffee- he forgot how good it tasted!- a young boy wandered in.

He was obviously looking for an escape, so Danny willed some chairs and tables to appear in the far back. A complimentary snack section appeared a few seconds later, and there was a "Feel free to read anything off the shelves" sign.

The kid's eyes widened when he spotted them before he hastily raced toward the classics and selected two large volumes. He planted himself at one of the tables surrounded by drinks and cookies and didn't move for hours.

Danny left him to it, choosing to close when the kid left. It was tweleve long hours but worth it to see the glee on the tiny litte face as he flipped through pages.

The next day, he came back, and the one after that. Before long, Danny had his first regular.

That regular is a young boy named Jason Todd.

Jason reminded Danny of himself when he first got into reading, which led to him making a deal with the young boy. He would let Jason bring books to trade, allowing the boy to take home whatever he wanted in exchange. This meant Danny could get books from this new dimension and Jason didn't have to worry about finaces.

There was a time where Danny was pretty sure Jason was just reselling him back his own books. But seeing as Jason looked more and more like he was having a hard time finding a good meal, Danny pretended not to notice.

This is similar to when his bookstore developed free showers for him to use only when he was about or private reading rooms with a warm bed. Jason early took advantage of these, unaware that they vanished from view to all other customers once he stepped inside.

Sometimes, he falls asleep and spends the night inside those private reading rooms when Danny "forgets" to walk through the store before closing.

Everyone else paid because they didn't make Danny's core sing like Jason. It was easy to tell when the boy became Robin, as he found the vigilante pulling Batman to his window and pointing out books. The moment that mask little face pressed against his glass, Danny knew who it was.

Just as he knew the next day when, Bruce Wayne opened his door to buy everything that Robin had wanted. Danny kept that to himself, though. He figured it would be funnier if they thought they were sneaky.

Maybe this place would be his finest location yet.

[hvnlygrl]

hii! for your celebration (congrats!) wb a rafe cameron blurb based off no. 1 party anthem. maybe something where he meets a girl at a party and basically becomes enamored with her?

no. 1 party anthem. (AG epilogue)

pairing — rafe cameron x fem!reader

word count — 0.7k

synopsis — rafe sees you at a party and can’t help but be drawn to you

song — no. 1 party anthem by arctic monkeys

notes — but i love this request and i love ur blog aesthetic so much its so fire — tysm for sending in an ask!!

join my follower celebration — until feb. 3rd!

alaskan girl masterlist.

rafe was never the type to be obsessed, but here he was, letting his eyes follow you from spot to spot as you chatted and laughed with old friends. he was surprised at how many people you knew despite never having seen you around the island before.

you eluded confidence in every sense of the word, and he couldn’t help but be drawn to you instantly. there was just something about you that intrigued him, something that made him need to know you.

but rafe couldn’t make himself get up and go over to you, so he just opted to watch from a distance as he sipped on his drink.

you seemed to be totally unaware of the set of eyes that trailed you from group to group, that is, until you made eye contact with them.

you watched the boy’s eyes shoot away for a beat, his cheeks going flush with brief embarrassment. it made you wonder how long he’d been watching you for.

you tapped your friend, discreetly pointing in his direction, “who is that?”

she scanned the room, confused for a moment before realizing who you were talking about.

“oh no, y/n don’t even think about it,” she warned precariously.

“what?” you raised a curious brow at her, “why?”

“that’s rafe cameron,” she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “obx’s number one residing douchebag and womanizer.”

you laughed in response, “yea, and you have the best judge of character, right?”

with that reply, she knew there was nothing she could do to change your mind. “ugh. fine, just don’t say i didn’t warn you, babe.”

“yea, yea,” you wave her off, “what happened to not judging a book by it's cover?”

she shakes her head at you, watching you as you move to the other side of the room. you find a semi-secluded area on a large sectional that you can get comfy on, allowing your eyes to trail back up to rafe.

he looks back over to where you were originally standing, heart beating in his throat when he realizes you’re no longer there. he’s almost sure that your friend was telling you about how he’s the devil incarnate and probably much worse, and his confidence drops to an all-time low.

and then he sees you, alone on the couch, looking back at him with a sweet, almost angelic smile.

he chugs the rest of his drink, adjusts the backward hat on his head and makes his way over to you. “now or never,” he whispers to himself.

“hi,” he gives you a soft smile when he reaches the couch.

“hi there,” you smile back, “what’s up?”

“nothing much,” he shrugs nervously, “i’m rafe.”

“y/n,” you hum back, extending a hand out to him. he shakes it and then reverts back to standing awkwardly. “wanna sit down? you’re making me nervous, rafe.”

he chuckles at the statement, cheeks flushing red again as he finds a spot next to you. “are you new here?”

“yes and no,” you scrunch your nose up as you try and find the right words. “i grew up here when i was a kid, but my mom just moved back so this summer is kind of a trial run to see if i like it enough that i’m gonna stay for good.”

“and if you hate it?”

“then it’s back to alaska for me,” you take a sip of your drink before glancing at his reaction.

“alaska? that’s far away,” he gapes at you.

“yea, and cold as fuck.” he laughs at your blunt statement. “i’m really hoping i’ll like it here, though.”

rafe can tell by your tone that it’s meant to have a double meaning. he smirks, more sure of himself now, “i think you will.”

“oh yea? how so?”

“cause you’ll have the best tour guide in the obx,” he grins at you, hand raised in triumph.

“how could i hate it?” you grin back, raising your cup in toast, “to loving obx.”

“to loving obx,” rafe can’t help but feel as though he’s only fallen deeper for you in the span of the conversation and part of that scares him. but he also knows that this could be his chance to start over with someone that doesn’t know all the bad shit about him and his family.

patrons at the party watch in awe as the two of you sit for hours, just laughing and telling stories, all of them completely shocked at the lack of moves rafe tries to put on you.

-> back to masterlist

[revelboo]

Hey, I dunno if you're the right blog to ask this but i'll ask anyway lol, sorry So in many iterations of Transformers, Cybertronians have what's called a sub-space I think? Think invisible bag of holding KINDA? they can store infinite stuff there and it's out of sight, out of mind until they need it, etc, etc- what happens if they accidentally put a human in there? Circumstances don't matter, they forgot, got distracted, whatever- but I'm totally asking purely out of curiosity and not because a 'friend' may or may not have done exactly this scenario. lol.

Yep! The Scavengers are the only ones I’ve really utilized it with and they just use it to steal anything they can get their servos on (Misfire and Crankcase). I’ve always treated it as extra-dimensional storage. You’re shuffling something to a sort of adjacent dimension. Which is how mass displacing is treated. You’re just moving the extra mass sideways to a different plane of existence until you need it again. Something living, though? Hmm… that could be fun (traumatizing).

It might be like being stuck in an infinite seeming moment between moments. Aware of yourself, but unable to move, see, or breathe. Knowing you have a body, but unable to really connect to it like you’re severed from yourself.

Or you might be fully aware and able to move, just trapped floating in an endless void with no sense of direction, not sure if you’re even still breathing. If you’re alive or dead.

Maybe you just cease to exist altogether until you’re brought back. No sense of any time lost between when you’re subspaced and when you’re brought back. Your brain just unable to deal with it and shutting down completely for the experience. But as soon as you’re back you just come apart bawling and have no idea why.

Either way, I don’t think the human would be particularly okay once they’re pulled back. Most likely they’d freak out. The way it’s supposed to work is whatever is displaced is supposed to come back in the same condition, so I’d guess they’d survive it, but if they’re aware of that time spent elsewhere, they’re probably going to be a bit traumatized.

Just my theory on it.

[megalony]

Silence Is Golden

This is a new imagine for Eric from A Quiet Place: Day One. I know there aren't too many people interested in this fandom but I really enjoyed writing this one and hope you will all like it too.

Taglist: @justagirlthatlovedtoread @musicistheway @avada-kedavra-bitch-187 @luula @missdreamofendless @bradleybeachbabe @woderfulkawaii @amberpanda99 @daggersquadphantom @marvel-and-chicago-fan @angryknightstatesmantrash @minjix @lyje @kmc1989 @itsmytimetoodream @noonenuts @hiireadstuff @ashie-babie @classyunknownlover @jayyeahthatsme @sp1ritssz @dumb-fawkin-bitch @oliverstarksbae @gimatida @heart-35 @supernaturalstilinski @kyky9103 @gay4hotmilfs @itshamleth @chaoticnosleepinfluencer @gs29 @wh0reforsmutstuff @mel-vaz @natashamea18 @chrisevansdaughter @alexandra848484 @deena-beena-weena @targaryenluvs @kpoplover-19 @marvelmenarebeautiful @gillybear17

@zoeybennett @mrspeacem1nusone @zephyrmonkey @estella-novella @eleventhdoctorsangel @kniselle @senjoritanana @shauna-carsley @dottierose @cfdhouse51 @darkfemme1 @rainechase45 @lolalolsstuff @jupiter1700 @ashdoctor @an-aliens-ghost @lunaroserites @houseoftwistedspirits @callsignwidow @winterreader-nowwriter @reneinii @bellsbomb @western-pyro @itsgigikay @harry-satellite @midsummereve1993 @babyqueen17 @buckyyyismahhlife @sammiejane22 @mrsyixingunicorn10 @op-81-lvr-reblogs @talicat713 @niamhmbt @strawberry-canyon @bieberhoodforever @911fangirlie @hollandxxmix

Main Masterlist

Summary: Eric is relieved when he finds his wife amidst the chaos. And when they try and find a safe haven, (Y/n) calms him down when his panic overloads and becomes too much.

Enjoy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eric didn't like this.

He had the desperate need to cup his hands over his ears as he walked and cower down as if to make himself a smaller target, but he knew it wouldn't help. He knew covering his ears wasn't going to make a difference when everyone around him was still making such apparant noises that they were going to attract the creatures. Cupping his ears wasn't going to cause everyone else to be quiet.

With his elbows pinned into his waist, Eric bound both arms around his middle and continued to walk against the tide of people.

They nudged past Eric, pushing him left and right, moving him at all angles while they made noises that were surely going to cause their impending doom. The wheels of a wheelchair squeaked and clicked over stones and curbs. People pulling suitcases let them tumble from left to right and get stuck in pot holes.

Women wore heels, rough shoes clicked against the floor, people hummed and muttered and bashed together.

Eric aimed his head down towards the floor and made himself as small as he possible could so he could weave through the crowds.

He was well aware that he was walking in the opposite direction to everyone else. He knew they were all aiming for the river. He heard the announcements through the tanoids on the helicopters; boats were being set up, people were urged to get to the water. Apparently the creatures didn't like the water. There had been nothing said about the destination of the boats or where anyone was trying to go.

For all they knew, people could be getting on boats, preparing to sail for days or possible weeks on end without an actual destination in sight. But no one could live on the water forever. They would need food, water, supplies, things they couldn't possibly get while sailing into the abyss like that.

Eric couldn't think about any of that. He couldn't follow the flow of people and aim for the water; for a brief sense of security that might not last or even be true. He couldn't go with everyone else.

Not without (Y/n).

He had to find his wife.

Deep down, Eric knew that he might not be able to find her. He might not be able to find his wife anywhere. Anything could have happened to her. He prayed she had stayed in the apartment, that she hadn't gone out anywhere, but there was always the possibility that she had left for an errand.

(Y/n) could have been crushed in the panic of people trying to survive and escape. She could be trapped beneath a collapsed building, caught in an explosion or dragged along with the sea of people towards a boat, never to see Eric again.

His worst fear was that she had been maimed or killed by one of those creatures.

Eric couldn't think of a world without (Y/n). Trying to imagine this world in an apocolypse was hard enough, but Eric would rather scream until his lungs shrivelled up and show himself to a creature than live a life without (Y/n). Therefore he was going to find her. Eric had to find her.

He was going to search the streets until he eventually found his wife. He was trying to make his way back to their shared apartment, praying that she would be there when he walked in and he would be able to hold her in his arms and thank God that he had her safe with him. Eric wasn't going to stop searching for her. He only had two choices, find (Y/n) safe and sound or lose his heart and give himself up to the creatures.

'I can't do this alone.'

He had never been good at doing things on his own, even simple tasks were worrying for Eric. When he met (Y/n), he found someone to share his life with, someone to be himself around and someone who wouldn't judge him and would walk through life with him. Someone to hold his hand so he never had to do anything alone, someone who he could love with his whole being and protect with his life.

Eric couldn't survive in this strange, terrifying new world on his own; he had to have his wife by his side or he wasn't going to make it.

His head stayed bowed down as he weaved through the throng of people until he was pressed up against a building with his feet shuffling along the pavement.

He hated the feeling of his sopping wet suit clinging to every inch of his skin. Riding the subway had been Eric's intention this morning, until chaos overtook everything and he ended up fighting for his life, swimming his way out. He barely made it half the ride on the subway before everything turned around. He had been going to work. How could plans change so much since this morning?

Just the memory of why he was dripping wet made Eric shiver and wince and he imbedded his arms tighter into his chest to try and calm himself down. He had been on the verge of a panic attack since the moment he crawled out the subway. He couldn't afford to slip into one now and risk getting himself killed.

Someone made a sound.

Maybe it was the accumilation of all the different noises, the squeaky wheels and the clicking of heels and the rustling of coats and papers and people barging together.

Whatever noise alerted the creatures, it seemed to drag a handful of them towards the street, all at once.

Eric's arms unravelled from his waist so one hand could smother against his mouth and nose. He pressed down harshly enough that his palm was almost grating against his teeth and his upper lip ached as he tried to smother himself and stay quiet. He didn't want to make a sound. He didn't want to be cut to pieces or torn or impaled or thrown about the street by one of those merciless things.

But he also wanted to cry. He wanted to burst into a fit of tears and scream and wallow in self-pity and terror all at once.

The tears leaking from Eric's eyes mixed in with the water that was already cascading down his face from his sodden hair. Every inch of him was drenched in water so at least no one could spy the tears pouring down his face.

His eyes turned a horrible shade of red as his brown iris's deepened and his body began to shudder on the spot.

He found himself backing up until his back was against the wall and his stomach creased forward until he was compacting in on himself to try and calm down and stop from screaming. Screaming had never been something Eric was accustomed to, he didn't feel the need to burst out into fits of screams all that often. But right now, in this moment where he knew silence was golden and necessary, there was nothing he wanted to do more than to unleash a scream so horrible it shook the world to its core.

When a creature jumped down from a building with a horrible echoeing scream and blundered past a swarm of people, Eric's eyes snapped closed. Tears continued to streak down his face but he kept his eyes tightly closed so he didn't have to see people fly into cars or see the blood splatters when people were needlessly and carelessly maimed.

Eric wasn't sure what made him open his eyes a few moments later. Maybe it was the screams and the need to look and see which way he should move to be away from immediate danger. Or maybe it was just something within him telling him to look and become aware of his surroundings.

Whatever it was within him, Eric opened those dark brown eyes and tried to look around him.

He found himself shuffling to the left, sliding along the building as he tried to find somewhere safe to cower down and hide.

That's when he saw her.

He recognised that frame, that hair, those sparkling eyes that were fuelled with fear. He knew that beautiful frame that was cowering down, trying not to get crushed by the swarm of frightened people running, sliding and colliding in all directions.

Eric's legs began to move before he registered what he was doing and he was trembling as he aimed for her. He had to get to her. That was (Y/n), that was his wife. Eric didn't have to run all the way back to their apartment. He didn't have to scour the streets or stay out all day and all night to try and find her. He didn't have to imagine her lifeless body somewhere in the street, carelessly killed and forgotten by all who passed her by. He didn't have to contemplate throwing himself in front of a creature to be joined with her again.

He had to fight for her, he had to fight to get to her and stay with her and make sure nothing happened to her. She was his reason for living through this mayhem.

The need to call out her name had never been more prominent and Eric clamped his lips shut to make sure that he didn't make a single sound.

Tears pelted against his skin, scraping along his face with the wind when he pelted across the road. His body skitted to the left and he twisted at an angle, narrowly avoiding colliding into a man running the opposite way to try and find somewhere safe. Somewhere to hide, some sense of shelter in the chaos that enveloped them.

(Y/n) tried to keep moving. She tried to weave through the crowds who were now screaming, despite knowing that sound was what would get them killed.

She tried to cower down, to find somewhere to stop, somewhere that she could hide and wait for the creatures to finish their destruction.

An arm deadlocked around her waist. A frozen, dripping wet hand clamped around her mouth, as if sensing the scream she was desperate to let out at the sudden unwanted touch.

A sodden chest pummelled into her back and sent her spiralling off kilter, allowing whoever had hold of her to drag her towards an alley. Their intention was unclear. Surely someone couldn't be trying to hurt her in a world where silence was the key to their survival. This person couldn't be trying to harm her when the desolate creatures were in thee midst of another attack. That was a death sentence for them both.

(Y/n) tried to move. Her elbows thrust out behind her before her hands curled around the wrist near her mouth and she tried to yank the hand away from her mouth. But all her movements ceased when she felt a familiar, if frozen, pair of lips hovering over her ear.

A quiet, almost non-existent rendition of 'shh' tickled the shell of her ear before their face was tucked into the crook of her neck and she felt those ice cold lips attaching to the crook of her neck. She could feel each frosty breath that fanned against her skin, showing just how close he was to a panic attack. Stood on the edge of the abyss, one centimetre from falling over the edge.

Her body went lax in his arms, allowing him to steer her into the alley and tug her down until they were both crouching on the floor, hovering as close to the wall as they could manage.

(Y/n) could feel every bittersweet wave of relief that flowed through her body while she pushed back into Eric's arms. Changing from trying to fight off his touch to cling to any part of him that she could. Her hands curled around his forearm when his hand moved from covering her mouth to curve over the top of her chest instead with his hand clamped down on her shoulder.

Her eyes fell closed when she felt Eric pressing his chest down into her back, curving around her like a protective blanket with his arms enveloped around her. She realised after a moment or two that he was slowly rocking them back and forth, swaying from his toes to his heels, presumably to try and calm himself down.

She could feel how badly he was breathing into her neck, but not from any injury. From the sheer overload of panic. Her thumbs began to swipe across his forearm and she tilted her head down to press a kiss to his exposed wrist where she could feel every aching beat of his heart.

Where had he been? Why was he in this part of town? What had he been doing to be drenched from head to toe? She could feel the water dripping off his suit, creating a puddle beneath them while his damp curls tickled her cheek and his frozen features were beginning to thaw out against the crook of her neck.

(Y/n) let a few tears fall from her eyes as she dug her nails into Eric's forearm and curled in on herself even tighter. She pushed back into Eric at every sound of a creature screeching like a siren or the sound of its claws scraping through the road, tearing up the streets as they passed through in a haze of destruction.

Each scream that somebody let out made them both wince. Screaming because they were scared was futile and a mistake, but screaming in agony or the process of death was even worse. Neither Eric nor (Y/n) wanted to hear their last sounds.

The silence was worse.

When the world seemed to settle, when the street suddenly died and all the noises stopped, (Y/n) wondered if time itself had paused for them. It felt like fate was giving them a moment to be with each other before their end would take them.

(Y/n) didn't want to raise her head or open her eyes. She didn't want to move and see the end coming to take them, and she was sure that Eric felt the same.

The pair of them stayed like that, wrapped around each other in a cold, broken alleyway for what felt like an eternity. Until the dust settled and the threat of the end seemed to vanish into thin air.

Eric was the first to move, he rose his head from where his face had been tucked into the crook of (Y/n)'s neck and took a second to glance over his shoulder towards the end of the alley. There was no creature hovering around, no monstrosity making clicking noises, prowling to find its next victim. No stranger wandering nearby crying or whimpering or screaming or searching for a loved one or a friend to sit with.

It was just… silence.

It felt dangerous to move, to break the bubble of serenity and closure they found themselves in. Moving felt like threatening their existence. It felt like taking an unnecessary risk, but (Y/n) couldn't just sit here anymore. She couldn't stay crouching here in the alley forever without turning round and looking at her husband. Checking if he was alright, hugging the life out of him. She had to move.

Her body trembled as she slowly unhooked Eric's arm from across her chest like a seatbelt of protection. Her knees quaked and shuddered as she tried to turn around without making any sound. It was harder than she thought, to concentrate on being quiet when she never had to think about making a noise or a scuffle before.

It made her move ten times slower than normal and moving so cautiously felt strange. But once she was turned around, (Y/n) could feel the flood gates opening.

She felt the tears streaming down her face and her lower lip wobbled so much she had to bite down on it to stop herself from sobbing and making a sound.

He was here.

Eric was here, he had found her when she had been trying her best to search for him.

When the world turned to madness, (Y/n) didn't know what to do. Staying in the apartment felt safe, it seemed like the safest thing to do when strange creatures were roaming outside causing mass chaos and destruction in their wake. Staying in the apartment would have been safe, but it wouldn't have helped.

How could (Y/n) stay when she didn't know what had happened to Eric? He left for work in the morning less than an hour before the world turned to madness. (Y/n) had no idea whether he made it to work, whether he had been hurt along the way or God forbid, killed. She didn't know if he was injured and needed taking to hospital or if he was stuck or trapped somewhere and couldn't get out.

She had no idea what had happened to him and (Y/n) couldn't just sit at home and ponder on what could be and what ifs when she could go out and try to do something. Try to find him.

The subway clearly wasn't an option and (Y/n) had felt her heart shatter to pieces in her chest like shards of glass splintering throughout her blood when she realised the subway was flooded. Eric could have been down there. He could have been trapped, drowned, torn apart. He might not have made it out.

And (Y/n) couldn't get down to the platforms to search for him. She had traced the subway from up above, followed the roads along the street on Eric's route to work to see if he was anywhere abouts while she prayed he had made it to work and was somewhere safe.

But now he was here. He was safe, they had found each other and nothing was going to tear them apart again.

(Y/n) looped her arms around Eric's neck and leaned forward until her chest was merged against his. The movement was slow, making sure their clothes didn't make any squelching noises as they glued together and that she didn't knock him off balance and tackle him to the ground making an echo that would give away their location.

Her arms shook horribly around his neck and she couldn't help but scratch her nails into his back, tearing into his maroon jacket that looked more like melted chocolate now it was drenched through to the bone.

More tears poured down her face as she held her breath deep in her lungs to stop from gasping and choking. Her knees pressed in between Eric's sodden thighs like she was wedging herself into his chest, trying to become a vital organ hidden away in ihs ribcage.

One hand moved from his back to cradle the back of his neck and her nails scratched through his damp curls, knotting them between her fingers when she felt him trembling in her arms. His fingers clutched tightly into her upper back and she could feel him silently crying into her neck as she did the same with him.

Having Eric in her arms had never felt so compelling and deadly before. She had never been so relieved yet heartbroken at the same time because he was here, he was safe, but he was shell shocked. He was tormented and frightened and emotionally hurt. And it wasn't going to get much better than this. They had found each other, that was the highlight of their lives, things couldn't get a lot better than this.

(Y/n) continued to scratch her fingers through his hair against his scalp while she turned her head and pressed her lips against his damp cheek that was just starting to thaw out.

She pressed open-mouthed kisses along his cheek and up to his temple until her lips were against the centre of his forehead and her hand slid around to cup his cheek rather than his neck. Her thumb swiped beneath his eye, brushing away the tears cascading down his face while she began to sway them from side to side like he had done moments before.

Eric didn't want to clutch at (Y/n) as tightly as he was, but he didn't feel like he had much other choice. If he didn't hold onto her like his life depended on it, he feared he might just fall into a nightmare or wake up from this dream into a world where he didn't find her in time. Into a world without her; a world which he wouldn't be able to survive in.

He let his nails puncture into the middle of her back through her shirt and his lips pressed against her collar bone while he focused on the feeling of her lips against his temple.

But when he heard what she was whispering against his skin, he could feel himself starting to shake all over again and it was harder to stop a sob from escaping past his lips. He was almost sinking his teeth down into her collar bone to stop from saying anything at all when she spoke so softly and hushed that it sounded like he was listening to her voice in his head rather than out here in the real world.

"You're safe, baby. You're safe now."

***

A grin pulled at (Y/n)'s lips when she heard the front door slam shut with a bang that echoed around the apartment towards the kitchen where she was stood. And when she heard the all too familiar sound of Eric's leather shoes clicking against the laminate with a fast pace and a quick stomp with every other step, she gathered that he was rushing.

She turned around just in time to see him barrel over to her and his hands found her hips with vigour. He couldn't seem to stop himself in time and his chest barrelled into hers, pushing her back until her hips thudded back against the kitchen counter and she was pinned between the counter and Eric.

A sharp grin spread across his face as those deep brown eyes creased and he dove down to steal a kiss from her lips.

When the shock wore off, (Y/n) reached her hands up to cup his face. Her fingers traced and tickled along the edges of his jaw where he was just starting to grow a few traces of stubble.

She could taste traces of coffee on his lips which mingled in with the cherry lipbalm she wore and a chuckle escaped her lips when she felt Eric's tongue move out to taste the balm on her lips.

She could feel his hands tightening around his hips and his pelvis pushed against hers until she was positively crushed against him in the best possible way. The feeling of Eric's chest depending and moving with a laugh made (Y/n) shiver but the sound of his laugh flooded her ears like the best symphony she had ever heard.

"So?" She drawled while her hands slithered down his neck until she was clutching at his collar which she carefully began to alter and smooth out the creases. Her fingers worked to straighten the collar over the edge of his blazer jacket before her hands patted down his chest and her fingers danced over his shirt while her head angled to one side.

Was he going to keep her waiting in suspense all afternoon?

Eric took a moment to dart his eyes up and down her frame like he was searching for something when really, he was just drinking her in. And his tongue traced his lips, savouring the taste of her lip balm while he watched her bubble over with excitement before he had even said one word.

"I passed. I can apply for the internship now."

The bright smile that lit up Eric's face was enough to make tears well up in (Y/n)'s eyes as an excited cheer left her lips and she surged forward to loop her arms around the back of his neck. She yanked him down to her until their lips meshed together in a tangled fight for dominance, while both of them were still laughing.

He passed the test. He could apply for the job he wanted at the law firm across town. The best law firm in the city. The firm that would help him pass the bar and become a lawyer. Just one more year and a handful of other tests, and that would be it. Everything would be official. Eric would have the job he'd always wanted, the job his parents had coached him through and helped him move to New York to do.

Everything was slotting into place and it had been suspiciously easy so far. Just one more year, and everything would be official. Everything would be set in stone.

The memory flashed before Eric's eyes and had his pace slowing down when the large multistory building came into view. He wasn't sure what kind of building it was or what it was used for or even why it had brought such a memory to the fore front of his mind.

The building didn't look like the office which Eric used to work at, the place he used to visit everyday. His office hadn't been made of glass like this with about one hundred floors reaching up towards the sky. But something about the building brought that memory to light for Eric and it made his heart sink to the pit of his stomach.

He would never be able to run home to (Y/n) like that again. He would never be able to pick her up and sit her on the counter and hear her laugh and cry and say how proud of him she was. He would never do anything that made her proud; not in a world like this. The only thing he could do was protect her and keep them both alive. Nothing else mattered; there was nothing else he could do.

Eric wanted to go back to that day. There were so many days he would want to revisit, to live again and experience and see. He would have to replay them all in his mind like a videotape and hope that none of them started to fade or change and that they would get him through this strange, corrupted world.

His hand tightened around (Y/n)'s as they continued to walk through the near-empty street.

They had gone home, they had spent one last night in their apartment, somewhere they felt safe but where they would probably never be safe and never see again. They thought about their memories, their possessions, everything they would be leaving behind.

And they decided to leave in the morning. They couldn't stay here, it wasn't practical. They couldn't live in the middle of a broken city that was void of everything except chaos and predators. They had to go somewhere safe, they had to find their way to the sea and go with others to keep themselves alive.

But making the journey down-town towards the sea wasn't as easy as it seemed.

Eric felt the way (Y/n) suddenly tugged on his hand and when she merged her temple into the back of his arm, he paused. He turned his head to look behind him, to look down at his wife and figure out why she had stopped. But he didn't need to look. He heard it too.

The familiar, blood-curdling clicking noise that indicated a creature was nearby.

Without thinking, Eric tightened his hand around (Y/n)'s and picked up the pace again. He steered towards the right, pulling her along with him as he tried to be quick but not too fast that his trainers clicked against the floor and alerted the creatures of their presence.

The only place to hide was the office building beside them that looked abandoned, deserted.

(Y/n) curled her free hand around Eric's arm, trying to glue them both together so she didn't lose him, not for one moment. Her body stayed as close up behind him as she could manage and she followed him into the turnstile doors.

But her face bashed into his back and her heart jumped into her throat when the doors wouldn't move. She looked up at Eric, a sense of panic flooding her face as a look of sheer anxiety mixed with a small dwindle of determination crossed Eric's features.

He let go of her hand and pressed both his palms down against the glass while his knees bent and he hunkered forward to try and shove the door.

There was a briefcase in the way. Wedged between the door and the corner of the wall, preventing the doors from spinning and opening any further.

They couldn't just stay here, the doors had to open. They had to get inside. They had to find somewhere relatively safe, somewhere they could hide.

Eric felt (Y/n)'s arm curl around his lower back and her cheek pressed against his shoulder while she moved her other hand to try and help him push the door. They had to get inside.

'Come on. Please!'

His lips rolled together and his brows furrowed as he shoved the door just enough to poke his head through the gap. Just a little more, just another two or three feet and they would be able to get through.

"Oh no." The quiet, almost non-existent noise fell from Eric's lips when the door swung round and the briefcase slammed closed and spun out like a spinning wheel.

The screech was almost instantaneous and (Y/n) could feel tears welling up in her eyes when the noise got louder. They were here; and there was more than one.

With both her hands on Eric's hips, (Y/n) nudged him forward and clutched him tight as they set off into a sprint. They had to move, fast. They had to get somewhere safe, somewhere to hide. They didn't have a choice but to take a diversion inside here on their way to get to the sea.

Both their bodies stayed hunkered down as they bolted through the unused, seemingly broken turnstile and aimed for the escalators.

(Y/n)'s hands left Eric's hips and clamped over her mouth to stop herself from screaming when a violent crash shattered from above and they both hunkered down when a sprinkling of glass clattered down on them like deadly flakes of snow. One of the creatures had crashed through the glass ceiling.

Her body hunched over until she was running crouched over but all she wanted to do was go down on her knees and curl up into a ball. Running while fuelled with adrenaline and every nerve set alight wasn't an easy task.

It was as if Eric's movements spoke a thousand words when he reached behind him and hastily turned to the left to reach out for her. His left arm secured around her waist and his other hand clenched around her arm so he could tug her in front of him.

One hand clamped down on her hip and the other held her shoulder so Eric could keep her in front of him. He couldn't hurry if (Y/n) was behind him, he needed his wife ahead of him so he could ensure she was alright and push her in an emergency to get her out of danger.

His chest kept merging into her back as they skidded around corners but every time Eric turned to look over his shoulder, he could feel his lungs tightening up and threatening to quit on him.

Three- no, four creatures were following them. Reaching for them. Desperate to tear them apart.

Their feet skidded against the marbled floor littered with glass and dirt and shoes and hundreds of sheets of paper as they turned a hasty corner and pelted out of an open side door.

What other choice did they have? Where could they go?

As long as she had Eric's hands on her body and his frame close behind her, (Y/n) could keep running. She could ignore the pounding of her heart, the squeeze in her lungs that were gasping for air and the pins and needles in her hands and feet. She could ignore everything as long as Eric stayed with her and didn't fall a step behind.

'Oh dear.'

She didn't want to. She really, really didn't want to steer Eric down there, not after what he had been through yesterday, but they didn't have much of a choice. They needed to get somewhere safe, somewhere to lose these creatures so they could get back on track and try and get to the sea.

The subway was right there.

The subway was down below and this entrance wasn't flooded to the brim with sewage and water. They could lose the creatures easier down there. There would be more places to hide, smaller gaps to wriggle into and things to use as cover down there. And there might be water.

The tanoids said these things don't like water. They could hide in the water or in the subway cars. They had to take the chance.

(Y/n) didn't bother to point, she didn't want to take the risk of showing Eric where she was trying to go and have him panic or try to drag her in a different direction. He had pushed her ahead and (Y/n) was going to try and guide them somewhere safe.

She reached behind her to latch her fingers around Eric's wrist where his hand was on her shoulder and she tried to run on her tiptoes, which was a challenge, as she headed down the steps.

Eric didn't seem to realise where they were going until they reached the bottom of the stairs. She felt the shiver that coursed through him and the way his nails pinched through her clothes and into her skin, but he didn't try and stop running. He continued to rush behind her, despite the agony pounding through his system.

'I'm a horrible wife.'

How cruel did this make her? She knew what Eric had been through yesterday, she had listened to him last night as he explained what he had gone through and the panic he had felt. She listened to everything he said, and here she was, dragging him back down somewhere that was going to scarr him again.

Tears glistened in her eyes that she tried to force back as they hurried around the corner and down another flight of stairs towards a platform. Any platform, just somewhere to keep them safe. Somewhere they could hide.

This time, as they neared a platform, (Y/n) could feel Eric's resistance start to build up. She could feel his hands piercing into her hip and shoulder, she could feel the way he was hunching over her and trying to steer her to one side, presumably to get her to run away from the track and to somewhere they could cower down.

There was a broken train car ahead. It seemed to have come off the tracks with how it was scraped up against the concrete edge of the platform and tilted on one side.

Hiding in the car wouldn't be a safe bet. The electrics could still be on and with all the water around, that was a recipe for disaster. Anything could collapse on them in there, they could become crushed or trapped or fatally injured. The creatures could tear that car apart piece by piece and kill them in the process.

(Y/n) paused on the very edge of the platform and looked between the tracks and Eric.

He shook his head. The way his lips curved down into a broken, gaping expression and the hollow look in his eyes made (Y/n)'s own eyes water. She didn't want to force him to do this, but they needed to get away.

That track was submerged in water, the water was flowing right to the very top of the platform. They could hide in there, they could trail through the water, follow the tracks, towards another subway stop and get out somewhere else in town. The creatures didn't like water, either they couldn't swim or they couldn't last long submerged in water. Either way, this was their only advantage.

A shiver coursed down Eric's spine and he visibly shuddered when (Y/n)'s hand reached out to cup the side of his face. she brushed her thumb along his jaw and nodded at him until he reciprocated the action and agreed.

He could hate her if he wanted; but she had to try and save them.

Eric could feel himself shaking before he got into the water. He sat down on the edge of the platform and carefully lowered his legs into the water. They couldn't afford to make a splash.

It felt strangely familiar to have water right up to his waist again and he cringed at the feeling and the memories of yesterday that came rushing to the fore front of his mind. He didn't want to think about yesterday. He didn't want to think about how close he had come to drowning.

Once he was in the water, he carefully turned towards (Y/n) and curled his hands around her hips when she sat down on the edge. He helped her lower into the water and he took the time to press a gentle, careful peck of his lips against her forehead.

He liked that she moved in front of him, he liked that (Y/n) was taking the lead, taking that stress from him and allowing him to follow her. And when she reached behind her and held onto his hands, Eric felt like crying.

He let her lift his hands and place both his palms down on her shoulders and she curled her hands around his wrists, brushing her thumbs across his skin to try and calm him down.

They could walk in tandem together, if Eric needed to cling to her to stay calm and get through this, then that was okay.

For a few seconds, his chin perched on top of her head and his chest glued down against her back as they waded through the water, one step at a time. The distant sound of the creature crashing around on the platform made them both shudder with each crack of the wall tiles and each screech it erupted.

There was very little light down here. Only the ventilation shafts in the ceiling provided little glimmers of light, but it was enough to let them see straight ahead and allow them to continue their descent along the track. The only relief was that they knew without a doubt that no subway train was going to come from either direction and mow them down.

(Y/n) could feel the panic radiating off of her husband the further they tried to trail through the water. And as they moved and Eric began to shake and his breathing started to become shallow and stuttered. He was panicking. He was getting nervous and upset. And (Y/n) couldn't blame him, not one bit.

"What happened?" The sound of the rain and the cushioned walls of the apartment gave them a little leeway and enough cover to be able to speak without just mouthing their words silently or trying to use what little sign language they knew. They were both too shaky to try and write down their conversations.

(Y/n) laid her head on Eric's shoulder and bound her arms tighter around his waist as they sat in the window seat, trying to be close enough to the rain to use it as cover.

Her fingers skimmed up and down the softness of his jumper while she felt him lean his cheek on top of her head. The way he shuddered told her whatever he experienced today hadn't been good. She figured by the looks of him that he didn't make it to the office this morning.

That might have been a blessing. The office could have collapsed. Eric could have been crushed or killed or left for dead at the office. Him not making it might have done them a favour and brought them back to each other.

"I was on the train for five minutes when- when they… the train stopped at the next platform, we were told to evacuate, but it was too late." Eric couldn't help the way he started to cry as he remembered the memories of this morning that somehow felt like a lifetime ago.

"I was one of the last to get off, t-the water was so high already. I was about to ask what was happening, when one of those things, it… God, baby, it got a woman and h-her kid. Snatched them and all they did was whisper."

Eric had been one second away from asking the man beside him what on Earth was going on. Why the subway was covered in broken tiles and bricks and clawed posters. Why everyone was panicking, where the water was coming from and why it was rising fast. Why they needed to evacuate. He almost asked any number of these things when a lady ahead of him whispered something to her child.

That was it. They were attacked, they were killed.

Their deaths had effectively saved Eric's life. He clamped his hands over his mouth and backed away into a corner, trying his best to stay alive.

"The lights went out and the water, I couldn't breathe. I was at the stairs when it rose high, I h-had to swim out. All I could think was getting back to you; to make sure you were okay."

The only thing pushing Eric to keep going was the thought of getting back to (Y/n). To make sure his wife was okay, to make sure she was alive. That was all Eric could think about and that was what got him through the event.

His arms tightened around (Y/n) when he felt her pressing a bundle of tender kisses against his chest and along his neck.

She was his reason for staying alive.

When it felt like Eric was slowing down, (Y/n) turned to look over her shoulder. What she saw broke her heart.

Tears were sliding down his features and those beautiful brown eyes that always reminded her of chocolate buttons were all but melted over and full of sorrow and panic. Those eyes bore right through into (Y/n)'s soul.

She watched as his lower lip wobbled like he was frozen cold and it made his chin jutter up and down. The way Eric's shoulders started to tremble showed (Y/n) that if they weren't in the water right now, he would of been tremoring from left to right and probably would of collapsed to the floor. Her husband was terrified.

"It's okay." (Y/n) tried to speak as low as she possibly could until it felt like she was moving her lips but nothing was coming out. She couldn't risk being any louder, she needed to calm him down but she couldn't use her voice and alert the creature of their presence.

Her hands tightened around his wrists and she watched as Eric nodded to himself and switched from clutching her shoulders to deadlock both arms around her neck and shoulders instead. He clasped his hands together over her collar bone, pushed his chest down against her back and squished his cheek against the side of her head so his lips were hovering against the side of her temple.

They started to wade through the water again, but (Y/n) shuddered when she felt Eric's arms clutch tighter until he was almost cutting off her breathing. And she found herself shaking her head when she heard him speak.

"It's okay. It's okay; we're okay." Eric started to whisper those words again and again, over and over to keep himself moving. But his voice was rising. He was whispering rather than muttering or mouthing. He was going to alert the creature where they were.

Eric snapped his eyes closed to try and ward off the tears as his shoulders quaked and his hand cupped the side of (Y/n)'s face so he could dance his thumb across her cheek to calm himself down.

When (Y/n) felt his chest shudder against her back and his breathing started to hitch, her eyes widened and she did her best to turn around in his tight embrace.

'No. Baby no.'

She tried her best to mouthe slowly and carefully so Eric could see what she was trying to say. He couldn't speak, he couldn't. But he was. He was muttering again.

Reaching her hands up, (Y/n) clamped them down on either side of Eric's face that was starting to turn cold and frozen just like when they found each other yesterday. Her thumbs brushed away his tears and just as his lips parted to whimper, (Y/n) surged forward.

Her chest meshed into his, glued together by the water that made their clothes tangle and entwine and stick together. Her elbows pressed against his chest, her hands squeezed his face and she brought him closer until her lips smothered his own.

She kissed him like their lives depended on it.

Her tongue swiped across his lower lip, her mouth parted to inhale what little air Eric had in his lungs and her tongue battled against his as she tried to calm him down and keep him quiet at the same time. When she felt Eric's hands shift down to clutch at her waist, she parted just enough so that there was a gap between their lips that were still barely touching.

She allowed Eric to suck in a deep breath before she engulfed his mouth again and savoured the touch, a little less erratic this time. She could feel Eric calming down against her. His chest wasn't stuttering or heaving, he wasn't gasping with shallow breaths, clutching at straws for a gulp of air. And more importantly, he wasn't muttering or whimpering anything anymore.

His frozen lips felt heavenly and calmed (Y/n) down more than she thought possible. She parted slowly to gulp for air before she moved to kiss the corner of Eric's mouth. She watched as his eyes closed and his head tilted back and his mouth hung open while he lost himself in her touch, trying to melt into her.

He was more than happy for (Y/n) to short-circuit his brain to get them through this mess.

He didn't want to be in the water after yesterday. He fought, scrambled, pushed and clawed his way out of that subway station to get back to fresh air, to stop from drowning. Eric didn't want to do that again, but if this was their only chance at refuge then he didn't have a choice. As long as he had (Y/n) with him this time, Eric might just be able to get through this.

'Okay?'

(Y/n) mouthed quietly once Eric finally opened his eyes after their lips parted. He seemed a little calmer and his breathing was a lot better now.

He managed to nod and before (Y/n) could turn around in his arms, her eyes widened and she grasped onto his neck when she felt his hands move. He was slow but stealth as he pulled her chest against his and started to walk, giving her no choice but to loop her legs around his waist.

At least with them being in the water, Eric wasn't really carrying her or needing to hold her weight; the water was doing that for him.

If he wanted to see her face and hold her like this, if it was going to help get him through this then (Y/n) was okay with that. She would stay cuddled up against him if it was what Eric needed.

Her legs looped loosely around Eric's waist to sit on his hips and her arms curled around the back of his neck. When Eric rested his chin on her shoulder and meshed his cheek against hers, (Y/n) began to card her fingers through his curls and she turned her head slightly hush and breathe against the shell of his ear. Praying that giving him some kind of noise, no matter how discreet, might just calm him down.

Eric breathed against her shoulder and tried to look dead ahead and every few steps, he would tighten his arms around (Y/n)'s waist.

(Y/n) kept her eyes peeled for the creature that was slowly but surely heading their way. Climbing the ceiling, crawling somewhat like an oversized spider to get to them. To kill them. She was glad Eric was looking the other way, him seeing the creature would only ignite his panic. Not that (Y/n) wasn't panicking, seeing the creature getting closer, but she could cope a little better than Eric.

It wasn't until the water rose towards Eric's lips that he started to struggle. He could walk and wade through the water just fine, but it was harder to keep moving with the water getting higher the further they went. He didn't want to start taking a nose dive under the water. He wanted to get out now.

The creature screeched as it scrambled faster along the tunnel when a bit of concrete smashed against the wall with the flow of water.

The noise made (Y/n) shudder in Eric's arms and she turned to look behind her to see how much further they had to go to get to the next junction. The next platform where they would be safe.

It didn't look much further. If they could get through that water, the creature wouldn't survive. It wouldn't follow through the water. The current was already doing half their job by dragging them along.

Another whimper left Eric's lips as he stopped walking, but it didn't make a difference. They were floating along now. He could barely breathe. His lungs were tightening, his head was tilted back with (Y/n)'s but they didn't have a lot of space left to breathe before they would be submerged.

He couldn't go under again. He couldn't drown again. He couldn't!

"No, no." Eric's lip wobbled as he started to shake his head and he wafted one arm to try and stop them from going any further, but it was futile. The water was dragging them. The creature was screaming behind them and getting closer. It splashed into the water and started to speed up towards them, despite its own sense of panic.

(Y/n) unravelled one arm from Eric's neck so she could point to her face before she pointed to the water.

She watched him shake his head; he didn't want to go under. They were running out of time, air, space; and choice.

Her legs unlatched from his hips but her hands cupped his face and she kissed the corner of his mouth again while she forced him to look into her eyes. She wasn't going to let go. She would stay with him, she would be here with him and she would look after him. But he had to trust her, he had to do this.

"Baby, you have to." When Eric shook his head, (Y/n) nodded and kissed him again. "Keep hold of me baby. Head under. Now!"

Her lips attached to his and she tried to breathe as much air as she could into his lungs before her hands moved to his shoulders and she pushed. She only had to nudge a tiny bit before the water did the rest and rose above their heads.

The feeling of Eric's nails piercing her skin was somehow oddly comforting, it meant he was still clinging to her and by her side through the madness. His fingers scraped and clutched at her skin until he had a tight grip of her forearm and he dragged her arm towards his chest.

To stick to Eric without being pulled away by the current, (Y/n) looped an arm around the back of his neck when they were close enough. She tried to keep her eyes open but the water burned and the little flecks of grit and dirt made it impossible to keep looking.

She had to close her eyes and hope the current would take them to a pocket of air or a new platform. Somewhere they could get out.

Their legs thrashed together, kicking at bits of ironwork, bricks, tiles and what Eric was sure was the creature which made him thrash harder. He fought with all his might, twisting as the current turned him upside down like he was on his way to Wonderland.

He clutched at (Y/n), making sure not to lose her for a moment. He didn't want to become parted, they couldn't be separated. Not at any cost.

He had to close his eyes when he felt the need to scream, the need to make a noise and the desperate urge to breathe which he knew would choke him.

A rock pummelled into Eric's chest and sent him reeling to the right, barelling into (Y/n)'s frame before the water seemed to spit them out like a bad taste.

They crashed onto a broken pile of rubble and dirt and the air overwhelmed them until they were both spluttering and gasping for air.

They made it.

The creature wasn't nearby. It hadn't survived the water. They did. They had made it somewhere safe; they were near a makeshift tunnel, leading up to a patch of light ahead. That had to be somewhere safe, somewhere better than this.

(Y/n) felt her head spinning in circles as she collapsed on her back on the rubble with the water licking at her heels like it was trying to thank her. Her chest heaved but she spluttered when she felt Eric move. His head plopped down on her chest and his arm deadlocked around her waist as he laid on top of her, gasping just as much as she was.

His wet lips attached to the side of her neck and he clung to her as much as he could without fully squashing her beneath him.

When he felt her fingers weave into the hair at the back of his head and her lips flutter against his temple, Eric could of cried. But it was her words, hushed against his dripping forehead while they clung to one another, that made Eric's whole body light up.

"I'm so proud of you."