#UP board class 10 exams

[sadnightforus]

[10:59 AM] “Hey… HEY!” Riki whispers to you while you both are listening to your teacher who is busy explaining and breaking down about world’s history. 

 According to your seating position, you’re sitting in front of him, though, you’re sitting on the right side of the school twin desk and he sits at the left, not vertically aligned to each other. It has never been a problem for the both of you, as the seats aren’t far away. 

 The fact he cares to disturb you during class is both annoying and questionable, as he rarely does, unless it’s an important business. 

 It startles you out of your trance, as you snap your head to look back at the guy who is now staring at you. 

“What?” You ask, a bit irritated that you’re pulled away from the board. Your fingers stop working to write more notes, but try to keep your ears alert, invade when your teacher mentions any relevant information that might be on the exam. 

“You dropped your pen.” He answers, maintaining eye contact despite the forbidden rule to not talk during class. 

 You look up, observing your desk, realizing that your pen is indeed long forgotten as it must’ve fallen off some time ago when you were trying to take notes during the lessons. You don’t say anything, but instead place your pencil on the top, lowering your body a bit as your right arm works itself to retrieve the school item back to where it belongs. 

 However, a piece of folded paper catches your attention as you don’t remember that any of your classmates litter or there are trash as all of you have mandatory cleaning duties as a group. 

 Curious, you pick it up and place it onto your table, unfolding it to see the note was written in a messy handwriting, the writing style that belongs to none other than your friend, Riki. 

‘To the cutie whose student number is 9, will you be forever mine and my valentine? - N.R (student number 14)’ 

 Your student number in this class is 9. His student number is 14. 

 You feel like your world spins, but in an agonizing slow manner, the one that is sick and both ecstatic from the realization. 

 You recall back to every moment that you both share; a lot of occasions where you’ve gotten too close to him and subtly held his hand under the excuse of your hands being cold, but never once did both of you want to let go of the fingers lacing motion. 

 Or wore his jacket because you didn’t bring yours and it happened to be chilly (you shamefully admit that you just wanted his scent to linger on you). 

  Or when he bent down to tie your shoes because he noticed you’d trip with your shoelaces not being properly kept in place. 

 Or when he gently wiped your mouth because you have ice creams on the corner of your mouth as you both skipped school that one time. 

 You smile to yourself as you remember and get mushy as you now know that your love wasn’t always one sided. 

 Giddily, you begin to write your response under his words. And when you’re done with it, you hand Riki the now shared response note as you notice that his eyes were trained on you the entire time. 

 And as he opens the note to see the response ‘To the boy whose student number is 14, yes I’ll be yours. And I hope to spend every Valentine with you. - Y/N (student number 9)’, you giggle as you see that he can’t help but his face dusts in every shade of red, eyes now glistening with sparkles as he has received the best news of his life. 

COPYRIGHTED BY SADNIGHTFORUS, 2024

A/N: if you ask me, pure insanity

reblogs, comments and likes are appreciated!

[g0ldenbritney]

TATE LANGDON ABCS (sfw)꧂

a/n: HAPPY HALLOWEEN🎃..sorry i skipped some letters im a lazy bitch

A = Affection

physical touch for sure, playing with your hair, holding your hand (or holding pinky fingers because thats cutesy as fuck), kissing cheeks and noses (im a SUCKAA for nose kisses and so is he<3). Im just imagining you leaning in to kiss his nose, but he thought you were leaning in for a lip kiss, and it ends up being kinda awkward and you bump into eachother😭😭. Tbh i can’t see him being great at communication especially because he’s a literal teenage boy but though he might now be able to say it he can definitely show it with acts of service like helping with chores

You were at school, trying to focus on your worksheets and actually listening to the teacher speak about..whatever she was teaching, all you can think about is getting back home and all the homework and fuckin chores you had awaiting for you.

once you did get home, you opened the front door and you could smell how good the house smelt, on more exploration the entire house was cleaned and all your chores were done. You walked into your room and your homework was completed on your desk..i mean all the answers were wrong but its the thought that counts.

B = Best friend

Im going with alive Tate for this, I have a mood board on Pinterest for this!! (adrienjoyer)

Sharing cigarettes, sharing cds, sharing shoes, sharing clothes, FREE RAIN OF HIS STUFF. He will let you have anything, need a pencil in class…actually he doesn’t have one either but he will scavenge around for one—and if he only finds one? It’s *our* pencil now. (i need to smack that mans ass on the stairs) (i do that to all my friends) Oh? You have 10 bucks? Well he has 7…that mean its OUR 17 dollars to spend on pizza

(based on a scenario that actually happened to me LMAO 😭😭)

It was late at night, you both were hanging out at your house and it was like 2am, suddenly you both have the craving for pizza..you both counted your cash and quarters, you had 13 bucks in total so you thought a small pizza would fine..yeah no. Tate called up the local Pizza Hut and ordered a small pizza with nothing but cheese and pepperoni and it was 22 FUCKING DOLLARS?? And so you both ran around the house looking for quarters…

you ended up paying the money in quarters to that poor pizza delivery girl at 2am.

C = Cuddles

Depends on how he’s feeling tbh, i can see him as a chest layer. Lying on your chest as you stroke his hair, or the other way around he would be just fine with that as well.

D = Domestic

OF COURSE!! I can see him totally wanting that but like..not till he’s like 30. He wants to do all this stuff first before he settled down, but he definitely wouldn’t mind a partner..some kids, a dog maybe. He’s pretty good at cooking, if you count Kraft mac and cheese and grilled cheese or really anything with cheese.. (the man likes cheese what can i say) and he REFUSES to use a dishwasher, he will be washing dishes old style and you cant stop him.

E = Ending

no.

G = Gentle

Sometimes he might go to far, if you two are just friends and hes joking around and he actually hurts your feelings he would squeeze your shoulder and tell you a quick “sorry.” And it usually makes you feel better. He is very gentle with you when you’re having a bad day maybe just upset or stressed about exams he will maybe rub your shoulders or something and maybe get you to laugh to calm your nerves. If you are in a good mood, hes still gentle, holding you, holding your hands, being careful.

H = Hugs

He loves them!! I dont even care what you have to say or as much as he tries to push you off when you hug him he LOVES HUGS. If you two are just friends and you hug him he might be a little hesitant but he will hug you loosely back. This is totally pointed towards me because im very physically affectionate with my friends and hug them after school everyday, if you, like me, run up to him at his locker and basically throw yourself at him he will laugh and let you hug him and yap. If you’re dating and you hug him he will definitely hug you back and kiss your head :)

I = I love you

He thinks the whole “3 month rule” is bs. He’ll say that shit whenever he wants to. If he wants to say “I love you” immediately after you starting dating god damnit it will happen!!! He definitely says he loves you if you’re just friends to

J = Jealousy

Actual jealous baby

Im just imagining someone flirting with you in class do you immediately tell him as soon as you can because you tell him everything and he genuinely TWEAKS THE FUCK OUTTT, like hes actually geeked

like wdym someone else might have a little crush on you…NO. That person will become his biggest opp and you are told to stay away.

You were in 1st hour and you were assigned partners, luckily you knew the person you were assigned with thought they were a little strange…but they started subtly flirting you. They said sorry for being awkward and they “get nervous around people like you” which sounded like a flirt to you

so when you got to lunch, you immediately told Tate, he literally could run to that kids class right now and fight but he just whips his head around at you

“I hated that guy anyway…stupid.”

K = Kisses

Can range from sweet little ones to full blown makeouts hickeys..he prefers sweet ones on the face in the daylight but at night this man is freaky asf. His kisses are soft and slow but he can be a bit quicker if you really want him to

Q = Quizzes

he had a notebook for stuff about you, if you accidentally drop a little fun fact about you he will know about it and he will write it down, ranging from your favorite juice or if you have a mole under your jaw. He knows it all. If he ever forgot anything and i mean ANYTHING about you I dont think he would forgive himself

T = Try

Tbh i dont think he would put a lot of effort in, he just likes to be around you. (Though the mcdonalds dates are FIRE.) he likes having sleepovers with you at tour house only, watching movies, eating snacks till you feel ill, cuddling, if you’re down to get Applebees that would be even better and you would both ask the waiter for the gummy sharks in your sweet drinks separately (yes ive done that before). But if you really really wanted anice romantic date maybe he would give you flowers or something

U = Ugly

Nail biting (you put bandaids over his nails so he’ll stop :)), excessive social media usage (this guys is chronically online holly shit freaking 4chan user), ive always imagined him little tics, like twitching when hes anxious.

X = Xtra

i want to bake him a cake

Z = Zzz

THIS MAN CAN NEVER SLEEP ISTG

he tosses and turns but no matter what he cant sleep without you or if you give him a stuffed animal

OHH MY GODD IF YOU GIVE HIM A STUFFED ANIMAL I CANT

imagine him holding and cuddling it, and i know this doesnt relate to sleep but imagine him being all sad and crying into it because it reminds him of you😭

[icyg4l]

PAC: what should you put on your bucket list for the summer?

hello beautiful people! i am starting my summer 2024 series right now and i am so excited!!!! i wanted to bring something new to everyone so i am creating specialized playlists for each group. they consist of six songs i’ve channeled during your reading. i hope that the group you chose resonates. i also hope that you all book a reading with me! :)

without further ado, please select your pile.

top left-to-bottom right: (1-4)

PILE ONE:

this pile may be newly single or fresh to the dating scene as a whole. you seem introverted, maybe covid messed up your social skills? it’s time to bring some life back into you! i think the main message here is to be more open to exploration.

cards used: the tower, 10 of discs, king of swords, the star, queen of wands, the hanged man, princess of cups.

learn how to swim

flirt with a stranger at a festival/concert

ride as many amusement park rides as you can

go on a picnic date

join some type of organization, or maybe even create one!

be as comfortable in your skin as you can; even go skinny dipping or to a new beach (only if you’re of age though!!)

go to a metaphysical shop

go on a group/double date with your friends

PILE TWO:

i feel like you’re insecure and you’re trying to work on that. this is the best summer to do so. i feel like this pile gets easily embarrassed. spirit wants you to stop that lmao. i take it that you’re someone who’s probably a loner.

cards used: 9 of cups, queen of discs, ace of wands, 3 of cups, 8 of swords, 5 of wands

do as much shadow work as you can

take up a self-defense class/boxing class

jump off the diving board

conquer your fear of heights by bungee jumping or rock climbing

hypnosis therapy

wear your natural hair in different styles each day for a week (maybe longer 🙈)

embrace family traditions

spa day!

have/go to a bonfire

scrapbook!

PILE THREE:

these are my r&b loversss. i feel like you guys have some pipes on you lol. this pile is kind of goofy too. this pile has to be as free as possible. no relationships, no commitments of any kind (minus a job cause y’know the economy rn is 😔). but anyway, the point is to just relax.

cards used: 6 of discs, the devil, the magician, 2 of cups, wheel of fortune, the sun, princess of cups.

go to a skate park

host an event

meet a special someone at the bar

connect with an old friend

adopt a pet

create an alter ego for yourself and show up as that person

do a good deed for someone, pay it forward.

have a dance battle in public

obtain a FWB (be smart & use protection of course 🤫)

post on social media as much as possible

PILE FOUR:

i can tell this is the pile that likes to be organized. you like to have plans made out before the summer. that might not be the case this summer. focus on being a little more free and spontaneous. flexibility is key, babe. get out of freezeeeee mode.

cards used: 3 of cups, the hanged man, 5 of wands, queen of wands, king of swords, the star, knight of cups, ace of discs.

dye your hair red!

pass the bar exam (for those of you who are future lawyers)

receive a tarot reading from an in-person psychic

flirt a little at the grocery store

get dressed up to go to a department store/chain store

have a girls night in with ur girls!

build a fort!

change up your day-to-day makeup routine

record a song with your friends

[blueberrylovv]

AM BACK!!!!

anyways hi hello I'm so sorry for being inactive for the past idk how long it all has been just oh so shitty and I was fighting for my life :') I am kinda still fighting for my life but ig I had some nice interactions recently, I started dressing up nicely every day, I am waking up around 6am every day even if my first class is at 9 or 11 and I have time to get ready in the morning (which is so unlike me I've always been last minute kinda gal waking up 10 minutes before I have to get out and stuff), I took 4 exams recently 2 for my Latin class and 2 for my German class and I got 100% in all of them so that provided some academic validation and motivation I needed.

ana has been kicking my ass, hate her so much rn... she came back, kicked down the door and said 'you're gonna be miserable now' and yeah I've been miserable alright. usually i don't mind when she comes back randomly bc usually I use her as motivation but this time she came back as 'you're not making any progress, you will never be able to achieve your goals do you even deserve fo achieve them blah blah blah' v nasty stuff hate it here but oh well I am pushing through ig...

but yeah I'm gonna get my ass back into posting here I think I would benefit from some creative output even if its just a board here and there

so sorry for people I've been ignoring I feel really about about it :c I'm gonna go through my notifications to check who @ me in the past couple weeks so I can respond to you even if it's v late :') also thank you to all the people who are still here and haven't unpfollowed me you're the best ill get back into interacting with you now <3

WATER REMINDER!

[queers-gambit]

Dornish Wine, Weddings, and Bruised Knuckles

prompt: your best friend's getting married and you've got a thing for her brother. during the bachelorette party, you learn maybe your affection wasn't so one-sided after all.

pairing: Modern Aemond Targaryen x female!reader also Helaena Targaryen x Cregan Stark

fandom masterlist: House of the Dragon

word count: 11.1k+

warnings: modern AU, cursing, male-centric aggression, mild violence, (more) against-a-wall smut, author uses writing as therapy so theres way too many details, implied character-age-up (they're all legal to drink), barely edited so be nice, author probably missed some warnings!

Dorne wasn't just the Seventh Kingdom that withheld against conquest the longest, but now extremely notorious for their epic party scene, luxury resorts, sex-positive atmosphere, and overall debauchery. Dorne was lively, Dorne was hip, Dorne was ever-changing and always current. Dorne set trends, created challenge, and showcased their always-evolving lifestyle. Dorne was bright, colorful, tropical, and forever warm to the bone; being the ideal hot-spot for those who had money to spend.

Dorne was where everything happened.

Dorne was the place to be.

Dorne was exactly the thing you needed after finishing an over-worked, grueling finals season at your university.

When you and your best friend met for coffee nearly a full year ago to tell you she and her fiancé were thinking of a destination wedding in Dorne, you felt your excitement spike to never-before-reached heights. You would've been ashamed at how fast you jumped at the chance to travel, but you didn't have the time! You've never been to Dorne, hardly anywhere really, but going to university in the country's capital meant you interacted with a lot of international peers. Many who told you endless stories about their drunken foolishness in the Seventh Kingdom, driving up your interest and want to visit.

And now the time had finally come.

"My family's already there," Helaena told you softly; both sitting in the exclusive first class cabin after boarding the aircraft, "so we'll have transport when we land, so we just have to worry about our luggage."

You nodded at her, "Sounds good."

She offered you a look, laughing, "Just say it - I know you want to."

You glanced up and down the aisle of the plane before quickly squealing and jogging in place, "This is so fucking cool!" Helaena laughed as you calmed down, telling her, "I feel so fucking fancy right now, you have no idea! I can't believe your dad's doing all this!"

You and Helaena were traveling together because you, one, you were her bridesmaid, and two, you had a similar final exam schedule; both pursuing advanced degrees that kept you wildly busy. So her family went ahead to the resort to make sure everything was as it needed to be, and now that you were both done with exams, you were heading for Dorne to kick off 10 full days of wedding shenanigans.

When you calmed down, Helaena asked with a small smirk, "You gonna be okay?" You held up a pill bottle with an eye roll, giving it a shake; emitting a rattle. "Oh, no... No, no, no, no, no, don't take an Ambien. You're gonna be so delierious when we get there!"

"I either drug myself now or you clean anxious puke off your lap later..."

She handed you her water bottle.

The entire craft was in the air within minutes; being able to recline your seat since you were flying fancy, covering up with the blankets the pretty flight attendant offered. With earbuds in, you let Helaena lift the arm rest to lean her head on your shoulder in a snuggle, shutting your eyes, and that was honestly that.

Sure, when you woke, you were groggy and a little confused, but when you remembered where you were, all sleepiness evaporated into vibrating-excitement. You were allowed to disembark first, grab your luggage, and instantly located the sleek, tinted SUV that Helaena's father had sent for you.

Long gone were any Ambien side effects, your heart elated by the sights of Dorne you drove past. Oh, it was all so beautiful. So new. So stunningly busy. "Here!" Helaena beamed, holding her phone up and making you both pose for couple of sillier selfies before smiling sweetly for the camera for another few saved photos.

"Look, look!" You gasped, pointing to the street vendors. "That man actually has a snake on a leash! Holy shit!"

"Pretty normal here, Miss," the driver spoke stoically.

Helaena laughed, "This is so cool! Look, look at those!"

"Oh, we'll have to come back," you grinned, looking at the array of handmade purses and bags another vendor was selling. The rest of the ride was very similar, just the two of you gasping and grinning and pointing out everything you found interesting or alluring.

Upon arrival to the Sun Spear Spa and Resort (and Casino), you were blown away by the immaculate detail and decor. It was open, breathable, modern, and vast. There were three pools, direct and private beach access, six different restaurants, guided tours, several different bars planted in every corner of the resort. The walls were high, and inside, it was like stepping into a whole new world; lush green plants spewing everywhere; glass ceilings that let in all the light; marble flooring and a light perfume in the air.

"Hi," you beamed at the concierge. "We're checking in for the Stark-Targaryen wedding."

"Hi, welcome, welcome to Sun Spear! May I have your names?" The man asked in an upbeat tone, typing when you told him. He smiled and revealed, "The rest of your party has already arrived, but I have here your key cards." He handed Helaena a tiny envelope with her set of keys before offering you the same. After consulting the room numbers, you thanked the man with the name tag 'Robb' before rushing for the elevators.

"Can you believe it!?" Helaena squealed.

"Barely," you laughed, pouting dramatically. "Awh! Feels like yesterday I was introducing you and Cregan. Now we're checked into the resort you're getting married at, and it honestly doesn't feel real yet."

"Maybe it'll sink in later," she mused, moving to enter the elevator when the doors opened - but stuttered in step. "BROTHER!"

You gasped when Helaena surged past you to launch into someone's arms and knock them both half a step back onto the elevator. After a stunned moment, you recognized the long white hair adorned with a leather strap and felt your stomach plummet. You know how people say 'butterflies in my tummy' when talking about the person they like? Yeah, no, the sentiment is understood and appreciated but it's not entirely accurate. It was more like an anxious stomach-sinking feeling; churning, nauseating almost.

You smiled politely when Helaena let go and Aemond glanced up at you. He spoke your name cooly, blinking twice before seemingly remembering where he was. "Here," he offered, reaching out of the elevators to grab your suitcases.

"Thanks," you tried to laugh lightly, luggage all loaded into the death machine.

"'S good to see you," he directed at you, Helaena leaning into his side. "You look nice."

You waved him off, "Oh, you're so sweet, but you're obviously lying. I'm in my airport clothes, just spent, like, 8 hours on a plane, and I know I look as tired as I feel."

"Still," he eased softly, "beauty doesn't know tired." You didn't get to answer his compliment because when you got to Helaena's floor, the doors opened to reveal a grinning Cregan - it being obvious she had texted him and he came to greet her.

"They're so fucking cute," you whispered.

"A little too cute," Aemond answered at the same level; you both sharing a smirk.

After brief greetings to Cregan and parting words to the couple with promises to text everyone later with plans, you and Aemond continued on your way to your floor in the elevator. "You don't have to walk me to my room, you know," you told him softly.

"I know, but what kinda guy passes on the opportunity to aid a pretty lady?"

"Oh, that was smooth," you teased, snorting in amusement. "I'll give you that one."

"C'mon," he eased, the doors opening again and the pair of you striding out. "I'm actually in the room next to you, looks like," he glanced at his own door as you used your key card.

"Good, I'll have someone to help do my hair," you teased, letting him pass because he held everything and you, only your purse. Hey, he offered!

Aemond chuckled, setting your belongings down and dismissing himself, "I'll let you get settled and see you later, yeah?"

"Yeah, I just want to wash the travel off me. Wanna meet in the lobby before dinner tonight?"

"Why don't I just pick you up and we go down to dinner together?"

"Woah, but it's such a long walk for you. I don't want you going out of your way," you snickered, watching his lips twitch in a grin.

"I'll see you tonight, sweetheart."

When Aemond slipped out of your room, you giggled to yourself. You just couldn't help it; hands clasping together in glee and merriment over the banter you exchanged; feeling so very girly, and while so silly, it was a welcomed feeling. And did he ask you out? No, not really, but you couldn't help but romanticize his offer to pick you up before the family dinner that evening.

You ripped open your suitcase and the chaos began; being the only person in your room meaning throwing around what you wanted wherever you wanted without disturbing others. You brought way too many clothes but you were glad you did - needing options for the different events.

You picked an outfit, scurried into the bathroom, gawked at the interior for a long moment (it was a huge bathroom for a single room), and then got the shower turned on to heat up. In the meantime, you laid out your toiletries and products and tools, then stepping into the hot shower and literally moaning from relief.

"Ohhhhh yeaaaah, baby, that's it!" You groaned through a laugh. "Is this what water pressure is? Shit, this is nice. Gods bless it," you turned so the stream was on your chest, humming again. "I can't go home ever again, can I? Nope, probably not. This kind of water pressure would literally injure a child in King's Landing, they'd never allow this kind of luxury."

You tweaked the knob, upping the temperature, and sighing when the steam swirled around you; moaning again. You were unaware that Aemond had double-backed, pausing at your door when he heard you and swallowing harshly. He glanced down and glared at the tent pitching in the front of his jeans, but then you moaned again and his single eye fluttered shut. He retreated to his room before he spent his load right then and there.

You've never done this before, but that shower was so mesmerizing, you were in there for 56 straight minutes - with zero regrets. And now, you had the distinct pleasure to prepare for dinner with your best friend's family; including her brother, who you were deeply attached to; wildly attracted to; and wanted to impress by looking more than good tonight.

You wanted to look delectable. You wanted to look stunning. You wanted to be looked at as if a five-course meal.

With that in mind, you stepped out of the shower and got to work.

Three definitive knocks announced his arrival, and honestly, you could've cried from anxiety. You figured you couldn't wait much longer after doing a fourth once-over in the mirror, couldn't look any better if you tried, and proceeded to yank the door open. "Hey," you chirped, readjusting your earring back.

"Shit," Aemond blinked as his single eye raked you up and down; leather eyepatch matching his leather belt and shoes. His button-up was black, unbuttoned at the top to show off his two thin silver chains, both at varying lengths; wearing easy black jeans.

"Hi," you mused, purse under your arm as you made sure to shut the heavy door after checking your keycard was where you needed it to be. "You look handsome, loving the monochromatic look."

"It's one of the many colors gracing my wardrobe," Aemond teased. "And if anyone should have a compliment, it's you, doll, I mean, just wow," his hand snatched yours to hold onto yours fingers and gave you a twirl while whistling. "This dress is a little short, no? Not that I'm complaining, I just know Aegon..." He teased, still holding your hand to yank you into his side; arm lazily tossing around your shoulders as he moved you off for the elevators.

"Your brother isn't a worry of mine," your eyes rolled, "not since I caught him..."

"Doing?"

"Nothing," you sang, punching the elevator door rapidly.

"Hey, now," he turned you so you were pressed to the cold, metal doors, "if it's about my family, I have a right to know."

"Only if it's dangerous or otherwise," you breathed. "Trust me, he's not in trouble, he's just... Busy...?"

"Where did you catch him?"

"Doesn't matter."

"Does to me."

"You're gonna make fun of him, no."

Aemond sighed, hearing the metal contraption arrive and easily stepped back; pulling you with him just as the doors opened behind you. He simply held your wrists and then drove you backwards, chuckling to himself when you pouted up at him and yanked your hands from his. "Still don't like your personal space invaded, huh?" He laughed, giving you space after hitting the lobby's floor.

"Who the fuck does?"

He nodded in agreement. "Where did you catch Aegon?"

Your eyes rolled, "Nope."

When you arrived in the lobby, you and Aemond were still bickering back and forth; all the way to the restaurant of choice that evening. You ran into Jace and Luke - Aemond's nephews - but didn't wait for them to join you; understanding the tension due to Luke's recklessness costing Aemond's eye.

"Hey," you mumbled to him when he went rigid about the lads, "you're okay. You're gonna be okay, it's okay, just ignore them."

He huffed hot air through his nose, nodding stiffly, and then following you to the reserved "party room" - being a private dining patio. When you arrived, there was a round of cheering, both you and Aemond being greeted, and when you looked, there was only 4 seats - both beside one another.

"Here," Aegon beamed, tugging the chair beside him out.

"C'mon," Aemond whispered, leading you to your chair; pulling it out, offering you to sit before he joined. Before you sat, you greeted Aegon, taking the advantage to whisper in his ear,

"Secret's still safe but Aemond knows something's up." You offered him a pointed look before smiling at Aemond and taking the seat he offered you. Beside you was Aemond and Helaena, and beside him, you and Aegon; Cregan on Helaena's side and Robb Stark on Aegon's other side.

After Jace and Luke arrived, the toasting began. Wine was poured, helpings dolloped to plates, cutlery scraped plates, and over it all, Alicent stood to her feet, "Well," she sighed, nodding at the table, "just let me say: welcome to the wedding of my daughter, Helaena, and her incredible fiancé, Cregan, who I believe has always been meant to join our family. I speak on behalf of my husband," she smiled at her decrepit husband, "Viserys, and I, and we just want to thank everyone who came all this way. Welcome to the start!"

After the obligatory sip, she offered, "Any others?"

The table glanced at one another, so, you stood and cleared your throat. "I'd like to offer a toast," you smiled as Alicent sat. "Watching Helaena and Cregan in the time we've all been friends has truly, truly, truly been a one-of-a-kind experience because how often do you get to witness two people who are meant to be, find each other? Like a puzzle, they are two halves of a whole, and while perhaps a little rough around the edges, still has a perfect fit. Thank you for inviting me, but mostly, thank you, Cregan," you smiled at the groom, "for being a one-of-a-kind man, because our Helaena deserves the absolute best. It brings us all peace and joy to know she will be loved and protected - as she deserves. However," you paused, "I also want to thank Helaena because, as friend to you both, it's been refreshing to see my mate be treated as he deserves, too. To Helaena and Cregan - our perfect puzzle pieces!"

Another round of applause and sips of wine.

Viserys toasted Cregan's strength and Helaena's bravery - saying they made a handsome couple. Something that made Aemond's eye meet your own with soft smiles.

Best man, Harwin Strong, toasted the beauty of young Helaena and how a "sorry sod" like Cregan would never deserve a woman like her, but so long as neither of them forgot that, everything should work out. You felt Aemond's pinky finger reach out to stroke your own resting on the table, and again, you met his gaze with a much shier attention than before.

Sansa Stark thanked everyone for the amazing time so far, loving their generosity and attention to detail. She toasted to loving your best mate first, how that will always make for a much better relationship; and how Helaena and Cregan just make having a relationship look easy, it was truly inspiring. This time, however, Helaena started to tear up a little and you reached into your purse to produce tissues for her; missing the way Aemond stared at you with a longing expression. Yet Aegon did not, nudging his brother and muttering, "Just ask her out already, for fuck's sake. She's not gonna bite."

Aemond swatted him away, taking a much longer pull of wine than the others taking an obligatory sip of wine.

A few others gave speeches, too, but you were drastically annoyed by Jace and Luke, sitting with their girlfriends, all snickering together over any and every congratulatory sound. They thought they were being quiet, yet they were anything but; the entire table eventually hearing them and offering glares that went ignored by the youngsters. You felt tension rolling off Aemond in suffocating waves, frowning when you noted a few Starks exchange unamused looks at the show of blatant disrespect. You were just about to open your mouth to tell them off when all of a sudden, after groomsman, Robb Stark, sat down, Aemond's fist punched the table to aid his standing movement.

He played it off by fluidly lifting his goblet.

"Final tribute," he spoke stoically, staring directly across the table at his nephews, "before we turn to our meals this evening, is hoisted in honor of the entire Targaryen brood. Tonight, we do not mourn the loss of a sister, but the gain of a brother, and I think it only fair we offer the same curtesy they've always shown us - respect."

"Aemond," Alicent warned.

"You've shown us all what love is," he told the couple. "How to keep it alive, how to remain level, patient, kind, resolute, and how to compromise." His eye flickered to yours, continuing, "Making us all envy the connection... The friendship you share, the time spent together - growing and nurturing one another. It's not everyday you're able to marry the right person at the right time," he half smirked, "someone you think understands you better than anyone else." He blinked, then cleared his throat, "And yet, I've always heard there's no bond like that of family - those you share blood with. Tonight, it wasn't Cregan who proved me wrong..."

"Aemond, don't," you mumbled when you heard Helaena sigh sadly.

"Hm," he seemed to change his mind, and instead, raised his cup in the air. "To my sister, the most beautiful bride and her very own Prince Charming - to Helaena and Cregan! May it be a long and happy marriage that we continue to envy through the ages."

"Here, here - "

"But also to our nephews, Jace and Luke," Aemond cut off the responses - the entire table stilling with confusion.

"Us?" Jace asked softly, "What for, Uncle? We are not the ones getting married."

"Well, since you found it appropriate to whispering during every speech, I figured why not just give you the attention you so obviously need."

The younger crowd at the table all oooh'ed in union while the older adults tried to diffuse the tension. You simply reached out to grab Aemond's elbow and pull him back into the chair beside you; frowning when he only smirked. "That wasn't very nice," you reprimanded softly.

"Needed said," he shrugged.

Alicent and Rhaenyra, mother of Jace and Luke, Aemond's older half-sister, were bickering in anger about Alicent's son disrespecting her own - but Alicent countered that Nyra's sons disrespected her daughter by their chattering. The tension melted into the night, everyone moving about their business; seemingly sweeping the tension under the rug, dishing up dinner and starting fresh conversation.

Your own peaceful talk with Cregan's uncle, Ned Stark, was interrupted when you jumped as a hand boldly laid on your mid-thigh. You covered your surprise with a dab of your cloth napkin to your mouth, looking discreetly to the warm fingers grasping your flushing flesh; then trailing your gaze up to the owner of said hand. Aemond casually ate with his other hand, a smirk pulled on his lips; never looking down at you, but wriggling his hand a little to make you squirm.

It felt so fucking good to be touched by him like this.

Even if it was minimal, fleeting; barely there and never-lasting. You savored the feel, the heat, the way a single, simple touch made your stomach twist in knots and heat to flush your skin.

However, when his hand slid up your thigh to push the hemline of your dress - your hand slapped down to halt his movements. You moved his hand back down to your limit, patted twice, and let go, distracted by Ned Stark's alluring baritone, accented voice. He took the hint and only touched you at your limit, still too casual for your liking; leaving you alone in your burning-desire state. If only you knew that Aemond was having just as hard a time as you - thinking you had the softest skin he's ever held before.

Soft, shaved - or is it waxed? - moisturized, and basically calling to him that he needed to get a handful. He helped himself.

You almost moaned when he curled his finger to your inner thigh; an embarrassing gush of arousal seeping from your cunt at the slightest movement from the handsome, silver-haired, one-eyed dickhead known as your best friend's brother. Yet you didn't give him the satisfaction of reacting beyond that, all too happy to listen to the others chatter away. He didn't push you too far, and yet, never once removed his hand - almost entranced by the feel of your warmth.

When dinner was brought out, Helaena and Cregan stood and everyone - yes, everyone this time - silenced themselves to listen. Sitting back in your chair, you slowly let both your hands come around Aemond's one; just holding his forearm as you listened to your besties thank everyone for their efforts and appearance during their nuptials.

When he didn't shy away from your show of silent affection, you let your hand drift to hold his bare wrist; frowning when his arm contracted in movement. However, your frown turned into an easy, relieved smile when he only moved to fold his hand into yours; fingers interlaced, resting on your lap to let your other hand cover your conjoined ones.

"And to my beautiful bride," Cregan purred, turning to Helaena, "I hope this is all you've ever wanted, exactly as you've imagined it... Because giving you the wedding of your dreams is top priority. To see your friends and family come together has been truly incredible, and I hope the rest of these celebrations are exactly that - a celebration as you've always dreamt it'd be. I'd give you whatever you'd ask for, you know," he grinned, the hand in your tightening. When you met Aemond's eye, Cregan continued, "You're all I could've dreamed of, and at the end of this week, we'll have the rest of our lives together - something I only ever thought was possible in my dreams. You're all I want in this life, and I'll spend the rest of ours being worthy of you."

Aemond squeezed your hand, you returning it as you beamed at your best mates kissing; the table cooing at their adorable antics while you snuck a glance at Aemond. His head was cocked down at an angle, smiling down at you, looking all too soft and kind for his usual demeanor. You couldn't look away once you made eye contact, staring at one another, lips slowly curling in a bright grin as his hand tightened in yours.

The following evening breezed in with the tropical wind, and after an hour and a half, you were pecking off room service platters you had delivered and used plastic cups to drink the Dornish sweet wine from the bottle your friend had gone to the bar to get. Sansa Stark made sure your hair was in order before she pulled her long, red strands up in a high-teased ponytail; complimenting the way her bright Tully blue eyes were rimmed in a smudged-liner. You made sure you both ate a significant amount before starting to drink - wanting to loosen up as you finished getting ready together.

She wore something from your closet, you wore something of hers. With everything you needed in your purse, you latched your heels on and took your phones off chargers. "The cabs are here!" Sansa mocked, making you sputter a small laugh. This side of her was a breath of fresh air, knowing that truly, if anyone deserved a feel-good night out, it was Sansa.

So, you made the decision to stay sober - you know, so she could drink under a safe eye. However, after double checking for hotel key cards, ID's, cash, debit cards, the paper bag of bride-to-be merch, and whatever else you deemed necessary, you left the room, and was surprised to see some of the guys leaving their rooms, too.

"Hey," You greeted the best man, Harwin Strong, "what're you guys doing?"

"God daaaaaaamn," he whistled, "lookin' good ladies!" He smirked, looking you up and down, "We're heading out to some clubs and bars, too, princess."

Your eyes rolled in good humor, "Okay, yeah, sure, where are you really going?"

"Out," he nodded, following you to the elevators. "Seriously, there's a couple places we wanna check out. By the looks of things, y'all had the same idea, huh?"

You smiled as Sansa answered, "Yeah, it was last-minute. Kinda like a bachelorette thing."

"That explains all that, huh?" Harwin snickered, pointing at your paper bag.

"Don't be a hater 'cause you didn't think of it," you teased.

He hummed, "You both look really gorgeous tonight, by the way. Just incredible, I mean, Sansa, this dress is - just wow!"

Sansa flushed, letting you thank him for you both as she seemed a little tongue-tied. However, when you made it to the lobby, it was a semi-chaotic scene as the entire bridal party had gathered to share mutual rambunctious excitement. After joining in and greeting everyone, you set the paper bag down and started to dress Helaena in the obnoxious bridal garb.

"Here," Sansa giggled, handing out different paraphernalia to each lady, "just for a few pictures!"

Nobody objected. Robb had no problem taking a load of photos; some with you all posing and others more candid. It was all in good fun, the cab driver even offering to take a large group photo of the entire bridal party; encouraging a few different poses and giving you a thumbs up when done.

"Hey," Aemond approached you as you stood to the side and texted your mother, assuring everything was okay on your vacation, "haven't seen you since dinner last night."

"I know," you pouted lightly, "I'm sorry I've been a little MIA, we had an all-day spa day today."

"And here I was thinking you were avoiding me, huh?" He mused, but you heard the underlying insecurity to his voice.

"Not even close to the truth, Aems," you promised.

"So, uh," he glanced at the guys before back at you, asking, "it's just you ladies going out tonight, right?"

"Mhm," you nodded, trying not to break apart under his gaze.

"Without... Someone there?"

"I mean, we'll all be there, looking out for each other," you offered Aemond a confused smile, "and I'm not drinking, so I'll make sure everyone's safe."

"You think that's a good idea?"

"Why not?"

"New country plus drinking, I mean, sounds pretty accident-prone."

"We'll be okay, I'll stay sober and keep an eye out, make sure nobody breaks an ankle or two like last Halloween."

He looked at the bridal party, musing, "You're going to keep hold of five drunks?"

You paused for a long moment, not putting much thought behind logistics. "I think I can manage," you admitted with uncertainty. "They're not that bad. I mean, Arya's small enough to haul over my shoulder; Helaena never drinks too much, I think I have it covered best I can."

"You know what? I'll just come with you ladies."

"What?" You giggled, thinking you must've misheard him.

"I've already been out with the boys for the bachelor's party. You're one person trying to look after my sister and her friends. Trust me, I think you're gonna need help."

"Between us, who do you think has more experience between wrangling drunk women?"

Aemond just smirked, nodding, "C'mon, we should head out."

Figuring there was no use in arguing, you turned for the minivan and got in after the other girls. After Aemond spoke to Cregan and Robb, he got in the passenger seat, and away you went. "What's he doing here?" Rhea asked cautiously, looking guarded.

"He wants to help keep an eye on us," you smirked.

"So you're gonna keep creepy dudes away from us?"

"Sure," Aemond agreed just as his sister squealed and begged for the radio to be turned up - she absolutely loved this song!

The club had no central lighting in the warehouse styled event room. There were multicolored strobe lights that flickered and pulsed and beat in-time with the loud, blaring music that was dialed to a volume that made the floor vibrate. Trendy music played in remixed playlists, heavy speakers lining most walls that didn't host the VIP sitting area.

Sweaty bodies bumped and ground together.

There was the dance floor. Then the bar lined the entire back wall, bathrooms located to the left and a fire exit to the right. The right most part of the room, stretching wall-to-wall, was an elevated space that had separate, roped-off lounge areas; complete with velvet couches and individual tables.

"Here," Rhea waved you all after her, leading you all right up to the bouncer and being granted access. Heleana looked skeptical as she realized this was some orchestrated event, not liking the idea of being clued-out of the knowing, but still, played along with the luxury treatment. You were seated in the corner booth, and without missing a beat, Sansa was tossing you her purse and yanking Helaena to the bar with the hope that her bride-to-be apparel would earn free drinks.

"This place is nice," Jeyne tried to compliment, but you and the Stark sisters shared a bemused look. "Oh! Goodie!" She squeaked when Sansa and Helaena returned with a full tray of assorted drinks.

"So, they just filled it with all the forgotten drinks," Sansa explained, "and said it was on the house 'cause of Helaena's bachelorette shit."

"Well then," you smirked, reaching for a single shot, "a toast!" Everyone reached for a drink and hoisted it in the air. "To our dear, sweet love, Helaena, and her saying 'I do' to one helluva guy! May this marriage be long, prosperous, adventurous, and full of the love you deserve! To Helaena!"

"And Cregan!" The bride slipped in as everyone echoed their toasts to the soon-to-be-married couple. You had your one shot, and while the others filled up, you and Aemond just watched them. Jeyne, Rhea, and Sansa scurried off together, Arya seeing someone she apparently knew and running off with them, and Helaena was looking at you with a dramatic pout. "Come dance with me," she whined. "I let you convince me to come out tonight, so you have to dance with me! Before I'm a spoken-for woman!"

Aemond smirked when you spared him a look as if to beg him to rescue you, but being unable to because his sister was adamant to get you on your feet.

Everyone was buddied up and accounted for; leaving Aemond alone at a reserved table. However, he didn't mind watching purses if it meant he could turn mutely to watch the dance floor, and while the lights made it hard, his eye caught sight of you.

Helaena was having the absolute time of her life, and the women around her all seemed blissfully distracted by the alcohol in their systems. He watched you. His eye did not stray, until he realized that while he could see you, so could every other wanton eye roaming the hazy room. Aemond glanced around and saw a few VIPs smoking, figuring it was okay to light up. Out of defensive anxiety, he pulled a cigarette carton from his pocket, tapped a single filtered death stick out, fingered his lighter before pausing to light, inhale, and return his gaze back onto you.

You were lost in the music, evident that all you ladies needed some stress relief after the whirlwind that is wedding planning. He knew you weren't drinking, but seeing you laugh and toss you arms up, rolling your hips in rhythm to the music, he knew you didn't need a single drop to have a good time. He thought that was admirable, incredibly rare these days. In Aemond's experience, college kids had a hard time saying no to alcohol, and the fact that you did it so willingly felt like whiplash.

Aemond stood and neared the guard railing of the elevated section he was stationed on. His shoulder leaned into a steel support beam, staring at you for several long moments while casually smoking; perking up only a degree when you told the girls something and then started moving through the throngs of people.

You pushed up to the bar and the bartender almost immediately took your order. He figured all seemed well enough because you weren't moving from the bar yet, his gaze shifting to scan the building.

Bodies were pressed together at every inch, the smell of sweat and spilt alcohol seemingly permanently perfuming the air. It was hard to see, but after adjusting, he could make out a few faces. Nobody seemed too hair-raising, nothing suspicious, nothing out of the ordinary...

Until his eyes returned to you. The bartender was distracted doing their job, and instead of you standing peacefully, there was some guy obviously trying to flirt with you. He seemed desperate for a conversation, Aemond almost cringing from a distance as he could only imagine what kind of terrible pick-up lines this guy was using. He felt ready to move into action, but the moment the thought entered his mind, Aemond saw you gather the glasses from the bar, turn, and quite literally ignore the blonde man - who stared after you with a gobsmacked expression. Aemond smirked when the man turned to complain to his friends; holding a drink in one hand as the other gestured angrily after you.

The man's friends got a glimpse of you and laughed, slapping their friend's chest; and Aemond hoped one of them told him that a girl as pretty as you was lightyears ahead of his league.

Aemond relaxed when you returned to the party, taking a long drag when you distributed drinks to your friends. Arya had come back around with her friend, the group mingling and enjoying their new acquaintances. He noted you were empty handed, flagging a waitress down; the VIP section apparently having the luxury of being waited on to avoid the long waits at the bar. He quietly requested two bottles of water be delivered - unsealed - to their table.

His attention returned to the bridal party, only to watch a few guys join your group. Sansa and Rhea ate up the attention; leaving Jeyne and Helaena to dance alongside Arya and her friend, as the same guy from the bar holding your conversation hostage. You still looked disinterested; stoic and cold; body language assuring Aemond that you weren't receptive to the stranger. You flinched in discomfort when he had to lean in to shout in your ear just to be heard over the music, but your eye rolls told Aemond you wouldn't listen even if in a silent library.

Something in the interaction made him annoyed. It wasn't jealousy that someone was paying attention to you, standing so close and intimately; invading your space. It was something else. He could tell you weren't interested in whatever was being said, and when you turned from the man once again, obviously dismissing him to dance with Helaena and Jeyne, Aemond could see offense paint the man's face. It wasn't jealousy, but perhaps something akin to protectiveness after witnessing the way the man had approached you at the bar, and now, again, on the dance floor.

Without a single thought, Aemond was pushing off the beam and dropping his cigarette to crunch under his boot the moment the stranger reached for your upper arm to whip you around aggressively; snarling and scolding you. Aemond easily slotted through the sweaty crowd, not entirely barging through them but not exactly waiting for them all to part for him. The stranger was sneering something at you, demanding an apology for blowing him off (twice) so rudely, but you were snapping that it was rude to bombard you. To pester disinterested women. To impose. To approach an entire group of women and ruin the good vibe by simply being an intrusive, entitled man. The blonde man was just in the middle of snarling in your face how much of a "catch" he was when Aemond arrived, and without truly thinking, he reached out and tore the man away.

Aemond, while decently lanky and skinny, was ripped with defined muscle and when his anger was flared up, he was near unstoppable. So, in reality, the stranger would've been moved whether sober or not, but because this man was drunk, he nearly toppled over. As the stranger scrambled off the floor, Aemond stood protectively in front of you with his anger almost palpable, barking, "She told you to fuck off, mate."

"Oh-ho! Got a big man here, do we!?" The blonde stranger raged, his pale flesh turning a bright red from his anger and alcohol consumption. "You wanna have a go, mate, I'll fuck you up right here! Right now! Fuck you think you're doin', touchin' me like that, you fuckin' prick!?"

"She's not interested," Aemond stood his ground, "and you need to walk away - right fucking now."

"Over some stuck-up whore who won't even accept a drink? She's that much of an up-tight bitch? Too full of her-fucking-self? Man, you're wasting your time, chicks like that don't know a nice guy even when he hits her."

"As if any woman in their right mind would accept a drink from you," Aemond sneered, looking the man up and down. "You got ears? You speak the Common Tongue? Turn around and fuck off - the ladies aren't interested."

"Like I'm listening to some one-eyed, pussy-boy - "

"Aemond!" You yelped, shoving yourself in front of him when you saw the impending danger. You knew his injury was off-base; not a topic of conversation anyone dare engage in. The fact this stranger honed in on it so easily was triggering in the worst way imaginable. "Hey, hey, hey, he's not worth it. Hey, c'mon, don't let it get to you this bad. It's okay. Aemond, c'mon, let's just walk away."

"Listen to your bitch, mate! She's not even fuckin' worth it! What kind of a guy wants to parade around with some whore? Wearing something like that for everyone to see! What's wrong, princess?" He directed at you. "He don't give you enough attention? Huh? You gotta find it anywhere else, don't'cha, why else dress like that - huh!?"

By now, a small crowd had formed and the blonde, drunk stranger was being egged on and riled up by his mates. "Don't," you repeated to Aemond, perfectly all too used to men's reaction when women reject them or simply didn't get what they want.

"Walk away," Aemond repeated, his veiny hands moving to hold your arms as if it would physically restrain him; your hands on his waist to keep him anchored.

"Man, what the fuck ever. Not even worth it," he scoffed.

"Then why do you keep talking?" Sansa drunkenly snapped from behind Aemond's broad shoulders.

"Fuck did you say, bitch!?"

Aemond sighed and tugged you behind him, stepping up to the drunk blonde man; lowering his tone to mutter something as he stood between you ladies and the lads in tacky Hawaiian-print button-ups. You're not sure what was said, but Aemond seemingly had the last word; watching him turn back for you lot and instantly start checking that each of you was truly okay.

Aemond gently caressed Helaena's cheek, muttering, "You good?"

She nodded, but then, her eyes widened and she squeaked when the stranger charged Aemond from behind, shouting his name in warning. "Shit!" You yelped when he dodged out of the way just as the man threw a wild punch.

Nobody could've stopped the fight if they tried.

You made sure to herd the women close as Aemond dodged two more throws, his long platinum hair swinging as it fell out of its bun before he found his opportunity. Aemond strategically waited until the blonde stranger was open to throw his weight behind his fist colliding with the drunk man's cheekbone.

The crowd of people around you all 'ooohed' in union, wincing when Aemond, again, knocked his fist into the man's jaw and, again, sent him sprawling to the floor. One of the friends managed to sneak in and land a blow on Aemond's cheek, but his head only barely turned with the impact. His eye locked onto the new target, and not a minute later, the other guy was nursing a broken nose.

Aemond glanced around for any other contenders, sighing when there were none - just a cloud of jeering drunks voicing their approval towards the violence. "Hey," you begged again, his eye finding your worried face, "you done now? Can we get you cleaned up?"

Sansa stepped up, stating, "We can go if you guys want - we don't have to stay!"

"No, just... Stay outta trouble," Aemond sighed. "I'll be up there," he gestured back at the elevated VIP section. You hated seeing him shoulder his way through the rowdy crowd who had already forgotten about the fight.

You shook your head, grabbing Helaena's arm and leaning into her ear, "I'm gonna check on Aemond. Don't go anywhere, stay with the girls!"

"I will!" She agreed, letting Arya push another shot in her hand. You turned and grumbled when bodies began bumping into you instantly; your jaw clenched to keep upright. You had to eventually shove a few people out of your path, but didn't care, jogging up to the VIP section and looking around. When you got back to your table, Aemond was sitting with his head tilted back, eye closed, smoking another cigarette, ice on his slightly reddened hand.

"Aemond?" You checked, announcing your presence as you took the seat beside him; scooting closer. "The fuck was that? Gettin' in fights in the club, Alicent wouldn't be proud," You spoke gently, readjusting his ice so it was actually over the swollen area.

"Just guys being dudes, dudes being guys," he mused, free hand holding his cigarette to speak as he exhaled. "Why're you up here?"

"I wanted to check on you."

"I'm fine, you can go back - "

"Aemond," you snipped, "I'm fine here. I needed a break, and I wanted to check on you."

He nodded towards the table, "Water's for you."

You glanced over, finding the two water bottles amongst an array of items on the tabletop. One unopened, the other cracked and partially drank. "Thank you," you spoke sincerely, waiting until his eye met yours, "for the water and for defending me back there. I owe you one."

"I only did what a gentleman should do," he sighed.

"Wasn't worth bruising your knuckle, was it?"

"I'd actually say it was necessary," he spoke like it was easy. You hated that, how he seemed fluent in flirting but you knew he wasn't really. Why would he? Aemond Targaryen made 'being perfect' look fucking perfect.

You were quiet for another moment before you blurted out, "It was pretty hot, I have to admit. Seeing you defend my honor."

He eased his cigarette to an ashtray, speaking clearly, "Wasn't gonna let him touch you." You thought that was final and just smiled softly, but then Aemond finished, "Wasn't about to let any man touch what's mine."

"Yours, huh?"

He smirked, "Why not?" His now free hand landed on your bare thigh; dress riding up when you sat down to give him access to your spa-waxed legs. "You anyone else's?"

"I'd like to think women aren't possessions."

"Yet you're the one prize I fucking need," his hand squeezed. "Don't even know what kinda gem you are, do you?"

"I think your adrenaline's got you talkin' crazy," you tried to deflect, giggling lightly. But his hand squeezed again, making you look up to meet his gaze.

"I know what I want. And I know," his hand slid up to ease up the curve of your ass, "that I'm done denying my want for you."

"Aemond," you felt drunk on his presence.

"Tell me to stop, doll, and we won't ever have to talk about it again. But if you can't," he palmed your flesh, "and you want this, too - "

Your hand grabbed his wrist to stop him, pulling his hand from under your dress, "Helaena's my best friend, and you're her brother. This is... The most taboo situation we could entertain right now."

"Hmm," he pulled his hand back, making you instantly snatch it back.

"But I can't tell you I don't feel it, too." Aemond's eye glittered in the strobe lights, feeling him pull your legs so you were nearly sat on his lap; legs laid over his so he could fully touch your thighs again. "But we can't, i-it would - this would take away from Helaena - we can't."

"I don't see her here right now," he purred, leaning in close to breath in your neck. "Tell me how long you've wanted me."

"Aemond."

"Keep sayin' my name, baby, but it doesn't answer my question."

You only managed to answer, "Too long," in a quivering voice before,

"HEY!" Sansa slurred, beaming brightly from over Rhea's shoulder as they stumbled up; giving just enough time for you and Aemond to separate. "I know you guys! Oh! I know them! Look! It's our friends!"

Rhea Royce, being just-as-drunk, gasped, "I know them, too! Oh, bless the Seven! We know you!"

"Hi," you laughed, eyeing them all with full amusement, "everyone doing okay?"

"I called our ride, they're up the street - they can't get down here 'cause of traffic," Jeyne informed with a pant, Helaena and Arya held to her body. You smiled at Aemond before getting up to gently take Helaena's weight from Jeyne, who breathed, "Thank you so much. C'mon, our ride's up there - "

Aemond grunted as he stood and offered his water to Rhea, assisting the ladies in keeping their balance in sticky-soled heels. You handed Sansa your unopened water as you held onto Jeyne, watching Aemond help Arya, Rhea, and Helaena - who needed his support.

It was a shit-show getting the group in another minivan; the only relief being when they were bribed with tacos. The ride to the resort was a total 180 compared to the ride out, as everyone knocked out except you and Aemond. A couple of times, you wondered if you should speak first but never did - being vulnerable isn't your forte.

You know what you would rather do than wrangle in five drunk girls? Specifically after a bachelorette party? Declaw wet cats. Contract measles. Be hit by a bus. Learn how to speak Latin (a dead language, for those who don't know). Go to Vegas with your entire lifesavings and lose it all. Use pliers to yank a tooth out - no dentist or anesthesia used (Ron Swanson style).

Anything would be better than this.

It took the better part of an hour for you to get all the girls out of the van, through the resort, and into Jeyne's border-line empty hotel room. Empty because the sweet, party girl from Northern University didn't unpack, and was the cleanest; the perfect place to dispose of everyone. Aemond was as helpful as ever, but he didn't do much past helping you get the women in bed; unsure how to help past that. From there, you did the rest: took off any shoes and / or glasses, plugged phones in, left water bottles and a bottle of Advil in view, and shut the curtains to grant them deliverance when the sun rose.

When done, you and Aemond snuck out of the room quietly and let the door shut behind you; leaving you in the hall. "I put Sansa's phone on FaceTime with mine," you showed him, "in case one of them throws up or needs something, and left it on the charger."

"So we should get you to your charger, right?"

"Oh," there was teasing to your tone, "worried about my battery running low?"

"Just wondering if your batteries can go all night," he smirked, picking up on your innuendo.

"Oh, good one," you teased, watching him smirk. "Thanks for helping tonight. It was nice having you watching our back."

"Yeah?"

You beamed, nodding, "For sure. I could tell Helaena had a blast."

"Good, 's what I care about," he nodded. "Listen," he cleared his throat, "I, uh... I have to make a confession."

"Aemond Targaryen wants to tell me a secret?" You teased, facing him in full-interest. "Please," you encouraged, gesturing for him to go-on.

His tongue wet his lips swiftly, "I know you're Helaena's friend and you say it's wrong, but I just... I tried not to have these feelings for you, but I can't stop them."

You smiled, "Aemond, that's the alcohol talking."

"What if I said I didn't have any?"

You blinked in mild shock, offering quietly, "I'd say you were delirious from dehydration or something. It was really hot in there, must've been sweating a lot, or maybe it's your adrenaline again!

"Why is it so far fetched for you to think I could have honest feelings for you? Truly, have you thought this was just a one-way street?"

"You're Helaena's brother," you spoke softly, sadly, "and maybe we're just - I don't know - not thinking clearly! We need to cool off - "

"No, no, I don't need to cool off, you see, because I'm thinking the clearest than ever before," Aemond shook his head, reaching for your shoulders to squeeze, and move down to hold your upper arms, squeeze again, then down to just above your elbow. "I feel as if I don't say it now, I might lose the nerve later. I've always admired you, sweetheart, and I know it's wrong, I know it's taboo and scares you, I know I'm your best friends brother, but I can't help it. You're just - this - like - fucking incredible person, who is loyal and wise and strong and knowing and open and sweet and empathetic and wickedly intelligent - "

You cut him off by surging into his arms; chest to chest, lips locked together in a passionate exchange of fierce, over-boiled emotion without a single thought towards further repercussions. There was tongue, there was teeth, there was an-ever spreading warmth that stretched from your cheeks to your toes. Aemond tasted just like he semlled - sweet, salty, just the right amount of spicy. He let you lock your hands in his hair, always knowing your affinity for his long silver mane; tugging the strands you managed to get ahold of gently to cause Aemond to moan while sucking on his domineering tongue.

Aemond was losing his mind; infected with all you were, all you are, all you would, could, and should be. The way you made him feel, the obvious care you put into others, the sweet, innocent look in your eye replaced by a haze of lust - all thanks to him. For a moment, Aemond's mind felt numb before it jolted back into reality, realizing he was kissing you. You. You were kissing him, he was kissing you. His dear, sweet, kind, ever-so-perfect sister's best friend, you - he was kissing you and you were kissing him back. Sure, he dreamt of this happening about a few dozen times but the real thing was tenfold what he ever imagined.

Holy Seven, he was kissing you.

"I take it," he panted, breaking apart before surging in for another taste of your pouting lips, "you might feel..." another kiss and a small moan, "feel the same?" He pulled back to look in your eyes, but when you didn't answer him, Aemond teased, "Oh, c'mon, princess, tell me you feel the same. Tell me I'm not makin' a fool of myself, that we're not just runnin' high from the club's fumes."

"No," you promised, "you are no fool, Aemond Targaryen; far from it, in fact. I, too, feel whatever this is, whatever is emotional, tangible, physical between us, I feel it, too, and I want you - oh!"

He didn't need to hear anything more, suffocating you in another kiss, and this time, you let him control the motions because you were unsure how far this would - or should - go. His hands squeezed over your hips, turning, and pushing you against the wall just a few steps behind you. Your moan was meek, released into his mouth; loving Aemond's taste on your tongue; and for now, you simply forgot he was your best friend's brother. Or ignored the fact.

"Shit," he panted, looking down at you before glancing down the hall, "listen, listen, listen, baby, hey, if we keep goin', I might not stop." He offered a small shrug, "Ready to bust right here, right now, if I'm honest, but I'd rather be inside you."

You considered his words for a moment; waiting for his gaze to return to you before voicing your opinion. Feeling inexplicably turned on by his earlier actions to defend you, bruising his knuckles on a stranger's jaw; how he called you his, how he touched you, and when his single violet eye turned back to you, you surprised yourself by your words, "Better make it quick, then."

Aemond smirked, "You want me to fuck you, here? Against the wall?"

"Maybe," you answered softly, letting your hand reach out to palm over his swelling cock; hearing his breathing catch and continuing, "only if you can be quick so we aren't caught and slapped with an indecent exposure charge."

Aemond did not hesitate to swoop down and slam his lips to yours; pushing his hips forward so he could grind into your palm. Hands roamed to touch, caress, squeeze until they secured your hips in a bruising grip, then dipping low to suddenly grab your thighs and hoist you up. As if you weren't turned on enough, the obvious show of strength and ease in which he held you made your cunt contract over nothing; dampening to an embarrassing level. You couldn't remember the last time someone made you feel so frantic; so animalistic; so feral that you needed to be fucked right here, right now, in this hall that was so very public.

But that was the fun: having a frenzied fuck with the looming threat someone might catch you.

You moaned like a wanton bitch in heat, core pressed against his straining member and only imaging what the feel of him would be. A whimper was ripped from your throat, gasping as Aemond grew to a knew height of desperation; turning a degree more aggressive in the way he pressed close to you, teeth scraping your lips. It was like he was trying to suck your soul through your mouth; tongues battling, hands sliding around one another as if unsure where to hold. You settled on his cheeks, finding the chiseled features alluring enough to grip; his securing your waist and base of your ribcage in a bruising grip, both moaning in pleasure and need.

"Gotta keep it down, pretty girl," he muttered with a smirk, holding you expertly so he could grind his harden, black-jean-covered member to your ever-dampening core. "Don't wanna get caught, huh? Disturb the peace, have someone hear us," he breathed against your lips, "come outta their room to check?"

You whimpered.

"Oh," he chuckled darkly, pulling back only just to look at you, "my pretty girl would like that, huh? Always knew you were a fuckin' freak."

His lips were on yours as you pawed as his belt and jeans. Aemond chuckled into the kiss, readjusting his hold on you to help; and the moment the garment was loose, you shucked his jeans to mid-thigh. All the while, Aemond leaned back in to smother your neck and shoulder with his searing-hot, teeth-raking kisses; uneven breathing making you tremble when each exhale covered your saliva-coated skin to send a shiver through your muscles.

"Aemond," you begged, riding up your dress to expose your soaking-wet, black lace thong, "just need you - now. Please, please, we don't have time for begging."

"Gotta warm you up - "

"I've been warm since you shoved that guy off me," you rushed, whimpering, "please, okay? Just fuck me. I need it, I need you. Take your time with me later, but for right now, just fuck me - I need you to fill me, Aemond."

"I gotta condom - "

"I'm on birth control - that NuvaRing is fuckin' incredible," you laughed, hearing him hum in amusement as his teeth latched down on your bottom lip enough to encourage you into another tongue-wrestling session.

After a moment, Aemond grinned and glanced down to push away any lingering fabric, lips licking yours messily; grabbing hold of his cock to line up at your core. Never before had you felt "dripping" for any man, but Aemond wasn't just any man. No, in your mind, he was The Man.

No warning was necessary for him to snap his hips forward; sheathing his hot, leaking cock in your sopping warmth in one fluid motion; piercing you. He praised in your ear, "Oh, there's a good fuckin' girl," before sharing a moan; yours from absolute pleasure, and his from sheer relief. He's wanted this longer than you have, which felt impossible, but the truth was the truth. Aemond's been in love with you for what felt like an impossible amount of time.

"Shit," you begged, teeth scraping the shell of his ear, "hang on, hang on, hang on." You whimpered, "You're so fuckin' big - just a moment, please, hang on."

"'S all right, love. Take your time. I got you," he soothed, unfazed by your repeated pawing around his neck to keep your balance; sweaty palms catching his hair a few times. "Just fuckin' feel me, baby," he groaned in your ear, "and how full you feel. So fuckin' tight," he grit.

You whimpered.

The thing is, you've fucked your share of men (and women) before, but Aemond was something Godly. You felt disappointed you didn't get to physically see his glory, nor have it in your mouth, but figured there was time to admire him like a painting in the Louvre later. For now, you could only understand that Aemond was by far the biggest you've had; both in size and girth. You shuddered at the feeling of him filling you to the brim, whispering, "M-Move, please, move, just start moving, oh, my Gods. Y'Feel so fuckin' good, shit, Aemond, baby, you feel - Godsdamnit, you feel so fucking good."

Aemond did as you asked, moving his hips to drag his cockhead along your quivering walls to collect your wetness, only to push right back in; creating a languid pace as to allow you accommodation. His teeth grit tightly, "No idea what it feels like for me, sweet girl. Fuck. Who got you this wet? Huh? Who got you here? Fuckin' tell me, baby, who got you like this?"

"You, Aemond. Always you, baby, always gettin' me wet - so fuckin' wet," you babbled. "Don't even have t'do shit t'get me goin', 'M always so ready for you to have me." You felt a scream build and Aemond must've seen it because he offered you a stern look as he humped quickly into you. "Quick and quiet, right?" You complained with wide eyes, swollen lips; the perfect pout that would get you whatever you wanted from the middle Targaryen.

"Jus' for right now, can get as loud as we want later, huh?" He hissed, groaning as he readjusted his stance to increase his speed. "Hold on, princess, just hold onto me, I got us, almost there," his lips ghosted your neck before letting his teeth gnash your flesh in a show of messy dominance. "Good fuckin' girl, yes, yes," Aemond grit, flexing his jaw when he felt your arms tighten, "just hold on fa'me - can't get enough of this. Huh? Hear me? Can't ever go back, princess, not when I've had you like this - jus' fuckin' made f'me, Godsdamnit - yes, yes, yes, there's my girl, good girl, so fuckin' good for me. Shit, I don't wanna cum, I just wanna feel this pussy for as long as possible, but I can't hold it, baby, shit, I can't hold it anymore."

Your moans and grotesque sounds of Aemond's balls slapping your leaky cunt filled the hall; your mind only briefly registering the idea for a moment to let you glance up and down the hall to ensure your "privacy". Words failed you, your lungs heaving in short puffs; gripping his shoulders as if it would keep you anchored, but the truth was, his forceful hips were sending you up the fucking wall.

"Ae-Aemond," you begged brokenly, reaching for your clit and only needing to add minimal pressure; ready to shatter from the harsh thrusts your one-eyed lover provided. "I-I-I'm there. I'm there, baby, please, oh, shit!" You felt a sob lodge in your throat.

"Cum on my cock, princess," he demanded as your head tilted back to bang into the wall, sinking his teeth deep into your pulse point when exposed. "Lemme feel you, love, c'mon, just let it go. Show me - " he felt the trickling of your cum squirting out in a rare display, "oh-ho-hoooo, look at that, yes, yes, there's my good fuckin' girl. That's it, fuckin' soak me, there it is - shit, shit, oh, fuck. Grippin' me so fuckin' tight without anythin' needin' to be said. Good girl," he grunted, feeling as if stabbing through you with the way he thrusted and jackhammered his cock into your tightening cunt with each word.

Your tongue flattened against his neck, hearing his groan, and when your mouth closed down to lock your teeth over his pale flesh, sure to leave a red mark, Aemond gave a final grunt. He shuddered; hands bruising your skin as his hips stuttered once, twice, and stilled against you. Your nether region blossomed with his warmth, your lungs panting to catch your breath; feeling full as Aemond barely deflated inside you.

"Shit," you whispered.

"Yeah," he gaped in agreement, gulping harshly. "You all right, love?"

"Mhm," you nodded against him, nuzzling his cheek with your nose. "You?"

"So fuckin' good," he chuckled, glancing down the hall. "I gotta set you down, baby, 'M cramping a little. Easy does it, just hold onto me," he spoke soothingly, pulling his cock out and easing you to your feet while holding onto his neck and shoulders. "Keep my cum right there," he smirked down at you, readjusting your panties over your swollen cunt before tugging your dress back down; giving a playful slap to your clit that made you jump a little from the overstimulation. "Don't let a drop out, hmm?"

"Take that up with gravity, I got nothin' to do with it," you whined, leaning on the wall for full-support. After situating his cock back and yanking his boxers and jeans back up, Aemond dropped to a knee before you.

"Here," he whispered, lifting one of your legs to ease your shoe off. You smiled, holding onto his shoulders as he helped you remove both shoes; standing to his full height again. He looked nervous for a moment, mouth opening but closing as words evaded him.

You took mercy, smiling, "Aemond?"

"Yeah, princess?"

"Would you like to spend the night with me?"

He smirked, chuckling, "Yeah, think I would."

"Good. You get to carry me, then." Aemond grinned and moved before you realized what he was doing, swooping you into his arms. You giggled girlishly, "I need my stuff!" He glanced down at the floor to spy your shoes, purse, phone. Aemond grunted as he lowered in a squat, letting you collect your things to rest in the cradle of your belly, snickering, "You're such a show off."

"This is why we don't skip leg-day, pretty girl," he smirked, "or core day, or arm day..."

"We get it, you work out! But weren't you cramping up a minute ago?"

"Yeah, but that was then."

As he walked towards the elevator, you both heard a door open and peaked over to see one of Aemond's distant, great-uncles peaking out in confusion. "Did you guys hear that?" The older man asked hoarsely, obviously disgruntled from being woken up. "What's all that racket? We thought we could expect for a little sleep!"

You felt embarrassment flush your system, a hand slapping over your mouth - but Aemond covered, "Sorry, Uncle, the wedding parties went out drinking. Got them all safe in their rooms, except this one, though. Sorry for the noise."

He smiled, nodding as if in relief, "You're a good boy, Aemond. She all right?"

"Yes, just a little too much to drink," he chuckled, your free hand reaching over to pinch his nipple through his shirt as your other hand now hid an amused smile. "Goodnight, Uncle, there won't be other disturbances tonight."

When the elevator arrived, Aemond stepped on as this distant relative shut his door again, and as the elevator doors shut, you shared a look before bursting out in laughter. "I don't think I can face him at the wedding now," you whined lightly.

"Why not?"

"I literally have your cum dripping outta me - "

"I told you to keep it in."

You smirked, "I guess you're just gonna have to punish me, then, huh? You never did like being disobeyed, now, did you?"

Aemond laughed, his single lilac eye scanning over your face; slowly dropping in serenity. "What're we doing, baby? Hmm?" He asked quietly.

"Going to my room - "

"You know what I mean," he sighed almost sadly. When you arrived at your floor, he walked out of the elevator as you answered,

"You and I know we have feelings for each other. So, for tonight, it's just us... And we'll decide when to tell the others after we decide what it is to tell them."

"Probably best after the wedding..."

You smiled as you arrived at your hotel door, "Well, I was kinda hoping you'd be my date to the wedding?"

Aemond looked down at you with a softening expression. "Yeah?" He chuckled slightly as you opened your clutch to pull out your keycard, but his hands tightened to earn your full attention once the plastic was in your hand. "I'd... Actually really like that, too, sweetheart," he hushed, hoisting you in for another frantic kiss. The door beeped when it opened, closing with a heavy bang behind you both; forgetting Sansa was left on FaceTime... Too distracted by both being obviously turned on, it seemed, by emotional intimacy.

Perhaps not so one-sided, indeed...

requesting rules and masterlist

HOTD masterlist

[priceyprice]

Prof!Price

Prof!Price as he's talking about a topic to his students in his classroom.

Everyone was quiet, giving attention to the professor's words. He paced from side to side in slow strides while using his hands to explain everything.

"Symbolism is the idea that things represent other things. Some things have only one meaning, but a lot of other things have different meanings. For example..." He went to his board and started to write the word white on it. Then, he turned around to look at his students. He liked that the students from this class were mature enough not to interrupt and let him do his work. "...The color white. It doesn't only represent the color itself. Represents purity and innocence. Some people even say it represents good luck and peace. But that's not the only meaning the color has."

He started to pace around again. "It can represent bloodlessness, paleness, even death. There's a lot of things that have different meanings. Other things can also not mean anything; like a rose, for example. A lot of people can associate a rose with love, passion, desire, etcetera, but it can also mean nothing in a book. It's just a plain rose in a garden."

Price stopped in front of his desk and crossed his arms, the shirt getting compressed a little bit with his muscles. "I want you all to give me at least 20 examples of symbolism from a story on page 141 of your textbooks. 10 minutes before class finishes, I want to see your work on my desk. You can start now."

The professor turned around and organized a few documents he had on his desk. He could hear the murmurs, zipping sounds, and book sounds from the students.

He sat down on his chair with a little sigh, closing his eyes for a few seconds. He was feeling more tired than usual, not finding the reason for why. Maybe it's because of the number of exams and quizzes he needs to check or the meetings all the professors are having these days or even the hours he spent teaching everyday.

Price is conscious that he's not the same man he used to be in his early twenties, full of stamina, and could do everything in one day. He's now a full-grown man with experience reflected in his beard and a few lines in the corner of his eyes.

His phone vibrated on top of his desk, indicating he has a message. With a bored look, he took his phone and opened the message, but before he could see who it was, a voice interrupted him.

"Professor, we have to find the symbolisms from the whole story or just page 141?"

He looked up at the student who was asking. " The whole story," he said with a smile.

His gaze went back to the phone, smile dropping within seconds when he saw what it was.

It was a photo.

A scandalous photo.

His lover on her knees in front of a mirror wearing nothing but one of his shirts with her hand disappearing inside of her panties.

Price eyes went up to the whole class, finding her on a corner of the middle rows. She was actually reading the book.

Was it actually her and not a hacker? He zoomed the photo, finding her face features and noticing the background is the same as his apartment.

That's definitely her.

?

What are you doing?

He waited for a few seconds until another photo was sent.

This one was more scandalous. She was in front of the mirror, legs wide open and with nothing but a black lace lingerie. A hand disappears in her panties, too.

He could feel the front of his dress pants tighten a little. She looked so sexy in that one, like a goddess.

Stop sending those photos. You're going to get me a boner in the middle of the class.

He looked up to see her smiling on her phone now. It was a wicked smile.

Another photo was sent. It was the same as the previous one, only it was a little shaky, while her hand was deeper in her underwear.

She's doing it on purpose.

He knew what she was doing on this one.

Two

Stop.

Another photo was sent.

This one was the same as the other two, but this one was more shaky, and her head was threw back in pure ecstasy while her hand was in the same spot.

Three

The bulge on his pants was now uncomfortable. Lucky he's on his desk and no one can see the suffering he's having right now.

Stop and do your work.

Another photo was sent and this one almost threw him on edge.

She was completely naked in front of his mirror, with legs wide open and three fingers disappearing inside of her. A little sweat was adorning her skin, giving her a glowing effect. A few strands of her hair were plasted on her forehead, and her mouth was opened. He swears he could almost hear the sweet sound she was making in that photo.

Lord, if heaven looks like this, please don't let me forget this memory for the rest of my life.

The bulge in his pants was painful at this point. If he doesn't stop this right now, he might need to get out of the classroom and relieve himself.

Until he remembered something.

He searched on his gallery for a special photo he had, not pretty sure if he deleted it to erase traces and suspicion of his relationship with her, but it doesn't hurt to search.

That's when he found it.

Does she wants to play? Let's play, he thought.

He quickly sent it with a message below.

If I don't see your work at the end of the class, be ready to receive your punishment.

He looked up and saw her face drop at the photo she received. Now this was his time to have a wicked smile.

It was a photo of her in her knees, taking care of his boner with her hands on his length. Her cheeks were full of him and damped while her glossy and red eyes were looking directly at the camera, making it seem like that was his point of view. She was naked and sweaty. A very scandalous and filthy photo.

She dropped her phone and started to write in her paper faster. He smiled and typed a message.

That's what I thought.

A few moments later, his alarm rang, indicating the time was over. He stayed in his desk because the bulge in his pants didn't calm down.

"Okay, class. Time's up. Hand me the work on your way out." He said in a raspy voice.

Everyone handed their work, and some of the students said goodbye to him. He just nodded and organized their works.

Until the last student hands her work.

He looked up at her for a few seconds, noticing she was nervous and biting her lip, avoiding his gaze at all cost.

His eyes fell to her work and smiled.

A wicked smile.

"It seems like you couldn't finish your work."

He puts down her work and stands up, hands on his pockets, walking slowly to her until he's in front. Her chest rose rapidly, and she gazed to the floor.

He puts a finger on her chin, making her look up at him, seeing her desperate and big eyes with a hint of fear and lust. "I told you what would happen if you didn't finish your work. "

It was safe to say, there's another version of the photo he sent.

: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :

I apologize for any mistake or misspelling. Any suggestions are appreciated 🫶.

[starz222]

operation: true love | scaramouche x gn!reader

synopsis. scaramouche is one of the highest ranking students in teyvat high! how is it like having him as a seatmate?  notes. scaramouche as eunhyeok. based off ep 23 of operation: true love on webtoon !  i haven't read operation: true love since aug 2022, i only read until ep 10 bc the rest needed fast pass. anyway, i know this scene bc of a tiktok edit, the premise is similar but slightly different! i read webtoon a lot, so dialogue is also referenced from seasons of blossom! not proofread !!

it's math class, and you weren't paying attention. you begin to doze off as the chalk clashes with the board. in an attempt to stay awake, you rip a piece of scratch paper and draw a hashtag with a circle in the center. you write a little note underneath – "let's play." 

you pass it to your seatmate, scaramouche, one of the highest ranking students in the school. of course, he had plenty of rivals– albedo, alhaitham, heizou, ayato… they were countless, but being his seatmate, you watch his competitiveness, his need to win. 

he takes your note and entertains your request. you thought he'd crumple it up, but you realized that he already knew what the teacher was discussing and didn't care. 

you play a few games– 0-10. 

you mutter under your breath, "damn it." scaramouche chuckles and returns the scratch paper to you, "y/n. let's not play anymore. you're too bad at this game, it's not fun." 

your mouth is agape, offended by his words. you knew he always spoke the truth, and you hated how blunt he was but he was always right. 

"alright class, i'll be handing out these papers. answer them in 15 minutes or less." your math teacher raises their voice, not shouting, but only to wake up those who have dozed off. 

shit. 

your classmates complain about the given time, it's too short, they tell your teacher. "it would be easy if you paid any attention." 

shit (the sequel)

you recieve your paper, and in the past minutes all you've written down is your name. you take a glance at scaramouche, well his paper. you watch as he flicks his pen and makes clean, fast strokes. he solves the problems with ease, nearly done with the paper. the tip of his pen is thin and his answer sheet is neat and is organized, the rest of the solving is done mentally. 

pretty handwriting. 

you look at his hands,

pretty hands.

wait, what?

snap out of it! he’s your seatmate, and exams are up, so i really have to do well– no, scratch that, i have a surprise quiz right now! i know it’s wrong but… maybe i could just take a peek at his answers? 

you lean closer to him to look at his paper, since his writing is incredibly thin and long, you can’t see it well, so you squint. it doesn’t help when his left hand covers the other half of his paper, hey– move, i can’t see it! you sigh. eventually, he retreats his left arm and his shoulders tense because of your stare. you were lost in your thoughts, happy now that his arm wasn’t blocking the way, until his left hand grabbed the edge of your chair and pulled you closer. 

he turns to you, “can you see it better?” he furrows his brows and sighs. he stares at you, directly into your eyes. “yea- yeah.” you mutter. “good, now write quickly, would you? time’s almost up, and your paper is as blank as your mind.” he goes back to solving his paper.

you couldn’t even get mad at his comment, after all, he’s letting you copy his work. and, you were focused on his strength, how he was able to pull you by the chair with only one hand.

his hands are big, maybe that’s why. haha.. 

you watch as he passes you a piece of torn paper with a note– “exams are coming up, if you need help, just say so.”

“thanks, you’re pretty.” 

he stops writing.

“i mean pretty nice–you’re pretty nice.”  his ears turn bright red, you’re pretty… nice too, he thinks.

[evereinefaust]

. . . ⇢ ˗ˏˋ 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 ࿐ྂ

Pairing: Senku Ishigami X afab!Reader

Synopsis: So, how did MC, an average student, get personally tutored by the genius scientist in school? In math lessons, nonetheless.

Word Count: 4,220

Tick... Tock... Tick... Tock...

​​​​You block out the white noise that encompasses the entirety of the classroom; the white noise being⁠—in your vocabulary⁠—your Math teacher, Mr. Ishikawa. You couldn't be bothered to listen to his discussion anymore, seeing that you've been so lost in thought for at most the initial 15 minutes of his class that you practically cannot catch up with the rest of the students. So why not spend the remaining hour doodling and watching as the clock hand goes by? And that, you did.

The middle-aged teacher had noticed your aloofness from the corner of his eyes. He knew that you weren't paying any attention to the lesson at hand, not to mention that you were in contrast to the sea of students who had their heads buried deep in their textbooks. Your [e/c] irises were blankly staring at the wall clock located at the front of the class, just above the board. If others were to observe, they would be convinced that you were paying attention to the mathematical equations scribbled on the chalkboard. In a nutshell, you stuck out like a sore thumb.

The man sighed, easing his headache by gently massaging his temple. The midterms were coming right up, and he feared that his students wouldn't have enough time to prepare and study for the test. To say that he's slightly concerned is an understatement; he's anxious for them. The majority of students had problems with the Math lessons this semester, and he couldn't blame them. Imagine having to memorize more than 10 formulas and being expected for to stay with you until you use it on exam day. And that's not all, you also have to familiarize yourself with the terms used and avoid confusing it with another.

He knew that his students would pay attention to the lesson and try to catch up as much as possible, but what he didn't expect was you be absentminded and have your head up in the clouds in his subject: Mathematics. Mr. Ishikawa never doubted your intelligence as a student; you are averaging and have no problems with Math, though a bit confused at times, but nothing that you couldn't get your head around. However, at a critical time like this, he can't help but reprimand your behavior later.

Ding... Ding... Ding... Dong...

Finally, the awaited hour at last. The school bel⁠l's chimes resonated around the whole campus, enveloping the students and faculty members alike with its gentle, relaxing tune. A sigh escaped your pink lips as you glanced at the time for the last time. 3:15 in the afternoon, meaning, the dreaded period has ended and you can finally go on to your merry way. Mr. Ishikawa stood up from his seat and faced the students, addressing his concerns about the upcoming exams. After, he had dismissed your class.

​​​​You immediately fixed your belongings inside your black shoulder bag⁠—not that you have a lot to return inside since you zoned out from the last period⁠—and stood up from your seat. Bringing the strap over your shoulder, you watched as your classmates headed out from the back door, leaving only a few, you included, inside. You were about to take a step towards the exit when a stern voice called you.

"Miss [L/n]."

You visibly flinched at the tone of his voice—serious and firm. It was the usual setting between student and teacher, although the way that it was delivered to you made you unsettled. It's like you've been caught red-handed by your parents, only this time, you didn't even know what you did wrong.

You whipped your head back to the older male at his table, dark blue eyes boring holes into your soul. You were tense but still decided to wear a convincing confused front, masking your anxiety effectively.

"Yes, sensei?"

"Please come here for a second. I need to address you about something."

The way that he motioned you over or the fact that he had his finger on his temple didn't look like it was going to be good news of some sort. You swallow a small lump in your throat as you saunter to where the teacher is. You surely didn't get into trouble, right?

"What it is you wanted to talk about, sensei?" You cautiously queried, becoming more anxious than you already were.

"Miss [L/n], I know that you're a hardworking student and your grades in Math aren't that bad. However⁠," Mr. Ishikawa spared a glance at his student, observing your bodily cues. "⁠—it seems that you weren't paying attention in class today. Is something the matter? I know that lessons this semester are quite difficult, but please be aware that midterms are approaching. I don't want your grades to be in danger, especially in my subject."

You pursed your lips at his words. You didn't hate him or his subject in any way. Although Math has given you quite the difficulty⁠—no, wait, scratch that⁠. It is literal hell⁠—you still manage to bring your grades up even just a bit. You consider yourself as just average in the subject, not that smart to constantly have an achievement, nor dumb to fail. It's just so-so, enough to let you pass. However, it seems that your grades are suffering and on the verge of failing.

You weren't so sure what the cause might be, or if you were to blame in this situation. Nevertheless, the news is certainly not good for your ears to hear. You glanced at the oakwood floor for a while, before returning your attention to the teacher.

"I'm sorry, sensei. There's nothing wrong. I just feel overwhelmed with the subject that I tend to space out," giving a sincere bow, you explained your reasoning.

Mr. Ishikawa's calculating gaze didn't leave you for a bit, making you shuffle slightly in your spot. He then let out an exasperated sigh, his hand waving dismissively. "No matter, it doesn't change the fact about your grades and midterms. If things were to continue like this, you'd surely fail my subject. I'd recommend that you have someone to tutor you in the meantime, in that way, you won't fail."

The male before you gave you a knowing look. You weren't quite fond of having a tutor, to say the least, especially when if it's someone you don't know. But, what other options do you have? It's not like you want to fail in your second year of high school. So with a squeamish heart, you spoke, "...Alright."

"Great. I'm sure that Mister Ishigami won't mind tutoring you," with that said, Mr. Ishikawa flashed you a smile as he fixed his books.

Pink flushed across your cheeks at the mention of the student. Sure, you and the leek-haired genius were friends for like, years. But just pondering about the thought of him tutoring you sent you into overdrive. You secretly had a crush on the male since but didn't have enough courage to confess the feelings. Just acting normal was tough when every time, you're being assaulted by your hormones to do something intimate to him. So spending time with him tutoring you was something you haven't imagined, even in your wildest dreams.

The sudden screech of metal against the wooden floor broke you out of your trance. Facing the teacher once again, he patted you on the shoulder and stepped out of his seat, pushing the chair further into the work desk.

"I'll be leaving now. Be careful on your way home, Miss [L/n]. And please don't forget our discussion, alright?"

You bowed your head. "Yes, sensei."

"Good," a smile etched on his aged face.

Your gaze trailed upon Mr. Ishikawa's back as he walked out the front door, probably heading back to the faculty room. You let your eyes linger on the closed sliding door, before releasing a huff of annoyance. Gripping your bag strap, you trudged over the aperture and exited the classroom.

The hallway was seemingly empty, considering that your earlier discussion took more than five minutes. Your [e/c] eyes observed the surroundings as you walked⁠—cream-colored walls, wooden oak floorboards, metal plaque located above each room to indicate the room name, and sliding doors with windows. You muttered in each room as you passed by them, boredom lacing in your tone.

"Class 2-2, class 2-3, literature club, library..." An exasperated sigh escaped your lips after, noticing that there was no more classroom by the end of the hall.

Your feet immediately turned a swift left into another hallway, only this time, you were met with a familiar person. You recognized the skinny young man with his iconic anti-gravity leek hair with two locks that drape over his face. He had his hands in his pockets while staring at the floorboard, seemingly lost in thought⁠—you noted. Yet, despite him not noticing you, just the sight of the teenager made your face flush.

Eventually, the student turned his gaze to the front, landing on nothing else but you. The surprise was written over his expression, but he nevertheless smirked at the sight of his best friend. "Well, isn't this a surprise? I was 10 billion percent sure that you're on your way home right now."

You playfully rolled your eyes at him, stopping just a meter from your best friend. "Well, apparently, your calculations were off since I'm here right now."

"Let me guess, waiting for me?" the male said, placing his hand on his chin as if thinking. Though the smirk on his face never left, making your blush redden.

"Sorry, but I wasn't boy genius," you let out a scoff, crossing your arms as you tried to cool down your cheeks. "I would be delighted if that's the case since you're nowhere to be seen during the last period. Speaking of which, where were you during Math?"

"Since the school's Science competition is nearing, every teacher gave us, the Science club, permission to spend the last period preparing for the competition," Senku explained, placing his hands on his hips as he did so. "So being the club president, I was at our club room for the hour."

You nodded in understanding. But soon, your lips contorted into a pout, eyebrows creasing to accentuate your hidden indignation. "How nice. I wish I could escape the Math period as well."

"Silly," without warning, Senku flicked your forehead which earned him a surprised yelp. "You know that you can't just skip the subject. So tell me, what makes you upset this time?"

Despite Senku's remarks and occasional forehead flicking, you knew that he was genuinely concerned about you, especially your studies. Sure, he would appear arrogant and overbearing, often annoying you about your oh-so-average grades, but there isn't just a moment when he didn't help you improve. Not to mention that he's so observant about you that he can point out your cues and even know what you're feeling at the moment. That's why you admire the boy so much.

A frown replaced your pouting lips at his words, slumping your shoulder a bit. "I was held back to discuss something with Ishikawa-sensei."

"And that is?" he quirked a brow, prodding you to explain further.

"Ishikawa-sensei told me about my grades, and apparently, it's suffering. So for me to pass the upcoming tests, he advised that I should get someone to tutor me in the meantime," an annoyed sigh escaped your lips after that statement. 

"If that's your concern then you don't have to worry about it too much. Overthinking might lead to losing more brain cells."

"Hey!" you shouted at him, offended by his sarcastic remarks.

"No need to shout at me, [Name]. Geez! I was only joking," he pulled up his hands in surrender. "Besides, you already have me. Who else helps you study, silly?"

Your [e/c] hues stared at the male's face, still not quite convinced. A pout graced your lips while your cheeks were red in embarrassment. Eyebrows still creased up, indicating your agitation. Senku didn't bother to move an inch under your heated stare. The boy knew all too well about your tendencies and antics, and this one of them.

The moment lasted for another minute when Senku broke your trance with his iconic smirk. This made you blink in surprise as realization fell on you; you'd been staring at your best friend's devilishly attractive features for too long. You instantly flared at this, moving your head back while averting your gaze somewhere but him.

God, couldn't you be a little more cautious around him? You're ogling him in front of his face! Isn't that super embarrassing? Whatever excuse your head came up with, you couldn't justify your earlier action by any means. So instead of speaking, you decided to remain silent until he spoke first. Damn, your teenage hormones.

"What? Too embarrassed to have me as your tutor?" Senku mused. Despite you being unable to see his face, just hearing the teasing tone of his voice is enough to know that a smirk was still on his face.

You were close to snapping back at him, but you held your tongue back at the realization. It dawned on you a moment after his claim that he was volunteering to tutor you in Math. You were beyond baffled. Sure, the two of you occasionally spend time reviewing and studying, but that was way too long ago. Considering that he's always busy in his club and studies, you concluded that you should just leave him be⁠—not bothering to ask him to help you study.

"Wai⁠—w-what?" you whipped your head back at him, face covered in a red hue.

Senku just sighed. "You told me about your grade problem, right? So to help you study, I'll be tutoring you starting today."

Your eyes widened at his claim. Surely, your mind isn't just making up the scenario, right? Admittedly, due to your annoying hormones, you once imagined being tutored by this leek genius at school in private⁠. And not only that, but your dirty mind also added another scenario following that. But we'll never speak of it any further.

"Can't it be tomorrow?" you whined, pleading him with your puppy eyes to at least let him save you from further embarrassment. Who might know? Your hormones might initiate something you wouldn't want to happen.

"No, the earlier, the better," he retorted, grabbing your hand and dragged you inside an empty, unused classroom. "You will improve quickly this way, I'm 10 billion percent certain."

You just swallowed a lump in your throat as he led the way, nervous sweat rolling down from your forehead as your heart sped up. Your head was swirling with dirty thoughts and different scenarios. Once the two of you entered the room, you shook your head, ridding yourself of those thoughts, and tried to focus on the situation at hand.

Your eyes observed the classroom⁠—even though it was unused, it wasn't overall bad. The room had a total of 20 desks with five chairs in each row, a rather small chalkboard on the front, a shelf that stores personal belongings at the back, and a storage cabinet at the farthest corner. You sat on an empty chair in the front row as you were instructed to. Taking out a notebook, the Math textbook, and a pen, you then set down your belongings on the table while placing the bag on the ground.

A frown made unto your face at the idea. Sure, you wanted help with your current problem, but you aren't that obliged to start the tutoring session right away. You thought that maybe you could have a day or two without worrying about your brain exploding from information overload. Though it seems that Lady Luck has long abandoned you.

A comfortable silence settled between you two. Senku scanned the vicinity to find⁠—what you guessed as⁠—chalks while you were watching him. You hadn't noticed it earlier, but now you knew that the male wasn't wearing the usual uniform, nor his iconic lab coat.

"Why aren't you in your uniform, Senku?" you asked, trying to spark up a casual conversation before getting down to studying.

"We made a miscalculation with the project, and then one thing leads to another, then kaboom⁠—" the leek-haired replied, rummaging through the storage cabinet and found the item he's looking for. "⁠—We're all covered in dust that's why I decided to change."

"Oh."

"Anyways, let's start," Senku announced as he made his way to the front. "I'm guessing that the lesson is still about 'Estimation of Parameters', right?"

You nodded in reply, opening the textbook to what you assumed was the last lesson discussed. "Ishikawa-sensei discussed 'Calculating the Confidence Interval', I think. I wasn't listening."

Your best friend let out a disapproving sigh. "No wonder you need a tutor."

"Eh, not my fault that Math's scummy and difficult to understand," you scoffed, rolling your eyes at him.

"No, it isn't. You're just not paying attention during lessons," he deadpanned.

"No. And yes, I'm paying attention. Why do I even pass the exams if I wasn't?" you quipped back.

"Who knows? Maybe it's just your abundant amount of sheer luck," the male shrugged before facing the board. "Anyway, I don't have even a millimeter of interest arguing with you. So please listen to me as I review the basics of this unit. We don't want you to fail now, do we?"

The deliberate side glance Senku gave you made you huff in annoyance. You were about to resort to another snappy remark earlier if it wasn't for his immediate interruption. You two knew all too well that once either of you started something, it wouldn't be the end of it. So instead of a peaceful study session, it might've ended up in a full-blown squabble between you two. Slumping deep in your seat, you watched as Senku scribbled formulas and definitions on the board with a blank look on your face.

Senku started to re-discuss the lesson shortly after, with you trying to catch up with his explanation and take some notes as he continued. The male would often pause or slow down his speech as he waited for you to comprehend the lecture. He would also approach you and inspect your progress, checking out any errors that you've made and aid you with some tips for the solution. At first, it didn't seem so bad, until you came to a certain point where your brain could not grasp the new information anymore.

It didn't take you an hour to zone out from the seemingly long lecture. The fact that the young scientist was busy writing down the next sample problem gave you the spare time to take a trip to fantasy land. The scraping of the white chalk against the wooden board was the only sound that you could hear.

"First, identify the variables before substituting the formula. It's crucial to know which is the mean, standard deviation, and the sample size," the teenage male instructed, writing down the solutions with his left hand resting on his hip.

You began to tune out his voice by this point, boredom was visible on your blank [e/c] irises that were staring downward. You propped up against your right elbow on the table, resting your cheek on the base of your palm. Holding up the pen in your left hand, you let your thumb graze the tip before pushing it down.

Click! Click! Click!

Senku turned around at the soft sound that distracted him, his crimson hues landing upon the female he was tutoring. He noticed that you've let out a disinterested sigh, continuing your small ministration. Senku's eyebrow twitched a bit, silently face-palming—you will surely be the end of him.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Footsteps echoed inside the room as a certain male trudged over to where his best friend sat. Once he's in front of your desk, he gently—but still making sure to produce enough sound to alert the girl—slammed his right hand on the wooden table while the other made its way under your chin. Placing his thumb below your parted lips and folded index finger below your chin, he slowly lifts your head, forcing you to make eye contact with his mesmerizing ruby jewels.

Your cheeks heated up at the unexpected intimate gestures; your eyes were wide as saucers as you willingly stared at Senku, your soft lips were parted out of shock, your heart racing inside of your chest, while your brain could not comprehend the situation at hand. Senku's face was just a few inches from yours, making it accessible for you to observe his flawless features; the stray locks of greenish-white hair that gently draped over his face as his eyebrows were scrunched up in a frown, crimson orbs contained disappointment and concern. You could've sworn that you weren't even breathing at this point due to the unexpected turn of events.

"[Name]..." he started, voice gentle as he chided you. "How can you pass the upcoming exam if you don't pay attention to me?"

You could've sworn that your brain interpreted that differently. Surely, he only meant about him explaining the lesson, right? But then why did the red hue across your cheeks darken? And most importantly, when did he start to sound so concerned about you? If you could remember correctly, never did he ever do this kind of thing to you. Like ever. So why the change? Honestly, your mind was brewing a lot of questions that you're pretty sure wouldn't get answered at all.

The two of you stared at each other's eyes for another minute before you broke the interaction by shyly averting your gaze away. You pursed your quivering lips, the sound of your heartbeat ringing in your ears. Senku disregarded your initial reaction and decided to pull back. He isn't an idiot; he knew that you were a bit uncomfortable and flustered at his action.

"[Name], you need to pay attention when I'm teaching. Or else you won't pass the midterms," the male sighed, pulling a nearby chair and setting it beside the girl, sitting on it after. "Maybe it's better if I teach you this way."

However, you didn't respond to his remark, feeling your face flush red at this proximity. Senku resumed tutoring you—his whole attention on you and your notes which you found embarrassing. You didn't hate this setup, however, it made it difficult for you to focus on the lecture when your [e/c] hues kept stealing glances at your crush.

An hour later, the young genius eventually ended the session. Both of you prepared to go home—you fixed your things while Senku erased the writings on the board. After that, the two of you exited the room and walked in a comfortable silence through the halls. Your [e/c] hues glanced outside the window, witnessing the sun descending behind the horizon. The palette of orange, yellow, pink, and violet decorated the evening sky, providing you a sense of warmth and serenity. Your mind wandered back to earlier events, a slight scarlet hue spread across your warm cheeks.

Letting out a contented sigh, you gaze back on the front. By this time, you've noticed that you and your best friend were out of the campus and heading home. Once more, you stole a glance at the male beside you. Senku was facing forward, his ruby orbs intently locked on the path both of you were heading. The way that the yellowish-orange rays adorned his features gave off a gentle glow. You didn't notice a small smile tugging at the corners of your lips at this sight.

"Well, this is home," you chirped once the two of you arrived at your street.

Senku halted at your announcement, his eyes landing on your petite back. You stayed standing for a moment before turning around to the male and stepping closer into his personal space. Senku closely watched you as you leaned in, pressing your soft lips against his pale cheeks. It happened so quickly that when the male finally registered the occurrence, you were already on your heel and ran away from him. His cheeks bloomed to a shade of scarlet at your bold gesture. Surely, he wasn't expecting this interaction to happen.

A smile adorned his handsome features, soft crimson hues staring at your faraway silhouette. "Well, this is exhilarating."

[pennyblossom-meta]

The curious case of Anna Green on AO3

Initially a drabble meant to be written in one or two days, this has grown into a full fledged side fic from L's POV.

Dedicated to @lunalit-river and @scar8o. Thank you for always being so supportive 💜

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Chapters (1/3)

Summary: L frowns, biting down on his thumb as he scans the opening lines of Near’s email, “There are barely any records on the ‘Anna Green’ who enrolled this year at To-Ho university. For all intents and purposes, she might as well be a ghost.”

--

“Ryuzaki, here are the files you asked for.”

“Thank you, Watari.”

The lights are off at this time of night, save for the dim glow cast by the wide monitor resting on a table adjacent to the wall. A humming lingers. It’s faint, incessant, — comfortable, L muses as he wolfs down the last third of a chocolate cake slice — much like static filling the air. Familiar. Drowned by the intermittent snores of the two detectives staying overnight, not quite a crescendo in the strictest sense; even as it grows in energy while the hours tick by. He’s noticed the symphony — though the term cacophony might be more accurate — tends to devolve into a nasal staccato with every 3 or 4 longer exhales, sometimes echoing in obnoxious discordance that makes him more and more certain he’s being pestered by the undiagnosed sequels of mild sleep apnea.

Chewing loudly, he glances at the digital clock on the bottom right corner of the screen; it’s close to a quarter to 5 in the morning. So late it’s almost early.

From the corner of his eye, he sees that Watari stayed behind to tidy up the room. Tilting his head to the left to get a better angle, he examines the slow, deliberate movements with scepticism; they’re as fluid as they’re contrived, as if practised to stall for as long as possible. He draws conclusions from the little things happening in the background; how the delicate china barely clinks against the small coffee spoons when stacked; sugary amanattõ wrappers gathered into a neat pile, set aside; the soft, careful sweeping near the walls so as to avoid rousing the two men from their sleep.

There’s words to be had; his gut tells him there’s a very much non-trivial chance that this will be a precursor to something.

A rustling of papers invites him to glimpse at Watari’s reflection on polished surfaces. It’s closer to 63%, now. Very well.

He skims through the first 10 pages for an overview, his gaze tarrying for a few seconds too long on the picture of a young woman before he turns his attention to the screen. Behind him, the soft brushing of Watari’s coordinated sweeps pauses for a moment and he knows, it’s as evident as rain in April, he stands corrected that this is where the knots will begin to unravel. 

L frowns, biting down on his thumb as he scans the opening lines of Near’s email, “There are barely any records on the ‘Anna Green’ who enrolled this year at To-Ho university. For all intents and purposes, she might as well be a ghost."

Slurp 

He chugs half the tea sitting in his cup, focusing on the scalding hot sensation in the back of his throat as he reads on, picking out bits and pieces.

“...no record that Anna Green was ever present for the entrance exams, though, allegedly, she has scores for them. Below average at best, mediocre to the point that, under normal circumstances, no one with this poor of a performance would be considered for admission. What’s even more intriguing are the reasons why To-Ho agreed to bend the rules for the one student, allowing this woman to bypass university policy and, not only sit for highly competitive and specific exams abroad, but also take up classes from different courses…”

Strange, indeed. Definitely something to look further into. L taps his index finger on the mouse, nail lightly grazing over the ridges on the wheel. He looks up, deep in thought. All this information does beg the question: who exactly allowed this to go overlooked? The university board? A rogue member of staff?

Someone with enough influence to bend the rules?

“...doesn’t exist as a citizen of any country…no travel records in any airline or shipping company coming into or out of Japan…"

Unlawful entrance under a false identity, most definitely. Or as part of a smuggling network. 

"...the only data available is on the university enrollment process…impossible to find anything on the father; the mother’s records (kept maiden name, no mention of a husband or children) show a birthplace at a small town in Italy, 1955, right at the border with Switzerland, and nothing more of consequence...all records left blank from the age of 11 until her death in 1987…no significant medical records either, save for a short comment about the passing itself, as per the following transcription: ‘incidente, avvenuto il 18 gennaio nel Leicestershire, nel Regno Unito’, — filed by the grandfather, dead from prolonged illness by 1988 though ‘grief’ has been listed as a catalyst…”

A freak accident in Leicestershire, on January 18, 1987? What a coincidence that nothing more of substance could be retrieved from these records, save for vague and elusive information. He wonders if this secrecy is related to the father somehow, — he licks his lips to taste the faint remnants of black tea that linger on chapped skin and skims over the university records for the name, narrowed eyes resting again on the young woman's picture — this Atticus Cornelius Green. If that's even his real name.

He looks at the birthdates, realising that she would've been 6, going on 7, at the time of the supposed accident. Only one year younger than himself. It will be her 24th birthday soon, in little more than a month.

Scrolling down the email, he reads on.

"...tuition payments funnelled through Goodfellow's Bank, which appears to be a highly selective, privately owned financial institution based in Britain. Virtually unknown, with only 3 physical offices, total, in Europe and the United States, with no presence in Asia…registered under the apparently long-lived Gringotts Foundation, since the mid 1800’s. On the surface there's nothing questionable about Goodfellow's, though further scrutiny reveals said Foundation is also a major (and the only) shareholder, led by a series of individuals throughout the decades who do not exist beyond the trust…”

Sucking on his spoon thoughtfully, L tastes the dried grains of caffeine that cling to the bowl, agglomerating towards the tip. There’s a small chance that this is witness protection at work, but if so then it’s freakishly elaborate. Dead end after dead end and a myriad of red herrings meant to confuse anyone who investigates, while making it seem perfectly reasonable. Outstandingly legal. One would have to read between those creatively woven lines. 

But then there’s the shadow bank. If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and acts like a duck, then it is a duck — or so the saying goes. Official police forces wouldn’t be able to resort to these underhanded tactics without a tangible need; and there would be an inquiry or requisition beforehand. Someone would have to budge. Things like these always leave a trail. Though the British Secret Services could potentiate such a scenario and there would be nothing to pursue, if they so wished. 

But to what end? For a trip abroad? It didn’t make sense. There’s abuse of the law and then there’s playing around it, dangling the threads like a puppet master.

“...there’s no system to hack and therefore no personal data to retrieve. Any bank transfers seem to be made in person, at the London office. Though To-Ho lists two different addresses for foreign students; Anna Green’s file shows one in the UK and the other in Japan. The former is registered as the sole property of one Awarnach Greengrass near Windsor, dating to the late 1600’s, and has never been updated since. Otherwise, the several acres for this plot of land are not even accounted for in modern records — or pay taxes.

The latter address points to a building just a 5 minute walk outside of To-Ho. Records for the building show that it’s registered as having only 7 floors. However, the primary plans kept at the Ministry of Land and Infrastructure display a total of 8 — approved and built. The addendum was placed without rebuttal this past month of March, 4 years after the structure had been built and all apartments sold without exception. The previous proprietor of the 8th floor died mid-February and left no family to inherit, though his name was stricken from the more recent record updates…”

This isn’t like the hunt for Morello, with knotted threads and underworld connections; not when he discovered the swindles, the under the table deals with art galleries and high class politicians, in a spectacle of dazzling lights and charming conversations. Definitely nothing like Merri Kenwood’s indiscretions as the thrill-seeking second daughter of a wealthy family.

No, whatever he’s stumbled upon is much more insidious and has tendrils across the decades. 

Narrowing his eyes, L quickly reads Near’s conclusion: “...the majority of these records are fabricated with the intent to appear official, when in reality they’re nothing but a smokescreen…”

He wonders if it’s a coincidence that he’s tripped over the proverbial basket of kittens, only to find a nest of snakes. And with the murders case ongoing, does this invalidate the theory that Misa Amane might be the Second Kira? No, they’ve gathered more than enough evidence for Amane in the past few weeks, but whether this is another loose thread…

“Watari?”

He feels rather than sees Watari approach.

“Any DNA match with the bloodied gauze?” he murmurs, confident on what the answer will be.

“None at all.”

“I see. Thank you.”

There’s only a very slim chance that this is related to the Kira case, but the coincidences are too many to believe that this is entirely unrelated. Or if it is, then there’s something else happening here. I’ve met Anna Green and I’m sure she doesn’t fit the profile for the First Kira — as for the Second, there’s nothing connecting her to Light Yagami or Misa Amane…am I overthinking this?

Wiggling his toes, L starts to draw his hand towards the box of chocolates on the table. He hears a light shuffle. “There’s also the matter of M,” Watari all but whispers, voice urgent and grim.

Ah, there is it.

He swallows a bonbon. “What about him?” 

Hesitant, Watari glances over his shoulder towards the detectives sprawled on the sofas. Once he’s adequately sure that they’re still fast asleep, he continues, “It seems that M hacked into N’s server and somehow managed to decrypt your correspondence, along with all available research data on the case…”

His lips twitch ever so slightly. Behind him, Watari can’t see his amusement. 

A scattered trail of crumbs — quite possibly with Near’s veiled consent. Sounds like a move to gleefully fuel Mello’s one-sided competition — or perhaps…

An allowance?

“Predictable, if unwise,” he licks the corner of his mouth, lapping at the bits of chocolate left behind. Hazelnut — and caramel. Slightly salty, but edible. 

“— travelled to London on his own to investigate the premises of this Goodfellow’s Bank, but only found a closed shop with no visible schedule. Nearby residents confirmed they had never seen it open.”

“That would be the primary office in Charing cross Road (1), yes?”

“Indeed.”

“Then it’s a red herring, as expected.” 

“Unfortunately that’s not all,” if possible, Watari lowers his voice even further, making L cock his head to the side as he strains to listen to this secret. “Days later, M stole a car and drove by himself straight to Windsor through the motorway, where he decided to prowl the farmlands until almost running out of gas. According to M’s report, he seems to have stumbled upon the property registered under the Green family — although his findings point to a derelict mansion in the middle of the forest, not a livable estate.”

Watari sifts through the stack of papers, picking the last set in the pile with the upper left corner folded into a neat triangle. N emailed, while M chose to fax , he whispers. L pinches the top of the file, his eyes moving quickly from left to right, up and down, until he’s made a mental map of the contents.

“ ‘...ruins surrounded by crumbling gates and overgrown English ivy that claimed the entire structure a long time ago…’ — I see, so it couldn’t be it at all. Yet another red herring,” he drawls, looking up at the ceiling. Shadows dance, long-limbed and distant, illusive. “Though this does give more credence to the witness protection theory, I’m still not sure…”

Is this indeed a case of false identity? Theft and blackmail? What’s going on?

He reads the last page and frowns. “M didn’t examine the property?” 

A rhetorical question, to which Watari merely shakes his head. ‘...lost interest in a useless cat and mouse chase, not worth looking for clues here. Forgot to bring a lantern.(2)’ L puts down the file, placing it on top of the stack, thinking it’s a strange conclusion for Mello to reach, especially when he's so desperate to prove himself above Near. It pays for the overconfident to be thorough. And he knows that well enough, despite his impetuousness.

Lodging a fingernail between his two front teeth, L ponders over Mello’s words once more. The attitude itself is out of the ordinary.

Watari busies himself cleaning the crumbs under his armchair, in silence. Then, he tidies the stack, now out of order. Waiting for a follow up, no doubt; but these things can’t be rushed. L pours through photos of the landscape, scrutinising every inch of the images; any resulting from this adventure are blurry and pigmented, as if altered post-processing. An unfortunate accident, explained when the camera malfunctions shortly after Mello is — as he states in brash words, the offence visible even through writing — suddenly picked up by a police car on the motorway. The agents sputtered, perplexed that a 14 year old boy drove a stolen car. Roger had to pay a hefty fine to keep Mello out of juvenile prison. He also gets out of a damning record for underage driving, thanks to the many contacts at Wammy’s.

Lame-ass, he calls it.

As expected, Mello seems unhappy with this particular turnout. His intelligence combined with bubbling insecurities and a natural inclination towards the extreme, Mello has the makings of a fairly competent criminal.

L narrows his eyes, “Say, do we have the results on the ‘coin collection’?”

A rustle of fabric. Watari promptly pours him more tea, the robust aroma wafting upwards, “The bu is an authentic coin from the Edo Period, nowadays often on display at museums or secured by ancient history collectors. One single piece would be up for sale starting at 1.5 thousand, subject to the seller’s reputation.”

“There were at least 12 on the floor that night, some perhaps more obscure than currency from Edo if my eyes didn’t deceive me,” he taps his lips with one pale finger, looking thoughtful. “What about the other one?”

“The second coin is made of solid gold, though the minting — remarkable as it is — doesn’t match any known branch. The coinage alone is entirely unknown, even if it bears Gringott's Foundation inscriptions."

Could they really be collectibles, after all?

He nods. “Thank you for your diligence, Watari. As always,” he adds after a heartbeat, quietly slurping the remnants of his black tea, “Please file these away as soon as you’re able.”

L eyes the now neatly arranged stack. For the last time, he allows himself to stare at the picture on the first page before turning his attention back to the screen.

“Of course.”

Silent as a shadow, Watari leaves.

I have a lot of thinking to do. But she doesn’t fit the profile…and I’m certain Amane is the Second Kira, at this point. No, this is something else entirely.

Alone again save for the sleeping detectives, L finds that his fingers clench over his knees of their own accord, muscles taunt and knuckles blanching bone white as he looks out the window at the waking sun. 

Another day, another mystery.

...

TBC

[evanrouge]

⌗ them as... college roommates?

ft. idia and jade (separately) — headcanons.

— idia shroud

As a roommate, Idia is unintentionally extremely messy. Though he tends to stick to his own half of the dorm, so upon entering the room there is just a visible line down the middle between your neat part and his... Which is usually full of empty energy drink cans and wires. He's messy, but tolerable messy, as he would never dare leave his gear in your territory, being somebody who deeply values his space and privacy himself.

He plays games until the sun comes up, and occasionally has his mic on to converse with his fellow teammates while doing so. But he can get quite loud when he starts trash-talking the sloppy players down the mic, even despite how he tries to keep the volume down after you once fiercely ranted at him for precisely 87 minutes after he woke you up at 3:53 one night before a final exam. He never wants to torment the final boss while being severely underleveled ever again. He does try to be quiet out of respect for you, but he sometimes forgets and ends up waking you up anyway.

Taking out the trash comes down to a game of pure chance, that you're like 99% sure is probably rigged in his favor, with how he tends to win quite literally every time. If he does end up losing, he'd probably forget to take out his highly-stacked collection of cans, which even you tend to avoid. Taking the trash out is a weekly task, but taking out Idia's energy drink empire is a monthly one. Honestly, it's a surprise he hasn't suffered a heart attack yet.

But hey! If you have an hour or two that you wanna burn before going out, then he's always down to play a good game with you! Whether electronic or a board game, he isn't picky. As much as he'd never admit it, playing physically with somebody is a lot nicer than playing with somebody online. But then he'd get all salty when you've gotta leave for whatever was planned, and try to persuade you into ditching the normies and playing another (or twelve) games with him. What can he say? You got him in "the zone," and surely playing games with him is more fun than whatever you're leaving him for... right? RIGHT?

It may seem a lot like he becomes dependent on you, and to be honest… yeah, that's most definitely the case. Over time, living with him renders you becoming as close to him as his younger brother Ortho. What once was him unable to speak a word to you without choking up turns into you becoming the person he turns to in order to rant. Turns into him giving you special permission to play his consoles if you're bored and he's away from campus to visit home. He's probably got another of the same one there anyway, so don't be surprised if he messages you from home demanding you turn on a specific game to play together when he notices you come online.

Overall a 7/10 roommate. He's always there so there isn't much potential alone time, but you could totally let out any frustrations you have and he'll put his headphones on and pretend he doesn't notice.

— jade leech

Compared to Idia, Jade is exceptionally neat. The room would be practically spotless at all times, which you would assume he does when you're away from the dorm, considering you've never actually seen him clean with your own two eyes. There will not be a single speck of dust on the windowsills, nor a single hair on the carpet. Not that you're going to complain about it. It's much nicer to have somebody clean like Jade rather than somebody who would be as lazy as Leona. If anything, he would make you feel like you don't do enough. Even if you most certainly do, he just goes above and beyond.

As much of a little shit as he can be, even Jade appreciates his space, and he will value yours too. He isn't always in the dorm outside of classes, being a big figure in the Mostro Lounge he will most frequently be seen there until the late hours of the day, but he will try to not associate his presence with Floyd and Azul. Not that he will be very successful in that endeavor. Whenever Floyd is bored in his own dorm he will seek out Jade's, and flop onto your bed drilling on about how haplessly dull life is, and refusing to leave until he wants to. As for Azul, he appears at the most inconvenient of moments requesting Jade's input on a thing or twelve. You might as well just call all three of them your roommates already. Sometimes even Jade wants a little bit of time away from them.

Despite Jade ensuring the dorm is as clean as can be at all times, you somehow end up finding various different kinds of mushrooms in the strangest of places. One time, after coming back from the dorm extremely tired due to a long day and wanting nothing but to sleep, you moved your covers to find a single mushroom beneath it. To which Jade quietly remarked: "That's where you went," before promptly removing it and apologizing. He never acknowledged that strange moment afterward, and to be honest you half suspected that you hallucinated it.

Or at least, until you accidentally found the questionably large mushroom farm hidden beneath his bed. The situation was similar to when you find a giant stash that a small child is trying to hide. He tried to play it off like it doesn't exist. Or perhaps he is just pretty good at not mentioning or acknowledging it. He still hasn't answered your question of whether he put that mushroom in your bed on purpose or not, though. You never expected that sharing a room with Jade would prompt you to be gaslit because of a fungus.

You swear, in a sleepy haze, you once heard Jade telling a bedtime story to his mushrooms, but when you fully opened your eyes to take a look he was seemingly sleeping.

Overall a 8.5/10 roommate, would be a 9.5 if his presence didn't constantly demand either Floyd or Azul's, and they stay until pretty late too. The mushroom thing, you suppose you can get used to. Plus he cooks you stuff sometimes so that's pretty nice.

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

This is a personal post about boarding school experience and its later effects in life. It will be under keep reading so anyone can scroll over it if they don't want to read it. It's mostly for me and the need to express the thoughts I've been having and I need an outlet for that.

I've been reading once again about boarding school syndrome all day since this morning. I don't know why I do this to myself. Why I feel the need to go back to all that as if to check if all the damage is still there. Or like a way to pity myself and then to hate it for feeling sorry for myself once again. It's a cycle. I must have remembered something last night before falling asleep because I found myself today at 10 am reading a research paper on it and then looking up testimonials in reddit.

But the thing is, most of the research is done on English boarding schools and as much as the overall experience is similar, there are so many nuances in the differences that exist.

I vividly remember looking out the window and watching my parents get in the car and leave. It was Sunday evening and they had the car parked on a smaller street in downtown where I was left to stay. The next day was the first day of school and I was 11, starting 5th grade.

I read that in cases of children going to boarding school, a lot of them remember in detail the moment the separation took place. And it's true even if it's been almost 20 years since then. That's when my stomach issues began. Of course the cause was emotional stress, but that didn't stop from going to medical clinics weekly to do full check ups when any adult should have realized that I was just homesick. The year after, I began to feel nausea each Monday morning. I used to beg my parents to postpone my return as much as possible so I would only leave home on Monday and arrive an hour before classes would start. For five years I went to school in the afternoon. The nausea became a constant. I would complain on that day, hoping my mother would tell me that I don't have to go to school. But I couldn't understand at that time that my mother was emotionally unavailable and had no idea how to deal with her daughter's real needs.

But I kept going and as years went by, I got used to it and it felt easier by the time I finished high school. When I was already in college, I had forgotten half of my experience and I would gloss over what happened. I would act proud of how fast I had become independent, without needing any help, as if that was a good thing.

Of course that at some point I slowly started to realize that not everything went that well, but either way, that perhaps it was worth the sacrifice if I manage to do something well professionally. Eight years of boarding school meant sacrifices and financial investment. For me to go to the most prestigious middle school (I had to take an English exam for 5th grade, that was unheard of at that time in any other school!), then to the most prestigious high school to receive the best grades which would help to get into the most prestigious university so I can study exactly what I want because by then I found my passion. And I was encouraged. So I worked for it for more than a decade because all the pain had to have been worth it. Yes, parts of life sucks, but perhaps a uni position while I teach and research would compensate for it. But it never did and that entire plan fell to pieces because life doesn't work how I wanted to.

So was all that worth it in the end? Absolutely not.

For years I would think and say that I never suffered bullying in school because my colleagues were nice and for the most part, I had nice experiences. And that's still true. While at the same time forgetting that I also had that other life in boarding school where 17-18 year girls found abuse a form of entertainment.

Bullying is such a common occurence but it gets worse in boarding school because you can't get to any space that feels safe. You can't get home to your own room and to your own parents who might notice something and intervene. In boarding school you have to sleep in the same room and next to the same bed as your abusers. You take showers next to them, hoping that nothing happens. It's living in constant fear.

All my emotional mechanisms have developed during those years, especially between the ages of 11-13. I quickly learned to avoid any type of conflict because that would mess up whatever aparent peace that existed from time to time. I learned that speaking up and telling the adults responsible meant that I was in more danger.

As adults, those who went through the boarding school experience have trouble maintaining relationships. We become self sufficient because we had to. There was no help so we learned to take care of ourselves. Consequently, we don't need other people, especially if we know they will eventually abandon us. Of course attempts are made because it's in our nature. I've lost friendships because rather than making myself heard and to be an active participant in a relationship, I distanced myself. It's easier than to speak because there's a risk that the other person would certainly decide to break the friendship. Avoid conflict at all costs, even it rots everything from the inside. I'm still actively doing this.

When I told my therapist about these experiences (which I don't think I'll talk about in detail here), she used the word trauma. To this day, I have a hard time accepting it. Because deep down I still don't believe that my experience was that bad to be labeled that way. It's not real trauma if nothing really actually "bad" happens.

It's only bad enough that it infiltrated and influenced all aspects of my entire life. From personal relationships to professional. The latter I used to think it was independent and untouchable of all the things I had going on personally. But of course to realize as an adult that the need for perfection, the impostor syndrome, all are a result of never feeling good enough which stems from the initial abandonment.

I find it hard to accept that some decisions taken 20 years ago without me having any real say in it (I was asked and I said yes because my parents know best) and the consequent experiences that I had to go through have negatively influenced my entire life. For many years I never looked at aspects of my life, thinking that something is not well and should be investigated. I was busy in my 20s with other thoughts without realizing the root cause of why I was doing some things. But by the time that decade was over, it's like everything is crashing down. Piece by piece. Every single aspect of my life had been fucked by that thing my therapist calls trauma.

[fuzzkaizer]

Montreal Assembly - Worng Side Of Uranus

"If you’re a regular Cabinet peruser, you’ve joined me as I waxed nostalgic for time periods I’ve never lived in, you’ve noticed me orating some company and component history, and you’ve almost certainly seen me talk about the best effects in their respective classes. And while there are plenty of classes and there is certainly enough love to go around, today I present you with my favorite pedal of all time: the Montreal Assembly Wrong Side of Uranus.

While many of you know Scott Monk and his amazing company for the Count to 5, he’s been in business for much longer than you think, and he’s made more things than most people know about. I first found out about him in 2009 while chasing wares by one of pedal history’s most sought-after builders, Etienne Blythe of Sonic Crayon.

If you were as into pedals as I was in the late-aughts… well, there’s a chance you still may never have heard of Sonic Crayon. However, at one time, Sonic Crayon’s wares were in extreme demand, with resellers ransacking the limited inventory and flipping the pedals for four times the price. His most famous may have been the Hollow Earth. His most unobtainable may have been the Anti-Nautilus. The one I wanted was the Moth.

The Moth was Sonic Crayon’s bitcrusher, and back in 2008 and 2009, that wasn’t an effect you could get just anywhere. However, Sonic Crayon had an old-school way of doing things: When he felt like making a batch, he did. Then he put 10 or so up for sale on his blog, and by word of mouth they’d sell out in minutes. One time, when checking his blog for a potential drop, I saw a new post where he said that if you’re tired of waiting for a Moth, there’s another Canadian guy making bitcrushers and that his were admittedly better. Who am I to argue? Let’s go.

That company was Montreal Assembly. At that time, Scott had only released two pedals, the Uranus and another insane device called Probability of a Fax Machine. When I heard the crude “basement demos,” I was sold. The problem: the sales tactics were exactly the same as Sonic Crayon—made and sold whenever. I never caught one. But my friend did.

My friend had gone off to college and left a present for me. I took a train and met their dad at a station in the suburbs, retrieved the box and opened it right there on the train. The Uranus was inside. When I got home I plugged everything I could into it. I messaged its creator, Scott, on Gmail Chat and geeked out when he answered.

I asked him if it was possible to add a mix circuit to the Uranus and Scott took time out of studying for signal processing exams to draw me up a somewhat complicated add-on schematic. Being somewhat intermediate with prototyping board, I hadn’t done a whole lot of my own stripboard layouts. Be that as it may, I cobbled it together. It worked. Now, I could blend the clean signal in with the bitcrushed one.

Despite being housed in a spray painted computer project box and featuring a barren aesthetic landscape, the Uranus is an impeccably engineered piece of sonic kit. Like most bitcrushers, there are knobs for bit rate and sample rate reduction. The third is volume. However, the bit rate knob is a pushbutton rotary encoder; as you turn it, it displays the bitrate in the seven-segment display. When the pedal is in bypass, the display flashes “bypass,” one letter at a time. Pressing down on the rotary encoder cycles through a slew of modes—ten to be exact—called things like “Dialup,” “Hostile” and more, including an incredible bitcrushed trem called “Blipo'' and a modulated sample rate mode called “Plunger.” It’s total labor-of-love stuff and I am here for it.

Mine is labeled 2010 and is one of a handful known to exist, and the only one with this mix knob. You may have seen one in a promotional photo that Strymon posted of its El Capistan being used in the studio by Godspeed! You Black Emperor, with the Uranus riding sidesaddle. Many, many people have never heard of it, and some of you may have never heard of Montreal Assembly before now. I urge you to change that.

At NAMM 2020, I actually saw Scott walking by our booth and I recognized him from some old demos. I ran down the aisle and tapped him on the shoulder. He looked right at me, then read my name badge, looked back up and said “Heyyy, Kula, how’s that bitcrusher treating you?” What a legend."

cred: catalinbread.com/blogs/kulas-cabinet/montreal-assembly-wrong-side-of-uranus

[anogete]

Hi. Update of random shit in case anyone cares.

The scary test I was stressed over in the fall when I was posting my last fic? It was the CFP (Certified Financial Planner) exam. Yes, I passed it. The designation requires a bachelor's degree, so I had to go back to school to finish my last 10 classes. Then I had to take 7 more classes that are pre-reqs for the exam. Then I spent probably 700 hours attempting to cram everything you could think of related to personal finance (my god, there is a metric shit ton) into my head. The designation also requires 5,000 hours of experience in the planning field (which I thankfully already had). By the time I passed the test, I was no longer proud of the accomplishment, just relieved to have it behind me.

Work was intensely busy in November and December. I got little reading and no writing done.

I have a WIP featuring the Darcy/Rumlow pairing that has been languishing on my computer since 2020. To be honest, I've mosty forgotten what the conflict driving the plot was going to be. I think I was trying to tie it into the events of Wandavision. Took place after the show and had Monica Rambeau and Darcy kinda sorta working together and trying to figure out what, if anything, crossing the barrier that Wanda had thrown up did to them. Of course, Rumlow is alive and scarred and back with the good guys. And also really annoyed that his recent gunshot wound stuck him on desk duty watching the nerds complete their physicals as part of employee onboarding. Darcy doesn't want to have gym class with Rumlow, and Rumlow doesn't want to be there either but he's also kinda into the sassy brunette who tried to sweet talk him into passing her without making her run a mile. In the chapter or two I did write, the banter between Darcy and Rumlow was so fun, so I'd love to go back to it and try to move it along.

I got sucked into reading Draco/Hermione fanfic recently. Blame those damn Snow edits from the latest Hunger Games movie. Guys, I have never read those books or seen the movies, but blonde Tom Blyth is looking like the fanfic Draco of my dreams. How dare. This rabbit hole led to me deciding I needed to write a Dramione piece. It's maybe 6 pages and has gone nowhere even though I have a vague idea of the plot. My muse is struggling.

I found my old folder of all the fic I wrote in the past 20 years. There are still a couple hockey fics I haven't posted to AO3. There are also Anita Blake fics (I was a hardcore Anita/Edward girlie) and Harry Potter fics (don't cancel me but I used to write Snape/Hermione; NO student/teacher stuff though). I think I have an old Doctor Who fic featuring Nine/Rose (yes, I'm a Nine girlie). And a very old Forgotten Realms fic that paired Catti-Brie up with Jarlaxle. Look, I don't know. It was ages ago. With the exception of the hockey fics, I do not think any of these are of the same quality I've posted on AO3, but I've been toying with the idea of trying to clean them up and posting them so more of my work is archived together instead of spread over various fan sites. Does anyone have any interest at all in reading this shit? Like, at all?

I decided 2024 is going to be my book binding era. I bound isthisselfcare's Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love a couple weeks ago. I did all the typesetting with the help of some macros. Printed it, folded the signatures (the booklets that comprise the book), sewed them together with waxed linen thread, glued the text block together with some mull, and used chip board and book cloth to make the case. It feels and looks like a book, y'all! I could do a better job with lining the signatures up when punching the holes for sewing and with the measurements on the case, but overall I am pretty proud of it. If anyone is interested, I can link a nice tutorial series on TT and/or post progress pictures I took during my book binding experiment. I have to say, it's exciting to have the ability to put my fav fanfics on my physical bookshelf.

[koutaro-luver]

NEEDY

college!bokuto x f!reader smut

hiiii so this my first one shot/smut/anything ever. so pls be nice <3 WARNINGS: smut, degradation kink, agedup!bokuto, voyeurism ig?, lowk size kink, creampie (practice safe sex PLEASE!) i think that’s it but pls enjoy <3

you and kou were all the way on the west side of your college campus, at the building where you guys spend a lot of time studying. it’s your favorite because of the way it looks down on the main road, the sounds of all the cars and buses being a nice background noise. most days it’s usually filled with people studying, but today was particularly quiet since classes were cancelled. you and kou were both engineering students, which meant your work didn’t stop just because of a day off.

You texted him this morning asking if he wanted to meet up on campus to study. you lived on the other side of campus, so you usually walked to his apartment and went from there. he asked to meet at 10, so you had started to get ready.

With the weather being extra warm today, you decided you wanted to dress somewhat cute—you slipped into a white pleated skirt with a cute navy crewneck with a white collar that had your college’s name on it, and white tennis shoes. You knew Koutaro loved it when you wore skirts, so you were excited to see his reaction. You grabbed all your other belongs and headed out of your apartment, saying goodbye to your 3 roommates. Texting Kou you were on your way, you put your airpods in for the 15 minute walk. When you arrived at his apartment, you noticed he was already outside waiting for you. He waved and smiled at you, and you picked up your pace to be with him sooner.

“Hey kou” you greeted your boyfriend, matching his smile as you went in for a hug. Bokuto gives the best hugs, and it was exactly what you needed after not seeing him for a few days—you guys had been on super busy schedules, since he was a D1 volleyball player, and you were on the executive board of your club. On top of that, you guys had your heavy engineering schedules—you guys had met and bonded through your hatred of introduction to Physics.

“I missed you” he muffled into your hair as he embraced your hug. when you released you noticed he kept his hands lingering a little longer than usual on your waist, and immediately grabbing onto your hand afterwards. You noticed early on into the relationship that when Kou gets needy, he becomes a touch freak—hands playing with your hair, rubbing your back, or honestly anywhere as long as they were on you. You knew today he was extra needy since you two hadn’t spent as much time together. You guys walked hand in hand over to your favorite building, it’s beauty never failing to amazing you. You also loved it because it reminds you of Bokuto, and all your memories together there.

“Wanna go to our quiet space on the third floor?” This was the best place when you two wanted some alone time, since rarely anyone came up there. You could use some extra quiet space today, so you agreed to his idea. Once you two settled into your seats, you pretty much got right to work, as you had a big exam the next day that you needed to study for. As you delved into reviewing your homework problems, you couldn’t help but notice Kous eyes on you. You gave him a small smile and giggled, eyes going back to your work. However, he continued to stare at you. “What?” you asked, breaking the silence out of curiosity. “Oh,nothing...” he said looking you up and down “you just look so fucking good in that skirt..” he continued to trail his words

“The things i wanna do to you right now” his words made you blush, as you looked down at the way your skirt had been hiked far up your thigh. “shut up kou” you tried to giggle, trying not to show how riled up he had you. he moved his things and went to sit on the ground—which was common since the tables were somewhat low to the ground. he was angled so he was facing the large windows, his back facing the hallway and common area.

“What if i took you right here...” he said, placing a hand on top of your knee,slowly bringing it up your thigh. Your head started getting dizzy, but you knew you couldn’t “Kou..” you whispered “we can’t here”

“Why not?” his hand went beneath your skirt, getting closer to your core “Who says i can’t fuck my girlfriend where I want, when i want?” He started trailing his fingers on your clothed.

“Pl-please Kou” You whimpered, “Someone will see us” He paused for a second, thinking, then grabbed your hand, pulling you out of your seat. You soon realized he was taking you into the single bathroom across the hall.

“What are yo-“ you were silenced by Koutaro shoving his tongue down your throat, and your body against the shut door, catching you off guard. He sloppily made out with you, using one hand to grip your waist and the other to the lock the door behind you.

Koutaro started kissing down your body until he made it to your skirt, nestling on one knee and hoisting up your leg on his shoulder. He begins riding your skirt up, where he found you were only wearing underwear underneath.

“You knew this would happen didn’t you? Wearing this skirt knowing it would get me all riled up?” All you could do was smirk and let out a little laugh.

“fucking slut, gonna make you regret it” he says before ripping your underwear off and rubbing quick circles around your clit before sticking a finger inside of you. Your gasp makes him smirk and look up at you, making eye contact.

“this what you wanted baby? wanted me to fuck you like a little slut today?” he sticks another finger in.

“so fucking wet for me, whore” you moaned at his degrading words, turning you on even more. When you two started dating, you had been shy to admit how you wanted to be treated in bed. However, Kou loved every bit of it and was happy to give you exactly what you wanted. He continues fucking you with two fingers, his thumb rubbing your clit and making you moan even louder. He replaces his thumb with his mouth, circling and licking your clit while his two fingers curl up into you. It feels euphoric—your eyes are rolled back and your back is arching into him. Your whimpers and cries as you grip his hair makes him harder, and you can feel yourself coming undone.

“So fucking tight for me, this pussy was made for me, wasn’t it baby” he purrs into your pussy, licking and sucking on your clit. You can’t even get words out, just mumbling moans and whimpers. He pulls away and slaps your clit, making you gasp. “Use your words, babygirl”

“Y-yes Kou, im all yours, this pussy was made for you” you manage to whimper, grinding into him. “Good fucking girl” he growls, before standing up to unbuckle his belt.

You start to get on your knees, ready to have take his big cock down your throat, but he stops you. “Need to be in you baby, gonna fill you up with my cock” He starts kissing you again as he’s undoing his belt, making you taste yourself on his tastebuds.

Soon Bokuto gets his jeans and briefs of, letting his giant cock breathe. His dick was perfect—perfect length,perfect girth, like it was made to destroy your insides.

“Fucking christ baby, you’re so hot” he says as he crashes his lips onto yours again, sloppily making out with you. Before you realize, he’s picking you up and shoving you against the wall, lining his cock up with your entrance.

He slides the tip in and you both moan simultaneously. “So fuckin tight for me, fucking little slut” he says as he buries his face in your neck. He shoves his entire length inside of you, and you moan loudly for the mix of pain and pleasure. “S’ big Kou, oh my god—“ “I know baby, but you can take it, take my big fuckin cock like the good girl you are” He starts picking up the pace, fucking you up into the wall.

You’re praying no one is in the common area, because there’s no doubt the lewd noises and moans coming from the bathroom wouldn’t travel through the hallways. Bokuto keeps fucking you relentlessly, keeping you up against the wall with ease. His pure strength and stamina never failed to shock you, all the volleyball training clearly paid off.

“You look so good with my cock buried in you baby” He says as he’s fucking you into oblivion. At this point you can’t even form words, the feeling of his dick ramming into you taking you over the moon. “K-Kou Im so close I-“ “Me too, baby, fuck—just hold out for me baby” You moan into his shoulder as he starts slamming even harder into you.

“Fuck—“ he growls “Gonna fill you up with my cum baby, gonna fill this perfect pussy up” “Kou i’m coming!” You both release, and he pumps into you a few more times, before setting you down and taking his cock out. You stumble a bit when he sets you down, your legs buckling. “Forget how to walk baby?” Kou laughs, before grabbing a wet paper towel and cleaning you up.

“You were so good for me Y/N, I love you so much” He kisses you gently as he helps to clean you all up and you both start putting your clothes back on.

“I love you too ” You smile into the kiss. Koutaro smiles “So, you gonna help me with this rotational dynamics question or what?” He smacks your ass as you unlock the door, now prepared to focus on class work.

[sourslices]

apparently pav is like 13 or 14 that mean he's either class 9 or 10 and I KNOW MUMBAHATTAN IS LIKE MUMBAI /AND/ MANHATTAN so boards MAY not be a thing but like just imagine pavitr losing his mind over board exams and his friends thinking its just any regular exam

pav: im going to kms fr pav: fuck whoever came up with boards ka system pav: madarchod miles: whoa whoa miles: is this abt ur exams again gwen: you'll be fine pav hobie: what gwendilocks said pav: p sure its goldilocks btw pav: and U DONT KNOW THT gwen: we all knoy you'll pass pav: ITS NOT JUST ABT PASSING... pav: if i dont get above 80 ill die of humiliation hobie: (comment about how shitty the system is) miles: u wont die pav (crying emoji)(skull emoji) pav: nono u guys dont get it my reputation depends on this pav: i am a TOPPER i NEED to get above ninety or i might just end it all fr (more confusion)

[slothofnrc]

Character Biography!

Name: Belphegor

Birthday: March 11 (pisces)

Age: "17"

Height:  177cm (5"10')

Dominant hand: ambidexterous

Homeland: Devildom

Voice Actor: Satoshi Onishi

Other names: Belphie (only to be used by those close to him), Bel,

SCHOOL: currently, NRC

Grade: second year.

Dorm: somehow, savanaclaw.

Class: 2-07, class F

Club: technically, board games club.

Best Subject: Belphegor is evenly good at most of his classes, but has a particular passion for astronomy.

PREFERENCES: piano music, sunny days, walking in the botanical garden.

Hobbies: stargazing, journaling, horror media, people watching(??)

Pet Peeves: waking up early, loud noises, forcing smiles/forcing himself to express emotions.

Favorite Food: sushi.

Least Favorite Food: apples and celery.

Talent: finishing tests and exams early, falling asleep quickly.