#about how yes they are powerful but they give up plasticity of pretty much everything in return

[riftwalker-limbro]

why is it that jade had to die to birth the baby

can warframes not... "create" new life force like humans can?

i'm sitting here ready with the string and tacks to somehow connect it to the sentients becoming barren when they traveled back to the origin system

[lament-of-lydia]

help i love your hcs i need your opinion on onceler/greedler (or both if you want) trying horror escape room lol

trying to escape, are you?

♱ pairing: slight onceler/greedler x reader

♱ note: had this sitting in my inbox, ty for your ask!

♱ warnings: slight suggestive themes/actions

────────────── ⋆⋅♰⋅⋆ ──────────────

escaping with onceler 𖤐 it had been a harmless invitation at first, and onceler seemed excited with how quickly he had accepted, not at all afraid

𖤐 oh, how wrong you had been.

𖤐 for one, you had completely forgotten how much of an absolute scaredy cat this man was (and still is)

𖤐 i mean walking into the building, he was already nervous, wringing his hands constantly and messing with his hair

𖤐 as you walked up to the front desk with his lanky frame following close behind, you can hear him muttering to himself

"okay, this is starting to seem like a bad idea . . ." 𖤐 you had to reassure him constantly the entire time you were in that stuffy room that no, you wouldn't get stuck, and yes, they would let you out of the room if you failed to escape

𖤐 he of course, after your escapade, denied ever acting like a scaredy-cat jumping at the slightest noise or creaking of a door

𖤐 typical oncler.

𖤐 when it came to finding clues, though, he was actually pretty good at noticing the little details

𖤐 he probably has 20/20 vision, cause how else did he find the false wall that opened into a secret little storage cupboard?

𖤐 solving clues involved a little more brain power, but he didn't let you down here either exactly

𖤐 eventually you two fell into a rhythm, with you mostly solving the clues onceler found while he hunted for more

𖤐 at one point, you had to reach for a red, thick book on the top shelf, and were struggling to do so

𖤐 you ignored the shock that trickled down your spine when he pressed up behind you, even if it were just for a second

𖤐 he seemed to have not even realized what he had just done, handing the book over to you with a goofy smile

𖤐 when you made your inevitable escape through the once-bolted door, he picked you up and swung you around

"we did it! we actually made it out of there! i can't believe it!" 𖤐 later at his tent-house, where you both had retreated to for the night for a celebratory meal of pancakes, you both laughed well into the morning over how onceler had kept hitting his head on various things in the escape room

𖤐 damn him and his tallness.

────────────── ⋆⋅♰⋅⋆ ──────────────

escaping with greedler 𖤐 onceler's slight annoying ego when it came to admitting his initial fear of escape room was pale in comparison to greedler's

𖤐 let's face it, them being the same person and all, but greedler having 10 times greater of an ego? this was bound to go wrong

𖤐 you're not even sure why you invited him, especially when he seemed so cocky about it at first

"an escape room? how childish. don't get me wrong, i've done countless before. is this the best you could think of?" 𖤐 regardless, he agreed eventually and showed up, even if it was in much more dramatic than needed kind of way

𖤐 what kind of person rides a limousine to an escape room?

𖤐 he seemed bored and unimpressed by the interior of the building, like he'd seen much better rooms in his life

𖤐 still, you could still see he was slightly nervous with the way he ran his fingers through his hair

𖤐 old habits die hard, you supposed.

𖤐 compared to onceler, greedler was a lame excuse of a help

𖤐 sure, he pointed out a letter or two stowed away behind a desk, but he mostly just sat and lazily watched you do everything yourself

"me? oh you know i'm just here to keep you company. i am not getting these gloves dirty." 𖤐 the best part for you, though, was definitely when a plastic spider popped out of a wardrobe and right into his face

𖤐 the high pitched shriek he had let out then was beautiful.

𖤐 surprisingly, he didn't seem adverse to helping you solve clues, although it did give him more boasting rights, so there's that

𖤐 when the room suddenly grew uncomfortably hot with 10 minutes left (a clever design) he peeled off the many layers he was wearing, and so did you

𖤐 it would be a lie if you said you didn't stare as much as you did when greedler pulled his sleeves up

𖤐 working in the heat and being uncomfortably close was not a good combination, but you two surprisingly made it work

𖤐 when you finally cracked the code and opened the door, you squeezed him in a bone crushing hug as you cheered

𖤐 you were shocked when he didn't pull away instantly, and even more when he returned the hug, (ignoring, once again, the way you shivered when his hands settled on your waist)

𖤐 he pulled away eventually, of course

"don't get your sweat all over me. this is designer, you know."

𖤐 you went out to dinner afterwards, where you noticed he was smiling at you a lot more than usual, and you smiled right back.

[arcade-chaos]

Dcatober Day 1: Best Friend

"Suuuuunnyyyyyyyyy!" Came a sudden cry, who knew tiny lungs could contain so much power.

"Yeeeeeees Sophie?" Sun called back, skipping over to where the young girl stood, determination in her stance and gaze.

"I have something for you!" She announced, holding out both of her fists up towards the attendant, whose rays spun in response.

"For me? Oh friend you shouldn't have!" If his grin could adjust it would've grown wider, gifts from children weren't too rare but they were precious to him all the same. Drawings, crafts, little play dough sculptures-

He paused in his spinning as something delicate landed in his palm, two little plastic heart halves, each held on a piece of string. It wasn't crafted, not in the daycare at least, the backs were stamped with a trademark for Mimir & Friends. It took very careful fingers to nudge them together, the marbled red plastic imprinted with little stars and letters.

"Best Friends"

"Oh how lovely! I couldn't take this from you comet, it's far too precious!" He tried to hand it back over, but her hands were already closed at her sides.

"Nuh uh, they're for you! You said y'sterday that you wanted friendship bracelets like me and Mika! An now you do!" Sun tried to stutter his way back into returning the gift, surely the girls parents would be remiss if such a thing went missing, but once Sophie decided something was done it had to be so. She waved off his concerns quickly, it seemed to be a bonus in a plush blind box of sorts, one she had many of (though fazbears wifi system wouldn't allow him to access the rival brands website, even if it wasnt much competition).

She left just as quickly as she appeared, chasing one of her friends up into the play structure as Sun tried his best to delicately hold the little items so as not to lose them.

"You good Sunshine?" The day slipped away from him far too fast, trying to keep the little trinkets safe was a journey all of its own. The pieces were small enough he had to recheck his pockets frequently to make sure they hadnt fallen into a toddlers mouth. Y/N had noticed pretty quickly, but the stress of a full daycare kept them apart- while the doors were open.

"Everything's dandy friend! Just a bit of an.. odd day!" Their head tilted as they approached, eyeing the pocket Sun was palming again.

"You wanna talk about it? Did a kid give you a tiny plastic baby or something?"

"No, thankfully, Sophie was very thoughtful today. See?" He held out the two necklaces, now tangled together at the strings. Y/N's hands carefully slipped into the knots, pulling them apart for a better glance.

"Aw cute, now you can match with someone." Suns rays spun as their fingers brushed his palm, his other hand catching them before they could get too far.

"Friend would you... Ahem- I mean I would be honored- if you would honor me no- do me the honor- wait how do I say this-" They giggled quietly, allowing him time to really process.

"Do you want to be my best friend?"

"It would be an honor Sunshine." Sun jumped, scrambling up to carefully stretch the cord over their head without scratching their face. They smiled up at him, fidgeting with the plastic before taking his necklace and gesturing him closer.

"It might get tugged at around your neck Sunny." The attendant stilled for a moment, a whine undertaking his usual tone.

"You're right- but we're supposed to match!" He slowed as they took his hand, twisting the cord into loops and stretching it over the ribbons.

"There, you can tuck it under the ribbons during opening! Then it won't get broken or lost, and we still match." Sun couldn't help himself, he picked them up with a joyful 'yes!' spinning until the room became a blur of colors.

It became a little habit of his, when the kids got too rough or a parent was particularly mean, even in the dead of night when no one else was around to spot it he would press his fingers to the underside of his wrist. To anyone else it looked like a new nervous habit, but their hands on the little plastic trinkets around their neck mirrored his own fidgeting, a little secret between best friends.

Special thank you treat for reading this far, a little hand practice drawing :3 I'll probably be splitting dcatober with cringetober since I love both but don't have the energy to do two a day <3

[harringtonstilinski]

Always The Babysitter - Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Monster and the Superhero

Author: @harringtonstilinski​ Characters: Steve Harrington x Olivia Henderson(OC) Word Count: 2,964 Warnings: fluff, angst, olivia being protective, Smut: no | yes; 18+ MINORS DNI: A/N: Hi, friends! We getting more Eddie in this chapter!! Also, see gif below for fic title inspiration <3 If you like this chapter, please do not hesitate to reblog and give some feedback, whether it be in the reblogs, comments, or my inbox. As always, read at your own risk and enjoy 😊

prev | current chapter | next

season masterlist

series masterlist

series playlist 

Getting a decent night’s sleep is starting to be hard to come by since we figured out another D&D monster is an actual monster. I knew about Vecna from reading Dustin’s D&D manual when he first got it and refreshed myself when he joined Hellfire.

We decided to get Eddie some actual food… or what we thought was actual food from the grocery store, taking it over to Reefer Rick’s, where we told Eddie to stay hidden.

Steve parked the car around where he did last night, all five of us piling out and walking to the boathouse, walking in once we made it. Only this time, Eddie was ready with his sharp glass bottle, pointing it at us at our intrusion.

Dustin and I held up the plastic bags, smiling while saying, “Delivery service.”

Eddie sighed before I shook my bags, setting them down on a table and pulling every item out of the bag. I felt Eddie behind me after a moment before the box of Honeycombs and Yoo-Hoo was removed from my vision.

He sat down in the boat with the box, opening it and tearing the bag open, dipping his hand inside to start munching on the sugary cereal while Robin and Max stood or sat to his left, Dustin, myself and Steve standing or sitting to his right.

“So we got, uhh, some good news and some bad news,” Dustin said. “How do you prefer it?”

With a mouth full of cereal, Eddie said, “Bad news first, always,” before taking a swig of his glorified chocolate milk.

“Alright,” I breathed. “Bad news; Dustin tapped in the Hawkins PD dispatch with his Cerebro and, and they’re definitely looking for you, and they’re pretty convinced you killed Chrissy.”

“Like, 100% kind of convinced,” Max added.

“And the good news, oldest Henderson?” Eddied asked, looking from Max to me.

Smiling, I said, “Your name hasn’t gone public yet. But if we found out about you, it’s a matter of time before others do, too, and once word gets out, everyone and their pea-brained mother is gonna be hunting for you.”

“Hunt the freak, right?” Eddie enunciated. 

Scrunching my lips, I closed my eyes and nodded. “Precisely.”

“Shit.”

“So, before that happens, we need to find Vecna, kill him, and prove your innocence,” Dustin said.

“That’s all, Dustin?” Eddie and I asked. “That’s all?”

“Yeah, no, that’s pretty much it,” he said, pretty sure of himself.

“Little brother, ‘tis not as simple as you think,” I said. “When has it ever been that simple?” I rolled my eyes at his delusions, feeling two hands on my shoulders, pulling me back into a chest; Steve’s chest.

“Listen, Eddie,” Robin said. “I know everything Dustin’s saying sounds totally delusional, but we’ve actually been through this kinda thing before.”

“Well, she’s been through it once,” I said. “Max twice, Dustin, Steve and I three times. Robin’s was more human-flesh-based, while ours was more smoke-related.”

“Bottom line is, collectively, I really feel we got this.”

Wrapping his arms around my middle and resting his chin on my shoulder, Steve said, “Yeah, see, we usually rely on this girl who has super powers. But, uhh, those went bye-bye, so…”

“So, we’re technically more in the–”

“Kinda.”

“Brainstorming phase?” I asked.

“Brainstorming,” Steve repeated, snapping his fingers. “Good one, babe.”

“There-there-there’s nothing to worry about,” Dustin said. 

Steve scoffed behind me, his head moving just a little in curt nod.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath just as I heard sirens, and Steve whispered, “Shit.” 

Moving towards the boat, I said, “Eddie, tarp.”

He looked at me, questions floating in his eyes.

“Get back under the tarp.”

“You owe me, Henderson,” he said, my response being “I know,” before Eddie grabbed the side and laid down with the cereal box in his arm, moving the tarp over himself.

The rest of us moved to the windows, watching as police cars and ambulances drove by. As a group, we decided to be nosy as fuck and follow them to see where they were going. Once we found the area, we parked behind a truck, the five of us getting out.

Nancy was standing in the middle of the road, talking to Powell, who took over for Hopper since he… well, since he died. She looked over at us, bringing her fingers up for a small wave.

I looked over at Steve, seeing him wave back at her. I know he doesn’t love her anymore, but there’s always going to be that part of me that thinks he does and always will. Looking back at her, tears welled in my eyes before I could stop them and looked down. Sitting back inside the car, I sniffled lightly, brushing the tear that had regrettably fallen onto my cheek.

When everyone got back in the car, all I could do was look out the window at the trees passing by. What made my anxiety worse… was that Steve didn’t rest his hand on my thigh like he always did. Taking off my right shoe, I sighed, bringing my foot to rest on the seat, lacing my fingers together and resting them at the junction where my foot and calf meet.

Once we made it to the trailer park, Robin, Max and my brother got out of the car, meeting Nancy at the picnic table while Steve and I stayed behind.

He sighed, “I know what you’re thinking, and no.”

I looked down and nodded. “I know. It’s just my stupid brain. You know how it gets.” I crossed my arms, sinking down into the seat a little more. “It just… I saw the way you looked at her.”

“With concern?” he asked. It wasn’t in anger or irritation. His voice was calm and controlled. There were a few times when I had this concern after we got together, and he was always reassuring. Kind of like he was being right now.

Once the reasonable side of my brain caught up and took over my unreasonable side, I sighed and rested my head on my knee, whispering, “I’m sorry.”

Grabbing my hand to lace our fingers, he said, “Her and I are friends. Nothing more. You’re the girl for me.”

I looked at our hands, watching as he brought them up to kiss the back of my own. Smiling, I connected our eyes, seeing those hazel orbs I loved so much. “I love you. And I’m sorry.”

“I love you, too. Let’s go.”

We both got out of the car after I put my shoe back on and retied it. He met me at the front of the car and held his hand out once he saw me round the vehicle, our fingers lacing together as we made our way to the picnic table. When we sat down, we all explained to Nancy what’s been going on.

“So, you’re saying that this thing that killed Fred and Chrissy, it’s from the Upside Down?” Nancy asked.

“If the shoe fits,” I sighed, leaning back against Steve, who wrapped his arms around my middle. 

“Our working theory is that he attacks with a spell or a curse,” Dustin said. “Now, whether or not he’s doing the bidding of the Mind Flayer or just loves killing teens, we don’t know.”

“All we know is this is something different,” Max said. “Something new.”

“Doesn’t make sense,” Nancy said.

“It’s just a theory,” Dustin said. 

“It’s not supposed to make sense,” I added.

“No, Liv,” Nancy said. “Fred and Chrissy don’t make sense. I mean, why them?”

“Maybe they were just in the wrong place,” Dustin said. “They were both at the game.”

“And near the trailer park,” Max said.

“We’re in the trailer park,” Steve said, holding me a little tighter. “Uh, should we maybe not be here?”

As we all looked around, Nancy said, “There is something about this place. Fred started acting weird the second we got here.”

“Acting weird as in…?” Robin asked.

“Scared, on edge, upset.”

“Max said Chrissy was upset, too,” Dustin said.

“Yeah, but not here,” Max said. “She was crying in the bathroom at school.”

“Serial killers stalk their prey before they strike, right?” Robin asked.

“Affirmative,” I said.

“So, maybe Fred and Chrissy saw this Vecman–”

“Vecna,” Dustin corrected.

Carrying on like nothing happened, Steve said, “I don’t know about you guys, but if I saw some freaky wizard monster, I would mention it to someone.”

“Maybe they did,” Max said. “I saw Chrissy leaving Ms. Kelley’s office. If you saw a monster, you… you go to the police. They’d never believe you.”

“Except Hopper,” I said. “Who’s inconveniently dead.”

“But you might to your–”

“Your shrink,” Robin said.

 Max nodded her head and we all formed a plan on what to do. Once the plan was made, we all got up from the table to walk back towards our vehicles. Nancy started walking back towards her car before Steve’s voice stopped her.

“Whoa, whoa, Nance,” he said. “Nance!” He stepped up to her as she turned around, asking, “Where you going?”

“Oh, there’s something I wanna check on first,” she replied. 

“Something you maybe wanna share with the rest of us?” Dustin and I asked. “I don’t wanna waste your time. It’s a real shot in the dark.”

“Yeah, okay,” Steve said. “Are you out of your mind? Flying solo with this Vecna creep on the loose? No, it’s too dangerous. You need… you need someone to…” He turned walking up to me, handing me his keys. “Here. I’m gonna stick with Nance, alright? Take the car, check out the shrink. Go back to your house, and I’ll have Nance drop me off there.”

“Why? Why can’t Robin go with her?” I asked, gesturing to our high school friend.

“Yeah, why can’t I go?” Robin asked.

“Liv, if you don’t want to drive, I can,” Max said.

“No,” Steve and I said, looking over at Max.

“No. Never again,” Steve added. “Please. Anybody but you.”

“Come on,” Dustin said.

“No.”

“Okay, this is stupid,” Robin said, grabbing a radio from Dustin’s bag. “Like Liv said, I’ll go with Nancy because us ladies need to stick together. Steve, you stay with your girlfriend.” When she made it to Nancy’s side, she turned back around to face us, saying, “Unless you think we need you to protect us.”

Robin turned on her heel and started walking towards Nancy’s car, the eldest Wheeler taking a moment, looking at my Stevie. I rolled my eyes and got in the car, not meaning to slam the door shut as Steve shouted at them to be careful.

“You just gonna stand there and gawk at your ex-girlfriend, or sit next to my sister and gawk at her?” Dustin said.

“Shut up,” Steve said. “I love your sister. She knows that.” “Why don’t we go?”

“Shut up and get in the car.”

I heard the back door open behind me, so I looked to see who it was before saying, “Dusty, wipe your feet.”

“On the outside, not the inside,” Steve groaned, getting into the car. “Always the babysitter. Always the goddamn babysitter.” He started the car, putting it in drive and riding past Eddie’s trailer that was marked off by police tape.

~~~

Max gave us directions to Ms. Kelley’s house, Steve parking at the end of her driveway on the other side of the street. 

“Okay, she’s in,” Steve said, arm resting on the door, the window rolled down. 

“I’m missing collarbones,” Dustin said. “Not eyes.” A few seconds later, he said, “So… are we gonna talk about… it?” Turning to face him in the backseat, I furrowed my brows. “What?”

Pointing in between Steve and I, Dustin said, “You two.”

“Again, I ask… what?”

“The tension between you two. I can feel it from here.”

“Feel what?” Steve asked.

“The sexual electricity?”

“Oh, my god, Dustin!” I exclaimed.

“Your sexual tension was pretty public,” he said. “There’s witnesses. Have you two even–”

Turning back to face the front with my hands up, I said, “I am not having this conversation with you.”

“Are you implying that we haven’t had se–” Steve said.

“Steve!” I interrupted. “We’re not having this conversation with him right now!”

“What about when he was gonna go with Nance instead of staying with you, his girlfriend, my dearest sister?” Dustin said.

“I was trying to protect a friend,” Steve said. “A friend, Hendersons. Okay?”

Turning my head to look at Steve, I gave him a what the fuck look. “Hendersons? As in, plural? Don’t bring me into this, I didn’t say anything.”

“Okay,” Dustin said, amused.

“I don’t wanna find her in the morning with her eyes sucked out of the front of her skull by this Vecna creep,” Steve said.

“Steve, baby, I love that you’re wanting to protect a friend and being all defensive, but now isn’t the time to do that, especially when your anxious girlfriend here is freaking out about you and Nancy, okay?” I said.

“Yeah, what’s wrong with my sister?” Dustin asked.

“Nothing’s wrong,” Steve said. “I love your sister very much, and I especially don’t want anything to happen to her. I’d die if anything happened to her.”

I smiled at that, feeling all the love from him just from those two sentences.

“You’re blushing,” Dustin smiled.

“Drop it, or I’ll punch you so hard in your face your teeth will fall back out.”

“Whoa,” Dustin and I said. “Too far.”

“Not cool. Sorry.”

“Not cool, babe,” I said.

“It’s okay,” Dustin added.

Steve brought his fist up, Dustin hitting Steve’s with his own before Steve held his hand out, looking at me. I laced our fingers before he brought the back of my hand to his mouth, placing a kiss near my ring finger.

I heard the door open, Steve’s attention right on Max as she made her way back to the car, Steve repeating, “Here she comes.”

Max got in the backseat with Dustin, my brother asking, “What’d she say?” “Nothing, just drive,” Max said. “Steve, drive!”

“Okay,” he said, letting go of my hand to start the car and drive off. 

Max told us to drive to the high school so that she could snoop through Ms. Kelley’s files for hers and Chrissy’s. Dustin’s walkie went off, a familiar voice coming through.

“Dustin? Olivia? It’s Lucas. Do you copy? Dustin.”

Dustin hit the button on his walkie, speaking into it, “Lucas? Where the hell have you been?”

“Just listen,” Lucas said. “Are you guys looking for Eddie?”

“Yeah, and we found him, no thanks to you.”

“You found him?”

“He’s at a boathouse on Coal Mill Road. Don’t worry, he’s safe.”

“You guys know he killed Chrissy, right?”

“That’s bullshit. Eddie tried to save Chrissy.” “Then why do all the cops say he did it?”

Max took the walkie from Dustin, pressing the button and saying, “Lucas, you’re so behind, it’s ridiculous, okay? Just meet us at the school. We’ll explain later.”

“I… I can’t.”

Taking the walkie from Max, it was my turn to speak into the mouthpiece. “Come again, Sinclair?”

“I think some real bad shit’s about to go down, Liv.”

“Spill it.”

Static sounded from the walkie’s speaker for a moment before I hit my palm against it a couple times before saying into the mouthpiece, “Lucas? Lucas! Shit.”

~~~

It was dark by the time we made it to the school, Max using the keys she stole from Ms. Kelley’s house. Walking down the hallway, Dustin’s walkie went off again, this time Robin’s voice coming through, saying, “Hendersons, do you copy?”

“Yeah, we copy,” Dustin and I said in unison.

“So, Nancy’s a genius. Vecna’s first victims date back all the way to 1959. Her shot in the dark was a bullseye.”

“Okay, that’s, uh, totally bonkers,” Dustin said.

I took the walkie from him, saying, “But we really can’t talk right now.”

“Wait, what are you doing, female Henderson?”

“Breaking and entering into the school to retrieve highly confidential and extremely personal files.” This felt like Sophomore year all over again when I broke into stores. Looking up at Steve, I said, “If I get caught this time, I’m going to jail.”

“We won’t,” he said, shining his flashlight around, looking for any type of security.

“Can you repeat that?”

“Just get your ass over to the high school, Buckley. Stat. We’ll explain everything… if I don’t get arrested again and start living in a cell.”

We found Max at Ms. Kelley’s office as she was just opening the door to walk inside. 

“It’s like a mini-Watergate or something,” Dustin said.  “Hawkinsgate!”

“Wait a sec,” Steve said. “Didn’t those guys get caught?”

“Holy shit,” Max said from the opened filing cabinet.

“You found it?” Steve asked, walking over to her.

“Yeah, and not just Chrissy’s file,” she said, taking a file out of the cabinet. “Fred was seeing Ms. Kelley, too.”

We all looked at each other, trying to find out what it meant with our eyes until I spoke up. “Well, I’d compare the files, see if the three of you had any symptoms in common.”

We did just that, bringing out her file, Chrissy’s file and Fred’s file. Max sat at the desk, looking at Chrissy’s, seeing the handwritten symptoms on a white sheet of paper. When she asked to see Fred’s file, I handed it to her, moving to stand beside her with my body facing Steve, who was leaning against the desk.

Max was looking as if she were lost in a trance of some sort, so I put my hand on her shoulder, asking, “Max, are you okay? Max? Max, honey, what is it? Max. Max!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

prev | current chapter | next

season masterlist

series masterlist

series playlist 

~~~

A/N 2:  hi, friends! pls be kind and reblog! it really helps us content creators out <3

Additional Note:

~~~

Forever / Everything Taglist: @stiles-o-dylan24​​ @stixnstripesworld​ @fandom-princess-forevermore​​​ @quanticobae​​​ @mischiefandi​​​ @kellyashcroft @lauren-novak​​​​

Steve Harrington Taglist: @madaboutjoe

If you’re tagged and didn’t want to be, please let me know.

~~~

*Please don’t post my writing anywhere else without my consent. The author of this work will always and forever be @harringtonstilinski​.

All characters, story lines, and plot aside from y/n and her storyline & plot, are all of the work of The Duffer Brothers.

*These works contain material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited.

No part of these works may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.

Posted on May 6, 2024 *Happy half Birthday to this series!!*

[cafeleningrad]

"You have a fantastic chapter on Trad Moms and an equally fantastic chapter on “Cool” Instagram Moms. Both of these chapters are hilarious, in their way, but also vaguely (or explicitly) terrifying in others. To me, the common point seems to be an emptying of the self, of the experienced life, in all its messy contradiction, in favor of an aesthetic. Can you give a brief description of both and talk about how you think about them in concert? 

YES! That’s so well-put. As an elder millennial, I often think about how effectively aesthetics have been sold to me as a placeholder for personhood. I know I mentioned certainty earlier, and maybe this reveals more about my own desires than anything else, but I think aesthetics do offer the illusion of certainty. They offer people a blueprint for being in a culture which prioritizes rugged individualism and aggressively upward momentum above pretty much all else. Adopting a certain aesthetic (whether it be “cool mom” or “trad mom”) not only takes the guesswork of how to look in the world, it also does the work of communicating how you are in the world.

If you rid your home of plastic, wear only homespun calico dresses, and smear your entire existence in organic everything, maybe you can sleep better at night by thinking that your aesthetic presentation is equivalent to good motherhood, good earth stewardship, good taste, and good consumption.

If you dress yourself in a combo of indie brand names and vintage finds and decorate your home and kids similarly, maybe you can sleep at night believing that motherhood hasn’t erased your personhood, that motherhood hasn’t rendered you uninteresting, that motherhood has actually revealed the essential and unique you-ness of yourself. In both cases, I think the objective is to feel certain of oneself and one’s place in the world. And given mothers’ tenuous position in the US specifically, I very much get it! Our lives and identities are either aggressively attacked or swept under the rug in service of upholding capitalism through our unpaid labor of love.

Aestheticized motherhood is also interesting because it prioritizes static imagery over people’s lived experiences. Mothering is ongoing and ever changing; it resists neat categorization, and no single photograph could really communicate everything it entails. It’s also wildly variable! Motherhood is so beholden to imagery though, and imagery can often conjure up powerful feelings, which can energize all sorts of agendas. What’s more powerful? A list of a mother’s daily activities or a photo of a mother snuggling a newborn captioned by a passionate plea to criminalize abortion? I guess it depends on the viewer or reader, but I think it’s important to understand how imagery operates as an emotional shortcut in many ways. "

Pretty White moms in their Pretty White homes

[jinntakk]

l feel thirsty. l'm pretty sure l've bothered Karli way too many times about this already. Didn't l just get some water at the bar? Now l'm back asking for another cup.

"l only have bottles" Bartender says.

"l'll take the bottle."

"lt's $5".

l don't argue. l need the water. Let's be smart. Let's save the water for the floor. Get a cup of water at the bar. l feel smart. l ask another bartender for water. He gives me a lot of ice.

ls this what a trip feels like? l feel everything all at once. Now l'm resting against a pillar, trying to stay upright. l feel like l need to sit down. l can feel my heartbeat getting faster. ls this what a panic attack feels like? Why is everyone staring at me? l'm having a panic attack. lt's good that l noticed. lf l know what's happening, l can control it. Breathe dummy. Keep breathing. lt's subsiding, and now l feel the music again. l can breathe again.

"Excuse me," Someone interrupts.

lt's dark and l can't see his face.

"Are you straight?"

My brain feels smoothed out. l can't hold my thoughts. l have to think. Have to concentrate to answer him.

"Yes." lt's all l can muster while my head spins and while my mouth is chewing on ice. He goes back to his group of friends and l go back to the ice, trying to act normal whlie keeping vertical. l'm still leaning and now am out of ice. l'm not sure how much time has passed and there are a lot of people on the floor now. How do l find my friends in this state? Seems like a daunting task.

Music brings me back to the moment. Wow. The sound. l am alive. This feels like what l've been missing. Now l'm walking and l'm stopped by the bass. l'm jumping with the crowd. This is fun. My friends have moved. This l notice. We were by the pillar to the left of us and now we're in the middle. l hand Alex the water bottle, turn to Karli and tell her it was $5 rolling my eyes. l might be high but l am still me. l should've brought my collapsible water bottle.

This is what l remember the most about the night. The crinkle of the water bottle as l squeeze it in my left hand. Feeling the plastic bend to my power. The lights strobing as l notice the people dancing.

'l am nothing.'

'l am a sheep.'

'l am not unique nor original, l am just like everyone else.'

'Drugs are what they feed us so that our minds are always hazy. l must get off the drugs.'

'Wow that was an original thought.'

My mind turns again.

Bright lights and bass make a hell of a combo. There are so many pretty girls here. My brain is playing all of the club scenes in the movies l've watched. This is it. l am seeing the scene in real life. lt makes me smile. l am alive.

The drugs are now in overtime and l am hyper conscious of myself. Did l take too much? Am l making a fool out of myself? Did l go overboard? This isn't okay. Am l a burden to my friends? Wake the fuck up and take care of yourself. l'm usually not responsible. Not as much as a 31 year old should be anyways. But l cannot be the crutch of the group as a 6'3" 200lb man when my friends are all significantly smaller than me. Control yourself Jesus. l don't know when a song begins and ends. l get lost in the music again.

The night ends and it is an addictive feeling. lt scares me. l wrote about not doing weed as much and this definitely has the capacity to drag me down to become something ugly. l will definitely need to moderate myself. Keep my focus on me instead of it. l am still hyper aware of my actions. l hope l didn't do anything wrong. l hope l controlled myself well enough. l'd like to do this again and l'm not sure if l'll enjoy myself as much if l'm alone.

l can see why people go out to these things.

[bellmo15-blog]

Just Hanging Out In Metru Nui

In the time before time, in the ancient decade of the 2000’s, six plastic canisters were stocked in plenty of toy stores. And new and powerful legends were… Wait, why am I giving you all a history lesson on this anyway? Most of you reading this who were alive though out the 2000’s know what Bionicle is anyway!

Inkling Michael: Umm, I mean there IS a chance someone reading this might NOT know what Bionicle is.

Even if that is true for some, Google exists. I’m not here to hold people’s hands though everything!

But yes, like a lot of “Still listens to music via CD’s and watching movies and shows via DVD’s (unless I can get a Blu Rey version that is), still having the Sam Rami Spider-Man movies as their fav” 2000’s kids, Bionicle was a massive part of my childhood growing up. And there are a lot of reasons for that. Outside of being born in 1996 meaning I was around at the perfect time for Bionicles hay day there’s also the set’s themselves looking really dam cool no mater what year of it’s 9 year long run we are talking about with maybe a few exceptions, it more or less saved LEGO from finical troubles as well as how it had some pretty deep lore behind it that wasn’t afraid to delve into some more darker aspects that kept so many people like myself invested in it. Granted, when I became a teenager in 2010 I did start to fall out of it a little but well, if you’ve seen my Twitter the last couple of months you can probably tell I’ve gotten back into it recently.

And, well… I knew eventually it would lead to me getting this! Remember how I said this in my recent Kronos Unveiled Comm I got? “Bionicle 3 Web of Shadows which I also saw later that same year had the scene of the Toa Metru all trapped in the Visorak cocoon’s which I also had a wired fascination with that I also didn’t fully understand until I became an adult.” Yeah, let’s just say this scene was more or less my awakening to my interest in webbing and cocooning. I mean they weren’t JUST in the 3rd movie though. I mostly bring Web of Shadows up spesificlly because the movies were some of my fav things relating to Bionicle growing up and still are…… Well three of the four movies at least. These cocoons were pretty much everywhere in 2005’s marketing. Which makes sense considering the Visorak are practically spiders and they were the catalyst for the Toa Metru becoming the Hordika in that years story line. Lucky for me and Shantae here, that transformation WON’T happen to us! As far as the lore is concerned, Hordika Venom can’t affect purely organic matter. So, we can be trapped there for a fair while and not be affected. Though I think one of us seems to have some objections. She’ll come around to enjoy it though soon, I’m sure. 😉

Artist is Mugenbine.... Although now that I mention the whole “not affecting pure organic” stuff, you reckon we could take a dip in some energized protodermis and it’d be safe? Look all I’m saying is that that pit in Makua’s lair in Mask of Light looks tempting!

[mviswidow]

not now, not ever

Wanda Maximoff x Reader

Word Count: 2,172

TW: blood, R was stabbed, cursing

Summary: R and Wanda spend a month on a mission together, going from hotel room to hotel room and sleeping in the same bed. R gets hurt because she does something stupid and Wanda is mad at her, but they have a hard time staying away from each other.

You flinched away from Bruce when he cleaned the cut on your cheek with peroxide. “Sorry,” You mumbled, tearing your eyes away from Wanda talking to Steve at the front of the quinjet. 

“It’s fine,” Bruce offered a small smile. His voice lowered, “You scared the shit out of her, (Y/n/n). I’m not surprised that she’s mad.”

“What was I supposed to do, let her get stabbed?” You scoffed. “You know me better to think I’d let that happen.”

Bruce nodded and sighed, “I know, I’m just saying that she was bound to be upset. You passed out in her lap, she called us crying. Wanda cares about you a lot.”

“I know,” Your eyes flicked back to Wanda, she’d been looking at you but quickly turned away.

You finally noticed that your hand felt warmer than it was a few minutes ago and you looked down at the cloth you’d been holding over the gash in your stomach. Your skin tight uniform shirt had been removed as soon as you got in the quinjet so Bruce could fix up what he could, leaving you just in your sports bra and tactical pants.

Bruce noticed, too, and left to get you a fresh cloth that hadn’t been bled through. He stopped by the driver's seat to talk to Steve for a moment and you watched Wanda frown at whatever he had said before all three of them turned to look at you.

Steve spoke first, “(Y/n) how do you feel about Banner giving you stitches in here?”

Your eyes widened and you watched the way Wanda tensed up. 

Bruce looked confused and his head snapped towards Steve, “No, Steve that’s not what I-“

“Look at her,” Steve interrupted Bruce before he could finish. “No offense, kid, but you look horrible right now.”

You shook your head, “But Cho is visiting, isn’t she? She can just use her fancy skin plastic thing.”

“We’re still fifteen minutes out from the tower and you’ve already lost a lot of blood. You guys are so lucky this mission was just in Maine or you’d be dead, (Y/n).”

You heard Wanda sigh and shifted uncomfortably, “Okay, fine, does anyone have Advil or something?”

“You’re way past Advil already, (Y/n),” Wanda rolled her eyes, and you didn’t miss the way she paused for the smallest moment before using your name instead of the sweet nicknames she would usually call you.

“Okay, whatever, let’s just get this over with.”

———

You limped out of the quinjet with your arm around Wanda’s shoulders for support, but you knew she was still pissed at you. She’d hardly said anything and you knew she was only doing this because Bruce and Steve were too tall, and she didn’t want you to rip out one of the stitches.

It was frustrating. Everything had been going so well. The mission went very smoothly up until the end, you and Wanda spent every day together without conflict, the two of you going from hotel to hotel and sleeping in the same bed every night. 

There was obvious pining going on between you guys, but neither of you really wanted to address it. Not because of the fear of rejection, it was pretty obvious what you liked each other, even to the two of you, but the mission didn’t really seem like the most romantic time to start dating or the most appropriate time to have the conversation you both wanted to have.

It stung to see her so upset at you for something that you couldn’t not do. This was your job, and hers too, and you expected her to understand.

Steve wanted you on bed rest for the rest of the day and possibly the next two, but he knew you wouldn’t listen to him.

Wanda left your side as soon as Natasha came to find you, letting her help support your body weight, even though you insisted you barely needed help, a worried expression on her face when she saw the stitches on your stomach.

You spent most of the day with Natasha, except for when you went to go eat lunch in the kitchen while she left to train with Steve for an hour.

Your heartbeat sped up when you saw Wanda’s tearful expression as she sat on the kitchen counter eating a sandwich.

“Are you okay?” You asked, wincing when she jumped off and scoffed at you.

“Shut up.” Was all she replied.

“Can you stop it with your attitude already, Wanda?” 

“You did this to yourself, (Y/n),” She said pointedly.

“Oh my god,” you laughed sarcastically. “What was I supposed to do? If it wasn’t me it would have been you, and you’re the one with powers. You literally took everyone out after I got stabbed so what does it even matter? We finished the mission, I just got stabbed, it’s happened before.”

“That’s the point, you don't have powers! I would have been fine-“

“Oh, please, you aren’t invincible, Wanda. You would have also almost bled out had it been you,” You rolled your eyes and opened the fridge to get a bottle of water and the container of strawberries kept in there, you planned on eating in the kitchen at first, but there was no way you were going to stay out here after this. 

“Maybe, but I can clearly take care of myself well enough to not make stupid decisions that could kill me.” She retorted.

“Are you kidding me? I literally might have saved your life, you weren’t paying attention and you almost got stabbed, that’s on you,” you could hear voices down the hall from the direction you came in and realized that you probably should have eaten earlier because Steve and Nat were coming back from training.

“I didn’t ask you to, (Y/n)! This was so foolish of you, how do you not understand that?”

“Will you stop?” Your voice raised. “Stop acting like I’m fucking weak and inferior to you, Wanda. You would have done the same thing and we both know it.” You huffed and blinked at her for a second before turning around and retreating back to your room, pushing past Natasha and Steve, who were standing at the entrance of the kitchen.

———

At night, you lied looking up at the ceiling, quiet music playing from your phone. You glanced over at the clock on your nightstand and saw that it read 12:42 AM. 

You sighed softly and clicked your tongue and snapped your fingers mindlessly for a few seconds before getting bored of that. 

You heard footsteps outside your door in the hall and they seemed to stop when they got to your door.

As you reached over to your nightstand to turn off your music, the door opened and you could see Wanda standing at the doorway, the light from the common room illuminating part of her face. You could see the rest of it though, you kept a night light in your room, the darkness in it was too much to handle sometimes.

The two of you stared at each other for a few seconds, Wanda’s lip caught in between her teeth. She was wearing the grey sweatpants you had given her for Christmas and the oversized graphic t-shirt the two of you shared at night while on the mission that had winnie the pooh on it.

“I heard the music when I was outside the door so I assumed you were still awake.”

You nodded, not really knowing what to say.

She looked nervous, like she thought you were going to tell her off or tell her to leave you alone. “I can’t sleep when you’re not beside me,” Wanda said quietly, and you swore your heart could have melted on the spot. You were still hurt because of the way she’d been acting towards you all day, but you couldn’t bring yourself to ask her to leave. Not when you couldn’t fall asleep either, probably for the same reason.

You slowly sat up more, trying to be mindful of your stitches, and still annoyed because if Cho had just used her cradle you would be fine by now, and scooched over on your bed so Wanda would have space.

At the soft expression of relief that washed over her features, your heart ached. She closed the door behind her and looked at you with teary eyes before clearing her throat quietly and getting into bed beside you. 

It only took a few seconds for you guys to get situated. You brought yourself back down and laid on your back, slightly annoyed that you didn't feel well enough to sleep on your side.

You felt Wanda looking at you and sighed, “I don’t bite, Wands.”

With that, Wanda moved closer to you and settled between your chest and your arm, once you lifted it so she could be right at your side. She tangled her legs in yours and carefully draped her arm over your bare stomach the way you usually did when the two of you had spent countless nights cuddling during the past month. You were wearing a different sports bra, this one less tight, you’d attempted wearing a t-shirt earlier but the material rubbing against your stomach was bothering you too much.

You closed your eyes for a few seconds before you heard a soft sniffle come from Wanda. You gently rubbed her arm with the hand that had been behind her before speaking quietly, “You okay?”

Wanda shook softly and you felt a few tears fall onto your shoulder before she shook her head ‘no’, “I’m so sorry, (Y/n/n)”  she choked out.

“It’s fine, Wanda. I’m not mad.”

“Yes you are,” She let out a whimper and you could swear that your heart tore in two. “I don’t have to read your mind to tell,” She paused. “I was really scared.”

You moved the hand that wasn’t rubbing Wanda’s side to her face to wipe away her tears and she looked up at you with bleary eyes before her lip began trembling and you sighed softly, squeezing her arm to let her know it was alright.

“When it happened, I - I started to panic and I didn’t know what to do. And you crumbled to the ground and laid in my lap and you looked like you were in so much pain and then you stopped responding to me and then you -“ She choked down a sob and her breathing stuttered for a moment. “You closed your eyes and I thought you were dead for a few seconds until I called Steve and he told me to check your pulse. I sat there for twenty minutes with your blood on my hands, and - and he told me to keep pressure on it and it just was so horrible (Y/n/n), all I wanted was to be able to talk to you and listen to you tell me that everything was going to be fine, but I couldn’t because you were dying and it was because of me.”

“Hey, no,” you chided. “Wands, this isn’t your fault, I swear to you. I’m still here. I’m just fine and I’m not leaving you. I’m sorry that you had to do that, it’s our job, but it isn’t fair. But I refuse to apologize for doing what I did,” She opened her mouth to talk for a second but you shook your head. “I have zero regrets, Wanda. I care about you more than you know and I don’t know what I would have done with myself if you had been killed.”

“I understand. I get why you did it, and you were right, I would have done the same thing. You’re just really important to me and I can't bear to lose you. Not now, not ever. I was upset at myself because I almost let you die and I took it out on you. I’m sorry.”

You gave her a small smile and nodded, “I forgive you, bug.”

She rolled her eyes with a smile at the pet name you liked to use for her and sniffled, but the way she looked up at you with pure adoration in her eyes afterwards made your heart sing.

“It’s late,” Wanda hummed, letting her face fall into the side of your breast, her lips brushing against your skin as she spoke.

“I know, we can talk more in the morning. About us.”

You felt her tense up in your arms and started to worry, but you relaxed when you felt her smile.

“I would like that a lot,” Wanda nodded sleepily, moving her hand that was draped over you down so she could rub the skin below your stitches, far away enough for it to not cause any discomfort.

“Good,” You smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

“Good,” She repeated, and pressed her own kiss to your collarbone.

[realcube]

BABYSITTING WITH HIM

characters ♡ oikawa, tendou & sakusa

tw ♡ children, cursing & mentions of arson

TŌRU OIKAWA

♡ he is pretty much a professional babysitter, or so he thought

♡ which is why he accepted when you asked if he could help you take care of your nieces/nephews for the weekend

♡ i mean, he takes care of his nephew all the time so how hard could babysitting possibly be? it was basically a free pass to spend the day with you 

♡ however, he began to regret his decision as he sat on your couch and realised that he wouldn’t be able to get even somewhat intimate with you when there was constantly an annoying little boy clinging to his arm, asking him if he had any games on his phone

♡ “sorry, kid.” oikawa smiled, clenching his jaw to hide the rage but it wasn’t very effective, “i’ve not got any games. maybe you could go play with your toys or something.” 

♡ he let out a sigh, making the mistake of thinking that would be the end of their interaction

♡ “can’t you just download some?” the boy retaliated

♡ you snickered, watching as the energy visibly drained from oikawa, yet he still wore his frighteningly bright grin

♡ “i’ve not got any storage.” 

♡ “then delete some of your apps or photos.” the boy said with a shrug, then proceeded to point at oikawa’s home screen, which happened to be a picture of him and you in front of an ethereal sunset, “start with that one. you both look like dorks.”

♡ you and oikawa’s unified gasps of offence were enough to show the boy that he was able to do exactly what he intended; piss y’all off

♡ hence, with a final mischievous snicker, he dashed off

♡ “i hate kids.” oikawa muttered, inspecting his homescreen to see if he really did look like a ‘dork’, “what is his problem?”

♡ “what if our kids turn out like that?” you joked 

♡ his eyes widened momentarily, turning to look at you with an uncharacteristically sheepish expression, “our w--”

♡ “mr kawa!” a cry could be heard from the kitchen so without hesitation, you both hopped to your feet and rushed over there as quick as you could 

♡ once you both reached the area the yell came from, you were fortunately not greeted by anything gruesome 

♡ instead, you both got to behold two children trying to reach the top shelf with the power on friendship; the taller boy was standing on a chair, while the toddler held it still 

♡ however, his grip on the jar of the Nutella must’ve loosened at some point as it now lay dejectedly on the ground, half spilled across the tiles and the other half drenching the toddler, not that they seemed to mind though 

♡ in fact, it looked like they were having the time of their — albeit, short — life

♡ the container was only plastic, hence you didn’t have to worry about shards when you darted over to the poor, chocolate-covered baby and scooped them up into your arms, “are you guys, okay?!”

♡ “yeah.” the boy chuckled, noticing that holding the toddler was transferring the chocolate onto you too

♡ “if you wanted nutella, you could’ve just asked.” oikawa sighed, helping the boy get down safely from the chair before putting the object back at it’s intended spot at the dinner table 

♡ “you could have gotten seriously hurt! i thought you would know better than to do something like this.” you scolded, becoming even more furious as the baby continued to playfully slap your face with their grimy hands, ���please don’t do that again.”

♡ before they boy got the chance to do anything besides murmur a vague apology, oikawa interjected, “they won’t get the chance.”

♡ and he was right

♡ after cleaning everything up (including the child, which took forever), you didn’t let either of the rascals out of your sight until your duties as babysitters were complete 

♡ “i think we handled that pretty well.” oikawa mused, gathering his stuff along with you as you both got ready to leave

♡ “yeah, maybe we should do this again sometime.” you suggested, but it was followed by a few second was complete silence

♡ until you both burst out laughing 

♡ “yeah, never again.” you agreed

♡ “the kids can take care of themselves.” oikawa said with shrug, offering his hand to you, before you both strutted out of the disaster house

♡ ever since then, it was a common inside joke between you to, when in the vicinity of a kid causing mayhem or being a nuisance, whisper to each or exchange a look that says, ‘it’s a great day to not be babysitting.’  

SATORI TENDŌ

♡ at first, you thought that asking tendou for help babysitting would be a bad idea bc he is just as hyperactive as the damn kids sometimes so he’d probably not be the best influence 

♡ and you knew this bc one time you happened to run into him while out in the park with the kids and you asked him to watch them for literally a minute so you could run to the bathroom but when you came back all you almost had a heart attack because tendou was teaching them fkn tricks on the monkey bars 

♡ however, you then realised that if the kids were busy committing arson with uncle tendou, then they wouldn’t be bothering you 

♡ so here you are, playing monopoly with your boyfriend, a seven year-old and a one year-old

♡ well, it was less like monopoly and more like debate class since none of you could agree on the rules

♡ “well, uncle ten,” the older sibling began, in a very matter-of-factly tone, “if i burn your property down, then i  don’t have to pay you for landing on it.”

♡ “but then you also go to jail.” you pointed out

♡ “not if the police don’t catch me.”

♡ you burst out laughing, meanwhile tendou kept his business face on, “good point, but watch this.” tendou spoke as he rolled the dice, though no matter what if he got a number between four and seven, he would end up landing on somebody’s property

♡ he got a four

♡ picking up his piece, he moved it across each square individually and once he was due to land on your property, he knocked his piece over

♡ “whoops, i slipped.” he chuckled, though his friendly aura immediately dropped as he looked you dead in the eye and said, “i’m suing.”

♡ “you can’t sue me because you tripped!” you yelled 

♡ “i guess i just fell for you.” he said, resulting in the kids both making gagging noises before he stuck out his hand, “100 monopoly dollars, please.”

♡ “like i said,” you tried your best to stay strong and not laugh at his shitting pickup line, “i’m not giving you any money, you fell!”

♡ “i guess we’ll have to take this matter to court then.” tendou said, tapping the shoulder of the one year-old who was currently chewing on a 500 bill which you quickly had to confiscate 

♡ “judge, do you think (y/n) owes me 100 monopoly dollars for poor health and safety conduct?”

♡ “yes.”

♡ “that is the only word they know how to say!” you cried, begrudgingly handing over the money 

♡ “thank you, angel.” tendou cooed, adding your singular bill to the pile he had already stored up; the winner of the game had already been decided 

♡ and although you and the seven year-old kid both cried later after getting your asses kicked in monopoly (the one year-old cried too but they were just hungry), you all went out to get food and actually had a pretty good time

♡ it became a routine for tendou to help you babysit whenever he got the chance and y’all would always play table top games

♡ also when tendou got accepted into culinary school, he’d teach/show the kids what dishes he has learned to prepare and let them help by stirring the pot, adding spices etc etc

♡ and even when he moved to Paris, on special occasions, a box of chocolates would suddenly appear at the kids’ door and all the little pieces would be shaped and moulded into some of their favourite characters or made out of their favourite flavours 

♡ and at one point the kids even insisted that you teach them how to make chocolates so they can send some back to uncle tendou <33

♡ they weren’t the best, but when tendou received the misshapen, slightly stale chocolates at his apartment, addressed from you and the children, he cried

KIYOOMI SAKUSA

♡ his first response when you asked if he could help you babysit was ofc ‘ew no 🤢’

♡ needless to say it took a lot mansplain manipulate malewifing to convince him to come over 

♡ but once he did, obviously he was in his full protective gear; there was no way in hell he was going to catch whatever germs the little goblins have

♡ honestly he almost sprayed a chid in the face with hand sanitizer when they came running up to him with open arms, trying to give him a hug 

♡ which was unusual because the kids don’t tend to be overly friendly with new people, but you just brushed it off and figured that sakusa must’ve been an exception

♡ during his time babysitting, sakusa spend most of his energy trying to avoid the children at all costs that it basically became a game of tag, with you helping the child try to reach sakusa, and him hiding

♡ but honestly you couldn’t complain since the whole time the child was playing, they were safe with you rather than playing with fire 

♡ until later you were reminded of their odd fondness for sakusa when they insisted that sakusa carry them to their bedroom when it was their nap time

♡ and as you were shifting through the books, looking for a story to read, it hit you why they seemed to be so familiar with sakusa

♡ it’s because he looked exactly like the prince in one of their favourite story books; same hair, both tall and they even had similar moles to each other

♡ upon noticing this, you immediately showed sakusa and was quite amused

♡ in fact, he found it so cute that he gave both you and the toddler a lil’ kiss on the cheek, as a parting gift — mask off and everything

♡ he ended up reading the story and the kid fell into deep slumber by the time he reached the second page

♡ letting out a sigh of relief, sakusa slumped onto the ground, allowing his own eyes to flutter shut for a moment, “what a day.”

♡ you shuffled over to you could lay down beside him, “indeed it was, prince sakusa.”

♡ “shut up.” he teased, poking your rib slightly before absently intertwining his fingers with your own

♡ next thing you knew, you were both awakened by the sound of a grumpy toddler...

[softholand]

pot valiant - t.h

pairing: bartender!tom x reader

summary: pot-valiant, definition; bold or courageous under the influence of alcoholic drink

warnings: drinking, swearing, smut, dom!tom

words: 4.3k

a/n: i did it!!! bartender!tom was always present in my mind and after that picture (thanks paddy!!) i couldn’t help myself ;))) i hope you guys like this and please let me know what you think <3 enjoy!!

Two weeks, three days, 5 hours, and 22 seconds. That was the time your best friend Briana gave you to mourn your last failed relationship. Once that time had passed, she broke into your house, made you take a much necessary shower, forcing you to shave and wash your hair, while she took care of the mess that was your house. Plastic food containers and cans of beer and Coca-Cola littered both the kitchen and the living room floor, making the house smell like a garbage can.

“Glad to see you’re still alive!” Briana cheered after you got out of the shower, wearing your fluffy robe. “I am but barely. Wow, what did you do to my house?” You asked, being met with a completely different scenario from the one you left.

“I just put out the trash, y/n! Something you should have done before.” Briana scolded you, making you roll your eyes. “Should have waited and put me out too, since I feel like trash!” You groaned, flopping down on your sofa.

“Hey, no, no, no! Get up, y/n! We’re going out!” Your best friend announced, before trying to make you stand. “Noooo, please, Bri! I’ll do anything you want, but that!” You pleaded, but it was of no use. “I don’t wanna hear it, y/n! I didn’t come here to clean your house, I came to take you out of here and that’s what I’m gonna do.” Briana stated, taking your hands.

“Bri, I love you, but please let me stay just a little longer, I’m not ready for the outside world yet.” You groaned, trying your best to convince your best friend. “y/n, I love you too, that’s why I’m here! I can’t stand seeing you like this anymore! Yeah, what Tyler did to you was fucked up, but that doesn’t mean you have to stop living your life because of it.” Briana exclaimed.

“I know, Bri! I know! It’s just… hard for me to wrap my head around the fact he ditched me after all this time and that I’m single now.” You sighed, starting to feel emotional. At that, Briana pulled you closer and wrapped her arms around you, engulfing you in one of her best hugs. “I’m sorry, y/n! I didn’t mean to make you cry again.” Bri apologized, making you chuckle through your tears. “It’s okay, Bri! It’s not your fault, really. I’m just… a mess!” You laughed, drying your face with the robe sleeves.

“One drink. We get one drink and if you still don’t wanna stay after that, we leave. I promise!” Your friend offered, with hopeful eyes. “Fine! One drink!” You sighed, to which she squealed. “Yes! Thank you, y/n! You’re not gonna regret it! I’ve found this new club, it opened just a couple of weeks ago. You’re gonna love it!” She grinned. “Now, go put on your best outfit, we’re going out!” Briana squealed, making you laugh at her excitement.

About an hour later and after a whole lot of makeup and trying on clothes, Briana finally decided you were done with what she called: a Cinderella transformation. Of course, you laughed at her choice of words, and to irritate your friend, even more, you asked if you also should be back at midnight. She gave you the middle finger, before giving up and joining you in laughter.

After a quick cab ride, that could be done by feet, not with the heels you two were wearing though, you and Briana were at the new club she talked about. Once inside, you had to admit your best friend was right. The place looked like a mix of everything you enjoyed, the walls were coated in a beautiful shade of red, while the lounge area was filled with dark green sofas. Different from the other places you had been to, the bar on this one was positioned right in the middle, with bar stools in that same dark green velvet texture, rounding the space. The dim light that filled the space gave a mysterious/sensual vibe, something you were also a fan of.

Briana immediately dragged you to the bar, waiting patiently for one of the many bartenders. While she made her request, you took the time to scan the place, noting some artsy bits that complemented the space. “What can I get you?” A smooth masculine voice took you out of your daze, making you avert your attention to him. Right in front of you, a gorgeous boy with hazel eyes and chocolatey brown curls grinned at you, waiting for your answer. What was even the question?

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you.” You apologized, making his smile grow even more. “I asked what can I get you tonight, darling?” He asked, making you smile with the nickname. “Oh, uh… a daiquiri, please!” You finally said, not being able to avert his gaze. “Good choice! I’ll be right back, girls!” He smirked, before going to the enormous wall of beverages behind him.

Once he was out of earshot, Briana lightly kicked your bare leg, getting your attention. “Isn’t he hot?” She mouthed, making you roll your eyes. “Really, Bri? Already?” Shaking your head, you went back to looking at your surroundings. “Oh, c’mon y/n! A woman has to eat!” Briana joked, making you both burst out laughing.

Seconds later, hot guy was back, this time with two cocktail shakers in his hands. Like every bartender in the world, he made his presentation while pouring the ingredients into the containers, making sure to really flex his arms while shaking it. Not that you noticed.

With two glasses in front of you, he poured the drinks in, doing the finishing touches before serving them to you. “Two pretty drinks for two pretty ladies, enjoy!” He smirked, before going back to his business. “Oh God, he only gets better!” Briana jokingly fanned herself, making you laugh. “He’s just doing his job, Bri! How many times do you think he used that one?” You asked your friend, who rolled her eyes at you. “You’re no fun!” She groaned, putting her tongue out.

Briana was only halfway through her Cosmopolitan when one of her favorite songs started to play. She made everything in her power to make you go with her but you denied her offer, stating you were fine watching her from the bar. With her drink in her hands, she made her way into the dance floor, purposely shaking her booty at you, which made you laugh and almost choke on your barely touched drink.

“Not into dancing?” The same voice from minutes ago asked, startling you. “Oh, no! Not today, at least!” You shrugged, offering him a smile. “So, what brought you and your friend here? I’m Tom, by the way!” He asked, cleaning the surface in front of him, making the watch he wore catch the fluorescent lights of the club. “y/n! And to be honest, she dragged me here.” You told him, giving into their usual small talks. “Wanna talk about it? I’m a pretty damn good listener!” He offered you with a smile.

You took a deep breath, asking yourself if it was really a good idea to share a part of your life with a stranger, and since you weren’t going to step foot on the dance floor, you thought this was the next most reasonable thing to do. Right? “Well, I was into a two-year relationship that ended a couple of weeks ago, and apparently staying inside your house, eating takeout food, and crying over stupid romantic movies is not a very healthy thing to do, so today she went to my house and here I am.” You smiled, taking a sip of your drink.

Once you looked at Tom, he gave you a pitiful look, to which you shrugged. “That’s not even the worst part though.” You said, the alcohol in your system already making the choices for you. “Instead of calling me or sending me a text asking to talk, you know, like a normal person, he invited me to his parents’ tenth-anniversary party and broke up with me in front of his whole family, claiming I wasn’t what he wanted in a relationship anymore.” With a raise of your glass, you finished your sad story, downing the rest of your daiquiri.

“Damn, what a dick!” Tom breathed after a couple of seconds, making you chuckle. “Oh, well! Cheers to single life, I guess…” You said, raising your now empty glass. “Need a refill?” He asked, pointing to the glass on your hands. “Please!” You huffed, before thanking him. “What will it be now?” Tom smirked, seeing your thinky face. “I don’t know, something strong.” He nodded, giving you two thumbs-ups, before going back to the wall to collect the ingredients.

Once the song ended, Briana came back to you and you two chatted until Tom came back with your drink, waiting for your approval. “It’s good! I like it! Thanks, Tom!” You smiled, locking eyes with him. “Do you want a refill too, darling?” He asked Briana, to which she said a beer would be fine. Once he was off, you felt your best friend's eyes burning a hole in your skull. “What?” You asked, impatiently. “We’re already on a name basis then?” Briana smirked, making you roll your eyes at her. “Yeah, I mean, he introduced himself, what did you want me to do?” You snapped and that was enough to her smirk double in size. “Okay, girl! You sure you don’t want to go home then?” She asked you for what felt like the fifth time. “Yes, Bri! I’m good! I promise!” You assured your best friend before she once again was off to the dance floor.

You quietly took sips of your new strawberry drink, watching from afar as your friend seemed to get her eyes on a specific guy for the night. She gave you a wink, making you roll your eyes at her antics. “She seems to be enjoying herself.” You heard Tom’s voice, turning the barstool to find him looking at you. “Yeah, she always does!” You agreed, taking another sip of your drink. “So, you’re from here?” He asked, sounding interested. “Yeah, I’m a local! You?” You said, raising your brows. “Same!” He smiled, going right to the next question.

The conversation kept going for most of the night, Tom attended some clients, while you took sips of your drinks, and once he was free, he was right back at you with another round of questions. Seeing as Briana wasn’t by your side anymore, you welcomed his company, glad at least this way you wouldn’t be left alone. “Museologist? I’ve never heard that before!” He grinned, making you chuckle. “Yeah, it’s not very common. Basically what I do is investigate and preserve material cultural stuff, like paintings, sculptures or constructions and immaterial, such as traditions and folklore.” You answered and Tom couldn’t help but find adorable the way your eyes lit up while you talked.

Briana came back after a couple more songs, sitting by your side and asking Tom another beer. “So, found your prey?” You joked, making her laugh. “Actually, I did! See that blonde? With the samurai bun?” She pointed and you nodded once your eyes landed on him. “Nice, Bri!” You complemented, giving her a playful high five. “Right? And he’s so sweet and smart and funny! He even asked me if I wanted to go to his house.” She blurted, seemingly disappointed. “And?” You asked, not getting why she reacted that way. “Oh, no! I’m not leaving you. I dragged you here so I’m taking you home.” Briana exclaimed, to which you rolled your eyes. “Bri, I’m totally able to call a cab and go home by myself. I’m fine, I promise! You can go with Mr. Samurai bun if you want.” You assured her, seeing her eyes widen. “No, y/n/n! I promised you!” She protested, making you groan. “I’m fine, Bri! Go with him!” Once again, you insisted. “Are you sure?” She asked and you had to laugh at her. “I’m not a child, Bri! Now go, he’s not going to wait all night!” You teased, getting a hug and a kiss on the cheek from your friend before she was off.

“Lost your friend?” Tom asked once he was back from his bartender duties. “Yeah, it's just me now and I think I’ll actually call it a night and go home.” You told him, making him frown. “Hey, not to sound creepy or anything but are you going by yourself? Because that’s not very safe and my shift ends in like ten minutes. If you want, I can accompany you.” With hopeful eyes, the boy in front of you smiled, making your heart flutter just a tiny bit. You thought about leaving a stranger accompanied you home, you really did, but something in your gut told you it was fine, Tom was a good guy and would never do anything to harm you. So, you went with it. “Yeah, that would be great, actually.” You smiled and ten minutes later, you were both leaving the club, at 3:30 in the morning.

Tom offered to call a cab but seeing as your house was only a few minutes away, you asked if it was okay for him that you guys walked. He agreed and with the moon illuminating your steps, the pair of you made your way into the almost silent streets. You guys kept talking and occasionally your hands would brush on one another, which caused little butterflies to erupt in your stomach. Once in front of your apartment building, you stopped, having no idea what to do next, since you were in a relationship for the last two years.

“It was nice meeting and talking to you, Tom!” You said, opting for the easiest way out. “Yeah, the feeling is mutual, y/n!” He answered, stuffing both of his hands in his pockets. “Thank you for… listening.” You mumbled, making him chuckle. “Of course! Whenever you need!” He smiled, not moving a muscle. “I’ll see you around, then. Bye!” With a little wave of your hand, you made your way to the door, while Tom watched you from his place. “Sure! Bye, y/n!” He exclaimed, making you smile, finally entering the building.

That’s how you found yourself going back to that same club every Friday, getting a couple of drinks while talking to Tom, then being escorted home by him. You had been doing this for almost a month now and Briana was starting to get suspicious. It was Friday again and she had just called you while you finished getting ready. “So, any plans for tonight?” She asked, already predicting your answer. “Not really, just gonna get some drinks and head home.” You said while clasping your black sandals. “Tom’s gonna bring you home again?” You sighed, already knowing where this conversation was heading. “I don’t know, Bri! If he wants to.” You looked in the mirror for the last time, before taking your bag and heading out. Once Briana finally hung up, you threw your phone into your purse, getting into the cab.

The routine was the same, you got in, spotted Tom, sat in one of the many barstools, and waited for him to approach you. “What can I get this beautiful lady today?” He joked, a smile wide on his face. Today he was wearing a simple black shirt, tight around his muscles, the watch still sat proudly on his wrist, and his curls were a little bit messier than most days. “You know you don’t have to waste your pickup lines with me, Tom.” You smiled, watching his reaction. “Okay then, what can I get this grumpy old lady today?” He smirked, making you chuckle. “A Sex On The Beach, please?!” You grinned and after a quick wink, he was off.

The rest of the night passed like magic, you didn’t even see the time pass and once you took a look at your phone, you saw that it was almost time for Tom’s shift to end, which meant it was time to head home. The chilly London air hit as soon as you stepped out of the club, making you shiver, seeing as you were only in a dress. Like the gentleman he was, Tom took off his jacket and placed it on your shoulders, and although you protested, saying he was going to catch a cold, he assured you he was fine with his shirt.

You didn’t know what you were thinking when the words “Do you wanna come inside?” came out of your mouth but now was definitely too late to take them back. “Oh, yeah! Sure!” Tom agreed, making you smile. The short lift ride was awkward and once you walked into your apartment, the feeling only grew. Tom stayed pretty close to the door, with both of his hands in his pockets, while you put your purse away and turned on the lights. “Welcome and sorry for the mess.” You said, going back to the living room. Tom just smiled, before saying, “You call this messy? You should see my house!” You both laughed and the tension was back in the air. “Do you want anything? Water, wine, beer?” You offered, taking off your shoes and his jacket, putting the both away. “Water would be good.” He said and you quickly made your way to the kitchen, shaking your head to try and get rid of some very intrusive thoughts.

“Thanks!” He smiled, taking the glass from your hands, while your eyes kept focused on his arm and the prominent veins and the way his shirt was almost being ripped by his bicep. “y/n? You here?” Tom’s voice brought you back, making your face grow hot with the knowledge you got caught. “Yes, sorry!” You apologized, watching as his smirk grew in size. He placed the cup on the small table by your door, before taking a couple of steps closer. Slowly, as if testing the waters, he put his hands on your hips, leaning the smallest bit in, not taking that stupid smirk off of his face.

His smell was intoxicating, the mixture of alcohol and mint was definitely making your mind clouded. “Tom…” You whispered once he was only centimeters away from you. “What is it, y/n?” He asked, looking between your eyes and your lips. “Kiss me!” You almost pleaded, his smirk the last thing you saw before his lips were crashing into yours. The feeling was new, you hadn’t kissed anyone since your ex-boyfriend and you couldn’t help but compare them. Tom’s was so much better though, his lips could be thin but they held so much power on them, his mouth worked like magic against yours, and before you knew he was pulling away, completely breathless. The pause didn’t last long though, he looked so good with his lips plumped, the tiniest of the smirks still proudly on them, you just couldn’t help yourself and launched yourself at him.

You backed him against the wall, moaning when you felt his tongue entering your mouth. Tom placed both of his hands on your ass, squeezing it before asking, “Bedroom?” Without breaking the kiss, you pointed in the direction of your room and before you knew it, he was carrying you in his arms. You squealed, wrapping your legs around his torso, before going back to his lips. He placed you on the bed, making a trail of kisses from your neck, all the way to your stomach. Once he positioned himself between your tights, he looked at you with his bright brown eyes, asking if he could take your dress off. You nodded and after a little bit of a struggle, he took the thin material out of your body, leaving you in just a pair of white underwear. “You’re so beautiful!” He whispered, going back to your lips and attacking them with kisses. “Tom, please…” You moaned, growing even more eager to feel him. “What do you want, darling?” He smirked, loving seeing you like that. “You, I want you!” With a shake on your voice, you pleaded and he finally took the clue and went to work.

After another confirmation from you, he discarded your panties, tracing his fingers through your now soaked folds. “You look amazing, y/n!” Tom breathed before going straight to your core. You let out a moan as soon as his lips touched you, making your whole body shake with pleasure. “And tastes amazing too!” He purred, focusing on his task. Your moans only grew louder when he pushed two of his slender fingers on your heat. “Fuck, Tom! Feels so good!” You blurted, not being able to control yourself. “That’s it, baby! I can feel your walls clenching around my fingers. Tell me how much do you wanna cum.” Tom whispered, making you clench even more, only by his words. “Wanna cum, Tom! Please…” You were never this talkative in bed and not once has a guy been this dominant with you but you couldn’t say you weren’t enjoying it. “Cum for me, baby! Wanna hear you scream my name!” He mumbled and finally lost control. Your whole body shook with pleasure and you had to contain yourself from closing your thighs around Tom’s head.

Once you came back from your high, you opened your eyes to find Tom already looking at you, with some of your wetness still glistening on his chin. “You alright?” He asked, concern coating his words. “Yeah!” You smiled, before going back to his lips. With a quick move, you straddled him, helping him take off his shirt, letting his chest perfectly exposed for you. You lowered yourself, leaving a trail of kisses on his jaw, neck, collarbones, chest, each one of his abs, and finally, his perfectly sculpted v line. “Are you sure? You don’t have to, I’ll be perfectly fine by just giving...” You interrupted his mumbling by attaching your lips to his, hoping it would be his answer.

With the rest of his clothes discarded, you couldn’t help but admire his body. He was perfect. Sculpted by the gods, even. After wetting your hands, you took his cock, pumping a few times before attaching your lips to it. You twirled your tongue, tasting his precum, feeling him grow harder and harder on your hands. “Holy shit, you feel so good, y/n!” His words of encouragement were enough for you to start moving your head up and down, taking his member into your mouth inch by inch, until he was bucking his hips. “Fuck! You’re bloody amazing, darling!” He praised, while making direct eye contact with you, “But if you want more, you better stop before I coat your throat with my cum.” You had to admit, his dirty talk was doing something to you.

Releasing his cock with a loud pop, you climbed on top of him, kissing his lips. “Do you have a condom?” He asked between kisses. “Bedside table, first draw.” You answered and after a loud smack on your ass, you got off of him, both of you wearing playful smiles on your faces. Tom opened the foil package and rolled the material into his member, positioning himself at your entrance. “You sure you wanna do this?” He asked, making sure you wanted this as much as he did. “Yes, Tom! I want you to fuck me!” You said, kissing his lips.

With both of his hands on your hips and a huge smirk on his face, he pushed himself into you, making you moan. It took you a few seconds to get used to him and once you nodded, Tom started to move, bringing another level of pleasure to your body. “Fuck! You’re so tight around me, y/n!” He whispered, biting your earlobe. “Tom, fuck me harder!” You pleaded, wanting nothing more than to be railed by him. That seemed to take Tom by surprise but he was quick to obey your wish, thrusting harder and harder into your soaking wet core. “You look so beautiful like that, all sweaty, begging me for more!” He kept praising you, feeling how much you liked when he did.

With both of his arms by your head, he caged you, tattooing your face with kisses. “Feel so good, Tom! Please, make me cum!” You mumbled, by now barely able to form sentences. Tom was quick to obey and once his fingers found your clit, rubbing small circles in it, you were gone. Toes curling, you arched your back, getting a handful of the mattress in one hand while the other scratched Tom’s back. “Fuck, y/n!” With a final thrust of his hips, Tom reached his high, moaning your name like it was the most beautiful prayer.

He collapsed on top of you, leaving a long kiss on your lips, before getting up and tossing the condom on the trash. You went to the bathroom to clean yourself up, seeing as you were too tired to take a shower, and asked him if he wanted that too. He agreed and once you were decent enough, you put on clean panties and his discarded shirt, asking him to join you on the bed. Of course, he accepted, he wasn’t planning to go anywhere either so, after putting his boxers back on, he climbed on the bed with you.

You quickly doze off but right before you did, you admitted to yourself that, like most of the time, Briana was right, and going to that new club wasn’t a bad idea after all.

tagging: @stuckonspidey @bi-writes @duskholland @screamholland @missnxthingg @tomhollandthing @wazzupmrstark @peeterparkr @veryholland @spideyspeaches-deactivated20221 @lauras-collection @tommybaholland @rebekkah4766 @hopelessromm @pensivepeter @geminiparkers @mrs-hollandstan @hollandcreep @uglypastels

[odetojeons]

ok ok ok but what kinks do you think mingyu has 👀👀

okay so i’m gonna start answering the requests now like i didn’t disapear for one month :’) and omg i’m excited. I already said this before, I think mingyu is more of a sub than anything, but there are times. there are TIMES. when he doms it’s not too kinky, it’s more like carnal and (very fucking) rough sex in which he gets too impatient to be a good boy and grabs you by the hips, takes what he wants and just completely destroys you,, ANYWAYS, you can read more of my thoughts here. Y’all better sit down and buckle up cuz I have A LOT to say about this man (especially with how fucking much I miss him).

Praise Kink — I HAD to start with this one. I think you can all agree with me how much Mingyu loves being praised. There is actually a video of him getting red all over and whining because he got too happy when he was praised by the other members and IT’S JUST SO CUTE. Mingyu would downright meowl every time you told him how much of a good boy he is and how he’s perfect, so pretty just for me. But I also think he would love to praise you too, wants you to know you’re everything he’ll ever need.

Pet names — Idk if this is considered a kink, but please, he gives me such vibes of being into the pet names puppy or pup. We all know he’s considered the puppy of Seventeen, so I think it suits him and his personality a lot, especially because I think he would be so horny and desperate when it comes to sex. Calling him baby boy, angel, sweetheart, he would love it so much. Although he would love to call you by cute names too, and I think his favorites would be princess, prince and my baby.

Degradation — HEAR ME OUT, I absolutely think he would love being degraded. I just,, I can’t even begin to explain how much I think he would enjoy that. Mingyu is just so dirty, he would go all red when you tell him how he’s the filthiest little slut or are you that desperate for me you can’t even stay still? while he humps his cock on the pillow, too needy to wait for your touches. He could even cum just from such kind of words, in all honesty I think this is one of his major kinks ever, not just the verbal aspect of it but also the physical part too. 

Begging — Oh, yes. YES. Mingyu is all about begging. No matter how many times I think about it, I can absolutely hear his throaty and whiny voice saying please, please, please, let me cum, I have been so good, and he sometimes doesn’t even have to have a purpose or an incentive to do it, he just mumbles it without thinking like it’s the only word he remembers. It would come with the fact that he’s too horny for his own good, seriously, y’all don’t understand how much horny energy I feel this man exhuding.

Exhibitionism — We been knew how much he likes being watched. He may be shy about it, but I guess it can be related with his love for compliments. Although Mingyu would not only like people watching him, but also you as well. The way you move your body on top of him as you ride his dick, or the way he would put a hand on your lower back and make you arch impossibly more just so he could drill into you harder; the contrary of how he would cry and beg later when you edge him and tell him how much of a needy slut he is, being this desperate just because people are watching. ALSO ummm,, I try hard not to talk about other members here but, can I just say that I think him and Wonwoo are so much into watch each other fuck people. God, I even wrote like 18K words of porn of this particular thought. You can read it here.

Breeding Kink — Does this even need explanation? Mingyu would feel an almost animalistic need of putting as much cum inside you as he can. This would do as much as make him feral about it, when he has a stressing day or just because he wants to see his seed dripping out of your hole; no matter what compells him, it would get him aroused to the point where he wouldn’t even be able to wait until both of you get to the room, would rip and thorn both of your clothes off, put you on your knees and make you suck him off until he cums all over your face, just so he could fuck you against the wall afterwards. Which brings me to the next kink:

Strength/Size Kink — Well, is it possible to have a strength and size kink with yourself? Because he does. Mingyu would love to manhandle you around the place, fuck you against every surface of the house, especially if he gets to hold you up as your back is pressed somewhere. Not only that, but I also think it would be due to the movement of his hips. Or better yet; what comes after it. The way your ass and the back of your thighs would get red with how hard he’s thrusting into you, won’t be satisfied until you’re drooling because of his cock and simping for his muscles, bulging over the effort of fucking you. And I just know, I KNOW he would have a dirty mouth about it, would make questions like yeah? You like how strong I am? All this time on the gym gotta pay for something or falling appart on my big cock like you were made to, hm?. Fuck why am I like this. I LITERALLY BRING PAIN TO MYSELF.

Bondage — I think I’m writing too much so I hope y’all keep up with my horny ass, because I can’t stop until I say everything I want to say about him,, so, about this, Mingyu would love to tie someone up as much as he would love to be tied up... Okay, maybe I think he would love to be tied up more than tying someone up, if I’m being completely honest. He just gives this kind of vibes, maybe even as punishment for misbehaving, since he would sometimes be too desperate to wait like a good boy, and he knows you end up letting him take what he wants just because you would tie him up later and make him “regret” (the little shit would never regret anything, and neither would you).

Overstimulation/Edging — Oh, fucking definitely. I have this very vivid image of Mingyu sitting on a chair, hands tied up behind the chair back, legs spread and completely falling appart as you jerk him off. Flick your wrist faster and faster, just to get him on the edge and let go when he’s just there. Then, make that again and again and again, until he’s crying and begging for you to let him cum, and when you finally do, you only keep going, grip unforgiving. Watching his labbored breath of relief turn into little meowls, hips jerking away or closer, none of you are quite sure, but he wants it, saying don’t stop more like a moan than actual intelligible word.

Pegging/Anal Sex — Mingyu would be so shy about it at first. He would come to you, mumbling words you struggle to understand and cheeks burning red, until he manages to get out he wants you to fuck him. But oh lord, when he tries it out he would go absolutely insane. I really think he would be into it, into you rocking your hips and nudging your cock (plastic or not) against his prostate. Just imagine him with a dark blush all the way down to his chest, little whines and meowls that sounds too high and sweet for his own ears, body writhin all over the bed and fists clenching the mattress as his back arches. So damn cute and hot at the same time :( he just wants to be taken care of sometimes, being able to just lay down and have someone fucking him to oblivion.

Power Play — More like fighting for power to be honest. He really enjoys subbing, but when he does it he wants you to put him on his place, because Mingyu is irrevocably and completely a brat. He would tease you to the point where it drives you insane, just so you could snap at him and take what you want, as much as he loves when you do the same to him.

Spanking — Hmmm Mingyu and spanking. And he would do it hard. Full on open fingers going down on your ass until he leaves his handprint. To be honest, I totally think he’s the kind of boyfriend who would be possessive, wants his marks all over you neck and body, however, oh however, I also think he really really reeeeeally love when you do it to him. Everything, from the crescent shaped marks on his back, to the bite on his shoulder you accidentaly gave him when he was fucking you on missionary position, to the mark of your fingers on his cheek when you slap him for being a brat. Okay I kind of lost myself in the kink but yes. Mingyu and spanking.

Double Penetration — HOLY SHIT please tell me you agree with me. Like, fuck, there’s this evil side of him who wants to see you being speared open in more than one cock, wants to see you fucked into another dimension and reduced to an incoherent drooling mess, and it’s just so dirty of him, usually possessive and guarded, to let someone else get their hands on you just so he could watch you fall apart with two cocks. Or even him alone with a dildo, what it matters is to have two things inside you absolutely wrecking you. Or him. Oh shit why did I have to say that cuz now the image of him being double penetrated won’t ever leave my mind IT IS BURNED BEHIND MY EYELIDS FOREVER. Bye.

Choking — You damn right I think about his hands on my neck all the time. They look so big, and I’m sure it’s also something of his size kink, seeing his huge hands wrapped around your throat would make something ugly, something hot burn in the pit of his stomach. You doing it to him too, especially when he’s tied up, only being able to take what you’re willing to give him.

and that’s that! sorry (?) for writting too much, this always happens when I stay too much time without writting any filth,,, last time that happened, I speant two years without any smut so then I wrote 18K words of porn in two days (no, I didn’t sleep) AND I DON’T EVEN REMEMBER WRITTING HALF OF IT??? and the time before that, I simply wrote 12K words. what is wrong with me. anyways!! hope you liked it, tell me what you think and your opinions too!!

[hopespeak-hs-hostclub]

Uhh am I allowed to ask for a nsfw one-shot of dom!Keade pegging her fem!s/o & Keade just being very wholesome pls. (If you’re ok with this ;w;)

Of course anon! I’m sorry it took a while, I love it I just got incredibly overwhelmed with requests and life for a while lol. I got you though!! I hope you like it!’

Untitled Kaede Fic

TW:// 18+ NSFW, pegging, begging, overstimulation

Kaede. The most beautiful, kind hearted, sweet, assertive girl you’ve ever met in your entire life. And you were lucky enough to call her yours. You’d had a crush on Kaede since the day you first met, after you saw just how gentle and overall wholesome she was. You were also pretty attracted to how she seemed to take control of every situation and conversation. The two of you hit it off instantly, of course, as Kaede got along well with everyone, but also because she liked you back. She loved your eyes and your smile and how mesmerizing they both were, and most of all, she loved that you seemed to like her back.

The two of you never officially started dating though, you just sort of started hanging out more and more. Then, when staying the night together, you shared a tipsy kiss. But then, the next day, when you were both completely sober, you kissed yet again. When the two of you had gone out with Kaede’s friends, who you quickly grew to know and love as friends of your own, you even held hands. That caught the attention of her friends, quickly prompting them to ask if you two were a couple. Kaede simply chuckled and said “we’ll have to see about that,” while squeezing your hand tighter.

Since that day, it took the two of you 6 months to officially say you were dating. Up until then the two of you just fucked and kissed and had sleepovers and stayed “just really good friends” for a while. You soon after were “just roommates,” but after 6 months of that, you have now been in an official relationship for about 4 months. You can truly with confidence say that you’re in love with Kaede Akamatsu.

Tonight wasn’t anything special. Kaede just decided that she wanted to make the evening extra special for you. She wanted to pleasure you the best she could. Kaede knew you had a long day of classes, and knew you had been stressed lately, so she decided to surprise you when you got home. You walked through the door of your shared off campus apartment, and didn’t see your girlfriend in the kitchen or living room like you normally would after coming home.

“Kaede?” You asked out loud, walking into the living room of the apartment, looking around.

“I’m in here!” Kaedes voice boomed across the apartment, from your bedroom. You smiled and swiftly tossed your bags and phone onto the nearby chair, and dashed to the bedroom. When you arrived, you saw Kaede in a two pieced bright pink lingerie bra/panties set, laying across the top of the bed looking at you. “Hey gorgeous,” she said sensually, while patting the bed in front of her. “Come here, Princess,” she whispered as you crawled toward her. You made your way into her arms, and she held you against her closely as you nuzzled into her chest. She quickly moved her hands to your chest and started playing with your breasts, which now filled her hands. You gasped softly at the feeling of Kaede’s warm slender hands playing with you, and you snapped your head back to face her. She pulled you in for a passionate kiss before pushing you away, and onto your back. “Listen to me, ok sweet Angel?” She half asked, half demanded. You nodded, mesmerized at how sexy she was. “You’re going to get fucked tonight, ok Princess?”

“K-kaede…” you whispered in shock. Kaede slowly moved one of her hands down to your bottoms and removed them with one swift movement. She teases you with her fingers through your now soaked panties. Kaede was amazing at using her fingers on you- she knows just how to move and place them. Must be the pianist in her, but she makes you cum every single time her fingers touch you. After slowly rubbing small circles over your panties for a few moments, she simply slid her fingers up the side of them, making direct contact with you. You became a whimpering mess very quickly, as Kaede began to slide your undergarments completely off, sliding her fingers deep inside of you. “Kaede!“ you gasped loudly as you wrapped your arms around her neck, pulling her in for a passionate kiss. Your tongues battled in eachothers mouths for a few moments, as Kaede continued to finger fuck you, making sure you moaned deeply into her mouth. She then removed her lips from yours, and decided to start sucking on your neck, immediately getting to the spot she knows you love so much, making you fall over the edge. “Kaede - I love you so much oh my FUCK!” You screamed as you came around her fingers. She chuckled, pulled her fingers out, and licked them clean. You instantly started whimpering begging her for more. “Kaede, please?”

“Please what, sweet heart?” She asked teasingly as she rolled you over, with her hand rubbing over your ass.

Your breathing got loud and shaky. “Please.. fuck me kaede. Please, I’m begging you,” you rambled on for a while. “Kaede I need you, please, please kaede..” you thrust your ass into the air as you cried out for her.

“Does my sweet baby want me to fuck her hard?” Kaede said as she continued to caress your lower back, ass, and thighs, leaving you a whimpering mess. A high pitched cry came out in response which made Kaede stop, smile, and simply say “ok baby. I’ll fuck you nice and good okay? Stay still.” You felt her body pull away from yours, but since you were flipped onto your hands and knees you couldn’t see where she’d gone, though you could hear the rustling of a bag? In almost no time, Kaede had reappeared and you suddenly felt a cold plastic tip pressing at your rear entrance. You let out a loud involuntarily moan and tried to back up onto it a little when you felt Kaede pull away.

“I’m fucking you, ok y/n? Don’t. Move.” She stated with power and lust in her voice. You nodded quickly and muttered out “yes kaede, sorry love,” and squeezed your eyes shut in anticipation.

Kaede teased you with the tip of her strap on for a long time. You couldn’t stop crying and begging for more, but she wouldn’t give in. “Baby, I love you-“ kaede started before slamming her strap on into you.

“Fuck!!!!” You screamed out in pain and pleasure. She stayed still inside of you making sure you had a few moments to get comfortable.

“Tell me when you’re okay, alright love?” kaede whispered lovingly into your ear.

You nodded and bit into the pillow you had in front of you. After a solid two minutes of Kaede just sitting inside you, you took a deep breathe and barely even whispered “I’m ready” you were so quiet you didn’t even know if kaede had heard you or not. But you weren’t wondering that for long, as she immediately started to thrust in and out of you. “Ahh..” you gasped out loudly.

Kaede was somehow absolutely destroying you while at the same time, making sure to be as gentle as possible.

Her thrusts were long, deep, and slow, but god did she use a lot of force. She fucked you hard. Her huge strap on bottomed you out with each thrust. You couldn’t even control your loud moans, groans, cry’s, and screams. You were incoherent, and loving every second of it. With one hand, kaede reached down and started to rub your clit again, which caused you to completely break down in the best possible way. “Ah! Ka-ka…de…” you couldn’t even get her name out of your mouth with how much pleasure you were feeling.

She removed her fingers, grabbed a fistful of your hair, pulled your head backwards, and whispered in your ear, “does my baby like that? Do you like being overstimulated by me baby?” She kept thrusting hard as she spoke to you.

“Y-y..yes m-mommy…” you barely blurred out.

Kaede smirked at you, and shoved herself as deep inside you as she could, still pulling your hair. “Mommy huh? And are you gonna cum for mommy?” She teased you. “Does mommy’s little angel wanna cum for her?” She said as she pulled the strap on almost all the way out before slamming it right back in.

You couldn’t even bring yourself to respond, just cry out in bliss. Before you knew it you felt the orgasm that had been building up inside of you finally release. As soon as you started cumming for her, Kaede moved her hand back onto your clit, helping you really ride out that orgasm. Your entire body was shaking and convulsing as you came hard. You had completely soaked everything with your wetness- Kaede’s hands, your legs, the huge strap on that was still fucking you slowly.

Once your orgasm started to slow down, so did Kaede’s thrusts, and her hand slowly removed itself from you. She laid down next to you and rolled you onto your side. A small puddle of drool was on the bed where your mouth had been before, and you looked at her with incredibly tired eyes. You could still barely form a single word, but she started to talk to you anyway. “You’re such a good girl for me, you know that? I love you so so much. Are you okay my sweetness?” She asked as she caressed your cheek. You just nodded slowly still in bliss. Kaede smiled softly back at you and helped you scoot to the edge of the bed, then helped you stand and assisted you to the bathroom so she could help you clean up. “I love you darling” she whispered before softly kissing you on the lips.

After you’d cleaned up and recovered from the crazy night you’d just had, she helped you back into bed and held you close.

“I love you, Kaede.”

“I love you more y/n.”

And the two of you fell asleep in eachothers arms.

[zintranslations]

Kaleidoscope of Death, Ch. 125

Kaleidoscope of Death by Xi Zixu Link to Chinese / Novel Updates

Chapter 125: Fish-Eaters

As for the outcome of this battle…Lin Qiushi slowly approached the doorway and looked in through the door crack.

He found the inside of the room completely enveloped in darkness, but could still make out the mess all over. Furniture was scattered all over the floor, but the most eye-catching piece was—lying in the center—the fishman that looked on the brink of death. It was the yellow-eyed fish monster Lin Qiushi had seen only yesterday inside this room. It was still alive, but its breaths were already quite weak. Even when Lin Qiushi stepped closer, it didn't give off any reaction.

Lin Qiushi was still careful though, especially when approaching the fish. They didn't know if it still had any fight left in it, after all.

The good thing was that the situation was a bit better than they'd anticipated—the monster's body was covered in a myriad of injuries. Its blood wasn't red, either, but an unfortunate inky green that was both viscous and rancid. The monster lied on the floor, not reacting at all as Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu got close. Even when the two were standing right in front of it, it didn't so much as twitch.

Ruan Nanzhu stared in silence for a bit, before sticking a foot out and stepping on its skin. When he saw that it still wasn't reacting, he said, "it's almost dead."

"Mh." Lin Qiushi inspected the monster, watching as its breaths grew weaker and weaker. In the end, the airy rhythm also halted, and it died just like that. That was when Lin Qiushi got out a dining knife. "I'll do it."

"Wait," Ruan Nanzhu said suddenly.

Lin Qiushi looked back. He thought Ruan Nanzhu would say something to stop him, but instead Ruan Nanzhu only pulled a pair of plastic gloves out of his backpack and handed them to Lin Qiushi.

"Put on the gloves. Don't get its liquids on you."

The dark green liquid flowing out of the fish-monster was indeed unpleasant to look at; it was best to avoid physical contact as much as they could, since they didn't know what the consequences would be.

Lin Qiushi nodded, took the gloves, and put them on. Dining knife in hand and half-crouched on the ground, he began cutting off that spike-like thing on the top of the fish-monster's head.

His motions were careful, constantly alert to any movements from the fish-monster, afraid that it would get suddenly violent again before actually dying.

But fortunately, throughout the time it took for Lin Qiushi to remove that spike from the monster's head, it didn't react at all. In fact, it was already dead—though its pair of big yellow eyes remained wide open, there were already no signs of breathing in its body.

Lin Qiushi got up and handed the spike in his hands to Ruan Nanzhu. Then he took the gloves off and tossed them to the side.

It was a long, sharp spike, about half a meter in length. It was very hard, and could easily puncture a hole in a solid plank of wood. Black bloodstains covered the thing, and it was easy to imagine that during the battle, it too must have left quite a number of injuries on the white-eyed monster.

Ruan Nanzhu wrapped the spike up in a plastic bag and very carefully put it in his backpack.

Lin Qiushi said: "The string, the long sword, and the aperitif. It's all ready."

Ruan Nanzhu looked up at the sky and said, "we'll wait until evening then."

Lin Qiushi nodded.

The three of them walked up to the top deck and found a place to sit and chat. The rest of the people were still traversing the cabin, searching for clues to the door and key.

"This door seems kind of easy," Gu Longming said.

"How was it easy?" Ruan Nanzhu replied tepidly. "If Linlin hadn't found the clue about the insects, we'd likely still be completely turned around right now."

Toward the insect-covered NPC, everybody's instinctive reactions would be to avoid him, not knowing that he was actually the key to getting out.

"True." Gu Longming scratched his head. "You're both amazing."

Ruan Nanzhu asked, "what's your real name?"

At Ruan Nanzhu's question, Gu Longming first startled, and then looked giddy. He knew what it meant that Ruan Nanzhu was asking for his real name—that Ruan Nanzhu was agreeing to let him join Obsidian. Someone stronger that Lin Qiushi…Gu Longming laughed, and told them his real name:

"My real name is Ye Niao."

Ruan Nanzhu nodded his understanding.

"Once we get out of this door, I'll go and find you."

"You know where I live?" Gu Longming asked peculiarly.

"Of course I do," Ruan Nanzhu said. "I wouldn't have let my Linlin cross doors with you otherwise."

Not only did he know where Gu Longming lived, but he also knew Gu Longming's real name. These questions of his were only to test Gu Longming's sincerity.

Gu Longming: "…" He really didn't know what to say at the moment.

Due to everything that happened in the past few days, the number of people who gathered to eat in the dining room once again decreased; there was only a scattered few sitting at the table.

These people sat in the dining room scantly eating, but the atmosphere was at least fairly cordial.

Ruan Nanzhu's group didn't eat any fish, of course. What Lin Qiushi couldn't understand was that the others didn't seem to be as repulsed by the fish as they once were. The guy who'd been seasick, even, had a couple of bites of fish today.

"You don't think it's gross?" Gu Longming couldn't help but ask the person sitting beside him.

"I don't think it's as gross as I imagined." For the past few days, Shen Juexin had been throwing up an inhuman amount, but he seemed in better shape today. His face, at least, was no longer wax-yellow. He said, "Ooh…I think I feel much better now."

Lin Qiushi said, "it's better if you stop eating. The fish doesn't look fresh at all."

Shen Juexin scratched his head: "It's fine, isn't it?"

Then he took another bite with no sign of disgust.

Watching Shen Juexin's motions, Lin Qiushi felt conflicted. He'd tasted the fish before, and it really was disgusting—and he could still smell the same fishy stench, so he imagined the taste hadn't changed. He just didn't know why Shen Juexin now thought the fish before him was fine…

Just as Lin Qiushi was contemplating this, he saw Ruan Nanzhu pick up some chopsticks—then Ruan Nanzhu too had gotten a bite of the fish and set it in his mouth.

"Zhu Meng?!" Lin Qiushi was startled by Ruan Nanzhu's actions. He didn't think Ruan Nanzhu too would taste the fish.

After swallowing it, Ruan Nanzhu's brows furrowed.

"…It really isn't bad anymore."

"Isn't bad?" Lin Qiushi felt that something was off. After he heard this, he too gave it a try, and made sure that the fish meat still had no other flavors but that gamy rot. "But it's still bad…Hang on…"

He looked at Ruan Nanzhu, eyes filled with disbelief.

"Unless the aperitif is random?"

Ruan Nanzhu was silent, his chopsticks poking at the fish on his plate.

There were still eleven people alive, and seven of them were seated in the dining room. Not counting Ruan Nanzhu, there were at least three of the seven sitting with chopsticks in hand, feasting on the fish. And judging from their expressions, it wasn't a hardship at all; in fact the fish looked to be delicious.

Lin Qiushi had a bad feeling about this. He said: "Zhu Meng, don't eat anymore. Let's go back to our room."

But Ruan Nanzhu didn't move. His eyes were downcast, gaze falling on the fish in front of him, as if it held some immense power of attraction that made it so he couldn't easily set it down.

His behavior sent chills down Lin Qiushi's spine. Lin Qiushi shot Gu Longming a look, and Gu Longming understood without speaking, taking one of Ruan Nanzhu's arms with Lin Qiushi on the other side and pulling him by force out of the dining room.

And then the three found a random room. Once inside, Lin Qiushi pulled the bedsheets off in a rush and tied Ruan Nanzhu firmly to a chair.

Luckily, as Lin Qiushi did all this, Ruan Nanzhu's behavior stayed calm. The most he did was bunch up that pretty brow of his and ask, "what are you tying me up for?"

Very calmly, Lin Qiushi replied: "I'm scared that you'll eat the fish."

Ruan Nanzhu didn't say anymore. He cocked his head, agitation appearing amidst his expression as if he too didn't really understand why he now liked eating fish. Lin Qiushi thought he'd say something about it but in the end, he didn't, only saying, "alright then."

It seemed that this door had been too easy—so easy that they'd let down their guards. Lin Qiushi told Gu Longming to bring Ruan Nanzhu out into the hallway to prevent being carried away by the changing rooms. As for himself, he returned to the dining room, and discovered that pretty much everybody inside had started eating the fish in their plates.

What had originally been bland and faintly rotted fish meat were now, in their eyes, some kind of rare delicacy; they feasted with their heads buried, completely unaware of Lin Qiushi's arrival.

Lin Qiushi took one look before taking off. When he got to the top deck, he saw Xiao Mo from before crouched by herself in a corner, her face pale. When she saw him coming she met his eyes with a panicked gaze.

"What happened?" Lin Qiushi asked her.

"The kitchen…" Xiao Mo spoke up, her voice faint. "Something's happened…the kitchen…"

"What?" Lin Qiushi said. "What happened?"

"It's like they'd all gone crazy." Xiao Mo kept her distance from Lin Qiushi, like she was scared of being close to anybody right now. "They're eating the fish. They're all eating the fish like they're crazy."

Though it was just a few sentences, Lin Qiushi still understood the full meaning of Xiao Mo's words. He nodded and said: "Alright, I understand. Take care of yourself."

Xiao Mo: "Are…are you going over there?"

Lin Qiushi: "Mhm. I'm going to go take a look."

Xiao Mo didn't say anything more.

Lin Qiushi turned and headed for the kitchen beside the dining room. The kitchen's position was also fixed, and the thick fishy stink could be smelled before even getting there.

Lin Qiushi's feet stopped at the kitchen doorway, and he didn't go inside. From there he heard an odd chewing sound coming from within. Through the window, he saw the horrifying scene.

Several people were squatting on the ground with their faces buried in a giant fish. The fish hadn't been cooked in any way, and appeared a faint, dead white; red veins could still be seen among the flesh. But the three people inside didn't seem to care at all, putting their whole faces practically inside the meat. Their expressions of fulfillment could faintly be seen, as if the fish in front of them was some truly delicious food.

Lin Qiushi could take a lot, but even he felt a wave of nausea at a sight like this.

He took a deep breath and steadied his mind before stepping into the kitchen and calling out: "Are you guys alright?" He wanted to see if these people were still conscious.

But the reality before him doused his hopes. It was like the people in front of him hadn't heard him at all, their attentions staying rapt on the fish meat. None of them even looked up. It was obvious they had already deviated far from the norm.

Seeing such a scene, something immediately came to Lin Qiushi's mind, and he turned and left. He was worried about Ruan Nanzhu, worried that these same changes would take place on Ruan Nanzhu's body.

After Lin Qiushi left, Gu Longming had brought Ruan Nanzhu outside into the hallway with the chair. The hallways didn't change, and so when Lin Qiushi came back, he saw Ruan Nanzhu still sitting in the seat. Only, Ruan Nanzhu's expression wasn't looking so good.

"Zhu Meng," Lin Qiushi called to him. "Hang in there. You'll be fine after tonight."

"But I'm really hungry." Ruan Nanzhu hung his head, and a tendril of hair curled at his cheek, making him look both weak and fragile with a pitiful air that was hard to refuse. He was biting his lips, and there was a watery light flickering in his eyes. "Linlin, I want to eat something."

Lin Qiushi got food out of his bag in a hurry, but when he put it to Ruan Nanzhu's mouth, Ruan Nanzhu just pressed his lips together.

"No. I don't want to eat that."

"Then what do you want to eat?" Lin Qiushi asked.

"I want to eat fish," Ruan Nanzhu said. "Let me have some, please?"

He looked up slightly, gazing at Lin Qiushi with wanting eyes.

To tell the truth, had it been anything else, Lin Qiushi would likely have caved immediately when faced with a Ruan Nanzhu like this. But in this situation, he had no choice but to steel himself and say, "no."

Ruan Nanzhu's pitiful expression disappeared in an instant, his eyes going icy and his voice going just as terrifyingly cold: "Lin Qiushi, do you know what you're doing?"

This was the Ruan Nanzhu from outside the door: impervious and haughty, like a god looking down upon ants.

"I do." But Lin Qiushi was unmoved. He reached out and lifted Ruan Nanzhu's head by the chin, enunciating each and every word: "I know exactly what I'm doing. You want to eat fish? Don't even think about."

Ruan Nanzhu glared at Lin Qiushi's eyes like he was trying to find the slightest bit of wavering in Lin Qiushi's gaze. But evidently, he failed, voice softening again: "Linlin, Linlin, but I really really want to eat fish…"

His attitude went back and forth like so, but Lin Qiushi stayed steely and completely unmoved.

Watching from the sidelines, Gu Longming was impressed as well. He said, "Damn Linlin, you can withstand all that?"

Lin Qiushi: "What am I meant to do if I can't? Let him go eat the fish?"

He told Gu Longming what happened in the dining room and kitchen, and afterwards, Gu Longming scrunched up his face.

"Why this sudden development…" He seemed to think of something. "Could it be some kind of acceleration effect after the yellow-eyed fishman's death?"

"I don't know." Lin Qiushi glanced at the time—there were still four hours until evening. They had to make it through these four hours.

He could practically see the shadow of the people gobbling up fish meat on Ruan Nanzhu. Lin Qiushi roughly calculated that there were no more than four people still normal on the entire ship; everybody else seemed to have been possessed.

No matter how much Ruan Nanzhu threatened or tempted, Lin Qiushi acted like he couldn't hear a thing. In the end Ruan Nanzhu seemed a bit tired and stopped talking altogether, sitting in the chair in silence.

So Lin Qiushi began preparing for the task that night.

The entire ship was currently full of the aperitif. The long sword was in his hands, and the string had also appeared; he was just like a knight about to enter the labyrinth to rescue the princess—though it seemed the current case was that he'd tied his princess to a chair with his own two hands.

Seeing Ruan Nanzhu's condition, Gu Longming sighed and scratched his head.

"That's just really weird. You and I have both tasted the fish before, so why is Zhu Meng the one affected?"

Lin Qiushi indicated that he also didn't know.

There must be some hidden condition—maybe only those who hadn't tasted the fish were affected. But it was all only speculation for now, and the answer to their speculations wasn't important. The important thing was that they finished this door as quickly as possible. Lin Qiushi couldn't keep Ruan Nanzhu tied up forever, after all.

It was the first time he so anticipated an evening. Once he saw the sky gradually darken, Lin Qiushi and Gu Longming moved the tied-up Ruan Nanzhu back inside a room, chair and all.

Ruan Nanzhu still wasn't speaking. Lin Qiushi understood him, however, and could tell from his eyes that Ruan Nanzhu still hadn't given up.

"Linlin," Ruan Nanzhu suddenly spoke.

Lin Qiushi glanced at him.

"Linlin, are you going off to defeat him alone?" Ruan Nanzhu said. "I'm worried about you going on your own. Won't you let me go with you please?"

"No," Lin Qiushi said. "See? You're lying to me again."

Ruan Nanzhu kept up the righteous tone, saying: "I'm not lying. When you go fight, I'll be behind you watching your back."

Listening to the way Ruan Nanzhu spoke, Lin Qiushi thought he ought to be angry, but couldn't help a laugh instead: "Watch my back? You mean while I kill the monster up front, you'll be behind me eating fish?"

Ruan Nanzhu peeked once at Lin Qiushi, and said nothing more.

"Does the fish taste that good?" Lin Qiushi asked him.

Ruan Nanzhu pouted, still silent.

"Does it taste better than me?" Lin Qiushi asked some more.

"Of course you taste better," Ruan Nanzhu mumbled. At the present, his whole manner was off. It was like he was a little kid. "But I'm just too hungry right now, and I can't eat you, I'd be too sad."

Lin Qiushi laughed.

Beside them, Gu Longming could only eat up the dog food in silence, thinking aah, they can't do that, shit's already hit the fan and they still have to flaunt this flood of love.

Lin Qiushi watched the dimming sky outside and inwardly counted themselves lucky that he and Gu Longming were still normal. Otherwise, this door would've been a real problem.

By the time it got dark, Ruan Nanzhu was a lot quieter, staring peacefully out the window. Lin Qiushi initially thought that after he got some rest, he'd pester them to eat fish some more—but then he fell asleep.

"Should we put him on the bed?" Gu Longming asked Lin Qiushi quietly. Ruan Nanzhu had been tied up all day, after all.

But after some thought, Lin Qiushi shook his head.

"No. Keep him tied up." He couldn't be sure if Ruan Nanzhu was actually sleeping right now—if the bastard was faking it, then considering his fighting prowess, even Lin Qiushi and Gu Longming together might not be able to keep him down.

Plus it was nearly night. The monster was due to appear, and if Ruan Nanzhu got out, something could easily happen.

"I should still go with you," Gu Longming said, watching Lin Qiushi fetch the long spike from the bags. "We can watch each other's backs."

Lin Qiushi shook his head and rejected Gu Longming's suggestion: "You stay here to watch him. If I can't manage alone, then you being with me won't be much help. Plus, he's not in a good state, someone needs to be guarding him."

Seeing Lin Qiushi's determination, Gu Longming could say nothing more but a wish of good luck.

Lin Qiushi nodded, taking Gu Longming's blessings.

Once the night dimmed, Lin Qiushi kept an ear out for motion outside. Finally, he caught onto a faint sound. It was a sound he'd heard many times already—a large creature moving across wooden floor boards.

Lin Qiushi looked at Gu Longming.

"I'm heading out."

Gu Longming: "Go on, Ge, I'll take good care of my sister-in-law."

Lin Qiushi: "…" Why did that sound so wrong?

Seeing Lin Qiushi's expression, Gu Longming laughed quietly.

"Alright, it was only a joke. And as if there's a sister situation here at all. Godspeed, come back soon.

Lin Qiushi opened the door and headed out. He went to the dining room first.

The dining room was the starting point of the maze. It was also the starting point of the insect string; by following the line of insects from there, he could find the monster.

Lin Qiushi took the long sword and followed the string carefully forward. Following his stride, he quickly began to hear an unpleasant noise. It sounded like a wild beast was gnawing on meat, and the only source of meat on the ship was…

Across the width of the top deck, Lin Qiushi found his target.

It was a giant fish-monster, its body buff and covered in ink-colored scales. Only, compared to yesterday, there were many more wounds on its body. Lin Qiushi naturally knew where these wounds came from.  At this moment, all of the fishman's attention was on the chewed up mess of a human body beneath its feet. It didn't seem to have noticed Lin Qiushi carefully approaching from behind.

Lin Qiushi knew this was his only chance, so he was at once cautious and filled with ruthless determination. He took the long horn in hand and slowly lifted it—then he plunged downwards, piercing right through the fishman's neck.

The fishman let out a ghastly screech. Black blood gushed from its body before it collapsed limply onto the ground.

But Lin Qiushi didn't trust that; after the fishman fell he followed up with a bunch more aggressive stabs. Only when he was sure of its complete and total death did he exhale in relief.

He stood where he was, resting for a minute, before using the spike in his hands to split the fishman's stomach open. He endured his disgust as he searched all over, and finally, amidst the wreckage of offal, found what he was looking for—a green bronze key that looked completely normal. Though there was nothing special about the way it looked, in Lin Qiushi's current eyes, there was nothing in this world cuter than this very key.

He picked the key up, put it in his pocket, and left the deck.

[Ch. 124] | [Ch. 126]

[mypoisonedvine]

hi could u maybe do a highschool au where they are of age ofc with either Steve or Carter bullying the reader? <3

yes, yes I can!  going with carter for this once cause that’s my baby

You didn’t understand why he refused to just leave you alone.

Up until fourth grade, adults always said it was just because he had a crush on you.  You never knew what to do with that.  What difference did it make if he had a crush on you?  He was making your life hell and no one cared.

Then from fifth to maybe about seventh, it was some stupid psychology thing about how he was probably working through his own insecurities.  And that did add some context but it wasn’t enough to make you sympathetic to him.  After all, he had given you plenty of insecurities and you weren’t out there bullying anybody; what gives?

And then from then on to high school, it wasn’t about anything except power.  “Don’t react, that’s what gives him power,” that was the company line.  And to be fair, by now you were pretty good at ignoring him, but he was also pretty good at seeing through your attempt to feign disaffection; by now, he knew that he got to you, and he knew how to do it perfectly.

More than anyone else may ever have in the history of everything, you were excited for the last day of high school.  You were finally fucking done, and you could leave this shithole behind and never see any of these people ever again-- Carter Baizen especially included.

You knew that he would probably be the worst he’d ever been, one last hurrah to try to twist the knife before he lost his favorite punching bag.  But you couldn’t even care, because for the first time, he didn’t have tomorrow.  It was just one day.  After basically your entire life with him there to cut you down, you could survive one day.  He couldn’t do a single thing to surprise you now, you’d seen it all from him, and tomorrow you were done, forever.

Everyone else was emotional: signing yearbooks, hugging goodbye, promising to write and call and text.  You were just trying to lay low (like always) and make it to the end, a rare sense of hope starting to warm your chest.

It was all pretty quiet until lunch, where he went off-campus to get a cherry slushie only to come back and promptly spill it down the front of your shirt.  The others laughed, and for the first time... you did too.

Apparently, you could still surprise him.  His eyes went wide with confusion and rage when you began to laugh and look down at your ruined shirt.

“Refreshing!” you beamed.  “Sorry to see your eight dollar extra large slush go to waste on my hand-me-down shirt that’s worth even less.”

He sneered, but couldn’t seem to find anything sassy to say.

“Speechless?  That’s new,” you rolled your eyes.  “I’ll go clean up and change, and check up with you when I get back to see if you thought of any good comebacks yet.”

A few of the others dared to gasp in awe at your bravery, or even laugh at him, but his glare shut them up quick.  You turned on your heel and made your way to the gymnasium locker room, where a shower was calling your name to wash the sticky, sugary drink off of your skin.  You didn’t have time to dawdle before your next period, but maybe a tardy on the last day of school wouldn’t be the end of the world.

The shower was relaxing, especially with a new weight lifted from your shoulders; that look on his face when you laughed with him... priceless.  Almost worth all the years of torture.  

Your giddyness faded when you heard a sound from the other side of the flimsy plastic curtain.  Just as you opened your eyes and leaned out from the stream of water, a hand yanked the curtain aside and you screamed, instantly getting pinned to the tile wall by Carter himself.

“You fucking bitch,” he growled.

“Get the fuck out!” you yelped, but he covered your mouth with his hand and glared down at you.

“You stuck up little fucking cunt,” he continued.  “Who the fuck do you think you’re messing with, huh?  Since when do you think you can talk to me like that?  Nobody talks to me like that!”

You shuddered and sobbed and struggled against his grip, but he held fast and you were just too weak to challenge him at all.

“All these years, you never stood up to me,” he recalled, his rage softening into almost a wistfulness.  “You never talked back.  You never even tried.  You just... let me do it.  And the craziest thing of all, you never said what I know you wanted to say.”

Your struggle slowed to a stop as you looked up at him, eyes wet with tears (and yes, all of you was wet from the shower, but this was different).  His gaze was dark and penetrating; his face was stoic.

“You never asked me what you wanted to ask, all this time,” he continued, nearly whispering.  “And now it’s almost all over.  It’s the last day of high school and I think it’s time that you do it... go ahead.  Ask.”

He lowered his hand from your mouth and you took a soft but gasping breath as you searched his face for... something; you didn’t find it.  Swallowing, you meekly spoke aloud the question that had been weighing on your heart from the day it all began, the question you had wanted to scream at him every hour of every day for most of your life: “Why?”

His tone was somber and gentle as he answered, “because I love you.”

The kiss was actually soft at first, until you realized it was happening and started to fight him again.  But he was totally undeterred, holding you by your face and kissing you deeper, ignoring entirely your fists beating on his shoulders and trying to push him away.  You hummed angrily against his lips, your grunts of protest lost when he forced his tongue into your mouth.  

“I love you,” he repeated against your lips, pulling you closer until your naked body was pressed against his clothes, soaked by the shower.  “I love you, so much.  Let me show you the right way.”

Forcing himself on you on the shower was absolutely not the right way, and you were so confused, so paralyzed, so terrified of him that you simply went limp and gave into it.  The good news for you is that you got the answer to your question, the one you had never let yourself ask.  But he won in the end, because he got back the only thing he needed to own you completely: tomorrow.

[rrazor]

positions | m. issei

tags: fluff, mildly suggestive content

issei never knew how much he loved touching you until he was granted unconditional permission to do so. he thought he was relatively independent and someone who didn’t need as much reassurance or physical affection compared to other guys around him, like oikawa and hanamaki or even iwaizumi.

he thought he’d be fine, satisfied, content with just having you sit next to him or holding your hand or just being near you.

he thought wrong.

but he’s okay with that—you always indulged him after all, more than happy to have him close. your face lights up in a way that’s so adorable it pains him and has his fingers itching for contact.

he toys with the edge of your hoodie, watching your in-game character dash about. turning his head, he dips it into the crook of your neck, closing his eyes. his arms automatically tighten around you as he noses into the skin there.

“‘sei, you bored?”

he mumbles his “no” into your skin, smelling clean and cottony from your shower. his legs tangle with yours underneath the blankets. the side of his right foot comes up to brush against your bare calf and he begins to wish he wore shorts instead.

you hum, fingers tapping away at the screen while his slide up under your hoodie. you glance down at them before looking back to your screen again. issei grins happily behind you, gently roaming his hands across your stomach and up to cup your boobs. your skin is soft, recently moisturized. you talked about how you bought a new one, how it was “natural” and made your skin feel like velvet. he agrees, roaming his hands around and taking in all your dips and curves.

“hey!” you squeal. “i’m fighting!”

he chuckles, kissing your cheek. “and you’re gonna lose if you don’t focus.”

you huff, but to his delight, don’t tell him to stop so he lets you grumble, snickering like the cat who got the cream.

｡⋆ʚ♡⃛ɞ

he wakes up to a delirious fog, overheated and chilled to the bone. bringing his hand up to rub at his eyes, he blinks through the darkness of his room, slowly extending an arm to his phone on his nightstand.

5:37pm.

“nii-chan… room… dinner.”

he hears footsteps get closer to his door. a short series of knocks.

“issei?” your voice is soft. “are you awake?”

“yes,” he tries to say, but it comes out a rasp, too quiet. he wonders why you’re here anyways, on a school night when there’s a math exam tomorrow. an exam he hopes he’ll pass given the state he’s in.

the door opens gently, allowing the soft yellow light from the hallway into his room. you walk in, hands carrying a tray. he hears the china knock into each other.

“oh, you’re awake.”

he nods, watching you set down everything on his nightstand before putting a hand over his forehead. the steam of the mug rises and already, he can feel how dry his mouth is.

“how’re you feeling?”

he clears his throat, wincing at the amount of phlegm he’s forced to clear out. you frown, if your down turned eyebrows are anything to go by. he can’t see the rest of your pretty face behind your mask.

“been better,” he croaks.

you huff out a laugh. “got enough energy for your meds?”

he nods, sitting up just enough to make it easy to wash the pills down with water before he slumps back into bed.

“are you hungry?” you ask, sitting down at the edge of his bed.

he shakes his head, letting you touch his forehead again.

“tired? wanna go back to sleep?”

he hums noncommittally, bringing his hand up to hold onto your wrist. you run your fingers through his soft curls, making him shiver.

“go to sleep,” you whisper.

he shakes his head, pulling you hard enough that you fall over him in surprise. he wraps his arms around your torso, burying his face in your chest.

“hey,” you chide, resting on your elbows above him. “you need to rest.”

he nuzzles into your shirt, relishing in having you close. the smooth, cool cotton of your shirt a welcome feeling on his overheated skin.

“missed you.”

straight through the heart.

“i missed you, too,” you whisper.

“stay a bit?” he pleas. he knows he shouldn’t, but he can’t really help himself.

you bring the blankets up over yourself and his heart soars. he tucks himself on top of your chest, heart pounding in his chest as you pull your mask down to kiss his forehead. it’s tender, so comforting.

he falls asleep to the smell of cotton and camomile.

｡⋆ʚ♡⃛ɞ

“babe.”

you hum, lips resting against his forehead. the clock on the bedside table reads 9:48pm in muted led.

he can’t see you in the dark, tucked in so close to you. issei’s resting beside you again. because he can’t ever get enough. because that’s where he belongs, hands on your skin, head tucked into your neck. he’s tall, might as well be two metres, two whole hundred centimetres but issei adores it when he gets to be the small spoon.

“d’y’ever think about the people who got infinity symbols tattooed or those moustaches—wonder how they’re doing?”

he can hear you, feel you laugh.

“no, i would’ve never if you didn’t bring it up,” you snort. “forgot about those dumb trends.”

he chuckles softly into your pajamas, slotting himself closer to you. he can’t explain it but an overwhelming surge of love blooms in his chest when you bring the blankets up to cover his shoulders.

you’ll probably end up on opposite sides of the bed in the morning, maybe even turned away from one another. s’fine, he usually ends up scooching over to you anyways. the rise and fall of your chest slows. it’s a bit too early for him to doze off—.

“g’night, ‘sei,” you mumble, kissing his hairline. “love you.”

he nods imperceptibly, kissing where your heart is. “night,” he whispers. “love you more.”

you mumble something into his hair. he draws infinity signs on your back.

｡⋆ʚ♡⃛ɞ

today, he’s the big spoon—sorta. you’re on the train to the mitsui outlet park. it’s crowded, likely because of the kamen rider event going on. the rest of his family got there early to participate from start to finish.

it’s 11:58am and he’s caged you in between the train walls, a nice barricade from other passengers.

he’s zoning out when he hears your stomach growl.

“did you eat breakfast?”

you look up at him sheepishly. “no?”

he leans down to knock his forehead against yours, lips curling upward when you make a funny noise.

“i think i have candy in my pockets.”

his mom was giving them out in the morning after finding them in her purse. she handed him a few saying she got them from work.

“really?” your eyes glimmer as your hands reach into his pockets. your rummaging digs up two pieces of caramel. you unwrap them and feed one to him before pocketing the plastic.

“y’know i think i love you a little bit.” you grin, tongue swirling caramel goodness.

“yeah?” he snickers. “can’t blame you. i’m the ultimate catch—tall, funny, handsome.”

you roll your eyes, watching as he leans against the glass perpendicular to the doors. he stands closer when the doors on the opposite open. you raise your fists up in front of you. “i’ll have you catch these hands.”

“you could have just told me you wanted to hold hands, babe,” he chuckles, grabbing your right one and leaving a quick kiss on your forehead.

“don’t twist my words,” you grumble. your words are half spoken into his chest when he presses closer as a businessman squeezes by.

“oh, don’t worry.” he winks. “i know you and i have other plans for these hands later.”

you snort. “yeah, prayer.”

｡⋆ʚ♡⃛ɞ

issei leans back against the couch, tilting over onto the arm to rest his head as he settles into his food coma.

“issei, come back and have some marinated duck!”

he groans a little, telling his grandmother that he’d be over soon. though he could eat a lot, the walls of his stomach could never defeat nor contain the power of his grandmother.

he decides it’s a great time to take a picture of his extended stomach and send it to you.

>> (05:47) babe >> (05:47) [img.png] >> (05:48) i’m expecting

>> (05:51) what the Hell >> (05:52) tw: mpreg

>> (05:53) did you just trigger warning me?

>> (05:53) yes

>> (05:54) damn >> (05:55) well I don’t need this negativity in my life >> (05:55) relationships r built on mutual respect >> (05:56) I’ve told u I love you what more do u want

>> (05:57) nudes

>> (05:57) 😔😢😢

>> (05:58) here’s one of mine >> (05:58) [img.png] >> (05:59) 🥰❤️❤️❤️

he’s never sat up so fast in his life.

“issei, are you coming?”

he bites his tongue. “yes, grandma.”

｡⋆ʚ♡⃛ɞ

he comes back home to you two days later. he drops his bags on his bedroom floor and is about to run out the house to yours when his mom yells at him from the kitchen, “issei, sort through your things before you go!”

his shoulders slump and his head hangs but he gets it done and then he’s off.

>> (02:12) I’m home 😎😎💩 >> (02:12) wait ididnt mean the poo emoji

>> (02:13) welcome home 🌸

>> (02:13) Open the door  

you do, though it takes you a millisecond too long but he’s not going to gripe too much about it. he engulfs you in a hug the moment he sees you and nearly knocks your cell phone onto the pavement. your arms automatically go behind him. swaying, you stay there, sun shining and leaving an orange tint behind when you close your eyes.

“welcome back, ‘sei.” you nuzzle your head into his. “how was your grandma’s?”

he mumbles something but doesn’t make any effort to move. not wanting to attract stares, you slowly waddle backwards to get him through the front door. on your third step back, he just picks you up and does it himself before closing the door behind him and returning to his original position.

“‘sei,” you drawl out. “my back huurts.”

he pulls back the slightest, eager to see you up close yet wanting to keep you close. “i just wanted to hug you, is that so bad?”

“bedroom” is all you say. he frowns but lets you take him there anyways.

you sit on the bed and pat the space next to you. he instead opts to kneel down on the floor and rest his head on your thighs.

“‘sei?”

“grandma’s was good,” he murmurs, eyes closing when you run a hand through his curls. “thank you for the nude.”

you laugh and he takes the chance to get up and pull you into bed with him. he rolls you on top of him, brushing your hair away and cupping your face to pull you in for a kiss. his tongue is warm, soft, lax and you melt into him, onto him.

“wait,” he mutters.

“hm? something wrong?” you lean up a bit.

“i left your food at my place. my grandma made you some.”

you hum, leaving kisses on his jaw and swinging your legs. “we can go over later. kiss me more, please?”

he grins. “thought you’d never ask, babe.”

[dickwheelie]

jmart fic prompt: there's a piano in the safehouse

sorry for how long this took! but here it is :) hope you like!

__________

"Of all the people I'd expect to have an old Casio keyboard in their basement," Jon said, grunting a bit as he dragged his end of the keyboard up another stair, "Daisy would be last on the list."

"What about--huff--Elias?" Martin said, pulling his end up and onto the ground floor of the safehouse, carefully setting the keyboard down on its stand.

Jon followed him out of the basement and stretched, with several noises of complaint from his back (though Martin had been doing most of the heavy lifting). "Hmm, touche." Jon turned eagerly towards the keyboard. "This old thing . . . I haven't seen one of these since uni, and even then they were vintage . . ."

Martin hummed with interest. "Vintage, you say?" He poked a couple of the plastic keys, but no sound came out.

"Oh, do you play?" Jon said, as he began searching for an outlet for the power cord.

"Ah--no," Martin said. He glanced over at Jon. "Do you?"

"Yeah, of course. Ah-hah!" Jon had moved aside a dresser to reveal an outlet. "Why else would I make you drag this up here?"

"I didn't know you played keyboard." Martin sat down in the nearby armchair as Jon approached the stand again.

"I took piano lessons as a kid. Or, my grandmother dropped me off at piano lessons, and I usually disappeared somewhere between the end of the driveway and the front door of the piano teacher's house." Jon laughed at the memory. "I still managed to learn, though, because I'd take home the lesson books and teach myself, on my own time."

Martin grinned. "You were such a precocious kid."

"I was a weird kid."

"Nah, I bet you were adorable," said Martin.

"You can be both adorable and weird."

"I was a weird kid too," Martin said. "Maybe we would've gotten along."

"Maybe," said Jon. "Did you like sitting and reading in total silence for hours at a time?"

"Nope. Did you like playing video games?"

"I . . . I'm not sure. My grandmother never allowed them in the house."

"I would've let you use my Nintendo."

"I would've refused. Too pedestrian for my refined young taste."

"God, I would've hated you," Martin said, laughing.

"So would I. Good thing we met when we did."

Martin smiled at him lopsidedly. "Yeah. Good thing."

"Anyway," Jon said pointedly, turning back to the keyboard, "let's see if I can remember . . ." He ran his hands over the keys, playing a few scales as though testing the waters. He tried a few chords, and, apparently satisfied, started the beginning of what Martin recognized as "Killer Queen."

"Hey, you're good," Martin said, leaning forward. The old keyboard itself sounded tinny, but Jon's fingers moved smooth and sure over the keys.

Jon snorted. "Try not to sound so surprised."

"I just didn't realize you were so talented."

"I'm rusty. And I was never amazing to begin with."

"Better than I could've done," said Martin.

Jon finished the first verse with a little flourish and paused, fingers hovering over the keys.

"Do you take requests?" Martin asked.

"Hm. Alright, try me," Jon said with a smile.

"Do you know . . ." Martin thought for a moment. "Can you do 'Rocket Man'?"

Jon's brow furrowed in thought. Hesitantly, he placed his fingers on the keys and began feeling out the melody, growing in speed and confidence as he went on. "There we go," he murmured to himself as he reached the first chorus, which he played perfectly, at least to Martin's untrained ears.

After a couple choruses, Jon stopped again, and Martin clapped. Jon took a few exaggerated bows in his direction.

"Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week," Jon said.

"You really are good," Martin said. "I don't know how you just . . . hear the music and then recreate it like that."

Jon shrugged. "It's just a lot of shortcuts, really. Once you figure out the chord progression everything else comes pretty easily. It's harder to learn songs by heart."

"Alright," said Martin, settling in, "do you know any songs by heart, then?"

"Well . . ." said Jon, the picture of innocence, "there is one . . ."

Martin motioned for him to continue, and Jon placed his hands on the keys once again. Out came the same tinny sound as before, but with a much richer melody, both of Jon's hands moving over the keys in a complicated dance.

And then Jon started to sing. It was a lilting, slow melody to match the accompaniment, with lyrics Martin recognized:

By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes

Where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond

Where me and my true love were ever wont to gae

On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond . . .

Martin felt his mouth drop open. Jon had a nice voice. Which made sense, he supposed, since he already liked Jon's speaking voice so much. He just hadn't expected Jon's singing voice to be so . . . soft. It reminded Martin of when Jon would get quiet late at night, only speaking just above a murmur, as though he was afraid of shattering the peaceful nighttime of the Highlands.

Martin listened quietly as Jon sang the final verse:

O ye'll take the high road, and I'll take the low road

And I'll be in Scotland a'fore ye

But me and my true love will never meet again

On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond.

"Jon, that was gorgeous," Martin said softly, once Jon had played the last note. "You've got a really nice voice."

"I've always really liked that song," Jon said. "It's sad, but beautiful. And it seemed appropriate, given our location."

"Yeah, good choice."

"We should try to visit," Jon said. "Loch Lomond. It can't be far, we can go by train."

"We're supposed to be in hiding, remember?"

"Oh, right. Damn," said Jon, and Martin smiled.

"Maybe after this all blows over," Martin said after a moment. "We'll go see the bonnie banks for ourselves."

Jon grinned. "High road or low?"

"Your pick."

"Generous of you."

"Yeah, well," said Martin, "small price to pay for the private concert I'm being treated to."

"For you, it's free admission. With an all-access pass."

"To what?"

Jon looked at him incredulously. "To me, of course."

Martin barked a laugh. "I'd hope so!"

"It looks like I'll be giving a lot of private concerts in the near future," said Jon, fingering a few keys. "I've got a lot of catching up to do."

"Well," Martin said, as Jon started the first few bars of what Martin recognized as "Come On Eileen," "good thing we've got plenty of time."