#and suddenly I understand facial anatomy

[tee-dohrnii]

Calliope finally unlocked Gale kisses!!! She's gonna keep asking for smooches now

---

Also something clicked and I finally know how to draw Gale?? So uh I feel powerful

[goron-king-darunia]

DotNW Draw-a-thon Recap

Links to individual posts and the associated art at the end. But first, some thoughts.

Want to start by saying this was an excellent and very fun event and even though the English fandom is very small, it was fun to participate. I will be adding on more monsters into the sketchbook to fill it up, but probably not at the rate I've been drawing this month. I would like to someday make the complete monsterbook, including the descriptions from the game, organized in groups based on evolution, but that's a big and very casual project for the future. No promises. It's just a shame that such a resource doesn't already exist. There are videos on youtube that let you look at the monsters in a players completed monster book, but none of them go for the little descriptions and all of the videos are ancient potato-quality rips or just straight up filmed from a monitor rather than screen-capped. It's just not the same as big fancy drawings. But also I will never not be salty that you cannot rotate the monsters in the monster book. I wanna see what these guys look like! SOMEBODY PUT EFFORT INTO DESIGNING THEM, LET ME SEE THEM! AUGH!

Skills I learned from this draw a thon:

People are hard to draw. But the Loomis method for heads simplifies a lot of facial anatomy with easy proportions to remember and landmark guidelines that are more than just "draw sphere, draw a cross on that sphere, put your eyes on that cross and manifest a jaw from the ether, slap hair on that and place ears somewhere. You're on your own for the mouth and hairline. Did you do it?" The Loomis method, at least the videos I found, very gently explained where all the lines go and what they're for. Rocky start but I think I'm getting a handle on it? Not an expert, clearly, but I'm getting better.

People are hard. Hands are harder. And yet if I have a reference of exactly what gesture I want to draw, I can do it? Which is very strange. Hand construction still eludes me, so I will be practicing that, along with feet because those are also hard, but I'm actually somehow way better now at just... taking a pic of my hand on the selfie cam on my phone and just... "Okay, yeah, that's what the fingers look like. Makes sense. Let me just slap down the contours for a rough idea of the const-- Oh, nevermind. I just made the hand perfectly the first time..." So yeah, any of the good hands you see are either me looking at my own hand and drawing it directly, me looking at a reference and drawing it directly, or, especially on the monsters, me being incredibly lucky every single time. All the bad hands? Construction or agonizing over trying to utilize indirect reference.

Monsters are easy except when they aren't. Aside from a few small proportion issues that can be easily remedied during the digital inking and coloring phase, I think basically every monster is either exactly what I wanted or pretty damn close. You can see with the Polwigles from 2011 that I was not having a good time trying to construct them. Like, they're spheres, but not really? But they're not hemispheres, and definitely not a hemisphere stacked on a sphere, even though that's the closest approximation. I struggled forever trying to get the body shapes right. And then literally after like, 2 or 3 attempts not shown here on various other projects over the years, I am suddenly the expert with Polwigles? Basically every single doodle I am happy with when it comes to the wigles. They are very inconsistent design-wise between the game and the manga, and since their mouths in the game open almost all the way around during damage animations... I am opting to lean on the design sensibilities of Onshuu no Richter. Still, basically every Polwigle is constructed without reference. So I guess, somehow, after 13 years, I understand the shapes? I dunno how it happened but it did?

I think most of my troubles with the monsters boil down to one of 2 problems: Not being good at construction, that is, constructing unique poses from indirect references to make an educated guess about how a thing would look like from a different angle if we were to rotate or tweak its fundamental shapes in 3 dimensional space. And then not being able to FUCKING SEE THE MONSTERS. JUST LET ME LOOK AT THEM. There are lots of Polwigles from different angles in the manga, so if I NEEDED to use a direct reference, I could. But for the rest of these guys you basically only get the standard 3/4 facing to the left pose from the monster book and if you can even get a clear frame to look at, there's very little dynamism in the pose. The Lailah for example. I wanted to having it point a blade toward the viewer. But the blade is a complicated shape. I am poor with construction so the best I could do is imagine it as a rectangle and sort of carve the contours out of it to the best of my ability to try to get that foreshortened. Because I have no way to study the shape from other angles besides the ones shown directly in the monster book.

The rest of my problems are me standing in my own way. I did try to practice a lot of new skills. Combining references, taking risks, drawing for fun and not just drawing for a final product. And all of them were helpful to a degree. But I think part of the reason my art doesn't turn out well is because I see failing even 2% of the time as being "too much failure." I see anything less than 100% as "not good enough" so I get discouraged and stop trying. Which makes it impossible to learn and grow and also isn't a healthy way to look at art, because even the pros who do this for a living will have pieces that they tear up or don't post because they just... didn't turn out good. To be at a point in my artistic journey where I can even say I like more than half the pieces I did for this draw a thon? That's above average. That's what success looks like for most people.

I think it's the rejection sensitive dysphoria of ADHD. Because I spent so much of my early life either succeeding at everything right away (usually with help and preparation from adults like my mom) and academic "giftedness" I started seeing "success" or "good end products" as things I could reach with little effort. Especially because any time I DID run up against a roadblock or a challenge, I could usually fix it by powering through. Like, if I just did the thing a little harder, I could do it. Which is why whenever I did run up against real challenges, things that needed muscle memory, for example, like riding a bicycle or those Heelie shoes or those waveboards (My obsession with 2 wheeled modes of transportation era was fraught for real) I would have MELTDOWNS because I couldn't just get on a two wheeler bike and go without even learning or trying. Especially because if I saw peers who could do those things "right away" my assumption was always "They're just better than me, I just suck at this thing." and never "they had help learning that I didn't get" or even "different people have different learning curves for the same skills and comparing yourself is a futile exercise."

My assumption was never "that peer spent 3 hours a day for a week falling on their ass just to learn to ride their bike for 3 minutes and then those three minutes eventually became 3 hours and then indefinitely because they finally got the hang of it." My assumption was always "I suck. So if I can't get it in five minutes like they probably did, then I must not be any good and I should give up." Because 5 minutes of really intense effort used to be the magic ingredient to fix the roadblock for other tasks. So I never had reason to assume it wasn't the solution to EVERYTHING.

So I built up this mindset for myself that if I just press harder, I can fix it, and if that doesn't fix it, I can never fix it. And that's been a stumbling block for everything in my life, basically. I brute-forced my way to getting good at basically anything that I'm currently good at. And I'm having to unlearn that. Because growth isn't something you can brute force.

And growth is ALSO not something you can get without failure and risk. Because the other unhealthy mindset I built by brute-forcing my way to success was that I became unfamiliar with failure. Failure was a temporary state of self. My failures were always either easily written off as failure on someone else's part (It's not that I didn't do my homework correctly, it's that the teacher couldn't read it! That's her fault not mine! [incorrect buzzer noise from future me. There are some assignments that I still think this about but, like, no actually young me, a lot of those were actually a you problem and not a teacher problem {The ones that were teacher problems make me livid to this day, but that's another post entirely}]) or they were VERY temporary. "You got this problem incorrect." "Let me look at it again. Okay, I immediately see what I did wrong, I can fix it." "That's correct." "Easy. I just needed to work a little harder." While ADHD, being shuttled ahead through the gifted program, and with how the USAmerican education system treats failure not as a growth opportunity but as a moral failing are certainly contributing factors, I can say with certainty that a lot of the bad mindset surrounding this hurdle for me was also just my lack of drive to try things that were difficult. Why waste time on things that are difficult if there's already so much I can already do that's so easy!?

Then add the cherry on top of the culture we have around failure where it's shameful to ever admit you failed before unless you can turn it into this big inspirational story of how you "learned instantly from that one bad experience and never failed again!" Easy cocktail for an absolute clusterfuck of imposter syndrome, perfectionism, and control freak behavior on my part.

I am having to systematically reprogram my brain. Failure is a part of life. Just because you don't see other people sharing their failures, publicly, online, all the time, doesn't mean that it's not happening.

Watching Scott Christian Sava's content on Youtube has been doing a lot to help me rewire my brain. Failing is part of the process. And I need to learn to be comfortable with it.

And I think I'll have to keep relearning the lesson a few more times before I get it. Because every time I start to internalize it, I backslide and relapse and get back in that old brain-space of "that doesn't apply to me. Everything I do should be easy because that's how it's always been, and if it's not easy the first time, it's because I personally suck and not because I'm growing."

But, little by little, I'm getting better and better. I am catching up to what I used to be in 2011. And in some ways I am getting even better than I was. 10 years of art atrophy isn't great. But climbing back to the summits I've seen before and realizing that a 10 year backslide doesn't mean a 10 year climb is refreshing. I'm still not where I want to be. But I'm discovering more things I like about drawing, more things I want to contribute to my own style, more things I want to polish up on, more things I'm excited to learn.

I've started of thinking of hair as ribbons which is helping me construct more interesting hair in my art, for example. That's new. And fun. Hair is starting to be a less scary thing. I'm incorprorating more natural lip shapes but still leaning into the anime-esque simplifications and exaggerations of expression. I'm getting ever so slightly better at the shape of the palm of the hand. Fingers are still insane foreign objects to me, but I am learning.

I've developed much better line control. And learning to fail means learning that sometimes your lines won't be perfect. But I have also noticed that I'm able, more often than not, to make the strokes I want on the first try when I finalize a drawing.

I'm still messy with my sketches, which does need some work, but I'm getting better at picking the correct shapes out without agonizing over the line stage anymore.

I'm at the point where a lot of the art books I bought in my youth that were so far beyond my skills at the time are actually... full of manageable if not nearly useless advice for me now. I am growing. And while a part of me will always be dissatisfied that I'm growing so slowly, I am still happy that I'm growing.

Thanks again to everyone who participated! I loved seeing the art! I hope to get more DotNW fanfic up soon, too!

And finally, here's the links to the original posts with their original thoughts and captions.

Day 1: Brute Lualdi

Day 2: Assorted Gels

Day 3: Blast From the Past: Aqua and Polwigle sketches from 2011 and Polwigle doodles from July 3 2024

Day 4: Marta Lualdi

Day 5: Assorted Plant Monsters

Day 6: Rilena Malory

Days 7-9: More Plant Monsters

Days 10-12: Decus and Even More Plant Monsters

Days 13-15: Alice, Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and STILL MORE PLANT MONSTERS

Days 16-24: Aqua, Tenebrae, the last of the Plant Monsters, and some Beast monsters

Days 25-31: A couple attempts at Richter Abend, More Polwigles (specifically Pontus from Onshuu no Richter), Emil Castagnier, Aster Laker, Ratatosk, and some more beast monsters

[northwest-cryptid]

the problem i think with ai isn't that its good as a tool, its that the "tool" suddenly became replace jobs that society already views as worthless. Authors and artists already have to fight for pay worth the time and effort they put in (the recent wga and sag-aftra strikes) and ai tech bros coming in basically saying "you don't need them just use this handy tool that stelas their work without paying them or acknowledging their work in any way."

again not saying doesnt have a place, just that i wouldn't be surprised that a lot of people are going to get angry about anything that can be seen as defending it rn

The problem I have with people isn't their anger towards it; trust me I understand that anger. However my issue is that they don't bother to understand what AI really is. They want to talk like they do, they come out here saying statements that are simply inherently false and it gets passed around as truth.

The biggest reason I believe is because it's comforting to "know" that AI isn't capable of doing convincing work then they don't need to worry about it. If they believe they can identify it they believe they can avoid it.

A big issue I have is when AI is used to generate images that get pushed on basically "news" websites that generate; for lack of a better term, actual fake news. Which yea I know the term "fake news" is unfortunately associated with a certain someone.

However ESPECIALLY during a time like this I really want people to be educated on just what AI CAN and cannot do. But specifically what it CAN do. Like I always hear people go off about "AI can't do hands, if they have more than 5 fingers it's a clear give away!" That USED to be true, but as AI constantly advances that's just not the case anymore.

Even the most casual user will have access to plugins like OpenPose which can work with something like ControlNet to create some images most people likely wouldn't identify as AI at first glance.

OpenPose is actually really cool on a technical level as it's able to identify everything from body positioning to even facial and hand recognition:

However this, like anything; can be used for bad/wrong reasons as well as it can be used for harmless/good/fun reasons.

I totally understand what you're saying, I just think that if people are so against AI they need to take the time to stop throwing elementary school level insults at the people who are offering to teach them what they need to look out for; and actually try to pay attention so they can identify AI.

If you're scared of it, and you don't want bad people to get away with using it in bad ways; then PLEASE do yourself, and everyone else a favor and actually take the time to understand it.

A lot of the words being thrown around are really vague, the reblog that sparked a lot of this kinda "got me" because of it's wording. People just believe this without thinking about it:

I'm leaving the username out because I don't want to in any way seemingly "attack" the person, I just want to talk about what they're saying here.

"[so much] Overwatch content is just porn" sure, I have actually done adult animation to pay the bills before and I know just how popular OW is in that market. So I assume there's a lot of drawn porn as well as animated. However, let's take a quick second and think about this... You really think the MAJORITY of that porn is about dicks? Let's be real, if it's going to generate any form of NSFW anything from association of OW with Porn it's likely going to be boobs. Yet we don't see that, we also don't see that sort of anatomy being used for the two characters shown in the image. That just doesn't add up.

Likewise "The AI" which AI? There's a ton, and depending on the model/checkpoint and various lora they're using the weights can change a LOT. But let's assume they mean some website's AI, which as far as I'm aware are not some hivemind so they don't all have the same training; but let's just assume they mean NovelAI as that seems to be a popular one. So we have "The AI" that learns from "The Internet" again that's just... not how that goes. That's like saying you found an image "on Google" a lot of AI will use specific websites; that's how it knows "what" is in the image, those key words have to come from somewhere, so websites that specifically use a tagging system are great for AI to learn off because otherwise you have to manually teach it what each image represents.

As a quick note I do not in any way shape or form condone the actions of training an AI on material that you did not create, be it photography/art/whatever. If you don't have the permission to use it, then the acquisition of it and the training using it as material; is inherently unethical and yes, stealing.

Okay so back to what I was saying; just like how the porn they're talking about is typically congregated to specific websites; "The AI" also uses specific websites for their training, and I will be the first to admit that since I don't know which AI we're discussing I don't know which "internet" it's trained with. However I know that NovelAI uses a lot of "Booru" websites; likely because of their tagging system. I know this because if you use StableDiffusion (which is the most commonly available free AI on "the market") from way back in the day, prior to the much more streamlined 1.5 system, you'd find that the main training file being passed around for NovelAI specifically mentioned "Booru" in it's titling system, at least for the generation of anime imagery.

So while I do not know exactly what websites were used here, these statements are just egregiously vague. "The AI" learns from "The Internet" where "The porn" is. Okay that last part is kind of a joke because we do actually know roughly what "the porn" in question is. But even then, we really don't. We're just grouping all OW porn into "you know there's porn on the internet?! AND THE AI LEARNS FROM IT!" Which is a statement a lot of people, who don't really understand all of this; can latch onto and believe. I mean it makes sense, and the thing is it's TECHNICALLY true! However that's sort of like saying "I got Groceries from The Store, where you know; the food is." Alright are we talking Walmart? Whole Foods? What Groceries did you get?!

Now the way AI is trained also drastically can change results, in the comment they say the AI thinks that because the AI sees a lot of porn when looking up OW that it thinks a Penis is normal for OW and associates the two. That sort of "association based learning" isn't really how that works though, at least not commonly. I really do not believe that this was the case for a lot of reasons, ranging from the fact that the object positioning tells me the prompts given and even the overall image don't depict that section as being organic; so it's unlikely it would think to make a dick there. However let's say it was trying to make a dildo, even though again it's uncommon that there'd be enough dildo art specifically of OW that it would somehow learn that the "OW" tag should generate a dildo. It would technically be possible but not very plausible.

See if I'm trying to train an AI to identify "a man with red hair" I would use a system of target and control. Basically the defining thing here is "red hair" but not necessarily "a man" right? So I want my AI to know what "a man" looks like, but more specifically I want it to understand that the outlier has "red hair" this way when I tell the AI I need an image where a person has red hair, it understands what red hair "looks like" if this makes any sense. The typical ratio I've seen used is a 1 to 10 ratio. Meaning for every 1 image of a man with red hair that I identify to the AI as "a man with red hair" I need to include 10 images of "a man" and those images should not contain red hair. Now if we assume that it can scan hundreds of images without user input there's literally nothing stopping that ratio from being 1 to 100 or even 1 to 1000 which would mean that my AI has a REALLY good understanding of what "red hair" is, or more specifically, what a man without red hair looks like; therefore it's not likely to create red hair unless I tell it to.

Why does that matter? Because here's the thing, even if the AI did just generally scan a bunch of images of "Overwatch" it's going to identify common outliers, like how any image containing NSFW material is going to have that material in the tags. So let's say the AI has identified 100 images of OW art, and in let's say 25 - 50 of those images there is a dildo / penis specifically. Well it's going to identify the tag of Dildo/Penis and if I do not include that word specifically in my prompt it will understand (more often than not) that I'm looking to create a generation that does not include that material, but pulls from the other listed traits it finds in OW art. By that same logic however we should also see generic sexualized anatomy, we should see boobs as well as dildos, and yet; generally speaking we kinda don't, so I REALLY don't think that's the case here.

And yet people believe that comment on a whim, maybe they believe the source poster to be a credible individual; I haven't heard of them myself so I don't know if maybe they're some authority figure. If they are I would love for them to, you know; back up the claims with actual less vague information.

Yes, I do mean that; because if they could tell me which AI, if they could tell me what websites it specifically is trained on; then we have that information. Information makes us a lot more aware of how AI is progressing and how we can identify it even when people put effort into hiding that something may be AI. It widens our arsenal against AI and I think that's a lot more important than simply saying "AI stupid AI bad!"

So much about this is just "off" and I'm genuinely saddened by the general response that flooded my inbox, and let this be known;

I'm not saddened by the words people sling my way, I have heard worse. I fucked up a lot in my past, I did a lot of things I regret; and I've heard it all. I've been getting death threats since I was 16, I have had people deadname me trying to get some kind of reaction from me. Trust me when I say that elementary school kid shit doesn't hurt even my insanely thin skin.

No, I'm sad because people don't care as much as they claim to when it comes to this sort of thing. They don't actually care about staying safe from misinformation that could potentially spread from AI. They don't care about actually putting some kind of end, if such a thing is possible; to art theft due to AI. They don't care about educating themselves about AI. They just see the two letters and immediately go into a blind rage, throwing whatever petty insults they can and likely blocking me before they'll ever see my response.

It feels hopeless, it feels like a lost cause. Why should I bother to educate people, why should I bother to care?

And okay, listen to me here please, I know I've said a lot and I don't care if you want to skip over everything else in this post but PLEASE I am actually begging you to read this and understand this next part, I know we're the "how dare you say we piss on the poor" website but PLEASE.

I am an artist, I understand why people look down on AI. However, you're never NEVER going to convince a tech bro, or anyone going down the wrong path; that you are in the right when you throw petty insults at them.

I know you think people can't be convinced to begin with, but I want you to understand something, I used to be a horrible person and had it not been for a very good friend of mine telling me not to listen to the anons telling me to kill myself, telling me I'm a waste of oxygen, or that I didn't deserve to be born; if it hadn't been for this one person telling me that those people are assholes but that I DID screw up.

I'd have never given it a second thought, because who is going to give you the time of day when everyone on the other side says "yea they're all just going to yell at you and hate on you and shit." Who's going to think you're right, when you literally only prove the wrong people to be correct?!

If we sling insults and throw a fit over anyone ever doing something we're not happy with, instead of attempting a civil conversation on the matter; no not a debate, a CONVERSATION. Talking, not arguing, not debating, not manipulating or some shit. Just TALKING.

If we don't do that, we're never going to actually see change, because all it's going to do is make those tech bros look like they know you inside and out already, and it's going to convince some poor individual, maybe a child; who picked up AI because they were curious; that yea you're just an asshole and they shouldn't listen to you and what you have to say.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk, and thank you to the Anon who sent this for being chill, you're a real one.

[teeth-farie]

Your mummy fic is so hot 🥵 and it reminded me that I was gonna send you a gore ask but got interrupted and completely forgot lol

But I was gonna say, y’know it’s always fun imagining how willing any of the demon bros would be to let you treat them like a specimen and carve open their guts for viewing. But I’ve seen less content for Diavolo and gore even though that’s such a hot concept omfg

Diavolo who overhears Lucifer telling you that if you need help with your demon biology work you can use him as a live reference. Diavolo getting super jealous because HE wants to bond with you like that too! He can totally help you with your work! Except he doesn’t understand just how erotic it would be until he confronts you about it and tells you that he’d love to be your reference.

He should’ve caught on when your eyes glazed over at the thought of the Demon Prince splayed out and on display for you but he didn’t. It didn’t occur to him how hard he’d get until he was shuddering at the sight of the tarp laid over his bed, the restraints you had ready to go so he wouldn’t squirm around too much while you cut into him with the decorative dagger he himself had given you.

And fuck he really does try to ignore the arousal pooling in his groin the first time you look at his bloody insides. But after that first time it won’t leave his head. How sexy would it be if you put a cockcage on him and cut a hole in his stomach to fuck so he wouldn’t get any stimulation where he needed? What if you cut a hole into his throat and fucked directly inside it, maybe if he angles his head back you’ll be able to see your cockhead poking through his lips like a reverse blowjob

AHH TYSM!!!!!

And there NEEDS to be more gore for Diavolo he’s so perfect for it. He uses the guise that he should be helping you since you’re a part of his transfer program, but in reality he just wants the chance for your hands to be all over him (regardless of the context). A chance to have you all to himself with no brothers to take you away?? Yes please and thank you

But…he doesn’t account for how truly erotic it would turn out to be. You tie his hands to his headboard and suddenly Diavolo feels like he’s doing something incredibly naughty, something so much more than an anatomy lesson. And then you straddle his thighs, elegant blade in hand glinting in the moonlight streams. You’ve broken him entirely. And you can feel him swell in his pants under you, watch his eyes glaze over when you carve into his gut. He tries his best to ignore it, but eventually he just can’t help himself.

And the cockcage idea!! Going crazy!!! Locking his needy cock up so you can have your fun elsewhere without him getting off too early. It drives him mad! If you allow him to touch, he eagerly grabs onto your hips and ass to try and get you to thrust faster into his wound, so very pleased just to hear your pleasured moans as you fuck into his guts.

REVERSE BLOWJOB…..he holds onto you then too, he just can’t help it! It’s overwhelming and exciting and now he can’t stop gurgling and spitting up blood. It’s like second nature to lean his head back to give you a better angle, purring happily when he feels your cockhead jut back up to his lips (and when you cum you can give him a facial from that angle too)

[sneakystorms]

MANNNNN I really wanna get better at like. Designing distinctive facial structures/silhouettes... Cuz like in a very cartoonish style you can do this pretty easily, just go oh this character's face is a circle and this one's a triangle this one's a rectangle etc. But when you go even a little more towards realism suddenly you gotta understand facial structure, you gotta know how the brow bridge or the cheekbones or the jaw can be shaped and how to push those shapes and I wanna learn how to do that!!! But it's hard to find tutorials and stuff!!! Maybe in my anatomy for artists book there will be something useful

[seaphoam-writes]

A Father's Duty (8/?)

A Father's Duty on AO3

Summary: An encounter with a quantum fissure leaves Picard with more responsibility than he asked for, but he'll do what he always does—his duty.

Chapter 8

Louis fetches his bundle of drawings and carries them to the coffee table, where he dumps them somewhat unceremoniously onto its surface and then drops to his knees. There, he seems to lose confidence, his expression flattening and his shoulders curling inwards.

Picard sits on the sofa, just to the side, and says, “I noticed a few starships in there.”

A safe place to start, he hopes; Louis’s drawings are records of his experiences, and navigating around the less-than-pleasant ones will be difficult.

Louis slides several illustrations from the stack, and Picard hums in recognition. “Those look like Nebula-class ships.”

It’s the USS Sutherland, the Farragut, and coincidentally, the Phoenix.

Louis holds still while Picard considers his drawings. Aware that it’s unlikely Louis has shown his artwork to anyone besides Data, Picard gives each a thorough and genuine examination, admiring the precise linework, the meticulous coloring, and the overall attention to detail.

“Did you draw these from observation?”

Louis shakes his head. “No, from the computer. Data found the schematics for me.”

“Have you seen any of them in person?”

“I’ve seen all of them. We stayed on the Phoenix for a while.”

Picard briefly considers feigning ignorance of that fact, but decides that lying is not a precedent he wishes to set.

“I watched some of Data’s logs,” he admits. When Louis’s brow scrunches in confusion, he describes finding the isolinear chips in Louis’s bag.

“Oh,” Louis says, and to Picard’s immense relief he doesn’t appear upset that Picard went through his bag.

“For how long did you two stay aboard the Phoenix?”

“A few months. I went to school there.”

Picard barely manages to mask his surprise—he didn’t expect such volunteering of information. Delicately, he asks, “Did you enjoy going to school?”

Louis shrugs. “It was okay. I made some friends.” He smiles suddenly, as though just remembering something. “I got to use the holodeck a lot. They had really good climbing programs.”

Picard smiles back, and repeats what Beverly told Louis back in sickbay. “We have a climbing wall here on the Enterprise. Perhaps you’d like to see it tomorrow?”

“Okay!” Still smiling, Louis turns back to his stack of drawings. The matter of the Phoenix seems closed for now, and Picard has to respect that, has to allow Louis the freedom to discuss his past at his own pace.

Louis shows him a few more illustrations of ships, a star base and a deep space station, then he begins offering portraits, and Picard understands that these are more precious to Louis than the others; there are many of Data, some of people labelled with names Picard doesn’t recognize, and, finally, one of Louis himself with two other boys.

“Are these your friends from the Phoenix?” Picard guesses.

Louis nods mutely. Picard senses the shyness, the hesitancy.

The vulnerability.

“This one must be you,” he says, pointing to the boy in the middle.

Louis captured the hue of his golden brown hair exactly, and—true to life—even made his eyebrows slightly darker. On his left is a boy with deep brown skin and black hair, and on his right…

“This boy looks like a Cardassian.”

“He is.” Louis frowns. “He was hard to draw.” He sounds guilty about it, as if ashamed of his inability to capture the likeness of his friend.

“I think you did a very good job with the—” Picard realizes that he has no idea how to refer to the reptilian ridges or spoon-shaped protrusions unique to Cardassian anatomy, so he’s forced to settle, quite lamely, on, “Facial structure.”

Louis doesn’t reply, merely folds his arms on the coffee table and rests his cheek in the crook on one elbow. Picard continues to regard the drawing, charmed yet again at the attention to detail: hairstyles, clothing, height differences.

“What were their names?”

“Jeremy and Ojim.”

“Would you like to talk about them?”

“No.” A whisper.

Picard places the drawing on the table next to Louis’s hand. “When you have your own room, you can hang this on your wall. That way, your friends will always be nearby.”

Louis’s eyes flick to his, overbright, and Picard hopes desperately that Jeremy and Ojim are still alive, hopes that their deaths are not one of the many losses this boy has experienced.

Gently, he touches Louis’s arm. “If you’re willing to continue, I’m very much enjoying seeing your artwork.”

Louis unfolds himself. “Do you like comics?”

“Comics?”

---

Picard doesn’t realize it’s well past his normal dinner hour until Louis sits back and says, “Père, j'ai faim.”

His own stomach is pinched with hunger but he was too absorbed to notice—the comics Louis mentioned were highly amusing chronicles of interactions between Louis and Data, or Data and others—but now he feels a jolt of panic for not having considered the boy’s needs. Louis scarcely ate breakfast, and that was hours ago; he must be starving.

With barely restrained urgency, he stands. “Would you prefer to eat here, or at Ten Forward again?”

Louis pops to his feet with a spryness Picard envies. “Ten Forward.”

“It’s a little more crowded in the evening, is that okay?”

“Oui.”

Picard crosses to his bedroom. “I’m going to change. Would you like to as well?”

Louis wrinkles his nose. “Do I have to?”

“No,” Picard chuckles. He discards his shirt, creased all over from having slept in it, and puts on a new one. Returning, he notices Louis’s hair is still rumpled. Beckoning Louis over, he attempts to finger-comb it, only to give up and replicate a brush.

“It’s been a very long time since I needed one of these,” he comments. To demonstrate, he runs the brush over his bald scalp.

A giggle bursts—quite literally bursts—from Louis. He puts both hands over his mouth to stifle it, but the sound escapes in a joyous torrent, and Picard finds himself laughing right along with him. He doesn’t know where the foolish gesture came from—perhaps the comics put him in such a mood—but quite frankly he’s glad he did it, if only to hear that laugh.

Eventually they get themselves back under control and Picard uses the brush to tame Louis’s hair; Louis keeps letting out little burbles of laughter, like aftershocks, and Picard’s grinning uncontrollably.

Finished, Picard sets the brush aside. “Come. There’s someone I want you to meet at Ten Forward. A very good friend of mine.”

Guinan.

[hwanchaesong]

“For Me”

SugarDaddy!Mingi X Reader 

Synopsis: The effectiveness of knowledge is determined through demonstration

genre & warnings: smutt, fluff, angst, cursing, unprotected sex, fingering, oral (receving and giving), pet names, degredation, switch!mingi, kinks, reader is always wearing a skirt. this is 18+ so minors please DO NOT INTERACT, this is based on ATEEZ as your sugar daddy 

word count: 7.2k

/ATEEZ Sugar Daddy Oneshots Masterlist/

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"I major in literature right?" you asked the man who is currently lounging around in your bed while you try your best to understand how the reproductive system works.

"Yeah, you do." he nonchalantly replied, not sparing you a glance.

You sighed, getting frustrated to the point that you wanted to pull your hair out of your scalp, "Then why the fuck am I learning about this damned anatomy and physiology? What am I gonna get from this?"

Your tutor, Song Mingi, laughed a bit, finding enjoyment in your misery and adorable rants.

"When you're writing," he started off, his head turning to look at you properly, "it's inevitable that you'll need to use the human body parts, including on how they work."

You raised an eyebrow, not exactly getting his point, "What I mean is, you can integrate science to your works. Think about it, 'heart rate increasing' and all the other examples like that."

Well, he made sense with that one. He never fails to amaze you, he looks dumb but is actually full of wisdom. If you're going to be honest, when your parents introduced him as your tutor, you seriously thought that they were out of their minds.

Yes, it is given that he’s hot. Large stature, broad shoulders, and overall handsome facial features, but his attitude made him seem brainless. Smile so huge that it reached his eyes, deep voice that is suitable for a gangster.

That is why you were blown away when he discussed to you the different fallacies. He did it with so much ease and you dare say that he's even better than some of your professors.

From that day on, you promised that you'll never judge a book based on its cover.

You still have one question though, "Heart is a part of the circulatory system, but this is the reproductive system, and I don't understand any of this."

Mingi's eyes visibly darken, like something ominous is brewing up in his mind amidst your innocent queries.

"Do you really wanna know?"

The tone that he used is eerily familiar, something that he only utilizes when you need some 'real lessons.'

In the blink of an eye, from your comfy chair, you were suddenly thrown to his lap, his hot breath tickling your ear, "You know the drill right?"

Shivers ran down your spine, his domineering aura woke up the submissive persona in you.

"Yes, daddy."

"Good,” he smiles a bit, resting his chin on your shoulder, his arms circling around your waist, “now, continue reading and focus.” 

You gulped, expecting something more but chose to follow his instruction instead, “Both men and women experience the sexual response cycle, the only difference is their timing. The first phase is the-”

“Loud and clear, baby.” he reminded you when you started to mumble the words out of slight giddiness.

“Y-yes, sorry, daddy.”

He urged you to continue reading the lines, and so you did, though your words became more incoherent when his lips attached themselves on your not so exposed neck. His sly hands began to slide your attire down your shoulder, revealing more skin for him to revel in.

Despite the distraction, you still did your best to maintain a stable voice, impressing the man behind you. It means one thing though, you’re getting used to his touches and that is not the plan he had in mind. 

He has to step his challenge up.

Phase 1: Desire; General Characteristics: increased muscle tension, heart rate quickens, breathing gets faster, and flushed skin.

If the sensation of your clothes being tossed away from the other side of the room made you tremble, his finger gently lifting your chin up caused your heart to race a million miles. 

The sentences that you are reading are slowly getting softer when he licks the area between your jaw and neck. 

“Good job.” he breathed, the blush on your face turning him more than he intended to. He won't deny that he finds your effort to continue reading, albeit already useless, splendid. 

A whimper came out of your lips, hands gripping your book a bit tighter than before when he leaves light kisses on your skin. Your breathing became heavier every second, book and reading forgotten as you indulge yourself in his exhilirating touches. 

His hands traced your sensitive neck, your clothed breasts, abdomen, and finally your inner thighs. Your legs shifted a little, covering your desires which Mingi only finds as endearing.

He knows you all too well and you can’t hide from him. 

“Baby, c’mon. Open up for me.” 

Phase 2: Arousal; General Characteristics: The changes that kicked off in the first phase become more intense and muscle spasms may begin in the feet, face and hands. 

You opened your legs widely with Mingi’s help, languidly persuading your movement. His left hand gripped your waist while the other one went down to hike your skirt up before resting on the front of your panties. 

An involuntary jolt was induced by your body when his finger played with your clothed pussy, “You get too excited quickly, is this how much I affect you?” he cooed, feeling the wet patch on your garment. 

“I think,” he pushed your panties to the side, coating his digits with your essence, “you already understand the importance of what you’re learning.” he said in a matter of fact voice, your head nodding in affirmation without even comprehending what he really meant.

“Then I should stop.” 

All his ministrations ceased, your eyes widening like saucers and you are so ready to beg for him to continue.

“No! Please, don’t stop. I..” 

Your hands went over to his, placing it back on its former spot. you’re basically whining but you don’t care. He got you all worked up and you would be damned if you wouldn’t get to the final stage of his so called lesson.

“I want to experience the last two phases,” you licked the side of your lip, your head craning to look at him a little bit, “on your fingers, daddy.” 

Phase 3: Orgasm; General Characteristics: Involuntary muscle contraction, release of sexual tension, ejaculation of semen, and “sexual flush” may appear on the body.

His hand immediately went back to work, this time, plunging two fingers inside you without any warning.

His pace is fast and unforgiving, “This is what you wanted right? I’ll give it to you then.” 

You moaned out, loud squelches and Mingi’s praises here and there filling the entirety of the room.

“You’re doing great, honey.” he mumbled, leniently biting your ear lobe and suddenly curling his fingers, perfectly hitting the spot that had your eyes rolling at the back of your skull. 

“D-daddy, close. I’m c-” 

He stilled his fingers inside when you warned him of your impending orgasm, stealing away your journey from euphoria. 

“Why did you stop?!” You cried out, not happy with his actions but that soon flew out of the window when he adjusted your positions. 

He let you sit on the chair, him kneeling on the floor and putting your legs on his shoulders. 

“Changed my mind, I think it’s better for you to cum on my tongue instead of my fingers.” he casually murmured, smirking up at you.

“What?” 

“Now, baby girl, open your eyes and look at me while I devour you.” 

You are still in a daze when his mouth reached your heat, your hands clutched his hair and despite the surprise, you sustained the eye contact with him. 

It’s an unbelievable view, large hands restraining your thighs, his lips latched on your sopping cunt, and his god forsaken  tongue that is fucking your walls so deliciously.

The pressure is building up inside your lower abdomen again, and you prayed to all gods out there for him (the guy that is currently eating you out like a maniac), to have mercy on you.

As if the heavens really are listening to you, Mingi spoke in between your legs, “Come, darling. Don’t hold back.” the vibrations, matched with the tracing of the alphabets on your clit sent you into an ocean of pleasure. 

Phase 4: Resolution; General Characteristics: The body slowly returns to its normal functioning levels and body parts will return to its previous size and color.

He let you ride your high out, his tongue continued lapping at your juices, keen on slurping every drop. When he felt you thrash a bit, he pulled away. Wiping his lips and licking his fingers clean. 

“That was-”

“Y/N!” 

Shit.

The two of you are in too deep that you didn’t noticed your parents who were calling out for you nor when they entered your home.

Your mother yelled for you again, making you scramble to fix your appearance. You glared at Mingi who had the audacity to laugh.

“Shut up!” you hissed, looking at the mirror to check if you look presentable. 

Mingi let out a sigh, opening the door to your room and going downstairs to greet your parents, “Let’s go. You’re pretty enough.” 

You paused, the butterflies in your stomach went wild at his comment but you didn’t have the time to dwell on it when you remembered the situation that you’re in.

Trudging down the stairs, you saw that Mingi’s already conversing with your mother. He looks innocent with his sparkly eyes, gummy smile and shy attitude, like he’s not a predator that was preying on you a while ago.

“There you are!” your mother saw your struggling figure, “What’s wrong?” she knotted her eyebrows in concern at your weird way of walking, causing you to panic while Mingi tried to disguise his smirk with a small cough. 

“I’m fine!” you waved your hands around, “You’re early, I thought that your date with dad would last longer.” you mumbled, diverting your mother’s attention away from your questionable semblance. 

“Ah, it’s just that we missed our daughter so much and,” she pointed towards the kitchen, your father preparing the lunch that they bought outside, “we wanted to spend more time with you as well.” 

Your eyes twinkled, heart softening at your parents’ sweetness, only for it to dim when she blurted out her next sentence, “Mingi, why don’t you join us?”

And there goes the moment, flushed down the toilet. Unexpectedly, Mingi did not accept the offer, somehow giving you relief yet it also brought a feeling of  disappointment.

Your mother tried to insist but the man still rejected her and bowed out of politeness, telling her that he has some errands to do and that he’d love to join some other time. 

“Or maybe you just want to leave here as fast as possible, did Y/N here brought trouble again?” 

She gave you a side-eye which made you roll your eyes. How come that she always think that you’re giving your tutor a headache?

“No, no, the contrary,” the grin that Mingi gave seems harmless, though you already know what he means judging by the sly glint in his eyes, “she’s actually making good progress. We’re not done yet though, so I told her that she needs to have some extra time tonight to finish her homework.” 

Your father peeked his head out of the kitchen’s doorway, “Young man! Don’t lie to us, just tell us if Y/N’s being a pain in the ass!” 

“Dad!” 

Before you can stomp your way to your father and complain, Mingi’s melodic laugh rang in your ears, halting your steps. You were paralyzed on your spot, did nothing but dumbly nod at him when he bid his farewell, glancing at you subtly and you surely have an idea about what’s gonna transpire once the sun sets. 

True to his words, when the skies darken and the neighborhood was filled with silence, he facetimed you. Telling you to show him what you’ve got because you still owe him something. 

That ended up with you giving him a private presentation, doing whatever he tells you.

Strip slowly? Check.

Flash him your cleavage? Got it.

Pleasure yourself in front of him? Aye sir.

You don’t have it in you to reject whatever he says, especially when he made a deal with you. 

“Baby girl, you have to ace that test next week. Don’t worry, if you did good, I’ll make sure to give you a reward.” 

That was enough motivation for you, also because his guttural moans that he lets out every now and then while he jacks his self off at the sight of your lewd exhibition brought you to your high. 

You lied down on your bed, completely worn out and ready to sleep the exhaustion away. 

“Y/N, baby, put the phone up.” you heard Mingi’s voice through your phone’s speakers, forcing you to sit and pick your gadget up. 

“There we go.” he smiles through the video.

“What? Aren’t you gonna sleep yet?” you snorted when he scrunched his nose up, lying to his side and staring at you. 

“I am, wanna sleep like this though.” he mumbled, a yawn escaping his lips.

Gosh, he’s so precious, you think he’s gonna be the death of you.

“Like what?” 

“Like being able to see your face, makes my dreams sweeter.”

You think that the session you had with him this morning paid off, his words are something that you can describe using that hell of a subject that you loathed so much.

Your heart pumped more blood, increasing your heart beat, breath hitching and oh, you think you’re gonna faint with how his syrupy revelation brought upon a bright red hue on your cheeks. 

Yeah, that explains it. Though you didn’t get the chance to respond, hearing his snores on the other side of the line. 

You tried to paid no heed to his drowse-driven statement. You don’t want to expect something and let yourself get entangled in a chaotic world of feelings, so with that in mind, it is always much better to be ignorant.  

You unconsciously formed a soft smile, eyes closing and joining him in a well-deserved slumber, “Goodnight, Mingi.”

The next few weeks are, to simply put, an inferno that burns your very soul.

Sleepless nights of studying, drinking gallons of coffee every day just to survive. Some of your friends were worried about your welfare but you waved them all off.

You have a very important mission to accomplish and that is to get an A plus so that you'd have a prize to claim at the end of this hellish journey that is called “examination week.”

D-day comes and you can't wait to get high grades that would finally bring you to heaven.

Sooner or later, results of the tests came out and you literally jumped in joy. Shrieking and excitedly jumping around.

"Geez, calm down missy. We know that you're happy about it." Hongjoong gurgled, his sleepy ass getting cranky about your fuss.

Seonghwa tapped his friend's back, looking over at you with a friendly expression, "Don't mind this grinch," the man let out a growl at the insult, "be proud that you got the highest score this time."

Of course you are, so much even that you sprinted out of your university when the school bell rang, signifying dismissal.

You wanted to show the results to Mingi as soon as possible, not a problem, he’s already there, coolly leaning outside your school gates.

He brought his crimson ferrari sports car, him wearing a casual suit and you were dumbfounded. You stood still on your place when he spotted you, long strides taken to approach you and he took the opportunity to snatch the papers out of your hands.

He smiled when he saw the high marks that you received, “I knew you wouldn’t disappoint me.” His hand landed itself on your head, gently patting your hair. 

You feel like exploding, either because of the other students who are looking at you or his display of public affection, not that it matters when his free hand slides its way on the small of your back, guiding you towards the direction of his vehicle. 

“What are you doing here?” you asked him, finally finding your voice.

“What do you think?” he winked at you, opening the car door for you and coaxing you to sit in. He went to the driver’s seat and started the engine, speaking once again to continue his sentence from earlier, “Is it wrong of me to treat my princess for her hard work?” 

It’s not difficult to guess what is happening, you are not with your tutor as of the moment, you are currently with your sugar daddy. 

Song Mingi as a mentor is a bit childish, cracking jokes and goofy behavior all the way. You won’t complain about it though, he gets the job done. He teaches you in a creative way that lets you understand any lesson without delays.

However, Song Mingi as a sugar daddy is the complete opposite. He’s strict, demanding, and unpredictable. 

One moment he’s pampering you with affection and gifts, then the next second he’s pouring out his frustration on you, a cheshire grin on his face as he pounds into you mercilessly.

Your thoughts were cut off when the car abruptly stopped, peering outside the window, you saw that he brought you into an expensive italian restaurant (with menus that you can’t read even if it kills you.)

“Let’s go, we have a long night ahead of us.” 

The early dinner went well, conversations ensued but it was mostly you who did the talking. He listened to you earnestly, butting in once in a while to voice his opinion out regarding the topic you’re on about. 

After that, he gave you a small black box. 

“What’s this?” you reached out to accept his present, “Open it and see.” 

You glanced at him curiously, opening the box unhurriedly and boy were you astounded. 

It was a sparkly necklace made out of gold with a jadeite pendant, “Yes, I did not select a diamond gemstone because that is so overused.” 

He stood up and went over his way to you, picking the jewelry up, he smoothens your hair over your shoulder, putting the necklace on your neck. 

The way his hands brush on your skin made you shiver, visible goosebumps raising that Mingi surely did notice. 

“There,” he bent down a bit, looking at you, “it’s gorgeous.”

Was he pertaining to you or the necklace? You’ll never know the answer to that when he pulled you up, dragging you with him upstairs.

“Does this restaurant have a built-in hotel?”

“Uh,” he inhaled, not totally sure if he has to give an honest reply to that, “no, they don’t.”

“Then why are we-”

“I am the owner of this place, so naturally, I am allowed to use the upper area.”

What the fuck? You know that he’s rich but, okay, now the he mentions that, it does explain some of the happenings that occurred in the restaurant.

The staff here greeted him like he’s a god, they speak to him way too respectfully, and it took a lot of your inner strength not to strangle the female employees who keep on batting their eyelashes and indirectly flirting with him. 

Right. In. Front. Of. Your. Panzanella.

At the end of the hallway, a grand door is waiting to be opened, one that Mingi did the honor of doing so. Upon entering, you discerned that it was a mini-library, shelves full of cook books and the occasional english and history papers.

“This isn’t the same as before but it really does bring back some memories, right?” he spoke from behind you, startling you a bit. 

“Were you talking about that?” you turned on your heels to face him, raising an eyebrow at his innuendo. 

“Truly.” you can feel him, so close, his breath that smells like red wine faintly gusts over your nose. He pulled you flushed to him and something hard is poking on your lower abdomen.

Rewinding the time 7 months ago, your tutorial sessions took place in a fancy library. Chandeliers on the ceiling, humongous shelves lined up like a maze, marbled floors and wooden furniture.

If you’re going to be honest, you never really expected that your relationship with him would turn into something like.. this, whatever it’s supposed to be called. 

All you remember was you getting a perfect score on the pre-test that he made, him in that loose blue sweater, knocking the air out of your lungs when he smooched you out of nowhere, fingers snaking inside your pants until he made you cum with just his fingers.

It was worth the risk, hidden between the stacks of books, trying to not let out any noise but when you couldn’t control yourself anymore, Mingi went and shutted you up with a kiss. 

After that, the dynamics between the two of you has changed entirely. 

His tutelage became a game between your behavior and academic evaluation.

Pass your exams with high marks then you get a reward, maybe the latest iphone model with a bonus of getting railed from behind if you’re obedient to all his demands.

Earn a low mark or act like a brat in his presence then you get a punishment, either an overstimulation or not being able to cum at all. 

Back to the present, you sure do anticipate what kind of prize he’ll give you this time. Excitement coursed through your veins when he dropped the bomb on you, “What do you say in taking the lead this time?” 

You’re not opposed to that idea, there are those nights when you can barely sleep, blinking away the thoughts of him under you, moaning and begging for you to fuck him.

“I say,” you muttered, pushing him down on the sofa in an instant, amazement in his face that turned into arousal with your superior persona, “I am down for that shit, my baby boy.” 

You straddled him, hands resting on his sturdy chest, shoving him down to lie on the cushions, “Now, be my guest and enjoy.” 

Mingi smirked but that was wiped off of his face when you used your handkerchief to put on a blindfold on him, blocking his eyesight and heightening his other senses.

He felt your index finger trace the outline of his lips down to his chin, tilting his head slightly and unveiling his throat. You watched his adam’s apple move up and down whenever he swallows. You leaned down, lightly kissing his neck and collarbones, removing his pristine button-up shirt in the process.

You started to leave marks on his skin, earning you a soft whimper of ecstasy. The noise he let out became louder when you grinded on his crotch, “Stop playing, Y/-” 

“Shh,” you hushed him, putting a hand on top of his raging hard on, “you have to be compliant or else you wouldn’t get what you want.” 

You got rid of your own top and bra, not forgetting to remove the precious necklace that he gave you. It’s brand new so it’ll be a shame if it gets dirty during your freaky hours. 

You bent your back, letting him have a feel of your soft breasts. 

“Shit, Y/N, I-”

“It’s mommy for you, my little one.” 

He took a sharp intake of breath, “Mommy, please, let me suck on your tits, please.” 

You patted his cheek, directly putting a nub right in front of his mouth, “Go on then, baby, taste me.” 

He doesn’t need to be told twice, latching his hot mouth on your awaiting bosom that had you yelping. 

“Touch me.” you ordered and he immediately did so, fondling your boobs vehemently, his tongue circling around your nipples, occasionally biting it for extra spice. 

Before you can drown in the pleasure, you forced yourself to pull away, him whining at the loss of contact, “M-mommy, do something.” 

“Since you have been such a good boy,” you mumbled, positioning yourself in front of his apparent boner, “your wish is my command.” 

You removed his pants briskly, lowering his boxer briefs, his manhood springing up tall and proud. You bit your lips, excited at the thought of teasing him to death like how he does to you. 

Every second of this reversed role is life changing and you love everything about it. You never knew that being in control is this fun, and you think that you’ll have to do your best even more so that you could experience this once again. 

You wrapped a hand around him, smearing his precum around his tip, giving him some experimental strokes before getting into the real action. You just wanted to hear him beg, and when he gave you the sweet satisfaction of his pleading, you proceeded to properly do your job. 

You smudged your spit on his shaft, putting him in your mouth and trying your best to take him all in which ultimately failed. His tip hit the back of your throat, causing tears to form in the corner of your eyes. 

He’s so, so big and thick and you couldn’t wait for him to enter and stretch your walls.

You began to bob your head in a vertical motion, tongue circling and licking all over his dick, massaging his balls much to his sheer delight. 

“Your mouth feels so good, mommy.” he groaned, doing his best not to buck up against you mouth and hold your hair to control your movements. He needs to fulfill his promise of letting you take the lead (spoiler, he won’t be able to but you’re not gonna protest because he did and will fuck you so well.) 

You hummed, sweet vibrations adding to his pleasure, “Shit,” he cursed when he felt you hot, wet mouth suck on him like a blackhole, “you feel so good.” 

His muscles twitched, a sign of his impending orgasm, sorry not sorry though, you’re not that merciful for tonight. 

You detached yourself from him, a string of saliva connecting your lips from his member. 

“Why’d you stop?!” he whined,  “God, please will you just-” 

“Nu uh baby,” you positioned yourself on top of him, getting rid of your panties and lubricating his cock with your juices, “I want you to cum inside me.” 

With that, you slid down on him, the intrusion had yours and his moans mixing and echoing throughout the room. Your hands reached out to hold his, placing it on your chest, “I want you to grip me tightly.”

Shit. You’re so bold and hot tonight and Mingi wished that he could see you, only if this damned cloth was removed from his eyes.

You never let go of his hands, choosing it as your support as you started bouncing on his length. 

When you first had sex with him, there were three things that crossed your mind.

First, he’s gorgeous when he’s sweaty.

Second, his stamina is akin to that of an athlete.

Lastly, he was blessed with everything, including down there. 

Man is packed like a beast, gigantic and he fills you up so well. 

Those thoughts still occur in your brain once in a while, you will never get over the fact that you got a man like him. 

“I wanna s-see you, mommy, please. G-get this blindfold off.” 

The burn on your thighs is painful yet elating, “Oh?” you panted, “Looks like you’re getting braver.” you removed the item that obstructs his vision. 

The sight that greeted him would forever be engraved in his consciousness as long as he lived.

Your skin glistening due to perspiration, hooded eyes and mouth agape in a silent moan, boobs jiggling in every jounce that you take, you really are a masterpiece that he wanted to keep for himself. 

He groped your breasts, enjoying the work that you are currently doing. When he took note that your pace slowed down, he contemplated whether he has to take charge or let you relish the final minutes of your once in a blue moon opportunity. 

Okay, he’s not feeling it anymore. Looks like it is his time to shine. 

You were shocked when in the blink of an eye, he pulled out of you and switched the positions, you under his looming body and him hovering above you. 

“What?” you were confused, not being able to think straight but Mingi paid no mind to it, focused on making you remember who’s the real in-charge.

“Your time is up, baby girl.” 

“Mingi, w-”

“It’s daddy for you, my little one.” he used your words from earlier to mock you, maneuvering his body to position himself so that the tip of his erection is resting against your dripping entrance and that his lips are faintly perched on your nipples. 

A mewl of his name came out of your lips when he rubbed his member on your clit, a small smile forming on his face as he prodded inside you, wanting to see you whimper and whine. 

He retreated a bit, peering over your red, messy face. 

He guided your arms around his neck, your elbows on his shoulder and with one deep thrust, he let out a growl and you voices out an ear-splitting moan. 

Bliss filling your sanity when his member rubbed your insides exquisitely. Your legs automatically wrapped around his waist, pulling him closer. 

His movements became faster and harder after a few minutes, his mouth nibbling on your hard nipples and when he got tired of it, he raised his head and kissed you fully.

Lips colliding passionately in a filthy, heated make-out session as he continued to push deeper into you. He shifted his position a bit, allowing him to brush over your sweet spot that had your back arching. 

Your volume increases the more he makes contact with that spot repeatedly, “See, you wanted me to do this.. didn’t you?”

“Y-yes daddy,” you cried out when his finger rubbed your sensitive bundle of nerves, “shit, daddy, yes I wanted you to do this.” 

Certainly you do, you’d be lying if you said that you don’t want him to ruin you into pieces. Rail you until the crack of dawn, make your legs wobbly and your inner thighs hurt to the point that you can barely walk anymore.

You wanted him to own you.

“There, there,” he cooed, fake sympathy adorning his face, continuing to push into you like there’s no tomorrow, “your wish is my command, princess.”

He’s really making fun of you here, huh? Under normal circumstances, you would’ve slap him silly for doing that, but right now, that is on the last of your list. Your number one priority is reaching utopia together with him.

A number of animalistic pounding into your walls, making contact with your cervix, and the last thing that sent you on edge was his tongue, licking a stripe of your skin on your neck.

With a loud gasp, you released yourself, a lot of it too that ended up staining the couch. Still, Mingi’s not done with you yet, he keeps on pummeling, a little bit sloppier than before but the effect it had on you wasn’t reduced at all.

“Too much, daddy, I c-”

His hand that was previously on your clit was removed, opting to push his fingers inside your mouth to shut you up. 

“You can and you will because I said so.” 

You tasted yourself on digits, and you even made a display of erotic film by making sure to open your mouth, making him see the way you licked your juices off of his fingers.

Soon afterwards, when everything was too much for him to handle, he climaxed inside of you, coating your inside with his own essence. He emptied his all in you, knowing that you’re on the pill. 

His warm semen made you whimper, holding him impossibly closer and he kisses you fondly in return. 

He moves to sit down with both your legs still around him, a big mistake on his part because when he heard your small whimper, his libido shot up again.

“Baby,” he ran a hand over your hair, “I don’t think we’re resting tonight.”

Remember that wish you had before? The one where he destroys you? Yeah, he definitely made that come true. If you didn’t know any better, you’ll think that he’s a mind reader. 

All is well though, this special night would serve as a remembrance of your zealous relationship with him. A memory that you’d always think of even in the broad daylight. 

Also a memory of embarrassment when your friends poked fun at you, calling you ‘disabled’ the next day for limping around. 

You were giddy to say the least, but that soon turned into annoyance when he ghosted you for 2 weeks. 

No calls, no messages, no anything. 

What the hell is he up to? Where is he? Even your parents don’t know the answers to those questions, and day by day, the more you miss him, the more you’re scared that he found someone else. 

You shouldn’t care right? Your connection with him is nothing but an informal and casual one. 

Why do you even care if he finds a woman that is more mature, prettier, and sexier? It’s not like you have feelings for him, right?

Wrong.

One day, he barged into your room without any prior formalities, apologizing profusely when you accidentally threw your scratch papers all over the floor. 

He helped you rearrange the scattered articles, only then did he became aware that you were making an essay.

“You were writing?” he tried to read a paragraph that was scribbled rather messily which made you pluck the paper out of his hand.

“Yeah, I was until you disturbed me.” you sassily replied, not liking the fact that he didn’t made an effort to talk to you and now he comes in here without any warning, not even giving an excuse.

He detected the bite on your tone, “Are you.. mad at me?” 

You snapped your head at him, eyebrows meeting in the middle of your forehead, scanning his disheveled appearance and sighing out of frustration.

“Why would I be?” you turned your back on him, not allowing him to see your sulky guise, “You were gone for weeks and I-” 

Should you say it? Should you confess that you yearned him so much that you almost banged your head on the walls of your school whenever you think of him.

He engulfed you in a tight hug, your vital signs spiking up at the skinship after a long time of not having him around.

“I missed you too. I really am sorry that I haven’t been in contact with you. I was just busy, I had a lot on my plate. Will you forgive me?” 

Your whole being is now awakened, maybe he is a mind reader afterall, and how could you ignore that charming puppy eyes of his. He even had the audacity to pout at you! 

Disrespectful. Annoying. You should give him a piece of your mind.

“I’ll accept your apology if you helped me with my homework.” 

Not the kind of reprimanding you had in mind but that would do. 

“Easy as a pie.” he beamed, sitting next to you and asking you what the assignment is all about.

You explained that the topic given was “Love”, an area in literature that you haven’t really explored yet, thus, you find it difficult to complete the fudgin’ ten pages essay.

While you were busy ranting your ass off about how infuriating your professor in that subject is, Mingi was in an another world. He stares at you intently, he doesn’t like seeing you stressed, he wants to ease some of your burdens. 

There’s only one thing to do. 

You squeaked when you were carried like a sack of potato in his arms, plopping you on your bed. You were legit giggling at his antics, that was cut short and was replaced with a small moan when he nibbled on the sensitive spot on your neck. 

“M-Mingi, what’s up?” 

“Nothing,” his hands travelled all over our body, touching every skin he could before resting it on your waist, “I told you, I’ll make it up to you right?” 

You were more than thankful that your mother insisted to your father to go on a vacation, you have all the house to yourself and you could let out the loudest cry of his name without the fear of having someone to hear you (Neighbors but fuck them, they’re not important.)

And here we go again, you squirming in his hold and crying out in pleasure when he unleashed his godlike strategy of fucking you. He does it so right that it left you breathless and satisfied every time. 

At the end of it all, the factor that flabbergasted the hell out of you was his undying affection and care. 

He cuddled you so close to him, almost crushing you and peppering kisses everywhere on your face. 

He stopped momentarily, peering into your eyes and lord, he’s so pretty even when the lighting is terrible.

“Write about me, it’s about love right? I know I’m not the only one who feels the spark when we are together, I know you have feelings for me darling.” 

Were you that transparent and highkey? 

He chuckled, closing the gap between the two of you, pecking you tenderly on the lips, “Yes, fortunately you are very transparent and highkey.” 

You are now beyond embarrassed, “Oh fuck me.” you covered your face using your hands, closing your eyes and praying to all gods out there to open the ground right now and swallow you whole. 

“I just did though.” 

“Shut up!” 

You fell asleep on his arms that night, listening to his steady heartbeat and finding solace in his lavender fragrance. When he was sure that you’re in dreamland, he placed a long kiss on your forehead, “I’m sorry, Y/N.” 

The sun is up high in the sky, a smile gracing your features when you thought that your ‘lover’ is beside you, soundly sleeping but when you checked, he’s not there anymore.

‘Where is he?’ 

A dreadful feeling settling on your stomach, he wouldn’t just leave you like that won’t he? 

You texted him, called him, even went to his house but it was all in vain when you didn’t manage to find him.

That afternoon, when your parents came home from their trip, you immediately asked them for Mingi’s whereabouts. Surely, he would have told them something, and you were right.

“He didn’t tell you?” your mother glanced at your father worriedly who only shrugged in return.

“He left the country, sweetie. He has to go to America to manage a business.” 

That felt like a sledgehammer being thrown at your soul, shattering you into pieces and now you don’t know how to pick yourself up. 

You didn’t realize the tears that started to cascade down your cheeks until your father asked you if you’re okay. You did not answer any of their queries, choosing to go outside and run far away where your feet will take you. 

Luck isn’t always by your side when you saw the place you’re at. The park where Mingi took you for you first ‘date.’

Fate is playing with you, doesn’t it? 

The sun is already setting down, casting a bright orange hue in the area, “Why?!” you yelled, your knees giving out on you. 

“Why do you have to do this to me?!” 

You let yourself feel the pain, let the tears fall, let the anger out, let everything around you fall apart. 

He’s cruel, taking a piece of you with that profession of sentiments only for him to fly to the other side of the world, withdrawing away from your life without an actual genuine goodbye. 

That day, you condemned love to death, creating an oath with yourself that any man who would want to involve himself with you will never, ever get past your thick shell.

3 years later. 

You were getting sleepy, all these inspirational messages and advice for facing the ‘real world’ are getting boring. Won’t they just call you up on stage and give your diplomas?

“Hold yourself from yawning.” you heard Seonghwa whisper from beside you, making you snicker a bit as he pinched Hongjoong’s side, preventing him from dozing off for the second time.

“Ugh,” Hongjoong grumbled, exasparated and weary, “I was up all night for a gig and this is the graduation that I’ll get?” 

“Get over it Joongie, this will be over soon.” you assured him, patting his back, “Besides, you’re not the only one who thinks that this ceremony is plain bullshit.” 

Seonghwa gave you a glare, not appreciating the cuss during a melancholic event.

Ironically, he did sighed out of relief when the emcee finally announced that the awarding would commence. 

You smiled when you heard your name being called, “L/N Y/N, our university summa cum laude for the english literature course.” 

Everyone clapped their hands for you, puffing your chest out and raising your head high, ready to deliver the speech that you had been working on for a week. 

You did hoped that a certain someone would be there to watch you, smiling proudly like a father but that would be wishful thinking itself, and you’re tired of making a fool out of yourself. 

You’re so done and past that emo phase, all the night spent wailing over a man is not worth it. Although you have to give some credits to him, you were able to produce top class writings by transcribing your sorrow and agony that he caused into words. 

Standing in front of the thousands of students in that gymnasium, you began speaking fluently, thanking everyone who supported you throughout your voyage and basically all that fiasco that would articulate your college life. 

When you’re done, a standing ovation was given to you, it’s obvious that you deserved that one.

“And now, for the next juncture of our ceremony, may we call on the CEO of a famous book company that published a lot of showpieces to give the plaque of recognition to our most outstanding student.” you walked towards the center of the stage, ready to receive the award. 

“Mister Song Mingi, please come up on the platform.”

Did you heard the name right? No, don’t overthink, it may be the same name but it might not be the same person. 

“This successful man also proposed an occupation for our top student in their company, please give him a round of applause everybody.” 

You looked towards your left, and there he was, walking towards you with an unreadable countenance, holding the frame that contains your diploma along with an envelope that carries the contract for the said job.

He paused his footsteps, him directly standing in front of you and you badly wanted to stomp out of there but you can’t.

You think you’re dreaming yet one look in his eyes and you know that you’re living in reality, getting consumed in his dark orbs and you felt all the buried emotions resurfacing. 

He held the award to you, his hands shaky and palms sweaty, waiting for you to accept it.

His eyes trailed down to the familiar necklace that he gave you a few years back, hope sparking in his heart that he’ll still be able to get you back. 

“First, congratulations, Y/N.” 

Hearing his voice made something within you melt, any other noise and people in the background were cancelled out, and he is the only thing that you could focus on.

“Second, will you accept this proffer?”

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

Taglist:

@hyuckilstan @gwenchwana @minkiflwr @ateezbabysitters @bloomingsann @btsreader12 @hwadump @fairygirl18 @songmingisthighs @isaluvvs

[hotwings0203]

Wat if katsuki actually had a s/o that loved Key word LOVED him but.....

Then when he started getting to aggressive and starts hitting her she suddenly stops all the love and affection. And that makes katsuki so confused and angry bc he like 'wtf why did they stop huggin and kissin me when I get home from my matches'. Then his darling becomes very depressed is and cooped up in her room all the time. So when katsuki friends come over they wonder where y/n is.

Tw:abuse, implied dubcon, depression

“Babe, you’re home!” You rush over to the door when you head it unlocking, arms outstretched already or embrace his wounds.

But when the door swings open you’re met with a scowling Bakugo who shoves you aside so hard you fall to the floor.

He grumbles and throws his bags down, kicking mud off his shoes onto the carpet as he glares at you.

“This place is a pigsty. Why the fuck didn’t you clean?”

You laugh nervously and raise an eyebrow. “Uhh, ‘cause I was out all day too? I just got home an hour ago and I was tired. What’s with you? Why’re you in such a bad mood?”

Katsuki’s eyes widen until they’re the size of dinner plates. His nostrils flare and his fists resume the same position as they do in the ring.

“You talkin’ back to me now?”

“What? No, you literally just asked-“

Crack.

The sound of him backhanding your cheek reverberates around the apartment, and you hold your face in shock.

It’s not so much the pain of him striking you that hurts, it’s the fact that this has been happening for a while now that aches the most. Nothing you do-no smiles, no amount of love you showed him in, no sobs or pleads-sways him.

You love him, it’s true.

But it’s hard to love him when he looks at you like that.

“Get the fuck up. And clean all this shit up, the next time I come home to this filth I’ll make the clean the floors with your tongue.”

He grabs you by your hair and throws you face-first onto the tile area, taking his own sweet time to turn around and walk to your shared room.

After you clean for hours until the place is spotless, you retreat to bed.

He’s on his phone typing away with a slight crease in his eyebrows, but he looks up at you as you walk in.

“Hey. You done?” He has the audacity to ask in a gentle voice.

“Mmhm.”

You don’t look at him as you begin changing your clothes in the restroom and close the door behind you.

His frown deepens at that. You’ve never shied away from being vulnerable and naked with him.

To test his doubt, when you walk back into the room with your head still down, he leans forward as you sit down on the mattress, your back turned to him.

You shut off the lights in silence as he reaches a hand out and curls it around your shoulders.

“C’mere, ‘wanna feel you.” He mumbles in his raspy sleepy voice.

But to his utter confusion, you gently brush his hand off and continue your journey to tuck yourself in bed.

With your back still facing him.

“I’m tired Katsuki. Not in the mood.”

His hand is still suspended in midair, his facial features still frozen in his initial shock as he’s left in a pitch black room which is suddenly overcome with a freezing cold creeping up his spine.

He’s too wounded, too shocked and shot from his ego to be irate.

You’ve never said no to cuddling at night. Never. So what was wrong now?

You were taking his anger so well for a while, what the hell was the matter with you?

But he doesn’t touch you again that night. He barely sleeps a wink to your usually comforting sound of soft snores and little mumbles in your sleep talk.

In the morning his lack of sleep gets the betterment of his temper, and he lashes out of you again in the shower.

You’re washing your hair when you feel a cool breeze against your bare body. You open your eyes and see Katsuki standing in front of you outside the glass door to your shower.

You feign an eye roll and merely grab the handle trying to close it shut.

He doesnt even let it budge. He just snarls down at your intruding hand and yanks the door back even further, pulling you along with the force.

You yelp and slip on the floor, falling unceremoniously at his feet.

The look on his face is frankly terrifying, much worse than yesterday’s. Bakugo slowly steps in along with your quickly reversing body and closes the door behind him, trapping you inside with him.

“Why’d you try to close it on me.”

It’s not a question, it’s a demand.

“I’m sorry.”

“Then get up and touch me.”

He’s towering over your cornered form, his fists dangerously swinging next to your head.

Your limbs don’t move though. Your heart thuds slowly, your love ebbing away from him with its slow rhythm.

You already know how this is going to turn out, but you try anyways.

“Please Bakugo, I’m really not in the mood right now.”

“Oh, so it’s Bakugo now, huh?”

Your body disassociates so you don’t feel it as much, but unfortunately your hands still flinch above your head in instinct.

“If you’re-thud-sorry, then you’ll fucking-crack-touch me you-smack-ungrateful bitch.”

Your cries are loud, but not loud enough to drown his roaring out, not enough to mute the sound of his hands cracking above your shaking body.

He leaves the shower unfulfilled in his heart and in his dick.

His mind is in shambles.

This is the longest you’ve wanted space from him, he could understand an hour but half a day?

He has a rude awakening when “half a day” becomes a couple more days, then a week, and then it’s half a month since you’ve willingly kissed his battle scars and loved him with your whole being.

He says willingly because otherwise you eat his hits up like you’re just another fighter in the ring when he gets angry at your apathy. The only restraining factor that differentiates you and the men he puts in coffins is his desperation for you to come back.

To no avail though. If you’re not keeling over on the ground or pinned underneath him and molding your anatomy to the shape of his fists, then you’re still as a corpse on the bed, staring up at the ceiling and wishing you were anywhere else but here.

Bakugo doesn’t know what to do.

He doesn’t know what to feel.

Rage is consumed by paranoia, paranoia is swallowed whole by depression, depression is swept away by panicked desperation.

His hair starts falling out, his punches grow weaker and he comes home with more and more bruises every day to match the ones littering across your body.

One might wonder whose the real fighter-him or you.

And so one day when he can’t stand it anymore, can’t stand the silence and tension that’s so palpable you could taste the iron in the air, he invited his friends over.

He need the distractions. He needs happiness, a word that doesn’t seem worthy of his pathetic being.

He’s more pathetic than your unmoving body.

“Heyyy man!” Sero and Denki exclaim in obnoxious unison and throw their arms around Bakugo’s shoulders. All three of them barrel through his half-opened doorway and practically topple him over.

The air of excitement is so foreign to him, but oh so welcoming.

“Hey,” he grunts back awkwardly.

“You’ve never really invited us over without Y/N dragging you by the ear for it. How is she by the way? Haven’t heard of her in a while.” Kirishima nudges his shoulder.

But before he can open his mouth Denki cuts in. “You knock her up yet? You sly bastard, no wonder you’re hiding her from us. The gigs over Y/N, show us that beautiful belly!” He cups his hands around his mouth and the quip slashes through the air and infests Katsuki’s heart. It’s a mockery, a cruel reminder of what he cannot have.

When their friend doesn’t answer and merely walks off, the boys behind him awkwardly look at each other.

Usually he’d explode at them or at least chase them around the room.

And usually you would come out to greet them.

Katsuki was wrong.

You weren’t different from him anymore.

Because when he accepts that not even his friends can release his stone cold heart from its catatonic confines, he’s never felt more in sync with you than he has now.

[lokiskitten]

I NEED a part two of “first time”

Loki Laufeyson | first time pt2

Loki Laufeyson x fem!reader

plot : ( refer to pt1 ) after experiencing a first intercourse together, Loki insists on crossing the path towards the end. With only the fear of being seen by the other variants holding you back, you end up agreeing to follow the excited man’s proposition.

warnings : smut, extremely short moment of none-con followed by a consent check up, mention of virginity loss ( male ), unprotected sex ( pls for the love of god wrap it ) and lowkey sub!Loki.

“Now that was... ah. Nice.” You affirmed tiredly, knees colliding with one another though your feet remained slightly parted. Your organism was still trying to wash away the orgasm you had just reached with Loki’s divine help. Meanwhile, the god of mischief carried on staring at your body, resembling a scientist who led an experience on the human anatomy. He wanted to ask a thousand questions, but didn’t feel brave enough to dare to open his mouth just yet. In fact, he felt as if he was disturbing an intimate and personal moment of yours. It nearly managed to make the god feel flustered and awkward.

Looking closer, Loki was able to spot your own love juice dripping out of your entrance, coating your swollen lips and settling a deep emotion of lustful hunger within his soul. He wanted more, he needed more- and only you could potentially satisfy his crippling and frustrating sexual appetite at the moment. His hands rested on your knees, forcefully parting your thighs before he allowed himself to slip in between. Upon feeling a weight suddenly add up against your own mass, your eyelids moved open which allowed you to make eye contact with Loki. You felt surprised to see him there, and even more surprised to witness him behaving in such a way.

“What are you doing?” You asked, attempting to move your chest up with the help of your elbows- which led Loki to back away to sit down on his knees between your legs. “Well, I’m doing the thing. Isn’t that what people do next?” He explained, earning a frown from your shocked self. Though, you were still willing to be patient with him. “No, you always ask. Always. Do you understand?” You affirmed seriously, earning a shy nod from the demigod who didn’t really enjoy to be treated like a child. Though his aim wasn’t to ruin this moment by starting unnecessary drama- especially as he appeared to be in the wrong. But once this small moment of embarrassment had passed by, Loki felt like explaining the reason to why he appeared so frustrated.

“Look, I have a very painful..” he began, only to end up being cut off by your staring self who admired the long shape traced from within his pants. It was too big to miss. “Boner.” You finished before looking up at him, earning an embarrassed gasp coming from the demigod. “And I really want you.” He finished on a nearly sorrowful tone adding up to a puppy face- a note that managed to reach your heart. You shot a glare at the small wooden cabin in which Mobius and the other variants were having dinner, anxiety taking over your organism at the thought of potentially being seen or caught by them. “I don’t know..” You explained, earning a frown from Loki sitting before you who didn’t appear to understand why you were refusing the offer after you had both experienced such fun.

“Aw come on. What could possibly go wrong?” He cheered, giving your shoulder a gentle fist kick in order to lift the mood. Unfortunately, you couldn’t help but remain stoic. “Well, loads of things in fact.” You responded, leading Loki’s smile to drop instantly. “What if we get caught? That would be an embarrassment I’d never be able to get over. Not to mention the whole pregnancy issues if your princess self isn’t capable of pulling out at the right time.” You carried on, offering Loki multiple exemples to why this upcoming sexual intercourse could possibly go wrong. Ironically enough, he appeared more concerned and offended over the fact that you had just called him princess rather than getting worked up about the horrible consequences program you had just settled.

After spending a couple of seconds making useless eye contact with the raven haired man, you ended up breaking this one in order to shoot another glance towards the wooden cabin. The surroundings appeared calm, which managed to ease your anxiety. Besides, after leading you to cum in such an incredible way, you believed that maybe Loki deserved a release too- adding up to the fact that you’d feel proud to be the woman who would take care of breaking through his virginity. Turning your head back towards his, a nod was the only gesture that escaped your body. It instantly managed to lift the demigod’s mood. “Really?..” Loki asked, and that in order to make sure you weren’t tricking him, the most famous trickster.

“Yeah, lets give it a try.” You responded on a friendly tone, a discreet smile adorning your features as you watched Loki summon a blanket for the two of you. He had probably noticed the way you appeared to avoid dust with the help of your pants, and wanted to offer you better then this piece or clothing to protect your sensitive skin. However, he appeared to organize this upcoming event in quite a religious way. He made sure to keep the blanket flat against the floor, brushing away the wrinkles until you finally stopped him by taking ahold of his wrist. “This is the part where you take your clothes off.” You affirmed, underlining the fact that he probably should stop worrying about the wrong matters especially as you were running out of time.

“Oh, right right.” He answered politely, taking a seat on the green pled before he began to precariously unbutton his TVA shirt. You watched as his tone muscles were revealed, his abs shifting as he got rid of his upper piece of clothing for good. This checkpoint led you to look up at his greenish eyes again, the two of you exchanging a smile before he began to go for his belt. The shape of his hard member was still visible through his trousers, a length that would soon be set free once Loki would finally get rid of his pants. No shame or embarrassment seemed to fill his organism upon his lower clothes being pulled down to his knees- his crotch being revealed to your respectful sight. In contrary, Loki appeared more than proud of himself for finally getting to go through such a thing, which held him back from accumulating negative emotions.

Your two naked selves then laid down on the blanket, wrapping your arms around one another’s body and engaging in a rather friendly but passionate hug. You enjoyed this warm and safe physical contact, and you expected Loki to enjoy it too. The sensation of his moist tip rubbing against your stomach only made it better- as you still felt amazed regarding the size of his member. It combined both generous length and girth, and was also gifted with the perfect shape any woman, or man, could ever ask for. “You smell nice..” he affirmed, his nose being stuck to the crook of your neck as you happily passed your hands through his black hair. He ended up looking up at you, pressing a shy and respectful kiss to your lips. You smiled.

It didn’t take long for the two of you to roll around, switching to Loki now resting on top of you. He smiled down out you out of pure excitement, his tip already trying to find a way into your entrance- as clumsy as his hips could be. After taking notice that he appeared to have a hard time lining himself up with your hole, you slipped a hand down between your legs and gave his balls a gentle caress, earning a couple of sensitive moans coming from your excited partner. However, your hand then proceeded to slither it’s way up his shaft, delicate digits wrapping around this one’s girth in order to move it to where it should and wanted to be. When you felt like Loki was now ready to carry on on his own, your hand made its way back up to his shoulder before passing underneath his arm and wrapping around his smooth and muscular back.

The raven haired man looked down at you with slight panic in his eyes upon being aware that a single hip thrust of his could begin the intercourse, his shoulders now having to carry a great responsibility he simply wasn’t ready to fail. Unfortunately, Loki once again appeared to struggle with pushing himself in. Even when looking down at your crotch, he still didn’t manage to properly slide inside of you. However, upon taking notice of his distress again, you agreed to slip your hand back down to his groin, taking a gentle hold of his shaft which you locked between your thumb and index finger before offering him a little bit of help regarding penetration. Thankfully, his cock was now able to slide inside of you on it’s own even if it remained a slow process.

Moving your hand away, you allowed Loki to fully take over the penetration process as you watched his facial expressions clench and contract. Eventually his eyelids shut close, hips colliding with yours as his tip dangerously brushed against your sensitive cervix. You could tell that this was brand new for him, and that he visibly had a hard time handling it. “You’re doing amazing.” You affirmed empathetically, your hand gently caressing his flexed biceps. Meanwhile, Loki couldn’t help but focus onto the warmth your walls provided him, his brain still attempting to process how nice it felt to finally get to be coated in a woman’s love juices. It was tight, moist, and warm- long story short : the perfect environnement for his needy member.

“Maybe try to give moving a try..” you proposed shyly, your organism beginning to feel more than overwhelmed by Loki’s filling presence inside of you. After hearing about this offer, Loki began to slowly back away from your crotch, shiny length, which was coated in your love juice, sliding out of you with relative ease. The two of your moaned, though you appeared calmer than your friend at first- who you didn’t forget was currently going through his first intercourse ever. Therefore, judgment wasn’t present. It didn’t take long for a regular thrusting process to take place, your overly sensitive walls nicely reacting to the friction caused by Loki’s cock especially after getting to orgasm beforehand. Your arms remained wrapped around his back, the two of you rocking back and forth against the green blanket.

“You’re doing so good..” you whispered in his ear, eyelids remaining closed as your hand had now taken ahold of his long raven hair. Your main goal was to enhance him through this event, and give him the happiness and recognition he clearly deserves as a bed partner. However, your natural tightness adding up to the more than large size of his girth was overstimulating Loki’s genitals, sending shockwaves of pleasure down his shaft and straight into his tensed balls which repetitively bumped against the area located beneath entrance. “Don’t forget to- to pull out.” You begged breathlessly, his thrusts becoming more primal and intense now that he had gained some extra self esteem regarding the situation.

You couldn’t help but grow worried and work yourself up over this intercourse’s potential end, wondering if the man on top of you was going to be able to control himself and pull out before his cum could penetrate into your womb. Thankfully, this annoying state didn’t last for long and you soon found yourself lost into lust again. Your arms wrapped around his neck, teeth gently biting down onto his earlobe as you allowed yourself to tug on it in a primal yet harmless manner. Loki seemingly appeared to appreciate this move, another wave of moans exiting his mouth as he unexpectedly pulled out of your cunt in order to allow his own hand to wrap around his shaft.

A couple of pumps were enough to see white liquid spring out of his urethra, the sperme landing on your stomach and staining your delicate skin. You were both left breathless, for nearly the exact same reason as one another. Resting your hand onto your chest, you panted whilst looking down at the substance on your tummy which appeared surprisingly appetizing. “Loki..” you moaned gently, fingers brushing against one of the stained parts of your stomach before you brought your digit up to your lips. Even if you hadn’t tasted many, his cum appeared different than the rest on the gustative level. “That was amazing.” You affirmed with a smile, extending your arm for him to join you on the blanket. You were craving for his touch, more than you had ever craved anything before.

[ part one available right here ]

As requested, here’s part two! I hope it was enjoyable for you guys to read. Don’t hesitate to leave feedback, it means tons. Stay safe and happy❤️

[fenristheorem]

Lance: Dragon Headcanons

A staple mark in Lance’s character is his dragon genetics, and I have a lot of headcanons regarding this, so I figured I'd write about this while I have it in mind. A lot of these probably aren’t canon at all, mainly just me rambling away about what I'd like to see, but I think they're still pretty interesting regardless. 

~Do note: Lance is going to be a bit more feral than usual in this one (this is discussing his dragon side, after all), and many of these are going to be romantic. Combine feral and romantic and you get something along the lines of NSFW. It’s not exactly NSFW, but this post certainly isn’t clean, either. This is really only a concern near the end of the post.

~ Under the cut ~

It’s known that in a partially transformed state, Lance’s mother - Tia - has a tail, scales on certain parts of her body, makeshift claws (technically they’re just filed down nails, at least that’s what I’ve read in certain descriptions), and a few other dragon-like features, but since this post reflects my own headcanons I want to add on to and alter that. 

In my headcanons, dragons in a partially transformed state have tails, as well as wings, real claws (not nails, it’s like an extension of the bones that turn into claws), scales in certain areas, and can actually transform to the point where their limbs are more dragon-like the further away from the body it is. They can also control exactly what features appear when they partially transform, but only to some extent. There’s either a full human appearance, or a full dragon appearance, and in the middle there’s a small range of partially transformed traits that they can choose to display; like having the claws, tail, and scales, but no wings, or limiting the amount of scales on their body while having the other traits appear fully. I imagine controlling their transformations is like a muscle; the more they work with it, the more control they have (which is already sort of canon since Valk admitted he wasn’t as strong as Lance because he didn’t practice as much when they were younger), and they can control a fine selection of which traits are active and when.

From that; dragons - like many other living creatures - have their own distinct scents, and with that there are scent glands (there’s a lot of reptiles that don’t have scent glands I think, but also some that do, and since dragons can shift between a reptilian and mammal form I like to imagine that they do have scent glands). In nearly any state, dragons’ scent glands are a lot like a cat’s and are placed in the same areas as their scales when they’re partially transformed; around the mouth, on the cheekbones, the neck, genitals, and a few places on their torso, chest, and arms. In their complete dragon form these locations are primarily the same, but since their anatomy is a bit different, there may be other locations with scent glands as well. These glands work partially with releasing their natural scent, but for the most part they’re also used for scent marking. Again like a cat, dragons can rub off their scent on objects and people by rubbing their scent gland scales across something.

Because of this, Lance may have a small tendency to brush himself against his partner... a lot, especially if he’s partially or fully transformed. It’s common for him to be laying with his partner and begin to repeatedly rub the side of his face against any part of her, but he especially prefers around her face, neck, or chest, and this is usually disguised as aggressive nuzzling. He can do this at random moments through out the day as well; when he suddenly comes up behind her and takes her in his arms and nuzzles into her neck, at night when he pulls her close and accidentally wakes her up just to rub against her, or even if they’re showering together and Lance wants to remark his territory because the water is washing his scent off.

For this reason, he probably doesn't like his partner wearing heavy perfumes or anything that can disguise his - and her - natural scent.

If his partner allows this scent marking to be a commonplace thing, they can find this becoming a habit for him even when he isn’t transformed, and he especially likes when his partner willingly touches his scales - even if just to feel the textures again. Along with that, his partner may make it a habit to brush herself against him; acting as though she’s scent marking him, or just brushing against him so that his scent rubs off on her more. Since dragons probably follow some set of instincts (like any other living creature, even humans), Lance’s partner ‘scent marking’ him is probably incredibly endearing to him, as not only does it mean that she accepts his instinctual nature, but it also shows that she wants to take part in it too.

On the topic of instincts, I image dragons to be incredibly feral and impulsive in at least some basic ways, specifically with some forms of communication and relationships (no matter if it’s romantic or not), so body language may be a major way of communication with him some days. Of course, he’ll still actually talk to other people, but if he’s having a day where he’s just really not in the mood to talk but he needs to communicate with his partner in basic ways, he may revert back to a relatively feral form of communication: body language. Everyone and all species display things through body language, so it would make sense for Lance to rely on speaking with his partner through body language when he’s not in the mood to talk, but he’ll probably use other basic sounds like huffs, grunts, groans, and growls to relay things more clearly since his partner may not be as fluent as he is with this type of communication. 

On these days, she can expect to come back to their room at night and ask a question, only to be answered with a grunt, or a faint growl with a glare, or a scratchy purr and contently closed eyes as he takes her into his arms. It will take his partner a while to decipher exactly what each noise means, as well as what they mean when combined with different facial expressions and posturing, but she should pick up on it quite quickly. Fortunately he acts a relatively similar way on the days he is talking, so many of those days where he resigns from speaking shouldn't be too much of an issue, as he acts mostly the same way minus the words.

Keeping on the topic of nonverbal communication; when he's partially transformed, he probably has a few other habits than just scent marking is partner. As a show of being territorial, he may drape or curl his tail around her, be it her ankles, legs, or even her waist if they're lying down together. As a sign of affection, he may lightly drag his claws along her skin, similarly to how he would with his fingers to relay tender affection.

In a general idea; when Lance is partially or fully transformed, he acts much more on feral instincts than usual. This can lead him to being simultaneously more territorial and romantic towards his partner; it imprints the idea to others that she belongs to him while he maintains a quality relationship with his partner so she doesn't seek to leave him. He feels emotions very deeply, and it's those emotions that influence him to act more on feral instincts (after all, emotions are basically chemical reactions within the body that we then respond to). This means that his emotional reactions can be - and usually are - amplified, or at very least it's easier for him to have a stronger than normal reaction.

This last headcanon may be a bit iffy, but I imagine dragons definitely take a singular mate for the rest of their lives, and have a sort of mating ritual where they leave a physical mark - a bite - on their partner that signifies that from then on, their partner belongs to them.

Marking in general - be it biting, clawing, or bruising (that last one is typically on accident) - may be a common thing with Lance due to his interest in making his partner his mate, and he may perform those markings willingly (usually on the gentler side) or by pure accident as he's caught up in the moment of pressing his partner into the bed and holding her down as she squirms (it's in these accidental moments where the more rough, violent-looking marks come from). He's alright for the most part if his partner would rather not have him inflict a lot of physical marks, he understands her reasoning - after all, its certainly not entirely painless - but his partner may need to understand that if she allows him to act on his more feral instincts sometimes, even in nonsexual ways, he may still end up accidentally inflicting some small mark on her. Of course, if she's sensitive enough to pain that any sort of marking will make her show signs of distress, he'll immediately back off upon noticing those signs (the last thing he wants is to truly hurt his partner), but if she doesn't show signs of discomfort, he may indulge in the feeling of sinking his teeth into her flesh a bit too much and end up accidentally leaving a mark. While on the topic of marking by teeth; dragons - being carnivores - probably have abnormally sharp teeth, even in a human form. This also helps their marking mates by a bite mark stand out more, as not many other species can do similar things.

On the other hand, if his partner is entirely fine with - better yet; likes - marks, be it of any kind, expect him to make that a semi consistent thing. He's much more likely to inflict smaller, more common marks (like hickeys), but if his partner lets him, he'll gladly leave a few scratches or light bite marks on her skin next time he finds himself between her legs and deep within her. On occasion, when he really lets himself go and indulge in the feel of his partner, he may leave a more aggressive scratch or other mark, but this would usually only happen when he knows his partner doesn't mind - or likes - these physical marks.

An important thing for his partner to keep in mind is that he has a human form but his species is dragon. At the end of the day, he’s a dragon by nature. He can certainly be civil and calm, but he will have his moments where he seems more beast than man. Living and being intimate with him is very different than just working with him, so his partner does need to be aware that she may find out some interesting facts about him that she may have never guessed before.

Being with a dragon isn't for the faint of heart, Lance is a true testament to that, but as long as his partner approaches the topic of romance and heavy instincts with an open, considerate mindset, it's unlikely there should be any issues that would arise from this.

I'm glad I finally got those written out, I've been meaning to write them for a while! Hopefully it's not too unorthodox of a topic, but I've noticed the topic of Lance being a dragon is something people like to continuously acknowledge, so I figured this is a good topic to post about.

Thanks for reading!

[raibebe]

Sugar and Spice

Genre: Fluff? Words: 4.390 Warnings: none for this chapter

Chapters: | 1 | 2 | 3 | masterlist

A/N: Sugar and Spice is a series now, I know you all probably wanted more smut but I chose to write a prequel about how Jeno ended up being a sugar baby in the first place.  Since this is going to be a longer story, I wanted to try to do it in chapters instead of writing one giant thing. Later on I will switch the POV but I felt like it was needed to start off with Jeno’s.  Do not worry, there will be smut in later chapters.

Taglist: @yutaalove​, @byunniebaekhyunnie​

Like all the bad decisions Lee Jeno had made in his life, this one started with none other than Lee Donghyuck. The two boys were sitting in the university’s cafeteria where Donghyuck watched Jeno eat the food they had served with a disgusted look on his face. “I don’t understand how you can even swallow that.” “It’s either this or instant ramen again and I am pretty sure my body consists of 60% ramen already,” Jeno whined, trying to wash down what must be the most dry piece of meat he had ever tasted his entire life with some water. “Dude you work like three jobs,” Donghyuck groaned, kicking his friend beneath the table. “Got fired from the library because they caught me sleeping,” Jeno sighed deeply. “You look like you’re ready to pass out right now.” “Hyuck, I am functioning on three hours of sleep and two redbull.” “Jeno,” Donghyuck sighed and Jeno hated it when he used that tone of voice. He didn’t need Donghyuck’s pity. He could do this. He was fine. Well mostly. Apart from the fact that he got an average amount of four hours of sleep, was barely passing his classes and got fired by one of his many part time jobs every few months his life was absolutely peachy. “I’m sure if you talk to your parents again-“ “No,” he cut Donghyuck off, “I won’t come begging at their door. I chose this path for myself and they simply don’t agree Hyuck.” “Your parents suck ass,” his friend sighed, leaning back in his chair, “Pretty sure my parents would throw a party each day for a week straight if I had told them I wanted to become a vet.” “Well mine aren’t,” Jeno sighed and raked a hand through his messy hair. It was getting too long again, his bangs hanging into his eyes. Could he ask Renjun to cut it again? Did he trust the furious Chinese man with something sharp that close to his eyes?

For a while it was quiet between the two friends while Jeno continued to stuff his face with the cafeteria food. He didn’t have much time before he had to go to his shift at a little record store not far from his dorm building. It wasn’t paying the best but the owner of the shop and no issues with him doing his readings there when no customers were around. “You know that we miss you, Jeno. Right?” Donghyuck cut the silence which made Jeno stop mid bite, “We haven’t done anything with all the boys in forever and I am not counting the times we were at the club while you were working and declining the tips we were trying to give you.” “I don’t need nor want your pity money, Hyuck,” Jeno groaned again and shoved the plate with his food away. His appetite had left him. Donghyuck and him had this conversation every other week always with the same outcome: Donghyuck explaining how he was worried about him and Jeno telling him that he was fine (which he most likely wasn’t but he managed). “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to make it to our meets ups, I really am,” Jeno tried to explain and Donghyuck’s eyes immediately went soft, “I just- I’m behind on my tuition again and haven’t paid the lease for the dorms for the last moth yet. I really need to take every minute and hour of overtime I can get and my grades aren’t getting any better either. This will all be for nothing if I fail my anatomy class again.” “Jeno,” Donghyuck tried again, “You can’t keep on like this for another three years.” “I have to Hyuck,” Jeno sighed, slouching back into his chair, “I have to.” His body had been screaming at him to stop whatever he was doing for weeks now and to be completely honest, he was aching for a full eight hours of sleep and not the usual four that were just disconnected naps throughout his day.

“I’m going to make a suggestion and I need you to promise me to not be mad at me, alright,” Donghyuck suddenly said, holding out his pinky finger. “Hyuck, I won’t take money from any of you. I don’t want Chenle to pay for my lease again. That was a one-time thing and I told him that I would pay him back,” Jeno immediately argued, shame running through him. He hated constantly being treated to meals and the thought that he had a debt with his younger friend even though the Chinese had told Jeno hundreds of times that he didn’t need to money back. “That’s not what I wanted to suggest. Now promise.” Jeno rolled his eyes before interlocking his pinky with one of his arguably best friends. “Actually this isn’t my idea. But Jaemin and Renjun brought it up last Friday at our movie night.” That alone made Jeno feel bad again. While his friends had been all cuddled up in Chenle’s apartment to watch some movies and eat popcorn while drinking cheap beer, he had been working in a sweaty club with horrible music that made his ears ring. “I’m sorry,” he muttered under his breath but Donghyuck didn’t seem to hear him. “But hear me out: Have you ever thought about becoming a sugar baby?” Jeno lost all control over his facial muscles and was pretty sure his brain had just short circuited, his open mouth free real estate for the fruit flies that were all over the cafeteria. “No, no, think about it Jeno,” Donghyuck immediately argued, “I did my research and you can get a monthly allowance for at least a thousand dollar if not more. You’d be able to quit that job at the shady bar.” “Hyuck,” Jeno cut in when his brain had successfully rebooted, “In case you haven’t noticed in all the years we’ve been friends: I’m not gay.” “So what?” “What do you mean so what? I’m not going to prostitute myself for some old man just because I need money,” Jeno hissed between his teeth. “Oh my god Jeno,” Donghyuck sighed, “You’re so 2010. There are plenty of wealthy woman out there looking for some arm candy to pass their time.” “You’re insane Donghyuck.” “Insanely brilliant that is,” his friend grinned, “This is literally the perfect solution for all your problems.” “How is fucking some old hag going to solve any of my problems?” “Oh come on, Jeno,” Donghyuck groaned, “There are plenty of sites that let you choose your preferred partner for this kind of arrangement. And don’t even try to deny that you’re into older girls.” At that Jeno flushed a deep red color. His preference about his partners was basically an open secret in their group of friends that he had confessed after a drunken round of truth or dare some time in highschool when Renjun had asked him why he had rejected the confession of a cute girl a year below them to keep crushing on the substitute teacher they had. Chenle had not let this thing die until Jeno had started to date a girl from Mark’s class and even then the boy had made some cruel comments about their age difference. “Here, Renjun found a site that seems very legit,” Donghyuck brought him back from his memories, scribbling down a link on a piece of paper, “Please just check it out.” “That’s a lot of promises I have to give today,” Jeno mused but took the paper to put it into his pocket. “We’re just trying to look out for you Jeno.” “I know,” he sighed, “And I appreciate that.” “You’re running thin Jeno.” “I know Hyuck!” He said, making his friend flinch at his outburst, “I fucking know, okay. I’m sorry I am making you all worry with how terrible my life currently is. It’s not like I am happy about it but you could really stop bitching about it.” Just when Donghyuck opened his mouth to reply something, Jeno’s eyes shot to the big clock on the wall. “Safe it Hyuck, I need to go to my shift.” With that he got up to hoist his bag that was barely holding together onto his shoulder and basically fled the cafeteria. Donghyuck could bring back his plate, that was the least he could do.  

Once outside, the student quickly plugged in his earphones into his phone and played his favorite playlist on his way to the record store, inwardly scolding himself for being so proud and not leeching off of Jaemin’s spotify anymore when what felt like the third ad in ten minutes interrupted his vibing. At the record store, he quickly unlocked the front door and put on a random record to play over the speakers before he got situated behind the counter to try to revise his notes from today that were unreadable at best. He had fallen asleep at least twice in his morning class and had to be shaken awake by one of his classmates once the lecture was over. Great. So self-study it was.

Over the course of his shift, he was only interrupted twice from reading the chapter in the book that he was pretty sure he should have brought back to the library last week. But since he really didn’t have any money to spare for the fine, he had decided to keep it a little longer until he was at a financially better place which was nowhere near in close sight now that he was fired from his job at said library. Which brought him back to what Donghyuck had said to him. But him becoming a sugar baby? Jeno really couldn’t think of himself in such a position. Sure, he wasn’t bad looking but when he thought of the word sugar baby he thought of beautiful and petite boys like Renjun or maybe even Jaemin but him? Even though he had lost quite some muscle mass since this shitshow had begun, he was still built quiet broad and had more of a masculine, handsome feel than sweet and beautiful. And wasn’t that was sugar mommies would look for? If they wanted a man, they wouldn’t search for a someone younger. Jeno sighed loudly and let his head hit his book. This was a hopeless situation.

But he guessed having a look at the site wouldn’t hurt and so Jeno ended up typing in the address of the sugar baby site into the computer at work, praying the owner didn’t know how to check which sites he had opened once he’d delete the browser history. The site itself looked clean, mainly consisting of muted pastel colors and black font and accents. If you weren’t signed in, you didn’t get much information on what exactly was going on but the site claimed that keeping their clients data safe was their main concern since very influential people were using their site. Jeno completely blamed Donghyuck and the two redbulls he had already had for clicking on the pastel blue ‘sign up’ button. He then had to fill out basic data about himself: His gender, age, profession and interests along with his sexual orientation. He hesitated for a second when the site asked if he was okay to be partnered with someone of the same sex for a strictly platonic relationship but denied it in the end. Next he was asked to choose a nickname to chat with potential benefactors as the site called the sugar mommies and daddies. Was this where he should choose something cute to attract people to his profile? Whacking his brain for any cute plays on his actual name, he came up with exactly nothing other than the No-Jam nickname he had earned in highschool which really wasn’t cute at all. The only other thing that came to mind was when Jaemin jokingly called himself Nana and Jeno Nono in that god-awful aegyo voice which never failed to make Jeno cringe. Why did he have to choose a nickname anyways? It was to protect the benefactors; he really didn’t have anything else to lose than his dignity. Sighing, Jeno quickly typed in: ‘Jenonono’ as his nickname, only cringing slightly when choosing a password and entering his email address to confirm everything. Once he had activated his account with the link he was sent, Jeno only had to choose a couple of pictures for his profile to complete it. Well this was a problem. Jeno couldn’t even remember the last time he took a selfie where he wasn’t looking like death on two legs to send them to his friends. He quickly scrolled through his camera roll in search for at least one decently attractive photo. He only stopped scrolling when he found photos from almost a year ago before he had changed his field of study and had the fall-out with his parents. His hair was bleached a bright blonde color and the sides were shaved but he was looking good, more toned than he was now and like he actually slept at night. Not even close to how he was looking right now but it was still him, so did this count as catfishing? He quickly chose two photos with his blonde hair styled up and one with his natural haircolor from before he and Jaemin had the great idea to bleach each other’s hair and send them to himself via mail so he could upload them onto the website.

When Jeno pressed the ‘complete’ button, the site showed him on overview of what his profile would look like and it wasn’t even half bad if he did say so himself. He still felt a little uneasy about the whole thing and the fact that he was basically catfishing people into thinking he still looked so bulky and put together like he had looked last year didn’t help. “Come on Jeno, you have nothing to lose,” he grumbled and pressed the ‘confirm’ button one last time. His profile disappeared and the site instead showed Jeno their actual layout for the matching. Unlike other dating sites, he couldn’t swipe through potential benefactors himself; he had to wait until someone actually message him. Great. So he had to hope that his pictures and his honestly not great profile would lure someone in who was at least mildly attractive. Maybe no one would ever contact him and he could just throw it back into Donghyuck’s face how this had been a shitty idea to begin with. Sighing, he closed the site for now and deleted the browser history just to be safe as well.

The rest of his shift went by in a blur of trying to make sense of his scribbly notes and whatever the authors of the book he was reading were trying to teach him about the anatomy of different species and Jeno didn’t even think twice about the site he had signed up for when he closed down the shop and went home to his shitty dorm. The short trip to the convenience store only made him more aware of how poor he was when he had to choose between an actual meal and food for the cat he had recently (very much illegally) saved from the streets and taken in. He’d be more than damned if the kitten he had named Bongsik would have to suffer, so it would be a delicious meal for her and more instant ramen for Jeno.

Back at his dorm room - a single one that could barely fit his bed, wardrobe and desk - the little cat immediately rubbed its tiny head against his pant leg and Jeno couldn’t help but smile and bend down to pet the little creature. He felt a little bit of tension immediately seep from his tired muscles and indulged the kitten in a little cuddle session until he felt his eyes starting to itch. His allergies be damned! Sighing the boy got up to actually shed his jacket and shoes and opened the fresh can of delicious cat food for Bongsik who immediately devoured it. If she thought it was delicious, would it taste good for Jeno as well? Chuckling he turned back to prepare his own food, all this instant ramen might have started to take a toll on his psyche. He ate his meal in silence before throwing both containers in the trash. Jeno knew he had to work on his essay for one of his classes but for a moment he just felt the need to relax for a bit, especially now that he didn’t have to rush over to his job at the library. Taking out his phone, he quickly replied to the group chat of his friends where they were animatedly planning a trip to the cinema on Friday which Jeno had to decline. Not only did he have a shift at the bar but he also didn’t really have the money for it. Sighing he locked his phone again. Well that went great, now he was stressed again. “Bongsik you love me right?” He asked and turned towards his cat again who was lounging next to him on the floor, her belly full with delicious food. Oh to be a cat...

Jeno sighed again when his cat of course didn’t answer. He really was going insane. But it was going to be worth it, he reminded himself again. Once this was all over he would be a vet and able to help all kinds of animals. He would make good money and could pay off his tuition slowly and maybe a couple of years later he could even have his own medical practice. But to have all that, he really needed to up his grades. Especially this godawful anatomy grade. Groaning Jeno got up from the floor to plop down on his desk and start his laptop that made an awful lot of noise while booting up. Knowing that it took the device a good two minutes give or take to completely be ready, he started to go through his notes again before typing them into the document where he compiled all his notes just to have them all nice and neat in one place.

By some ungodly hour in the morning, Jeno’s eyes started to close more and more often on their own accord and the letters on the screen started to blur together despite wearing his glasses. “We should probably call it a night, Bongsik,” he spoke into the silent room, his cat already fast asleep at the foot of his bed. Fondly smiling at her, he saved his progress on both his notes and his essay and shut down his laptop. Jeno didn’t really dare to look at the time, so he just quickly grabbed his stuff for the bathroom and got himself ready for bed in the vacant bathroom he shared with a couple of other students. But at this time it was almost guaranteed to be empty.

Once back in his dorm, Jeno quickly climbed under the covers and plugged his phone in to make sure his alarm would actually go off in about 4 hours. Even though he was dead tired now that his body was surrounded by the warmth of his bed, a notification caught his attention. Leeching off of the free wifi at the record store, he had downloaded the app that came with the sugar baby site praying it would work on his outdated phone which it luckily did. Maybe the programmers had actually thought about broke students with shitty phones just like him for once. Taking a deep breath, Jeno clicked on the notification that had told him that a potential benefactor wanted to text him. Well that was quick. A lot quicker than he had anticipated. When the app had finally loaded with the shitty wifi he definitely not stole from his dorm neighbor (he had set his password as 1234, he was begging to have it stolen), a profile of a woman showed up. She smiled warmly in the picture she had chosen and it seemed to be taken at some tropical place judging by the palm trees in the background. Jeno quickly skimmed through the rest of her profile that only said that she wasn’t that much older than him. Well she was but not to the extent where she could have been his mother - ew. As her job she just had just listed estate agent. Did that pay well? Jeno didn’t know. His thumb hovered over the pastel button that said ‘accept’. If he would press this, this wasn’t just a ‘I’ll take a look at this app for Donghyuck’s sake’ then he was actually invested. But even if he accepted, he was not entitled to the woman. He could still say no if she turned out to be a creep. Hell, he didn’t even have to meet her ever if he didn’t like chatting with her. Before his courage could leave him, Jeno quickly accepted the offer and a new page opened that looked just like every other messenger.

To: Jenonono You’re up late.

What a weird way to open up a conversation. But it certainly was better than perverted innuendos or a ‘hi’ like Jaemin was continuously whining over whenever he had reinstalled tinder. But what was he supposed to reply? Should he try to act cute and coy? Was that what she would be looking for? But before he could even type anything, she had sent another message.

To: Jenonono You don’t seem like the typical boy you find on here.

What was that supposed to mean?

From: Jenonono I’m not? what are those like then?

To: Jenonono They’re not as handsome as you.

At that Jeno flushed a deep red color. He wasn’t used to such blatant flirting.

To: Jenonono I really like the blonde on you but the darker color is cute as well.

From: Jenonono it’s dark right now

As soon as he hit send, Jeno wanted to hit himself. What was she supposed to answer to that message? God he was such an idiot.

To: Jenonono Cute. Are you nervous?

From: Jenonono I have never done this before and didn’t think someone would message someone like me

To: Jenonono I haven’t been doing this for long either. And what do you mean by ‘someone like me’?

From: Jenonono you said yourself that I’m not the typical boy you would find on here...

To: Jenonono Well occasionally there is a diamond between all the rocks.

Jeno wasn’t sure if this was even an actual saying but it made him feel warm nevertheless.

From: Jenonono you’re pretty forward with your flirting

To: Jenonono Am I making you shy, baby?

As if to prove her point, Jeno almost choked on his own saliva, coughing loudly which ultimately woke up Bongsik who threw him a very much not amused gaze. He hadn’t known that just reading the word baby would have such an effect on him. A voice in the back of his head that sounded a little too much like Donghyuck called him a ‘bottom bitch’. Biting his lip he contemplated whether he should flirt back. Up until now it was fun talking to her. And he still had nothing to lose.

From: Jenonono What if I maybe blushed just the smallest bit?

To: Jenonono You’re so cute. I’m glad I found you. But you should go sleep, baby. It’s late already.

From: Jenonono shouldn’t you be asleep as well then?

To: Jenonono I just came back from a long flight and my bed seems a little lonely.

Was this his chance to get a little flirtatious himself? Was she testing him?

From: Jenonono would you want me there with you? so it’s not as lonely?

To: Jenonono That does sound very tempting, baby boy. Let me take you out for a meal before I take you to bed.

Jeno’s breath caught in his throat for a little before he broke out in little giggles. He had completely forgotten how good it felt to feel wanted between all the stress that his life currently was. Maybe but just maybe Donghyuck had been right and this truly could be the solution for many of his problems.

From: Jenonono is that an invitation?

To: Jenonono How does lunch tomorrow sound like baby? I’ll treat you to something delicious.

Gnawing at his thumb, Jeno read the message over and over. He didn’t even know the woman. Meeting up with her might be a risk. For all he knew she could be a serial killer.

To: Jenonono I know this is sudden. But I want to get to know you better. Face to face. Not just over a stupid text box.

Taking a deep breath, Jeno took all his courage and replied with shaking fingers.

From: Jenonono I have a little break between my last class of the day and before I have to go to my part time job.

To: Jenonono There is a cute little bistro not too far from where I remember the main dorm buildings were. [link attached]

Clicking on the link, a website opened and showed him a French-style bistro that judging by the address was right between his dorm and the record shop. He should be able to do it. Curiously he clicked on the menu and immediately regretted it. The prices were ridiculous. For the price of a simple piece of bread, he could easily feed Bongsik and himself for two days.

From: Jenonono isn’t this a little too much?

To: Jenonono Let me spoil you, baby. Just tell me the time and I’ll make sure that I can be there.

From: Jenonono would around one work for you?

To: Jenonono I’ll be there. I’m looking forward to meeting you. Now sleep tight and have sweet dreams, baby.

From: Jenonono maybe I’ll even dream of you

Screaming into his pillow, Jeno threw his phone away. He couldn’t believe that he just send that. Quickly grabbing his kitten, he pressed his face into her soft fur while she struggled in his hold. “Bongsik I have a date,” he whispered, “An actual date. With a potentially very rich woman. I can’t believe I actually did that.”

[crescentsteel]

Keeping a Secret - Part 1

pairing: Tsukishima x f!manager of Sendai Frogs genre: sexual tension/crack warnings: lots of swear words  wc: 4.8k 

a/n: 

Thank you @tokyosdawn​ and @oii-sugasan​ for the betaread!

As always, let me know if you want to be part of the taglist. 

Prologue || masterlist

You notice an unfamiliar presence by the entrance. You stare at them for some time from your seat to see if they’ll leave, but after a few minutes of them standing idly there, you decide to deal with them.

“How may I help you?”

You cross your arms as soon as you reach the entrance. It’s a green-haired guy with freckles wearing casual clothes. You’re pretty sure you’ve seen him somewhere. You study him, scrutinizing his build from the loose hoodie, which didn’t give anything away, down to his denim pants which verifies your hunch.

Yep. Most likely a volleyball player. 

You probably saw him play somewhere before if he’s familiar, but you haven’t seen him in any recent games.

“I’m sorry, but this gym is closed for training,” you announce strictly. You’re not sure if he's actually from other teams, but you’re not taking any chances. You can’t have people spying on your players. Never mind that this guy is doing a bad job of making it discreet.

“Oh, sorry,” he gives you a panicked apology which doesn’t decrease your suspicion one bit. “I’m Tsukki’s friend. I just came by to return his headphones.”

Tsu...kki?

You hear Kogane use that name for Tsukishima all the time but hearing it from this guy sounds different. It’s very warm and pleasant to the ears. 

“Tsukki,” you test it out with your own lips, liking the way it rolls out your tongue.

“Yeah. Tsukishima? Is he here?” the green-haired guy asks, thinking you don’t know who this ‘Tsukki’ is.

It’s decided. From now on, you’ll call him Tsukki too. Oohhh, you can’t wait to see how he’ll react as you roll the nickname of your tongue with your very own ‘pleasantness’ reserved only for Tsukishima.

But more importantly...

You scan the green-haired guy again as he takes out something from his bag; white Sony headphones. It’s Tsukishima’s alright. He always has the thing on his neck whenever he comes to the gym, when he leaves, and on bus rides during tournaments. It’s like his part of his anatomy.

Thinking back, it was no wonder he looked off you to you when he came in that afternoon -- he didn’t have his headphones around his neck.

“I didn’t mean to intrude. He’s not answering his phone, so I waited. If you don’t mind, can you give this to him?” the guy  asks while handing the headphones at you with a very kind smile and a faint blush that accentuated his freckles.

This is Tsukishima’s friend? This is his friend? For real? How can someone so adorable and nice be his friend? Not that Tsukishima is incapable of making friends, but this guy here is so timid, adorable, kind, and everything Tsukishima isn’t. 

“I’m sorry. What’s your name again?” A subtle smile forms on your face from how interesting this friend of Tsukishima’s is. 

“Uhh. Tadashi Yamaguchi.”

Yamaguchi? You’re positive you’ve heard that name somewhere. You rack your memory on where you could have possibly seen him from.

You clap your hands in realization. “Yamaguchi! Captain of Karasuno, the float server. Oh my God, I am so sorry for being so rude earlier.”

He seems surprised as well that you know him. You didn’t remember it immediately because it was years ago, but even in high school, you’ve followed volleyball teams that you find interesting. So when you became a manager, the players of the teams weren’t really new to you. 

“Do you still play?” you ask out of curiosity since he’s not in your grid. 

“For fun, yeah,” he responds, laughing nervously.

Oh my. That’s so precious of him. You walk closer towards him until you’re at his side. You rest a hand on his shoulder and lean a bit closer. “Do you mind if I call you, Yams?”

Yamaguchi flusters from your touch. Earlier, you were so scary, looking like you wanted to throw him out of the gym. Now, you’re suddenly too close with an overly friendly smile.

“S-sure,” he agrees out of the domineering aura you give off despite the nice smile you have. 

“Cool!”

He can tell you’re really pleased, but he doesn’t know why.

“We’re cutting practice today because our coach is out. You can wait for him inside if you want.” you offer nicely to which he accepts.

You must be the manager Tsukki is talking about, Yamaguchi thinks. You’re not at all what he expected. Granted, he based only off of Tsukki’s explicit and detailed descriptions of how ‘detestable’ you are. You were a bit stern a while ago but he can understand that because he was practically a stranger.

You’re a bit weird, sure, but you’re not as evil as his best friend says you are. It’s actually nice of you to let him come in. Tsukki always tells him not to go there because visitors aren’t allowed. 

“Can I ask your name as well?” He asks hesitantly.

“Oh right! My bad. I’m y/n. I’m their manager.” You stop in one of the benches and sit. You beckon him to join you.

“So, how long have you been friends with Tsukishima?” You ask while watching the team with their spiking drills. 

“We’ve been best friends since middle school.” 

You raise one eyebrow and break into a wide smile even with your watchful gaze focused on the team. He can’t tell if it’s because of him or you saw something mirthful. “Ahhh. I see.” 

“How’s he doing here?” Yamaguchi asks, curious to know what you think of Tsukki.

“Great! I’ve seen him play in high school and I thought he’s really smart. But being his manager? He’s a fucking piece of work. He finds it fun when he says something sarcastic to others. He sucks at team spirit. Everyone will be hyped as heck and he’d just be standing there giving us nothing. I have to manhandle him 90% of the time, and he despises me with a passion because of it.” You simper with your last statement. 

Yamaguchi wonders how Tsukki would react about being ‘manhandled.’ However, from what he can tell, you don’t actually despise Tsukki. On the contrary, your eyes twinkled with amusement as you talked about him, despite the sharpness of your words..

You settle down with a smile as you fixate your eyes on the subject of the conversation. 

“Honestly though, I think he’s a great player. He’s disciplined. When he’s at his best during matches, I could just kiss his big brain from the consistent smart plays he does. And between you and me, Yams. Behind those uncaring, dead eyes he has, I know he loves it here. He loves the sport.”

Yamaguchi is astounded at how profound your understanding of his best friend’s personality is. But yeah, he can see why Tsukki doesn’t like you. Tsukishima didn’t like the mere prospect of being ‘put in line.’

“Oh look. They’re done now. Let’s go call your friend.”

You cup your palms around your lips and take in a deep breath. “Tsukki!” 

Yamaguchi and Tsukishima both flinch when you suddenly yell.

Tsukishima shudders at how nauseating his nickname resonated from your pretentious, frilly voice. He could tell right away that it was you. He could recognize that tone from anywhere. In the three years you’ve been the manager, you never called him that. 

So why now?

He turns around to see what your deal is today, only to find you beaming with one hand in the air eagerly waving at him, and beside you is…Yamaguchi?

Yamaguchi joins you in waving at him. Your obnoxiousness and the obliviousness of his friend makes it even more odious. He should be used to it by now, but you always come up with more annoying antics to bug him with. 

“Tsukki!!” You call out again. “Your best friend is here.” You announce with all smiles. 

What the hell? Why did Yamaguchi tell you that? Knowing you, you’d find ways to use it against him. As if calling him by that nickname isn’t enough.

He lengthens his strides to your direction, and even though he’s trying his best to look unbothered, you know he is. It’s pretty easy for you to tell. After all, you’ve been observing every member so carefully to the point that you can pick up the changes in their demeanor and facial expression. Especially, Tsukki who was a pain in the ass in your first year of being a manager. You had to watch him more closely than others ‘cause aside from his well thought sarcasm, there’s literally nothing else you could get from him.

Having your eyes on him for three years, you became aware of the little changes in his front, like that barely noticeable scowl in the corner of lips and the slight squint of his eyes. 

He’s pissed. 

Oh lord. Why must Tsukishima be so goddamn entertaining? It’s even funnier that he doesn’t acknowledge you at all, turning his complete attention to his friend. Your cheeks hurt from how wide you’re smiling.

“What’re you doing here?” He asks Yamaguchi disinterestedly. 

“He came here to return your headphones,” you answer on behalf of Yamaguchi. Tsukishima gives you only one quick glance before turning to his freckled visitor. “Let’s go. We’re done with training today.” Then he walks away to the lockers. 

Yamaguchi stands abruptly and bows to you. “Nice to meet you, y/n.”

You wave at him amicably. “Nice to meet you too, Yams.”

Tsukishima wished he didn’t hear that. Yamaguchi visits one time and you give him a nickname already? 

“She’s not that bad,” Yamaguchi comments once they’re out of the gym.

“Yeah. She’s worse.” He’d like to tell his friend not to interact with you, but what Yamaguchi does is not up to him. He can only warn him. “Don’t be swayed by her smiling face. She looks dumb, but something’s going on in her head all the time.” 

“She’s very pretty.”

He looks at Yamaguchi with a vexed frown. “So? That doesn’t change anything.”

Yamaguchi laughs nervously. “Yeah, yeah. Of course, it doesn’t. I just noticed.” He’s not going to deny that, but to him, that superficial shit doesn’t matter. You are a repugnant presence when you want to be, and that’s all he can ever associate your face with.

“I think she’s really looking out for the team though,” Yamaguchi points out. 

“I don’t wanna talk about her anymore.” He doesn’t need any more reminder of what he’s very much aware of. He doesn’t want to think about you when he doesn’t have to. Your presence already plagues him enough when you’re present. 

“Sorry! Anyways, I’m meeting with Yachi tonight. Wanna come?”

He wouldn’t mind going, but he has plans for tonight. “Can’t. I have a group project I have to finish.”

“It’s fine! Next time then.”

—

This is why Tsukishima hates group projects. He should’ve done the whole thing himself. Instead, he’s in a crowded bar (Or is it a club? He can’t tell the difference. Not that it matters anyway.) looking for his groupmate who thought it was best to put the data in a flash drive instead of uploading them somewhere he can access.

He can’t count the number of times someone has bumped on him. The place reeks of alcohol and cigarettes. He has trouble seeing because the lights are too dim. His ears hurt from the loud music banging on every corner.

He dials the number of his teammate again. One more unanswered call and he’s doing the project on his own from scratch.  It doesn’t matter if that means staying up all night because of it. He’d rather do that than stay in this foul place any longer than he should.

He navigates through the clusters of people, trying to spot his groupmate while ringing their phone. It’s a good thing he’s tall. If he isn’t, he’d be swept up by this sea of drunk party-goers by now.

His eyes scan the place for the millionth time, still listening to the endless ringing from his phone when he spots something in the crowd.

It’s not his groupmate however, but an oddball wearing a onesie pajama, looking completely out of place. The hood of the cloth is clad over half of their face but he has a very bad feeling who they are.

And just as he thought, you reveal your own face by pushing back the hood previously hiding it.

He’s not surprised you’re in this lame gathering organized by a fraternity in the university. But he’s not happy about it either. 

That’s it. He’s going home and he'll do the project himself. He can’t let you see him there.

Just as he’s about to step away, a guy starts getting handsy on you while you’re talking to another girl. You must have noticed it too because even though you keep conversing with the girl, you also keep swatting the hands of the guy.

Tsukishima is frozen in place. There is a busy tone on his cell now, but he doesn’t press redial right away. Right now, he’s deciding whether he should intervene or not. 

It isn’t like what you do or what happens to you outside the court is any of his business. Plus, he doesn’t want to get involved with you. Ever . But… something about the scene unfolding in front of him ticks him off. It is common sense that people should be left alone when they want to be left alone. But this imbecile… rather than being discouraged, the pervert becomes even more persistent. 

He steps closer to the scene pushing through the crowd. He decides to ‘nicely’ tell the perv off. You’re annoying, but you don’t deserve being harassed. But before he even gets close enough to cut in, you face the guy and shock everyone near you by giving the guy a well-executed jab on the face. 

Everyone stops whatever they’re doing and stares at you. Impressive, knowing how occupied everyone had been. Tsukishima doesn’t particularly like violence, but fuck . That was one mean hook delivered nicely on the guy’s lousy face. 

“I SAID FUCK OFF!” you shout at the guy who fell on his ass from your punch. The music was loud but because everyone froze from how you just sent a guy flying, your voice was heard. You take a deep breath and comb your hair back, glaring at the staring crowd.

Suddenly...

“YEAH!!” The place roars with cheers for you as you break into a wide smile for everyone. The bass drops and everyone is dancing around once more.

He sighs. Why did he even think you needed help? You manage a bunch of boys almost everyday. Good for him though. At least he didn’t have to interact with you and he can go home now. 

Or not.

Before he can make his retreat, your eyes meet - his full of charin and yours full of zest. You disregard whoever you’re talking to earlier, pushing everyone aside to reach him.

Tsukishima thinks that maybe he should have ran away when he had the chance. Maybe he could even have pretended to not see you.

Anyway, it is too late now.

“Oh my God. It really is you, Tsukki!” Your eyes are wide from disbelief and amusement from his presence in the place. “You actually go to these places?!”

He hasn’t answered yet, but you already cut him off by suddenly screaming when the song changed. “I LOVE THIS SONG!” He’s sure you weren’t talking to him. You were regarding the area eagerly like you were talking to everybody who’s there. 

Then you start moving weirdly. You’re swaying your hips in a one second late from the beat of the music. You’re banging your head side to side while you’re flailing your arms all over the place. You look like a fledgling who was just thrown out of the nest. 

“Are you supposed to be dancing?” He asks but you don’t hear it.

You look so horrendous that he’s getting secondhand embarrassment from the people around giving you second glances. This is his chance to get sarcastic with you, but you look like you won’t be ashamed of anything even if he does say something about that ghastly display of body movements. 

“C’mon Tsukki!” You grab his wrist and give him the unfortunate experience of ‘dancing’ with you while he stays completely still while you randomly swing his limb from one point to another. 

You don’t take Tsukishima as a person who’d go to parties. You don’t even have any clue as to what his idea of having fun is. You peg him to be someone who prefers the quiet rather than the chaos. Saying that seeing him here is surprising, is an understatement.

Even though you like seeing your players all serious with training, you want them to have a balanced lifestyle, especially those who are working or studying. Since there is no training tomorrow, you don’t mind seeing him here being a normal college student.

You take a peek at Tsukishima to see if he’s having a blast like you are, but only sees him standing still with an inconvenienced expression. You stop dancing and burst out laughing. Amidst all the people grooving around, he sticks out like a sore thumb because of his height and his evident discontent in being here. It’s like he’s a very tall building mistakenly built in the middle of a lively forest. 

You didn’t have the wrong impression of him. You’re spot on as you witness him getting even more displeased by the minute. 

You release his hand and put both of yours on your hips with a regaled smile. “What are you even doing here?!” 

He rolls his eyes, but he looks relieved that you finally stopped dancing. He mumbles something but is drowned out by the chatters and the loud music. “Sorry, what?!” He should know that the only reason he can hear you is because you’re basically yelling. At this rate, you expect him to walk out already. 

What you don’t  expect is for him to lean down with his mouth just an inch away from your ear. You instantly inhale his scent. You can tell that he hasn’t been here too long. He smells like citrus with a hint of mint, while everyone else smells like sweat and alcohol with a hint of vomit. You vaguely wonder what you smell like right now.

You’ve always pestered him, but this is the closest you two have been, so this is the first time you’re acquainted with his scent and find that you like it. You’ve never liked men with strong musky scents. You prefer it like this - refreshing and comforting, especially in this smoke-infested club.

“I’m looking for a classmate,” he whispers in your ear then quickly retreats back to his stoic standing position. Oh, of course. What are you suddenly flustered for? It’s much easier on your throat to be whispering than shouting your words. Yes, yes. You can really rely on Tsukishima for brainpower. 

You place your hands on his shoulder and tiptoe to reach his ear. Doing so, you only manage to reach his neck. He’s so tall that you had to gently tug him down a bit so he’d be able to hear you. 

“Who are you looking for? I know everyone here,” you mutter next to his cheeks. You retain your position so he wouldn’t have to repeat leaning and standing up from talking to you. But instead of answering your question, he slightly turns his neck to look at you, making your faces only centimeters apart.

Tsukishima thought you’re going to keep squawking your words like you were doing earlier. He didn’t think you’d mirror his action. It should’ve been a strange scenario with you gaping at him this close, but you two remain focused on each other with confusion and a hint of something completely foreign reflecting in both your eyes — a certain spark of attraction that shouldn’t have been there and neither of your expected. 

A miniscule hint of panic shows itself in your eyes, and in this proximity, Tsukishima doesn’t fail to notice it. You instantly take your hands off of him, planting your heels back on the floor to create a safe distance from him. 

You don’t completely falter though. You still have that stupid grin on your face, but he knows it’s forced.

There it is -- something he’s been waiting three years for. He waited for the moment that you’d show an opening that he could pick on and exploit as payback for the many times you’ve gotten on his nerves, but he didn’t anticipate it would be something like this. He wanted to see what riles you up and to be able to  tease you nonstop about it until he makes you uncomfortable the way you make him. 

Yet something tells him that he shouldn’t. As much as he wants to see that smile of yours completely stripped off and reduce you to flustered shambles, flirting with you isn’t how he’d do it. It doesn’t sit well with him. 

Still, he also wouldn’t scream his lungs out for you. So he dips down again, leveling his mouth against your ear. “Hiro Takahashi. He’s from our Herpetology class. Seen him?” He doesn't stand up straight as he waits for you to answer so you wouldn’t have any reason to touch him again.

He feels you nod, the soft skin of your cheek grazing against his. You murmur something but your voice is too low that even with the short distance, he doesn’t hear it very well. “Louder. I can’t hear you.”

But you don’t comply. Rather than raising your voice, you nestle your face closer to his. “Yeah. I saw him a while ago. I’ll help you look for him.”

He heard it, but his whole attention was on how warm your breath is and how your lips are ghosting over his ear. He feels goosebumps at the back of his neck and his mind starts reeling.

Fuck this. He should have started the project on his own. He shouldn’t have gone here. He should’ve left the moment he saw you. He shouldn’t be having this stupid interaction where you’re at a spitting distance. And even if you are, he shouldn’t be this affected . 

He hears rumbles of footsteps behind him accompanied by reverberating male voices which he couldn’t make sense of. “Going through!” Someone shouts but he hears it late, resulting in him getting knocked over when they pass by. 

He wouldn’t have staggered if not for you who was snuggled in front of him, which results in his footing faltering from the impact. He grabs your waist and pulls you to him to make sure you don’t fall over when you collide with him. Your reflexes probably kicked in as well as you wrap one arm around his neck and while your other hand clutches his shoulder.

“Shit!” He hisses on your temples. He would never go to a party again, even if someone pays him to do it. 

It was already bad when you two were only whispering to each other. Having your body pressed against his is three times worse. He doesn’t like anything about this, yet he can’t take his hands away from you. The crowd has long passed and the party rages on around you. He expects you to do something about it, push him away or say something stupid to irk him even more like you always do. 

You loosen your grip on him, pulling back slightly to meet his gaze. And when you do, he realizes instantly that you’re held captive by whatever’s happening right now between the two of you. Your face is too close and goddamn, everyone was right. You really are pretty, especially right now that your mouth is shut. Even in the dim lighting he can see it -- the captivating spark in your eyes, your nose, and the shape of your lips.

He wets his lips unconsciously, all too aware of the warmth of your skin against his neck, and the curve of your hips against his palm.

He tries to quiet the havoc in his head. You’re adamant to not date anyone from the team. Surely, that meant not getting into anything remotely physical with them as well. So whatever the hell this is, you certainly won’t allow it to happen. Not that he wants it to happen. It’s just that you should really get the fuck out of his hold already. 

“Tsukishima,” you mutter his name with dangerous uncertainty that alerts all his senses, rendering him to dread the next words that will come out of your mouth with anticipation.

“Can you keep a secret?”

Even like this, you’re still the sly person he knows you are. By asking him that, you’re going to make him an accomplice in your own disobedience of the rule you, yourself, strictly imposed. 

As if he’ll agree to that. Did you really think he’d go along with this just because you look slightly more adorable this close to him with your doe eyes gleaming with apprehension as you wait for his answer? Of course not. Nothing about this is appealing, not even the way your lips are parted slightly as if you’re deliberately luring him in. 

He must have taken too long to respond because reluctance takes over whatever ounce of boldness you had about the situation. The shame your question brought gradually settles in your face.

He realizes right then that you’re just as conflicted as he is, so you start pulling away when he doesn’t say anything.

Rather than relief, he secures his grip on you to stop you from completely backing out. He replicates how you whispered into his ear, but purposely does it this time as he lets his lips rest on the shell of your ear, his next words going against every rational thought swimming in his head. Maybe it’s the atmosphere of this goddamn club, maybe it’s the way your body fits perfectly with his, or maybe it’s his own selfish curiosity getting the better of him, but he gives in. Against his better judgment, he gives in.

“Yeah. I can keep one, manager.” He hums grimly in your ear, intentionally stating that you’re their manager so you’re fully aware of what consequences these whispered nothings might have with your relationship.

You drag your face back just a little bit until your lips are just a breath away from his. Your eyes flick up to his just for one second as the unruly temptation lingers heavily around you two. 

Then you give in. 

He didn’t really know what he’s looking for when he agreed to this illogical spur of the moment tomfoolery, but at the first touch of your lips on his, he regrets it. He regrets it, but he doesn’t pull away. He didn’t have any expectations, but for fuck’s sake, you’re not supposed to taste this good. You certainly haven’t been drinking tonight. Your mouth tastes like honey and milk, coaxing him to nip on it further to have more. 

He’s seething. How can a pair of lips that spat a ton of shit be this fucking delicate. It doesn’t make sense. 

Your arm finds its way back around his neck while he draws you even closer as he waits for resentment or disgust to hit him, relentlessly sucking on the softness of your lips to find anything remotely unpleasant. But he finds neither. He only finds himself enjoying this despite the lack of privacy, the blasting music in the background, and the athlete-manager relationship he has with you.

He withdraws a bit, leaving you panting against his mouth. When you raise your gaze to him, he meets your bewildered orbs that even the dimmed blue led lights weren’t able to hide. 

Then your eyes drift behind him. 

You see something that instantly snaps you back to the wild persona he knows you have. Your whole body shudders when it sinks in your features what you two just did. You retrieve your arms quickly as if his skin burns yours.  

Your eyes are scorching with both embarrassment and determination when you grab his collar and yank him not so gently. “We tell no one about this shit!” You tell him aggressively and let him go instantly.

You put the hood of your onesie back and look down before gripping his shoulders to get him to turn around. 

A few steps away is the classmate he’s looking for. Before he calls for his irresponsible groupmate, he looks behind him to catch where you’re going, but you already disappeared. Even in this wretched place kilometers away from the gymnasium, you still manage to have the last word.

He fists his knuckles with anger. Out of all the maddening shit you put him through, this the worst.

Prologue || masterlist

Taglist (those crossed out can’t be tagged):

 @ameliaxo @suikrem​​ @akaashisslave @tsumurai​​  @babythotshq​​ @loving-unicorns106​ @berna-dette​ @just4readingfics​ @suteorra​ @xxekitten69xx​ 

[alastwhore]

Corrective Measures (Alastor x Reader) 18+

Prompt: Alastor finds your fanfiction/fanart of him and offers to show you what he’s really like. (Smut)

~~~

You weren’t sure how he showed up, if you were being honest.

One day you walked into your kitchen to get a snack, and found him rummaging around in your fridge, demon form and all.

It was surprising, to say the least, and you may or may not have screamed bloody murder.

He was, evidently, expecting you to react in such a manner, and seemed to find it quite humorous. When you had finally calmed down and reclaimed your bearings, you managed to ask Alastor just how the fuck he made his way into your home. It had been three months now, and try as you might , you still couldn’t get him to answer that question.

You were understandably baffled that a fucking cartoon deer demon was in your house, but some things would never receive an explanation.

He had made himself quite comfortable in your home, and had set up shop there. At least he didn’t eat all the food, you thought to yourself. It would have been odd enough that Alastor was in your residence, let alone if he, for whatever god-forsaken reason, decided to eat you out of house and home, too. Thankfully, he materialized his own meals, so you didn’t have to worry about it.

He had, however, gotten quite nosy with your personal belongings as of late. He would pilfer through your cabinets, files, clothes, and god knows what else. He reorganized them half the time, because they “weren’t properly indexable,” whatever the hell that meant. You were just flat out lucky he hadn’t found your fanfiction yet. Not that it wasn’t good, but it was certainly something that he didn’t need to see. Especially considering the majority was about him doing some less than innocent things.

That luck ran out, however, as you re-entered your home one day after class, finding him lounging on the sofa with a shit eating grin plastered on his face.

“Darling, you never told me you were a writer,” and you felt the blood drain from your face. You knew better than to hope that he hadn’t read what you thought he had read. You knew better than to hope at all with him around. Still, though, you had to ask.

“Aha, what did you read, Alastor?” Your voice laced with uncertainty.

“I think you know,” he gave you a knowing look. You laughed nervously.

“Which one was it, do I even want to know?”

“Lets just say that you need a bit of help in the anatomy department, you have things somewhat off,” and he sat your computer down on the table, standing to his full height, staring at you with a look you had never seen him wear before. He looked very predatory in that moment, and you surely felt like prey.

“Mm? How so?” Your nerves were screaming at you to get the hell out of dodge, but you were rooted to the spot.

“Well, first of all, I wouldn’t have acted that way. You have me written like some kind of sexual deviant, of which I am not. Secondly, as flattering as it is to know you think of my bodily proportions so often, the measurements were far from correct.”

You gulped. You were screwed. There was no other way to put it.

“How are you, uh, gonna correct me?” You questioned. It was no surprise that Alastor was less than fond of your fanfiction, but the way he would modify your misperceptions was something you weren’t sure you could handle.

“Oh, darling, it’ll be in a way you will enjoy very much, I assume,” his grin became more sly, his eyes mere slits as he loomed over you.

You had nowhere to go, he had backed you into a wall and you couldn’t move an inch.

“And if my assumptions are correct, which they most likely are, you seem to have a thing for me, yes?” You couldn’t help but nod your head ‘yes’. When looking in his eyes, there wasn’t a single way you could possibly lie to him.

“Aha, very interesting indeed,” as he finished his statement, he leaned down to you, his face hovering right above yours. He grasped your chin with his thumb and forefinger, lifting your face up to view him, and kissed you softly.

You gasped into his mouth, but kept your arms still beside you. As he pulled away from you slowly, your eyes locked onto his.

“So, was that enough to give you an idea of what I have planned? Or do I need to reiterate myself,” he gave you a knowing look.

“I, hah, I think I got it.”

He hmm’ed, “Good,” and he was sweeping you off your feet, literally, as he took you to your bedroom. He shut the door with his foot as he carried you to your bed, carefully placing you down onto the comforter.

Something told you that he was going to do most of the talking. Then again, he usually did. It was a miracle if you could ever get him to shut up. For once you were thankful for it, though, because you had no no clue what you would say, anyway.

“So first off, dear, in that lovely little piece of writing I was privy to, you had me as taking you,” he gave you a look, “up against the wall. I’m sorry but that simply will not do. The fact of the matter is that any partner would be far to inconvenienced physically to truly, ahem, enjoy it. Not to mention, with the extraordinary height difference between us, there would be no way facial contact could happen.”

Well, you supposed you hadn’t thought of that. But it was fanfiction. What did it matter if the physics were wrong? A lot, evidently. At least to Alastor.

“So that is why, darling,” he continued, “I will be having my way with you on the mattress instead. It’s much more comfortable than a wall, you see.”

Uhm what?

Your eyes went wide. Now even if you wanted to talk, you were absolutely speechless.

Alastor must’ve noticed your look of befuddlement because he responded, “That is what you wanted, right? I may be a predator, but I would never take advantage of someone in that way,” Oh well at least he had standards.

“Yes, I… I want it. I want you.”

That was what he had wanted to hear. He joined you on the mattress, placing his hand on your shoulder, leaning in close to you.

“Isn’t this so much better than all those silly things you’ve written?”

Okay now that pissed you off a bit. Yeah, your fanfiction may not have been sublime, but it was certainly not silly.

“Well, no, not really,” you retorted. Alastor raised his eyebrows in surprise. “It’d be a lot better if you would actually, you know, do something.”

“Dearest, some things needn’t be rushed,” he seemed taken aback.

“Yeah? Well some things needn’t take all day,” you mocked him.

Oh that set him off. Suddenly he was on you, pushing you into the mattress while removing your top. He ran his hands down your body, over your still-clothed bust.

“As much as I adore seeing modern day lingerie, I do think this will get in the way of our activities, don’t you?” He snapped his fingers and your bra was gone, chest laid bare before him.

“Now isn’t that better? Much easier to work with,” he appraised your body, his eyes grazed over your entire body, focusing on your bare breasts. He clearly had control over his body, but that didn’t stop the fact that a blush still crept onto his cheeks.

“Ah, yeah, it’s better. But what about you? Don’t you need to remove some of that too?” It was only fair, after all.

“Oh, I suppose you’re right. Just a moment,” he removed his coat and laid it neatly on a nearby chair, snapping his fingers to remove his bow tie. Turning around, he began undoing the buttons on his dress shirt, eventually unfastening them all and removing it.

You still couldn’t really process that this was actually happening. In your room. With Alastor. But here you were, waiting to be devoured (you hoped in a good way).

“Is this what you expected? Surely it must surpass expectations,” he smiled at you, brows raised. This time he received an affirmation, much to his obvious pleasure.

“Yeah, you’re different from what I, uh, expected,” in a good way you wanted to say, but you didn’t want to stroke his ego any more than necessary.

He was exceedingly tall and lanky, all long limbs and wiry muscle. His slim waist smoothed out to slim hips, making his chest appear even more broad than it already was.

“Of course it’s good, darling. That reminds me, in that adorable little piece of writing, it did see to me that you quite enjoyed me calling you that. Is that right?”

The way your body betrayed you was more than enough of an answer for him, your face heating up in an obvious blush as he asked the question. You didn’t even have to answer him, you knew he could already tell.

“Oh, I’ll take that as a definite yes, then,” he moved onto the bed, leaning over your body and making full use of the considerable size difference.

“Why don’t you touch me, doll, I don’t bite,” oh you were quite sure he did, but that was another story entirely. You willingly obliged him, enjoying the feeling of his skin beneath your fingers.

“You know, I don’t let just anyone have the privilege of touching me, not just sexually, as this would be, but otherwise. It take quite a lot for me to be comfortable enough with them,” he confessed to you. Although it wasn’t really a confession, he wasn’t vulnerable like he should be during one. No, it was almost like his telling you was a hold in and of itself, yet another way to have power over you. You didn’t complain, though.

He bent down to you, running his mouth over your neck, over your pulse, drinking in your scent.

“Darling,” there was that word again, “Do you know how absolutely captivating you are?” When he pulled back to look at you, his eyes were different. They were darker, somehow, more predatory, and dare you say it, lustful.

You couldn’t help the whine that escaped you. He was so attractive like this.

“Alastor,” you begged, “Touch me, please.”

And he couldn’t help but give in to you. It was so very rare that he felt this way, why shouldn’t he indulge a little? He moved his hand over your breasts, stroking his fingers over the sensitive area and causing you to writhe.

“This, my dear, is an area I have little experience in, so you’ll have to forgive any mistakes I happen to make,” wait what?

“Wait, I thought you were going to correct my ideas? You said that they misrepresented you,” you were confused. He had most definitely said that.

“Yes, and I am correcting you! But I do have very little concept of this. Those things are not mutually exclusive, dearest.”

You supposed he was right, in the end.

He trailed his hands down your body, down to your pants you had worn that day.

“Be a dear and lift your hips for me.” You complied with his request, allowing him to unfasten your bottoms and pull them down your legs, folding and setting them to the side.

You felt exposed under his watchful gaze. He was still mostly clothed, and here you were in nothing but your underwear. Something about the power dynamic thrilled you.

He ran a finger down your clothed sex, enjoying the shudder than ran through your body.

“Is that what you wanted, doll? For me to touch you here?” You nodded. “Good,” and then he was pulling off the undergarment, laying it on top of your other clothes.

“My, would you look at how simply divine you are,” he spoke as his eyes devoured your bare sex. You were surely dripping by now, you could feel the slick running down your folds, and were positive it was painting a lovely picture for Alastor.

Taking a quick glance at his crotch, you could already see a sizable tent forming in his slacks. The thought of him getting that way because of you certainly didn’t help your predicament.

“Alastor?”

“Hmm, yes? What is it?”

“Take off your pants, please.”

He shook his head with a smile. “Dear, what did I tell you about patience?”

“Alastor,” you chided him, “You’re hard.”

He glanced down at himself. “Oh, it appears I am. What about that,” as he looked back at you.

“Do something about it,” you hissed.

“Very well then,” and he snapped his fingers, the remaining articles of clothing gone. Now fully undressed, he leaned onto the bed, somehow still holding dominance even with his lack of attire. You couldn’t fully see his dick and it was bothering you. You were sure this was intentional.

However, after making you squirm for a good minute, he did finally move. And when you saw it you could’ve cried. It was so large and gorgeous and weeping for attention. You were amazed at how he could stand to not do anything about it for so long. You would’ve been begging by that point, but he had the self control not to.

You couldn’t help but gawk at his dick. You couldn’t help but to imagine what it would feel like inside of you, how nicely it would stretch and fill you to the brim.

“See something you like, dear,” he gave himself a slow stroke with his eyes locked onto yours. The sound that left your mouth was nothing short of pathetic and embarrassing.

“You poor thing, I guess I should tend to you, shouldn’t I?” He leaned himself over you, brushing his hand against your upper thigh, so very close to where you needed it. You canted your hips up, attempting to receive some kind of friction against your sex.

He took mercy on you, sliding a single long finger up your slit, collecting your wetness on it. He eyed you carefully, making sure you had the reaction he had planned for.

“Hmm, you certainly are eager now, aren’t you? So tell me, should I prepare you beforehand, or would you prefer a stretch when I enter you.”

You were weak. Just the idea of it sent a spark through your core.

“Ah, Al, could you maybe,” you motioned with your hands, trying to gesture what you couldn’t get yourself to say. For once, he didn’t force you to reiterate a statement, and he deftly slid a finger into you.

You cried out, feeling him curl and flex inside you, brushing against your walls in such a skillful manner. For someone with, to quote, very little experience, he was making you feel awfully good very fast.

Seeing how easily you responded to him, he added another, stretching you open and preparing you for him. He curled his fingers inside you, sliding them in you so wonderfully. Your hips were bucking into his hand, you needed him. It had only been a moment of this, but you were so wet and ready for him, slickness sliding down onto your thighs, soaking through the sheets.

When he removed his fingers you could’ve cried, afraid that he was going to continue to tease you.You were surprised when he lowered his body to yours, then, his hand grasping his cock and guiding it to your entrance.

You felt it part your folds, the tip slipping easily into you. You fluttered around him, anticipation nearly doing you in.

“That okay, darling?” As much as he clearly needed this, he still wanted to make sure you were okay. He didn’t want to hurt you, even if he was an occasionally vile creature.

“Mn, yes. More please,” you begged.

“Whatever you say, dear,” and he thrust himself into you, all the way to the hilt. He seemed surprised you could take all of him. Truth be known, you were surprised as well. But you were oh so glad that you did.

He stared at you expectantly, as if waiting for you to adjust to him. Sweet of him, you thought to yourself, But I really don’t need it.

“Could you move, please?”

“Of course.”

And then he pulled himself back, almost all he way out, before thrusting himself back into you again. He wasn’t quick in his motions, not wanting to wear you, or himself, out too quickly. He wanted to savor this, he wanted you to savor this. So his thrusts were deep and calculated, pushing upward against your walls in the most delightful of ways. You were keening underneath him, could’ve cried from how good he felt inside you.

“Alastor, you stretch me so good,” you gasped, your hips moving on their own.

“That’s because you take all of me so well, sweetheart. I can see just how much you would enjoy me filling you to the brim.”

The only reply you could make was an unrestricted moan of his name. You didn’t even notice how you clenched around him, causing his hips to jerk out of rhythm, you were too caught up in your own pleasure, so close to the brink already. Your eyes were glazed over in lust, focused on his face, flushed from exertion.

Moving his hand down to where the two of you were joined, he began circling your clit with his fingers, eager to bring you to your release. That touch was all you needed, and suddenly you were clenching around him, pulling him in closer as you came on his cock. You whined under him, feeling a few tears run down your face as he continued to massage your clit through your orgasm.

The sight of you coming undone under him, because of him, had Alastor nearing his peak as well. It had been so very long since he had last done this kind of thing, and the heat and slickness of you had him losing himself. He pumped himself into you as he felt himself tense, pleasure building until he was thrown over the edge.

He grit his teeth, groaning as his body stilled, his cum spilling into you in bursts.  His eyes were shut as the feeling washed over him, eternal smile gone from his features as he lost himself inside you.

As he came down from his high, panting heavily, he slumped over you further, his body relaxing.

“Was that as good as expected, dearest?” Despite being out of breath, he still managed to keep his voice smooth, which wasn’t all that shocking, really.

“Much better, thank you,” you told him as he pulled himself out of you, laying himself across the bed beside of you.

“Good to know,” he played idly with your hair, brushing it back and moving it out of your face. You felt exhaustion overcome you suddenly, but like always, Alastor was quiet until he suddenly wasn’t.

“Now, darling, earlier when I was reading your fiction, I came across something involving my tentacles. Care to elaborate on that?”

You could’ve died.

Also available on AO3 https://archiveofourown.org/works/22370695

[toysoldiers-rwby]

[CS] 3. Chill

Cutting Strings

Characters: Penny, Winter, Aro, May Word Count: 3k

Penny’s first real out of lab experience uncovers a small… glitch.

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  Approval Rate: 74  

The Military Robotics Event took more than a block and that did not including the firing range displaying the various of weapons. From the entrance Penny could see the Paladin-290 march up and down the street. Another set displayed the mech’s strength, pulling two armored trucks. It strained the mechs but thanks to her Aura, Penny would be able to pull a third one with little stress. The new Atlesian Knight-200 were sparing with the old Ak-130 to show… improvements.  

Winter gently cleared her throat. Penny looked up at the Huntresses to see May with a large smile while Winter had a fist to her mouth. A very poor attempt to to hide any evidence of enjoyment. She couldn’t hide her eyes though, they seemed… brighter, lit up with entertainment.  

The Specialist made sure to take a slow and deep breath before returning that hand behind her back. She had that stoic frown on her face. Penny greatly enjoyed how Winter’s voice struggled to match it, “I take it the new Atlesian Knights does not meet your standard?” Winter asked.  

“Really? It’s so bad you have to re-Focus to control your mouth?” May ask.  

Aro only rolled her eyes. The words came out far to smooth despite light frown on her face, “Officially, the Ak-200 is the current pinnacle of robotics.” Penny made an odd strangled noise, barely stopping her synthetic vocals in time.  

That statement wasn’t correct- or, it was. Officially, as in what to what the public had access too, it was correct. But Penny was far superior to the Spider Droid, Knights, and Paladins combined. Across all boards: intelligence, durability, and strength. Her father poured his soul, quite literally, into Penny’s construction. She was proud of her capabilities. The young women had to take a deep breath and let go of her hands. She nearly tore the skin off her joints.  

Winter noticed the fidgeting. The two huntresses glanced at each other. The look of realization and amusement happening across their features at the same time. Like they were able to communicate in an instant.  

“Penny?” Winter asked, her voice a little lighter than before.  

“What do you think of the AK-200?” May finished with a grin. Arms crossed at the younger pair.  

“It… is an improvement of the previous model. Hic.” A glitch jolted her system. Her Aura flared across her wires and hardware, code scrambling for action with no parameters. All three women stared at her with various level of shock and amusement.  

Amusement was a positive emotion, it should be good but for some reason it made Penny feel inadequate. She willed her processors to correct the glitch but it didn’t detect what had happened in the first place.  

“I- I mean…” Penny bit her lip. The Aura was stirring wildly again as she started to form the words in her mouth, “The AK-200 base line performance well exceeds the Ak-130, hic.”  

Winter shook her head and for a moment Penny’s power unit sank in efficiency. That was until a slight smile pulled at her lips. Then her processors tried to correct the conflicting information. Just a second ago amusement directed at her was bad. Now it was good?  

“Fine!” Aro’s aggressive sigh shocked Penny out of her thoughts. She caught those blue eyes flickering again. The mechanic’s lips pressed into a tight line. “We’ll tell you the truth but later,” Her voice… wavered. Her eyes wandered from the Huntresses to the crowd. With so much visual and audio information much of it was sent to her background processors, but now that she was focused on them there were so many people looking at the group.  

Penny froze under the eyes of so many business people, military Huntsmen and Huntresses. Her facial recognition program was triggered no matter where she looked, until Winter stepped in, so close her torso encompassed most of her view. When she looked up Winter was glaring furiously. Oddly the negative display was comforting, seeing it directed at the crowd. More conflicting information to be sorted through.  

“I can see why you and Aro get along so well,” Winter whispered to her. Tilting to the side Penny saw May comfort her future teammate as well. Her hand was firmly grasping the back of her neck and she was signing a few things. Aro’s eyes were flickering again. “What’s the point in a day off if work follows you.” Winter growled under her breath.  

“That’s… a good point,” May muttered rubbing her chin in though. She finished calming Aro, who seemed more withdrawn, eyes glowing brighter than usual. “I can put a Field around us, after we duck in somewhere. But we’ll have stick to the sides.”  

“An adequate plan,” Winter nodded.  

Penny looked at the ground, her hands intertwining. She could feel the ball joints, hear the crowd whispering conspiracies and theories. The hum of Aro’s cybernetic legs. Footsteps, footsteps. Metal screeching-  

“The General must have Schnee and Glade on a leash. To have them in public like that.” Someone whispered. Penny was unsure if May and WInter heard it. Aro did. From the way her shoulders tensed, everything was just as loud.  

“If Schnee can win back Glade they’d be unstoppable.” Another said. Louder, closer. Winter scowled, strides longer and faster.  

“The Paladins must not be finished if Glade’s on site for repairs.”  

“Has Schnee finally convince Glade to join the military?”  

Finally the group was able to duck into a quiet alley. Almost immediately May’s Aura flared around her hands. A translucent dome of Aura rose up around them.  

“Glade is on a leash,” Aro sang mocking tone. Her eyes flashed a bright red, “Glade will bite your head off- Ow!” Her yelling died down to a yelp when May headbutted her.  

“For the last time,” She whispered harshly, almost like a growl. May pressed her head hard to Aro’s as if it would directly transfer data, “Invisible! Not inaudible.” Aro grumbled and pouted. Faunus ears twitched out from hiding, flicked around as she leaning back as much as possible. May kept pressing forward.  

“Okay, yes, ma’am,” Aro huffed. May finally relented.  

Winter lead the small group off the main street. May dropped her Field when the crowd was no longer pressed shoulder to shoulder. The Specialist slowed her strides, looking down at the group. “Penny, what kind of food do you like?”  

“Oh! Um…” Penny paused, wide eyes up at Winter. Then Aro who raised a brow. Her future teammate must have noticed she didn’t touch any of the food Xanthic had stolen. Several lies her processors spat out caused her aura to flare in her chest again. “My body doesn’t… agree with most things.” She said the last part quickly. The odd glitch didn’t occur.  

“Think your body can agree with something cold?” Aro asked, “Ice cream, bubble tea, smoothies… My legs are running a little hot.”  

Penny thought about that for a second. Liquids might be plausible. She checked her blueprints. Her father mimicked the human anatomy where he could. Her throat housed her synthetic vocals, chest cavities fans and radiators that chilled the liquid coolant running in her body… as long as it’s mostly liquid, her filtration system should be fine.  

“I have never tried bubble tea.”  

“I know we all can go to,” May said. Penny saw Winter’s eyes flinch towards Aro for a second. “Not far either.”  

“Chocolate!” Aro cheered following.  

Penny found herself near the rare of the group, watching everyone interact. Specifically Winter. From the conversation, Penny deducted that Winter doesn’t take a lot of breaks, so this was a rare opportunity to observe her nonprofessional behavior. Though Penny suspects it wasn’t very different from her current behavior. And that it largely depends on who was in her immediate proximity. Winter’s attitude harden whenever Aro would do something a little to rash, such as running up to a strangers dog. Thankfully May was close enough to grab the quick women.  

“You out of everyone should know not to touch strangers without asking,” May scolded, pulling the goat ears once. This time Aro grinned and giggled shaking her head out of the grip.  

Penny labeled the information as important. With a small side note questioning when people were no longer strangers- Her analysis programing quickly recalled what Winter said a few hours ago, questioning how close they were. An accurate statement with that women. Was… Aro truly her friend?  

Suddenly Penny’s wires were in knots. Why? Was she defective? There was so many things she didn’t understand and new information conflicted with her pre-installed data. The odd glitch-  

“Penny,” Winter’s voice snapped her out of her spiraling thoughts.  

All her functions focused inward she didn’t notice they have finally arrived at the restaurant. They were seated outside in the corner. Through the window she could see Aro and May ordering their drinks. May’s hands were behind her back, Aura glowing softly. She looked in their direction but her eyes couldn’t exactly focus on their precise location. Penny was familiar with her body language, her father had a similar expression for worry. She was seeing it more and more and didn’t like it.  

“You… stopped responding,” Winter said. With no other witnesses, Winter was truly gentle. Her hands gently squeezed Penny, her sensors barely registered any pressure or warmth through the leather gloves. It was an affectionate gesture and Penny smiled in appreciation. She couldn’t look at Winter’s face for long, every time she tried to decipher what emotion Winter was displaying, her processors were overwhelmed. Pre-installed data saw Winter as cold and professional, but this Winter was far from it. “How can I assist you?”  

“I… I don’t know what’s wrong with me-”  

“There is nothing wrong.” Winter said quickly and easily. As if she had to do it many times before. Her grip tightened. Penny still had trouble looking at Winter’s face so she looked at their hands. Winter quickly let go, “My apologize. It helped my sister and a few others…”  

Weiss Schnee, her mind quickly registered. Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, talented singer, skilled combatant, currently attending Beacon. The others was Aro, Penny suspected. Possibly May but the only thing Penny knew about them was that they were familiar with each other.  

“So… this is a common problem?”  

“As much as people hate to admit it,” Winter said with a deep scowl. She shifted so their bodies were no longer grazing each other. Penny missed the contact and comfort but it was easier to look at Winter now. That raw emotion Penny was scared of was dulled by the frustration so obvious on her face. Blue eyes glared at the stone ground, “If working with Dr. Polendina causes such anxiety, tell him. He is an extraordinarily kind man and wouldn’t want to harm you.”  

“I know father is-”  

“What?! E-Excuse me?” Winter’s head snapped to her. “Aro speculated that Dr. Polendina wanted a child but…” Penny shrunk in on herself. There was something wrong with- “No, no, don’t- damn it.” Winter took a breath, finger on her temples. “I am merely shocked. I expected a child, around the age of five, not a teenager.”  

Penny frowned, “I am, by all means, a young adult.”  

“You sound like Weiss,” Winter rolled her eyes. Then she noticed May and Aro heading out of the shop with a few drinks and some food. The Specialist slipped back into professional-mode too easily. Like it wasn’t a just a mask.  

But before the others returned, Penny took her hand and squeezed it softly, “Winter… Thank you.” Winter squeezed it back and smiled briefly. She didn’t answer, Aro’s aids would pick it up now that she was outside.  

Aro had a better sense of where the pair was, eyes never drifting to far from their mark but her worried face instantly changed to relief once she could see them.  

“Penny! I’m so sorry,” Aro said quickly taking a seat at Penny’s side. She let go of the drinks in her hand- Penny’s hands flew out to grab them from falling but it just floated. Gravity Dust, Penny reminded herself. Then she engulfed in a tight hug and lift ever so slightly. “I didn’t think- I won’t drag you into Menagerie size crowds again.”  

“I’m stable, with Winter’s help,” Penny said, patting Aro’s head. It took a few seconds for the mechanic to let go. By that time May had taken a seat and set the floating drinks on the table. “I wasn’t aware I had… anxiety.”  

“Therapist Schnee saves the day again,” May laughed. Aro sat next to her, elbowing the Huntress a little too hard.  

Winter reached for the drink labeled ‘Knight Commander’ and gave Aro a tired look. It wasn’t effective with the small smile on her lips. She then gave May a much more serious stare, “Being an older sister with a man like my father looming over us doesn’t make me a therapist.”  

“Makes you better than most Atlesians,” Aro grumbled. Her own drink was labeled ‘Weaponsmith’. The last two was ‘Spymaster’ and ‘Squire’. With a small giggle and a look at Aro, Penny took the one labelled Squire. Aro gave a brief grin, ears happily wiggling out of hiding for a moment before tucking back under her hair.  

“Alright so the thing with the Paladins and new Knights?” Aro paused, taking a deep sip of her drink and chewing on the boba. “They’re complete shit. They refused Xanthic’s code so her bulterbots are smarter than those toys with guns. They didn’t consult me on any changes with the Paladin and I don’t think Dr. Pietro even looked at those designs.”  

“I can confirm the last statement,” Penny said with a nod. She held her drink close but didn’t take a sip yet. “My father has been busy with other projects-”  

May’s fist slammed the table, another hand covering her mouth as she desperately tried not to choke or spit her drink everywhere. Winter made a face and casually slide over to Penny’s side, pressing shoulder to shoulder until Penny shifted and allowed Winter to escape.  

“F-father?! You’re Pietro’s kid- When?”  

“Since 240 days ago.” Penny said with a cheery smile.  

“May, I just she recently disclosed this information to me as well.” Winter said holding her hand up to stop the yelling. May glared at Aro who shrugged, but had a smile wrapped around the straw of her drink.  

“I met her yesterday and helped her take down a Spider Droid.”  

“Spider…” May looked ready to burst with how much information she was taking in. Winter looked surprised eyes wandering to Penny- then it cut back to Aro with an accusatory glare. “Aura.” May demanded. The look on her face was scary intense and slightly worried, “Did you have your Aura up?”  

“Uh…” A shimmer went across Aro’s body. Her eyes was wide and she shrank under the gaze of Atlas’ most elite Huntresses. “… Yes.” May looked ready to feint. Some humans do feint under intense emotions but she wondered if they could feint from experiencing too many emotions. Penny looked up a few procedures in case she does.  

May seemed to settle on exhaustion and defeat, but the panic drained a lot of color from her complexion. “Aurora Glade!” May let out a frustrated sigh and held her head. “You’re going to be the death of me.”  

“At least you’ll die loving me.”  

Winter flinched ever so slightly, a hand gently pressed to her lips as she struggled to maintain her dignified composure compared to May’s outburst. The Huntress was now bright red, very worrying for how pale she was a moment ago. Just as Aro was about to see it May ripped the plastic off her bubble tea and threw it at the mechanic’s face.  

Penny looked at her drink for a moment. This was recreational liquid meant for consumption. She was starting to have second opinions on how safe it would be for her system, after seeing two Huntresses choke on it and it being weaponized. But Winter’s soft chuckle set Penny at ease.  

Aro took everything in stride. She was laughing again, twirling her hair and squeezing the drink out of it while May stuttered for a moment. Winter was content- almost happy.  

Penny finally took a sip of her drink and pressed into Winter. The pair slide back to Winter’s side of the table, a little further from May and Aro as the pair started to playfully wrestle. She’d be okay, even with the glitches, Penny decided. She has 240 days of evidence, one friend Aro + May Marigold, and an uncategorized Winter Schnee to help her.  

Approval Rate: Unnecessary

[trashyswitch]

Robot Anatomy Vs. Human Anatomy

William Afton visits the pizzeria to repair Freddy Fazbear. When Bonnie gets involved, a small question leads to William revealing something about humans. This leads to a very...interesting examination from the animatronics...

William Afton came into the Pizzeria to fix up his new animatronics. The animatronics had gotten a little damaged from the test run, and needed some quick repairs before their first show. William placed down his tool box on a table beside him, and looked at the Toy Freddy in front of him. It looked like he had overheated a little bit. Perhaps a problem with the facial recognition? William opened his foot stool, stepped up the footstool and started retracting the eyelids. Once the eyelids were moved aside, he removed the eyes to get to the cameras behind them. Once the cameras were accessible, he examined them.

Though the facial recognition wasn't the cause of the overheating, there was a crack on the left camera lens. So, William grabbed a camera from his toolbox, removed the plugs and removed the faulty eye. Placing it aside, he put in the new, uncracked eye and plugged in the wires. With the eye in, he turned it on to let it recognize him. The mouth opened as the facial recognition worked its magic, and it appeared that both cameras were zooming in and out to recognize him. It appeared to be all fixed! He placed the camera covers back onto Freddy's eye, and removed the retractors from Freddy's eyelids.

"Hello Mr. Afton!" Freddy spoke.

William stepped off of the stool. "Hi, Freddy." William said, putting his tools back.

"What brings you here today?" Freddy asked. William glanced up at him for a moment, before looking back at the toolbox.

"I'm fixing you up for tomorrow's show." William explained, grabbing the tools he needed to open up Freddy's back. William started walking behind the animatronic with his tools and step stool.

"Oh boy! I can't wait for tomorrow!" Freddy said excitedly. William let a crooked smile show up on his face, as he started opening up the metal outside of the fazbear suit.

"It'll be nice to see you in action, big guy." William said, a slight amount of excitement evident in his voice.

"Boy, oh boy! I wonder how many children will be coming?" Freddy asked. William shrugged his shoulders as he placed the metal plate down on the ground gently.

"I don't know. It's gonna be the first night, so there may be quite a few kids. Either that, or the crowd will start off small and grow as the week goes on." William explained, examining the inner spine of the robot. William nodded to himself as he examined the smoke coming from the bottom of the spine: The spinning gear at the bottom appeared to be spinning quickly, causing the overheating. Perhaps he should slow it down?...

'wait, no. Slowing it down would slow the back and forth motion Freddy makes when he's moving.' William thought. Uncertain of what to do, he got off his stool, walked to his toolbox and rooted through the steel instruments.

"What time is it?" Freddy asked suddenly. His head made a sudden turn 100 degrees to the right, to look at William eye to eye. William gasped and turned his head to Freddy, not at all expecting Freddy's head to move that far to the right. He jolted back a step as a fearful expression took over his face for a moment. Almost as fast as the panic hit, his face changed to an annoyed frown.

He looked at his watch. "8:35." William replied, before rolling his sleeve back down. Freddy's head sprung itself back to the front of the room. William sighed as he continued rooting through his tool box...Soon, William came across a replacement piece of the same spinning gear. William smiled, picking up the piece, and walked over to the step stool. He stepped up the stool, used his plier lift to lift the rest of the spine. He removed the spinning gear and quickly replaced it with the new replica. Once it was properly in place, William let the spine drop back onto the replaced spot, and removed the plier lift. Finished with the repairs, he placed the metal plate back onto Freddy's back, and reattached it.

"Alright, I think you're ready. Any problems you've noticed that need fixing?" William asked.

"Nope! I appear to be functional for tomorrow!" Freddy replied excitedly. William smiled as he closed his toolbox, before heading out. However, William only got a few steps before bumping into a giant piece of metal. William shook his head out of the shock, and looked up. It was toy Bonnie.

"Hi, Bonnie." William said, moving around the animatronic, irritated.

"Where you going?" Bonnie asked, turning his body to face the walking man.

William stopped and turned around. "I'm heading home." William replied, before turning back to the front to walk away. William kept walking, focusing on the door in front of him. It got closer, and closer, and closer...

Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around William's middle, and pulled him back! He dropped his toolbox from total shock, and tried to turn his head around to see who grabbed him. Before he could see, the arms clamped back to its original arm length, with William in the metal arms. William, nervous about who had gotten him, looked down at the animatronic hands: Blue. That meant only one thing: Bonnie.

"What the- Let go of me!" William yelled.

"Now, hold on one moment! You can't leave yet! We're bored here!" Bonnie begged.

"Well, I can't stay! If I stay for an hour, then you'll ask me to stay for another hour. If I keep on obliging, I'll end up staying the entire night! And God knows, I won't be starting THAT cycle again!" William explained. 

Bonnie sighed. "But we want to pay you back, for fixing us! What good is a gift, if we can't give back?" Bonnie offered.

William lifted an eyebrow, puzzled. "You...wanna thank me...for fixing you?" William clarified, shocked that the robots were showing such remorse.

"Yeah!" Both robots replied in unison.

"Could we fix you?" Bonnie asked. William's eyes widened.

"NO-...No. I'm not fixable like you are. I'm squishy." William explained.

"...squishy?" Bonnie repeated aloud, very lightly squeezing the human in his grasp.

"Wai-" William warned, before losing all his breath from the sudden squeeze. Bonnie squeezed him only a slight bit, before unsqueezing him. Once the robot's grip loosened, William gasped to quickly fill his lungs with air again. "Don't...Don't ever do that again." William demanded.

Bonnie shrugged his shoulders. "Okay." He said. Bonnie lifted William up, and carried the man with his single arm like a baby. With his free arm, he used his index finger to poke the small human's squishy body.

William jerked at the sudden touches. Forgetting the fact that an animatronic was holding him like a baby, William was jolting and trying to keep any squeals and giggles from leaving his mouth. All the robot was trying to do, was test to see how squishy he was! Unfortunately, no amount of explanation could change the fact that the belly poking was ticklish as all hell! Not only that, but Bonnie's poking wouldn't stop! He poked just about everywhere! his ribs, his arms, his belly, even his legs were poked and prodded! William was getting closer to breaking, when Bonnie finally stopped.

"Can I see?" Freddy asked, walking over.

"Sure! Look at this! His metal parts are here," Bonnie explained, poking his ribs. "But the stuff covering the metal is really soft! Like, look at his middle." Bonnie explained, before poking his stomach.

"AH! B-Bon-" William attempted to say through his pent up laughter.

"Oooh! I wanna feel it!" Freddy said excitedly. Bonnie removed his finger, and watched as Freddy poked at his middle.

Finally, William couldn't take it anymore. "Freheheheddy! Hahahahahaha!" William giggled.

"Hey! He likes it! He's laughing!" Bonnie pointed out, unable to fully understand what they were doing to him. While Freddy was poking his stomach, his shirt had managed to untuck itself from his pants. Soon, Freddy noticed the shirt lifting up, and uncovering something very interesting. "Hey, what's this?" Freddy asked. He lifted the shirt up himself a bit, and examined William's stomach.

His middle wasn't made of metal. it was squishy, like Afton said. there was no lines to open him up, but there was a button halfway down, made of the same material as the rest of him.

"What's this button for?" Freddy asked, poking and pushing it like a literal button.

"AAH! FREHEHEDDY! DOHOhohon't! DOHOhon't TOHOuch THAHAhahat!" William warned, his laughter going up and down as he poked deeper. William tried to push at Freddy's arms. But it was like pushing away a car! Waaaay too heavy to even attempt it!

"But why? It doesn't even do anything!" Freddy argued.

"But Freddy! It IS doing something! Look!" Bonnie exclaimed, poking and pushing William's button again.

"Bonnie, DON'T YOU DA-AHAHAHAHAhahahahaha! BOHOHONNIE! NONONOOHOHOHOHO! DOHOHON'T PUHUHUHUSH IHIHIHIHIT!" William warned through his laughter.

"It's making him laugh!" Freddy discovered. "Do you think there's any other buttons on his body that make him laugh?" Freddy asked.

"It's very possible. Though, they might be invisible." Bonnie replied, lifting his shirt up a little more, to see more of his belly. "Nope. This appears to be the only visible button." Bonnie concluded.

"Wait! Let me poke around! I could find an invisible button!" Freddy offered. Bonnie smiled and reached his arm out to give Freddy better access. Freddy looked at the tummy, and decided to start there. He poked it a few times, admitting some yelps from William. "...I don't feel any buttons...but, whatever i'm doing, is making him react." Freddy explained.

"Oh! Try a little higher! I felt some kind of metal piece a little higher! That might have something!" Bonnie offered. Freddy nodded his head and dragged his hand a little higher, and pushed on it to feel the hard 'metal' inside.

"Oh god- Hohohold ohohohon! Thahahat's nahahahahat mehehehetal!" William explained as best he could through his newfound giggle fit.

"Strange...his metal parts are making him laugh as well! He claims they're not metal, but they're hard! Metal is the only hard thing that I know of! So, it must be metal!" Freddy explained, poking up and down the ribcage.

"GIHIHIVE MEHEHE A BREHEHEHEHEAK!" William begged.

"But...why? We're not finished yet!" Bonnie argued. As he raised his fingers up the ribcage to poke and feel the individual ribs, William's laughter seemed to get louder!

"IHIHI'LL OVEHERLOHOHOHOHOHOAD!" William explained in the robot's way of understanding.

"You can overload?! Okay. I'll make sure not to overdo it." Bonnie reassured. Bonnie pushed at the side of the middle of his rib cage, and dragged his fingers to the front. "It feels like the metal thing in your chest is a...cage of some sort." Bonnie explained to Freddy.

"Really? What's the cage for?" Freddy asked.

"TOHOHO KEHEHEHEEP MYHYHY OORGAHAHAHAHANS SAHAHAHAFE!" William replied through his growing laughter. William was surprisingly still sane after this whole examination!

"What are 'organs'?" Freddy asked.

"IHIHI'LL EHEHEXPLAHAHAHAIN LAHAHATER." William replied.

"Alright. You're rib cage is very large in length." Freddy asked. Bonnie used his free hand to feel the untouched side of his rib cage, to determine the answer to this question.

"Wait- Don't go UPANYFURTHER- EEEEEHEHEHEHAHAHAHA! NAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" William shouted, squirming as Bonnie's finger got trapped in his armpit. Fortunately, this didn't phase Bonnie whatsoever, and he continued to poke and prod at his armpits.

"It appears that the rib cage ends right under the arm joint." Bonnie explained.

"Oooooh! Let me feel!" Freddy said eagerly, shoving his finger into the other armpit. Now, William had 2 armpits being tickled at the same time! William's laughing had turned to cackles, and his squirming had started to die down.

"The top of the rib cage seems to make him laugh the most! But, where's the button?" Freddy asked, grabbing his arm and lifting it up. He started poking his open armpit, to find the hidden button that was making the repair man laugh. Unfortunately for William, there was no button. ALL of his armpit caused a reaction! "Huh...no matter where I push, he seems to laugh! Is this entire spot a button?" Freddy asked.

Bonnie thought for a moment...Perhaps...

"Oh! Perhaps it's a camera? Or, a sensor that causes a reaction!" Bonnie thought aloud.

"Ooooh! That's a good point...Maybe the entire cage in his chest is a sensor as well?" Freddy theorized. He removed his finger from his armpit, and started poking on the middle, down to the bottom of his rib cage.

This action resulted in a snort leaving William's mouth. Surprised by such a strange sound, both Bonnie and Freddy stopped their tickle attack, to process the sound. William took advantage of the break, and breathed in as much air as he could. But, his breathing froze for a moment, when he heard the sound of his snort being repeated. William whined in pure embarrassment as his laughter and snort was repeated over, and over, and over again. Unable to properly process such a strange sound, Bonnie and Freddy resumed their tickle attack. William resumed his laughter and squirming as multiple spots were poked at at the same time! It didn't take long for William to let out yet another snort. Instead of stopping, Bonnie and Freddy continued the poking, to see if the strange sound would occur again. And sadly for William, it did.

"Is this the sound of you malfunctioning?" Freddy asked. At this point, William couldn't even answer him! The tickling was driving him nuts, and his snorts and laughter were stopping him from speaking, or even processing the question properly! So, the man shook his head.

"Then why are you making such a strange sound?" Bonnie asked, unable to process it. If William was able to speak right now, he would've told them to stop so he could explain it to them! However, it was too good to be true. He was doomed to laugh until their examination was over. Or, at least, until they stop poking and squeezing so many different spots.

Soon, William's squirming began to die down. His laughter started to quiet down rather quickly, as tears started to appear and cloud his vision. Bonnie, noticing the changes, started to grow worried.

"Freddy, stop for a moment." Bonnie ordered.

Freddy looked up at Bonnie. "Why?" Freddy asked.

"Look at him. I think he's malfunctioning." Bonnie explained. Freddy removed his fingers and looked at the man. William was breathing as deeply as he possibly could. His body was rising up and falling down, as leftover giggles started to leave his mouth.

"Wait...Why is he still laughing? Is something triggering the sensors?" Freddy asked. He quickly checked every sensor he was aware of: The stomach, the chest, the armpits and the sides. William's laughter grew a bit, as his body was touched and moved again.

"You're making it worse! Stop touching him!" Bonnie whispered loudly.

"Oh! I am? Sorry." Freddy apologized, removing his hands. Upon looking at his hands, he couldn't help but notice that his fingers were...strangely wet. "Why are my fingers wet?" Freddy asked. Bonnie looked down and noticed that William's shirt was also wet!

"I'm...s-sweating..." William explained. Bonnie hummed in understanding, still watching William to make sure he didn't malfunction or shutdown.

"So...why did you laugh when we touched you?" Bonnie asked. William smiled.

"It's called tickling...It's when a person starts laughing when certain spots are touched and poked." William explained.

"But, how? I've touched Freddy lots of times in those spots, and he didn't react the same way!" Bonnie reacted.

"Well..." William started, thinking of how to explain it. "Freddy can't feel things. You can't feel things either. However, humans can." William explained, getting off Bonnie's arm and walking around. "I have touch sensors all over my body, called nerves. The nerves allow me to feel hot and cold, hard and soft, pain and pleasure." William explained further.

"What would tickling be?" Bonnie asked.

"Uh...soft pleasure." William said.

"What's the cage in your chest?" Freddy asked, poking the rib cage.

"Hehehehey! Ihit's called a rihihibcage." William explained through some light giggles.

"A ribcage? How many cage pieces are there?" Freddy asked.

"They're called ribs, and there's 24, 12 on each side." William replied.

"So, you laugh when you're touched on the button here..." Bonnie said aloud, poking near where William's belly button was.

"Hahaha! It's cahahalled a belly buhuhutton." William said through his giggles.

"Really? I was right! It IS a button! That's very interesting!" Bonnie reacted, lifting up the purple shirt and poking him in the belly button.

"Bohohohonnie!" William laughed, attempting to push away his gigantic finger.

"*Beep!* Button clicked! Activate Laughter." Bonnie teased playfully, continuing to poke William's belly button. William's giggling grew louder as he attempted to run away.

"You're not going anywhere! We wanna test out what other touch sensors make you laugh!" Bonnie warned, wrapping William up in his arms again. William yelped nervously as he attempted to push himself out of the grip. Amidst his pushing and squirming, Freddy had grabbed his feet.

"I wonder...If humans have touch sensors everywhere, does that include the feet?" Freddy asked. William's heart practically bounced right out of his chest! William started protesting as quick as possible.

"Wait, WHAT?! Let go! Don't you even try!" William warned. Freddy pulled off his slip on shoes, letting them plop onto the ground. "Hey! Put my shoes back on, RIGHT N-eeeeEEEEEEEK! NO! STAHAHAHAHAPIHIHIHIHIHIHIHT!" William shouted, letting out high pitched laughs and giggles.

"They ARE! And he's laughing! A lot, might I add!" Bonnie commented. William was squealing and giggling up a storm! There was no stopping how high his voice could go.

"TOOHOHOHOHO TIHIHIHIHICKLIHIHIHIHISHHHH!" William yelled through his high pitched giggles.

"Oh! Too ticklish? Okay. Maybe we should try somewhere else, then." Bonnie offered.

"Awww! But I was just starting to enjoy it!" Freddy complained, before dropping his feet. Bonnie cradled William back into the position she held him in before, and started squeezing William's sides.

"Eeeehehehehehehe! Hahahahahahaha! Thahahahahat's behehetteheheher." William commented through his giggles.

"Mr. Afton, your laughter is very pleasing to hear!" Freddy complimented.

"I agree! We should activate your 'nerves' more often!" Bonnie added.

"Thehehere's ohohother wahahahahays tohoho mahahahahake a peheheherson lahahahaugh!" William argued through his laughter.

"Really?" Bonnie asked, removing her finger so he can talk.

William took a few moments to get his breath back, before explaining what he just said. "Yeah. There are other ways to make a person laugh. You can tell jokes, show them something funny, tell them a funny story, create an inside joke, tease them, or: tickle them for a last resort." William explained. Bonnie thought about it.

"Well, I rarely hear you laugh. You're always so serious. So, I'd say tickling you is the only way!" Freddy said, before wiggling his finger on William's socked foot.

"AAAAAHH! FREHEHEHEHEDDYYYY! NAHAHAHAT MY FEEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHET!" William begged through his laughter.

"You can't handle a bit of tickles on your feet? How are your feet more ticklish than your belly? Stronger sensors?" Freddy asked.

"YEHEHEHEHEHEHESSSS! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" William replied through his loud laughter.

"Huh! So, your feet make you laugh the most. Your belly makes you giggle, your belly button sensor is a little more sensitive, the sensors on your 'ribcage' as you called it, are really sensitive the higher you go." Bonnie thought aloud, as if William wasn't being tickled by Freddy right now.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! THAHAHAHAT'S TRUHUHUHUHUHUE!" William said through his hysterical laughter.

"Hey Bonnie, look! When I tickle his foot, his foot curls up!" Freddy pointed out. Bonnie watched from the other side, as William's foot instinctively curled up in an attempt to cover up the spot.

"Huh...his foot isn't as flexible as his hand. So, no matter how much he tries to curl his foot, you can still tickle it!" Bonnie observed. William could feel a red hue lighting up his cheeks. He was growing flustered! But, the animatronics aren't even teasing him! Not on purpose, anyway.

"STAHAHAHAHAHAHAP! IHIHIHI CAHAHAHAHAN'T BREHEHEHEHEHEHEHEATH!" William shouted as best he could.

"What's the magic word?" Freddy asked, treating him like a child.

"PLEHEHEHEHEHEHEASE! PLEASEPLEASEPLEEEEHEHEHEHEASE!" William begged. Freddy nodded and removed his finger.

William took in as much air as he could, and let out some leftover giggles and laughs when he exhaled. Bonnie smiled as she held onto him and let him breath on his arm. William actually ended up falling asleep on her arm. Thinking William might've powered down, Bonnie decided to not disturb him and power down as well. Freddy watched the adorable moment for a while, before powering down along with them.

In the morning, William realized he had fallen asleep on Bonnie! He slid off Bonnie, grabbed his toolbox and headed for the door. But before he closed it, he took one last look at Bonnie and Freddy, and smiled. Instead of leaving just like that, William decided to write them a note. He pulled out his notebook and a pencil, and wrote:

'Thanks for the fun yesterday.

-W. Afton'

[doctormike]

Loss of Smell and Taste after COVID-19 Infection

Dear Families and Friends, There has been a lot in the news lately about a loss of the sense of smell during and after cases of COVID-19, especially in younger patients.  I was recently featured on a television news segment about this problem, and I have seen kids with this in my practice.  Since I got a lot of good feedback on my previous emails about COVID-19 testing and the serious inflammatory condition in children linked to the pandemic, I thought that I would update you all about how this happens, and what can be done.  

Smell and taste have always been neglected in the world of medical science.  There is a good deal of research done about the eyes and the ears; many resources and adaptive technologies are available for people with visual or hearing impairment.  But problems with the senses of smell and taste (which are closely linked) can be very disturbing, causing serious quality-of-life issues.  Not only can smell and taste problems interfere with our enjoyment of eating, they can be dangerous.  These senses evolved to protect us; people with these issues are at risk since they can’t easily detect smoke, fumes or spoiled food. We are starting to understand that, just like many other viruses, the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 can lead to olfactory dysfunction (OD).  This is a loss of the ability to smell, or a change in how familiar substances smell.  And this, as we will see, can cause problems with taste as well.

OD can be one of the earliest signs of COVID-19.  Less commonly, it can be a lingering symptom that arrives later in the course of an illness, and it can last for some time after recovery.  There is some evidence that patients with smell disturbances do better overall and are less likely to have a life threatening course of the illness.  Results vary with different population groups, but it seems that more than half of people with COVID-19 experience an alteration in their ability to smell. Of course, no one has any long term experience with this disease, so much of what we do to treat OD and to give a prognosis is based on our experience with other infections.  But still, early research suggests that this condition can be managed in a similar fashion.  Keep in mind that if you or your child suddenly lose your sense of smell, that might be an early (or the only) sign of COVID-19.  Contact your primary care doctor about the need for diagnostic testing, but in the interim self isolation would be appropriate. I think that it’s important to discuss some basic anatomy and terms here.  There are a number of processes that are often lumped together in this area, but which are very different.

Olfaction (smell): This is the sense that responds to odor molecules (odorants) in the air that flows through the nose.  Typical odor molecules come from things like cinnamon, lavender or cloves.  The molecules flow through the nasal airway (from the nostrils or the mouth) and interact with the olfactory nerve endings (the first cranial nerve), embedded in the lining of the roof of the nose.  This generates signals that are carried out of the nose into structures on the underside of the brain - the olfactory bulb and tract.  From there, the signals go into the brain, which then recognizes familiar scents.

Gustation (taste):  This is the sense that responds to chemicals that touch various parts of the  mouth.  There are five types of taste - sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami (savory).  The sense organs are taste buds, and they also send signals to the brain through cranial nerves.  There are a number of nerve systems that carry these signals, but the main ones supplying the front of the tongue travel to the brain in the facial nerve (the seventh cranial nerve).

Chemesthesis:  This is often confused with taste and smell.  Like them, it is a signal transmitted by nerves to the brain from chemicals in the mouth or nose.  But it isn’t olfaction or gustation, it’s a type of touch sensation, picked up by structures similar to pain receptors.  This involves different types of chemicals than those that trigger the taste and smell systems.  For example, in the mouth they are triggered by capsaicin (from chili peppers) or menthol.  In the nose, ammonia would cause this response.  This is an important system to protect against toxins and other irritating environmental chemicals.  These impulses are primarily carried by the trigeminal nerve (the fifth cranial nerve).

Flavor:  This is what you get when the brain combines the information from the olfaction, gustation and chemesthesis systems above, along with other touch sensations in the mouth (texture) to result in a recognizable sensation associated with specific foods.  It is also why people will report problems tasting their food when they lose their sense of smell - there is nothing wrong with the taste buds, but the brain can’t put everything together without all of the information.  

Anosmia:  The lack of smell, and a type of OD.  Patients with anosmia don’t smell odorants at all, although they will respond to things like ammonia (which, as we discussed, is not really a smell response at high concentrations).  Sometimes the word “hyposmia” is used to indicate a reduced but not completely absent sense of smell.

Parosmia:  A distorted sense of smell, and another type of OD.  In many cases of parosmia, normal food can smell and taste bad enough to cause nausea.

Phantosmia:  Smelling things that aren’t there, also known as olfactory hallucination.  This is more commonly associated with neurological conditions like seizures or Parkinson’s disease, head trauma, or less commonly, sinusitis.

So what actually causes OD?  Loss of smell can be caused by blockage of airflow through the nose (“conductive” OD), or by damage to the olfactory bulb, or nerves themselves (“sensorineural” OD).  Interestingly, the same terms are used to distinguish between the types of hearing loss. Conductive OD would be what you experience with a bad cold, allergies or sinusitis.  The nose is so stuffed up that there isn't enough airflow for odor molecules to make it through the nose to be smelled.  Sensorineural OD can be congenital, related to trauma or to a neurological process.  In this context it would be the result of a viral infection.  This is a well known symptom with many viruses, and it seems to be common in COVID-19, as mentioned above. Recent research suggests that in COVID-19, it is not the olfactory nerves themselves that are damaged by the virus, but the cells that surround and support them high up in the roof of the nose, in a small area known as the olfactory cleft.  So while technically this is a type of localized obstruction, interfering with the function of the nerves, these patients don't have swelling and blockage of the rest of the nasal airway, and they don't complain of a stuffy nose.  But because of injury to the supporting cells, the neurons may not be able to do their job transmitting odor information to the brain.

Conductive OD is treated in a similar manner to otters types of nasal obstruction - a diagnosis is made (allergies, sinusitis, etc..) and then specific medical or surgical treatment can be offered to improve the nasal airflow, which should also improve smell and taste.  The sensorineural OD that follows COVID-19 would not necessarily respond to these measures.  Fortunately, there is a lot of turnover of the tissue in the olfactory cleft - it is one of the areas in the body where nerve cells regenerate regularly and quickly.  This is what make the prognosis for post viral OD fairly good.

With other viruses, recovery from OD may be quick (weeks), or it may linger for months or years.  Of course, we don't know how long post-COVID OD will last, but most patients who recover do so in a relatively short time.  There are still a few patients who - five months into the pandemic - still haven't recovered from this, but it will be years before we have good long-term data about this condition.  During recovery, the sense of smell may vary from day to day.  This can be frustrating, but there are some things that you can do to help improve the chances of recovering normal smell and taste. 

One of the best online resources that I have found for people with OD is abscent.org, the website of a patient support organization based in the UK.  While they provide information about many types of OD, they have a lot of material specific to COVID-19 associated smell and taste issues.  Their instructions for olfactory training (OT) are particularly helpful.  

OT is a way of rehabilitating patients with post-viral sensorineural OD.  Familiar odorants are presented on a regular basis, twice a day, for several months.  It is important to keep notes of your progress, which helps with the recovery process.  You can make the kits to do OT yourself, or you can buy premade kits online.  This is something that you can do on your own, without the need for a special therapist.  It is important to find a quiet space and time without distractions, and to realize that improvement will not happen overnight.  Don’t get discouraged when starting out.  Mental visualization is important as well, so when practicing with each odorant, try to keep the source of that smell in mind, to help re-establish the nerve and brain pathways that let you recognize a certain scent accurately.

While there isn’t much evidence to support medical therapy in other forms of post-viral sensorineural OD, some success has been seen with vitamin A applied to the nose or omega-3 dietary supplements (which may help the nerve pathways regrow). Omega-3 also has some anti-inflammatory properties, which could limit injury to the cells of the olfactory cleft  Of course, we still don’t know if these are effective with COVID-19 related OD, but it stands to reason that they might help if the mechanism of injury is similar, and there aren’t many risks to their use.  It’s hard to give an overall prognosis, but information from pre-COVID research suggests that at least 2/3 of these patients get some recovery, even without treatment.  Steroids are occasionally used for nasal conditions, but they are not recommended in this case, because of concerns about suppressing the immune system during infection with a potentially deadly virus.

So if your child has suffered a loss or change in smell or taste after an infection, I would be happy to see them to ensure that there is no nasal obstruction contributing to the problem.  Following that, smell training and the supplements mentioned above provide an excellent chance of recovery.  Just remember, if this happens to you, be especially sure that your smoke detectors are working and check the expiration dates on your food carefully!

I hope that you are all managing the stresses of this time.  While the COVID-19 rates in the New York area have decreased considerably, we are watching outbreaks elsewhere in the country and trying to keep the medical and financial impact of the pandemic to a minimum.  As our state governments move towards a phased recovery, be patient, and remember that it is important to monitor the data every day, and change policies accordingly.  There is nothing wrong with making a call one day and walking it back the next.  That isn’t hypocrisy or inconsistency, it’s governance based on ever changing information.  Remember, this is a brand new virus that we are learning more and more about every day.

Even as we move back to a more “normal” existence, as we move towards socialization and outdoor meals, we need to do this safely.  As the playgrounds and beaches reopen, we are all responsible for keeping the trends moving in the right direction.  That means hand hygiene, mask use when indoors and/or near others, and applying the principals of social distancing when appropriate.  There is no book that tells us exactly what to do in every conceivable situation, and we all are struggling to find the right balance between safety and the need for human contact.  Each of us providing in-person services has come up with strategies to keep the risks to an acceptable level.

Yes, the safest thing to do is for everyone to stay in strict isolation until there is a vaccine, but it’s pretty clear that we aren’t going to do that for a number of reasons.  All we can do is to make smart, informed decisions based on the best data and expert opinions that we have.  Listen with an open mind.  Give people the benefit of the doubt.

And always be there for each other, no matter how socially distant you are.

Best, Michael Rothschild, MD