#anyway look at my nail! :D it looks so cool! i noticed it an hour ago and im like !! wah how cool! i want skull nails now

[flamestar126]

Nail polish slowly chipping away and it now looks like a skull and I think that's sick :D

GOOD THINGS

[found-family-tournament]

Found Family Tournament Round 1 Part 19 Group 95

Propaganda and further pictures under the cut

Cheer Factory: Goo & Bot

Submissions are still open!

Cheer Factory:

waves at you . hi !!!!! (pastes in my pre made rant and slightly edits and adds onto i

you have NO IDEA how much ‘found family’ energy these two give off (unless yyou do . by coincidence.uhm) like?? they find out theyre on the pink team and BOTH bot and goo shout “YEAHHH,, PINK TEAM !!” in unison . and then they immediately start getting along throughout the show . they are siblings to me they are the duo ever theyre like so silly theyre like two little kids in a trench coat/pos

okay so let me talk about bot first of all bot is . theyre heavily implied to be trans actually NO not heavily implied it’s practically CANON because bot is supposed to be the robot replica of a dead person named bow but later on they say they “aren’t bow” and that they wanna be a different person !!!! in the newer episodes literally when they were drawing what they wanna look like they put they/them on the paper and it was shown ON SCREEN !!!!!/pos/silly and in the new episode they GOT their new look and when they noticed their eyelashes were gone and all the other cool details they got they said “it’s so… me !! :D” ALSO: this small speech they gave

“yknow, lately ive been worried,, if i went by a different name, or maybe even ,, looked a little different.. i wouldnt be me anymore., but you helped me realize that,, no matter what you put out there.. youre still you” UWAHHHHHH/POS okay now goo second of all goo is like the silliest little goofball ive seen on a web series . he dances with PINECONES and makes weird analogies and made a 3 hour film for bot after they came out he did NOT deserve to be voted out for that i really hope they reunite because they didnt get to talk much before goo’s elimination and not ONLY that but literally goo got eliminated BEFORE he got to see bot’s new look he doesn’t even know that their name is bot he still thinks its tbd as far as i know (also because the only pictures of them together so far are literally before bot got their new look so. im gonna have to separate them when i submit photos💔💔) and the interaction right before his elimination was like kinda awkward unfortunately but it made me sob/hj

"yeah,, i liked it !! but.. it was,,. a lot :[ listen goo,, i-i dont need this new identity to be such a big grand spectacle , i just want you to treat me like. llike me . with all the uncertainty lately, it helps everything feel just a bit more,, normal , yknow .?" “oh,, ohfor sure ,! i get it !! it’s like,, you just wanted a slice of cake, and i went and gave you the whole bakery ,:D !!” “hehe, yyup, nailed it !! ,:)” ↑↑↑ UWAHHHHHHH😭/LH/POS and third of all their alliance name they are literally called THE CHEER FACTORY because they wanna CHEER PEOPLE UP and they did !!!!! they cheered up clover and the floor ithink yes the floor is a character ssshshshshhsshh and goo literally lost one of the challengesbecause he laughed at the floor’s joke AND HE DID NOT CARE he was just glad he got to cheer somebody up !!!!! “another satisfied customer at the,, CHEER FACTORY !!! :D” LITERALLY HE WAS SO HAPPY and also when they were separated into two seperate teams goo is IMMEDIATELY sad when he notices bot isnt with him “sigh… i guess the cheer factory has become the.., cheer llc. :[“ I FELT SO BAD FOR THE BOTH OF THEM also can you tell whos my favorite/hj/lh anyways theyre silly theyre blorbos theyre the duo ever and thats why they should be in this competition (psssssst pstpst hhey im not gonna force you or anything btw but watch this video that interviews goo after he got eliminated from the show please/nf/ ineed to provide more evidence/hj/lh) || https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb4iAbI2f3s

goo literally made a video that was like 3 hours.long which was dedicated to bot's new identity after they said they were a robot and weren't "bow" and also they both have their own silly little alliance in the show called "The Cheer Factory" ❗❗❗ cmon theyre like. theyre literally like two little kids in a trenchcoat/silly theyrefound family siblings to me

Naruto & Umino:

everyone in the village hated naruto since the day he was born bc of the demon that lives in his insides somewhere (this sounds crazy if you haven't seen the show but trust me here). iruka was his teacher at school. when everyone was graduating, naruto failed and some side character told him that if he stole a secret scroll he'd pass (since he failed). they were using him tho, and were planning on killing him (i think). and then iruka goes after him and finds him with the scroll before the other person did, and was the first person to actively defend naruto, and was the first person to believe him and see him as the person he was (he's like 12 here btw). and then, iruka always acts as a father figure to naruto, and at the very end of the series, when naruto gets married, he asks iruka to be his father at his wedding. i cried like a little bitch and i swear to god i just lvoe them so much. i doubt anyone will submit them butAAAAAA. ALSO IRUKA PASSED HIM IN THE END AND GAVE HIM HIS OWN FUCKING HEADBAND!!! SOBS AND CRIES AND SCREAMS

iruka was the first person to ever believe in naruto. it’s mentioned throughout the story how much of an impact iruka had on naruto just by believing in him, and it’s super sweet. the real kicker is that at the end of the show, naruto asks iruka to play the role of his father at his wedding, and i will never not cry about it!! literally look at them!!! never shutting up about this!!

[andorianminingconsortium]

Watching the first Star Trek movie now! This is a review I'm typing while I watch!

For a second I forgot that I was going into a TOS era movie and the effects made me laugh put loud. But then I got into it and I'm already intrigued by the plot! And like five minutes in, the effects don't bother me anymore! I just came straight from watching SNW hahaha

I don't think I've ever heard full conversations of spoken Vulcan before! It's very cool! Sounds like I hoped it would. The high priestess(?) is slaying with her outfit and her long nails with the mind melt lol. Can't he practical. Fashion > logic.

O! Recognisable music from TOS! Cute clothes on the background characters. Hey Kirk! Not on that Vulcan. Yay Scotty! Ok I don't need an hour long scene of approaching the Enterprise but ok.

Not a fan of the sad beige uniforms. Are those the uniforms? UHURA! Yay. Sulu! Chekov! The gang!

Dude THE KIRK is replacing you as captain, show respect. By the way you get to stay as Executive Office under KIRK? THAT'S COOL. You should accept right away.

Omg that transporter incident was hella scary wtf no thanks

There's a cute Andorian in the scene with the whole crew gathered but I can't take a screenshot :( timestamp 30:44 (mostly for my own reference because I love Andorians and I'm going to play one for a Star Trek TTRPG so I need all the references I can get).

Someone doesn't want to use the transporter. Understandable. Wait, that's going to be Bones, isn't it? YES IT IS! Love him. Pls shave. Thanks

Ooo cool alien girl! I like her. Cool but with the wormhole. Bones, don't agree with the dude. I'm also really liking the soundtrack.

Ooo mystery shuttle, it would be cool if that was - SPOCK! Good entrance, s-tier clothes. Hell yeah, Bones, we ARE pleased to see him. Hehe is he flustered? Cute. I forgot how handsome Spock is.

No wait he seems sad. Wow in the last like five minutes, I think Kirk said he needs Spokc like 3 times. But not like Oh having Spock here might come in handy. No. Kirk NEEDS Spock. If that isn't Spirk.

Oh wow inside the thing are some reeaaallly beautiful visuals and the soundtrack is soooo good!

Just noticed Uhura's hair. It's really cool! Looks gorgeous!

The plot is really cool. It feels cosmic horror-ish, which is my favourite sci-fi theme/genre. The imagery is so atmospheric. Beautiful and unique!

Spock goes on so many solo missions, if he were a D&D class, he'd be a rogue.

THEY'RE SO TOUCHY (Spirk). "This simple feeling". What feeling, Spock? WhaT FEELING? (don't go for friendship my dude, it's pride month). Anyway those sickbay clothes look really good on Spock. Unnecessarily so.

All of the uniforms, but especially those not quite space suits, look like super comfortable pajamas. I want them to sleep in. Btw plot is still really cool. I like that the crew in this movie takes a very diplomatic approach!

Oooo very interesting development and revelation. That's cool. Nice plot. Very clever. I like it.

Very satisfying end! Very comfortable movie! Would watch it again :) enjoyed it!

[hyunsuks-beanie]

TXT when they accidentally use your insecurity against you in an argument

A/N: So I wanted to write something for my babies TXT, and I'm a sucker for angst with fluffy endings.... So, here we go again!

Yeonjun

"I like this dress Yeonjun. And I'm not gonna change out of it, so cut it out," you huff, annoyed at your boyfriend pestering you to change into something else, something a bit less revealing (in his opinion). "Babe no, trust me. This dress isn't all that good. It looked good in your closet, but it's not looking good on you." "Uh huh, and why should I believe that? I tried it out in front of my friends, and they said I looked really nice wearing it," you counter. When he doesn't say anything and just glares at you, you ask him again, "Come on Jun. What is it? Tell me. Give me a solid reason, and maybe I'll change out of it. Although I think there isn't a real reason, you're just being overprot-" Yeonjun loses his cool very easily, and you just crossed the line by pointing out the truth.

"Oh shut up Y/N," he cuts you off, raising his voice. "You're wayyyy too curvy for this dress. It makes you look fat and desperate." When you don't reply, he turns around to see tears welling up in your eyes. It's only then that he realizes what he's said. He just used your biggest insecurity against you, and he can do nothing but watch you run up the stairs to your bedroom, crying. He decides to give you some space, but ten minutes later, he's at the bedroom door, unable to stay away from you any longer. He enters slowly, only to see you bawling your eyes out after having changed out the dress. "Y/N, baby...," he whimpers, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean that. I know I'm a jerk, but I just want to say, you are right. I was being overprotective."

(Rest of the members are under the cut!)

Soobin

"Soobin, stop practicing and eat something. You must be starving," you smile at your boyfriend, who is busy practicing for a comeback. He doesn't reply, and after five minutes, you beckon him again. "Soobin, ea-," he cuts you off by loudly saying, "Gosh Y/N, stop being so clingy and annoying." You're taken aback by his sudden outburst. Your Soobin never talks to you this way. " Soobin I just," you start again, only to have him cut you off again. "Can't you see I'm practicing? Can't you see I have better things in life to do, than to eat with you? I swear, when I agreed to dating you, I didn't know you were such an attention-seeker," he says without turning around.

Needless to say, you walk out the door as soon as he's done talking, and what's worse is that he doesn't even notice. Hours later, once he finally nails the choreography, he looks down at the food, and gratitude and guilt wash over him. He tries calling you, but you don't pick up, and that's when he knows he's screwed up big time. He quickly goes home, only to find you asleep on the couch after having cried your eyes out. He wants to leave you be, but he knows he needs to apologize. So he gently shakes you awake, before saying, "I'm so sorry Y/N. This one's one me."

Beomgyu

"Beomgyu, can we please go out? The weather is so nice!!," you say to your boyfriend, who's busy playing video games. "Maybe later baby. I'm busy right now." "You're always busy," you mutter under your breath, which, thankfully, Beomgyu doesn't hear. He's had a hectic month at the company, and now that he finally had a day off, instead of spending time with you, he's bust playing video games. You are a supportive partner, you really are. But Beomgyu is being really thick right now, and you can't help but sigh. A while later though, you try again, "Beomgyu....are you done yet?," You ask excitedly. You half expected a cold response, but what you didn't expect was a glare from him. "Gosh Y/N, what the hell are you so loud for? It's giving me a headache, and it made me lose the game," he says loudly. "I-I'm sorry, I d-didn't know," you try to reason.

"I have one day off in a whole month, and you don't even have the decency to let me enjoy what I like doing? I don't like going out with you anyway, you're boring," he lowers his voice, but you still hear. Your shock turns into annoyance, as you say, "Oh I'm so sorry. I'll leave you to your stupid game." With that, you walk out the door, determined to not let your stupid boyfriend ruin your mood on such a nice day. Beomgyu decides to restart the game, when another player says, "Dude, did you even hear yourself? Is that any way to talk to your partner? You know they're right man, apologize to them." This manages to knock some sense into Beomgyu, and makes him feel guilty. He walks out of the house, knowing full well you must've gone to Han River. He has no trouble finding you, and as soon as he sees you, sitting on the grass under a tree, he comes up slowly behind you. When you're in his reach, he wraps his arms around you, whispering a soft "I'm sorry."

Taehyun

You like Taehyun. You really do. And so, you're always trying to find ways to talk to him. But he's been busy this week, and you didn't want to come off as too annoying or too desperate, so you decided to hang out with Huening Kai more. He's a good friend of yours, who knows about your crush on Taehyun. You guys have been fooling around for a couple days, and, unbeknownst to you, Taehyun hasn't been liking how close you two seem. One day, you went up to Hyuka, asking him if he wanted to hang out. Taehyun was sitting close by, working on his laptop. He gets jealous seeing you approaching his best friend instead of him, and before the younger boy can reply, he quips, "Y/N, are you always this desperate? First it used to be me. Now it's Huening Kai. Who's gonna be next? Jungkook hyung? Or Jungwon?" You're shocked at this, since Taehyun just called you what you had been trying to avoid being called. "I'll talk to you later," you say to Huening Kai, before turning away and leaving. "Dude, that was totally uncalled for. She's been hanging out with me because she didn't want to disturb you seeing as how busy you are. And look at you, being a total jerk," Hyuka says to Taehyun. It's then that he realizes his mess up, and he quickly gets up, hoping to catch you before you leave. He sees your form about to exit the building, and he jogs up to you before grabbing hold of your hand and turning you around. "Look, I know I messed up. I just got jealous, I'm so sorry," he says.

Huening Kai

Hyuka enters your shared apartment, and soon as you see him, you know something is up. He seems pissed, or actually, beyond pissed. "Hyuka, baby, what's wrong? Did something happen?" "Oh nothing much, just the hyungs teasing me like always," he says in mock nonchalance. You see through it though, and ask, "Why? Should I go fight with them for upsetting you?" You meant this only as a joke, but it's enough to make Huening Kai raise his voice, and say "No Y/N. I don't need your help! I don't need you to fight anyone on my behalf, I don't need you to check up on me, I don't need you to send me food. Quit being so nagging. You're not my mom, so stop acting like one."

You're at a loss for words. You thought that your boyfriend liked being looked after, but apparently, you were wrong. You feel guilty for embarrassing him, for being the reason he's upset. "I-I'm sorry, I promise, I won't nag you anymore. I didn't know you didn't like me looking after you. Sorry I embarrassed you," you say, mustering a weak smile. Even though he had said the same words minutes ago, seeing you repeat them makes him realize how rude he's been to you, when all you've been doing was looking out for him. He hugs you super tight, catching you by surprise. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lashed out like that."

[jiminrings]

i think stem!koo would compare himself with the other guy and start questioning if that’s more oc’s type and if he’s just the outlier. maybe even tries mimicking the other guy to see oc’s reaction… like if oc was talking to hobi and guk saw and then when they meet up a few day later oc’s like???? why are you blonde?

cold senior!y/n x stem major!koo masterlist :D

besides hoseok having the divine ability to throw pretty cool parties, it turns out he’s actually pretty cool too — too bad jungkook doesn’t know how to handle his jealousy at all.

“would you hate me?”

there’s no morning like today, really

no morning like today because all three of you woke up before 10 am

setting alarms when there are no classes is the equivalent of setting yourself up and you will not subject yourself to that!! — you wake up at like 12 pm max

yoongi would typically wake up at 4 in the morning, groggily realize that it’s iNDEED 4 in the morning, and go back to sleep — he wakes up seven hours later <3

jin’s sleeping pattern (or as what he calls un-blinking hours) fluctuates so oftenly and is therefore non-existent — he wakes up only when you wake him up!!

the three of you just started coming out of your rooms one-by-one and were in a daze looking at each other :|

no morning like today because now that the three of you woke up practically at the same exact time for an unknown reason, you asked if you can have jungkook come over for breakfast and they agreed

“do you guys mind if i invite jungkook for breakfast?”

“nah. go ahead.”

“it’s alright i understand i-?? what did you just say?”

jungkook also feels like there’s definitely something in the air this morning and it’s not weed lol

jin greeted him and yoongi nodded at him??? it felt as weird yet gratifying as a nickelodeon show crossover

all of you are immersed in casual and playful chatter in a somehow haze!! seokjin’s on autopilot preparing four (!!) bowls and yoongi’s getting the family (!!) cutlery instead of the disposable visitor ones

which is why the moment you ask a seemingly-loaded question, everyone just immediately snappeD out of it and was brought back to reality

“would you hate me?”

“never.” (jungkook fervently shakes his head no that his neck felt like it was unscrewed at one point)

“i would gaslight everyone and everything for you.” (yoongi snickers with his hands across his chest, actually thinking that he could also gaslight anything for you even if it’s an inanimate object)

“depends.” (jin carelessly shrugs as he tries to convince himself that you wouldn’t commit arson to his dream shared house with you and yoongi)

...

well they really didn’t let you finish ://

“thank you, but i didn’t mean it that way,” you snicker in thought at each of their answers, giving jungkook a grateful pat on his knee

yoongi almost scowls at that but he, along with jin, catches your incessant gaze

oh the question is meant for the two of them???

“would you hate me if i convince the two of you to split with me the cost of a canvas painting?”

a what

since wHEN are you into canvas paintings???

the two of them have their mouths slightly ajar and even jungkook’s joining in because even if he’s nOt included in this conversation, he’s also surprised???

“like an old abstract painting?” jin grimaces and therefore breaks the silence, blindly folding in his fluffy pancake mix to look at your reaction

“god, no,” you shudder already at the thought of an old painting with asbestos you can’t gauge the meaning of being hung at the large empty wall, “it’s for our dorm.”

.... oh?

they aren’t really against chipping in for an item that only yOU would benefit from, but it’s kinda exciting to think that all three of you are involved

“how big is this painting that you’re talking about?”

yoongi asks in deep thought, already thinking about nails and screws (which probably aren’t allowed) and the backup heavy-duty mounting tape

he’s curious already!!!! screw him!!!

“really?” your eyes considerably widen, looking at the teo of them, both shrugging at each other and that’s already your seal of approval!!! see!! you didn’t even have to plead :D

“A1 — that’s what the guy said. i found him on instagram!!”

yoongi narrows his eyes at you unironically, tch-ing at what you just said

“i don’t speak in barbecue sauce, y/n.”

.,.,.,...,. pls

jin snorts extra loudly because yoongi’s completely serious and not kidding at all when he only knows A1 as a goddamn brand of sauce instead of an actual measurement

“A1 means 23x33 inches in sizing, dumbass.”

the guy at the receiving end of chuckles only nods with newfound knowledge, already mapping it out

“what’s it about? i-i can chip in too if you’d like!!”

jungkook interjects sincerely, raising his hand out of classroom habit to which he sheepishly brings down

“it’s okay, koo. you don’t need to,” you reply back sincerely and effectively shut out the egging that yoongi and jin are giving him, something along the lines of “hey jungkook!! what if you pay for it whole, hm? you can come over for breakfast next time if you do.”

jungkook was really about to steal your phone and enter his card information in a sECOND if only you didn’t stop him

“the painting is to die for, y’know?” you hype it up as much as you could, holding jungkook’s hands in place so he can stop reaching for his wallet

:D

“it’s a painting of a sheep on a field, with the mountains behind it, that says atleast we’re under the same sky!!”

it’s pretty much safe to say that jin and yoongs were ready to lay down their money right then and there

neither of you can put a finger on it but it just tOUCHES your heart!! it’s a piece that pops up in your mind every now and then and feels like a fond memory while at it

“...and sent! quick too — he already gave me the payment confirmation.”

that’s nice!! not even five minutes after you sent your proof of payment and he already acknowledged it

the fact that it’s already paid for now aND is probably gonna get delivered within a matter of days is exciting, really

“i think i’d toss and turn in bed until that painting arrives,” yoongi yawns in admission, going into town with the powdered sugar on his pancakes that you physically had to stop him

“i’d save that painting first when there’s a fire,” jin snickers but it’s not that well-received, getting a pointed glare in return from yoongi, “fine. i’ll save y/n first and then the painting.”

this is your happy place :-)

your three favorite boys in the whole entire world in the sAME room!! and they’re not arguing!! there’s now dwelling in the past!!

just mediocre tolerance from yoongi and jin’s side, then half-giddiness and half-nervousness from jungkook’s side

“when it arrives, i’ll take a picture of the three of you and get it printed!”

kook offers and it earns him a ruffle on his hair, surprisingly from jin, that makes him almost chOke on the most delicious pancakes he’s ever tasted

“thank you, koo.”

jungkook’s getting used to this, actually

normally he’d expect a kiss on his cheek for his wonderful offer!! or maybe a hand on his thigh!! but he’s slowly starting to realize that you’re not always a physically affectionate lover

he’s admittedly the clingier out of the two of you but it’s okay!! right!!!!!!! it is :D

he’s sitting beside you right now on the couch anyway!! he’ll take that

yoongi, however, will nOT take it because that’s his spot and jungkook’s taking it away from him >:( he’s only noticed now out of the twenty minutes the four of you have been sitting here

he’s sneakily scraping off the powdered sugar from his pancakes and to the edge of his plate, ready to spill it on jungkook so he’d have an excuse of pushing him to the bathroom and take his spot beside you

just one more scrape and-

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCKKKKKKKKKKKK-!!!!!!

literally everyone jolts with the abrupt knocking on your door and it even panics you a little

“w-who’s that?” jungkook fidgets on his seat and raises his feet on the cushions (no one can scold him bc everyone is also preoccupied) and his hand grips on your forearm out of instinct

“are you expecting anyone?” you ask jin because this may just be namjoon who’s rushing to get inside because students might see him

“no one,” he shakes his head and turns to yoongi, “this yours?”

yoongi shakes his head, his hand still clutching at his chest, “didn’t even order anything online these past two weeks.”

this is okay!! robbers don’t knock on the door, right? :-)

you make the initiative to stand up but you get tugged almost immediately by the three of them, shrugging them off as calmly as you could

“i’ll just see, alright?”

you peep on the keyhole and you relax immediately, just seeing a delivery guy with a huge package

you open the door and jungkook sputters of why the hell you would, about to skid towards you when-

“hoseok?”

is that-

is that jung hoseok??

jung hoseok as in your junior, the one who’s notoriously known for throwing the coolest parties ever?? to which he gets even the seal of approval from his seniors??

the same hoseok who threw the party wherein jungkook was ditched by jimin and you needed to walk him home? the one who threw the party wherein tae slipped outside and you needed to take him to the hospital??

tHAT hoseok????

he’s kinda cool for all of that actually

“Y/N???”

he’s just as surprised as you are, mouth actually dropping agape

the both of you are so surprised that neither of you seem to acknowledge the mammoth of a package that he’s holding

...

....

“oh my god, you’re the one who ordered my painting!!!”

hoseok actually leaps to hug you and it’s a miracle that you’re not knocked over with his sheer force, giddily jumping up and down as if embracing you is not enough

he pulls off before you could even poke at him, instead holding you by your shoulders and jostling you lightly now

jungkook’s watching the whole thing unfold and he’s still quite stuck on the couch, head tilting in confusion

why.... is hoseok.... hugging you.....

why........ are you letting him..... hug you

“oh my god!!! you’re the one!!!!! i-i thought no one would buy from me because i’m a small business and i don’t have a lot of works right now and my style is different but — yoongi!!!!”

hoseok attaches to yoongi next and the older guy just chuckles, patting him on the back

they’re not really close and no one really hugs their senior like that, most especially yoongi, but here they are

“let me guess, you’re one of the three who bought it, right?? y/n messaged me saying that she has two friends chipping in and asked me that if i could, add in some freebies!! and i did!!!”

man,, hoseok is quick

“we didn’t know you’re the one who made it,” you admit which gets a lot of nodding from both parties

“i didn’t know either that you guys were the one who bought it!” hoseok exclaims and turns his head to jin, “mr. kim!!! thank you so much!! you complete the trio, right?”

you and yoongi are bAFFLED at hoseok hugging seokjin, or rather mr. kim, aka an official of student affairs

what’s even more baffling is that jin doesn’t look surprised at all

“you two — i- uhm? i don’t-...”

“... hoseok’s my plug. our plug, actually.”

:O

hoseok doesn’t even look the least bit fazed, even nodding and laughing as he raises his hand

“i’m a business major!!”

ok wait maybe that does explain everything

jungkook’s so lost looking at the scene in front of him and frankly, he doesn’t know if he’s still included at this point

he’s frazzled when hoseok’s eyes slightly widen at the sight of him but later grin at him, looking back at you to wiggle his eyebrows

“and jungkook, is a stem major.”

it seems like no one but jungkook is surprised at hoseok’s sudden barging presence in the dorm

no one is batting an eye when he invites himself to stay and plop on the couch

“here, you can have mine.”

jungkook helplessly looks at you when you offer yOUR plate (that has one whole pancake left) to hoseok and leave him be

no one’s questioning him because after all, the three of you are busy unwrapping the package while he continues to explain

“what was i saying again? oh right!! i panicked when i saw the money transferred to my account because even if we were chatting, at first i was a littlE hesitant because like, bogus buyers amirite??” he speaks through a mouthful of pancakes, “and then you paid!! and i saw the address and tHEN i was really excited and like panicked? i didn’t want to get it shipped when you’re this near because that’s expensive!! and i wanted to thank the three of you personally!!”

“— which is why i sprinted all the way here!!”

that explains hoseok’s breathless and sweaty state, the whole tale of him bumping into the dean at one point and almost stomping on a pigeon making everyone entertained

everyone besides jungkook.

is it just him or is everyone’s eye twitching right now

is this his dorm? no. but does he feel like hoseok’s intruding, regardless if he lives in here or in the perspective of a fellow visitor? yes.

apparently, nONE out of the three of you seem to think so

because it’s all so good!! hoseok probably lives in your dorm too because why else would you give up your breakfast for him??

the three of you are actively fawning over the painting and jungkook’s just sO sure that it’s giving hoseok the biggest ego boost of his life ://

they just share a class or two, they aren’t really close anyways

hoseok’s the type to be intimidating and popular at the same time but surprisingly, he’s friendly in a way

ok maybe jungkook’s just getting a little over in his head rn

if he leaves, then it’s also hoseok’s time to leave!!!

he’s already practicing the words in his head

“come on hoseok, they’re the furthest thing away from being done at fawning. let’s walk together back to the dorms.”

he’s about to say it when-

“anyone have a headband i can borrow?”

hoseok asks aloud and effectively catches everyone’s attention, making you stand up in agreement

what the fuck is actually happening

jungkook watches you hand one of the headbands you wear during your games to hoseok, a guy you barely know, like it’s no big deal?????

that headband smells like your hair!!! the hair that he loves to bury his nose into and plays with!!!

that’s yours and you’re giving it to hIM?

jungkook’s stomach actually drops even if he just finished eating minutes ago, ina daze looking at hoseok putting it on his blonde hair

he doesn’t know what’s stemming from his heart nor what his tummy’s telling him, but jungkook doesn’t like it at all.

“i’m going home,” kook murmurs behind you who’s instructing yoongi and jin to level the painting some more, snaking his arm around your waist

“really? oh, okay. text me when you get home.”

you only sweetly smile at him and jungkook’s actually awaiting the offer of you walking him home, but it doesn’t come

that’s okay!

“bye. love you.”

he softly says yet it’s enough for everyone to hear, his hand still secured snugly on your waist

jungkook’s about to go for a kiss on your cheek because he’s sURE that both yoongi and jin would scowl at him if he took it any further, but he catches hoseok at the corner of his eye and it’s all out the door

he unexpectedly presses a chaste kiss on your lips and playfully drags out the mwah! at the end, much to the daggers your friends send him

that’s enough!! hoseok already saw — you’re taken by him. jungkook doesn’t need to worry now that hoseok knows :)

...

....

...... he may have spoken too soon

he’s already established that you’re taken by him, that’s great! even hoseok teases him when they see each other the next day

was that an ego boost? yes

what wasn’t an ego boost is seeing hoseok talking to him and parading the halls with your headband on!!

that’s yOUR headband!!! not his!!! what happened to merely borrowing it?

did he just happen to steal it from you, or did you just let him steal it from you?

:(

jungkook positively thinks that’s the end of this whole heart-clenching

hoseok has your headband but jungkook has you. it’s clear who’s actually winning in life

but god is jungkook wrong again

he texted you in the same morning on what you were doing since you had your classes cancelled for today with no professors coming in

going to brunch with hobi instead of sleeping all day. jin’s in the office and yoongi’s out on grocery duty. have fun w your classes :)

Hobi???

Uhm I literally just passed him in the halls two minutes ago

really? lmao that means he’s skipping class then

no because hold on

hoseok’s sKIPPING class to go to brunch with you?

you’re going to brunch with him???

HOBI?????

jungkook uncomfortably tucks his phone back into his pocket as class starts, chewing at his bottom lip

do you want him to skip classes so he could go to brunch with you?

better yet, is hoseok better than him because it’s no problem for him to skip classes??

now that he thinks about it, jungkook hasn't skipped even a single day of classes ever since freshman year

he used to take pride on his attendance but now he uh kinda wants a blank mark on his card actually

he could go to lengths of skipping classes if you asked him to!! he can!! of course he'll do that for you

but you don't ask him to and it's obvious that you only learned now how hoseok's able to meet you in the first place, but the reason behind it didn't seem to faze you

in fact, it looks like you're even amused

jungkook has to physically shake his head to get rid of his thoughts but that doesn't do anything

he's still thinking about you and hoseok during class.

he's trying not to dwell on it but it's difficult when he's always reminded of it

every time he comes over, the painting is GLARING at him and that's the reason jungkook just keeps his eyes on you for literally the whole time that he's there

your phone sometimes dings and it's a tiktok notification of hoseok sending you one

everything he does, hoseok and his outrageously blonde hair just seems to follow him

you had cat fur on the sleeve of your hoodie because you pet the campus cat awhile ago and jungkook was about to shriek because even that reminded him of the guy

all he's done this week is become bothered and frustrated to the point that even jimin, oftenly the most clueless and easy-going guy in the room, noticed it

"trouble in paradise?"

jimin's cool voice is the first thing that snaps him out of his anti-hoseok tirade in his mind, his eyes landing on his roommate lazily

it's actually jimin's red hair that makes jungkook look twice because when he saw him in the morning, he was still blonde

....,.,. blonde....?

"jimin?"

"hmm? am i right? is it rEALLY trouble in-"

"remember that time you ditched me in hoseok's party? or that time i made your paper because you forgot and you were hung-over and then you ended up getting an A?"

jimin's head tilts at jungkook's enumeration, blinking owlishly at him

".... yeah?"

"good," jungkook nods in acknwoledgement at jimin's recall, "because i think i'm gonna cash in the favors that you owe me."

:O

it's pouring

it hasn't rained in so long and it's raining sO hard that you might have to look for a candle later on

it was on the news anyway that it was gonna rain this hard but no one really expected that it'd be this hard!!

nonetheless, jungkook soothed your worries and said he'd come over because the two of you haven't seen each other in like three days

maybe it's just you but something feels off with jungkook

oddly, he's gotten a little bit more attached to you yet weirdly distant at the same time

for some reason, he asks a lot more questions too

just yesterday, he sent you a screenshot of a white polo, asked if it looked good, and proceeded to immediately purchase it once you said it looked nice

just because you don't frequently comment on what you notice, doesn't exactly mEAN you don't care about it

jungkook's a big boy!! an adult!! if he wants to say something to you, then he says it

he always has the words in his head, that much you know

but yOU, however.,.,.,

you really don't have the words right now

because as soon as you open the door, your eyes land on your boyfriend

your boyfriend in his usual hoodie who's been growing out his hair and is looking very much blonde and different

“you’re blonde?”

you rhetorically ask in shock and you're clueless to the fact that you look like a fish out of water, your hands unconsciously darting out to his chest

“hmm, you like it?”

jungkook hums and tries to keep the giddiness he feels at bay just seeing you look gobsmacked, your hands moving from his collarbones to his neck and finally, to his hair

you offer no answer because you find yourself kissing jungkook before you could even let him in and close the door

he mewls in satisfaction when you kiss him deeper and cup his cheeks, his hands finding no hesitance in pushing your bodies closer by the waist

"my handsome boy," you mumble at one point in the kiss, eternally grateful that the two of you are the only one in the dorm right now

jungkook preens at your attention, mumbling to your lips before he makes the move to kiss you determinedly

“you like me better than hoseok?”

in a single second, he doesn't feel you kissing back at all

he's so confused as he pulls away, dark brows, in contrast to his blonde hair, knitted in confusion

“quit it.”

there's no actual edge to your tone but you feel like it, an incoming realization starting to dawn on you

jungkook's oblivious to your boiling irritation, clueless to how the dots are connecting in your mind and how you're not sure on how to tackle them

“what did i do? i was just asking you if you like me better than him.”

he says nonchalantly and it's the tone that irks you — as if his seemingly harmless question didn't reveal what he really wanted to get at

“i’m with you, jungkook. has that not been established enough yet?”

your voice is still calm yet you trudge away from him, your boyfriend quick on his heels to trail behind you

“i mean you did kiss me on the mouth just now,” jungkook points out as if you weren't aware. “because i’m blonde just like hoseok.”

“oh my god."

it was just a strong hunch at first but hearing it first-hand from jungkook accelerates your sentiment for what he did even faster, your eyes rolling to the back of your head that rubs him the wrong way

he runs his hand through his hair out of habit, reminding you even more that it's bleached and blonde yet for all the wrong intentions

“is asking you so wrong? why are you getting defensive?”

you snicker at his inquiry, hands across your chest that just challenges him to do the same

“what’s wrong is that you dyed your hair blonde for no other reason besides the fact that hoseok is!”

now that jungkook hears it from you, his eyes narrow

“can’t i just be inspired?” he snaps, “can’t i be inspired to look this way because you look at him in that way?”

what?

wHAT????

“what way, jungkook?”

seemingly caught in a blindspot, he tries to backtrack

“i-i’m not-“

you're having none of it and to be honest, you're not even sure if it just pure anger that you're feeling at the moment

“you spent hours in a salon, is that it?" you prod him and that makes jungkook avoid your eyes, huffing under his breath, "got jimin to help you out?" that actually hits a nerve on him and makes his eyes zero in on you with much annoyance, "what did you go through just because you’re so inspired?”

“you look at hoseok like you’re in love with him!”

“i’m not in love with hoseok, jungkook!" you articulate every word but even that seems to anger jungkook further, "why would you even think of that?”

“because you’re only supposed to look at me that way. y-you’re not supposed to go to brunch with a guy alone when you just met him. you’re not supposed to lend him your headbands when he can just buy them! you’re not supposed to do the things you’d do with me with other guys!”

“he’s my friend. just like yoongi and jin are. i can do these things with them but that doesn’t mean i love you any less.”

jungkook rolls his eyes and even your profession of love doesn't budge him at all

“there you are with your guy friends again.”

“what’s that supposed to mean?”

you feel him treading to dangerous territory but you stand your ground regardless, your voice shaking when you add

“yoongi and jin came into my life way before you did, jungkook.”

it was to simply remind him but he feels as if it's out of spite, looking at you pointedly before patronizingly chuckling

“i know. i can never win with you, that’s it, right? just because you’re older than me by a year and you have friends that want to beat me up — you always win!”

his voice raises by the end of his sentence and it's his words that make you grind your teeth together and your nostrils flare, lip dangerously close to trembling

“i’m sorry if i’m jealous and i don’t know what to do because this is the first time i’ve become a boyfriend, alright?"

jungkook throws his head back and gestures to you, shaking his head while he's so close to crying because of his pent-up insecurity

“i’m sorry that i don’t know what to do and you always do because you probably had like ten boyfriends before me, right?? i’m so inexperienced and new to you that you can’t even stand me and-“

..

there's pin-drop silence in the room.

jungkook only realizes his words belatedly and the weight that they carry, eyes in a stand-still on you who looks the furthest thing from being appeased at him

you're actually hurt.

“how dare you, jungkook.”

your fists are balled to the point that the tips of your fingers feel numb from the pause in circulation, but oddly enough, jungkook feels the most remorseful when he sees your figure deflate and therefore relax

“don’t come home, it’s pouring. or go back to your dorm, whatever. i don’t care.”

he's planted by his feet but he realizes to move when you're walking out of your own dorm, prying away his hand from your elbow

“you can sleep in my room. i’m sleeping out tonight.”

.

.

.

part two

as always, lmk what you think!! i love answering asks :D what do you want to see from the lunchbox lovers next? send them here <3

[bangtanloverboys]

indented fingertips // myg

summary: you don't know much about your roommate, min yoongi. until one day you come home to see him strumming away at a guitar, maybe he could give you a lesson?

pairing - rooommate!min yoongi x female!reader

genre - fluff; roommate au

word count - 2.2k

warning - nothing

author’s note - this is fic is dedicated to the lovely @cinnaminsvga for the @btsghostiewritersnet​ holiday fic exchange! this was a bit of a challenge as i have absolutely no idea how to play the guitar thus i don’t know proper instructions but! i gave it my best shot and i hope you enjoy it!!

“Yoongi, I’m back!” You announced as you shut the door to your apartment. As you were pulling off your muddy shoes, you could hear the pitter-patter of rain against the windows accompanied by light strumming of a guitar. “Yoongi?” You called out as you made your way towards the music. You followed it until you were standing in front of the door of Yoongi’s room, the door cracked open a bit ever so slightly.

Peaking in, there your roommate sat on his bed, his back facing you, strumming away on a black guitar. Needless to say, you were a bit surprised. You didn’t know he could play! Then again, you didn’t know a lot about him since he moved in a few months back. Your mutual friend Seokjin introduced you to each other after you said you needed a roommate, and Yoongi to his word was the perfect roommate. He generally liked to keep to himself, which was nice considering you liked the quiet. But at the same time, you felt like you were living with a stranger. 

You watched in silence as he continued to strum at his guitar. Listening closely, you realized that you didn’t recognize it. Did he write his own music? What else wasn’t he telling you? You swung your head side to side as he continued to play, only freezing when he stopped playing. He repositioned his hands on the neck of the guitar before strumming again, letting out a couple small hums as he tried to get the note just right. He must be composing, you thought to yourself. 

You wanted to step in and talk to him about it, maybe learn a little more about him. But there was something itching you at the back of your mind, something Seokjin told you when Yoongi decided to move in, and that was not to disturb him while sleeping or working. You assumed working meant like work related stuff, this is what he must have meant. Biting your cheek, you silently began to tiptoe to your room. You wonder why he’s never told you, but then again, he doesn’t tell you much about himself. All you pretty much knew about him was he worked in accounting, is really cute, and apparently plays the guitar. 

As you shed your day clothes and change into some sweats, you can still hear him faintly playing though the wall. It brings a smile to your face, learning something new about your roommate. Once dressed, you made your way out to the living room and turned on the television. The faint sound of Yoongi playing ceased as you started to scroll through the service, looking for something to watch. As you clicked on an old comedy special, you heard footsteps come down the hall. 

“Hey Yoon,” you said nonchalantly as he appeared in your vision.

“H-hey, when did you get home?” He asked, scratching the back of his head.

“Few minutes ago,” you shrugged as the comedian was announced and walked on stage, “Just started this. Wanna join?”

“I’m good. . .” he responded as his hand dropped to his side, “Did you-” A loud clap of thunder interrupted him, the lights and the television going dark. 

“Ah shit,” you groaned. Looking at Yoongi, who looked mildly relieved yet at the same time annoyed at the inconvenience of the powering going out. “How long do you think the power is gonna be out?”

“Uhh, I don’t know. Couple hours maybe?” He sighed as he looked around. “Do we have any candles or anything?”

“Uh, should have a few in my room, hang on.” You pushed yourself off the sofa and trudged your room, pulling off the candles from your desk. As you made your way back to the living room, Yoongi seemed to have pulled out other candles from their long forgotten hiding spots, lighting them and placing them sporadically around the room. He handed you the lighter as you walked over to him, lighting the candles as you placed them down on the table. 

The room was filled with conflicted scents of different types of fruits and woods; a strange combination, but not all too bad as both you and Yoongi sat down on the couch. The continuous sound of rain was the only noise as the two of you sat in silence, unsure of what to do next. 

“So. . .” You started, “Any ideas to pass the time?”

“I uh, I don’t know.” He mumbled, as his gaze fell down to his hands, picking at his nails. 

“How about 20 questions?” You proposed, a way to pass the time and might as well use it as an excuse to get to know your roommate a little more. He gave a meek shrug, signalling to you that it wasn’t a no. Turning in your seat to face him, you clasped your hands together, “Okay. What’s your favorite type of cake?”

He looked at you with a confused look on his face before responding with, “Chocolate?”

“You don’t sound sure.”

“I don’t know, I’m not really picky when it comes to cake.” He exclaimed, throwing his hands up in confusion. 

“Sorry, sorry. Didn’t mean to press, I guess.” You murmured, “It’s your turn.”

Letting out a huff, Yoongi turned in his seat to face you. His tongue in cheek as he thought of a question to ask. “Uh, what’s your favorite. . .book?”

“It’s Frankestien.” You answered. You caught an interested glimmer in his eye, so you continued to talk about it. “I like the classic monster stories, plus Mary Shelly was pretty cool too.” 

“Wow, I-I didn’t know that. I’ll make a note of that for your birthday.” He chuckled; you felt your heart flutter at the sound of his laugh.

“I- yeah, uh,” you scratched your head, trying to distract yourself from the sound of his obnoxiously cute chuckle. The only thing popping into your mind was the image of him playing the guitar, maybe now was a good time to ask him about it? “Do you- do you play any instruments?” 

“I uh,” his gaze fell down to the floor. “Yeah. . . Guitar. . .”

“Oh was that you playing earlier?” You feigned surprise. “I heard a little bit, you’re really good!”

A shy smile pulled at Yoongi’s lips, “Yeah, but I’m not that good. I’ve only been playing a few months.” His eyes avoided yours, staring at the lit candle. 

“No no no, don’t talk yourself down!” You pouted, shoving his shoulder a bit. “From what I heard, you’re really good.” 

“You’re just saying that,” he waved you off. “Anyways. . .what about you? Do you play anything?” He asked, diverting the conversation onto you. 

“No, I don’t.” You answered, but then it hit you, a brilliant idea. “Maybe you can teach me!”

“Teach you?!” Yoongi was baffled at your statement. “No, I could never, I’m-I’m not that good of a teacher.” He shied away from you once again.

“Come on, Yoongi.” You pursed your lip out in a pout, “Please! What else are we gonna do until the power comes on?!”

“Fine, I guess,” he muttered as pushed himself off the couch to go grab his guitar. You let out a small cheer as he reappeared with the instrument at hand. “I only know how to play Highway to Hell, Brown Eyed Girl, and an IU song. Which do you wanna learn?”

“Could I learn the one you were playing earlier?” 

Yoongi’s cheeks reddened at your question, “That-that’s uh, that’s an unfinished song. . .”

“Teach it to me? Please?” You pleaded, clasping your hands together in an effort to make yourself look more convincing. “Just the chorus?”

“Mmm, fine.” He exhaled as he positioned the guitar in his arms. “First, the basic chords are E,” he positioned his fingers on the neck then he strummed. “A.” He moved his fingers again then strummed the note. He proceeded to show you the rest of the basic notes, making sure you pay extra close attention to the placement of his fingers. Once the basic introduction was over, he began to demonstrate his song’s chorus. “It goes, two strums of D,” he strummed, “two strums of C,” he strummed again, “and four strums of G.” He strummed again. 

“Alright, seems easy enough.” You were impressed, it sounded pretty good. Okay more than pretty good, it was great! Yoongi was really talented, if he ever decided to put his music out no doubt you were gonna be the first to download it. “Let me try now.”

Yoongi handed the guitar to you and you mimicked the way you saw him hold the instrument, there was a twinge in his eyes as he saw you hold it, but he didn’t say anything. “Okay, fingers to the D chord position.” He instructed, you placed your fingers on the neck, your fingers looking close to how Yoongi positioned his. You looked to him, silently asking if the placement was correct; he nodded, giving you a tight smile. “Good, now two strums.” You did as you were told, it didn’t sound quite the same as how Yoongi did. From the look on Yoongi’s face, he noticed it too, yet he didn’t say anything again. “That was good. . . now two strums of C.” You repositioned your fingers again and yet again it didn’t sound the same. 

“Are you sure I’m doing this right?” You questioned.

“Yeah, you’re doing fine.” He assured you, but there was that same twinge in his eyes. He knew it wasn’t right, why wasn’t he correcting you? “Now four strums of G.”

Deciding to test his honesty, you placed your fingers in a position that definitely wasn’t the G chord and strummed 4 times. You watched as Yoongi visibly flinched at the sound, yet remained smiling at you. “How was that?”

“Great, you did. . . awesome.” He said as he gave you a thumbs up.

“Yoongii,” you whined. “You know that wasn’t right! How am I supposed to learn if you don’t help me properly.” 

“I just, uh, fine.” He scooted closer to you, taking your fingers in his hands and repositioning your fingers on the neck. “That’s the D chord, strum.” You did so and it sounded a lot better than your first shot. He repositioned your fingers again, “C chord.” You strummed twice more, you watched as Yoongi’s lips pulled into a smile. “Good, good. Okay and this is the G chord.” He moved your fingers once more and let you play the chord and it sounded almost like how he did it! “Great! Now do it all together slowly.”

Carefully examining your positioning again, you began again. Despite the long pauses between the notes as you tried to place your fingers in the correct places again, it sounded pretty good! Not as good as Yoongi’s playing, but it was still good! “I did it!”

“Think you can speed it up a bit?” He asked, his smile growing wider.

“Let’s give it a shot,” you straightened your shoulders as you moved your fingers back to the D chord. But apparently it wasn’t quite right as Yoongi stopped your hand before you moved to play.

“Sorry, just, your finger should be right,.” He with his thumb and pointer finger, he lightly pushed your finger a bit to the side, “here.” He pulled away with a grin on his face. “Now play.”

And so you did. With Yoongi’s help, you managed to play the chorus of his song pretty okay. After a while though, your fingers began to ache so you decided to stop, handing the guitar back over to Yoongi. You thought he was going to take it back to his room, but instead he started playing a melody that you barely recognized. Leaning back against the arm of the couch, you watched Yoongi play; the light of the candles illuminating the outline of his face. Neither of you said anything, the only noise that was heard was the sound of the rain, the crinkling of candles, and the sound of Yoongi’s guitar. 

As he played on, you felt yourself grow more relaxed. You slowly started to shut your eyes, but as you did, the lights blinked back on. Yoongi ceased his playing as the TV blared to life again, the comedy special overpowering the sound of his music anyways. Sitting up, you grabbed the remote and turned off the television. “Thank you, for teaching me. And-and playing in general, you’re really good.”

He slipped the guitar from his lap, leaning it against the couch. “I’m still just trying to learn and work on the song, it’s nowhere near finished-”

“Yoongi,” you placed your hand on his shoulder, “it’s gonna be great. I know it.”

He relaxed under your touch and smiled at you, his cheeks flushing. “Thank you, Y/N.” 

“It’s no problem,” you returned the smile. Feeling a little bold, you leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Thanks again for the lesson.” Yoongi tensed up at the affection as you leaned back. “Maybe I can teach you something in return, like bracelet making. I don’t know.” You laughed, maybe it wasn’t an equal type of lesson as a guitar one but it was the only thing you could remember from sleep away camp. 

“Yeah-” His voice came out in a squeak, clearing his throat before he spoke again, “Yeah, that. . . sounds good!” He spoke as he rose to stand. “I’m uh, I’m gonna go put this away now.” With that, he picked up his guitar and scurried away towards his room. 

You chuckled as he left, heart feeling full after having a small bonding session with him. You were happy that you finally got to know Yoongi a bit more, with any luck you’ll get even closer.

[hyrule-kingdom-updates]

Can we get some spare Launo headcannons for July?

Launo sucked big time at knight school when he first arrived—he didn’t exactly have any background help given no one in his family was a knight either. He was basically assigned the equivalent of “equipment manager” during the first few months. And when he did get proper actions with a broadsword or a bow, Launo struggled with footwork and precision and all the minute details of a duel so he often got his ass handed to him.

But one the top kids in Launo’s class thought he was cool anyways—that was, one Arcadius Hartell. Pretty, rich, ace with sword, bow, spear, and anything sharp, and pretty much had no flaws or weaknesses. Launo at first thought the guy was just pitying him, the kid who has never won a single sparring match and consistently put on training dummy duty (that is reattaching their heads when they got lopped off)

So it came as a bit of a surprise when Arcadius came to ask something from him.

“How do you do that?”

Launo turned from the training dummy he was working on. “S-Sorry, what?”

“The...the thing you do. With the...thing?” Arcadius pointed to the needle and thread Launo was holding as he was reattaching the dummy’s forearm. “How do you do that?”

Launo scrunched his eyebrows in confuzzlement. “This is, uh, well. It’s just sewing I guess. If this guy were real I guess it would be stitching, haha...” He patted the dummy’s wood shoulder playfully as if joking with a pal—the dummy immediately tipped over, Launo coughed and stepped in front of the mess to ignore it. Arcadius nodded thoughtfully.

“So, do you have a special technique or something?”

“I mean, not really, it’s just regular old sewing...”

“But I assume you’ve spent years training on the art.”

“I...uh...I guess? My mom taught me.”

“Oh! So it’s like...an apprenticeship...?”

“...Are you under the impression that sewing is some sacred gift that gets passed down to the worthy or something?”

“.........no....”

The two boys just stood awkwardly for a moment longer, Launo studying Arcadius’ face.

“You don’t even know what sewing is do you?”

“O-Of course I do! It’s the...thing.” He made a sword motion with his fingers, as if wielding a tiny blade. “You stab the stuff and it repairs. With the...” Arcadius squinted as he thought for a moment, “...stool...”

“Spool?”

“Yeah! That! So, look, you’re pretty skilled at everything—“

“I am??” Launo took a step back in shock.

“Yeah! You always fix the equipment, and somehow haul around all those weapons, and make us cool lunches—“

“I don’t know, I made Rubeo vomit last week cause I forgot he hates blueberries...”

Arcadius shook his hands. “N-Not the point. And he sort of deserves it. The fact is you’re obviously leagues ahead of the game—“

“I—Actually I wouldn’t say—“

“—so you just gotta teach me everything you know!” Arcadius pumped a fist and closed his eyes. “How could I ever call myself a knight if I don’t even learn the basics of equipment management! Who will mend the wounded holes in my soldier’s pride if I can’t even fix the tears in my uniform! A mountain’s peak is equivalent to the shallow shore if you have no bearing of the heights you soar.”

Launo blinked. “Are you...okay?”

Arcadius scratched his head. “Aha...sorry. That’s a quote from Aria Nori’s newest volume. Guess I was too into the moment there.”

“Oh! The Zora poet! I’ve read her stuff! I haven’t read her latest volume, but my dad often binds her books—“

“Really?!” Arcadius’ eyes were suddenly star struck. “That’s so cool! This is all the more reason you gotta teach me this stuff.” He waved again at the collapsed training dummy. “Maybe start with the beetle and thread.”

“Needle. D-Do you not know what a needle is?”

Arcadius’ eyes glazed over. “...no...oh my gods that’s not gonna be on the test is it?? I’m so screwed—“

“Nonono it’s not, I’m just...” Launo bit his tongue. Now that he thought about it, he never really saw anyone else in his class do mundane house chore stuff. They were far too busy sharpening swords and bragging about their parents or grandparents or great uncles or cousins that totally were war heroes and high ranking political figures. Sewing could just be a Hateno thing, could it..?

“Can’t you just hire someone to teach you?” Launo started. “I mean, I’m super flattered! Just that, I’m not exactly a master at this, so I’m sure there are adults out there that are more accomplished.”

Arcadius hung his head. “I don’t think my dad would let me...Pretty much everything not sword related he just hires someone to do for me. And he’s super picky about what training I focus on.”

“Well it’s not really official training, it could just be a hobby.”

The boy raised an eyebrow, sounding out the word. “H...Hob...?”

“O-OK, just forget that. H-How about...” Launo didn’t meet his eyes as he absentmindedly kicked the dirt. “Y-You like poetry, right? You can come over to my house and look at my dad’s collection. And when we’re there, I can let my mom...” He scrunched his eyes, trying to nail down the words, “...apprentice you? On the...art, of sewing?”

Arcadius’ eyes were wide enough to reflect the heavens themselves. “R-Really?? You’d do that??”

“I don’t see why not. It’ll be after call and,” Launo’s eyes suddenly sparked, “...You can just tell your dad that you’re training me! Say that you were asked to help your fellow classmates cause you’re already so far ahead from everyone else.”

Which isn’t exactly a lie, Launo thought, bitterly.

“Hmm...” Arcadius tapped his chin, before shrugging. “Might have to tweak the explanation to ‘getting extra credit for top grades by tutoring’ cause I don’t know how he’ll feel about me helping the competition.” He articulated the last word with a mocking, adulting tone. Then he held out a hand. “But I think it sounds like a deal! I’ll give you some pointers, and you introduce me to your mentor.”

“My mom.”

“Yeah, that.”

Launo shook his hand, still a bit timidly, given he now noticed that a few other boys in the training yard were watching the prodigy student interact with the glorified janitor boy.

So they both tutored each other: Larc, in the art of knowing what sewing magic was (Larc bringing the most expensive and ornate needle Launo had ever seen, even though Larc claimed he just found it in his father’s closet) and brewing delicious broths (“Wait, you have to stand around this pot for hours and cook this stuff?? I thought you just made soup in a bowl! You know, like how servants take off the silver cover on the tray and the soup is already there?” “We...dont have waiters or anything...so our method of cooking different.”) Meanwhile, Launo was able to make some progress with knight training—keyword, “some.”

“Don’t make your stance so wide.” Arcadius shoved Launo’s back foot with his boot. “Keep your feet closer together, you only want enough distance so that your front foot can hover an inch off the ground while your back foot stays planted. Any further, and you’ll topple too easily.”

Launo adjusted his stance as instructed, and readied the rapier again. He set his jaw. “OK. Come at me!”

Arcadius nodded. He picked up the wooden sword and swung (a bit slowly and wide) at Launo’s side.

Launo immediately shoved his rapier point left to counter his attack, but instead moved with such force and vigor that he practically fell onto Arcadius’ blade.

Arcadius chuckled, dropping the sword and helping Launo up again. “You don’t need to use to much force when you swing. In fact it’s better to work with simple quick movements with any rapier or piercing sword, since the damage is done by the tip, not the weight.”

“S-Sorry...” Launo mumbled as he got up again.

“Don’t be! Oh hey!” Arcadius suddenly went back around towards the pile of weapons and pulled out a claymore. “Actually, maybe a sword like this will work better for you! You won’t have to worry as much about holding back, or being finesse. All the power is in that downward swing—!” Arcadius swung the sword into a nearby log to demonstrate, nearly cutting it asunder.

He offered it to Launo. “And don’t let the size fool you, it’s not actually that heavy. Large weapons still need to let soldiers be quick enough to parry and block attacks.”

Launo turned the claymore around in his hands, studying the blade and handle.

Arcadius gestured to the log. “Well, go on! It’s similar to the grip I taught you with the broadsword, but this time you use your other hand in the bottom to support the weight as it turns on an axis. Try that downward swing I showed you!”

Launo paused for a moment, thinking. Then, he planted his foot down, and swung the claymore down with all his might, aiming for another soon-to-be piece of firewood.

The claymore whistled as it fell, and it cut into the log deep—about halfway. Yet, still not nearly as deep as how Arcadius had done it.

Nonetheless, he was hopping with joy for Launo. “That was awesome!! You did great!!”

He sighed as he left the claymore in the log. “No I didn’t...”

“What are you talking about? That was probably the best blow you’ve done all night!”

“Yeah! And it’s not even a quarter of the damage that you did with your swing!”

“Well, it still took me a while to—“

Launo gestured to the other log. “It’s been how many weeks?? And I’m not even CLOSE to being as good as you, much less being a top student...” He plopped into the dirt and laid himself out like a starfish.

Larc stood over him, confused. “Why would you want to be a top student?”

“BECAUSE I SUCK ASS, DUDE!” Launo held up his arms, exasperated. Larc, on instinct, stepped back and held his hands close to his chest as he fiddled with his thumbs and mumbled an apology. Launo immediately sighed.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to sound like I’m mad at you. You’re really great, Link. You’re so nice to me and you’re talented and I’m so grateful, but I’m just...” He shifted in the dirt again. “I don’t think I could ever be like you. I’d even dare to say it’s impossible.”

Larc stilled, playing with his thumbs, before daring to step closer and sit in the dirt beside him.

“Can I tell you a secret, Launo?”

He was quiet, but he nodded a yes.

“I think my brother’s a stronger fighter than me.”

Launo furrowed his eyebrows confused, but he continued.

“He just never takes his knight training seriously, because of my father. But I bet if he really tried, he’d be great at it.”

Ah. So that’s what he meant.

“But I AM trying.” Launo whined. “I guess compared to you it doesn’t seem like much but—!”

“Nono! Sorry that’s not what I meant!” Larc quickly cut in. “I just...” He trailed off.

“...There’s a reason I have to be the best.” Larc finally said. He was looking out into the woods, but Launo felt that he wasn’t really looking at anything in particular, maybe deep in thought. “There’s a reason I can’t settle, I can’t rest. It’s really important that I get this all right. And I guess that makes me admirable to most people but...”

He looked down at Launo, still spread out in the dirt. “I didn’t really choose to be a knight, unlike you. I didn’t actually choose to be the best, and I don’t get why so many people do train to be at the top out of their own violation. It really...sucks ass.” He articulated the last part in Launo’s tone, and they both giggled.

“So...I guess that I’m trying to say here is that...” He thought one his words a moment longer. “I think so many people are afraid of trying new things, because they fear not being the best at it, not being at the top. And I suppose ambition is good but...” He tilted his head and shrugged at Launo. “As someone who’s supposedly at the top, I would say I envy anybody that can make progress that their proud of. You choose to be a knight, and you’re training for it out of your own strength and courage. That’s more than I’ll ever have, so you should probably get off the ground and realize that soon.”

Launo’s eyes widened, a bit unnerved by how uncharacteristically blunt Larc was being.

“In my opinion, anyone that aims to be better than everyone is stupid—maybe that’s just me, but...I would think that if I was you, I’d be proud of any progress I made. If I was more skilled than I was yesterday, that’s really all I would care about. Why would I care about being the top of my class? I would kill to just be satisfied with being a better me.”

There was silence as the boys took in Larc’s words. Then he suddenly stood up. “G-Goddess Hylia, sorry I’ve been talking for so long, I didn’t realize how late it was getting.” He went to collect his things. “You can keep the claymore, I think you’d be great at it, just...”

Larc packed his swords and backpack, before turning back to the flopped out Launo. “...I think you’re really cool, Launo. So don’t tap out for my sake—I’m not the person that matters in your training, am I? So don’t give up for any silly reasons like that.”

Launo perked his head up to meet his gaze. While Arcadius was usually serious and controlled during training at school, Larc always seemed to have genuine excitement about swords when it came to him. The bright smile on his face caused his cheeks to warm and he immediately flipped his head back to hide it.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Launo!” Larc ran off into the night, a cobblestone streets in the distance swallowing his figure.

“See you...” Launo whispered.

He lay in the dirt a moment longer—his mother would probably berated him for the stains again—when he finally got up and looked at the claymore in the log. He walked up to it and observed it further, it was another a sixth of the way deep. He glanced at Larc’s log, which was nearly split in two, and sighed. Then he glanced back at his own work.

“Well, it’s better than when I first started I guess...” Launo mumbled.

No one responded.

The boy let out a huff, and gripped the sword again in his hands.

“But I can do better.”

By the time Launo was 16 he was finally beating his classmates with ease, specializing in longswords, axes, and hammers. And while he definitely still “sucked ass” in things like archery and lance work—to which some boys still teased him for—he found overtime that he no longer cared about what they thought. They had their strengths, and he had his. And to top it off, absolutely no one in the academy could make a lemon cookie like him. So at least he had the best in show for that angle.

Even years later, after certain incidents transpired concerning House Hartell, Launo always welcomed Larc to his house for “training.” Although after a while, it would be hard to still call it that when a large chunk of time is really just spent running their fingers through each other’s hair.

“But we’re friends, right?”

“Yeah.”

And even years after graduating as part of the top ten in his class and working as a knight, some of his old classmates would tease him for being the “rich boy’s lap dog,” Launo would find that he still really didn’t care—after a punch or two was thrown, of course. He found that his new lack of anxiety and concern heavily stemmed from that night, when Larc had told him about his envy for choice and satisfaction. Thinking back at the memory of his handling with a sword and his happy little smile once made Launo blush so hard his father teased him about it for the rest of his life—his mother claimed he went so red he would fit right in with the tomato stew. One of these days, Launo would pay Larc back for the endless teasing he got from his parents. And pay Larc back he would, indeed.

I mean, he already had the ring.

[hale-13]

Strangulated

By Hale13

For the Summer of Whump Day 26 Prompt - Asphyxiation

“That’s pretty new,” Peter muttered aloud, perched on the side of a building in Midtown and staring intently at the man in a full on metal rhino costume destroying the front of a Well’s Fargo. The police that had responded to the call had drawn their weapons and were perched behind their cars, clearly just as baffled and making no attempts to stop or prevent the crime.

Words: 1754, Chapters: 1/1 (Complete), Language: English

Fandoms: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)

Rating: Gen

Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark

Characters: Peter Parker, Tony Stark, Rhino

TW: Strangulation

Read on AO3 or below the line break.

“That’s pretty new,” Peter muttered aloud, perched on the side of a building in Midtown and staring intently at the man in a full on metal rhino costume destroying the front of a Well’s Fargo. The police that had responded to the call had drawn their weapons and were perched behind their cars, clearly just as baffled and making no attempts to stop or prevent the crime.

“It is new Peter,” Karen’s voice chirped happily from his mask. “You have not faced this criminal before. Would you like me to activate instant kill?” She sounded far too hopeful for Peter’s liking and he sighed, dodging the small chunk of concrete that flew his way.

“Karen, darling, love of my life. We’ve talked about this,” he told her gently, swinging closer and dropping down behind the line of cop cars. “Instant kill is not the answer to all lives problems.”

“If you say so,” and she sounded so disappointed. Peter would have to have a conversation with Mr. Stark – he had no idea how he made his AI’s so lifelike but he really wanted to know.

“Ugh,” one of the cops said, rolling his eyes as he noticed Peter. “Scram Spider-Guy, this ain’t any of your business.”

Peter fought an eye roll of his own. “Real nice pal,” he said sarcastically, stepping forward anyway. The guys partner nudged him pointedly in the side.

“Just send in the freak. Might save us the effort.” Peter fought the urge to cringe at the sneer directed at him. He had a pretty thick skin but he wasn’t the biggest fan of being called a ‘freak’. Especially by the people he was trying to help.

“Happy to be of service,” Peter grunted with a two finger salute. “Just stay back and let the professional work.” He fired a web and took off in the direction of the rhino guy before either of the police had the chance to respond. He purposely used their car as a jumping off point just to really rub it in and smirked a little at their grunts of irritation. “Hey big guy!” He called as he landed in the pock-marked and cracked street. Rhino-guy turned around and charged with a roar. “Whoa there!” Peter called as he jumped over his head. “You haven’t even introduced yourself yet!”

“I will squash you like bug!” The man said in a thick Russian accent, scraping one of his feet against the ground like a bull and charging Peter head first again. Peter nimbly dodged again and dangled with one hand from a nearby streetlight.

“You know spiders are arachnids right? Not bugs?” Peter bantered, swinging around the pole and releasing at just the right moment to launch himself across the street the nail Rhino in the face, sending him stumbling back before he corrected himself with a roar. Peter somersaulted out of the way of another charge.

“Stay still so I can kill you,” he roared.

“Tempting,” Peter mused, webbing Rhino’s arms to his sides. “But I’ll pass.”

Rhino roared again in obvious frustration and ripped through Peter’s webs with great effort. “That’s not ideal,” Peter said as he fired more webs in an attempt to slow down Rhino to no avail. Freed once more, Rhino changed forward. This time, however, Peter took a step back into one of the holes in the asphalt and tripped; he was able to right himself quickly but not fast enough to dodge out of the way of Rhino’s hands.

“Oof,” Peter gasped, hands flying up to his throat where Rhino had wrapped his mechanized hands around Peter’s throat, holding him a couple feet above the ground and leaving Peter to flail his legs in an attempt to escape. “Not cool bro,” Peter breathed out with his limited air supply as the Rhino squeezed tighter and backed him up to slam Peter into a nearby brick wall.

“You talk too much,” Rhino grumbled, redoubling his hold on Peter and making him grunt with effort and scrambled to pull the hands from around his throat.

“Peter your pulse ox is dropping rapidly,” Karen said, displaying the number on his HUD and Peter squeezed his eyes shut as it ticked from ninety-three percent to ninety-two. “Calling Mr. Stark.”

“No don’t,” Peter wheezed out a little desperately, his throat feeling raw and swollen and his lungs beginning to burn.

“On my way kid,” Tony’s voice said through his comm as Karen connected his mentor to Peter’s HUD. “Any chance you can break out before you pass out.” Peter just let out a frustrated puff of air and, with intense effort, lifted his legs to press his feet against Rhino’s chest to begin pushing. His vision was tunneling and pulsing around the edges and Peter knew it was only his stubborn pig-headedness and sheer force of will that was keeping him conscious at this point. The pulse ox reading in the corner ticked down to eighty-seven and, with Herculean strength, Peter finally knocked the Rhino away from him and collapsed to the ground.

“‘M good,” Peter croaked tightly, letting his head rest back against the road as he recovered his breath. He didn’t have long through as his Spidey sense tingled violently and he threw himself to the side of the road to dodge out of Rhino’s path. His vision was still a little spotty and he stumbled like he was drunk but Peter was able to pull himself back to his feet and stand without assistance. “Not cool dude,” he said, his throat burning and his words coming out like he had been gargling gravel.

He needed to end this quick. He couldn’t afford to get caught again. With effort, Peter jumped back into the air, firing webs at rapid speed as he did so – attaching Rhino to the ground in a veritable cocoon. Rhino screamed in anger and struggled but Peter’s webs held this time much to his relief. “He’s all yours boys,” he said in the direction of the police, his voice thready and painful and he swallowed down a cough.

It took all the energy he had left to swing away, alighting on a nearby apartment roof and dropping first to his knees and then back to sit cross-legged. His neck hurt and he could feel the swelling starting to constrict his trachea and vocal chords. Tony landed in front of him a few seconds later, stepping out of his suit and squatting down in front of Peter with several cracks and pops of his knees.

“Try not to talk buddy,” Tony told him, lifting his mask up to his nose and pulling the neck down carefully, wincing at whatever he saw and making Peter hunch his shoulders and pull away, fixing his mask back to its usual position. “Helen’s waiting for us back in the MedBay. I’m going to carry you and your not going to bitch about it capiche?” Peter rolled his eyes knowing it would translate to the large white lenses on his mask but didn’t protest when Tony stepped back into the Iron Man armor and picked him up.

The flight back to the Tower was quick since Peter had ventured into Manhattan to patrol today and they were soon landing on the small balcony outside the MedBay doors. Peter still felt a little light-headed and dizzy and swayed a little in place when Tony lowered him back to the ground to stand on his own while the suited disassembled around him and flew off to the armory. “Steady there,” the man said gently, slinging Peter’s arm across his shoulders and helping him walk into the building.

“Hey Peter,” Helen Cho said as she approached them from the nurses station down the hall and ushered them into an open exam room. “Karen sent me your stats so let’s just see the damage yeah?” She said as Peter settled on the exam bed.

Peter smacked his hand into the spider emblem on his chest, letting the suit fall down to rest around his hips, pulling his mask off and tossing it next to him on the bed. Dr. Cho wrinkled her nose and softly palpated Peter’s neck making him grunt and grimace, manfully resisting the urge to pull away from her. “Well you’ve already got some pretty severe swelling,” she said, clipping a pulse oximeter onto his finger and frowning at the result. “And you’re still not oxygenating as well as I’d like.”

“So what’s the plan then,” Tony said, slapping a hand over Peter’s mouth when he opened it to speak and ignoring the glare Peter sent him and the spiteful lick Peter gave his hand in the hopes that Tony would remove his hand.

“Well I’m going to start supplemental oxygen first,” Dr. Cho said, unwinding an oxygen mask from the wall and pushing Peter back until he was reclined on the bed and slipped the mask over his mouth and nose. “I’ll have a nurse come in with something for you to change into and then I want to start IV steroids and pain relief to get the swelling down. With you’re healing,” she said addressing Peter, “you should only be here overnight. I just want to make sure that your airway doesn’t swell closed. You’ll also need to rest your voice since you probably have some damage to your vocal chords.”

Disappointed, Peter nodded. This was not in his plan for the day and he was really looking forward to playing Beast Slayers with Ned tonight but, if he was confined to a MedBay bed and doped up on his pain meds he doubted he would be worth much of anything. Well at least he’d probably catch up on some of his sleep.

A few hours later, floating due to his super strength meds and curled up under a pre-warmed blanket, Peter squeaked out a hoarse ‘thanks’ making Tony, sat beside him and tapping away at a tablet with his feet propped up on the end of Peter’s bed, fix him with a glare. “Aren’t you supposed to be resting your voice?” Peter just gave him a dopey smile and burrowed deeper into the blanket, adjusting the melting ice pack that was wrapped around his still tender throat.

He’d have to do some research of mechanized rhinos in the morning. He had already come up with some fun tweaks for his web fluid that might be beneficial going forward. With chemical equations dancing around in his brain, Peter fell into an deep, easy sleep.

[sadwizardgirl]

My Campaign 2 Thoughts

Alrighty folks. We're here. We made it. I’m running on like, 3 hours of sleep and my coffee hasn't kicked in yet so bear with me if I ramble/don't make sense. I’ll take things by character I think? 

Once I finally typed everything I wanted out, I decided to put a keep reading thing. Its a long one I’m so sorry haha. But yeah, click on it if you want to hear someone’s tired ramblings about how much they love the Mighty Nein. Obviously spoilers below... <3

One last thing - I want to say thank you to everyone who I have interacted on here with. I would have never, ever thought that I would live blog Critical Role when I started watching it. And because I have, it makes me happy that I’ve found lots of nice Critters like me to follow, like, reblog, laugh and cry with all at the same time. You guys are really cool, so thanks for letting me be a small part of it all <3 

Molly/Kingsley - 

I’m honestly not fully shocked that we didn’t get Molly back after all that. I think Tal has said that Molly is gone and will stay gone. Maybe this is how Molly was when he first woke up, but we obviously didn’t see that part, and neither did Yasha. So honestly, the only people to know would be the people down at the circus. I’m personally okay with the differences in Kingsley and Molly but I like that Kingsley wanted to call Molly his brother at least and learn about him later on. Remember when Molly said he didn't want to learn who his previous self/selves were? The pirate life for Kingsley is --- interesting haha. I’m not hating it, I can definitely see a Jack Sparrow kind of vibe. I just didn't think Tal would go for a pirate type life for him. Thats all :) 

Cad - 

I’m also not surprised at what Cad chose either. It was interesting to see his whole EMPATHY routine with Trent. Thats been a side of Cad no one has seen. I know I’ve seen some people say that they were sad that after all this adventuring, that Cad would just chose to live at the Blooming Grove and never leave again. But didn't Tal say that Cad would take walks out of there and explore for segments of time? Like 6 months, then a year, then a couple years. I could have sworn he said that and that he would go visit his friends in those spans too. But I could have totally imagined it/took it that way. 

Veth- 

This totally makes sense. I was sad to see her go before the whole Trent thing, I would have loved to see her stand by Calebs side during it but I get it, She missed her family and they would see each other again anyway. I 100% would love if the M9 had a summer camp. Like, I’m just saying. That needs to be a one shot. I don't have much else to say other than I’m glad that this is the ending for Veth and nothing else. 

Yasha- 

Again, I’m super happy with this one. It makes sense that she would want to go see her wife and the whole Stormlord thing???? Fucking awesome. I’m glad that Yasha has finally found peace and love with someone and is content. Thats all I want for Yasha. I’m glad that Kingsley seeks her out to find out about Molly too. 

Beau - 

WOW. Okay. So not only does she help take down Trent but also her dad stuff? Fucking great! I’m so glad that Beau has gotten to this point in her life. Not only has she brought down corrupt people, but also learned to love throughout everything she's been through. I’m sorry, I with my tired brain can think of more good things but I’m just super happy about this. 

Fjord -

For some reason, Fjord’s ending made me cry. I don't know if its because its been awhile since we’ve gotten true Fjord lore stuff where Travis absolutely NAILS the roleplaying or what. But literally as soon as he raised his hand to say hi to Vandran, I started crying. He’s been looking for answers for so long and he finally got them. I think its very on brand that he just sailed out willy nilly knowing what happens but at least Matt was merciful haha. I think That plus his love for Jester and suggesting they find a place was so very sweet and totally them. I’m sort of glad that he left his ending so vague. Because imagine the sea one shots we can have with Fjord going to Darktow or finding Sabien once and for all etc. 

Jester - 

I’m --- I’m torn with Jester. I’m glad that Jester wants to travel more and see the world still and thats what she's doing with Fjord. I think I’m more of torn just because I’m so used to Jester being SO over the top with everything she does (in a good way) but then I guess that means she's maturing and growing up. I’m glad that she left her ending vague as well for the same reasons as Fjord. SIDENOTE: It’ll be interesting to see if any of this leads into the VM vs M9 show off and if there's going to be canon involved or what. 

Caleb - 

I left Caleb for last. Not only because he's been my favorite character all campaign long. But because most of the buzz is coming from his ending. I’ll preface this first --- I’ve never been an outright Essek/Caleb shipper. I’ve loved their moments together and am not against them in any shape or form. I’m just not one of the die hards shippers. Same with Caleb/Astrid/Wulf. 

BUT - With that being said, I’m very happy with Calebs ending. I’ve seen some people that are mad that he didn't do what he set out to do - which was take down the corruption. But Liam said that he sees that aspect of his life as a life long endeavor. So just because he takes up the teaching gig - which I’m so happy with btw; more on that in a bit- doesn't mean he stopped. You can root out the corruption from within and I think Caleb started to realize that was going to be the best way. I’m glad he didn't take the place of Trent. I think things could have gone horribly wrong even if he was at the top. Am I thrilled that Astrid is there? Not particularly no but its better than Trent. Caleb being a teacher makes so much sense. At the beginning of the campaign, Nott was always telling people that Caleb was the one teaching her the magic she had, plus the trading notes with Yussa and Essek over the years. It all leads to him teaching. Finally being the teacher --- the right teacher for the future generations of wizards. He was never going to accomplish that in Trents place. 

Now --- the elephant in the room, Essek. I’m 100% okay with this part of Caleb’s story. I’m glad that he did go back to Aeor and learn what he could. I think its what Essek said. That he wouldn't change his past because it led him to that moment with Caleb, but then still offered to help Caleb if thats what he wanted to do for himself. I’m happy that Caleb finally let go of the part of his past that kept his guilt so present. He’ll always remember his parents and what he did, but he's allowing himself to walk through that door and to start finally healing. Let me tell you how much I ugly cried when we finally heard what his plan had been all these years AND what that second book was that he never told us about. Liam O’Brien you poetic son of a bitch I love you so much. But damn did I ugly cry literally during that whole time. Okay sorry, now Essek. I think them realizing the age differences, being in the relationship for however long they were but then remained friends is so very much like both of them. They are both logical people. To me this makes so much sense. I think I’m in the minority here but it does. Essek will outlive the rest of the M9 so of course they realized eventually there was going to be this elephant in the room when Caleb grew old. I’d like to think Caleb wouldn't want the extra heartbreak on Essek when Caleb eventually dies, then the rest of Essek’s friends die on top of that. Liam said that this campaign, romance in any shape or form was not a priority and I think also that had a part to do with it. I’m glad Caleb just didn’t be alone for the rest of his life and only teaching. I’m glad he reached out to Essek and did that stuff, and then taught Luc. It’s far from the sad wizard boy who was ready to leave the M9 at a moments notice to be alone. 

Sorry for the rambling and VERY LONG post. oh my god I’m so sorry but it just kept coming. haha I’m very sad to see the Mighty Nein go. This campaign was the reason I got into D&D and where I fell in love with it. I fell in love with these nerdy ass voice actors and their characters. BUT it makes me excited for campaign 3 and the future of Critical Role. 

SIDENOTE: WHAT THOUGHTS DO YOU GUYS HAVE ON THE PROJECT THEYRE GOING TO ANNOUNCE NEXT WEEK HUH? I’m glad they mentioned that they aren't ready for Campaign 3 just yet, but Marisha made it at least seem that its on the horizon. I’m sure they want to take the break they deserve and have time to transition from their M9 characters to their new ones. so yeah anyway 

Thank you, Mighty Nein. Long may you all reign. 

[softyoongiionly]

(Sugar Plum) Fairy Lights🎡

It’s New Year’s Eve but, Yoongi doesn’t feel like waiting til midnight to kiss you. 

Pairing: Yoongi x Reader

Genre: Smut, a wee bit of fluff at the end.

Word Count: 9.8k

Warnings: okay I know I say explicit smut alot but, this one is EXTRA explicit (18+ only plz), language, BDSM  (proceed with caution)

***Bold sections of text indicate a flashback, all bold phrases indicate when Yoongi is speaking Korean***

Based on: this ask x and, also a big thank you to @me-trash-tbh​ for showing me these pictures.

A/N: Happy New Year >:)

Back to the masterlist! (click here)

Yoongi is feeling good.

He’s ringing in the new year in the best way he can possibly think of:

Good food, good company, good alcohol and-

Holy shit.

Is that, is that really his girlfriend?

Like, HIS girlfriend? Walking through the door, dressed to the nines?

Your presence is noticed by the other guests in his home, some of their gazes lingering a little too long for his liking.  

He knows the whiskey Hoseok bought was good shit but, he’s still sober enough to discern whether or not he’s dreaming.

However, as soon as you walk through the door, he isn’t quite sure anymore.

It’s New Year’s Eve so, naturally you had opted for a sparkly outfit but, you’d be lying if you didn’t purposely opt for a number that would mess with Yoongi’s heartbeat a little bit.

Or, at least, you hoped it would.

The dress is simple: black glittery material, deep v-neck, long sleeves; it isn’t anything spectacular but, you did take an extra hour to properly do your hair and, apply a full face of makeup.  

The detail that has Yoongi all kinds of flustered however, is the necklace hanging between your breasts.

It’s a silver necklace with diamond studded letters that read ‘Agust D’ hanging in the center of the chain.

You smile, waving at a few mutual friends convening over by the beer pong table before Namjoon quickly ushers you towards the living room.

Yoongi hasn’t feel this way in a long time.  

After dating you for nearly six months, he’s found that he doesn’t get nervous around you as much as he used to. You still fluster him sure but, he isn’t constantly worried about saying or doing the wrong thing anymore. He isn’t stumbling over his words as much either but, right now, he is practically frozen in place.  

Whilst talking to Namjoon, you finally look up to spot him, standing by the kitchen counter.

He looks hot with a glass of whiskey in his hand and, although his outfit is simple, a white t-shirt tucked into some black jeans, it’s adding to your desire to get your hands on him.  

“Ah there he is, Hyung!” Namjoon smiles, his dimples poking out, blissfully unaware of the sexual tension brewing between you and your boyfriend. “Look who’s here.”

Yoongi jerks his head in acknowledgement, playing it cool as he sets his glass down on the countertop.

“Did you bring more whiskey?” He jests but, you know the look in his eyes and, you know he’s checking you out.

“No, I figured you’d be drunk enough already,” You smirk, “since you’re such a lightweight these days.”  

Yoongi smiles then, gums and all; he loves how much you play along with his teasing.

“I could drink anybody in this house under the table; you’re the one you got hammered off two jack and cokes last month.”

With a roll of your eyes and a smile threatening your lips, you ignore his last comment, mainly because he isn’t wrong and, you don’t have a comeback prepared, “I thought you said he was in a good mood…”

Your comment is directed towards Namjoon, who is currently smirking fondly beside you; he enjoys seeing the two of you together; especially because, after a number of late night talks with Yoongi, he’s come to discover how much Yoongi loves you.

“This is him being in a good mood. You should know this by now.” He chuckles before his face turns up as someone calls his name, “I gotta get back to hosting” Namjoon glances between the two of you, “You two play nice. I’ll see you in a bit.”

Namjoon squeezes your arm gently as he walks back into the crowd of party goers, leaving you alone with your feisty boyfriend.

You step towards him, itching to smooth your hands over the planes of his chest, itching to kiss his clever mouth…

But you don’t, you know what he’s playing at.

He tries to resist you from time to time, pulling back to see if you’ll chase him.

It’s all for fun though and, you know that.

Because, it’s secretly a way to get what he wants.

“Do you like my dress?” You venture, trying to wiggle your way through his demeanor, tilting your head to the side.

Yoongi’s eyes flicker over your body momentarily before, he shrugs, “It’s sparkly...”

Your eyes narrow at him and, although you know he’s messing around with you, you feel a little discouraged by his reaction. Several hours were spent in an effort to look your best for the evening and, all he has to say is ‘its sparkly’ ????

Yoongi takes another sip of whisky, his tongue poking out soon after to collect the amber liquid lingering on his lips.

They’re wet and inviting, his cheeks are flushed from the liquor and, given that you haven’t seen him in a week, you’re aching to feel his lips against yours.

“I thought of getting this silver one that had a bunch of rhinestones on it but, it was too itchy. I like black better anyway…”

Yoongi nods, a smirk lingering on his lips, “So do I.”

Your boyfriend is a stubborn man and, while he may be capable of restraining himself, you know for a fact that he won’t resist affection.

He plays this game from time to time but, he should know by know that you’re much better at it.

So, you make the first move by closing the space between you, sliding your hands over his waist, allowing your nails to brush lightly against his back.

“You look good in white…” You murmur, allowing your fingertips to caress his skin through the thin material.

He clears his throat, glancing away from you momentarily, raising the glass to his lips again for another drink.

Before he can articulate a response, you interject, “Can I have some?”

With your question, you usher his lips down to yours, capturing the taste of whiskey on your tongue.

Yoongi tries and fails to control the shudder that moves through his body and, his plans to play hard to get are slowly but surely going down the drain.

His lips are so soft, moving timidly against your own, his eyes fluttering shut as the sensation of kissing messes with his sobriety more than whiskey ever could.

“Thanks.” You say, pulling back from his mouth, “I see you’re in a mood tonight and, we can keep playing this game if you want to but, I just want to warn you,” Smoothing your thumb over his lips, you tilt his face down towards yours, “I’m much better at it than you are…”

He finally smirks again, his teeth quickly securing your thumb between them, his feline-like eyes  locking with yours, “You think I don’t know that?”

You return his smirk, keeping your thumb in his mouth as you respond, “You’re acting like you don’t. But that’s fine. I did think maybe you’d appreciate my outfit a little more though, considering the fact that I wore your name around my neck.”

You take your thumb out of his mouth, keeping eye contact with him as you bring it to your lips, suckling on the end of it.

Yoongi follows the motions of your lips, sighing out shakily as you suck on your thumb. He feels his dick stir between his legs but, he controls himself, he doesn’t want the game to end so quickly. Although, he feels a little bad at the thought of not appreciating you, he doesn’t want to give up.

Not yet at least.

“I like the necklace a lot. Did you have it made?” He sips his whiskey, doing his best not to address the rest of your comment.

You nod, fingertips brushing over the silver chain, “Mhm. What are you drinking?”

“Hibiki.” His accent peaks out as he pronounces the word, “it’s a Japanese whiskey. It’s one of my favorites.” He nods towards the bottles of liquor arranged neatly on the counter, “Do you want a drink? There’s a drink called a Black Ship I think you’d like.”

“Sure.” You smile, shoving down the small amount of offense you’re beginning to feel at Yoongi’s indifference.

To be fair, you always have the upper hand when it comes to seduction. With a brush of your hand, Yoongi will fall to his knees for you. You know nothing has changed, you know he still wants you.

But tonight, he wants you in a different way.

Tonight, he wants you in the worst way.

This desire has been brewing for quite some time whilst you and Yoongi have continued to explore your sexual interests. You’ve been having sex for a while but, given your equally busy schedules, you don’t actually have sex often, maybe once or twice a week.

Before Yoongi met you, that would be enough. He didn’t find himself extremely interested in sex the way his friends were. Sure, he liked it and, he’s slept with a hand full of people but, he didn’t consider himself a sexual person.

That is, until he met you.

You awakened something in him and, through your sex life, Yoongi has discovered a lot about himself that he didn’t know.

He was never submissive with any of his previous partners. For the most part, he was always expected to take the lead and, yeah he liked being on top sometimes but, he always longed to be taken care of.

Lucky for him, he found the girl of his dreams who does just that.

However, Yoongi’s come to realize that he possesses darker desires too…

He knew that after the first time the two of you had sex in his studio; it was the first time he ever fully submitted to you.

That was months ago and, the two of you haven’t fully breached that territory since then.

Yoongi’s a collected and careful man. He doesn’t act on his impulses so, when he started to feel that kind of desire tugging at his loins, he consulted someone who he could trust with this kind of information.

Someone who’s knowledge is infinite.

Someone who’s well versed in the language of perversion.

“Nothing you’re going to tell me will shock me hyung. I promise…”

On a drunken Saturday night, a little over a week ago, Yoongi had finally spilled his desires to Namjoon.

Yoongi knew of Namjoon’s sexual appetite as it started blooming when the two of them were in high school.

“I’m not sure about that.” Yoongi had mumbled, feeling self-conscious at confiding in his dongsaeng

Namjoon smirked, leaning back in the lawn chair, taking another sip of beer, “Do you ever wonder why I usually stay at Dani’s place? Instead of bringing her back here?”

“Not really no-“

He cut Yoongi off, ���Because I only get to see her once a week and, when I see her, I make sure I give her something to think about until I can see her again.” His smirk didn’t falter, “and if I did that here, you guys wouldn’t get any sleep.”

Yoongi grimaced and shrunk into his chair at the vulgar tone of Namjoon’s  voice, “That’s disgusting.”

Namjoon laughed as he shook his head, “Sex isn’t disgusting hyung. It’s an amazing thing and, if you’re honest with yourself,” He shoots a pointed look Yoongi’s way, “it can heal your soul.”

At this, Yoongi had rolled his eyes.

Namjoon could be ridiculous at times.

He had finally found time to date and, according to him, he had met an amazing girl named Danielle whilst he was studying at a café.

They had only been dating for a few months but, Namjoon swore he was already in love.

“I don’t think sex is disgusting…”

“Then what is it? I’ve never heard any complaints from you about the way you and Y/N_” He paused, searching for the right word before Yoongi interjected.

“Fuck?”

Namjoon’s smirked quickly returned as he nodded, impressed with Yoongi’s choice of words.

“That’s because there isn’t anything to complain about. It’s the best I’ve ever had, it’s probably the best anyone has ever had.”

Namjoon resisted the urge to argue with him, “Then what’s wrong?”

“I want more.”

“More sex? Or more out of sex?”

Yoongi sighed, frustrated by his inability to express himself, “Neither. I-“ He chewed on his lip, his gaze shifting around the back patio, “A few months ago, she came to my studio and, we ended up having sex but, it was like…rough and, it made me feel-“ He trails off, gnawing on the inside of his cheek, searching for the right words to say, “it was just really amazing. I’ve never felt anything like it.”

“So you want to be rougher with her? That isn’t weird at all hyung, Dani and I do that all the time. We just have open discussions about it to-“

“No no,” Yoongi interjected, “I want her to be rougher with me Namjoon.”

Realization had flurried over his face as Namjoon’s smirk threatened his mouth once again.

“You want to be submissive.” He clarified, chuckling when his normally confident hyung shifted in his seat.

“I was that night and, I guess I am a lot of the time but, not to the extent I’d like to be.”

“Meaning?”

“I don’t know.” He groaned. “She choked me and, scratched me and, the way she spoke to me, I was…I was in heaven Namjoon. I’m just being honest, I’m sorry if this is perverted but, you asked me what I wanted and-“

“Hyung,” Namjoon chuckles, a dark glint in his eyes, “The other night, I tied Dani to her kitchen chair and teased her for so long that when I finally let her out of the chair, she got on her hands and knees and kissed my feet, begging me to fuck her.”

Yoongi’s mouth went dry at Namjoon’s confession but, he shouldered on, nodding in consideration, “Yeah see, I want to be Dani in that situation.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that hyung, we all have our preferences. I didn’t peg Y/N for the dominant type though...she seems so laid back.” Namjoon caught the irony immediately, “Not that that matters but, I’m guessing she’s difficult to rile up.”

Yoongi nodded, “I don’t want to rile her up for the wrong reasons and, I don’t want her to feel like she needs to serve me or, do anything just because I want her to.”

“What happened that night at your studio? What made it escalate?”

He thought for a moment, “I had locked myself in the studio during my composition project. I asked her to come by because, I was feeling really overwhelmed and, then we started kissing and…then I asked her to take care of me, to make me forget.”

“Ah,” Namjoon nods in understanding, “I see. People are dominant for their own reasons, some people like it for the power and control but, some people like, Y/N, like it because it gives them a chance to nurture their partner. What do you like about it?”

“Namjoon” Yoongi groaned but, Namjoon just looked at him expectantly, not letting him off the hook, “I like letting someone take control of me. I feel tense a lot of time but, I’ve never felt more at peace than after her and I did that. I kind of felt high? If that even makes sense.”

“Oh it definitely makes sense. You probably went into subspace if it got intense enough.”

“Subspace?” Yoongi’s brows furrowed

“Yeah, its like this intense feeling you get before or during sex that involves some level of bdsm. It’s the sympathetic nervous system’s response to the mix of pain and pleasure. According to Dani, it can be pretty overwhelming, she gets really soft and, sweet…” Namjoon’s pupils went out of focus for a second as he thought of his girlfriend before he quickly shakes his head, “I’m not gonna go into detail, cause...that’s for my eyes only but, uh it sounds like you experienced something similar.”

“Thanks yeah, I don’t want to know anymore...” Yoongi grumbled

Namjoon just chuckled again, finishing the rest of his beer before continuing, “Look hyung, I’m gonna be honest with you, if you want to bring out that side of Y/N maybe you need to give her a reason to rough you up a little bit. As someone’s Dom, I know how important it is to have a balance of sweet and sour, or pain and pleasure for instance. It’s what she likes, it’s what I like, it makes it all the more intense and enjoyable for the both of us. It sounds to me like you want to be roughed up a little bit and, in order to get that, you might have to give Y/N a reason to...”

Yoongi pondered this for a second and, although he wants to come up with a smart ass response, he can’t help but concede, “I don’t want to make her mad on purpose though, that seems manipulative.”

Namjoon shook his head, “It’s not like that, it’s all for fun obviously. I’m not suggesting you do something to make her mad. It’s like cat and mouse but, I guess in your case its like cat and...cat.” Namjoon’s brows furrowed as the alcohol begins to hit his system and, Yoongi chuckled fondly in response.

“Cat and cat...got it.” He smirks, “Thanks. I’ll keep it mind and, uh I guess, don’t be surprised if I disappear during the New Years Party.”

That was the end of the conversation and the main inspiration behind Yoongi’s behavior tonight.

You’re sitting on the barstool as he makes your drink, admiring the way his nimble fingers screw and unscrew the caps on the various bottles of liquor and juice.

“What’s in this drink that you’re making me?” You inquire, resting your chin against the palm of your hand.

“Hibiki,” He nods to the bottle of whiskey sitting on the counter, “pomegranate juice, port,” Yoongi holds up a large bottle of red wine, “which is like a sweet red wine and, a little bit of lemon juice.”

You nod in consideration, your eyes still lingering on the movements of his hands as they push the cap of the martini shaker on.

Yoongi licks his lips, glancing down at you before beginning to shaking the drink mix around a few times. As he concludes, he grabs a martini glass from the counter behind him and pours the amber liquid into its confines.

He’s quick to grab half of the lemon he juiced, using a pairing knife to slice off a bit of the peel and, plopping that into your drink.

“Garnish with a lemon twist.” He finishes, sliding the drink towards you, “I don’t have the patience to make lemon twists right now but, let me know if you like it.”

You giggle at his comment, taking the glass in your hands and, quickly bringing it to your lips.

The drink isn’t something you’d normally go for but, its fantastic: Smooth and fruity, with a hint of woodsy notes from the whiskey.

It reminds you of Yoongi.

“It’s really good actually, this isn’t something I’d normally order but, the flavor is amazing.”

Yoongi smiles, letting a bit of his normal demeanor show through.

He can’t resist your approval no matter how hard he tries.

“Let me know if you want another one in a bit.” Yoongi puts some of the liquor away and, grabs his glass to splash a bit more whiskey in it.

You sip your drink for a moment as your eyes narrow at your boyfriend, “Is everything ok?”

Yoongi’s face turns up in curiosity, “Yeah of course, why wouldn’t it be?”

“I mean, I don’t know, we haven’t seen each other in a week...I guess I just thought you’d be like, excited to see me or something.” You throw a smirk his way, trying to appear playful despite your actual concern.

Yoongi does play this game from time to time but, usually a kiss from you will break him down a little bit but, he doesn’t seem phased at all.

“Who says I’m not excited to see you?” He retorts, making his way around the counter, eyeing you in the process.

“No one said that but, I don’t know,” Your teeth nibble on your bottom lip as you set your drink down, “I spent a long time getting ready for you...you didn’t even say anything.”

Fuck.

This isn’t going Yoongi’s way at all.

Because now, he feels like the world’s shittiest boyfriend.

Of course he noticed your outfit, your hair, your makeup, the fucking necklace.

Of course he thought you looked absolutely incredible but, he was trying to be cool...he was trying to rile you up...

Did he do it wrong?

Was Namjoon wrong?

Fuck he was wasn’t he?

Damnit Namjoon.

“Shit...” He abandons his drink on the granite, moving closer to you to tilt your chin up towards him, “I’m so sorry. You look unbelievable.” He places a few gentle kisses against your lips, feeling like a proper idiot, “I didn’t mean to make you feel like that. I was just trying to be like...I talked to Namjoon and, he said if I wanted you to be dominant, I should misbehave or something. Fuck, this sounds so immature I’m sorry.”

Poor Yoongi, he really should be more careful shouldn’t he?

“What was that?” You pull back from his lips, mock innocence on your face, “Namjoon said what now?”

Yoongi’s words get caught in his throat at your tone.

It’s not your normal tone; it’s that tone.

“I...uh” He doesn’t move away from you, “he said that- um...” Yoongi’s voice trails off as he feels your hand slowly sliding up his t-shirt, “He said if I wanted you to be dominant again, I should be a brat or something, I can’t remember. It was a dumb idea.”

“Oh? So is that what you’ve been after then?” You coo, tilting your head as your fingers inch towards his neck. Thankfully, the kitchen is all but abandoned for now but, you’re wary of the fact that someone could walk in at any time, “You want to me to take control of you?”

Yoongi is trying his best to reign in his reaction to you but, he can’t help the way his body arches towards your touch.

“Ye-yeah...” He whispers, wetting his lips with his tongue, his nipples growing stiff beneath his t-shirt.

“Ask me nicely.” You order, letting your fingertips ghost over the base of his neck.

“I don’t even know what I’m asking for anymore, I just want you.” He confesses, wishing to feel your grip around his neck.

“But I didn’t bring any whiskey with me?” You tease, squeezing gently around his adams apple.

Yoongi shakes his head, his eyes widening in an attempt to plead with you, “I don’t care, I was just being stupid.”

“If you wanted this, all you had to do was ask Yoongi, I always reward you when you’re honest don’t I?” You move from your seat, grabbing the neck of the Hibiki bottle, “But you weren’t honest tonight were you?”

“No.” He answers immediately, his adams apple bobbing in his throat, “I wasn’t.”

“What do you think should happen to you now?” You inquire, brows rising as you pull his gaze towards you.

And he surprises you when his lips turn up in a half smirk, eagerness flooding his eyes, “I should be punished, for being dishonest to you.”

“Take me to your room.” You order, returning his smirk and, Yoongi’s response is immediate as he interlaces his fingers with your own, tugging you towards his bedroom.

As soon as Yoongi shuts the door, you push his back against it, your hand quickly taking its place around his neck. His gasp is swallowed by your mouth, the two of you kissing feverishly against the wood. Apart from the rainbow colored Christmas lights adorning Yoongi’s bed frame, his room is almost completely dark.

Under that subtle glow, you kiss your pliant boyfriend with everything you have. For the moment, you indulge him, suckling at his lips, slowly moving your tongue against his.

You kiss him like he’s about to get laid, despite the fact that his orgasm has yet to be earned.

“What’s your safe word?” You whisper against his lips, using your free hand to tease over the waistband of his jeans.

“Dragon.” He whispers, leaning into your mouth, desperate to continue your kiss.

With a smirk, you connect with his lips once again but, this time you allow your fingers to untuck his t-shirt from the waistband of his jeans. As the material unfurls, you sneak your hands beneath it and, run your nails over the tender skin of his lower stomach.

Yoongi has a thing for your nails; whether they dig in to leave aggravated red marks on his body or they tickle against him like they are now, he’s addicted to the way they feel.

Yoongi curses into your mouth, bracing himself against his door, “I love when you touch me like this.”

You say nothing but, the smirk returns to your lips as you take the time to deepen the kiss. You pull out all the stops, suckling and nibbling on his bottom lip, nudging his nose, playing with his tongue. Yoongi feels his dick grow in the tight confines of his jeans and, he suddenly wonders what exactly he’s got himself into. This kiss is turning him on so much, he can’t imagine the agony he’s about to endure whilst waiting to be inside of you.

The two of you kiss at his door for quite some time, longer than Yoongi expects. He doesn’t mind, he could kiss you forever but, the vibe that had been blooming between you, lead him to think you were going to pull him to his bedroom and punish him.

Maybe you’ve changed your mind?

“I’m glad you love it…” You finally murmur against his lips, pecking at the bottom one, “Cause it’s all you’re going to feel for awhile.”

He knows it’s a threat but, he can’t help the excitement swimming through his veins.

“Arms up.”

He obliges immediately, raising his arms above his head, his shirt lifting up as he does, exposing his lower stomach.

You take advantage of that, sinking to your knees, taking Yoongi’s breath away when you do.

Pushing his shirt up, you start placing wet sloppy kisses against the softness of his belly, nibbling at his hip bones, trailing your lips all over the small patch of skin.

Yoongi’s eyes widen, his mouth parting in awe as he watches you.

“Take your shirt off.”

He doesn’t need to be told twice, his fingertips grasp at the white material, pulling it off his body in a matter of seconds. As his arms start to come back down, he hesitates, “D-Do you still want my arms up?”

“Hm,” You muse, eyeing each of them as they stay stagnant beside him, “let me see your hand first.”

Yoongi offers it to you and, its then you notice that he’s trembling, the observation stirs something wick inside of you.

He’s going to be doing a lot of that tonight.

You take his hand between both of yours and, starting at his thumb you take each of his long fingers in your mouth, sucking them from the base all the way to his bitten nail bed.

Unstable breaths rush out of his nose as he regards you with an awestruck stare.

Without any mercy, you take his other hand, repeating the same motions, slowing down your pace slightly.

Yoongi’s gnawing on his bottom lip now, breaking the delicate skin with his teeth. His freshly dyed black hair is falling in his eyes, deepening the darkness looming in them.

“You’re wishing this was something else aren’t you?”

He nods, his lip still in his mouth as he watches you.

“What?” You urge him, dropping his hand and, leaning in towards the button his jeans.

Yoongi’s voice is unstable now as he’s so turned on; he’s having trouble thinking clearly.

“My dick.”

His voice is so hot right now, raspy and uncontrolled, his accent peeking through.

Once he answers, you pop open the button and, slowly unzip his pants, tugging them all the way down to his ankles.

“Step out of them…”

Yoongi’s black boxers are warped around his erection, which is standing painfully away from his hips, his jeans pushed to the side.

Starting at his ankles, you begin running your nails up his skin. As you get to his inner thighs, your fingers begin tickling over the sensitive flesh, ghosting up to tease underneath the legs of his boxers.

His pretty lips part whilst an aching breath leaves his throat.

You smooth your fingertips over the black cotton and, at first you’re careful to avoid his length until you decide to use your mouth to kiss at him through his underwear.

It causes his eyes to squeeze shut and his head to tilt back against the door.

You take the time to admire the way his throat strains due to his clenching jaw before you finally pull his boxers off. Your lips quickly find his length, brushing against it, allowing your tongue to curl around his dripping tip.

“Wh-“ The sound rustles past your boyfriends lips, as if he’s in shock.

He doesn’t expect you to have your mouth on him so soon and, he’s a little confused if he’s being honest but, as soon he feels you suck on his tip, his confusion quickly becomes irrelevant.

Keeping your eyes on him, your cheek hollow out as you work your mouth over his dick, using your right hand to stroke what doesn’t fit between your lips.

Yoongi’s eyes open immediately, rushing to meet your own, his hips twitching at the pleasure you’re providing.

“I-“ He breathes, his eyes lulling as you increase your pace on him, “is this my p-punishment?”

You smirk as best as you can around his length, your free hand coming up to brush against his tight balls. Your tongue caresses against the sweet spot on his tip, causing an almost inaudible whimper to bubbles past his lips.

You’re doing everything he likes.

Everything you’d normally do to make him cum really hard.

He doesn’t understand, he thought he was in trouble.

But, he doesn’t feel like he’s in trouble.

Your silence unnerves him however and, the motions of your mouth are becoming more and more devastating.

Still pumping his length, you focus your attention on his balls now, licking over them, suckling at the tightening skin whilst your fist curves around his tip, squeezing gently as you increase your pace on it.

“Y/N…” Yoongi’s shaky voice warns, his upper body bending towards your mouth, the pleasure punching a hole through his stomach, “you’re gonna make me cum.”

And that right there is exactly what you were waiting for.

Your motions cease then and, you pull back to look up at your boyfriend to finally reveal your true intentions.

“I am going to make you cum,” You agree, kitten licking at his weeping slit, delighting at the shiver it causes, “when I feel like it.”

Yoongi is in the loop now.

This most certainly is a punishment and, it’s only just begun.

All he can do is try to control his breathing as his impending orgasm quickly fades from view.

He can feel the sweat gathering at the back of his neck as he tries to anticipate your next move.

Before he has time to get his bearings, your lips are back on him, setting the same devastating pace all over again, caressing his balls just the way he likes.

“Shit,” He chokes, his body lurching forward, his hips jerking at their own accord. “,that feels so good.”

He’s saying it because he’s only capable of being candid at the moment, all sense of sense is completely out the window.

“Mhm,” You moan around his length, sucking off until your lips are brushing at the tip again, “it would feel so good to cum wouldn’t it?”

All he can do is nod, his teeth taking their place back against his bottom lip, which is already raw from his previous motions.

“But you don’t get to cum do you?”

He shakes his head, agony flashing through his dark eyes.

“And why is that?”

Your question is paired with a slow lick up his dick and, a gentle squeeze of his balls.

Yoongi’s expression shifts to one of sincerity, “Because I wasn’t honest with you and, I didn’t express myself.”

You pull away completely now, your eyes flickering towards his bed, “Go stand next to your bed and, face away from me.”

He looks confused but, he obeys you without question, rushing over to stand where you’ve indicated, facing away from you.

Standing behind him, your nails come into play again, brushing against his hips, trailing up his ribcage to circle around his painfully hard nipples.

As soon as he feels you, he melts back against your body, eyes shut mouth parted; completely surrendered to you.

“You hurt my feelings Yoongi.” You whisper against the crook of his neck, brushing your lips there. “I thought I was losing my touch or something.”

You can almost taste his cologne and, for a split second you want to end the torture but, you know it will be worth it for the both of you in the end.

Your boyfriend opens his eyes, regret painting his features as he tilts his head towards you, “No no, don’t think that, you could never lose your touch.”

His lips brush against yours during his response but, he doesn’t try to kiss you, he knows he hasn’t earned that privilege back.

Your nails are making their way up to his chest, trailing along the curves of his collarbones, a dark smile inching onto your lips.

“I wore a necklace with your name on it…” You whisper into his ear, which elicits another shiver from him.

“I love your necklace, I was so honored when I saw it, it was all an act, and you know that. It’s always an act.” He pleads with you, eyes squeezing shut again at the pleasure.

“Do you want a necklace too Yoongi?” You coo in his ear, preparing your nails at the base of his neck

“Wh-?” He begins to question but, quickly he is brought up to speed as you begin using your nails to carve the letters of your name into his skin.

And he knows it too, he’s memorized every letter, he’s said it a thousand times…

“Oh my god.” He keens, his knees feeling weak enough to collapse

A dark giggle leaves your lips as you nibble on his earlobe, “God isn’t here right now Yoongi.”

“Yes she is.” His shaky voice holds a bit of venom in it, as if he’s offended by your statement.

His response causes an ache in your panties but to thwart your own desires, you quickly wrap a hand around his neck, placing it right over the base of his throat.

“Say please.” You coo into his ear, nudging your nose against the hot flesh of his cheek

“Please choke me…”

And you do, squeezing his neck just enough to ignite that light headed feeling he loves so much.

“Touch yourself.”

Yoongi’s quick to follow orders, his eyes fluttering open as he squeezes at the base of his swollen length, pulling up and over the tip of his dick.

“Y/N…Y/N, you know what this does to me.” Yoongi mutters through the haze of his pleasure, his hand faltering slightly when you squeeze harder. His cat-eyes widen as the fingers on your free hand come up to pinch his nipple; they feel so sensitive, every sensation is intensified with your grip on his neck.

“Faster, I wanna see you drip for me.”

Yoongi’s never had you like this before, your mercy would have shown through during previous encounters but, with you holding onto your dominance, he doesn’t know if he’ll be able to hold off his orgasm much longer.

But fuck if he won’t try his very best.

“I’m already dripping for you…look at me.” Yoongi’s unstable voice is deep enough to rumble in his chest and, while he has a point, it doesn’t stop him from increasing the pace on his dick. “Please look at me.”

His plea is nonsense; he knows you’re looking at him and, you know that’s not really what he’s asking.

He’s asking you to see how sorry he is.

“I see you baby,” You coo, licking up the shell of his ear, “you’re so pretty when you wanna cum for me.”

He smiles then, his eyes locking onto yours but, you can see how fucked up he is.

You can see him ascending to where he wants to be…

“I must be pretty all the time then.”

Fuck, he sounds so hot.

He’s so desperate for you but, he sounds like such a man and, you can’t help but kiss him again, using your lips to drive him mad.

“Y/N, please I’m gonna cum if I don’t slow down.” Yoongi sighs hopelessly into the kiss, turning his body towards you

With your brows raised, you pull back, “Do you want to know what will happen to you if you cum without my permission.”

His smile darkens, pleasure distorting a bratty expression, “Kind of.”

As your grip tightens around his neck again, his face turns up in desperation.

“If you cum without my permission, I won’t fuck you for a month.”

Your threat is clear and understood and with the widening of Yoongi’s eyes he nods obediently.

“I’ll be good, I promise.” He vows, increasing the speed on his dick, his hips jerking up against his hand.

Your hand leaves his neck to focus on his nipples, rubbing and pinching at them as he touches himself.

“I know you will,” You whisper in his ear, nodding your head towards the bed, “Go lay down.”

As Yoongi’s back hits the bed, you’re quick to descend over him, allowing your dress to ride up over your hips.

You wore something special underneath your dress too; black lacy underwear and a bra to match.

It’s simple but, it suits the both of you very well and, just as you hoped, it was fucking with his heartbeat.

“Fuck, I really like those…” Yoongi whispers, his hands itching at his sides; he wants to touch you so bad but, he knows he shouldn’t, he knows he hasn’t earned that yet. His eyes flicker up to yours, trying to convey he’s sincerity, “You look so good jagiya.”

His accent is getting thicker as he uses a native term of endearment

“You think so?” You tilt your head, allowing your hips to sink fully down against his, your panties pressing directly on his dick.

“So good.” Is all he says but, it comes in the form of a whimper whilst his tongue wet hits lips again.

Leaning down, you place a searing kiss to his mouth, letting him indulge you once again. He’s sloppier this time, his desire intoxicating him but, he still doesn’t touch you, regardless of how much he wants to.

“You have two choices,” You begin, slightly breathless yourself because, despite Yoongi being submissive, his kisses still fuck with you, “,you can either see me or you can touch me.”

He doesn’t even bother asking what you mean before his answer is tumbling past his lips, “I wanna see you, please. I wanna watch…”

Now all you gotta do is decide what to tie him up with. Pulling away from his lips, you look around the room before spotting a rather unorthodox method of bondage: the Christmas lights.

You slide up the length of Yoongi’s torso, making sure to rub your wet panties against his skin and, he takes notice.

“Y/N are you wet? Is that for me?” He breathes and, throughout all of the teasing he’s endured, it’s at this moment that he looks the most uncomfortable. He frantically eyes the material of your underwear, looking helpless as you wrap the Christmas lights around his wrists. “Please, let me taste you.”

And to increase the torture, this is a punishment after all, you position yourself so that you’re hovering right over his wanton mouth, with your pussy just out of reach.

Yoongi’s brow furrows in agony as he sticks his tongue out, desperately trying to reach you.

“I have something else for you to taste.” You murmur and, lean over to his nightstand grabbing the bottle of Hibiki.

His dainty features turn up in curiosity as watches you unscrew the cap, his tongue licking over his lips yet again.

Scooting back down his body, you force him to remember how wet you are before tilting the top of the bottle towards your lips.

“Open your mouth…”

Once Yoongi realizes what you’re doing, he has to stop himself from blowing his load all over his hips so, he quickly obliges, parting his lips for you, staring up at you with pure unfiltered lust.

With a smirk on your lips, you take a swig of the liquor, before hovering over Yoongi’s awaiting mouth and, letting it trickle onto his tongue.

He drinks every last drop, a whimper lingering at the back of his throat, “You are so fucking hot.”

Jesus, this is really starting to escalate.

You lick your lips, collecting the remaining bit of liquid as your free hand tickles over his chest, “Am I? Hot enough to spit whiskey into your mouth?”

Yoongi leans up towards your lips, smirking darkly, whiskey on his breath, “Hot enough to spit in my mouth.”

His correction  fuels the feral side of you which prompts you to use your thumb to part his lips, “Can I really spit in your mouth?”

Yoongi chuckles but, it’s in a very new, very animalistic kind of way, “How many times do I have to tell you?” He whispers against your lips, “You can do whatever the fuck you want to me…”

Adding insult to injury, Yoongi  sticks his tongue out and, the glint in his eyes is different than you’ve ever seen before. You can tell his slipping but, you aren’t sure where...

Maybe he’s going deeper than he’s gone before.

As soon as you spit, you feel an aching in your core when he uses his tongue to trace the perimeter of his lips, spreading your saliva (and his) all over his mouth.

“How does it taste?” The question is softer as you thumb over his lips, allowing him a few kisses against it.

“Good,” He breathes, “just like the rest of you.”

With a kiss against his lips, you pull back glancing towards his nightstand.

“I want to try something new with you tonight.”

He’s all ears, watching you intently whilst you trade the bottle of whiskey for a bottle of lube.  

Yoongi’s a perceptive man, he knows where your mind is headed and, he’d be lying if he said he isn’t intrigued.

“Have you ever had anything inside of you before?”  

He shakes his head, “No.”

Setting the lube down on the bed,  you lean down to press a chaste kiss to his lips.

“Would you let me inside of you?”

His heart jumps beneath his sternum but, he doesn’t hesitate to nod.

“Yes.”

You kiss him again but, this time you let it linger for a moment before pulling back.

“What’s your safeword?”

A small is one his lips then, “Dragon.”

His smile is returned when you kiss the tip of his nose, “Good boy.”

You take your place between Yoongi’s legs, slowly coaxing them apart so, you’re able to see the entirety of him.  

Given the fact that he’s been with Hoseok, it does surprise you a little bit that they never did anything like this.

But then again, maybe Yoongi wasn’t the one getting fucked...

You tell yourself to save those questions for another time to focus on the task at hand.  

You’re careful to warm up the lube between your fingertips before barely brushing them over Yoongi’s entrance. His stomach muscles quiver as you do so, the sensation unfamiliar but, not unpleasant.

“I’m just going to touch you for a minute, I’ll walk you through everything ok?”  

He nods, allowing his fingertips to curl into the palms of his currently restricted hands. He’s trusts you but, he’s nervous and, he’s worried his heart is about to beat right out of his chest.

Using two fingertips, you gently rub up his entrance and over the muscles beneath his balls. Pleasure begins swirling around Yoongi’s body, his legs spreading wider for you.

“Does that feel good?”

“Yeah...” He whispers, his hips jerking slightly as your fingers trail back down towards his ass. Another deep breath is pulled from his chest and, he tries to prepares himself for what’s to come.

He just wishes he knew what to expect.

Your finger circles his entrance, “I’m going to put one finger in, are you ready?”

He’s as ready as he can be...

Yoongi nods, pulling in a deep breath, trying his best not to tense up.

Taking your time, you begin pushing your index finger inside of him, working your way past the tightness of his muscles. You can hear his breath catch but, you don’t look at him just yet, you just focus on sliding your finger all the way inside of him.

The sensation isn’t unpleasant but, it’s definitely different than. anything Yoongi's ever felt before. It feels a little odd but if he’s being honest, he doesn’t really understand the hype behind it.

“Is that ok?” He hears you whisper

Craning his neck, he looks down at you, trying not to display how underwhelmed he is.  

He’s still hard but, that’s because he was the most beautiful girl in the world between his legs. He’s hard for you under most circumstances.

“I’m ok.” He whispers back

You move your finger in and out of him for a moment, just to get his muscles to relax a little more before glancing up at him as you curl your finger upwards.

Yoongi’s eyes widen, his upper body lurching forward, “Wait...wait, what was that?”

A smirk is on your lips as you meet your boyfriend’s frantic gaze, “What was what?” You curl your finger again, tilting your head.

“That...” He chokes out, his wrists jolting in the Christmas lights, “Jagiya-” Yoongi’s panting now, his face still colored with disbelief, “What is that? What the fuck is that?”

You let your teeth find your bottom lip as you increase the pressure inside of him, the movement causing his dick to jump, “I’m not the only one with a g-spot baby. This,” You rub against the hardened flesh, “is yours.”

“Oh fuck-” Yoongi’s brow draws in as, he opens his mouth, his eyes frantically searching around the room as if he could find an explanation for how good it feels. “What the fuck? What the fuck? B-Baby...”

You brush your free hand over his hips, trailing your fingertips down the length of his dick, “Do you like it?”

Immediately, Yoongi nods as his legs spread wider for you, “It feels so good,” His eyes widened again as you increase your pace a little bit, “Y/N...what is that? What are you doing to me?”

He knows you’ve answered this question but, the pleasure is growing to an intensity he’s never known and, he has no idea what to do.  

You don’t answer him, you know how he’s feeling. Sometimes pleasure is too much and, your brain goes a little haywire. Luckily for both of you, you love driving him crazy.

The pace inside of him remains steady whilst your lips begin kissing up the length of him causing Yoongi to whimper above you. It’s a hopeless and desperate sound, he knows he won’t last like this.

Not even if you asked him to.  

And you know it too but, it doesn’t stop you from sucking him into your mouth anyway.  

You aren’t concerned with punishment right now; you just want to make him cum so hard he cries.

With the coupled sensation of your mouth and your finger in his ass, Yoongi feels like he’s going insane.  

He’s never felt this kind of pleasure before, its rotting him from the inside out and a type of devastation comes over him as he feels his orgasm approaching.

“Y/N...baby.” Yoongi’s beautiful eyes are welling up with tears, his cheeks flushed hot, his lips dry from how hard he’s breathing, “I can’t hold it like this, not with you inside of me.”

To fuck with him further, you just stare up at him and hollow your cheeks out around his length. Your tongue gets to work on his sweet spots and, your finger increases it’s speed.  

“O-Oh...oh god, please, please can I cum? Can I cum please?”  

He doesn’t even sound like himself, his voice is higher but raspier and, the look on his face is priceless.  

He knows he’s fucked...

“Y/N please, I can’t hold it.” His face wrinkles with a mix of pleasure and pain and, his eyes are blown out once again when your pace only increases. “...I don’t want to disappoint you, please...”

But, you don’t stop.

“Baby, I’m gonna cum, I can’t hold it anymore. It feels so good please, please can I- oh fuck...”  

Yoongi’s hips jolt and, you take great pleasure in watching his eyes roll back into his head whilst his mouth parts with a silent cry.

He makes no sound when the first rope of cum hits the back of your throat but, his trembling body speaks for him.  

You don’t cease your motions the entire time and, Yoongi literally feels his brain melt as he cums in a way he’s never experienced before.

“Oh my god.” He whimpers finally, breaking the silence as his hips fuck feverishly into your mouth.

He knows he’s fucked up but, goddamn if he isn’t going to enjoy it.

“Y/N-” Yoongi chokes, his eyes coming back into focus as he stares longingly at you, “I love you, I’m so- ugh...” He moans as another wave of pleasure assaults his senses, “I’m so sorry...I couldn’t help it, it felt so fucking good.”  

The darkness in your eyes remains and, you plan on milking his punishment for all it’s worth.

“Yeah? It just felt so good you couldn’t control yourself?” You coo, pressing one last kiss to his pulsating dick before moving to sit back on your knees.  

He nods rapidly, on the verge of whimpering.

Slowly, you finally begin to remove your dress, feeling grateful that the material is finally free from your body.  

Yoongi’s eyes are still blackened with arousal despite the fact he came moments earlier.

“Oh fuck...you’re so fucking pretty...”

He sees now that your bra matches your panties and, he swears he can feel himself getting hard again.

“You’re not the only one who’s had to wait you know.” You begin, teasing your fingers over your skin, moving your hands behind your back to unclasp your bra, “I’ve been waiting just as long as you have...longer actually-” You note, letting your bra fall from your body eliciting a groan from Yoongi, “and you know how wet I get when I tease you baby.”

He nods, licking his lips his wrists tugging in their ties, “I know, I know I’m so sorry...but you wouldn’t stop. I-” Yoongi stops himself as you brows raise and, he realizes that blaming you is not a good option.

“Oh so it’s my fault then? I made you cum without permission?”

You did.

You know you did but, it’s fun to make him grovel anyway.

“I should have held it but, I couldn’t...” He tugs at his ties again, wishing desperately that he could touch you, “It felt so good, I didn’t know it would feel that good.”

“Hmm...” You muse before crawling up his body, allowing him once again to feel how wet you are, ��Do you feel how wet I am?” You coo against his lips, “My pussy hurts Yoongi.”

Yoongi’s eyes are pleading with you, his lips sloppily kissing at yours, “Let me make it better, if you let me out I’ll make you cum all night. Let me show you how sorry I am.”

Your mouth is open against his but, you let his lips kiss all over you, “But I told you I wouldn’t fuck you for a month if you disobeyed me didn’t I?”

Yoongi feels tears prick at the corner of his eyes, nearly losing it at the thought of being without this for a month, “No no no, baby please...please don’t do that to me.” He croaks but, for whatever reason his dick is twitching to life between his legs; why is this turning him on so much? “Don’t break my heart like that...I couldn’t handle it.”

“No?” You smirk, nudging his nose, “Would you beg for me if I did?”

He nods, “Yes...any chance you gave me.”

“Why? Is it cause you can’t live without it?” You’re cooing against his lips but, slowly making your way back.

“I can’t, I really can’t.”

“No? You can’t live without my pussy?”

“I can’t live without you, I’m so addicted...”

He watches you with a needy gaze as you straddle his hips, your wet panties causing his dick to twitch once again.

“Addicted huh?” You tsk, keeping eye contact with him while you slip off your panties, “That doesn’t sound good...”

“Oh but it is...” All of the teasing and pleasure is starting to send Yoongi back to that euphoric state and, he’s quite sure if he feels you on him right now, he’ll loose his mind, “it’s so good.”

“I’m aching Yoongi,” You remind him, rolling your wet folds against up his dick, his eyes widening as you do, “can you fix it?”

“Yes, fuck...”Yoongi’s fingers feel like they are going numb beneath the lights but, he doesn’t care, all he cares about is your pleasure, “please, use me. Use my dick, I won’t even cum baby, I just want to see you feel good.”

You’re positioning his dick against your entrance but, his answer surprises you, “Is that right? You’d let me fuck you just for me?”

“Yes, whatever you want, I’m yours to use...I want you to cum so bad.”

“And why is that?”

Yoongi’s eyes lock with yours, “Because I love you.”

Fuck this.

You sink down on him immediately, wasting no time at setting the pace you know the two of you like: deep and fast.

Bending over, your hips continue their movements whilst you find Yoongi’s lips again, pulling him into a wet kiss, “You love me huh?”

“Mhm...” With his face drawn in with ecstasy, he whimpers against your lips, “I love you so fucking much...you’re so beautiful. You’re so beautiful like this, taking me...you’re taking what's yours.”

“Are you mine?” Your voice is growing higher too because, with how wet and aroused you are, you know this won’t last long and, you need to hear the words that will send you over the edge.

“I’m yours.”

Your hips are bouncing up and down at an increasing speed and, what your movements lack in finesse they make up for with enthusiasm.

“Yoongi...” You’re whimpering now, his dick is curving up just right.

“Are you close beautiful? Are you gonna cum on me?”

“Cum...cum with me...” You urge him and, he feels relief watch over him that you’re going to let him finish too.

He’s nodding, kissing at your lips, fucking up into as best as he can, “I will but, let me see you babygirl, wet my dick, c’mon you’re so close yeah? I can feel how t-tight you are, come get what you deserve...”

You’re choking on a moan, moving away from your previous role because, with Yoongi talking to you like this, it isn’t about power exchanges anymore, it’s about love.

“I love you...”

It’s the last phrase you mutter before you reach your high, Yoongi following soon after you.

It’s intense enough to bring the two of you to tears and as you begin to come down, you notice the dreamy look in your boyfriends eyes.

“Hey...” You coo, thumbing his cheek, tilting his head up, “are you still with me?”

He sniffles, tears staining his cheeks as he presses against your hand, “Mhm.” Yoongi looks uneasy suddenly as he eyes his restraints, “Can I come out now? I need you.”

Your heart melts at his request and, you're quick to get his hands out of the Christmas lights, smoothing over the redness on his wrists before laying beside him.

Immediately, he cuddles up to you, burying his face into your chest, breathing you in as if there is something soothing in your scent.

“You did so good for me angel...” You speak softly into his hair, pressing kisses against his head, “Do you feel good?”

All he does his nod, his mouth latching onto any bit of skin he can reach, his body growing small in your arms.

“You are my goddess, my everything...”

Yoongi does this from time to time and, you’ve come to respect that it’s his way of expressing himself during intense moments.

He always promises that one day he will tell you what he says but, you don’t push him, you just let him have his moment and, feel the love within his tone.

Because love transcends language doesn’t it?

“I want to spend my life with you, forever and ever...and ever. You are so beautiful, you make me feel so beautiful...”

You smile, kissing his forehead as your freehand pulls a blanket over the two of you.

“Would you marry me if I asked? If I got down on knee and, humbly requested that you be my bride? Have I earned such a privilege? I know it isn’t time yet but, one day it could be no? It could be time...Min Y/N...” He smiles brilliantly beneath your neck, kissing the skin there before continuing.

“I like the sound of that.”

Outside the door, you hear the party goers beginning to countdown to midnight.

You missed the party but, you didn’t care.

As you tilt Yoongi’s face up to yours, you smile at the only man you’ve ever loved, “3....2...1...”

“Happy new year...” He whispers, returning your smiling before leaning up and, capturing your lips in a kiss.

Happy New Year indeed.  

[sad-sweet-cowboah]

Tied

Summary: You’re strong independent woman who keeps to yourself. That however doesn’t stop a certain outlaw from burrowing into your heart. He visits often enough, but a few months pass before he comes back. With him at your will, you have a little bit of fun.

Warnings: Smut, D/S undertones, ropeplay

AN: This was straight up inspired by @mrskrazy ‘s most recent Arthur drawing, because she is an absolute gem and I love horny cowboahs.

Two months.

Two long months had passed since you last peered into those bright blue eyes. Since you’ve heard his gruff voice. Since you’ve felt his warmth encompass you. His large rough hands holding yours. His breath ghosting across your face when his lips made contact with yours.

Two long months since you’ve last seen the man known as Arthur Morgan.

He never went more than two weeks without seeing you. The longest he’d pushed it was a month. It was no secret he was an outlaw, living life on his toes and law almost breathing down his neck. He told you when your feelings toward one another became apparent. You knew quite well that at any given moment he could be shot dead or captured.

As each day passed, your heart grew heavier with that very real possibility. You said you wouldn’t fall too heavily for him, but damn you and your own wants. Falling in love with Arthur was as easy as breathing.

Regardless of his lifestyle, he treated you much better than any man ever did. It’s why you never chose to marry, much to the displeasure of society. You lived on a small homestead tucked away from civilization, only coming into towns when you needed what the land couldn’t provide. You grew and hunted your own food, fought every intruder tooth and nail for what you had. Your initial meeting with Arthur was no different. You were out hunting one day when you noticed an unfamiliar horse on the edge of your property, and the door to your house wide open.

You were no fool. You grabbed your rifle and quietly stepped in, following the creaking and rustling until you found him rummaging through your wardrobe. You held the barrel up to his head. To your surprise he didn’t try to fight. He instead surrendered and turned around, his eyes wide and on you.

He towered over you and could easily outmuscle you, but he kept himself submissive. With your weapon still up, you ushered him out and watched him ride away on his horse. It was certainly the first time you didn’t have to shed blood to defend your home, and a small blessing.

But then you ran into him a week later, finding him hunting in the same area you were about to. Your first instinct was that he would try to rob you, but he surprised you. He thanked you for not killing him that day, which somehow eased your apprehension. You inquired as to why he didn’t try to fight back, and he answered with he knew when he was outmatched. His comment instilled a sense of pride in you, and your curiosity grew. Any other person would have ether attempted defense or worse. Why was he different?

Soon you began to see his face more. A rare occasion when you brought yourself to town to indulge in some alcohol. He was already there and tipsy, which allowed his lips to become pliable. You learned his name, enjoyed his sense of humor and his ability to hold a good conversation even more. When you left that evening, he seemed to stay in your mind more than you’d care to admit.

It only went downhill from there. Arthur Morgan had captured your heart, and he was no longer the polite man who tried to burgle you.

He always visited you in a timely manner, staying a few days before leaving and promising he’d return soon.

You could still remember the way he held you on the last day, his strong arms pulling you to his chest as he placed a kiss on the crown of your head. His smell surrounded you, a pleasant medley of forest pine and earth, with a slight hint of tobacco and gunpowder. It lingered in your bed for days after he left only to fade with time, and you would give anything just to smell it again.

You sighed heavily, pausing in gathering some vegetables from your garden to lean against the fence post. A swell of emotion overtook you as you turned your eyes to the blue sky ahead. He’s been gone too far long. You had to assume the worst by now, yet somehow it didn’t feel right. You couldn’t just accept the fact he was almost positively dead. Denial however was dangerous to your heart.

You shook your head and gathered what you had already to head toward your well for washing. It was no use to dwell on something that was doomed from the start. You were always meant to be alone in the world, without a person to tie you down. Having relations was a useless feat, lest you endured heartbreak.

You reached the well and began to pump, though the water wasn’t the only liquid flowing. Tears stung your eyes and you drew in a shuddering breath, trying to keep yourself under control.

“Stop it.” You hissed to yourself. “Stop crying over useless men.”

“Useless?”

You froze on the spot. That voice. So quick that you might’ve even imagined it. It however called to you clear as day. Your mind had to be playing tricks. But you turned around anyway, your grief transforming to utter shock when you laid eyes on the being standing just a few feet away.

His lips stretched into a smile when his eyes met yours. “Hey, darlin’.” He greeted.

You couldn’t say anything, you hadn’t even conjured up any words. The vegetables lay abandoned on the ground as you bounded forward, closing the gap between you in a short second, leaping into his arms.

You buried your face into his shoulder, letting him overwhelm your senses. He hugged you so tightly, his warmth soothing against the cool air. He whispered your name, his voice low and rough and comforting. More tears formed in your eyes, your heart hammering in your chest with happiness and relief.

A long moment passed before you lifted your head up, leaning back to look at him just as his grip loosened slightly. His hands reached up to catch the tears falling, wiping them away while the smile remained.

“These for me?” he asked quietly.

You sniffed, shaking your head and chuckling. “No, ‘course not. It’s for the other outlaw in my life.”

He chuckled as well, moving his hands to rest on your waist. “Guess I’ll have to kill ‘em for makin’ my lady cry.”

“Not before I tell him off for being late.” You joked, gazing at his face fully. Beneath the brim of his hat betrayed a look of exhaustion, though attempting to hide it behind his smiles. It struck a chord in you, wondering what exactly he’d been through. However, your eyes landed on those beautiful lips of his. You reached up and pulled the hat off, your other hand snaking around his neck to pull him in for a deep kiss.

---

Arthur’s exhaustion grew more apparent as the day continued. You learned that his gang had experienced a particularly rough patch that led him to take on much more work than necessary. Death, failed plans, and constant running had worn him to the bone. He apologized profusely for not coming sooner, but you just shook your head and responded that you couldn’t blame him for any of it.

You provided him with a meal that he scarfed down. He then passed out on your bed soon after, and it was just early evening. Arthur was always much stronger than he gave himself credit for, and this was the first time you’d seen him so fatigued. He looked so peaceful and almost dead the way he sprawled out on the mattress.

He hadn’t moved when you turned in a few hours later. You were careful to ease into the bed next to him, hoping not to arouse him when you lay down. He remained still as a statue, until you were nodding off. His body shifted to wrap his arm around your waist and pulled you in tightly.

You woke early the next morning nearly forgetting he was there until you’d realized he still had you against him. You carefully peeled yourself from his grasp, only disturbing him slightly while he expressed a small groan and rolled over. You wanted to lay with him for hours, but there was always work to be done on your little plot of land.

A little while had passed of you doing chores. Chickens and goats were fed, fresh water refilled the troughs and taken into the house. You were just moving a bale of hay from the barn when Arthur exited the cabin, his gaze sweeping around until landing on you. He trotted over and fell in step with you as you carried it over to the small pasture where your horse and his waited peacefully, their ears pricked and their excited nickers sounding when they spotted you.

“Coulda woken me up, woulda helped ya Y/N.” he spoke.

“Nah, I can handle it myself,” you responded while dropping the bale and pulling your knife out to cut away its confinements. “Besides, you looked like you needed at least a week’s worth of rest.”

Despite your initial refusal, he bent down to grab a few hay flakes, tossing them over the fence with ease. You peered over at him, noting the shadows beneath his eyes had almost completely vanished. He turned to look at you. “Overnight did me good, as you can see.” He pointed out with a smirk.

You rolled your eyes. “You know I never needed a man’s help, right?” you reminded him.

“’Course I do,” he answered, reaching forward to gently hold your hips. He pulled you closer, your torso flush with his as his eyes stared softly. “It’s jus’ an excuse to spend more time with ya. I have a lotta catchin’ up to do.”

You smiled at his charm, wrapping your arms around his neck. “Yes you do, cowboy,” You giggled, granting him a quick peck on his lips before reaching to gently flick the tip of his nose. “That’s for making me worry.”

Arthur winced from the contact and laughed, stepping back to quickly rub his nose. “Love you too, sweetheart."

You only shot him another smile as you headed back toward the barn, and he followed like a puppy. With the animals fed, the only thing left to do was to straighten up the inside of the barn. You’d neglected cleaning it for the past few weeks. A powerful storm swept through the area and stirred up quite a mess. The floor was littered with old hay and feed sacks, as well as some materials strewn about.

You sighed heavily. You were reluctant to even complete it, but it had to be done regardless. “Gotta get this cleaned, then we’ll settle and have some breakfast, okay?” you said to him.

He nodded in response. “Sounds good.”

And so you began to work. A normally slow process shortened with Arthur’s help. He took over the heavier duties while you resigned yourself to sweeping the hay out and replacing smaller items. A half-hour passed before it was clean, or at least clean for a barn. You straightened up and clapped the dust off your hands before wiping them on your jeans, sighing in relief. Arthur finished placing some wooden planks against the wall before coming back to your side.

“Think we did pretty good.” He commented, his hand reaching to rest on your lower back.

You leaned to his embrace, resting your shoulder against his chest. “Yeah we did,” You sighed, peering up at him. “Thank you.”

He offered a soft smile. “Now what was that ‘bout me bein’ useless?” he recalled, noting your moment from yesterday.

You turned to face him completely. “Think you were hearing things, Morgan.” You said, though mirroring his smile.

“Ah I don’t think so,” he replied, pulling you closer to him. “Think I’ve earned an apology.”

“Do you now?” you challenged while raising an eyebrow. “After making me wait for you for two months?”

“’M here now, ain’t I?” his voice vibrated with a chuckle, moving a hand to rest on your cheek. “Better later than never.”

You leaned into his touch, closing your eyes as he moved to tangle his fingers within your hair. With gentle pressure he pulled your head closer, lips connecting to elicit a tender kiss. He held you to him with his free arm, his grip tightening. Your arms wrapped around his neck automatically, your own fingers toying with his sandy locks.

He pulled back slightly to look at you, lips parted as he took a deep breath. “God damn did I miss you, Y/N.” he sighed out.

“Me too,” you murmured to him. “I… honestly thought you were dead.”

“Ain’t dead yet,” he replied. “Ain’t gonna leave ya that long ever again neither.”

“That better be a promise, Morgan. Or else you’ll catch some hell,” You lightly threatened. “You’re already on thin ice.”

“Then what can I do to make it up?” he asked you, catching the small amused smirk that played at his lips.

You hummed to him in response, sliding one hand from the back of his neck to the front, trailing your fingertip along his exposed skin. Your other hand guided him back to you for a new, much deeper kiss. You traced his collarbone before dipping further, nimbly unbuttoning each button, easing each apart to reveal his union suit underneath. All the while his tongue was exploring your mouth.

Once completely undone you tugged the loosened fabric from his pants and pushed it to the side, him helping you by shrugging it off along with his suspenders. You worked on those buttons next, though much slower than before. One by one the buttons fell open, exposing his wonderful torso to you.

Just as you pulled the top half off, he immediately reached to do the same with your clothes – only to step back out of his grip. He stared at you in confusion, his mouth forming in the beginnings of a question.

But you had an idea. “Now now, Arthur. Do you think I’d let you undress me just like that?” you softly interrupted with a teasing tone. Your eyes slowly raked across his figure. Bare from the waist up and standing in the morning sun, it almost made him appear like a deity. One for you to ravage at your will.

Your body called to him, yearned for him. Having gone so long without his touch, without his warmth, without him being inside of you. Of course you couldn’t truly blame him for having to focus on his gang, it was his life after all. But the thought of teasing and punishing him set a new fire in you that could only be quenched in one way.

“Why can’t I?” he spoke quietly.

“You know why.” You swiftly answer, stepping to the side and grabbing a coil of rope from atop a crate. A smirk formed on your face as his only further twisted in bewilderment and slight apprehension.

“You ain’t gonna hogtie me, are ya?” he asked.

“No, but I have a different idea.” You explained as you moved further into the barn, glancing up to peer at the support beams. You tossed one end of the rope up and over, tugging the ends until they were even – and happy to find they were the perfect length. You turn back toward him. “Come here.”

He peered at you with faint unease – he was nervous about what you planned to do, but he trusted you regardless. He slowly made his way over to you.

“Sit here.” You pointed.

He appeared as if he wanted to ask why, but kept silent. You crouched down and took his wrists, raising his hands to your lips to kiss them with small reassurance. He seemed to visibly ease a little, and you raised his arms to the rope ends. You wrapped them around his wrists with a snug fit. Once he was secure you stepped back to admire your handiwork, the large and powerful outlaw now appearing almost like a prisoner to you.

He met your gaze with bright and curious eyes.

“Are you comfortable, Arthur?” you ask him.

He wriggled in place, tugging at his restraints. “It ain’t uncomfortable, am I a hostage now?”

“No, you’re always free to come and go as you please,” you say. “But it’s mighty bold of you to think you could touch me so easily.”

He blinked at you. “What do you mean?”

“You know how many lonely nights I spent wishing I had your company?” you continue, reaching to place your hand upon your chest. Your fingers began to ease the buttons of your shirt apart, slowly revealing the chemise underneath. You soon shrugged it off and made quick work of the restraints on your pants. Though you didn’t tug them down, you instead slid your hand beneath the denim to appease your growing heat.

He was watching you intently, his eyes widening as you touched yourself. You were already beginning to dampen the sheer fabric of your bloomers, and you pressed against the bundle of nerves. You bit your lip and smirked at him. “Can’t say I ain’t used to my own hand and wayward thoughts nowadays.”

His chest heaved with a sharp intake of air. His eyes flitted to between your legs for a split second before coming back to your face. “I…I felt that way too, darlin’. Missed feelin’ your softness.”

“I know,” you mumbled, closing your eyes as you further teased yourself through the thin cotton barrier. “I’ll admit I sometimes thought of you thinking of me…you all hard and riled up with no release…all because of me.”

You opened your eyes again. There was a look of faint strain on his face, his fingers flexing slightly.

“Too many nights like that…” he mumbled.

“I agree, too many.” You said, your voice sharp. You pulled your hand from your jeans and allowed them to fall from your hips. The cool air breezed through your underclothing like nothing, but you paid no mind to it as you kicked your pants away. Stepping closer to him, you planted your hands on your hips. “So much frustration knowing I couldn’t have what I wanted all along.”

“Then why prolong it, sweetheart?” he questioned, keeping his voice even.

“Didn’t say I was.” You smirked, bending down to keep level with his gaze. Your hand caressed his cheek, sliding down his neck and chest. You followed his midline down, tracing your fingers along the ridges of his abdomen. You halted at the waistband of his pants, loosening them easily and inching them down. With each inch his lower half was revealed, your eyes caught the somewhat prominent bulge underneath his union suit. You of course took care to avoid even grazing it as you tugged his jeans right off. He lifted his hips to help you, awkwardly bending his body without use of his arms.

The eagerness on his face was plain. He however wasn’t aware of the thoughts flowing through your mind. You straightened up and stepped backward, tugging at the drawstring of your bloomers. The sheer fabric loosened instantly and fell to your feet. Your top was next, peeling it off slowly and sensually in front of him. Your clothing lay forgotten at your feet as you presented yourself completely uncovered. A cool breeze blew through the barn, stirring locks of your hair and bringing a chill to your exposed skin.

His expression changed. A subtle transition to one of desire, the carnal glint reflecting in his eyes. He audibly swallowed and his legs spread slightly, prompting you to look downward again. The bulge was significantly bigger, the thick fabric of his union suit constricting him. You smiled smugly and ran your hands along your body, circling your hardened nipples and smoothing against your lower curls.

“You wanna know how I did it, Arthur?” you asked in a purposely breathy voice. “How I was able to get myself off from imagining you?” you continued as your hands roved over your body. “I thought of your voice…saying my name, calling me beautiful…”

You tilted your head back and closed your eyes, allowing your pleasure to build while you touched yourself. Your legs opened to expose yourself even more, making him watch as your fingertips teased the little hood of flesh nestled below. A soft sigh passed your lips. “Your hands all over me, your lips teasing me. My body feeling so ready for you.”

“Darlin’.” You heard Arthur groan. You opened your eyes to see he was at full mast beneath his suit. His eyes were bright with a growing desperation.

“You take your time with me, I’m writhing in your hands…” you continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “But all the while I have you in my hand, and I can hear you groaning my name…” you slid a finger in and bit your lip, teasing your entrance. “God, your body is amazing…”

You now lock your sights directly onto him, enjoying how tortured he appeared. His body shuddered, hips twitching. “Y/N…” he sighed. “Please, I wanna –”

“And then you push into me, all nice and slow like you do.” You cut him off, pumping your finger in and out before adding a second. “I’m underneath you, enjoying the sight above me. Your skin to mine, your eyes to mine. Listening to your voice break as you moan…”

Arthur’s breath hitched, and he mumbled out a swear. The support beam above him creaked as he pulled at his bindings. “Sw – sweetheart,” He stammered. “C’mon, don’t do this to me.”

“But you know how it ends,” you respond. “Because you always make sure I finish first…” you quicken your hand, breathing heavily as you begin to barrel toward your peak. “Because you love to see how my face looks.”

“I-I do,” he groaned. “You look s-so damn beautiful.”

“Like this?” you asked, whining as you increased your pace further. With another moment passed your peak hit. Your body trembled and your jaw fell open. You tilted your head back once again, a low moan sliding from your throat. “Fuck, Arthur…” you added, sighing as you pulled your fingers out, now coated with your fresh juices. “See what I can do alone?”

Arthur took a stuttering breath. “But you ain’t alone right now.” He softly argued.

“Right now, but I was left to my own devices for a while,” you replied, standing in between his legs to drop to your knees. You held your fingers up to him, glistening in the beam of sun from behind you. “See how wet I can get just by my thoughts? Seems like I could do better without your actual touch.”

There was a flash in his eyes. A dangerous, heated flash that nearly sent a shiver down his spine. “You know that ain’t true.” He growled, his voice deep.

“Do I?” you simply responded, trailing your damp fingers down his naked chest again. Your eyes followed your trail to your target. The tent of his suit had a small darkened spot at the very top, evidence of how far his own arousal had grown. You peeled away his confinements, allowing his length to spring free. “I’ve always been independent regardless, as you know.” You added, wrapping your hand gently around him.

He twitched underneath you, almost thrusting his hips forward in vain for more friction. “’Course I know,” he huffed, his voice cracking slightly to your touch. “Never said you wasn’t.”

“Then why should I indulge you, Morgan?” you ask, moving your hand up and down, memorizing every inch.

His head tilted back as he sucked in air. “Because – shit, Y/N….” he sighed. “Spent ‘nough time apart from one another…”

“What else?” you prodded him, quickening your hand.

“Ah –” he moaned. “I love ya, n’ I missed ya.”

“Hm…” you hummed, rubbing your thumb along the head, dragging his precum along the sensitive skin. You watched his eyes flutter. “Anything else?”

He focused his gaze on you, an incredulous stare crossing his face. “That ain’t enough?”

“Not quite,” You teased, your other hand reaching to gently run your nails across his chest and abdomen. “Even if I was able to pleasure myself, there were still many…many…lonely nights.”

His body shuddered from your touch, stimulated by each sensation pleasantly. “I woulda visited sooner if I had the chance,” he said. “Y-you know that.”

“Of course, that don’t account for my bed being empty though…” you sighed, rubbing your thumb in a circular motion against the swollen flesh. His breath turned shallow. “Maybe this is good enough, hm? Since I imagine this is all you did too.”

“N-no,” he whined. “Y/N…I wanna be inside you.”

You smile at him, releasing him so you could scoot up, moving your legs to straddle him. You leaned against his torso, his skin hot against yours. His cock sat between you two, nestled against your stomachs. You leaned in close to whisper in his ear, “How bad do you want it, honey?”

As you leaned back, you caught the utter raw desire and helplessness etched on his face. You’d never seen him in such a state, but damn did you enjoy every second of it. His mouth parted in a breathless plea. “I want you. More’n anything else.”

You smirked at him, reaching between the two of you to grip him again, pumping your hand in a lazy manner. “Think you’ve been good enough for it?”

“Yes, god – yes,” He sighed, his face slightly twisting as you granted him more pleasure. “Y/N, please!”

His pleading was like music to your ears. It was just enough for you to finally cave in. You leaned back and brought yourself up on your knees, keeping hold of his length as you guided it toward your center. The smooth and rock-solid flesh split through your folds easily, and you sunk down on him.

Arthur was impatient. He thrust up, meeting you halfway to bury himself to the hilt. He let out a sigh of relief, though his arms strained against the rope. He wanted to hold you and fuck you, but you were in control.

And so you met his gaze once again, placing your hands on his cheeks as you rolled your hips. The absolute pleasure that radiated from being filled by him was unlike any other. Your hands and thoughts could only do so much in place of the actual thing.

He groaned deeply, a thankful look crossing his face. Though he kept his eyes to you, his eyelids were fluttering the more you moved on him. Easing him into a sweet kiss, you hastened your hips, riding him a little harder. He kept in sync with your movements, thrusting when he could. Every muscle in his body steeled with tension. You knew if he slipped out of those ropes, there would be nothing holding him back from unleashing his pent up frustration onto you.

That didn’t stop him from abusing you when he could, nipping at your lip and growling like a starved dog. He uttered multiple swears under his breath, tangled in with your name. You raked your fingers through his hair, moaning against his mouth and uttering sinful whispers to him. His mouth latched onto the crook of your neck, marking every inch of flesh he could reach.

“Shit, Y/N.” he grunted against your skin. “Fuck…you feel so damn good.”

Your arms wrapped around his torso, welting the thick skin on his back and drawing out another groan from him. His muscles flexed from the inability to do much else, wanting to be free.

“I wanna…pin you down so bad…” he continued, biting into your shoulder.

You nearly flinched from his teeth, though you giggled. “I’m in charge, Morgan.” You reminded him, grinding your hips in an undulating manner. Your second release was beginning its ascent. One hand slid down, toying with yourself to heighten the waves rolling through you. What started as a slow climb instantly started to barrel upwards. You sang out a moan, calling out his name while the tendrils of a fresh orgasm curled through your body. Every inch of your being shuddered while it washed through your body.

You brought your attention back to him. His eyes and face reflected amazement while he watched your pleasure take hold of you. “God damn,” he breathed. “Always so beautiful like that.”

Smiling at him, you drew him in for another kiss. He responded eagerly, eliciting his gruff moans into your mouth. You pulled back slightly to murmur, “Now give me your release.”

Before he could respond, you adjusted yourself slightly for a better angle. Bringing yourself up on your knees once again, you began to bounce on him. Your inner walls engulfed his entire length over and over.

He swore out loud, wriggling underneath you in failed attempts to match your movement. You watched as the muscles and veins strained hard in his arms, outlined by his pale sweaty skin. The rope creaked loudly as he tried to pull himself free. His breath escaped in short puffs, heated and wet against your face. “Y/N –” he choked out, his eyes squeezing shut when he couldn’t finish his sentence.

You egged him on, leaning in to whisper sweetly in his ear. You encouraged him to let go, complimenting on how handsome he looked underneath you.

And he broke completely with your doing.

His breath caught, your name sliding off his tongue with a guttural groan. His hips stilled beneath you with the arrival of his release. He bucked once with a shallow, fleeting movement in effort to milk himself into you. His chest and stomach heaved against your torso. Setting yourself upright to gaze at his face, noting the look of fatigued satisfaction written all over it. His blue eyes met yours and he beamed at you.

“Fuck,” he breathed. “That was different.”

You offered him a loving smile, reaching to push back locks of his hair dampened with sweat. “I’m happy you enjoyed it as much as I did.” You giggled.

“You’re full o’ surprises, sweetheart,” he murmured, pulling himself closer to kiss you. “Now lemme outta these things, I wanna hold ya.”

While it was oh so tempting to keep him there, you knew better. You brought yourself to your feet, your legs trembling beneath you as you did. With quick movements his wrists fell free of his restraints. His arms fell to his sides and almost immediately you felt his finger slide through your slit.

“Arthur!” you gasped, your body twitching in response.

“Jus’ lookin’ at the aftermath,” he responded innocently, chuckling as he did. “You’re drippin’, I made a mess.”

You hummed, bringing yourself back down to him. His arms wrapped around you instantly. “Not that I’m complaining.” You sighed, nuzzling yourself underneath his chin.

He chuckled again, pressing his lips to your head. “Now was that the breakfast you promised?” he jokingly asked, tracing his fingertips along your back.

As if your body was in tune, your stomach growled rather loudly. However your muscles were sore, and you needed a little bit of time to recover before you even thought of getting back up. “Just might be.” you answered.

“Then what ‘bout lunch n’ dinner?” he continued.

You peered up at him, mirroring his smirk with one of your own. “Whatever I say, Morgan.”

[the-shadow-of-atlantis]

Mystery

Tagging: @melyaliz @sea-quinn @speedypan @coffee-randomness @lizartgurl

Read Earlier Parts Here

“Damn.” Andromeda whispered as she got her test result back. “I really thought I nailed it this time.”

“At least you got a D+ this time.” Scott said, having glanced over when she spoke.

“Still.” Andromeda groaned as she slumped her head against the table. “I hate science… and math.”

“You do well on the labs.” Scott said, shaking his head.

“Only because I have you helping. Once I get home I can't remember what all this gibberish means.” Andromeda mumbled.

“Well I guess I should be glad you’re not cheating on your tests.” Scott said, smiling down at her.

“I miss biology.” Andromeda said, pouting as she stared at her paper. “Who’s bright idea was it to mix math and science together… I swear if you answer that I will knock those sunglasses off your face.”

“If you want I could tutor you.” Scott offered, however, that just made Andromeda frown more.

“I dont know.” She sighed. “I don't think my parents would like it if I brought a boy over to the house.”

This seemed to make Scott blush and Andromeda smirked. “Don't flatter yourself, my parents are just… special.”

“Oh well maybe if you ask Jean she’d be happy to help, she's just as good at chemistry as I am.” Scott looked at Andromeda and the face she was making made him trail off a bit. “Jean’s really nice, you know.”

“My parents are really really special.” Andromeda said, grabbing her pencil and proceeding to doodle on her test. “I’ll think about it… what's up with you and Jean anyways?”

“What do you mean?” Scott asked, looking at her just as confused as Jean had been when Andromeda asked her a similar question.

“Are you guys like together? Are you technically foster siblings? How does that even work?” Andromeda asked, trying hard not to laugh at Scott’s reaction. After all, Jean had only been here a few weeks now.

“I um no, no she's just a friend. It's just that… shouldn’t you be asking Jean these questions?” Scott asked.

“Yeah but I just like to see you squirm.” Andromeda teased though for some reason she couldn’t help but feel a little hurt. When Jean had said they were just friends it sounded genuine, when Scott said it it seemed like it had a double meaning. Scott let out a small huff making Andromeda focus back on the conversation.

“Jean has parents but she lives with us because my foster dad specializes in kids with… special conditions.” Scott said though he seemed hesitant.

“Huh oookay.” Andromeda mumbled, getting up as the bell rang.

"Well what about you?" Scott asked catching up to her, taking her by surprise.

"What about me?" Andromeda asked, adjusting her backpack.

"You and toa- Todd. What's up with you two?"

"First of all, toad is a messed up nickname. Second he's sweet but nah he's not my type just a friend." Andromeda smiled up at him, noticing his little frown. "You're gonna have to try harder than that if you wanna tease me."

Andromeda patted his arm and turned down the hallway to her next class.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Andromeda rolled her eyes as she noticed Duncan and Scott having a cock fight during their mile run. Apparently Scott wasn't the only one who seemed to have a thing for Jean. She shook her head as she saw them attempt to run the track as fast as possible.

"Hey, do you mind if I go ahead?" Andromeda asked jogging lightly next to Todd.

"Sure." Todd wheezed.

"Cool see you at the finish line." Andromeda said as she took off she needed to run a whole lap if she were to out run them. Piece of cake.

"Excuse me!" She shouted as she got close to the two.

Scott was shocked but polite enough to move out of the way. Duncan however didn't and Andromeda bumped into him making him stumble.

"I said excuse me." She said as she took off trying hard not to laugh.

She made it around the track pretty easily and soon enough had caught up with the two boys again. She made it a point to stay in front of both of them, picking up speed whenever one of them tried to outrun her, which mostly ended up being Duncan. To really rub it in their face during the last lap Andromeda took off sprinting leaving both in the wind.

“Time. Nice job Williams.” The teacher scribbled on their clipboard.

Andromeda nodded and turned to see Duncan and Scott cross the finishing line both looking a bit winded. She made a mental note to thank her brother for making her practice running to build up her endurance. Andromeda made her way to the vending machine to grab some water bottles and settled in the grass next to the track as she waited for the others to finish.

“How are you able to survive that?” Todd asked weakly as he plopped down next to her, Andromeda rolled the water bottle towards him.

“I like to run?” Andromeda offered.

“You’re not even sweating!” Todd said, squeezing his shirt to get rid of the wetness.

“Sweating is gross so I don't do it.” Andromeda said casually, Todd stared at her wondering if she was being serious. “I’m kidding, good genes I guess.”

“That’s not fair.” Todd huffed while taking a drink.

“Hey.” Andromeda said, nudging him as she changed the subject. “My brother wants to go to the mall with his friends this weekend, wanna meet up there?”

“I dunno.” Todd mumbled.

“Come on, please. I'm gonna have to babysit a bunch of 12 year old boys. Besides, you need to get out of that scary house every now and then.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Alright class back to the gym, time for some dodge ball.” The teacher called out.

Andromeda got up and noticed that Scott was staring at them with a slight frown on his face, weird. Before Andromeda could get inside the teacher stopped her.

“Williams a word.” They said walking towards the bleachers.

“Um okay.”

“You do pretty good time on your runs.” They said and Andromeda nodded wondering what that had to do with anything. “I think you’d be great on the track team, tryouts are at the end of the week. I think you should join.”

“Oh.” Andromeda blinked trying to process the compliment. “I um… I’m not sure if I can.”

“Sure you could kid.”

“No I mean… thanks teach but um I’d have to ask my parents.” Andromeda said, feeling embarrassed.

“I see. Well, here's to hoping they say yes.” They said, patting Andromeda's shoulder.

As Andromeda walked to go stand next to Todd she noticed that Scott seemed to be looking at her curiously. So she did what any normal person would, hit him with the dodgeball first chance she got.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Alright I’ll be back in two hours.” Their mother said as she parked the car in front of the mall. “Watch him Andromeda.”

“Yes ma’am.” Andromeda said getting out of the car and stood next to her brother.

“Shall we?” Adonis asked, staring up at her.

“Let’s go.” She said walking into the mall where a small group of Adonis friends were waiting for them.

Andromeda looked up at all the menus at the food court wondering what type of junk food she wanted to sneak.

“The chili dogs are pretty good.” Todd said standing next to her.

“Hey you made it.” Andromeda smiled.

“Ohhh is that your boyfriend?”

“Keep it up Tommy and I’ll tell Heather B you have a crush on her.” Andromeda said, making Tommy frown and stick his tongue out at her.

“So what are you gonna get?” Todd asked.

“Eh think I might just get a corndog easier to carry and shop with.” Andromedas shrugged.

“So Darkholme actually let you leave to have fun?” Andromeda asked as they walked down the halls of the mall.

“Nah snuck out but doubt she’ll notice anyways.” Todd shrugged.

“Yup I know the feeling.” Andromeda mumbled.

“Huh?”

“Nothing.” Andromeda said casually she glanced around and narrowed her eyes. “Hey, keep an eye on them, okay?”

“Okay.” Todd said as Andromeda slipped away from them.

“I sure hope your foster dad teaches you manners Summers.” Andromeda said, popping up behind Scott who had been peering by a corner.

Scott jumped and turned to see Andromeda, his eyebrows raised in shock.

“Watcha doin? Spying on me?” Andromeda asked.

“I um no… no.” Scott tried to defend himself.

“Mmmhhhmmm.” Andromeda hummed leaning against the wall.

“You said your parents wouldn’t like it if you brought a boy home.”

“Yeah well technically Todd didn’t come to my home so I fail to see what you're getting at.” Andromeda said.

Scott opened and closed his mouth like a fish. Andromeda patted his cheek, smiling slyly at him.

“You’re cute when you’re confused.” She said as she walked away.

Scott shook his head wondering if he’d ever be able to figure her out.

[softbiker]

Born to Run - Chapter 15

Warnings: language, literally zero editing

Word count: 3k

A/N: Wow I’m back to updating this story??? A million years later?? I am so sorry to anyone who was following this - but if you’re still reading and still interested, here’s an update! God as my witness, I will finish this. I actually have more ideas and inspiration for where the story’s going now - plus we’re all getting quarantined, so these WIPs have never had a better chance of getting done. Anyways, here it goes! Please let me know what you think! 

The lone monitor beeped steadily, plaintively, in the early morning quiet of the hospital room. Air rattled through the breathing machine, filling unknowing lungs over and over. A starched white blanket was pulled up to his chest, covering most of the bandages wrapped around his torso from the hours of emergency surgery. His left arm was already in a cast and laid on top of the blanket, resting against his stomach. 

Natasha felt sick.

And angry. 

How could she have been so stupid? Acting like a goddamn rookie, for starters, and running to Nick to fix their situation - letting things get out of hand with the Avengers, failing to convince Y/N to get out of here before things got bad. And they were only going to get worse. 

If Nick had been identified, then they were all in danger. And there was no fucking way, to her mind, that he couldn’t have been I.D.’d. This wasn’t a random accident, regardless of whatever the hell the local police wanted to write on the incident report. It was an attack, a warning. First blood. 

Her knee bounced in her seat by the bed, plastic upholstery squeaking with every shift in her weight. She chewed her nails - a habit she thought she had finally managed to kick. A tall nurse, dark curls piled into a bun on top of her head, came in to check Nick’s vitals; she was quiet, efficient, offering Nat a sympathetic smile. 

“If you need anything, just contact the nurse’s station, ok?” Her pink bubblegum, tucked in the back corner of her mouth, was visible when she talked. “And there’s a coffee machine around the corner, in case you need your fix before the cafeteria opens up.”

Nat nodded her thanks as the woman slipped out of the room, her white nursing clogs creaking a little, not yet broken in. 

The sky outside the window continued to brighten, a clear and cold winter morning; she wasn’t sure how long she stared at him before she decided to have that coffee after all. Massaging her temples, she shuffled down the hallway towards the flickering glow of the machine. Her boots echoed on the tiles in the empty hall, the low hum of the coffee machine filling the little alcove near the elevators. It whirred and hissed and spat out her coffee into a blue paper cup with slow, deliberate drips. 

How had she let it get this far? What was she going to do without him? And who the hell could she trust? She winced as the first sip of coffee burned her tongue. It wasn’t as though she didn’t trust the team…but she’d gone to Nick in the first place because they were no longer being objective - Barnes especially, and Rogers was only enabling him. 

Her eyes on the waxed linoleum floor, she barely noticed him standing outside the door of the hospital room. Steve squared his shoulders, directly in front of her, his eyebrows tilted at a thunderous angle. 

“You gonna tell me what the hell is going on here?” he gritted out, the hoarse edge of his voice scraping in his throat. 

Nat didn’t answer, not right away. Instead, she let him stew in the boil of his righteous anger, air tightening between them. The coffee had cooled a bit, but left a funny taste in her mouth - the flavor mixed badly with the mints she’d been sucking on an hour ago. The muscles in her neck and back ached from hunching by Nick’s bed all night, and she arched a little on her feet, stretching and flexing, though the early morning tightness never quiet left her muscles. 

Finally, when the flare of Steve’s nostrils told her he was on the verge of making a scene, she gestured toward the door with her coffee cup. 

“Why don’t you head in there and see for yourself?”

Clenching his jaw, Steve turned and let himself into the hushed dimness of the hospital room. He filled the doorway - he filled most doorways - and from behind Natasha wished he could march into this and save the day, the way he always wanted to. At the foot of the bed, he stopped and rested a hand on the mobile tray waiting there, now cleared of the uneaten food from last night. His mouth turned further down, matching the turn of his eyes as he watched the sleeping man tucked into crisp hospital linens. After all these years, I was so strange to see Nick this way - weak, still, not in command. It shook something loose inside of him, but he tamped it down, cracking the knuckles of his fist. 

“You know who did this?” he said, his voice a low growl under the tone of the monitors. Behind him, Nat closed the door with a soft click. 

“Of course I do - don’t you?” She slipped behind him, sipping from her coffee, and took up her chair by the bed again. 

Big hands curling and uncurling, Steve remained silent. From her spot in the squeaky hospital chair, Nat watched the slant of his profile, reading the rage in every line. 

“Rumlow is dead,” Steve said through clenched teeth. 

“But not the rest of them.”

“Without a leader? They’re just a bunch of thugs.” Steve shook his head. “There’s someone else pulling the strings - someone smarter.” He nodded towards Nick’s prone body. “Someone who knew about Nick. Maybe about all of us.”

Natasha nodded slowly, one finger tracing the rim of her coffee cup. Usually she enjoyed being right. 

Steve scrubbed at his face with his hands, blowing a harsh breath past his lips. He turned away from the hospital bed and paced along the edge of the room, towards the window. With the thin curtain drawn, pale sunlight cast shadows beneath his eyes, sharped the noble angle of his nose. HE never dreamed they’d be standing here, years deep in a life built on lies and duty. Fresh from the army, him and Buck, and no plans - that’s when Sam approached them. Intelligence work, a chance to do something important, to keep fighting the good fight on the home front. 

“They’re all in danger.” Natasha’s voice scraped at the edges of her throat. “You know that, Steve.” 

“I know.”

“It’s time.” He turned to look at her, bits of hair falling from her ponytail to frame her face. Bits of mascara had smudged underneath her eyes, bloodshot and heavy. 

“Make the call,” Steve said, looking back towards the window. “Get Pierce if you have to. It’ll piss off Stark to go over his head, but I’m not worried about his ego.”

Nat licked her lower lip, tracing the chapped skin. 

“What about Barnes and his girlfriend?” she asked, leaning an elbow on the arm of her chair. “I can’t see him being eager to burst their happy little bubble.”

Steve sighed through his nose, crossing his huge arms across his chest. The monitors beeped a lonely rhythm behind him. 

“I”ll handle Bucky. Just get everything ready - make all the arrangements. Do what you have to do.” 

  ***********                                                                                                  

“So for dinner, I’m thinking…we still have that spaghetti squash in the fridge? I could whip up some kind of sauce to go with it…” she peaked her head up over the door of the fridge. “Sound good to you, Buck?” 

Startled, Bucky’s head popped up from his phone. 

“Uh, yeah sure,” he said, ducking back down and resuming the rapid movement of his thumb. 

With a frown, Y/N hip-checked the door closed, bottles rattling inside. 

“Are you listening to me, Bucky Barnes?” she asked, eyes narrowing as she leaned back against the fridge. 

He looked up again - a well-developed sense of self-preservation kicked in when he caught that dangerous glint in her eyes. 

“Yes - yes, sweetheart, I’m sorry,” he sighed, sliding his phone into his back pocket. “Whatever you want for dinner is good - I’m fine with the spaghetti squash.”

She was never so easily distracted. 

“What was so interesting?” she nodded his direction. “You’ve been glued to that thing all afternoon.”

Bucky’s shoulders dropped as he sighed, rounding the edge of the counters to approach her in the kitchen. Soft hands reached for her hips, reeling her in closer, sharing heat and heartbeats. The scent of his cologne drifted up on the air between them - spicy, warm, just subtle enough to remain sexy. He leaned in close and pressed his lisp to her forehead, devoted and sweet, and always properly apologetic. 

“I”m sorry, baby,” he said, squeezing her waist softly. “It’s just Steve-”

“Steve?” She looked up at him with a frown, neat little line forming between her brows. “Steve has been blowing up your phone?”

“Yeah, I know.” He shook his head. “It sounds like total bullshit, but I swear that’s all.”

“What’s going on with Steve?” 

Bucky sucked in a deep slow breath, hoping to hide his hesitation. Their “club business” had always taken first place, first priority…the job came first. The job was important. They were saving lives, putting away criminals. But now his girl was pouting at him in the kitchen, and he’s so tired, so goddamn tired all of a sudden - of all of it. Of being a public servant or a hero or whatever the hell. Of duty. He wants to pack it all up and just start driving. Move back to the city - or hell, even the suburbs would be nice. He’d take Y/N to Sunday dinner at his mom’s place; they’d move in together, and Y/N could decorate just how she wanted, and he’d sweat over rearranging the furniture and complain about trips to fuckin’ Ikea and all the other stuff that normal boyfriends got to do. In this moment, this inhale, he tasted it all, the life they could have. A dream they could build, together. 

And all he had to do was come clean. About all of it. 

In the space of an exhale, he faced it. He wanted this. It was on the tip of his tongue. 

And then the next breath. 

“Just club stuff,” he shrugged, feeling the weight of the lie dropping on her. “There’s…been a little drama between the members lately. Nothin’ for you to worry about.” 

With another kiss to her forehead, he turned away and opened the fridge. 

“I’ll put that spaghetti squash in this afternoon if you want me to,” he offered. “That way it’ll be ready when you get off work. Sound good?” 

Y/N nodded mutely, pressing her lips into a smile. She had to admit it was nice having a boyfriend who was mildly competent in the kitchen. 

“Okay, well, I’ve got to get in to the clinic,” she sighed, checking her watch. “Shit! I’ll be late.” Swinging her bag and lab coat over her shoulder, she gave him a final peck on the lips before bolting to the door. 

“You sure you don’t want me to drive you?” Bucky called from the kitchen. 

“Too cold!” was her reply - and then she was out the door. 

Bucky stared at the closed door for a moment, one hip leaned against the counter, worrying at his lower lip with his teeth. He just needed some time. Just a little more time to sort all this out. And then he’d tell her - the whole truth. Everything. And after, they could have a life together, something real, something safe, a home. 

His phone buzzed in his pocket. Steve again. 

Call me. Now.

Even as he rolled his eyes at Steve’s flare for the dramatic, a little tremor seized Bucky’s heart. Dread hovered in the back of his mind as he swiped his thumb and dialed Steve’s number. 

This could only go badly.

  **********                                                                                                  

One breath.

Inhale to exhale. That was how long it took for him to lie to her. 

Cold fingers wrapped tight around the steering wheel, it was all she could think about. It scared the hell out of her, whatever it was he tried to hide in that breath, whatever he decided to keep from her. He’d never done that before…or had he? Did she know? Would she know? Would she be able to tell? 

Calm down, Y/N. You’re overreacting. She lectured herself, cranking the heat in her car to a higher setting. A top 40 song, thumping beat and repeated lyrics, hummed faintly on the radio; she was running late enough that the morning talk show had already ended, moving on to the daily shuffle of hits and local business commercials. It all went unheard in the worried circle of her thoughts. 

What could he have to hide? Unbidden, her mind flooded with horrible possibilities, every possible answer to that question, and each more horrible than the last. Was he cheating? Another woman was responsible for the constant barrage of text messages pinging his phone? Bucky was handsome, not to mention clever, flirtatious, romantic; she had no doubt he could get any woman he wanted. But his attention and affection for her hadn’t waned - just this weekend he’d planned a beautiful dinner for the two of them, followed by a homemade cheesecake he had slaved over for dessert, and then well…he was certainly still eager in the bedroom. The warning signs just weren’t there. 

So what else? He’d never been secretive about the club before. Avengers business was Avengers business, but he’d never lied to her about it. It turned her stomach sour, and she regretted having those pancakes this morning, the cloying smell of syrup still on her hands making her want to pull over and vomit on the side of the road. 

She knew she was working herself up, letting her mind run amuck, but she couldn’t stop herself. By the time she pulled her car into the parking lot of the clinic, she’d half made up her mind to turn right around, go home, and confront him. The image of herself, half-crazy with ideas of secret affairs or violence or drugs, marching into the house and accusing him of lying - it stopped her short.

God, why am I losing my shit over this? Y/N dropped her head back against the seat and closed her eyes, the car idling in the lot, warm and safe from the harsh winter morning. She’d dealt with shitty men before, she’d survived bad boyfriends. It was impossible to make it very long as a woman without that experience. And yet, somehow, the memory of that paled in comparison to the devastating knowledge that Bucky was lying to her. 

You love him. Oh god, she did, she loved him - she was in love with him. 

She hurried out of the car and into the clinic, preferring to bury herself in wellness checks and vaccines and the flu than to keep thinking on it. 

    **********                                                                                                   

At the reception desk, Charlotte stopped her before she could get to her office.

“Oh! You’re needed at the county hospital today.” She handed Y/N the note, written on robin’s egg blue stationary. 

“I’m sorry? Why?” Y/N squinted at the note, a handwritten scribble. Charlotte shrugged. 

“No real explanation - but the chief surgeon said that they could use an extra set of hands with all the flu cases they’ve got coming in.” She took a sip from her travel mug. “I’ve heard they’re a little overwhelmed down there, since they’re the closest treatment for a lot of people in the county.” 

Y/N sighed, looking back out to her car. She hadn’t planned to drive the extra mileage out to the hospital today; not to mention it would probably make her late coming back for dinner tonight. Digging in her purse, she grabbed her phone and shot off a quick text to Bucky, explaining the change. 

“Alright then,” she huffed, placing her purse back on her shoulder. “I guess I’ll see you later.” 

With a wave to Charlotte and the other nurses, she was back out the door and heading to her car. This time around, she turned the radio up loud, singing along and tapping her fingers on the steering wheel and not thinking about this morning, or her own life, or anything at all. 

    **********                                                                                                   

At the hospital, she was assigned to make rounds for one of their physicians who had called in sick. Simple enough. The elevator ride up was quiet, new nurses and doctors all quiet and polite, but holding down their conversations in the presence of a stranger. 

She started on the third floor recovery ward, making her way down the hall door by door. Bedside manner was always one of her strengths; she could charm most patients with just a few words, breezing through her examinations and questions with ease. Chalk it up to customer service experience, but even the difficult patients usually treated her with gruff politeness, the insistence of her friendly manners forcing them to match with their own. Room by room, she checked charts and asked about pain levels and wrote prescriptions, the morning passing by in hours of sterile white tile and the smell of hand sanitizer. 

Turning a corner onto the next ward, she was just looking up from her clipboard when she caught a glimpse of a familiar shade of red ducking into a doorway. Y/N hurried her steps, her cadence almost a jog as she tried to catch-

“Natasha?” She knew that hair, the back of her jacket, the set of her shoulders. 

Nat was standing in the door of the hospital room, propping it open with one arm, head turned over her shoulder to stare at Y/N with weary eyes. Her face was pale, scrubbed clean of makeup, the bright baby hairs around her face twisting in tight little curls. At the sight of Y/N, she quirked the corner of her mouth up in an attempt at a smile, but it only managed to make her look more strained and exhausted. 

“What are you doing here?” Y/N went on when she didn’t get an answer. Her eyes cut past Natasha to the dim fluorescence of the room behind her. “Is everything okay?” 

Nat stared for another moment, her lips pressed tight together, jaw working back and forth. The hand she held on the door was curled in a small, tight fist, the peaks of her pale knuckles standing out against the long sleeve of her hoodie. Then, still silent, she stepped aside, gesturing for her friend to enter. 

“Come in,” she said hoarsely. “We need to talk.” 

[monstersandmaw]

Male lizardfolk x female reader (nsfw) *Commission*

Edit which I’m including in all my works after plagiarism and theft has taken place: I do not give my consent for my works to be used, copied, published, or posted anywhere. They are copyrighted and belong to me.

A commission for @ivymemnoch, featuring a nerdy lizardfolk boy (colouring/design based on a European green lizard) and a tall reader. This is the first of my five commissions to be completed and posted on here, and since it’s a paid commission, it doesn’t get early release on Patreon. Enjoy!

8144 words, no warnings, only fluff, some geekery, and some nsfw at the end. I will add though that I discovered that snakes aren’t the only reptiles to have two penises... lizards do too.

---

After a draining, all-day session in the recording studio, the last thing you wanted was to step out of the soundproofed booth and hear the relentless thrumming of raindrops on the windows.

The producer called over to you, briefly drawing your attention away from the foul weather, and grinned. “That was great! You really nailed her character. I think we can press on with the next section on Monday.” The sphinx smiled at you and stretched slightly before adding, “You have a good weekend now. Rest that voice of yours!”

You smiled and turned to look out of the nearest window with a grimace sliding onto your face. “Ugh. What a day to leave my umbrella behind,” you muttered. “Anyway, see you.”

Lingering just a moment more in the doorway of the recording studio, you eyed the rain and then - resigned to smelling like a wet werewolf - made a dash for it. Three seconds after you’d left the building, it doubled in strength and began to thrash down. Up ahead, still illuminated despite the fact that it was after five o’clock, was a shop you’d often thought about going in, but had never made time to venture inside. With an indignant squawk as the universe nudged you not-so-gently towards the comic book store by dripping water down your collar, you hurtled across the empty street, splashing through rapidly-forming puddles, and shot inside, soaked.

Standing on the mat for a moment, you shivered and gazed around at the room beyond. The walls were lined with bookshelves containing relatively ordinary looking books, and in the centre of the room was a lower stand displaying comics. On the top of this shelf, however, was a small army of figurines from a plethora of games and movies, and as you spotted a favourite of yours, you grinned. This place was nerd nirvana.

At the back of the room, surrounded as if in a shrine by a small alcove dedicated to arts and crafts and prop-making supplies for tabletop games, was the counter and cash register. The figure sitting behind it had looked up as you burst into his slice of peaceful heaven and the movement of his colourful head drew your eye over to him. Tall, slim but clearly muscular, with lime green skin speckled with gold and a wash of vibrant blue across his throat and up his cheeks towards friendly, golden eyes, the lizardfolk looking at you in mild surprise was frankly gorgeous.

You blinked stupidly for a second and then blurted, “I promise not to drip on any of the books.”

He grinned, a wide, warm smile that showed a row of pointed white teeth. “Appreciate it,” he said. His amber, unblinking gaze shifted to the rain and he said, “Gods, it’s really throwing it down out there.”

“Yup. I didn’t make it more than a hundred yards from work before bolting for cover. Nice place to duck into though,” you added, eyeing the figurines and graphic novels around you.

“You work near here?” he asked, setting down the tiny model he’d been painting. His clawed fingers were surprisingly slender and delicate.

You nodded. “Currently, at least. I’m a voice actor. The recording studio is just round the corner.”

“Sweet!” he exclaimed. “You voiced any characters I might know?”

You shrugged. “Maybe? I mean, Eliana from Ice Dragon Chronicles is probably the one I’m most known for? Mostly it’s just small parts for all sorts of things though. She was a rare break…”

“No way!” he breathed, “That’s awesome! Oh wow…” and he practically giggled with delight. His blue throat flushed a darker, more vibrant colour too. “That’s so cool. I’m sorry - you probably just wanted to browse in peace, or even just stay out of the rain. I’m sorry.”

Laughing softly, you said, “You know what? I’ve always wanted to check this place out, but I don’t really know where I’d start… I’ve read a few Manga, but I’d like to try a graphic novel…”

He stood, revealing just how tall he was. You were pretty tall yourself, for a human, but he stood easily a head higher than you. He blinked slowly and grinned, twitching his head towards the shelves along the walls. “Here’s one I always recommend to get people started. I warn you though, it’s a slippery slope… If you like this one, you’ll be obsessed in no time. I’m Bik, by the way.”

“I think I can handle it,” you smiled and he chuckled, handing you a slim but beautifully designed book with a dragon on the front and a female knight on a chestnut charger.

The art style was gorgeous and the writing seemed pretty good quality too, and as you leafed through the first few pages, you found yourself drawn in to the story about the female knight and the dragon. Finally you glanced up at him and said, “I’m assuming you don’t want me to read it all here right now…”

“It’d be nice if you bought it,” he grinned playfully.

He’d just reached out to take it from you when the door opened and a hunch-shouldered werewolf pushed inside, having just shaken the worst of the weather off on the doorstep all over their companion. The person behind her was a tiny, slender, and extraordinarily pretty young woman with pastel lilac hair that for some reason looked natural rather than dyed. Despite her almost innocent, childlike looks, she seemed decidedly furious about the soggy insult from the werewolf. In turn behind them came a figure who would have blotted out the daylight in the doorway had there been any to speak of outside.

You’d never met a hobgoblin before, and you tried not to stare as he lumbered in after the other two who had come to an abrupt halt at the sight of Bik and you standing together with your new graphic novel between you. The grin on the werewolf’s face made you think of feeding time at the zoo, and Bik clearly noticed it because his lithe tail swished a few times behind him in annoyance.

“Shall I take that for you?” Bik asked, offering his elegant hand again for the book and leading you over to the till so that you could pay for it.

You smiled and nodded, aware that the small group behind you were muttering between themselves. Bik was obviously aware of it as well, and seemed irritated by it, though you weren’t sure why. As you fished out the right money from your wallet, he muttered, “My D&D group… We meet every Friday. I’m sorry about them.”

“They seem nice,” you smiled, trying to reassure him. “You know, I’ve never played.”

“Really?” he asked, his golden eyes flashing brightly for an instant.

You shook your head and took the book from him, sliding it into your bag to keep it dry. “One thing at a time, eh?” you grinned before he could invite you to join in and he laughed.

“Hope to see you back again,” he added sheepishly. “There are some others I can recommend to you, whether you like that one or not.”

You nodded. He seemed so cute with the way he tilted his head and blinked his big eyes every now and again. His colouring was also astonishingly pretty, looking like a mosaic of gold and green all along his back, with that vibrant zing of blue around his throat. “I’m sure I’ll see you soon,” you said as you turned to go, and you really meant it.

While you were walking down the row of books towards the door, grateful that the rain seemed to have lessened considerably, you heard the werewolf dig her friend in the ribs and mutter, “Talk about your type!”

“Shut up,” Bik hissed. “Or she won’t come back.”

Of course, you did find yourself returning to his shop, though not on a Friday evening. You were sure his friends were nice, but you weren’t really there to meet them; at least, not just yet.

Bik’s face lit up when you stepped inside and he hopped down off the counter where he’d been sitting like a naughty schoolboy, swinging his legs and reading a comic which sat in his lap. “You came back!” he chirruped as he set it aside and came over. He wore tight-fitting jeans with a big hole tailored in the back for the thick root of his tail, and a blue t-shirt with a faded print on.

“Did you think I wouldn’t?” you asked, aiming for playful but still coming across as a little shy, perhaps even coy. “You said you had more recommendations for me…”

“You liked it then?”

“Loved it! The twist at the end was amazing.”

His toothy grin made your stomach flip over and you glanced away as a blush rose up your cheeks.

You spent the next half an hour dissecting every detail about the first book he’d recommended, and from there, he chose three others that might suit.

Over the next few weeks, you returned to the shop regularly, and on one blustery August afternoon, you found him preparing some props for his next D&D session. Instead of talking books, you asked him about them, and he tilted his head in that adorable way he had, glancing over the half-finished figurines and what looked like a maquette of an old castle ruin or something.

“Did you make that too?” you asked, and he nodded.

“Yeah. It helps with the game, but honestly I just enjoy making stuff…”

“They’re beautiful! You could work in the props department at a film company or something.”

His blue throat became so vibrant in contrast with his lime green skin that it almost hurt to look at him, and he half turned away. “Oh, I don’t know about that. I get a lot of free time in the shop; fellow nerds aren’t too thick on the ground here, if you know what I mean. Hey, listen,” he added, scratching the back of his head with a clawed finger. “I’ve… uh… I’ve been wondering if maybe you’d like to come along to a session one day? You don’t have to take part or anything if you don’t want to, and we are, like, halfway through this campaign, but if you wanted to you could fill in for one of the NPCs or something… But… uh…” He trailed off, embarrassed and picked up one of the half-finished mimic chests on the counter top.

You watched as he turned it over in his delicate fingers and then chuckled. “You know what? I’d love to.”

At that, he dropped it and spun back around. “You’re serious?”

“Sure! Why not?” you asked, stooping to pick it up and handing it back to him. “Should I bring snacks?”

“Oh my god, could you get any more perfect!” he blurted and then laughed, staring down at the miniature mimic in his hands as if hoping that it might just eat him up on the spot. “Snacks would be amazing, but you don’t have to. Usually we take it in turns to bring something. It’s Oleander’s turn this Friday.”

“Oleander?”

“I don’t know if you remember her, but she’s the tiny one with the purple hair. She’s half fae and all sass. She bakes the most amazing sugar cookies though…”

“Got a sweet tooth then?” you asked and he nodded.

“Duly noted. Tell me about the others? Was the big one a hobgoblin?”

Bik nodded. “Yeah, that’s Jos. He’s kind of shy, but he’s great once you get to know him. He’s playing this tiny elven bard, and she’s -” he broke off, realising he was about to go off on a long and potentially quite boring waffle about their characters. Clearing his throat, he said instead, “Anyway, so yeah, that’s Jos. The werewolf is Emma. She’s… a bit brash and loud at times, but she means well.”

“How do you guys all know each other?” you asked, moving over to examine the figurines on the counter while he talked.

“From school, actually,” he laughed, setting the mimic back down. “It’s the typical - stereotypical I guess - thing of a bunch of rejects forming a bit of a ragtag band, and we’ve just been best mates ever since.”

With a fond smile, you firmly agreed to come to their next session.

You showed up with a bag of cookies, not wanting to seem tight but equally not wanting to try and one-up the resident baker in the group. You were also running a tad late after the recording session had run over, and the door was locked when you arrived at quarter past seven, and you had to bang on the glass repeatedly until Bik scuttled out to rescue you.

“I’m so sorry!” he said as he stepped to one side and let you in. “I thought I left it off the latch for you! I should also have given you my number. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine!” you laughed as he cringed. “But I wouldn’t say no to having your number…”

He went still and then smiled.

You followed him into a storage room at the back of the shop which had been decked out with flickering LED candles, and in the centre of the room was a round table set up for their game. They hadn’t really started yet, and Oleander was, to your surprise, sitting in Jos’ lap. He pecked her affectionately on the top of the head and picked her up, setting her back down on the ground. The werewolf, Emma, snuffed at the air and turned around, tail wagging from between the slats of her chair.

“Hey!” she grinned, leaping up and stepping over to hug you. “I’m sorry. I’m a hugger. You made it though! And…” and she sniffed ostentatiously, “And you brought goodies!”

“I couldn’t not bring goodies,” you chuckled, handing the modest bag of cookies to Bik.

“Tibikthio,” Emma said in a mock-formal tone to Bik, “You picked a good one.”

You turned slowly to the lizardfolk who had closed his eyes in semi-horror. “I hate it when you use my full name,” he groaned.

“Tibikthio…” you repeated. “I like it…”

You caught the tiniest flicker of something cross his face but it was gone a second later.

“Well he hates it!” Emma barked. “Come on, pull up a chair.” She adopted a silly accent, like some old crone, and added, “There’s plenty of room, m’dear!”

Smiling, you glanced at Bik, who still looked a bit embarrassed about the whole name thing, and then you settled in between him and Emma as the game began.

To start with, you stayed on the periphery, letting them tell their story and act it out. Some of them would have made good voice actors, though Oleander tried a bit too hard in places. But they were having an absolute blast. Bik was the dungeon master, weaving elements of improv and story-crafting seamlessly into one narrative, though there were some gaffes and hilarious moments when it all fell apart. By the end of the session, you had cried tears of laughter until your stomach hurt, and had had your heart in your mouth for the entirety of one fight in a long-lost temple.

It was past ten when they wrapped up, and Bik insisted that they just leave everything there for next time. “It’s late,” he said, “And who wants to tidy up now anyway…?” He was met with a chorus of nods and yawns.

Your stomach growled though as you stood and you felt a bit light-headed.

“You ok?” Bik asked, head tilting quizzically. “You look a bit squiffy… Didn’t make you queasy with all the guts and goop at the end of the fight, did I?”

Reassuring him, you told him you had just missed supper that night because of work, and he looked horrified. “There’s a place round the corner that’s open til midnight. You want to grab something?”

Your initial reaction was to refuse politely and say you’d rustle something up when you got home, but you happened to catch Oleander’s violet eyes as she looked from Bik to you with what could only have been described as a look of hope on her face, so you took a gamble and nodded. “Sure, I’d like that.”

Bik shut up the shop and bid his friends goodnight. Oleander winked at him but offered no comment before demanding that Jos carry her home, which he dutifully did. Bik caught you looking at them and smiled. “They’ve been together since they were sixteen. Real high school sweethearts.”

“They’re adorable,” you offered. “I mean, they’re kind of polar opposites, but… it’s nice.”

“There’s hope for those of us who tend to prefer other species…” Bik muttered playfully. “Come on, it’s not far.” As you walked along the empty street, he asked, “Did you have fun?”

“I did,” you replied honestly. “I had no idea it was so…” you waved your hand while you searched for exactly the right word.

“Nerdy?”

You snorted a laugh and corrected him. “Complicated… involved… complex…”

He shrugged casually and shivered. “It’s what you make of it, I guess. We’ve been plotting this particular campaign for months. It’s nice to be able to play it finally!” He shivered again and hugged his bare arms around himself, claws scratching slightly on his rough skin.

“Are you cold?”

He nodded. “I forgot my jacket. I’m not very good with the cold. It’s a lizardy thing.”

The evening wasn’t particularly chilly, but you supposed he was cold-blooded.

“You want my jacket?” you asked. “I think your shoulders are slim enough that it’d probably fit you.”

He shot you an odd look. “Isn't the guy supposed to be the one to offer that to the girl?”

“Only if you stick to stuffy old gender roles,” you grinned. “You want it or not?”

“Yes please,” he mumbled and took it off you with a grateful smile. He looked odd wearing it, but he burrowed into it for the remainder of the short walk to the late-night restaurant.

The two of you sat down and chatted, and you remarked on just how relaxed it felt.

“Yeah,” he said. “It’s… It’s nice. I’m glad you got rained on all those weeks ago…”

“Me too,” you laughed. He was a dork, but you liked that he felt genuine, and that his sense of humour was a bit off the wall.

The restaurant wasn’t fancy by any stretch of the imagination, but the food they served looked amazing. Run by a big Highland minotaur with a massive belly and a hearty laugh, it offered exactly the kind of meal you needed after not having had much all day, and the two of you took a seat in a quiet corner on some comfortable, diner-style benches.

The lizardfolk who took your order reminded you of a gecko, and had pinkish colouring and large, blue eyes. While you had always been drawn to lizardfolk, somehow no one seemed to compare to Bik lately.

While you waited for your food, Bik interrupted your musing and asked, “What made you get into voice acting? Maybe next time you can voice some of the other characters they meet…?”

“I think I’d like that,” you admitted. “Normally everyone just asks me to do impressions of famous people, you know, because I have an ear for accents and all that.”

He smiled and rested his chin in his hands, staring at you unblinkingly. It might have made anyone else seem a bit intense, but with him it just seemed endearing. As much as he loved to tell a story, he seemed just as happy to listen to one too.

“Honestly, I kind of fell into it. I did music and drama at college and was all set to go down the ‘traditional’ acting line, but I found I was more comfortable bringing characters to life with my voice than my entire body. It’s still really hard work though. Most people reckon that if you can do a few accents or a funny voice, that’s it, but it’s so much more than that.”

He nodded in agreement. “Oh absolutely! I mean, I think I gathered as much just from what we do in our little amateur group. We all sit round a table and we say our ‘lines’, and we all bring our characters to life as convincingly as we can. We’ve been doing it for years, but we’re still not very good!” Bik grinned at you, showing all his teeth, and you smiled back. A moment later he added, a bit dreamily, “I still can’t believe you voiced Eliana. She’s one of my favourite characters ever! I love that game. I wish she’d been a playable character…”

You laughed, honestly a bit bashful.

Before it could become awkward, your food arrived and the two of you chatted some more around mouthfuls of delicious, humble, homely food until you thought you were going to burst.

“Oh man,” you groaned, sitting back in your seat. “I won’t need to eat for a week!”

Bik smiled and said, “I actually probably won’t eat for a week.”

“Wow, that’s…”

“Economically beneficial?” he snickered. “True. I’d rather be like that than like Jos. He has to eat six meals a day just to fuel his body.” He leaned on the table and added in a conspiratorial stage whisper, “And you know what? Oleander eats just as much as he does.”

“No way!” you gasped. “But she’s tiny! How does she do it?”

“She’s half Fae,” he said. “There’s probably magic involved.”

“Lucky her,” you muttered. “Though on second thoughts, grubbing up six meals a day sounds like a lot of effort. But seriously though, I am so full.”

The minotaur who owned the place came out at that moment and said in a heavily accented rumble, “Ach, too bad! I was gonna offer you’s some dessert!” He waggled a pair of menus at you hopefully.

“We’ll just have to come back next week,” you said and the minotaur laughed heartily.

Bik seemed sleepy after the heavy meal, but he walked you back to your place and you exchanged an awkward hug on the threshold. You got the sense that it wasn’t just you who wished it had been more, but neither of you was ready to make that leap just yet.

That first Friday was the first of many trips to the shop to watch them play D&D together, and after only a few weeks, you began to join in more activelyn. And so you found yourself lending your vocal cords to street merchants and beggars, high nobles and sea captains as the unlikely group made their way across their fictional land. The tables had turned a bit, and now it was you who made them helpless with laughter, even mimicking Oleander’s very particular speech patterns when the group ran into a mimic.

“That’s amazing!” she said. “Are you sure you’re not Fae?”

“No,” you said, “I mean, I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure I’m very ordinary…”

“You’re not ordinary at all!” Bik blurted and everyone burst out laughing.

“We all know that Bik’s got the hots for you!” Emma grinned.

Oleander chimed in with, “Well, as much as a cold-blooder can have the ‘hots’ for anyone…”

“Oi,” Bik grunted. “I’m sitting right here you know!”

“Better speak up more often,” Oleander teased playfully, chucking him affectionately under the chin like he was a favourite hunting hound or something, “Or she won’t notice you…”

“I’m going to write you all into a jail cell next week,” the dungeon master grumped. “Then you’ll be sorry.”

After that session, he claimed he was tired and begged off going to supper with you. Of course you said it was fine, but you had grown used to your private suppers together and fought off the lump of disappointment that lodged itself unexpectedly in your throat. He waved and slouched off down the street, leaving the rest of you outside the dark and empty shop.

“I think you went a little far this time,” Jos commented in his deep, gravelly voice to the two girls and they sighed. “He’s always been very sensitive about… you know, ‘matters of the heart’…”

“Yeah. Poor thing,” Oleander said and she looked at you with her large purple eyes. “The more he likes someone, the more awkward he can get. I’m sorry we butchered it tonight for you though. I’ll make it up to you. Fae’s honour.” After a pause, she added, “You do like him, right?”

“Very much,” you admitted quietly. “He’s very gentle. It’s nice.”

“He used to play lacrosse back in high school,” Jos grinned. “He wasn’t gentle then! But he’s sweet when it comes to people he cares about. He looked out for me at school.”

You shot him a surprised look and he laughed. “I’m sorry,” you said quietly. “You just don’t look much like the type who needs anyone to look out for them…”

Oleander patted his colossal forearm and cooed, “Ol’ Jos here wouldn’t say boo to a housefly, would you darling?” He smiled affectionately at her and said nothing. “We’ve always been the outcasts and misfits I guess. Bik’s the most normal one of the lot of us, all things considered.”

Emma announced with a sudden curse that she was running late to meet her girlfriend, and loped off into the night on all fours with an accompanying farewell howl, her backpack bouncing around on her shoulders, and Oleander and Jos bid you goodnight and headed off towards the bus stop, leaving you to make your own way back. It was strange not to have Bik by your side that night, and it made you realise how close you’d become to him over the last few weeks.

Back home, you curled up on the sofa, not ready to start thinking about bed just yet, and had just got your phone out to drop him a text when your message tone chimed at you. The way your heart clenched with excitement at the sight of Bik’s name on the notification made you pause a moment and wonder just what this affection for him was turning into. Images of his bright green skin and golden eyes darted across your mind; the sound of his laugh, the way his tail coiled itself off the ground when he walked, the way his clawed hands held the little props he liked to make… You’d been telling the truth when you’d admitted to Oleander just how much you liked him.

‘Hey’, his text began. ‘Sorry I bailed like that. Did you get home ok?’

‘:) yeah,’ you replied. ‘And it’s fine. I get it, but they meant well. And I’m looking forward to the next session already!”

Jos was the one who finally insisted that you had to become a permanent member of their fictional gang. Casting a look at Bik as you all loitered in the main shop after the session, you saw the way he bit his thin lips and coiled his tail around one ankle. “Should I?” you asked.

You’d grown in confidence around them, glad to have been welcomed into their group, and he nodded mutely.

“That doesn’t seem very enthusiastic…” you shot with tongue-in-cheek humour dancing in your eyes.

“Obviously he’d love that,” Emma said. That day she wasn’t in her wolf form, and it was one of the few times you’d ever seen her as such. She had ash blonde hair with a harsh side-shave above her left ear while the rest was long, tied back in a ponytail. Her body was strong and muscular, and honestly she was utterly gorgeous.

You cocked an eyebrow at him and adopted the tone of one of the temple guardians you’d voiced for them earlier that evening. “Come now,” you said with mock sternness, “Speak the truth, young dragonling…”

Bik immediately caught on and followed the joke as he spoke in the voice of his dragonborn bard, quavering and simpering. “Please… oh Great One, don’t make me speak more on the subject… I’m only a worthless wyrm…”

You closed the short distance between the two of you and leaned in close. His jaw slackened slightly, his throat bobbing, and his beady, amber eye locked onto your face. “You are no such thing,” you smiled. Biko’s throat worked nervously. Drawing back, you added, “And I’d love to join the group. You’ll have to help me think of a character.”

Bik still looked like he’d suffered a minor heart attack, but Jos whooped and Oleander giggled. “Great!” they said as one.

You turned to Bik and said, “Maybe you and I can chat it over after dinner, if you’re still up for our usual post-session snack?”

“Definitely,” he croaked, voice sounding thick and slightly awestruck. He looked a bit stunned, but you decided it was in a good way.

He held the door open for you and you stepped close to him as you headed out into the late evening, pressing a hand flat against his chest as you passed, and murmured, “Thanks.”

He recovered quickly, though he did seem to be concentrating very hard on the task of locking up the shop, and as the two of you walked away from the others, he kept glancing down at you.

“What?” you finally asked with a giggle.

“Nothing.”

“It’s clearly something…” you pressed, turning and walking backwards so you could look at his face. “Regretting your decision to let me join the gang?”

“Not at all!” he replied, apparently horrified that your thoughts had gone there. “No… The opposite actually…”

“Oh,” you sighed.

He breathed your name and then stopped. You drew to a halt as well, watching him with a hammering heart. Starting to talk again seemed tricky, but he managed it. “I… Uh… I’m really glad you’re… you know… around… Ah, shit… I’m so bad at this…”

“I’m glad I’m around too,” you said, and you slid your hand into his. His skin was rough and cool, and your first thought was that you would very much like it against other parts of your body.

Bik tightened his grip on your fingers briefly and let out a breathy, nervous laugh. “I’ve never, uh… courted a human before… Is that even the right term for it?”

“You can call it what you like,” you said. “And you don’t have to do anything special or different. Just… keep hanging out with me. Maybe we could watch a movie or something some time?”

“Ok,” he said, swallowing thickly again. “Let’s go somewhere different for dinner?”

You turned your eyes from his to the restaurant sign just up ahead. “But we always go here,” you said. “And we’re almost there… Where else is going to be open at this time of night?”

“You could… come back to my place?” he asked. “I mean, it’s nothing special, but… I’m a tidy reptile, I promise! No hoards of strange things either. I’m not a dragon…”

You had to laugh at his oddball sense of humour that only got quirkier the more apprehensive he got. He also couldn’t stop his throat from fanning slightly too, the reptilian version of sweating nervously you supposed. “Alight. I’d like that.”

The upper storey of the old house where he lived was open plan, with beautiful bare rafters and sloping ceilings, and hardwood floors. His claws clacked adorably on them when he moved about. He also had the heating on stupendously warm, and you took your coat and jumper off immediately. “Sorry,” he said when he saw what you were doing.

You reassured him, and started to look about a little bit while he busied himself in the kitchen and poured you both a drink.

There were bookshelves on practically every available space, and as well as containing a collection of rare first editions and hard-to-come-by novels, they also sported photos, some in battered frames and others just propped up here and there. Most of them featured lizardfolk who looked a lot like him. “Family?” you asked and he came over to stand beside you.

“Yeah. We were a big clutch,” he said as he held the glass out for you. “Poor mum! There are twelve of us.”

He told you the names of each of his siblings, and what they were up to now, but you were really only half listening to the words. There was something magical about his voice, some unearthly quality it took on when he began to tell a story, regardless whether that was a story about his own life or a fantasy tale made up with his friends.

“What?” he asked softly.

“I… I like the sound of your voice,” you said honestly, and you reached your fingers tentatively up to touch the blue of his throat. He drew in a shaky breath, eyes closing as his reptilian head tilted upwards to allow you better access to him. “You’re very beautiful,” you whispered. “The colour of your skin is incredible… I like this bit too,”  you added, running a finger down his cheek where it blended from green speckled with gold to intense blue.

Bik brought his hands to your shoulders and looked down at you, blinking slowly. “Really?” he asked. “It’s not very… I mean… most males of my species have much deeper blue… I mean, just look at my brothers,” he added awkwardly, nodding at a picture behind you.

“I like your blue,” you chuckled without turning around.

Embarrassed, but obviously deeply flattered, he brushed his knuckle against your cheek and said, “Would you like that supper or do you have other things on your mind?”

With a grin, you said, “I suppose I could be distracted by food…” you admitted grudgingly as your stomach rumbled.

You watched him walk away to the kitchen area of the loft apartment, and sighed. This was turning into exactly what you’d hoped it might - a friendship blossoming into something deeper.

Wanting to test that theory, you crossed to join him and, while he still had his back to you, you slid your arms around his slender waist and hugged him. “You need a hand?” you asked, pressing your cheek against his back.

“I… I was going to suggest takeout,” he said bashfully, glancing back over his shoulder at you. “But if you want me to cook, I can?”

You shook your head. “It’s getting late,” you said, releasing him. “Another time. Let’s get takeout.”

While you waited for the food to arrive, you bickered playfully over movie choices, finally settling on some cheesy old film about a dragon who shared his heart with a selfish boy. It was actually pretty good, but it was still horrendously dated in places. It didn’t matter to you though. The food was really good, and the two of you snuggled up on the sofa to eat, with you leaning against his side.

“I couldn’t do this with many people,” you said, nudging him gently with your elbow.

“Do what?”

“Cosy up under someone’s arm. I’m usually too tall.”

He chuckled and swallowed. “Never dated an orc then, I take it.”

You shook your head. “Not dated all that much at all to be honest.”

“What? But your gorgeous,” he blurted and his skin flushed a much darker green. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“You didn’t,” you said and put your hand reassuringly on his thigh. He jumped and then slid his arm around your shoulders, setting his empty takeout box down on the coffee table beside the sofa.

He gazed at you, a more serious look in his eyes, and said, “You know, I couldn’t help noticing your choices of media…” You flicked him a frown and he went on. “Ok, the first graphic novel with the dragon was on me, but everything else has also had dragons or lizards in…”

“You detecting a preference here?” you sassed gently.

“Am I?”

With an ostentatious roll of your eyes, you said, “I mean, I’ve always thought your kind extremely beautiful, but my interest in you is to do with you. It’s not some empty kink. You know that, right?”

He nodded slowly. “Just checking.”

“And what about you?” you said, also setting your empty food box down and shifting your position so that you came to rest astride his lap, the film almost over, forgotten and playing in the background. “I have to admit that your dragonborn seems to like humans rather a lot… Have you got a thing for us warmbloods?”

His throat worked and he didn’t meet your eye for a moment. “I mean… yes…” he said, and his clawed hands found your wide hips. He ran a circle carefully over them and moaned, his own hips shifting a little beneath you. “But when you walked into my shop, all bedraggled and soaking wet, I’d honestly never seen anyone more beautiful in my whole life.”

You laughed and kissed his cheek. He turned his head slightly as you moved away and drew you back for a proper kiss. His claws raked gently through your hair, messing it up as he gripped you firmly but tenderly, and his tongue slid slowly out to taste you, savouring the kiss. It wasn’t a conventional kiss like those you were used to, but it worked perfectly well. You rolled your hips against him once again and he broke the contact, letting his head fall back against the sofa cushions. His tail coiled and uncoiled beside you on the sofa and you reached for it.

“Can I touch you here?” you asked and he nodded breathlessly.

He gasped as you stroked your fingertips along the slightly rough skin of his tail and he brought the tip of it up to caress the back of your hand.

“Kinky,” you grinned and he snickered.

Bik, somewhat slack-jawed and clearly aroused, brought his blunt muzzle to the curve where your neck met your collarbones, and inhaled the scent of you deeply. His tail coiled tightly around your wrist for a moment before unravelling and falling limply onto the sofa again. “I want you,” he rasped.

You let your hips grind into him again and he gasped and uttered a soft curse under his breath as he stared almost reverently up at you. You nodded, and his claws hooked the hem of your top and lifted it up carefully, revealing your bra and he made short work of the clasp. Taking the weight of each breast in his hands, he caressed you and then, with pupils blown wide and dark so that his irises were a mere halo of gold, he took your nipple delicately between his sharp teeth and very gently sucked, moaning softly as he repeated the gesture on the other one. His rasping tongue curled around them too as they hardened under his attentions and you gave a shaky exhale.

“So beautiful,” he whispered as he let go, leaving you throbbing and tingling. “Gods, you’re so beautiful.”

“Bik…” you groaned when he stopped touching you so that he could simply stare at your half-naked body in his lap.

He smiled and to your immense surprise, simply stood up, hooking his arms under your thighs as you gripped his waist instinctively with your legs. He was a lot stronger than he looked and you nearly yelped in surprise. “I’ve got you,” he said as he carried you towards his open bedroom door, nudging it shut behind him with his tail.

He laid you down on top of the duvet and undressed the rest of you slowly, savouring the sight of you as he gradually revealed your body. You looked up at him dazedly and saw the tent straining against his jeans. “Bik… Not fair,” you said. “You’re still dressed.”

More nervously now that the attention was on him, he took off his own t-shirt to reveal a pale, creamy green stomach and chest. He was still stippled with other hues of green and even a few freckles of black, but his front was mostly pale. His lean waist and narrow hips looked deliciously inviting and you sat up and ran your fingers around the inside of his waistband just to watch him shiver beneath your touch.

His hands hung quietly by his sides as you undid the button of his jeans and he stepped out of them carefully. His taloned feet were as delicate as his hands, and you marvelled at them too before letting your gaze sweep up his slim, strong calves to his thicker and more muscular thighs and to the tight, black boxer-briefs that hugged every single curve of his body.

Bik lay down beside you without taking them off and raked his claws up the length of your legs and, applying a little pressure to your hip, pushed you onto your back. With his tail, he tugged your right ankle close to his body and parted your legs enough for him to run the pad of his thumb in a slow, teasing circle around the soft, sensitive skin above your clit.

Your body lurched joyously at his touch and you sucked in a breath. You began to tingle all over, heat prickling beneath your skin as he woke your whole body up with reverent kisses and touches.

“Can I taste you?” he asked a while later after he’d reduced you to a writhing, whimpering mess, and you nodded.

After you moved further up the bed to give him more room, he reverently placed both palms on your hip bones and nosed gently at your sex. His tongue licked a long, slow stripe and you cried out and arched your back as he laved over your lips and just flicked your clit with the tip of his tongue.

“You taste so beautiful,” he said before returning his attention to your body. He circled and nudged at you, dipping his tongue deep inside you as well, always coming back to your clit until you were almost screaming with want.

“Bik, please… Please make me come,” you panted. “I’m so close…”

“Can humans only come once then?” he asked with over-accentuated ignorance, and you knew from the tone of his voice that he knew the answer to that already. You growled inarticulately at him and he pulled back. “I’d better stop then.”

“No!” you half sobbed. “Please…”

Smiling softly, he stared at you and moved his thumb back to your swollen clit. His claws were too sharp for him to work you inside, but the pattern he made on your skin with his tongue was enough to drive you right to the edge, and then as the white heat built inside you, you felt your orgasm rolling over you like a great ocean breaker and you cried out, grasping at the sheets. As you came, he pressed his tongue hard against you, savouring you as you came against him.

When you eventually slumped back against the pillows, breathing hard and almost dizzy with how good you felt, you half opened one eye to find that he had lain down on his back and was palming his erection through the fabric of his boxers.

“Bik?” you asked in a slightly slurred whisper. Your fingers moved to the waistband and he tensed slightly. “Bik?”

Licking his lips nervously, he nodded and you drew his boxers off. At the top of his legs was a mounded sheath which quite obviously contained not one but two cocks. Neither was necessarily all that large, but they were very beautiful, and fully erect.

“We’re not exactly built like humans,” he said bashfully as you stared openly at him. “I… I was worried that -” he cut off with a deep grunt as you trailed your fingers around the edges of his sheath. His twin cocks - both a bright vibrant green tipped with blue - writhed slightly, coiling around one another and glistening with the same clear fluid that slicked his sheath.

“You’re beautiful, remember?” you reminded him, shakily propping yourself upright on one elbow to get a better look at him. You repeated the gesture, running your fingers tips around his sensitive sheath, and he accepted your words as truth as you started to worship him with the same careful tenderness he’d just shown you.

As you lavished attention on him, he started to unravel.

Soon his spine bowed up off the bed and his hips squirmed as you worked his twin cocks in one hand. The tighter you gripped him, the more noise he made as they twisted together beneath your fingers, and you finally wrung a deep, guttural, low-frequency rumble out of him that reminded you more of an alligator than the more delicate lizards he resembled.

“Gods,” he rasped, “You make it feel like spring…” and you knew he was referring to the traditional lizardfolk mating season. You’d just lowered your mouth to the tip of one of his cocks and given it a tentative suck when he blurted, “Can I come inside you?”

You nodded, and he switched positions with you so that he was on top. The heat of his cocks was a delicious contrast to the constant coolness of the rest of him and you bucked upwards against him just to feel them pressing against your sensitive clit.

“Both?” he asked warily and you nodded again, shifting so that he could line himself up. He kissed down your neck and between your breasts again before he nudged the tips of his cocks to your entrance. As he slid into you, slowly stretching you full, you watched his face carefully. Again, he began to rumble softly and he almost couldn’t speak as he hissed, “So tight… so hot… gods, you’re so hot…”

With a final push of his hips, he slid all the way inside you and paused a moment, clearly fighting the instinct to come almost immediately. Recovered, breathing steadily, he began to slide in and out, his rhythm increasing in tempo as he lost himself in the sensations of your body. The way his cocks felt inside you, twisting together and shifting in a way that no toy could ever hope to replicate, was unlike anything you’d ever experienced and you knew you were going to come again in no time.

“I’m…” he grunted.

“Me too,” you said, grabbing his rough-skinned arms and pulling yourself even further onto his cocks. “Bik, I’m going to come again.”

“Fuck,” he croaked as you clenched tight around him with a cry.

You wrenched his orgasm from him with the force of your own and he arched his spine, hips driving him deep inside you as he released, and he yelled out, voice hoarse, the sound cracked and broken. His jaws parted to reveal his sharp teeth and you kept your grip on his arms as you came a second time.

He shuddered violently, grunting and breathing hard through flared nostrils, and then fell forwards, barely catching himself in time on his forearms. He was spent and exhausted and so beautiful. His blue colouring shone in the dim light of his bedroom and you trailed your fingers lazily along the bridge of his nose towards his lips.

“That was incredible,” he whispered when he’d got his breath back. “I didn’t hurt you did I?”

“No,” you smiled and he hugged you briefly, lapping a little lizardy kiss on your forehead before pushing himself up on shaking arms and sliding free of you. His cocks coiled briefly in the warm air and he rolled onto his back beside you. With your thighs still slick with his release, you tucked yourself up beside him and took your time in exploring his relaxed body. Where before he had been tense, almost nervous, worried that his non-human body would be too strange for you, now he seemed to have fallen peacefully into a haze of bliss, and he let your hands roam all over his torso and down to his hips while wearing a soft smile the whole time.

His cocks lay soft across his skin, occasionally twitching and drooling a little, but eventually they began to shift back into his sheath. He slid his hand down and adjusted them, and shot you a look. “You really do like lizardfolk, huh?”

With a wry grin, you shook your head and said, “I really do just like you.”

—

I really hope you folks enjoyed this one! Don’t forget to let me know if you did enjoy it by leaving a like and/or reblogging it!

For all early releases, character art and bios, upcoming story info, and much, much more, join me over on Patreon!

You’ll have access to stories before anyone else, and you’ll get instant access Patreon-only content as well, including polls and an exclusive monthly story for those on the Pixies and Goblins tier or higher!

__

| Masterlist | Patreon | Ko-fi | Writing Commissions |

[thewritingginger]

Fluff Alphabet - Asmodeus

Of course you can my dear Anon!

Enjoy ~

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

A ctivities - what do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them?

- Asmodeus loves shopping with you and getting you all dolled up, seeing you in all sorts of cute outfits makes him feel pleased 

- Getting your nails done together is another fun thing like to spend time doing with you.

B eauty - What do they admire about their s/o? What do they think is beautiful about them?

- Honestly what doesn't Asmodeus admire about you but he really favors your unpredictability and adventurousness 

- He thinks every part of you is gorgeous because not appreciating every inch of a god/goddess such as yourself would be a disgrace to him

C omfort - How would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.?

- To be honest not the best but also not the worst in dealing with you being upset or anxious. Just doesn't really know what to do for you.

- So he’ll give you a bath maybe a facemask, because he thinks that since spa days make him feel better maybe something like that can help you relax.

-Does ask what he can do, he just hopes it doesn't have to do with him having to leave your side or not talk to you for a long period of time 

D reams - How do they picture their future with their s/o?

- Asmo never really thought he would/ would ever want to get married to someone. Be with only one person forever? No. 

- BUT, then he met you and started to understand more of the appeal to marriage.

- Talking about marriage obviously the topic of kids came up as well. Was against the idea from, well ever. Asmo thought kids would really cut into things he enjoys so his whole life he never wanted any. “Y/n think about it, I hear countless stories about how kids have messed with peoples sleep and sex life with their partner. And I don't want that for either of us.” lol

- But just like the idea of marriage the other shoes dropped. About a year or two in Asmodeus started feeling something he could put his finger on when he would see families walk past him One day you notice him looking at family of 3 playing around as you were talking a walk past the park. You ask what's wrong and he just says, “I want that for us.” (Was that too grossly mushy? lol)

E qual - Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

- I think its pretty even between you two, maybe about 40/60

- Prefers to be a bit more on the dominant side a lot of days but also loves if any kinda dominant side comes out of you, take that as you will 😉

F ight - Would they be easy to forgive their s/o? How are they fighting?

- If he gets really pouty over something he’ll give you a cold shoulder/silent treatment, but it never lasts too long.

- You’ll give him space thinking thats what he needs to cool down and then like 2 hours later he’ll come to you asking, “Why are you ignoring me? I’m ignoring you and you’re just ok with that?” You usually have to come to him after a scuffle.

- But he’ll come to you if he thinks he really hurt you.  

G ratitude - How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?

- Asmo is always overwhelmingly dramatic about the kinda love you two share and how no-one else will ever understand what you both have, yadda yadda yadda lol

- I don't think Asmodeus really knows what you do for him on a deeper level 

- His brothers and others around him notice a subtle change in his demeanor, such as he doesn’t really flirt as much with others as he used to (still does but not like before he met you) You seem to be the one he really dumps the flirtatious charm on.

H onesty - Do they have secrets they hide form their s/o? Or do they share everything?

- Asmo is a pretty open book, well when it comes to what he wants to do with you and how you make him feel

- But really deep emotions, more “ugly” emotions are harder for him to surface 

I nspired - Did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helped them overcome personal problems?

- You kinda showed Asmo the enjoyment of having that one person that you can always come back to, and not needing a list of people in his back pocket to be fulfilled.

And

- Asmodeus helped show you or delve more into your sexuality, and you as a sexual being. Not in just a raunchy filthy way, but also your sensuality. Taking enjoyment/more enjoyment in taking care of yourself and knowing what it is you want, for you to feel fulfilled as well

- You helped show and taught each other about fulfillment, in both a relationship or on your own, how cute are you guys lol

J ealousy - Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?

- Says he doesn't get jealous, “Why would I get jealous? I mean you really think I would ever worry you’d leave me?” *laughs*

- But can be a bit jealous, more so in a territorial/protective way, doesn't try and start a fight with the other person/demon but makes it known that you are his lover and that the other person has no chance with you anyways. 

- Can be catty at times

- But deep deep down he does has a little thought of what if you did leave him, but it would take a lot for him to admit that (Refer back to letter H)

K iss - Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?

- He’s the avatar of lust this is kinda his thing 😂

- The first kiss shared between you wasn't planned, at least not on your part. Asmo kinda stole the first kiss between you, leaving you shocked and rosy cheeked and him with an innocent smile, but you both knew he was far from innocent in that moment.

L ove Confession - How would they confess to their s/o?

- Its hard to tell if his confession holds much strong truth. Considering love seems to slip out of his mouth quit easily.

- But when he really means it you’ll know.

- When he truly confessed he was a bit nervous which was odd for the normally confident demon. Instead of putting on a whole show about it, he decided the best would be to pull you aside just the two of you outside one night. Held your hands, you could be sworn you saw a blush across his cheeks but he always denies that you did. Once he confessed you kissed him deeply returning the sentiment with your touch.

M arriage - Do they want to get married? How do they propose? What would the marriage be like?

- Never planned to get married, always stating “I’m a bird who cant be caged.” or “I have so much love to give, it might be unfair to just give it to one person.” 

- But meeting you made him feel something, still doesn't know if he wants to get married but a life partner still warms him in a way that he cant deny the allure of marriage.

N icknames - What do they call their s/o?

Nicknames you give to him: Asmo, | Moey, | Mo, | As, | Honey, | Lover Boy, |

Nicknames he gives you: What doesn’t he call you? but his favs are, Baby-girl, | My Sweet, | My God/Goddess (when he’s being really dramatic), | Baby,|

O n Cloud Nine - What are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious for others? How do they express their feelings?

- With Asmo its hard to tell because with any lover (long or short term) he’s always over the top but with you something seemed to have shifted.

-  His eccentric behavior didn't stop but he seemed more serious about you

- Took awhile for his brothers to believe it because of past “loves” of his

P DA - Are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag with their s/o on front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching?

- Do I even need to answer this?

- Asmodeus will take up any opportunity to show off his lover

- No holds barred when it comes to PDA, if he wants to kiss you, he’ll kiss you. If he wants to caress your body, he’ll caress your body. 

- Who, What, When, & Where is irrelevant to him, his only Why is because he loves your very existence and he wants the world to know it too.

Q uirk - Some random ability they have thats beneficial in a relationship?

- Asmo as we all know is a charmer

- He seems to be able (a lot of the time not always) charm his way through things. Whether is was to make up for a mistake or possibly get into a club or restaurant with out a reservation. 

R omance - How romantic are they? What would they do to make their s/o happy? Cliché or rather creative?

- Asmo can get to that really hard core cheesy romantic mode

- Candles illuminating your bed room, a trail of rose petals leading and covering the bed, sultry music playing in the background. The whole shebang 

S upport - Are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? Do they believe in them?

- Asmo is like a cheerleader lol

- He will get excited/celebrate when you reach a mile stone or one step closer to your goal(s) 

- Might brag a bit about how hard working you are or about what your goal is to others.

T hrill - Do they need to try new things to spice out their relationship? Or do they prefer a certain routine?

- Asmo loves switching things up

- He lives to keep you on your toes

U nderstanding - How good do they know their partner? Are they empathetic?

- It can be kinda hard for Asmo at first, can be a bit selfish 

- You kinda have to help teach him how to be in an actual long-term fulfilling relationship (more than just sexually)

- But tries his best to be understanding of your thoughts and feeling, especially about the action and words he says and does that could affect you.

V alue - How important is the relationship to them? What is it thats worth in comparison to other things in their life?

- Next to his beauty rest & regimen you are the most important thing in his day to day life

- It may be a close battle between the two but Asmo would risk a night of beauty-sleep *gasp* if you needed him to, whether its because your having a hard time emotionally and you need some extra late nights snuggles or you need help with anything.

W ild Card - A random. Fluff Headcanon.

- Asmo loves to please you (I'm many ways 😏 not the time for that lol) by helping you relax, he doesn’t like seeing you tense because he feels so connected to you so when you don't feel good he doesn’t feel good. 

When Asmodeus sees that you’ve had a hard/tiring day at school/work or just having an off day, he likes to run you a nice bath. And not just a tub with some bubbles no no, he dresses that bath up to the nines. We’re talking bubble bath, bath salts, bath bombs, candles, & your favorite cold drink so you don't over heat while you relax and unwind from your day.

If you let him he would love to come in and wash your hair and possible more if you so please...😏

To then finish off the night with snuggles, whilst intertwined feel free to swat away any wondering hands if he gets a bit carried away during these sweet moments lol 

X OXO - Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?

- Is that even a question

- Touching time, is happy time for our boy Asmo lol

Y earning - How will they cope when they’re missing their partner?

- When Asmodeus misses you he will send you doting messages of him thinking about you and how he cant wait to see you later

- Selfies of him going about his day 

Z eal - Are they willing to go to great lengths for the relationship? If so, whaat kind of?

- Asmodeus loves you greatly, so he would want to do anything to please you (in more than one way 😉) and keep you happy.

- But make sure you are doing the same (If not a little more) cause if its not being given both ways he might pull away, cause who would want to be in a relationship thats only/feels only one way?!

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

Sorry this took so long to do 😅

But I hope you liked this and I did our lusty boy justice :3

💛 ~

[gimmethehobbit]

2020 Fanart Highlights

Thanks for tagging me @une-amie!! Love your art btw!

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your favourite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

Yay, nothing like a little artistic self-reflection! I’ll stick to linking to my comics and art (I have some rotten fic festering on the distant regions of the internet that we won’t mention here lol)

I think I drew more comics in 2020 than I did the previous two years? While my style has gotten less cute and I’m using almost no color, I actually don’t feel too bad about it. The art always served the punchline/gag anyway. If I got you to chuckle/smile with my comic then it’s mission accomplished for me. Also, around when quarantine started is when I got a drawing tablet and basically everything I’ve posted since then has been drawn digitally. I’ll go chronologically over my faves:

Pining Keith in 2020 [VLD | Klance] It seems like I optimistically start every year ranting that this will be the year of klance (now years after the actual show ended.) My favorite thing to do is cut corners so repeating panels and just changing expressions/dialogue is the absolute BEST and I encourage everyone to do it! No one will notice or care! :D This one was still pencil on paper, which I kind of miss because it carries a certain energy that digital misses.

RA Comix: ONE FEAR [Richard Armitage] Okay, this one has like NO notes but I died laughing making it. We could have had a really epic closing chapter to the whole RA/LP thing but I guess now we’ll never know? (is the con even being rescheduled??) Also any RA fan is free to reuse this for whatever RA’s current fear is lmao.

Michigan J. Frog! [Looney Tunes] I worked full-time during quarantine. But on a random day off I thought, you know what, I should really draw Michigan J. Frog on this tablet I’m still getting used to. I think he turned out alright. It’s still my aim to animate him once I have like a year off :P

RA turns 49 [Richard Armitage] This one is very special to me because I spent 5 minutes drawing it and then like an hour just playing around with cut and paste and warping his face. The real satisfaction here was making myself cackle. Also I love that his doll friend is the only thing worthy of being put in color. Did I mention how much I HATE coloring comics???? Which leads me to coloring art...

Leatherface’s Quarantine Advice [Horror | Texas Chainsaw Massacre] This was the first one of my horror/artober challenge. Drawing/coloring is hard! He came out okay, if a bit smudgy but I’m still perplexed over how I did that real cool-looking sky and background.   

You’ll Float Too! [Horror | It Movie | Pennywise] Stylistically I went for something that looked like a kid drew it and I think I really nailed it! 😆

ANNABEL/LE’S [Horror | Annabelle | RA’s friend lol] Probably the art piece I spent the most time on this year? Aka more than an hour. Had a lot of fun painting her, I was in the Zone. Really like how her creepy face plays with light and shadow. That blood tear is pretty spot-on 👌 Also nothing like the juxtaposition between Annabelle’s realistic creepiness and the cartoony Annabel 🤡

(audio scream warning!->)  Thrandy Scream [LOTR/Hobbit | Thranduil | Legolas] Including this one because it’s one of three animations I did last year along with Thorin’s McRib and Artie Fufkin. I was all set to do a bunch more and then I realized CSPaint has me stuck on a time limit of just a few seconds??? So that kind of sucks. But I like merging audio with crudely moving art. Definitely want to try more of it. Also amused myself by drawing Thrandy after a long hiatus.

That’s all folks! Lmk if there’s something you want to see more of this year :3 (I fell off the RA train because I don’t do audiobooks but I can always make shit up 🤪)

Tagging @heyholmesletsgo @oldfarmerbillswife @sillymarillion-comics @aninomori @atanes-universe @monkeyscomics @thejerseydevile  @evankart and any other artist/writer/creator who wants to do this!