#anyway. i just love that he puts his mask back on several times a day probably & still struggles with it SO much

[kitnita]

otter tries to get his mask back on — DAL vs BOS — 02.19.24

[running-with-kn1ves]

MASKED INTRUDER PT 3 I BEGGGGG, ugh, clingy inexperienced yandere + language barrier + overeager and aggressive + needy needy needy, He is perfect! Honestly i had a spiral and came straight here to read my comfort fics and i forgot how much i loved that one 🥺 leooooo

A/N: Still not sure what I should do about Leo's origins; I've had some thoughts but nothing really planned out. Anyway thank you lots anon!

Here's Pt. 1 and Pt. 2 Word count: 2400

TW: Possessiveness, jealousy, threats of murder, razor blades, average creepy dude living in your walls behavior

Synopsis: An unexpected guest comes over, causing chaos to ensue.

The sensation of soap under your fingernails and warm water running down your forearms was one of comfort that you openly welcomed. You couldn't remember the last time you took a bath, and you could hardly count this bathing of your 'roommate' as a bath of your own.

But with your shirt soaked and your forehead damp, you finally had what could be mildly considered a clean version of Leo.

He begrudgingly sat on the cool tile floor, allowing you to ruffle his hair with a bath towel (which was really a poor attempt to manage the mess of loose, lengthy curls on his scalp.) He needed a haircut for sure, but you couldn't muster up the courage to put the scissors to his head. 

Getting him out of the house to an haircut appointment would never happen. To say he was agoraphobic was a complete understatement-- he abhorred the outside world. You sometimes think about what would've happened If you hadn't taken pity on him, allowing him to continue to find refuge in your tiny home. Or, was it perhaps he was allowing you? Until, he found that you wouldn't suffice as a worthy roomate any longer, disposing of you like he could've done to whoever originally owned this home. The mystery surrounding his origin that he seemed to completely ignore answering on still made you… cautious.  

He still felt like an extension of the house; the smell of its creaky, rotting walls, still always clinging to him-- even now, after you scrubbed him down from head to toe twice. 

You grunted as you roughly tugged his head back and forth to rub the remaining water away. Unfortunately, that left you with a frizzy Leo with more hair spun out of control than you knew what to do with. 

He blindly searched for the towel behind him without turning his head, yanking it away when he felt it in his fingers. 

"Do it myself…" he mumbled croakily, like a rusted music box. 

"Alright." You said, slightly offended. You held your hands in front of you dramatically, watching Leo wrap himself with the towel.

He looked so frail like this, on the bathroom floor with his knees pulled up to his chest. His scrawny frame hardly gave him any weight either, even if he was above six foot. You wondered if he really could hurt you, if-- he ever had the urge, to stab you with the rusty razor blade you watched him grip after he came out of the walls once company left. 

How long would it be? Until he snapped,  until one argument was just too much, and you were no longer his favorite person in the world. Tonight was one of those nights, where you imagined yourself bleeding out on the floor, Leo standing above you with that blade, or perhaps a knife from the kitchen-- the one you noticed had gone missing a few days prior.

Your fear wasn't out of place despite how many times you tried to rationalize how stupid it was. 

Several hours earlier, before Leo was as clean as he was now, you had a guest over. 

It was an old university friend, a guy you met in your first year during some odd end prerequisite or math class-- You couldn't remember. But it didn't matter, at least not to Leo. 

The moment the "intruder" sat down, you heard Leo's presence shift behind him. You could see his black eyes peering in and out of the holes in the dining room, sounds of his sporadic shuffling echoing throughout the house. You cringed everytime your friend looked up and around himself in confusion, curious of the noise. 

"It's just rats," you cover, kicking the wall behind you with a force that should've knocked down the drywall. The sound of Leo letting out a thump of retaliation nearly made your smile crack.

 You had rescued your university pal several times over the course of that night, finding the dead bugs in his drink before he could've noticed, and shutting Leo back into his hiding spots anytime you saw his hand or leg peek through, when he occasionally got the courage to try and dispose of the 'threat.'

It wasn't until your guest had asked to use the bathroom however, that Leo managed to gain a win. Cursing and yelling from the locked door made you panic, the few minutes of silence in the living room having seemingly tricked you of peace. You should’ve known that silence never meant a good thing. 

Sprinting to the bathroom, you got there in time to find your old friend covered head to do in dust and dirt, the bathroom vent still emitting a cloud of grey. Dust fell from the vent, spraying with the blow of the air conditioning. 

"Stop!" You screamed, kicking the back of the bathroom wall multiple times in retaliation. The dust immediately lessened, flecks still falling into your hair. You grunted and cursed, seeing the disaster your bathroom had become and the filth your friend was left in. 

It was safe to say you escorted him quickly out thereafter, blaming the “malfunction” on your worse for wear vent ducts. His confused expression lingered as you walked him out the door. Your horrible cover ups had you questioning whether or not he was convinced but thankfully there seemed to be some sort of unspoken understanding-- maybe he knew you had to be going through something from how odd your behavior was all night-- or maybe it was just misplaced pity.

 Either way, you were relieved to watch him exit the door with a washcloth you knew you’d never get back, telling him to be safe on his way home with a wry smile. 

Shutting that door was the biggest relief ever. The last person you'd want to know about your odd roomate situation was one of the few people in the world who had preconceived standards of you. 

You had never worried about Leo when you had groups of friends over; he never dared to leave from his hiding spot when more than one foreign person entered the house. But this time, it had been a single unknown entity, and a male one at that. You felt the realization hit you directly in the gut as your back laid against that cool wooden door, the sounds of Leo leaving one of his more trickier, less clean hiding spots echoing in the house.

"Leo?" You called out, a slight inflection of annoyance in your voice. 

You watched him crawl out of the large vent in your hallway, the metal grate coming off as two dirty hands forced it to the floor. Leo shimmied his way out of the tiny crawlspace, clouds of dirt coming with him as his legs finally came free. 

Scrambling up, the male blew dust out of his mouth, wobbly getting to his feet. With a sly glare and a satisfied expression, Leo looked towards to you silently; smugly. 

Pinching his ear and dragging him to the bathtub had been your first approach at reprimanding him; but it had done nothing to deter him. Leos silentness and resentful, pouting face left you to scold a brick wall, his rigidness extending to his body's heavy limbs and sluggish pace. 

Even now while slowly rubbing the towel back and forth on his scalp, his face turned away defiantly. 

A quiet moment passed as you watched him scrub himself dry. 

"I just… I don't understand why you have to act this way." 

Leo stopped. His head had been hanging low, thin wrists resting on his knees as water droplets rolled down the ends of his hair. His hand-me-down stretched pajamas covered his chest and thighs. You never thought an old pair of basketball shorts and a faded grey shirt would look so good on him, but you couldn't help to linger on his fingers and the curve of his neck muscles. 

Without warning Leo stood up, pushing off the ground with one hand as he held the towel loosely in the other. 

"What're you doing?" You question.

He wouldn't face you; his mask prosthetic was left on the edge of the tub, and without it-- well, it was impossible to make eye contact with him.

Leo reached for the light witch next to the shut bathroom door, flipping it without a word.

As soon as you saw him pull the light switch the color drained from your face. 

You didn't speak, waiting in the dark to see what Leo's next move would be. Maybe he hid that Razor blade somewhere in his clothes, and was aiming it at you right this second. 

"If you're gonna--"

"Shh." A voice hushed. 

The warmth of flesh was pressed against your lips. It was a finger; hot breath fanned above you,  the finger on your lips turning to a hand that cupped your cheek. Your face was held so securely, being tipped upwards as he stood leering above you. The bathroom was quiet save for the dripping of the bath pipe, and Leo's heavy breathing. 

Leo reached for you, awkwardly climbing atop your lap. He stumbled at first, but the way he curled his arms around your back, you felt like you couldn't let him go.

His nose nestled into the crook of your neck, crumpling into you like an animal looking for warmth. 

"I don't share…Don't like it.." he mumbled.

"What?"

"Things, my things.." He started, the sounds of his labored breaths hitting your ear. "Don't like it when… strangers touch… my things."

"Wai--Leo!" 

You couldn't help but search for his eyes in the dark, doing a happy little wiggle with him in your arms.

"Your voice has improved so much!" You beamed. He hadn’t spoken since the incident, and before that-- well, it took a lot to get him where he was.

“See, I knew pushing you would pay off.” You beamed, gloating in the feeling of success after remembering all the painful vocabulary lessons and hours of his stubborn behavior when you refused to answer his nonverbal pleads. 

Leo’s quietness as you pinched his ear beneath his fluff of loose curls gave you time to snap back to reality-- remembering the words he just spoke. Leo basked in the praise, gripping onto your damp shirt as he ignored your change in expression. 

The obvious possessiveness made you nearly cringe; this is exactly what you were trying to avoid. 

“But Leo, I’m not just yours- I’m everybody’s. There are other people my time has to be shared with--”

You were cut off with the flick of an all too familiar razor blade, twirling in Leos fingers.

“Then….I’ll kill them.” 

“....Kill?”

Leo leaned up, bringing his face closer to yours than he’d ever done before.

“I… wanna kill. Him. Kill….all of them..” His eyes were wide in the dark, and you could see the faint outline of the scars running down his face. You stared hard into his eyes, witnessing the fear and paranoia in them. “They’ll take.. You away. He will.” His throat was getting raspier, more raw. 

“Leo, you know you can’t say things like that..” You softened. He sounded so small, you could hardly believe his words. But in the back of your mind, alarm bells and bright red warning signs were going off. 

You reached for his face, hoping to hold it in your hands, feel the warmth of his skin. But Leo stopped you, holding your wrists. He rejected you from touching his face, again; had things truly changed? Had you made any progress with him?

And like clockwork, Leo reached for his mask, by the bathtub, sitting comfortably on your lap as he faced you. 

He adjusted the prosthetic on his face, resting it snugly as the back clipped. 

“You really wanna stop me from kissing you that badly?” You joked. 

But then the mask was lifted, just slightly, as Leos lips came closer for yours. Now that you brought the idea up, he wouldn’t let it go. 

“Kiss..” He mumbled, trying to reach for your face.

“Ah ah,” You waved a finger at him. “Don’t think I’m going soft after what you just said.” Leo let you push your two fingers against his lips, puckering them. “We’ve talked about this; what did I say?”

“Killing is….it is,” 

“It’s wrong, Leo.” 

“Its.. wrong.” He whined, bringing your other hand to his chest. He didn’t want it to be wrong, he wanted you to let him run wild and do what he knew he needed to do--”

“Promise me, Leo.” You pulled your hand slightly away. “Promise me you won’t.. Hurt anyone. Okay?”

He went quiet, letting a small grunt out as you kept pulling away the longer he stayed quiet. 

“Say it.”

“Fine… okay.” He croaked. 

You went limp and let him hold you close to him, his face leaning close as he looked for your approval. 

“Kiss..?” He mumbled again, following where your head turned to catch your lips. 

“Only because you’re finally being good..” You let him grab your chin like a cat pawing at you, his other hand nestled into your hair. “But you really don’t deserve this, especially after toni--”

You were cut off with a hungry lick, Leo’s mouth twisting against yours as the mask bumped against your nose. He lifted it just a bit higher, concealing only half of his face as he leaned deeper into you. His mouth was as warm as usual, but you could feel his warn down jealousy still through the rush of his lips.You wondered if you should really be rewarding him now after all he tried to pull. 

 A guttural purr released from his throat when he broke free from your mouth with a huff, running his hand down your back. He tried to pull your hair out of your face with his free hand, leaning for another kiss. 

“Wait Leo,” You put a hand in front of your lips, the other out with your palm up. “Give it to me first.”

Leo let out a dramatic sigh. He sat for a moment, stubbornly waiting to see if you’d really push him or let it go. 

“Come on now,” You beckoned with your hand. 

Huffing with frustration, Leo took as slow as possible to pull the razor blade from his pants.

[melanated-writersblock]

🪮Beauty Supply Store Run w/ ATEEZ🪮

A/N: For my blacktiny that like to keep their ✨hair did✨, the idea crossed my mind a time or two and existed in my drafts as a title alone for months, so I thought I’d finally add some sort of body and post it🙂‍↕️. Not too terribly long, but I hope it’s still enjoyable nonetheless! As always, likes, comments, & reblogs are greatly appreciated!

⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹ Hongjoong ⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹

⟢ You two were out running errands all morning and this was your last stop before heading home.

⟢ Hongjoong figured he’d go in with you instead of just staying in the car.

⟢ You went straight to the back and got your go to burgundy braiding hair.

⟢ Hongjoong made it his business to buy hair coloring so his hair could match your braids when they’re done.

⟢ When you made it to the register, he got offended that you even pulled out your card to pay and stared you tf down until you put it back up🥴.

⟢ “Please don’t do that again while I’m here.”

⟢ Ofc he whipped out his card and paid!

⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹ Seonghwa ⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹

⟢ It got to a point where he was spending more money than you🤦🏾‍♀️.

⟢ You already had a plan of attack for what you were gonna buy, but once Hwa saw all the extra stuff the store had he kinda went off the rails.

⟢ Not even half way through the store yet and he was already toting a hand basket full of hair ties, those zigzag headbands that pull your hair back in a wave pattern, mini claw clips, skin moisturizer, eye cream, face masks, lip balm, etc.

⟢ You had to stop him from buying a children’s bonnet because it had animal crossing characters on it!

⟢ “Hwa please, you don’t need all of that!”, “But there’s stuff in here for you too! Look, you just ran out of lipgloss so I got this one and there’s shimmer in it.”

⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹ Yunho ⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹

⟢ You went in to specifically get more deep conditioner and Jamaican black caster oil with a couple of other stuff for your next wash days, and asked Yunho to keep you on track with your shopping.

⟢ You tried not to stare at stuff for too long bc Yunho likes to spoil you, and it wouldn’t make any sense if you’re trying to be good in the store but he goes and gets the stuff anyway😩.

⟢ He made a joke about buying you your own beauty supply store in passing, but knowing him it wasn’t a joke I fear…

⟢ The store had a sale on crochet locs and he saw the want in your eyes, so he snuck to the back to get 8 packs and paid for it while you wondered back in one of the aisles to get the spray bottle you forgot.

⟢ “I’ll be in the car when you’re done, Love.” Yunho called to you from the register before making a discreet run for the door so you couldn’t see his surprise.

⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹ Yeosang ⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹

⟢ He’s a yes man I fear…

⟢ You knew you wanted to do a protective style, BUT you hadn’t decided which style you wanted to do yet, so Yeosang proposed the idea of “letting the hair god decide”, which meant you’d think of a style while shopping…bless his heart🙂‍↔️.

⟢ He didn’t know there were levels to this shit so now y’all have been in the store for an hour looking through different types of hair.

⟢ “If I get these bundles I could do a sew-in,” “That would look so nice!” “Waaaaaiiittt, if I get another pack of double strand cuban twists I’d have enough back home to do faux locs, should I?” “Yes you should,” “I gotta do waist length box braids immediately.” “You have to, and they need to be waist length exactly!” “Or should it be a bob?” “Yes, get a bob!”.

⟢ He’s just happy to be gang forreal😭.

⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹ San ⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹

⟢ The first time San went to the supply store with you, he didn’t know what he was expecting but he was gagged.

⟢ He thought he was on top of the names of the hairstyles you would wear…

⟢ Imagine his shame when you admit you couldn’t bring yourself to tell him he was wrong several times.

⟢ You gave him a crash course on your most favorite styles right there while walking through the aisles.

⟢ San has Pinterest open and at the ready with every namedrop.

⟢ “So the goddess locs aren’t passion twists,” “Right.” “And passion twists aren’t bantu knots.” “Exactly!”

⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹ Mingi ⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹

⟢ Like a kid in a candy store.

⟢ Was vibing to the radio station, and kept pointing out the wall posters with different hair models on them, “You’d look so good with this style!”

⟢ Keeps holding up different packs of braiding hair colors to the side of your face, and you can’t help but laugh “Boy, what are you doing?” “I’m doing a color evaluation on you like in those youtube videos!”

⟢ The hair store turns him into a yapper, he even started chatting up the owner.

⟢ He kept going back and forth between the aisles and the front register, and had a full conversation happening with you and with the owner…AT THE SAME DAMN TIME.

⟢ But by the time you were ready to check out, someway…somehow…you ended up with a big ass discount😝!

⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹ Wooyoung ⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹

⟢ Wooyoung made it his business to accompany you to the hairstore the next time you went after you returned home with $264 worth of stuff last time.

⟢ Crazily enough, you were only in there then for a new rat-tail comb cause you broke the last one in the middle of parting your hair.

⟢ He pushed the cart while you walked the aisles, following your eyes and what they were landing on.

⟢ “Aht! Aht! Put it back.” Wooyoung scolds you, pointing at the empty spot below the wig wall. You groan before putting the honey balayage Latisha unit back on the hanging rack.

⟢ “But Latisha is always sold out when I come up here though,” “You’re here for a new hair dryer and Eco Styling Gel, and “Latisha” is not one of those two things.”

⟢ You stare at him annoyed as he blows you a kiss, “I’m leaving your ass home next time.”

⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹ Jongho ⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹

⟢ A PRO✨

⟢ Your Jongiebear is not new to this, he’s TRUE to this!!!

⟢ He came over to your place to spend the weekend a while back and saw you in action doing your own twists.

⟢ He was curious and wanted to know more, so you spent the evening telling him hair stories and the importance behind it and what it means for you, he’s been enlightened ever since.

⟢ He made a playlist on youtube full of tutorial videos for various hairstyles, so he can “help you with your hair” but it’s also to spend more time with you.

⟢ He has golden hands and you literally only trust him to help you install or take down your styles when you do them at home now.

⟢ He was installing your bubble braids with your leftover packs of hair, but half way through you ran out.

⟢ He initiated the trip himself, fully determined to finish the style in the span of 4 hours like the youtuber said it would be. And you walked in that store grinning from ear to ear.

⟢ He knew the brand, texture, color, and length, don’t play with him😮‍💨.

⟢ You were gonna pay but he was so in his zone, you had to let him have his moment. He paid for the packs, and the bubble braids came out 👑FLAWLESS👑!

⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹ Hope you liked it! Lemme know your thoughts🫶🏾 ⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹

⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹.Masterlist.⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹

[noctxj]

hanahaki disease “… in which the victim coughs up flower petals when they suffer from one-sided love. It ends when the beloved returns their feelings, or when the victim dies…”

part i / part ii / part iii / part iv

˚. ✦.˳·˖✶ ⋆.✧̣̇˚. ˚. ✦.˳·˖✶ ⋆.✧̣̇˚. ˚. ✦.˳·˖✶ ⋆.✧̣̇˚. ˚. ✦.˳·˖✶ ⋆.✧̣̇˚.

“have you considered trying to make your feelings known?”

all things considered, the bed agent was sitting upon was more comfortable than what the barracks’ had.

but not as cozy as kyles’ chest—

“i can’t,”

the doctor frowns, pausing his tapping on the tablet, his eyes looking up to search agents face; not staring at him, rather just across from them.

a blank canvas—in pain—but nonetheless a perfect mask of apathy—

“why not?”

“i just can’t, doctor.”

agent sighs, turning their sober gaze to the doctor. simply put, agent would not have been able to take their rejection— their disgust, their hatred, their bellows to leave and never come back, once they realised an outsider who did not even belong within the same scope as the taskforce would develop such frivolous feelings such as love. agent would never be able to witness them renouncing the contract laswell carefully pieced together, watch their backs turn on agent for the last time, visibly see the trust delicately built over the past several months to crumble away into nothing, as if it never existed, as if they never existed, as if they never touched agents life in a way no other had been able to.

the doctors eyes remained steadfast on agents, a silent urge to continue.

“… i know that… that i wouldn’t be able to bear their… rejection… but this, this procedure?”

diverting their gaze to their lap, swallowing back the familiar metallic taste on their tongue.

“this... this i know i can endure” 

i’ve been through worse—

the silent words allowing agent to meet the doctors eyes again.

you’ll see eventually doctor, all my scars: permanent reminders. reminders born from miscalculations, wrong decisions, torture—

⋆.✧̣̇˚.

the same scars the taskforce were mistakenly exposed to. an undercover mission with agent used as bait for their target within a gala. a mission that wondrously ended up with the back of agents’ strapless dress ripped all the way down to their tailbone— stupid man with his stupidly gaudy rings— a furious agent using one hand to clasp the front of their dress lest they flash the idiotic target, and a handgun in the other, pointed at said idiot dazedly sprawled on the floor with a bloody (broken) nose.

agents’ back to the door as the taskforce spilled through, following agents’ signal for backup, only for agent to hear them pause by the doorway, their breaths collectively inhaled at the same time— 

“who did this to you?”

simon’s gravelly voice asked— no, demanded. agent turned their head, handgun still pointing at the (idiot) target, confusion written on their face, brows furrowing as instead of responding, stomped over until he was looming over agent.

“ghost, now is not the time—“ the captain tried to reason as the air seemed to get tighter and tighter.

“who. did. this. to. you.” not a demand anymore, but an order. one of simon’s gloved hands sweeping over the raised discoloured scars running along agents back; a pattern of scars resonant of whip marks, some of cigarette burns and others as if skin was gouged over and over and never allowed to heal properly again. 

agent who blinked, once, twice, before slowly turning their head forward again, avoiding simon, john, kyle and johnny’s faces’. handgun slowly lowered till it was facing the ground, a hollowness seemingly eating at agent from the inside out—

“it doesn’t matter. i killed all of them anyway.”

⋆.✧̣̇˚.

agent could only imagine the bleeding cracks that were appearing on their carefully placed mask, the madness that had been chasing them their entire life finally being able to swallow them whole. another soulless killer… assassin… spy… murderer, feeding off of rotting corpses just to survive another day, another assignment. agent was able to taste happiness and love for the first time, an addiction they never could have prepared themselves for; never could have foreseen it leading to a solution providing more pain— more pain to just to remain in all of their lives for just a little longer.

“and what if you’re wrong?”

… what if? my entire life has been nothing but timing and precision; the notion of “what if” is equal to failure and death—

“what if they return your feelings?”

agent could feel a plume of flowers unfurling at the base of their throat.

“… i wouldn’t deserve them.”

could feel them slowly fluttering their way up their throat.

“doctor, i’m by no means a good person; have never pretended to be. i’m not someone worthy let alone deserving of love.”

but i’ll rip myself apart over and over just to be around you all for just a little more time—

⋆.✧̣̇˚.

“now, if you could count to ten out loud for me please”

“one…”

everything will be okay— 

“two...”

agent could feel a tangled swath of thorns and petals pushing themselves up their throat—

“it’s okay, just keep breathing. keep counting for me.”

“… three…”

once this is done, i can return to them. they don’t have to know, they’ll never have to know— 

“… four...“

agent could feel their mind slow down, their thoughts feeling nonsensical; the effort almost pointless as everything began to flicker in and out of focus, blurry at the edges.

“… f-five…”

in the distance, agent could hear a loud commotion coming from behind the closed doors. what was that? their eyes fluttering, noticing the nurse holding the mask sending a questioning look to the doctor, his attention turned towards the door.

agent could hear… yelling? they— more than one, had deep, masculine voices. 

why did they sound so familiar?

agent took a hold of the nurses’ wrist, their attention snapping back to them; communicating to ease the mask off their face as thunderous reverberations of heavy footsteps grew louder and louder, until there was a split second of silence— and then the doors to the surgery room swung open with a resounding crack as they slammed back against the walls. 

four large bodies barging through the seemingly small doorway, blurred masses of power—

it was them.

they—what?

how—?

agent could feel their eyes blink in surprise, the panic slowly filtering in through the fuzziness of their brain.

nononono—

theyshouldntbehere—!!

despite agents mind racing, the small amount of anaesthetic had already taken effect; only seeming to slacken their grip of nurses’ wrist, agents’ finer motor skills out of reach—

—including the effort of swallowing back the vicious thorns and bloodied flowers now erupting out of agents mouth in a painful choke; blood spraying against the mask and now the nurses’ hands as they are ripped away—by simon?? 

a skull mask with such dark eyes—so close— reaching out to grasp their shoulder to turn their body to the side, his familiar scent of dark whisky, and just simon invading agent’s senses as they follow the direction of his pull. another pair of warm gloved hands on their back and hip assisting in the turn—kyle? his calming earthy scent that reminded agent of the heat of the sun, wafting to their nose. with another familiar—and safe— scent seemingly punching through the mix of simon and kyles— johnny? an addictive smell of sweet cinnamon akin to one of his addictive bear hugs that he often followed up with a playful ruffle to the head, now instead gently cradling agents head forward.

agent couldn’t stop the onslaught of mixed emotions and painful hacking up of blood, flowers and thorny stems spilling out onto the cold floor. confusion, helplessness, fear— a concoction that only seemed to encourage another heaving of blood and flower petals. 

i-i-icant-thisistoomuch—

the beeping of the bp monitor now frantically blaring out in a staccato rhythm, agents’ panic mixed with their chocked hacking reflecting their suffocating agony.

ithurtstoomuch— 

the hand formerly gripping the nurses’ wrist left flailing in the air, until a heavy set of hands grasp it and hold it against a prickly—john? agent trying to focus their tear filled eyes onto the blurred figure kneeled before them. the captain whose rough and calloused yet gentle hands encompassing theirs against his mouth; puffs of his breath hot agents’ cold trembling fingers, his smoky scent swirling around agent in a dizzying trance. 

“it’s okay little love, were here.” john lowly murmurs against their fingers, the plush feeling of his lips and prickly beard sweeping across agents’ knuckles so lovingly.

as if it was following a command from their captain, agents’ tense body finally relaxed back onto the sheets (and their beloveds’ gentle embraces). feeling safe and secure for the first time in weeks since leaving the taskforce; the distant beeping of the monitor slowing down in its rhythm—

only for agents eyes to finally close in exhaustion, as the last of the crimson petals drop from between their bloodied lips. 

˚. ✦.˳·˖✶ ⋆.✧̣̇˚. ˚. ✦.˳·˖✶ ⋆.✧̣̇˚. ˚. ✦.˳·˖✶ ⋆.✧̣̇˚. ˚. ✦.˳·˖✶ ⋆.✧̣̇˚.

tric’s notes

i love how i keep saying to myself like yeah this’ll be the last part aND THEN IT ISNT (ಥ‿ಥ) peak clownery. the amount of dialogue keeps increasing (as is the word count) per chapter but uhh oh well. 

had a lil flashback midway there, i may write short? drabbles of little peeks as to how their relationship developed from the day agent met the taskforce = a potluck of more angst and pining!! yaayyyy !!!! but dw there will also be fluff and shenanigans to heh (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

part iv will defs be the last one of this series ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭* ̀ˋ

thanks for reading this far!! ♡︎♡︎

crossposted on ao3 (same username!) 

[lizzy019]

𝒞𝒾𝓃𝓃𝒶𝓂𝑜𝓃 𝑅𝑜𝓁𝓁?

Simon “Ghost” Riley x Plus-size Fem!Reader

cw -> insecurities, tough-love, oral (sixty nine), but a sweet ending :)

Word Count -> 1.4K

As a plus-size girlie, I genuinely wish I could get this, but no man likes a girl with stomach fat and it’s KILLING MEEE

This blasted mirror, you thought to yourself.

Hands scooping up your protruding apron belly with a sad expression, you look at yourself disapprovingly in the mirror as tears well up in your eyes.

Ugly, ugly, ugly! Your mind chanted in disregard of your mental health.

You didn’t care if people said, “Oh, but you have boobs!” or “Oh, but you have a full ass!” It wasn't about that anymore, you just wanted to feel pretty again. Like that young teenager who had no care for their looks, just getting good grades in school to finally have that dream job.

Now your job has you cooped up in your home all day, stress eating until you feel guilty and crying about it. It was pathetic.

You were pathetic.

Sniffles escaped you as you hid yourself in the baggiest clothing you had, frowning when you could still see the fat in your arms and the face fat that made you look old.

A knock at the apartment’s front door had you quickly wiping your tears in a hurry, trying to fix your breaths as you exited your room to go see who it was.

Opening the door to the apartment, you’re met with the familiar white skull mask and stocky body that you’d swooned over the first time you saw him.

“Simon!” You smiled, gently hugging him and allowing him inside. After months, he was safe and back home.

“Hey, luv. You gained weight?” He responded, dropping his duffel bag and eyeing you closely.

You winced at those words.

“Are you high or somethin’? Why’re your eyes all red and puffy?” He asked.

This had you freeze up, giving a nervous chuckle as you played with the hem of your sweatshirt.

“No no, I’m not high, I promise. Just tired.” You lied as smooth as you could, gesturing to the kitchen for him to go and get food.

Even if Ghost could tell you were lying from the way your body language was all closed off, he didn’t wanna dig and hurt you. So he just trudged to the kitchen for food and let you be.

The rest of your evening was spent in the bathroom, eyeing the laxatives you bought to thin yourself out with skepticism. While you wanted to take them, you didn’t know how they’d make your system react.

A waste of money, you thought to yourself.

But working out was a waste of time when bills had to be paid and the house needed cleaning, or family needed help, or groceries had to be done.

It was all too much, and you found yourself silently beginning to sob again.

Hands holding the disgusting fat at your abdomen, you curled up on the tiled floors and weeped. How could Simon deal with you? How could he want to be proud of you? Was he lying? Pitying you?

Ghost could hear the sounds from the living room, but he paid no mind to it. You never handled crying in front of others well anyway.

11:30 at night, Simon stripped bare in front of you as you hesitated strongly to take off your own clothing.

You felt bad for so many reasons, the two most severe ones being that you were scared he’d judge you and make cruel jokes about the pounds you’d gained, but also not taking your clothes off and making him upset or frustrated.

Ghost’s hands didn’t even let you choose, your shirt came off within a few seconds and so did your pants and panties.

Mortification crossed you instantly, and you wished you could run back into the bathroom, lock yourself away and rot. It’s the only thing you could do better than stuffing your face full of food.

Ghost got into position, and you felt awful when he got on top of you instead of you usually getting on top of him.

Flimsy cock at your mouth, you gently put it into your lips and began to work on what he’d pleaded for upon return. His own mouth attached itself to your core, but you weren’t wet. You couldn't focus on enjoying the pleasure when everything else was pulling you away from it.

Regardless, everything kept going, even your mortification which refused to leave. You were just too self-conscious, too fearful of his true reaction and anxiety creeping up because he hasn't said anything about it yet.

Once Ghost was good and hard, he moved once again into a missionary position and grabbed some lube and a condom, rolling the latex on first before lubing up your entrance. His tip pressed your core before a sharp thrust was executed.

Only a soft whimper exited you from it, and this really gave Ghost the sign that something was up.

“Luv, what the fuck is up with you t’day? You’re actin’ all reticent and timid for no goddamn reason. Or is there a reason that you’re just not informin’ me of?” He asked harshly, his expression not visible through the dark fabric covering his face.

His question made you think hard. Should you tell him? Would he laugh at you? Simon wasn't exactly an understanding person, and he never comforted anyone properly. With a shaky sigh, you shrugged.

“You said it yourself earlier, I gained weight. I tried not to, but I don’t have time anymore to be physically active asides small walks, it’s pissing me off and I understand if you think it’s not as attractive anymore-”

“Who the fuck told you that I said somethin’ as stupid and jacked up as that? Holy shit, is that all you were pissin’ yourself over? A few extra pounds?” He almost raised his voice, almost.

Reluctantly, you nodded your head and winced a bit.

He sighed heavily, his hands coming to pin down your wrists as he gently kissed your cheek. You were confused, what was happening here?

“Luv, you don’t gotta worry about my preference on your body. You’re you, you took me in and loved me in a way no one else chose to, I’m not in it for your body, I’m in it for you.”

This made your eyes water out joyful tears, this wasn’t something you heard on a regular basis, much less from someone who was way out of your league.

You gave a soft nod, and this made him fully begin to thrust into your core. That was what made you erupt in little moans, you just needed to be properly consoled.

Simon however, was going absolutely feral for the little jiggle in your tummy, the bouncing of your breasts, and the way your thighs happily squished against the mattress’ fabric.

“Yeah, that’s my good girl. Takin’ it so well, you like it? You like how my cock’s stretching this tight lil’ cunt open? Yeah, yeah you do.” He smiled softly under his mask, lightly degrading you with praise built in as he answered for you.

You were too blissed out to have even heard it.

A climax was nearing, and he moved himself into a mating press to violently assault your dripping cunt while pinning your soft body down against his.

“Simon! Gonna cum..!” You mewled out, hands clasping his shoulders before you finally spasmed and seized just to release all over his hard length.

This alone had him gasping for air, his thrusts heavy and desperate as he kissed all down your neck, sucking the skin to make hickies, before he couldn't continue it anymore.

“Fuck, I’m cumming, I’m cumming- shit!” He moaned out, ceasing all movements to fully release into the condom.

Huffs were the only thing you two heard for a good few moments, taking off his mask in totality to show his full submission to your trust.

Those pretty brown eyes and blonde lashes, lovely scarred cheeks and little amount of blonde stubble on his jaw and chin. Chapped lips and pinky nose. He was handsome, you felt like he could get any woman if he tried.

“Stupid British.” You teased, kissing his lips innocently before you two moved to get under the blankets to rest.

Ghost’s hands came to rub the pudge of your stomach, eyes soft as he looked at it with adoration.

“You’re like a cinnamon roll.” He murmured.

“Cinnamon roll?!” You exclaimed, laughing and kissing his cheek. “You goof.”

Ghost chuckled dryly, kissing your forehead before pulling the blanket to cover your shoulders to stay warm.

“Sleep well, cinnabon.”

[jakebakingbaconpancakes]

Even when Rapunzel figured everything out, Gothel is still using her usual manipulations.

"Why would you ask such a ridiculous question?"

Undermining Rapunzel and going in for a hug to show she still 'loves' her despite her stupid question.

But Rapunzel pushes her away, accusing her of everything. Gothel deflects, still playing the 'loving protective mother' role.

"Everything I did was to protect you."

But Rapunzel finally sees through her mask, and can't believe that Gothel's still trying to feed her the same bullshit she's given her for 18 years in order to control her. And she pushes her away again. She's done listening.

And it's here Gothel realizes she can't manipulate Rapunzel with her usual tactics anymore. But that doesn't mean she doesn't have another weapon up her sleeve.

"He won't be there for you."

So she brings up Eugene.

"What did you do to him?"

This time she doesn't bother denying that she's behind everything. But that's not the point. She brought up Eugene because she knows Rapunzel is going to ask about him. Then Gothel goes for the jugular.

"That criminal is to be hanged for his crimes."

She tells Rapunzel of Eugene's fate, and Gothel knows the news will devastate her. She thinks this is where she gets her control back. Eugene 'leaving' made Rapunzel run back to Gothel, and thinks his death will keep her in her grasp for good.

But even then that doesn't work either.

This is where Rapunzel completely breaks away from her. Only when Rapunzel denies Gothel her hair, her eternal youth, that Gothel finally puts down her mask. She doesn't need it anymore. She has another forceful way of controlling Rapunzel anyway.

("You say I'm the bad guy? So be it.")

(edit because i posted this in such a hurry and i still have more notes for this scene)

Just as Rapunzel sees the real Gothel, Gothel in turn finally sees the real Rapunzel. She's taken aback at her strength (i mean she knows Rapunzel pulls her entire weight up the tower several times a day but this is where she finally gets how strong she is as she tries to break free)

For years Gothel has a tight grip on her, now she is in Rapunzel's. The power dynamic has shifted, and Rapunzel uses this to tell Gothel straight to her face that she can't control her anymore. And Gothel sees this tiny girl finally stand up against her and sees what she's really capable of.

And bitch is terrified.

[bloodyinkandquill]

Venomshank x Reader helping to raise Sword

hehehehe, im doing a request for katz-ke ehehhehehe, you don’t know how i screamed at my friend over discord when you liked my art and then how i had to contain my crazed giggles while making myself dinner, anyways into the actual stuff

- You never thought you’d have a kid, you sure as hell didn’t wanna give up year gear and you weren’t so sure on adoption, but now raising a baby with a literal deity, it doesn’t seem so bad

- You had come to meet Venomshank very soon after he took in Sword, you got along well and when you met Sword for the first time you thought he was just the cutest thing, one thing led to another and now you his partner, living with him and helping in the care of his adoptive son

- Sword could be a handful, sometimes, making a mess with his food, being fussy about naps, but it was all worth it to help out the one you loved, every time you took over Sword’s care so he could get some rest he peppered your face with kisses before putting his mask back on, unfortunately due to Venomshank’s godly duties there were times that you had to take care of Sword for a few days by yourself, but whenever he returned he thanked you so profusely and kissed you till you were giggling, he took over taking care of his son letting you get some well needed rest

- He preferred to have his mask off so he could kiss you and little Sword easier but he was afraid of going feral when it was off, you did your best to reassure him but he was still uneasy about having it off for too long, you understood why he was so cautious, one time where it happens without his mask on and he runs the risk of loosing you and his son, so you never asked him to keep it off when he was worried

- As Sword grew older Venomshank definitely took over more of the care of him, preparing him to be his apprentice and mentee, though for the time he was just a small kid with too much energy and one tired mortal parent, you did have to explain a few mortal things to Venomshank, since he is the deity to spend the most time around demons he knows the most about them but there was still a few things you had to educate him on, especially in raising a child

- Even if Sword could be quite the handful sometimes, it was all worth it for the soft moments, your favorite memory of the three of you was Sword babbling on about stuff when he asked you to dance with him, you did the typical dancing with a small child thing where you softly grabbed his hands and rocked up and down, then Venomshank found you two and laughed at the interaction before asking you if you’d like to dance, even with no music you had a sweet and tender time dancing around holding each other close, Sword then bumped in saying he wanted to dance too so you all three held hands in a silly manor bouncing about, it was such a domestic and wholesome moment that you cherished heavily

- As Sword began his training you mainly just took care of his food and hygiene, making the both of them a nice meal to return to after they finished, Sword was still young but old enough to at least begin learning how to wield his blade he was named after, on rare occasion Sword would get injured, maybe a scrape or small cut but you being the more gentle and softer of the two Venomshank would let you handle it cooing quietly at the boy as you cleaned it up telling him he was so brave for it, Venomshank appreciated it greatly, since he didn’t have an amazing grasp on the severity of injuries he worried he’d over react and possibly scare Sword, something he absolutely never wanted to do

- Throughout everything Venomshank had remained as loving and sweet to you as the day you got together, you couldn’t help but feel yourself fall more in love with him as time went on, he was everything you could have asked for, sure Sword was not part of your original plan but you wouldn’t trade any of it for the world

hehehehe hope you enjoyed, again like i’ve stated a million times if anyone reading wants general venomshank x reader hcs let me know i will happily oblige, i love venomshankkkk

[storm-angel989]

Yo I love your work.. anyway can I request Val x Fem Reader when Reader is on their period and the rest is up to you (I’ll cry if you actually notice)

Hi Friend,

Thank you for sending in your request! I always notice and read a request- sometimes it just takes time for my brain to buzz.

Now I have written this before. The link is here:

Valentino x Reader (Period Pains)

That being said….

Here is another version! Think OTO reader and Val after they’re married. 

<3 Mandy

The bright red stains on my favorite pajama pants began the start of that cursed day. It was going to be one of those mornings that lasted all day. 

It didn’t help that I woke up alone, my husband off to do whatever it was he did in his studio. Vox and Velvette were working and me? I was by myself. Which, as I poured myself a cup of coffee and stirred in my creamer, I figured was better that way. 

I lifted the mug to my lips and took the first sip of what should have been a heavenly experience. Instead, I was met with the bitter taste of peppermint.  I spat it into the sink and went to set my mug down. Somehow I missed the counter and shards of ceramic splatted the floor. 

“Fuck!” I yelled across the empty flat. I grabbed a roll of paper towels and cleaned up the mess as quickly as I could, tossing the shards into the garbage. Housekeeping would be up later, but with how the day was already turning out, I didn’t want to risk stepping on a rouge shard. 

“Who the fuck puts peppermint into their coffee without mocha?” I growled aloud as I shoved the creamer back in the fridge. 

Of course, I knew the answer was Vox. As much as he pretended he only drank black coffee, those of us who lived with him knew his guilty pleasure. Random flavored coffee creamers that appeared in the fridge each time it was restocked. It was just my bad luck that I had grabbed the wrong one this morning. 

Shoving the thought of making another cup of coffee to the side, I jumped into the shower, willing the hot water to take away the cramps that slowly awakened with each movement of the day. Fuck, there were some days I hated being a girl. 

But, like all women, being on our period wasn’t an excuse to miss work. Going to see Velvette in her studio was always an option, but just the thought of being touched by another being made me annoyed. I gingerly dressed myself and pulled my hair up into a bun. Staring at my reflection in the mirror, I grumbled as I tried to hide the tiny whiteheads that appeared overnight with a strong dose of foundation. 

“Okay, I can do this,” I said to my reflection as I swallowed down several advil. “I got this.” 

Ten hours, eighteen phone calls and one ruined pair of underpants later, I stormed back upstairs to our apartment. 

“Babygirl, you’re home late,” Valentino’s voice rang out.

“I know, fuck,” I snapped without thought. The cramps, masked by the Advil I had taken this morning, left me both nauseous and crabby.  Every part of my body ached, and I could feel a headache starting to brew. I slammed the door behind me as I stripped off my outfit for the day. 

The bright red bloodstain on the back of my dress. I stared at it and without really knowing why, I burst into tears in the middle of my room. 

“Bebita?” Valentino’s voice came quietly from behind me. 

I felt him tug the dress from my hand and he wrapped his arms around me. I didn’t have to say a thing and instead laid my head on his chest as I sobbed. 

“Nothing a little stain remover can’t take out,” he said soothingly. “It’s alright. Why don’t you get in the shower? I’ll get your pjs and…”

“My two favorite ones are wrecked,” I choked out softly. “I bled all over the ones this morning, and my backups have a hole in them and…”

He pressed a finger to my lip and kissed my forehead. “Just let me figure it out while you go shower, okay?” 

There was something about he way he said it that left me with a feeling of comfort. I disappeared into the shower and by the time I came out, he was leaning against the bathroom sink, waiting. He handed me a towel and watched as I wrapped it around myself. 

“I have a heating pad and a cup of tea ready for you in bed. Toast, if you’re hungry. Advil if you want it. And if you’re in the mood to cuddle, I’m here. If not, I can stay with you or give you space. Remote is yours either way.” He pointed to a pile of clothes. “Period underpants. Vel sent them up. And…wear my pjs tonight. They’ll be looser than anything you own.” 

“Thanks, Val,” I said softly. “I’m sorry I was such a bitch when I came in.”

He cracked a smile. “Mi amore, I don’t think you know the true meaning of that word. Come on out when you’re ready.” 

I watched the door close behind me and got dressed in the outfit he left for me. I settled into bed next to him and sipped the warm tea. 

“I love you Val,” I said after a few moments. 

“I love you too, bebita. Even when you’re cranky,” he replied lightly. “And I always will.”

[yuna542]

Connected (OT8 x reader)

Part 7<-

Part 8

Pairing: Chan x reader

Genre: Smut, Fluff, Angst

Warnings: 18+, Smut, under 18 DNI!, Suggestive Themes, Swearing, unprotected sex (just don‘t), daddy kink, praising, pet names

Word Count: 3.8k

(Had to reupload this part, cause Tumblr wouldn’t let me edit it)

Note: Here you go, you thirsty little creatures! God I love my readers xD hope you like my twisted little fantasies. I love reading all your comments and requests. Also suddenly I‘m married to several people because of this story. So thank you… I guess ~much love!

On your first day of your new job as the personal manager of Stray Kids, you didn't expect to be standing in front of the man you made out with last night in a club. But it soon becomes clear that the Stray Kids don't just want you as their manager.

Will this passionate arrangement end your career?

"Did you see that, hyung? That asshole just wanted to get into her pants!", Seungmin snapped as Mr. Jang left the room.

You were still packing up your things and waiting for someone to pick you up to be taken outside. As soon as you had been alone, Seungmin had jumped up and his suppressed anger had just poured out of his eyes.

"It's okay, guys. He will fund your project and that's the most important thing", you dismissed it and shoved your Ipad into your bag. You were just tired and disgusted. But you had reached your goal and that's what you were here for.

Briefly, you looked at the card in your hand, which had the rich man's number on it. But before you could put it into your bag, Chan snatched it out of your hand.

"No way! We'll get the money anyway. You won't sell yourself for it!", he said, and now the friendly mask fell. You only now noticed how angry he really was.

His hand was clenched into a fist and his jawline twitched tensely as he had to restrain himself from smashing any of the ugly decorations in the room into a thousand pieces. Chan was incredibly intimidating when he was angry, you just realised.

"Maybe he really just wants to drink coffee and talk about business", you tried to calm him down, but Chan shook his head and his eyes shot lightning bolts. That protective side to them both made your heart flutter.

"Didn't you see him staring at your tits the whole time? He wants you naked in his bed, nothing else", Chan spat out and you couldn't help but stare at him. His muscles tensed dangerously under his shirt as he tore up the card and threw it emphatically into the trash can right next to the desk. He was incredibly sexy when he was angry, and that realisation was a bit strange.

Seungmin also ran a tense hand through his hair and growled: "That fucker... I would have loved to punch that asshole in the face when he stared at you so greedily."

"Let's just get out of here", you said, now that you were getting heated by their protective presence. The way the guys cared about you was way too attractive and you automatically imagined Seungmin choking your neck with his bare hands instead of the back of the chair and immediately your knees went weak.

On the way back, Seungmin's hand was on your thigh again, only this time not gently and lovingly. His grip was harsh and he grabbed your inner thigh so tightly throughout the ride that it made you dizzy.

Only when you got out of the Uber you could breathe a sigh of relief. His fingers had left red marks on your leg. as well as a burning sensation in your lower abdomen.

Just as you walked through the entrance of the JYP building, you got a call from one of the company's executives.

Nervously, you answered the phone and indicated to the guys with a wave to go ahead without you.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Y/L/N. We already heard that the conversation with Mr. Jang went very well."

The older woman's voice was unfamiliar to you, but you knew exactly who she was. Mrs. Chung was a very big deal at JYP and mainly handled the hiring and matters of the staff, as well as all social media matters.

„Yes. He even plans to fund more projects as well", you said, stopping in front of the elevator so you could speak in peace.

"That sounds like a big success. Very good! But I'm actually calling about something else. Could you come to my office on floor three?"

Your heart slipped into your pants and you nodded until you remembered that she couldn't see you.

„I'm already in the building. I'm on my way", you said and by then she had hung up.

You went up to the third floor, your heart pounding, unable to imagine what she wanted to discuss with you.

In front of the office you took a deep breath and knocked. Immediately you were called in and the woman, who reminded you strongly of a librarian with her kind eyes and pinned up hair, smiled delightedly.

So it couldn't be anything too bad, could it?

After a brief greeting, she offered you to sit down. She closed the laptop that was in front of her and folded her arms on the table. Then she pushed her black glasses on her head and said:

"Have you settled in well with us yet?"

"Yes. I really like it a lot."

"That's nice. I hear you're a great asset to Stray Kids. There haven't been any problems since you've been here."

„I try my best!", you assured her, almost bursting with curiosity by now.

"Were there many problems before?", you asked curiously and she chuckled slightly.

You know the boys by now. So far no one has been able to tame them...“

She sighed like an overworked mother and shook her head.

"I saw that you're a talented dancer and have done a stream about that with Hyunjin“, she began then and you restlessly kneaded your hands in your lap.

"I'm very sorry if I wasn't allowed to do that... We thought the fans would like it."

Quickly, Mrs. Chung waved a hand in the air as if to scare away the misunderstanding like an insect.

"Oh it did! We had four times the number of viewers and got many new followers in addition just because of the stream. Also the little private moments in the videos and vlogs that go viral between you and the guys inspires speculation. That polarizes and brings attention. It's beneficial for JYP and Stray Kids as long as it doesn't get too much."

The last sentence was accompanied by a warning look and you pressed your lips together.

"Understood."

Of course, they were going to use the attention you brought them. Obviously, it was your luck that the fans reacted so positively to you and shipped you with the guys rather than hating you.

"But that's not the point at all. Bang Chan approached us with a request and we decided to give you a platform."

"What?"

Completely irritated, you clawed at the tabletop.

"You are allowed to upload streams or dance covers as part of JYP and Stray Kids, if you want to. It's really important to us to promote talent."

She pulled out a sheet of paper and placed it in front of you with a pen. It had your name written on it, and it was actually an employment contract. You could hardly believe your luck. This had always been your dream.

What had Chan done now? How did he know that you always wanted to share your talent with the world? This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"If you sign the contract, we'll cover all the costs for future projects."

"Projects?"

You were starting to feel stupid for all the questions, but it was too surreal to believe.

"The fans want to see more of you. So we're giving it to them. JYP gets 30 percent of the revenue, and in exchange you get to publish through the official channel, as well as your own JYP Instagram account that we give you. What you do with that is up to you. However, it must not affect your work as the manager of Stray Kids.“

Now you were speechless.

"Are we agreed?", she asked with an amused smile.

"Yes, thank you very much. I don't even know what to say", you said, unable to suppress the wide smile.

"Don't thank us. Bang Chan brought it up to us and pointed out what an advantage you would be to JYP entertainment if you were allowed to show your face. And of course your skills."

This man always managed to surprise you. Without further ado, you signed the contract and clarified a few more questions. You would receive access to your account in the next few days and if you wanted to release a dance cover, you simply had to send the video to Mrs. Chung and she would publish it on the official JYP Entertainment YouTube channel.

Completely flabbergasted, you walked out of the room and without another thought, your legs carried you to Chans studio. Your heart almost burst with joy and you pushed the door open without knocking.

You couldn't wait, you had to see him and thank him. Actually, you had no idea what you were about to do. Your mind went blank and you just wanted to see his face.

Alarmed, he jumped up from his chair. He was working on a beat again and looked at you in amazement when you just came rushing into the room.

"Y/N? Are you all right?", he asked, unable to get another word out as you had already thrown yourself at him. He stumbled back a few steps as he caught you, but then held you tightly as you pressed your lips wildly to his.

The kiss was messy and you pulled his body closer to yours. Immediately his hands were on your hips and even though you completely surprised him, he kissed you back with the same intensity.

Your hands wandered into his hair, running through his curls and tugging lightly on them. His cinnamon-y smell mixed with his spicy cologne completely filled your perception and you immediately wanted more.

When you broke away from him, he looked at you like a deer in headlights.

"What was that for?", he asked with a puzzled look on his face, not letting go of you.

You clasped your hands in his neck and he warmed as you looked at him through your thick lashes with those sparkling eyes.

"I just went to Mrs Chung.... Why are you always so damn nice to me?", you asked desperately, pressing your body against his.

You could feel his strong torso against your chest and wanted to explore each of his muscles with your fingers.

He enjoyed your body heat and casually let his fingers brush over the thin fabric of your dress.

"Because you deserve it."

"Channie this has always been my dream. To dance and show it to the world.... How did you know?"

An embarrassed laugh escaped him, and his dimples charmed you all over again.

"Hyunjin told me how good you are at dancing, Felix and Jeongin came up with the idea. I just made it happen."

You realized once again how lucky you were to have gotten this job. To meet the boys who made your life so much better.

He dreamily examined your body and enjoyed how you trembled under his touch.

All day long he had wanted to tear your dress off and when the rich asshole had stared at you so lustfully, he would have loved to fuck you on his desk in front of his eyes so that the guy would understand who owned you and what he would never get.

These extreme thoughts had surprised him himself, but when you were around, he just couldn't help himself.

"I want to show you how grateful I am", you suddenly said then, pulling him closer by his belt.

Chan watched your expression as you seductively bit your lower lip and undid his belt buckle. It was too much for him.

Your dress hugged your breasts perfectly and your pretty face, with intense eyes gave him the rest. Before he could stop you, you pressed your lips on his again, sliding your tongue into his mouth and he jumped at it like a needy puppy.

Your fingers undid the buttons of his shirt so quickly that he exhaled loudly as your cool fingers suddenly stroked his bare abs.

He hadn't expected you to be so boisterous and dominant, and it only fueled his lust for you even more.

While you slowly slide to your knees, you spread kisses all over his firm abs and his skin tasted addicting. It tasted deliciously sweet and savory at the same time.

Immediately he threw his head back and enjoyed every touch of your full lips on his skin. When he managed to look at you again, something exploded in his head.

You on your knees, in that tight dress, looking at him through your thick lashes with that greedy look on your pretty face, made his length in his pants become painfully hard and by now he couldn't stand the friction against the fabric of his pants.

"Really? Here? With me?", escaped him and you smiled such a beautiful smile that he had to control himself not to bend you over his table immediately.

"As the leader, you have the right to claim me first."

'I'm the first of us?", he asked with a calm rasp, in his voice. You nodded and stuck your fingers in his waistband.

"The first to fuck me. I want you to be."

"God…“

That sentence with your soft voice was enough to make his impatience win.

"Shit, babe I can't wait", he hissed as you pulled down his pants.

He grabbed you by the sides to drag you back up to him. Even though he would have loved to feel your lips around his hard cock, by now he was sure he wouldn't last that long.

He lifted you onto the edge of the table with ease. He pushed your legs apart and pulled you closer again by your face before kissing you.

The kiss was more sensual and deeper than anything you had experienced before and you melted in his firm grip.

He slid your dress over your hips and then took it off completely. Briefly, he took a few seconds to just look at you.

"Fuck... You're so fucking beautiful."

His voice deepened with each word and the excitement in his eyes gave you goosebumps.

Immediately he kissed your neck, sucked on it and cupped your breasts with his big hands until you whimpered with desire.

He looked up at you and put a hand on the clasp of your bra.

"May I?"

You nodded, your head already spinning and he was still the respectful gentleman. With a tight smile from him, your bra landed somewhere in the room and he took one of your nipples into his mouth.

He kneaded your other breast until you couldn't take it anymore and rubbed your soaked core against the bulge in his boxers.

He let his fingers brush over the wet spot in your panties and expelled his hot breath against your skin.

"You're going to keep that pretty mouth shut. Understood? Otherwise we will be caught."

He pulled back, looking at you nod furiously.

You were still at the company and if you would get caught, you would probably loose your job and Chan would be in big trouble.

Unfortunately that risk made it even more exiting.

He turned you around, pushed carelessly his holy laptop and the recording equipment away and bent you over his desk in one swift motion. Slowly he circled your clothed clit with his thumb, what made you whimper underneath him.

"Fuck you're so soaked...“

He grabbed the flesh of your asscheek with one hand and pushed his thumb even harder onto your clit.

Immediately you moaned and arched your back.

"What did I say?", he questioned, covering your mouth with one hand and bluntly pulled your panties to the side pumping his finger into you making you gasp against his hand. Electric shocks pierced your body with each reentry of his finger.

"Already this loud with just a finger? How am I going to fuck you?", he groaned into your ear.

His raspy voice sent chills down your spine, you've never seen this side of him before. So dark and dominant. It made you even more aroused.

"Channie, please...", you whimpered with your fingernails digging into his desk.

"Do you want me to fuck you, babygirl? Say it!"

His demanding tone made you squirm and you pushed your throbbing core at him.

"Yes, please. Fuck me, Channie!"

"Good girl", he smiled, as he ripped down your panties to the ground.

He lined himself up behind you to enter you. Teasingly he slid his tip along your folds and you rubbed yourself against him. With one hand he pushed you down to the table and the other hand grabbed your hips, as he moaned, pushing himself in:

"Fuck you're tight."

You gasped, as he stretched you out and clenched your teeth, as he didn't slow down while pushing his length into you.

Because at this point there is no doubt about it. Chan doesn't just have Big Dick Energy. Oh he is big.

So big that you almost fainted. And he knew exactly how you would feel it all.

After he managed to bury himself entirely into your pussy, he began to shove himself into you. After a few thrusts, that made you feel like he would rip you apart, the sensation was feeling more pleasure than pain, although he slid every time deeper inside you.

He soon speeded up his pace, hitting all your sweet spots making you pornographically moan.

The room was filled with the sounds of your whimpers, his growls, and the slapping of skin, as he pushed your hip with each thrust rougher against him and fucked you hard against his desk.

You could see your reflection in the dark screen of his computer and almost blushed because of the fucked out expression on your face.

He carried on fucking you senseless from behind and didn't stop a second. You moaned his name several times, which made him slam even harder into your wet core.

You whined, as your body began to tense around him.

"Are you going to cum?", he asked grabbing your arms and pushing them behind you to hold your wrists with just one hand fiercely pressed against your back.

"Not yet!", he ordered, as he managed to fuck even deeper inside you. Without your hands you were completely at his mercy and your eyes rolled to the back of your head, as you tried to stop yourself from coming.

"Channie, please... I can't... You're so big...“

Slowly tears were welling up in your eyes and oh he loved your desperate begging.

"Please. Daddy."

The words escaped you with a sob unaware and released by Chans dominant behaviour.

"Holy fuck...", he let out and you obviously found a secret trigger that made him go feral. Grabbing your hands tighter he slammed into you and pushed you up the table. He watched your boobs bounce with every move.

"You want to cum for daddy, babygirl?", he growled at you.

"Yes", you cried.

"Daddy, please! Let me come!"

Just as you thought, that was enough to push him over the edge.

"Fuck, I'm gonna cum."

His thrusts became sloppier, dick twitching inside you.

"Come with me, baby!", he let out before he spilled himself inside you. And you did. Your orgasm washed over you like a tsunami and left you with trembling legs and faltering breath.

As you both came down from your high, he pulled himself out of you and turned you around, to lift you on the table again. He grabbed a tissue box and cleaned you and himself up.

"Are you okay?", he asked and the sweet and charming Chan was back. You had now idea what just happened.

Exhausted you could only nod and Chan smiled softly as he gave you a sweet kiss on the lips and gently wiped the tears from your cheeks with his thumb.

"Your fucked out face is so pretty", he teased and pulled you into his arms until he was sitting in his chair again, you on his lap, stroking your back affectionately.

You locked at him with a wondering smile.

"Never thought you would be so dirty... Daddy", you teased him.

"Hah", he chuckled and wrapped his big arms tighter around your body.

"Just a little."

Oh after what you just experienced, he wasn't just a little dirty. That boy had a kink that you wouldn't have expected. And of course he fucked you better than anyone before.

Later that day, after you've gotten dressed again and slipped into your office like nothing ever happened, Chan joined the others in the dance studio to practice the choreography.

He was the last one and started to sit down on the floor next to Lee Know to follow his example and stretch.

Jeongin and Hyunjin were already standing in front of the mirror going through the first steps, while Han, Seungmin and Changbin sat on the couch, talking quietly and waiting until they could finally start.

Felix came over to Chan and offered to help him and so they stretched together, Felix pushing Chan's legs apart with his.

"Why are you so late? We wanted to start an hour ago", Hyunjin asked and Chan tried to avoid eye contact and focus on the pain in his legs so as not to give himself away immediately.

The conversation between Han and Seungmin fell silent and Chan only said:

"I had something else to do.“

Then Han and Changbin suddenly giggled and poked each other as if they were sharing a naughty secret.

"Oh you definitely had something to do!", said Han with a grin. The others all looked at him now.

"It definitely sounded from outside the door like that too!", added Changbin and both giggled again.

That's when Chan slowly realized it. He remembered the message from Han on his phone, where he had written to him that he would not come to the studio beforehand.

The message came while he was busy fucking you from behind, so he didn't think much of it.

As Chan still stared in confusion, Changbin began to moan in a high-pitched voice:

"Daddy, please! Oh, fuck me daddy!"

Han immediately joined in by slapping his hand on his thigh to imitate the sound and also repeating the naughty words Chan had heard from you only minutes before.

"Chan fucked Y/N in the studio?", shouted Hyunjin and by now Han and Changbin were holding their stomachs laughing as Chan buried his face in his hands and shook his head.

The others also smirked and couldn't help but tease their leader as well.

As Han slowly regained his breath, he explained:

„We went to pick up Chan, and just as we were standing right outside the door, that's when we heard how hard he was really working.“

The sarcasm was unmistakable and Felix now had to hold a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing out loud.

Even Jeongin couldn't help but annoy Chan:

„The walls are probably not as soundproof as we thought.“

"I didn't know you were into that kind of stuff, Hyung", Seungmin chuckled and Lee Know joined in with an evil grin:

"Or should we call you daddy now too? Would you like that, hyung?"

By now his face was burning and he just wanted to run away.

"Can we just start practicing? Please?", Chan asked sheepishly, and they did.

However, not without teasing him about it all evening.

->Part 9

——————————————————————-

© Yuna542 — 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝.

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[yuri-is-online]

Hello author!! Congrats on 500 followers! I love the way you wrote "Plead the Fifth", Floyd's callback to the Portfest event was my favorite part. If its okay, can I pls request prompt 12 with Jade, Riddle, and Jamil? Thank you! 🫶💙

12. You had a wonderful time dancing and flirting with someone at the ball, only to find out from your friends the next day that was your crush. And you have no idea if they knew it was you they were dancing with.

Bless you for catching that friend I was a bit worried no one would know what I was talking about. I thought it was so funny how offended they all got at being called adorable! other than Rook but yk

EDIT: I straight up did not realize I wrote this for Riddle twice oh my fucking god. I'm so sorry please feel free to message me with a separate request I am so sorry again my brain is fried.

notes: they/them used for Yuu. Severe violations of privacy and playing with emotions for Jade, and Jamil is fresh out of clown school, let us pray. I was listening to dancing with a stranger on loop while writing this so sorry if they're a bit angsty. The other event requests can be found on my masterlist here.

Jade

"Look." Jade is smiling and Azul has a tension headache. "You see how they've played this particular song fourteen times today? They're going to try and switch things up and listen to something else after the sixteenth loop but-"

"What in the hell does this have to do with anything?" Azul asks to be charitable, he already knows what this is about. Or he thinks he does anyway.

"I was wondering if you would be so kind as to add it to the playlist for the Lounge. Just for tonight." There is a really strange tone to Jade's excitement, almost like he has no idea what he is doing and is just as thrilled by that as he was whatever brought him home in such a... state last night.

"Because if I don't you'll add it yourself and give Floyd back the password to the account?"

"I am so very glad we could reach a mutual understanding." Of course Jade has a plan, it had started formulating the instant he saw you dressed up for the formal Crowley had put together.

Boring. That's what this night was supposed to be. These masks were supposed to hide people's faces, sure but he knows them too well. Maybe if this was a different school where people were less predictable- But then there was you, and all his reason fell away.

"May I have this dance, stranger?" He is surprised you accept, delighted with how natural it feels to follow his lead. He was expecting this to be much, much harder.

"I was wondering when you were going to ask." You sound shy, flattered even, without the defensiveness he usually associates with the lead up to your trysts. Could it be- "I thought I felt someone watching me." -you do not know. The mask has worked for one lucky eel.

"Ah prefect," he greets you as usual, with a bow and a gesture to an empty seat "always so good to see you at the Mostro." This time he has selected a booth out of the way, towards the back and far too big for just one customer. Pity you hadn't brought those small fry with you, he was so looking forward to letting Floyd play with them. "Did you come here with something in mind? Or shall I make a suggestion?" You are so nervous you don't notice that he has failed to give you a menu until you finally bother to look up at him.

"I really just came here to talk..." how painful, you are looking away again. Jade is sure he is the best looking fish here, if you are that desperate to see him in the water he can certainly improvise.

"I am always willing to lend a sympathetic ear." He bends at the waist to hover his face just above yours, so close that you are force to return your eyes to his again. He watches as your pupils dilate and breath catches as the music in the lounge plucks a familiar song as if his magic lets him read minds.

"Go fuck yourself." It's missing the venom he'd like but as he traces your jawline with his gloved hand directly over the lipstick stains he'd left last night he thinks to himself that he is just fine with that. Jade is not in the mood to share your fire, it is such a rare thing for a mer to see after all.

"I would much prefer to leave that to you." He kisses you, quickly before you can fully ignite and waste your precious sparks on the public. "Funny story actually, I had such a nice time at the Masquerade last night I thought we should have ourselves another little date tonight. Do be gentle with me, I only had so much time to prepare." But waste or no he cannot deny himself the satisfied laugh that spills from him when you yank him back into a kiss and prevent him from running his mouth. Just what is he to do with you? Oh he has so many ideas...

Jamil

"Ha I thought I'd find you here." Jamil does his best to ignore Ace's voice, instead focusing on the hoop and sinking his throws into the net. Forty-One. "Aww not gonna ask any questions?" Forty-Two. "You know they talked to me. They always do." Forty-Three. "Said some reeeeeeal interesting stuff." Forty-Four. "Mushy too. Like seriously, you should both just get over yourselves and-"

Forty-Five. Jamil purposefully bounces the ball off the ground hard, not even bothering to watch Ace scramble to avoid it before shoves his face into his towel as if it can wipe away his embarrassment as well as his sweat.

"They are better off not knowing." He catches the ball Ace tries to hit him with, taking a little delight in how annoyed his junior looks before he realizes that it isn't going away as quickly as Ace's other pouts.

"Seriously? Where'd you get that idea from?" He sounds angry, Jamil has to remind himself and the seething pit in his stomach that Ace is Yuu's... friend. They are just friends who spend a lot of time alone. Alone together. Alone together inside a dormitory where Yuu live practically alone, a lot of times on nights when Jamil is alone in Scarabia with preparations for a party you aren't guaranteed to attend unlike those Unbirthday Party's Riddle has that you are at so much you might as well be part of his dorm.

Not that Jamil thinks about that a lot or is thinking about that at all when he gives Ace his best "superiority" complex smile.

"They were willing to make out with a stranger behind some thick curtains, clearly they don't have any strong feelings for anyone in the school and I would just be-"

"Has it ever occurred to you that you are responsible for this situation in the fucking first place." This isn't normal jokey Ace. Normal "girls just wanna have fun Ace," no this is Ace as serious as Jamil wishes he always would be during... anything at all really. Funny how that side only ever seems to come out when he needs to distract someone. Funny how the pit is screaming how it only ever comes up when he is talking about you. "You get close to them one day, then you insist you can't talk to them because you are too busy taking care of Kalim. You give take advantage of them not being from Twisted Wonderland to give them things anyone would recognize as being romantic gifts but roll your eyes at the idea when confronted. Seriously it is a miracle they still like you and didn't think to try getting over you sooner."

Yuu is kissing him. They have what they can grasp of his face in their hands and are kissing him so painfully slowly. It's too much to bear, he can't keep to his senses and denial. Jamil pulls them further behind the curtains and kisses them. For one brief incandescent moment he allows himself to believe this is fated. That if the masks were gone, that if you were under the Scarabia curtains you would be holding onto his shirt just as tightly.

"You told them didn't you?" Ace doesn't bother to actually answer, the footsteps echoing down the hallway as he goes to leave answers Jamil’s question for him.

You are always beautiful.  His breath catches in his throat when he sees you, the pit swallowing itself as he realizes the urgency to the speed at which you close the gap but pause just before making it into his personal space.

“Can we talk?”  Ace’s words from earlier echo in his mind.  Has it ever occurred to you that you are responsible for this?

“Of course.”  He purposefully places the basketball back onto the rack he had been using as an excuse to center himself.  “Would you let me take you to dinner?”

“No.”  You sound as if you hate yourself for saying it, but the instant it leaves your lips he smiles.  “No, I need you to tell me here because I can’t stand this stupid game of you taking your insecurities out on me.  Just what do I need to do for you to understand…”  Your nerve seems to be failing you now that he’s right in front of you.  But he isn’t cruel enough to make you wait.

“I like you.”  It’s not all of what you want to hear, and not all of what he wants to say.  But he’s in a sweaty gym uniform and you look like you’ve been crying.  Apologies are best made with food, and he loves you well enough to know your worry’s been eating at your apatite as much as it has his.

[misc-obeyme]

His Hidden Heart

Well I sat down to write the next daily chat scene and ended up with this instead. I'll probably do another daily chat scene in the next couple of days. I was thinking of doing Diavolo next?

Anyway, I'm just thinking about Barbatos all day every day, that's all. One of the things that's interesting to me about him is that he's always got this calmness. Like he sometimes expresses emotions, but it's usually pretty mild. So this is about him getting comfortable enough to open up more. Also, I've always loved the way he likes to take care of people, but I often think about what it would take for him to let someone else take care of him for once.

And I don't know what exactly this is, but I wanted to try a different format. I think I'm gonna put it in the ficlets section of the masterlist but it's kind of its own thing.

GN!MC x Barbatos

Warnings: mostly fluff but a little angst and some crying

For so long, all you saw was the serene expression - the gentle smile, the occasional frown, the rare undercurrent of anger. But it was always tempered, always restrained. And you really thought it had more to do with how old and powerful Barbatos was than anything else. He had been through and seen so much, certainly there wasn't anything that truly made him feel strongly anymore.

And yet, as you got to know him, you started seeing little glimpses of more. Bit by bit, you saw more pieces of him and it made you realize that it wasn't that Barbatos didn't feel strongly. It was only that he didn't express those feelings freely.

You couldn't begin to guess why he was like this. Was it just that he wanted to maintain a stoic butler persona? Was it the result of having lived for so long that emotions seemed to have dulled, no longer warranting full expression? Was there some unresolved trauma of the past (present? future?) that caused him to keep everything under wraps?

You might never learn the truth. Maybe one day, if you felt like you could ask, he would tell you. But even if he never did, you were okay with that. Because your presence slowly but surely drew him out from behind that protective mask he always wore.

The two of you were alone in the garden having tea, fully engaged in conversation. He wasn't animated exactly, but he was talking openly in a way he normally doesn't. You don't even remember what you said, but you will never forget the way he suddenly laughed. It wasn't the usual amused chuckle. He put down his teacup, threw his head back, and laughed. He looked so absolutely delighted that you couldn't help laughing, too. At some point, he covered his face with a gloved hand, embarrassed at the way he couldn't seem to hold in his mirth. It took several minutes for the two of you to catch your breath. Barbatos had to actually wipe away tears from the corners of his eyes.

You had gone to the market together to do some shopping and while Barbatos had been absorbed in the different types of tea that were for sale, you wandered off. You were looking at various things and got a little distracted, going much farther away than you realized. When you looked around, you weren't exactly sure where you were or how to get back to where you needed to be. And then you heard Barbatos calling your name, an edge to his voice that almost sounded frantic. You followed the sound until you found him again. The moment he saw you, his face flooded with relief. He surprised you by putting his arms around you and holding you close for a moment. Long enough for you to hear the rapid beating of his heart.

You were a little confused about how frequently you were getting messages from Barbatos over one particular weekend. You had been spending your time at the House of Lamentation like you normally did, getting into various trouble with the brothers while you were off from school. But it seemed like every hour you got a new message from Barbatos on your D.D.D. They were mostly about nothing. Some questions about your day, a reminder about upcoming school projects, asking for your advice about a type of human world cake he was planning on making. You remembered that Diavolo was somewhere else on business that weekend and that Barbatos was likely alone in the castle (not counting the little Ds). Was he reaching out to you so often because he was lonely? You decided to just stop by for a surprise visit. The smile that greeted you when he opened the door indicated you had been right.

Everybody knew that you weren't currently in a relationship with anyone. There were a lot of rumors at RAD about who you might be secretly dating, but none of it was actually true. And those close to you knew this was the case. They also knew who you seemed to be slowly falling for, but nobody said anything about it. You weren't in denial, but you were certain it was unrequited. There was no doubt that Barbatos cared about you, but you didn't think it was in any capacity other than as a friend. It was just the two of you sitting together on a bench on the RAD grounds and you found yourself feeling a little bold. Not enough to tell him directly, so you only said that you thought you were in love. You watched his face carefully as you said it and so you caught the look of utter heartbreak that passed across it. It was an expression full of anguish that surprised you so much you gasped. But it was gone in seconds, replaced by the usual placid smile which disarmed you enough that you allowed him to change the subject.

Diavolo invited you over to the castle to have dinner with him. You found yourself at the dining table with him, a plethora of food spread out before you. He told you that Barbatos had made everything, but that he couldn't join you as he had his own business to attend to. You wondered what that meant, but didn't question it. You enjoyed dinner with Diavolo, chatting and laughing, generally having a good time. On your way home, you spotted Barbatos on his way back to the castle. He didn't know you were there, didn't know you could see him. He stopped briefly, clearly deep in thought. The expression on his face could only be described as lost or hopeless. Or both. You wanted to run to him, to embrace him, to kiss away the frown. But he didn't know you were there and soon enough he went inside the castle.

A normal day. A quiet day. Nothing to distract you, nothing to cause you concern. Everything was peaceful for once. All it took was a single moment. You had expected something grand, a final declaration, a sort of culmination of everything you had been feeling for so long. Instead, it was an unexpected reaction. When all you did was reach for him in a moment of need to find him waiting. And while you had seen Barbatos express plenty of emotions by this point, you were still completely blown away by the love you saw there in his eyes. When he finally let you see it, you wondered how you could ever think your own feelings weren't returned.

It was no secret that Barbatos did not like rats. You had seen him go to extreme lengths to eliminate them from anywhere he thought they may have taken up residence. And while he was certainly aggrieved whenever one showed up, you didn't fully understand what he was feeling until much later. When he seemed to be comfortable enough to let you see all of his emotional range, the reality of his reaction to rats became clear. He was afraid of them. You watched the terror that flashed across his face when one was near. You stepped in every time. You convinced him to let you take care of it. You were just as capable of dealing with rats as he was. As long as you were around, you would make sure you never saw that terrified look again.

You knew that Barbatos was having a rough week. Things had been going wrong left and right. He'd had to spend a lot of time cleaning up messes and setting things to rights on top of all the things he normally did. You could see it in his face as he got slightly more tired every day until by the end, you knew he really needed some rest. So that weekend, you took yourself over to the Demon Lord's Castle to surprise him with a homemade breakfast. You got there ridiculously early in order to have it done by the time he woke up. You brought a tray full of pancakes and tea to his room where you found him just as he sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He stared at you in surprise as you explained what you had done, setting the tray down on the bedside table for him. He looked at you for a moment and then his eyes filled with tears. You were next to him in a heartbeat, putting your arms around him. He collapsed into you, crying softly. You couldn't believe it. You had never once seen him cry. But your kindness after the stress of his week allowed him to finally let go. He was safe to break down in your arms.

Such moments with Barbatos had seemed few and far between in the beginning. It took some time for him to trust you, to reveal to you his hidden heart. You had always felt as though he had to take care of you and all your emotions. But now you were able to take care of him as well, to be that safety, that shelter. And while your favorite thing was to see him laugh, genuinely and brightly, you would always be there to hold him when he needed to cry, too.

masterlist | Thank you for reading!

[veras1ne]

“Take a Break.”

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ Summary 🕊️: So wrapped up in his work, Anakin can’t but bare to be away from his beloved holopad, that is though, until you simply INSIST he must take a break. A 5 minute shower turned rogue might just do the trick.

🫧Pairing: Anakin Skywalker x AFAB!Reader

: ̗̀➛ WARNINGS🪷: This is your warning for the following: NSFW content, PIV, mild degrading, pretty vanilla compared to some other works.

HI DOVES!! I just wanted to say again thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the love and reblogs, follows and hearts I’ve been getting I appreciate it more than you even know <3

Also yes… this is the ipad kid Anakin fic

Remember my inbox is open to suggestions, requests, comments or nonsense! Love you guys (Also I hope atleast one of you got my Hamilton reference with the title lol.)

Anakin was a busy man.

Being a Jedi in itself was hard work, but being on the council was another, meaning that you began to see your beloved partner less and less as the minutes turned into hours and days turned into nights. One thing that remained, though, was that when he did get a moment to himself, those sweet times were spent trying to convince him to take a break, just for himself, and relax. More often than not, he would ignore your discretions and bury himself in one of your many holopads and screens, consuming media on the holonet as if there was no tomorrow, mostly to see if he had any important updates or tasks he had to keep up with.

That’s the situation you've currently found yourself in. His attention was on one of the many news outlets he had loved to read, while you sat on the opposite-facing sofa, watching his eyes get lost within the words. "Ani, you’ve been reading that dastardly thing for hours now; take a break, please. You know you need it; You’ve got eyebags, and before you know it, you’ll start to get wrinkles with how much you frown at your screen." You teased him, but truly, you meant what you said.

He appeared before you restless and paranoid, and yet he still insisted that he was fine. "That’s nonsense. All these news outlets on the holo-net just don’t know what they’re talking about. They’re making the Jedi Order look like fools." He huffed out, getting up from his seat to grab a drink, not once looking up from his screen. "Just take a quick break, please? I promise your holopad isn’t going anywhere; just a quick 5-minute shower to get your muscles relaxed and all this dirt out of your hair, and you look like you rolled around in a bantha-sty." Your voice echoed out, following a deep sigh coming from Anakin. "5 Minutes. And no face masks this time; the last time you told me to take a break, you put a mask on me and made me look like Master Luminara." That earned a laugh from both of you.

You smiled at him, turning his attention from his holofeed. "Fine, 5 minutes, and then you can go back to your beloved holopad." He grinned, placing his cup down on the table before he made his way over to where you sat. "Let’s go before I change my mind." He looked down at you; his eyes changed from concerned and tired to playful yet serious.

You knew he always took his work seriously, especially since he was eager to earn his rank as master, which he ranted to you about several times earlier that day. Regardless, though, you still valued his time away from it and knew that it was important for him to rest and relax, even if he refused. His hand rested on the small of your back as he helped you off the sofa, guiding you towards the bathroom across the room. Before shutting the door behind you and locking it, you glanced at him over your shoulder. "I’ll start the water; you go on and get out of those clothes; maker knows I need to do laundry anyways." You told him, knowing that he’d start to get antsy with you if this process took too long.

He sighed, turning away from you and starting to undress himself. The only sounds that followed were the faucet running and his grunting every time his belt got stuck because he was trying to act with haste, which turned out to be his enemy in this case. "Anakin Skywalker, if you don’t stop worrying and just take your time, I’m serious. You need to relax, honey. The planet doesn’t revolve around what people perceive you or the order as on the holo-net." You snapped at him, taking him aback and making him furrow his eyebrows.

No words were exchanged as you stripped yourself of your own clothing, taking back the glass door of your shower and stepping in as he followed suit. The water felt wonderful on your skin after such a stressful, yet quite frankly, boring week, and soon the steam surrounding you and his warm breath hit you in waves, soothing your tired body.He stood behind you, letting his fingers trail along the curve of your waist. "Maybe you’re right. I could use a little relaxation." He smirked at you, dipping his fingers below your navel and slowly making his way towards your core, pressing them against it.

The sensation sent tingles up your spine; you couldn’t help but lean into him, a moan escaping your lips as your eyes fluttered shut. A light kiss trailed across your neck, sending goosebumps over your skin, and he chuckled darkly, "You’re so beautiful, you know that?" He whispered, his voice low and husky. You hummed in response, leaning further into him. "I love you." He added, his hands moving to your hips, pulling you closer to him. "Ani, not now. This is about you, baby." You withdrew from him, only getting scolded in return. "Yes, now. There’s never been a better time, Angel." He pulls you into a passionate embrace, pushing you into the wall, and kisses you deeply and passionately.

Your fingers tangled themselves in his curls, causing him to groan lowly into your mouth, and you moaned into his lips, pushing yourself closer to him. "Oh fuck. I need you so badly, Ani." You breathed out, attempting to ignore how close his hands were to your dripping core. He pulled away slightly and said, "I know, baby. We’ve barely even gotten started, and you’re already so wet. It’s disgusting how hungry you are for my dick." He asked in mock disapproval, and you whined in response, leaning into him again. "What happened to relaxing, dove? Isn’t this what you wanted?" You nodded furiously, biting your lip in anticipation. "This is all you wanted, huh? Acting like a slut to get me all alone and fuck me." He pushed you harder against the wall, grinding his cock against your cunt. You moaned, arching your back into him as you ran your fingers through his curly locks. "Anakin, oh my maker, yes." You practically begged him, his name rolling off your tongue so smoothly that it almost sounded like a song. "Please." You whimpered out, "Give me all of you." He kissed your collarbone, nipping and sucking on it as he pressed himself further into your opening, squeezing your hips as he slid himself inside of you.

The tight fit of his cock gave you a sensation that was pure and unadulterated. "Oh, Ani!" You cried out, wrapping your legs around his waist. He continued to thrust in and out of you, hitting every spot on your body that caused you to tighten around him. "This pussy belongs to me. I’m the only one who will ever get to see her like this." He growled at you, rubbing your clitoral area as he pulsed inside of you. You moaned once more, clenching your teeth together. "Oh, fuck me." He grunted, continuing to pound against your core, and his pace quickened.

Soon enough, you were coughing hard, tears falling freely from your eyes from his relentless pounding as he quickly came inside you. He continued to hold you tighter until you stopped shaking, taking a moment to hold you as he slipped out from inside you. "I love you so much, Ani." You mumbled, burying your head in his chest and warming up in opposition to the now-cold water. His arms wrapped around you tightly, resting his chin atop your head. "I love you more, dove. Thank you for making me take this break with you." He replied softly, pressing kisses all over your head and smiling at you. "Next time, listen to me before I have to beg you to stop being a holopad youngling." You joked with him, grabbing the bottle of soap to wash the grime and, quite frankly, the disgusting fluids that your body now had attached to it. "I promise to spend more time away from work, just for you," he smiled before carrying on.

"And by the way, that was way more than five minutes."

[uh-oh-its-bird]

HI SO IVE BEEN GOIGN THROUGH YOUR LIKE RAMBLES AABOUT HATAKE'S AND STUF HEHEHE AND I LOVE YOUR TAKES SO I JUST WANNA KNOW ON HOW FEEL ABOYUT HAIRY HATAKE'S

LIKE KAKASHI IS TOO SKIN

GIVWE THIS GUY BODY FUR

IVE NEVER THOUGHT AB IT?

Immediatley Im reminded of that one post pointing out how no one in Naruto has body hair and speculating ab how whoever is in charge of ANBU uniforms has those boys on a schedule of waxing regularly. Which is funny on several levels as well as being interesting when u start thinking ab it being about like, the potential of leaving hairs behind at a crime scene or something

The ANBU uniform person is just VIOLENTLY against body hair, they want their bois smooth and shiny no matter the gender for uniform reasons

Grabbing that and smashing it into fuzzy Kakashi tho, just for you

Waxing for ANBU sucks when your clan is is biologically inclined towards being extra hairy all around, 0/10 Kakashi would not recommend

When he left ANBU, he kept doing it out of habit and also he was a little embaressed ab it— which also plays into just how much skin he tends to keep covered up with the turtleneck and the long sleeves and the mask and everything

But as time passed and he began to relax into a less stressful life, along with being able to gain some good healthy weight, he also stopped with the uniform waxing (in this house we stan a skinny character putting meat back on their bones as a show of them healing)

He's very pale and his body hair is even lighter than his hair, so it tends to blend in unless you're close enough to notice or are looking for it, so it actually took him a little bit to notice and remember it was growing back in

Kakashi stomach fluff,,,,

Once he was out drinking with Genma, Gai and some of the others, and Genma started drunkenly petting his arm bc he thought it was a dog. Kakashi did not know how to react to this so he simply chose not to (I love u compartementalization king)

He however could no longer ignore it when the others noticed and began to join in, and then poofed away to go stare at a wall or perhaps lay face down in a ditch in embaressment

The next day he mentions to Tenzo he's thinking about going back to just waxing it off regularly and suddenly someone (pick your poison: his students, his friends, a love interest, who knows) is knocking down his door like "DO NOT REMOVE THE FLUFF ITS YOUR BEST ASSET!!!!!!" as he very confusedly asks how they know where he lives (Tenzo ratted him out)

Anyways hope this helped feed whatever you were looking to feed, thanks for the ask

[bitch-spectrum]

PART 3/3

Part 1 ,, Part 2

Mooch

Personality Headcanons: She is NOT "Teehee :3" she's the kind of girl to show up to your house and commit arson. She's feral, she's dangerous, she's killed 4 people. She was probably arrested for murder and was doing community service to get out early when she got recruited for TF4. You could say she's a little..... nuts :D Physical Headcanons: I don't really have any. ~5" Gender: Puts female on legal documents but always says something different when asked for her gender. Things like "Wouldn't you like to know, weather boy?" or "Ur mom." or "Whatever keeps you busy while I rob you." Pronouns: Any she doesn't care. Orientation: I don't have one. Post Game: She probably wasn't impacted much if at all. Opinions: She's a really funny side character. I adore cute characters who are batshit insane. 3.5/5.

Moray Personality Headcanons: They're a Mettaton stan. They act like a kowkey k-pop stan. They make aesthetic Mettaton gifs, reads/writes x reader fanfic, etc. Because they don't like conflict they don't get into internet beef though. At first they really only joined Starlo's posse for the aesthetic but it turns out they actually really enjoy sword fighting so they stuck around. Because they don't really like fighting or conflict so they usually do all the office work and they don't mind. Physical Headcanons: None really. ~ 5'07" Gender: Nonbinary (Is this canon?) Pronouns: They/Them Orientation: I don't have one. Post Game: They where pretty sad finding out about Clover's passing. It impacted them just not as hard as some of the others. They where able to get back up pretty quickly. Opinions: Gender. But sort of bland in personality. 2.5/5.

Starlo (Okay he's my fave in this specific iteration so just bear with me)

Personality Headcanons: He tends to have a bad habit of avoiding his problems. He tries to keep himself busy so he's not alone with his thoughts for too long. If he has absolutely nothing to do, he sits outside with an acoustic to keep his hands busy. Spanish was his first language and he often mispronounces English words. His mother handmade most of his gabàns. When he was really young and still lived on the surface he loved looking up at the stars. When he was in middle school he had a phase where he hated humans but grew out of it. He was comphet with Ceroba in high school but she clocked him and broke up with him. They stayed friends for a really long time anyway. He's ambidextrous. He's Ceroba's age so ~40-43. A lot of people interpret his sprite as having shade over his eyes but I like to think of it like a bandit mask.... that's prescription. His safety goggles are also prescription. He's really near sighted. He's also a pretty solid horse rider. You can't tell me this man DOESN'T smoke weed idc. He listens to southern rock, country, latino rock, and classic rock.

Physical Headcanons: The parts of his face that stick out emote with him. They turn up when he's happy/excited. They go down when he's sad. They kinda >:|< when he's mad. From growing up doing farm work and then deciding to become a sheriff too he's in really good physical condition and could probably lift most people over his head. His eyes are completely white. He's covered in a thin lair of fur that he grows out in certain places (chest, arms, beard, etc.). Ed is really jealous of his beard. The longer his fur is the darker it gets. Yellow to green-blue to dark blue (looks black). Fangs because I said so. Gender: Cis man Pronouns: He/Him Orientation: Gay and somewhere on the asexual spectrum.

Post Game: He was absolutely devastated the days following Clover's death. He barely got out of bed. Ed had to be the one to get him to even eat anything. He was really out of it, sort of dazed, for several weeks while he just tried to get back to work. He was a little torn between continuing trying to be the town's sheriff or going back to being a farmer. So, until then he just helped his parents out with whatever they needed. As he did, he reconnected with his childhood. He looked back at the boy he used to be, but unable to forget about Clover, he never forgot about the man he wanted to become. Clover had been so excited to meet a real-life cowboy that it almost felt disrespectful to throw out that pipedream now. So, he tried to find a middle ground between the two. Some days he'd be up at the first crack of dawn working in the field and other times he'd be the figurehead of his town, keeping the peace and keeping spirits high. Eventually he managed to pull himself out of a continuous low mood. Because of that, he managed to clear his mind enough to move on through the stages of grief. He and Ceroba got into a fight over what had happened. He felt like he owed it to Clover to at least try. Finally ending on the note that his freedom wasn't worth the life of someone he viewed as his own flesh and blood child - unlike what Ceroba did to her child which really WAS her blood. Their long-time friendship came to a bitter end, and he found himself turning to alcohol as a coping mechanism for a few months before a heartfelt talk with Ace pulled him back to his senses.

At one point when he was working in the field his mother called him inside and said she had finally finished the gabàn she had been making for Clover - he had requested it several months or so at this point but forgot to tell her what had happened. Re-opening old wounds he told her what had happened. He kept the gabàn and keeps it on his guitar case. Like Martlet, it was probably another decade or so before he really felt like his life was starting to move on. He had only known Clover for maybe a couple weeks at most but losing them felt like losing his own kid. He didn't know how long Clover was planning to stick around but had full intentions to legally adopt them. He successfully managed to move on, but he never forgot them.

Opinions: Like I said before he's my favorite character in this specific game. He's that right mix of serious and silly that really scratches an itch in my soul. His design is peak, it just speaks to me. I literally remember yelling at my TV when his design got revealed because I loved it instantly. HOWEVER, I do think that maybe his character could have been written a little better. It's pretty clear he's a complex character but the way he was written I feel like didn't fully convey that. 4/5.

THAT'S ALL! HAVE A GOOD DAY!!

[gay-dorito-dust]

I have a Yakuza 0 request. Can I please have headcanons about what words and actions would melt Majima’s heart? It can be if someone is in a relationship with him already or not.

This man is guarded as shit, even more so after the events of y0 but since we’re focusing on y0! Majima, he’s sure as shit not letting anyone pass those towering walls of his.

However you somehow managed to slip through the missable cracks in his defences and made your cosy little home in his heart and now he’s stuck with you.

Anyways, on to what would make this man melt like butter:

Genuine tender touches: Majima had rarely -if ever- been given the opportunity to be treated as though he were a fragile porcelain doll on the brink of breaking from it’s fissures, fractures and other cracks.

At first he’d be adverse in letting you touch him but overtime or perhaps by pure accident, Majima would find himself falling apart in your tender touches as the pads of your thumbs would map out his face, feather light caresses kissing his skin that the mad dog of shimano couldn’t help but allow himself to be completely at your mercy.

In that moment you had all the power to destroy him but you chose to nurture, to love, to care for him instead despite knowing all the atrocities he’s committed as a Yakuza. Yet none of that didn’t matter to you as you picked up all pieces and put him back together again.

It was the first time in a very long time that Majima allowed himself to be put into the care of somebody else, uncaring if by the end of it he’ll end up with a knife in his back, for it all would’ve been worth it to know what being cared about felt like.

‘You can stop pretending Majima, shows over, it’s time to take off the mask.”

This would probably occur at the end of Y0 where he goes full mad dog. Which I’ve seen a video once saying that it’s an act Majima puts up as an illusion of sorts from the severely damaged man that laid beneath the violent, borderline psychopathic facade.

So when you say this to him one day, he’s reminded that you could see through his bullshit, see through the illusion and lies he lead himself to blindingly believe, despite knowing himself how full shit they were. So to have someone who wasn’t so easily scared off by his facade made Majima feel relived that he didn’t have to constantly put himself into near exhaustion by masking the truest version of himself.

The wicked grin would fall and his crazed eye would become tired, worn and haunted. His entire posture would slump pathetically as he allowed himself into your awaiting arms, practically half dead from the sleep he’s missed by insomnia and night terrors.

You bring the peace and silence he’s been so desperately yearning for:

You bring calm to his tormented mind and it’s the oasis he so desperately needed; Sure it may not heal all his wounds but he’s take whatever he could get.

So whenever Majima felt his most restless he’d surly find you nearby offering to join him in his late night smoke. (depending on if you do/ do not smoke. If you don’t -like me- your just keeping him company.)

He’d often tell you that your sleep didn’t have to suffer because his was but you discarded his concern by saying you’d rather be of help to him even if it meant derailing your own sleep pattern to do so.

What he doesn’t tell you is that your mere presence silenced his thoughts and cleared his mind without even having to try. You were the one to ward off the demons from his head. Protecting him from the worst of memories and you didn’t even know you were doing it.

When you’ve solidified yourself as his safe place, his home.

Whenever he told anyone that he was ‘heading home’ what he actually meant was that he was heading back to you and the place you two shared. The building didn’t mean shit to him but you being within it certainly did.

The life and colour you brought with you never failed to remind Majima that despite how use to it he was by now, he was still brought back to the very first time he felt that warm and cosy feeling within his chest.

Back then he would’ve approached it with caution but soon enough he’s grown to accept that this was something he only felt with you. Majima was so use to bland walls void of personality and shelves bare of any trinkets or memorabilia of the past. The places he use to occupy looked and felt as though no one lived there, despite evidence of old cigarette buds and the faint scent of his cologne.

Now, his house became a home the moment you stepped through the threshold and decorated it with your personality and trinkets that litter every shelf and even the window sills because there was so much of you to give out.

Majima realised that you became his home when he didn’t feel the need to hide his hideous side from you, or even hide the issues he faced within his head on a regular basis.

Majima realised that you became his safe place when after telling you his entire past and you didn’t shrink away from him or looked at him differently then you did to begin with, understanding and open minded in hearing him out to the story’s conclusion.

Your hand remaining in his own the entire time. Unflinching in your silent conviction to staying with a man as broken as him.

[aladaylessecondblog]

Severed Destiny pt. 15

Author's Note: warning, injury/gore in this chapter

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

Obedience was all it seemed to take to please Almalexia.

So long as Haj-deek worshiped her, or at least appeared to worship her, all was well. She started to relax as the days passed, thinking maybe - maybe Vivec had simply worried too much. He'd warned her about Almalexia, said to be careful of her, mentioned her anger, but it was a thought she had when she thought of her father. (Him she had not heard from since the last time, and she wondered if she should worry...)

If I want to spare him, despite everything he's done, shouldn't I do the same for Almalexia? Not like I can fight her anyway, Haj-deek thought. Any more than I can him, but...I don't think he'd attack me on sight, like...

However much she got used to being around Almalexia, though, something always told her to keep a helmet on. Khev's fortuneteller might've been lying, or maybe HE was, but still - there was that feeling that it would be a Good Idea to keep her face covered. The Hist? She always assumed it was the Hist when it came to such feelings, and the Hist was never wrong...or maybe it was, and she just didn't see...

It'd been two weeks, and she'd gotten a couple letters from Vivec - that oddly enough just seemed to appear on her bedtable or in her bag, each with the oddest words written at the top.

player->additem "bk_vivec_letter" 1

And then a number after it, continuously going up. 1, 2, and so forth, and with a '1' behind it. It was baffling. She'd written on the back of one intending to send it back as a reply, only to find the next morning that HIS reply had already come.

player->additem "bk_vivec_letter_2" 1

He advised her to stay on Almalexia's good side and advised what she was already doing, essentially, keeping her face hidden.

Mother Morrowind loves many, but not all. The face you wear is one she hates beyond reason. This is one thing you may not fix, no matter your intent.

She thought over this as she walked about the docks, buying a fish or two for Sunchaser, and seeing if there was anyone to--

"Please--just give me something for the pain!"

Haj-deek was broken out of her thoughts and rushed for the shout, which came from one of the ships. From the gangplank a litter of sorts was being carried, atop it a Dunmer sailor with an awful looking wound in his side, with an ugly splintered chunk of wood still lodged there.

"I'm a healer," she said, coming up to the ones carrying it, "Is there anything I can do to help him?"

"Not unless you can put the blood back inside, and--we're afraid to pull the thing out, he's already bled so much we don't know if we'll be able to survive long enough to...get much farther."

"Just let me--" The sailor whimpered in pain, and Haj-deek moved up to the litter's side to take his hand when it was set down. "Take it out and let me go, the pain is..."

Then he met her eyes, or rather, the eyes of her mask.

"Pull the thing out and--do you know any songs?"

"You're delirious," one of his apparent fellow sailors said.

"I'm--bleeding out, of course I'm delirious!" The sailor snapped, and then cringed and seethed in pain. "Please. A song. I don't want to go out hearing myself--screaming."

"Start pulling it out," Haj-deek said, trying to sound like the Temple priests. "And may--the goddess guide my hands."

The sentence feels wrong, is wrong, but she let it come out anyway.

"Drunken Sailor?" she questioned gently, "You like that one?"

He gave a weak laugh. His buddies did, too, and she asked them to start when she did. It was one of the first songs she'd learned that wasn't in Jel, an easy one.

She reached out her free hand near the wound and flinched only slightly when a splinter of it dragged between her thumb and forefinger and tore a finger's length of a cut on her skin. She ignored it--the pain, the few drops of blood that fell into the sailor's wound, and exerted herself to start up a healing spell.

"What will we do with a drunken sailor? Way, hey, and up she rises," Haj-deek started and repeated a few times, focusing on the gore as the chunk of wood left more of the injury visible. There were bits of bone, chunks of what she wasn't sure if it was lung or not. This WAS a hopeless injury, she thought. Cuts closed and bones came together slowly, too slowly. He needed better than her, but she was what he had.

She had to try.

Then the two sailors started along.

"Shave his belly with a rusty razor, shave his belly with a rusty razor, shave his belly with a rusty razor, ear-lay in the morning..." She pushed herself hard, cast the spell again and commanded the flesh beneath her to mend.

Knit, damn you, KNIT!

And then the sailors' words began to harmonize with her own, and the flesh beneath her fingers began to obey at a speed that hardly seemed possible. She could feel her magicka reserves dropping fast, but she kept going. His rib-bones knit, the lung beneath--

"Put him in a longboat 'til he's sober, put him in a longboat 'til he's sober, put him in a longboat 'til he's sober, ear-lay in the morning." She was sweating already from the effort, but seeing the wounds close was encouraging.

...I'll go straight to the Temple and give them all the gold I was going to waste on sujamma, I'll pray to my ancestors every time I can, I'll...let me live, let this work...

The thought came as the wood was tossed aside and the flesh began to cover the organs again.

I'm going to live. I have to live.

It wasn't until she said, "Of course you're going to live," and saw the sailor's stunned look that she realized the thought wasn't her own. The whimpers of agony were soon gone, and skin grew over the bloodied flesh that had stained her hands.

The wound was gone, with nothing to show it had ever been there besides a few ejected splinters and torn fabric.

"Praise the three," one of the sailors behind her said in a hushed tone, "You've done it..."

The sailor took a deep breath, a deep, slow breath, and got to his feet.

"Thank you."

It was nothing short of a miracle and Haj-deek wasn't sure how she'd done it.

But she'd saved a man's life and it was wonderful to see his joy, and from sailors coming out of Mournhold it would long be said that the Nerevarine could heal with a song.

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

Almalexia made great use of this, and praised her for her faith being such that no wound was too great for her.

"For what else could it be that saved that Dunmer's life than my grace shining down upon you?" the goddess gave her a smile. "You are what you should always have been in your previous incarnations."

"I am glad to have been of service," Haj-deek bowed, "I didn't know what else to think myself...your grace is...is very great. The wound was terrible, I was unsure, but..."

"You have brought a wave of faith back that should never have left. For all their drunken behavior, the seafaring man can be a most fervent worshiper."

After letting Almalexia talk at her for a little longer, Haj-deek was allowed to leave. She left Sunchaser behind--as much as she wanted to let the poor thing fly free, it wasn't a good idea in the city. Now and then she would go to the docks with her, but it was a rare thing since she came to Mournhold.

She deserves to fly freer than she can here. I'll figure something out soon, and...

Well she didn't know how she'd accomplish it but she knew she couldn't just STAY there for weeks and weeks like she'd done with Vivec.

She went down to The Winged Guar and sat pondering how she might manage it as she slowly ate a bowl of ash yam stew and nursed a bottle of mead. The ordinator set to guard her she'd managed to encourage to have his own meal at a slight distance - she justified that she'd stay within sight, nothing would happen that he could not see - and so she managed to at least feel she was alone.

Still, an avenue of--

"Well, well, well, YOU have certainly done well for yourself."

The voice had Haj-deek stiffening in her seat as she turned to see--Orvas Dren, taking a seat beside her.

"Funny seeing you here," she replied only a little unsteadily, "Business?"

"When one's brother is the Duke, one tends to business that concerns him, so he can better look after closer things."

"Or, he has you running about like an errand boy...but he never struck me as the type."

Orvas gave a slight nod. "He likes to show himself to be more than what he is. It would surprise even you, I imagine."

"How do you mean?"

"I mean you think too well of most people." Here his voice dropped. "First you link yourself to Vivec, and now Almalexia. Are you convinced they approve of you?"

"I know better than that, I'm just..." Haj-deek shifted in place. There was something even more disconcerting than usual about the way Orvas was looking at her. "...Lady Almalexia was quick to have me...committed to her service."

"If you should feel yourself to be in danger--" Orvas leaned in close, and Haj-deek found herself leaning slightly back in response, "--ah. You do, don't you?"

"Of course I do, but I can't just say it out loud."

"So you say it by covering your face. I wonder why."

"I--would prefer not to show the lady my face, is all. It resembles..." Haj-deek stopped then, noting the ordinator in the corner noticing the conversation. "She has me watched, I can't say more."

Orvas's left hand went into one pocket, and then came up to the counter to leave two brass rings behind. One had a red stone, the other a black.

"At the docks," he said quickly, "There is an elderly Dunmer who sells carving knives. Go to him wearing the red ring and cast Mark. Thereafter wear the other ring, and should you be in danger - it will let you cast Recall."

"Even if that danger is from the goddess herself?"

"Especially then."

Haj-deek paused, and tried to calm herself and the rushing heartbeat in her chest. "Why would you do this? You don't just help anyone, you're...and I'm--"

She felt convinced Orvas was trying to pull one over on her, but she didn't want to outright reject his offer.

"I have EVERY reason to help you, my girl." Orvas's smirk spread into smug satisfaction. Once she'd put the rings away, she lifted her hand back up--and he, in a motion that almost had her stomach turning, lifted it to his lips.

She couldn't speak.

"...after all," Orvas went on, apparently not needing her input, and placed a kiss on the back of her hand before looking back up, "How could I be otherwise and yet call myself a friend of your father's?"

Haj-deek paled, and moved back. "You--you--"

She couldn't deny it, from the look in his eye he wouldn't buy a single lie she told him about it either. Afterwards she'd scold herself for it, but he'd said the words so suddenly and yet in so exact a way that she felt there was no other way to react.

"You know?" she finally managed in a tone little more than a whisper.

He nodded, and on seeing the ordinator heading in their direction got to his feet and gave her a little bow.

"Do consider my offer...I will be in Mournhold for some time yet."

"Of course. Thank you for your--concern."

She looked back to the half-empty bowl of ash yam stew and didn't look back up until the ordinator was beside her.

"Did the man threaten you? You look unwell," the woman said.

"He was a little drunk, that was all. Gave me a couple brass rings, said he knew my mother ages ago."

She had a possible way out now, but given Orvas's reputation she wasn't sure it would be a wise one to take.

And so long as she minded Almalexia's orders, she hoped there might be no immediate need to.