#brought to you by the fact that i was once again Visibly A Weirdo in public today and wondering how many people are going to think about it

[monotonous-minutia]

be the weirdo someone encounters in the wild and subsequently writes a 50k notes tumblr post about

[dreamermonica]

jersey no. 10s + would love me if i was a worm ?

—gender neutral reader, established relationships, fluff, some crack, just silly banters with them, lots of teasing from reader, and kaiser ig on his part🪰

RIN side-eyes you. it's in the middle of a horror movie marathon when you ask him that question, effectively pulling him out of his focus on the show as he attempts to process your strange inquiry.

it's obvious from the way that he doesn't immediately call your question dumb or stupid that he's already used to these type of conversations. a perk of being surrounded by weirdos perhaps? anyway, it still doesn't refrain him from raising a brow at the abruptness of your out-of-the-blue query.

within a short moment of contemplation, he blinks away from your expectant expression back to the screen. you visibly deflate at his nonchalance.

“no.” bluntly does he say. you blink.

“so you don't love me for me?”

“i simply don't see myself loving a worm. it doesn't matter if it's you or not.”

he deliberately ignores the piercing and offended stare on the side of his face.

“so unfair! i would love you if you were a worm!” you whine as you shake his arm.

“doubt it.” he leans back further onto the couch to eye you again from his periphery, momentarily pausing the movie to apprehend your whining. “if i were ever to become a worm, I'd kill myself. i can't become the world's best striker with no limbs.”

“still thinking about football 'till now? jackass.” you playfully pout before turning back to the screen again. he quietly resumes the movie with a thoughtful nod. as a jumpscare comes up and you huddle to his side in surprise, you think the discussion is dropped entirely until he speaks up once more.

“there's that and,”

he suddenly leans close to your ear, arm skillfully placed on the backrest of the couch to wrap you in, your eyes widening when you feel his breath fanning on the side of your face.

it's barely above a whisper when he says it,

“—the fact i wouldn't be able to spend nights like these with you.”

...huh?

oh my. you must've been hearing things—because the next thing you know is that a pillow is roughly thrown onto your face.

SAE resolves the weird question with a playful pinch to your cheeks. he deals with enough dumbassery (shidou) already to even think of entertaining your question, but god, your squished face and cheeks look really adorable right now, so he'll humor you for a bit.

“ow, ow, ow...”

“maybe. maybe not.” his stare remains blank and bored as your face scrunches in pain with the faint stinging on your cheek. upon seeing your discomfort, he immediately drops his hands, stuffing them in his pockets, “depends if we're both worms or not.”

humming as you soothingly rub your cheeks mindlessly, you stick out a tongue at him. “how about only me as a worm with my face on it?”

he glowers at the thought, “creepy. don't push it.”

“then me as a normal worm...?”

“i'd feed you to shidou. he'd treat you well.”

you sigh depressingly at the thought of swimming in that soccer demon's stomach acid. “no getting through you, huh. would it kill you to be sappy for once...?”

“if we were both worms, then yes, i'd love you. happy now?”

“hooray!”

he deliberately pushes your face away from his line of sight, scowling as you try to kiss him with your lips exaggeratedly puckered much to his dismay, “who the hell cheers like that? weirdo.”

“your weirdo.”

you send him a wink, a half-assed attempt at rizzing him up and yet he thought he’d explode right then and there. his expression stays indifferent though. no way he’s exposing himself like that.

“yeah. only mine.” the taste of victory is sweet on his tongue as he watches you turn red at his words.

KAISER...oh, kaiser.

in his case, it's the other way around.

you are the one getting pestered to answer his strange question instead. courtesy of his greed for your attention. gotta thank the heavens above when you decide to entertain his antics instead of strangling him.

“what brought this question forth?” you stare at him in boredom, sinking into the comfy confines of the couch he's leaning over at to smile at you dopily. you resist the urge to kiss his face right then and there.

“nothing~ just trying to see if you're only after my body or not.”

“...but i'm not into worms—”

“it's me! as a worm! the handsome and prodigal michael kaiser!” he pushes, feigning hurt as he dramatically places a hand to his chest. “why are you doubting me? i can't believe my darling out of all people would do this to me.”

you hum for a while as your gaze moves up to the ceiling, paying no mind whatsoever to the sob story he's fabricating to garner your sympathy as well. you press a finger to your lips curiously, “would the worm version of you keep your toned body and beautiful golden hair?”

“uh...good question—wait, you are after my body!”

“yes. is that a problem?” you can't help the smug look that crosses your face upon seeing kaiser's offended reaction, to which immediately turns into a scowl as he leans closer towards your face.

“what,” your hand raises to graze against his cheek, trailing down to his neck as you caress his iconic blue rose tattoo. “can't take a little joke, mihya?”

he stiffens at your touch, eyes widening for a moment, before he ultimately resigns himself to a heavy sigh of defeat, maneuvering his hand to grasp your wandering fingers over his collarbone, stopping your advances as he pouts playfully.

“this is why i like my side chicks better.”

“hah? repeat that again you little—”

“can't take a little joke, mein liebling?”

taken aback, you glare at him. he winks back.

forcibly given a taste of your own medicine, you huff outwardly and opt to push his stupidly handsome face away from your sight before it angers you any further. a sense of clarity already being gained when he is no longer is in your peripherals.

“go talk to them if they're so much better than me then.”

“oh, cmon.”

this was collecting dust for months in my drafts take it as u may , i might be more active soon✧⁠◝⁠(⁠⁰⁠▿⁠⁰⁠)⁠◜⁠✧

[gretchensinister]

Dark Crystal Vampire AU Part 1: HERE WE GO

I alluded to two different Dark Crystal AUs I probably wouldn’t write, but I figure, I can still talk about them, put them into the hive mind for consideration. It was in conversation with @tejoxys where he brought up the idea of the skeksis being vampires in a “human” AU. I thought that idea was really cool and an opportunity for weird vampires.

So, in this AU, there aren’t any real “regular” vampires; they’re still in folklore and fiction, but if anyone was like “hey I think that guy’s a vampire” everyone else would be like, “stop being a weirdo.”

Therefore, in the grand old tradition of Our Vampires Our Different, here we go:

The UrSkeks: In the 900s there was a small, secretive, mystical/esoteric cult who believed a) they once had been bodiless spirits, fully mature and aware (not like a baby soul waiting to be installed), b) one of their purposes on Earth was to spread the wisdom/knowledge they had due to once being bodiless spirits, and c) the other purpose they had was to become pure immortal spirit again, without dying, and remain ever-living on the Earth.

If I did this I think I’d spell it URSKEK and have it be a relevant acronym for mystic/occult/esoteric terms.

Some problems: a lot of their wisdom and knowledge was like...just utterly wack, or impossible to say if it was or wasn’t true. But some of it was good, and some of it was surprisingly ahead of its time, even when considering the whole world (if I wrote this I would set it somewhere in what is now modern-day Italy). Another problem is that they had a secret 1-7 ranking system for all other people based on how worthy the URSKEKs thought they were to receive URSKEK wisdom.

Anyway, (and here I had to stop myself from going down a rabbit hole of find out what interesting astronomical events were happening in the middle ages) at a certain point all 18 members of the inner circle of the cult have been excommunicated because the cult shit is getting too obvious. (Hmm, wait, there was a solar eclipse visible in some parts of Europe on July 20, 966, maybe that would be a good date for the Big Event. BTW it still troubles me that 2020 ended with what is called a great conjunction on Earth.) Anyway, things are getting hot, even though all the inner circle is pretty wealthy/privileged, there’s talk of heresy trials because WTF are you even talking about. This big astronomical event is going to occur, and the URSKEKs are like, we’re ready, we have everything ready to cast off mortal flesh and become immortal beings of pure spirit.

The aesthetic is very alchemy. (Another significant research hole hindering this project.)

So the URSKEKs prepare this complex ritual to cut their spirits free from their bodies during the eclipse (maybe the thing is that their flesh is “eclipsing” their spirits and as the moon moves away from the sun their radiant spirits can be free).

Now as a writer I’m always up for taking aim at the concept of the body vs. mind/spirit. They’re not really separate! So there’s that issue with the ceremony, along with the fact that the URSKEKs are not as pure and wise as they’d like to believe. Also, most of them are at least a little bit afraid of this ceremony, which, if one has any doubts at all, sounds like an elaborate suicide pact. But they can’t stop now, it needs 18 people to work because 2x3x3 and other math and geometry reasons, and no one else is enlightened enough. So the ceremony starts, and it gets underway, and whoa it seems to actually be working, or at least something’s happening that’s not just bleeding out and dying when you cut your body down the center line with a quartz dagger. But they also feel like they’re losing themselves and they don’t really want to do that (too late).

When totality ends there are now 36 bodies in the ceremony location, with fractured memories and appearances that are now somewhat off from human.

All of them immediately feel that there’s something very wrong about this situation, but it’s hard to think in the confusion.

And then a lower-ranking cult member that they’d arranged to check on them after the ceremony (an honor, to see their new spirit forms and maybe deal with their bodies if they were still there after the transformation) opens the door to the room. And for all of the new skeksis AND urRu, a couple of things become very clear: 1) one of the ways in which they’re different from humans is their fangs, and 2) they need that guy’s blood. Basically a feeding frenzy ensues, and this is when they all learn about paired injuries and paired deaths, and those two pairs whose names I forget die. Exsanguinated by their former cult fellows. Kind of fucked but this is a vampire AU babey.

Now, after this whole shitshow, the 32 remaining vampires are a lot calmer and they’re able to figure out that they’re halves of the URSKEKs. One set of halves (the urRu) is of the opinion that they all represent a horrible failure of the ceremony (they were compelled to tear into that guy like wild animals), while the skeksis halves immediately start insisting that it went right or even better than planned (they’re now above humans and can consume them like any other meat animal). The difference of opinion corresponds to some subtle physical differences between the two as well.

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

[backtochicago]

in case i was re-reading this, i should have elaborated more of why i mentioned it even though it's the basic feature on his face

the reason i brought it up because i have the same eyebags as him. my eyebags are always visible and sharp like im sleepless ( i do get enough sleep ), i think it even has dark circle under it. and i was getting mocked and made fun of my eyebags during long period of times as they mentioned i looked like a weirdo maniac which kinda upset me. and i always tried to cover it.

seeing dream's eyebags is like seeing a person having the same birthmark with you. his confidence in his face and appearance in general, the fact that me seeing the unspoken beauty of his eyebags with his freckles under, make me start loving my eyebags once again, make me appreciate it once again without shame. at least when someone makes fun of those again, i can just say "well atleast me and my fav cc have same eyebags, and he's one of the most beautiful man that i have ever seen in my life literally"

it's breathtaking that dream - a minecraft youtuber guy - make someone start to love their face feature, which they used to hate, once again. and i couldn't be glad more.

i think one of the best thing i have done during the time i analyze dream's face in order to draw and describe him accurately is realizing how beautiful he is. like handsome, pretty, charming, etc.. is not even the word that fit enough to him, he is just beautiful you know

like he has a sharp square jawline but somehow when you look directly at his face, you still can feel the softness shape with his squishy cheek.

he's a man but his eyes are so feminie, doe eyes with bright soft green sage. his eyebags god, with HIS FRECKLES sprinkle under those make his eyes area look more softer even when he has visible clear eyebags.

and his nose, one of the most highlight features on his face. his nose is so straight but his pointy nose head shine make it look more cuter than normal make everyone wanna kiss on it.

like god, total overall, he is just so beautiful he has both of masculine and feminine features on his face and that makes him look beautiful naturally. and the more i analyze, the more i love his face

[jameui]

UNFORTUNATE FATE

Requested

PAIRING: Jeon Jungkook x M!Reader x Kim Taehyung

GENRE: Angst, Smut, Fluff

WARNINGS: Noncon, Taehyung being a rough monster, Jungkook being a jerk

SUMMARY: You and Jungkook had been friends with benefits for the longest time you could ever think of and when you decided to end all of it, he couldn't take it and decided that you needed a little mind opener.

Your eyes were dreamily looking at your long time crush, Kim Taehyung, a senior who has been nothing, but kind to you and your friend, which was one of the many reasons why you fell for this man. You knew it sounded so cheesy and clichè, but to you the moment you saw him, it was love at first sight. When his eyes met with yours, you couldn't help yourself from getting attached so easily, like a butterfly to a candlelight.

Your friend noticed your staring as she stopped in the middle of eating, cheeks puffed up from being full, then turning her head towards the direction where your eyes stared into. She scoffed and turned back to continue eating her food, rolling her eyes. "Hey, can you stop with the staring? He'd probably think you're a creep."

You sighed while pushing the bottom of your lips and nodded. "I just can't even if you want me to. He's just so irresistible."

As you talked, you were so caught up in your head that you never got the chance to notice the eyes that were boring holes into your back.

You stabbed your fork onto your fries, taking a few pieces of the fried yellow sticks and putting it into your mouth. You hummed while happily munching on your food, doing a little dance on your seat as you did so. Hyejoo, your friend who sat across you, caught sight of a fuming Jungkook whose face was as red as a tomato from all the anger. She subtly went back down to eating her food and cleared her throat. "M/n." She whispered your name while she waved at you to move your ear closer to her mouth.

You did as you were gestured and leaned in closer. "Jung—"

"Hey, Choi! Get your ass up. Now." A deep voiced male sternly told you taking both of your attentions as you glared at him.

"Who do you think you are to tell me what to do?" You tut your tongue and smirked. "Weirdo."

That was enough to make Jungkook release fire through his nose, then took your wrist and pulled you away with him to who knows where. "Ah! Jungkook! Stop!"

"No can do, M/n." Jungkook chuckled darkly. "You've been such a brat, my little bitch. Had fun?"

Once you were able to free yourself from his grasp, you glared at him and pushed him away. "What the fuck is wrong with you? I told you I don't want to be your sex buddy, anymore." You sighed in disbelief and waisted your hands. "I can't deal with just being a fuck bud, when I want you to be my boyfriend."

"Then, I'll be your boyfriend —"

"No!" You retorted quite shocked that Jungkook thought like that. As if he can get anything he wants. "You lost your chance, Jeon. I don't want you anymore." You glared your eyes at him and was about to leave when Jungkook pushed you inside the restroom that you didn't even know was there until now.

"Jungkook, what the—" He cuts you off mid-sentence when he wraps a hand tightly around your throat that got you gasping for air all the while trying your best to remove his hand from your neck.

His eyes darkened and growled loudly, before he moved to the nearest cubicle and pulled both of you inside. He practically threw you inside and got you seated on the closed toilet while you coughed and tried to gather as much air as you can. "You are being so disrespectful right now, doll." He locks the door behind him as he stalked forward, one side of his lips curling up to a smirk raising his knee to let it rest near your crotch caging you in between his arms with his face so close to yours, one wrong move and both of your lips would be touching each other. "Do you wanna know what happens to bad boys, M/n?" His breathe felt so warm on your skin, but you didn't want him so close to you, so you spat at his face smiling proudly when you were able to successfully erase that annoying smirk on his face. Jungkook moved one hand to wipe the spit that you put on his face, before he licked it off his fingers and seductively looked back at your eyes that were opened widely from shock. "You taste good, M/n."

"Fuck you! Get away from me, you creep!" You screamed on the top of your lungs making Jungkook feel more agitated. "You weirdo!" That was the last straw and you finally released the beast that was hidden inside the bunny looking guy's facade. He raised a hand and let it drop to slap your face harshly, leaving a scratch in the process. The impact was so hard it got your head tilting to the side.

He panted heavily, his eyes looking like they were about to pop off from his sockets with how much he opened them from so much anger. "You... stupid bitch!" Then, he gave you another slap that brought tears to your eyes as you held your cheek where it stung the most. He took your cheeks digging his fingers onto the flesh that connected your cheekbone and jaw and made you face him getting you sobbing in pain.

Your tears dropped down your face, but he couldn't care less. In fact, he loved the way you cried. He loved the way each drop fell from your face and to the floor. "S-stop.. you're —Ah!" You screamed once Jungkook dug his fingers even more forcing you to open your mouth.

His eyes panned over your crying face and licked his lips, before his smirk got even wider. "Damn, M/n. Didn't know you could make your face look even prettier. You look so cute right now." He said, then angrily lets go of you making sure to leave you crying. He got back up and sighed while pushing his hair back, looking down towards his crotch and chuckled. "Fuck, M/n. Look what you did to me?" He turned to you and shamelessly showed you the tent on his pants as he started to palm himself. "You got me so fucking hard."

You side eyed him kicked him by the shin that got him wincing in pain. "You have serious issues. Get some—"

Jungkook was fast to recover from the pain and punched your face that was sure to leave a bruise. "You little shit!" He threw his fists one more time towards you, almost breaking your nose.

While you tried to treat yourself from the pain, you suddenly heard the sound of Jungkook hastily unbuckling his pants and let his fly flew open. Jungkook took a fistful of your hair, pulling on it making you whimper that the other male only found pleasing to his ears. "Now, be a good boy and do as I say." He said, then approached your ear and whispered. "Suck."

You could have simply punched him on the face or kick his balls, but knowing Jungkook, you feared that he'd give you more than just throwing punches. Hell, he'd even be capable of killing you. So, with hesitant and shaking hands you reached over the waistband of his boxers and pulled them down, his big cock springing to life hitting your face that made you look away. You looked up at him with fear in your eyes.

You didn't want to take that. It was huge and looked like it would destroy your throat if you ever tried to take him into your mouth. "Jungkook.. I.. we can still talk this out."

"Fuck!" He impatiently yelled and once again held your cheeks and forced your jaw to fall open before he shoved his dick inside your mouth, a shocked choking noise coming out from you. Jungkook sighed in satisfaction his head falling backwards while guiding your head on his cock. "Daammmn, M/n~" He hummed with his eyes closing in ecstasy.

Tears pricked on the side of your eyes and gagged whenever the male's tip hit the back of your throat. You dared to look up at him with a very pitiful face that brought you nothing, but a groan from Jungkook who got more turned on from the look on your face. With that, he fastened his pace and let his cock dive deeper into your wet cavern, then deciding to let you take all of him making him howl while you tried your very best to move away from his strong grip on your hair.

He stays for a good couple of seconds to let you adjust to his size, while you gulped and swallowed around his cock that got Jungkook growling before losing all his patience and drilled his dick in your mouth at a very unexpected and rough pace that made your tears fall down your face as you sobbed loudly and muffled out words that was barely understood by the other male who continuously fucked your mouth, not that he cares anyways.

Jungkook, the first time you met him, he was a very sweet and kind person, just like Kim Taehyung, the person your heart beats for. Jungkook always picked you up from your dorm and would offer to treat you to breakfast without any exchange. With that face of Jungkook, you had thought that he would be a useless jerk and a playboy who goes around breaking people's hearts, male or female, and you were right. Moreso now that Jungkook is literally planning on destroying your throat.

Jungkook bucked his hips forward, reaching further down your throat that made you feel bile rising from your throat, but you got yourself swallowing it and shivered in disgust. Jungkook thrusted his cock inside your mouth and went at an even faster pace, your eyes rolled back tears falling down your cheeks, your lips perfectly curled over taking the shape of his cock. At this point you weren't thinking clearly, all you could ever think of was getting this done and over with while Jungkook fucked your mouth and didn't even care for you.

Jungkook increased the pace of his thrusts and you barely even registered his size when your teeth accidentally scraped the skin of his rod, the male, in instinct, pulled away and cursed under his breath, then landed a rough slap across your face making you hold your face. "FUCK! Look what you did?" The smooth flesh of his shaft was now painted with crimson red, the mark that was caused by the gash, visible on the base of his cock.

"You... that was your fault.. asshole." You said, wiping your mouth with the back of your hand and glared at him furiously.

Jungkook's eyes peered down at you the same way you looked at him. "Don't you dare—"

"M/n! M/n! Goodness, where could have that kid gone?" That all too familiar voice called out your name as your eyes widened and smiled now that your saviour has arrived.

"Sunbae! I'm over here!" You screamed out, smirking to yourself before a sound of footsteps approached your cubicle and he knocked ont he door.

"Are you here, M/n?" His deep, but gentle voice asked you.

"Yes." You meekly replied and what you heard next made your smile falter.

"Fuck, Jungkook. You should have told me. I wanted to have some fun too." Taehyung said, and although you couldn't see it, you could sense the smirk on his face from the sound of his voice. How did he know Jungkook was here?

Jungkook heaved up his pants after he wrapped paper towels around his bleeding manhood and fixed himself. He opened the door for Taehyung and the younger of the two dragged you out of the cubicle and moved to lock the door before he shoved your body towards the sink. You groaned in pain and held your stomach in disbelief that the least person you ever expected be involved in such terrible things was also a part of the plan. "This little bitch fucking made my cock bleed."

"Oh, really, now?" Taehyung smirked and waisted his hands.

"T-Taehyung-sunbae.. you're in this too?" You asked with a shaking body.

Taehyung scoffed, then placed his hands inside his pockets and neared you. He laid a finger on your chin and pushed them up so you could face him whilst your lips quivered from the feeling of betrayal. "Are you asking what's obvious, M/n?" He smirked before his finger left your face and tilted his head faking an innocent look. "Course I was. Why else would I be so kind to you?"

"You... Why?" You managed to ask, but Taehyung had been waiting for so long and he could no longer wait anymore.

He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Do you still plan on asking nonsensical questions? 'Cause I'm not having any of it." Jungkook kicked the back of your knee, forcing you to be on your knees kneeling down in front of Taehyung. "Suck. Use your teeth and this will be the last time you'll see light." He threatened you and you could only nod naively with tears falling down your face.

You reached over the buckle of his belt and started to unfasten it, loud sobs erupting from your mouth. How could you have not see this coming? You should have. Taehyung was Jungkook's friend and heard rumors about the two going on about the place to find a person to fuck, be it a girl or a boy. You should have just listened to Hyejoo. She was the one who kept telling you that Taehyung was not a person to trust nor a person to be with. He's just pure red flags and now, you could see it with your own eyes.

You unzipped his pants after you have unbuttoned it and let them fall down to his ankles while your clammy hands moved to remove his boxers. His erect dick sprang into action, almost hitting your face. You looked up at him and tried to change his mind by showing him the fear you were in and tried to beg for mercy, but just like the other, he only liked the way you looked so vulnerable in your state. "Continue making that face and I might just let you go." He said with a sly smirk that became unnoticed by you as you nodded your head in reply.

You sniffed and sobbed, then took his cock into your hand and jerked him off, your fingers barely even touching each other from the size of his dick. You looked up at him while Taehyung groaned and knitted his brows in pleasure. Your eyes both locked with each other, before you proceeded to wrap your lips around the pink bulbous tip of his immeasurable length and played with it by swirling your tongue around the head. You would occasionally look up at Taehyung whose eyes always watched your every move, making you blush a little bit, before you removed him from your mouth and decided to lick the underside of his member in attempt to please the male who groaned and started to tangle his hand with your hair. "Kookie, look. He listens to me so well." Jungkook huffed and crossed his arms as if Taehyung had just took a stuffed toy from him.

Taehyung's attention went back to you when you finally had your lips around his cock and moaned in satisfaction as he pushed his head backwards. You took this as a sign that Taehyung was feeling good and felt your chest swell with pride, despite the fact that Taehyung had already had people who made him feel this good, but the feeling of success that you made him feel pleasure only drove you to do better.

You didn't want to like it, but if it's Taehyung the only thing in your mind was to just submit to him and follow his every order like a dog. You inserted inches of his dick inside your mouth and started to suck at an agonizingly slow pace, but nonetheless Taehyung felt like he was in cloud-nine. "Fuck, baby. Go deeper." You took his order and inserted a few more inches, now his dick halfway inside your mouth as Taehyung whistled and fisted your hair making you groan, the vibrations sending sensations down Taehyung's big package while he moaned. "Damn, shit."

From the side of your eyes, you could see Jungkook glaring at you two. He clearly was angry that you two were having fun and here he was having to deal with the pain you placed him in. You were side-eyeing Jungkook trying to tease him more by smirking widely, until it was wiped away from your face when Taehyung grabbed your head and pushed all of his length inside your mouth reaching further down your throat making you choke while you tried to relax your gag reflex and looked up at Taehyung with tears in his eyes. "Oh, fuck. Shit, baby. I'm so sorry. You're mouth just felt so good." He told you with furrowed brows and wiped your tears away from the side of your eyes before he caressed your face as you leaned to his touch.

You knew Taehyung could possibly be only staging his care for you, but you never cared anymore. You gave his thigh a tap to tell him that you were fine and he thankfully understood when he started to rock his hips slowly into your mouth, gradually increasing his pace. You felt yourself start to leak precum throughout the whole time that Taehyung thrusted his cock in your mouth.

Jungkook had enough and settled himself behind you as he whispered into your ear. "Does Taehyungie taste good, M/n? Hmm?" Jungkook's hot breathe hit the back of your neck as you felt his hands snake under your uniform's polo and reached up to play with your erect buds. He flicked and pinched your nipples while you moaned in pleasure, Taehyung moaning louder. "Are you gonna answer me, M/n or not?"

You nodded your head as though to tell him that you were gonna answer him, but you pointed towards your mouth to tell Jungkook that your mouth was full. "Oh, your mouth's dick-filled, huh?" You nod your head again and Jungkook chuckled deeply. "Is that so?" He looked up at Taehyung and perked his head up. "Faster, hyung. I think our fuck toy needs more."

Taehyung complied and drilled his dick into your mouth at a pace you couldn't handle, your eyes widening in shock and rolled back in pleasure. You were in euphoria. You liked how rough Taehyung was with your mouth you never even noticed you have already came creating a wet patch on your pants.

"Ohh, look. Someone's a little too sensitive." Jungkook whispered, one hand moving down to your ass kneading your butt cheeks as if they were dough and continued to do this until he was finally able to process how supple your bubble butt was.

You couldn't think straight anymore. You just felt so good. Your mouth getting abused, how Jungkook caressed your body and the way Taehyung pulled on your hair, all of it made you feel like you were in heaven. You felt ecstatic. You still could make out the voice of Taehyung who let out chains of curses and grunts as he inhumanely sped up on his thrusting. "M/n! Ah, shiiit! Mmmmh, fuck, baby. So good for me, huh? Taking my whole cock."

You closed your eyes as you succumb to the feeling, now making use of your tongue that only stayed in one position the whole time. You swirled and played with his cock trying to follow the rhythm of his unbelievable speed, Taehyung moaning. "Damn it, M/n. You really know how to make a man feel real good, huh? Guess I wasn't wrong when I said you'd make a good toy." Taehyung smirked and never stopped from slamming his dick in your mouth.

After a few more thrusts, Taehyung pulled his still erect dick from your mouth as you looked up at him with a pout. "But.. but, sunbae still wasn't able to cum."

"Don't worry, M/n." Taehyung bent down to your height with a growing smirk. "There's more than just one way to make your sunbae cum."

"R-reallly? Tell me, tell me!" You desperately asked the older who looked at Jungkook and the latter looked at him.

"Let me show you." Jungkook said before he got you up on your feet and pulled you inside a cubicle, Taehyung following behind with his exposed dick, throbbing like crazy from the sight of you being such a good slut for them. Jungkook sat on the closed toilet while you stood in front of him, Taehyung placing himself behind you. "C'mere. Hold onto my shoulders." He curled his fingers at you and you immediately did as he was told. You held his shoulders, while Taehyung positioned your lower half so it would face him. You gasped when Taehyung, without any hesitation, pulled your pants down the cold air making contact with your ass that was now in full display.

You heard Taehyung tut his tongue staring at your butt making you blush bashfully. "M/n. Are you a virgin?"

You gulped, then buried your face on the crook of Jungkook's neck and nodded your head. "Y-yes."

"Damn. Then, I don't think you'd be able to—"

"No, I can take it, sunbae. Please, just please fuck me!" You pleaded as if it was the end of the world, looking back at Taehyung who was smirking widely. "I've always wanted to be fucked by you, sunbae."

"Really?" He wiggled his brows at Jungkook, who only rolled his eyes. "Then, I'll make sure that your first would be a memory to remember."

Without any preparation, Taehyung aligned his dick to prod at your entrance making you gasp. "Wait, sunbae aren't you gonna prep—AH, FUCK! P-PULL OUT! IT HURTS!" You evidently winced, but your words fell into deaf ears as Taehyung continued to push his tip further down your hole. "Ah! Sunbaee!" You said and tried to look back, when Jungkook took you by the chin and placed his lips on yours passionately kissing you. Your eyes widened in shock, but melted into the kiss anyways and replied to the unexpected invitation.

He pulled away, much to your dismay and whimpered forgetting about the pain in your ass. "Why'd you have to lie to hyung, M/n? I was all your first. I was there to take all your innocence away." He whispered lowly into your ear, making sure it was only you and him who could hear. Luckily, Taehyung was a groaning mess. Growling here and there with every opportunity he could get while still pushing in slowly into your hole. "Is this what you wanted? Hmm?"

"Y-yes, Kookie." You closed your eyes and hugged Jungkook by the neck. "Kook, M'sorry for biting. M'really sorry." You unconsciously apologized, your brain still too far away from being in this place.

"It's alright." Jungkook smiled. "But, you have to be really obedient next time. Okay, M/n?"

"Yes, Kookie. Ye—Ah!" You let out a loud gasp the moment Taehyung was able to slide all of his length inside you.

"Fuck, baby. That felt like you swallowed my whole dick inside you. Do you really want it so badly?" Taehyung asked you seductively and trailed kisses from your neck down to your back in attempt to ease every tense muscle in your body that was caused from the pain.

"Y-yes, sunbae. I want it so, so bad—AAAAH!" An ear splitting scream emitted from your mouth making Jungkook look away from you. Taehyung didn't give you any warning nor Jungkook when he suddenly fucked you into pure bliss. "Sunbae, sunbaee. Nnngh~ Ahh! Good.. GOOD!"

"Yeah?" Taehyung panted heavily as he thrusted at a pace you couldn't even let your ass get wind of. "Then, I'll make you feel even better." Taehyung said and hammered his dick into you as if it was a very easy task and groaned loudly, howling at how much you clenched around his dick. You were about to open your mouth to say something, when Taehyung hit that bundle of nerves that made you see stars your tongue rolling out of its place. "Found it."

Taehyung gladly abused that same area and hit it with every thrusts, with every hit eliciting a moan from you. Jungkook didn't want to feel left out, so he locked his lips with yours once again sucking on your tongue that made you moan, the noise getting swallowed by the older male who had caught your lips. Jungkook now, played with your tongue swirling around at a choreography he obviously led.

Taehyung saw that he wasn't gaining any attention when he was clearly the one who was making you feel satisfied right now with his own dick and there you were happily making out with Jungkook, jealousy rising in his chest. In anger, he pulled himself out of you only to slam his dick back inside you making you let out a lewd noise from your mouth, forcing you to move away from Jungkook's lips. "Attention here, M/n. I'm the one making you feel good."

You nodded your head while Taehyung leaned his body and moved your head to look at him and pulled you in for a rough kiss. Jungkook noticed that Taehyung was trying to get all your attention for himself only and he didn't like it one bit. If anything, he should have been the one fucking your ass into oblivion had not been for his bleeding penis. Jungkook growled possessively and glared at Taehyung who only side eyed the younger as he continued to thrust his dick in and out of you at an animalistic pace.

It was you who pulled away from Taehyung, feeling bad that Jungkook wasn't getting any of your recognition that he deserved. "Kookie..." You said while your ass was getting pounded angrily by Taehyung, as your tears fell down your face from the pleasure that you felt. You parted the male's bangs and placed a kiss on his forehead shaking as you felt yourself grow weak from how much Taehyung fucked your ass, the bliss making your knees buckle the only thing that supported you from standing was Taehyung's strong hands that gripped on your hips tightly.

"Fuck, I'm near. So fucking near." Taehyung said, as you also felt the same.

"I-Inside me, sunbae. Please, breed me. Make me pregnant." You weakly told the male out of pure desperation and eagerness.

"Shit, M/n!" Taehyung growled loudly as he gritted his teeth from how strong he rammed his cock into you. Loud skin slapping and wet noises emitted from the two of you as his thrusts started to get sloppy. "I'm cumming. Cumming!"

"Yes, yes! Ah!" You let out a high pitched moan whilst Taehyung buried his length inside of you and stayed there painting your walls with his cum, finishing inside of you.

Taehyung panted thrusting a few more times to ride out his high. After, he pulled out of you and watched as his thick liquid he filled you with dripped down from your ass. Your legs finally gave in and fell to the floor, you fainting from so much exhaustion.

---------

Your eyes fluttered open feeling yourself laid on something soft. You finally realized that you were resting on the bed inside the clinic when you sat up and looked around. You felt your head throb a little as you held your head and tried to recall what happened. "What the hell..." Then, everything that happened this morning came rushing back into your head making you heave out a loud sigh in disbelief. You did it again. You let someone have their way with you again. Also, one thing that stuck to your head was what Taehyung said. "So, sunbae, wasn't really genuinely kind... to me?"

The door to the room clicked open and you immediately went back to your sleeping position and acted asleep. Footsteps approached you and stopped in their tracks. You heard a person sigh. "Fuck... This is all your fault."

"Me?! You were the one who planned all this!"

"Who the fuck got so angry just 'cause he wasn't getting any attention?"

"Well, who... well.."

"Stop!" You interrupted the two fearing that their arguing would grow worse.

Their heads turned to you and you swore that you could see both of them sparkle in delight. "M/n!" They ran to you and hugged you. "M/n, oh my goodness. Are you hurt somewhere? Hmm? Tell me."

"Nowhere in particular, but—Ah, stop!" You said and held both of your hands up at them as though to tell them to be quiet. "I'm... I'm..." Your eyes looked up at Taehyung, hurt evident in your eyes before you finally cried pulling your knees close to your chest.

"Oh, fuck. M/n! I'm so sorry. Please, don't take what I said seriously. It was just, you know, a script. I was being real when I treated you and your friend kindly. Honest." Taehyung said all in one go to defend himself, regretting ever thinking of saying those things. He knew it would hurt you, but he still went for it. "Forgive sunbae, M/n. I didn't mean it."

You sobbed and sniffed, wiping your tears. "Really?"

"Yeah." Taehyung replied.

Jungkook was a very big baby and didn't know what to do in these type of situations, so in result he climbed up on the bed and gave you a big hug, the hug turning into a cuddle session. You hated Jungkook with all your guts, but why? Why did you let him do what he wants from you? "Kookie... You.. are you okay?"

Jungkook nodded his head. "Yeap. Thankfully, it wasn't a deep cut, but that would be a lesson for me not to mess with a person like you." He chuckled awkwardly making you laugh lightly.

"Hey, not fair. You both get to cuddle." Taehyung whined, shaking your head in disbelief.

"Come on here." You told Taehyung and he gladly crawled towards you as you repositioned yourself to straddle his thighs, while Jungkook placed himself behind you, supporting Taehyung from carrying your weight. "I like this." You said and rested your back against Jungkook's hard built chest before placing a kiss on his chin.

"Uhm... M/n...? We were meaning to ask you." Taehyung started. You hummed in reply while Taehyung blushed shyly. "Would you be fine to enter a.. uhm.. polyamorous relationship with us?"

You looked at Jungkook, then at Taehyung, then back at Jungkook. You pointed at yourself and tilted your head to the side. "Me? Are your sure?"

"Yes. You and only you." Jungkook answered and planted a kiss on top of your head.

You giggled and nodded your head. "I'll be more than happy to."

On the other hand, Hyejoo was busy taking photos eating her sandwich away. "This is so cute."

[dilf0bsess0r]

Aged-Up!Peter Parker x Reader Smut

Sub!Peter fic

2.5k words

~~~~~~

When you and Peter first started dating, nothing sexual happened, just a few kisses here and there, and occasional make out sessions. As the weeks go by, you were more and more curious as to why the two of you hadn't slept together, but you never brought it up, you didn't want the poor guy to feel pressured.

Then one night, the two of you were watching Star Wars movies for the 70th time in his room, and let's just say that R2D2 was seeing some things he shouldn't be seeing. In the midst of a heavy make out session, you let your hand travel down to the slight bulge you had noticed in his pajama pants, and moved the palm of your hand over him, giving him a tiny bit of friction.

His hips instantly bucked up, and he removed his lips from yours. "Y/N?" He said, meekly as you moved to kiss and lick up the column of his throat, while continuing to palm his now, fully hard cock. You pulled back to admire your work, seeing the red marks scattered across his neck, "Yes sweetie?" You finally respond to the poor boy, who's gone completely red in the face. "Umm, I don't- I cant, umm" he stutters out, his eyes not meeting yours. You use your hand to lift his head so that he finally makes eye contact with you, "Use your words baby", and his eyes close as he lets out a strangled half sigh, half moan.

"Umm, we ca- can't do this" Peter says quietly, almost as if he was ashamed. You scoot away from him a little, so he doesn't feel overwhelmed, "And that's completely fine love, may I ask why?" You ask him softly. "I've never..." he starts, gesturing wildly with his hands and you immediately understand.

"Oh!" You say with wide eyes, and that gives Peter the wrong idea.

He jumps off the bed quickly, grabbing a pillow to cover his lower half, words coming out jumbled, "I knew it! You think I'm a weirdo! This is why I can't be with you! You- you need someone with more, experience and, and who knows what they're doing and that's not-" , he finally quiets down when your lips meet his in a slower, softer kiss than the ones you shared earlier.

You feel his tense shoulders relax and his lips melt against yours, and you finally disconnect from him only to say, "Pete, I promise I don't care that you're a virgin". The boy's face lights up, "Really? You don't?"

You shake your head and laugh a little, "I promise love, it's okay." He grins. "In fact, I find it kinda hot", you whisper the last word with a goofy smirk. The smirk grows into a smile when the younger boy blushes and says, "How is that?"

Before answering the question, you push him down into a sitting position on the bed, you let your hand travel across the expanse of his chest, and say "Baby, is it ok if I touch you?" Peter visibly gulps then responds, "Yes ma'am" before slapping his hand over his face.

"I'm sorry oh my god, I- I don't know where that came fr-" you silence him with your pointer finger over his lips. "Peter, it's okay." His eyes widen even more, at the display of dominance. "Baby, do you want to call me ma'am?" You ask him. He slowly shakes his head yes and you grin, "Perfect."

Y/N loved how easily he was falling into the submissive role. You hadn't had many partners before, but you learned very quickly that you didn't like being told what to do, and the dominant role came easy to you. You were going to tear this poor boy into pieces.

You kiss him again and move to straddle him, your legs enclosing his, and he lets out a light whimper at the pressure on his aching cock. "Don't worry baby boy, I'm gonna take care of you, ok?", he nods his head but that isn't good enough for you.

You grab his chin between two of your fingers and look straight into his eyes and say with a stern voice, "Peter, if anything is going to happen tonight, I need verbal confirmation every step of the way. Understand?"

"Yes ma'am" is squeaked out from the brown eyed boy, his eyes glazing over.

You grind your heated core against the tent in his pajama pants, the thin material giving him the friction he so desperately craved. He lets out a soft moan, his head falling back.

"Baby," you say and grab his attention, and he struggles to focus because of the way you're moving against him, "I'm going to ask you a question or two okay? I just want you to focus on not coming until I allow you" you tell him.

"Yes ma'am" he whimpers.

"I know you said you're virgin, but have you ever done anything?" you ask.

"No ma'am. I mean, I- fuck- I jerk off sometimes but that- that's it" he stutters out, trying his best to answer you.

"Oh, naughty boy", you playfully chastise as you stand up, hearing a whine from Peter.

That noise is turned into a moan as you quickly drop to your knees and mouth at his clothed cock.

"Y/N!" Peter exclaims, gripping at the bed covers.

After there's a nice, big wet spot on his pants, you move to pull them down. You're met with a nice surprise when there's no underwear underneath.

You look up at Peter, with a raised eyebrow and he blushes, "Well I figured that I would be watching movies here, then going straight back to my room to sleep", he answers the unspoken question.

Deciding to tease him a little you say, "Nah, I think you did it for easy access. Anyone who wanted a piece of you could just ask and I bet you'd say yes. Wouldn't you? Cause that's what whores do.", putting emphasis on the "dirty" word.

"What- no no no, I'm not a... that" Peter splutters out.

You grab his cock in your hand, the head flushed red, and you use your thumb to rub the precum around that has gathered at the tip, resulting in a high pitched moan from the boy. You slowly start to stroke him before saying, "I'm sorry, were you disagreeing with me?"

You pick up your pace, flicking your wrist when you come back to the head of his cock, watching in delight as his face scrunches up in pleasure. He shakes his head no, and you remind him "Words, Peter." with a harsh tone.

"No ma'am, I'm not disagreeing" he nearly sobs.

"Good. Glad you remembered who's in charge tonight."

Simply because you can't resist anymore, you lean forward and lick right up the underside of his leaking dick, over the prominent vein, and you end it by swirling your tongue over the tip.

Peter moans embarrassingly loud and looks down at you with wide, glassy eyes and says, "Y/N...", in a whiny voice.

You go back to just stroking him and say, "What is it? What do you want baby, talk to me." He huffs in frustration of not being able to formulate his words.

" I want- I want your mouth." He finally says, but you stay quiet, waiting. "Please" he says meekly and you give in. You finally take him fully into your mouth, moaning at the taste. You focus on going as deep as you can, then coming back up and paying attention to the head.

Minutes pass and you're surprised at how long he's lasting, so you pull off of his cock with loud pop, and say "You know for a virgin, you're lasting way longer than I thought."

"Yeah, I edge myself sometimes, work on stamina" he rushes out, in hopes of getting your mouth back on him.

However, his statement intrigues you. "Edging hm? I wonder how long you can go... wanna find out?" You tease as you leisurely stroke him.

"Nonono! Please no" He begs, "Just wanna- wanna cum" he finishes, hiccuping while trying to plead his case.

"Alright baby, maybe next time" you surrender. His face perks up at the mention of a "next time"

"Where do you want to cum? My mouth, my face, my tits?" You ask him and he doesn't even have to verbally answer. You know which one he wants by the way his eyes light up at the mention of possibly coming on your boobs.

You quickly stand up to take off your shirt and bra, and when you meet the eyes of the submissive boy, you're met with a look of awe. He stares at you as though you are a goddess and he is a mere mortal. It boosts your confidence and your ego, as you go to regain your position in front of him.

"Ok so this is how this works," you start and he's like a little puppy, the way his ears seem to perk up at your instructions. "You're going to jerk yourself off, until you cum all over my tits okay?", you finish, using your elbows to slightly push your tits up and together. His eyes flutter shut and he says "Yes ma'am" before he grabs his cock and starts to tug.

It's not long before he's moaning unabashedly and he's begging for release. "Ple- please ma'am, can I cum?"

"Hmm, I dunno, I think you can wait a little longer", you say with a cruel smile. He whimpers at your mean words and continues to stroke himself.

"Not gonna be able to hold on much longer" he whines out, voice strained.

Deciding to take pity on him, you finally tell him, "Fine you can cum. But, you make sure to keep your eyes on me or you won't cum for a week." you state in a harsh tone.

"Ok ok! I will I promise" he rushes out, starting to stroke himself faster and faster, approaching his climax.

You push your tits up even higher, and you even go as far as to sticking your tongue, just for the erotic visual.

"Fuckfuckfuc- Y/N!" Peter practically shouts as he shoots cum all over your chest, some of it going on your chin and tongue. Not even giving him time to recover, you jump up to his lap to give him a messy, wet kiss. He moans into your mouth, tasting himself and you. You finally break apart, running your hands through his messy curls, "How was that baby?".

He clears his throat before speaking but his voice still comes out a bit shaky, "It was amazing".

"I'm glad it was, now let's get you in the bath while I put your pajama pants in the wash, you can sleep over here tonight okay?" You say in a soothing, quiet tone. "Y-yeah, that sounds good.", the younger boy responds.

You stand up and you start to use your tossed away shirt to wipe of his cum, but Peter stops you, "Can- can I?"

Your eyes widen but you nod your head yes. You barely nod once before Peters tongue is on your breasts, licking up his release. And if that isn't the hottest thing you've ever seen, you don't know what is.

He finishes with a groan before dropping to his knees. "Peter, what are you doing?"

"Wanna take care of you too" he states as he starts to mouth and lick at your mound through your shorts. You moan before gently pushing him back by his shoulders, "As tempting as that is, tonight was and is about you, we'll worry about me another day." He opens his mouth to protest but you cut him off, "End of discussion.", you lean down to his ear to whisper, "Trust me baby boy, I have plenty of ways you can make it up to me. Just not tonight".

He whimpers merely at the thought of pleasuring you, and if that doesn't make you want to just eat him alive. Resisting temptation, you extend your hand to him so he can stand up, and you pull him along as you make your way to the master bathroom.

Perks of living in a multi million dollar compound.

You go straight to the large, jacuzzi like tub, turning on the faucet and letting it fill up. You pour some bath salts into it and hand Peter some body wash, "When it's hot enough, go ahead and get in and wash yourself. I'll be putting your pajamas in the wash and I'll be right back to get in with you, okay?"

He looks at you with a soft smile, "Yeah, okay.""Great", you go back into your room to grab his pants, leaving him alone before heading to the wash.

Soon enough, you make your way back in there, seeing Peter relaxed with his head back against the edge of the tub, his eyes closed. They open at the sound of your footsteps and he smiles fondly at you, before you fully undress yourself, and step in. You cuddle up to him and rest your head on his shoulder.

The two of you stay like that until you hear soft snores from Peter. You step out of the bath and grab a towel to wrap around you, and you go over to wake him up. "Pete, baby, gotta wake up so we can get you to bed."

His eyes flutter open, and he reluctantly steps out of the bath. You hand him a towel, then you go to drain the tub. You tell him to dry off, then go ahead to the bed while you grab his pants.

After returning with his pants, you see him sitting on the edge of the bed, fighting sleep, lazily rubbing one of his eyes with the back of his hand. You try not to aww out loud, because he is just so cute. You finally walk in, handing him his pajamas, then going to your dresser to grab an oversized band t-shirt to sleep in. You put your hair in your head wrap, and you walk to the bed that Peter has already gotten comfortable in.

"You wanna be big spoon or little spoon?" You ask him. You don't mind being big spoon, you actually kind of preferred it. Which is why you let a small smile creep on your face when he says "Little spoon" in a small, hushed voice. You crawl into the bed and let him cuddle into your chest as you wrap your arms around him.

"Goodnight Y/N." "Goodnight Peter."

Peter falls asleep to the sound of Y/N's heartbeat, and Y/N falls asleep to the sound of Peters shallow breathing.

~~~~~

Hope you liked this! This is my first smut so it’s a little rough, and kinda anticlimactic but I enjoyed writing it.

[seokjinsonlyone]

Not My Type | 3

pairing: jungkook x female reader

summary: "She's a lot more than nice, so you need to be careful."

genre: friends to lovers

warnings: none; jimin here tho being flirty and stirring the pot <3333

rating: pg

wc: 1.7k

part 1 | part 2 | part 3

Jungkook’s newfound hobby was driving her crazy. One too many times had their little lunch rendezvous made its way into her mind in the past week. The way he sniffed her hair oddly enough was a recurring playback. She had a thing for weirdos and Jungkook could definitely be classified as that. And, that was exactly why she needed to shut this whole thing down.

Now, she considered herself a progressive individual. She didn’t mind change as long as it was for the better. She didn’t have a problem evolving her relationship with a friend. In fact, she preferred it. Always said that if she was gonna get into it, she wanted to be with a friend. But, this particular friendship wasn’t the one. It wouldn’t make sense. There was no way it could possibly be better.

They were like oil and water. They didn’t mix. Which was fine as a friendship, they could peacefully coexist. Anything more than that, however, would be an unnecessary burden. And, her life didn’t need to be anymore difficult than it already was. She wanted an easy love. It was this line of reasoning that carried her straight to her best friend’s house.

“You need to talk to your friend,” she announced, waltzing into Jimin’s home, throwing her purse on the couch before finding him sitting at the island eating cereal.

He looked up. “I’ve already told you should just ask Taemin out. He’ll most likely say yes. He thinks you’re hot. Stop trying to get me to create scenarios.”

“And, I’ve already told you I refuse to pursue a man. No matter how dreamy and evil he is,” she sighed.

In all honesty, she probably would’ve gone for it if it weren’t for the fact that she could tell he wasn’t really into her. Not in the way she would’ve liked for him to be into her. He flirted with her in person (and in her dms), held her in a way that made her stomach jump after a few drinks, but ultimately his goal was a few nights in the sheets. And, that just wasn’t her thing. She didn’t do casual. Didn’t like to invite people into her life that weren’t going to stay. So even though she thought they could be good together, she was deciding to let this one go. If he couldn’t see what was right in front of him that was on him.

“You’re gonna end up alone.”

“You must realize that I am my favorite person.” He rolled his eyes. “Anyway, I wasn’t talking about him. I was talking about Jungkook.”

“What he do?”

“He’s been acting weird ever since last week.”

“What happened last week?”

She sucked her teeth. “You know, when we were all here?”

He narrowed his eyes at her, pupils shifting from side to side, visibly racking his brain trying to recall what happened at his place last week. “Oh! Wednesday! I was so drunk, bro. What happened?”

“Ugh. You don’t remember asking me to rank all of y’all from most to least my type?” Typical Jimin. Cause trouble then dip.

“What’d you rank me?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

“I ain’t doing this again.”

He dropped his legs from the footrest of the barstool, tugging her closer and wrapping an arm around her waist. “Mmm. You couldn’t handle me either way.”

She’s not gonna lie, her heart skipped a beat. But, that’s the only reason he did it in the first place. He knew it flustered her on some level. So, she decided to play along for once, bringing her hand up to toy with the hair that rested at the back of his neck. “Baby boy, I could make you cry,” she whispered seductively.

He made a face, then pushed her away turning his attention back to his cereal. “You’re gross.”

“You started it,” she accused, laughter bubbling up at his reaction. He was CEO of “Do as I say, not as I do.” Always in the mood to dish it out, but hardly able to take it in return.

“So, what’s going on? Why do I need to talk to him?”

“Because I told him he wasn’t my type, and now he’s trying to convince me that he is.”

He choked. “What?”

“He literally showed up at my work the other day and brought me lunch.”

“That was more so directed at you saying Jungkook isn’t your type.”

“He’s not.” He raised his eyebrows, smirking conspiratorially. “He isn’t,” she insisted.

“So, you didn’t used to drool over him when you two first met?”

“See why you gotta go and bring up the past.” She wouldn’t say that she had a full blown crush on him, she didn’t know him and therefore couldn’t actually like him, but for a minute she was down bad. She wasn’t expecting to meet him when she did. Jimin had wanted to hang out and asked for a ride. He was with Jungkook when she picked him up and she was effectively caught off guard. Before she even realized what she was doing, she was out of the car and shaking hands with him in greeting. The next few weeks were spent trying her hardest to be in his presence. She never said more than two words to the boy, but yeah she was down bad. Once her hormones subsided, though, they eventually developed a friendship. A friendship that needed to stay a friendship. “Besides, I never said he wasn’t hot. I’m saying our personalities don’t match up. It wouldn’t work.”

“You aren’t that different from each other.”

“Yeah, but we’re wrong in just the right ways. It wouldn’t work.” He was right in saying that weren’t all that dissimilar, but it was because of that that she was sure starting any kind of relationship with romantic intent would go up in flames. The two were like parallel lines. Never meant to cross. Adjacent, but never intersecting. As they should.

“It sounds to me like you’re just afraid of what could happen.”

“Hold on there partner. I didn’t come here to be lectured or psychoanalyzed. I don’t even think he likes me for real, but he’s heading down a slippery slope. I just want you to talk to him before he goes and starts something that’s gonna get his feelings hurt, alright?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll see what I can do.” One thing about Jimin was that he was nosy. Had absolutely zero qualms about getting all up in other people’s business. Knowledge equals power is what he always told himself. So, if she hadn’t come to him voluntarily offering up this information, he would’ve picked up on it sooner or later, inserting himself in the middle of it all. As it stands, he’s been giving explicit permission to do some digging. All he has to do is wait for the opportunity to arise.

The opportunity came a few days later. Jungkook was sitting on his couch, phone in hand, completely zoned out when Jimin pounced.

“So... Y/N?”

Jungkook startled at the mention of her name. It wasn’t like he was just thinking about her. He definitely wasn’t about to text her. He hadn’t spent the past minutes in a daze typing, deleting, and retyping messages to send. Nope. “Huh?”

“Y/N? What’s going on with you and her?” Jimin asked again.

“What do you mean? Nothing’s going on,” he feigned innocence, voice raising an octave. Even though, for all intents and purposes, there really wasn’t anything going on.

He looked him up and down, raising an eyebrow. “That’s not what she said.”

“What did she say?” She talked about him?

“You tell me.” He smirked sitting down, crossing one leg over the other like some kind of therapist.

“I don’t know. We had lunch,” he mumbled.

“Why?”

“Because I thought she might be hungry.”

“And this has nothing to do with the fact that she said you’re not her type?”

He blew raspberries into the air. He couldn’t lie to Jimin even if he tried. The man always managed to see right through him. A consequence of nearly ten years of friendship. “I’m just trying to get to know her better,” he insisted.

“Why?”

“Because she’s nice.” Which wasn’t the complete truth, but if he admitted that he thought she had stars in her eyes he’d never hear the end of it.

“She’s a lot more than nice, so you need to be careful.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that she’s one of the best people I know, but she’s stubborn and once she has an idea in her head it’s very hard for her to let go.”

“So you think I should stop?”

“I think you shouldn’t go into this blind, is all I’m saying. Whatever you’re doing, probably won’t be easy. And, I don’t want you to get hurt. Or hurt her. What do you plan on doing if you manage to make her like you? If you’re not serious then I think you should stop.” Jimin patted his shoulder, then got up leaving him to his thoughts.

Jungkook heard what he was saying. He did. And, he was right. He hadn’t been thinking too hard about what he was doing. Honestly, he was just following the skip in his heartbeat and so far that led him to her. There was a very real possibility of him getting his feelings hurt. She was very strong willed. Couldn’t budge her mind with a bulldozer. So, if she was dead set on being against this, there wasn’t much he could do anyway.

Still, this wasn’t something he could let go of easily. He had no intentions of hurting her. It wasn’t just some conquest for him. That much he was sure of. He would hate to get closer to her, have her catch feelings for him, then dip because he wasn’t feeling it. But, he seriously doubted that would happen. It’s not like they were complete strangers. He was just seeing her in a new light now. And as much as he didn’t want anyone to get hurt, at this point he didn’t know if this was something he should even avoid. It didn’t seem like it.

Truthfully, he didn’t feel this way often. This pull he now felt toward her. He was usually much too caught up in trying to be the best version of himself he could be to entertain thoughts of others. However, right now she had his attention and he didn’t want to look away. He opened his text thread with her typing and finally sending a message before he could overthink it.

[10:53pm] jk: lunch tomorrow?

[paticheri]

Could you perhaps write a short about B gaining weight and being iffy about it and A coming to worship how cuddly they look?👉👈

Pbbbt I’ll admit, I’m super picky about the kind of WG I enjoy but someone being lovely reassured by their partner that they look great when they gain a bit of weight is something I like a lot!

Before meeting A, B had never been quite this... comfortable in their whole life. They had fallen in love and, before they knew it, settled into a loving, domestic relationship. B soon learned that A’s love language was making sure their loved ones were well-taken care of, and that included being well-fed.

A soon learned all of B’s favorite dishes and would cook them hearty meals every day, not to mention pack them lunches for when they were out at work. And boy, were they a good cook! B soon got used to eating way past the fullness point, refilling their plate until they truly couldn’t get another forkful past their lips. A seemed to find this endearing, and gently rubbed B’s overfilled belly after meals, giggling while they groaned about how full they were, but also that they didn’t regret eating so much one bit.

They just didn’t expect it to catch up with them. Not that fast, at least.

The first comment was from a slightly rude coworker. Someone had brought packages of assorted cookies as a gift from a recent trip they had taken and, as B grabbed theirs, the coworker reached over and patted their belly.

“Remember, B! It’s just one package per person! You might been eating for like, three lately but not everyone is!”

“Haha. Very funny.” B snarked back. The comment slipped their mind completely as their day went on (they even ate all the cookies) but later, as they took the subway back home, the coworker’s words came echoing back as they looked at their reflection in the glass doors.

Their work clothes hadn’t always been this snug, have they? In fact, they used to be fairly loose, but B seemed to have... grown into them. Their trousers were almost skin tight, with the way they stretched across their thighs. But the biggest change seemed to have happened a little above them. B had never had a six pack, but now their belly had rounded out to the point their jacket’s buttons visibly strained as soon as they reached their midsection. B ran a hand absentmindedly across their sides. The tight pants gave them a very aptly named muffin top, sitting above their hips.

“Huh.” B though to themselves. When did they get so chubby?

Lost in their thoughts, A got home sooner than they expected. B was already there, as they worked from home. As soon as B opened the door and announced their arrival, A ran to pull them into a tight hug.

“Welcome home, baby.” They said, once they kissed each other. “How was work?”

“Oh, you know. Same old, same old.”

While holding B, A’s hands lowered themselves to hold their waist, sinking into the small amount of fat that had nested itself above their hips and that had gone unnoticed by them until earlier that day. B instinctively pulled away from the hug a little bit.

“What’s wrong? Did I accidentally pinch you or something?” A asked, with a bit of concern in their voice.

“Oh, no! You didn’t... you didn’t hurt me or anything. I just... wasn’t expecting for there to be anything squeeze-able there, heh. I guess I must’ve... gained a little weight?” B sighed, then added, in a tone that wasn’t very usual to them. “I must be getting old.”

But soon enough, a smile lighted up B’s face as usual, and he winked at his lover, playfully.

“Wait a minute... this is your fault, isn’t it? You’ve fed me way too much! All those tasty dishes you keep cooking for me... well, look at where they’re now!” B squeezed his softer belly for emphasis, which made A laugh. They pulled them closer.

“Are you sure it was all me, hm? I think you were enjoying yourself quite a bit too...” A ran their fingernails through B’s midsection, then gave them a peck on their smiling mouth. They felt a jolt of love for them in their heart.

“OK, I might have enjoyed it a little... maybe a lot. But don’t worry babe, I’ll work this off in no time! I’ll be trim again before you know it.”

Their partner blinked, looking... a little disappointed?

“Oh, you really don’t like it, huh?”

“I...” B trailed off, confused. “Do you like it?”

“Yes! Of course! Why wouldn’t I?” A answered, with a smile, without missing a beat. “You’re adorable! I mean... you were always adorable but...”

A hugged B from behind, letting their hands explore their slightly protruding stomach. They... felt really good there. The delicate touch gave them goosebumps.

“Of course, you’re naturally beautiful. A little extra weight wouldn’t take anything away from your good looks. But it seems it has only added to it. You look like you’re living a good life. Like I’m taking good care of you. You look... healthy. Stronger. Not to mention... I get a little more of you to hug! And kiss.”

“You really feel this way?” B couldn’t help but feel a little flustered. Their partner always had this effect on them. “About me getting fat?”

A smiled.

“I wouldn’t call it fat... you’re just a little cuddlier. But yes, I think it’s the cutest thing. I can barely keep my hands off you.” They said, kissing B’s jawbone. Was... was it getting softer too?

“Oh, you flatter me too much.” B said, in jest.

“But! The most important thing is how how YOU feel about it. What do you want to do about this tummy?”

“I...” B pondered for a short while. “It does feel pretty good when you touch it... alright. It can stay, for now. Since you like it so much.” They said, jokingly.

A didn’t answer. They just took B’s hand and guided them to the sofa, proceeding to lay besides them, unbutton their straining work shirt and press their face against their belly. B was taken by surprise, but soon relaxed, taking it as an opportunity to play with their partner’s hair.

“What are you doing?” B asked, amused.

“Well, since your tummy might not always be here... I figured out I might enjoy it as much as I can while it is.” A answered matter-of-factly, which made B laugh.

“You’re such a weirdo.” They said, unable to hide the affection they felt for their partner in their words.

“I love you too.” A answered, giving their soft belly a gentle kiss.

[writersrealmbts]

Clearwater Springs: Part 5

Description: ot7 x reader, reader’s choice, fairy/supernatural/soulmate au. The choices you make influence the story! In this world, war-torn and ragged, you’ve been offered a home and a job working as a librarian. Will you meet your soulmates? Will you ever find the shelves behind the piles of books? Who knows.

Warnings: I suppose I should point out that there’s a lot of innuendos coming in the next couple chapters

Posted: 11/11/2020

Tags: ot7 x reader, supernatural bts, soulmate au

3,787 words

A/N: Dang this took forever

Previous ~ Next

Jin had accepted Hoseok returning with the two of you easily, even accepting Hoseok’s excuse of “I feel as though my path lies alongside yours at the moment.”

More surprising was the fact that Hoseok boldly brought up soulmates in the car on the way home. “Seokjin-hyung, what do you know about soulmates?”

“Oh…well…a little I guess. The basics.” Jin shrugged. “Some enchanteds have a soulmate or soulmates, others don’t.”

Hoseok hummed in response from the driver's seat. He’d offered to drive because Jin looked half dead after today's settlements, and then almost passed out when you simply hummed. Hoseok was a good driver too. Conscientious.

“Why?”

Hoseok shrugged. “Not sure. Let you know if I figure it out.”

Jin nodded. “Scale of 1-10, how upset do you think Namjoon will be when we arrive home and he sees me?”

“Hmm, because it’s you...nine,” You answered, smiling.

His ears turned red. “Oh please, he would be upset if it were anyone. Like you.”

“Nope.”

“False,” Hoseok chimed in, a laugh in his voice.

“You don’t even know him,” Jin objected, voice rising in pitch to object it further.

“He’s still correct. We all know that Namjoon is a big softie for you, and Hoseok can see the future so he probably saw it,” You argued. “Who are you to say that he’s wrong?”

Jin huffed and grumbled, but didn’t try to argue with you two further.

Hoseok parked the car, peering out at the house with an astonished look. “How many bedrooms?”

“Eight,” Jin answered, yawning. “Come on, they’ll think we’re weirdos if we wait out here.”

Hoseok got out, but seemed to be nervous now. “They’ll like me, right?” He whispered, catching up to you as you got your bag from the trunk.

“Of course, you’re our soulmate,” You whispered back, patting his shoulder. “Come on, they don’t bite. Okay, well, Yoongi might but that’s because he’s a cat half the time.”

Then you noticed a brown-gray tabby on the porch railing, watching Hoseok with narrowed, golden eyes that reflected the sunlight.

“That would be him,” You murmured, nodding toward him.

Jin didn’t even think about it, petting Yoongi’s head.

“Cute,” Hoseok breathed, looking like he was vibrating with nervousness and excitement.

Yoongi didn’t move to follow until you and Hoseok were following Jin into the house.

Namjoon met all of you in the hallway, almost knocking Jin over when he hugged him. “You’re exhausted.”

“You’re knocking me over,” Jin whined, stumbling back against the wall. “At least let me lean on you.”

Namjoon let Jin maneuver both of them so that they were more comfortably and stably situated, resting his chin on Jin’s shoulder afterward. “You do seem less tired than normal. Much less tired,” He murmured, smiling at you.

You gave him a thumbs up, then gestured to Hoseok. “We brought home a new friend.”

Yoongi had shifted into a human, and he looked sort of grumpy. “Another one?”

“We have the space. It’s not like you’ve taken a bedroom, and Jungkook didn’t seem to know what to do with the idea of having his own room. Even if both of you took a room, we would still have three rooms left over, which means space for Hoseok,” You reasoned, stepping forward and fixing his hair.

His frown deepened, eyes narrowing on Hoseok.

“Do you want a room?” You asked carefully, continuing playing with his hair because he hadn’t seemed to notice.

He stiffened. “Why are you here?” He hissed at Hoseok.

Hoseok, for his part, was just smiling. “Adorable. You’re adorable. I had a feeling, I trust my feelings. They led me here, for now at least.”

Yoongi looked petrified, putting you between him and Hoseok a little, and causing Hoseok to laugh a little.

You suppressed a giggle.

Namjoon met your gaze, eyes darting to Hoseok.

You nodded slightly.

Namjoon’s eyes lit up and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, but he just hugged Seokjin tighter. “Come on, hyung, let me get you in bed.”

Yoongi snorted.

Seokjin choked and batted at Namjoon. “Phrasing.”

“I said what I meant,” Namjoon replied, confused. “You need a nap, and the best place for that is in bed?”

Seokjin, ears and neck red, started dragging him away. “Don’t act like you don’t know exactly what you said, you’re not that naive of a haltija.”

Namjoon just followed after, still looking confused. “But I really don’t know….”

“Just stop!” Jin said, dragging him upstairs.

Hoseok chuckled. “Okay, but isn’t there another person living here?”

“JUngkook,” You told him. “Is he in his bottle?”

Yoongi nodded, gaze drifting back to Hoseok. “He was up all night playing that game Jin introduced him to.”

“Of course he was,” You sighed.

Namjoon came back down before you could say anything more, Jungkook in tow (who didn’t look tired, did djinn get tired?). “Hyung fell asleep before he even finished laying down. This is Jungkook. Jungkook, this is Hoseok.”

Hoseok grinned. “Nice to meet you, Jungkook.”

Jungkook shyly dipped his head in greeting as well, but he had a quiet, secretive smile.

Yoongi growled slightly. “What is up with all of you? What are you hiding?”

You froze for a second.

Then Hoseok laughed and reached out, taking Yoongi’s hand, his sleeve rolled up so that the soulmark on his arm was visible as he took hold of Yoongi’s hand and the mark filled in.

Yoongi stared, then his eyes widened. “Wait...wait…hold on….”

“We’re soulmates,” Hoseok chuckled. “Me, you, y/n, Namjoon, Jungkook, Jin, Jimin, and Taehyung.”

“Who are Jimin and Taehyung?” Jungkook asked in a whisper, looking confused.

“Later,” you whispered back.

Yoongi shook his head. “Try that again?”

“Soulmates,” Namjoon said, showing Yoongi Jungkook’s mark since his own was on his shoulder and he probably didn’t feel like stripping and freaking Namjoon out.

Yoongi traced it, then looked at yours after you’d rolled your sleeve up and out of the way. He breathed in slowly, then let it all out at once. “Soulmates.”

“Soulmates,” You said gently, smiling.

He slowly nodded, then met your gaze. “Who are Jimin and Taehyung?”

“Well….” You let your sleeve fall back down to your wrist. “I haven’t met Taehyung yet. Hoseok just knows that he’s one of ours, the one we haven’t found yet. Jimin is a fairy-incubus that’s hiding in the library for safety because both species he comes from bully him for having soulmates.”

“Is that why I was leaving food in there?” Namjoon asked, eyes wide. “I just thought you were hiding some sort of pet there or something.”

You shook your head. “We were gone three days and you think I was keeping a pet there? Seokjin figured out there was a person hiding in there the day before we left.”

Yoongi huffed. “I knew I smelled something weird in there! You called me crazy!”

“I thought it was just a pet! I mean, we already deal with the bird that follows her everywhere and now Parsley won’t leave the library, thanks to you.”

“I told you! She just followed me when I was taking the new donations over! It’s not my fault she stayed to explore and then decided that that was her new home!”

You looked back and forth between them. “Which one of you is telling Jin that his beloved kitten has decided not to come home?”

They quickly pointed at each other.

You sighed. “Okay. Now, Jin doesn’t know that we’re soulmates, we’re still waiting for the appropriate time. I’m going to go unpack books and check on Jimin.”

“I’m coming with you,” Yoongi said firmly. “As a cat, one of my other forms. I’ll sneak in. Hopefully he doesn’t notice me and I can get a look at the interloper.”

You hesitated. “I...don’t know….”

“You’re hoping to have everyone together before you tell Jin, right? Make sure he loves all of us before breaking the news.” Yoongi folded his arms. “Because he’s human, and less likely to understand than I am.”

You all exchanged looks, trying to figure out whether to confirm that or not. Was that the reason all of you were hesitating? Or was it because all of you were afraid of him rejecting you and then being homeless?

Namjoon sighed. “I’ve been living with Jin for forever and I still don’t know how to tell him.”

“Tell Jin what?” A grumpy voice asked from behind all of you.

Panic. Sheer panic.

Jin leaned against Namjoon’s back. “Did you break my great-great-grandmother’s china or something?”

“Uh…”

“I was joking. The china is my great-great-great-great grandmother’s and it’s worth more than me,” Jin chuckled, obviously too sleepy to see how that just seemed to panic Namjoon more. “I thought you told me everything, Joonie? And I thought you were going to nap with me?”

“I thought you were asleep,” Namjoon replied, voice definitely panicked.

Jin pouted, leaving Namjoon’s back. “I was, but then I got cold and you weren’t there.”

Namjoon blinked a few times. “Uh...I ran into Jungkook and he heard a new person and was too afraid to come down alone, so I came down with him to introduce him to Hoseok. I was going to come back, we were just talking.”

“About?” Jin asked, looking at the rest of you.

“Uh….”

Hoseok pointed at Namjoon. “How he’s in love with you.”

All of you stared at Hoseok for a moment.

Jin blinked. “Yeah, okay, was that the secret? Because...it’s not exactly a secret. Why else would we be sharing a bedroom on and off for the past year?”

Namjoon looked at Jin. “What?”

“Oh please, you kiss me every time you get drunk. It’s cute. Now, come on. I need a nap and I need someone warm.” Jin pulled a shocked Namjoon back upstairs, again.

“We’ve kissed?!”

“Every time you get drunk. Or tipsy. Sometimes when you’re half-asleep. One time when you were sleepwalking. Oh, and then there was the time with the cherries and….” Jin’s voice faded out of your hearing, still chatting away.

“How did you know that would work?” Yoongi asked quietly, eyes wide as he stared after them.

“I didn’t,” Hoseok breathed, then let out a laugh. “How do we know that Jin doesn’t already know?”

“We don’t. Not anymore,” You replied, tugging your hair in agitation. “Okay. Books. I’m going to go organize books before something crazier happens. Jungkook, can you show Hoseok the empty rooms so he can pick one out?”

Jungkook nodded, eyes still wide and shocked.

You nodded, setting your bags to the side and headed out the front door.

The quiet path to the library was refreshing after the chaotic camp of fortune tellers. They’d been friendly, and when they got too friendly Hoseok stepped in, but the whole place was chaotic. Lots of people, lots of talking, lots of arguing.

The shadows of the library beckoned you, and you took a deep breath before turning the lights on.

“Hello,” You whispered to the books, and then you noticed.

All of the books were on the shelves, except for the books you hadn’t unpacked and some carefully organized books on the desk.

You went to the desk, noticing that they were all marked as the section they needed to be, and a piece of paper was sticking out of each of them with numbers.

“I numbered all of them,” Jimin said softly, landing gently behind you. “In alphabetical order. To make it easier.”

You looked to the shelves, noticing all of the books had similar papers sticking out of them. “All of them?!”

He nodded.

You turned back to him, smiling. “How can I ever repay you?” You asked softly, stepping closer and lightly touching his cheek.

He looked embarrassed. “You don’t have to repay me. You let me stay here and you had someone bring me food.”

“Are you the reason the kitten has abandoned the house?” You asked, smiling as Parsley hopped onto the desk and mewled at him.

He smiled sheepishly and picked her up. “I’ve just been petting her.”

You shook your head and turned back to the computer, catching a glimpse of Yoongi slipping into the library but staying in the shadows, his dark tabby fur blending into the books and shelves. “Corrupting a kitten with cuddles, can’t say I’ve heard that one before.”

“I’ve got lots of talent,” Jimin replied easily. “How was your trip?”

“Hectic, but enjoyable.”

“And did you….”

“Did I...what?” You asked, logging into the computer and then starting to input the books.

“Did you spend every night with him? Sing to him every night?”

You smiled and turned back toward your winged soulmate. “I did sing to him every night, and we did share a tent. But my bed was on one side of the tent and his was on the other. And tonight, I’m going to sleep in my waters, so...take from that what you will. Are you still determined not to come home with me and formally meet the rest of our soulmates?”

He looked at the ceiling, fluttering up to sit on the desk. “Namjoon is one of them? And so is Seokjin?”

“And Jungkook, the djinn. And Yoongi. And I just brought home Hoseok. He’s one of our soulmates too.”

“That’s a lot of people,” He whispered.

“I think you need a lot of people who will love you,” You whispered. “Because you’ve been rejected by everyone else that should have. Your species. Your family.”

His eyes filled with tears, and he held Parsley closer.

You stepped closer and cupped his face in your hands, wiping the tears that fell despite himself. “Please come home to us?”

Yoongi hopped up onto the desk, rubbing against his back.

Jimin flinched and then pet him as well, obviously struggling with his thoughts and feelings.

“You’d have your own room, and there’s one by the back staircase that would allow you easy access to a door that leads outside, and all of the windows open and are probably big enough for you to escape through.” You told him, wiping a few more tears. “You wouldn’t have to do anything you were uncomfortable doing. At least, I wouldn’t make you do anything you were uncomfortable with. Namjoon wouldn’t either, or Yoongi or Jungkook. Hoseok might be a bit of a different story and I’m honestly unable to predict things about Jin, he’s a bit of a wild card. And then there’s the last one that we haven’t found yet, but hopefully...hopefully soon.”

Jimin chewed his lip. “I’m not last?”

“You’re not. Not for me.”

Jimin then frowned and looked at Yoongi. “Wait, is this a werecat? Is this the werecat? The one you were holding?”

“Yoongi. He’s got a mind of his own.”

Yoongi stepped lightly over to you.

You scooped him up as you released Jimin’s face.

Yoongi purred in your arms, blinking slowly at Jimin.

“See, he’s a werecat, doesn’t even have a soulmark himself, and he still likes you already.”

Jimin laughed huffily for a moment, obviously amazed you even tried a line like that.

“Y/n?”

Jimin flew away in a flash at the unfamiliar voice.

Hoseok came bouncing into the library, then stopped and gaped. “It’s beautiful.”

You smiled and waited as he raced around, touching the spines of books and just looking...in awe of everything.

“I’ve never seen so many in one place,” He breathed as he joined you at the desk.

And the shelves weren’t even half-full.

You smiled. “It’s a start. Hopefully these shelves will be full one day. In the meantime….”

“We should make a book,” Hoseok said impulsively, then blinked. “Sorry. That came out of nowhere.”

“What kind of book should we make?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know. I think...I don’t know. Not right now. We need more time. We need to all do it separately. We’ll all be different.” His eyes started to get a hazy look to them. “All different. All same. Our story. Different….”

You set Yoongi down and went over to make sure Hoseok was okay. “Hoseok?”

He shuddered and then tugged you into a firm hug. “Different. Different. Paper planes. Follow the bird. Don’t follow the bird. The fox? No. Follow the fishes, floating floating floating. No more. No more. Mo nore. Narro noster narratio. Pingo noster narratio. Complico. Complico complico.” His eyes were completely white.

You bit your lip, uncertain what to do.

Then he kissed you, both hands holding your face, lips pressed gently to yours, just there.

And when he pulled away, you wanted to follow, but his hands prevented it and held you in place.

Yoongi was in human form, staring wide-eyed and pink-cheeked.

And Jimin was watching from the rafters with a similar expression.

Hoseok pressed his forehead to yours after looking at you with white eyes for a moment before they slowly faded back to his own.

Then he started collapsing.

Jimin and Yoongi caught him.

Jimin stared at Hoseok’s profile as the seer gave a soft sigh and drifted off to sleep, head resting on Jimin’s shoulder.

Yoongi sighed. “Okay, well...he’s cute. I’ll give him that. But what’s with the white eyes and nonsense?”

You rolled your eyes. “Such a grump. You realize unless Jimin agrees to come with us back to the house it’s you and me carrying him?”

Yoongi looked desperately at Jimin.

Jimin shivered and then slowly nodded. “I’ll come with you--but I don’t...I need space.”

You nodded. “We’ll take him up the back way. With any luck Jin is still sleeping. And if he isn’t, I’ll start singing.”

“And put the rest of us to sleep as well?” Yoongi objected.

“It doesn’t put me to sleep,” Jimin said, slightly smugly, slightly defensively.

Yoongi rolled his eyes.

Jimin scooped Hoseok up on his own. “Go on. Lead on.”

You nodded and pulled Yoongi along.

No one intercepted your group, and soon you were tucking Hoseok in. Kissing his forehead and making sure he was sleeping deeply before you slipped back out into the hallway.

Jimin was looking at a painting on the wall opposite Hoseok’s room.

Yoongi shrugged at you, then walked away, shifting as he went.

“Jimin,” You said softly.

He looked back at you, but immediately put his attention back on the painting. “The rising of Aurora, goddess of dawn. This painting is 200 years old. And it’s the original.”

“You...like painting? Or art?” You asked, hoping for some insight into him.

He shrugged. “I just...I know this one. It was in one of the books I had as a kid.”

“I bet you were an adorable kid.”

He snorted, turning to you. “Were you ever a kid?”

You nodded. “I don’t remember much, but yes. My kind don’t just pop into existence. What’s special about this picture aside from it’s remarkable age?”

He laughed breathily, looking at it again. “It was said that there were several meanings to the painting, that everyone who viewed it had a different aspect of it that they focused on. Some saw it as hopeful, others saw it as vengeful. A goddess bringing the light of a new day, a goddess riding to war with the fury of dawn.”

“What do you see?”

He was silent for a moment, then he stared hard at you. “I see you.”

“Me?”

He looked away and nodded.

You looked the painting over, but you didn’t see vengeance or fury. And you definitely didn’t see yourself.

“Which rooms are empty?” He asked quietly.

You gestured down the hall toward the back staircase. “Take your pick.”

He nodded and started exploring. “What about the house owner? What will you tell him?”

“Seokjin? The truth. Our library interloper has finally been convinced to take a bed, and safety, and food. Hope you eat, because I eat once a day and Jin makes food all the time. It’s like a compulsion. Settle in, wherever you decide to. I need to go soak.”

Jimin nodded, staying in front of one of the rooms after peeking in. “I’m....gonna get my things.”

“Okay, I’ll see you later tonight, or in the morning.” You smiled softly at him, then headed toward your room.

Jin, Namjoon, Jungkook and Yoongi were in your sitting room, obviously waiting for you.

You closed the door casually, listening for a moment and hearing another door closing.

“He’s going out a window,” Yoongi murmured.

You nodded then sat down. “Okay, is this an intervention?”

Jin shook his head. “This door was the only open one when Yoongi waved at us to hide.”

You nodded. “Got it. Jimin is an incubus and fairy, he very very reluctantly agreed to come here. Try to give him space, but not too much. I really need to go soak, I feel...dry.” You shuddered. “Oh, and maybe check on Hoseok in a bit. He had a weird sort of vision attack.”

“Okay,” Namjoon replied. “Do you think he’d be okay with me greeting him?”

“You’re the house Haltija, I think he’ll accept it once he knows that’s what you are. Just...be gentle,” Yoongi murmured, staring out the window.

Jin absently stroked Yoongi’s head, as he got up. “We will. I’ll hold off for now. Let Namjoon talk to him next and Jungkook and I will go make dinner. Don’t forget to invite him to eat with us, Joonie.”

Namjoon nodded.

You grabbed your comb and headed downstairs behind Jungkook and Jin, passing them in the kitchen to enter the basement and indulge in a nice, long, luxurious soak in your own waters. It took you quite a while to remember which part did what, and for the water to fill the large basin. Messing with knobs and levers to remember what did what, and pulling a new dress out of the water for when you were done soaking. Velvet this time. Beautiful.

You climbed into the basin after dimming the lights, not bothering to undress until you were well into the waters, and then letting the fabric slide off of your shoulders with the pressure of the falling water and dissolve.

Turning to sit on the basin’s edge to comb your hair and sing and seeing Jimin and Jin staring before Jin grabbed Jimin by the wings and dragged him away.

“I told you not to come down here!”

You smirked after them as you started singing, running a gold comb through your hair and becoming one with your waters again while thinking of the embarrassed faces of your soulmates.

–

Survey Results used for this chapter

–

Pre-Chapter 7 Survey

Previous.  Next.

Masterlist.  Clearwater Springs Masterpost.

–

Taglist:  @kerikaaria @killcomet @letsreadbts @taestannie @dwaaaaaaaaa @missmoxxiesworld​ @cheese123344​ @insfirebunny​ @crookedstarlitnight​ @aphot-c​ @chim-possible​  @psiphidragon @i-like-puppy-mg @daddyjoonie @softescapism @amammietje @4evahevah @slytherclawwarrior @kittylovsu @forever-once-gone @unlikelylittlemiss @mailani-annie @daydreambrliever @miss-fawn @jinternational-playboy

[lluvguts]

“...secrets?” // byler

pairing: eleven / mike wheeler & will byers / mike wheeler

warnings: none!

word count: 2693

summary: Where Eleven snoops around Mike's house and finds a peculiar journal entry.

Eleven grew tired of sitting in the blanket fort, waiting for Mike’s watch to say the three numbers he told her earlier— ”When this read 3:15. Three, one, five. Got that, El?” Mike adjusted the digital watch to her wrist with soft, sweaty fingers— and letting her stomach settle the burnt Eggos he snuck back from breakfast.

“Just stay here in the basement, Eleven. So it’s a secret. And eat these waffles, understand?” Mike was staring at her with intense eyes, ones Eleven knew were filled with curiosity at her; those deep brown eyes; they were fixed on her face, on her puzzled stare, only belonging to the boy who saved her. Her friend. But Mike’s eyes led her to believe that maybe he found something more than a friend there, in her gaze. His looks were too deliberate and his gestures too sudden and eager—of the three boys who had rescued her, Mike was the only one willing to communicate, make her feel at home—and even if the other two thought she was stupid, Eleven knew better than to assume this boy sitting next to her thought of her as only a friend.

She herself was unsure what she felt, what she thought of him. No words came to her aid. A blank, soundless mind.

Eleven understood his words. Stay. Eat. It was but the one sentence that made the bite of waffle she had chewed off cling to the back of her throat.

“Secret?” She asked, letting the packaged Eggo return to her lap. Mike’s expression changed, once kind and assertive; now confused. It was a look Eleven had often recalled on the many faces of those around her—before. Especially her Papa, the white-haired man that occupied every vacant space in her mind, breeding intrusive thoughts of other places and nightmares she had no way of forgetting. A gentleness painted on the man that was quickly met with irritation when she did not comprehend a task.

But these new people, new faces, were different. Mike was different, she was sure of it. His thoughts and emotions were obvious for anyone to see. Sensitive and on display.

Too exposed.

“What?” Mike’s voice broke her from the memory. He leaned forward, just barely. From this close Eleven could discern every one of his freckles, on those pale cheeks tinged with blush, lashes dark and just as visible as the straight, raven-colored hair that framed his face.

“What is secret?” Eleven repeated the question, the word was familiar on her tongue, but had no meaning, no flavor. Dull and lifeless like the many things she found herself unable to remember.

Mike’s legs shifted on the blanket, searching the wall for an answer, as if it had one.

"A secret is something that no one else can know about,” he replied slowly, making sure she caught everything.

“I am a secret?”

“No! Of course not. Well, not exactly—” He assumed a body posture she did not like: too quickly did his shoulders rise to shrug, his face a notch above where it should be—looking at her—and mind clearly elsewhere. It made her feel unwanted—a weirdo, a stray dog—and that she was wasting his time with her questions. Did Mike not want to explain? Why must she stay in the blanket fort? Eleven wondered with hidden frustration. The bad men couldn’t infiltrate the confines of this house, the stability that Eleven needed it to have. Not even the other things, the screams she heard in her sleep from the Upside Down. Not yet.

All of her questions were lost past communication: so many words and phrases and meanings entirely taken from her, unable to speak them aloud.

“Michael! You better be up here right now if you don’t want to be late for school!” A voice shouted from upstairs, making Eleven flinch and cast wide, frightened eyes at the ceiling.

Mike set a hand on her sleeve to reassure her—and she paid careful attention to the fact that he did not touch her. Was he afraid of her abilities, that could stun an entire room? Like everyone else was?

“It’s just my mom. I’ll see you later, okay? Remember: three, one, five, El.” And with that he was gone, only leaving Eleven to reflect on his words—even the unsaid ones—and finish her breakfast.

But by that time Eleven was no longer hungry. More sounds echoed from above, she listened intently under the cover of blankets to every thud of footsteps and pinging clatter of dishes until the house settled into a comforting silence when the watch read one-zero. The only thing that stilled her racing heart was the repetitive blink of that watch, its numbers flashing in red light. A color that made Eleven’s eyes burn when she stared at it for too long, too closely, her pounding vision ringed in scarlet.

She didn’t want to stay in the basement, even if Mike said so. She wanted to discover other foreign things in the house, like whose voice accompanied what room, what his family looked like, where Mike slept. The image she constructed of his face shrouded in sleep—innocent features undisturbed, not a sign of worry or a frown—made her blush. Eleven smiled down at the Eggo’s crinkly plastic in her hands, surrounded by the speckled grey of someone else’s sweatpants; her shirtsleeve crusted with a coppery red from the ghost of old blood.

Not now. She couldn’t allow herself to dwell on it, her “superpowers.” A term the boys often used for it—either in amazement or fear she did not know. Eleven shook her head, if only they knew it was anything but a gift. They were right to be afraid.

Out of habit, she checked the numbers again: 12:37. Too early to leave out the back door, but just enough time to creep upstairs with no one home yet. The stairs were carpeted, mysterious blue steps that led her up into the house, soothing her bare feet. Once above ground, Eleven stood at the base of the kitchen’s hard tile and stared in awe. Many things reminded her of Mike, and possibly the other voices she heard during her stay: dirtied dishes, a child’s plaything, an old house phone suspended on the kitchen wall and backed by creamy floral wallpaper. Signs of life. Family.

Home was a far off place, invisible to her reach. She searched her mind for a taste of it, trying to force the past out of her, but the emptiness was inescapable; it only brought a blistering headache and the all-too-familiar faint feeling Eleven often adapted to for the past twelve years.

Somewhere in the living room a clock trilled the time: 1:00. How long had she been standing there? Eleven wiped her face, her sleeve returned wet with tears she did not know where there and the speckled dots of a nosebleed. The smell of blood burned in her nostrils, salty and pungent. It made her sick.

She spun on her heels and went to the staircase, hoping Mike’s room was somewhere up there. It felt wrong in some ways, like a burglar stepping into a stranger’s house; her stomach twisted with guilt but still she climbed up the stairs until she reached the landing, it’s walls covered with photographs. Mike’s face popped up in random ones, surrounded by people Eleven did not recognize. His smile was etched into the lips of other people, an older woman with thin brown hair she assumed was his mother. Sister with her arms around a much younger mike. Her pretty face, her prettier body. The final photograph stopped Eleven dead: the three boys, all standing around a podium, joined by a fourth.

Chestnut brown hair that curved around a kind face. Shy, expressive eyes stared back at Eleven. In a sudden moment of realization the face of the boy matched his voice, his shrieks of pain. The remnants of her time in the Upside Down were already fading but even still the sounds of his screams resonated with her, weeks after. The boy trapped in the other world. Will Byers.

It all began to make sense. This was who went missing, who the others were searching for. Eleven shuddered with emotion, with empathy for this boy: having to survive with the torment of the monsters in the Upside Down, the constant disillusionment, fearful frustration of not being seen. Completely alone.

Eleven’s finger landed on Will’s face in the photo, covering it.

“Hide,” she whispered.

Across the gallery was a series of bedroom doors, mostly shut but some left open. One final look at Will was enough; Eleven left the memories suspended in time, and headed towards the hallway.

Mike’s room was first, it's door left cracked. She knew this mainly because of its assortment of comic books and small figurines that matched the ones in the basement—and partially due to the smell: Mike had given Eleven his navy blue crew neck to wear that first day, it filled her blood-caked nostrils with his boyish scent. Again she caught her cheeks flame, standing at the threshold of his room, on the outside looking in.

With a cautious step she set a foot on the carpet. Apart from the mess the room was very intriguing to Eleven, with the exciting posters tacked on every available space, school books left in a haphazard pile by the bed, clothes strewn about, a lone mirror leaning against the wall. She crept inside the room completely and stood at the mirror’s length.

What was peering back left her speechless. A thin, androgynous figure with slouched shoulders stared ahead, hair shaved, a look of horror and alarm crossing its face. Eleven knew it was her—the borrowed clothes, the grime of tears and blood. It was her own eyes that startled her: dark and off-balance, like she did not trust herself. Like she was staring into the soul of a stranger.

She let her eyes trail across the glass until they landed on something tucked at an odd angle under Mike’s bed. Turning around, she knelt  beside the bed frame and touched the corner of the object—cool leather met her curious fingers, inviting her—until she found herself holding the item. It was a notebook. Eleven flipped the pages, poring over every passage undeniably in Mike’s handwriting. Although she was incapable of understanding some of the phrases, the entries were easily read until Eleven’s fingers stopped on the final page.

The latest entry, dated a few days ago. She read carefully, tracing the letters with the pad of her finger to feel them as she went, fascinated by the indents in his disorganized scrawl.

I won’t let myself believe he’s gone. Gone as in dead. He isn’t dead. He can’t be. But why is everyone acting like he is? Are they searching for Will because they feel bad? It’s the only excitement this town has had in years? That’s pretty shitty.

On the way to find Will, to find answers, we met a girl. I thought she was a boy at first. Her hair was cut really short. It was pouring buckets and Dustin was still arguing about turning back when we found her. Damn, did she look scared. Shaking like crazy. We took her back to my house, even though Lucas and Dustin didn’t want to. They said she was a freak, a weirdo. I wasn’t sure. She seemed nice enough for a girl who doesn’t talk. Eleven. That was her name. How weird? Who names their kid some number? Even more reason for the guys to be worried. I didn’t think it mattered, when she was cleaned up she looked really pretty. What’s that word on the vocab test in English? Stunning.

I tried to tell them she just needed a place to stay but they said I was crazy, that Eleven was crazy too. Just because Will’s gone and everything, now I have someone else to obsess over, they said. That isn’t true. I don’t obsess over him. It’s not like that.

But maybe I did? That day after school, when it was just him and I. Will was telling me about how the older kids were pushing him to the ground, calling him names. Faggot. Queer. He hated them for it. I almost said, ‘But Will, you aren’t a queer’ but as I started to talk he turned on his bike to stare at me. It made my stomach flip, why did it do that? Like stupid butterflies and crap. He looked at me like he knew I was lying. Like maybe I was lying too. To myself. But that’s a secret Will couldn’t tell, not to anyone except for me.

And now Eleven’s here. She’s asleep down in the basement. As I write this I don’t know what to think. I miss him in a way I didn’t think I could. Like a piece of mt is gone. God, that sounds sappy, huh? Great, now the kids are gonna call me names worse than Frogface. Say I like one of my best friends, the boy who might be dead.

But do I stop them? Are they wrong? I can’t get his face out of my head and it’s messing me up. I wish I could have said something that last night, when it was just Will and I. He was keeping a secret too.

The words ended there, but Eleven reread the page to make sure she didn’t miss what she thought she read. Mike Wheeler, the boy who found her in the rain, had secrets? Elven thought they were friends.

“Friends don’t lie,” she told herself, and the pages that said Mike liked Will. They also said that Mike liked Eleven too, and her heart hammered out a disjointed beat at that. Could you like your friends? In a way that was more? Eleven squeezed her eyes shut in concentration, trying to form the words that would make sense of it all. Mike was friends with Will, but there was something to his journal that was laden with different emotion too foggy for Eleven to fully grasp.

She opened her eyes. It was the same way she felt for Mike, that distant feeling. She relished in the fact that she knew something no one else did, but was shocked as well: are friends allowed to hide things like this? Keep locked away the shy smiles, the stares at one another, the rapid hearts? Friends but different.

A echoey toll sounded from downstairs, and for a shaky moment Eleven forgot about the time; she jumped at the noise and the notebook fell from her hands. It clattered to the floor with a soft thud and a rustle of paper. Eleven stared down at the black notebook for a long while, pondering over what she had read. Was it a secret she had snuck upstairs? No one had to know she was up here at all. But an outside grumble of a motor rolling up the driveway sent Eleven frantically back down the stairs, jumping the last few steps, and dashing into the basement. She retreated into the blanket fort and wrapped the sheets over her body. Her heart pounded with dread at the opening of a door, the preceding footsteps. A lively voice on the phone.

“Oh no, I don’t have to pick up Michael today. Stop by anytime. Yes, he’s with his friends,” the woman chattered. Eleven was trapped.

The numbers read: 3:08. It was too late now. She found herself once again stuck with her thoughts, staring at the same Eggo waffle wrapper. Wondering how she got stuck in a house she didn’t belong in, reading things that weren’t for her, feelings she couldn’t put into words.

Now Eleven knew two things: friend feelings, but ones that can be twisted into something else. An old word, with new meaning.

Maybe, Eleven thoughts, Mike hiding her in the basement was a secret, and Mike liking the boy in the other world was one, too.

[cosmicmoved]

FORMAL INTRODUCTION FOR KITAHARA KOJIRO

hi, for some bizarre reason unbeknownst to even me, this muse has been like half a year in the making (actually, it’s been 5 months but that’s close enough for to still feel shame), but he’s finally here. the ““ evil ”” witch oc! witch man who does murders! whatever you want to know him as! anyway, from now on you just know him as kojiro or koj bc that’s his name <3 please look under the read more link for more info! (WARNING: the following will touch on darker themes like death, murder and, to a lesser extent, abuse. this is a heavy character so please keep that in mind if you ever wish to interact!)

BASIC FACTS

firstly, this oc is mostly connected to tsukidate sho, my witch detective oc. the connection mostly lies in the fact they’re both witches who interact with crime/murder in some capacity but their families are also close.

his name is kitahara kojiro ( 北原浩二郎 ), known as either kojiro or koji by those around him. i haven’t decided his exact birthday yet but he was born in 1990 and is approx. 31 years old. (i understand this is ‘older’ by tumblr rp standards but, by normal people standards, early 30s is still relatively young so basically, if u make old ppl jokes, i will bite u)

technically speaking, kitahara is his father’s surname but he never really knew his father and was raised by a single mother. however, his mother made the choice of raising him with his father’s name in an attempt to distance the pair from her own family. i’ll explain why that is the case in the backstory section of this post.

kojiro is a witch. he’s not involved in any broader witching community nor does his being a witch have much bearing on his professional life but he is a talented witch, despite being trained only by his mother. what he DOES use his magic for, however, is to cause a lot of problems.

oh yeah, he’s also cursed. and he kills people. because he’s cursed. again, i’ll explain this in more detail further in the post but it’s kind of an important fact. he was cursed to die at twenty years old and he’s still alive eleven years later because the only way to hold off death is to kill other people <3 omg that’s awkward

in his normal everyday life, kojiro works as a cake decorator and does photography on the side too. he’s a creative person and tbh he developed a lot of stupid hobbies in his teens, thanks to the belief he was gonna die by the end of them, so he ended up making a living out of what he liked. he also didn’t go to uni because he didn’t see the point because, again, he thought he’d be dead by 20 and then, when he wasn’t, he stopped caring.

it’s also important to note that he, uh, doesn’t give off murderer vibes at all. he’s friendly and sociable (and not in the ‘this guy’s definitely a weirdo’ way). 

i kept calling him ‘evil witch oc’ while i was working on him but, as i’ve said before, i think that’s actually a little too simple and i wouldn’t actually call him evil. he’s NOT a good person but i don’t think evil is the right word for him either. he doesn’t believe he’s a good person either but he’s learned to justify his own actions as a means of survival. kojiro doesn’t enjoy killing people, he doesn’t take any pleasure from the act of murder, but he’s also relatively calm about it too. since he doesn’t have to do it on a super regular basis, he prefers to target shitty people and esp corrupt witches in positions of authority (not really in a self-righteous way, more just because they piss him off). he has specific personal reasons for this.

he has a pretty intense fear of death. you think he’d be over it, having spent his whole life knowing he was meant to die early, but the ability to push his death back sort of flipped some switch in his head and, over the years, he went from quiet apprehension to paranoid obsession.

why is this muse 30 years old? firstly, because i want him to be. that would probably be enough but also his age actually IS important. the vibe i’m going for with this muse is, as i’ve said like once before, is what happens to the hero of the story after they complete their quest? what if that quest doesn’t go as planned? kojiro’s quest was to hunt down the demon associated with his curse. that’s his original ‘story’. what i want to explore here is the aftermath of that, what happens after the weight of the quest comes crashing down on the hero and they return to normal, everyday life where they’re forced to shoulder it as though it’s nothing. a decade after his initial story, he’s worn out. he’s not the same person he was at the start.

BACKSTORY

this isn’t going to be written in a super formal or tidy way because i honestly just can’t be bothered turning this into a proper piece of decent writing. this is only going to be in paragraph form because i don’t like putting backstories into bullet points unless it’s super brief.

kojiro was born in 1990 as the first (and only) child of his unmarried mother (as yet unnamed) when she was just nineteen years old. she was raised in a strict and traditional witching family so the fact that she’d had this child out of wedlock AND that the father wasn’t a witch didn’t exactly land well. regardless, they let her stay in the family home but it would soon turn out that the child was cursed. according to a member of tsukidate family (i.e; sho’s family who, as i said before, are on good terms with kojiro’s family and who are also knowledgeable in the realm of curses), the curse determined that the child would die on the day of his twentieth birthday unless he was able to kill the demon associated with the curse.

as if the judgement from her own family wasn’t enough, the curse brought with it a lot of stigma from the witching community and so his mother made the decision to leave home by herself when kojiro was a year old. all she could afford was a small, one bedroom apartment but, so long as she and her son had a roof over their heads, anything was good enough. kojiro would live a relatively normal life, going to school with other children his age and away from other witches, but his mother would teach him what she knew. although she wanted to him to live as easily as possible, she felt she had to prepare him for his inevitable encounter with the demon. kojiro grew up knowing about the curse too. there was no way to keep it a secret --- even if weren’t cruel to hide it from him, the curse had left a visible mark on him (still working out the details of what this looks like and where on his body it is but it basically looks like a tattoo to most people).

when kojiro turns eighteen, he decides he’s old enough to face this demon and claim control of his own life (maybe i’ll write this as an actual drabble / piece of writing one day bc i’m reeeally brushing over it here). it had been trapped by his family and forced to lie dormant until kojiro would arrive to take it down. what the demon reveals to him, however, changes everything. there is no cure to this curse, the demon tells him, everything he was told is a lie. the curse, it turns out, has tied the demon to him and the only way to kill the demon is for kojiro to die along with it. the reveal is this: when kojiro born, they took him from his mother for a short time. i want to emphasise that her family are pretty shitty people because they decided this would be the perfect opportunity both to punish her and to solve a very specific problem -- getting rid of this demon. the same member of the tsukidate who ‘diagnosed’ the curse was the one who put it on kojiro. i’ll explain the actual curse and story behind it (and the demon) in more detail at a later date but the basic gist of it is that kojiro’s family lied to him and used him as a disposable means to an end. his mother, for the record, was entirely unaware of this. but what else does the demon tell him? although the curse cannot be lifted, it can be held off. this demon thrives off death and, through death, it can stay strong and continue to keep kojiro alive. if it grows weak and it is not sustained, kojiro will grow weak along with it and inevitably die. kojiro informs the demon that he will not kill anybody. that is out of the question.

a month before his twentieth birthday, kojiro kills a man. he had tried to forget about everything the demon had said, tried to forget that his own family had set him up for guaranteed destruction, but it hadn’t been easy. it had set him on edge and he’d become unstable. he’d fallen into a slump and his friends grew worried for him. yet, after a while, he came to accept it and tried to make peace with his life as it was. he put it to the back of his mind as best he could. but he’d discovered that the man his mother had been seeing over the past few years since he’d moved out to live on his own was abusive. so he killed him. everything the demon had told him risen to the surface and he’d asked himself does it matter if this guy dies instead of me? after all, kojiro was curious. he didn’t really want to die and he had wondered if the demon was telling the truth. to this day, kojiro doesn’t know what to believe but it’s much too late for all that now. he followed his mother’s boyfriend home and broke his neck in a dark alleyway. thanks to the magic he’d been taught growing up, he was able to ensure that nobody every traced him to the accident and, when the clock struck midnight on his twentieth birthday, kojiro broke down crying with relief.

he wasn’t dead. he still isn’t dead. he’d never wanted to die. over the years, the killing has gotten a lot easier. over the years, the answer to that question comes much quicker; if somebody has to die, why should it be me?

[saltlampsasuke]

Unfortunately, You Are Experiencing Symptoms of Falling in Love: Part 3

Having your long-term boyfriend cheat on you is pretty bad, but you're lucky enough to have a rich, pro-hero best friend who lets you move in with him until you get a new apartment. Except lockdown happens. And you can't look for a new apartment anymore, and you can't go anywhere anymore, and neither can your best friend, and you think you might be falling a little bit in love with him. Or maybe you've been in love with him all along.

The story of how it takes a nationwide lockdown for you and Bakugou Katsuki to finally get together, part 3!

warnings: Coronavirus mentions

wordcount: 2,384

I stayed up til like 3 am to finish this chapter because I wanted the first day to be over so bad :/ so please like it. Also I don’t know why that scene with the old lady happened she just wanted to be written. I kinda want to make her a side character oops

Katsuki’s apartment never failed to impress you. You didn’t remember much about it, having only visited a few times, and he was reluctant to allow even his closest friends to explore his living space with wild abandon. You had to admit, you were excited to get to see his entire living space up close and personal. Kirishima was going to be so jealous, you thought to yourself, even cracking a slight smile. Even the lobby of the apartment building was sleek and professional, befitting the number two hero. And it was secure as well.

“Alright, sit tight. I have to get your dumb face a security login so that you can get in and out without me having to escort you everywhere like some fucking bodyguard,” said Bakugou. You smiled and plopped down on one of the plush lobby chairs, enjoying sinking into the luxurious cushions while Katsuki talked to the lady at the front counter. “I need to add her to my room permissions. Can you make her a card?”

The woman at the counter desk seemed sweet, a fact that was confirmed when you heard Katsuki speak to her without a single harsh word. He had always had a soft spot for grandma type. Her wrinkled face lit up as she glanced down to see you.

“Oh Katsuki, you’ve finally brought over a girlfriend! I’m so happy to see it, I knew you had it in you!” the woman exclaimed. Your eyes widened in surprise, and Katsuki choked in surprise loudly for a few seconds before regaining his voice.

“What? No. No. This is my friend. She’s had some apartment trouble, and she needs a place to stay,” Katsuki explained with the patience he typically reserved for rescue missions. The woman’s smile got even wider.

“Oh, I bet she had some apartment trouble all right. Very well, and how long will she be staying?” You couldn’t see Katsuki’s face, but you could feel him rolling his eyes.

“Indefinitely.” The woman at the counter raised her eyebrows sky-high.

“So you mean to say that you are having this gorgeous young lady move in with you for an indefinite period of time, and she’s not your girlfriend?” You giggled to yourself once more. Clearly, this old woman was the type to give Katsuki a run for his money. Back in high school, he already would have been yelling his head off, and while you knew he was still holding it in, he was mature enough to remain calm. Well, as calm as he could be. Watching him try to hold himself back was highly entertaining.

“Old woman, I am telling you she’s not my girlfriend. End of discussion. Now give her a card.” Katsuki folded his arms across his chest. He meant business, and the woman at the counter seemed to realize that he wasn’t in the mood. While part of you wanted to relax in the comfy chair and watch your friend get teased by an old lady while he tried not to blow up at her, the other part just wanted to lie down and go to bed. It wasn’t quite night yet, just around the time you would want to be eating the dinner you had planned to make for Takumi, but the events of the past few hours had you drained. The woman nodded, still smiling brightly.

“Alright, alright, I believe you. I’ll just need some form of identification to put her into our system and the card will be in your mailbox by tomorrow morning. Sound good?” Katsuki nodded, while you handed him your driver’s license. She quickly scanned it into the system and handed it back to you, and you stood up, following Katsuki to the elevator. The doors to the elevator closed, and you saw Katsuki swipe his access card and push the button for the top floor. Odd. You could have sworn he lived somewhere in the middle of the building.

“Sorry about the old woman. She means well,” Katsuki said gruffly. “She’s just too nosy for her own damn good, and she’s always trying to set me up with her friend’s granddaughters. Telling me I need to settle down. Fucking ridiculous.” You had to laugh as well. Katsuki had never been the type for long-term relationships, you had always been the one of your duo to peruse that. Takumi had been your third long-term relationship, and there had been many dates and flirting phases with others beforehand, but you could count on one hand the number of women Katsuki had ever mentioned to you. You knew he had hookups sometimes; never taking the women back to his place. And there had been one girl you had actually met, though she hadn’t lasted either. He hadn’t been too sad, though, claiming she had tried to get with him for his hero status. If there was one thing Katsuki wasn’t, it was superficial. He was honest to a fault, and he didn’t respect anyone who didn’t act the same.

“I think she’s nice,” you replied happily.

“Of course you do. Probably going to end up going over to her apartment for tea every fucking week,” grumbled Katsuki. Your face lit up.

“She’ll invite me for tea?”

“Shut up. I’ll make you tea if you want it so goddamn bad, what do you need her for?” The elevator dinged, signaling your arrival at the top floor. Confused, you turned to Katsuki.

“I didn’t think you lived on the top floor?” Katsuki turned to you, raising an eyebrow.

“Ah yeah, it’s a bit of a recent thing. I moved in about a month ago. The old owner moved out, and I decided to upgrade. Got the whole floor to myself. I was gonna let you take a peek at the new setup, but you’ve been pretty busy.” You frowned, curling slightly inward on yourself. You had been neglecting your relationships for your work lately, and you had been neglecting Katsuki for Takumi as well.

“I’m sorry,” you said with a small voice.

“Doesn’t fucking matter, don’t care. Just follow me.” Katsuki lead you down a short hallway to another locked door, which he swiped to let you in, holding the door open for you. The first door lead to a small room with a coat and shoe rack, where you carefully placed you’re your shoes. Katsuki handed you a pair of house slippers, which fit surprisingly well. You wondered to yourself why he had them when his feet were so much bigger than your, but you were distracted by the opening of the second door that revealed Katsuki’s new penthouse apartment.

The apartment screamed “bachelor pad” dominated by black and grey tones, with the occasional pop of orange. Katsuki’s colors. It had a very modern, open feel to it, with lots of steel fixtures and open space. The living room was wide, with a large couch placed center in front of an even larger tv. Behind it, visible due to the mostly open-floor plan of the apartment, was the kitchen, decked out with the finest culinary tools. You almost drooled when you saw the solid copper pots. Then again, Katsuki had always been a talented and devoted cook, so it didn’t surprise you to see that he had invested heavily in his kitchen. There was even a loft above the kitchen that looked like another, smaller, lounge area. The full-length windows let in the soft light of the sunset. There were a few doors on the sides that likely lead to the rest of the apartment, and you followed Katsuki as he moved to show them to you.

“There’s a private pool on the second floor, nothing too big, I thought it might be nice for a get-together or something. Been thinking about maybe having more people over to the new place, thought it might be nice. There’s also a workout room, I don’t use it too much because the agency’s got more machines and shit, but it’s nice to have one on hand. There’s two bathrooms, but only one with a bath and everything, so we’ll be sharing. Don’t put your crap everywhere. Your room is on the left, mine is on the right.”

Your room was smaller than Katsuki’s, as he had the master with bathroom attached. Sure it wouldn’t be ideal to have to use a shower that you had to walk through his room to get to, but it wouldn’t be an issue. You were both adults, and hopefully you would be moving out to your own place soon enough. Still, you knew you would be comfortable here.

“Is it ok if I go to sleep soon?” you asked Katsuki. His eyes bugged out.

“Are you stupid? You want to go to bed without eating dinner? If you live in my house, you follow my rules, and one of my rules is making sure you fucking eat,” Katsuki barked. You smiled carefully, sitting on the edge of your bed.

“I guess it kind of slipped my mind, but I’m not really that hungry,” you replied. Which was true. Now that you had finally started to settle down again, all of the pain of the day was starting to rush back. You had distracted yourself with the move earlier, but now that you had arrived, you didn’t have anything to focus on. True, you should probably eat. But you weren’t really in the mood to move at all right now. You flopped down on the bed, sprawling across it.

“You have to eat. I don’t care what you want. I’ll make something simple, just eggs on rice. You like that boring shit, don’t you? I’ll do you a favor and make it all gross and tasteless just how you like it,” Katsuki declared.

“You’re the one who makes food that Satan himself would be afraid to eat for fear of burning his mouth off. I’m not the weirdo here, Katsuki.” He laughed brightly.

“No, you’re the coward here. Go jump in the shower, princess, get cleaned up. I’ll get dinner ready. Now you were the one choking in surprise, flustered that he had actually taken your flippant comment in the car at face value.

“Princess? Where did that come from?” you asked with confusion.

“Are you seriously going to tell me you want another new nickname? You said it was fine in the car,” Katsuki said, half teasingly, half seriously. You sputtered, trying to come up with words to defend yourself.

“Well, I didn’t think you were serious. Clearly I wasn’t!” you replied, as Katsuki moved out of your new room towards the kitchen.

“Too fucking bad, picky princess. Now seriously, you need a shower. You’re tracking that bastard’s germs all over my house.” What he said wasn’t scientifically true, but you knew you would feel better after having washed any traces of Takumi off of you, metaphorically and physically scrubbing him out of your life.

You padded behind Katsuki as he grabbed a towel out of a small closet and tossed it at you. It was big and soft, and smelled like his detergent. You couldn’t help but wrap it around you a little. Katsuki’s room was predictably clean, like the neat freak he was, and you were saddened to note the absence of anything to poke fun at him for. The master bathroom was large and fancy like the rest of the house, and Katsuki had to show you how to work the shower before he could leave to start dinner. You were about to have him head out so you could clean up when you realized something.

“Katsuki, what am I going to wear after the shower?” You saw his face fall slightly.

“Shit. Let me grab something.” You heard him rustle around in his drawers, and he pulled out a soft shirt, hoodie, shorts, and boxers, handing them to you. Part of you felt a bit weird about borrowing your friend’s underwear, but it couldn’t be helped. If you had packed, you wouldn’t be in this situation, so you really had nothing to complain about. “You can use these. I’ll wash your stuff so you can wear it when we pack up tomorrow. And you can grab whatever hair and body stuff you need as well, just open something new if you need it. I’ll get dinner. Don’t take a fucking century.” With that, he closed the door and left for the kitchen.

Katsuki’s shower was fantastic. Sure, Takumi had convinced you to splurge on a fancier apartment than you were used to, but this was next level. And all of Katsuki’s products were high-quality as well. You almost wanted to steal them for yourself, though that put you at the risk of permanently smelling like him. You almost thought it would be worth it, you thought to yourself as you slathered on moisturizer.

You pulled on Katsuki’s clothes, which were a bit too big, but manageable. Thank goodness for drawstring pants. He had times dinner perfectly, sliding the fried eggs over the rice right as you stepped into the kitchen. Smelling the food, you realized you were hungrier than you thought you had been. You inhaled the food, thanking him profusely. He shook his head, knowing he had been right. After you finished eating, it was closer to nighttime, and you felt the day beginning to crash over you again, this time inspiring the urge to sleep. Katsuki noticed quickly.

“You aren’t going to be any use at all if you’re tired. Get some sleep, princess. We have a big day tomorrow.” You nodded sleepily in agreement, and walked over to what was now “your” room. Katsuki stood in the doorway as you snuggled into the covers, and reached to turn out the light. You spoke quietly.

“Seriously, Katsuki. I don’t know how I can ever repay you for this. It’s too much.” The room went dark, and you heard the door start to swing closed.

“Don’t be stupid. You don’t have to pay my back. Don’t even fucking think about it. I won’t let you. And don’t thank me either,” he said quietly, a slight edge to his voice. “I’m doing this because I want to. So shut up and go to bed. You need to be ready for tomorrow.”

[bigoltrashpile]

Yay! Welcome back Al! Hope you had a good break. Been loving all the interactions with the crew these last 2 weeks. How about a follow up with Raven and his love at first sight? :D

HELL YEAH, BABY!!!!!

This is part one, so you can read that first, and it’ll make more sense!

It had been about a month since Raven had first seen you.  Since then, he spent as much time as he could in the human world, trying to contact you somehow.  Naturally, this brought a LOT of teasing from his brother and the other skeletons, but he could deal with it.  After all, if he let this go, they would find something else to tease him about.

Raven had wracked his brain to try and find out how to make you see him.  You weren’t one of the few humans who could naturally see demons, which he was both mad about, and grateful for.  He had done way too many dorky things while watching you.  If you had seen him, he could never show his face to you again.  The time that he had loudly sung “i wanna dance with somebody,” and then proceeded to crash into the wall came to his mind, and he cringed.  That was one of the few times he was grateful to be invisible.

Despite all that, he really wanted to become visible for you.  He wanted to talk to you and actually have you respond.  He wanted to touch you, to hold your hand, maybe even.....k-kiss you.  Raven had never kissed a human, but there was a first time for everything, right?

Tonight, though, Raven was going to meet you for real!  Over the past couple weeks, he had been using all his concentration to move things around in your house so that you would get suspicious.  Demon’s power mostly came from belief, so if you knew that something was going on, it would give him even more power.

Last night though, you had bought something very special.

A Ouija board.

Now, it wasn’t the board itself that was special.  It was just a piece of wood with letters on it.  No, the thing that made Ouija boards and other “toys” like that was the fact that the person was reaching out, wanting to find something.  And often times, something would reach back.

That night, you settled down on your bedroom floor and spread the board out.  You awkwardly placed your hands on the planchette, clearly not used to this.  “So, um...if there’s a spirit there-which I’m pretty sure there is, I saw that pencil float the other day-show yourself?  I guess?”

Raven quickly grabbed the small piece of wood and began to move it.  You gasped and watched in fascination.

“H-I Y-N.”

“H-how do you know my name?” you stammered.

“I-V-E B-E-E-N W-A-T-C-H-I-N-G.”  Raven winced.  Great, now he sounded like some stalker.  “N-O-T I-N A C-R-E-E-P-Y W-A-Y.”

You laughed a little at that.  “Well, it sounds creepy.  But, um...I guess since you know my name, I should know yours?”

Yes, this was the moment he had been waiting for!  Once a human knew a demon’s name, it didn’t take a lot after that to summon them!  His hands shook a little as he moved the planchette to spell his name.

“Raven?” you asked.  

A small shiver went down the demon’s spine at the sound of you saying his name.

“YES.”

“Well, nice to meet you, Raven!” you smiled.  “Are you mad about me being in this house, or something?”

“NO.  W-A-N-T-E-D 2 M-E-E-T U.”

“You wanted to meet me?” you clarified, eyebrows furrowed.  “Why?”

Oh no.  How does he answer this without sounding like a total weirdo?  After a long pause, he decided to just say “R-E-A-S-O-N-S.”

“Hm, yes, reasons, I see,” you muttered, rolling your eyes good naturedly.  Stars, this is why he liked you so much. 

Raven chuckled.  “C-A-N Y-O-U D-O S-O-M-E-T-H-I-N-G 4 M-E?” he asked.

You tilted your head in confusion.  “Well, that depends on what it is.”

“I-T-S E-A-S-Y.  J-U-S-T S-A-Y U G-I-V-E P-E-R-M-I-S-S-I-O-N 4 M-E T-O A-P-P-E-A-R.”

Usually, summoning a demon took a lot more effort than that, but with Raven already being in the room with you, and wanting to be summoned, made it a lot easier.

“I don’t know about this,” you muttered.  “I don’t want to accidentally, like, sell my soul or whatever.”

“I W-O-N-T H-U-R-T U.  P-R-O-M-I-S-E.”

You paused for another moment, and then sighed.  “Fine.  I give you permission to appear.”

Power coursed through Raven’s very marrow, and he felt himself get tugged into a physical body.  Stars it felt good!  He cracked his neck and grinned down at you.

Unsurprisingly, you looked terrified.  And he couldn’t blame you!  All of the sudden, a tall skeleton with fangs and fucking antlers just appeared in a puff of smoke, after all.  Any sensible person would be scared!

“W-who are you?  What are you?” you demanded.

Raven took a deep breath.  Okay, first impression with the person he’d had a crush on for a long time.  Don’t  blow this for yourself, Raven.

“hii’mravenandyou’rereallycuteandilikeyoualotdoyouwanttobefriends?”

Nailed it.

You looked baffled.  “Wait, you-what?  You want to be friends?”

“yeah, i mean, if that’s okay with you,” Raven muttered, fiddling with his fingers nervously.  “ya don’t have to if ya don’t want, i mean.”

“No!  I mean, that would be cool!” you said quickly.  “I’m just...a little confused.”

Raven grinned crookedly.  “well, that’s alright.  how ‘bout i explain things to ya?”

[drabbles-of-writing]

Can We Keep Him? (pt 3)

This is part of my Uncursed AU

AO3

Masterpost

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

For the first few weeks, their routine worked.

Eda would open the portal to the human realm, warn King to be careful, and have him go at it for about an hour before reopening the door and sorting through whatever he had collected.

The first day King mostly only got food, and Eda could barely sell any of it. Half because it was too disgusting by Boiling Isles standards and half because King kept eating it.

The second day King grabbed anything he could that looked vaguely like a crown. Eda made him sell each and every one, much to his distress. She did, however, save a silver and blue plastic tiara that she gave to King, who was thrilled. Even if his crowns never lasted very long, it was worth it to see him so happy.

The third day King didn’t make it back to the portal because he had been caught by the human version of animal control and Eda had to break him out.

But aside from those hiccups and a few others, it went fine.

So fine, in fact, that Eda was nearing enough money to finally get a place of her own instead of crashing at Lilith’s and sometimes her dads when Lilith accidentally locked the doors.

Things were starting to look up...almost.

,

King was absolutely, positively, not worried.

It was un-kingly like for the King of Demons to be worried about a witch.

No, he wasn’t worried.

Simply...curious. Wondering. Questioning.

“Have you seen Eda?” King exclaimed, jumping up onto some poor unsuspecting witches table, scaring the life out of them. “She’s tall, I think, with hair that looks like a rats nest on fire, usually causing trouble and scamming people?”

“Beat it, you overgrown rat!” A second witch at the stand snapped, swinging a broom at the demon.

King yelped and leapt off the table, hitting the ground awkwardly before scuttling further into the marketplace.

“Have you seen Eda?” He asked a passing cyclops, clinging to his leg. “The witch who sells human collectibles? Looks like she probably stole your wallet?”

“Get off!” The cyclops demanded, kicking out his leg and sending King right back to eating the dirt.

King sprung right back up, fiddling his paws together as he rushed down the marketplace, asking any witch, demon, or vaguely-sentient being if they’d seen Eda. Most brushed him off, others only shook their heads.

Normally, King wouldn’t be so worr--er, inquisitive about where Eda was. She had a new place she set up shop every day, and it was always fun to hunt her down in the morning.

But Eda had told him where she was going to be this time. Right smack in the middle of the marketplace, so to sell more stuff today.

She wasn’t there. Or anywhere, for that matter.

Not a single sign, disgruntled customer, nothing. Eda rarely missed a day to sell. And whenever she did, she would always make sure to tell King beforehand. He had to be extra careful with his crown of the week when she wasn’t around to replace it, after all.

King swore he’d searched the whole marketplace from top to bottom three times around. He couldn’t find Eda anywhere.

It was nearing afternoon, and he was getting tired.

“Aw, I’m sorry to hear that, sweetie,” his most recent inquiry said sympathetically. “Maybe she was just sick today. I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

“Yeah...yeah! That must be it!” King said. “Eda’s just sick. I’ll see her tomorrow.”

“There you go,” The nice lady smiled. “Run along now, you look tired.” “Oh you have no idea,” King agreed. “Thanks, random minion!” He called before turning and trotting back through the marketplace.

Of course Eda was sick! It made perfect sense. She wouldn’t dare to come near the King of Demons if she thought she could infect him. No subject would wish that upon their ruler.

Still, he’d make sure Eda found him the best crown tomorrow. He broke his weird circle crown yesterday and was anxious for a new one.

It wasn’t long before King made it out of the marketplace and began making his way to the playground. It had become his kingdom, since it was close to the marketplace and he got to survey his land from the top. Though the small raiders were always a nuisance.

The things King put up with for that witch.

As he wandered down the street, he passed a row of old broken benches. Not many people took this route towards town, since it had yet to be fixed from a rogue Slitherbeast attack and was faced with only the backs of houses.

So King was rather surprised when he saw a witch sitting on one of the benches, knees curled up to her chest and face hidden under a nest of orange hair.

Wait a second…

“Eda!” King cried, racing on all fours across the ground to the bench. “There you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

Eda jerked her head up, strands of hair rumpled and sticking out everywhere. Her eyes were wide and...King would dare say hurt.

King paused, one jump away from leaping onto the bench beside the witch. He blinked up at her, now noticing that her face was very damp.

“...Eda?” King asked, quieter now.

“King! Ah, sorry, sorry,” Eda sniffled and quickly wiped a sleeve over her eyes. “Took me a minute. I, ah, I missed opening the shop, didn’t I?” She said, giving a small strained smile.

King thought he preferred her old smile better.

“Missed it? It’s noon!” King exclaimed, crawling up onto the bench beside Eda. “I thought you were sick or something.”

“Sorry, pip-squeak.” Eda said, her voice hoarse. “I didn’t realize the time.”

King sat in silence for a few moments, his little legs splayed out as he looked at the stone street before looking back at Eda. She was staring off again, arms crossed on top of her knees with her chin resting on them. She looked like she was about to cry.

“Not that I’m worried or anything, but...” King hesitated a moment before placing a paw on her arm. “Are you okay?”

Eda gazed down at King for a moment before sniffling and a fresh wave of tears spilled from her eyes.

“...no,” She said, shoulders hunched as she buried her face in her legs again, trembling with choked back sobs.

Well this wasn’t something King was prepared for.

King flinched back, looking around for anything that could help him. But nobody else was around. Just the open, broken street.

So, with nothing else to really do, King pushed his head underneath Eda’s arms, startling her. He wormed his way into her lap, which was a very cramped space at the moment, and lay across it. His limbs were hanging off at an awkward angle, and his head was smooshed between her legs and body, but it didn’t feel right to complain.

“Is, uh,” King glanced up at the young witch. “Is this better?”

Eda stared before she let out a weak chuckle, the shaking of her body jostling King a bit. She lowered her legs, freeing King of his prison, and wrapped her arms around him instead, bringing the small demon closer to her chest.

“Yeah, that helps.” Eda said quietly, stroking a hand down King’s back.

King was stiff as cardboard before, worrying any movement would mess it all up. Once he felt Eda petting his fur, however, he visibly relaxed and became loose like a noodle.

“Oh, this is nice,” King purred.

Eda giggled slightly and brought one of her arms underneath King to hold him steady and pet him with her other hand, smiling as he curled closer to her to get more pets.

“Thanks, King.” Eda said softly, scratching at where his skull met his fur.

“Don’t mention it,” King said, still happy from the pets. “...again, not that I care, but,” King paused again and flicked his tail. “Did something bad happen?”

Eda went still for a moment. King, admittedly, got worried again. Fine, so maybe he cared. What of it?

“Just my dad.” Eda said, stroking her hand along King’s back again. “He thinks he knows everything and...well, he thinks I’m doing things wrong. Just an argument that got out of hand. I can always crash at Lilith’s, anyway.”

“I thought you liked your dad?” King looked up at her, turning over on his side for Eda to pet there.

“I do, I do.” Eda agreed, relentining in scratching his stomach, making him twitch and kick out a leg happily. ��But...he sometimes...isn’t all that great. ” She said, eyes glazed over in thought.

“He’s a good person...but sometimes I wonder what it would be like if my mom was still around.”

King opened his eyes from his momentary bliss, and Eda’s hand slowed as well. He squirmed in her arm a bit so he was sitting up and lay his chin on her shoulder in an attempt of being comforting.

“Sorry,” King said quietly.

“Don’t be. I’ll be alright.” Eda lay a hand across his back to hold him there. “If anything, I should apologize to you. I don’t normally info-dump my life to demons I work with.”

“I don’t mind,” King said, standing in her arms and placing his paws on her one shoulder. “I mean, I am the King of Demons. It’s only natural that I must inspire my subjects when all seems lost.” He said, placing a paw on his chest.

“Whatever you say, weirdo.” Eda rolled her eyes.

She looked away for a moment, staring off at the silence and nothingness around them both.

“But I guess I’m a weirdo too, huh?” She said, giving him a smile.

“Eh, everyone’s a little weird.” King shrugged, laying back down in her arms once more. “You sell human junk and refuse to join a coven, I live at a very small kingdom, that one weird lady down the street calls herself Tiny Nose--”

“A small kingdom?” Eda cut in, sounding amused.

“Yeah, back where you gave me my first crown.” King explained.

“You live at the playground?” She gasped, all amusement lost in an instant.

“I prefer the name ‘King’s Kingdom,’ thank you.” King said. “Wait, that doesn’t sound right…”

“Alright, that settles it.” Eda said, picking up King from under his arms and holding the demon in front of her face. “I have seen what nightmares those kids are at the playground, and if I’m being honest, I feel really guilty letting you sleep on the streets.”

“My kingdom is not ‘the streets!’” King grumbled. “But continue.”

“I’m going to be buying my own place soon, and at this point, I’ll likely be living with Lilith for the next week or two.” Eda said. “So, as a…” She thought about her words for a moment. “A token of my gratitude, how would you like to sleep with an actual roof over your head?”

“I get to live with you?” King blurted, wiggling happily from his place in the air.

“I take that as confirmation that you want to?” Eda laughed, setting the demon back down on her lap.

“Yes! I always wanted to see what the inside of those houses looked like!” King jumped up and down in her lap. “Is it true you have fresh uneaten food?” He asked, his eyes practically sparkling.

“Bud, you don’t know the half of it.” Eda said, picking up King again and getting to her feet. “But it’s only just past noon. Why don’t we try and sell the scraps you got from yesterday first?”

“Fine, if you insist.” King muttered, huffing as Eda began carrying him back to the marketplace. “But I deserve two new crowns, you hear me? I spent all morning looking for you! It was exhausting.”

“Of course, of course.” Eda nodded. “Anything for a king.”

,

Getting Lilith to let King stay, however, was going to be a lot harder than selling a few human trinkets.

Which is why Eda didn’t plan on letting her know right away.

“I am a king! Why do I have to be smuggled in like some common thief?” King huffed, hiding in Eda’s arm in a cloak she had been recently using to hide from any nosy guards.

“Because Lilith isn’t keen on getting a third roommate.” Eda replied, walking down the roads towards Lilith’s Emperor Coven mandated flat. “She already complains enough about getting food for the both of us.”

“If it’s such a hassle, why does she let you stay?” King wondered. “You said she was in the Emperor’s Coven, didn’t you?”

“She may be annoyed by it, but we’re still sisters.” Eda said. “She promised that when we made it to the Emperor’s Coven, we could get a place of our own. We love our dad, he’s not exactly...well-off.”

“But you’re not in the Emperor’s Coven. Didn’t you say you were covenless?” King pointed out.

“Eh, dreams change.” Eda shrugged. “Now keep quiet. For now, you’ll hide in my room. I’ll just have to warm up Lilith to the idea of you.”

She stopped in front of the door of one of the small, stone houses. It was far too close to Emperor Belos’ castle for her liking.

Luckily for her, she didn’t have to stick around for too much longer.

Eda held the front of her cloak closed with one hand, holding King under her arm with the other. Taking a deep breath, she opened the front door, which was thankfully unlocked, and slipped inside.

She barely made it ten feet into the door before she was hounded.

“Eda!” Lilith exclaimed, bolting from around the kitchen corner and rushing over. “I heard what happened with dad,” She said and Eda visibility recoiled. “I’m so, so sorry. You know he didn’t really mean it, right?”

“Maybe not that harshly...but I think a part of him did mean it.” Eda mumbled, stepping around her sister. “What are you doing back? It’s barely dusk.”

“I managed to get in a good word and cut my training short,” Lilith said. “I should be free tomorrow to help you sell that junk at the marketplace, too.” She said happily.

“Excuse you,” Eda huffed, tightening her hold on King as he squirmed. “I prefer the term ‘human collectibles.’” She said with a teasing glint in her eye. “Helps sell it a lot easier to suckers off the street.”

“Whatever makes you feel better.” Lilith rolled her eyes. “Are you hungry? I got some bloodrain noodles from the pitstop a few streets over.”

“Oh, uh, actually...I already ate.” Eda lied, looking everywhere but at her sister. “Hey, remember when I mentioned I met a funny little demon two weeks ago?”

“Yeah…? Why’s this come up? You haven’t spoken of him since then.” Lilith said, raising a brow. “Did he get you in trouble?”

“No, no, not like that at all.” Eda insisted. “But, what if, hypothetically, he didn’t have a place to stay? And I could, I don’t know...share my food with him?”

It was a long shot, she knew. But hiding King of all people in a flat as cramped as this would be next to impossible without trying it the easy way first.

Lilith narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms, glaring at her sister.

“What’s in the cloak, Eda?”

“What? Pssh, nothing, nothing at all.” Eda said, pulling it closer around herself as King stiffened up. “I was just wondering what you’d think. Testing the waters a bit, you know?”

“Take off your cloak, Eda.”

“Why? It’s my cloak, and I can do what I want with it.” Eda said, stepping back and giving Lilith a firm look. “And you can’t make me.”

Lilith uncrossed one hand and drew a circle in the air. Eda’s cloak suddenly lit up before going flying across the room and out of her grip as it hit a wall before sliding to the ground.

King, who was currently being carried like a football, blinked at the sudden light and craned his neck to look up at Lilith.

“Huh, I guess wild hair runs in the family.”

“Edalyn!” Lilith accused.

“What else was I supposed to do? Let him live on a playground full of screaming kids?” Eda demanded, re situating King so he was curled up in her arms like a baby. “Come on, Lilith, he’s not even that big!”

“Eda, I understand your worries,” Lilith exhaled, pressing her hands together in front of her face like she was trying to steel herself. “But I can’t extend my generosity to random stray demons you find.”

"Hey!” King cried indignantly. “I’ll have you know I am the King of Demons! You should be honored to house me.”

“And you found a delusional one, too?” Lilith groaned.

“Alright, hey, that’s a bit harsh.” Eda defended, laying a hand over King. “So what if he’s a little weird? I am too! Besides, he’ll only be here to sleep. The rest of the time he’ll be helping me sell in the market.”

“Edalyn, please,” Lilith rubbed at her temples. “I’m having a hard enough time at the Emperor’s Coven, I can’t worry about a demon you’ve gotten attached to.”

At that, King looked up at Eda, almost seeming surprised. Eda sighed, shoulders sagging.

She got a sudden idea and perked up. She slowly held out King like a doll in front of Lilith’s face, a smile growing on her face.

When Lilith opened her eyes, she was immediately greeted with a confused King staring back at her.

“But he’s so cute,” Eda whimpered, giving her sister a pleading look.

“I am not cute!” King squeaked, kicking about as Eda giggled.

“You should hear him when he’s mad,” Eda said, lowering King but still holding him. “He’s got a squeak of rage. It’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.” She grinned.

“You can’t buy me with cuteness,” Lilith crossed her arms and turned her head away.

“Aw, please?” Eda tried, sliding up beside her sister and holding King in front of her again. “I promise to take full responsibility for this little brat.”

“Responsibility! Ha! As if I cause trouble everywhere I go.” King snorted.

Eda knew very well how true that was, and thankfully had enough self-control to keep her mouth shut.

Lilith cracked open an eye, and Eda gave the biggest puppy-dog eyes she could muster.

“Please?” She begged. “I’ll be moving out soon, anyway. You won’t even know he was here!”

Lilith curled her lip and glared for a few moments. Her eyes shifted between Eda’s begging face and King’s naively hopeful one.

Lilith sighed and uncrossed her arms, letting her head hang back.

“Fine,”

“WOO!” Eda pumped a fist in the air, almost dropping King. “You won’t regret this, Lily. I promise!”

“I better not.” She warned, though her tone held no real malice.

“Huzzah!” King cheered. “Does this mean I can have uneaten food now?”

“Buddy, you can have as much uneaten food as you want.” Eda grinned.

“From your share, Edalyn.” Lilith sternly reminded her.

“...you can have almost as much uneaten food as you’d like.” Eda corrected herself. “C’mon, I think I have some scream bars in the pantry.”

“I have no idea what those are, but I am ready!” King agreed as Eda set him down and raced into the kitchen, the demon following after her.

Lilith watched her sister vanish around the corner, talking excitedly with the demon as she took her own food to feed to him.

As much as Lilith didn’t want another mouth she’d inevitably be feeding…she couldn’t help but feel happy.

It was worth it, if only to see that smile on Eda’s face.

[connorspiracy]

Here Comes Santa Claws || Connor & Sasha

TIMING: Just before Christmas PARTIES: @connorspiracy and @sasha-r-blog CONTENT: N/A SUMMARY: Connor has a run-in with The Claw  

Connor hadn’t been out of the hospital for long before he was right back out in the fray. Bug bite. Temporarily paralytic. Typical White Crest shit. It wore off within an hour or two and they’d kept him one night for observation, but he’d been back home the next day, and back out filming the next night. All in all, it’d been a fairly uneventful night. Not too common in White Crest, but it happened sometimes. He’d been heading back to his car when he passed the two drunk college bros in santa hats, probably on the way home from a Christmas party or something. 

“Heyyy,” one of them slurred. “Are you a film student? Can I be in your movie?”

Apparently, it must have been the best joke ever, because they both started laughing. Connor took a drag of his cigarette, shaking his head.

“Nah, mate. Battery’s dead anyway,” he lied. 

“Oh, come on,” the other one said, winking. “Is it, y’know, a dirty movie? We won’t tell anyone.” 

Connor was a pretty jovial dude, but some people were really fucking annoying. He sighed. “No, documentary, but I gotta get home anyway. Have a good night, lads.” 

He kept walking, but felt a hand grab his shoulder. 

“Come on. Don’t be a dick.” One of them grabbed at the camera, snatching it from his hands and starting to record themselves. “Hey, battery isn’t dead, you’re full of shit.” 

Sasha’s night hadn’t gone very successfully, which sucked, but wasn’t that surprising. People were out and about, but nothing criminal or suspicious or even vaguely interesting had happened within the last few hours. Sasha has been keeping a lookout of the streets from the roof of a building, but as her eyes grew bleary she thought it would probably be best to just pack it in for the night. She had a project for class she had to work on anyways. Though if she was being honest with herself she was probably just going to make some hot chocolate and go to sleep once she was back. 

Climbing down the sides of the building, she ducked into an alley to get changed. She brought a pair of jeans and a sweater, enough to cover the spandex while she tucked the rest of her costume back into her backpack. But before she could even start taking off her mask, she heard some sort of commotion. Well, maybe less of a commotion and more of a disturbance. Shouldering her bag again she listened. Three voices. Two sounded like assholes, to be blunt. Also maybe drunk. And what they were saying didn’t sound like it was going in a good direction for whoever the third person was.

Okay, so maybe tonight wouldn’t be so uneventful after all.

Sasha crept through the other end of the alley, towards the noise. And as she peaked out onto the street she could see the three of them about ten feet away. How hard could it be to take down two drunk frat bros? Maybe they’d even be scared off before they got themselves hurt by the justice of The Claw.

Stepping out onto the sidewalk, Sasha tried to be menacing, amber eyes flashing as she tried to do a half hunched, crouch thing, something that looked like a tiger about to lunge. It looked cool in her head at least.

“I don’t think that camera belongs to you. How about you hand that back before you regret it.” 

“Guess it has a little juice left,” Connor answered, grabbing for the camera. The other men were larger than him. He’d always been on the smaller side, a matter that didn’t especially bother him except when it came to people not believing his I.D. was real when he was trying to get a drink. Now, though, it was annoying to be unable to reach. “Give it back, dude. It’s expensive.”

“Expensive?” One of them mocked. “Aw, the widdle baby needs his expensive camera back? Did mommy and daddy get it for you, Prince William?” The words prompted more laughter from both frat bros and Connor rolled his eyes. 

“Very funny. You should be on the improv team. Now if I could just--”

Before the conversation could go any further, he caught sight of the fourth person, a young woman in a domino mask with glowing yellow eyes who stepped out from the alley. One of the men almost dropped the camera in response, causing Connor’s heart to jump into his throat. 

“Please, please don’t let ‘em drop it…” he begged of the stranger, and one of them shoved the camera into Connor’s chest so hard it sent him stumbling backwards. 

“Whoa, nice costume,” one of the bros said. “Girl, you know it’s not Halloween any more.” 

“I’m aware.” Sasha wanted that to sound cool, threatening, unaffected. Too bad she couldn’t keep the offense from her voice. “This isn’t some costume party, so why don’t you get out of here and leave that guy alone.”

She tried her best to stare down the guy who had spoken to her, but curiosity kept making her glance back at the other guy, shorter than the two meatheads and clearly in need of help.  From the sounds of it that camera was expensive, good thing she had heard the trouble before these jerks broke it or ran off with it. It was almost more annoying that they seemed to just be random drunk college students. She was expecting to find some hardened criminal with a gun or knife looking to threaten a man for his money, not some dude bro assholes just starting trouble for the sake of it.

So could anyone really blame her if she wanted to show off just a little? Just like, a little warning shot. Just so they knew she meant business and didn’t get any ideas about harassing more people tonight, or commenting on their costume. 

With surprising speed Sasha rushed up to the closest dude and reached for his collar. Didn’t matter that he was a good several inches taller than her and bulky, she knew she could lift him if she got a good grip. 

Honestly, Connor was just glad someone was helping him out and stopping his camera from being shattered on the frosty pavement. The guy had left it rolling, and Connor saw no need to correct that as he gazed on. He was intrigued to see what might happen. Size wasn’t necessarily an indication of strength or prowess. Rio was pretty much the scrawniest guy in the world, and he had hunter strength, but surely the guys wouldn’t try and fight her, right? 

“Oh, piss off,” one of them scoffed, gathering up a snowball to throw at her, only before he could let loose, the stranger cleared the distance between them almost as if by magic, hoisting the man off his feet. The snow crumpled in his hand and fell to the ground, and his friend let out a yelp.

“Yo, what the hell, lady? We were just goofing around. Put him down!”

It wasn’t visible under her toothy face mask, but Sasha grinned from ear to ear as she watched the dude she lifted up stare down at her. Shock, confusion, a bit of fear. Yeah, maybe you shouldn’t have insulted my costume.

“What the fuck!” The dude was squirming, so probably a good idea actually let go. Soon he’d start punching or kicking to get free and Sasha wasn’t planning on a full on fight unless she needed to. Still holding the one man by his collar she turned towards the other who was sporting a similar look of confusion. Why shouldn’t he be a little more freaked out too?

So Sasha threw the one dude at the other. Okay, well, tried to. Even with super strength, it turns out full on throwing a full grown man isn’t easy. The guy got more roughly pushed backwards than anything, slipping on the slightly icy sidewalk and falling shoulder first into his friend, losing his hat in the process. Maybe not as dramatic as it could have been, but she threw in another flash on amber eyes to make up for that. 

The two nearly toppled to the ground together, but managed to right themselves. Pretty impressive, considering they were drunk. After a moment of getting his bearings the dude huffed out; “This lady’s either crazy or on something, let’s go.” Despite this being a really great plan on the dude’s part, the friend that hadn’t gotten picked up stared Sasha down. His eyes were still confused, but the shock was wearing off and Sasha could see his jaw clench. But the other dude tugged his arm to get him moving. 

“You’re a fucking weirdo. You’re lucky I don’t punch chicks.” The lingering guy said, before finally following his friend, shouldering past the guy with the camera.

Sasha watched them leave, heart pounding in her chest still from the adrenaline, before turning toward the camera guy. Crap, okay, she needed some cool line now. Like “Have no fear citizen!” but less dorky. 

“Are you okay?” was the only thing that came out of her mouth on the spot. 

"You're lucky she didn't punch you," Connor scoffed at the departing dudebro, feeling a little braver now that he'd just had his honour defended by White Crest's own Black Panther. He caught his breath, letting the waves of adrenaline calm a little. The fight or flight was gone. Connor wasn't freaked out. Not in the least. The altercation with the frat boys had been less than ideal, but the sheer exhilaration of meeting this young woman had replaced any fear or concern that might have been hanging around. 

"Dude, that was... awesome!" Connor was practically vibrating out of his skin. Of all the bizarre things in White Crest he was morbidly excited about, it was rare to actually find one who wasn't out to kill or maim him. "Like, actually awesome. You... uh, you saved my arse." He gave a slight chuckle. He wasn't too proud to admit it. In fact, the idea of being saved by a super cool badass chick was kind of incredible. "What's, um, what's your name? I'm Connor." 

Sasha stood up a bit taller at the praise. That had actually gone well! It hadn’t really hit her until the guy with the camera spoke. Sure, it was just two drunk dudes vs. superpowers but still, she had managed to scare them off and save someone. Without thinking she let out a surprised little chuckle and hoped it was muffled under her mask. 

“I’m The Claw,” She said, her grin seeping into her voice. “Protector of White Crest. No need to thank me, it is my job to make sure the citizens of town are safe from criminals and people who want to harm others.” 

Connor...why did that name sound familiar? As Sasha finished her introduction she remembered the guy she had spoken to online, the one who was into ghosts. Behind her mask her grin faltered. She guessed the town wasn’t big enough to completely avoid it, but she hadn’t expected to save someone she kinda knew. 

“Were those people that you know? Do you feel safe heading to wherever you are heading?” She asked, trying to get back into the mindset of The Claw. 

“The Claw,” he repeated, unable to break his gaze on her. A glimmer of recognition stirred in his chest, but not for the woman. It was recognition of a different nature. A spirit. Connor kept his eyes on her, trying to see her expression through the mask, as if that would give him any clue whether she was possessed or not. “That’s, um, very noble of you.” She definitely wasn’t acting anything like the spirit inside Nadia, or almost any other possession cases he’d come across, but not all possessions had to be malicious. Their effects harmed the host regardless. 

“No, I never saw them before. I think they were heading back from a holiday party or something. I’m just…” He held up his camera. Not that she hadn’t seen it when she’d zoomed in like a Knight In Batman Armour to save his arse. “I was doing some filming, but, um… actually, do you wanna walk back to the car with me? I think it’d be best if we stick together.” He wasn’t scared, not really, but he wanted to keep her close for as long as possible, see if he could garner any more clues. “How long have you been, uh, protecting White Crest?”

Sasha paused for a beat longer than intended before responding.

 “Of course. I wouldn’t want those people to come back and try to hurt you again. Even if they were just being troublemakers in the moment, it is my duty to make sure you get back safe.”

She had intended to walk him back if he wanted her too and still did. But there was something uncanny about talking to Connor now the adrenaline was gone and she had recognized him. But she let him lead the way, eyes and ears peeled for if danger did show up.

She hadn’t expected the question either. Sure, superheroes get asked “who are you?” from the people they rescue all the time, but Sasha didn’t know what to do with Connor asking for details. She thought about lying for a second, saying something like “The Claw has always guarded this town,” but considering White Crest’s apparent track record with death and danger that lie would probably make her look bad.

“I only started protecting this town recently. I came when I thought it needed me most. And while those men were just drunken jerks, I’m glad I was able to help stop trouble tonight, however small.”

Was she laying it on too thick? She hadn’t exactly prepared a script for this sort of thing. She tried to keep looking straight ahead, as if somehow her nervousness would show through two layers of masks if she looked Connor in the eye. 

Connor smiled to himself as he walked. She sounded like she was right out of the pages of one of the cornier Superman comics, but there was also something endearing about it. “If any town needs a bloody superhero, it’s this one,” he snickered. He could feel something spiritual about her, but it didn’t feel malicious. He felt drawn to her, a need to investigate beyond just the mere fact he’d seen her use super-strength. 

“So do you have any other powers? Laser vision, telekinesis?” She almost definitely wasn’t going to answer, but hey, it was worth a shot. Connor rarely saw the need to keep his questions to himself. “Oh! Do you have, like, a Batsignal? A way people can call on you when they need you? Maybe a burner phone, although that would be less exciting.” 

He was sure he’d caught some of her antics on camera, even though the footage probably wasn’t great thanks to being passed from one person to the other rather than held steadily. He couldn’t wait to look through it when he got back.

Sasha grinned. Superpowers, now that was something she could talk about easily. 

“No laser vision, but I’m fully capable of defeating evil.” She brought up her hand, but paused for a moment. No, it was fine, she was still in costume and on duty after all, even if she was now just walking with Connor back to his car. And he didn’t seem to have any inkling of who she was.

In an instant sharp, pale colored claws sprouted from Sasha’s fingers. And sure, maybe being seen as cool by someone was going to her head a bit. But who could blame her? She let the quick flicker of amber that helped her see in the dark glow steady from her eyes, causing light to shine from behind her domino mask. The Claw probably looked awesome. Or at least Sasha hoped. When she had done it in the mirror it looked cool to her.

“No signal, just my eyes and ears to keep a lookout.” But maybe that wasn’t too bad of an idea. At least the burner phone idea seemed pretty reasonable, but it might ruin the mystique a bit. “I’ll have to look into ways to let people get in contact with me.” 

“Well, love, you’ll probably find a lot of evil here,” Connor said simply, giving a laid back little chuckle. He’d heard horrific tales about some of the horrors White Crest held, and he’d seen many of them too. “Just be careful, yeah? Not all of ‘em can be defeated by super strength.” As impressive as it might have been. 

He turned his gaze towards her, watching her hand as she brought forth a set of sharp claws. “Whoa!” Christ, he wished he still had his camera rolling. He should’ve worn that GoPro attachment Jasmine had got him, but foolishly, he’d put it in his backpack, thinking his filming was done for the night. Her eyes glowed like jewels in the darkness. “That’s amazing,” he said, in awe. He made a mental note to look through some of Rio’s books later to see if he could find anything about animal-like spirits giving people powers. 

“Uh, this is me,” he said as they approached his black Jeep Renegade. “Thanks for the save. Hope you can use those powers of yours to find me again.” 

“Thank you for the concern, I will keep that in mind.” Sasha retracted her claws and let the glow fade from her eye. Part of her wanted to argue, say confidently that nothing could really go up against her strength, agility, and claws. But she wasn’t that cocky, and there was something about the way everyone kept talking about White Crest that was starting to put her on edge. Yeah, the town felt weird, and the death rates didn’t lie, but it felt like everyone talked like they were dancing around something, as if telling a joke she wasn’t privy to, that she could never hope to get. She didn’t know how to feel about the chuckle as Connor spoke. What wasn’t she getting?

Maybe that is just what it was like, being in a new town. She’d have to make an effort to look around more, maybe even talk to people, despite how hard that felt without her mask on. It was so much easier to jump from building to building under the cover of night or talk to Connor when she was hidden behind cool powers and a costume. It made her feel powerful, cool, “amazing” as Connor just said. People didn’t say that about Sasha, but they did about The Claw. 

“Hopefully you won’t need any more protection, but if you ever run into trouble know that The Claw will be here to help.” She nodded once, more to herself than Connor. She would keep an eye out for him while doing future patrols, but maybe he was right, a way for people to contact her would be helpful.

“Keep safe.” She said, and with that she darted toward a nearby alley, out of view. But she would climb up another fire escape and spend another hour with her eyes peeled, even as Connor’s Jeep disappeared into the distance. She had helped someone after all, and the pride did a good job pushing away her weariness. 

[enbycalicocat]

Day 9: 4th of February, 2021

.

It was that date again. To be honest, I should come more often than once a year, but it still hurt so much. Pain and me did not get along well, and that was why I could only do this every 365 days or so.

 The flowers were heavy and wet in my arms, and I wondered if the people from the store remembered me. I didn’t think so. The past two years I’d come, there had been a new person behind the counter. Which was sort of bad for them I guess, always having to interview people and train new employees.

As I got near the plot I noticed that there was someone sitting on top of her tomb. Who in the world was this? Who did he think he was, sitting on top of my mother’s freaking tomb like it’s some bench in a park? Wrath coursed through my veins and clouded my sight. The disrespect, for crying out loud. The woman that gave me life laid under his damn bum.

 “Excuse me,” I asked the nearest attendant. “Who is that? And, why has nobody said something to him? He can’t just sit on top of the graves, can he?”

 The woman turned her head and saw the direction I was pointing at. Her eyes widened when she saw the man, and then she turned to look at me, her eyes still wide.

 “That man in the blue coat?” she asked.

 “Yes, the man in the blue coat.” Do you see another man sitting on a grave in the direction I’m pointing at?! I was so annoyed. But I had to be respectful. I had to be polite.

 “Ah, he comes every day, and spends all the day here. You can go talk to him if he’s bothering you.” The woman gave me a look, a deep look, as if she was trying to understand me.

Then she left. Just like that.

 Ugh. I swear, if it hadn’t been my mom’s damn last wishes, I would’ve buried her somewhere else.

 Stomping my way over to the rude guy, I decided that this was actually a good thing, that way I would get to give him a piece of my mind. This was the world giving me a chance to teach someone a lesson. I should say thank you to that incompetent worker for leaving me to solve this.

 “Hey,” I cried as I was getting closer. The guy didn’t react at all.

Acting dumb. The bastard. As if I could possibly be talking to someone else. The cemetery was empty!

 “I said, hey!” I huffed as I grabbed his shoulder. That startled him. Startled him bad. The gasp, the wide eyes, and the fifty-meters-into-the-air jump and everything. I couldn’t have cared less even if I tried. The guy was an asshole, it had been decided by me a long time ago, so whatever he got, he deserved.

 The guy just stared at me for the longest time, my anger growing with each second that went by.

 “M-me?” he finally stuttered.

 “No, the ghost behind you. Yes, you! You with the blue coat, you with the tan button shirt. You with the black trousers. You the freaking asshole that was sitting on my mother’s grave. You, fucking you, and nobody else!”

 His eyes widened, and then he ran. He ran right past me. So, fast I couldn’t even react.

 “Where do…” I asked as I turned around. But he was nowhere to be seen. “What? Where did he go? Stupid jerk actually hiding from me. Man up and face the consequences of your acts!”

 A year went by, and it was time to visit my mother again. I bought flowers at the same store. A different cashier was working in this occasion too. It was the same drive to the same plot.

 But he was there again. Sitting on my mother’s grave. Again.

I normally didn’t remember people that well, much less people I just saw once. But I had been so angry that day. There was no getting that blue coat out of my mind.

 “Hey, you jerk in the blue coat!”

 The man flinched visibly and turned around. When he saw me fiercely walking over to him, he jumped up quickly and ran away again. I tried to chase, but there was no sign of him. Why does this bastard keep on running? I wanna tell him off so bad! And I had been unable to do it for a whole year! And this year I wouldn’t be able to either! What am I supposed to do with all the words I’d prepared?

 When I ran into the same man for the third consecutive year, I didn’t have the energy to get angry anymore. It had been almost five years since my mother died. I was almost thirty. My anger at the world for the unfairness of taking my mother away from me before I was ready had faded. Instead, I was just exhausted.

 I walked over to the grave, wet uncomfortable flowers in my arms, bought at the same store (same cashier from last year, though).

 “Could you not sit on her grave?” The words were expelled as I exhaled tiredly.

 The man flinched visibly again and turned to look at me with wide eyes.

 “Please. This is my mother’s grave. Can you not sit on top of her?”

 He got up quickly and I kneeled on the ground with a sigh, putting the new flowers in the vase encased into the top of the tomb.

 “She… Umm… You… Er… This flowers are pretty. Please bring more of them.”

 “I always bring her flowers. You know this, you’ve seen me.”

 “Ah. Yes. But… This… This exact type of flowers. Bring them again next year. And all the coming years. They’re very pretty. Prettier than the ones you’ve brought before.”

 What the hell kind of gibberish was this guy spewing?

 Turning my head up, I gave him a quizzical look. My original plan was to snap at him, but he looked so uncomfortable, so fidgety, so edgy, that I just looked back down at the grave again.

 “Sure, buddy, whatever you say.”

 “Tha-thank you very much. Uh, bye then.”

 He didn’t have to leave, and as I raised my head to say this, he had already left.

Weirdo.

 The sixth time I went to see my mom at the cemetery I could only think of him. Would he be there this year too? The only time I focused on the world around me was when I chose the flowers, taking care to pick the same ones for last year. Other than that, I didn't notice anything else. Not the cashier, not the drive, not the walk to the plot. Would he be there?

 He was. He was there. Sitting on her grave again.

 That year something finally clicked. Maybe he came to visit my mom. I wasn’t entirely sure how they knew each other, but since he was here every time I came, it was the only explanation. I mean, he clearly knew my mother’s birthday and came every year.

 “Hi.” This year I was even more tired than the past. So tired that even the flowers in my arm felt unbearably heavy. “Thank you for always coming on her birthday. She must appreciate it.”

 He flinched again, but less than previous years. The man turned to look at me.

 “He-hello.” He began fidgeting again. His eyes darted around like a nervous hamster, until they rested on the bouquet. He smiled radiantly and excitedly stared into my eyes. “You bought them! Just like she… Uh, like… Er, the prettier flowers. You bought them. Thank you.”

 He was happy as if the flowers were for him and not for my mom. And I understood nothing. What was this guys deal?

 Not gonna lie though. His happiness was contagious.

 “You said the others I bought were ugly, so of course, I bought the pretty ones again.”

 Was I teasing him? Why? What for?

 The guy immediately became flustered, stuttering all over the place.

“She-she didn’t… I di-didn’t… My-my words we-were…”

 “I know. Relax. It was a joke.”

 Was that a smile on my face as I placed the flowers in the vase? Well… I guess he was amusing. Or, teasing him was amusing.

 “Ah,” I sighed, looking up at the scorching sun. “Its boiling today. And it should be fresh or slightly cold. The flowers will die quickly like this.”

 Looking over to where he was standing, I froze. The tombstone had a shadow. The trees had shadows. The bushes had shadows. The bouquet had a shadow. I had a shadow. But the guy didn’t. The man standing in front of me didn’t have a damn shadow. In fact, as I watched his feet and the ground he was standing on, there was another revelation. The grass around where he stood wasn’t crushed.

 “Ah, could you move a bit to the side?” I asked calmly. As if I encountered people that didn’t affect the grass they stepped on and had no shadows every day. “There’s something there.”

 He moved to one side as I asked. The grass that had been under his feet was intact.

 Memories flashed by my mind. He comes every day, and spends all the day here. When he’d left all the previous years, I never once heard his steps. He looked the same year after year while I gained more and more wrinkles. The weird petition to buy specific flowers. The happiness when I did as he asked. The 'she' he kept mentioning.

 “Did my mom like the flowers?”

 “Yes!” he said happily. “She liked them very…”

 I looked up at him when he fell silent, and found him staring into my eyes for the first time since our chance encounter. His eyes were wide with the same fear from that first time we met.

 “Is she here right now?” I asked, voice trembling. “Can she hear me? Can she see me?”

 It took a while before he answered, but he did at some point.

 “Yes, she’s sitting on the grave.” And he pointed to the place right next to where he always sat.

 So, he’d been talking to her. I just couldn’t see her. Only him.

 “Mo-mom.” My throat felt so tight. My eyes began to itch with unshed tears. “I love you mom. I’m sorry for what I said… you know… Right before… I’m sorry mom. I don’t blame you for anything. I don’t hate you.”

 Not being able to hold back any longer, I began sobbing.

 “I’m so-sorry mom. Okay? I love-love-love you. I-I miss you-you,” I choked out through the ugly crying sounds I was making.

 “She says she loves you back. And she thanks you very much for bringing her favorite flowers.”

 It was a long time before I could finally breathe without choking and hiccupping. Looking around, the man in the blue coat was still there.

 “Thank you,” he said softly. And they sounded like the most heart-felt words I’d ever heard. “She has gone to rest now. She finally went off to be reborn. And it’s all thanks to your words.”

 There were so many things I could’ve said. So many things I could’ve asked. But none of those were what burbled out of my throat.

 “You’ll be lonely now that she’s gone, won’t you?”

 He was taken aback. But then he smiled embarrassedly.

 “I… I will… It’s not… Um. Yeah. Yeah. I’ll be lonely now. Everyone else here has either moved on, or have been alone here so long they’re not logical anymore.”

 “They fired me a few years ago. Told me to deal with my anger problems or something. Haven’t bothered to find anything else since then. The depression was just too crippling. I can easily live out the rest of my life with the money I have saved up. Because I was too busy making dollars to live. I guess, now that decision will come in handy. And now I’m ranting. Okay. So. The point is, I’ll come keep you company.”

 What kind of gibberish was I spewing now? What the hell type of hare-brained…

 “I’d really like that.”

 He had no idea what he was agreeing to.

 “I’m not very good company. I’m grumpy. And I have anger management problems. And I’ve been depressed for years now. And I’m not that good at talking. And I won’t…”

 “I still appreciate it. Because you want to be here. Talking to me. Most of the entities I talk to don’t come here willingly. They’re here because they have no choice. But you want to come. Out of your own volition.”

 What the hell was I supposed to say to that?

 “So, what’s your name?” I gave him a sideways look and he smiled shyly.

 “I can’t remember. In fact, I can’t remember the last time someone asked for my name either.”

 “Ah, well then,” I said, the gears in my mind turning quickly, “I’ll call you Charlie.”

 “Charlie,” he mused. “I like it! Thank you.”

 Another radiant smile. I looked away because it was too blinding. This guy was too thankful. How lonely had he been all these years? Suddenly, I felt grateful too. For meeting him. Else he might stop being logical too, and… I don’t know, become like the other ghosts that he couldn’t converse with. He hadn’t said, but I felt becoming like them wasn’t a good thing.

 “Where is your grave?”

 “I can’t remember that either. If I did, I would see the tombstone and read my original name." He laughed at my silly question, and I couldn't blame him. That had not been one of my best moments.

 I looked at the grave in front of us, under us, and an idea came to me.

 “I’m sure my mom liked you very much if she has been talking to you all these years. So, you can share her grave and tombstone. I’m sure she would be happy to give you a place to call yours. She always had this need to take in strays.”

 This way you can sit on the grave all you want, since now it’s yours as well.

 “Thank you.” One more radiant smile. This one made my chest feel warm. And the corners of my lips curled slightly up. “You know, your mother told me a lot about you. She loved talking about the stuff you have achieved. Like your degree in…”

 As I listened to Charlie talk, a thought occurred to me. It seemed I had inherited my mom’s need to take in strays. And now I understood why she did it.

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Prompt:

9. Write about a chance encounter at a cemetary.

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