#but decided that showing I am in fact alive was more fun

[redstarfish-art]

Anyone ever read back on their old fics and be like “wow, this was really bad. But also I love it for some reason”?

[gutsby]

Homemade

Pairing: dbf!Joel x Reader

Summary: While your dad’s watching a movie downstairs, you and his best friend decide to make one of your own.

Warnings: 18+. Sneaky sex tape fun with dbf!Joel ;-) Unprotected p-in-v. Age gap. Daddy kink. Facefucking. Joel being the world’s worst cameraman. Shower sex. Overstimulation via adjustable shower head. Dirty talk. Screaming ‘daddy’ too loud, and your father shows up.

Translations: In Chile, pico is slang for penis. Joel’s is big.

Part of the Waiting Game series

“If this ever ends up on PornHub, I’ll kill you, Miller.”

Joel knew you meant it, too.

The only reason you’d agreed to make this dumb little ‘home video’ at all was because you were headed back to college tomorrow and wouldn’t see him again until May. Doing long distance was tough, but doing long distance while simultaneously trying to keep a risqué, torrid, and totally-not-age-appropriate love affair with your father’s best friend under wraps was infinitely more difficult. This was the safest way to keep desire alive in the meantime.

Immortalized on a Sony CCD-TR70—because neither one of you trusted iCloud to keep a sex tape secret.

It had also been the only video camera you could find in the closet before your dad had plopped down on the couch just outside your room and announced he would be watching Oppenheimer for the third time. You’d had to scurry off fast before he could invite you to join him.

“I’ll be damned—this thing’s gotta be as old as I am,” Joel mused as he stood at the foot of the bed, camcorder pointed at your semi-nude form.

“I didn’t know they had cameras back in the Stone Age.”

Your smirk didn't flinch, even when Joel flipped you off.

You were lying on your side, head propped up on one hand while the other picked at a few loose strings from the comforter. The lacy, pastel pink bustier holding your tits in place was currently making breathing feel like a chore, and your skin was on fire from the warmth of the room, but you tried not to show it. Joel twisted a dial.

“Alright, now...flash ‘em for daddy,” he grinned as soon as the lens focused in where he wanted: your cleavage.

You rolled your eyes.

“A little closer, please,” you said, patting the space in front of you.

Joel didn’t need to be told twice. With one hand still cradling the camera, he clambered over the bed so fast he nearly tripped and took a nosedive in the headboard. You had to cover your mouth to contain a shriek of laughter—and terror—as his frame barreled into yours.

“JOEL!”

Fortunately, your cameraman was quick to recollect himself, planting a knee on either side of your chest once he’d knocked you onto your back. Then, from above, he angled the grey-black hunk of metal just a foot away:

“Anything you’d like to say to the folks watching at home, ma’am?” Joel inquired, suddenly assuming all the poise and matter-of-fact elocution of a news reporter.

You stuck your tongue out at the camera and blew the wettest, fattest raspberry you could muster in response.

Joel hummed, zoomed in on your lips, and nodded.

“Fascinating,” he said, pretending to make sense of the fart noise you’d just made with your mouth, “Have you ever given thought to maybe...sucking cock on camera?”

The swiftness with which he was able to dodge your kick was remarkable. He swayed the camera just out of reach before you could shove it away and say, ‘Joel, quit being GROSS’ and he promptly replied, ‘Ain’t that the whole point of a sex tape, sweet pea? Bein’ a little bit gross?’ And you playfully tried to kick him again, only this time, he caught your foot and yanked you closer to him. He turned the camcorder back to your face and grinned.

“That’s my little pornstar,” he murmured with affection. Then, zooming in again, this time to find your panty line, “Riiiiight there.”

You knew giving Joel Miller recording privileges for an occasion as momentous as this was a bad idea. At the rate you were going now, you’d be seeing the sunrise through the window before you ever got a glimpse of his dick. You needed to take matters into your own hands.

Literally.

You crawled on all fours to get to Joel across the bed.

The man, kneeling with the camera pointed in your direction, looked up to cock a brow at you.

“Sweetheart, hey, can ya do that one more—”

“Hush,” you muttered, closing in on his crotch. 

Your head was lowered so you could undo the front of his jeans. Because of this, your back was arched, and your ass was pointed up just the slightest bit. For a second, Joel seemed torn between tilting the lens to your lower half or your face, which was inching ever closer to the bulge in his trousers. In time, he landed on the latter.

He swallowed. That sight never got old—and seeing it displayed on the camcorder’s semi-grainy screen only made it that much hotter. Joel shifted on his knees while you worked him out of his boxers, watching the nimble movements of your fingers as you wrestled the fabric.

“Wanna—” Glancing to the side of the bed, “—maybe—”

“Yup.”

Both of you liked it better on the floor: you on your knees in front of Joel, chin tilted up to see his reactions as you sucked him off. You loved to sink between his legs and then see and feel nothing but him, brain going blank the moment his cock filled your mouth. Joel slid a pillow under your knees before widening his stance some.

“Is it on?” Your hand was wrapped firmly around the base of his cock and your lips were hovering an inch from the tip. You resisted the urge to lick the precum off just yet.

“Darlin’, it’s been on ever since you stepped outta the bathroom in that— that—” Joel seemed to be searching for a word when the head of his cock was enveloped in a kiss. You dragged your tongue across the slit of him and collected the hot, salty beads with a muffled moan.

Then you pulled off.

“Teddy,” you said, reminding him of the name for that pretty little tulle and lace getup you currently had on.

“Teddy,” Joel echoed, his mind a million miles away from any lingerie jargon at the moment. He held the camera tighter as you took him back into your mouth and sank deeper on his cock. He struggled to keep it steady.

It was strange, watching Joel and the rounded glass of the lens as you did this dirty thing that was only meant to be shared between you and him. Knowing it would be recorded, saved for future viewing, displayed on some dimly lit screen in Joel’s bedroom maybe one, twice, or more likely than not, several dozen times over the next three months. You wondered how you might look from this new point of view; though, you weren’t so sure you needed to know what sight Joel was made privy to while you sucked and hollowed your cheeks around his cock.

As it turned out, that uncertainty wasn’t meant to last you very long, because Joel flipped the camera’s screen around two seconds later. Some sepia-tinted, pixelated rendition of your face, framed by the date and time and a bright red flashing dot beside the word ‘REC’ were the first to greet you. You flinched back just a little.

“Joel,” you said, almost bashful, “Flip it back.”

Joel just grinned. Then he laced his fingers through your hair and tugged you closer to him, thumb stroking over your scalp, “C’mon, darlin’, don’t ya wanna see how goddamn pretty ya look on your knees for me?”

You didn’t think you looked pretty at all. In fact, you reckoned your features looked something more like an alien utility funnel than a real, human face as you tilted your chin inward and seemed to be nothing but eyes and a hollowed-out expression, but you let Joel guide you back onto him all the same. You heard a low rumble of pleasure take shape in his chest as your lips slid over his shaft. Your gaze remained glued to the screen as you did.

Wet with saliva and a few faint traces of precum, you continued to bob your head up and down. Joel’s groans grew louder, and your drive to take him further and further surged as well. By the time his hand was tightening into a white-knuckled fist in your hair, you’d nearly taken him all the way to the back of your throat, and your nose was no more than an inch from the soft tufts of hair on his belly. Joel let out a shuttering breath.

“Fuck me,” he heaved. You might’ve smiled if your lips weren’t otherwise occupied. Then he clenched his hand even harder and murmured, “Can you— can I, please—”

Again, you didn’t need him to finish the rest of the question to know what he wanted. You moved your head back just slightly to nod, a low, ‘Mhmm’ reverberating down the length of his dick as you gave him permission. Joel swallowed and set the camera aside immediately.

He placed it on the nightstand, perfectly level with your head, to the side. Then he rotated the device just a bit, took one glance at the screen, and shortly returned to where you were watching him with wide, glossy eyes.

“Ready?” he asked. His right hand now joined the left at the back of your head, but not before thumbing a quick touch over your cheek to get a feel for your approval.

You hummed once more. You watched Joel’s hips move forward, hands secure around your scalp all the while, and you felt a gentle nudge at the back of your throat. Then another. You couldn’t help the impulse to gag, but thankfully, it was short-lived. Joel peered down at you, eyes searching yours for any plea to stop or slow down, but he found nothing. He sheathed himself deeper until your lips were brushing the base of his dick. He groaned.

“That’s a good…fuckin’ girl,” he managed, voice strained, “Takin’ my cock so deep.”

He shifted his hips to move an inch or two out, then slid his cock forward again, bumping that spot at the top of your throat. This time, you were better adjusted to take him and felt your muscles expand and contract around him without activating your gag reflex. Your eyes stayed trained on his face while he dragged his cock back again.

“My pretty girl and her—” Joel stabbed back into you, somehow tender in the way he did it, “—pretty fuckin’ mouth…Sweet thing likes gettin’ facefucked, does she?”

With the increased pace of his thrusts and the grip he had on the sides of your head, you couldn’t quite answer, but Joel could tell from the glint in your eye that you loved when he manhandled and fucked your throat like this. Watched the light sear gently behind those irises as you swallowed every inch of his cock, back and forth, and let your brain break down to little more than a happy, mindless mush. Joel was always keen to oblige you on that front—aroused to no end at the sight of all your thoughts being fucked straight out of your head—and within the next few thrusts, his gut was giving a familiar clench. He pulled halfway out of your mouth, paused, felt the pinch again, then withdrew from your lips fully.

“Get on the bed.”

You straightened back up and made it over to the mattress, quickly. Before you could assume the position you’d been hoping to take on all fours, you felt yourself flipped on your back. Joel yanked your hips to the edge of the bed and kneeled down between your legs. Hooked his fingers under the waistband of your panties and had them shuffled down your thighs and past your ankles in no time at all. Then, when he lowered his lips to your wet, aching core, you pressed a touch to the crown of his head.

“Joel, wait,” you said. All of a sudden your chest felt tight.

In spite of the fact that your airways were open and completely free from any obstruction—namely, Joel’s big ol’ pico—you still found it difficult to inhale. Some murky, amorphous sense of anxiety weighed over your chest.

When your hand didn’t move from his head and instead pushed him further, Joel furrowed his brows, perplexed.

“What’s’a matter, darlin’?”

You shook your head, more to yourself than to him.

“I haven’t…just— haven’t washed down there today…o-or shaved,” you stammered, “Don’t want you to taste it.”

That was largely a lie. You’d bathed, shaved, and prepared for this just fine, but really were more concerned about the novel optics that loomed overhead. Being filmed in such a singularly vulnerable state without knowing how to act. You were fine when the attention was focused on Joel and his pleasure, but something about having your every whimper and moan laid bare before you on film felt daunting. Unnerving, in a way.

Joel frowned while rubbing your thigh. His brow pinched inward again, as if he were considering something.

Then he moved across your body, and your muscles eased with relief at the thought that he’d just let it go and get to fucking you exactly how you wanted. You reached for him, ready to wrap your legs around his waist, when a yelp clawed out of your throat. You found that you didn’t get to touch his chest, or his cheeks, or his big, broad, beefy shoulders, as you were promptly thrown over the latter of the three body parts and lifted when Joel stood up from the bed. He started carrying you across the room, heedless of the startled, ‘What the FUCK, Miller?’ you’d cried the second he took one step.

Hardwood floors transformed to tile before your eyes, and shortly, you realized you were being brought into your bathroom.

You heard the squeak of some metal knob being turned, then a brief sputter, then a spray of water raining down on your shower floor. You were still being held hostage over Joel’s shoulder, try as you might to bite at his lower back or smack his ass in an attempt to break loose.

He set you down a second later, seemingly unfazed.

“Get in.” He nodded toward the shower.

Before you had a chance to respond, he left. You stood back in disbelief—refusing to go into the shower and let Joel have his win—but just as you opened your mouth to call out and tell him as much, his form slipped back in through the door. Naked, now, and wielding that stupid, goddamned camcorder with a devious glint in his eye.

“Will you—” You held out a defensive hand in front of you, cheeks already heating, “—stop with that?!”

Secretly, the corners of your lips were fighting a smile as Joel drew closer with the camera held up to your face.

“There she is, folks,” he announced, as though speaking to a crowd, or else reading off of a script from the world’s most cheesy porno, “My dirty, dirty girl says she needs a shower—don’t ya, sweet pea?”

It sounded so ridiculous and dumb that neither one of you could keep from laughing. Even as you lifted your middle finger in response, Joel grinned and smacked your ass. Steadied the camera out in front, nudged you closer to the shower, and watched you somewhat begrudgingly obey his orders. Once you’d stripped what little remained on your body, you stepped into the tub.

Add to ‘ridiculous and dumb’ just wildly unsexy as well—who the hell needed a soapy interlude to a sex tape?

Joel Miller, apparently. He constricted his grip on the camera and followed you in, tongue already skimming the backs of his teeth in anticipation. You turned away to step under the shower’s stream, and he wasted no time getting a shot of your derrière. You leaned forward and sighed.

The water worked wonders to get your muscles to loosen some, but still, you were nervous. You could clean up now, stall a little longer, maybe even offer to give Joel head again—but what if he really wanted to eat you out on camera? You couldn’t put off the conversation forever.

Or another minute, it seemed.

You let out a shriek when you felt Joel’s fingers sneak up between your thighs. You hardly knew what he was doing, just folding limply when he spun you around to press your back against the shower wall. Your eyes widened to see him descending your body once more.

“I lied,” Joel said, smirk painted clear across his features, “You’re not dirty—I just wanted to eat your pussy in the shower ‘s’all.”

Chivalry was evidently alive and well in Austin, Texas.

No truer words could have been spoken, and yet, you felt wildly uncomfortable the second Joel’s head dipped between your legs and that big, dumb, handsome face started licking stripes up your sensitive core. You cast a glance to the side and saw the camcorder perched on the sink—just through the open slit in the shower curtain, you could see it pointed directly at you.

You shivered and started to push Joel away.

“Can we maybe just—”

“Sweetie?!”

Joel’s lips tore out of your cunt quicker than a sneeze through a screen door. His eyes were wide.

“Y-Yeah, dad?” you squeaked, tone almost fearful.

“Everything okay in here? I heard ya scream,” your dad returned shortly.

You could only imagine the expression of confusion and distress painting his every lineament in that moment. Probably just barely sticking his head through the crack in the door and blinking anxiously through the steam.

Your dad was caring like that.

He just never knew the right times to show up.

No, there were very few times where you would’ve liked to see him less—apart from that one time you’d sucked Joel’s dick under the table at your dad’s birthday dinner. Your heart was thudding a wild, erratic beat in your chest, and you could only imagine how Joel was feeling. Probably seeing visions of a Size 11 boot being shoved up his ass if his friend happened to slide the shower curtain to the side and see him nose-deep in his daughter’s box.

That would be bad. So very, very bad and probably ten times worse than when Tommy had caught you blowing his brother at the aforementioned birthday party. You just couldn’t seem to catch a break these days.

You sucked in a breath and answered anyway.

“I thought I saw a spider.”

“Really?” You could already sense the embittered tinge to your dad’s voice, harking back to the war he’d once declared on all wolf spiders in the home, “Want me to kill it?”

The next thing you heard was two boots thud on the bathroom floor outside the shower, and you could’ve sworn you saw Joel’s whole soul leap from his body. He shot a frantic look around him, spotted a window above, and seemed to wonder for half a second if he might be able to shimmy his 188-pound frame through a space that probably wasn’t big enough to fit a fat raccoon. He slumped his weight against the shower wall and winced.

“No! I— It wasn’t even a spider. Just a…roach.”

Shortly, Joel’s eyes widened even more and met yours, as if to ask, ‘Why the FUCK would you say that?’

“A roach?!” your dad cried simultaneously.

Apparently, you’d forgotten that any derivative of the word ‘cockroach’ was like a sleeper agent activation phrase for middle-aged fathers who wanted to keep their homes free of all household pests. The look on Joel’s haggard, world-weary face communicated as much to you, and for a second, you remembered that he, too, was built the same way as any other semi-old dude you knew.

Just bigger and beefier and…harder below the belt than you would’ve expected most men around his age to be.

You quickly chided yourself for ogling Joel’s dick at a time like this and replied to your father, shrill, “No!”

Then, slightly more composed, “No, no— I already took it out with some hairspray and told it to fuck off to hell.”

An attempt at humor was the last leg you had to stand on. Fortunately, it worked.

Outside the shower, your dad chuckled, and his footsteps started to shuffle off toward the door.

“Ah. Atta girl,” he beamed, ever the advocate for brutal cockroach killings, “If you see another, just holler, okay?”

“Okay.”

You heard the sound of the bathroom door closing, and you almost fell to the floor. Joel probably would’ve been facedown just as well—fear seeping out of his body along with every last ounce of willpower to stand—had he not made a dive for you as soon as your dad had left.

The force of his push sent you straight into the wall, legs forced to wrap around his waist as he buried his face in your neck.

“Thank fuck,” he breathed.

“You’re welcome,” you murmured, swiping the water out of your eyes with a grimace.

Then, just as you were about to request that Joel lower you back down to the floor and out of the shower’s spray, you felt a nudge between your legs. Luckily not a tongue this time—just Joel, or the tip of his leaking cock. The man below you grinned, and for the first time in a long time, you felt a wash of relief. Could it be?

“I’ll still eat you out if y’want,” he started, though speaking with a little less conviction this time around, “But after all that I, uh—kinda jus’ wanna fuck ya stupid.”

Well thank fuck for fake spiders and cockroaches, too; you’d just averted a dreaded tonguefuck, thanks to that detour.

You’d worry about your pornstar moans and on-camera charisma another time—now you could just sit back and let Joel do all the work while he took you against the wall.

Really, there was no need to concern yourself with anything at all from that point forward. Once you’d given Joel the green light, he was sinking you onto his cock with a grunt and making sure you felt nothing but him. His hands found your hips and held you firmly in place as he rutted into you from below, your own fingers latching onto his shoulders for some much-needed support. Both of you knew that you needed to be extra quiet now—seeing how sound seemed to carry in that tight, tiled space—so Joel snagged your lips in his for a kiss.

He was practically panting in your mouth by the time you started meeting his thrusts. His fingertips slid some and must’ve seared ten perfect crescents into the flesh of your ass as he fucked you into the wall.

“Look so pretty like this,” he whispered in between kisses and short, shallow breaths. His cock parted your insides with an excruciating welt of pleasure, and he hardly even seemed to realize it, “Look so damn pretty takin’ cock.”

Then, lips kicking up in a smile when it seemed he’d remembered something, he added, “Can’t wait to play this tape back home and watch us fuck all over again.”

Again. Again. And again. Shit, you could just see it now.

Your eyes traversed the compact shower space once more to find the video camera—still perched, still live, still perfectly implacable and silent atop the sink as it recorded your every grunt, groan, and shuddering moan. You were nearly as curious to know what Joel’s bare ass looked like rutting into you like this as you were to hear yourself getting railed against the shower wall. Maybe you’d beat this fear of secondhand embarrassment after all.

Maybe.

Joel’s teeth snagged your bottom lip and bit it, lightly.

“Every chance I get, you can bet I’ll be thinkin’ ‘bout this…sweet pussy while you’re away,” he said, voice low and occasionally punctured by a groan, “Say one more thing f’me and I’ll…cum every time I watch this part.”

The kinks at the corners of his lips were endearing. You would’ve liked to supply them with just about anything they could’ve wanted, so when they leaned into your ear and murmured just what it was they needed to hear, you only hesitated a second.

Or maybe two or three, because, well…it was risky.

Moaning ‘daddy’ out loud at a time like this? It might get Joel off quick, but it might send your real dad running even faster. You weren’t crazy about the thought of anything that might draw the man’s attention again.

Joel seemed a little less risk-averse than you, notwithstanding the window-leaping fear he’d felt when your dad had rushed in before. Leave it to a criminally horny man to have the memory of a goldfish, though.

At present, Joel was blinking and gawking a bit like one, too, waiting for you to enunciate that one magic word.

You couldn’t deny he made a damn cute desperate sex fiend when he wanted to be. And you needed to cum.

You figured you could cut a deal with him just this once.

“Alright,” you mumbled against the top of his stubbled lip, “Make me cum and I’ll say anything you want, Miller.”

You weren’t sure if it was a chuckle or a strangled moan that jumped up in his throat when Joel squeezed your sides tighter. All you knew was that he was lowering you to the floor in the next instant, spinning you around, and walking you forward, swiftly and with purpose, toward the opposite end of the shower. Right where the crack in the curtain made you most visible to the camcorder.

Joel’s hand snaked around your front and gently eased between your legs. Then, pressing his chest to your back and nudging you to bend just slightly at the waist, he tipped your bodies closer to the camera’s line of vision and stilled. From the LED screen, you could see the ghost of a smile crossing his lips as he shifted his head beside your own. Next, they were kissing across your shoulder, your neck, that sensitive spot behind your ear, and finally the shell of it, brown eyes trained on the camera lens as he murmured to you, “Stay real still.”

You didn’t know if you could. But you tried. And you damn near cried when his fingers started working circles over your clit. Your body was raised on tip-toes, and your hand was bracing the wall as Joel fucked you from behind and made a mess of your wet, writhing body. In no more than three or four strokes, your fears of looking or sounding stupid on camera trickled away with all the rest of the silent, sizzling liquids circling the drain below. Your cheek pressed against Joel’s rougher one, and with the push of each new thrust, you came more unraveled.

When Joel’s hand closed over the front of your throat, you didn’t flinch. Didn’t move—couldn’t move, as the man was holding you still in such a taut, rigid grip.

“What do we say when we get fucked this nice, baby?” Joel whispered in your ear, words almost entirely masked by the sounds from the shower. You still heard it, though.

“T-Thank you,” you stuttered, cockdrunk and faint.

“Thank you, what?”

Your eyes were fluttering closed, but you could feel the smug expression just over your shoulder. You clenched around him and felt him snap his hips ahead even harder.

“Thank you, daddy,” you whimpered.

“Say it again.”

“Thank you, daddy!” you whined, still scared to be too loud.

Joel wasn’t scared. His hand ascended the column of your neck to pinch your chin between his fingers, jerking your head to the right.

To the crack in the curtain. To the camera.

You could’ve cried with how fast he was fucking you now. You opened your eyes and cast a pathetic look to the recorder. Joel made sure you maintained that gaze, too.

“Who’s makin’ ya feel this good?” he seethed, shaking your whole frame with the breakneck pace of his hips.

“You, daddy.”

“Who’s fuckin’ this sweet cunt like no one ever has?”

“You, daddy.”

Joel seemed sated and somehow not fully satisfied at all. Like he was pleased to see you falling apart for him like this, but needed to hear more. Feel more.

He withdrew from you, and you nearly collapsed with the absence of his arms holding you straight.

You pressed a shaky palm to the wall and almost moaned for him to get his ass back over here, you weren’t done, when Joel returned in a second. To your relief, his muscly arms found their way around your front once more, and his clock plunged back inside you, too—only this time, you sensed you were missing something else.

Water.

It wasn’t on your back anymore.

It was fanning between your legs.

Blasting the full force of its stream toward your most sensitive parts as Joel held the shower head up between your thighs. You would’ve jumped back and screamed were it not for his hand clamping tight over your mouth before you could, his lips grazing over your ear again.

“Try it one more time.”

You released a hoarse, muffled squeal into his palm when he lifted the stainless steel to your clit and started rolling his hips. The strokes themselves were relatively gentle, but paired with the ruthless spate of the water, your eyes were nearly rolling to the back of your head at the pulse.

You couldn’t breathe, much less speak. Joel hummed almost apologetically into your hair but didn’t seem sorry at all as he lowered his hand back down to your throat and squeezed. He continued rocking his hips into yours.

“You’ve said it dozens of times before—what’s’a matter?”

Joel Miller knew what the fuck was the matter. He just liked to see you desperate, fucked-out, and teetering on the brink of going feral before he let you reach your peak.

“D-D-D—”

Damn, you sounded stupid.

“D-D-Do you wanna cum? Is that it?” Joel said, mocking your struggle to articulate words as he fucked you.

In spite of your normal no-bullshit attitude toward him, you weren’t in quite the right frame of mind to be talking back to him. You just nodded and moaned, movements constricted by the grip of his fingers on your neck.

“Use those big girl words for me, honey. I know ya can.”

Again, you parted your lips and started to speak, but the oscillation of the water, the brush of his cock, the patently deprecating lilt in Joel’s string of praises, made it nearly impossible. You ended up sputtering again,

“D-D-ah-fuuuckfuckfuck.”

“That ain’t the word I’m looking for.”

But, just as you ventured to say it once more, he cut in,

“Here. Lemme help ya find it.”

Before you could blink, Joel was pistoning his hips against your ass like he had before, only this time, he held the shower head stationary between your legs as you seized and nearly fell to the floor with the force of all the pleasure coursing through you. Your body seemed to act of its own accord, head dropping to Joel’s shoulder and stomach giving an alarmingly fitful pinch as an orgasm tore through you. You couldn’t control how it came or where it went—or how your tongue jumped up and cried,

“Daddy!”

Joel nodded, fucking you through each violent spasm with all the composure and aplomb of a seasoned pro. While your eyes cycled back in the throes of delirium, he held firm and didn’t slow his hips—or the shower head.

You probably could’ve torn a hole through a cinder block if you’d happened to have one between your teeth just then. That was how fervid and merciless the aftershocks of your climax were pulsing through you, exacerbated to the nth degree by the continuity of Joel’s movements. You managed to grab the forearm that was holding the metal nozzle and plead a wild, slightly stifled, “JOEL!”

In truth, you didn’t really want him to stop. It felt too good. You could tell that Joel sensed this, too, because in the instant after that, his lips were sponging kisses to your shoulder, cock working steadily between your walls.

“One more, sweet pea.”

“Joel—”

“And say it louder this time.”

Were you in your right mind, you probably would’ve chided him for being so reckless and stupid about it all. How the fuck could he expect you to scream out loud when your dad was lounging right outside of your room? Did he really think the drone of Cillian Murphy’s smooth, American-ized tone would mask your unbridled moans? Honestly, you couldn’t be sure—and more importantly, you couldn’t be stopped to consider for much longer. With one last trembling vibration from the shower head and a thrust from Joel, you were cumming all over again.

Squeezing his arm, sinking into his sturdy frame, clenching over his cock in what felt like a hundred convulsions, and casting caution aside, you screamed:

“DADDY!”

You might’ve blacked out for a second or two.

Even a minute, as it was, because the next intelligible thing that reached your ears was the thunder of footfalls. And the thrum of Joel’s own hammering heart as he yanked you into his chest and stilled frozen inside you.

The door swung open on its hinges so hard it hit the wall.

“What is it, sweetie?!” your dad yelped.

“I—”

“Are you hurt?”

Just fucked raw by your best friend and shaking, Pops.

You sucked in a breath when Joel nudged your head with his nose and slowly pulled the shower curtain closed to move you out of view of the camera. But it was still there.

Your dad was still there.

The shower walls seemed to be closing in on you, but somehow, you managed, “No, dad, I’m fine! Just…coulda sworn I saw another spider in here, but it was nothing.”

“Are you sure?”

Your dad sounded unconvinced, pacing closer. You could’ve screamed, but Joel was likely holding you too tight to make any such sounds possible in that moment. The two of you recoiled, still stuck chest-to-back, away from the edge of the plastic shower liner when a boot thudded just outside the crack between curtain and wall.

You swallowed. Joel squeezed. Neither of you breathed.

“If it’s another roach, I gotta call the extermin—”

“No! No, it wasn’t a roach. I’m just seein’ things, I think.”

That didn’t seem to make your father feel any better, because he didn’t retreat like he had before. A tense moment fell over the compact, fog-infested room, like the man was chewing away at some thought in his head.

Then he sighed.

“Alright.”

Blissful footsteps away from the shower. You smiled.

Unfortunately, the grin was destined to be short-lived, because in the next instant, you heard boots screech to a halt on the tile. Pivoted, then paused where they stood.

Another gut-wrenching dozen seconds passed, and for one short, chilling moment, you could’ve sworn you felt your father’s gaze sear through the curtain and see you.

But he didn’t see you. Or Joel. Or anyone.

Instead, his gaze was fixed someplace else.

Suddenly, his voice rose above all the awful noises of clamor and panic in your brain, and broke out, loudly,

“What’s my camera doin’ in here?”

[genshingorlsrevengeance]

Hey, Can I make a request with a s/o teaching Shenhe, Eula, Yelan, and Arlecchino how to play video games?

(Genshin Impact) Shenhe, Eula, Yelan, Arlecchino, Furina, and Clorinde's S/O teaching them how to play video games

Game: Animal Crossing

Shenhe has tried games like Genius Invocation TCG, but that one frustrates her more than anything.

S/O, then decided to show her a game that she for sure would enjoy: Animal Crossing!

It didn't require anything other than just a will to relax. Plus, it was just a cute way to do something together!

(Shenhe) "...Your character looks cute."

Shenhe is enraptured by the charming little animals, being fondly reminded of Cloud Retainer in a strange way.

She plays it a little bit in what free time she gets, but really enjoys it in S/O's presence. Though there is one thing that annoys her about the game.

(Shenhe) "This is the fourty-seventh time I have gotten the 'Sea Bass' today. Am I doing something wrong when I am fishing, S/O?"

Her ingame avatar has long white hair and wearing something far more cutesy and casual than her usual attire.

Part of her wondered if S/O could get her these kinds of clothes from a store so she could wear it in real life.

A/N: I've gotten more Sea bass from ocean fishing in this franchise than I've eaten bread in my life.

Game: Monster Hunter

Eula decided to indulge S/O in trying to teach her how to play a game. After all, it was better than doing nothing.

It takes her a second to get used to the controls, but she quickly learns how to attack and dodge.

Only when the game truly begins did she realize what S/O had picked out.

(Eula) "Are you trying to tell me you'd like to go hunting for beasts with me, S/O?"

Teasing aside, Eula is a quick learner and becomes very skilled at hunting the many monsters of the game, getting weirdly competitive about it. Despite the fact there was no player versus player element at all in it.

(Eula) "HAH! I finally made the best Master Rank armor in the game! Everything we fight should be child's play!"

She also loves the cat companions that are in the game and spends a great deal of time dressing them up in cute/hilarious outfits.

Though she will enact vengeance if anyone calls her out on that.

A/N: Man I can't wait for Wilds.

Game: Metal Gear Solid

Yelan usually rolls dice to see what her day off becomes.

And this time, it was to have S/O show her these "Video Games".

Yelan settled for some "Tactical Espionage Action" game, the irony not being lost on her at all.

She learns the controls and plays it extremely casually, being more drawn in by the absurd story and characters.

Yelan is usually laughing at the action, but still enjoying herself.

(Yelan) "Geez, is this how your world views agents, S/O? It's not nearly as cool as this game's making it out to be."

Part of her wants to try hiding in a box to see if anyone would notice, but she'd also like to still be alive and not caught.

But the temptation is always there, everytime the dice decides for her to play this game again and again...

(Yelan) "Hm...the explosions in this game are a little much, but I guess it's also not entirely inaccurate...Sometimes, anyway."

A/N: I GIVE MY LIIIIIIIFE, NOT FOR HONOR, BUT FOR YOUUUUUU

Game: Mario Kart

Arlecchino usually passes on any offer to play a game, not because she didn't want to, but because she likes to observe.

(Arlecchino) "Let the children play first, S/O. I will join soon after."

What she usually witnesses for Mario Kart is a bloodbath.

This game brings out something in her kids that she hasn't seen before.

Even Freminent and Lynette, some of her more reserved kids, turn to something feral when playing against the others.

She's equally entertained and kind of concerned, like maybe this game wasn't healthy, but it did bring everyone closer and give the kids something fun to do.

Arlecchino decides to jump in at many kids' requests, and admittedly isn't that great at it.

But she has more satisfaction in watching the kids have fun.

That being said, there is some sadistic pleasure she has throwing the blue shell and watching whoever's in front take the brunt of it.

(Arlecchino) "Fascinating what these video games can do to children. Do you have more they can all try?"

A/N: Coconut mall is the best map, change my mind.

Game: Subnautica

Furina is at first excited to try something new.

(Furina) "Oh, a game about the beauty of the ocean? I shall beat it no problem!"

But she didn't realize that unlike Fontaine's waters, (Which to be fair, held its own terrors), this was an alien planet's ocean.

She's jumping at every little thing, screaming as she's desperately swimming away from the tiniest fish or anything that even makes a weird noise.

(Furina) "W-WHAT WAS THAT NOISE?! I'M GOING BACK TO THE LIFEPOD!"

That's not even to mention the Leviathans.

The first time she saw a Reaper, she immediately dropped the controller and buried her face into S/O's arms in terror, yelling out something sounding like a curse and crying.

Furina doesn't like video games anymore.

It takes something like Endless Ocean to calm her down about the waters again, thinking that every video game ocean has a Leviathan now.

A/N: For me, that game is horror until I get the Prawn Suit, then it becomes Pacific Rim as I hunt down every Reaper near the Aurora.

Game: Baldur's Gate 3

Clorinde was intrigued by video games, but honestly wasn't too keen on the idea of trying it. It didn't seem up her alley.

Until S/O showed her a game like Tabletop Troupe, but this time without the fears of annihilating some poor Game Master's campaign.

(Clorinde) "...Do you mind if I give this game a try, S/O?"

Her expression doesn't really change as she's playing, but that's because Clorinde is really immersed in the world.

It's just a lot of fun to truly let loose and interact with the world and NPC's, no fear of dealing with any player trying to murder-hobo their way.

SHE could be the Murder-Hobo, finally. Not that she would.

She enjoys playing it in her off time, but nothing beats living players and rolling the dice herself however.

This game did give her a few ideas for some new campaigns however.

(Clorinde) "I'd be interested in seeing you play with me, S/O. What choices would you make? And by the way, in true Tabletop Troupe fashion, we're not save-scumming. Once you roll the D20, our fate is sealed."

A/N: OS TAV RO VA VIVOLKAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH

[mrsdesade]

Control;

Pairing: Homelander x fem!super (Ophera as usual) TW: NSFW, smut, sub!Homelander, praise, teasing, aftercare Words count: 2,3k Note: literally a pwp, when the voices obligates you to write something different more spicy than usual

You thought you could leave, but his voice ordered suggested you to stay a little longer. To sin again. In the private swimming pool he had built in his apartment. Only because, after months, he learned that you loved taking hot baths after missions.

This time, after another demonstration of the fact that he could do whatever he wanted with your body, you decided to act bolder, ignoring his words, elegantly. Standing up from the water and walking towards the marble steps.

''You're not the only one who can do whatever he wants here. You had fun? Very well. But I'm leaving.''

''Ah, so you think you're in charge now?''

You're disobeying, you're going against his orders. He's not a fan of being challenged, he can't deny the thrilling feeling of your rebelliousness.

"Not yet, but what If I'm feeling more brave than usual?"

You came back, still standing in front of him, but he doesn't move from his position, sitting comfortably and smiling at you. You move a hand in his direction and softly touch his chin with a light gesture, moving a little his face in your direction.

There's a certain vulnerability in his expression as you move his face towards you. His eyes lock onto yours, the usual arrogance momentarily replaced with a hint of curiosity.

"Careful, doll. Don't push your luck too far."

You smiled a little, sitting on his lap once again in that long night, inside the hot water of the bathtub, and moving slowly close to his face. Showing no fear, the adrenaline of playing that dangerous game with him makes you feel alive. You know you're the only one, at the moment, that can handle him.

"You always say that, but in the end, we just end up fucking all night. You need to move on to something more creative, or I might get bored."

That dangerous last phrase, lips a few millimeters from his, just because you wanted, not thinking about the consequences, you never did. What a terrible mistake.

As you sit back on his lap, he can feel the thrill coursing through his veins. There's surprise in his eyes. He tries to keep his composure, but your words send a shiver down his spine.

"You little minx, you really think you're invincible, don't you?“

He grips the edge of the bathtub, knuckles turning white. The tension in the air is electric.

You remained still, trying to don't flinch and don't esitate, trying to be more in control of the situation. Everything is just a test, a dangerous test to see If you can keep him under control.

"Little minx, doll, etc All nicknames. I have a name, Homelander. Use it."

You ordered, pushing his patience even more. He grabs your waist, pulling you closer, until your bodies press against each other. His fingers digging into your skin as he tries to control the situation. He looks up at you with dark, fiery eyes, almost challenging your audacity.

"Oh, you want me to use your name? Is that it? You want me to remember you're more than just my pretty little toy?"

Your hands run before on his chest, then on his neck and at the end, on his blonde hair. At the beginning is just a caress, but suddenly you grab his scalp and move him in your direction with a firm movement.

"Am I really just a toy to you? A little fragile and useless toy? Really really really?"

You say in a low tone, your voice is sexy, melodic, the voice of a manipulator. Oh damn, you're really pushing him over the edge.

Homelander's breath hitches as you grab a handful of his hair, his body responding to your touch immediately. The pain from your grip is oddly thrilling, and he can't help but feel a rush of excitement coursing through him. He's absolutely not used to being dominated like this.

"What do you want me to say? That you're special? Unique? Are you looking for me to boost your confidence, Ophera?"

"Special? Unique? Oh dear, tell me something I don't know."

You purred at his ear, trying to make him shiver. To make shiver the most powerful and dangerous man on Earth. Your grip on his hair is firm, you can clearly feel his body under yours responding clearly.

That mixture of pain and desire is perfect to ignite his fire.

A low growl escapes Homelander's throat as you whisper in his ear, your voice sending a shiver down his spine. He can feel himself responding to your touch, his body betraying him, showing his desire for you.

"You really know how to tease, don't you?"

You sighed dramatically, since he's not giving what you're so kindly asking, you decided to play even more with him. Trying something more effective.

You moved on his naked lap, while he's waiting for an answer, with a decisive gesture, unexpectedly, you let him entering in you. Your eyes are fixed on his, to see every single reaction from him.

"So what about this method? This isn't teasing at all."

His blue eyes widen in shock as you unexpectedly guide him inside you, a mix of surprise and pleasure overtaking his features. He can't help but let out a gasp, his body tensing up at the sudden and overwhelming sensation.

"Ngh... F-fuck. What are you doing?"

He can barely speak, his voice strained and raspy as he struggles to control his reaction. His grip tighten, holding onto you like a lifeline.

"Just trying to be convincing.''

You smile, as mischievously as you've ever been with him, your movements are slow, absolutely intentional. Looking at him surprised by your actions. The grip you have on his hair has loosened a little. And you started caressing his cheeks, mixing pleasure and a mischievous care.

This time, you're in control.

"You're... playing dirty..."

"Of course I am, and I've just started.''

And then you add your last weapon, neck kisses. Delicate and sublime. Subtle and whispered kisses on his sensitive neck. Last shot to drive him mad.

Homelander's resolve crumbles completely under your touch, his body shuddering at the sensation of your lips on his neck. He can no longer hold back the low, shaky moans escaping his throat. He closes his eyes, unable to resist the wave of pleasure washing over him.

"Ah, f-fuck you..."

"Oh no, no no, don't say such bad words to me..."

You turn one of your kisses on his neck into a sharp bite. Interested in leaving a mark on his perfect skin. You've never stopped moving your hips, tormenting him so well. Just to get an answer. Just to feel in control. All just to assert dominance in him for a couple of minutes.

He gasps sharply, his body arching involuntarily at the unexpected sensation.

"F-fuck. Damn, don't y-you dare to stop..."

He grits his teeth, his breath coming in ragged gasps as you continue to torment him with that pleasure. He's struggling to hold onto his control, but you're driving him to the edge.

"Come on admit that I'm more than a toy for you. Or you can trust me, I'll stop on the best part."

His usual dominance is now melting away under your onslaught, you can feel it, his greedy body is already at your command, and even his proud mind is slowly getting caught in your trap of pleasure.

"You… you're more than that, ok?"

Homelander's voice is strained, his usual arrogance slowly cracking as you continue to torment him. He's frustrated, but so overwhelmed by the sensation of you moving on top of him. He looks at you with a mixture of arousal and irritation.

"You have what you wanted. Now give me what I want."

"You can do better than that, pretty boy. Give me what I want."

You've slowed down your movements, he feels the pleasure slipping away, his only way to get what he wants: is to obey you.

He lets out a frustrated groan as you slow down your movements again, denying him the release he's craving. He knows what you want, and he's clearly torn between his desire to resist and his impatient need.

"Damn it, you're really going to make me beg, aren't you?”

He grits his teeth. He hates being in this position. But the desire to satisfy his carnal desires is too strong.

"Fine. You win. You're...not a toy. You're...y-you're..."

"You're struggling baby, but you're so close. It's easy. Finish your sentence. And I'll give you what you want so badly."

You're talking with a gentle but mischievous tone, caressing his face, being caring and dominant at the same time. You move on him only when he's speaking, bringing him so close to the edge.

His body trembling under your touch. He's struggling to find the words you want to hear, and his usual arrogant composure is now replaced by pure devotion to you.

"Y-you're... something more. You're...different. I can't... I can't ignore you even if I...I want to..."

He looks at you with pleading eyes, his voice shaky as he speaks.

"Please, give me what I want. I can't stand it anymore..."

You looked at him with a satisfied smile, finally feeling that you win against him this time. You felt incredibly powerful.

"Oh, you've no idea how much knowing this makes happy. You've been so good baby. So damn good..."

Your tone is sarcastic but some sort of caring and romantic. You give him another caress, and then you decide to gave him the reward for being so obedient. You purred at his ears and started moving more faster, letting him holding you to reach his final pleasure.

He lets out a guttural moan as you begin to move faster. His eyes flutter closed, lost in the flood of sensations coursing through his body. He buries his face in the crook of your neck, his ragged breaths hot against your skin.

"Oh god... please don't... don't stop. I...I can't hold it any longer..."

"Let go, release yourself. That pleasure, is all for you."

Your legs are trembling as well because of his movements under you, but this isn't the moment to flinch. You remained still and in control. Whispering lovely things to him. Like the most gentle love he ever had.

Your whispered words and comforting touch send continues shivers down his spine, adding to the already intense sensations building within him.

"I... I need... you... f-fuck..."

You gasp softly. He caught you by surprise with that last sentence, you definitely didn't expect that from him. Getting a slight emotional kick from it, his words hit your heart in an unexpected way. And you can feel a single shiver of pleasure run down your spine, stronger than the other. But you don't have much time to realize.

Homelander feels your body shudder in response, but he's too far gone to pay it much mind. He's completely lost in the moment, his mind and body consumed by the intense moment. His body shakes violently as the pleasure reaches its peak, a strangled cry escaping his lips as he finally reaches his release. His arms wrap tightly around you, holding you close against him as if you were his lifeline in the midst of the overwhelming sensations.

He buries his face in your neck once again, his body still trembling with aftershocks as he tries to catch his breath.

"...you've certainly got a knack for being… persuasive."

A calm silence hangs in the air for a brief moment, the only sound being the steady flow of the still-running water. You're immersed in thoughts, trying to understand why his previous affirmation made your heart beat, it shouldn't have happened, but his voice interrupts your flow of thought. He speaks again, while you are still gently caressing his hair.

"I don't understand how you manage to get under my skin every damn time."

He looks up to you, finding comfort and a unique form of vulnerability in your arms. Irritation and admiration running in his veins.

''...you're messing with my head. You're making me feel things... goddamn it, you're making me soft."

You remained silent until that moment, just listening to his words, not knowing what to say, but his last statement makes you laugh a little.

"Why the hell are you laughing? Hey, don't laugh at me!''

''I'm laughing because I didn't say anything at all, you're doing everything by yourself.''

Your tone has softened, and your eyes are fixed on his so unusual expressions. You're discovering parts of him you never imagined. Some of them also very ridiculous. Like the overthinking he's showing right now.

Deep down he knows that you're right — his reactions are revealing more than he probably wants to admit.

He tries to maintain his usual stern demeanor, but the corner of his mouth quirks into a smile. Can't resist a response in his usual sarcastic tone.

"Fine, go ahead and laugh it up. Just don't expect me to become all nice and mushy every time we do this."

''Don't worry, I won't tell anyone, it will be our little secret. I would never want anyone to think that the great and powerful Homelander is being put down, no matter how hot the situation is, by one of his teammates.''

You give him one last caress, resting your arms on his shoulders, showing an adorable grin on your fiery red lips, where your lipstick was still perfectly in place.

''You always have to be in control, right?''

"Damn right I do. I'm the leader here, I'm always in charge."

He rolled his eyes at your teasing, but secretly enjoyed the soft touch of your hands and the sight of your perfect lips forming that adorable grin. He tried to fight a growing smirk, but failed miserably.

"It's just that... you happen to have a way of making me... forget that."

''And you have to admit that my method is almost perfect.''

You smile, with immense charm, victorious. He could dominate the world If he only wanted to, but in this situation he couldn't fight you in any way, you make him vulnerable with just a few caresses.

''I must say... surprisingly effective."

Oh, what great power you now hold in your hands.

-------

Hope you enjoyed this as much I did! Kisses for all of you <3

[sarah-yyy]

Jie jie, what is The Double about?

hahahahahaha i was waiting for someone to ask!! mr r has bailed on me at work again and bossman has the man flu so it's just. me at the office today. working my ass off for partners who are trying to Kill Me™.

what: period cdrama // completed // 40 eps, roughly 45 mins each where: youku (standard disclaimer that i don’t watch with subs so i don’t speak to the quality of eng subs) // i think viki is picking this up?

this is xue fangfei. daughter of a small town magistrate. married a poor scholar for love against the wishes of her dad. this turns out to be a bad, bad, bad decision because he ends up burying her alive in the mountains sometime post-marriage. :)

this all happens in like ep 1, we're just getting started.

xff ends up being rescued by jiang li, who is the prime minister's kinda-sorta-exiled daughter. jl has been stuck in a kinda-sorta-nunnery in the mountains for the past 10 years because of her evil stepmother.

i'll skip past all the other bits because there is a bit of a backstory about what happened to jl, but long story short!! jl dies (kinda-sorta-because of xff). xff decides to get justice for both herself and jl. her plan is:

1. become jiang li 2. go back to the capital 3. ?????? 4. profit make everyone pay

this is xiao heng a.k.a. su-guogong (the translation is duke su but it sounds weird to me so i'm going to stick with su-guogong). he chances upon xff while he's trying to catch a criminal.

xff, who is in the process of executing her Escape Plan, decides eh, any way to escape will do and lets s-gg arrest her to take her back to the capital for interrogation.

(yes, this is wang xingyue who played zhang zhe in kunning palace. yes he looks a++++++ in this show. i am obsessed.)

side bar, counsels, for a bit of very important information -

su-guogong recognises xue fangfei!! he knows 100% that she is not jiang li and that she is going to cause some chaos. he is Committed™ to watching this drama play out.

ANYWAY. this is the loose premise of the show. it's been fun to watch, and i'm enjoying this a lot!! why should you watch the show?

wang xingyue looks so good in this!! the fans? the capes?? i am obsessed!! everyone in the costumes department deserves a raise.

the story moves quickly and doesn't really drag on. so far, it's been nothing complicated and interesting to watch - i wouldn't say this is a plot-heavy show, just a v good 宅斗 for now, but i'm only like 10 eps in.

the torture my ex-husband who murdered me by showing up in front of him and saying all the right things to remind him of me and the fact that he killed me is so good - normally when this happens, the person looks nothing like their former self, but!! xff's looks haven't changed!! so she's just out here going - hi i am jiang li now and oh btw do you know how cold it is in the mountains where you killed me :)

look i'm......intrigued by this whole shen yurong (ex-husband) and the zhang-gongzhu storyline. i want to see how this whole thing plays out!!

eta: quick post-watch thoughts (may contain spoilers)

a v enjoyable drama!! this is a 爽剧 for reals, like all the plot points get wrapped up and we get a few cute snippets into their happily ever after!! i'm a bit :/ about the way the last few scenes were done in ep 40 (the side character deaths??? extremely unnecessary 🙄🤬 actually the whole war scene was unnecessary but i'm not complaining too much because it gave us That Scene), tbh the whole thing looked more OE leaning BE than HE to me, so the 番外 was quite important to me!! glad we got that!!

shen yurong and zhang-gongzhu both turned out to be so much more interesting than i thought!! a+++ villains, v well-written, and both actors played them beautifully 👏🏼

still an 8.5/10 rec tbh, started strong and held my interest the entire way through

[oddballwriter]

You and the Moon Boys' "Your" Couple Thing

Summary: A list of the activities and things that you and the boys do that are special to each and every one of you.

Warnings: none that I know of

Author’s Snip: Proof that I am in fact alive lol

I’ll shut up now. Enjoy! And don’t be afraid to request.

Taglist: @my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction @sergeant102105

Jake Lockley

He's the reason that I'm making this because this thought just came to me

You and Jake's thing is going to a bowling alley every now and then when he's fronting

You guys have a specific place that you go. It's a bit old and run-down, was probably more popular back in the day but now it's just there. But it's yours.

It's actually really fun

You two have fun with the competition of trying to win while also enjoying doing it together

They have cheap and watered-down beer, it's shit and Jake always complains about it but he still orders it for some reason

You guys also have an ongoing thing with the bowling that the loser has to pay for dinner next time you two go out to eat somewhere

You two try to mess each other up all the time, its a nice light-hearted thing that you do that's all in good fun

Overall its a nice and simple date for the two of you that actually holds a lot of meaning for you two

Steven Grant

You guys have this show that you both hate-watch together. It's this really stupid conspiracy theory show that you two discovered one night while having the TV on while washing the dishes after dinner

The episode was about the pyramids and ancient Egypt. It drew in Steven and he was so genuinely pissed about all the stuff that they were saying

You were mostly laughing but some things made you roll your eyes too

You both hate that it's become your thing but its honestly a bonding experience for you two and it's also a conversation starter

Sometimes you guys actually have intellectual talks about it and things that you think

But yeah, every time. On the airing dates and times for new episodes, you two are there watching it and rolling your eyes, cringing, and yelling at the TV

Sometimes you guys quote it to make each other laugh

Marc Spector

Late night walks, like really late night walks

It started with Marc and you not being able to sleep one night for whatever reason, so you decided to go for a stroll. Marc would usually go walk by himself but this time you came along

It sort of evolved after you guys found places and spots that you didn’t know were there until you started walking

Like the 24/7 donut shop that you both get a donut at whenever you do go walking

There’s also a really nice bench that you guys then sit at when you guys want a break

It’s actually weirdly nice when you get the chance to do it

It feels so private and intimate because no one’s around and it mostly seems like it’s just you and him together

And eventually you walk back home and head to bed and sleep for reals

It’s just a nice peaceful experience

[suzukiblu]

If you feel up for it, for the writing meme prompt, Clark Kent/Lex Luthor, with the song You And Me by Lifehouse? If it's not your thing I totally get it though and hope you have a great time and fun writing the things that do catch your fancy!

I think we ALL knew that I was gonna do baby Kon for this, lbr. Also ngl, this came out way more cracky than the prompt would suggest it should've but it is absolutely my favorite thing I’ve written for this meme so far, as the necessity for the following cut should help attest, haha.

Unfortunately, Lex takes one look at Cadmus’s progress report on the newly-crafted Experiment Thirteen and realizes he has paternal instincts. 

Well, that’s inconvenient. And a little disgusting, honestly. Certainly a disappointment. 

He supposes it could be worse. He could be Lionel about this. 

Anyway, that’s how he has a physiological four year-old on his lap when he hears the news about Superman coming back to life and fistfighting an evil cyborg with his own face about it, because of course the man didn’t have the decency to just stay dead. Why would he, after all? 

Lex needs a drink. That would be a bad example for the physiological four year-old, though. 

Then again, Experiment Thirteen should be completely immune to the effects of Earth-based alcohol in about another four to six months of consistent yellow sun exposure, so . . . 

Lex is halfway through his second brandy when Superman shows up on his balcony at super-speed wearing a very pretentiously dramatic black suit and looking both winded and bewildered. And still alive, unfortunately. 

“Don’t you have a murderous cyborg to be ensuring is in custody?” Lex asks dryly, deciding to just not acknowledge the presence of the physiological four year-old who’s moved on to messily but methodically coloring on the floor underneath his desk. Lex didn’t actually give Experiment Thirteen either a coloring book or crayons, mind, but he appreciates the clone’s resourcefulness in breaking into the office supplies. Anyway, it’s useful for developing its hand-eye coordination and fine motor control. 

Superman’s pupils are pin-pricks, barely even there at all. Which is an unusual reaction from him, and Lex notes that fact reflexively but doesn’t particularly care about it. Meant-to-be-dead people do unusual things, especially the alien ones. And it isn’t as if–

“Baby,” Superman blurts, his eyes wide. 

Lex . . . pauses. Takes a slow sip of his brandy. 

Alright then. 

“Yes, I’ve noticed,” he settles on eventually, raising an eyebrow at him. Experiment Thirteen peers out from under the desk, immediately decides Superman isn’t an interesting presence, and then goes back to coloring all over Lex’s floor. It seems to be drawing either a puppy or a chain of complex genetic sequencing, but judging by the kinds of things it’s been drawing so far, it’s fifty-fifty. Lex has been getting the impression the clone actually likes art, which is a baffling interest to find in his own progeny, but how does that quote go . . . “I am a warrior, so that my son may be a merchant, so that his son may be a poet”? 

Or something like that, anyway. 

“No, I–baby,” Superman stresses, looking bewildered as he floats down a little closer to the open balcony door. 

“. . . yes, I’ve noticed,” Lex repeats, raising his eyebrow again and taking another sip of brandy. Superman looks frazzled, bobbing up a little higher in the air again to get a better view of Experiment Thirteen under the desk. Experiment Thirteen keeps ignoring him in favor of its coloring, displaying no apparent interest in the most powerful uninvited guest in the history of illegal immigration. Lex experiences a moment of overwhelming paternal pride, which is such a bizarre and unanticipated experience that he doesn’t even know what to do with it. 

“Where’d he come from?” Superman asks with a wondering expression. Ugh.

“A cloning lab,” Lex replies dismissively, setting his near-empty glass down on the desk. It’s hardly worth lying about Experiment Thirteen’s origins at this point. He didn’t want to murder everyone in Cadmus to keep the secret. He might need them if there’s an issue with Experiment Thirteen’s genetics later, after all. “We mixed it up a couple weeks ago while you were off wasting everyone’s time being dead."

“You had my baby?” Superman says, tilting in the air and still staring at Experiment Thirteen, as if he's somehow forgotten both how much kryptonite Lex owns and how much kryptonite he keeps specifically in this office. “While I was dead. You had my baby while I was dead.” 

. . . alright then, Lex thinks again, both eyebrows raising this time. 

“I really wouldn’t put it that way, personally,” he says. “Also, I don’t recall saying it was in any way yours.”

“Baby,” Superman repeats inanely, then lands on the floor and ducks down into a crouch to peer under the desk better, his pupils still reduced to barely-there pinpricks. Lex is so mystified he doesn't even activate the security system or the weaponized red sun lamps. Experiment Thirteen frowns at Superman–Lex, again, basks in unanticipated paternal pride–and then turns its back on him and hides all its drawings from him as seriously and carefully as if they were under NDA. 

It's almost adorable, frankly. 

Not that Lex finds things adorable, of course. 

“His heartbeat's so cute,” Superman says, looking absolutely fascinated. Which is surprisingly useful of him to mention, actually, since Lex had previously been vaguely concerned that Experiment Thirteen's odd thrumming heartbeat might be a sign of a heart defect, but apparently it’s just a Kryptonian thing. A . . . “cute” Kryptonian thing, according to Superman. 

Lex is increasingly mystified by this interaction. 

“Can’t say I’ve spent much time listening to it, personally,” he lies, because he has in fact obsessed over that heartbeat’s health and stability since first finding out about its unusualness and has done a truly aggravating amount of research into heart murmurs and conditions and the like. But that’s hardly Superman’s business, now is it. 

“. . . what’s his name?” Superman asks hesitantly. Lex is possibly having an out of body experience. 

“Experiment Thirteen,” he says. Superman immediately looks offended. 

“We need to give him a name, Lex,” he says. Lex, again, has an out of body experience. 

“‘We’?” he repeats incredulously. “I made it, I get to decide what it’s called.” 

“He’s got my DNA!” Superman protests, looking indignant. Lex has absolutely no idea how to process that expression. 

“It has both our DNA, in fact, yours was too irritating to stabilize alone,” Lex informs him dubiously. More accurately it was literally impossible to stabilize alone, but he’s not mentioning that to Superman. “So it has my DNA, and I made it. And also put eight point two billion dollars into its production, as a lowball estimate. Therefore I’m the one who decides what its name is, thank you very much.” 

“Lex,” Superman says disapprovingly. “You can’t call a baby Experiment Thirteen.” 

“It’s physiologically developed enough to complain if it doesn’t like it,” Lex retorts, narrowing his eyes at him. Superman frowns at him. Lex has never had a more ridiculous conversation with the man, including all the times Superman’s tried to appeal to his nonexistent “better nature”. “Well it is.” 

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Superman says, then ducks back down and peers at Experiment Thirteen again, gentling his voice to address it while Lex is still incredulously mouthing “ridiculous”? to himself. “Would you like a real name, kiddo?” 

Experiment Thirteen sticks its tongue out at him. 

Lex is finding parenthood to be a very rewarding experience, actually. 

[gentrychild]

Happy New Years Gentry!! Question, how did the Anyone crew spend the New Years?

They didn't run through the portal as much as urgency propelled them through it. They emerged on the beach in a fit of sorrowful howling, varied cries of pain and one high-pitched-shriek made of the panic one could only feel during a close call with death while having to keep moving in order not to make that encounter permanent.

Izuku, though, didn't utter a sound, because he was cold-headed, professional, and slightly on fire.

Well, very on fire. The only thing separating him from third degree burns was the speed at which he was moving and even then, his entire back felt very hot and he was a second away of having his hair catching fire before he threw himself into the sea. At the same time, one of the Todoroki brothers made a noise of concern and his Todoroki iced him. While the sudden ice cube soothed the warm spots over his skin, which was always appreciated, finding his way back over the surface got slightly more complicated and Izuku had to use Float to emerge.

On the beach, Todoroki was face down in the sand and showed no intention to move. Kurogiri and Dabi, covered in mud from head to toes, had somehow managed to crash into each other and were trying to disentangle themselves, but the process was made quite complex by the fact that Hawks was half sitting, half lying on top of them, while clutching an also covered in mud Nagisa.

The spider hacker, wearing a once red cocktail dress, was clutching the silver briefcase with both her arms and legs, and she was generally communicating her intent to die before any of the security detail they had left in the jungle could get their hands on it.

This was why Nagisa was Izuku's favorite member of Anyone.

"Make some noise if you're alive," Izuku called as he removed his now ruined jacket. Not that he was regretting it. So many people had mistaken him for a deaged All for One at this party that he had sworn to himself to destroy that suit at the first occasion.

Everyone grunted, which was encouraging.

"Anyone injured?"

No response. Which was perfect. Izuku just had to secure the briefcase in the vault downstairs, take a hour long shower, and he would ordered pizza.

The teenager was about to do just that when he marked a pause. He hesitated.

He felt like he was forgetting something. Something important. Something that should have been really obvious.

Todoroki raised his head from the hole in the beach his head had created and started to count the people present here. A first time. A second time. A third time. He squinted, obviously not liking the math, then sighed.

"We forgot All for One there."

Oh.

Well, this was why Todoroki was Izuku's other favorite member of Anyone.

"He will be fine," Kurogiri decided, before putting the back on his head back on the sand and presumably passing out from exhaustion.

"Yes," Hawks confirmed. "I am sure he is having fun. That quirked alligator didn't look like it was biting him too hard."

Izuku felt himself fall on the beach, which was a conscious decision and not his legs giving out.

"And he's always boasting about his quirks," Izuku added. "He won't take him more than a couple of weeks to fly back to Japan."

Everyone nodded.

At the same time, fireworks exploded in the sky, filling the world with color. The fine members of Anyone stared at it in silence, their heads empty of any thought, just admiring the pretty colors.

"Happy New Year," Nagisa said in a trembling voice.

[kakapim]

Playing devils advocate here.

I still think that Toichi being alive is ... a not very good idea, but... now that the shock has passed and I'm chill about it now, and have been rereading stuff... there Might Be Something Here.

My favorite theory about Toichi that saves his ass from being a completely shitty father is that the assassination attempt did not kill him, but DID leave him disabled somehow. Kinda of what happened to Kudo, except he wasn't shrunk.

That would explain:

1- Why he had to disappear for 8 years. I don't think Chikage could explain to a child that his father "had an attempt on his life and is now hiding" that would be hard to explain, and kids aren't the best at secret keeping.

2- Why Toichi left stuff behind for Kaito. Since he cannot perform magic tricks and parkour anymore, he let Kaito decide if he wanted to carry the mantle of being KID.

3-Why he still hasn't showed up. Remember that Kaito Corbeau was Chikage dressed as him, and in movie 27 is flashback from Yuusaku (as I've heard, I have not watched the movie). And he was dressed as Corbeau, so I guess we don't fully know how he's doing modern-day. Him being in Japan would be too much of a liability.

This stuff also explains why Kaitos room was timed. His door was going specifically open after 8 years, being 17, which is old enough to know the truth and not spill.

Interestingly enough, it seems this decision of making Kaito the Kid was not something Toichi and Chikage agreed on, judging by the fact she asked Kaito to stop being KID and move to Vegas (and the whole Corbeau fiasco) and seemed somewhat upset in the first manga chapter when she realizes Kaito had found out the secret room.

But despite all of this, it doesn't explain why Toichi couldn't have simply just... called him? Like once the door hit the timer, he could've just called the boy. Tell him "Hey son I am alive although not well. Yes, I was the thief KID. I dont know what you will do with this info but have fun I guess". Cmon. Unless the disability in question was amnesia or something.

The only thing that breaks this theory is the fact that apparently Corbeau has been making the rounds in Las Vegas... but as I said before, Chikage asked Kaito to come with her and get there. Which is curious... does she want Kaito to meet the real Corbeau? To know something that's been a secret? Def something to ponder about.

So yeah... Gosho might have burned the rice but he might be able to clutch this. What I'm saying is, while hating on Toichi is funny, perhaps we should be a little more patient to see what happens.

[anticidic]

Can I ask from this ask game for Soukoku (all of the questions)? Thanks 🧁

https://www.tumblr.com/comingfromastatechampionasshole/119898100247?source=share

hi anon!! this looked fun, so I decided to do it 😊

1. Which one is the better cook

Chuuya. Dazai wouldn't know good eats even if it hit him upside the head. Dazai would try to cook, but he set off the smoke alarm not just once, but twice, and the last time he burnt their food beyond edible. I think Dazai would still try to hone his skills when Chuuya wasn't around.

2. What their love letters look like

Lowkey, I think Dazai would send a fake letter and then a really passionate letter full of him waxing poetic. The man gets caught up in his head too much and for too long, and it'd show in his writing where he fails to voice how he feels. You feel like you're reading someone's diary. The fake letter is to irritate Chuuya and pretend like he doesn't care about sappy love letters.

Chuuya, I think would be more straightforward and just say like, he went to the park and crossed over a bridge and it reminded him of the time they were there at night together looking up at the stars.

3. Which one outlives the other, and how they cope

I feel like Dazai would outlive Chuuya? It doesn't even have to be tragic, but taking elements from his canon self, I feel like after finding the one and settling down, he'd dread dying and his inner resolve would keep him alive.

He'd look like he was coping extremely well, or look completely unfazed by Chuuya's passing—the jokes go on, he continues annoying those around him. But then he goes home, it's just him and the four walls and a bed too big for just him, and it's cold. He talks to himself into the late hours nursing multiple glasses of alcohol and it goes on like that until dawn. He's avoidant of anything that reminds him of Chuuya at first because he stuffs every damn emotion down instead of letting them out, and he can feel that tiny crack going down the length of his face and splitting him open day-by-day.

Then, he's getting ready for another day and he goes into their closet that's now become entirely his, and he reaches for gloves because it's below freezing, and he accidentally grabs Chuuya's. The tears come because it's the final straw. And they don't stop.

But also taking parts of canon into consideration, I feel like Chuuya would have a shorter lifespan because of eventual corruption side effects catching up to him as he got older.

4. What they do on date night

Dazai would like doing something cozy, like ordering food and a movie in, but he gets roped into nights out at luxury restaurants, or to take a walk around a temple because Chuuya insists he needs fresh air.

5. How many kids they'll have

I can see them having two 👀 Dazai's the one really wanting the second

6. How they decorated their bedroom

Dazai's very minimalistic. Maybe a framed photo or two, a little lamp on the nightstand, and books he cycles through. Probably has a mini pile of clothes by the foot of the bed because he was late to work that morning. Chuuya wouldn't be as minimalistic, but you could tell he put thought and care into the decorations and how high quality the things he has are. A shoe rack for all his shoes to neatly line up on. A standing mirror by the dresser. Framed artworks hung up on the walls. A large bed with a lot of pillows and the bedding high quality.

7. Which one is the worse driver

Dazai, no contest. Chuuya will force Dazai out of the driver's seat if he has to.

8. What they argue about

Really stupid things. Like, Dazai not restocking the toilet paper. Chuuya forgetting to put his phone on silent when it rings on the nightstand at five am. Chuuya losing his mind over the fact his pack of cigarettes is slowly going down and he doesn't remember smoking so much, but it's really Dazai stealing them.

9. Which one swears more

Chuuya swears more out loud, but Dazai either swears in his head or to himself. Dazai will be sipping coffee at the table when he suddenly hears a loud, "Fuuuuuuck!" down the hall, and he goes to see what's up. But it's just Chuuya crumpled to the floor rubbing his foot because he stubbed his toe on the door. Then Dazai walks away.

Dazai will joke that Chuuya needs to wash his mouth out with soap, but he doesn't actually care that Chuuya swears.

10. What TV shows they watch together, and which ones they hide from the other

I think they'd be really into watching gritty shows or shows that have heists as a theme? The action would reel them in. But separately, I can see Dazai being into dumb reality shows because he "likes to make fun of how stupid people are" but he's really into them, and Chuuya likes cooking shows or animal documentaries.

11. What their first impression was of each other

Chuuya thought Dazai was a fucking idiot and actually couldn't stand him. (Rightfully so) And Dazai made it his mission to get under Chuuya's skin, and now whoops, look how they got here. A very push-pull relationship.

12. What they do for their anniversary

Dazai downplays it and acts cool when he casually suggests they go away to another part of Japan or they go down to Odaiba at night to walk along the pier and then dine by the water. He also got them a nice hotel room so it can just be them. Chuuya wasn't even really sure what to do, he was just gonna get a gift and take Dazai out.

13. Which makes a bigger deal of birthdays

I think Dazai would make a big deal about Chuuya's birthday, but not care about his own. Chuuya would dislike being reminded he's not only the older of the two of them, but he's getting older faster than he recalls the days going by like seconds. Dazai will joke about it, too, but he sprinkles in niceties like getting Chuuya a new pair of gloves.

14. What nicknames they call each other

I can't see them calling each other couple names honestly—I think they'd eventually come up with something only they understand/something stupid for one another. (I will say, Dazai thought he was hallucinating the first time Chuuya called him Osamu instead of Dazai, though.)

15. What they would change about each other

Chuuya would change Dazai's terrible habit of leaving messes everywhere, and Dazai would change how Chuuya hogs the bed and snores like a roaring machine.

[shyvioletcat]

Happy Holidays @sassyhobbits. I know this is very late but it's finally here! Thank you for understanding the hectic circumstances I found myself in pre-Christmas. I am officially the last postee of the @rowaelinscourt secret santa and as an apology I added a bonus epilogue to this fic. I hope you love it! It was very fun to write.

Word Count: 9500

CW: Swearing and smut

~~~~~

Aelin didn’t know how it happened. After almost a year of dancing around each other she and Rowan had finally gone on a date. And that date was perfect. Perfect food, perfect conversation and Aelin even found the perfect dress to wear for the night. It was a tasteful red number, in her favourite shade, tight enough to show off her form but not tight enough that everyone got the full show. Aelin couldn’t fault the night, and she had replayed every moment over and over enough to be confident in that conclusion. So she didn’t understand why even after the sweetest and most perfect kiss goodnight Rowan had vanished. 

Completely and utterly ghosted her. 

After kissing her goodnight at the door she had neither sight nor sound of him. There was a string of messages from her that had gone unanswered and in the end she had to find out through mutual friends that he had in fact vanished—physically. No one knew where he went or why, one day he was there and the next he was gone. Aelin hadn’t even managed one day of post date flirting in their office before he was gone. 

She had to go to Lorcan of all people to get confirmation that Rowan was alive. The information was passed over in a brief and curt conversation that between the lines said very clearly mind your own business. In other circumstances Aelin would have never approached the surly bastard, and the fact she had was testament to her desperation. Aelin was left to wonder and wallow, both of which she kept out of the workplace. She was the picture of professionalism, aloof and pretending to be unaffected by her damaged heart. Because she liked Rowan, more than liked even, and she thought that he cared for her too. Everything that Aelin had assumed was obviously wrong. 

It was pointless to worry about and Aelin was determined to put it out of her mind. Tonight was the perfect opportunity at the annual Yulemas party. A night of drinking and frivolity was exactly what she needed. This year the company had rented out a private room in a swanky pub by the river. Being so Aelin was dressing for the part. She knew the place and had been there a few times. There was a giant fireplace that would warm the whole room, so really she only needed her coat for the brief trip from the car to inside. She was wearing a satin green dress, the whole thing pleated. The neckline and back both dipped into a deep V, with a thick band around her waist. The sleeve barely went past the top of her shoulder and the hemline reached mid calf. It was a classy number with just a little bit of daring. 

The responsible driver that she was, Aelin checked on the arrival of the Uber as she put the finishing touches on her ensemble. They were elegant gold drop earrings and a delicate matching chain around her neck. The gold dust she added to her eyelids highlighted the gold tones in her eyes and matched her jewellery too, and with one final look in the mirror decided she was done. Aelin watched the approach of her ride on her phone and when it was close enough she slipped on her red three quarter length coat and darted out into the cold. 

Blessedly, the ride to the pub wasn’t far and her driver was on the quieter side. Aelin didn’t feel like talking to a stranger. She still said thank you though as she left the car, and she had just dipped her hands into the pocket of her coat when she felt her phone buzz with a notification. Not willing to freeze her fingers off in the bitter Orynth winter, Aelin waited until she was in the doorway before she pulled her phone out to read the message. It was from Lysandra, her best friend turned cousin’s girlfriend through a turn of happy circumstances. She didn’t work with Aelin but she would have come as Aedion’s plus one because he did. 

Lys: You’ll never BELIEVE who’s here.

There was no other information besides those five words but Aelin knew, she knew who Lysandra was talking about. Her stomach twisted as she pushed through the door and she couldn’t tell if it was the warmth of the fire or her anxiety that warmed her cheeks. The sound of chatter and laughter drew her attention and she could see all her colleagues standing around, drinks in hand and mingling. Like a moth to a flame her gaze zeroed in on the one man she was not expecting to see.

Dressed in a crisp white dress shirt and grey pants, sleeves rolled up to his elbows and looking effortlessly handsome as he always did, was Rowan. He didn’t notice her and Aelin bit down on the need to hide before he did. She just needed to disappear into the crowd and effortlessly ignore him. 

Aelin slipped off her coat and draped it over her arm, walking over to the gathered party. She was just on the edges of it when Rowan noticed her.

“Shit,” she muttered under her breath. She quickly turned before she could read the expression on his face, she needed to come up with some kind of plan—and fast. Aelin glanced over her colleagues and spotted her saviour. A man who was down for anything, and despite being friends with the both of them Aelin knew he would do whatever she asked.

Plastering a smile on her face Aelin hurried the last few steps towards her target which would be interpreted as excitement. When she was close enough her hands rested on his forearm, steadying her as she rose up on her toes to kiss him on the cheek. 

“Pretend to be my date,” Aelin said, wiping away the slight lipstick residue from his cheek.

Fenrys peered down at her with a perplexed look that quickly turned into enthusiasm. “Sure thing, I got you.”

Aelin sighed in relief. “You’ve saved my life.’

Fenrys gave her a perfectly flirtatious wink. “Always happy to help. Would you like a drink?” 

Aelin nearly groaned. “Desperately.”

Fenrys stepped away, putting a hand on her lower back as he circled her on the way to the bar. As soon as he was gone Lysandra sidled up next to her, dressed in a form fitting, knee length, one shoulder, green velvet number. She looped their arms together, bringing them closer so she could whisper. “What was that?”

“Hey, we’re matching,” Aelin diverted, nodding down at her own green dress she’d chosen for the evening. 

But Lysandra was not going to be so easily distracted. “That was nowhere even close to the answer to that question.”

Aelin knew she wouldn’t get away with not answering and tossed her loose hair over her shoulder, standing a little taller. “Fenrys is now my date.”

“Oh, I see,” Lysandra said, nodding sagely. “And that wouldn’t have anything to do with the sudden reappearance of a certain someone, would it?”

Her best friend was privy to everything that had gone on. Lysandra was the only one to have heard about Aelin’s feelings about being abandoned by the man she might very well be falling in love with. Aelin had gone back and forth and around in circles so many times trying to figure what had happened, then more importantly how she felt about it. Lysandra had listened and given advice, so knew how much Rowan’s appearance had rattled Aelin even as she took the contrary path. 

“Of course not.”

“Well, you do what you have to do. A little bit of jealousy never hurt anybody,” Lysandra said. 

“Precisely,” Aelin said as she sent a glowing smile Fenrys’ way as he approached with their drinks. As he got closer Aelin disentangled herself from her best friend and swapped her physical closeness to her date. She wrapped a hand around his waist and took her drink. Fenrys played the part perfectly, casually relaxing into her touch brushing his thumb at a respectful position on her hip.

“Do I get to know what all this is about, or?” Fenrys asked, shooting a curious look over the rim of his glass. 

“Maybe later,” Aelin said in hushed tones, not wanting to risk being overheard. “But for now, you are my date.”

“Boyfriend?” Fenrys was sounding a little too keen. 

“Mmm, almost,” Aelin hesitated. She glanced at Rowan who was looking over at her and doing a very poor job at hiding it. Her reaction was to lean into Fenrys a little more, a hand lifting to his face to brush one of his stray curls out of his face. “We’ll see how we go.”

Throughout the night they both played their parts perfectly. Fenrys was doting and attentive, he always had a hand on her, making sure they looked like they were here together. If any other colleagues had questions they kept quiet. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves enough to not worry about anyone else’s business. Aelin was on her way back from the bathroom and searching for her fake date when she got distracted by some kind of clatter coming from the kitchen and ended up walking into a body. In her towering heels she swayed a little but that body also had an arm, and it reached out to stop her from falling on her ass. 

“Sorry, Aelin.”

Oh no.

Dread filled her body as she recognised the voice, and considered running. She had expertly avoided him all night and then now because of one moment of distraction it had been ruined. She would have circumnavigated her way around him instead of walking into his stupidly solid body. 

“It’s fine,” she muttered.

Rowan must have realised that he was still holding onto her, and almost gingerly let her go. Aelin pointedly ignored every emotion that abrupt gesture made rise up. She didn’t know where to look, but she certainly didn’t want to look at him, so she chose up. 

Oh. Gods. No, no way was she committing to this and she needed to move before someone else noticed. Everyone was tipsy enough that they would insist. Whoever decided hanging mistletoe was a good idea needed a brutal form of punishment. And looking at Rowan now… she knew that look in his eyes. He was contemplating the godsdamned tradition. She would bet her Yulemas bonus that the next words out of his mouth would be asking for permission. Aelin needed to flee, with dignity, and she couldn’t quite work out how to do it. 

“There you are, Princess,” Fenrys’ smooth voice came from behind her as his arm snaked around her waist. Aelin literally sighed in relief. “And would you look at that.”

As Aelin turned into Fenrys’ embrace she followed his gaze upward to the tastefully tied sprig hung from the ceiling. 

“May I?” Fenrys asked under his breath. 

“Yes,” Aelin answered just as quietly. 

Cupping her cheek Fenrys lowered his mouth to hers. Slow enough that Aelin could change her mind, but not so slow it made it look weird. His lips were warm and steady, and she had to hand it to the guy, he was a good kisser. More than that he made sure it was quite the show for anyone—just maybe the person closest to them—who might be watching. Fenrys even went as far as giving her just the smallest of dips, a broad hand on her back to keep them steady. She had to hand it to him, he was putting on a show in the very best way. She was sure from the movement of his lips that it probably looked like he was devouring her face too. 

The kiss ended and Fenrys righted them, giving Aelin a sly wink along the way. She couldn’t help it, she turned to see Rowan’s reaction. She sensibly expected to find that he had fled the scene. To her petty delight he hadn’t, he was just glaring at them with an expression of confused shock. Then he shook his head, walking away and straight to the bar. 

Aelin turned to her partner in crime who was looking very smug. “Thanks for withholding the tongue.”

“I am nothing if not a gentleman,” he replied.

That made Aelin laugh and she hugged her friend in gratitude for upholding his reputation for being down for absolutely anything. 

“Come on.” Fenrys said, giving her shoulders a squeeze. “Let’s get you a drink.

It was two drinks later when the flow of the night was disrupted and brought to a very abrupt halt. Aelin was at the bar when there was an almost simultaneous reaction as everyone received the same message at the same time. Aelin read the alert and was mildly thankful she had a legitimate reason to cut the night short. 

SEVERE WEATHER WARNING: BLIZZARD CONDITIONS EXPECTED. SEEK SHELTER SOON IN PREPARATION.

There was a lull while everyone processed and then everything restarted as they planned their next moves. Not having her car here, Aelin was in a slight bind. She quickly brought up the Uber app but the drivers were all shutting down their cars so that they could stay off the roads and bunker down. Aelin’s masterful plan of getting a ride had backfired, and she didn’t exactly live near anyone else in attendance. Aedion, who was her best bet, had left about an hour ago. Her only option now was to beg for a lift. Fenrys, as her fake date, seemed the best place to start. She looked for him in the crowd and spotted him at the table they had been occupying while they ate the steady stream of nibblies that had been served throughout the night. 

“Can you drive me home?”

“Sure thing, babe,” Fenrys said. 

“You live in the complete opposite direction,” Rowan said without an invitation to the conversation. Aelin hadn’t even noticed that he was standing there. 

“Yes, thank you for pointing that out,” Aelin said, dismissing him. 

“Let me take you so Fenrys can get home before the weather gets too bad,” Rowan added. 

“Don’t hate me, Aelin,” Fenrys said quietly and grimacing. “But he has a point.”

“Some date you are,” Aelin threw back at him. 

Fenrys tried to give her a smile but the glare she was shooting at him must have been making that difficult. “Misty doesn’t like snow storms.”

“Low blow, you know Misty is my weak spot,” Aelin said, voice resigned. Misty was a white husky and a complete baby. She hated being left alone, and Aelin knew that in this weather her anxiety would rise. Despite her substantial size, that dog was as soft as a marshmallow, which with her winter coat he closely resembled. 

Fenrys stooped down to give her a kiss on the cheek. “I’m sorry, Aelin. If he tries anything just kick him in the balls and kick him out of the car. He’s cold-hearted enough that he’ll survive.”

And didn’t Aelin know it.

She tried not to let her disappointment and anxiety show as she smiled at Fenrys. “Thank you for a lovely evening.” 

Fenrys gave her a wink as he picked up his jacket from the back of the chair. “Any time.”

Entirely unimpressed by the situation Aelin turned around to address Rowan. “Fine. Let’s go.”

She grabbed her coat and stormed over to the front door. All he did was fall in step behind, catching the door for himself as they stepped into the cold. In her rush Aelin hadn’t bothered with putting her coat on and was now freezing. What made the situation worse was that in her frustration she managed to lose her coordination. She got one arm in but the other refused to work with her and she couldn’t find the other sleeve.

The coat suddenly got lighter and there was a soft murmuring of, “Here.”

Just wanting to get warm Aelin allowed the assistance to happen. She didn’t bother to look at Rowan or say thank you, she just braced herself for the deteriorating weather. The wind sent the snowflakes around in thick flurries, and from the bitter and harsh chill in the air Aelin knew they were in for a bad one. Rowan was only a few steps behind her, and she waited for him to lead the way to his car.

“This way,” was all he said before he walked down the street. 

The snow was sticking enough that Rowan’s shoes were leaving imprints in the snow. Aelin followed them step for step, not wanting to risk slipping. Honestly, she wanted this walk to last forever so that she wouldn’t have to be alone in a car with this man who found her so abhorrent he couldn’t even offer an explanation for his behaviour. Probably. That was obviously the most logical reason. 

A ridiculous reason was that he had been abducted by aliens and had only just been returned to earth. 

Aelin was so caught up in her own thoughts that her high heeled boot sinking into untouched snow was her indication that they’d reached Rowan’s car. He was there, the door held ajar ready to let her in. She hated the chivalry of it, hated that she liked the consideration. Why couldn’t he just be a bastard and make it easy to hate him? All Aelin could do was ignore everything besides the need to get home. The door opening was a means to an end. Sitting inside the freezing car waiting for it to drive on the snow covered road was just the next thing on the list. Sitting in silence is what would get her home. She just hoped Rowan was in on the plan. 

Rowan started the car, all his attention on the precarious conditions outside. It seemed they were on the same brainwave because he didn’t say a word and Aelin chose to distract herself on her phone. She shot off a message to Lysandra to explain the awful situation she has been left in thanks to her early departure and then she checked the weather. They were in for a serious storm tonight, and it was looking like it might shut the city down tomorrow as well. That at least meant tomorrow she could wallow in self pity alone. 

At times Aelin knew Rowan was glancing her way, she could see him in her peripheries but not once did she fall for the bait. If he didn’t have the balls to start a conversation she wasn’t going to give him any help on the matter. Aelin just started counting down the minutes until she would be safe and home.

Twenty minutes later and they’d done it. All the way out to Aelin’s tidy little house neither of them had said a single word. Rowan pulled into her driveway, his headlights the only thing illuminating the front facade of her house. Aelin must have forgotten about her porch light on her way out the door. From the look of it the snow was already a few inches thick. The flashlight on her phone would have to be her trusty companion. Because she wasn’t entirely devoid of manners she wasn’t going to leave without thanking Rowan for going out of his way. 

“Thanks,” she muttered quickly. 

Before she could even get her hand to the handle Rowan replied, “let me walk you to the door.”

Aelin was gaping as he got out and turned the torch on his phone. She got out of the car before he could come around and get her himself. Then she couldn’t help it, she slammed the door harder than she should have. Rowan didn’t say a word to her the entire trip and now he was trying to be the nice guy and walk her to her door? She’d had enough. Aelin wanted him gone but she also wanted some kind of explanation because this cold to lukewarm was beyond frustrating. 

Marching past Rowan with her own phone out, Aelin blindly grabbed her keys out of her handbag. It was small so that was easy, and she had them in hand as she stomped up the wooden steps of her front porch. The porch was screened in so it offered some reprieve from the weather. Rowan was considerate enough to angle his phone so that she could see what she was doing and in moments her front door was unlocked. 

“Goodnight,” Rowan said, his obligations discharged. 

That was when Aelin broke. She nudged the door open just so she could reach on and flick on the porch light. Rowan had already started his descent into the night but she wasn’t about to let him get away that fast. 

“Hey,” Aelin nearly shouted. “What is your deal?”

Rowan stopped just on the edge of the porch, then took another step forward to stop the snow from falling on him. “I didn’t want you to fall in the dark.”

“You know that’s not what I meant.” Aelin willed her emotions in the direction of anger. “What did I do that made you disappear for weeks and then you come back and there’s still nothing?”

Emotion flashed across Rowan’s face, and his mouth tightened. “It wasn’t you.”

Aelin scoffed. “That’s lovely to hear and I totally believe you.”

“I’m not lying.” 

“Why, Rowan?” Aelin asked, her voice coming out with a finality that told him if he didn’t answer her now he wouldn’t have another chance.

Rowan stepped forward a little more, fully under the protection of the porch roof now. “It was my ex.”

“Your ex?” Aelin’s voice was incredulous. “Ah-uh. That’s reassuring.”

“Please, just listen.” Rowan’s fisting tightened, showing the tension in his body. 

But Aelin could not suppress the bitter resignation that was overwhelming her. “No, say no more. I’m a smart girl. I can put two and two together.”

She was more than obviously on her way into the house, because she’d heard enough. Hearing the confirmation from Rowan’s mouth just might obliterate what was left of her heart. Seething anger was her best defence, she couldn’t let him have the upper hand. Freedom was within reach—Aelin’s hand was on the door—when there was a gentle touch on her shoulder. A voice inside her head told her to ignore it, to just step inside her house and give the door a well deserving slam right in Rowan’s face. For some godsdamned reason she chose not to listen to that angry but highly sensible voice. Aelin turned, taking in Rowan’s hesitant features in the grey light. 

“Can you just hear what I have to say?” Rowan all but pleaded. Aelin nodded, watching as the man in front of her sighed heavily, readying himself. “Turns out right before my ex and I broke up she got pregnant, and she didn’t tell me. I have a daughter, her name is Ivy and she’s nearly two. I left because I went to Doranelle to meet her and sort everything out. You didn’t hear from me because I didn’t know how to process any of this. All I knew was that I needed to get on a plane and meet this child I didn’t know anything about, which is what I did. And I’m sorry for whatever pain that caused you.”

Aelin was speechless, she could only stare at Rowan while emotion flooded him. She hadn’t expected this. When he’d said ex she had expected that they had come back into Rowan’s life, and that old flame had rekindled, not that. 

“Oh,” was all she managed to say.

“I’m sorry for what happened, Aelin,” Rowan said. “It wasn’t what I wanted for us, but I didn’t know how to navigate through it all.”

For a moment Aelin just contemplated the news. Rowan had a kid, a daughter—nearly two according to him. It was a lot to take in, and there was one thing she kept coming back to. It was most likely due to her simmering anger, but she and Rowan had been friends until they took the plunge into something more, so Aelin couldn’t help but ask herself why hadn’t he told her? She’d been devastated, and she couldn’t let that go.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Aelin said quietly. 

“I…” Rowan hesitated and looked out into the dark. “I don’t have an answer for you.”

“You need one, Rowan.” Her anger had free rein now that the shock had worn off. “You left me hurt and wondering what I could have done to drive you away. You could have said anything, just one little thing and I would have been fine. I get what you’re going through is hard but you didn’t need to shut me out.”

“You’re right,” Rowan said simply.

“Great, glad we cleared that up.” Aelin felt her emotions rising as she spoke, and she didn’t want to cry in front him. “You should go.”

“I will,” he said, but he didn’t go just yep. “I’m sorry, again.”

“Thanks for that, means a lot,” Aelin said, the sarcasm dripping from each word.

Rowan straightened, anger flashing across his features, but besides a slight narrowing of his eyes he offered her no other reaction. Aelin didn’t say goodbye as she went into her house, leaning on the door to shut it. She thought she could hear Rowan’s footsteps trudging through the snow, or maybe that was just her imagination willing him away. He’d offered her an explanation but that didn’t wipe away the weeks of simmering hurt. Yes, they had taken the next step in their relationship but more than that they were friends. And friends didn’t leave like that. 

Aelin shook her head and made for her bedroom, fiddling with the thermostat on the way. If a blizzard was imminent she wanted to prepare accordingly. She focused the heating towards her bedroom, there were no plans to spend any time elsewhere in the house. Maybe just the kitchen for a midnight snack to drown her sorrows.

She tugged off her coat and hung that up, and then her boots were next. Aelin was unclasping the chain at her neck when there was a knock on her door. At first Aelin thought she was hearing things so just froze where she was, listening and waiting to see if it happened again. It did, this time more insistent. 

The first thing she felt was confusion and then apprehension, because who would be knocking on her door at this time of night in this kind of weather? Aelin’s chest caved a little at the most obvious answer as to who it might be. Barefooted, she left her bedroom and walked down the hall to the front of the house. The porch light went back on and Aelin used the peephole to confirm her suspicions. 

“For fucks sake,” she muttered to herself and didn’t wait to all but throw the door open. “What is it?”

Rowan stood there, looking miserable and freezing. “My car won’t start.”

Aelin blinked once. “What?”

“Cold drain and it won’t start,” Rowan said, a jerking gesture of his hand towards the driveway.

Aelin peered around Rowan’s broad shoulders, noting how bad the weather had gotten. His excuse was plausible and there was no way he’d be able to find an alternative arrangement to get him home now. Aelin could not believe her luck. What else was this night going to throw at her?

“Come in then,” she said, stepping back to let Rowan through the door. 

He did as she instructed, with barely a glance in Aelin’s direction. Rowan quickly ran into a problem—he didn’t know where to go. So he ended up lingering in the entryway, kind of glancing around to get some idea of where he should be heading. Aelin shut the door on the blistering cold of the outside world and felt like she was setting a trap for herself. There was only one course of action here, despite her feelings she couldn’t leave Rowan to freeze in his car. Her couch would have to do. 

“This way,” Aelin said, leading him through the entryway and past her study to the living room. It was far colder in here because of the floor to ceiling windows that looked out on a stylish courtyard. Even with the curtains closed there was a definite chill in the air. It would only get colder too. “I’ll grab you some things.”

“Thanks,” was Rowan’s response. 

Aelin went off to her linen cupboard, gathering some sheets and her thickest blanket. While she quickly slipped a pillow into a fresh pillowcase she worked very hard to keep her thoughts rational. 

“Fine. This is fine,” she told herself. “I’ll just close my door and pretend he doesn’t exist. I’ll just pretend he’s off living his new life without me.”

Hugging the bedding to her chest Aelin went back to the living room. Rowan was by the window, peeking behind the curtains, checking out the weather. Aelin dropped everything in the middle of the three seater. Rowan let go of the curtain but he didn’t move from his spot by the window. This felt like a standoff and Aelin couldn’t work out what for. Did he want to say something? Apologise again? Or was he waiting for her to magnanimously forgive him for leaving her? If the latter was what he was after he was out of luck.

“If you need anything else the linen cupboard is just outside the bathroom,” Aelin said and left it at that.

“It’s nice to see you’ve moved on so quickly.” There was a definite tinge of bitterness to his voice. 

For a brief moment Aelin was confused, then she remembered her little game of pretend with Fenrys that seemingly was coming back to bite her in the ass. But she wasn’t about to yield defeat now. “Jealousy is never a good look.”

“I’m not jealous,” he said far too quickly. 

Aelin was relishing in the fact that she had got under his skin. “Enjoy the show, did you?”

“That’s all it was, wasn’t it? A farce to get a rise out of me?”

Rowan was always a little too perceptive for his own good. Aelin shrugged in response. “Sometimes you just have to work with what you’ve got.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Rowan asked. 

But Aelin wasn’t interested in continuing the conversation. “Goodnight, Rowan. Sweet dreams.”

The house was silent as Aelin made her way back to her bedroom leaving Rowan floundering with her sickly sweet goodnight and confusion around the whole Fenrys matter. The only sounds were the steadily worsening storm outside. Sleep was the ultimate goal and Aelin could only hope that Rowan wouldn’t haunt her dreams—his close proximity making that very likely. Back in the sanctuary of her bedroom she reached for her phone typing across the screen at breakneck pace and managing not even one typo. The message was intended for her best friend, but Aelin doubted she’d get a reply. Lysandra would probably be blissfully asleep by now. 

Aelin: Thanks to your early departure to do GODS know what ROWAN has ended up in my house. I blame you and your drunken horniness. 

Aelin threw the phone onto her plush blanket and yanked on the tie that held her sleeves up across her upper back. Apparently, she had pulled the wrong one, because all she accomplished was tangling it into a tight knot. Biting down on her frustration she counted to three before shifting her focus to her zipper. If she could get the dress loose around her waist it could just go over her head. Simple. 

But Aelin wasn’t as in charge of her appendages as she thought she was. That frustration was swirling with that anger and mixing into something that was feeling a lot like anxiety. That combination was fatal and the sharp pull she gave on her zipper only caused it to jam. The satin had slipped between Aelin’s fingers and no matter how hard she tried, the fabric wasn’t coming free.

“Come on,” she hissed, trying over and over again. It didn’t work. She was trapped and she vowed never to wear this dress again. 

Aelin moved over to her mirror so she could inspect the situation. Peering over her shoulder it was hard to tell the best way out. She was searching through the pleats when her disastrous night took yet another turn for the worse. The lights went out and Aelin cursed colourfully. What a time to get stuck in her dress.

There were three options for Aelin at this moment. One, she could rip herself out of the dress, but she liked it and had spent a decent amount of money on it. Option two she could sleep in it, even though that would mean being highly uncomfortable with it cinching at her waist and it would undoubtedly tangle around her legs. Number three was the worst but also the one with the highest chance of success. 

“Rowan,” Aelin called out into the dark, waiting for a response but not expecting one.

“Yes?” He answered surprisingly fast. 

“I need your help, can you come in here?”

There was no verbal answer but soon enough she heard his footfalls moving through the house. He was using the torch on his phone to lead the way and Aelin blinked as that white light came not the room. Rowan was still in his shirt and pants, but he had removed his shoes. For a moment she wondered what he’d planned to sleep in but promptly decided that it was none of her business. Instead She put her back to him so that he could see the problem, but still said, “I’m stuck.”

“Okay,” was Rowan’s very simple answer. 

Aelin heard him move closer and he set his phone down on the bed so that he could work. With a brief nudge of his fingers he shooed hers away from the jammed zipper so that he could work. She dropped her hands to her sides and waited. To help with whatever the problem was his fingers brushed the bare skin of her back. Aelin could have yelped from how freezing they were. It reminded her that her living room would be so cold without the heater to warm it up now that the power was out. Her bedroom would be the most comfortable room in the house. Lucky her. 

They both stood in silence, Aelin perfectly still while Rowan worked. His presence behind her was hard to ignore, she could feel the warmth of his body and it sent her rigid when he stepped that little bit closer to get a better angle. 

“It's stuck good,” Rowan muttered. “Just give me a second.”

“Alright,” Aelin said softly. 

There was a sharp tug around her waist and then the sound of the zipper giving way, and Aelin sighed in relief. 

“Hold on, I’ll get the top too,” Rowan added. 

The ties tickled her back so much that Aelin shivered and Rowan murmured his apologies. Soon enough that was undone too and she felt the sleeves threaten to fall off her shoulders. Aelin didn’t move, and neither did Rowan. There seemed to be an impasse developing, they were caught in a limbo. It was Rowan who sighed and stepped back, sighing as he did.

“I’m so sorry,” Rowan said, his voice sounding almost devasted. “I didn’t mean to hurt you like I did. It was selfish of me, but I didn’t say anything because I wasn’t sure how you would handle it. Suddenly I’ve got baggage and my life has completely changed, and there was the chance you would run. And I…” Rowan inhaled deeply. “I don’t want to risk this because I think I’ve fallen in love with you.”

Those words shocked the breath out of her. Aelin turned slowly, the white light of the phone torch lighting Rowan’s features. All the anger of earlier was gone, in front of her stood a man defeated. For all her claiming that they were friends, Aelin wasn’t being a great one herself.

“I just,” Rowan stalled again and ran a hand through his hair. “I didn’t want to be a shitty father. I couldn't ignore Ivy’s existence and keep going how things were. I’m sorry you were the casualty in all of this.”

“Oh, Rowan,” Aelin sighed. Yes, he had left her, but the alternative might have broken him further. The Rowan he knew would never shirk out of a responsibility that would have such lasting effects. That wouldn’t be the man she had fallen in love with. “I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t apologise, this is me. I fucked things up,” he insisted. “You have nothing to be sorry for, I shouldn’t—“

Aelin did the only thing she could think of to shut him up and that was to put her mouth on his. Rowan immediately melted into the kiss, his broad hands going to her waist, then sweeping to the small of her back to press her closer. When their lips broke apart their foreheads met and for a few long moments they just stood there, taking each other and the sudden development in. 

“I want you, everything that you are, Rowan. If you had not gone you wouldn’t be the man I know,” Aelin told him. “The man that I’m falling in love with.”

His hands tightened on her waist. “Aelin,” Rowan whispered.

“This doesn’t change who you are,” Aelin said, stepping a little closer. “You’ve said you’ve messed up but I’m seeing now you were doing what you could. I’m sure you’ll make up for all the shit you put me through.”

“My life is completely changed now, though. I have a daughter.” There was a touch of anguish in his voice, as if he was still tearing himself up over everything. 

“And I have a thing for DILFs.”

The inappropriate words were out of her mouth before Aelin could even think and the mortification she felt quickly melted away as Rowan laughed. The sound burst out of him, likely due to the suddenness of the quip. She was even rewarded with a brief but infinitely sweet kiss. 

“Goodnight, Aelin. We can talk more in the morning.”

Aelin wasn’t having that and she caught Rowan by the shirt, hands fisting in the white crisp material that seemed to glow in the harsh light. “You’ll freeze out there. It’ll be warmer in here, if we stay together. You know what they say about the cold and body heat.”

The offer was there, and Aelin hoped to the gods Rowan would take it. She had just managed to get him back, she wasn’t about to let him go again so soon. 

“The couch is fine.” The words of a true gentleman. 

“Stay,” Aelin pleaded, foreheads together and she teased him with the slightest brush of her lips. 

“You’re sure?” Rowan asked, his grip on her waist getting tighter.

Aelin dropped her shoulders, let her dress drop to her elbows. It was something Rowan didn’t miss, his eyes darting down to the lace that was newly exposed. 

“Stay with me, Rowan.”

That was all the permission he needed and then he was kissing her again. Using the grip Aelin still had on his shirt she pulled him down with her as she fell back. Rowan was more than willing, catching himself as before he crushed her. 

“The whole time I was away I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” he said in between kisses. “That one kiss is what kept me going.”

Aelin could sense yet another apology coming, but she had had enough of words, she needed action. “I said you could make it up to me, why don’t you start now?”

The sound of Rowan’s low laugh against Aelin’s neck had her skin breaking out in goosebumps, even more so when his fingers dragged over her shoulders, pulling her dress down. Aelin’s breath was heavy and she could feel herself straining against the confines of her exposed bra. The phone light was still on, highlighting every curve that Rowan’s dark eyes were currently roving over. When their gazes met Aelin’s arousal spiked, from that look she could tell Rowan was a man with ideas and she was ready to be part of every single one of them. 

“It would be my pleasure,” Rowan said.

And hers.

Braced over her, he lowered his lips to her breast, teasing the peak of it through the black lace of her bra. Aelin moaned, one hand finding its way into Rowan’s silver hair and the other running up his back. She could feel his muscles shifting as he switched to the other breast. Holy gods, was he determined to make it up to her. Just with his tongue and teeth she was already a needy, writhing mess. From the smile she caught tilting up the corners of his mouth it was clear Rowan was enjoying himself too. 

Then he was working his way down her body, taking the dress with him. When he and the dress got to her hips Aelin lifted them and within moments all that she was left in was her matching lingerie set. 

“Beautiful,” Rowan said.

Aelin preened under the compliment, raising a knee slightly and stretched her arms above her head. She knew she looked good, she could feel it in the way Rowan’s gaze tracked her movements—the way his hand slid down to a heavy presence at her hips. Rowan was kneeling at the foot of the bed now, he’d got there without her noticing. What she did notice was his finger moving her underwear to the side and his mouth pressing against her core. 

Aelin was dizzy with pleasure as Rowan worked her with his tongue. She utterly surrendered to him, letting him guide her towards that peak that was approaching embarrassingly fast. Rowan didn’t seem to mind though, and he could read her like a book. He sucked on her clit and then flicked it with his tongue, making Aelin moan.

“Come for me, love,” Rowan said lowly, his voice rumbling against her sensitive skin. “I know you’re right there.”

He went back to work with a rolling sweep of his tongue and Aelin broke. Her hips moved of their own accord, riding his face as wave after wave of her orgasm was drawn out by Rowan’s expertise. When Aelin’s body went limp Rowan withdrew, and somewhere in her hazy brain she registered him removing his clothes, then he paid her the same courtesy. Clever fingers undid her bra with one hand and then her underwear was gone as well. Aelin had recovered enough that she sat up on her elbows and was able to see all of him. Rowan was magnificent, and Aelin took the time to look her fill, eyes catching on the hand that slowly worked his erection. Sitting up a little further Aelin moved up the bed until she was leaning against the pillows. Like magnets being drawn to each other Rowan followed, nearly prowling until he was hovering over her.

Aelin reached down, stroking Rowan’s cock, sighing at the silken feel of him. He groaned, his head falling to her shoulder. Impatient Rowan kept one arm steady to stop himself from falling on her, his free hand wandered over the dips and curve of Aelin’s skin. She gasped when his fingers dipped between her legs, still sensitive from his previous ministrations. 

Rowan’s lips brushed over her cheek, then the corner of her mouth and then graced her with a proper kiss. “You’re so ready for me.”

All Aelin could do was nod, arching her hips, desperate for him to fill her. Sense kicked in and she reached over to her nightstand, yanking the drawer open and pulling out a string of condoms. 

“I don’t think we’ll need that many,” Rowan said.

Aelin’s snort was unattractive but she couldn’t help it. This was part of why she was falling in love with Rowan, they could be real and raw in every sense with no threat of repercussion. It now included bad jokes during sex, and Aelin didn’t mind in the very least. 

“Never say never,” she replied, ripping just a single packet off. She tore it open, glancing up at Rowan. “May I?”

This time Rowan nodded, his eyelids fluttering as Aelin’s fingers smoothed the condom down the length of him. There was a moment where they just looked at each other, waiting for the other to make the final move. In the end it was Aelin, wrapping her arms around her his neck and kissing him deeply. And then something snapped. 

When Rowan surged forward, his eagerness knocked his phone off the foot of the bed, plunging them into darkness. Their lips never broke apart, Aelin moaning as Rowan’s tongue swept into her mouth. She never wanted to leave this bed, not when he could make her feel this good. Rowan eventually broke the kiss, lips tickling over skin until he stopped where her neck and shoulder met. Aelin opened her eyes to near pitch blackness, all it did was heighten her other senses. Every touch felt more intense, heightened by not knowing where Rowan would be next. He kissed and sucked at her neck, distracting Aelin from his other goal. A broad hand covered her breast, fingers rolling and then pinching her nipple. The noises that escaped her lips were unrestrained and turned desperate when she felt his cock at her entrance.

Before he could push in, Aelin pressed on his shoulder, and Rowan took the hint—rolling of her so she could roll onto him. In the dregs of light coming from behind her curtains Aelin could just make out the outline of Rowan’s body, her hands smoothing over his stomach to his shoulders. His cock was hard and demanding beneath her, and she took the opportunity to tease him just a little by rolling her hips over him. Rowan’s sharp groan echoed in the quiet room and it was enough to break all of Aelin’s resolve. She reached between them, lining him up and then sinking down on him with a desperate slowness. 

“Fuck, Aelin. You feel so good.”

Aelin whimpered at the praise, hips moving of their own accord. For all Rowan said—he felt just as good. From then they moved together, Rowan thrusted up and Aelin ground down on him, each movement feeling delicious and decadent. Hands travelled where they would, teasing and soothing simultaneously. The coil within Aelin wound tighter and she chased that feeling. She felt Rowan’s hand on her stomach, pressing down and then sliding up her body, between the valley of her breasts. Naively Aelin thought he would stop there to taunt and tease, but he didn’t. His palm cupped her cheek, thumb brushing over the crest of it. 

“I love you,” Rowan breathed, hips flexing and driving her mad. 

“Gods, Rowan.” Aelin was close, and it might be this moment of softness that pushed her over the edge. “I love you too.”

That coil snapped and Aelin cried out as pleasure broke over every nerve. Rowan was right behind her, moaning her name as he spilled himself inside her. Limbless, Aelin fell onto Rowan’s chest, her rapid breathing falling into sync with his as her body rose and fell. They lay like that for a long while, basking in each other’s closeness. Aelin truly didn’t want to let him go, it seemed too soon. 

Still, she didn’t fight him as Rowan got up and retrieved his phone. He easily found the bathroom because it was the only other door besides the one he had initially walked through. Aelin made use of the time by untucking the blankets and scooting underneath them. Without Rowan’s body next to hers she was starting to feel the chill. The whole joke about body heat might actually have some truth in it. Rowan was back within moments, joining her in the plush bedding. He had barely settled when Aelin was shifting closer, pulling his arms around her. Rowan chuckled, bringing her in closer still as he settled into bed. 

“Thank you for giving me a chance, Aelin,” Rowan said.

Aelin tried to be serious but she couldn’t help it. “After that I don’t know how—”

Rowan silenced her with a kiss. “Godsdamned smartass.”

They both laughed and Aelin let it be. She rested her hand over Rowan’s heart and let that steady rhythm ground her. “You’re mine now, so.”

It was quiet for a long while, until Rowan spoke again. 

“This won’t be easy,” Rowan said, pressing a kiss to Aelin’s forehead. 

She snuggled in a little closer, melting into Rowan’s embrace, returning his kiss to his cheek. “We’ll work it out. Together.”

At those words Rowan held her tighter. “Together.”

ONE YEAR LATER…

Aelin was in a panic. She had a plan and then that plan had gloriously failed her. What was worse is that it wasn’t just one big thing, it was a collection of lots of little things that threatened to push her over the edge. Today was meant to be perfect, it had to be perfect. It was too important not to be. 

It had started with running out of flour, which Rowan was on his way out to get now. And then Aelin had stupidly not been wearing an apron and spilled sauce over the pants she had planned to wear the rest of the evening. But her biggest plunder had had to do with the semi raw turkey that she was currently staring at. Aelin’s kitchen was equipped with double ovens, which came in handy for Yulemas dinner. Or so she had thought. 

Aelin had the baked cheesecake in one oven and the turkey in the other. When the cheesecake was finished cooking it needed to be rested in the oven for a bit. So Aelin had switched off the dial and let it be. That was fine, good even. But then in her flustered state Aelin had seen that the other oven was still on, got the them mixed up and turned that one off too and was quickly distracted by the boiling potatoes overflowing. 

She had successfully turned both ovens off and now she was left without a main meal but a very delicious looking dessert. 

Rowan found her staring down the turkey as he dropped the shopping bag on the counter. “Everything all right there?”

“If there was a power outage it would just be the icing on the cake,” Aelin said, not taking her eyes off the turkey that she was sure was mocking her. 

She felt Rowan’s hand settle on her hips as he came up behind her, pressing a single kiss to her neck. “We do okay in a power outage.”

Aelin batted him away. “Not now. This is a disaster. I can’t serve raw turkey. Everyone will be here in like half an hour.”

The three people who were responsible for Aelin’s culinary demise. Rowan’s parents were bringing Ivy over from Doranelle for an early Yulemas celebration. Over the past year Rowan had worked his hardest to be part of his daughter’s life, and he had succeeded with flying colours. He was the best Dad he could be considering the circumstances. Co-parenting wasn’t easy, but Rowan had flown over as much as he could to build a connection with Ivy, and she had come to Orynth with her mother a few times to visit. So this wasn’t the first time Aelin was meeting Ivy, but it was the first time she would be formally meeting Iris and Evander Whitethorn. They had chatted over video calls, but that was it. And Yulemas was such a big event in a nearly three year old’s calendar. Aelin wanted to make a good impression but that goal was slowly slipping from her fingers. 

“Why not just put it back in the oven and see how we go?” Rowan suggested. “Maybe they’ll get caught in traffic.”

Aelin sighed. “It was supposed to be perfect.”

Rowan wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her temple. “And it will be. We might just have to eat dessert first.”

A miserable sounding laugh broke out of Aelin and she twisted in her boyfriend’s arms so that she could bury her face in his soft sweater. He was right. When had anything gone to plan with them? Regardless, things always turned out right in the end. 

“Maybe I should invite Fenrys over, he can pretend to be part of our throuple,” Aelin said cheekily, risking a one eyed glance up at Rowan. His features tightened, his mouth becoming a thin line. “You know just to spice things up to distract from my own failings.”

“Absolutely not,” Rowan said with a seriousness that made Aelin laugh. 

“Fine, I’ll just put the turkey back in and leave it at that.”

Twenty minutes later the turkey had barely progressed and the guests had arrived. Aelin had changed out of the dirtied pants into leggings and a knitted dress and that was step one in the right direction. Ivy had burst through the door and Rowan had swept her up as his parents followed behind. The little girl was over the moon to see her dad and Aelin had a hard time denying the funny things seeing Rowan with his daughter did to her ovaries.

“Aelin,” Iris all but exclaimed, arms extended for a hug. Aelin let it happen, caught up in the genuine joy that was filling the room. “It’s so nice to finally meet you in person.”

“You as well,” Aelin said. 

“Aelin!” Ivy said and launched herself from Rowan’s arms.

Aelin caught her, kissing her chubby cheek. “How are you? Did you have a good flight?”

“Yep! I got to watch two movies,” Ivy explained. “I get two Yulemases this year, you know?”

“I do,” Aelin replied, setting the little girl down. “How lucky are you?”

Rowan’s family were only staying for a week, they would leave a few days before actual Yulemas so Ivy could spend that with her mother. Rowan had come a long way with his ex, Lyria, but Ivy spending a major holiday away from her mother was still out of the question. 

“Evan, how are you?” Aelin said as she kissed his cheek.

Evan smiled, holding up the bags he carried. “Pack mule, as always.”

“Oh hush, you,” Iris admonished.

“Presents!” Ivy said, eyes catching on the wrapped gifts under the tree. 

“Not until after dinner,” Iris said quickly.

Aelin’s gut sank. “Well about that…”

She divulged the whole story, and by the end her cheeks were red from embarrassment.

“Just dessert and no dinner?” Ivy deduced, her green eyes hopeful. 

“Well, no,” Rowan cut in. “It just looks like we’ll have dessert first. Dinner is still on the menu.”

Regardless of that clarification Ivy cheered, making all the adults laugh. Despite the imperfections the evening ended up being a success. They started with dessert, then presents and then dinner afterwards. Too distracted by toys and full of ice cream, Ivy barely touched her plate, but everyone else only had good things to say about the haphazardous meal. Rowan’s parents were lovely, and meeting them in person wasn’t the feat that Aelin expected it to be at all. It was late when they said goodbye, heading back to their nearby hotel for the evening. There was only one spare bedroom at Aelin’s house and it was furnished with a single bed, so comfort wise it made more sense for them to stay elsewhere. 

Aelin was tucked into bed when Rowan came out of the bathroom, dressed in the Yulemas pyjamas Ivy had gifted him. They were ridiculous, garish gingerbread men all over them, but Rowan wore them with pride. He slipped into bed beside her, not waiting to pull Aelin into his arms. 

“Was that as much of a disaster as you thought it would be?” He asked.

Aelin shook her head. “No. Still pissed about the turkey though.”

Rowan chuckled, his breath tickling her hair. “I think tonight was perfect.”

“Even if Ivy ate zero vegetables?” Aelin peered up at Rowan to wait for her answer. 

“Hey, it’s Yulemas. We’ll let it slide.”

Aelin was grinning when she settled into Rowan’s arms. They were silent for a long while and she even thought Rowan had gone to sleep until he spoke.

“Thank you,” he said into the quiet dark of the room, “for giving me a chance to prove myself and fix my mistakes. I couldn’t have done all that I’ve done over the past year without you.”

Aelin held onto Rowan tighter, thinking about everything that had brought them to this moment. They weren’t perfect, mistakes were made and there would be countless more in their future. But that didn’t matter, not as long as they had each other. They could face anything in the world as long as they were together. 

So Aelin was smiling as she said, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

~~~~~

Thanks for reading! I haven't had the time to fiddle with taglist yet. It's on my list of things to do

[brightgoat]

My thoughts on JJBA OVER HEAVEN

So first of all -

it seems my JJBA binge is not over yet, I am still on the desert island and instead of their being water sources large enough to get waterboarded in like last time, I am instead finding small refreshing puddles.

This is copy pasted from my twitter so pardon if its formatted weirdly

I read the novel and- (spoilers under cut)

although it might be dubiously canon, I like it a lot that I think it should be considered so, and in my mind overrides any inconsistencies that the anime/manga may bring up. The timeline seems fucked either way you look at it, fittingly for this story I guess

I liked how it showed the evolution of his idea of ‘heaven’ and how it slowly became what Pucci defined it as. I like how it gives depth without straying from Dio’s insane villainy. and the mommy issues were certainly something as well It actually made me appreciate part 1

I have realised this while I was still watching the anime, but the novel confirms it; all the villains either represent a part of Dio, the big bad

Kars - Dio’s desire to constantly transcend his current state, humanity and whatnot, keep moving up the power scale

Kira - Dio’s idea that all humans live for ‘peace of mind’, as he puts it for himself- ‘preparedness’, knowing that the future will be fine

Diavolo - Dio’s resolve to move only forward, only towards the future

I do love how for the two Stand users, their Stands complement their motives, Kira creating time loops to ensure nothing bad happens to him, and Diavolo ‘skipping time’ to move into and foresee the future. Kira is more ‘stuck in the past’ and Diavolo is heading for the future

Dio is in the present, he merely stops time for a few seconds. It sets up the time manipulation premise in the simplest way and also gives him the further mindfuckery he needs to arrive at his conclusion

And then Pucci, the final villain, is Dio’s resolve to get to ‘heaven’, the culmination of the mindfuckery- their conclusion of it being that the definition of ‘heaven’ is obtaining peace by knowing all of the future and all of fate, and living it out in preparedness.

Their Stands are also opposite of one another, Dio stops time for a brief moment and Pucci accelerates it for all of eternity. Pucci is the kind of fucking guy to spoil the entire movie before watching it

I do love how they define fate as ‘gravity between people', and connect that to the theory of relativity (i’m always a sucker for this kind of shit) combining scientific theory with ideas of fate through a religious character is also just a cherry on top, I love it

THAT and how his Stand Whitesnake, whose powers are to extract ‘souls’ (or so to speak), is covered in the abbreviation of DNA compounds. Also fun fact whitesnake’s voice is based off of patrick star from spongebob

Overall, it was interesting to read how Dio became obsessed with the concept of fate, Ironically, were JJBA to be written with more foresight (preparedness even), then maybe Dio’s thoughts could’ve been more implemented into the story. Don’t get me wrong, he should still be his insane-cartoonishly-evil self at the same time, I love him for that. However, this novel was not written by the OG author, so who knows how canon it even is.

Another thing of note: Dio and Pucci seem to arrive at their idea of ‘heaven’ independently (you could argue Dio kind of began it by suggesting the idea of ‘gravity’ to him), but it was Pucci’s circumstances that ultimately led to it. Dio, at least for a few pages, believes that what one is born into decides everything. And they were born into vastly different situations. Dio talks a lot about his hate of nobles and ‘inheritors’ and hated both his biological and adoptive family.

Pucci is from an influential wealthy family and loved them so. Dio’s sibling was a miscarriage and Pucci’s presumed-dead-twin was actually alive. But both lived circumstances that arrived to a shared idea of ‘heaven’. Dio knows at least the deaths in Pucci’s life, I wonder if he knows his background and if knowing it would challenge or confirm his idea of fate.

I can’t help but wonder how Pucci felt reading the diary through Jotaro’s memories. Also wonder if Pucci saw how Dio died through none other than Jotaro’s memories as well.

Also i don’t know why, this is probably not what is implied cuz it wouldn’t fit characterwise(unless?) but……… did Pucci take Dio’s memory of showing him The World????? Why is it written this way and if so then adhsagdah??

Anyways if you ask me if i’m team ‘ora-ora’ or team ‘muda-muda’ its the latter for me baby

[cakers-2000]

Alright, I can't help but ask this: What would be Venti's and Zhongli's reaction to, after getting their Gnosis taken, their s/o disappears for about a week or so. Then they show back up, covered in blood and bruises, holding their Gnosis, and say "Am I not the best s/o ever, or what?" before passing out.

This request was put in before Raiden Shogun had been released so I really hope you don’t mind but I wanted to include her in the mix! She’s my favorite archon!

It's not exactly what you requested, I had some fun playing around with the idea but I hope the outcome is still enjoyed!

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

You get their Gnosis back

Beginning: When they lost their Gnosis, you were crushed. Whether they would admit it or not you knew that it brought them great pain not having a part of them anymore. You couldn’t bear seeing your lover in such mental anguish and so you set out. It took you a long while and you had covered your tracks, you were going out for a week at least to ‘complete a commission’ you had told them. But that was a lie. You were going to find their Gnosis and bring it back to them if it’s the last thing you do.

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

Venti:

When you first left, he was overcome by the feeling of immense fear. Where had you gone? Were you lost somewhere? Had you decided to leave him? Or the worst thought yet, had you died from heinous injuries? He couldn’t handle losing someone so precious and dear to him, not again.

With those thoughts in the forefront of his mind, he set off to search the vast expanse of Mondstadt, with the help of Dvalin of course.

When he didn’t find you there he took to the streets of Liyue. He asked anyone he locked eyes with if they had seen you, checked every nook and cranny and even paid Zhongli a visit but his attempts always came up empty.

He was at a loss. With no idea what else to do, he went back home to Mondstadt.

And spent his days in Stormterror’s Lair with Dvalin at his side. His lyre no longer played the same tune, the strings no longer harmonized so perfectly and his voice no longer belted out the same jolious tone.

He was completely and utterly lost.

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

The day you came back to him, it was as if color had flooded back into his life.

You were hurt, battered and bruised, but you were okay. And you were back to him. The poor boy nearly knocked you to the ground when he lunged at you, wanting nothing more than to feel you in his embrace.

His hands fell to your face, frantically searching across your cheeks, gently rubbing his thumb across your bloodied and swollen lip.

“(Y/N)... What did you do?!”

His immense worry for you was clear as day in his voice and the way his eyes surveyed every inch of you.

You tried to give him the biggest smile you could muster and held your hands out to him, the smile on your face only growing.

“I got it back.”

He was full of so many emotions, they were swirling all around his mind. You were alive, but you were hurt something fierce. You were beaming such a bright smile towards him, but you were in so much pain, you couldn’t hide that fact from him.

The Gnosis in your hand was stained, a dull brown color took over the once vibrant features and there were a few stained splotches of blood, a much darker hue then the rest of the item.

“M-My Gnosis?... (Y/N) are you crazy!?”

Neither you nor himself expected such an outburst and he quickly placed a hand over his quivering lips. A frown fell to your lips and you slowly dropped your arms to your side, tightly squeezing onto the Gnosis he still hadn’t taken from your grasp. “I thought you’d be happy…”

He wrapped his arms around you tightly, pulling you to his chest as his tears stained his cheeks. “N-No I am happy! But you didn’t have to do that! I was so worried about you! I didn’t know where you went, if you were okay, I was so scared.” He was fighting for breath as he stuttered and stammered through the waterfall of tears escaping his eyes. “I love you so much please please please don’t ever do anything that dangerous again.”

Finally you understood. He was grateful, but putting yourself in his shoes, you would’ve been worried sick as well. Slowly you wrapped your arms around him and buried your face in his chest. “I love you Venti. I’m sorry… I’ll be careful from now on.” “P-Promise?”

You smiled and nuzzled his chest with your nose, gently pulling on the hem of his cape as a yes. “I swear on my life.”

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

Zhongli

When you first disappeared he had of course been worried but he tried not to work himself up. Perhaps you were just busy. You had your own life, your own little world that didn’t revolve around him and he respected that. But as time dragged on, and you still hadn’t graced him with your presence, a panic began to slowly overtake him. He tried everything to console himself but his mind kept running wild and he finally had had enough. Without a single word of goodbye to anyone Zhongli vanished practically into thin air.

He searched everywhere, used every last one of his connections through his numerous contracts and those that he called ‘friend’.

Xiao and all of the Adeptus.

All of his fellow archons (at least those he could get a hold of).

And even going so far as to ask the Fatui, or more Harbinger Childe to be exact. (Though the man wasn’t too pleased to see him after the ‘betrayal’ he had put him through’).

But all of his searches led nowhere. He left no stone unturned, no mountain unscaled. Yet despite all his efforts you were still nowhere to be seen.

He had almost given up hope. He had done everything he could think, searched every corner and exhausted all of his connections but he always came up empty handed. Perhaps this was his fate. Everyone he loved always left him eventually.

You were mortal and he was a god, he knew that you wouldn’t be with him forever and he would eventually have to say goodbye but he didn’t think he would have to say it so soon.

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

He had lost track of how long it had been since you went missing. Probably about a month, but he couldn’t be too sure. All of his days seemed to merge into one, spending all of his time holed up in the mountains, sitting atop the high mountain tops and reflecting, reminiscing and of course, trying to wash away the guilt that threatened to consume him. It was his fault you had gone. He wasn’t sure what he had done, but what other answer could there be? Perhaps you had been angry with him for giving away his gnosis, or perhaps you were angry about all of the secrets he had kept from you.

Whatever the case, he was convinced that it was his fault.

He had tried to immerse himself into his work during his free time (when he wasn’t finding solitary comfort on the mountains) and it was while walking through Liyue Harbor, on his way back to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor that his eyes caught a familiar sight.

That hair… and that figure… Could it be?

His thoughts were all but confirmed when you turned around, somehow seemingly aware of his presence and sprinted your way over to him. You wasted no time in crashing into him for a hug, squeezing him as tightly as your weak arms could manage.

He wasted no timing in wrapping you up in his embrace, resisting the urge to let a few tears spill. It was so unlike him to cry. He finally pushed you away when he was satisfied and gently grabbed your face in his hands.

Now that he could get a good look at you, his stomach churned. You were covered in scratches and bruises. Your clothes tattered in most places and a noticeable limp.

“(Y/N)... what happened?”

You gave him a smile, resting one hand atop his and used your other hand to reach into the pouch at your side, gently pulling out a small item. His gnosis. “Pretty good right?”

He grabbed the item from between your fingertips, evaluating the small little almost chess like piece. It was indeed his Gnosis, the real, genuine item.

“(Y-Y/N) why did you…?”

“Why? Because it’s yours. I know what you were thinking, I really do. But something this precious,” You slowly reached and and used your hands to clasp his together, slowly moving them to touch his chest as he clutched the Gnosis. “Something that’s a part of you, shouldn’t be given away so easily.” You tried to give him a playful smile, though your pain and fatigue was clearly showing through. “And I worked really hard to get this back so please.”

He knew you were right. His head was spinning. He was relieved, yet he was angry, yet he was also in a way… proud. He loved you so much, you meant the world to him and clearly that was why you had his head reeling like this.

He once again wrapped you in his embrace, slowly kissing the top of your head as his grip tightened around you even more, terrified that he would lose you again if he let go.

“I love you. Please… don’t ever scare me like that again.”

“I won’t… I love you too. Now can you please help me get to Baizhu? It’s a long way to walk with these battle scars.”

He smiled a bit at your continuous teasing tone and easily swept you off the ground and into his arms. “I’d be honored Angel.”

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

Raiden Shogun:

She honestly wasn’t all that concerned with her missing Gnosis. She had never really needed it before, why would she need it now. Though you understood where she was coming from you couldn’t just let things stand like this and so you packed up your things, preparing yourself for a long journey before leaving the place you called home and searching for the Gnosis.

When you didn’t return to Ei the next day (like you had promised) she practically turned the entire region upside down. Enlisting the help of her entire regimen, sending her puppet into the depths of Inazuma in an attempt to find you, even asking Miko (though it was more demanding with how frantic she was) help find you as well.

But none of these searches ever turned up anything. No evidence, no leads. It was as if you simply just vanished.

And she became lost. She had already lost so many loved ones. It took a lot for her to bring herself to accept her feelings for you, and now what? She was just too accept the fact that people enter and leave your life just like that? This pain… It was why she had been searching for a way to keep eternity in Inazuma.

It hurt.

So bad.

And she hated herself for allowing herself to fall victim to these foolish emotions once again. But she couldn’t shake you off her mind. Perhaps it would be best if she stayed in the Plane of Euthymia forever.

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

She hadn’t expected to see you again. Trying her best to rid her mind of you in an attempt to free herself from this crushing agony, but it never worked.

What with her staying in the Plane of Euthymia, never to come out again you had to enlist the help of Miko when you came back.

And she did. Not only for you, but for Ei as well.

She was sitting on the ground, seeming to be meditating(?) but she snapped her eyes open as soon as she sensed the presence of another being. Slowly she raised her head, a rather angry look on her features but it instantly softened when she saw that it was you standing in front of her.

She slowly got to her feet, hesitant to even believe what was right in front of her. Was it… really you? “(Y/N)?”

“Hi Ei… I guess I made you worry huh?”

You were covered in wounds from head to toe, your hair a messy, knotted mess. She quickly strutted her way towards you, starting to run as she got closer and engulfed you in her arms. It was rare for Ei to initiate any kind of affection and you took a moment to stand in shock. When you didn’t hug her back her grip on you tightened. There was an almost, scared feeling in her tight grip and so you hugged her back.

“I got your gnosis.”

She refused to move her head from your chest, both out of embarrassment to show you the tears streaking her face and out of fear that you would simply vanish again if she did. “You idiot.”

“Well that’s not very nice to call your hero.”

“Stop joking around!”

Her sudden shout surprised you and your body tensed a bit. She nuzzled her face into you, trying to get closer (though it wasn’t possible). “You selfish fool! I don’t need a gnosis! I never did before and I don’t now! How could you just put yourself in danger like that!? I was worried sick about you! I thought you were dead!”

You could finally hear the tiny sniffles that escaped her and for the first time, you truly understood how much you meant to her. Slowly you wrapped your arms around her a little tighter and ran your hands through her hair, trying to bring her any sense of comfort with your presence.

“I’m sorry Ei… I… I wasn’t thinking. I never meant to hurt you.”

“Please… don’t ever leave me again… please.”

Her voice sounded so broken and you felt a pang of guilt in your chest. You hadn’t expected this kind of reaction from her. You placed a gentle kiss to the top of her head before continuing to play with her hair. ��I won’t Ei… I love you.”

[darkwing-katy]

I…can live with that, I guess? Thoughts on Evil’s final episode under the cut (aka SPOILERS)

-I’m sad in general that this show is ending and it will take me forever to recover from this show in the best way

-I guess my dream where I shoved Leland into a bathroom to keep him alive kinda worked???

-the main trio reliving their cases as they burn them was fucking adorable

-I’m gonna miss those girls so much

-the fuck are we gonna do about Lexis???? She seemed normal this season but, like, she had fangs and a tail and was born from a place tainted with demonic stuff. I wanna know how that resolves.

-okay so I guess since Timmy was baptized he can’t be the Antichrist? They were just gonna pivot and make another one? That’s fun.

-the sheer bureaucracy of the online meeting of the 60 had me cackling. “Norm. You’re muted.”

-NORM. IT’S THE BUTTON SHAPED LOKE A LOZENGE poor Leland has to deal with so much shit with these incompetent demons

-“you’ve protected Kristen for four years, Leland.” Uhm. What? He’s been protecting her? Why????? I NEED MORE OF THIS EXPLAINED TO ME????? It can’t just be the whole mother of the Antichrist thing, right???? THERE’S MORE TO IT.

-all things considered, I firmly believe Leland would not have actually killed Timothy. I dunno why; I can’t explain it. But I don’t think he’d do it. Not after that nice little drop of David’s goodness in him.

-Leland putting in earphones while creeping into the house to murder Kristen?? And singing and bopping along in the basement? Iconic. Iconic and adorable. I love him. I have a problem, I know.

-I WAS TRYING NOT TO FREAK OUT WHEN SHE CAME AT HIM WITH THE CORD (“oh shit, guess the bathroom didn’t work after all” was what I told my husband)

-but also the hilarious irony of Kristen strangling him with a red cord like that when that’s how Michael Emerson’s character kills John Locke in LOST???? Like I was stressing but also giggling like a psycho

-the reveal of the meaning behind the countdown was so on point for this show. This fucking show. (What about the bricks, though? Why did they want people to remove the bricks in Kristen’s basement?????)

-DAVID I DON’T THINK LOCKING HIM IN A CABINET IS ANY BETTER THAN STRANGULATION WITH A CORD???? IS HE JUST GONNA ROT IN THERE????

-(okay but all things aside, Leland technically didn’t die on screen and I love to imagine that he was released somehow) (o shit did I just come up with another fic idea????)

-FENNA!!!!!! FENNAAAAAAA!!!! THAT LIL SHOULDER BUMP!!!!!!!

-Kristen’s Dutch counterpart convincing her to move???? Wonderful

-Kristen and David in Rome??? With the girls and Timmy? And cool Italian sunglasses? Wonderful. 10/10. They get to be together but David doesn’t have to choose between her and God. Sure, there’s still sexual tension, but, they’re TOGETHER and not all meaningful relationships have sex as an active component

-BEN SHOULD HAVE GONE WITH THEM AND I STAND BY THIS

-THAT ENDING???? And the fact that Katja decided that was how Kristen should react on the fucking day of filming???? 10/10 no notes, only undeniable curiosity as to what would happen if we miraculously got a season 5

-that cliffhanger is satisfying but also I need a season five. And six. And seven eight nine.

Anywho. That’s, uh, about where I am right now. I’m extremely sad. I ate sushi and ice cream and it helped until it didn’t. I’m gonna continue rewatching the whole dang thing. I’m gonna finish rewriting my Leland fic. I might actually make the shirt I was joking about in an earlier post. Hell, I think the idea of a circle skirt with the map of the different demonic sigils would be amazing. And then I’m probably gonna wanna write more fanfic because I’m still in denial that it’s actually over.

But hey! In my head, Leland is not dead! That’s a win!!! Good job, Dream Kate! You sorta succeeded in protecting your favorite character!

[balancingdiet]

So i just finished the movie earlier and I am in so much feels right now HAHAHA. Just a mini rant regarding the movie! MAJOR spoilers ahead

i'm so happy i went in blind for the movie so i literally have 0 information about it. The only thing I know was Heiji and Kaitou Kid were gonna be it. So colour me surprise when there were a lot more easter eggs and fun references to canon scenes than I expected, and I do semi-enjoy them. But I was truly SHOOKEDTH when Aoko appeared. I literally gasped and was screaming internally in the cinema because MY BABY GIRL??? While it made sense that she should be there when Inspector Nakamori was shot, I still didn't expect her to be included in the movie at all. Every scene with her were the best moments I had tbh, followed closely by Kaitou Kid's angst when he couldn't save Inspector Nakamori (hmm yes i love the pain and guilt and emotional distress HAHAHAH) I would probably need a second or third watch to fully grasp how they solve the riddles to the treasure thingy, but I'm okay to cast that concern aside in exchange for enjoyable, strong character-driven moments! But sadly, the dynamics were kinda lacking in this movie for me. There were just so many things going on, with the confession plan, then the murder, then the kidnapping, then the riddle, then the story of the swords... you get it. This movie had so many things going on that nothing was going on at the same time? I felt like if I were to watch any other movie with Heiji&Conan/Kid&Conan/Heiji&Kid in it, their dynamics would be the same and underdeveloped. In fact, what I love were actually the unconventional or lesser popular dynamics? Like I mentioned, Aoko really steal the show, and I enjoyed her interaction with Conan and referencing to Kaito's younger self LOL. And when Ran noticed and was supportive of Heiji's confession plan, their moments were super nice and cute too! (Though it was no shocker when Heiji's confession was ruined, once again. At this point I really do feel bad for him.) Now, to the important part: the cousin reveal HAHAHHAHA When Heiji asked Conan if he has a sibling or something, I was kinda "hmm??", but I didn't thought they would really go with the reveal in this movie. While being a KaiShin shipper, I still adore ShinRan and KaiAo a lot (those KaiAo crumbs cured my sadness HAHAHA). I'm not sure if I would incorporate this new reveal into any future KaiShin fics (if I'm writing any), but still I am kinda disappointed that they decided to reveal it this way, like it's just a "by the way thing". But what was worse was that Toichi is indeed really alive, with this information backed and followed up since the Midnight Crow arc in Magic Kaito Manga. This "plot twist" actually felt rather flat, like it was done just for the shock factor and not for substance. Like there really wasn't a point for it? Unless the dcmk verse is really going to unite and they are going to take down the BO + Snake gang together in the future? Idk. This whole thing feels cheap... and an unnecessary plot device. Honestly, it would be a lot cooler if Phantom lady (Chikage) plays a more active role than Toichi's "Kaitou Corbeau". His actual death was what motivated and made Kaito who Kaito is today. And to just rip that away because Gosho cannot allow good characters to remain dead... is just kinda ugh. MagicKaito-verse is kinda messed up for me now and I felt a little bit sad when I walk out of the cinema after that LOL. I still love DCMK and I will always adore all the characters in my heart (bigger shoutout to Aoko though LOL), but I just hope that whatever direction Gosho takes with the story, it's for the better: Rather than relying on the characters to make the plot interesting, he should address/better the plot that drives the characters to complete their interesting stories. Not sure if this make sense but yeah. Oh well, if you have read till this far, thank you for hearing my long rant! I do feel a bit better after this HAHAHAHA

[stitchwraith-stingers]

(some-what of) an analysis on patty possom(?)

inspired by this post on the PE-AZ yes this episode is my fave yes i unironically love patty yes i was a fnaf kid yes i am utterly deranged

some of these r incoherent because its midnight and i wanna post this as fast as possible before i go to bed and wake up at the crack at dawn

yayyy patty ^_^

one of the first things ive noticed post becoming alive like the next frankeinstine is that her eye wasnt fixed by the mechanics, which as ill discuss later imply a sort of negligence (? i think) to the properly, i however dgaf and like to interperate this as her having a lazy eye <3

she seems to be a genuially nice person!!!! um . i dont know how to continue this paragrapth pretend theres something here thats interesting

imagine being born into the world and already having a dreadful fear of being abandoned. crazy, mustve impacted her very hard

though this probably means it gave her fake memories or she was already sorta vaugely away of whats happening?? like psudo sentient?? if that makes sense, how the hell do you know this girl, you havent BEEN to the devils sacrament

the way she goes about it and the ending shows that she has no clue on how to socialize or their cues at all, or just cuz of the pov its intentionally shown as more creepy (which it probably is, you could hear her go "where r u going :(" in a sad tone), shes a massive werido and i love her for that

point is, shes nice but has no idea how to say "nooo dont leave me haha" normally cuz she just appeared 2 seconds ago with no idea of proper communication, does that make sense..... help

heres the thing i love about this the most, shes at the end of the ep shes seen dragging background character #47 in the same tone of voice and hes seen uncomfortable. PAN TO THE NEXT SLIDE IN WHICH THEY SEEM OK IN THEIR PRESENCE

LIKE . THE GUY JUST ACCEPTS HER HAND TO HOLD WHEN SHES SHOCKED..... THEY R BESTIES AND IM TIRED OF PPL OVERLOOKING IT, and the fact that i dont think we get to see him again (cuz they couldnt fit him anywhere in the background? i think) makes it better for me, balding old guy notices furry twice his size scared of being left alone so he decides to stay here just for her.... MANNN

the general area

lets see, were right off the bat were introduced to a good few places, the fun tunnels, the game zone, a claw machine thats rigged, the place with the signature snack which i wont go over because thats kinda of its own gag but its sticky and probably unhealthy, and the main stage

i assume the fun tunnels are made with a holograpthic effect inuniverse, and i think theres some LED lights in there to make it glow, i was going to say its polyethylene plastic but i dont think that exists google stock photos lied to me, also not related but it looks like a horrible spray paint job was done on this thing lol

also acording to the lyrics theres supposed to be 3 more members, a raccoon, cat and turtle . i dont think we see craggle in photo though rip (if theyre not a sphyinx ill be dissapointed), tyrone seems to have a 60's? aesthetic going on, rascal has a punk aesthetic going on and patty has a more modern aesthetic ? i think, the spiked collar is throwing me off

from winns dialouge in the start implying that they havent been here in a good while ("when i was little" ur in 5th grade) and the fact that their instruments are still there, then this was probably a recent desicion, or atleast long enough for a 10 y/o that hasnt been here in awhile to be upset by this and for patty to be immediatly spawned in with abandonment issues

along with a rigged claw machine and the snack i think it implies that the people over there who own this establishment are probably really cheap, and the fact that the PRAMBY snack is really sticky is definatly going to cause some health issues down the line, something something fazbear entertainment

oh and also, theres like a split second frame where this shows up, obviously its just there as a morbid joke but atleast it shows us this establishment is atleast old enough to have someones decaying body be bone by now, which after writing that makes me sound stupid because skeletonization might not take as long as i thought it would ("3 weeks to several years" depending on the surroundings)

whoever was there seemed to have been stuck for 25 days at least and has gone undetected, which means this place is linked to one unsolved missing persons case and they dont have a clue (most likely), also theres ballpit balls inside this thing i fucking guess?? theres no actual ballpit in the place idk what this kid was doing

i have tried to make up a map of how the place looks but im always bad with rooms ? and i had to take a fewwww small creative liberties with this cuz i couldnt figure out where theyd be but close enough👍👍