#but i do actually kind of want to write a proper post about it now

[hellmandraws]

[urtheoneiwant]

Buckle Bunny of Sorts │ Rhett Abbott

Genre: SMUT with some fluff

Summary: From the insistence of a friend, you spend a night out on the town. But you run into your long time crush, Rhett Abbott, and he has something to tell you.

Warnings: SMUT! 18+ ONLY! P in v, oral sex (female receiving), small spit kink, dirty talk, degradation, praise, kinda dom!Rhett and sub!reader, use of term 'buckle bunny', pining, revealing feelings, unprotected sex, pull-out method (be smart! don't use pull-out method as a form of birth control irl), messy sex, pet names (bunny, baby), a smidge of sexism from the towns people? Written as a fem!reader. Just nasty, nasty filth.

Word Count: 5.6k

A/N: My first smut! Please be kind, I'm still very new to writing and especially smut. But I loved Outer Range and I saw someone post about wanting to be Rhett's buckle bunny and couldn't get this out of my head. I didn't want country girl (as I call her) to be an actually buckle bunny since they are sort of frowned upon (but I say you do you). So this is the idea I came up with instead. It took me forever to write this, but I'm pretty proud of it. In conclusion, I love Lewis Pullman and the characters he plays. Go watch Outer Range if you like Lewis, he's amazing in it and it is such a great show! Now I have to go bathe in holy water :) Oh and feel free to send in any request or thoughts you have about Top Gun or other characters. There is a list on my page of the main fandoms I'm into, but you can send whatever you want it and I've might have seen/read it. And you can always reach out to me for whatever (rants, ideas, links to articles about be we're obsessed with) Thanks for the support!

SMUT BELOW CUT. 18+ ONLY. MINORS DO NOT INTERACT.

(GIF is not mine)

Admittedly, you felt a bit stupid. In your head, this seemed like a good idea, but as the idea becomes a reality you mentally kick yourself for it. 

You’ve grown up in Amelia county your entire life. And in a place like this, people tend to stick to their roots, inner circle, and cliques. That being said, you knew just about everyone in your town, and definitely knew every boy your age. The problem was that they knew you too. Growing up you were definitely an outcast. Spending all your free time working to help pay the bills didn’t give you many chances to make friends. You were boring, safe. You knew it. You weren’t anything to write home about. At least that’s what you told yourself. 

Last week you sat with the one friend you managed to make throughout your time in school, Sadie, and spilled these thoughts to her.

“That’s bullshit honey, and you know it.” Leave it to Sadie to soften the blow. “I’m sorry, but you are beautiful, any guy would be lucky to have you. But you spend all your time holed up at work or with me. These guys haven’t got a proper look at you since you hit puberty, no wonder they don’t seem interested.” She lectured.

“Well, what am I supposed to do about that? Get all dolled up for a night on the town? Look around, it’d be ridiculous” You replied.

“Come on, let me take you out. Just throw on some daisy dukes, a risky top, and some nice boots. It’ll be fun. And I’ll personally beat the shit out of anyone who has anything bad to say. Please, please, please…” And you knew that when Sadie was like this, you had no choice but to give in. So you agreed, one night out. 

And that’s how you found yourself in your apartment letting Sadie pick out your outfit. She refused to tell you where you both were going, claiming that she didn’t want you to “get scared off.” And after opening the door wearing a pair of worn-out jeans and mud-covered boots, Sadie pushed her way inside to make you change.

She rifled through your dresser before holding up the tiniest pair of shorts you own. “No way, those are from high school. I don't even think they’ll fit. Plus it’s late out, why would I want to wear shorts?” You tried to reason with her, you really did. 

“They may not fit you like they did in high school, but that’s the point, honey. Just trust me this once. Everyone is going to be all over you.” She replied, and handed you the shorts. As you began to wiggle them up she quietly added “Oh, and Rhett’s going to be there.”

You froze in place, glaring at your friend. “WHAT? Oh my god. Oh my god. I can’t believe you.” Rhett fucking Abbott. The cowboy that you had been crushing on since middle school. Ever since the day he saw you walking home late after babysitting for a little cash and offered, no insisted, on walking you home. He was a few years ahead of you and happened to be friends with your older brother. Anytime he would come round your house to see your brother you would find yourself with your ear pressed to your door, trying to catch any of the words he was saying. Your eyes always seemed to wander outside your window to see if he was out back throwing a ball around with your brother. Once you even caught a glimpse of him shirtless after coming over to help your mom with some yard work.

Needless to say, your crush on Rhett didn’t get any better. In high school, you went out of your way to see him in the halls, or to accidentally run into him on your way home from work. You even went as far as to offer to tutor him in algebra, a class you yourself were failing. He wasn’t too keen on getting your help once your brother told him about that. 

Now, Rhett had grown up and you had too. You would see him from time to time at the bar you worked at, always polite and asking about your family. And even now, you couldn’t help the butterflies that erupted whenever he was around. Some crushes just don’t go away. 

“You’ve been into him since 8th grade! I can’t believe you haven’t made a move yet. It’s time to put your big girl panties on and do something. Hell, screw someone else for all I care. All I know is that if I have to watch you make puppy dog eyes at Rhett from across a room one more time, I’m going to lose my mind.” Sadie said. But that was the problem. No matter how many guys you went out with, or screwed, you always came back to Rhett. Honestly, you could see why it was so exhausting for your friend to watch all the time, it was a bit pathetic being a grown woman with a crush from middle school. 

Deciding to listen to your friend and do something about your pining over him, you buttoned up your shorts and turned to look in the mirror. Sadie was right, they don’t fit as they did in high school. Where they used to be a bit loose on you, they now held on to every curve you had. Damn, when did you get an ass? Swallowing your nerves, you shoved your feet into your white boots that only appeared on special occasions. To top it off, you threw on an old flannel opting to tie it up and undo the top couple of buttons to let a bit of your cleavage spill out. 

“Now, that is hot. He’s going to be drooling over you, just wait” Sadie hyped you up. She reached up and messed your hair up just a bit, giving it a wind-swept look before ushering you out to her truck. 

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

After driving for a half hour, Sadie pulled into a dirt parking lot. You saw lights flashing, and heard cheering coming from the stadium seats. She took you to a fucking rodeo. Dressed in booty shorts. 

“This is a joke. I look like a goddamn buckle bunny for christ's sake.” You curse out to her. She has the audacity to simply smirk back and says,

“Bout time you start acting like one.” And with that, she was out of the car and walking towards the show. With no other option but to sit and stew in the truck all night, you reluctantly hop out too. You curse under your breath and begin to tell Sadie that this is the last time you go anywhere with her without knowing before what she had planned. 

Walking into the crowd, you felt your throat dry. You could feel people staring and you swore you heard a whisper that said “Is that Bruce’s daughter, Y/N?”. Suddenly, you became very interested in kicking the gravel under your boots. 

Sadie did her best to reassure you, grabbing your hand and weaving you to a back lot. The crowd was sparse back here, and it looked like most of the guys hanging around were bull riders getting ready. “I don’t think we should be back here,” you said into Sadie’s ear and moved to pull your hand out of her grasp. But before you could she whipped you back around.

“This is it Y/N. Scout out which one of these boys you’re going to be riding tonight” She said with a wink. You let your eyes briefly scan the group. None of them noticed you two seeing as you were tucked a ways away. You made out a few familiar faces but you had no desire to talk to, let alone seduce, any of these guys. As you opened your mouth to inform your friend of this, your eyes caught something. Not something, but someone.

Standing slightly turned away from you and chatting with some other rider, you saw Rhett. Maybe it was because you only got to see him in dim-lit bars nowadays, but you swore he somehow was more attractive than you remembered. 

He wore a blue flannel with the sleeves rolled up, allowing you to see the veins run down his arms. You got a flash of the tattoo on his forearm, the one you imagined so often at night when thinking of him. He had his chaps on, the fringe down the sides fluttering ever so slightly in the wind. His signature black hat was perched on his head. At that moment, you swear you could’ve died. 

You didn’t realize how long you had been staring until Sadie gave you a nudge. “Close your mouth or you’ll attract flies,” she said. It was then you noticed that you in fact had been standing there with your jaw on the floor admiring this man. Your eyes stayed locked on his figure as you gave him a once-over. God, he was gorgeous. Even with the layers of clothes he had on you could tell how lean and strong he was.

As your gaze made your way back up to his face, you were now looking right into his bright blue eyes. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. He caught you. He fully caught you drooling over him. And just when it couldn’t get any worse, the fucker had a smirk plastered on his face and sent a wink your way. You averted your eyes and pretended you weren’t there, feeling a hot blush creep up your neck. But just when things couldn’t get any worse, you heard Sadie yell out, “Hey there Rhett”.

You silently prayed to the gods above that he wouldn’t walk over to you two, but it fell on deaf ears as you heard the crunch of gravel grow louder. Next thing you know he’s standing right smack in front of you. “Hi there Sadie, how’s your ma?” he asked, his southern drawl heavy.

“She’s well, thanks for asking. You know Y/N right? You were friends with her brother growing up” Sadie tried to segue. You forced yourself to bring your eyes up to meet his. 

“Well of course I do, how could I forget a face as pretty as that?” Your eyes snapped to meet his. No way, there was no way Rhett Abbott was flirting with you. He was just being nice, that’s all.

“Oh um, hi. Good to see you.” You muttered out, full of nerves. Sadie cleared her throat and you thought back to her earlier lecture. Maybe it was finally time for you to get out there. Stop playing it so safe all the time. Stop feeling so sorry for yourself. So with some more confidence mustered you blurted out “I hope you do good tonight. I’m sure you will.”

Without missing a beat he responded, “Oh now that I know you’re here I definitely will. Always ride better when I know a gorgeous girl like you is watching.” His words sent heat blooming between your thighs. Fully committing to the act you took a step toward him and leaned up onto your toes to whisper in his ear.

“Well if you win, we’ll have to celebrate. Why don’t you come to find me after you finish up? Let me give you a victory prize.” You did your best to put on the most sultry voice you had. And despite the confidence you were exuding, you were scared shitless deep down. As soon as the words left your mouth, you were off. You swayed your hips a bit as you went to find a seat, knowing that he would be looking.

You didn’t dare look back until you reached the arena seats. Sadie guided you to sit down amongst the crowd, all waiting for the show to begin. And just as she opened her mouth to ask you what happened you whisper out “I think I’m going to be sick.”

“Oh come on, I’m sure it wasn’t that bad at all.” She whispered trying to not draw any attention.

“Oh no. It was bad. Very very very bad. Can’t show my face around here again bad. Have to leave the country bad.” You felt bile rise up in your throat. You turn to your friend and recount to her what you had just told the man of your dreams. It was like word vomit, you couldn’t stop freaking out and rambling. 

“Y/N. STOP. Take a breath. The worst case he says no, he leaves once he’s done tonight. At least you know you tried. But you’re forgetting that he could be just as into you. And from the way he was talking it sounds like he is. So it’s going to be fine. He’s fine, you’re fine. All we can do is sit and try to enjoy the show.” Sadie reasoned with you. And you knew she was right. So you sat there, ass freezing from the cool metal bleachers. The more you thought about her words, the more you were able to calm yourself down. What’s done is done, and you rather be rejected than never know. 

The soothing mindset you were in came crashing down the second Rhett’s name rang out. He was heading out for his final ride of the night. You felt your mind go blank and body numb as you focused on the arena in front of you. Honestly, you knew very little about bull riding but the way his muscles strained and body twisted was enough to keep you interested. Timed seemed to slow as you stared at him squeezing his hips to stay on the bucking bull.  

After what felt like minutes of him being tossed around, you gasped as he was uprooted from his saddle. You knew that was bound to happen with any bull riding venture, but it still startled you to see him thrown about like that. He was yanked up and led out of the arena until the bull was wrangled. When he walked back out, your tension eased seeing he was unharmed. 

You locked eyes on the scoreboard and nearly fell out of your chair when you saw his score. He won, holy shit he won. You were on your feet in an instant, screaming your head off. You felt a rush of pride for him, knowing how much his bull riding meant to him. Sadie jumped with you, and you were sure you were the loudest there. 

After yelling for much too long to be appropriate, Sadie gave your arm a tug. “Come on” and you, still being in a blissed-out state, let her take you back to where you first ran into Rhett that night. You looked around in the dark, eyes wide anticipating what would happen next.  A chill ran up your spine as you thought about your earlier promise to Rhett if he won. Startled out of your thoughts, you heard the sound of whooping and cheers from some men around you. Cranking your neck around you spotted him.

He was caked in dirt and his sleeves were hastily pushed up, hat askew on his head that was tilted back with a wide grin. Your mouth ran dry as butterflies erupted inside you. His eyes began to scan the small crowd of people before landing on you. Burning with embarrassment and admittedly desire, you shifted your eyes elsewhere. But soon enough, you heard that all too familiar voice. “Hey there ladies.” 

“Hey Rhett, congrats on the big win. Y/N and I were cheering you on” Sadie said. 

“Oh, I bet y’all were. Hey Y/N, can I talk to you real quick?” Rhett turned and asked you.

With a nod of your head, he gently took your hand and pulled you under a nearby tree. Still too shy to make eye contact, he brushed his hand under your jaw and turned you to look into his blue eyes. “You know I don’t expect anything. If you want to act like nothing happened earl-”

“No” you rush out. “No, I mean I want to. If you do.” Talking to just him and him alone felt so much easier. You felt your confidence grow back and expectantly looked at him.

“Well darlin’ I would want nothing more. You want to go back to your place for a bit?” He questioned, still being gentle with you as to give you an out if you changed your mind.

“Yes please,” you murmur. You felt as though you were floating when he wrapped a strong arm around your waist and led you back over to Sadie. 

“Hey Sadie, you alright if I take Y/N home? Just figure it would be nice for us to catch up.” 

“Oh, sure! By all means, go ‘catch up’” Sadie had the cockiest smirk plastered on her face, and while you wanted to be mad at her for it you also know she was the whole reason you were going home with Rhett Abbott tonight.

Walking out to the parking lot, Rhett keeps his arm firmly around your midsection till you arrive at his truck. He opens the passenger door for you before walking around and getting in himself. The roar of the engine coming to life jolts you forward a bit, remembering that you were in fact about to go home and get railed by the hottest cowboy you’ve ever seen. 

“What are you thinking about Bunny?” Rhett can tell you were getting lost in thought.

“What did you call me?” Surprised by the nickname and the way it made you clench your thighs even tighter. 

“Bunny. You look like a buckle bunny in that getup. But it’s cute, I like it on you.” He answered honestly. On any other occasion, you would’ve been pissed that someone thought of you as a buckle bunny. You grew up on a ranch in rural Wyoming, you were the farthest thing from a buckle bunny possible. But the way Rhett talked about you made you melt. 

“Oh yeah. Blame Sadie. Wanted me to get myself out there more I guess.” You replied chewing on your bottom lip.

“Well, it was definitely nice to see you outside of the bar you work at. I’ve been wanting to talk to you for the longest time but I felt weird bothering you at work.” You whipped your head around at the confession.

Staring at his side profile as he continued to drive, “That’s nice of you to say, but it’s okay you don’t have to lie.” You didn’t believe it. That a man like Rhett would be interested in talking to someone like you. 

“I’m not lying. I’ve always kinda liked you. But I guess I just never acted on them. And I know we’re on our way to your place so I can rail the shit outta ya, but I’m not just interested in sex from you. Let me take you out one night? It took me long enough to make a move on you, don’t make me wait any longer.” He said with the utmost sincerity. You were stunned. Shocked. All this time you two idiots both liked each other, and it was a rodeo and a plotting friend to finally make you realize it. 

“I would like that. A lot.” You smile up at him as you pull into the parking lot of your apartment complex. 

Cutting off the engine, Rhett runs around to open your car door. Always a gentleman. You laced your fingers with his as you tug him upstairs to your place. You feel him placing teasing kisses on your neck and jaw when he can reach you. You giggle, moving even faster to get up the 3 flights of stairs. 

When you reach the door of your apartment, you fumble around looking for your keys in your purse. When you manage to grab them, you pull them out with shaking hands cursing as they fall to the ground. Before you could bend down to retrieve them, Rhett already has them scooped up. He chuckles softly before resting his hand on your shoulder and rubbing your arm soothingly. 

“You don’t need to be nervous Bunny. But I want to ask you again, are you okay with this?” He asks kindly, eyes soft and hands warm.

“More than okay.” And you pull him down by his shirt to crash your lips onto his. It was messy and desperate. Teeth clashed and tongues battled for dominance. You slid your hands up Rhett’s neck and into the curls at the back of his head tugging softly. His one arm wrapped around you and pulled you impossibly closer to his body. You recognize the faint jingle of keys through your fuzzy headspace and realize he was unlocking your front door with his tongue down your throat. 

The door soon swung open and Rhett began to push your intertwined bodies inside. Stumbling in, you hear a door slam behind you before he has you pushed against a wall. His leg came in between yours, knee and thigh pressing up into your core. You let out a whine into the kiss, the feeling of him making you even wetter. In fact, you were sure you were absolutely drenched. 

Seemingly reading your mind, Rhett broke the kiss to ask, “How wet are you Bunny? How wet does the idea of my cock have you? Bet you were sitting in those stands all night just soaking wet.” You merely moan in response, your brain not working fast enough to form actual words. Rhett brings his lips to your neck biting and sucking hickies into your smooth skin. You run your hands down his back to the hem of his shirt. Too impatient to unbutton his top, he leans back and pulls it over his head. 

You knew Rhett was strong. After years of working at the ranch and bull riding, you expected him to be pretty muscular. But the actual sight of his abs, sharp and all edges, makes your mouth water. You tentatively place a hand on his toned chest. God, it looked like his body was made of chiseled marble. Under your hand, you feel his warmth radiating and the steady beat of his heart. When you force yourself to pull your eyes up to his, he says “Your turn.”

He places his hands on the bottom of your shirt, eyes silently asking if he could take it off. Your hands reach down and cover his, urging him to swiftly remove your top. His eyes immediately move to your breast, covered in the white lace of your bra (if you could even call the small scrap of fabric that). You hear a faint groan come from him before he ducks his head down. Placing open mouth kisses along the top of your tits, he brings his right hand up to palm your breast and roll your nipple. His mouth goes lower and latches onto the other nipple through the lace of your bra. 

Your fingers tangle into his hair, pulling him closer to you. It’s not enough. You’ll never have enough of him. Soft moans tumble past your lips and Rhett takes this a cue to keep going. Eventually he pulls off and uses a hand to unclasp your bra as it falls to the ground. Getting a full view of your tits, Rhett brings both his hands to them and gives them one last squeeze before kissing your lips once again. Getting frustrated and wanting, no needing, more you drag your hand to his ripped figure. Your fingers trailed down the wide expanse of his chest and trace down his happy trail until you reach the waistband of his jeans. Popping the button and pulling down the zipper, Rhett helps you by tugging his jeans down as fast as he can. He kicks them off, leaving him in his tight boxer briefs. A tent is growing in them and you let out a gulp at the size of him. 

“Don't be scared honey, I’ll stretch you real good before I fill you up” his voice fills the air. Excited at the idea, you grab his arm and drag him farther into your apartment and to your bedroom. You pull him in front of you and push him down on the bed causing him to look up at you. Reaching to your shorts, you nearly rip down your legs ready for him to touch you. Before you can pull your panties down, Rhett reaches out to them. He rubs his calloused hands over your hips and yanks you so you have no option but to straddle his figure. “Bunny, with panties like that I don’t think I could stand you not wearing them as I fuck you.”

You whimper at his words alone and he lets out a chuckle. He runs hands up your back and suddenly you are flipped over onto your back, Rhett now looming over you. Scooting down the bed, Rhett's face lands between your legs throwing them over his shoulders. He moans when he sees the wet spot that seems to be growing on your panties, landing wet kisses on your inner thighs. You think how could someone make a sound so beautiful. But you are quickly pulled from this as he tugs your pink panties to the side and takes in the full view of you. His eyes darken and he rasps out “Holy shit baby, you are so goddamn hot. I might come in my fucking boxers,” and he subtly grinds his hips into the mattress in attempt to get some much needed friction. Opening your mouth to make some teasing comment, you instead let out a cry as Rhett licks a bold stripe up your pussy. He lands on your clit, tongue moving in figure eights over top. For the second time that night, you find yourself pulling Rhett by his hair closer to you. He then alternates between lightly fucking his tongue into your dripping hole and brutally attacking your clit. The duality of pleasure causes your eyes to roll to the back of your head.

Rhett places the tip of his finger at your entrance, sliding it up and down through your folds first to get it slicked up. He breaches your entrance and your toes curl as he slides knuckle deep. “Fuck, oh my god Rhett please please, keep going,” pathetic pleas fall from you. You feel him adjust his thick digit in you until he finds that spongy spot that has your back arching. “Right there- right fucking there.” Any other night you would be embarrassed that someone has you so close to coming with one finger, but right now you could care less, only able to focus on the increasing burn in your stomach. 

You can practically feel Rhett smirk against you as he eases a second finger into you, again going directly to that sweet spot inside you. He begins to thrust his fingers in and out of you, still using his mouth to suckle your clit. You are screaming in pleasure, babbles of “please” and “don’t stop” leaving your mouth. The coil inside of you is close to snapping. You are so close, so unbelievably blissed out. “I’m gonna cum Rhett. I’m so close” you speak out in warning. 

But just as close to the edge as you were, all the pleasure you felt was quickly ripped from you as Rhett removed himself from you. You glare down, sweat dripping down your forehead. “What? Why did you stop?” you croak out, voice already strained from your screaming. 

“Oh Bunny. I want the first time you cum to be on my cock.” Rhett responds and leans up to place a hot kiss on your mouth. You deepen the kiss, wanting more of him. You can taste yourself on his mouth and soon he pulls back to say “You like that dirty girl? Like the taste of your sweet pussy? You should, it’s the best pussy I’ve ever got my mouth on.” You feel yourself clench at his dirty talk, managing to turn you on even more. You whimper and try to buck your hips up to encourage him to do something, do anything. Instead he just laughs, “Oh you are so desperate Bunny. Need me to fuck your tight pussy, make you cum so hard you can only yell out my name. Don’t worry Bunny, I’ve got you.” As he speaks he wiggles himself out of his boxers, hard cock slapping his tanned abs. 

He props himself onto his forearms and brings a hand to his mouth. Your eyes widen as he spits into his hand and reaches down to pump himself a few times. Noticing your reaction he looks at you. “Open your mouth” and you obey, sticking your tongue out for good measure. You feel something wet hit your mouth before you process that he just spit into it. Rhett Abbott just spit in your mouth. And you swallowed, savoring the taste of him. “Good Bunny” he says into your ear. 

“Rhett. Fuck me.” You whine out. Now it’s his turn to moan, finally sheathing his cock into your cunt. You gasp at the stretch and he waits a few moments for you to adjust. After a second you whimper out “Move please.” And Rhett doesn’t need to be asked twice, pulling nearly all the way out before slamming back inside you. The force of his thrusts push you up the bed despite Rhett’s bruising grip on your hips. 

“You feel so good baby. Squeezing me so tight. Best fucking pussy.” he praises and you clench around him. “Oh baby, you love when I talk dirty. When I tell you how amazing this cunt is. Going to make it mine, never letting anyone else near my pussy again.” You are pathetically whining and thrashing. Your nails are raking down his back, surely leaving welts in their wake. He clashes his lips onto yours and picks up his pace. The brutal fucking makes you feel like you’re floating. He licks into your mouth as you let out a steady set of moans and cries. 

Just when you think things can’t get any better, Rhett snakes his hand down to rub tight circles into your clit. Paired with his cock repeatedly hitting the sweet spot inside you, you know the knot in your tummy is starting to unravel. 

“Rhett” you whine, “Rhett, I’m so close.”

“Come on baby, make a mess on my dick. Wanna feel you cum” He responds. 

Clamping down on him, you are brought even closer to the edge. Eyes tightly shut, you turn your head to the side and let out a moan louder than you thought was possible. No one had ever made you feel this good before. You couldn’t even believe that it was the man you had been crushing on for years that was in your bed, in your pussy. And with that reminder of who it was that was fucking you better than you’ve been fucked before, you saw white behind your eyelids. As you reached your peak, heat spreading all the way through you, you couldn’t help but yell out, “Cum Rhett, let me make you feel good. Wanna be good for you, only for you.” 

Unable to resist your fucked out babbles, Rhett ruts into you. Once he knows you’ve finished riding out your orgasm he pulls out from you. Furiously fisitng his cock, he groans out reaching his own release. White ropes of his seed spurt out and land across your tits and you mewl out at the warm, sticky substance coating you. Teasingly, to bring two fingers down to swipe through his release and bring them up to your mouth. You suck on the cum from your fingers, loudly moaning at the salty taste. Both panting hard, Rhett adjusts your panties back, flops over and lays next to you. “Shit y/n. That was amazing. Was it good for you?” And you blink hard through your fuzzy mind searching for a response.

“So good. The best, I think you succeed. Definitely ruined anyone else for me.” Rhett laughs at that. Abruptly, you are filled with a new feeling. It’s warm, cozy. You blush and you realize just how much you have fallen for this cowboy next to you. 

You get lost in the idea that this is the start of something real between you two. No longer will you have to pine for him from afar. He likes you, he wants to be with you. You are consumed by him, forever connected you think. No matter what, he’ll always be there. He’s not leaving. And it’s that thought that brings you so much happiness and lets your body relax completely. 

A wet towel between the valley of your breasts pulls you from the daydream. Rhett has at some point gotten up and found something to clean you two with. You melt, heart softening at how kind and caring he was being. God, you were so lucky. 

The two of you cuddle up and spend the next hour talking about random things. Your favorite movies, what your go to karaoke song is, what you plan to do in the future. And it is easy, it’s the easiest thing you’ve ever done. And when your eyelids become heavy, you find yourself slipping into a peaceful sleep listening to the beat of Rhett’s heart. 

[doodlebug-aboo]

This is a Steddie confession scene I wrote and then changed the one-shot I was writing it for so much that it doesn’t fit anymore. Rather than scrap it entirely, I thought I’d post it here. Enjoy!

“No,” Steve says. “I just… I had a realization tonight that didn’t help the other situation, I don’t think.” Eddie slowly nods, leaning more towards Steve, but only slightly. “What kind of realization?” Steve feels a pit open up in the bottom of his stomach, and he wishes it would get big enough to swallow him from the inside out. “That maybe I don’t mind getting hit on by guys. That maybe I like it.” He intends to stop there, but apparently Steve’s mouth has other plans, and suddenly he’s spilling out words he so desperately wants to keep under wraps. “That maybe I want to take them out, see their bands play at shitty gigs, listen to them talk about Lord of the Rings and D&D, watch them hang out with the kids and be the good cop to my bad cop.” Steve puts his head on the steering wheel again. “Maybe I want that, Eds, and maybe that scares the shit out of me.” The car goes silent once again and Steve wishes for nothing more than for Eddie to just get out of the car so Steve can drive away and forget this all happened. He can feel the all-too-familiar feeling of hurt and rejection in his chest. It feels like heartburn, and his chest feels tight. “Steve.” Eddie says finally. Steve doesn’t move. He can’t move.

“Stevie, look at me.”

Steve can’t avoid this forever. He lifts his head up slightly and turns to look at Eddie. He just wants this to be over with. Maybe he’ll just let him down gently and then they’ll never see each other again. That thought alone, though, causes another kind of hurt to soar through Steve’s chest. He shouldn’t have said anything, he doesn’t want to lose Eddie. Eddie, surprisingly however, cups Steve’s face in his hands and forces him into a proper sitting position once again. “I’m gonna need more than a maybe, Steve.”

Steve furrows his eyebrows. “What do you mean?” Eddie’s face stays serious. “Do you maybe want this? Or do you actually want this? I need more than a maybe.” Steve’s eyes widen a little as he takes everything in and processes it. Eddie’s cupping his face, he doesn’t seem upset about the fact that Steve basically confessed his feelings for him. If anything, Eddie looks maybe… hopeful? Steve stares into Eddie’s eyes for a moment and he thinks. He really thinks. Is this something he wants with Eddie? Does he want to keep Eddie by his side? Does he want to get out of Hawkins with Eddie someday, start a life somewhere else? Does he want to still have him when everyone else has left? Does he really, really want to kiss him right now? The answer comes easy. “I want this, Eddie. I want… you.”

[ilycorisradiata]

Could you please write a very experienced and soft dom Kaeya teaching his virgin transmasc boyfriend (top surgery only, i haven't been able to get bottom surgery yet) how to do (smutty) things in the bedroom? Thank you.

inexperienced

ಌ inexperienced: softdom!kaeya x transmasc!reader

ಌ theme: kaeya teaches you, his virgin transmasc boyfriend, how to do (smutty) things in the bedroom

ಌ cw: 18+ NSFW, transmasc reader, no pronouns for reader mentioned, soft dom kaeya, inexperienced reader, virgin reader, reader has had top surgery, reader has not had bottom surgery, clit is referred to as a cock, oral (both receiving), slight edging, penetrative sex, missionary, solo read + solo edited, cross-posted on AO3 (i don't think i got all the cw's, might edit and add more later)

ಌ wc: 3.2K

ಌ notes: hi anon ! thank you for requesting this!! i hope this is what you were hoping for, enjoy<33

You never thought you’d ever get this far with someone. Why? Because you were as innocent as they came. Having never gotten intimate with anyone, ever, you were basically being taught everything by your boyfriend Kaeya. He’d asked everything about your relationships before you started dating, over a drink in the Angel’s Share. Diluc had scolded him for asking such a thing with no sense of common decency, that it may make you uncomfortable. Kaeya shrugged it off at the time as merely wanting to know more about you, and how you never seem to be interested in anything of the sorts when it comes to dating. You were tipsy. No, drunk. You spilled the entirety of the beans to Kaeya over many cocktails and shots. You were a virgin, having never properly gotten intimate with anyone, and then telling him that you hadn’t had a proper kiss before either. This of course piqued his interest, because how could anyone not be interested in you enough to go further?

At first, it was little touches here and there that hinted towards more than just friendly affection. He’d steal the chance to hold you by the waist, grab your hand, he even went in and kissed your cheek at one point. Now, this was a lot for you. No one had ever done this much as a “friend”, and it was starting to bother you. When he went to give you a kiss on the cheek again, you placed a hand to his mouth, pushing away slightly. He could tell he was reaching his limit to what he could and couldn’t do without making you embarrassed or uncomfortable. Expressing this to Kaeya, asking him why he was doing this… Got you the answer that you weren’t expecting. Merely saying he was trying to get your attention, that he’d liked you for a while. You’d gotten embarrassed of course, he wasn’t afraid to express his feelings for you. It wasn’t long after that you had actually gotten together, and there were a lot of discussions about what you were comfortable with so far. Expressing that you wanted more than hand holding and cuddles, he gave more than that to you. He gave your desired, proper kiss that you hadn’t had before. You could tell Kaeya was experienced, just with the way he completely took over the kiss and left you with weak knees, absolutely breathless. However, for now, he’d only go this far. He expressed that he wanted to do this slowly, that it wouldn’t be good if you both rushed into the “main course”. You both spoke about what Kaeya likes too, not just what you’d like to do when it becomes intimate. He explains that he’s normally a “dom” in his relationships, explaining exactly what that meant, and that you both didn’t need that if you were uncomfortable.

You wanted to try something that he liked, and you welcomed the idea. Speaking about things like “safe words” and knowing each other’s limits was a good start. He was the one teaching you everything, after all. It felt right, right that he was the one to do everything like this with. He was kind, he never went further than kisses, just so you could get used to it. But you were more than comfortable now, but he still wouldn’t initiate anything, he wouldn’t take a step further. You figured out that he was doing it on purpose, he’d leave you trembling, smalls gasps and little sweet whines when he took your breath away with his kisses. You’d be left horny and wanting, but he wouldn’t take it any further. Was he waiting on you asking, whining, begging? Did you have to make it known, even when it was as clear as day?

So, you asked, and he delivered. He was waiting on you verbally saying something, and now he was more than happy to continue further than just making out. He strips you, slowly but surely. The kisses he leaves on your face, your body, your scars… Feathery and light. Appreciating every inch of you, whispering nothing but praise against your skin. You shiver, never would you have thought you’d get this far with anybody, especially Kaeya who is so highly admired. He sits on the edge of his bed, beckoning you to come closer. Standing between his legs, he smooths his gloved hands over your abdomen until he reaches behind and gives your ass a soft squeeze. Jumping slightly, he smiles genuinely at you.

“Why don’t you sit in front of me, hmm?” And you do, both knees on the floor, but you’re too embarrassed to look up. He’s fully clothed still, yet you’re on the floor in front of him in your birthday suit. He uses a hand to lift your face up, thumb swiping over your bottom lip as he smiles at you. You open your mouth to say something, but his thumb dips into your mouth and presses onto your tongue, holding your mouth open. Feeling shy, your eyes are darting everywhere but his face, and you hear a chuckle.

“Can’t you look at me, angel?” You felt hot. The pet names he called you before hit a hundred times more than normal, and it was purely because of the situation you were both in. He was looking at you with such a ferocity, but his touches were light and fluttery. He removes his thumb slowly, purposely pulling your bottom lip down with it. Bending over so his mouth is near your ear.

“I’m going to teach you something more than just plain, boring, old sex today. We’ll start with you pleasuring me, okay sweetheart?” He pulls away, looking at how flustered you had gotten, smiling lovingly despite it all. Guiding your hands to the belt of his pants, and then letting your hands go to lean them into the bed. Watching every little move you make whilst unbuckling, humming when you managed to get his pants off (with his assistance of course). You’re unsure on what to do next, and a hand comes back to guide your hand to palm him through his underwear. Hissing a fuck under his breath, you do it again but without his guidance, your middle finger grazing over his tip. He shivers, happy he’s got your hands on him. Guiding your hand yet again, but this time to take his underwear off. His cock springs out, hitting his stomach. The head smeared pre-cum across it, as it leans off to the side slightly. Now, you’ve never seen a cock in the flesh but this one… Very pretty. You could gawk all day at it, but Kaeya chuckled at your staring. There’s a dreamy look on his face, and he tilts his head to the side to keep looking at you. Lifting your hand, you shakily take hold of his cock and he audibly sighs ‘good boy’.

“Why don’t you give it a few pumps, hm? See how it feels.” And you did. You started from the tip and pushed your hand down to the base, agonisingly slow. He hums, before asking for you to pick up the pace a little.

“Don’t be shy, you can squeeze a little harder and move a little faster, pet.” Pumping him a little faster, you squeeze when you reach the base and loosen again when you reach the tip, and he shivers. You were getting the hang of it, and then he askes you to swipe your thumb over the slit on his cock’s head every once in a while. You do as you’re told, and he lets out little moans and praises as you do it. Encouragement made you get a little bolder, and you spat on his tip to lube it up a little more. He keened at you doing that, making the jerks of your hand go a little smoother and feel a little better.

“Fuck… You’re doing so well. Do you want to try using your mouth?” He sighs when you give an experimental kitten lick to the slit, and it encourages you to do it again but with a little more force. He guides you on how to take him in, how to lick and suck him just the way he liked it. Breathing a little more erratically, you could tell he needed a little more than just this. You attempt to take him in your mouth, little by little, and pumping the area you didn’t have in your mouth. His head flies backwards, not thinking he’d ever get you to do this so well on the first try. This gave you confidence, so you take him a little further into your mouth. A hand lands on your head, not moving.

“ ’m gonna move by myself now, okay? Slap me if it becomes too much and watch your teeth.” Before you could come off of his cock to answer him, the hand on your head slides to the back of your neck and he thrusts fully into your mouth. You gag as it hits the back of your throat, your jaw going slack to heed his instructions about your teeth. You flatten your tongue, making it easier on you. Tears prick your eyes whenever he hits the back of your throat, but you’re too much in a daze over hearing Kaeya enjoy himself too much.

“You’re taking me so well. F-fuck. I’m close−” As he was about to take himself out of your mouth for your sake, you removed his hand and buried him as deep as you could into your throat and swallowed around him. Before he could mentally react, his body reacted first, thrusting into your mouth and cumming down your throat. You sputter, coming off of his cock and coughing. Kaeya panics slightly, patting and rubbing your back and expressing how you didn’t need to do what you did; he was fine with not cumming and continuing on to the next part. You were too aroused to care really, seeing him topple over the edge by an amateur like you really had you confident that you could handle just that. He grabs you to get you to sit up on the bed, holding your face and making sure you were fine. Littering pretty kisses on your face, before asking if you need water to wash it down. You look into his own eyes, yours totally lidded with lust and you put your hands on his face. His eyes blow wide when you kiss him, tongue swiping his bottom lip like he normally did to you.

Kaeya normally kept the kisses proper, but the way you were both kissing now was messy, sloppy, even. Drool escaped the side of your mouth, teeth clashing, and wet, slurping noises coming from you to try and not let more drool leave your mouth. Kaeya moaned when your tongue swiped the top of his sensitive mouth, and you were quick to let your hands wander across his chest, dipping into what you called his ‘boob-window’ one time at the bar. Smirking at how daring you’ve gotten; Kaeya flips you and pins you to his bed. He’s quick to nip and suck at your neck, trailing his way down to your abdomen where he stops.

“I want to remind you that I’m in charge. I take the lead, pretty boy.” Spreading your legs, he licks his lips. Out of embarrassment, you place both hands to cover yourself. He coos at you, telling you it’s too late to be embarrassed.

“No-nobody has seen there before though… Only I have, it doesn’t look how you think it will and that’s why−” Hearing a soft sigh, you look at Kaeya again. He looks on the verge of no patience, but he’s trying for you at least. He hates when you start putting yourself down, especially in a moment like this. He knows it’s a struggle of yours, but this sort of thing didn’t faze him. Lifting your leg up from the back of your knee, he places it on his shoulder. Kissing and then biting the flesh of your leg, you yelp.

“Hands above your head, if you remove them, I will give you your first ever punishment. Understand, babe?” A hand lands on your thigh, squeezing before striking. It wasn’t too hard, but it wasn’t exactly light either. He rubs where he struck, eyes darkening at you not listening to him but still that beautiful smile remains on his face. Slowly, you remove your hands and place them above your head, though you were very reluctant to do so. He praises you for finally listening and brings his face down to your cock. He licks a long strip from your hole to your cock, revelling in the way you shivered, a pretty sigh escaping your mouth. Pulling your other thigh further apart, he has more access to your hole this way. He licks and sucks on your cock, not expecting you to be as sensitive as you were. He flattens his tongue, slurping you up like you were his last supper.

“Kaeya− so good…” He hums in response, leaving your cock to plunge his tongue into your hole. He digs a hand into your hip when you thrust into his face, humming at you like it was a warning. It felt sinful for someone to be this good at eating someone out. His fingers played with your cock, and his warm tongue dipped into you and then out again. Gripping the sheets above you to keep your hands from latching into his hair, you moaned to Kaeya in desperation. You clenched around his tongue, and you were so close. You’d never felt this good before, you may as well have been on cloud nine. However, just as you were about to tip over the edge, Kaeya stopped. Sitting back up, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and removed his shirt. You kept whining, bucking up into nothing just to feel that same sensation as before.

“We can’t have you satisfied before dessert, baby boy.” He leans over you to grab a bottle, before dousing his cock in the thick, runny liquid. He gave himself a few pumps, before using the residue to finger you open. You couldn’t get over the way his long, slim fingers hit every spot just right. Plunging two of them in and out of you, scissoring them and curling them into you, just to hear you moan his name over and over. Whining, gripping the sheets tighter and squirming, he never missed any of your reactions, not in a heartbeat. Though, he was coming to his wits end. Wanting you more than ever, he removes his fingers and lines himself up.

“Kaeya… want you.” Was all you could muster, and he bends over so that his face was closer to yours. He smiles, telling you to wrap your arms around his neck. You abide, pulling him slightly closer to get a kiss from him. He bites and pulls on your bottom lip, before pushing his cock into you. He was slow, and as gentle as he could be, but it still hurt. He whispers pretty words, sorry’s here and there, and when he finally bottoms out, he stills. Unmoving. As much as he would like to ravage you right this moment, he still wants to be considerate. His kisses were sweet but intoxicating the more you couldn’t get enough. Slowly, he pulled out. You winced, but he quickly reassured you before moving again. It didn’t take long for you to tell him to move, and he did. Keeping his thrusts shallow at first, he wanted you to get used to the sensation first. Whispering against his lips to just do what he wants; he took them seriously. Pulling all the way out before slamming back into you, the wind was knocked out of you. Mouth agape, you felt like the world was spinning.

“Ah− shit. So pretty, all for me.” It felt like you were sucking him in, not wanting to let go. You dig and scratch at his back every time he hit a sweet spot within you, and you couldn’t even begin to be embarrassed at the noises you made. Legs shaking as he slammed his cock into you, you couldn’t help rolling your hips in time with his. He didn’t let up with the praises, telling you how good you were being, that you’ve learnt so much in such a short space of time. It felt like he was splitting you in half over and over, and you were teetering on the edge in no time. You felt a knot twist, and it kept twisting until it couldn’t no more. You gushed around his cock, attempting to milk him for everything he had. But his hips didn’t stop. He kept ramming into you, grunting into your neck and whispering about how gorgeous you were creaming on his cock. Thrust after thrust, it wasn’t long until that same knot in your abdomen to come back to you. Though, this one felt different. Whining in his ear about how you were gonna cum again, that this one had a weird feeling. Groaning in your ear, he told you to cum, to let it out. You couldn’t even think, before the knot snapped. Squirting onto his cock, his abdomen, it landing everywhere and making a mess. It felt never-ending.

“Good boy, look at you. Making such a beautiful mess−” Your walls fluttered around him, and he stilled. Releasing his own, he doesn’t move and his head collapses onto your shoulder. He litters kisses across it, and the compliments slur out of his mouth continuously. You hold him closer than ever, not wanting to let go in the bliss of it all. You tremble, still coming down from your high. Removing himself from you, you both hiss at the feeling. He kisses you a plethora of times, before running to the bathroom to run you both a hot bath. Not a single thought entered your brain, as you lay there satisfied and honestly just wanting to sleep. You knew you’d complain about being sticky and sweaty, so you pushed yourself to make your way to the bathroom. Standing up, you felt like a new-born calf. Sliding onto the floor and sitting down was your safe bet. As soon as Kaeya returned, he saw you on the floor and rushed over to help you up.

“What are you doing on the floor, babe? Let’s get you washed up, ok?” He helps you up, arm around your waist and guiding you to the bathroom. He notices how you struggle to walk, wobbling with every step. He felt proud, but he also felt bad at the same time. He gets you into the bathtub and climbs in behind you. You lay your back onto his chest, sighing at the hot water melting you away. Hands wrap themselves around your waist, and you hum in content. You play with his fingers, feeling hot at remembering that these were toying with you earlier on. Kaeya seems to catch onto your thoughts and bites the back of your neck. You yelp, turning around to glare at him.

“Let’s have another round in the bath, I haven’t taught you enough yet.” He smiles, which doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

“What?”

[she-who-fights-and-writes]

things that make a monarch powerful and successful besides war?

How to Write a Good Ruler

There’s more to leading than just winning wars.

Throughout history, many empires were forged with blood by powerful warriors, who pushed their countries’ borders by slaughtering everyone in their paths. However, many of them never lasted very long in the grand scheme of things, because there’s more to running a country than simply having good military power.

This post isn’t about how to write a good ruler character, this post is about the qualities of being a good ruler. Making someone a perfect, immaculate ruler doesn’t necessarily make them a well-written character (and just because a character is a good ruler doesn’t have to mean they’re a good person) so you have to take into consideration basic concepts of character building, which you can find on my FAQ.

Now, I can’t possibly outline every single aspect of a good ruler within a single Tumblr post, so take this list as a kind of bare-bones guideline meant to boost your inspiration and give you a bit of direction.

1. A Good Ruler is Honorable

If you want your character’s subjects to respect them, then they must be a respectable person.

If your character goes around spending thousands on lavish treasures and banquets while their country starves, then they're probably not gonna have the best Yelp rating from their subjects.

A good ruler is respectful, honest, and treats not only the nobles of under their rule with respect, but also the commoners. They spend tax money on infrastructure, food, and charity. They follow proper etiquette and set an example for those who look up to them. And they spend their time working--hearing petitioners, filing paperwork, holding diplomatic meetings, signing trade agreements, strategizing battles, etc.--rather than making merry.

Benevolent rulers in fiction are often the embodiment of honor and goodwill...which is why they die so frequently within the story--to serve as a symbol of the "death of good" that the villain has brought to the land.

2. A Good Ruler is Just

One of the main jobs of a ruler is to pass sentences (or in most cases, have their courts pass sentences on their behalf). If your character acts on a “guilty until proven innocent” basis and executes fifty people a week, they’re probably only a ruler because everyone is afraid of them...not because they’re actually a “good ruler.”

They should be open to acts of mercy without teetering into “pushover” territory, and never allow wrongdoing to go unpunished.

This way, with their strong moral compass established, their subjects can all concur that anyone who gets executed under your character’s rule must’ve deserved it due to your character’s just nature.

3. A Good Ruler is Always Looking to Improve

Despite boing born into a lifestyle where you’re practically revered as godlike, a good ruler doesn’t think they are the end-all-be-all of everything. They often seek counsel from both their advisors and their subjects, and take criticism in stride rather than executing anyone who may dare to defy them.

In fact, a good ruler always knows when to ask for help, especially when it involves something that they have no prior experience with. If you want your young character to be a good ruler, then they most definitely must have a strong group of advisors such as noblemen, spiritual guides, generals, bankers, and other such people at their back to help them manage their kingdom.

4. A Good Ruler Knows When to Be Fierce

Though this may sound a bit harsh, part of the reason why anyone is ever a ruler (or in a position of power) at all is because the subjects are a little bit afraid of them. If your character has all of these other attributes, people will serve them willingly and this fear shouldn't necessarily be required, but think about it; why do we follow the law? Why do we allow our country to be run by people, some of whom we may respect but most whom we find intolerable?

A good ruler knows when to make an example out of people. No matter how amazing this ruler is, there will be people discontent under their power. There will be assassination attempts, coups, and rebellions. Allowing these things to slide without punishment will open up the doors for the ruler to be deemed “weak” and lose respect, so in these situations you should allow your ruler character to bring down the gavel…and some public executions may be in order.

Examples of Good Rulers in Fiction

Ned Stark, Game of Thrones

Ned Stark is the paragon of an even-tempered, moral leader within the Game of Thrones series and novels, and is revered by many characters within the story due to his stoic, honorable nature. One of the primary examples of his righteousness is his motto: “Whoever passes the sentence must swing the sword. If you would take a man's life, you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words. And if you cannot bear to do that, then perhaps the man does not deserve to die.”

Aslan, The Chronicles of Narnia

Although you may poke fun at the fact that Aslan is a lion, there is no doubt that he is one of the wisest and bravest rulers in literature. He is fierce and dangerous, but unquestionably good, and all of his subjects have steady faith in his abilities. He is willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of his people, even if it is just for a single one.

Aragorn, Lord of the Rings

Despite being reluctant to take up the throne, Aragorn overcomes his hesitancy and assumes his role as rightful king so he can lead an army of the undead into battle against Sauron. Aragon is a man of the people, and possesses unwavering bravery and nobility, which is no doubt why he is so respected by the fellowship and by his people.

T’Challa, Black Panther

T’Challa often questioned himself and his decisions as ruler of Wakanda, but there is no doubt that he is a level-headed and well-spoken ruler who tries to do the best for his people. He was able to overcome the vengeful nature that consumed him after the death of his father, and went on to help not only his country, but others around the world.

Hope this helped, and happy writing!

[faela404]

☆ The Library ☆

kazuha x gn! reader

prompt: - you and kazuha attend the same university, him being a english lit major and you being a person in stem😎 your paths never crossed until that day in the library…

*this is an smau so please do expect a lot of twitter posts and messages to read, there will be proper writing too but, it will mostly be that!!*

warning! mentions of a fight, swearing

masterlist - prev | next

☆ let the fight begin ☆

“you made it!” his cheery voice echoed across the small hall.

“of course we did, childe! we wouldn’t have missed this for the world, right y/n?” ganyu smiled at me, god her smile’s so pretty

i nodded towards her before quickly wishing childe good luck as he was dragged away by his coach. i’m honestly a bit afraid for him, i know childe is a good and very capable fighter but, it would still hurt so much to see him getting hurt in anyway.

guided by ganyu, hu tao and i found our seats as more people began piling in. the crowd soon consisted of friends and some family of the boxers, curious students from our university and even a few of the professors turned up.

the seats next to me sadly weren’t empty so i couldn’t stretch out like i wanted too. however, it quickly became clear to me who was sitting in those seats.

those tuffs of black and teal hair made it undeniably obvious; xiao. he was an IT major known for being extremely quiet and almost quite rude, though frankly being friends with scaramouche makes it hard to find anyone else rude. he was scrolling through his phone when we sat down, the seats next to him were empty though from the looks of it people were going to be sitting there. bags, coats and all kinds of winter wear were lined up neatly infront of each seat. now i like to keep warm sure, but i highly doubt all of those belonged to just xiao.

my thoughts were cut short when a loud voice began booming about all the different kinds of slushies they had. the twins had arrived, along with 3 other people i couldn’t quite make out. aether continued to enthuse about these wonderous slushies as the 5 new people began shuffling in next to xiao.

finally, i could begin to make out all of their faces.

aether and lumine were the first i saw, and they were the only ones not currently trying to get to their seats, i assume they’re sitting at the end of the row. lucky bastards. next was gorou, a humanities major with beautiful ginger and white hair, it’s clear he takes a lot of pride in the way his hair looks. finally, 2 final boys squeezed in, one next to gorou, who i quickly figured out was albedo, the nice biochemistry major who offer a lot of tutoring sessions in subjects he doesnt even take. he so smart it’s actually kind of crazy, almost unhuman like. then there was one next to xiao.

holy shit, that’s kazuha.

i really didn’t think he’d like something like boxing-

though in all fairness i’m only here for childe, so perhaps he’s the same.

or he loves watching people fight, who knows.

my attention was swiftly snapped from the pretty blonde when the first round was announced.

tartaglia vs. osial

round 1

…of 10

and then the winner fights someone else.

this is gonna be long.

finally, after 5 rounds (all won by childe), a break was given for the fighters. im pretty sure that doesn’t tend to happen in boxing but, because they’re both only uni students, it has to be given.

ganyu and hu tao, quickly excused themselves to the bathroom, though if i’m being honest i’m almost completely certain that hu tao’s only going because lumine went a few seconds ago.

i pulled out my phone and began mindlessly scrolling through twitter and instagram as the people around me began shuffling around. they probably need the bathroom or a drink.

however, i didnt notice how only the majority left.

it took his words for me to realise.

“and then there were two” he mumbled so lightly i hardly even heard him. i turned towards the sound of his voice only to find that indeed all of kazuha’s friends had left aside from him.

there was only kazuha and i left on this row.

“oh- hey, sorry i didn’t realise” i chuckled lightly

oh theres that melodic laugh of his again, “it’s alright” he shuffled into xiao’s seat next to me “are you here for childe too?”

“hm? oh yeah i am, are you? i didn’t realise childe are you were friends” i smiled lightly at him as i placed my phone back down, i don’t want to seem rude damn.

“ahh yeah, i’ve known him for quite a while now. though we don’t get to talk as much as usual”

i frown slightly “oh, why’s that?”

my eyes widen a fraction, oh shit. shit. shit! i can’t ask things like that! what if it’s private? or embarrassing for him? or for childe? god he’d kill me if i embarrassed one of his other friends or worse, childe himself-

before i could freak myself out even more, kazuha smiled and responded “we both just got quite busy, but i do enjoy these times when i can see him”

god he’s so sweet. his voice is just undeniably soothing, i swear every worry i had prior just floated away.

that calmness was quickly eradicated.

the screeching of the whistle ruined it.

the sixth round was beginning.

our friends quickly began appearing again, but kazuha didn’t make an effort to move. even when xiao returned, he just lightly smiled to him and turned back to the match.

xiao didn’t seem too bothered, well he never really does, as he swiftly sat down in kazuha’s seat.

the fight was long but, atleast i had someone to talk too. while, my friends were next to me they were way too engrossed in the match to want to talk even a little bit, but kazuha just randomly began whispering things about the match to me. things that were going wrong, excitement over childe landing a good punch, laughing at all the silly faces that each fighter made after getting punched.

he’s actually quite entertaining, quite funny.

maybe we could actually be decent friends.

atleast, then i wont have to be alone in the library right?

a/n - omggggg this took way too long for me to write lol, im quite literally the ruler of procrastination😎 but, here ya’ll have it! chapter 4!! i hope ya’ll enjoy it! i think i say this every time but i really do mean it, i appreciate all of ya’ll’s continued support of this series! and thank you all so much for getting me to 100 followers!!🫶🫶

(i literally threw up and had my cat pull the christmas tree in my room down onto my other cat while writing this-

they’re both fine dw but good god a lot happened while trying to write this PFFT-)

taglist - open! @kazuhaprnt @ryhie @scaraapologist @thissoulisnotok @kazuhalvrr @rifran @sleepyhamster1001 @mccnstruck @micahmxi @whipped-for-fictionals @sashiette @kozumieee @lazy-sanns

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[softtdaisy]

BARELY BREATHING - STEVE HARRINGTON

DESCRIPTION I you thought Steve was invincible, but his last trip to the upside down proved you wrong

PAIRING I steve harrington × fem!reader

WORD COUNT I 2,1k

A/N I this is the saddest thing I have ever written. Fun fact: I started writing it before season 4 part 2 came back and never posted it for obvious reason 💀I do accept to pay for the tissues if you need them

“Where is he!” you screamed, entering Dustin’s house like it was yours. You looked at all those feared and sad faces. You noticed how some of them jumped at your sudden entrance. You wanted to scream even harder, but you couldn’t. You didn’t have the strength to.

And they were just kids. They weren’t supposed to go through this. You weren’t supposed to go through this either.

For most of your teenage years, you’ve been Dustin’s babysitter. This kid was tiring and hyperactive but God, you loved him so much. He was the baby brother you never had. Even when he grew up, he never stopped spending time with you. If Dustin didn’t need a proper babysitter anymore, he was still happy to go to the cinemas with you. Your relationship was too special to be broken because of stupid things like teenage years.

And then he met Steve Harrington. You couldn’t compete with King Steve. You probably would even choose Steve over yourself. And you guessed it couldn’t be that bad for Dustin to hang out with an older guy. Someone that could talk to him about things one of you won’t be comfortable talking about.

But the truth was worse than that. You had no idea what was going on in their life.

Dustin started to spend more time with Steve and you felt left behind. Not that Dustin was your only friend. But it still hurt to see him chose someone over you. Even when you agreed and said you didn’t mind. And Steve understood that the day you met them at the mall. They were going to see a movie; you had planned to watch with the boy.

Steve probably noticed the disappointment on your face when you said that it was fine. That you could still go another time together. You knew you wouldn’t, but it was worth trying as an excuse.

“Join us.” He proposed with this genuine and soft smile on his face. “I took the biggest popcorn and Mrs. Henderson will probably kill me if he eats too much sugar.”

“Hey!” you didn’t even hear Dustin complained about the remark. You were too grateful for Steve Harrington for being nice to you. “Ok, I’m coming. But only for the pop-corn part.” You noticed Steve little smile when you agreed to come with them.

Dustin now had two babysitters, basically. Two babysitters for whom it took only a few weeks to fall in love. You tried to be as discreet as possible with Steve, never showing any kind of affection in public. Never cuddle or kiss when you weren’t alone, no matter how hard it was to resist your favorite boy. It was just as hard for Steve that couldn’t resist putting a hand on your back or on your arm when you were closed to him. Sometimes he did and he blamed it on his habit of being tactile with people when the kids would notice his hand on your thigh or the way his little finger was brushing yours.

But what you thought was a discreet relationship was actually acknowledged by all the teenagers Steve had somehow adopted. You still weren’t sure to understand how their relationship was working but you liked this side of your boyfriend. Some night, it made you believe that maybe Steve was the one you could grow a family with. And you liked those kids. Even if they were lying to you.

It wasn’t until Billy died and Max was heartbroken that they all decided to tell you about the Upside Down and all the shitty things that was happening in Hawkins. Were you mad for not knowing any of this? Yes. You lectured them all for being careless about hiding all of these. You got a couple of rolling eyes, mostly from Mike, and some apologies, from Will and Eleven.

But what melt your heart was when Steve took your hand. The way you could see the regret for lying to you in his eyes. Even more, you could see the love he had for you in the way he was looking at you that day. “I didn’t want to sideline you. I just wanted to protect you.” At that moment, you didn’t care about any of the kids around. You just grabbed Steve face and gave him the sweetest kiss, that caused some disgust sounds.

“I know you do Steve. But who’s protecting you?” you asked him that day. You meant it in a soft way.

Having no idea that Steve really needed protection.

You knew something was wrong after Chrissy’s death. You could easily guess it had something to do with the Upside Down. But you agreed to not get involved. Steve wanted to protect the kids more than anything. But he knew that if anything was likely to happen to you, you would be his priority. And it wouldn’t be fair. So, it was better to keep you safe, without them.

You did your best to maintain a normal life. Not stressing over Steve disappearing most days because he had to help the group again. You imagined the worst scenarios in your head. But you trusted him when he told you he had everything under control. What could you do? He didn’t want you around the danger, so you had to believe what he was saying.

Which made today even worse.

You were working on your next exam in your bedroom when the talkie-walkie Dustin gave you started making noise. Everything seemed to be in slow motion suddenly, you could feel something was wrong. It was that kind of gut feeling you get when you love someone. “[y/n]? you’re there?” you could tell from Dustin’s voice how scared he was. Something was definitely wrong.

“What’s going on Dustin?” your hand was shaking so much you had a hard time keeping the talkie between your fingers. You didn’t hear most things. Was it because of the talkie or because your brain disconnected itself when you heard Steve’s name for the first name? You weren’t so sure. All you knew was today going to be the worst day in your life.

How you even managed to run to Dustin’s house was a mystery. You were on some kind of auto pilot mode where you let your body decided while your brain couldn’t stop repeating the same sentence. “It’s Steve, [y/n] please come…” And it wasn’t until you were in front of the door you passed so many times in the past that you finally realized.

It was Steve.

Something was wrong with Steve.

None of the kids had the strength to tell you what was going on. But you noticed the red eyes. You saw the way Eddie Munson was hiding from you and shaking in the kitchen. They were all scared of you. Of the way you were going to react when your life was going to be broken, in a few minutes.

“What’s going on? Is Steve hurt? Why are you all here then? Why not at the hospital?” you kept asking questions they didn’t want to answer to. They didn’t have the strength to tell you what happened down there.

They couldn’t tell you why Steve wasn’t at the hospital. Where he should be, probably. If he could be. That was the first sign that told you something really bad happened.

You looked at Dustin. One look. One question. And he answered with another look towards in his mom’s bedroom. He’s there. And you walked there. Or at least in front of the door. You started to imagine what you were going to see. And then you heard it.

Steve’s groan. But not the usual. Not the same groan he made when he hurt himself when you were building Dustin’s new bed and he hit his hand with the hammer. Not the same groan he made when he was driving and the car in front of him was very slow. Definitely not the same groan he made when he was making love to you.

It was a broken groan.

Your boyfriend was broken.

You felt a hand holding yours suddenly and you saw Max beside you. Just like you were when she lost her brother, she was being there for you. And as grateful as you were to have her with you, you were scared it meant the situation was just as terrible as it was for Billy.

There was only way to know.

So you opened the door.

And you saw him. Your lovely, beautiful boyfriend lying there. A pale skin that contrasted with the veins on his arms, with his beautiful brown eyes… and the awful and blood-soaked bandage around his torso. You almost broke down, falling your knees. And you felt Max keeping you straight. You knew why.

“Hi, baby.” You heard Steve said with the lowest and weakest voice you’ve ever heard.

You were already having a blurry vision, but you managed to walk to him. When you put a hand on his face, you felt the coldness of his skin and the tear that rolled down your face immediately. That couldn’t be real. This couldn’t be happening. He was supposed to be the strong one, the one that could fight any stupid creatures and came back as good as he left. He was supposed to stay with you for the rest of your life. Not…

“You should see the monster’s face after what I did to him.” He said with a blink that, you guessed, hurt him more than it should. You could tell from the face he made just after. And you laughed. You laughed until you cried because you couldn’t take it anymore.

Somehow, Steve managed to move a little to give you some space. You immediately lie beside him. You needed to feel him, to know he was there. You hated how cold his arm felt when he put around your shoulder to bring you closer to him.

Steve was always hot. No matter the weather outside, that man was like a werewolf coming out of a young adult novel. He was always super-hot and it gave you the perfect excuse to cuddle with him when it was cold outside. It became such a habit that when you were out during winter, you didn’t need to bring gloves anymore. Holding your boyfriend’s hand was enough.

But today, Steve’s body was cold. And you could tell from the little moan that escape his lips when you put your hand on his arm that you were hotter than him for once. Slowly, you draw the whole line circling his neck with your fingertips. Something or someone must have tried to strangle him. As if stabbing him in the chest wasn’t enough already.  

It wasn’t the first time Steve would get hurt because of the Upside Down. You remember the bruises from the whole Starcourt mess. He was always laughing and making jokes about the situation. How he was some kind of superhero for surviving every time. How he looked more badass than ever with those bruises and he should keep them. Or how he would pretend that the groan he made when you were taking care of him was just an excuse to make you keep looking after him. To not make you more anxious about his condition, when he was really hurt.

But this time, nothing could save the day. And when you looked at him, you noticed the tears in his eyes. Because he knew.

“Don’t.” you whispered. “Don’t tell me you’re sorry. Don’t tell me you’re going to be ok. Don’t lie. But don’t tell the truth either. Please, Steve just…don’t.” you could feel your voice breaking. Steve simply nodded at your request and kissed your forehead. The pressure of his lips was so weak it almost break your heart again. That wasn’t fair.

“May I say, one thing?” His eyes were closed, like it was taking him too much strength to keep them open. You didn’t hear your own yes, but you guessed it did with the sweet and small smile on his lips. It was the last effort he could make for you.

“I love you.” You heard him say with a sigh and you immediately started to cry again. You could contain those tears and you couldn’t care about the way they were soak his already ripped t-shirt. You cuddled harder against him, wanted to feel his skin again, to smell his perfume one more time. Your face was so close to his heart that when you say “I love you too”, it went directly there.

It took you a few moments to realize that you were all Steve needed for his last minutes.

You. Your love.

To love and to be loved.

follow @softtdaisywords​ to know when new stories are released 🤍

[mcl-alloveragain]

HEADCANONS

Your favourite ways to spend time with each other✨✨✨

Hellooo! While we are still waiting for the 2nd episode of Armin's AL, I wanted to focus on something other than that and maybeee post my headcanons for the very first time!! 🥰 I actually wanted to try it for a while now, but only recently i made a proper tumblr account and then this sideblog to actually have where to share it lolololol

Boys sorted alphabetically 👉🏻👈🏻

---

ARMIN🎮

Playing video games is obvious, but it's just so true. Even if you weren't very passionate about them at the very beginning of your relationship, he tried his best to make you like them more and eventually successed. You started with something simple, like Minecraft, when you were mostly picking up flowers for him and making farms from tutorials and he was taking care of everything else, fighting monsters included. And the sims, oh god he was actually jealous about the sims, because every time you came over and he let you play on his computer, you would NEVER leave, too focused on making a lot of fucked up scenarios with the little people you made. Then of course he convinced you to play LoL and you were officially lost. He made you a gamer girl. You also like to watch as the other one is playing, and it's about both you and him. He had the time of his life, observing how you struggled with some missions in CoD.

You both are very competitive, so your everyday life is literally based on dares. You LOVE to challenge each other, no matter if it's something silly or not. Who will wash more plates while doing dishes, who will cook better omlette, who will clean the house faster. You also use bets to motivate each other ("I bet 5$ that you won't finish writing your essay in a five days" "DEAL"). It works so well for you tho.

You have this thing, some kind of game going on for ages, where you randomly say random pick up lines to each other. The cheesiest the better. You guys can spend hours on researching them, just to find the best ones to try them. It started already in high school, when he actually said to you "Do you have a map? I just got lost in your eyes." He made you laugh so hard and then you asked him if he was a parking ticket, because he have got 'fine' written all over him. You were exchanging pick up lines all day long until you run out of them and since then, everytime you read, hear, find something new, you literally run to say it. It's been YEARS by now, you guys heard almost everything.

Everything is about games. And the most dangerous one you played so far (and you enjoy it way too much, tbh) is about annoying Rosalya. Annoying Alexy is something you do everyday, but when it comes to your other bestie... Let's just say, it's a suicidal thing to get under her skin. Yet you still do it. Especially when you are asking her for help with your cosplays (Yes, you do still cosplay!!! And as you grow more confident with your body over the years, you do it very often now, on every occasion possible). Teasing her, pretending to not like something, bother her when she was sewing, not standing still when she measures you... You guys got into lots of troubles. She threatens to never help you with anything, but she loves you too much to keep this promise.

Armin used to hate any outdoors activities, especially in high school but you actually loved them and tried your best to convince him to do them with you, just like he was with his games. And you succeeded in convincing him to only ONE thing, which happened to become your routine by now. And it's ✨bicycling✨. No, I'm not joking, he actually enjoys it just as much as you. It's not as exhausting as running and you usually race along forest path, cause competition makes it even funnier. Yeah, as I said, you guys are REALLY competitive. But you're just glad he likes it, it helps you both to keep in shape and it's good for your health. (And Armin compares you both to music video from Worlds 2020 all the time.)

You also menaged to take him to karaoke night once! And that once became your every friday, because even tho you both suck at singing, so are other people and the bar you go to has best drinks. You often invite your friends with you, too, but it's still mostly your thing. You make you and him sing disney couples's duets, he makes you both sing the creepiest songs he can find. He loves when people hear you guys dueting shit like "An Unhealthy Obsession" and just staring at you, concerned about your song choice. And everything your voice lacks is fixed by the performances you guys made, because you are always making it spectacular and never boring, basic singing. When on scene, you act like true musical actors.

CASTIEL🎸

From the most obvious ones, concerts. But not just any concerts, and not you favourite bands's (even tho you love those to, of course skksks). You have this habit of checking out every beginning groups in your area and, if you got time for this, you can even go to the concert somewhere far away just for a bunch of teenagers who have no idea what they are doing just yet. And it became both more and less fun after Crowstorm actually became famous. Because now while you do it, there are often many tears. People cannot believe their idol has listened to them playing, Castiel still (even after 100th time) cannot believe he actually inspires young musicians and you cannot believe how happy watching it makes you.

Watching disney movies. But if you tell anynone, he will deny everything. And yeah, The Lion King is still his favourite movie and you watch it just as often as yours, which is The Little Mermaid. You both prefer old versions over live actions remakes and you both know every single song by heart. And he plays your favourites for you all the time, sometimes even when he's on stage (and a bit drunk) he dedicates you "Under the sea". Ohh, and did I mention, one of your nicknames is 'my little mermaid'? That's also your contact name in his phone...

Roadtrips. You both like to drive and you switch often. When one person is driving, the other one is in charge of the music, so you don't really mind which one is doing what now, both positions are good. And your dog enjoys those too, so you are always taking him with you. And you sing together, laugh, stopping only for toilet breaks and to get fast foods. The driver is always fed by the other person, it's a rule.

I like to imagine you guys living somewhere near the beach, maybe even in close neighborhood with Rosalya and Leigh because damn, beach is your favourite place in the world. You spend HOURS just lying on the sand, throwing each other to the water (you actually menaged to pick him up and carry there once!) or just playing with Pancake just as you did with Demon when you were still in high school. And when you choose a place to go on vacation, it's always somewhere near the sea or ocean. Another reason why you're his little mermaid 🥺

And I don't take no for an answer, Iris and Castiel stayed friends after high school. They don't see each other often since she moved away soon after graduation, nor they text too much, but they are always sending each other small gifts on certain occasions and all. And she always invites you over when the three of you talk and no gonna lie, weekends at Iris are one of your favourites! You also always take some time in the summer to visit her for longer, a week or so, and she and her husband are visiting you guys too. The four of you are great friends.

And when you so tired you want to take a break from everything, you are always welcomed on Lysander's farm. And you take this opportunity a loooot. He actually has enough of you two sometimes. But you're not just lazily laying around, no, no! You are actually helping him with work he has there. It was a mess at first, but after a few longer visits, you actually learned most everything. Everything you needed, at least. And Cas finds it extremely relaxing. The farm is so quiet after months spent on concerting and rehearsals, quieter than a crowded beach, so much quieter than a busy city. Pancake is always coming with you, obviously, and yeah, this dog loves Lysander way more than you both. If you had left him there, he probably wouldn't even notice your disappearance and he's always sad when you leave. Lysander likes Pancake, too :)

KENTIN🐕

He is fit. And his favourite activity is jogging. We all remember how running with him in high school ended, but you are way over it now. You surely struggled at first, but you were stubborn, so you never gave up and now you are running together. You will probably never be able to run as fast and as long as him, but he tries his best to adapt to you. And when you're done, he just do another round on his own. But anyways, you just like it, the fact that you spend your every morning this was... It's just comforting, having the same routine. You also like to shower together right after...

Roadtrips! It's hard to live a van lifestyle if you don't like them, tho. But it's just... Something different. You don't like to drive too much, you prefer enjoying the views or reading to him. Damn, he adores it when you read something out loud, even if it's something connected to your studies. The sound of your voice is so relaxing to him, it helps him focus even more. He also loves your smile when one of the dogs, usually Muffin, comes to sleep on your lap so you can pet it. Your roadtrips are not loud and entertaining (like Castiel's), no, they are quiet, relaxing, kind of lazy. But you both love them this way.

You're obsessed with sightseeing. You travel all the time, that's true, but you don't have much time together when you stay at one place, because he works and you are studying. You might think he's exhausted after work and that's partially true, but he's never too tired for sightseeing. He wouldn't care so much if not the fact how excited you are, especially with things connected with the history of art. And he loves to make you happy. You can do this for hours, but thank God, you're actually considerate and you let him rest after watching just a few things. There's always tomorrow, right? You only become bossy about it when you know you're leaving soon, but he usually doesn't have any work anymore and you have all the time of the world.

You share passion for photography. No, really. You already knew he actually became really passionate about it. He makes the best photos. That's the main reason why his Instagram account got so popular. But for you, photography was a new found hobby. It started innocently, he was asking you to take his photos from time to time and any of you didn't actually noticed how much fun it was for you. He realised it first when you were asking him about taking photos of him more often, suggesting your own ideas for scenarios and poses, sometimes asking if you could borrow his camera. You knew you liked taking photos but Kentin helped you to know how much you really did. He just saw it in your eyes. Now you have got yourself your own camera and the van is full of pictures taken by you. Sometimes some of your work even ends up on his instagram, but most of those photos are still his. Maybe you should open your own account...?

You bake together. Well, at first you were the one baking. You knew how much Kentin loved cookies, so you learned loads of recipes for them, so you could have homemade ones from time to time. What you didn't expected was his enthusiasm when he caught you in your parents's kitchen when you were just about to start. He was so excited to help you, it was so cute!!! And it just became your habit to bake everything together. It often ends with you both fully covered in flour and a huge mess, but you don't really care. You hate cleaning it tho, but since he does so too...

Last but not least, you both are passionate about extreme sports. Or maybe passionate is a too big word...? It's not like you guys are doing things like that often. But it happens and doing crazy things together makes your endorphins high. Skydiving, bungee jumping... You love this adrenaline rush. But only once in a while, when you have loads of time or just the occasion to try something new... Yeah. Kentin is always a bit worried about you, tho. Not like it changes anything, he just can't help but be concerned something. But he would never try to stop you, like, he loves to do all those things, too. And share every moment with you.

LYSANDER🖋️

You both love when he's singing. He has amazing voice, yeah, we all know. But what we don't know is that he developed a habit of singing you lullabies to sleep. The first time happened already when you moved in with him on farm and you got a bad cold soon. And when you're ill, you're awful. You need full time attention and you literally act like a moody 5 years old. He once told you so and you asked him for lullaby half-jokingly. Never expected him to actually sing you and totally never expected you would like it so much. He makes you fall asleep immediately (and you used to have a lot of problems with it before). You love listening to his voice before sleep, he loves to sing for you, so it's perfect. Sometimes he reads you his poems instead on singing, too.

Hear me out. Horse riding. Do I have to say anything else? You have your own horses actually. They need a lot of care, but you guys do just fine. You were always fascinated by horses and you even used to go to the horse farm quite often when you were a child, so yeah, having them on your own is like your dream came true. You like riding horses especially at sunset on warm summer days.

And walks, damn you love walks. Just as much as horse riding if not more. You were already often going on walks back in high school, everytime finding beautiful places around the city. And now??? When you live in such a lovely place, with amazing surroundings??? You may know every single place here but you will never ever get bored of it. When you have more time to spare, you're preparing a picnic at the end of your destination 🥰

He doesn't really like to drive. It's not like he hates it, but his tendences to lack focus are just making it difficult to him when he has a busy day or a great idea that must be written down right away. On the other hand, you love to drive! And you're actually a great driver, so you're the one who's driving him everywhere if you only have time. And he likes being your passenger, he feels safe with you at the wheel. It's a relief for him that he doesn't have to do it, and you're glad to help, even if it's a small thing. He won't talk much during unless you make him to because he doesn't want to distract you. And when you guys drive to the town, he usually uses this four hours to write. Your rides are quite peaceful, just like your whole life, and you enjoy them this way.

Knitting is your new discovered hobby. Rosalya teaches you both to do it and you're getting better and better at it day by day. He's actually progressing way quicker 'cause he's way more patient than you and he has always had talented hands (remember sculpturing in hsl??) and you are SO jealous, but you're doing just fine, too. And you both knitted each other cute, ugly sweaters for christmas. Adorable.

Cooking together. It's actually something you do better than him, even tho his cooking is, indeed, amazing. You love to try out new recipes together and you own several cookbooks! I also like to imagine that when you guys have kids, cooking becomes a family activity. Everyone has their own task to do. It's like, a tradition. Even when Leigh and Rosa visit, they have to join you. The more the merrier. I guess i have this headcanon because of how much his AL paid attention to his cooking?? I just couldn't stop thinking about how cute it would be if we joined him sjsjjswkwj🥺

NATHANIEL🐈

Hear me out. Drums. Like, don't tell me this boy literally learned playing on them so fast he insulted every drummer in the universe, took a part in amazing concert (and he liked this experience very much) only so it can be never mentioned again. I'm still mad about it, but fortunately I can change it now and I will, because after moving out from his parents HE ACTUALLY BECAME MORE INTERESTED IN MUSIC. And how you are connected to it? Well, by coincidence, after the concert you started to learn to play guitar, inspired. And when you guys found out about each other hobbies, you began to play together. It was horrible at first and you had to take your time to sync up, but eventually you managed. You guys don't have a band nor performing anywhere. Nah, not even care about that. You just have SO much fun (especially when annoying your neighbors).

Playing Video Games. I haven't played LL (maybe i will someday, idk) but I've seen the illustration when you guys played video games with him and I LOVE the concept. But about the headcanon itself. It started in high school. You were always something around a gamer girl AT LEAST, so when you heard that Armin actually got Nathaniel to start to play, you were super excited for it. And Nath got excited when you started to join them. It wasn't long before you started playing just the two of you. Often. Like, very often. It's hard to say if it's the games he likes this much or if it's just an excuse to spend more time with you. But he's good at it, damn, this boy is good at everything.

Reading, reading, reading. Reading for each other or with each other. You don't care. Sometimes you just lay in bed together, everyone reading their own book, sometimes he reads for you or you read for him, sometimes you share one book and read it at the same time. Yeah, mostly detective novels, some things just never change. But you actually convinced him to a few romances!!! Only those with uniquely outstanding plot tho. And you read almost everyday.

Your favourite summer trip is camping!! You go camping quite often, actually. Conversations by the campfire, sleeping in tent (or even under the open sky if it's warm enough), stargazing... It's your thing. And it's something he was super excited to do for the first time since his family wasn't exactly keen of spending time in nature. You have a few of you favourite places you come back to from time to time, but you also like to explore. And this motherf****r just loves to tell you scary stories before you go to sleep 🙂🙃 (He has to deal with you screaming in sleep afterwards tho :>)

You started boxing because of him. Watching him do it, it just made you curious about it so much you had to try. When you asked him, you thought he won't be very pleased with that idea, but you couldn't be more wrong! This boy got so excited to teach you! So much that he actually overdone it a few times, going beyond your limits. But well, now you're a pro. And your joint training sessions are full of laughter.

He hated this idea. What idea, you ask? Well, you did something very, very bad... You signed you both up for a dance classes. Without talking to him first. Paying in advance for the first three months. He was so annoyed when you told him, but he couldn't say no. And it was great! You loved it so much! And he actually had a good time, too! Three months became six, then a year, two... You enjoyed it too much to ever stop. He will never say that out loud, but he honestly thinks it's one of the best ideas you have ever had.

---

[pokemenlovingmen]

Hello! I just read the thing I requested and I LOVE IT!!! While reading, I was thinking about how tall S/O compared to Ingo would be. I live for tall s/o fr and dw! I love it when the story is long, it just gets me motivated to read more! so while I still have the chance, can I request tall, extremely calm, and works at the subway masc s/o with Ingo and Emmet? (it can be poly, Not blank shipping ofc) - 🚆Anon

man y’all REALLY want to have a

relationship huh?

I mean… me too though.

I love it, let’s do it!! I just think these pokeguys have had plenty of time to tower over people… if no one is cooking up big spoon reader content, then I’ll do it myself!

Thank you very much for your request, I love the train men haha. And I’m also very glad you enjoyed my previous piece I made for you!! You’re so kind. I’m still very much feeling my way around, trying to figure out what I want from this blog, and y’all have been so sweet. It’s why I feel bad not writing as frequently as I could! I love you guys, my fellow gay yearners out there, y’all are my brothers lmao. I hope you enjoy this one as much as you did the last! (And maybe one day I’ll figure out not just how long I want my actual posts to be, but these intros as well. Too much free space for me to ramble in lmfaooo.) Since you said S/O, I’m going to write this as an established relationship! Also the submas are written as autistic because I’m autistic and I make the rules. Thouuuugh this did end up a little too focused on the twins’ autism coded behavior and I apologize for that. I got a little too into it. But at the same time you can pry autistic submas out of my cold, dead autistic hands I refuse to write them as anything but

The Pillar of Calm — Ingo and Emmet (separately!) with tall, calm depot agent S/O

Emmet

⚪️ — Well, no matter what, the most important thing you need to know about him is he loves you verrrrry much!

⚪️ — You two met when you transferred to work at Gear Station after your first long-running job at the Magnet Train station in Johto. Definitely a bit of a culture shock, considering battles are a BIG no-no on those trains, but you figured things out pretty quick. One of the most important parts of adjusting to your new job was, of course, meeting the subway masters to get the proper rundown on how things worked around here, and that’s where it started.

⚪️ — Emmet is a ball of hard-to-contain energy that he constantly needs to express via stimming or just moving around, and even if words aren’t his strong suit, he has a woeful amount of things he wants to say. You being the strong silent type who can somehow keep a level head in any situation and seldom expresses anything, it seems like your personalities would clash horrifically. But when breaks were called around Gear Station, you were one of the first faces Emmet saw as he hopped off the Super Double Line, and you being your grounded self was honestly reassuring to be greeted with after all the stimulation the constant battling is. The more you hung out, the more it became apparent Emmet could just find some calm and steady his tremendous energy with you there to ground him. It ended up becoming a bit of a behind-your-back joke around Gear Station as other depot agents took bets on when one of you would finally stop dragging your feet and ask about being more than friends.

⚪️ — But that was a long time ago. This is the now!

⚪️ — In the same fashion that brought you two together in the first place, you’re one of the first depot agents Emmet sees when he hops off the train for breaks or for closing, and he’ll come bouncing up to you when he sees you. Right away you lock arms—Emmet loves all the excitement of his job, without a doubt, but sometimes he can just overload without even realizing it’s happening. But you’re so stable and your arms are so strong, kind of locking himself to you brings him back down to earth from all the battling adrenaline.

⚪️ — It’s funny watching you two walk hand-in-hand, or with locked arms. You have a very stiff and simple stride and as calm as you are, there are no points of tension or parts of your body that just need to move sometimes. Meanwhile Emmet takes those big, toy soldier-like steps with perfectly straight legs and swings his arms so much, so walking together you’re perfectly still save for whatever arm he’s swinging around with his motions. You’re never bothered, though. It’s all very cute and you don’t mind your arm getting a little sore from Emmet just being Emmet. You wouldn’t have it any other way.

⚪️ — It’s okay that he’s not great with his words or that he can’t script when apart from Ingo if he’s around you. He can talk as much as he wants with no expectations of making sense or proper sentence structure or correct tone. You’re so laid back, you don’t mind any of it. You feel pretty special for being one of the only people on earth who can make Emmet comfortable enough to stray from his usual script and just talk and talk.

⚪️ — Carry him!! If you’re strong enough, that is. When you two get home from a long day of work, you’ll often find your arms full of giggling Emmet. He actually really likes to be held, and not many people are as significantly taller than him as necessary to do that. (Part of the reason why he’s attracted to guys, to be honest. Hold him with those big strong arms!)

⚪️ — Did I mention your calmness is really grounding? Because it is. He knows there’s no judgement with you and you aren’t a struggle to read when you take so much in stride. It’s so rare and strange to say, but Emmet feels like he can make mistakes around you. And have those mistakes not be a bad thing, I mean. He’s always heard of mistakes being learning tools, but they’ve always felt so punishing to him, he never knew why anyone would want to learn through messing up. At least, not until he met you and he realized he could flub his words and commit any social faux pas when he interacts with you, because he knows you won’t judge. You’re safe. When he’s with you, the world isn’t so harsh and judgmental, it doesn’t pick him apart so severely for being “weird” and “different”. It’s so liberating, to feel so safe in making mistakes and knowing you’ll still love him at the end of the day.

⚪️ — And for your part, you struggle feeling strong feelings, especially excitement. So when good things happen, Emmet feels the excitement for the both of you, and his energy definitely seeps over to you! With him around, feelings don’t blend together and fade into each other so easily. He never expects you to change, he loves your calmness, and it only brings him even more delight when you do get excited about something, because that something really must be amazing, then!! It’s just so comforting to have Emmet there and watch him emote for the both of you.

⚪️ — Beyond the actual therapeutic, helpful little things about this behavior, it’s also just adorable. You make that well known, because Emmet likes that you think he’s adorable. Him? Really? Even if his smile is creepy and never goes away, or he’s always tense and shaking around, or his eyes seem too blank or glassy, you think he’s cute? He’s rather insecure about his appearance, actually—he’s been called creepy and weird many times before, mostly regarding his smile and his erratic movements, so hearing you like all that about him is just so, so validating!

⚪️ — You better be a good big spoon because Emmet loves snuggling up to you and being in your arms. If you’re having a bad day, though, your height difference won’t stop him from holding you! He’s lived with Ingo his whole life after all, he’s gotten pretty good at reading fairly minimal indicators of mood since he’s used to going off so little so he always knows how you’re feeling.

⚪️ — Expect a lot of quick shows of physical affection. He’ll crush you in a side-hug for exactly two seconds before running off, he’ll bounce onto his toes to kiss you on the cheek, he’ll nuzzle his head into your shoulder before it‘s about time to get off the couch and head for work, he just likes physical affection and squeezes in it whenever possible. He’s just always very busy, and that applies to just his thought process and usual way of conducting himself, too, but you never complain about his style of affection.

⚪️ — Of course you swap train stories and facts! He’s very fascinated hearing about the Magnet Train, Unova really hasn’t got around to utilizing high-speed railways yet. And if you have any questions about the Battle Subway, he’s happy to answer!

⚪️ — Emmet’s a professional, of course, so he’s not going to be all over you at work, but he doesn’t hide your relationship either. If you’re working his line and he gets off the train in time to spot you, he’ll run over and give you a quick peck before heading off to wherever he’s headed.

⚪️ — Since words aren’t his forte, he uses all these quick shows of affection as his “I love you”s. So Emmet has likely seldom or even never said a verbal “I love you” to you, but that’s okay, because you know that’s what every one of his kisses and hugs mean.

⚪️ — If he’s ever getting overstimulated or just plain riled, you give his hand a comforting squeeze that makes everything slow down a bit.

⚪️ — Ingo loves you, by the way (in a platonic sense). He’s delighted to see someone make his brother so happy, and to see Emmet has found someone he doesn’t have to mask with that’s not just him or Elesa. He would do the classic family move and warn you that you better treat Emmet right, but Ingo doesn’t find that warning necessary. He’s seen you working even before you and Emmet got together and knows you’re not at all fickle about your commitments. He’s not worried.

⚪️ — At the end of a long work day, you can expect to find you and Emmet tangled up in each other’s lanky arms and legs, surrounded by all your Pokemon both on and off the bed. And there Emmet will talk and talk, and probably make no sense while he does it, but that’s alright and he’s just happy to spill his thoughts without worrying about how he structures them. He’ll often go until he’s yawning, at which point you shush your beloved conductor and encourage him to maybe go to sleep.

⚪️ — Before burying his face into your chest or stomach, he’ll mumble out a sleepy “well, next stop: dreamland… aaaall aboooard…!” just because he knows it makes you laugh. You’re so stoic, but he absolutely can make you laugh with ease.

⚪️ — He loves that laugh of yours, because hearing it reminds him how free and happy you two are to express yourselves in the safety of one another’s company.

⚪️ — And when you both wake up in the morning and start getting ready for work all over again, Emmet always manages to find some words with so much less effort than it usually takes him as he barges into the bathroom to help you straighten your tie.

“I am Emmet. And you look verrrrry handsome today.”

Ingo

⚫️ — Everything is Emmet’s fault here. I mean… look, he knows that despite what people think, his brother can feel joy and actually feels it quite often, but it can be hard for Ingo to keep up with how upbeat Emmet is and his brother recognizes that as loud as Ingo can get, Ingo is really more built for the quiet and the calm.

⚫️ — (Most of the time. He definitely has his moments, but unlike Emmet he doesn’t have that surplus of energy to always be shaking out. Ingo is just a bit naturally more reserved. He is certainly more verbose than Emmet, but is actually less of a fan of being social than him.)

⚫️ — So knowing he was the personality Ingo spent the most time around, Emmet really got to thinking his brother needed someone who matched his energy levels better. In general, he thinks Ingo needs someone! It makes him verrrry sad, but he knows challengers approach him much more often than Ingo solely because his outward demeanor is more approachable to people. And by god, Emmet is determined to get more people as loud and proud members of the Ingo fan club.

⚫️ — Unceremoniously shoving his poor brother into you, a complete stranger who Emmet deemed to match Ingo’s “vibes”—at their workplace no less!—was probably not the ideal way to go about it, but you guys are dating now so it really is Emmet’s last laugh this time.

⚫️ — Ingo is very quiet and slow with his affection—at least, when he wants to be. There’s a time for words, definitely, but he honestly spins his wheels endlessly when he does talk and considering he has to take charge in that department for both his and Emmet’s sake, he likes being able to wind down with you.

⚫️ — (Definitely not me gay yearning looking up all different types of cuddles but) He likes to sleep in the sweetheart’s cradle position with you. Being nestled in your arms is very comforting for him, and when he can’t sleep, being so close let’s himself get lost in… well, you. He’ll trace his fingers across your skin, just focusing on the texture, listen to your heartbeat as he lays his head on your chest, or bury his head in your side and try and figure out what that body wash you used is supposed to smell like. He can be a restless sleeper, as his mind’s always buzzing every which way, but he always drifts back off eventually when he’s with you.

⚫️ — He does get a little embarrassed about how clingy he can get and how much he wants to be held, though, but you’re just there to love him even if he gets a little flustered about it.

⚫️ — Not huge on PDA because of his self conscious-ness, and NONE at all if you’re at work. This is a professional environment, after all! Of course, you’re so calm and laid back, that’s not an issue for you. Hey, whatever he wants.

⚫️ — Ingo loves his brother, he loves him more than life itself, but despite being identical twins they don’t see eye-to-eye on everything—Emmet’s excitability and energy being something Ingo doesn’t really have. He can get into those moods and does like excitement from time to time, but as much as he adores his job, the constant excitement can be a little much and he can rely on you for some quiet and calm in his life. He doesn’t need to maximize his energy and put on a show to be enough for you.

⚫️ — You’re so quiet, sometimes he worries his lack of volume control upsets you. He’s always so loud, and you’re… not. But you’re okay with him that way, you tell him you understand that’s a hard thing for him to control and the boisterous voice is something you love, anyway. It’s so uniquely him, just something you can hear and smile to yourself about as you think “yep, that’s Ingo”.

⚫️ — Also a bit nervous about publicly being in a relationship, but hey, you’re willing to take it at whatever pace he’s most comfortable with!

⚫️ — You use your height to your advantage, doing stuff that flusters him often—because you know for all his huffing about it, he loves the attention. You swipe his hat sometimes at home and tousle his hair, only to plop it back down all the way over his eyes. You put your arms around his waist when he’s not looking and lift him up, just a little bit—that move is especially useful when Ingo is overworking himself, because he’s literally powerless in that situation and will just hang there, defeated while you carry him somewhere else like you’re a child with an oversized teddy bear.

⚫️ — You and Emmet are some of the only people who can get a real smile out of him. He absolutely still enjoys himself and feels a good amount of joy daily, he just seldom smiles to express it. But you and Emmet are both capable of pushing him into such a good mood, the corners of his mouth twitch up a little bit into his unique half-smile. (Ingo is very self conscious about how unnatural it looks, but you think he’s adorable and it kills him a little every time when you compliment his smile in spite of him growing up hating it. So with how good of a mood he already has to be in in order to get that tiny smile in the first place, that mood only soars higher once you start complimenting said smile. Very pleasant situation he can get himself stuck in.)

⚫️ — Will happily invite you to join him for safety checks on his lines, and even though he’s very much a “no romantic interactions at work” kind of guy, he’s guaranteed to happily infodump about the trains if it’s just the two of you. He’s thankful you’re such a good listener.

⚫️ — One of his favorite shows of affection to you is kissing the back of your hand, especially to say goodbye whenever you need to part ways—and no, he definitely doesn’t go after your hand because he can’t reach your face.

⚫️ — I feel like both he and Emmet need regular reminders to take care of themselves, but Ingo is definitely the more stubborn one in that department, at least when it comes to the business/paperwork side of running the Battle Subway. Emmet throws every ounce of his energy into the battles he loves so much and is so tired by the end of the day, Ingo doesn’t want to make him do it! But in convincing him to step away from work, he’ll at least begrudgingly listen to you.

⚫️ — The only time Ingo’s voice is at its true quietest is at night, when you two are laying next to each other in bed. Your fingers running through his hair, his hand laced with yours, you’re used to him half-consciously mumbling about his feelings when he’s close to falling to sleep, because Ingo’s a sentimental dork and the sleepier he gets, the harder it is for him to hold back rambling like an idiot. He can’t help it! He compensates for his lack of physical emoting by always outright stating what he’s feeling and thinking—at least, most of the time—and though he’s never dishonest about how strong his feelings for you are, a tired Ingo is the sappiest Ingo.

“Mmh… I love you… so much…”

“I love you too, Ingo.”

“I’m so… lucky to have a man like you in my life…”

“You’re sweet.”

“I just love you so much…! With all of my heart…”

“I do too, Ingo. But you should go to sleep now, really.”

[tossawary]

I finished rereading SVSSS’s main story and I’m going to get to the extras again next. I forgot how funny this story is. I forgot just how sad this story can be as well (Tianlang-Jun and Su Xiyan, Tianlang-Jun and Zhuzhi-Lang, Yue Qingyuan and the Original Shen Qingqiu, Luo Binghe’s abandonment issues).

Update on the Daemon AU, “Sit With Your Soul”. (Summary: Still planning on continuing it with more and plottier arcs, but I want to do a reread and edit of the first arc beforehand now.) 

I think that I am going to have to do an edit of the first arc of my new Daemon AU, “Sit With Your Soul”. Not a complete overhaul of plot or anything, not changing anything to do with the structure or what happens in scenes, but I feel like I’ve gotten a much better handle on Shen Yuan’s narrative voice now, and so I want to tighten up my narrative style (the wording of certain things, mostly) to bring it more in line with SVSSS. I also want to tighten up a few world and character details, even if it’s an AU and I’m overall pleased with how I’m managed to keep a decent foundation in canon in most of my fanfiction even when I’m intentionally jumping off it.

I’m also going to have to go back and name some of the OCs and the daemons if I’m going to commit to writing a longer and plottier story. When I started writing the Daemon AU, I didn’t know how far I was going to go with it; it was mostly about Shen Yuan and Shen Jiu’s relationship. As I got really into it, by the time I posted, I was like, “Oh, I’m definitely writing more of this.” When I was mocking Airplane Bro in the story for not bothering to name daemons... I was kind of calling myself out for avoiding naming so many OCs. I wasn’t sure whether or not it was going to be worth establishing so many OCs...

(This is exactly what happened with “pride is not the word I’m looking for” and the An Ding disciples... They didn’t get names because 1) it felt right for Shang Qinghua, but 2) I didn’t know if they were going to matter that much...)

The edit shouldn’t take too long. I was going to need to reread the first arc anyway to write the Shen Jiu POV reflection on the first arc that I’ve been planning, so it slots neatly into my to-do list of writing projects. (Now that I’ve reread most of SVSSS, I feel like I’ll be able to write a proper commentary for “love to the ones I’ve never met” and better reflect on PINTWILF.) 

I’ll keep a copy of the original version of “Sit With Your Soul” around somewhere. And I’ll alert people to when I’m actually going to post the edited version, so they can download the original if they like, to compare and contrast. I’ll also try to keep a “patch notes log” for people to review afterwards.

Oh, side note: I recently edited all my stories on AO3 to adjust the spacing between paragraphs (thank you, Find & Replace functions). There are a few spacing issues here and there still, which I’m tackling as I notice them. So if you’re like, “Hm, this looks different,” then that’s probably why.

[cataclysmicwriting]

Will I ever make an intro I'm happy with? Who knows, the answer so far remains no skjfnesg

About me:

☆ Harrow, 26, he/they, gay and trans ☆ I work full time so writing is sporadic ☆ I use my likes as a bookmark system, to hold on to things I want to check out/add to my queue until I have time to do so ☆ This is a sideblog! I follow from @cataclysmicqueer

About my writing:

☆ I write a mix of short stories and longer wips ☆ My short stories can be read over on Vocal for free! ☆ I like to write in a variety of genres, but I can guarantee everything I write will be gay and I tend to write tragedies a lot ☆ I am always open to ask/tag games and getting to know other writers! ☆ I never know what to post in regards to my own stories, pls bear with me skjfnesge

What I want to follow:

☆ I love love love superpowers, fantasy, and sci-fi stories ☆ huge fan of found family, old/dead gods, bastardization arcs, and extensive character/world building ☆ would rlly love to connect with other writers of short stories!

My WIPs:

I have Many(tm) ideas and these aren't likely to be the only ones I talk about, just the main ones I put time/effort into. Formal intros for them coming soon-ish.

The Chaos in Justice || First Draft In Progress || Max Greenwich has just gained acceptance to the Grand Chaos Institute, home of the next generation of the world's worst supervillains. It's not long before he finds himself uncovering a plot to end the world, and he must team up with a group of heroes and villains alike to protect everyone. found family ; what it means to be good/evil ; fate vs free will

Lantern's Light (title pending) || First Draft in Progress || Sorran would be the first to admit they're not a great person, in fact, they're kinda a bitch. But when they happen to extend a bit of kindness to someone in need, it turns out the "someone" is actually an old god. An old god who has now decided Sorran is her new champion, and now they're stuck babysitting the reborn champion of the gods in some epic quest to defeat a threat to all of existence. found family ; redemption/bastardization arcs ; mix of high and modern fantasy ; parallel story arcs

??? (what are titles who knows not me) || planning stages || I don't have a proper blurb for this just yet but what to expect: homestuck-level dumbassery, video games as a plot mechanic, inspiration from things such as homestuck, genshin impact, centaurworld, and some hella world-building.

[mollymauk-teafleak]

young icemav hate sex fic YES I say, happy with all your ideas :DDD are you working on anything else at the moment? can you tell me more about your headcanons for the moment where Ice shows up at Mav's door and gives the big speech like you wrote in " you know that i caught it bad, boy"? Most romantic stuff I've read in years, honestly

Haha, thank you! Honestly, I could work on a lot of different stuff, I've gotten some great prompts and people seem really interested in more Kazansky sibling stuff which I love so I might write Sarah and Maverick's first proper introduction. I also have a Very angsty fic of Maverick getting the call that Ice has been shot down and the time in between that and hearing he's been rescued, and a bunch of sweet domestic ideas rattling around in my brain, courtesy of my wonderful gf @nb-fearne!

But yes another thing I could write is that scene which I would Love to elaborate on.

So after the Handshake and Hug to end all handshakes and hugs, Ice is back with his squadron and Maverick takes up an instructor position at Top Gun and yeah, they were fucking all through their training and they absolutely boned hard after that dogfight but after that they kind of aren't sure what to do? They're both in love with each other (Ice fell in love at the teeth snap, Maverick fell in love when Ice buzzed the tower with him) but they both know an actual relationship with each other will be so difficult and both assume the other doesn't want to risk their career on it.

So they have a very strange stage where Ice calls Maverick whenever he can, so often that everyone in the squadron assumes Iceman finally has a girl back home, Mav waking up with nightmares about Ice in danger, both of them totally miserable without the other and frustrated with the distance. But Mav feels like he can't ask Ice to give up the job he loves to roll the dice with him so he stays quiet.

Until Ice has a narrow escape, he gets away clean but he's shaken. Because in what he thought were his last moments, all he could think about was how his whole life would be a goddamn waste if he didn't spend it loving Pete Mitchell, however he can. And Slider knows it so he goes up to him after like 'look, for once in your life, just embrace the messiness and just fuck around and find out'. So Ice does, he's a hero again so they offer him any post and he chooses Miramar and he chooses Maverick.

Except he doesn't tell Maverick until he's there on his doorstep because the turnaround is fast and every time he thinks of calling Mav to tell him, he panics because oh god this is big. But now he's here knocking on his door and its way too early and oh god he's answering wearing boxers and a sweater that absolutely belonged to Ice and he'd been wondering where it ended up. And Mav says his name so soft and so happy like the whole world makes sense again just because he's standing there. And it just all comes pouring out, Ice saying he's so scared and he knows this is going to be hard but fuck, Mav is worth it, he loves him so much he's actually going to ask the universe if he can be happy and fight for what he wants. He wants them to be instructors together, he wants them to be in the same place and enjoy it and actually have a proper relationship

And Mav just drags him in by the shirt, slams the door and kisses him so hard, which of course means Ice is always joking for the next thirty years that Maverick never actually agreed to be his boyfriend?

[accio-victuuri]

MY SDC 5 Episode 11 thoughts 💭

I can’t believe we’re down to the last episode before the finals. for all the excitement of yibo joining this season ( and my personal bias towards this show ), I feel like it went by too fast. So I just had to write down my favorite moments from tonight. It was excellent because, well, it was all battles. The heart & soul of this show will always be dance battles and how raw it is. Those moments really come across the screen especially to the audience, even if we’re not there physically.

SPOILERS AHEAD SO BEWARE. ❌

How can I make this without applauding the one & only - Sean. I swear. From Day 1, this kid got me. He did so well in all the survival battle rounds and I am so thankful for Poppin C cause he saved him to get through to the Finals. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

and I didn’t know they were familiar with each other, but since they both do popping, it makes sense. It’s so cuteee!

The part about them talking about their regrets and wishes was also cool cause it gave us an insight to their personal lives. I’m cackling at Zyko & Dykens writing down they wanna go to Disney Shanghai & Great Wall of China WITH HANGENG. It was a good move cause obvs, the good host that he is couldn’t possibly say no. I hope they all get to go on that trip. Lucas was again super cute talking about how his mom would comment on posts about him @ SDC. He clearly just wants his mom to be proud of him. 🥺

The past seasons had great personalities that you can’t help but love and at the beginning I thought SDC5 will not deliver. I was wrong. The combination of well known dancers and new generation brought out people that I grew attached to. I’m sad Yuki & Doudou were eliminated but they have a bright future ahead. ☀️

THE INITIAL BATTLES for a save. Zyko. That’s all. I don’t care and do not remember anything else but Zyko battling. How can someone be so creative and work well his team + be a beast in battles all at the same time? I am convinced he is some kind of a genius. I’be said it before but I’m happy that he came back.

( i mean look at that. and he owned the battles. completely. )

Tho my favorite part would have to be the 2nd round of “save” care of the Masters. All these amazing dancers? We had all of them last season? I can’t! This is why some people can’t help but compare S4 and S5 this line up reminded how amazing last season was. and the fact that yibo danced a lot.

AND OMG ROCHKA. I forgot how fun it is to watch him dance / battle! Look at the reactions of the dancers and you’ll know he’s got that vibe in him. Observe Kyoka, homegirl is feelin the moves!

AND FINALLY, the collab I didn’t know I needed was AC & SIWEN! Miss prim and proper with the Chaos that is AC. The performance was fun and sexy! Yibo definitely liked it — he said his thoughts about Siwen’s progress. It’s actually one of the things I like about Bobo as a mentor. You don’t have to the absolute best. You don’t have beat yourself up every day that you don’t get the number 1. You just have to be better than who you were yesterday. Progress is the most important.

I also felt for Siwen when she pretty much said she’s a loner and doesn’t get along with people. but joining SDC 5 changed that. It’s moments like this that make me think that humans aren’t trash. gives me hope. Lol.

AND UH— I definitely caught this moment. Bouboo whispering to Yibo like a schoolboy after Siwen’s performance. HAHAHAHA! and Yibo being the supportive friend. I remember that episode ( hotpot ) where Yibo was lowkey teasing him about Siwen. I can’t blame Bouboo, she is gorgeous!

THAT IS ALL. It was so much fun! I’m feeling the separation anxiety now but I gotta prep for the Finale. We know how exhausting that is. Looking forward to 10/29 🤍🤍🤍

P.S. Thank you to this season for giving us Shipper! Wang Yibo.

[ivesambrose]

Happy New year my loves 🌹

Pick a gif that you can vividly visualize yourself in

I have kept these short and sweet this time, leaving you room to write your own story for the year as I give you the keywords.

I'll be posting more pick a cards and making more posts soon 💕

For a personalized reading you can DM or Email me at jovescorpioreadings@gmail.com

1. Themes

You've endured growing pains last year, almost reaching something but not finding any rest.

You've evolved a lot and perhaps that came at the cost of a hardened heart too.

This year brings you expansion, exploration and luck.

You've gotten braver so fortune has decided to favour you or you've simply decided to make fortune bend to your favour.

Messages

- Finding comfort in a new house and environment.

- Creative expression (something you've always wanted to do but made several excuses and averted from it)

- Aesthetic and style change, wearing what you've wanted to wear but earlier didn't allow yourself to

- Family heirlooms

- Learning a new subject or further education

- An end to fogginess / lack of clarity

- Recognition overseas or likely a trip overseas

- For some of you, I also see an end to loneliness, there's a world ahead waiting for you. You don't have to look back anymore.

2. Themes

A period of rest before you restructure your life. You've been contemplating, planning and perhaps meditating for quite some time now. Maybe a little detached too but that's giving you the energy and insight you'd be needing before springing into action.

You're about to commit to succeeding in a venture that will make use of your wits and transferable skills.

This year brings you the desire to compete, build strength and take action.

Messages

- Catch that flight and take that trip (safety first)

- You'll earn enough to be generous to the ones you love this year

- Stay curious and inquisitive without overwhelming yourself (especially if you're virgo or Gemini ruled)

- The simplest of instances and things can end up leading to a prosperous opportunity

- Congratulations on manifesting your new love

- You'll have a lovely list of accomplishments by the end of this year, you're actually about to celebrate with a satisfied grin on your face.

3. Themes

Taking your pain, sorrow, fears and mix them into a palette and make art. Finding peace within yourself and a creative outlet as well. Happiness will find you eventually. But you can't sit with your grief and losses for long.

Maybe you feel guilty about something too and perhaps you should make amends.

But be sure to seek out peace even if it means taking up an adventure you thought you'd never take.

Messages

- risk taking, seeking, learning. See the world through the lens of your inner child. They deserve to go out and play. You owe yourself that much more than anything.

- There's an easier to be and it doesn't have to be going tooth and nail at it.

- Recognizing already present talents and gifts that you've been ignoring.

- Receiving love and admiration. Let yourself be charmed.

- Maybe what you're truly seeking indeed is elsewhere and that's alright. Time that you seize it. Stop making excuses.

4. Themes

You've done your soul searching or likeky entering the year quietly before you secretly take the leap of faith and break free.

There's a sense of freedom and rising from the ashes. Becoming a version of you that was a long time coming but it's coming eitherway at the perfect time. The world is about to witness someone unyielding and powerful. Whether they are ready or not, it's their problem.

Soulmates and romance is a significant theme too.

Messages

- Ethusiasm with what's ahead, optimism, travel, breakthroughs and innovation.

- Foreign cultures (learning, travel, friends or possible relocation)

- Affording the luxuries you couldn't before. Increase in assets. Financial education and proper implementation.

- The right kind of company and companions

- Feeling desirable and being desired

- Seeing your vivid imaginations manifest. Happy manifesting!

- Intuitions might run high be sure to look after your health plus establish certain boundaries as well.

[the-demonus-aunt]

Hii! I have the best idea

Can you write a scenario with MC asking the brothers + the dateables (minus Luke) to recreate the Kim Kardashian s€x tape?

I want to read that so bad😩

I have a three-page long list of headcanon and imagine ideas and yet, you guys always take the cake. Congratulations on a truly creative request 😂

And listen, I watched that shit for you, I hope it pays off lol

Thanks for requesting!

CN nsft. Since the tape is M/F, it's kind of implied that MC has a vagina, but body parts are not explicitly stated. Only second person pronouns ("you").

How the brothers would react to you asking to recreate the Kim Kardashian s€x tape

Belphie

Recreate th- what the fuck, y/n, he's trying to sleep

The thought of having you on camera to watch again and again whenever he wants is enough to make him listen up after all

So what exactly are you talking about?

You're so weird sometimes, you know that?

Okay, but only if he doesn't have to do an impression of Ray J's cringey intro

"What do you mean I can't cuss when they don't?"

Beel

Great, you made him choke on the macaron from Madame Scream's he was just scoffing down

Did he really just hear you say that? He probably misheard you...

When you explain, he realises you're completely serious

He needs a strong Siren's Song first

Well, you did mention he could eat you out

He's not quite sure what's even happening, but he'll do it if you give proper instructions

Make sure his brothers never get to see this, though

"Can I finally fuck you for real, now?"

Asmo

He doesn't know who Kim is, but he's heard the words s€x tape come out of your mouth, so yes, he's down

When you explain who she is he wants to do it even more

But can he be Kim?

He supposes you could make two versions

He will ask to include pretty lingerie, though

Can he post it on Devilgram later?

"Oh that's so sloppy, I can do better, don't worry."

Satan

He actually knows about it

Has seen it, too

Will refuse to do the shots where Ray J just stares into the camera like "Yes, I'm the shit"

Leave that shit to the Avatar of Pride, if you will

Only does it because it seems to make you happy

And he reminds you often enough that's the single reason he's up on that bed holding the camera

"Do I have to be so cheerful about it?"

Levi

The Mountain Dew you ordered for him from the human world will spray out of his nose

He, too, has actually seen it. Only has a vague idea of who she is, though

He assumes it doesn't matter anyway as long as you'll have sex with him

He'll try some Ray J impressions, but it's just cringe

Several takes for those scenes, because you end up in a laughing fit several times

He's butthurt at first, but when he rewatches his attempts to be a macho, he'll laugh along

It'll turn out to be less sexy, but insanely funny with him

"What is this face, how does he even do that?"

Mammon

He just silently blushes

Not that he wants to sleep with you rn, but if you really want to, fine

Thinks about selling it for a second, but then the jealousy kicks in - nobody but him can see you like that

Gets too distracted to actually recreate anything, you start out with a few laughs, then just end up fucking wildly

Well, you'll just have to try again, what a shame

Cums unplanned when you suck him off. Good thing he has demonic stamina.

"Fuck this, you feel too good to hold back, fuck, fuck."

Lucifer

Pardon him, what did you just suggest?

And who is that supposed to be? Is he supposed to know what you're talking about?

By Diavolo and all that is unholy, did you even think about what you're asking of him?

Absolutely not, what is he to do if it ever gets leaked?

And who is that vulgar, arrogant man who makes these stupid grimaces? How exactly do you imagine him in his place?

He is open to imitating some scenes without a camera on, though

"That's a bit vanilla, isn't it?"

Diavolo

Oh my, this man is down for it, as soon as you give him some details

Pray that Barbatos never finds that tape, because if he finds out you're risking his master's reputation for something like this, he will choose the next best timeline without you in it

Is completely fascinated and has a surprising eye for detail

"That will be quite the interesting experience, don't you think?"

Barbatos

He knows. He knows everything.

Did Solomon's cooking make you delirious?

He doesn't say that one out loud, though

It seems to make you happy, so why the fuck not

Has trouble cumming in the end, because he's really not that into the whole situation

Will hide that tape better than his annoyance

"Sure, y/n, I'm glad to assist if it makes you happy."

Simeon

By God, Diavolo and Jeff Bezos, you want WHAT from him?

He doesn't see the appeal. He either wants to make love or corrupt you, this has nothing to offer in his eyes

If you keep begging like that, he might give in

But only if you fulfill one of his fantasies in return

"Ehm. An interesting request. May I make a counter offer?"

Solomon

This old man is up to date!

He agrees, but he will make some changes to his taste

Surprisingly good Ray J impressions??

Thinks about sending it to Diavolo and Lucifer, just to spite them

Will rewatch it with Asmo. Will receive a high five for it.

"Well, well, well, in all my years that's a first. I'm in....Literally."

[gamebunny-advance]

Heart and Soul

AN: A story about Yinu and Tenten's first meeting.

So fair warning, I haven't written fiction like this in literal years (unless you wanna count my comic scripts), and I think this whole thing is actually pretty trite and cliché (if the trite and cliché title didn't already tip you off to that), but sometimes you just gotta write some fluff to help you sleep at night.

This is also probably one of the worst platforms for posting long-form fic like this (this is over 12,400 words long, so I don't blame y'all if you don't have time for it here on tumblr). Maybe I'll open an account on a proper fic-sharing website and post it there.

But for now, I hope you'll enjoy this silly story from me.

-------

"...I assure you, Yinu will surely flourish under NSR's care."

The adults talked to each other intently as Yinu's eyes wandered around the office. On the desk was the usual boring collection of things that no child would usually pay much mind to: a small canister of varied writing utensils, a paper holder holding many papers and documents. Among them, she saw the papers that her and her Mama had signed earlier. She was very proud of her own signature: she'd practiced it a lot before coming here. It had taken some time to make sure she could stay on the line. She liked how it looked next to her Mama's, even if she couldn't understand what Mama’s squiggles meant.

Of slight interest was the triangular name plate on the desk. It adorned the name of that lady who would be her new "boss".

"Tatiana Quartz."

Yinu said it in her head a couple of times. She thought she had heard the word "quartz" before. Something to do with measurement maybe? Music? "Oh, like a quarter note!" She was impressed that her boss knew so much about music to be named after it.

She noticed the big portraits on the wall behind Miss Quartz. They were tall and imposing, scary even. The center one she recognized as Miss Quartz herself. The painted lady seemed to glare down at Yinu with incredible force. Her intense expression was very unlike the warm smile of the real Miss Quartz. It was a little scary, so she averted her gaze to the right portrait. This one was another lady, or was it two ladies? There were lots of hands too. Maybe it was even more ladies! Yinu couldn't quite understand the portrait, but she thought she liked it. She looked to the left of Miss Quartz's scary portrait and there was a very strange person wearing a square mask. Yinu had never seen a mask like that: what did the circles mean? Where's the mouth? Or the eyes? Or any kind of face? The strange masked person was surrounded by a few other people. They weren't wearing masks, but they didn't look quite "right" either. They reminded her of the shiny people she saw on TV sometimes, though she couldn’t quite remember what they were called.

Yinu's eyes and mind continued to wander about the room as the voices of her new boss and her Mama blurred and slurred together. She knew they were talking about her, but she didn't really understand what it was about. When she heard her name she would focus again and try to listen, but it was always about things like a "salary" and "management" and other boring and adult topics of that nature. Nothing fun. Nothing interesting.

As Yinu kicked her legs a little in the slightly too big seat, something urgent suddenly struck her. She tugged on her Mama's hand to get her attention.

"...I'm just worried that- oh, what is it Yinu?" Mama looked down into Yinu's eyes. "Mama, I have to go wee."

"Oh, okay I'll take you.” Mama took a hold of the hand that was tugging her fingers, “I'm sorry Miss Quartz may I-" Mama had begun to rise from her seat, but Yinu tugged back, trying to break free from the grasp.

"I can go by myself." she said. Yinu was a big girl after all. Surely at 8 years old she could use the restroom all by herself she thought.

"No Yinu, I don't want you to get lost." Mama said firmly.

"But, Mama..."

Yinu tried to insist, but she knew she could never win an argument against Mama, and there wasn't much time to argue anyway. The situation was becoming more than urgent.

Miss Quartz seemed to notice this and decided to speak up.

"The restroom isn't far, it's only down the hall to the right. It would be easier to get lost walking down a runway."

Yinu was impressed at her new boss’s attitude. She was rarely given any kind of support when it came do doing things her way. But now was not the time to think about how cool Miss Quartz was.

Mama wanted to protest, but the tugging at her hand was getting fervent. She sighed and let go. "Okay, but come back as soon as you're done."

"Okay!" with that Yinu ran quickly out of the room.

Miss Quartz chuckled to herself lightly at the girl’s enthusiasm for simply being allowed to relieve herself.

"I'm sorry about that." said Mama as she lowered herself back into her seat. "It's quite alright. Even at that age, kids want to prove themselves. Sometimes you have to let them. Even if it's just to go to the bathroom."

Mama laughed a little too.

"And I'm sure she'll prove herself a great asset to this company as well. As I was saying-"

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

Yinu had some trouble reaching the sink, even on her tippy-toes, but she still managed to help herself up and get her hands sparkling clean, just like Mama and Papa had taught her. She looked at herself in the massive mirror in front of her. Mama had dressed her in her formal clothes: a white button-up shirt with a small pocket adorned with a red ribbon around the collar and a long flowing skirt. Yinu liked to twirl the skirt by spinning around. It made her feel magical and reminded her of when she and Mama would dance in the living room while Papa played the piano.

She looked at her hair in the mirror too. Mama had tied them into two twin buns. Each one looked like a mini rose bouquet. Yinu thought it was pretty, but it was a little heavy on her head and they were twisted just a little too tight. She had been sitting for what felt like hours in that big chair, and her neck was starting to hurt just a little too much for her comfort.

As she climbed onto the counter to get a better look, she decided to take off the bands that her holding the buns in place. They were cute little bands: red with little flower bead decorations. She thought they were very pretty and was always happy when Mama let her wear them, especially as bracelets.

Her hair fell just below the bottoms of her ears like a waterfall ending in little rosebuds.

Yinu felt relieved and still thought she looked like a proper young lady even with her hair down. Satisfied with her work, she put the bands around her wrists: they were cuter this way anyway, and she hopped back down from the counter and left the rest room and began to make her way back to Miss Quartz's office.

The hallways were terribly quiet. Yinu's foot steps echoed through the halls and the smell was what she could only describe as "fancy". She had been through halls like this numerous times: the concert venues that she frequented always had long halls like this. Sometimes they scared her because they seemed to go on forever, but as long as Mama was there holding her hand, they didn’t feel as scary.

She slightly recalled meeting Miss Quartz at one of those concerts after a certain competition some time ago. She was the one who presented Yinu with her trophy for winning first place in the event. She remembered because she was so happy to tell her Papa about it after the show. They both wished he could have been there in person, but he'd said he was so proud of her for winning. They would rewatch the recording in Papa's room and Yinu was so happy to see Papa smiling again.

All the while, she played with her hair bands on her wrist. She liked the way it felt to twirl the beads and tug on the elastic. Her foot steps got slower and smaller as she continued to focus on tugging on the band. It hurt to have it snap back at her, but it was still kind of fun. As she fidgeted with it, the bands found themselves off her wrists and into her hands where she tugged on them to watch them snap back. She could launch them really far if she pulled back hard enough.

Curious about the result, she stretched one of the bands as far back as her tiny hands could stretch them and she let it fly. And flew it did.

"Oh no!" she cried.

It flew so far that it straight past Miss Quartz's office room and landed in front of the grand elevator. She ran to retrieve it from where it had fallen. She quickly picked it up and returned both bands to her wrists, not wanting to accidentally lose them again. Her curiosity of how far the bands could be flung had been satiated, but a new curiosity crept as the doors to elevator opened in front of her.

She had promised Mama that she would go back as soon as she was done, but she really wanted to know where the elevator would go.

They had been in that office for hours already, or so it felt. They would probably be there for several more hours. Besides, they weren't talking about anything that Yinu could be involved in anyway. It wouldn't be bad if she looked around just a little bit.

As she walked into the little room, she heard her Mama and Miss Quartz call after her, "YINU!"

But the doors had already closed shut.

"Mama!"

Yinu began to panic, she hadn't ridden on very many elevators and she didn't know what the buttons meant. She pressed all the buttons she could, which wasn't many given her short stature, but the doors remained closed. She could still hear her Mama and Miss Quartz outside, yelling incoherent instructions, and trying to stop it, but it was too late. The elevator began to lower, and Yinu was alone.

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

No sooner than Yinu had begun to cry, the elevator finally released her. The screen which read the floor number was too high for Yinu to see clearly, but she knew if she'd stayed in the elevator, she would be trapped again. She didn't want to spend another moment in that scary box, so she stepped out and watched the door close behind her as it continued its descent to whatever random floor she had managed to hit.

She looked around, this floor was almost identical to the one she'd been on: the same echoey halls, the same endless closed doors. She called out, "Hello?"

It reverberated through the halls, but became deafly silent again. No answer. No sound. Just the small scuffle of her own feet as she began to walk forward, hoping to find someone, anyone, that would help her.

She jiggled the handle of every door she came across but each one was tightly locked. Every step made her a little more anxious as she walked down what seemed to be an endless corridor. For a moment she decided to look behind her, but she'd already walked so far that the elevator was nowhere in her sight. The hall just seemed to stretch forever in both directions, leaving her utterly lost. As she began to feel the hopelessness of her situation catch up to her, she'd begun to cry again.

"Mama... I'm sorry... please help me..."

Her legs stopped walking and she fell down where she stood, balling her eyes out.

As she did so, she'd begun to hear something else in the hall. It was a quiet, but rhythmic thudding, like heavy footsteps. It echoed through the halls and seemed to get closer. Yinu called out towards the noise, "Who's there?"

The sound paused for a moment as if to consider the question. In return, the pace of the thudding quickened and began to get louder, moving towards Yinu.

The source of the sound finally came in view at the far end of the hall. It was person. At least it looked like a person. They were too far away for Yinu to make out any particular features besides the vague silhouette of a person wearing a tallish hat. But somehow, despite the dim lighting, the figure's face seemed to be glowing, causing unnatural shadows to be cast across their face.

Feeling a little embarrassed about being found crying, Yinu tried to suck up her snot and tears with all her might and stood up. "Hello, can you help me?" she called out. "I lost my Mama. I... just want to go back to my Mama."

The figure paused again until it received the entire message. Then it began to walk towards Yinu. At first Yinu was happy that someone had finally found her, but something felt off about that person.

Their footsteps were just a little too heavy and the way they moved looked a little too stiff as their arms refused to sway naturally at their sides. As they grew closer, the sound of mechanical creaking and whirring had became audible. Eventually the figure came close enough for Yinu to make out the features of its face: its reflective metal shine, its glowing white eyes, its unflinching expression. It was just like the shiny people she had seen on TV. The scary shiny people that shot lasers from their eyes and enslaved humanity. The things Yinu finally remembered that were called “robots”.

Yinu screamed and began running away back down the hall. She ran as fast as she could, trying her best not to look back. She didn't hear it getting faster, but she wouldn't stop now just to find out if she was actually making headway. There was no way that scary things like that could really be in a place like this. If this was the kind of scary place this was, then she'd want nothing to do with it. When she found her Mama she would tell her as much. “Mama...”

As Yinu recalled that she was still technically lost, she tripped on herself and skid her knees across the rough carpet floor.

"Ow, ow..." she cried as she sat up to inspect the scrapes on her legs. As she did so, the mechanical being was still making a steady pace towards her. Even as her tears welled, she tried to pick herself up again to run, but it hurt too much. The figure was getting closer. She couldn't run. She couldn't hide. The best she could do was cover her face and hope the monster would be quick in whatever it was going to do.

As she cowered she heard it stop in front of her and did… nothing. It stood motionless for a while, waiting for some kind of response, or perhaps it was analyzing the crying mass in front of it. Eventually, the light sobbing was interrupted.

"Are you hurt, Little Miss?"

A synthetic voice poured out of the monster. While it was clearly inhuman, it was a little deep and gentle. Almost warm. "Wh-what?" sobbed Yinu.

There was a brief pause between answers.

"Are you hurt, Little Miss?" it asked again.

"Little Miss?" she thought. She liked the way it sounded. It was kind of like a grown-up. Having received this bit of respect, she felt herself growing braver.

Yinu uncovered her eyes to look up into the monster's face. Seeing it up close, even though it still wasn't human, it wasn't as scary as she thought it was just moments ago. The arrangement was very simple, just two glowing white orbs for eyes and a line for a mouth. When it spoke, its mouth wouldn’t move but light up in rhythm to its words. She thought it was like a doll she used to have as an even smaller kid.

"Uh-huh..." she nodded cautiously and rubbed her knees. The speed of fall and the friction of the carpet had given her small red scrapes across both knees. A little blood had trickled out, but nothing so ghastly as to need any serious medical attention.

"I see. May I treat your wounds?" asked the voice. Yinu nodded again, "Okay..."

"Very well." The android crouched onto one knee as to be more level with Yinu. It had stood so incredibly tall and imposing earlier, but up close it appeared much more friendly. It inspected the cuts briefly. Besides her knees, Yinu's face had also gotten a little scuffed from the fall, making her already rosy cheeks even rosier.

"I am about to administer an antibiotic. You may experience slight discomfort, but it is necessary to reduce the risk of infection."

The android raised its left hand towards the wound on her right knee. At first it held its entire hand flat with palm facing down. It curled all its fingers towards the palm, leaving only its index finger extended towards the wound. Suddenly, the tip of its index finger unhinged upwards at the first knuckle and revealed a small nozzle which quickly sprayed what it claimed to be an antibiotic onto the wound.

Yinu winced a bit from the sudden pain and the android apologized for the discomfort again. It repeated this for each area that it had considered as needing attention. Once all the antibiotic has been "administered", it dispensed 4 bandages from its mouth. Yinu giggled a bit, thinking it looked like it was growing a very long tongue.

"Would you like me to apply the fabric adhesive strips?" it asked.

Yinu laughed out loud at the funny way that it referred to the bandages.

"No, I can do this part myself." Yinu said proudly as she gently tore and peeled the bandages apart and applied them to both her knees and her cheek. “I don’t need this one.” she said as she tried to return the extra bandage. “You may keep it. Extra fabric adhesive strips are good to have on hand.” it replied as it gently pushed the offer away. “Okay.” so Yinu stashed it away into her shirt pocket along with the bits of wax paper so she could throw them away later. Mama always told her to throw away her trash in the trash can like a proper lady.

"Was my service satisfactory?" asked the android as it stood back up onto both feet. “Yes.” she replied with a beaming smile. “Very good. I am happy to hear that.” replied the android. Yinu looked up at the android to really take in its features: it looked like it was dressed in somewhat fancy clothes that she thought she had seen somewhere before. Maybe in a movie or a store or something like that. The big hat it was wearing was equally as fancy. On the side of it she caught the glimpse of something shiny. She turned her head to try to get a better look, but now that it was standing at full height again, it was hard to make out. She thought it looked like some lines and circles in a nice neat row.

As she thought of that she suddenly remembered her manners, "Thank you for helping me." she said sincerely to the android.

"You are welcome Little Miss." it replied.

With that formality out of the way, Yinu began another one, "What's your name?" she asked.

The android replied: "I am: 1010-XJ L-Type Version 2.0.1"

"That’s really your name?” asked Yinu, not believing that the string of numbers and letters the android had said could really be a person’s name.

"Can I call you something shorter?" she asked.

The android paused, searching for an answer before finally responding,

"You can. You may call me: "Tenten".

"Tenten? Like the number? But two times?" Yinu asked as she open and closed her hands twice for “ten, ten.”

"Yes." Said the android. While it had searched its memories for an acceptable answer, it had noticed that when being spoken about, humans would often shorten his name to only the first part. When it was relevant, it would be referred to as the "L-Type," and when the Captain was angry it would be referred to as “Soldier,” but "Tenten" was usually sufficient and would probably be easier for the Little Miss to say.

"Okay Mr. Tenten, my name is Yinu."

"Yinu. That is a very nice name." Tenten replied. While its face made no change in emotion, its voice sounded sincere in its tone. Perhaps it thought every name it heard was a "nice name," but without even considering the possibility of this being a stock response, Yinu beamed, "Thank you!"

In what was only a handful of minutes, Yinu had gone from thinking she was in a literal nightmare realm to quite liking the nice android that had helped her out. For a moment she had again forgotten she was still lost until Tenten had reminded her.

"Little Miss, I do believe you were calling for help just a moment ago, yes?" it asked. "That is why I followed your voice, but you ran away before I could help you."

Yinu felt a little embarrassed about her earlier behavior, but having remembered her original goal, she explained the situation about how she had flung her bracelet and gotten on the elevator and separated from her Mama and how she couldn't remember which floor they were on or where she was, and how she saw this scary monster, and oh wait, that was Tenten.

After intently listening to her story, Tenten replied, "Miss Quartz's office is at the very top of NSR tower, so it will be very easy to return there from the elevator." As he said this, he raised his arm and pointed down the corridor in the direction that Yinu was running. It didn't look so far away now, and she was sure that now knowing where her Mama was, she would be able to get there herself.

But after everything that had happened, Yinu was tired of being a big girl for one day.

"Will you go with me?" She tugged on Tenten's free hand, causing him to look back down at her.

Her hand was lightly trembling. Even though she really wanted to see her Mama again and give her big hug, she was equally scared of how much she was going to get yelled at for running off. Mama had sounded really angry when she had gotten on the elevatr. Even so, she felt like it'd be a little less scary if Tenten was there too.

Tenten lowered his pointed hand and wrapped his fingers around the tiny hand which had grabbed him. "Okay. We will go together. From the elevator, it should not take more than a minute to reach the top floor."

No sooner than he had given this assurance, the building intercoms began to sound with Miss Quartz's voice, "Attention all NSR employees. We have a code orange. Currently be on the lookout for Miss Yinu. She is approximately 8 years old, has yellow hair-" the two listened to the alert until it concluded with, "If found, please make a report using the intercom system and return her to the lobby. Until she is found the building will be on lock down and the elevator will be suspended. Thank you."

Yinu felt another huge rush of embarrassment come over her and she began to panic. "What do we do now?" she asked.

Tenten was about to offer a few comforting words to the panicking child, but was stopped by an incoming transmission.

"Tenten, do you copy?" said the voice in its head.

"Yes sir, I can hear you." it replied out loud.

"Who are you talking to?" Yinu asked as she started swinging Tenten’s arm in anticipation.

"My captain is calling me." said Tenten. "Captain?" Yinu thought. She couldn't hear what the "Captain" was saying and began to wonder if Tenten was playing some kind of game with her to make going back not as scary.

On the one hand, Yinu didn't like being treated like she was some little kid who still played make-believe, but on the other she appreciated that Tenten was so worried about her to even think to turn this into game. If that's what he thought was best, then she would play along too.

Meanwhile, the conversation between Tenten and its Captain continued.

"Are you with someone Tenten? Never mind, we need to call off your test right now. At the moment, it is of utmost importance that we locate Miss Yinu. Did you take note of the physical description in the announcement?"

"Yes sir, I am currently with Yinu."

"Oh, very good! The training really is paying off. Okay, I'm down here with Yinu's Mother right now, so if you could-"

"Yinu! Are you there?! Can you hear me?!"

Tenten's inner voice was interrupted by Mama's cries of concern.

"He doesn’t have a receiver on his end Madam, but it seems my robot has already found Yinu. I'll direct him to bring her down immediately. Did you catch that Tenten?"

"Yes sir. We were about to take the stairs and-"

"My Yinu is with a robot?! I swear if it did anything to hurt her, I'll tear it apart!"

"Madam, please relax! Robots are very safe nowadays. Furthermore-"

As the Captain continued his lecture with Mama about the great strides in safety and advancement robots had made in recent years, Tenten turned his attention back at Yinu, who was still gripping his hand and looking back at him patiently. It looked at the bandages across her knees and cheek. The bandages which covered wounds that he had inadvertently caused.

It had hurt Yinu.

If it had hurt Yinu, then it would get torn apart.

Getting torn apart would result in system failure.

If he could somehow avoid Mama but return Yinu, then he could fulfill his current objective without being destroyed, but its system failed to generate any possible solutions that didn't also put Yinu in grave danger. It considered giving her directions to send her alone, but he had already promised to go together. As the situation was, it would be impossible both return Yinu and avoid assured destruction. Then the next best option...

"If I may interrupt sir."

"You can even find robots in hospitals nowa- Oh, what is it Tenten?"

"It is no longer possible for me to return with Yinu under these conditions. I will keep her with me until conditions improve."

"Wait, what conditions?! What happened!? Is she hurt?!" yelled the Captain, desperately trying to get details about the situation, but to no avail.

"I am sorry. Good-bye."

Tenten disconnected from the call and set himself to "cloaking mode.” For now, it was in his best interest to move as far away from this place as possible to avoid being tracked to his last known location.

"Okay Miss Yinu, I know I said I would take you back, but would you like to play hide-and-seek with me first?" he asked.

"Uh-huh!" Yinu smiled at him. She knew right from the start about his plan to make this a game, so she was happy to oblige him. "Okay, we are going to hide from my Captain for just a bit. I know a good place where we can hide, but it is a little far. Do you think you can walk for a while?"

"Yes, sir!" she saluted with the wrong hand, but Tenten accepted this answer.

"Then let us go."

As the two began walking towards the stairs, a new announcement came through the intercom. This time it wasn't Miss Quartz. It sounded like Tenten, but more natural and much more angry.

"Attention all NSR towers employees and visitors! This is code red! A rogue android has taken the missing child Yinu as a hostage. It is to be considered armed and dangerous! Please take cover wherever possible and do not approach the android under any circumstance and allow security bots through. The android is approximately 203 centimeters tall and is wearing a naval style uniform. I repeat, this android is considered armed and dangerous! Please take cover-"

"Oh, is everyone playing?" Yinu asked quizzically as she looked up at the speaker making the announcement.

"It would appear so." replied Tenten calmly, as he continued walking with Yinu to the first set of stairs, still holding her hand firmly.

"This will be lots of fun then!" she said happily.

"But, that man said you were dangerous? Is that true?"

Tenten paused to think of an answer.

"You were hurt because of me, were you not?" it replied. Yinu hmmed a bit as she considered the bandage that was currently itching her face. "Yeah, but that wasn't your fault." she said as she let her free hand glide on the stairwell's railing. "Besides, you helped fix me up, so it's okay."

"I see." replied Tenten as it made note of this opinion.

Finally the two had reached the top of the first flight of stairs. There would be many more flights before they reached Tenten's intended destination, but Yinu was eager to get a move on.

For a while, the Captain's warning message had echoed through the building, but it had finally ceased as the two had cleared their 2nd flight. Now it was just the echo of their foot steps through the stairwell, occasionally interrupted by walking through the halls to avoid any security bots posted near the stairs. It became a tango of walking then ducking for cover as they raced past the less advanced security bots to the next flight of stairs. Yinu thought the security bots were very funny looking. They were all boxy and had very long arms. They were nothing like the humanesque Tenten that was with her.

Although this ducking and running was somewhat entertaining, Yinu was beginning to grow tired. Tenten slowed his stride to keep from dragging her along, but the situation was still urgent to him.

"Miss Yinu, we still have a ways to go, you should keep your pace up." he inquired.

"My legs hurt..." she replied wistfully.

Tenten immediately stopped. "I am sorry. I have caused you pain again."

Under the usual circumstances, Tenten would have forced Yinu to pick herself up by her bootstraps and continue on, but he had been taught recently that he could not expect that same kind of force to work on civilians, especially children. He had to be gentle and considerate of their needs and wants, and right now he realized that he had been neglecting this.

He began to reconsider its current objective: he was determined to keep Yinu safe from further harm, but even traveling the building like this was taking a toll on her. They still had a few more floors until they could reach what Tenten considered a "safe room". Even if they made it to that room, he knew that they could not hide there indefinitly. He could easily keep making the Captain and the security bots keep circling around the tower looking for him for hours if not forever, but Yinu could not. Eventually she would need food or water, and other basic needs that Tenten could not provide while they were hiding. If he prioritized Yinu’s condition, then eventually they would get caught.

Right now, all he could do was prolong the inevitable, but he was determined to do so for as long as he was able.

"Miss Yinu, I can carry you the rest of the way. Would you like to ride on my shoulders?"

Yinu sleepily nodded. In response, Tenten crouched down and arched his back in a way to make it easy for the small girl to climb on. She carefully stepped onto his back then slung each leg over each of his shoulders, resting her body on the back of his head and her head on top of its cap. She thought that its body would be cold and metallic, like a refrigerator, but the robot was surprisingly warm and metallic, like a preheating oven. It was cozy.

"Are you secured?" he asked.

"Uh-huh." she replied. At this, the android began to rise again, holding onto her legs from the front. From here the floor seemed so far away from Yinu, but she always liked being up so high, especially on Mama's shoulders: it was a new, great perspective for her. She wondered if everyone this tall saw the world like this everyday. Even through her sleepiness, she couldn't hide that she was excited about getting carried.

"Okay, I am going to walk a little faster now, so please hang on tight." he said as it began to dash for the next flight of stairs. Yinu wrapped her arms around the robot's head. She giggled sleepily as she felt the rush air blow over her face.

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

They continued this steady pace for the next couple of floors, so Yinu broke through the monotony by asking the questions that were on her mind. She had been thinking of several since getting properly acquainted with Tenten and now seemed to be as good a time as any to ask them.

"So... what were you made for?" she asked. It had taken her until about now for it to really sink in that she was with a robot. She'd seen robots on TV sometimes, usually in movies, but sometimes in the news too. She thought a lot of them were scary since a lot of them tried taking over the world in a fight against the human race, but clearly Tenten was different from those robots. Those robots never printed out bandages or carried kids on their shoulders (unless they were giant friendly ones).

Tenten did not answer for some time both as he pondered what an acceptable answer for a child would be and wanting to keep his voice down from the guards.

He had not been around many children since it had been activated, but it was programmed into his core that he should absolutely handle them with care. Anything that his system categorized as "scary" couldn’t be said to a child.

So it decided to describe itself in its simplest of terms. "I was made to help people."

"Like what you did for my ouchies?" she asked as she swung her legs a bit to emphasize her bandaged knees.

"Yes, and much more. I can administer basic first-aid as well as perform other helpful functions."

"Like what?" Yinu kept pressing. She wanted to know everything that Tenten was capable of, but it started listing mundane utilities like opening and closing doors, twisting open jar lids, playing catch.

"That's all kinda boring." she said honestly. "Can you shoot lasers and stuff?" she asked. Almost all the robots on TV could shoot lasers of some kind, usually from their eyes.

To Tenten this was a "scary" subject, but since Yinu was the one to mention it, perhaps she was not scared of such things? So, weaponry was cleared from his “scary topic” filter so he could be a little more honest about himself. So it answered, "Yes. I can shoot lasers, but only when absolutely necessary."

Yinu's eyes lit up, "That's so cool! Can you show me?"

"It is not absolutely necessary that I do that right now. It would also be very dangerous."

"Aw..." she was very disappointed at this answer, but she figured he was right.

As she thought this, she looked at some of the framed pictures of instruments on the walls that she could finally see from the higher vantage point. They were all artsy renditions, using abstract shapes and colors, but they were still clearly recognizable as people playing instruments. A saxophone player, a cellist, a keyboardist, and many more.

"What about music? Do you play anything?" she asked. They were in the tower of a record company right now. Even if Tenten was a robot, maybe he could do something with music.

"I have not learned how to play any instrument, but I can sing and dance."

Yinu lit up at this. Even if he couldn't play anything, she'd never seen or heard of a singing robot before. "Can you sing something for me?" she asked excitedly. "Not right now. We need avoid detection right now." he said as he steered them up another stairwell.

Yinu's expression sunk, and she lowered her head deeper into its cap. "Can you sing for me later?" she asked in a begging tone. He thought about this. Would there even be a "later" after they got caught?

"Yes, if I have the opportunity, I will sing for you." Yinu was satisfied with this answer for now, so question after question continued to tumble out.

“How old are you?”

“I am approximately 3 years, 7 months, and 2 days old.”

“Hah, that’s younger than me! I’m 8 and a half years old. But you’re a really big kid.”

“My physical age is irrelevant to my size.”

“What does “ear elephant” mean?”

“Irrelevant means it is of little to no consequence.”

“What does “con see quince” mean?”

“It is the result of an action.”

“Will I ever get as tall as you?”

“If your genetics favor height, then possibly.”

“What does that mean?”

“If your parents are tall, then you are likely to become as tall as either of them when you reach maturity.”

“Oh! My Mama and Papa are really tall! Maybe even taller than you!”

“Then you will likely be tall when you become an adult.”

"Do you have a Mama?"

"No." replied Tenten.

"Then do you have a Papa?"

"No."

"How about a Grandmama?"

"I do not have any form of parent." said Tenten, having finally found the common thread in this string of questions.

"Oh..." she said sadly as she balled her fists into the cap, creasing it slightly. Noticing this, the robot stopped walking.

"What is wrong Miss Yinu? Did my answer upset you?"

"You don't have someone who looks after you? Or takes care of you?"

It considered this new definition for a moment. Someone who looks after it and takes care of it?

"I believe my Captain matches that criteria." he replied. The Captain did indeed look after Tenten during his training and the Captain was usually in charge of managing his maintenance checks.

"Then that's your Papa, silly!" Yinu perked her head up again and smiled to herself, but Tenten still didn't move.

"The Captain is my Papa?" he asked. Yinu thought for a moment, "Huh? Well yeah, if he loves you and cares about you, then he's your Papa."

"So a Papa is someone who looks after you, and takes care of you, and loves you, and cares about you. Is that correct?" he asked. "I think so." replied Yinu, though she was a little unsure if this was a satisfactory answer herself. She thought it didn’t exactly describe what she thought of as a “Papa,” but it was technically correct, so she didn’t add anything else.

The android began trying to process this new definition of "Papa."

"Then I do not believe my Captain meets all the criteria." it replied.

"Why not? Didn’t you say he takes care of you?" she asked a little concerned.

"I am not capable of quantifying "love," so I can not determine if the Captain "loves" me or not."

Yinu didn't understand what Tenten meant. Love wasn't something you "quantified." What did quantify even mean? It was just a feeling, and she had a feeling that she had a lot to teach this android. She tried to think of all the things her Mama and Papa did that made her feel loved.

"Does your Captain ever tell you stories at night to help you sleep?" asked Yinu.

"I do believe he has shared his personal history with me before, but not to aid in my rest."

"Does he kiss your ouchies better?"

"No. I do not get "ouchies.""

"Um... does he stay by your bed when you're sick and feed you soup?"

"No. I do not have a bed and I am incapable of any organic consumption."

The girl was running out of ideas for how to explain the feeling of "love" to the android.

"Well, how do you feel about him? Does he make you happy when he's with you?" she asked, grasping for anything that she could reasonably call love.

Tenten repeated the question to itself, "Do I feel happy when the Captain is with me?"

Tenten tried to analyze all of his memories with his Captain which contained feelings of “joy.” It came up with less than a handful of results, but they were still results.

A day when after a particularly long dance practice session, the Captain remarked, "Good work! You're finally getting it down!"

Another time at the shooting range when it'd managed to achieve 99% accuracy and the Captain said, "Impressive! You've still got it Tenten!"

Earlier this year when the Captain said, "This is it, we finally made it to the top brass: NSR! I know you and the squad are going to shine out there!"

"Yes." it finally replied.

Any instances of praise did cause a reaction of "joy" in Tenten. It knew it was programmed to please the Captain and he was rewarded with "joy" for meeting these expectations, but if this reaction could be considered "love" and the expression of praise was likewise "love" then perhaps the Captain did love Tenten, and Tenten loved its Captain in return.

After considering this assessment, he also considered the warning that his Captain had also just given, condemning him as an armed and dangerous robot. His Captain had essentially given anyone who saw him permission to kill him. That action did not seem to line up with any definition of love that Tenten currently had.

If the Captain did love him, then the Captain did not love him at this time.

Tenten began moving again, determined as ever to complete its current objective, but he hadn't noticed that while it was stopping to think, a couple of security bots had seen the duo and were starting to close in.

"They're going to get us!" Yinu cried playfully. This game was getting very exciting, and the sudden idea of getting caught had woken her from her near stupor.

Tenten quickly looked around the hall, looking for anywhere, anything he could use to help them escape, but there was nothing he could use without causing unnecessary damage. Crashing through the window would surely harm Miss Yinu. Just evading them wouldn't stop them from following them afterwards: once these security bots had their target in sight, it would be almost impossible to shake them off.

There was only one solution right now to both get through to the upper floors and keep the bots from following after them.

Tenten grabbed his cap from off his head and placed it onto Yinu. It was a little big, falling just over her eyes.

"Hey!" she cried as she peeked from underneath it.

"You wanted to see me shoot lasers, right?" he asked, as aimed his right arm towards the bots and pointed at them with his index finger.

"Uh-huh!" she said excitedly.

"You can peek, but cover your face with my hat when my lasers hit those bad guys, okay?"

"Okay!"

The moment he got this assurance, Tenten fired a short beam from his finger tip, aimed squarely in the middle of the first security bot's rectangular chest. It shot straight through the bot leaving an opening big enough to see the other side of the hall through. It was so fast that Yinu nearly missed it, but she guarded her face as the bot began to explode into pieces of debris and scrap metal. Tenten helped hold her in place on his back with his free hand and tried to block as much of the scattering parts from hitting Yinu as he continued blasting through the small wave of bots.

Yinu could hear them bursting apart and desperately wanted to see it happen again, but hearing the little flecks of metal bounce off the cap convinced her that keeping cover would be for the best right now.

Once the way was cleared, Tenten began to sprint up through the next flight of stairs. The commotion had attracted the security bots to guard the top, but Tenten blasted through them all the same.

"Miss Yinu, please hang on. We have almost reached our destination."

Tenten made a dash through the hall until he had his sights on a pair of grand double doors.

"We have arrived." he said as he crouched down to let Yinu off his shoulders so he could open the doors. He allowed Yinu to scurry in first before following and closing the door behind them. Yinu was in amazement of the room: it was a large concert hall, one of the biggest she'd ever been in before. Even the smallest sound she made seemed to echo throughout the room. But more than all that, what caught her interest was the grand piano on the stage.

Of interest to Tenten were the many rows of seats and balconies which could be used for cover and barricades if needed. They could hole up here for several hours and make quick trips to the dressing room to procure bottled water for Yinu.

"We should be able to hide h-h-heeeeeere. Y-Y-Yiiiiiinuuuu." Tenten's voice began to stutter and distort, creating an uneasy sound which echoed through the hall. His legs began to buckle and he dropped to his knees, nearly collapsing on the floor. "Oh no!" Yinu rushed back to his side. She tried to help him up, but he was much too heavy for her to even prop up. This game was starting to get a little too serious.

"Tenten, what's wrong! Do you feel light headed? Do you need some candy?" she cried, thinking of all the ways she tried to help Papa when this happened to him.

"I'm r-r-r-runnnnnnnnning ouut of p-p-p-pooooower." by instinct, Tenten wanted to process how he could have saved more power by being more efficient, but even that act would have quickly drained him of what little power he still had left.

"Power? How do you get power?"

"M-m-m-m-mussssssssic-c-c-c." he hissed.

"Music? Any kind of music?"

"Y-Y-yes..."

Yinu looked down at the stage with the grand piano again then back to Tenten. "Okay. I'll play something for you." Yinu stood up, ready to get on the stage, but she felt her leg getting pulled back.

"B-b-b-but we we we we we willllllll bbbbbbbe caught. Caught. Caught. If you plaaaaaay."

She crouched back down and took Tenten's hand into hers, it was burning hot from all the shooting he'd done just moments prior.

"It's okay. Eventually everyone gets found during hide-and-seek. And I... really don't want you to die yet. Please... don't die yet." she said. She remembered saying the same thing to her Papa once. It hadn’t worked back then, but maybe it would work now.

Tenten said nothing, but he loosened his grip on her leg and gave a weak nod. "I had a lot of fun today Mr. Tenten. You did a lot for me, but now it's my turn."

Yinu began to scamper away and back towards the stage. As she did so, memories of today replayed in her head: losing her hair band. Being scared and running away from Tenten. The funny way he treated her scrapes. Feeling safe holding his hand when they were lost. The satisfaction of talking about the meaning of love. The excitement of tearing through the security bots. Everything came together to be what she considered a very entertaining day. There was no way she could let it end with her new friend dying trying to help her. Days like this deserved a happy ending, she thought.

Climbing up the steep steps, she admired that beautiful grand piano. Its ebony hull seemed to sparkle with the invitation to be played.

Yinu adjusted the piano bench's height to accommodate her short stature. Upon sitting she lifted the key cover and took a deep breath. Soon, her fingers were gliding across the keys, playing sweet melodies which reverberated through the entire room and beyond. Everyone, who had been in a panicked fervor trying to locate the missing Yinu a few floors above and below stopped to listen to the sound. It carried far and wide throughout the building, reaching even Mama's ears.

"That's gotta be Yinu playing!" she cried. Miss Quartz who'd been with Mama since Yinu disappeared declared, "We have a grand piano on floor 10, that’s got to be where they are. Jay, order all security to that floor immediately!"

"I'm on it!" as Tenten's captain motioned for the team of deluxe security bots to follow him up the stairs.

Still planted on the ground, Tenten looked out to the stage, watching as Yinu lost herself to the ivory keys. Each note sent just a little more power through his body and began recharging his battery. Soon he had enough power to stand back up, albeit clumsily.

He began to hobble down the lane, using every other seat as a balance as he moved towards the stage. He just had be closer to the wonderful source of sound. It was a song unlike any he'd ever heard before, and never would have.

This was a family piece that Yinu's Papa had taught her when she was very small. They played it together often, and when Papa had passed, she always played it for her Mama. It was a happy song that reminded her of sad times. It was the song that won her many awards and got her signed onto NSR. It was still precious to her and she was happy to play it for anyone who would listen.

It wasn't long before Tenten had joined Yinu on the stage and was hovering over her, listening intently until the piece had concluded.

Yinu turned around to see him clapping for her. "That was a wonderful performance Miss Yinu." Yinu's face lit up again at seeing her friend well and standing. "Tenten!" she practically jumped off the stool to hug him, so relieved and happy that he was okay.

He almost fell over, not expecting such a sudden great force bashing into his legs after he just recovered his balance, but he nonetheless returned the gesture by patting her on the head. He lowered himself again to meet Yinu at eye level.

"I am feeling better now thanks to you. So, thank you." He held out his hand for her to shake it, but she leaned in to give him another hug. This time, he properly returned it. "I'm just glad you're okay." she said, hugging him tighter.

At this, Tenten stood up once more and turned his gaze towards the piano. "I did not know that you could play the piano so well." he said.

"Yep!" Yinu beamed. "That's why I'm here, so I can play the piano for everyone!"

It had finally occurred to Tenten that he had not once asked why Yinu was in the NSR tower. He had put all his objectives before learning anything about her, and for this he felt somewhat ashamed. He would need to make up for this grave error before his many other grave errors caught up with him.

"Do you think you could play for me one more time? I’m not fully charged yet, and I would like to sing for you, like I promised." he asked.

"Of course! What do you want me to play?" she giddily made her way back to the piano bench ready to play any number of songs for her friend.

"I am not capable of improvising, but I am familiar with a small library of popular songs. Could you pick one, and I will tell you if I know it."

"Okay... do you know this one?"

She began to play a few bars. He listened intently as he tried to match the sounds to his database.

"I believe so..."

He seated himself next to Yinu on the bench. "Mama and Papa used to play this one a lot together." she said as she continued through the first measure.

Tenten counted to himself until he began to sing.

Outside the hall, all manner of security bots being led by Jay, were getting ready to storm inside, but all ceased when a voice began accompanying the piano.

"Heart and soul,

I fell in love with you.

Heart and soul,

The way a fool would do:

Madly, because you held me tight,

And stole a kiss in the night..."

"Who is that?" asked Mama, who was close behind Jay and Miss Quartz.

"It sounds like… Tenten?" answered Jay, surprised that his rogue soldier would be doing something as quaint as sing a song during an apparent kidnapping.

"Shouldn’t he be trying to hide?” asked Miss Quartz who was similarly flabbergasted that such an advanced military A.I. would do something to blatantly blow its cover like this.

“Maybe this is his way of giving up? Or it’s a trap and he’s getting ready to ambush.”

“Look, it doesn’t matter why it’s singing. Go in there and get Miss Yinu!”

“I can’t just barge in there without knowing the situation!”

While the two bickered, Mama listened closely to that sadly familiar song. Without thinking, she opened the doors to the hall herself. Although the other two were too late to stop her from walking headfirst into theoretical danger, there was no sudden shooting of lasers or other obstruction. Instead, the sound of the duet just poured out into the halls for everyone to hear clearly.

Yinu had started to join in the song too. She was a little off key and she stumbled slightly, her talents were truly in the ivory keys, but the two of them were having too much fun to worry about something like perfect pitch.

"Heart and soul,

I begged to be adored,

Lost control, and tumbled overboard,

Gladly...

That magic night we kissed,

There in the moon mist."

Both were so lost in the song that they failed to notice the all the security bots trickling in along with the Captain, Mama, and the CEO.

"Oh, but your lips were thrilling,

much too thrilling.

Never before were mine so

strangely willing."

As the bots quietly closed in around the stage, the adults stayed back watching the strange display before them: A little girl playing piano and singing happily with a military-class battle bot. Surely, this was the kind of sight you could only find in a place like this.

"But now I see,

what one embrace can do

Look at me,

it's got me loving you,

Madly, that little kiss you stole,

Held all my heart and soul..."

Yinu continued to play, but Tenten had noticed the sound of the doors opening and the movement out of the corner of his eye. He looked out toward the seating area, seeing all the security bots now surrounding them at the foot of the stage and his Captain looking back at him, arms folded in what Tenten recognized as "disappointment.”

"Oh, but your lips were thrilling,

much too thrilling.

Never before were mine so

strangely willing.

But now I see,

what one embrace can do

Look at me,

it's got me loving you,

Madly, that little kiss you stole,

Held all my heart and soul.

Held all my heart and soul.

Held all my heart and soul."

As the last note of the piano played and reverberated through the fall, it was followed by clapping from the human watchers. Yinu almost jumped in surprise since she hadn't noticed that the hall had filled up. She looked towards the back of the hall and saw her Mama with one hand resting on her cheek. She was trying to keep her smile from showing after hearing her daughter play so beautifully. Right now she had to look serious.

When the clapping stopped, a voice broke through the silence, the Captain's voice.

"That was very nice you two! Very lovely!" he called out giving a couple of last claps. Yinu looked out at the source of sound. His body looked the same as Tenten’s, but the face… was he wearing a mask? She felt like she’d seen it somewhere before, but he was too far away for her to make out the details.

"But Tenten, you need to let Yinu go now before I order security to fire! Stand and keep your hands up where I can see them!"

Tenten stood up from the bench with his arms raised to his head. Yinu mimicked him, but hid behind his legs, scared of the security bots below. When did the game get so scary? Were they still going to be in trouble even though everyone was playing together? Tenten turned his gaze towards her and noticed the tears welling in Yinu’s eyes. He moved to place his hand on her head again to help her calm down.

"HEY! Keep both your hands up Tenten! Miss Yinu you don’t have to do it too!" called out Jay. As Yinu lowered her arms, Tenten could sense the guide lasers from the security bots being aimed at his head. He dared not move again unless instructed to.

"Miss Yinu, you’re safe now! Please step away from Tenten and come off the stage. Your Mama is very worried about you!" he called.

Yinu stepped a little from behind Tenten, but quickly ducked back again and hugged his leg when she too noticed that all the security bots had their hands pointed at Tenten. These bots were different from the blocky ones that Tenten had blasted away. They looked like bigger, meaner versions of Tenten, and if they were anything like him, he was going to be blown up to more than just pieces.

"Don't be afraid! They won't hurt you, just come down and-!"

"I won't go if you're going to hurt him!" she cried out.

The room was quiet again as the adults murmured to themselves about what to say next. Tenten wanted so badly to turn to Yinu, but he could not risk it. Instead, he tried to focus his sonic hearing on the adults across the room.

“Did he brainwash her or something?” whispered Miss Quartz.

“I don’t think he’s capable of that.” said Jay. “We haven’t added the “smooth talk” feature yet.”

“Can’t you shoot him from here and get Yinu back?”

“We can’t be hasty. That is still a highly-trained military class battle bot. He hurt Yinu earlier, so he might be willing to use her to protect himself if he needs to.”

Had his processor been capable of it, Tenten would have been appalled at the mere suggestion that he would ever willingly hurt Miss Yinu. Instead, he broke through the murmurs himself, speaking loudly so that all could hear him:

"Yinu, we have caused a lot of trouble for everyone today. Please return to your Mama. That was our original objective, was it not?"

Yinu began to cry, "But... you're about to die again... You can't die yet... you said you wouldn't..."

"I did not vocalize such a promise. And this situation is different. I am about to be killed. That is different from dying." he said so matter-of-factly.

"You still promised! You promised you wouldn't die yet!" she cried.

"I am sorry, but I do not have any choice in this matter."

"Then I'm not going!"

"Yinu, do not be stubborn. Go to your Mama."

"No!"

"Yinu."

The two went back and forth like this for a bit bickering the same way that siblings would over who’s turn it was to use the computer. It was beginning to be comical to those looking in. Or so it would have been had this not been a literal crisis situation. All the while the adults continued to murmur to themselves.

"This is ridiculous!" grumbled Jay as he pinched around his “face” where a brow used to be. "What is even going on here anymore? Is this even still a kidnapping?”

“This wouldn’t have happened if you didn’t let that thing free-roam!” chided Miss Quartz.

“I have to do the field testing somewhere! What am I supposed to do, let him walk around the Metro Division by himself?”

As those two bickered and the kids bickered, Mama was lost in thought. Anger had long since subsided as she was more than relieved that her little girl was alright. But as she listened to the playful way in which the android and her daughter was speaking, she began to think that maybe she really wasn’t ever in danger with him by her side.

Finally, the verbal battle on the adult’s side had come to an agreement.

Jay called out again, "Okay! Tenten, you come here with Miss Yinu! Keep your hands up and we won't shoot! We're just going to have a talk about this!"

Yinu cried out, "You promise you won't hurt him!"

"I promise! Now both of you get down from there so we can all go home!"

The security bots lowered their weapon hands.

Yinu looked up at Tenten, "Okay... let's go..."

Slowly, Tenten began making his way off the stage, hands still raised. Yinu followed behind, not letting her hand off of the back of his left leg. They descended the steps off the stage, and started walking down the aisle towards the adults until they were standing no more than a few feet apart.

"Yinu, are you okay baby?" asked Mama calmly.

Yinu was still behind Tenten, but she replied with a sheepish, "Uh-huh."

She was about to go back to her Mama’s open arms, but then Yinu looked up at Tenten's Captain. Now that she was closer she could see the details of his mask... it wasn't a mask, it was his actual face. Was he a robot too?

Yinu wondered how a robot could be the boss of another robot, but she supposed that some people were the boss of other people too, so it made sense. Just before she could walk back over to her Mama’s side, the Captain began talking, very angrily.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself solider?" the Captain asked sternly.

"Papa..."

"...What did you just call me?" exclaimed the Captain.

"I mean, Captain Neon Jay, sir." Tenten quickly rectified his blunder.

"I sincerely apologize for my actions today. It was not my intention to endanger or harm Miss Yinu in any way. I-"

CLANK!

"I am not asking for your excuses soldier!" the Captain slapped his hand across the android's face, turning his head a full 90 degrees to the right. The loud clang of metal on metal froze everyone in their spots.

Yinu cried, "Tenten!"

"I was not hurt, Miss Yinu..." Tenten assured the girl as he clicked his head back to its original position. This was half-true. It did not hurt him physically aside from a small scuff from metal clashing against metal. The slap had probably done more harm to the Captain's hand than it did to Tenten's face, but the gesture was agonizing. Never before had the Captain reacted with such violent disappointment.

"How could you possibly disobey direct orders like that!? Not only did you put a child in a dangerous situation, but you used firearms in an unauthorized zone! Not to mention cloaking without express permission! Do you know how much this is going to cost us!"

The android could do nothing but stand and listen as all of his failures today were listed out in great detail, each one causing him to feel just a little more shame. But, more than that, he began focusing on Yinu holding onto him tighter and tighter. He could feel her tears streaking down his leg, and right now that was the most important detail.

"You are making Miss Yinu cry."

"And you know- What did you say?! After all that you still have the nerve to interrupt-" Jay was about to raise another hand towards Tenten until he repeated:

"You are making Miss Yinu cry."

Jay turned his attention to the girl still cowering behind Tenten.

She was murmuring to herself, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry... it's my fault...if I didn't run away then... you wouldn't be getting yelled at…"

“Yinu… it’s okay Yinu...” Mama finally stepped forward to comfort her daughter with a hug. Yinu gave a half hug back, not wanting to let go of Tenten’s leg.

Tenten looked back at Yinu. "Miss Yinu, No one is mad at you." he said.

Tenten so desperately wanted to comfort Yinu too. It was taking every bit of restraint in his processors to keep him from moving from his current position, for he still had not been given permission to lower his arms. He hoped that his words would be enough comfort, though he doubted their effectiveness.

"Everyone here was very worried about you. They are mad at me because I got you hurt." he continued.

Yinu broke away from everyone.

"But you didn't hurt me! You protected me from everything." she chided the android for saying what she thought was a lie.

"Then why are you covered in bandages?" pointed out Miss Quartz. Yinu felt the bandage on her cheek again. It had happened so long ago already that she'd forgotten it and the ones are her knees were even there.

"I tripped and fell when I was running away. Tenten fixed me up." she admitted between sniffles.

Neon Jay crossed his arms and turned back towards Tenten. "Is this true, Tenten?"

The android said nothing.

“Soldier, you answer when I ask you a question. Is it true that Yinu was hurt because she tripped and fell?”

“...Yes sir.”

"Then why did you say you hurt her?"

"Miss Yinu tripped and fell because she was frightened of me. That means the fault lies with my poor approach."

Neon Jay sighed. "That's... You blew this whole thing out of proportion! We thought you did something to seriously hurt Yinu!"

"Is this not serious?"

"I mean, accidents happen Tenten. Something this small doesn’t necessitate all the hell you put everyone one through today."

"But I was threatened.”

“When? By who?”

“I quote, “I swear if it did anything to hurt her, I'll tear it apart!” end quote.”

The Captain looked at Yinu’s Mama who was still hugging Yinu before turning back to Tenten and pinching at his face again "We really need to refine your ability to understand figures of speech."

"It wasn't a figure of speech." murmured Mama. “But… no, I wouldn’t have done it if I knew that’s what happened.” she finished as she picked up Yinu to carry in her arms and get a good look at the “harm” that had been done.

"What about your hair Yinu, how did it come undone?" asked Mama.

"I did it myself. It hurt to have them that tight, Mama."

Mama furrowed her brow. "Why didn't you say anything?" she asked.

"Because I know Mama worked really hard to make it really cute like that. I didn't want to disappoint you…" Yinu said shyly.

“Oh Yinu…” Mama kissed her cheek.

“Well, I’m glad this has been resolved and no one was seriously injured, but this has still been a major incident.” started Miss Quartz. “Jay, I expect you to file the proper reports on this and make-up for your robots’ mess today.”

“Yes Ma’am!” the Captain saluted, but his tone had the slightest bit of annoyance behind it, aimed at the much too cautious android.

Then Miss Quartz turned toward Yinu and her Mama. “As for Miss Yinu’s transfer, we can continue this another day. I’m sure you would both like to go home and relax after all this nonsense.”

They both nodded. “And Miss Yinu,” she turned her attention specifically to the little girl. “I am willing to overlook today’s events as a simple accident and misunderstanding, but I’m expecting a lot less tomfoolery from you in the future. When your Mama asks you to come back immediately, you do so. There is nothing wrong with wanting to do things by yourself, but you must still obey your Mama, understand?”

Yinu nodded, “I understand.”

“Very good, then everyone move out. There’s a lot to catch up on! Chop chop! I’ll escort you both to the exit.” Miss Quartz clapped as everyone exited the concert hall to return to their respective stations.

As the Captain and Tenten were about to walk away to survey the damage done to the security bots a few floors down (which would certainly have to be deducted from the Captain’s salary), Yinu called out. “Wait, Tenten!”

The robot stopped and turned around to look back at her calling his name. “Go ahead.” said the Captain. With permission, Tenten walked over to Mama carrying Yinu.

“Yes, Miss Yinu?” Tenten asked.

“A little closer.” she said. Tenten took another step forward towards Mama and Yinu.

“Closer!” she laughed. He took a few more steps, enough that he noticed that Mama was getting a little uncomfortable having to look at the robot so closely.

He became so close that his face was only a few inches away from the girl’s face.

“Now turn your head to the left.” his face whirred into place.

“My left.” he whirred again until his left cheek was facing Yinu.

Finally Yinu reached into her pocket and pulled out the extra bandage that she still had from earlier. She applied it to the scuff that was left from the Captain’s slap.

“There, now we match.” she said proudly.

Tenten turned his head back to look at Yinu and the bandage that was stuck to her left cheek too.

“Yes, we do.” he replied as he touched the freshly applied bandage. “Thank you very much Yinu. I hope we can see each other again.” he said.

“You probably will,” started Miss Tatiana. “She’ll be working with us very soon. Once we clear all the paperwork.”

Yinu nodded and smiled. “Yeah! We’ll get to see each other a lot!”

“Yes, hopefully with a little less excitement next time.” said Miss Quartz towards the android. “But right now, it’s time for you two to say good-bye.”

“Okay. Good-bye Tenten.” said Yinu as she waved farewell towards him.

“Good-bye, Miss Yinu.” he waved back and began to walk back to the Captain’s side.

As Mama began leaving with Yinu, the girl let out a small yawn as her sleepiness caught up with her again. “I’m sorry I made you worry Mama.” she said sleepily. Mama kissed Yinu on the forehead again. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“Mm-hmm…” Yinu’s eyes started to glaze over until she finally closed them as she nuzzled into her Mama’s warm arms, falling fast asleep.

Meanwhile the android and cyborg walked in relative silence back towards the stairwell to investigate the lower floors.

There was a lot that Jay had to consider about what to do with Tenten. Whether it had good intentions or not, an android that so clearly disobeyed orders did not give the Captain confidence in its current programming. Something would have to be done about this, but until then, there was one question still weighing on Jay’s mind that he wanted answered sooner rather than later.

“Tenten, why did you call me “Papa” earlier?”

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

Several months passed since Yinu had been properly signed onto NSR. She was already raising the ranks in Natura. By next summer it was all but guaranteed that she would take over as the top charter. During such a small amount of time, she had already accomplished much at NSR, but she hadn’t seen Tenten again since she returned. Apparently he had been undergoing maintenance during his upgrade to MK III. She did however learn that Tenten was actually a part of group of other Tentens.

She wondered what that would be like, five different versions of Tenten. Would they all be as nice as the one she’d met before or would they all be a little different. But today she would get to seem them during their new debut. She was excited to meet them again after what felt like forever.

“Yinu, please don’t run in the halls!” Mama called after her trying to match her daughter’s energetic pace.

“I want to seem them Mama! I want to, AH!”

“Yinu!” gasped Mama as she ran over to her side.

Yinu had accidentally collided with someone and fell over. “Ouchies…” she cried, rubbing her forehead. Whoever she hit was unnaturally hard, and metallic. Wait, metallic?

“I’m sorry, are you alright Little Miss?” asked the voice. It was clearly synthetic, but it had a warm and familiar tone.

Yinu looked up to see a robot looking back down at her. Its face a little different than she remembered. It was a lot more human than before, but the glowing white eyes and fancy clothes were a dead giveaway.

“Are you al-”

“Tenten!” Yinu beamed. “I missed you!” she said.

“Oh, but you didn’t miss me. You ran right into me, Doll.” he laughed.

“Huh?” she said slightly confused at this answer. Tenten never really told jokes like that. He smiled back at her, but she thought he would be a little more excited to see her again.

From behind Tenten the Captain appeared.

“What did you bump into this ti- Oh, it’s Miss Yinu again! How are you?” said Jay as the little girl came into his viewing range. “Hello Mr. Jay. I’m well,” replied Yinu a little more formally. She hadn’t gotten to see Neon J. much either since coming back, but the last thing she remembered about him was him yelling at Tenten, so she was still a little frightened of him.

“What happened to Tenten? He’s a little… different now.” she said, looking back up at the white haired robot. Did Tenten even have hair the last time she saw him? She didn’t think so, but it was a little hard to remember everything that happened that day.

“This is the new MK III Tenten!” exclaimed Jay. “He’s a little more natural and a lot more stylish, but he’s still got the same Tenten moves.” he said.

“Yeah, new and improved, Babygirl!” said Tenten with a wink.

“But… do you remember me?” asked Yinu, looking straight into Tenten’s glowing eyes, hoping to find a hint of the answer she wanted to hear. Jay was silent and was about to stop Tenten from saying anything else, but it was already too late. He had improved his reaction time too much:

“I can’t remember someone I’ve never met.”

---------

AN: Originally I wrote a bit more after the last line, and after Jay asking about why Tenten called him "Papa" but neither were going anywhere, so I cut them. If y'all like it though, maybe I'll write about both aftermaths. Fair warning though, neither are going to make this ending any happier.