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cocomanga · 19 days ago

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The Sweetest Beat - Set 6 *pt.1

Pairing: Megumi Fushiguro x Fem!Reader,

CW: Daddy Kink, Praise Kink, Size Kink, Oral, BDSM, Unprotected Sex, Edging, Drunk Sex, Aggressive Sex, Overstimulation, NPD Abuse/Trauma, Intense Feral Megumi.

READER DISCRETION ADVISED: HEAVY Noncon/Dubcon Please DO NOT proceed if that triggers you. This is the Megumi I want to royally f*ck up my life honey. I couldn't find him in fics so I created him myself. Brace yourself.

Note: please block me if my work is not your cup-o-tea. I do not own any of the character art Reader is encouraged to listen to music mentioned for context :)

Total WC : 12.1K

Wanna take it from the top? Start at Set 1🎶;)

<< The Sweetest Beat - Set 5

The Sweetest Beat - Set 7 >>

TSB - Masterlist | AO3 | Wattpad | Playlist

**Hey reader... Please note, this is a ROUGH draft, meant to be completed and released by his birthday (12.22). I released it as close as I could to the date, but edits are still necessary. I'll add those later, but for now, enjoy! ;)**

Synopsis: Megumi Fushiguro is the leader of a fresh new rock band. They're currently playing covers and gaining a following at an alarming rate, skyrocketing his career as an indie artist. But when his best friend introduces him to a beautiful someone and sparks fly, he's challenged to navigate her fear of loving freely.

..... Minors: You have no business here. Love you, but please don't ....

▶6TH SET LIST Waterfall (I Adore You) – Yebba (feat. Sweata) Nutshell – Alice in Chains Different Masks for Different Days – FKJ Every Kind of Way – H.E.R. Muni Long – Hrs & Hrs Back to Love – Robert Glasper (feat. SiR & Alex Isley) Pyramid Song – Radiohead Feel Something – Chris Brown Coco Jones – ICU Hunting Bears – Radiohead When We – Tank Love Song – 311 Fade Away – Lucky Daye Blood Money - Vancouver Sleep Clinic Something In The Way – Nirvana Adorn – Miguel My Song – H.E.R

Megumi flinched, his lids lowering into a squint as he processed your words. “E – Excuse me?” his reply came out in a bit of a huff as his eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. His radio played

Waterfall (I adore you) – Yebba

You paused, eyes fluttering a bit before you answered, “Oh, I think you heard me.” You drawled with full confidence. “You…” you whispered, your eyes dropping down toward his legs, then slowly scanned his entire form, up until they reached his and you bit your lip. “… were bad.” You then gently cupped his face between your warm hands with a soft smirk.

Megumi chuckled under his breath, peering down at you in surprise. The beating of his heart, loud in his own ears as his eyes flicked back and forth between yours, taking in the way they burned in desire.

Your head tilted to the side, one eyebrow raised, indicating you challenged his presumption that you couldn’t possibly be serious.

You remained steadfast as you locked eyes, your gaze traveling downward, resting on his lips, the tips of your fingers following behind as they grazed his bottom lip, tracing his chin, then trailing down his neck, gliding down his broad chest, riding the highs and lows of his pectorals until they slid gently across his sensitive nipples, forcing a flinch.

They moved even lower pressing into his solid ab muscles, your fingers curling around his waist, your hands lightly gripping his sides.

Your gaze met his once more, savoring the nice, warm feeling building up in your core as you stared into each other before you turned your attention to the bedside table, reaching for your bag.

You unzipped the pouch, and from inside, retrieved a bit of blue fabric, the sheen reflecting the light as it slowly came into view.

You moved gracefully, laying the pouch back down on the table. “Why don’t you have a seat on the bed for me, hm?” you whispered, motioning toward the mattress behind him with an upward nod.

Megumi’s tangible gaze raked hungrily across your beautiful, curvy silhouette, pausing at your lips before he finally moved, stepping blindly back against the bed, a squint in his eyes as he plopped down, curious what you’re planning. “What’s go–”

“You seem to have forgotten sweetheart.” You interrupted, “I have no problem getting what I need from you.”

Megumi felt his dick twitch behind his pants as you spoke, his body revealing his excitement to see you in this state again. You were right. He recalled that first night, you sneaking feels of him as you squirmed around in the bed while he pretended to sleep. He sat wide-eyed, studying your every move, realizing that whatever you wanted, he'd be sure to give it to you.

You stepped closer to him, with the two pieces of fabric, wrapping one around your neck, allowing it to hang loose down the front of your body.

You held the second piece in your hands, end to end. He parted his knees as you drew closer, his eyes gaping up intently as he cut them toward you and you leaned in, your chest stopping mere centimeters from his face.

“Close your eyes”. You whispered as you looked down at him.

He did as you asked, his knee swaying anxiously back and forth.

You reached up and tied the cloth around his head, covering his eyes, sliding your fingertips down his neck, resting your hands on his shoulders. The tension in the room as palpable as the body heat between you.

He reached his hands up in an attempt to place them somewhere on your body, yet they were met with a quick smack.

“No touching.” You demanded, as you finished securing the knot.

He huffed as he placed his hands back down flat on the bed at his sides, his lips disappearing into his mouth. He could feel his heart racing, heat spreading out to each of his limbs from the heavy beating of his heart.

You stepped back a couple feet away, admiring how unbelievably sexy he looked blindfolded, especially as he was completely unaware of what you would do. As you stood observing him, you relished the tingly feeling that coursed through your body. It was as if you could still feel him, regardless of the literal distance between you, as

Nutshell – Alice in Chains

played on his speaker. The sound of your voice remained soft and low as you asked, “Can you see anything?”

Megumi turned his ear toward you, his face toward the floor. “No.” he replied.

“What’s your favorite color?” you asked.

Megumi paused a few seconds, switching the direction he faced to the opposite side. “I uh...” he huffed “I don’t need one”.

You frowned, curious. “You don’t need a favorite color?”

Megumi cracked a tiny smile, allowing it to fade on his lips as quickly as it formed as both his hands squeezed the bedding on either side of him. He breathed, “I don’t need a safe word.”

Your eyebrows jumped as you grinned, entertained by his arrogance. “You sure about that?” You questioned.

He dropped his head down as if to give it a moment of thought, the stretch of his lips already melting you into a mess.

“Mostly. But I’m … more than happy to risk it.” He replied. His overwhelming desire to receive whatever you had in store for him, overriding any intention to mute any part of it.

“Okay then.” You responded softly, excitement surging through you like electric currents. “Take off your clothes”.

Megumi stood up from the bed, standing still a moment as if to be certain you were paying attention. His cloaked eyes seemed to pierce straight through you as he reached for the hem of his tee. You watched him pull it off, his solid ab muscles coming into view bit by bit as he raised it, then his chest as he lifted it up and over his head.

He tossed the shirt onto the floor, pausing as he faced you. A shiver ran down his spine as he took a moment to savor the atmosphere. He balled each of his hands into fists, quickly releasing them before reaching for the elastic of his pants.

“I’ve always liked this feeling…” he murmured.

You glared a bit at him as you questioned, “What feeling”?

“… the feeling… of you watching me.” He replied as he began to grip his pants, his bottom lip disappearing behind his teeth. You could swear he was looking directly at you.

“You wouldn’t be cheating now, would you?” you asked, a playful tone lacing your voice.

“And deprive myself of this? He mused. “Never. I promise, I can’t see you.”

He slid his thumbs into his waistband, pulling them down, allowing them to pool at his feet before he stepped out. He was wearing dark blue boxer briefs this time, black band.

You hissed softly, taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly at the sight of his body, your core clenching, your heart squeezing inside your chest.

“You know, you were amazing up there tonight.” You whispered, your eyes raking over his frame. “You made momma very proud.”

You observed him for a few moments, noticing his hands opening and closing again into fists, observing it as a means for him to release some of his pent up tension.

“Lie back on the bed. With your head at the headboard.”

He did as you asked.

“Hands back against the pillows?” you requested.

He did as you asked.

Different Masks for Different Days – FKJ

played as you walked over to the bed, and stood over him for a moment… “You have a beautiful body, Megumi.” You breathed, as a light blush pressed forward on his cheeks, halfway hidden by the fabric.

He flinched as you touched his skin, your fingertips gliding slowly down his bare chest, tickling as they reached his abdomen. Your hand pressed into the bed as you slowly crawled over him, straddling his belly, your knees on either side of him as your thighs pressed into his sides, flush against his warm skin.

He raised his hands up to touch you. You gripped both of his wrists, pinning them down to the pillows all to easily, as you leaned into his ear, “I said don’t touch.”

Your breath was hot on his skin as you moved closer to the shell of his ear, lowering your voice to barely a whisper. “Be a good boy.” You said, as your breasts pressed into his chest. Your parted lips glided across his jaw, your teeth grazing, then catching a grip on a bit of skin that made it's way behind them.

Megumi’s brow furrowed as he began to squirm underneath you.

You then leaned forward, allowing your clothed breasts to cover his face as you tied his hands together with the remaining fabric, tethering them to the headboard.

He turned towards them, opening his mouth, his tongue pressing forward as he kissed and sucked against your smooth flesh as you pressed them against his cheeks. Once he was securely bound, you slid your hands slowly down each of his arms, noticing his breathing becoming more labored.

“You okay baby?” you asked, sweetly.

“I’m better than okay.” He answered, “but… I need you.”

“Awww… sweetheart.” You said, leaning in, cupping his face, then rubbing your nose against his cheek, nuzzling as you grinded your soft, sensitive sex against his belly, the tip of his dick just behind you, grazing your upper thigh as it sprawled across his hip.

You drew closer, kissing his lobe softly as you whispered, “Don’t worry, baby. I’ll take good care of you.”

You felt his body shudder under your touch, his lips remaining parted as he huffed harder, pressing his head back into the pillows.

Megumi could feel the tension becoming more difficult to bear, building the excitement within him, as he now wondered just how much more of this he could take. It felt like an eternity to him since he was last in this position with you, and he wanted nothing more than to devour you completely.

You pressed your body a little more firmly into his as your tongue glided up the side of his neck, planting opened mouth kisses, the same as the ones you loved to receive from him, as you continued to grind yourself against him. You watched his face twisting in agonizing pleasure, taking special care to avoid touching his middle.

“Are you excited?” you cooed, your hand massaging the other side of his neck, your thumb tracing the lines in his throat.

“Very.” He huffed, behind heavy breaths.

“What do you need, baby?” you whispered, your fingers from both hands sliding up the back of his neck through his hair, gripping it as you continued to massage, nuzzling and kissing.

Megumi hissed, “I… ~haah~… I need … you to untie me.”

“Oh yeah?” you breathed, “Already huh? And why would I do that?”

He turned his head toward you, “I’ll … make you feel good… I wanna take you… taste you…” he huffed, swallowing hard as he began tugging against the headboard, his biceps contracting, veins pressing forward against the skin of his arm.

“Hmm... that sounds so very nice.” … you drawled. “But … I’m not quite sure you’ve learned your lesson, love.

He huffed, biting his lip again just before you laid another couple kisses on his collar bone.

You glided your lips over to his, pressing them together in a deep, warm kiss. You slipped in your tongue, humming against his mouth as you sucked his lips, teasingly extending the length of the kiss as you continued. His hips began to buck slightly forward as he moaned, the wet muscles inside your mouths dancing together in a warm, soft embrace, the sensation triggering your middle to produce more slick.

Every Kind of Way – H.E.R.

played as the sound of your kisses vibrated throughout your body, the tantalizing taste of his warm mouth, exciting you all the more. Megumi was beautiful. And seeing him like this made your heart race like nothing else ever had. It was a delight teasing him.

“You want me?” you spoke against his lips.

“Haah… yes…” Megumi’s voice came out almost as a whine as his hips pressed upward into nowhere, begging for contact.

You began to slide your body lower, rubbing his chest as you peppered more kisses, your tongue gliding across his pecs, then against his nipples. You sucked each of them gently as he flinched.

His abdominal muscles contracted as you blew against them, his frown deepening as your hands then slid down lower, “Mmmh…” you moaned, feeding off of his pleasure, his body shuddering underneath you as you took in the sound of his moans. You licked your lips as you observed how rock solid his dick appeared as it pressed against the fabric of his boxers.

You hovered your face over his middle, your hands gliding up and down his sides at his hipbone. His huge cock was difficult to avoid as it hung sideways across his hips, thick, stiff and long, and there wasn’t a shadow of a doubt that you wanted him just as badly as he wanted you.

You slid your fingers up his inner thigh, slipping them under the hem of his boxers, exposing more of his skin, so tender in this area, teasing his middle as you lightly scraped his flesh under your nails, your tongue flicking out before kissing each thigh.

“Aaah fuck” Megumi plead, squirming underneath you. “Baby…” He panted, through clenched teeth, “I… haah ~ I’ve been waiting so long.”

You grinned, satisfied with his reactions as you pressed his thighs outward continuing to kiss them, massaging, squeezing and pressing his skin with the pads of your thumbs, inching closer to his throbbing middle.

Megumi’s hips rotated, bucking forward, begging as he frowned, his muscle flexed against his jaw as he clenched his teeth in an attempt to maintain his pride, his entire body betraying his calm. His speaker played

Hrs & Hrs – Muni Long,

as Megumi begged, “Mmmh ~ more” hissing, barely above a whisper. “Just fucking let me have it…” he complained, pulling against his ties.

“So anxious, baby…” you muttered as you squeezed his thigh harder.

Megumi spoke through his heavy breaths; “I wanna fuck you... deep ... so deep... I wanna … bury myself inside you.”

Your heart twisted in your chest as you positioned yourself between his legs, his words stirring the fire already burning you from your core as you kneeled on the bed.

“You wanna bury… this… inside me?” you whispered, as you slid your fingers up his clothed shaft to the tip, already soaked with precum, as your other hand gently cupped and squeezing his clothed sack, evoking another flinch in his body and a guttural moan from his lips.

You gripped his length, stroking it back and forth, the fabric sliding between your skin and his. “You want … this… deep inside me?”

“Yes… fuck!…” Megumi moaned deeply, pressing his head back against the pillows as he pulled his tether tighter against the headboard, his hip movements now jerking, becoming more prominent.

Your heart fluttered at his neediness, your smile growing wider as you curled your fingers into the band of his boxers, pulling the front of them up toward you as you unveiled his beautiful, thick, throbbing member. He lifted his hips to assist you in removing them, and you casually tossed them to the floor.

As his hard veiny cock bounced freely in front of you, you leaned in, pupils blossoming as you took in the sight, your face mere inches from it as you hissed, sliding your hand up his thigh, then finally curling your fingers around the bottom of his shaft.

Megumi’s groan escaped his throat from even deeper inside him, as your hand gripped his throbbing member. “Aaah…” it’s temperature a stark contrast against your hand, so warm you could feel it pulse against your skin.

“Mmm… Your cock is so fucking gorgeous, Megumi.” You moaned as you stroked it.

Megumi’s breaths hitched as he murmured, “Inside...”

“Aww… sweetie…” you teased. “I just wanna spend a little more time with it okay?” you leaned in, planting slow, open mouthed wet kisses along its length, starting at the base, humming as you moved upward.

You stroked it lovingly a few times as you muttered, “so fucking pretty”. You flicked out your tongue at the base, licking him all the way to the tip, which glistened with precum just before you sucked it clean, the soft inner part of your lips kissing it with a smack before releasing.

“Mmh… and you taste so good …” you whispered as you teased.

Megumi trembled as he groaned, “Ssshit! … Ngh! I won’t last…” the delicious sensations sending tremors through him, intensified by him being unable to see you.

Back to Love – Robert Glasper (feat. SiR & Alex Isley)

set the mood as you giggled and continued, licking him like a lollypop, and sucking eagerly as you reached his angry head. After just a few passes, your tongue flicked over the tip once more, you opened wide and shoved it as deep inside your mouth as it possibly could go, gagging slightly as it reached your throat.

Megumi turned his face, burying it against his arm, his mouth opening into a silent scream, working overtime not to cum, his moans causing your core to clench harder every time.

You coated him with your saliva as you sucked, and sucked, and sucked him off, your hands stroking in tandem with the movements of your head, his warm, veiny shaft gliding smoothly across your tongue. It felt so good to please him like this.

“Fuck! ~ I can’t take it…~” Megumi warned as he bucked his hips a few times, thrusting his thickness into your throat as your hand massaged his shaft. “Shit! … I’m gonna come… I’m gonna … fucking come.”

You hummed against him with pleasure as you sucked harder, your heart skipping beats as you deeply satisfied yourself by satisfying him, your cheeks caving as your lips and tongue glided along his hot length.

The thought of him, the way he makes you feel, his brilliance, his kindness towards you, his scent, his gorgeous face, his dominance, his talent, all stimulating you more as you pleased him, enveloping his sensitive thickness in your soft warm mouth.

You reached your other hand up to rub his chest as you stroked and sucked him… yet pulling it out of your mouth with a pop, catching your breath, “Haah…. Not yet, baby…” you drawled, grinning as your hand slid down his chest.

“Agh! … the fuck!?…” Megumi whimpered, with both frustration and excitement.

You snickered as you crawled up to meet his face, straddling yourself across his hips, careful not to nick him with your heels as his solid length glistened in the dim light and laid straight up against his belly. You sat up, pressing your clothed center on it as he bucked it against your clit, your hands resting across his chest, flinching and moaning as it rubbed roughly through your covered folds.

Pyramid Song – Radiohead

blended into the atmosphere as the both of you moaned together. You rubbed your sex along the length of his hardness, nearly cumming yourself at the feeling, Megumi’s mouth hanging slightly open as he released heavy breaths, thrusting toward you.

“Agh you fucking tease!” he whined, clenching his teeth.

You leaned into him, giggling as you reached up and placed both hands on his cheeks as you slid them upwards, your fingers hooking underneath his blindfold to remove it.

As you unveiled his eyes and he slowly opened them to meet your hungry gaze, the contact sent pangs to your heart. You slid your tongue, feather-light across his lips, then past them into his mouth for another deep, warm kiss, your tongues dancing excitedly against each other.

Your lips slid across his, slowly sucking his bottom lip, then planting one last peck on his chin as you leaned in, pressed your mouth against his ear to whisper, “Just a little more” as you sucked his lobe into your mouth.

You pulled back, only to see Megumi’s heavily hooded gaze, his pupils blown out dark as he heaved, frowning deeply as he observed you. You pressed your torso up as you straddled him, giving him a perfect view.

“You like what you see?” you moaned, grinding against him as you locked eyes, your hair falling over your face, your lips slightly swollen and deep pink from sucking his cock. You threw your head back, strands of your hair tickling his legs as it swayed, your hardened nipples pressing forward against the thin fabric of your dress as his dick throbbed against your sex, pleading for entry.

Megumi was unable to take his eyes off you, feeling palpitations in his heart for this person, this woman, beautiful inside and out, that he’s allowed to take over his emotions, his body, his life. “Fuck…”

You flinched again shuddering on top of him from his angry cock as it ruffled your folds, the head laid against his abdomen, pointing directly toward Megumi’s face from under the warm covering of your pussy, moans spilling from your lips, as your hands slid up and down his chest.

His body quivered as he approached his limit, oversensitive, his chest rising and falling faster, his desire pushing past the boundary of excited toward feral as he clenched his teeth, hissing.

You leaned forward propping yourself up on your left knee, your left hand next to his shoulder for leverage, as you hovered your middle over his, your right leg, stretched out across the remaining length of the bed, your feet still clad in your heels. You flipped your hair back over your right shoulder, meeting his gaze as you pulled your strappy panties aside, then gripped his heavy cock with your hand, rubbing the tip across your wet folds.

You smirked a bit, teasing, “is this what you want?” you asked, pressing the head ever so slightly into your wet opening.

“No…” Megumi’s brows formed a hard line, eyes screwing shut as he hissed, “noooo no no…” steadily pulling against his bondage as his body shuddered. “C’mon baby, let me out.” he plead again, pressing his face against his bicep.

“No?” you questioned, tilting your head, confused about how that was his answer. “Are you sure about that?” You teased, easing his tip past your slick folds, sinking it slowly inside you, moaning a bit with every inch.

Desperate to take care of this on his own, Megumi fought against his desire to watch, yet couldn’t tear his eyes away as he witnessed his thick length slowly stretch you open, slipping smoothly into your hole, disappearing inside your sweltering heat.

Megumi wailed the loudest he ever had since you’d known him, overwhelmed with pleasure as you rested your body on top of him, your walls wrapping around him as warm as a velvet blanket.

“Haaaah FFUUUUCK!”

Your eyes fluttered shut, rolling into the back of your head as you settled almost completely on top of him, your hands trembling as you moved them to rest on his pale, muscular chest. You doubled over, burying your head in his neck, barely able to contain yourself, air hitching in your throat as it passed your lips. His speaker played

Feel Something – Chris Brown.

Megumi’s heart pounded as hard as a bass drum as he watched your reaction, seeing and feeling you shudder on top of him as his length reached into the innermost secret and deepest parts of you, aching to beat himself even further inside until you could take no more, until he reached the sweetest spot, until you screamed his name.

His member hardened even more as you hovered with him buried in your depths, nearly to the hilt. You moaned loudly as your core squeezed him even harder, your chest heaving. It took everything for you not to cum at that moment. Your eyes opened slowly, meeting his hedonistic gaze.

“Don’t move… let me out.” He begged with suppressed urgency, his expression that of a chained wild animal, desperate to devour his prey.

“No.” you whined, between clenched teeth, leaning into his lips, causing more friction from your quivering core against his aching cock.

Megumi’s frown deepened as your torso inched closer to his, biting his lip, nearly breaking his flesh, trying as hard as he could not to release inside you immediately.

“Go ahead and cum for me.” you whispered, gripping and pressing your hands into each of his biceps on either side of him.

You then pulled your ass upward, and his dick out a bit, then thrusted hard back down on top of him, whimpering from the excruciating pleasure as you threw your head back, “haaaah!”

“Nnngh!” Megumi panted, his head jerking back as you repeated your thrusts, over and over, his dick gliding beautifully and smoothly in and out of your heat, the friction just delicious against your tight gummy walls.

You pressed down on him repeatedly, flicking out your tongue against his neck, your hips working miracles against his stubborn dominance, your slick heat firmly gripping his hot cock, milking him, the head pounding closer to your cervix.

Your hands migrated up toward his neck as you gripped each side, “You like that baby?” you whispered into the shell of his ear, “letting momma … Ngh… u – use you like this?”

You very much preferred being underneath him, but Megumi’s reaction goaded you on, and was so enticing, so irresistible that you couldn’t help yourself.

Your body tremored from your very core, as you moaned out in a sensual whisper, “haaahhh! ~ I’m cumming baby…” as you thrusted even faster.

Megumi yanked against the headboard, pulling and grunting, his eyes rolling back, heavy breaths exiting his mouth at each of your thrusts, a violent tremor suddenly shaking his entire being until he finally came…hard.

You melted on top of him as thick ropes of his hot semen coated your insides, your core releasing arousal all over him. “Ha~aaah! You breathed with satisfaction as you turned your face to the heavens.

His body convulsed as he spilled inside you, his veins pressing forward along his arms, he came so much, that after a few moments his seed found its way out of your hole, flatlining as it dripped down his shaft and you continued to move your hips slowly up and down his oversensitive member.

Megumi kept his head held back as he heaved, having enjoyed every second, allowing his high to wash over him. He then pulled harder against the tether as he trembled. “Please… Haah…~ haah… Please fucking let me out, baby...” He plead quietly.

You giggled cutely, very pleased with yourself as you looked down at him in his weakened state, leaning in to untie his restraints,

The moment his hands were free, he sprang forward, sitting up, his right arm wrapping around your waist, his hand firmly gripping your thigh as his left arm held the back of your head and his lips slammed into yours.

His tongue lashed around your mouth greedily, the warm, soft contact with the inside of yet another part of your body, exciting him. He easily flipped you over onto the bed next to him on your back.

“Such a bad girl”. He quipped, his hand threading through your hair.

You bit your lip as you chuckled, both of you heaving as you took in each other’s features. He leaned in for another kiss, this time much slower, as his hands began to explore your body.

“My turn.” He murmured.

His large hands slid down your side against your matte silk dress, sliding to your breasts, where his fingertips gently grazed over your hardened buds, rotating them slowly, the soft fabric separating your skin from his as it glided across, making you shudder as he became hard all over again between your legs from being close to you.

Coco Jones – ICU

Began to play as he pulled back from his kiss. Your big pretty eyes met Megumi’s, his forehead rested against yours as you lie still, just feeling him. Your gazes exchanged fire as you trembled, your chests heaving, his body warm and firm as he encompassed you.

“Hey there, sweetness… you ready for me?”

Megumi moved his body down, relaxing his face between your breasts. His long fingers reaching around each one, squeezing as he kissed and inhaled your scent. He pressed your soft skin gently against his cheeks, his touch reaching every nerve, making your entire body tingle.

The sound of the wet smacks of his kisses and deep moans vibrated in your ears, his hands and body weight pressed down on you, making you feel protected and desired, the fragrance of soap and incense wafting up from his body, hair tickling your chest as his jet-black strands glided across your flesh, his wide eyes observing every one of your secret places.

His hands slipped under your dress, exposing your pretty skin as he lifted it up and off. Having him restrained revealed the difference feeling his hands on you made. His touch never failed to set every one of your senses on fire.

His mouth locked on to you as his lips pursed softly around your nipples, suddenly pulling hard to suck them in, the juxtaposition of the warm softness of the flesh of his lips and the tinge of pain behind each suck making you shudder to your core.

His darkened blues flicked up as he sucked, making contact with yours, pupils blown out further, glazed over, glaring.

Each time your gazes met, it was as if your heart had been squeezed inside your chest, each beat pulsing a surge of electricity through every limb.

Megumi’s cock was now rock solid as the head rested at your entrance, still coated and leaking from before.

He maintained eye contact and slowly pressed in, watching your face contort in pleasure You lifted your legs up, pressing your calves against his back as he tunneled inch by inch into your velvety soft core without stopping until he bottomed out.

He loved to see you this way, writhing and helpless underneath him as he handled your body, making you hurt so good from taking his cock. It made him fucking crazy. Feeling his member buried deep inside your warmth like this, knowing you absolutely loved for him to fuck you.

His eyes fluttered shut as his lower lip trembled slightly, the both of you moaned upon entry, the glide as smooth as silk.

Neither of you moved, your collective eyes closed as he held that position inside you, Megumi’s face resting in the crook of your neck, his tongue lapping as softly and desperately as a divine dog, his kisses sopping wet, his breath hot on your skin as he pressed the bottom of his shaft against your clit.

You waited for the wave to calm, releasing some of the tension from your lungs through heavy breaths, but your body betrayed you, the sheer force and power behind his hold on you making you cum immediately. You wailed out, gripping the back of his neck with one hand, scratching red marks into his back with the other as your core clenched on to him so tightly, that you forced an even louder moan from him.

Hunting Bears – Radiohead

cooed as your body seethed beneath him. As the fire that Megumi lit inside you seared through your veins, the deepest, most concealed, cold, hardened corners of your heart continued to melt like hot wax, sweat seeping from your collective pores.

He reached down to grip your ass firmly, one cheek in the palm of each hand as he held you, your legs opening obscenely wide for him as he pressed in even deeper, his face still buried in the crook of your neck as he licked and sucked at your throat, all the way up to your ears.

Megumi was molding you, shaping you as an expert artisan, his hands, his rock hard member, making you, sculpting you into a form intricately tailored for his satisfaction alone, the secret cave of your heat, carved out perfectly by and into the shape of his tool.

Likewise, you had carved a space from his heart that only you could refill. Everything about you, from your person, to your beautiful voice, the gleam in your eyes, to the way you received him, gently yet unintentionally massaging his ego and his manhood, you had locked him down into a den of pleasure that he had no desire to leave.

He growled against your skin, thrusting over and over., “Mmgh, everything about you is mine.”

As he opened his eyes, he waited to see yours. You kept your face turned sideways as your eyes screwed shut. He felt so good, your body couldn’t help the response, so much so… that you just … couldn’t…

“Look at me” Megumi insisted.

His reached his hand up to rest on that comfortable place at the base of your neck, his fingers curling around your pulse point, your body trembling uncontrollably as he pulled out a bit, then pressing in slowly, deeply, his forefinger turning your face toward him.

Your hooded, hazy, round eyes rested on his face. His beautiful face.

“Keep looking at me.” He whispered his words between huffs, “Only look at me… ngh… I love to see you cum” he breathed into your ear behind thrusts.

He rested his forehead on yours, his eyes piercing, “Do it again.” He punctuated his sentence with a hard thrust.

He hit you so deep that your entire body convulsed as his tip kissed your cervix. You wailed out, “Aaaagh! Megumi!!” as your body tensed, shaking, hot cum coating his stiff cock all over again, your breaths, vibrating against his hand as he gripped your neck, nearly inflicting pain.

Your pleading face washed red; your mouth gaped open and your eyes rolled back as you took the entirety of his thick length deep inside your hole. His radio played,

When We – Tank.

“I’m the one making you feel this way.” He continued to thrust into you, “It’ll always be me.” Megumi groaned, pulling out slowly, then plunging in again, and again as he kept a firm grip on your ass, skin on skin slapping, echoing off of the wall of his loft as he forced louder moans from your lips.

“That’s it, sweetness… open up that pretty pussy… let me in… I’ll die inside.” his hand gripped your neck tighter, his strong arm locking you in place as he beat his name into the depths of your core.

He lightly pressed his open mouth against yours as he held your throat and you both exchanged air, trembling from the intensity. Megumi hissed directly into your mouth softly, “God, I missed you… Cum. Cum again for me.”

You began to sob underneath him oversensitive and overworked, but dying with pleasure as he commanded you, rutting hard into your heat as he dipped his tongue into your mouth, sucking at your swollen lips, then sliding it slowly down your chin, to your throat, back up your jaw with hot kisses, to your cheek, then back to your lips.

You whimpered softly … “Me~gumi … ha~ah” behind your tears. You gripped his back, sinking you nails into his flesh, as he continued to pound his cock into your sopping wet cunt.

“Mmmm … you remember, don’t you?” he continued, punishing you at a relentless pace, “You remember being on your knees for me?” he whispered into the shell of your ear, “Being a good little slut for me? Lemme hear it..”

It hit you again like a tidal wave “y–yes... s–sir… you murmured, as your pupils pulsed with hearts. I’m … I’m cu–cumming again! … ha~ah!”

Megumi released your neck, gliding his fingers into your hair as you came, fisting it into the top of your head as he fucked you silly.

He was unequivocally yours. And you really were his. Ask him to do anything and he’d do it. Your name was branded onto his heart, and his body melded into yours.

And you, you couldn’t imagine being without him. Where could you go and not desire him? He fulfilled you in a way that no one else could. He was IT for you.

And it was not hard to recognize.

You were head over heels in love with him.

You wanted every bit of him. His quirks, his faults, his issues, his blemishes, his love. All of it.

He supported you, cared for you, regarded you, considered you, and made you feel fucking amazing.

So you let go and allowed yourself to fall. And as afraid as you were, you realized you already had.

Deeply.

Megumi remained inside you, refusing to disconnect as he pressed his face against your cheek and breathed, “I love you.”

*~*~*~*~*

Your eyes parted, a bit of light shining through Megumi’s large window, the curtains pulled open, revealing the dark morning sky. You were slightly disoriented, having awakened in his room. The moment you recalled where you were, a feeling of deep satisfaction washed over you. Happiness. Being with Megumi Fushiguro like this in his home, you felt so … safe.

You took a deep breath as you peered through the mostly dark at his pretty sleeping face. The man that you already know you have decided to give yourself over to. How long has it been since you’ve felt this?

Love Song – 311

played softly on his speaker as you reached your hand over to brush your fingers through his hair, you smiled warmly as you took in his not-so-subtle beauty, the feeling of never wanting to leave this spot, weighing your body down comfortably.

Your fingers slid up and down his muscular arm, and you reluctantly turned away from his face, moving to exit the bed. His hand suddenly wrapped around your waist, stopping you.

“Where are you going?” he asked in a muffled, sleepy voice.

You turned back to him, “To the bathroom, babe.” You whispered, kissing him on the cheek, resting your lips on his face as your fingers curled around his neck.

“Mmmh…” Megumi moaned deeply. “Don’t leave.”

You smiled warmly. “I wouldn’t dare.” You whispered as you turned to look at his clock, noticing it was just past 7am. You got up and grabbed your phone, wandering off to the bathroom.

Megumi watched as you slid it off of the bedside table, unable to sate his curiosity regarding who you’d want to call at this hour. Of course, you had never given him any reason to believe you were interested in anyone else, but surely, just about any man would be interested in you.

But he decided just to relax and enjoy your presence here with him, after you had just given him one of the best and most gratifying nights of his life.

You turned to peek at his beautiful form as he lay under his black blankets, his pale skin and pretty blue eyes peering back toward you in your birthday suit as you stepped into his oversized adidas slides and your robe you brought.

His appearance warmed your heart as you fought the urge to jump back into bed and wrap yourself in his arms.

You disappeared around the frame of the door, across the hall into the bathroom, closing the door to be sure you could have the conversation you wanted without it reaching his ears. You turned on the shower, sat on the toilet and dialed the number.

“Hello?” she answered.

“Maki?”

“Girl… It's SO early!” she huffed, with a little annoyance in her voice.

“I know, I know! I’m so sorry.” You whispered. “I had to take an opportunity since he’s not close by. So, when can we do this?” You asked, cupping your hand over your mouth. “It's so close… I wanna be sure to finish in time.”

“Definitely tonight for sure.” She answered. “The guys agreed to practice what you sent, and they think they’re ready for your first visit. Also, I talked to her, and she says she’s cleared.”

You suddenly started freaking out a little. “Oh my god, I’m so nervous!” you squeaked, “I told him I had to work later. How can we keep him from the studio?” You questioned, turning toward the door in case he barged in.

“Yuji promised to take care of that. And Ino will be here with us. He’s gonna take care of the drums.”

“Yes!!” you giggled, almost too loud, shrinking quickly and covering your mouth again. “Agh! You’re the BEST! Okay! I’ll see you at three, right?”

“Yup. Three sharp! His birthday is in a week.” Maki replied, “Oh, and be prepared. He’s not gonna like that we did this.”

You rolled your eyes, smiling. “Yeah, I figured as much, but you know I don’t care, right? I can’t wait to piss him off a little.” You said, with a wrinkle in your nose.

“Oh my God girl, you’re exactly right for him. Ha-ha!” Maki says, joking but serious.

You suddenly hear a light knock on the door. You turned, slightly startled, per your attempt to be sneaky. “Yeah?” you answered.

“Hey, you want waffles?”

“Yum! Yes! Thank you!” you said to Megumi, then turned back toward the phone to reply to Maki whispering, “Okay I gotta go! I’ll see you later!”

“Okay, don’t accidently spill the tea.” she answers.

“Hehehe… I’ll try not to.” You replied, ending the call.

You hurried and stripped down, hopping into the shower so as not to appear more suspicious than you already did.

*~*~*~*~*

Fade Away – Lucky Daye

now played on his flat screen. So, you have to work later, huh?” Megumi asked, stuffing his mouth with a forkful of waffles that had no syrup.

“Yup” you answered. “Those have gotta be dry.” You teased, frowning.

“Yea, a little. He shrugged. But they’re already sweet. And I have coffee.”

“True. They’re also tasty though. I didn’t realize you were such a good cook.” You said, smiling.

“I had to cook a lot as a kid. I learned pretty early. My mom didn’t spend much time at home with me and my sister before she passed, and my dad wasn’t around … until he was.” His eyebrows jumped before he looked over at you.

You gazed at him thoughtfully, considering that you had actually not had many conversations with him about his parents. Or his sister. “Are you and your sister still close?”

“We are. We don’t talk as much as we’d like to though, since she’s studying abroad and pretty busy. I’d say we chat like, two to three times a week?”

You continued to rake your gaze over him, a warm smile gracing your face as you nodded slowly. You watched him eating, that relaxed, pouty, blank look on his face ironically warming your heart. He was always so adorable, and you couldn’t wait to embarrass him to pieces.

You recalled talking to him a bit about his parents yesterday before the show at “dinner”, and he told you that he got along well with them both. He mentioned that he and Toji had a hard time after their mom passed and disappeared for a while, leaving him alone with his sister. When he finally came back, he worked hard to get closer to Megumi and Tsumiki.

Regardless of it all, Megumi grew up a beautiful person, caring for his sister under difficult circumstances, and still becoming a powerful presence, on his way to being a full-fledged star. Which, you already felt he was. You loved everything about him, whether he was the leader of a rock band or a janitor.

“Do you think I could meet her sometime?” you asked, curious what he thought of it.

“I don’t mind at all. And I think she’d like that.” He squinted ever so slightly toward you as he slowly chewed the last of his waffle, leaning back in his seat. “so… what do you wanna do until you have to go to work?”

“Hmm… I dunno. It's too cold to go out at the moment… I still have quite a while before I have to go. Wanna watch a movie?”

“Yup.” He replied.

“Okay. I’ll get this, you get the movie?” You said as you grabbed the dishes from the table.

“Cool. I’ll get a quick shower while you do that and come right back.” He said.

You watched out of the corner of your eye, stuffing the dishwasher with your plates as he reached for the remote, choosing a romance film.

~*~*~*~*~

You were surprised at how exhausted you were, with all the work you’d been doing, but you gathered that it must be the adrenaline keeping you afloat as you walked quickly toward your office building from the train station.

It had already been 4 days since you saw Megumi last, and today, you had to run in to work to grab a few things before heading to the rehearsal before he showed up with Yuji.

When you texted, you told him you were working, and it was already about 6:25. You were scheduled to be at the studio by 7. You were in quite a hurry, hoping you could grab your drive from your desk and head back. You stepped off of the elevator and turned the corner to walk the aisle to your desk, only to see someone already sitting there.

“Um... May I help you?” you asked, tilting your head to the side as you tried to get a look at the stranger's face as he sat at your computer, typing. You were considerably surprised at how he managed, since it was locked.

The stranger didn’t turn to look at you, his demeanor devoid of any regard for the fact that he was absolutely not supposed to be all up in your personal space. “No, I think I can manage. Thanks.” He replied in a deep voice, quite nonchalantly.

You huffed, “Perhaps you can, but ... what exactly are you doing at my desk?” you asked, rolling your eyes from behind his back. He appeared to be extremely well built, tall, and had tattoos all up and down his semi bulky muscular arms, most of them hidden behind his barely transparent white oxford which he had rolled halfway up his forearms.

“Last time I checked it belonged to the company.” He replied rather rudely, still without even bothering to turn and look at you.

You scoffed, now irritated. “Pardon me, but who are you?”

“I’m Sukuna.” He answered, still seated in the opposite direction as he typed away at your computer. “And who, pray tell, are you?” he asked, squinting toward the screen, as he rummaged through your apps.

“I'm the owner of all the belongings you're currently hovering over and the files you've invaded. I'll need you to please remove yourself from my seat.”

Sukuna turned himself around to face you, finally, frowning, his expression softening, and morphing from irritated to slightly amused after setting eyes on your face, shocked at your audacity as he crossed his arms.

You crossed yours in response, raising your eyebrows, blinking a few times with pursed lips as you waited for him to comply.

He chuckled, locking eyes with you “Well well...” he huffed as he finally stood slowly, towering nearly a foot above you. “Looks like we have a live one in this department.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa...” Geto chimed in, power walking over from around the corner to explain what’s whats going on. He quickly introduced you, “this is Sukuna. You remember we spoke briefly about him coming by to help us out here, right?”

“Mmmm” you replied, your eyes flicking from Geto back to Sukuna, looking him up and down as he smirked back at you. “I wasn't aware my privacy would be in question upon his arrival.”

“Oh, it isn't. I politely offered my services since you're a little ... overwhelmed.” He seemed to love the sound of his own voice as you watched the pretentious look on his face as his words drawled from his mouth.

“Well um ... ‘Sukuna’, is it?” you replied, “that tends to happen when a single person is processing the work of five. But we appreciate your assistance. Were you looking for something in particular among my personal belongings?”

Geto took a deep breath as he noted the obvious tension between the two of you, “My apologies, we needed these documents,” he handed a piece of paper over to you with a list, as your glare continued to cut into Sukuna’s gaze.

“You happened to be the only one who had them downloaded. I apologize for not calling you about it sooner, but we're on a deadline and needed them quickly.” Geto explained.

You gently took the paper from him, taking a quick peek before handing it back to him, moving toward your seat which was directly behind Sukuna. “If you'll ... excuse me?” you requested.

Sukuna motioned, stretching out one of his hands, granting you access to your own desk, the corners of his lips turning down a little in the corners.

You sat for a few moments, taking a deep breath as you felt their eyes on your back, quickly pressed a few keys, then swiveled in your chair back to Geto. “All done, and all sent to your primary. Is there anything else I can get for you?”

“Uh,” he paused for a moment, his eyes flicking to Sukuna then back to you as he pressed his lips into a hard line. “No, I think that'll be fine for now”.

Sukuna continued to glare your direction, with his large arms crossed, “Except... I'll need you to hang out here for a few hours to answer some questions about that project.”

“Yeah...” you shook your head and shrugged, “I'm afraid that's a commitment I'm unable to keep at the moment since I have prior engagements.” You replied sharply, nodding with a tiny smirk. “also, that's a request generally made by management?”

“Unfortunately, one of the requirements of this position is to be available for overtime at the request of management ... which I currently am.” He retorted, squinting slightly as his lips turned up slyly at you.

Your eyes widened slightly as you turned them toward Geto, hoping to hear reason escape his lips.

“I think we can manage without her just this once, huh Sukuna?” he chuckled in a way that you hardly found funny, patting Sukuna on the shoulder as he maintained his curious gaze at you as you peered up toward Geto.

“I just came by to pick up a few things. See you Monday?”

“We most certainly will.” Sukuna answered, regardless of the fact you weren't talking to him. His eyes followed you until you disappeared around the corner, back to the elevator.

*~*~*~*~*

Blood Money - Vancouver Sleep Clinic

played on the studio speaker as you sat on the couch. "I wanted to kick his smug ass." You said to Nobara as she sat next to you behind Ino's panel.

“Shit, I don't blame you. What the hell is up with Geto these days? He seems to be leaning on you quite a bit for the well-being of that office. Maybe it's time you asked for another raise.”

“Yeah, no kidding. That Sukuna character is gonna be a real headache for sure. Thank God I didn't have to actually stay there today. I told Megumi I was going to work, now I don't have to feel bad for lying to him. You chuckled, I actually did have to ‘work’.” You said, rolling your eyes.

“Well, he's out with Yuji now, they won’t be here until around 9, so I think you're in the clear.”

“Nice.” You replied.

“Hey lady, you're up!” Ino called.

You smiled over at Nobara, and stood, heading over to the sound booth and the live microphone.

“Don't freak out, singer.” Choso teased. “We got you”.

You scrunched your nose up at him and smiled, then spoke into the mic, to help Ino adjust it to your voice. “But it's only been a couple days. You guys have this memorized already?”

“Who you think you're talking to?” Choso quipped, and they all chuckled. “Nah, I’m just kidding, we're good though.” He continued. “We have the track here if we screw anything up, but we've gone over it quite a few times at home separately and together, so don't worry.”

You breathed a sigh of relief cringing a little at his pretend arrogance, but he was right. Your music was hardly anywhere near as complicated as theirs, but you still wanted everything to be perfect. Megumi deserved for you to try your best, though you knew he wouldn't care if you did the whole thing wrong especially in a situation like this. He would love your singing.

“Okay lets do this.” you said as Ino queued you in.

*~*~*~*~*

The rehearsal was a success, a million pounds of weight seemed to be lifted off of your shoulders after it was all done.

You went down the line, hugging each of the band members for working with you so well. You couldn’t believe how fast they got the material, though they are all experts, so it really shouldn’t have surprised you as much.

“Are you guys sure you’re comfortable singing backup for me?” You said to Maki, after hugging her last.

“Not uncomfortable in the slightest.” Choso replied, “I figured you had chops, but damn girl!”

“For real.” Yuta interjected. “I’m gonna love playing for you. With vocals like that? It's an honor.”

“Fire.” Toge chimed, as he nodded.

“Seriously, quit worrying.” Maki reassured. “It was perfect.”

“And it will be perfect, no matter what.” Ino chimed. “Who wrote that anyway?”

“I did.” You answered. “I had it all in my head but couldn’t play all the parts the way I wanted to, so I just roughly attempted them on the guitar.” You shook your head. “You guys brought it to life in a way that I never dreamed I’d hear it. I’m so grateful.” You said, holding your hand up to your mouth as tears came to your eyes.

“Megumi’s just … I want him to love it.” you looked around to them all, “And I couldn’t have asked for a better sound in a million years. Thank you so much you guys.”

“Anytime.” Ino replied. “No, seriously. Any time. You must be planning to finish an album, right? That voice and that music can’t go to waste. I won’t allow it.”

You looked over at Choso as he nodded in agreement with his eyebrows raised, along with the rest of the band, their expressions reflecting that you’d probably better get your shit together while they’re all on the same page about supporting.

“Oh my god, y’all are gonna make me cry.” You said, as you turned to walk quickly out the booth door toward Nobara with a huge smile on your face.

Ino shook his head at you, smiling as he grabbed his things, rushing to leave out the back door early to avoid Megumi seeing him, since he lived out of town, and wanted to surprise him with his visit.

“Girl! That was fucking amazing!! I’m so excited for you!” Nobara said, smiling widely, and extremely excited.

You plopped down on the couch next to her, covering your face with your hands. “Thanks, love. I’m really freaking out right now, but it's gotta be done.”

“Tch… You know he’s gonna kick your ass, right?”

“Hehe, yeah… or kiss it if I’m lucky.” You mumbled as you looked at her out the corner of your eye.

Nobara’s entire face opened up in shock as she laughed. “Ahhh!! Oh my god, listen to you!” She pushed your shoulder off of her as she teased you, and you both giggled.

Just then, your phone rang, interrupting your moment with a call from a number you didn’t recognize.

You finished giggling as you explained, “I think I might have to take this. Gimme a sec.” you held out your finger as you stepped out of the inner studio out to the open area.

Something In The Way – Nirvana

played on the speaker as you answered.

“Hello?”

The caller asked if you were available without bothering to introduce himself, in a deep, stern voice.

“Speaking, how can I help you?”

“This is Sukuna. I’m calling to inquire about the overtime we discussed. Our deadline is fast approaching, and it seems we need all the help we can get on this project.”

You couldn’t believe this man had the audacity to contact you on your private phone, actually demanding work from you on your day off.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I won’t be available until Tuesday morning as scheduled.” You frowned angrily, your tone firming, “Just exactly how did you obtain my personal number?”

“I requested it from Geto. I’m making calls to our subordinates, offering the opportunity to acquire more income as well as –”

“Excuse me,” your eyes pressed shut “did you just say, subordinates?” you scoffed. Geto never spoke to his employees that way. Though you did work “under” him, he was far more likely to use the term “team member”. It was clear that this man was already bringing down the morale in the workplace and now bringing down your individual morale outside of it.

“Yes,” he continued, “we are your superiors are we not? We have a quite a bit to accomplish and will require as many hands as possible.”

“I’m sorry, but… were you not hired for this very reason, Sukuna? As a longtime employee of this company, I’d like to suggest you take this as an ‘opportunity’ not only to legitimize your position there, but to reinforce Geto’s faith in your abilities.”

Your phone began to ring just then from another line. You glanced at it, unable to recognize this number either.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have another call coming through. I’ll be happy to speak with Geto at a later date if you’d like to discuss this further. Have a good evening.” you rolled your eyes as you ended the call, answering the next one.

“Hello?” you answered, your tone possibly a little too curt.

“Hello? … this is Tsumiki … I’m calling for –”

“Oh hi!” you introduced yourself, extremely excited. “Tsumiki, I am so glad you called. I’m so happy to hear from you! Thank you so much for being a part of this.”

“Oh of course. It's not a problem in the least! I’m glad someone is doing it because as you probably know, he would never.”

You chuckled a bit. “Not in a million years. I just hope he doesn’t kill me after.”

“You and me both.” she said as you giggled together.

“So, you’ll be able to make it? I mean, it won’t put a strain on you, right?”

“Not at all.” She replied happily, “I’ll be there with bells on. I’m ecstatic to see him. It's been too long. And It’ll be great to meet you, too.”

You hear the door open to the studio from outside the building, watching Yuji and Megumi stumble in, as Yuji teased him about something silly. You turned back toward the phone covering the mic as you spoke.

“Oh my God, same! I’m so excited but he’s here I gotta go!”. You whispered with your hand over the phone as you turned toward the boys, who seemed too distracted to notice you.

“Okay! I’ll shoot you a text when I land.” She said. You hurried to end the call, hoping to escape his view as you rushed back to the inner studio from the foyer where they entered. You plopped down next to your friend on the couch.

Megumi and Yuji arrived at around 9:30, far more than just a bit tipsy as you could tell by their conversation. Moments later, they wandered into the inner studio room.

“Where the hell have you guys been?” Nobara asked as she got up to hug Yuji.

Megumi did a double take as he noticed you in the room, and stared down at you with a tiny frown on his forehead, turning the rest of his body your direction.

“And what are you doing here?” He asked, quietly, holding his liquor almost as well as he holds his drumsticks.

“Hey. I'm just hanging out.” You shrugged. “Don't mind me.”

He stared at you for a beat, his eyes looking you over in that way. “What are you up to?” he asked, suddenly.

“Up to?” your eyes grew small as you looked around, puzzled. “Me?”

Megumi tilted his head “yeah. YOU.” His brow furrowed as he questioned you, “You've been acting weird lately. What's up with you?”

“Ugh...” you chuckled. “Nothing... I’m just hanging out with my friends.”

He stared at you, squinting. “Commere” he leaned in, gripping your hand to pull you up from the couch.

“Whats up Megz?” Yuji asked, as Nobara leaned against him in a hug.

“Nothing. We'll be right back.” Megumi replied as he wrapped his arm around your waist, pulling you toward the door. He was quite wasted, slightly playful, and severely uninhibited, likely triggered by your unexpected presence.

“Megumi... what are you –?” you asked as he pulled you toward his office, pushing your body in front of him as he pressed you into the room with his body from behind, closing and locking the door behind him.

“You're up to something.” He said.

Fucking smartass.

You thought, as you stumbled around to his glare, standing an inch away from your face.

You scoffed, crossing your arms, your eyelids fluttering as you licked your lips. “You have a problem with me being at your studio Megz?”

“No, I don’t, and you know that. Now tell me what the fuck you're up to.”

You laughed at his misplaced seriousness, your mouth gaping open at him cussing at you, finding it terribly amusing how he appeared a little flustered and suspicious, his cheeks red from his drinks.

“I'm not up to anything! Noby told me you went out with Yuji and would be back here, so I came after work!”

“You're lying” he said with an upward nod, looking down at you. He didn’t raise his voice, but it was clear he was genuinely suspicious.

“I heard you giggling on the phone in the bathroom at my place the other day, and again just now. You didn't spend all night at work because I saw you in town at 630. What the fuck are you tip toeing around for?”

“Megumi! Fucking relax okay? Chill. Everything's cool, I'm just here to hang out with you at the studio.” You kept smiling, completely entertained by his demeanor, yet practically giving yourself away, since it made you appear to be lying all the more.

“Look.” He turned to the side, legitimately irritated, a deep pout forming on his lips before he spoke, “If you’ve got other stuff going on, you can just tell me.”

You paused, staring at him in total confusion. “What? … Megumi… are you serious?”

“I feel like I could be pushing you too hard. But I don’t want you to feel pressured. If you’re interested in some–”

At that, your jaw immediately dropped. “Oh my god…” you squeezed your eyes shut as you shook your head quickly. Stop.” You said. “You’re very tipsy… and you’re letting your imagination run wild.” You walked over to him, cupping his face in your hands. “Regardless of whats happening with me, that’s the absolute last thing on earth that would happen.”

You leaned in, kissing him softly on his lips, lingering. “I love you, too. More than anyone or anything else on this earth.”

You peered into his eyes, a frown forming on your face out of genuine concern that he may actually be crazy enough to believe you’d leave him. “If I could reach into my chest and remove my heart to give it to you, I would.”

“This?” you continued, resting your hand on his chest, and then yours, “Is solid. Okay? Do not worry about that. Ever.”

Megumi nodded as he bit his lip in an attempt to hide that he was upset. Unfortunately you still found it adorable, kissing him several times on the cheek, then hugging him tightly.

“It's late. You have work in the morning, right?” he said as you held each other.

“Yeah, Noby is gonna give me a ride home.”

“Good. Cause you know I can’t right now.”

“No. You can’t.”

*~*~*~*~*

You were so glad you didn’t need to see Sukuna’s face for the next few days at work, since he ended up stuck working the projects he was hired for. You spent the next few days there, then rehearsing at home, making sure your performance would be flawless.

It was finally time to celebrate. You arrived at Nanami’s with Nobara and Tsumiki. You walked toward the building, ecstatic to see exactly what would come of this surprise that you know will likely get you into a ton of trouble.

“Everyone’s here” Nobara said, smiling over at you from the bar. “Nanami let us take over the place for the night, so Megumi’s assuming it's gonna just be another dress rehearsal for their next show.”

“Okay, perfect!” you said, your voice squeaky and excited.

“Yuji says he’s on his way. They should be here any second.” Todo said as he walked over to the three of you at the bar. Everyone was present, including many of the bar’s VIP’s that never miss a single one of their shows, most of them recognizable by Todo, Yuji, and the band.

“I’m so fucking nervous.” You said, as you took a deep breath, turning to look at both Tsumiki and Nobara, each of them sitting on either side of you.

Tsumiki rested a hand on your arm in reassurance. “Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll be great! Nobara told me how good you are. Just trust yourself and everything will be perfect.” She said with a warm smile.

You took a quick breath out, “Yeah… Just relax…” you told yourself.

Nobara squeezed your forearm. “You got this. He’s gonna love it.”

Adorn – Miguel

played on the speaker. You smile at her as suddenly everyone in the building began cheering the moment Megumi walked in with Itadori at his side.

Todo called out from the front of the bar, “Here he is! The birthday boy, and the greatest rocker around, Megumiiiii!”

You watched as air filled his lungs and his eyes widened in shock, then simultaneously roll as he shook his head, dropping his face toward the floor, then cutting his eyes up at Yuji, who grimaced, stepping a foot or so away from him slowly.

“I’m gonna fucking ki –” Megumi stopped mid-sentence as he watched you saunter over toward him, with his sister.

You watched as he caught her in his sight, stunned and wide-eyed. Your heart nearly melted at the look on his face, as it was more than obvious that he was happy to see her.

“Tsumiki…?” he said, almost as if he didn’t really believe she was there, as she reached up, to hug him, a huge smile gracing her pretty face.

Just as he formed his lips to ask “what –?”, shaking his head, he turned his attention toward you, meeting your gaze. The wrinkle in his forehead disappeared as he realized you were the one responsible.

His eyes smiled at you as his lips disappeared into his mouth and he averted his gaze, trying hard to hide the blush on his cheeks. It was the most adorable thing you’d ever seen.

Of course, you weren’t as good at hiding yours as he was. Couldn’t help but stare at his pretty face, unable to contain the heat spreading outward from the bottom of your heart.

“She’s an amazing woman, Megumi.” Tsumiki said, smiling over at you as you continued to blush.

“Yeah.” He answered. “Yeah. She is.” He raked his gaze over you, taking in how beautiful you looked.

He wrapped one arm around you to cup the back of your head and kiss you once on the cheek as he leaned into the shell of your ear, “Be prepared to be paid back for this with interest.” He whispered, sending a shudder down your spine.

He turned and slammed the shot Yuji stuffed into his hand seconds earlier, then to Tsumiki as she began to chat with him.

You smiled as you made your way back over to Nobara at the bar, glowing with happiness to see Megumi so pleased. You sat for a moment, watching people make their way over to speak to him, and him, really, really wanting to avoid all the human interaction. It was awfully funny and cute, and you were more than happy to suffer whatever consequences he had in store for you for putting him in this position later.

You peered up toward the stage, as the boys prepared to begin. Choso gave you an upward nod, queuing you to come up.

Megumi hadn’t caught his signal, presuming he would just go up and get ready to play. Yuji grabbed his arm just as he was about to pass your special seat, the one that allowed you to see him so clearly onstage.

You felt like your heart would beat clear out of your chest, but you peeled yourself from your seat, eyeballing Megumi, biting your lip as you made your way over to walk up on stage, Megumi glancing back in total confusion.

“Have a seat.” Nobara said to Megumi, patting your seat, the cushion still warm as he sat, watching in shock as you went up the stage left stairs.

“What… in the hell… is going on?”

“Just relax. Here.” Yuji said as he handed him a bottle of Guinness, Tsumiki smiling warmly at him as she sat next to him, a huge grin across her face, excited.

You made it backstage, standing behind the curtain, trembling. Your eyes closed as you breathed in and out, hoping to regulate your nervous system. You felt a couple of strong hands squeeze your shoulders, you open them up to see Choso, a goofy grin on his face as he reassured you.

“It’ll be perfect. No worries. We’ve all got your back, just sing. You can do it.” You smiled, nodding. He walked across the stage with the rest of the band, as everyone cheered.

Megumi sat watching as Ino made himself comfortable at his kit. “Ino’s here, too?” he said, as he squeezed his temples.

Choso took the mic. “Thank you, guys for coming out! We’re glad to be here celebrating our leader’s birthday! Whoo!!” Everyone cheered as Megumi cringed. “But we have a treat for you all. A special guest will be singing with us tonight, so give her a hand as she comes to the stage.”

Everyone began to cheer as you swallowed thickly, making your way over to the microphone. The nerves shot through your body like electricity, your gaze peered out toward the crowd as the lights shone bright on you. Of all the times you had done this, nothing could have prepared you for this experience. Singing for this man, was the epitome of exhilarating.

“Thank you all for having me.” you said as you turned to Choso and the band. “And thank you, Megumi,” you turned toward him past the audience as he sat in your seat, “for being such an amazing artist, an amazing inspiration, especially for me, and an even more amazing partner. I love you, so very much, and we hope that you’ll love our performance tonight.”

The lights dimmed, and Toge queued you in with a few notes.

My Song – H.E.R.

Began to play, as you sang the song directly to Megumi and everyone quietly listened. You sang this song from the depths of your heart, as every word made you think of him. He has been the light in your life, one of the only people to love you past your flaws, to stick around regardless of how many mistakes you feel you make and is willing to be here for you.

His inspiration had helped you become stronger in everything you’ve tried to do, and you couldn’t imagine being this close to any other man. Everything about him made you happy, and you felt you could be in this place with him, in this space with him, forever.

Maki and Choso helped beautifully with the background vocals, supporting you express yourself perfectly. And Toge, simply could not have played it better. You recalled that first night you spent with Megumi, when Toge’s piano played so beautifully as the two of you drew closer.

Megumi sat almost perfectly still as you sang to him, barely blinking, barely breathing. He carried the same expression he did as he watched you sing at that wedding, the same admiration, adoration and confidence in you as you’ve always seen. It was as if he gave you wings, and you loved him so much for it. You were able to believe freely, to dream freely, to hope, and to love freely with him by your side.

His eyes locked onto yours, and as your gazes met, it was as if you could feel his heart beating just for you. Even from where he sat from far across the room. Megumi was so beautiful that you simply couldn’t imagine your life now without him. He needed to know it. And everyone else needed to know it too.

The last chord rang, and the crowd cheered as his gaze remained fixed on yours. The cheers seemed to last a full minute as all of Megumi’s friends looked to him to witness how happy he appeared to be.

... to be continued ... 🥰

<< Set 5 / Set 7>>

Set 7 Preview: Coming Soon... ;)

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Thanks for reading! ✨🥰✨

Notes: As always, I welcome any and all critiques, suggestions, and comments regarding my work, since I truly feel all of those may make me a much better writer! I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to read my little stories, and if you'd like to be tagged in releases, don't hesitate to comment below! 😊💖🎶

©cocomanga 2024 | Please do not plagiarize, copy, or distribute my work.

Fanart Art: Courtesy of @pinterest-business / @berserker049 Ombre Caution/DNI & Animated lines: Courtesy of @CafeKitsune

#The Sweetest Beat #The Sweetest Beat Set 6 #Megumi Fushiguro #Megumi Fushiguro Smut #Megumi #Megumi Smut #megumi x you #megumi x reader #fushiguro megumi #JJK AU #JJK #jjk x reader #jjk smut #jjk fanart #jujutsu kaisen

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dorothylarouge · 2 months ago

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Dorothy's Top Five Games of 2024

Honorable Mentions:

Suzerain: A gripping and fully-developed world of politics and international relations, Suzerain released its Rizia DLC this year, and I played through both it and the main campaign. Its realistic portrayal of political and economic processes, in the backdrop of a world almost our own, proved extremely addictive.

Goodbye Volcano High: A heartfelt and moving interactive animated miniseries about coming of age in apocalyptic times, with some great indie rock-flavored music.

We Love Katamari Reroll: A delightful followup to the original Katamari Damacy, We Love Katamari is more of the same - and what more could you ask?

Sea of Stars: A beautiful love letter to classic JRPGs, with gorgeous environments, delightful timing-based combat, endearing characters, and wonderful music, including guest tracks composed by legend Yasunori Mitsuda.

Dragon Age: the Veilguard: Now the story of a studio who lost everything, and the one game that had no choice but to get them back on track. It’s Arrested Development.

And now, the list proper.

Fifth Place: Penny's Big Breakaway (Evening Star)

I have a tremendous soft spot for 3D platformers. Some of my earliest memories of video games involve playing Super Mario Sunshine, Sonic Adventure 2, and Spyro (the bad one) on GameCube.

Penny's Big Breakaway feels like a refugee from that era of platformer, one which would have felt at home on the Dreamcast, GameCube, or even the original Xbox or PlayStation 2. It combines energetic, almost frantic platforming with a high skill ceiling and combo system with a turn-of-the-century graphical aesthetic and fantastic music by Tee Lopes to provide a return to form for a genre which has for too long been permitted to languish.

As with most 3D platformers, story is not a major focus. You play as Penny, a yo-yo-toting busker who ends up running afoul of an emperor and must escape imprisonment by his army of colorful penguins. That's it. That's all you need. This simple premise provides ample excuse for Penny to run, jump, and roll her way through a host of themed worlds. Sometimes, less is more.

With that said, this is not a perfect game. The controls take a lot of time and effort to master, and even after a good amount of play time one is liable to fling oneself off of the map. Health powerups are not as plentiful as they should be, especially in boss encounters, and a lack of camera control can be downright painful at times. Still, these complaints do not ruin the game, and hopefully they can be addressed in a sequel.

The developers of Sonic Mania have created a true gem with this, the debut game from new studio Evening Star, and I look forward to seeing what the studio comes out next - like the best platformer mascots, Penny has the charisma and style to inspire adventures for years to come.

Fourth Place: Neva (Nomada Studio)

Neva is the latest release from Nomada Studio, creators of the brilliant game Gris, and where Gris was a parable of grief and loss, Neva is an ecological fable in which a girl and her dog must make their way through an increasingly-ravaged natural world beset by decay and corruption.

The core gameplay of Neva builds and iterates upon what was seen in Gris, with a dash, double jump, and ground pound, but added in are a sword, which main character Alba uses to fight enemies as well as unlock obstacles, and abilities involving the titular dog which are unlocked over the course of the game. The combat is fun but fairly rudimentary, and I saw it as a garnish on the real focus of the game, which is robust and engaging puzzle platforming of the kind that made Gris such a delight.

The game, as expected of Nomada Studio, is gorgeous, with a beautiful art style, impeccable sound design, brilliant use of color, and haunting, atmospheric music. The level design is also excellent, spanning a number of natural environments which are slowly but surely overtaken by the creeping decay, as well as man-made structures resembling those in Gris, which are also crumbling and in a state of decay. The degradation of nature and collapse of the structures of man are linked in Neva, giving rise to uncomfortable thoughts about the state of the world today.

Neva is defined by cycles, cycles of life, death, decomposition, and the cycle of the seasons, which give each of the game's four chapters their names. The game ends in an echo of its beginning, a beautiful and bittersweet ending I will not spoil here.

Neva is a hauntingly beautiful, if frustratingly short, gaming experience which I think will stay with me for a long time. I felt compelled to hug my dog after it was done.

Third Place: Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero)

When Metaphor was first announced, the impression that everyone got was that it was fantasy Persona, with a large amount of development staff carried over from the Hashino Persona games, a lot of mechanics and systems carried over from those games, and even some summonable demons from the mainline Persona and Shin Megami Tensei games. Commentators made note that this was fantasy Persona. Journalists endlessly referred to it as fantasy Persona. Reviewers regarded it as fantasy Persona. It was such a cliche, so aggravating to fans, that it became verboten in the fanbase to refer to the game as fantasy Persona.

Metaphor: ReFantazio is fantasy Persona. This is in no way a bad thing. As in the Hashino Persona games, there is an emphasis on social simulation, with the main character forging bonds with his party members and honing his social skills - not to self-actualize as a social being, as in Persona, but to prove his mettle and worthiness as a king to a kingdom cast into chaos after the last king's murder.

It is this emphasis on fantasy that sets Metaphor apart. The game is constantly musing on fantasy tropes and the transformative nature of the genre, and it has a surprising amount to say about the appeal of fantasy narratives, to say nothing of its overarching themes of prejudice and self-determination.

In terms of gameplay, Metaphor actually takes a lot more from the Press Turn system of Shin Megami Tensei than the One More system of Persona, and it took me a while to get into the groove of it. Once I did, though, I had a great time chaining attacks to strike at opponents' weaknesses and finishing my turns with devastating damage via the game's Synthesis mechanic. The game's central gameplay feature, the Archetype system - a sort of job system like those in Sqaure Enix RPGs - was also something I took to readily after some initial fiddling. The game lets you mix and match abilities from different archetypes via the skill inheritance system, and I had a lot of fun creating an ideal build for each playable character.

And then, of course, there's the characters. Metaphor features a large cast of characters, and I was happy to see that all of the social link equivalents featured strong and compelling narratives that made the time needed to invest in each rank of their story a worthy commitment. In particular, I found the narratives of Eupha, Heismay, and Maria especially compelling, and the bonuses provided through spending time with them to be particularly valuable.

Metaphor: ReFantazio is fantasy Persona. And that's a good thing! It's a great game, and I hope it's one that gets revisited sooner rather than later. Studio Zero have produced a real gem for their debut title, and I really hope they keep the momentum going.

Second Place: Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut (Sucker Punch Productions)

I am a huge fan of the works of director Akira Kurosawa - Throne of Blood is my favorite film of all time - and the jidaigeki genre of samurai films in general, so when I learned that Sucker Punch was making a game inspired by the genre I was filled with excitement which turned to dismay when I learned that the game would be PlayStation exclusive. Thankfully, though, little stays PlayStation exclusive for long, and I was happy to finally play Ghost of Tsushima when its Director's Cut released on PC this year.

The setup of Ghost of Tsushima is pretty simple, and slots in nicely with its genre - you play as Jin Sakai, the sole survivor of a massacre of samurai at the hands of invading Mongols, and must use all the tools at your disposal to free the jito, your uncle, and liberate your island home of Tsushima. Along the way, you begin to chafe at the code of honor you are expected to uphold as a samurai and as your uncle's heir apparent. While Ghost does have a simple premise, it is its characters, and their struggles and dreams, which kept me invested throughout the experience.

The game's combat is consistently satisfying, with the player rotating through various swordfighting stances to counter specific enemy types, while also having access to a bow, bombs, poison darts, and various quickfire items which can disrupt enemies and allow you to control the flow of combat. It's a fun system to master and learn how to get through any encounter without taking any damage. Occasionally the game also puts you in one on one duels with certain enemies, which are always fantastic - the one at the end of the game especially.

Where Ghost really shines, though, is in its exploration. I wouldn't call Ghost of Tsushima a true open world game - the player's access to the island's various regions is gated by story progression, and you unlock more of Tsushima as you progress, while having free reign of any area you have access to at any given time. The game heavily rewards exploration with a variety of activities and collectibles, which differentiate themselves from the typical Ubisoft-style open world icons by being fun, useful, and engaging. You'll scale mountains to reach a shrine to a kami, or rest for a while in a hot spring to increase your health, or (anachronistically as the art form did not exist in the 13th century) compose a haiku to earn a new piece of cosmetic gear. You'll also follow a number of character-based side stories, one-off side quests, and mythic tales which unlock powerful abilities and armor, all of which are extremely engaging and memorable. I would liken Ghost of Tsushima to last year's Tears of the Kingdom in terms of just how good it feels to explore and discover the island of Tsushima's beautiful environments, and uncover all of its secrets.

As a lover of the genre, I could barely put Ghost of Tsushima down in my initial playthrough of over 70 hours. It more than earns its spot on the list, but there's just one game I think left even more of a mark on me this year.

First Place: Persona 3 Reload (P-Studio)

I am a recent convert to the Persona series, having first played Persona 5 Royal in 2022 and playing Persona 4 Golden when it released on Xbox in 2023. However, I have fallen deeply in love with the series, and when Persona 3 Reload was announced I made the decision that I had to play it on release day. I called out of work and preordered the game - something I never do - and through a combination of being trapped in my home by a massive storm and losing my job the next week, I ended up plowing through Persona 3 Reload in about a week. I simply couldn't put the game down.

I had very little knowledge of the story or characters of Persona 3, having never played my copy of Persona 3 Portable since this game was announced so soon after that released, and so experiencing this narrative for the first time was an experience I'll never forget. Persona 3 is a game about death which is simultaneously extremely life-affirming, celebrating the relationships, connections, and simple joys that make life worth living, while embracing the fact that everyone must someday die and using that fact as motivation to live every day to the fullest. It is a moving, emotional story anchored by rich, engaging characters. I cried several times throughout.

The gameplay of Persona 3 Reload, a refinement on the turn-based systems of previous entries, is polished to a shine, and I found myself blowing through whole blocks of Tartarus, the game's only dungeon, in a single in-game night due to how engaging and addictive the combat felt. It felt extremely rewarding to find effective combos and a synergistic team that could raise each character's Theurgy gauge as quickly as possible, and the structure of Tartarus hooked me in surprisingly effectively, given that I wasn't a big fan of Persona 4's TV Wortld dungeons, or Persona 5's Mementos, dungeons with a similar structure to Tartarus. It helps that there's a surprising amount to do in Tartarus, from rescuing lost civilians to fulfilling requests for the Velvet Room attendant Elizabeth to exploring the various Monad Doors and plundering their rare items.

Persona 3 Reload is a very special game, one that I think will stick with me for a very long time. I can easily see why fans had been clamoring for a remake for so long, and I am extremely grateful that we finally got this game as a result. It is a genuine masterpiece, and easily takes the title of my game of the year.

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darkficsyouneveraskedfor · 3 months ago

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Unwanted 3

Warnings: non/dubcon, bullying, insults, body insecurity, perversion, and other dark elements. Not all kinks or triggers are tagged. My username actually says you never asked for any of this.

My warnings are not exhaustive but be aware this is a dark fic and may include potentially triggering topics. Please use your common sense when consuming content. I am not responsible for your decisions.

Summary: You’re used to being unwanted, but a strange man might just convince you that’s a good thing.

Note: this is a sequel to Unsolicited/Unexpected, but with a different reader. This is Lloyd’s sequel. Peaches is flourishing somewhere else.

As usual, I would appreciate any and all feedback. I’m happy to once more go on this adventure with all of you! Thank you in advance for your comments and for reblogging.

The only thing you like about work is that it’s an excuse to get out of the house. You can only go for so many walks or wander around the library for so long before you start to feel weird. The fact that you hate being at home is enough to make your shifts less of a slog, even if they aren’t very exciting.

As neither your parents or Derrick will let you borrow their cars and the buses don’t run before five, you are left to Uber to the warehouse. It’s more than you’d like to spend and could be used towards saving for your own vehicle, but that’s no their problem.

You sit silently in the back seat as the driver plays his indie rock music and rolls through the winter morning. You tuck your chin down into your jacket and watch out the window. There’s a glint of headlights off the glass. It’s a bit early to see others on the road but you suppose others have painfully early start times.

You tip the driver before you get out and thank him softly. He doesn’t acknowledge you. You’re used to it. He must drive so many people that you’re barely a thought in his head.

As he backs up, another car approaches but drives by. Hm. This far out, you only ever see the other employees around. Oh well. You’re noticing odd things for no real reason.

You go inside and clock in. Mikey sends you to start unloading as he sits at his command center. He only ever sits their chewing gum and signing papers, then scrolls through the orders that come in. You and Judy are the only women there and the men tend to travel in a pack. Even when you’re cutting bubble wrap with Ryan, you don’t get much conversation in.

It’s dull work. Like the others, you’ve fallen into the habit of getting through with one earbud in. Music on low as you scan and haul and take your turn on the forklift. The hours unwravel slowly and you only get one break. You’re entitled to two but no one ever takes that many, not unless they want their hours cut.

Despite the weather, you eat outside. You’re not very hungry, so you just sip from your thermos as you lean again the brick wall and stare out at the other industrial lots. There’s that car again... Or maybe it’s not.

You continue to sip on your tea and cap it up. As you stand straight to go inside, the car reverses route and drives back around. This time, it turns in between the chain link. There are no new hires, all the seasonal ones are in place but maybe it’s one of suits come to do a surprise inspection.

The red car veers in crookedly next to one of the many pickup trucks. You slowly head towards the door, feeling around for your lanyard where your ID hangs. Before you can turn to scan it, there’s a whistle in the air.

“Hey, lollipop, where are you runnin’ away to so fast?” The voice calls out.

You twitch in surprise. No. It can’t be. You shouldn’t recognise the timbre, you only met the man once, but you haven’t really been able to shake that memory. You turn back to face him as he crosses the lot, shoving his hands in his jacket pocket as he puffs out a thick cloud.

“Shit, it’s cold as balls,” he says, “speaking of, how about you warm mine up?”

You grimace and shake your head, “what are you doing here?”

“I knew you couldn’t forget me,” he snorts. “Come on, baby cake, I’m here to spice up the bland existence you call a life.”

“How--”

“Don’t matter how,” he tilts his head, “and let me just tell you, you don’t wanna know the answer. Come on, think about it, I’m showing commitment here.” He smirks, “how many guys can you say put in that much effort?”

You clasp your thermos tight, “I don’t know you.”

“Sure ya do, told ya, name’s Lloyd,” he winks, “and you’re...”

As he says your name, your blood runs cold. It’s possible he heard Derrick say it. Maybe. But that’s a bit too convenient.

“Go,” you warn.

“Ah, don’t be like that. I’m being nice so far,” he pleads. “You know, I just wanted to tell ya that the backyward, the keister, the old cushion, is spectacular--”

“Ew, please, leave me alone.” You spin around and bring your card up to the scanner. It beeps but you’re yanked back by your elbow. Your adrenaline piques and you swing out with your half-empty thermos. It bounces off his shoulder as he lets you go. “Oh!” You recoil in surprise of your own reaction, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. I just—I don’t want to hurt you. Just please, go away.”

“Ah, sugar cake, you really think that hurt? Look at me. I’m a strong guy,” He flexes his arms and chest. “Built, huh? You should think this out. I’m a real catch.”

“I...no thank you.”

“You’re playing hard to get. I understand. That’s what they say you should do but let me tell ya, baby, no fun in life denying the best parts,” he winks.

“No!” You squeak and lean over, blindly swipe your card so it beeps once more. You push your elbow down on the handle and nearly fall through the door. Just as swiftly, you shut it and press yourself to the inside.

There’s a thump from the other side. “Don’t worry, I like it this way.”

You stand there, heart racing, confusion roiling in your skull. You can just hear his footfalls on the other side. There is no relief in hearing him go because by the sounds of it, he isn’t giving up. You just don’t understand why? Why you? And why is he doing this?

#au #lloyd hansen #lloyd hansen x reader #dark lloyd hansen #dark!lloyd hansen #the gray man #unwanted #drabble #series #sequel

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hanasnx · 28 days ago

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hi indy, ily 🖤

if it piques your interest, may i humbly request your thoughts on a jealous j'onn j'onzz? i was so excited to see him on your list. maybe oliver or barry got a little too close for comfort, did something thats innocent by human standards but maybe is considered intimate for martians, idk about the setup i just want that sexy green alien to ravish me and show his possessive side 😫

i've tried my hand at some martian manhunter smut if you want more inspo, but I think the world needs more of your version. no one does it like you. that one post you did of him forever ago still lives rent free in my head. i reread it more often than im comfortable admitting.

xoxo sid

ps: sorry if this shows up twice, the first time I submitted it it said it failed

MINORS DNI 18+

NOTES: DC is for December Event! — request DC characters.

You don’t know what you’re doing—honest. It just so happened that your lover J’ONN J’ONZZ was busy with his responsibilities, and they were taking a little longer than expected. So you hang around, make some small talk. Barry Allen had grown pretty fond of your face on the Watchtower, going as far as to keep you company next to the coffee machine while you wait. “Two sugars, right?” he asks, stirring the warm caffeine in the paper cup. You nod, and thank him when he hands it to you.

He was debriefing you on his latest successful mission when another friendly face shows up. “Here you go, champ.” Oliver Queen tosses up a breakfast bar, and out of muscle memory you reach to snatch it. “Can’t have coffee on an empty stomach.” he says, but you know he couldn’t care less, he was just trying to unload these nasty League brand protein bars on you.

“Thanks, Ollie, always lookin’ out for me.” you quip, and when you spot Barry eyeing up the bar, you offer it to him. His super-metabolism is no secret. While he tears into it, Oliver rests his tailbone against the table next to you, crossing his arms across his broad chest.

“You waitin’ up for the Jolly Green Giant again?” he inquires, glancing down and subtly scanning your figure. You notice how close he is to you.

“Yeah, J’onn just wanted to finish something up. Barry’s been taking good care of me though.” you explain, looking to Barry before you take a sip of the coffee he made for you.

Barry, with a cheek of granola, smacks it to the side and responds to the conversation, muffled by a full mouth, “I was just tellin’ her about that thing with Mirror Master, you were there for that, weren’t you?” There’s a discrete tone to his voice you can’t deduce, narrowing your eyes as you watch him enclose on your space. His gloved hand rests against the table next to your hip, and he inclines toward you and Oliver. Suddenly, things are a little hotter.

“Well, who do you think took him down? You were too busy looking at your reflection.” Oliver jokes, but there’s more of that underlying passive aggression, and your brows furrow as you switch your attention to him. You’re not really sure why your two friends are talking like this, as if they’re in a fight.

“Excuse me, guys—“ you begin, toeing out of their way while they speak over you. A voice alerts all three of you, snapping up to J’onn.

“My love.” he greets. “You waited on me.” The statement is tight-lipped—more so than usual for your J’onn. It piles on your confusion, and you step out from the two men.

“Of course I did.” you tell him, and muster a smile, approaching him. Only then do you notice how his hands hide behind the cascade of his cape, and how they’re clenched into fists.

It’s not until you’re able to retreat to privacy in his quarters do you understand what went on, and it takes the coaxing of intertwined bodies to get him to open up.

“I told you that I would only be a short while. Could you not entertain yourself with better things?” he asks, planting a heated kiss under your ear as he rocks into you. Your legs folded up on either side of him, clutching onto his neck, you can feel the reverb of his voice against your chest.

“What?” you gasp. Hands slide up your thighs to meet the crooks of your knees, hooking the webs of his thumbs to fold you over yourself as he raises himself. The new angle has your eyes fluttering and rolling into the back of your head, biting your lip to ground yourself. His ribbed cock strokes the roof of your insides, and they pulse around him in response.

“You are being coy. Is this one of your games I don’t understand?” he wonders aloud, husky and curious. “Two men duel for you, in front of you, and you don’t address it.”

“‘Duel?’” you parrot dumbly, breaking you out of your lust-driven trance for a second before you fall limp again as soon as his tip brushes that spongy spot inside you. “J’onn, what is this about? Is this really the… best time for it?” you whisper, your hands seeking out his to overlay them for some sense of closeness.

His grip on you tightens, and he alters his pace. It’s stronger, more purposeful, and you hiss. “They flaunt their achievements,” he speaks through gritted teeth, “they offer you acts of kindness, and when I enter, you act as though you’ve been caught. Well, I earned you, and I prove it now.”

The walls of his quarters in the Watchtower are not sound-proof, and it seems as though this is the first time this reserved Martian is grateful for that.

#tw exhibitionism #DC is for December Event!#indy: drabbles #ch: j’onn #j’onn j’onzz drabble #j’onn j’onzz prompt #j’onn j’onzz smut #j’onn j’onzz x reader #j’onn j’onzz x fem reader #j’onn j’onzz x you #j’onn j’onzz x y/n #j’onn j’onzz imagine #j’onn j’onzz fanfiction #martian manhunter smut #martian manhunter x reader #reader insert

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silentscrying · 1 month ago

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🎸 out of my mind ! 💿 track three: something about a beat

guitarist!ino x drummer!reader

summary: it's the annual battle of the bands at the fix, your college campus's iconic live music bar, and this year you're taking the stage as the drummer for indie rock group cursed technique. you know the competition is strong, but no part of you is ready for lead singer and guitarist takuma ino. you lock eyes at the edge of the stage, and something starts—something that might make you feel alive even more than the beat of the drums.

warnings: language, hopeless stupid pining, alcohol, mentions of deceased parent, maki is Fed Up, anxiety, unbearably cute dogs. || sfw. 9k words.

“OKAY, IT’S UP,” Nobara says, grinning at you over her laptop. You’re sprawled across the living room at Takuma’s place, surrounded by a random combination of your band and his while others are in classes. After spending last night mixing the single, Takuma helped Nobara set up an artist profile for the band, and now your music is available on streaming services. Just like that.

“That’s so weird,” you say, grinning as you pull up Spotify on your phone. Next Fix by Cursed Technique. Strange to see your face on there, a photo taken of all of you by some freshman when you last performed at The Fix. Nobara sends the link in your group chat, and Toge responds within seconds.

freak no. 1: FAME freak no. 1: FORTUNE freak no. 1: wait it’s not opening freak no. 1: nvm i’m just stupid

“Does he ever pay attention in class?” Nobara mutters. Maki snorts.

Yuta is also in class, but that means he’s locked in, all his devices on Do Not Disturb. You don’t think Toge’s turned DND on a single time in his life.

“I’m going to Kinji’s!” Kirara shouts from the front entryway, and Yuji leaps to his feet and disappears down the hall, barreling back out of his room seconds later.

“Wait! Can you give this to Panda while you’re there?” He hands her a drive, and Kirara rolls her eyes and takes it.

“You need to slow down every once in a while,” she says, ruffling Yuji’s hair. “Okay, bye. I’ll be back in a few hours.” The dogs follow her to the door and return the living room when she’s gone, curling up on either side of Megumi, who’s busy writing some paper in the corner.

“What was that?” Nobara asks.

“Demo drive for the radio station,” Takuma says. “Panda plays our stuff sometimes. I bet he’d play yours, too.”

“That’d be sick,” Nobara says approvingly. She turns to bother Megumi, poking at him until he takes his headphones off and talks to her, and Yuji strolls into the room and flops down directly on the floor.

“Comfy?” you ask, poking him with a socked foot.

“Mm. Yeah.”

“Ah, look what you did, Kugisaki,” Megumi says, and you look up to see Shiro trotting toward you with her tail wagging, having abandoned her post at her owner’s side.

“That was not my fault! You’re the one who moved.”

“Because you kept poking me!”

You immediately slide off the couch onto the floor, letting Shiro sit in your lap. “Um, excuse me,” Takuma says, offended. You crane your neck to look up at him behind you on the couch. His face is lit up by his computer as he works on a string of code he tried (and failed) to explain to you, and there’s laughter in his eyes despite the affronted tone of his voice.

“Favorite,” you inform him with a wide, cheeky smile. He very maturely sticks his tongue out at you.

“Toge message,” Nobara informs you all, reading off her phone. “He says omg we have four listeners do you think they’re writing slutty fanfiction about us already.” She glances at you. “Petition to remove him from the chat—oh, look, he started sending the wolf memes again.”

Hanging out like this has become natural so quickly you almost forget you haven’t been friends with Shibuya Incident for ages. You feel almost as much at home in the tapestry-covered living room here as you do in the plant-filled kitchen of your own house down the street.

Maki checks her watch, sighing. “We should get going soon. The guys will be back in half an hour.” Then you have rehearsal, even though you’re not one of the three bands performing tomorrow night. When you do take the stage next week, you want to be ready.

Nobara is trying to read Megumi’s texts over his shoulder, which isn’t working out well for her, and he tells Maki, “Yes, please, take your invasive little gremlin home.” He puts his hand right on Nobara’s face and pushes her away, and she screeches and tries to tackle him, but he’s already sitting in a beanbag chair in the corner, so it doesn’t really do much except make Kuro jump on top of them both.

You glance up at Takuma again, still stroking Shiro’s fur while the others start to stand, ready to head home. “You rehearsing today too?”

“I’d hope so,” he shrugs.

“Yes, dipshit, in two hours. If you ever read the group chat,” Megumi says.

Takuma doesn’t seem fazed by Megumi’s irritation and just shrugs. “We have a new song for tomorrow.”

“You didn’t tell me!” You poke at his knee in retribution for his secrecy. “I wanna hear it!”

“You will,” he says. “Tomorrow.”

“Skipper, help, I don’t wanna walk our gremlin home by myself,” Maki calls from the door, and you reluctantly pat Shiro on the head and stand. She follows you to the entryway and sniffs at you while you cram your feet into your sneakers.

“Maki Zenin.” Nobara turns up her nose and crosses her arms over her chest. “If you hated me so much, why didn’t you just say so?”

“Bye!” Yuji shouts from the living room, and you all call out varying goodbyes and noncommittal sounds before making your way out the door and down the block, the afternoon air chilly against your cheeks.

Nobara waits all of ten seconds before spinning around and walking backward, grinning at you mischievously. “I bet Ino wrote a song about you.”

“Oh my god. Shut up,” you laugh. “He didn’t.” You can’t imagine you’ve given him all that much to work with. What would he write, that you like coffee and drums and Megumi’s dogs?

“Why else wouldn’t he show you? Don’t you guys text each other song lyrics like the little romantic fucks you are?” Your face is flaming, and you’re suddenly very grateful for the cool of the wind against your skin. The idea of him writing a song about you plants something weird in your gut—not something bad, just something unexpected and warm and blooming.

You try not to show it and your friends see right through you, Nobara turning back to skip up the drive with a satisfied grin and Maki rolling her eyes at the both of you.

“I’m gonna write a song, too,” Nobara declares, unlocking the door and pushing her way inside. “Skipper and Ino, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S—”

This time, you and Maki speak in tandem. “Shut up!”

—

“There’s a joke here,” Gojo says, tapping both of his index fingers together while he thinks. “About being a drummer and a journalist. Something about a beat.”

You laugh, jotting another note on the lined paper of your small spiral notebook. “I hate to tell you, but I’ve heard that one before.”

You’re not sure features qualifies as a specific beat, more of a broad category, but your staff isn’t nearly large enough to assign people to smaller specialties. Plus, it’s a college publication, designed for experimentation and growth. Nobody wants to be boxed in yet. That’ll come later, out in the monotony of the real world, and you’ll be confined to some hyperspecific beat like neighborhood crime or high school basketball.

“No!” Gojo cries, dragging his hands down his face like it’s the end of the world. “I can’t believe somebody plagiarized me before I even said it.”

“That’s not how that works,” Utahime cuts in dryly, sliding three shots across the counter to the waiting group of sophomores and then effortlessly throwing together another cocktail.

Gojo leans toward you, shadowing out your notes, and stage-whispers, “You see what I have to put up with?”

You do, actually, see what Utahime has to put up with. She long ago put down a line of blue painter’s tape to divide her side of the bar from Gojo’s, and she preaches frequently that there will be dire consequences if he crosses it.

Of course, he crosses it at every opportunity, and here he is, still.

It’s also just how the two bartenders split up the work, the customers, and you write that down too, that it’s an effective division of labor. “Don’t read my notes,” you tell Gojo as he squints at your writing upside down. “It’ll wreck the journalistic integrity.” He sticks out his bottom lip in a pout that reminds you violently of Toge, who’s taking photos of Utahime as she works.

You glance over to the stage, where Angel is performing the last number of her set, a bouncy, belty song that you recognize from a video she posted earlier this week. The crowd loves it, dancing around and singing along, but still, you think she’ll have a tougher time making it through as the only solo artist remaining in the competition.

You whoop and cheer as she hits her last note, holding it for an ungodly amount of time, and Gojo eventually has to abandon his teasing to do his job. When Toge thinks he’s got enough photos, the two of you slip back into the crowd, Panda commentating on the change of artist as you catch up to your friends.

“And now, here’s your alt rock duo, your boys, the Kamos,” he says as you come to a stop beside Yuta. “Give it up!”

Nobara very loudly gives it up.

“Hi.” Yuta nudges you. “How’s the reporting going?”

“Good.” Noritoshi and Choso settle in on stage, tuning their guitar and bass and making girls swoon in the front row but somehow remaining entirely oblivious to it. “You’re not going home tomorrow, right?”

Yuta shakes his head. This weekend is fall break, which just means that there were no classes today. You spent the first day of your three-day weekend cramming for midterms.

Toge’s heading out after this and Nobara will leave early in the morning, but Maki and Yuta will be here for the weekend. You wonder about Takuma and his band, but you can’t ask right now—they’re all backstage, waiting to go on after the Kamos.

The boys in question, when they’re not doing covers, have incredibly nonsensical song names that have little to nothing to do with their lyrics. The first track of theirs you ever heard was called Song About the Time My Dog Got Lost for Three Hours.

“Okay,” Choso says after their cover of a song by The Smiths. “This one’s called Please Don’t Tell Your Mom I Was At Your House Past Curfew.”

He and Noritoshi then proceed to play the most upbeat, energizing alt rock shit you’ve ever heard. You love these guys, and the crowd does too, the way they don’t take themselves too seriously but they’re genuinely talented. But it’s making you nervous for Takuma and his band, because only one group goes on tonight. Only one.

No, you think, shrugging it off. They got this.

When Shibuya Incident finally walks on stage, the ensuing roar of applause before they even do anything eases whatever worries you might have had. They were slotted at the end of tonight’s set for a reason. Everyone loves them.

Without prelude, they launch into a song you recognize from their EP, a fast-paced track with a pretty simple chord progression that gets entirely flipped on its head in the bridge. You let Yuta spin you around as you dance with the rest of the crowd, the lights and sound washing over you. Yuji’s in his element, Kirara is fucking killing it, and Megumi—as always—is the rock the band stands on, unerring tempo and steady presence keeping everyone on track.

After the song finishes with a crazy riff from Kirara, and the crowd takes a minute to freak out and then slowly wind down, Takuma grabs the mic to address the audience.

“Hi again,” he says, scanning the clusters of people from his place on the low stage. His gaze lands on you and your friends, and he smiles a little wider. “That was Godspeed. We’re gonna slow it down a bit for our next song. It’s a new one. We’re calling it Curious.”

Nobara practically launches herself over Toge to get to you and shake you by the shoulders. “What did I say?” she hisses.

“Oh my god,” you say, shoving her off. “They haven’t even started yet.” But you look back at Takuma to find he hasn’t stopped looking at you.

To your surprise, the instrumentals don’t start first. Most of Shibuya Incident’s music opens with a riff or a fill or at least four bars of introduction. But this time, Takuma leans into the mic and starts singing, just a low “ooooh,” and the rest of the band comes in one by one—Megumi, then Kirara, then Yuji. Kirara’s harmonizing on a higher note, and the effect is a slow, dissonant build that makes you lock in, all anticipation.

Then Takuma tugs the mic from the stand and sings,“I see your eyes, curious, curious, you wanna know why the sky’s so goddamn blue. I hear your voice, curious, curious, you’re asking me if I’d ever fall for you.”

And as you listen, Nobara’s smile just gets wider and wider, and Takuma keeps making fleeting eye contact with you, and you realize abruptly that she was right.

This song is about you.

Takuma’s said it to you before, in passing, how he likes the way you look at the world—through a journalist’s lens, curious about how everything works, always searching for unseen answers.

“Wish I could see my life like you do,” he and Kirara sing in unison. “Wish I could walk the streets each night… wonderin’ if the full moon sees you, but I just keep lookin’, lookin’ down at the time.”

You’re transfixed, just like the first night you saw Takuma perform live, and you couldn’t tear your eyes away from the stage if you tried. Someone should write a story about him, you think. This man could be on the cover of Rolling Stone and you wouldn’t question it.

God, you’re so far gone, aren’t you?

When the set is over, the last song finishing with a long, drawn-out chord, Takuma thanks the crowd and hands the mic off to Panda to take over. As the band disappears one by one into the backstage area, he lays out the voting process.

“The voting period will last ten minutes, assuming no technical difficulties,” he says. “QR codes, as usual, are posted around the bar. If you’re a competitor, you can’t vote. Make sure you’re logged into your .edu accounts or you won’t be able to access the form…”

Your fingers are tapping nervously at your thighs, the crowd around you already glued to their phone screens. The band isn’t back out on the floor yet—Panda will call all three artists up at the end of the voting period and announce the finalist live.

Sweat is starting to pool in the palms of your clammy hands, and you wipe it on your jeans, anxious. To you, there’s no question. But it’s not up to you.

“Relax,” Yuta says, putting a reassuring hand on your shoulder. “It won’t even be close, Skip.”

After the longest ten minutes of your life, Hana Kurusu, the Kamos, and Shibuya Incident join Panda back on stage, a dramatic spotlight bouncing between each artist as Panda draws out the announcement. “And the artist from tonight moving on to the finals in two weeks is…”

“Just say it,” Maki huffs beside you, and Yuta chuckles and nudges her with a shoulder. She tries to hide the slight upturn of her lips, but that’s not going to slide past you.

You’ll tease her later. For now—

“Shibuya Incident!”

The reaction is explosive, both on the floor and the stage. Yuji practically leaps onto Kirara’s back, and Takuma’s face goes slack in surprise before a shy smile works its way across his spotlit features, Megumi being his nonchalant, unaffected self in the midst of it all. Nobara is screaming, and you’re yelling at the top of your lungs, Toge whooping and snapping photos as the Kamos and Hana crowd the band, congratulating them on the victory.

Takuma looks out into the crowd again and you wave, smiling unabashedly, so fucking proud and excited and thinking maybe, maybe, if you make it too, you’ll be facing off against each other, and wouldn’t that be something?

Maybe you shouldn’t be so thrilled. He’s the competition, after all.

But if he wins for going up there and singing curious, curious with his eyes locked on yours, you suppose it wouldn’t be all that bad.

—

Most of Saturday passes in a barrage of classwork and inconsistent, snacky meals in between, the diet of a harried college student, ramen and chips and whatever actual food Yuta leaves for you in the fridge. He’s back from work by three, and Maki wraps up her own work around the same time you do, late afternoon creeping into evening. The three of you are curled up in the living room, the TV on while Yuta and Maki try to pretend they’re not looking at each other.

You need to get them alone.

you: are you busy takuma: not at all takuma: what’s up? you: mind if i crash your house?

You glance up and swear Yuta has somehow, in the last two seconds, moved closer to Maki on the couch.

you: i think yuta and maki need some ~ALONE TIME~ takuma: TEA takuma: sorry kirara told me to stop saying that in response to everything that happens ever takuma: it’s fun tho

“I’m going to Takuma’s,” you announce, and Maki raises a brow at you.

“Again?”

“Sue me for having friends.”

Yuta’s brows crease a bit at the word friends, but he doesn’t comment. With a furtive glance back, you grab your shoes and slip out the door, successfully leaving Maki and Yuta alone in the house for an indeterminate amount of time.

Please, you think. One of them has to make a fucking move soon.

Takuma answers the door before you can knock. “Hey.”

“No pups today?” you ask as you step past him into the entryway, kicking off your shoes.

“Sadly,” Takuma says. “Fushiguro took ‘em with him, wherever he went. Ah, man. Did you only come over for them?” His tone is teasing as he closes the front door behind you, trading the October cold for the warmth of the house. “Afraid I’m a letdown.”

“Takuma,” you scold at his self-deprecation. “You’re basically an excited puppy yourself, so—”

“Hey!” he squawks, and then thinks about it and tilts his head, conceding. “Fine. Maybe. Yeah, okay.”

“What have you been up to?” you ask as the two of you make your way to the living room.

“Procrastination. Guitar instead of homework, mostly. You?”

“Same,” you sigh. “Well, not the guitar part. But I should have been way further ahead on my homework by now.” You shrug. You’ll get it done; you always do.

You settle in easily on the couch, and the two of you boot up the Wii and play a few rounds of Mario Kart because someone left the disc in. And when you’ve both beaten each other enough times to lose count, Takuma mentions something about your single and you realize you haven’t checked the stats.

“You can see more on a computer,” he says, and you follow him up to his room, where he cedes control of the device to you. You pull up the artist profile and grin at the steady upward climb of listeners. It’s not a ton, but this only went up on Thursday.

“We haven’t even done anything to promote this,” you admit, spinning in Takuma’s desk chair to face him. “I don’t even know how people are finding it.”

He immediately looks down, which means he knows something. You nudge him with your foot. “What? What does that face mean? Takuma.”

“I maybe gave Panda a drive of the mix,” he shrugs, talking fast like the meaning of the words might elude you if he mumbles enough. “And he maybe played it at the radio station earlier today. Several times.”

A wave of affection crashes into you so fast that you jump up and throw your arms around him without thinking, laughing into his shoulder. “You didn’t have to do that!” You pull back, grinning. “That was really sweet. Thank you. Seriously.”

“Ah, it was nothin’.” He reaches up to scratch at the back of his neck, a gesture you’ve come to recognize as self-conscious.

“Not nothing,” you say softly. He smiles.

After a moment, he glances at the window and seems to come to a decision. “Hey,” he says.

“Hey yourself.”

“Wanna go out on the roof?”

You blink, processing the words, instinctively looking to his window. You’ve never really realized it before, but it opens out onto a flat expanse of shingles, a perfect lookout right outside Takuma’s bedroom.

Your grin is answer enough, and he unlatches the window and pulls it open. He glances back at you, up and down, and you feel yourself blush before you realize he’s taking in what you’re wearing. He grabs a thick jacket from the closet and tosses it to you, then shrugs one on himself and leads the way, gripping the window frame with one hand and pulling himself outside. After a moment of consideration, he reaches back in and grabs his acoustic guitar by the neck from its place against the wall, pulling it out with him.

When the window shuts behind you, you’re immediately grateful for the protection of the extra layer. Even with your hands balled in the sleeves of your hoodie, it’s chilly out here.

You’re surprised by how much of the campus you can see spread out in the distance. It’s early evening, but the days are getting shorter, the sun a misleading blaze of heat in the otherwise cold hour.

“This,” you say, “is fucking awesome.”

“Right? I called dibs on the room as soon as we toured. For this.” He grins, leaning back on his palms, legs spread out in front of him. You lie back on the roof, letting the cool surface seep through your hood, staring up at the sky.

“So Maki and Yuta,” he says, shaking his head fondly. “Are they finally a thing?”

“I don’t know, but if they’re gonna do anything about it, it’s not gonna be while anyone else is home.” You shrug, or at least do whatever approximation of shrugging you can when you’re bundled in a bulky hoodie and jacket and lying on a roof.

Honestly, Yuta and Maki are some of your favorite people on this planet, and you can’t imagine anyone else who really deserves them. They’re the de facto mom and dad of your group—as in, Yuta is the band mom and Maki’s the gruff father who won’t admit his affection for the pet he didn’t want to get but ended up loving anyway.

“Man, I’m glad I wasn’t around when Kirara and Hakari were in their pining phase,” Takuma chuckles. He pulls his legs in, sitting cross-legged, and picks up the guitar, idly tuning it as he speaks. “Then there’s Itadori, probably picks up girls everywhere he goes and has never once realized it.”

“What about Megumi?” You let your head loll to the side, looking at Takuma with the guitar settled in his lap.

“Fushiguro? I don’t know, man, he doesn’t tell us anything. He has like, resting yearning face. I’ve got no idea. I don’t even know where he is right now, just that he’s supposed to be back really late.”

“That means the dogs will be back?” you say hopefully.

Takuma shakes his head, strumming another chord, and another, fingers moving deftly across the frets. “I’m not enough for you, huh?”

“I said no such thing.”

He plucks out a happy little melody on the guitar, looking at you. “Wanna learn?”

You sit up, your hood falling back off your head in the process. “Really?”

In answer, he hands you the guitar, scooting closer to you to show you where to place your fingers. You’ve been around your bandmates enough to know the basics, but you let him teach you anyway, giggling a little when he guides you through a three-chord progression and says, “Damn, you’re a natural.”

He leans back and stares at the sky, listening to you play. Eventually you add a few other basic chords into the mix, varying your strumming patterns, already feeling the strain in your fingertips from the unfamiliar press of the strings.

“So,” you say, still idly messing around on a G chord. Takuma props himself up on his elbows, looking over at you. “What was the incident in Shibuya? Have you been to Shibuya?”

He snorts. “Nope. Honestly, it was more to make people ask the question. You know in the Marvel movies, how Hawkeye and Black Widow are always talking about Budapest?”

“And nobody knows what the hell happened there,” you say, laughing. “Ah. I see.”

“I’ve never even been to Japan,” Takuma admits. “Fushiguro has, though. Maybe he had an incident in Shibuya. Who knows?”

G, C, D. D, C, G. You play the chords over and over, strumming softly, slowly, letting your finger catch on each of the strings, then five of them, then four.

“This is a really nice guitar.”

“Yeah.” There’s a beat of silence that makes you glance up, weighted differently than the usual pauses in conversation. Takuma is sitting up now, knees pulled loosely to his chest. “Was my dad’s.”

“He taught you to play,” you remember aloud, recalling your conversation in the coffee shop. But now you’re hung up on that word: was. Part of you doesn’t want to ask, but part of you feels like his words are a sort of quiet invitation, like he wants to tell you, but doesn’t want to force it. “I… is he…?”

“He died when I was twelve,” Takuma admits, eyes fixed on the sky. “Uh, car accident. It was stupid, some issue with the other guy’s car. Couldn’t stop it.” You’ve never heard his voice like this before, taut, oddly thin. Carefully, gently, you set the guitar on the roof beside you, watching him.

“Were you…”

“In the car?” Takuma sniffs. “Ah. Yeah.”

“Oh,” you breathe, and that’s what it is, more of a breath than a word. “I—Takuma…”

When he laughs, there’s no humor in it. It’s a hollow kind of chuckle, one that says everything he can’t. “It’s why I learned to skate, actually,” he says quietly, not meeting your eyes. “I’d get everywhere that way. I didn’t—want to drive, I guess. Got my license late and everything. I think people thought I was just a slacker.”

Whatever words you might scrounge up feel inadequate for a grief this large. You don’t want to pity him, and you don’t want to dismiss him, and that’s always the problem with hard conversations, isn’t it? What a line to walk.

“You’re not a slacker,” you say eventually, and he raises a brow at you. “I mean, maybe you procrastinate coding projects to a worrying extent, but you always get it done.” You smile thinly. “You don’t give up in any way that matters, Takuma. I like that about you.”

He chuckles. “Nanami said something like that, once.” His eyes go far-away again, just for a second. “He’s kind of the closest thing… like… I don’t know. I’ve known Nanami for a really long time. He was my dad’s friend. And I guess he sort of became a father figure, after…”

He shrugs. “It’s probably a big part of why I decided to go here. That, and it’s not too far from my mom’s. I don’t know that she’d have been thrilled if I went somewhere farther.”

“You’re not home,” you say carefully, a question but not question. “For break?”

“She’s on a business trip,” he says. “So not much point. But I’ll see her at Christmas, at least.”

For a while the silence stretches out comfortably between you, like a weighted blanket. You can’t ignore it, but it isn’t unwelcome. At some point you scooted closer to him, and now you sit side by side, only the layers of your jackets separating you.

“Thank you for telling me,” you say eventually, soft, unwilling to break the quiet. He nods.

“You didn’t go home either,” he points out, an unspoken question in the spaces between words. “Is it just ‘cause you’re from so far away, or…”

“Yeah. A Friday off didn’t feel like enough of a break to warrant a flight back.” But that’s not all of it. His silence tells you he knows it, too. He’s been so candid with you all night. You can share this part of yourself, you decide.

There’s something about Takuma, anyway, that makes you want to tell him things. You want to know him, and you want him to know you—you now, here, at school, but also you there, home, in the past.

“I haven’t been home since July,” you admit, hugging your knees to your chest, mirroring him. “My town is… small. I liked it when I was little. But the older I got the more I started to feel, just—I don’t know, stifled?”

Your hometown used to feel huge, like you could explore it forever on your Razor scooter and never find all its secrets. But you grew, and the town didn’t grow with you, and suddenly you were standing outside your high school realizing you knew every corner of the self-proclaimed suburban city, every street and coffee shop and alley. You’ve always been curious. And at some point, there wasn’t anything left in that place for you to be curious about.

“I love my home. I love my parents. It’s just… I needed to get out. I don’t think they ever really understood that.”

It’s easier to admit things when you’re looking straight ahead like this, out over the lines and curves of buildings, picking out street lamps, watching a few stray cars make their way around slow corners.

“Is it what you wanted it to be?” he asks quietly. “Here, I mean.” He nods out to the vast stretch of campus, spread across the city. So many corners you’ve been here years and haven’t found them all.

Campus is weird on break, you muse, looking out over the darkness. A whole parallel world for you to explore, the shadowed version of the place. A video game map on single-player, a dead server. Hardly any lights on in the windows, no kids out on the street. Like a ghost town. But it still doesn’t feel empty to you. There’s so much promise in it.

“Yeah,” you answer after a moment, soft. “Yeah, I think it is.”

A ghost town that isn’t lonely, somehow. You could write a song about it, you think. Friends with all the dead in my ghost town. The phrase plays itself out in your head, and it sounds like something moodier than your band usually goes for. It sounds like Shibuya Incident.

You wonder if this is what it means to be in a relationship—not a romantic one, necessarily, but a friendship, or any kind of bond between two creative people. If it’s this, the sharing of intellectual property with another person to the extent that their voice and yours start to blend.

It’s in the way Nobara can finish your sentences when you’re throwing out potential verses, scrambling for rhymes. How Toge and Yuta can anticipate each other’s movements, match chord progressions without talking about them. How Maki slips into your tempo seamlessly, every single time.

And now your lyrics sound like something his band would play. Maybe Takuma’s songwriting will start sounding like yours, too.

You don’t think you’d mind.

“Can I tell you something?” Takuma murmurs after a moment, sounding hesitant.

You rest a cheek on your knees, hands clasped together in front of your shins, facing him. “Mhm.”

“That song last night,” he whispers, and he’s not looking at you, just staring out at the rapidly darkening campus. “It was about you. And how you—I don’t know, the way you look at things. Like they’re always so full of potential. I wish I could do that. You just see things and want to know more. I like… watching you, being curious.” He pauses for a beat and then quickly adds, “Not in like, a creepy way! Just—I don’t know.”

A chuckle slips through your lips against your will, the darkness hopefully hiding the color in your cheeks. Maybe you can blame it on the cold. “Watching?” you ask, teasing. “I can’t imagine I’m all that intriguing. There’s a lot of cool people around here, y’know.”

“Skip,” he murmurs, and now his eyes are locked on yours. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone like you.”

Every nerve in your body is hyperaware of his proximity, and his hand reaches up to cup your jaw, the touch ghosting over you, barely there, hesitant. A nonverbal question. Is this okay?

You lean into the warmth, letting his breath wash over you, mingling with your own in the space between your lips, smaller and smaller and smaller.

He’s watching you, closely, giving you a chance to pull away. So many words exchanged tonight, but you don’t need any for this.

You don’t pull away.

It’s slow at first, and soft, and hesitant. The shingles dig into the heel of your hand as you lean forward on one arm, a grainy feeling on your fingertips, in the grooved imprints left by the guitar strings. You find your free hand moving up to his shoulder, pushing, guiding him down until his back is pressed against the roof and you’re over him, lips locked with his. You look at him, and he’s so full of potential. You want to know everything about him, you want to know how he works, you want to ask questions. And you do, with your tongue along the seam of his lips, and your hand tangled in his hair, and his breath mixing with yours in the air. It’s near full dark now, feeling later than it really is, evening in autumn.

You’re not cold anymore.

He deepens the kiss, body coming up to meet yours, and you feel like maybe this roof is the top of the whole world, because how could you ever feel higher than this?

“Takuma,” you murmur, and you kiss him again, and you don’t think you’ve ever felt this way before, but you’ll do maybe anything in the world to feel this way again.

And then a sharp, deep sound makes you jump, scrambling to sit up on the shingles, breathing heavy from the kiss and the noise. Did that come from inside or out?

“What—”

“Oh, crap,” Takuma groans, pulling open the window. “Someone’s home.” He looks back at you, cheeks flushed from the cold or the kiss or both, looking a little helpless, a little apologetic, and you can’t help the small laugh that bursts from you at the absurdity of the situation. You feel like a teenager getting caught by your parents.

“We should…” He nods toward the window. You hand him the guitar, then crawl back over to the window and slip inside after him, the warmth a stark relief from the temperature you’ve gotten so used to. Your heart is a jackhammer, rapidly pecking away at the once-stable structure of yourself.

You kissed him.

You kissed Takuma.

Your phone buzzes in your pocket, and you pull it out with still-cold hands.

utah: [1 Image Attachment] utah: dinner?

Admittedly, the pasta does look amazing, and your stomach grumbles as if on cue.

“I should go,” you say awkwardly, holding up the phone for Takuma to see.

“Uh, yeah, uh—for sure, no problem, I should go see what’s up down there anyway,” he says after a beat of hesitation. “I’ll see you, uh…?”

“Around?” you finish, laughing slightly.

“Yeah,” he echoes with an amused half-smile as you make your way down the stairs. “Around.”

—

You’re freaking out.

It’s 4:31 on Monday afternoon, you’ve been listening to the same song on repeat for an hour, and you’re freaking the fuck out.

After Saturday night, you didn’t talk about it. You kissed him on the roof and your heart turned into a hummingbird and you were warm all over, and then the front door slammed and you nearly jumped out of your skin, and Megumi was back early and Takuma had no idea why, and you pet the dogs and then slipped out, wanting to give them their space.

And you haven’t talked about it. You haven’t had time. Sunday was a mess of cramming for midterms and your housemates returning from break and you threw yourself into your studies and tried not to remember, but now…

The stupid fucking switch in the back of your brain has flipped itself on and you can’t turn it off, all worry and criticism and hypothetical worst-case scenarios and you’re giving too much too fast, Skipper, you know better than this!

How many people in your tiny town fell in love young and grew to resent each other? How many of your high school friends grew up with divorced parents? How many breakups have you seen in your two and a half years at this university, how many tears and shouting matches in public halls, how many friend groups falling apart because two people fell in and out of love?

The thing is, you know you’re panicking about nothing. Takuma hasn’t asked anything of you. It was just a kiss. He is not your boyfriend. This is not a contract.

But if you talk about it, it could be, and you don’t understand why that scares you so much. Do you have commitment issues? What the fuck is your problem?

You probably wouldn’t have a problem at all, if you’d just had the time Saturday night to figure out what the kiss meant. But now that a whole day has passed and you haven’t seen him and you don’t know for sure, your mind keeps wandering down paths it should have stayed away from.

What if it’s a friends with benefits situation and you’ve just read too much into it? Maybe this is all he wants, making out, spending late nights together getting physical. Maybe that’s all. A heated makeout session on a roof doesn’t mean he feels the way you do. And do you even know how you feel? Fucking hell.

It’s the anxiety talking, the more logical part of you says, the part that sounds an awful lot like Maki. Your friends aren’t around to tell you how stupid you’re being, so the only texts you and Takuma have sent since Saturday night are playlists and song lyrics skirting around whatever truths you’re trying and failing to articulate.

Do I Wanna Know floats from the speaker on your desk, your phone next to your head on the bed, facedown and dormant. Do I wanna know if this feeling goes both ways?

Your door slams open and you jump up, whirling around to find Maki with her arms crossed, leaning on the frame. “Alright,” she says. “That’s the tenth time I’ve heard that godforsaken song. What the fuck is up with you?”

When you don’t respond, she steps inside and closes the door behind her, pauses the music, and then makes herself comfortable on the edge of your bed. “Talk to me,” she says. “You’re driving yourself crazy.” The words stall in your throat, useless, stagnant things as you avoid her knowing stare, instead staring at the popcorn ceiling until it blurs.

Maki sighs and shifts entirely onto the bed, turning herself to face you.

“I didn’t know you were home,” you say lamely.

“You’re driving me crazy, Skip,” she tries, and she knows you so fucking well, because the guilt trip is exactly what dislodges all those words built up in the back of your mouth—she breaks the dam and you spill your soul onto the quilted comforter, rambling, a rush of truths and things you thought you’d hidden from yourself but you can’t anymore. And she just listens, not looking away once.

You tell her everything: that you know you catch feelings fast, too fast. That despite your bleeding heart, you haven’t really been in a long-term relationship since high school. That you think of the future, of all the places you want to go, all the things you want to do, and there’s no guy in those dreams, and the thought of restructuring the life you’ve planned out for yourself around a boy who might be temporary is too much to even fathom. That—

“I kissed him,” you say breathlessly, bordering on hysterical, and you feel so stupid, this worked up over something so small, something that should be good. “I kissed him and now it feels real and now I’m freaking out.”

“I can see that,” Maki says calmly. “Let me ask you something. What is the worst thing that could happen, if you date him and it doesn’t last?”

“I…” You chew on your bottom lip, mind spinning through every bad outcome. “He could end up hating me, Maki. I could get some crazy job and have to leave, or he would come with me and leave his whole life behind and then he’d grow to resent me and we’d just be in some kind of hellish limbo until one of us snapped. Or he could—he could leave me, or we could try long distance and he could fall in love with somebody else, or I could, or—or—”

You flounder for a second, realizing your biggest worry is the one most immediate, the one most central to your life as it exists right now.

You’ve been sitting here thinking about big-picture things that are so far out, trying to make the feeling curdling in your gut feel like a valid reaction to a major life event. But that’s not what this is.

You’re just really, stupidly, pathetically scared that Takuma kissed you and didn’t mean it.

“Or—I guess that’s not the issue. Not really,” you admit quietly, not looking at Maki. She probably already knows. She has a way of knowing exactly what’s bothering you and just asking the right questions, getting you to talk yourself out of whatever hole your anxious mind has dug.

“I—it was just a kiss. What if he doesn’t want something serious right now, and I like him this way and he just wants something casual? I can’t do casual, Maki,” you say, raking a hand through your hair. “And it could fuck up this thing we have going. Yuji and Toge get along so well, and Nobara and the boys and Kirara, and Megumi’s your cousin, and I don’t wanna cause some weird, awkward rift, you know what I mean?”

Because it’s been so good, getting to know them. You don’t want to fuck up the dynamic just because you caught feelings too fast.

Maki leans back against your wall, humming as she thinks this over. “Okay. First of all, take a step back. Do you actually think you and Ino dating or not dating or whatever would mean I stop talking to my cousin? Or Nobara to the guys?” She raises a brow at you, unimpressed. “Seriously. I love you, Skipper, but you do not have that much power. These relationships existed before you knew Ino. Yuji is incapable of having conflict with anybody. And Toge doesn’t give a fuck about awkward relationship drama, he just wants to play Smash.”

As she speaks, you can feel your heart settling back into its home in your chest. Maki always knows what to say. Always.

“Second: Let me put it this way.” She levels you with a serious look. “You are so worked up about all these incredibly hypothetical situations. If you shut this down now, if you don’t act on what happened on Saturday, you’re still going to be worked up about hypotheticals. They’ll just be different ones. I know you, Skipper, you’re gonna drown yourself in what ifs. So you have to pick the lesser evil. There’s an unknown factor either way. Which one is gonna be worse?”

You groan, faceplanting into your bedspread. In the process, your forehead must hit play on your phone, because all of a sudden Arctic Monkeys blasts through the JBL again and Maki is grabbing your phone and saying, “Absolutely not. Nope. We are done with that.”

You look up at her helplessly. “Do I wanna know?” you choke out, half-laughing. “Because if I’m taking this out of proportion, if he doesn’t feel this way and I’m just another girl he kissed—”

“You’re not,” she says firmly. “Are you kidding me? Skip. That boy kisses the ground you walk on.” She shakes her head, some mix of fondness of exasperation flashing across her face. “You already know. The question isn’t if he likes you, or if you like him. It’s whether you’re gonna let it play out or shut it down before it has a chance to.”

Your door slams open, and Nobara strolls in and puts her hands on her hips. She glares at Maki and then at you.

“Please tell me I’m wrong,” she says, and you know you’re in for it, “but I believe you both had significant relationship developments this weekend and didn’t immediately call me? What the fuck? Spill.”

Abruptly, you feel like the worst friend in the world. Not necessarily because you haven’t filled Nobara in—she hasn’t been home—but because Maki is flushing pink, and you left her alone with Yuta on purpose, and it’s Monday, and you haven’t even asked what happened.

You look at Nobara. “Close the door.”

She does, but she doesn’t sit down, choosing instead to pace the room as she speaks. “Exhibit A: the plants have name tags and the handwriting is not Yuta’s. Exhibit B: I just came from down the street and Ino is acting weird as fuck.”

You sit straight up, suddenly on high alert. “Weird how? Did he say anything?”

“No. Like, the entire time. That’s the weird as fuck part.”

You turn to Maki, trying to read her. “Okay, what happened with Yuta? Was it when I left? Because if I wasn’t obvious enough—“

“You were very obvious, thank you,” Maki says, her blush deepening. “Uh, we made dinner. As you know.”

“It was good.”

Maki is pointedly looking everywhere but at you and Nobara, gaze darting from the ceiling to the bedspread to the door, as if she might escape the conversation. You hadn’t even noticed the plant name tags. That’s maybe the most sappy gesture that’s ever come from Maki Zenin.

“Mm. Yeah. Uh,” she says, eloquently. “We might have kissed. We might be… together.”

“Maki!” you and Nobara both scream, which results in Toge nearly breaking down your bedroom door five seconds later.

“What?” he demands. He clocks Maki’s bright red face and grins widely. “Aha! Yes. Good.”

“Wh—”

“Yuta won’t look me in the eyes, so I figured. You wanted to tell us all at once?”

Maki nods sheepishly.

“Too late!” Toge says cheerfully. “And he’s not home. So we can take this quality girls’ time to—”

“You are a man.”

“That’s the first time you’ve ever said that to me,” Toge tells Nobara, hand over his heart.

She swats at him in response and flops onto your floor, and Toge drops down beside her, you and Maki leaning over the edge of your bed to see them both.

"I ate your love pasta," you tell Maki, and she groans.

"This is why I don't tell you people things."

After the appropriate appoint of freaking out about Maki and Yuta (of course I knew, I always know, Nobara says), they make you go through the whole of Saturday night in detail.

You leave out the part about Takuma’s dad. That doesn’t feel like your story to tell.

When you get to I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone like you, Nobara blinks at you, and the innocent expression on her face means whatever she’s about to say is anything but. “So he told you you’re not like other girls?”

“Oh my god,” you groan, dragging your hands down your face.

“Oh, shit, Skipper!” Toge nearly shouts from the floor. “We have to go, like, two minutes ago.”

“Shit!” You scramble off the bed, shoving your laptop into your bag and weaving around Nobara, who has made no move to get off the floor. You and Toge have your usual Monday night class time to do field reporting, and you’re meeting up with Geto and Utahime.

The front door clicks open and closed, and you grin at Maki, who goes red. Yuta’s home. God, you wish you could stay for this.

“Hi, Yuta! Bye, Yuta!” you call on the way out the door, patting him on the head, and Toge follows suit with a much more aggressive motion that messes up Yuta’s hair.

“Oh, hi! Um. Bye?” Yuta’s startled laugh follows you out the door, and then you’re on your way.

You’re always on your way back to The Fix, eventually.

—

Utahime, notably a happier person in general when Gojo’s not around, lets Toge into the back to get some photos of the storeroom. That leaves you alone with Geto, back on the same stool as last time, phone on the counter as you watch him work, talking as he goes.

“Finished inventory,” he says, typing something rapidly on his laptop, “and now it’s budgeting. And yeah, that’s about what it looks like on the day to day. What else did you want to know?”

Geto is remarkably easy to talk to. He’s soft-spoken and articulate, a good listener, and you find yourself forgetting it’s an interview after a while, lost in conversation. You learn that he studied business in school, so opening an establishment like this wasn’t much of a stretch. He handles the finances and hiring, and he’s the one working with Panda on the Battle of the Bands. Gojo and Utahime bartend, Nanami is security, and Shoko handles everything else. It’s a small team, he says, but they work.

“I wanted to be able to be home for the girls when they were growing up, and this wound up being a great way to do that, schedule-wise,” he tells you. “And now they’re here, which is great. I wouldn’t say I ever saw myself opening a bar, back in college, but now that I’m here and Shoko and I have been running the place for a while, I’m not sure where else I ever could’ve ended up, y’know?”

You nod, head propped in your hand with your elbow on the counter. “So is this the dream? The endgame?” you ask. “Think you’ll stay a while?”

“Well,” he says, closing the laptop, “I think it comes down to doing something because you love it, not because other people love that you do it. Though right now, both of those things are true, which is fortunate for me." He leans on the bar counter, head tilted as he considers his words.

"If the work makes you happy, if the people there make you feel the same way, I think that’s worth hanging on to," he says. "If I ever stop loving the work, I suppose I’ll move on. I don’t see that happening, really, but if it does, I’ll roll with it. Whatever comes after.”

“That makes sense.” You sigh, leaning back in your chair. “Man, I wish the career thing was that clear-cut now. I know I have time, but it’s weird to think about.”

“Would you ever go further than this with the band, you think?” he asks, seeming genuinely curious. “Or is the journalism thing pretty much what your heart’s set on?”

You’ve thought about it. Drumming makes you feel alive like very few other things do, but you love writing, reporting, meeting people and telling their stories. You want to go for editor-in-chief next year when Tsumiki graduates, but the reality is that you won’t have so much time for the band if you get the job. And you love your band.

Not that it’ll be the same, anyway, without Maki and Yuta. That’s something you don’t love to think about.

“I don’t know,” you confess, sheepishly realizing you’re still recording, that you’re supposed to be the one asking the questions. “I don’t think… that the band is ever necessarily going to be a professional thing. Maki and Yuta have all these big career plans. And it’s like, how much do I invest in that now, knowing it’s not… forever? When the journalism thing, the career, might be? I don’t know.”

“You know, I don’t think it matters all that much whether it’s forever,” Geto shrugs. “If it gave you what you needed at the time, wouldn’t it be worth it?”

He glances up at you, taking in the lines of your face, the tapping of your fingers against your other arm. You kind of feel like he sees something you don’t.

“Here’s some unsolicited advice, kid. On the record. Maybe life is short, maybe not. But regardless, your heart is not a finite thing.” His eyes are soft but not sad, serious but with a sort of levity that’s wise and not regretful. You think, idly, that you would find it very hard not to trust him. “If you’ve got something, love it while you have it.”

Something tells you he’s not talking about the band anymore. Or maybe that’s just you, looking for answers where there aren’t any.

“Thanks, Geto,” you say, turning off the recording. “This has been really helpful.”

Your heart is not a finite thing. And you think you’ve made up your mind.

directory | prev. | next.

jjk taglist open: just send me a message!

@shutuppeter @mikikkoo @reactwithjan @theclassbookworm @lilactaro @bisforbuse @risararelywrites @idkidk32 @gojodickbig @stargazing-with-choso @anonymity-222

a/n: what is this? setup for the megumi spinoff i'm writing after this? oo (sorry he was a cockblock it was for the plot, this one AND his, hehe)

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70sscifiart · 1 year ago

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The Last-Minute Sci-Fi Gift Guide

There's only one thing worse than procrastinating on getting gifts for your loved ones, and that's procrastinating on putting together a guide to help out everyone else with all those gifts. It's Dec 12, so you can decide for yourself which I'm doing.

Art book: Worlds Beyond Time, $32

If you follow this blog, you might have heard of this one. I published Worlds Beyond Time: Sci-Fi Art of the 1970s this year after five years of work on it, and I think it's really good! 400+ images, 100+ artists, with lots of fun art history and jokes.

Also, it's just $20 right now if you order through my publisher and use the code SKIPTHELINE! Cheapest it's ever been!

Card game: Coup, $14

In this "social deduction" card game, you play as a government official in a future dystopia who needs to backstab their way into power. Everyone starts out with just two cards in this bluffing game, so the tide can turn pretty quick when players start assassinating each other's cards. The fast pace makes it a good gift for someone who loves spies but thinks they don't like card games.

Game to play over Zoom: Bad Spaceships, $3

If a bluffing game stresses you out, try Bad Spaceships: It's a collaborative world-building game in which you roll dice to see what area of your spaceship connects to another, forcing you to spitball exactly why this is the case. As the game puts it, you might fix the hull by playing Tetris, or charge your weapons in the swimming pool. You're basically getting weird prompts to tell a story that can evolve over the course of the game.

It's such an indie game that it comes as PDFs you download from itch.io, but you can play it just as well over Zoom, if you're looking for an excuse to catch up with your old digital nomad college friend.

Movies/TV: Streaming service gift card

Gift cards are all well and good, but you can personalize them by recommending a few of your favorite shows as well. I suggest:

Hulu: Cowboy Bebop

Apple TV+: Severance

Criterion Channel: Ravenous, Paprika, Strange Days

Paramount+: Yellowjackets

Amazon Prime: The Devil's Hour

But to be honest, this entry is just an excuse to talk about the new Max show Scavenger’s Reign. Inspired by the work of French artist Moebius and with a clear debt to famed 70s animated film Fantastic Planet, this stylish sci-fi show features a bunch of humans trying to survive on a beautiful but hostile alien world. Perfect for lovers of fictional nature.

Vintage sci-fi

This Etsy shop has some good stuff, like the 1971 Frank Kelly Freas NASA poster above, a bit of history that I even mentioned on page 167 of my art book.

Penguin science fiction postcards, $28

These postcards have a ton of very cool sci-fi covers I've blogged in the past – great value if you want a lot of art for a low cost.

Meteorite pendant necklace, $34

I think we all know what kind of rock your loved ones need around their neck: A chunk of meteorite straight out of the 1576 Argentinan meteorite fall.

Book recs

For astronauts: Packing for Mars by Mary Roach, The New Guys: The Historic Class of Astronauts That Broke Barriers and Changed the Face of Space Travel by Meredith Bagby

For comedians: Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir, Even Greater Mistakes: Short Stories by Charlie Jane Anders

For sleuths: Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty, Drunk on All Your Strange New Words by Eddie Robson

For crafters: Knits of Tomorrow: Toys and Accessories for your Retro-Future Needs

For the resistance fighters: The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley, An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

For slasher movie fans: Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare

Syd Mead "Biomorph Vehicle" button down shirt, $49

T-shirts aren't classy enough for the world's coolest visual futurist, Syd Mead. I haven't actually bought this incredibly odd shirt, but I really need to.

Art prints (and more) from 70s sci-fi artists

Artist shops can be surprisingly hard to track down on the internet, but here's a short list of ones I've come across. All of these artists are featured in my book (except one), so you can read up on them before you commit to a print.

Michael Whelan

John Harris

Syd Mead

Don Maitz

David B Mattingly

Peter Andrew Jones - Jones was one of just a few artists who declined to be included in my art book, but he has a distinct, colorful style that I would have loved to have featured!

Finally, here's one extra bonus, just for everyone who made it to the end of this article: The UK-based educational charity Centre for Computing History sells three big officially licensed John Harris posters featuring these three artworks, famous for their use as covers for Sinclair programming manuals.

It's a great deal that I've never seen mentioned anywhere, and Harris' work has a timeless quality that makes it great for an unassuming wall decoration. If you're outside the UK, the shipping costs will be a pain, but there's no better deal for a classic sci-fi poster.

#gift guide #sci-fi #sci-fi gift ideas #gift ideas #retro sci-fi art

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splendidunboyfriendable · 1 year ago

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miscellaneous brian quinn hc's

can you tell what my new obsession is?

q is such an old soul. he's the type of guy who never stopped listening to his parent's music. he has hours and hours of 60's and 70's classic rock hits on his spotify all the way back to his broken mp3 players. don't get me wrong, he loves some good indie music. i feel like he'd have a soft spot for midwest because of the sick guitar riffs. he kept his cd collection from the aughties that he plays for you in the car. if you look through his junk drawer there's definitely one of his broken childhood cassetes in there.

segwaying from that last point, he is an extremely sentimental guy. he cherishes every single gift you give him. every birthday card he's ever received is kept in a special box at the back of his closet for safekeeping. he loves hoarding knick knacks and it's easier to defend things that have emotional value.

he has a thing for graphic tshirts. anything he outgrows he either gives to you to sleep in or donates it to an op shop. he doesn't like being a basic bitch but also doesn't have a very good sense of style. so any plain old shirt with a slogan or design on it makes him feel less like a boring old man.

he really enjoys the feeling of you running your fingers through his hair. he has a sensitive scalp so he doesn't really like people touching his hair because they can pull too hard. when you first touch his scalp, he doesn't register what you're doing because he's so used to the guys yanking on his hair. he immediately melts at your touch. every now and then, when he needs a little pick me up, he rests his head in your lap and asks you to play with his hair.

his cats are very attached to you. he jokingly calls you his 'pussy magnet'. you're always his first pick when it comes to a catsitter because they just can't get enoug of you. he sends you so many videos of them meowing for you as an excuse for you to come over.

#brian quinn x reader #impractical jokers x reader

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kindred-spirit-93 · 6 months ago

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aight part 2 (theyre all long aha im sorry XD) enjoy

BRIGHT

the pain in my wrist was excruciating. i could barely keep my face straight. slightly out of breath and with chiron on my heels (i felt guilty for ages after that. it really wasnt all that bad, but i was grateful he cared i suppose. but mostly guilty.) i reached the infirmary in one piece, aware of my surroundings but only just.

i think it was the strong smell of disinfectant that i registered first. the early morning light pouring in from the windows, and the soft sound of music, specifically a string instrument, and light chatter followed. too bright was all i could think of. even brighter than it was outside.

it was all well and nice, but i was bleeding and really wanted to collapse in a dark corner somewhere. and maybe sleep forever, i thought darkly. i all but physically swatted the notion away. brood later, i told myself firmly. i was feeling quite helpless and turned around to see if there was anywhere i should go, a first aid station or something. anything.

instead, i met another patients eyes. she was standing not too far away from where i was, nursing a very bloody nose. i didnt mean to look for too long, but good grief that was more blood than i thought a nose could spurt. i hope it wasnt too serious.

i flinched when someone lightly tapped on my shoulder. a blond young man in a white coat extended a hand. his left to be specific. i blanked, completely forgetting why the hell i was here in the first place and instead frowning at the stranger who wanted to shake my hand of all things. and his left hand? what was the world coming to?

whether it was the blood loss or my usual scatterbrained self, it took me a solid minute to realise that the stranger, who seemed to be in a good mood (how can anyone smile this early in the morning?) wanted to see my hand and evaluate the damage. not shake it. how i graduated top of my class i will never know.

FUZZY

looking back, our friendship was unlike any other ive ever had. never taking a single pattern or conforming to a single mold, but branching out and blurring lines into something soft and warm and comforting.

she always laughed when i compared it to soup, calling me a heathen for preferring it out of a mug, to which i replied with a pillow to her face. with her i felt a happiness i thought id never feel again.

we bonded a lot over music, which is a given with any child of apollo, but in my case i was exploring what i liked while she relaxed by singing along or playing something of her own.

it was a particularly rainy day and we were stranded, so to speak, in my room. i had borrowed chirons gramophone and my favourite jazz records, and breakfasted on cakes and tea. oh what i wouldnt give to relive that morning again.

she was at my desk writing in her journal and i had decided to practice some stitches while sitting at the foot of my bed. it was maybe an hour later i got up to stretch and thought to break the silence. i tried to call her but the only noise that left my throat was a hum. she hummed in response a moment later and i chuckled. we transcend language i joked to myself.

the rain pattering on the window, the low humming of whatever love song was softly playing, the comfortable silence that had blanketed us. the fuzzy warmth was enough to make me cry. instead i took a moment to articulate everything i was feeling. content. bittersweet. safe. nostalgic. home. finally at peace. alhamdulillah.

PRETTY

the air was crisp, not enough to warrant an extra layer, but cool nevertheless. i checked my reflection before leaving and was quite taken aback. why you could pass for a functioning member of society i teased. rolling my eyes at my antics i left without a second glance.

i dont avoid mirrors per se, but i dont seek them out either. i saw a lot of mama in me, the way her eyes crinkled when she smiled, her features, her death glare. and the similarities only became more apparent with time. i was still me of course, but at a certain angle i was an exact copy. and it hurt, despite the pride that came with it.

my aunt had insisted on buying me something for my birthday, so i meekly accepted (as if i had a choice) and picked out something slightly more special than id typically wear. and by special i mean embroidered sleeves. im too practical. just like a certain someone, i thought fondly. mama would have liked it too i think. although the tag said it was grey i only saw mint. and she liked green so that was that.

come day of the dance, a one time thing thank God, i started to have second thoughts. it was much too late of course to back out, but i entertained the thought anyway. i was going to be in the vicinity of people. a fate worse than death indeed. why did i ever agree to this?

sadly my wallowing in self pity had to be cut short. i could do feelings later, for now there was work to be done. not the best approach i know, but what can i say, im extremely practical.

i was a liitle early, chiron had said hed arrive soon. i cleared my throat, the chatter died down, and all eyes were on me. shit. "good evening everyone!" a few grumbles greeted me back.

"chiron will be here momentarily, uh, but before that a few words." my gaze swept the entire hall. demigods dressed in their best and looking for a night of calm and fun after an extremely rough storm. my heart went out to all of them. "tonight is a celebration for all that you have achieved thus far in your journeys, be it in camp or out, in loving memory of those we lost along the way, and of course to strengthen bonds and forge new ones." God why was everone holding their breath? how i havent i been pelted with tomatoes yet?

"being a demigod isnt easy, nor will it get any easier, but the least we can do is make the most of what moments of peace and happiness we are given." my gaze once again swept the room, settling on no one in particular, but i had a few in mind.

"from my heart of hearts i wish each and every one of you the best in life wherever and whatever it may be. take care of yourselves and of each other, and never lose sight of whats important to you."

i flinched at the sudden roar of applause i was faced with. was dionysus standing behind me with barrels of 'sparkling grape juice'? nope. apparently it was still only me. i never wanted to be curled in my blankets and as far away as humanly possible from the limelight so much in my life.

chiron thankfully had arrived just as the noise died down, and i recited the last of what i rehearsed for the night before he took over. "since tonight is a break for everyone, i am keen for everyone to have a good time, but fair warning, too much 'fun' and youll be dealing with me." chiron was busy examining the ceiling, a small smile on his face.

"im taking the infirmary shift tonight and unless you want an obituary in your patient records you will behave." dead silence. good. they were all too young for alcohol and it wasnt allowed in camp, but i trusted no one. "that said, have fun." there was a whoop and some cheers. i grinned at their enthusiasm.

....

the rest of the night went smoother than a hot knife through butter. it was a great success and everything went as perfectly as it could. the hard work had payed off and i was extremely happy and morbidly embarassed as campers greeted and thanked me on their way out.

one of the earliest couples to leave were a certain nico and will, but not before saying hi. will had stammered something about being the prettiest, much to nicos disgust. i studied the floor with great detail in attempt to shove down the unholy shriek of laughter threatening to escape. nico told me what had happened with persephone over breakfast once and i exhaled my coffee through my nose.

and then he straightened up as if remembering something. i noticed it immediately and was grateful i prepared myself before hand. "about tonights shift.." he started.

"i will see to everything i promise you have absolutely nothing to worry about". i cut him off before he could come up with an excuse to overwork himself half to death.

"but-"

"absolutely not. you will take tonight and all of next week off, its been arranged. now go enjoy what time you have left before curfew. its till midnight today only as a treat." will was not having it, and it was quite funny. he seemed to argue the concept and not the case, but i couldnt be sure, nico was half dragging him out already.

"shan't. im head medic and i wont be going against schedule. you cant make me" i raised my eyebrows in amusement. using titles are we? this was too good. there was no way he was serious.

but he was. were going to have to work on that later, i thought grimly. i sighed. nico sighed. the world took a collective sigh.

"right, listen here solace." nicos smirked and will looked mortified. reality was finally settling in. i nearly felt sorry for him. but i didnt.

"you arent going against schedule, i already said id arranged it before hand. kayla and austin insisted on a few extra days off for you and who was i to resist?" he muttered something about treason and treachery. and i held down a smirk.

"and besides," my eyes glinted for emphasis. a child of hades thing if you will. "my camp councellor's orders are equal to your own and its very well within my power to override them when i see fit." will gasped and nico grinned wickedly. i gave him some time to recover and turned to nico, asking if hed gotten my last batch of pastries. he said he did and compared them to his nonna's baking. the highest praise i could ever hope to recieve. tonight couldnt get any better if it tried.

"of course i wont make you do anything, but i suggest for your well being and mine that you comply and enjoy some well earned peace and quiet." i gave him a rueful smile, and on cue nico tugged at wills sleeve and let his best puppy eyes do the the rest. i gagged and he gave in to defeat. or was it despair? i forget which.

peer pressure really does work wonders, i thought while waving them off. grinning, i wondered what diana would have made of the pair.

the END thank frick this was exhausting but so much fun omg. heres what i had in mind for hilal lol (its giving wattpad ;-;)

if youre still here thank you sm for reading, i hope i didnt outdo ebony dark'ness dementia raven way with the descriptions lol

thoughts and comments are welcome! ill be taking a break for 2 weeks ish and will resume maybe then bc i have exams. see yall :)

Find the word

Thanks @winterandwords here!

Rules: post excerpts of your WIP that include the given words!

Wow, I'm finally doing this game where I just have one tag to go through! This shouldn't be nearly as long!

I'll ignore I don't say again like that to make it rhyme

Rain - from The Secret Portal Part One (Maddie POV)

As we came closer, I could see a chunk of metal about two feet in diameter. Only, it didn’t seem rusted at all. We’d talked about how oxygen reacted with metals and rusted them in science class, and I found it super cool but couldn’t remember if all metals rusted or not. This was either a normal occurrence or something irregular, and I didn’t know which one it was! Wait, maybe it had something to do with rain…. Does it rain here? Is that important!? Agh, it bothered me that I couldn't remember.

Mainly coming from me realizing a beginning of year sixth grader may not know this part of chemistry.

Pain - from The Secret Portal Part One (Lexi POV)

I tried to sit on the grass to contemplate everything when I hit something hard. I cried out in pain and shot up, rubbing the now-sore spot—feeling awkward even though no one was around. I turned to see what I hit and jumped when I saw millions of colors shoot up from the ground. I looked around and watched the endless field disappear from view.

Did you know in the previous draft, Lexi hit her head? Ouch.

Drain(ed) - from The Secret Portal Part Two (Ash POV)

With the couches, kitchen, and center of the living room all taken, all the kids were forced to sit in the corners. Hannah was practically in the hallway standing next to Reyna and Adrian’s daughter Rachel. Mikey was with Rachel’s brother Hunter sitting under the kitchen counter. And I stood in the corner with Amanda (Hunter and Rachel’s middle-sibling), and Charlie (Aurora and… Randall’s daughter). I felt trapped as the overload of conversations weighed on my ears. I had to focus my attempts to remember everyone’s name and relation all day, and I was drained. It didn’t help that I had to suppress my telepathic abilities, lest I go insane. My brain felt itchy. Too much information, almost.

Ash having an extended family gathering over here and is not enjoying it.

Again - from The Secret Portal Part Two (Maddie POV)

I rocked back and forth on my feet. Kelsey and Hye-Jin were running later than usual. I yawned to myself as I fiddled with Wilfredo in my hands. My tongue ran over my teeth, and I wished once again March would come sooner so I could get my braces off.

Wilfredo is Maddie's amigurumi tiger!

Alright that was a lot shorter. I miss this. I feel free.

Tagging @frostedlemonwriter @finxi-writes @sleepywriter00 @squarebracket-trickster @bookish-karina

+ ANYONE ELSE

Your words: swallow, forget, game, transition

TSP intro

TSP tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @finchwrites

@nebula--nix @literarynecromancy @honeybewrites @the-golden-comet

#more lore #i am once again asking #to excuse my nobel prize in literature level writing #i have no idea what im doing #and i planned very little if anything lol #enjoy #my personal taste in music is a bit all over the place:#older music (think 1940s jazz) and whatever genre the beatles queen mj bread and bee jees fall under (soft rock?)#also indie (rex orange county & the rare occasions)#the songs i had in mind while writing are errol garners' misty and i dont want to set the world on fire covered by the ink spots #sarah vaughan's cover of misty is my favourite #the last one comes after a timeskip btw #i invented a kind of dance; a one time evening thing for everyone to try to have fun after all what theyve been through #bisexual disaster will solace #breathe if u agree #what else do i tag this as #this is a mess #im a mess #but hey it works #hilal #hilal khalil #riordanverse #dionysus did indeed show up with sparkling grape juice but it was confiscated almost instantly #someone did end up with mild bruising and a bloody nose following a scuffle in the ares cabin #a stomach cold and an allergy flare up here and there #no obituaries were written that week #thank goodness

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amandapalmer · 8 months ago

Text

Sexy new author photo time! I never wear my hair down but I’m getting brave so you better believe I’m serious about getting back into being an author this year. And…while I have you here, a great excuse to talk about my upcoming book-y events. ✍️

Fate dealt me a great hand when I was working away in the Porter Square Books café a few months ago and I ran into the photographer Mark Ostow, who asked if he could take my portrait.

And boom, beautiful new author photo for me!

I am working on deals for several new books and it’s VERY EXCITING!!

And at the same time, I’ve been steeped in so many incredible and inspiring new books and made friends with so many POWERHOUSE GODDAMN WRITERS from the NY area…and hell, I have my own venue��.

…so I decided to connect all the dots and I’m hosting three salon-style “in conversation” events this month at Graveside Variety, my little crowdfunded hidey-hole in Woodstock, NY.

Co-presented by our local indie The Golden Notebook Bookstore, only 50 tickets for every conversation (all tickets are $25 and help keep the venue afloat) and will include a Q&A with me and each author.

We are also curating a special book sale table for each event! There’ll be coffee and tea and tears and truth and I hope you all make the trip. This is the way I really wanna say goodbye to this iteration of this venue: with stories that don’t usually get told. With stories that matter. Come share in the moment.

I’ll be throwing down with authors:

Elizabeth Lesser (bestsellers “Broken Open” and “Cassandra Speaks: WHEN WOMEN ARE THE STORYTELLERS, THE HUMAN STORY CHANGES”)

May 12th - 12:30pm

Katherine Yeske Taylor (author of brand-new “SHE’S A BAD ASS: Women in Rock Shaping Feminism”)

May 18th - 1pm

Leslie Jamison (author of best-selling “The Recovering” and the new - incredible - “Splinters”)

June 1st @ 1pm

Get tickets FAST. Leslie’s day is nearing sold out. These are gonna be so so cosy and good. Read the books and come armed with questions !!!

All tickets here:

Gravesidevariety.com

We are at 33 Rock City Road, in Woodstock, NY

��♥️🙏

#amanda palmer #amanda fucking palmer #the dresden dolls #graveside variety #authors #author talks #Elizabeth lesser #leslie jamison #Katherine Yeske Taylor #she’s a bad ass

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rhysdarbinizedarby · 10 months ago

Text

Rhys Darby has ‘not an ounce of scaredness’ about son’s band dreams

NZ actor Rhys Darby and his musician son Finn interview each other. VIDEO CREDIT: David White/Stuff

Rhys Darby is proudly listing career moments - but they’re not his own.

He’s recalling watching his son Finn’s band, Great Big Cow, “absolutely rock” iconic LA venue Troubadour to sold-out crowds.

As a parent, “you worry about a bit of nepotism,” he admits.

“Are we just ‘yay, our boys!’ when really they’re dreadful?”

But, he says, the band’s indie folk rock is “brilliant”, and keeps getting better. And, he insists, people are paying attention.

“We’re shocked as parents a little bit,” he jokes.

The band, Rhys and I are nestled between a Street Fighter arcade game and a pinball machine, in a dark corner of Auckland’s Whammy Bar. The US-based teen band has been sound-checking for their first international show.

Rhys has donned weathered jeans and a plaid jacket - approved by Finn. His son is wearing Dad’s socks for the night. While Rhys talks, Finn pulls faces and shares quiet in-jokes with his band mates. There are plenty of laughs.

Finn, Paolo Pesce, Will Angarola and Wyatt Nash originally played together in a school jazz combo, and went on to form Great Big Cow in 2022.

Rhys Darby, left, watches his son Finn’s band dreams without “an ounce of scaredness”. DAVID WHITE/STUFF

Now, Rhys insists, they have a growing fanbase. Some of whom “[do] that thing where you dance really closely … Moshing”. He points to my notebook.

“Put down there that I did know what moshing is.”

Sure, Rhys Darby - one of New Zealand’s most well-known comedy exports - helped the band get bums on seats and lock in bigger venues, but they were also recently featured on LA public radio station KCRW’s Young Creators Project, can be found on Spotify and their mainstay is house parties.

“I think because I'm a bigger deal [in NZ], it might have been a little different. In LA, no-one really gives a shit about who I am,” he laughs, looking over at Finn who’s patiently had his hand raised while Dad spoke.

There are people and groups in LA that have helped the band too, says Finn, and he’s not sure those opportunities would have happened back in NZ.

“I would have got you on bFM for sure,” Rhys quips back.

He looks on at Finn’s creative path with, “not an ounce of scaredness”.

“Obviously as a child I had many different dreams, but at the base of everything was art and performance,” he says, describing his younger self as a “dreamer” who wanted to entertain.

Rhys Darby with son Finn before Great Big Cow played Auckland’s Whammy Bar. DAVID WHITE/STUFF

“When it comes to [my kids], I see different ambitions, but they have the artistic talent - I’m completely open to whatever they want to do. I’ll always be there for them.”

Where New Zealand has a bit of a reputation for tall poppy syndrome and an air of negativity, LA is hugely positive, says Rhys - especially for fostering young talent.

And it was in LA, at a house party, that Finn recalls being caught up in the “electric energy” of playing live.

“The whole audience was moving. And I think two people got lifted up above the crowd and surfed around above the crowd,” he says.

Finn’s not the only Darby putting in some work while in Aotearoa. Following Rhys’s joint 50th celebration with wife Rosie, he’ll be returning to the local stage, performing his Rhys Darby 25 Years stand-up show at Waiheke Island’s Wild Estate on April 3.

It encompasses the best bits from his previous shows, but performing it at Waiheke is “just another excuse to put on a show, really”, and to show his US mates another part of Auckland.

Rhys Darby, following a stint in the army and then university, kicked off his career with stand-up, before becoming a household name with an impressive TV and film CV, including Flight of the Conchords, Yes Man, The Boat that Rocked and Our Flag Means Death.

As for whether he still loves stand-up, “love is a strong word”, he laughs.

“I still enjoy it. But it's it's less of a thrill than it used to be.”

What he’s really loving is throwing himself into acting, and challenging himself with more dramatic roles - different to the very physical, crazy “shenanigans on stage”, requiring more focus for the comedian and “not just being a silly bugger”.

Plus, he’s 50 now.

“It’s much easier to do the stuff where I'm just sitting down,” he laughs.

Still, there’s no denying he’s been part of a movement that threw New Zealand comedy into the wider world, and he speaks proudly about his own work, but also that of other Kiwis such as filmmaker Taika Waititi and actor Rose Matafeo.

It’s a type of comedy, he says, that “has a signature” and can’t be copied.

Rhys Darby and son Finn at Auckland’s Whammy Bar. DAVID WHITE/STUFF

“I think it’s that positivity thing, which is ironic coming from a place with tall poppy syndrome. We don’t like each other but you guys love us, eh?”

It’s one of the reasons Darby is still living in LA, “still waving the flag [and] not changing my accent”.

And while Darby’s big break may have been the role of band manager Murray, when it comes to Great Big Cow he and Rosie “don’t want to be helicopter parents too much”.

“We're there when they have a question.”

And while Rhys says he can’t talk about any of his own projects, Finn interrupts with a quiet word about vague plans for a comedy musical theatre show featuring Rhys and the band.

Looking back at his own career, the highlight was breaking into the US market - name-dropping X Files and Our Flag Means Death as highlights.

“What's next? It's all peaks and troughs,” he says - mentioning Hollywood is turning to AI, but “thankfully, there's no one that can do a better robot impression than me”.

Still, the changing industry is worrying.

“People are losing their jobs, and AI is having a lot to do with it,” he says - dropping the quips and gags for a moment.

“After the strikes, I know, it's taken a while to get the industry back on its feet, but I'm hoping that it will get there,” he says.

“But it is worrying. It's really worrying the moment.”

Source: Stuff NZ

#rhys darby #finn darby #interview #great big cow band #stuff nz

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vettelsdarling · 1 year ago

Note

hi i love your instagram aus!!!

i was wondering if you could do an instagram au private relationship between charles x singer! reader (face claim blackpink rose) on their summer break but they get caught by fans and paparazzi?

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮

Lissie note… Really great idea!!! Love it! I’m not too into k-pop, so please excuse me if anything seems wrong with the pictures in terms of timeline stuff. Thank you, and I’m glad you enjoy the aus<3

Things to note:

I’m into rock/indie, so I don’t know much about the K-pop industry. Please don’t come for me :)

Reader is an up-and-coming but popular K-Popstar.

Reader and Charles have been dating since the beginning of the season (set in 2023)

Races are NOT in order

Pairing: Charles Leclerc x Singer!Fem!Reader

Warnings: Slight cursing?

Playlist recommendations: 𝐂𝐋𝟏𝟔, 𝐅𝐥𝐮𝐟𝐟💗

Taglist: @drugged-kitkat, @allwaysallyway

yourusername

Liked by carmenmmundt, lilymhe, francisca.cgomes and 5,488,926 others

yourusername Merci, Paris🌻💛

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user1 OHMOFMFNS HERRRR❤️❤️❤️

user2 Felt😩🙏

user3 Are you coming to the UK soon?🥰

user4 MOTHER❤️

user5 ILYSM PLSSS😭❤️

user6 So so so gorgeousss💕

user7 She’s so couquette but sophisticated and I love it

user8 AHHHH agreed❤️

user9 Please come to the US soon🤍🤍

user10 She’s been there before

user11 Yeah, I saw her last year🥰

user9 Aw no… I missed it.

yourusername

Liked by lilymhe, francisca.cgomes, pierregasly and 4,827,293 others

yourusername Thanks for another great time @ voguemagazine

Tagged: voguemagazine

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user1 How can anyone be THIS gorgeous.

user2 Exactly. How do people actually have the nerve to call her a gold digger…

user3 Wait what???

user4 People did WHAT?!

user1 ummm wtf?

user5 @ user2 is right. Fans of this boy group keep bashing her because they were seen together at a literal K-pop event…

user6 Doesn’t it make sense for her to be at the same expo though…💀 like she didn’t come for that one guy. She came for us…😭😭😭

user5 literally

user7 idk what all this drama in the comments is, but you’re so pretty❤️

user8 Vogue better feature her again😩🤍

user9 Did anyone see her interview with cosmo? She’s literally so polite and cute🥰

user10 I SAW IT🫶

user11 I don’t believe all the rumours that she’s dating some random boy group guy… she’s clearly ours.

user12 Agreed🙏

user13 I can’t wait for her to go on Jimmy Fallon🥳

user14 It’s actually gonna be so fun

charles_leclerc

Liked by yourusername, pierregasly, maxverstappen1 and 648,272 others

charles_leclerc It’s race week again❤️🤍

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user1 Let’s goooo #tifosi❤️🤍

user2 Please no Monaco curse again😭😭😭

user3 It won’t happen this year❤️

user4 I’m a max fan but I actually hope Leclerc wins this one

user5 same

user6 ANY K-POP FANS HERE???

user7 I thought I was the only one who noticed

user8 Guys it’s so clearly just her following him cause he’s famous or whatever. Besides, he has a lot of followers who are in the K-pop industry lol

user9 @ user8 has a point lmao

user10 yeah, @ otherkpopuser also follows him. You guys gotta calm down💀

user11 Home race let’s gooo❤️

yourusername

Liked by charles_leclerc, francisca.cgomes, lilymhe and 4,384,256 others

yourusername Break👒🧸

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francisca.cgomes Gorgeous🤍

yourusername ❤️❤️❤️

user1 Okay so nobody is going to question why an f1 wag is in the comments…

user2 because it’s not that deep

user3 The break she deserves❤️❤️❤️ HAVE FUN🥰

user4 I can’t wait for more summer posts from her🥳

user5 I loved your set in Paris❤️ Please come back soon🫶

user6 Come to Spain pleaseeeee🙏

user7 Oooo where is this???

user8 I think she said on her story that she was in Monaco

user9 Ugh I would love to go there just to see her😭❤️

user10 Monaco is so great😩 I wanna go

user11 This is the break she deserves after her hard work❤️

user12 I thought she’d maybe go back to Korea for a little over break

user13 It’s her own choice… she doesn’t have to

user14 Sooo pretty

user15 I desperately NEED her to come to Australia😭😭😭

sportsgoscentral

3,729 likes

sportsgoscentral Famous Ferrari driver, Charles Leclerc, was caught with a girl this week… who might that be👀

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user1 Wait WHAT🧍‍♀️

user2 idk… that could literally be anyone. It doesn’t look like Charles…

user3 It’s definitely him. Look at his hair.

user4 I’m slowly waving goodbye to my parasocial relationship😭

user5 STOPPP WHAT IS THIS

user6 Aw that’s cute🥰 Wish we knew who it was though!!

user7 wait… isn’t that… @ yourusername

user8 who?

user7 pretty famous K-pop idol

user8 Ohhh, she’s really pretty though

user9 so all blonde girls are suddenly her?

user7 no, I’m just saying it seems like her bc she’s in Monaco rn

user10 Whoever she is, she’s so lucky ughhh

user11 For real

user12 What happened to giving people personal space😃

charles_leclerc

Liked by yourusername and 366,282 others

charles_leclerc Next stop: Japan✈️🇯🇵

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user1 such a random vacation spot but I dig it

user2 I bet Yuki is his tour guide

user3 that’d be funny

user4 Wait what’s in Japan?

user5 Idk, he’s just on break somewhere new ig?

user6 Can’t wait for a Japan photo dump🥰

user7 Not everyone thinking he’s going cause of @ yourusername 😭😭😭

user8 OMGGGG I FORGOT SHE’S BACK FROM HER BREAK AND IN JAPAN RNNN

user9 I am flabbergasted

user10 guys it’s a coincidence chill pls

user11 idk… doesn’t seem like a coincidence to me👀

yourusername

Liked by francisca.cgomes, carmenmmundt, lilymhe and 6,028,379 others

yourusername Thank you so much for all the chants! I love you all in Japan❤️ Can’t wait to come again🧸

View all comments

francisca.cgomes Loved it❤️ Will go to your next🫶

yourusername Can’t wait to see you again🥰❤️

user1 MOTHER😩❤️

user2 SHE ONLY RESTED FOR 2 WEEKS AND IS ALREADY BACK😭😭😭

user3 She’s so amazing🤍 I love her so much😭

user4 I LOVED THE SHOWWW COME BACK SOON~

user5 She’s so mother😩🙏

user6 ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS🥰

user7 I literally love everything abt her

user8 Where’s she going next?

user9 The US I think?

user10 Wait what???

user11 No she isn’t. That’s next month.

user12 Yeah, she’s going to Korea next and then the US

charles_leclerc

Liked by yourusername, francisca.cgomes, pierregasly and 1,292,358 others

charles_leclerc Japan was amazing❤️🇯🇵

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user1 A GIRL A GIRL A GIRL

user2 OMG THE SECOND PIC

user3 CHARLES WHO IS THATTTT

user4 New wag alert?

user5 Every K-pop fan KNOWS that the rumours are true and that’s @ yourusername

user6 New fav wag🥰

user7 I need to see them togetherrrr

user8 Omg that’s her?! She is BEAUTIFUL😩

user9 She’s literally my fav<3

user8 I’m gonna start listening to her

user9 If he’s going to the states next, it’s definitely @ yourusername

user10 It’s so convenient though, because he has the Miami gp next month🥳

user11 Isn’t she going to NYC though???

user12 Yeah she is

wagsf1

20,378 likes

wagsf1 @ yourusername in the paddock today in Miami✨

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user1 IT’S OFFICIAL🥰

user2 She is SO PRETTY AND CUTEEEE

user3 Her and Charles make the cutest couple on the grid by a HUMONGOUS margin.

user4 Literally

user5 Wait… but wasn’t she spotted in Formula 2???!

user6 Leclerc watches Arthur and she probably tagged along

user5 Oh yeah that makes sense

user7 I can’t believe she’s juggling her career and supporting Charles at the same time😭 What a gem🤍

user8 He literally hit the jackpot with this one

user9 I’m so jealous of him but also jealous of her😭😭😭

user10 You’re literally so real for that

yourusername

Liked by charles_leclerc,francisca.cgomes, carmenmmundt and 6,387,289 others

yourusername Since the secret is out…🤍

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charles_leclerc ❤️

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francisca.cgomes You guysss🫶

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user1 ARE YOU FOR REAL????

user2 Wait the rumours are true?!!!😭😭

user3 We lost her💔

user4 This is pain.

user5 Can’t you just be happy for her?

user6 It’s not that deep and she doesn’t know you exist💀

user7 If my future relationship isn’t like theirs… I don’t want it..

user8 IKR😩 Look at those shadow picssss

user9 Okay but when is she actually revealing him?

user10 We literally know it’s Charles💀 He even commented😭😭😭

charles_leclerc

Liked by yourusername, pierregasly, maxverstappen1 and 738,839 others

charles_leclerc It’s official. She’s a procrastinator…

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yourusername I’m not…

charles_leclerc Did you pack for Italy yet? We leave tomorrow.

yourusername …

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pierregasly Get in there mate!

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user1 I love their banter already😩

user2 They’re so cute what😭❤️

user3 She looks like a literal angel

user4 My fav singer and my fav driver… dating?! This is an actual dream come true wtaf

user5 People who oppose this will have to go through me first

user6 Nobody will be dense enough💀

user7 Nah I just know someone will be pressed about this

user8 Agreed lmao💀

user6 I mean ig😭💀

user9 I can’t wait to see all of her paddock outfits!!!

user10 Same! She's already so stylish, I bet she’s gonna go all in!!!

user11 I can’t wait to see Charles at her concerts lol

user12 Somehow I can actually imagine it

user13 My fav couple❤️

REQUESTS ARE CLOSED

𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩

𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩! (𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙤𝙣, 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨, 𝙙𝙢𝙨, 𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙨: 𝙒𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙙𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧(𝙨) 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝𝙩𝙮𝙥𝙚(𝙨) 𝙤𝙛 𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣.)

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cocomanga · 6 months ago

Text

The Sweetest Beat - Set 1

Pairing: Megumi Fushiguro x Fem!Reader,

CW: JJK AU. Daddy Kink, Noncon, Dubcon, Praise Kink, Size Kink, Oral, BDSM, Unprotected Sex, Edging, Drunk Sex, Aggressive Sex, Overstimulation, NPD Abuse/Trauma

Note: please block me if my work is not your cup-o-tea. I do not own any of the character art Please respect my blog art.

Reader is encouraged to listen to music mentioned for context :)

WC : 5K

The Sweetest Beat - Set 2 >>

TSB - Masterlist ~ AO3 | Wattpad | Playlist

..... Minors: You have no business here. Love you, but please don't ....

▶ SET 1 No One Knows - Queens of the Stone Age Heart Shaped Box - Nirvana Everlong - The Foo Fighters All My Life - Foo Fighters Smells Like Teen Spirit. - Nirvana

As you put the drink to your lips, the sensation of tiny bursting bubbles tickled your nose and the sharp aroma of fresh orange set a spark to your senses. The wildly refreshing contrast to the smell of cigarettes, old wood and alcohol spills seemed to rejuvenate you.

"Can I get another Blue Moon, please, Dori?"

"No problem." Itadori replied kindly as he leaned over the counter, turning back to Nobara, a flirtatious grin sprawled across his face despite her teasing him about his cocktail blending.

"Too much vermouth, man. What are you, an amateur?" she whined, a mock pout on her face as she rolled her eyes.

You glanced at them as you sat on the stool with your legs crossed and your back to the bar, shaking your head, smiling and snickering at their cute interaction.

It was pretty dark in the room, the colorful spotlights were off. A faint light shone over the bar, and one over the stage. You could see the glowing red neon exit signs, the track lighting lining the hall leading to the restrooms, and dark figures wandering about, chatting and waiting anxiously for what's next.

You loved going there. The place was quite well known, but relatively small. An intimate setting. Very "underground". The platform of the stage was set up about 4 feet high. When it was illuminated, you could see every detail of a performance from the bar seats. The room was normally peppered with small round tables that held 4-5 seats each, accommodating about 100 seated, but tonight it was standing room only and could easily fit over 3.

Most of the employees here knew you and Nobara as regulars. Itadori invited the two of you to see this performance by his best friend, who had apparently formed this band recently and it was gaining quite the following. Also probably because he wanted another excuse to see Nobara.

They were a cover band and, according to rave reviews, a pretty damn good one at that. A lot of the people who were already here, knew them from the city they hailed from.

You glanced at your smartwatch, the light piercing through the dark room, shining a bright blue glow on your face. You hoped they'd come on soon since you were already nearing your 3rd beer. "What time are they scheduled for, Dori?"

"8 o'clock."

7 minutes. Good.

"You in a hurry??" Nobara's head turned quickly towards you as she asked with a raised eyebrow. "Its not like you have to work in the morning."

"I know." you shrugged, "I'm just a little excited. I've heard good things.

"Yeah, like about how hot they are!" Nobara replied, this time quickly raising both eyebrows.

"Hey, calm down little one. You're already spoken for" Itadori snapped back at Nobara, with a grin on his face and a wrinkle between his brows.

You rolled your eyes, chuckling as you turned back to look at the stage. "Its been too long since I've heard some live music. I feel like I'm..." you frowned a little, "... neglecting my self-care routine or something."

Nobara takes the last sip of her obviously delicious martini. "Well if they're right about these guys, you'll definitely get what you need tonight."

As the curtain shrouding backstage parts, one of the members emerges. He sauntered across, twirling drumsticks in his hand. A few of the audience members begin to clap, whistling and wailing noises of approval. He appeared to have stood at about 5'11", with a slim, but athletic build, and a seemingly relaxed demeanor.

He wore all black converse with white soles, and dark green loose fitting cargo pants that hung just a touch low, held up by a black leather belt with large black metal loop holes. His black graphic tee had an intricate design printed on the front, and was layered under a vintage leather jacket which he slipped off on his way to his seat. The tee accentuated his build, fitting loosely at the waist, yet snugly around his biceps and chest which were considerably toned, a must for a good drummer.

He wore a pretty stoic look on his face but he was, in fact, gorgeous. He had spiky, stark black hair, a few strands hanging low over his large dark eyes. He bit the bottom of his pouty lips, frowning as he sat on his stool adjusting his seat and microphones. If anything, he definitely looked "the part".

"Is that the one, Itadori?" Nobara inquired, nodding toward the stage.

Itadori looked up from the sink of soapy water behind the bar as he washed miscellaneous used glasses he'd gathered. "Yeah, that's him."

Both you and Nobara swiveled your stools back around to face the bar were Itadori stood as he explained.

"He's been playing since he was a kid. I used to hang out in his garage with him for hours while he and his cousin practiced." He broke from his chore for a moment, wiping his hands with a steaming cloth. "He even attended a prestigious art institute for a couple years."

"Really?" You inquired, considering how that must have contributed to the appearance of their success.

"Yeah" Itadori continued, "He and a couple of the members met at college".

Nobara nodded in approval, then leaned in toward you "Seems promising eh?" She chuckled into her martini, "He's definitely a hottie."

You nodded also as you returned a muffled laugh, taking the final sips of your 2nd beer. "Cute is fine and all, but they'd better be good".

"We do alright." A random voice chimes in, seemingly from out of nowhere. Startled, you turn to see the drummer standing right next to you. He leaned on his elbows against the bar propping a leg up on the frame as he stared directly at you. He turned to Itadori. "Lemme get two, Dori. I won't be able to come back down for a while." His voice was slightly monotone, deep and airy. He smelled like a light blend of soap and incense.

Suddenly a little nervous, you blushed slightly into your new beer as he turned toward you again, looking you up and down. You swiveled the other direction back to Nobara's wide-eyed stare as she attempted to suppress a huge smile.

Itadori hands him three bottles of Guinness. "Megz, this is Y/N and Nobara. They came to see you perform so yea, make it happen, bro." They give each other a quick dap.

Nobara peeks around you to see him, waving her hand.

As he pushes himself off the bar and grabs his offer from his friend, "Megz" turns toward you, his large, dark, slightly hooded eyes scan your silhouette quickly then lock with yours. He curls his long fingers on his left hand around the necks of two bottles of beer, then grabs the last with his right. He didn't seem to make a single readable expression, but gives you a quick upward nod and heads back up to the stage while the guitarist and other band members were tuning.

"Damn, girl" Nobara teases, seeing "Megz" give you a once-over. "What do you think that was about"?

You took a deep breath and shook your head as you turned back toward the stage. It looked like they were starting. You leaned your head over your shoulder at Itadori, yet kept your eyes locked up front, "I've never heard a guy called 'Meg'. That's different."

"Its Megumi. Really, only his family and friends call him Megz". Itadori explained.

"Oh." you replied, fixated.

Nobara and Itadori both look at you, then at each other, chuckling at the fact that Megumi seems to have left a lasting first impression on you.

With an unintentional critical eye, you observed the details of their setup. The band was 5 pieces with Megumi as the drummer. It included a bass, keys, lead guitarist and the vocalist, who also played guitar. "Wow. They have a female guitarist"?

"That's Maki." Itadori explained. "She's fuckin' crazy. Just wait, you'll see".

You watched their preparations. Maki tuned her guitar as she leaned in, conversing periodically with Megumi. The guy on keys kept his head down as he fidgeted with various knobs and buttons, which included a computer. The bassist's expression seemed a little detached, but he was very much in tune as he watched Maki and Megumi's conversation, and listened intently to Maki's instruction.

The lead singer wielded a gorgeous white guitar, currently strapped to his back. His presence almost as impressionable as Megumi's as he adjusted his microphone and his foot pedal. He wore black combat style laced boots and baggy camel-colored pants with the narrow hem stuffed inside his boots. His top was an exaggerated V-neck, sleeveless, black, and hung loose on his muscular build. His hairstyle was wild. Gathered in two sections on top of his head, and as spiky and dark as Megumi's. He also had a couple visible tattoos, one, a straight line across his face, one on his chest peeking from under his V-neck, and one on the outside of his chiseled bicep in a singular Japanese Kanji that read, "Blood".

It was exciting. They looked like the real deal, had plenty going on, and from here it appeared quite complex.

Suddenly the colorful spotlights illuminated the stage. At this point, quite a few more people had filed in, and the place was about half full. The crowd stirred up a mild roar of claps and whistles as they heard the first notes begin to fill the room.

You turned to Nobara, a wide grin spread across your face as you held your fists to your chest, shaking in excitement like a teenaged schoolgirl. She smiled back widely.

"They're looking really good up there" you said to Itadori, who was also checking them out.

"Mmm-hmm pay attention." Itadori smirked as he nodded toward the stage while sliding another drink toward you.

"By the way, you're looking pretty damn good yourself, honey" Nobara encouraged you with a wink, nodding toward your gorgeous legs stretching out from under your black pleated skirt, your feet dressed with calf-high black boots which had a silver buckle on the ankle and a sleek platform heel.

Your top was a thin, black, loose fitted low-cut V-neck tee. you wore a deep red cage bralette underneath, the color peeked through the thin fabric of your tee. It had many visible straps, one which attached up to your choker, where your neck was also adorned with a gold necklace.

"Very hot." she droned.

You flashed her a warm smile "Thanks love. You, too".

The lead introduced the band, his voice crisp and clear, carrying beautifully across the room. The audience responded, and after a few clicks of Megumi's sticks, they started the first song:

Queens of the Stone Age - No One Knows.

Your jaw dropped as your eyes widened in fascination... your head whipped back towards Itadori, "Damn, he's takin' on Dave Grohl?!?!"

He smiled, as he faced the stage, looking at you out the corner of his eye with an I-told-you-so.

You watched intently as they finished the first and second verses. You sat in your stool bobbing your head to the beat, which they executed in beautifully patterned staccato, all members in perfect sync. The sound was remarkable and the vocals were spot on. You had lots of Dave Grohl in your meticulously curated music collection, and this track was among them. As you moved to the rhythm, a rush of adrenaline flooded you. You gripped the ledge of the bar, knowing the chorus was damn near impossible to pull off. After all, you've seen many bands try and fail miserably.

You stared at Megumi's kit as the lead sang the chorus.

He pounded out the first drum line so smoothly it gave you goosebumps. The next was just as good. The third, even more complex, was so beautifully executed that your eyes widened and you literally gasped. Your mouth hung open as he finished the last. You loosened your vice grip in the edge of the bar, turning to Nobara and Itadori with your brow furrowed, in complete shock.

Itadori mouthed the word, "DOPE!" through an enormous satisfied grin.

Nobara smiled with raised brows, raising her hands in the air and screaming, "Yeeeeah!"

Realizing your mouth was now gaped open, you covered it with your hand as you turned back toward the stage.

It was only the first song and they were already blowing everyone away. A smart move too, considering this was their first performance since coming back home. Best to grab your attention immediately so people hang around, or get drawn in. It also featured both Megumi and Maki quite a bit through the chorus.

Some of the notation for drums on this track were lightning fast and complex. This song in particular had patterns that an average drummer wouldn't dare touch unless he could actually execute. Megumi was fucking amazing. You were fascinated by his sheer precision, mesmerized by his passion. As you watched him allow himself to become immersed in the music, his nonchalant demeanor and seemingly indifferent attitude all but melted away when he was at the kit.

His emotional connection to the music was contagious. You sat at your stool, at times closing your eyes and swaying back and forth, while at other times, giggling openly while kicking your feet out in a flutter like a little girl who was just given her favorite flavor of ice cream. His performance was exhilarating. Their next song:

Heart Shaped Box - Nirvana.

Your gaze was attached to him. He dripped appeal, quite literally as you saw him work up a complete sweat as he played. Most of the time during the loud, rougher choruses, his eyes were closed. His head shook his hair around violently as he drowned in his role. He'd make pained faces, often times biting his lip, and at others parting them to grant his lungs more oxygen considering how hard he worked.

His strong calloused hands firmly gripped his sticks, as he continuously pounded away at the drums and hats. Any time the sounds lightened and the melodies became softer, he'd raise his head up as his body moved on beat, swaying as beads of sweat slid at random intervals down his face and neck, the light catching through them as they flailed outward in droplets all around him. His once spiked out hair style had now completely fallen into wet slicks.

You couldn't take your eyes off him.

He was unbelievably fucking sexy.

They played a few more songs, and at this point in the show you sat, frozen, like a stone, gazing as you leaned back against the bar, with your elbows propped up. You periodically pressed your thighs together unconsciously as his performance aroused and hypnotized you. On top of it all, your buzz was much heavier now, the effects of the 4 beers you finished had kicked in nicely and allowed you to enjoy the music and the view all the more.

Suddenly a hand, a couple inches from your face waved frantically in front of you, vying for your attention. It was Nobara.

You snapped out of the daze you were apparently in with a deep breath, turning to her and Itadori only to see them both giggling. "Girl I've been calling you for the past two minutes! … everything ok?"

As Itadori laughed, he dropped his head between his muscular arms as they propped him up at the bar.

"Uh... yea," you said, rolling your eyes at their silly teasing. "Guys 'c'mon! this is amazing!" you motioned toward the stage.

Nobara smirked at you. "Yeah... HE is!" she said, still giggling.

"Whatever." you childishly retorted as you waived them both off with your hand. You turned back to face the stage, and you could swear you saw Megumi looking directly at you.

As the show went on, he continued to wow everyone with songs that featured some of Dave's best performances, mainly because they were well known. They'd sprinkle other songs throughout by artists like Radiohead and Korn, which gave the guy on keys time in the spotlight since he was also responsible for the electronica aspects. It also gave Megumi a break since he was obviously working himself crazy.

The last song they ended the first set with:

Everlong - The Foo Fighters.

Seriously... Megumi was fucking insane to be able to play that so well.

The crowd erupted with rumbling applause. And rightfully so since they were absolutely astonishing.

Itadori grabbed some ice cold bottles of water from the fridge, lining them up on the bar. He raised a couple bottles up, waving them in the air, along with a towel getting Megumi's attention.

You looked up at the stage, realizing he could actually see clear back there to the bar. Made sense though, considering the bartenders needed a reasonable amount of light to see as well. The people seated there were fully visible from the stage.

As distracted as you were, you didn't really consider that. And somehow you were a little embarrassed by that revelation.

"Hey, give this to him will ya?" Itadori tossed a couple towels over to you, sliding 6 of the waters your direction as well.

"Huh? Wait wha-" … before you could protest, he'd disappeared over to make drinks for another customer. You turned to see Megumi sauntering over to the bar, pulling his pants up by his belt as he took a few steps. Every soul, mainly women, from the stairs of the stage to the bar seemed to eyeball him on his way over. A couple people attempted to stop him, but he politely spoke and kept moving.

You became increasingly uneasy the closer he got, nervously looking around to seek assistance of some sort from Nobara.

She laughed playfully and turned her back on you, leaving you alone to take care of business as the water girl.

"Really?" You protested, holding your hands out in front of you.

"Those for us"? His voice rising up again, quite close to you.

You paused for a split second, burying your lips inside your mouth as you attempted to mute your smile, slowly turning to look at him.

He was dripping sweat. His hair was matted in sleek strands down his face in all directions. His chest slowly rising and falling behind his now drenched black tee, which stuck to his biceps and pecs, hugging every curve. As he continued to catch his breath, biting his pouty bottom lip, he waited patiently for you to answer. His dark, hooded eyes locked on to yours.

You quickly averted your eyes down to your hands as you grabbed the towels, squeezing them first in an attempt to ground yourself. "Uh... yes..." you handed one over.

He grabbed it, his hand making contact with yours. "Thanks."

He took a couple seconds longer than necessary to take it from you as he watched you squirm slightly in your chair, avoiding his gaze. He whipped it around his neck, then opened a bottle of water, guzzling it at the bar where he stood, his gaze still fixed. He took his final gulp, then uttered with a perfectly straight poker face, "You like what you see"?

You frowned slightly then smirked, looking up at him, "Excuse me"?

He nodded toward the stage, then looked back at you, leaning against the bar as he turned his body your direction. Still no expression. Only piercing eyes.

You nodded, and raised your eyebrows, "Yes. Actually..." you managed to mutter, trying really, really hard not to stare.

"Oh yeah? What do you like?" His fragrance was even stronger now that he had sweat so much. It wafted toward you, blending in with the warmth of his breath, tickling your shoulder and neck. It was like a fucking pheromone. He took another large drink of his water, his eyes never leaving your face.

You took a deep breath to help clear your head, finally allowing your genuine interest to speak up. "I love that you play Grohl so well. You like his work, it seems".

His brow wrinkled a bit, appearing intrigued that you knew something about drumming. Finally, a readable expression. "Been following him since I was a kid. Might as well learn from the best, right? … I tend to prefer the older, more groundbreaking stuff."

"Hmm..." you cracked a smile. "Oh I definitely agree. I'm the same with my vocals."

"Oh, you sing?" another expression of surprise from Megumi.

"Yeah... for a long time. I love it. I write as well, but it's taken a back seat to other work at the moment..." you shrugged, a flash of disappointment washes over your face as you turn to look toward the stage.

He continued to observe you for a what seemed a prolonged period, still leaning against the bar before turning to look for Itadori. He waved him down, flashing a "peace" sign at him with his fingers. He looked back down at you, "take a shot with me".

"A shot?" you repeated, kinda surprised by the offer. "of what?"

"It's called a car bomb. You ok with Guinness?" the beer he had earlier.

"Sure." you shrugged and smiled, "Why not."

Nobara joins Itadori as he brings 4 of them over. You all grabbed your glasses. "To a fantastic night!" Itadori proclaimed.

You all drop the shots into the glasses.

Nobara wails "And after partaaaaay whoooo!!!"

You all slam your drinks. Megumi and Itadori finished their shots like pros. You and Nobara took a little longer.

As you guzzled it, the foam from the beer creeped out of the glass, drizzling down the side of your mouth as you made a valiant attempt to finish it off.

Megumi's eyes grew wide as he watched the liquid slide down your jaw, and creep down your neck, your throat moving up and down behind your choker with each gulp. As you reached the end, it became sweeter, almost pleasant as the Bailey's seemed to smooth out the rough bitterness of the beer.

You pulled the glass from your mouth, gasping for air as you muttered, "Damn that's strong!" through parted wet lips. "After party?" You said, frowning and licking the remnants of foam from your mouth.

"Yeah. Come." Megumi said as he grabbed your glass, stacking it on top of his then sliding it over to Itadori who was flashing a goofy smile at him.

"Maybe I will"... you wiped yourself up with a napkin from the bar as you turned back around toward the stage, propping your elbows up behind you, observing the band.

Megumi watched you carefully, noticing your tendency toward scrutiny. "Good."

You squinted tilting your head as you considered how good the music was. "This band is pretty damned exceptional." You turned back to meet his inquisitive stare, curious. "How did you manage to gather a group of that caliber? Where did you find them?"

The corner of his lip curled upward as he explained, "Choso, the singer, has been friends with Itadori and me for about 2 years now. Maki is actually my cousin. Yuta on the bass, and Toge on the keys went to college with me at the institute. Their work was … insane, so I recruited them."

"Wow" … "How long have you been together? I mean... the whole band?" you inquired further.

"About 4 years total since I started with Toge and Yuta. When I left the school I asked Maki to join, and Choso approached us 2 years ago. That's how we met."

You turned to him, shaking your head as you leaned back on the bar. "This is quite the accomplishment, Megumi. I hope you're proud of yourself. You're fantastic. Truly."

With genuine gratitude he replied, "Well, aren't you sweet. I appreciate that".

He picked up his water and took another sip as he glanced down at your boots. As the water bottle came down from his face, you watched him intently as his eyes traveled up your legs. You crossed them, for his sake of course, allowing your skirt to hike up your thigh just a touch. His slow scan continued steadily upward, pausing briefly at your chest, where your gold necklace cascaded gracefully between your breasts along with some strands of your hair. His eyes then traced your neckline up to your lips where he paused again, biting his bottom lip as he looked up into your eyes.

… Damn …

You sat perfectly still, watching him undress you with his eyes. A gaze so seductive, it was rendered tangible, and extremely erotic.

Entertained, a tiny smirk played at your lips as you considered his audacity. Nevertheless, it felt so fucking good, you allowed yourself to get quite lost in that moment.

Yeah. He's trouble.

"Megz!" Maki yells from the stage. "The water?"

"Aargh shit." He grabs all 6 from the bar in his arms, then flinches from the cold.

"Here." You grabbed another towel and laid it on the counter, placing the water bottles on top, rolling them up. "Have a great set. I'm excited to hear the second half". You flash him a sweet smile.

"Thanks. See you later." a small smile creeps into a curl at the corner of his mouth as he turns to make his way back toward the stage.

You watch him closely as he gets settled back in.

He sits at his kit, and looks immediately back over to the bar, locking eyes with you instantly.

"Wow... I really thought the stage lighting would make it tougher for him to see us from there." you look over to Nobara as she's walking back over to you.

"Nope... hehehe. Probably caught you gawking at him earlier, too." She teased.

"Girl bye." you whined, rolling your eyes.

Though she does have a point. You can practically feel your cheeks painting themselves red at the thought.

"I think we should go closer for the second half. I'm ready to dance!" She flashed a giddy smile.

You agreed, "Good idea, yeah. lets go."

You both grab a beer on the way, yours was a Guinness.

You squeeze through the crowd that had obviously gotten much thicker, possibly from people who could only make it to the second half, and some who wandered in off the street, lured by the amazing sound.

You made it to the front, slightly to the right of center stage. Megumi's line of sight was clear from there. He was guzzling another bottle of water.

They started the second set with another banger:

All My life - Foo Fighters.

Maki took the intro with the low vibrating heavy rock guitar riffs. Choso's voice was like butter, blending in smoothly with Maki as he stood at one with the microphone, gripping it firmly in place.

Your eyes moved to Megumi, since he was next. His eyes were closed as he listened to Maki and Choso complete the intro. As they opened slowly, aimed toward the bar, they glided across the room, then over to where you and Nobara stood. His gaze locked on to yours and the cutest smirk of pleasure spread across his face, complete with slightly pink cheeks.

So satisfying, you couldn't help but smile. It was adorable.

His eyes close again as he waits a portion of a measure for his entrance. He smashes his drums as he and Yuta hit their notes. Megumi hit his quick riffs with precision like a goddamn rock star every single time. Never missing a beat. It was insane. How can he be so good at such complicated work?

The crowd went wild. They loved every second if it, and this time you and Nobara worked up a great sweat dancing.

In the middle of the song, there was another solo with Maki then Choso ... a quiet bar... you stood there, keeping time with Megumi, he was starting to sweat already.

You stood there watching him. Your gazes met, as you bobbed your heads lightly on the same beat. A smirk formed on your lips as he played. Watching him was stimulating.

He'd slowly close his eyes, as he drummed, allowing himself to ride the vibrations of the moment as his face tilted up toward the rafters. He looked so satisfied, so euphoric. He'd then lower his face back down toward the kit, as beads of sweat to fell from his hair and nose, opening his eyes back up to exactly where you stood. It was so hot. Damn near orgasmic.

You and Nobara, on the verge of wasted, feeling your drinks and that crazy shot Itadori fed you, danced around next to the stage like a couple of crazed fans. They played through their set smoothly, the crowd completely submerged in the intensity of the atmosphere. Finally, it was time for the last song.

It was Maki again for 3 measures:

Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana.

Of course they'd play this. Megumi beat the shit out of it, and Maki was on fire during her guitar solo. Throughout the course of the song, Megumi continued to look to you, smiling and smirking periodically. He seemed to enjoy seeing you dance, and you were more than happy to oblige. During the quiet verses, you bit your bottom lip, locking into sultry stares with him as he played, the song igniting a fire in which the flames were surely fanned by the alcohol.

With his head bowed as he pounded away, his body moving at a consistent, steady tempo, he'd look at you out the corner of his eye in such a way... a way that was more than arousing, a way that bordered on lecherous.

And that … only excited you more.

Choso sang his damn heart out, and you and the entire venue followed along every word and every beat.

When they were done, the audience cheered loudly, expressing how exhilarating their performance was, and you still had an after party to go to.

You were on such a high after that experience, you knew you needed to calm the fuck down.

Because you simply could not wait to get Megumi alone.

TSB Masterlist | Set 2>>

Set 2 Preview: "... His kisses were absolutely fucking delicious. He massaged your tongue with his, sucking your lips in intervals. His lips were soft, and his tongue warm, gliding lusciously across your skin. You wanted him to do it. Whatever he was planning, you'd grant him vip access. The level of sensuality he's displayed to you is off the charts, and you wanted nothing more than to be his special, obedient little groupie..."

Thanks for reading! ✨🥰✨

Fanart Art: @Berserker049 via @Pinterest Ombre Caution/DNI & Animated lines: Courtesy of @cafekitsune

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