#but not too bad for a first attempt at her

[dcxdpdabbles]

Can we have more Tim falls for Tucker's "spouse" Danny

I'm going to be honest with you: I originally intended this fic idea to be a comedy, but I couldn't figure out how to execute it when I attempted to write it, which is why it ended up in the 'From a fic I never wrote' pile. Now that I have attempted to write it out, it turned more into humor angst? Or, Tim being sad while in Danny's POV, it's him and Tucker committing marriage fraud. Hope the change isn't too bad!

Tim has to bite his tongue when Foley once again agrees to go out for drinks with the team, as everyone is heading out for the day. It was the third weekend in a row, and really, how could he leave his husband home alone on a Friday night so often?

If Tim were married to a man like Daniel Fenton, he would never miss dinner or a night in. He would certainly not waste it trying to kiss up to some higher up the way Foley was so blatantly doing.

Tim had half the mind to grab the mid-level employee by the shoulders and scream at him that a promotion wasn't worth his marriage failing. Make him realize what he had before it was all gone.

For all of Tim's jealousy that Tucker Foley was the one married to a man who literally walked out of Tim's dreams, he didn't dislike Foley at all.

The man was charming, eager to work, and excited to prove himself. He never slacked off; he always kept on top of his deadlines, was friendly with his coworkers, and was always on time. Really, the only trouble that Foley had caused was his rivalry with Tammy Johnson from Accounts.

Apparently, the two hated each other on sight, and there was no real reason for it. Tim had a personal theory that Foley's sarcasm clashed heavily with Johnson's no-nonsense way of work. Johnson was exceptionally good at her job, but she tended not to get along with her coworkers because she took everything too literally and often confused a joke for an insult.

Johnson also became incredibly defensive, building up a wall after a perceived offense was made, and spent the rest of her time working with the offender in a passive-aggressive manner.

She also made comments here and there that hinted at her less-than-accepting point of view of the LGBT+ community. Nothing that Tim could drag her to HR for, but certainly something to keep an eye on.

That's why he jumped in so quickly when he overheard Foley and her arguing over their disagreement about the stick tower design at the last all-staff training retreat. He had heard Johnson rip into Foley, taking apart every one of his suggestions, with complete condescension and a bit of mockery until Foley's tired voice rang out.

"Is it because I'm gay, Tammy?"

Tim thought he finally had a chance to get her in some kind of trouble, but Foley had shut that down quickly. After explaining that the question was more internet humor than anything Johnson could have said, Tim found that he couldn't make the guy stop talking. Foley, it seemed, tended to ramble when panicked or nervous.

Meeting and speaking with the CEO tended to make many employees nervous.

Foley babbled on and on about his husband, how they were childhood friends who turned into sweethearts and then married, living the dream in the big city of Gotham with such devotion and love. Tim couldn't help but extend an invitation to bring the man around the office. He did it mostly to watch Johnson's already tight lips press harder into a straight line.

Then he met Daniel Fenton, and he realized the rambles of Foley weren't told from the rose-colored lens of a man in love but a perfect description of his husband.

Fenton was gorgeous in a soft kind of way, like a first blooming, a lot quieter than his husband, but intelligence danced in his eyes just the same. He was quick with witty responses, sarcastic in a more teasing way than Foley's, and when he spoke of his passions, he all but seemed to glow.

The first time Tim spoke to Fenton, the man was lost in the hallway leading to Foley's old office. At the time, the entire IT department had been relocated three floors up due to a leaking pipe in the ceiling of the previous floor.

Foley had failed to inform his partner that the offices were in a temporary location, so he was more than happy to bring Fention to the correct location.

Fenton had gifted him with a dazzling smile once Tim offered to walk him in the elevator, and had easily chatted with Tim enough so that the young CEO had nearly burst a gut, laughing at the other man's jokes.

He told Foley to invite his husband to more company events, and the other must have taken that as permission to have Fenton around as much as possible. Tim had more encounters with Fenton when the man showed up with pastries for Foley's office, when the team would go out drinking, or even just seeing Danny hanging around the lobby waiting for Foley to finish.

Five months passed before Tim could not deny it any longer. He had fallen for Fenton, the husband of one of his employees.

It was torture how often Fenton was around, but it wasn't like he didn't have the time. Fenton didn't have a formal job.

Apparently, he lived off his inheritance from a distant uncle named Pariah Dark and was more than happy to be a house husband who did random hobbies. One of those hobbies included baking.

Tim thinks he had a crush on Fenton for a while up until then, but he might have actually fallen in love when he tried one of Fenton's homemade donuts. Like an idiot, he kept asking Foley to bring Fenton around, because in those few hours or minutes of networking (for that was what Foley was doing. The man was ambitious) Tim could admire him, could listen to his voice, and could pretend- in the darkest corners of his heart- that his love for Fenton wasn't wrong.

He knew it was. Foley may not be a friend, but Tim tried not to be too close to his employee, as that often caused more problems than not. However, Foley was someone he respected. He felt horrible having such thoughts about the man's husband, but his heart yearned for Fenton more than it had ever yearned for anyone else.

This was getting so bad that Tim was making up random events so that Foley would have a reason to bring Fenton to. He even had the team photo, from the last Wayne Enterprises fundraiser for charity, framed and placed on his desk because Fenton was in it, smiling at the camera.

Tim's pathetic excuse that the rest of the employees' families were also present for the fundraiser wasn't a good enough reason to spend hours upon hours wishing that his arm was thrown around Fenton's shoulders in that photo instead of Foley's.

Tim had to stop.

He chose to tell Steph about his feelings for Fenton on the request that she stop him from doing something stupid. As his friend, she vowed to help him out and slowly but surely held him to his word.

Tim hadn't seen Fenton in almost three months, since Steph had started camping out in his office, doing her online classes and keeping an eye on him so Tim couldn't run down the ten floors to IT just to check if Fenton was about. She reminded him that Foley didn't work directly under him and didn't need to have such a close relationship with him, so he limited his interactions with the man as well.

Steph was also the one who held him through his heartbreak. Tim was no cheater, but he was a fool in love with someone who was taken, and it hurt.

It hurt to know that he could never be the one Fenton smiled at, or the one that Fenton lay next to at night, or the one Fenton joked and laughed with, still friends in a marriage.

It hurt to know that a man like Foley, who was sending another "I'm going out with the team for drinks" text as he followed Rico to his car while Tim stood in the lobby watching them go, was the man that Fenton had chosen.

A few minutes go by of him just standing there, thinking of Fenton, all alone, waiting in some living room for a man who didn't even find the effort to call him.

This is stupid. You're being stupid. What does their marriage matter to you? Just go home, Tim. He thinks angrily to himself, opening his umbrella and walking out into the familiar Gotham rain.

The water splashes against the fabric with the same aggression as marbles falling onto concrete. One of Gotham's super storms. He grimaces, gripping the handle harder as he strides down to the dinner at the end of the street.

Despite Tim being able to drive nearly every form of transportation, he had failed to obtain a driver's license, partly due to his secret identity and partly because he was too lazy. As a result, Tim walked everywhere, took the train, or the bus to get around.

He didn't trust people to not kidnap him (attempt to at least), so he never hailed a taxi or used a ride app. Not after it happened five different times. The life of a Wayne could sometimes be too much.

Not that he was willing to walk to the train station or bus stop in this weather.

He'll have a coffee and some food to wait out the rain, but if the storm doesn't improve, he'll have to call the Manor and see if someone can come pick him up.

The door dings when he pushes it through, and a wave of warmth, chatter, and music passes over him. He stops at the stand holding up a sign that reads Please wait to be seated.

He folds his umbrella, shaking out some water, as a waitress comes rushing towards him.

Her hair is falling out a bit from her bun, and she seems a bit stressed, but he can clearly see why. Many people had the idea to hide from the storm in the dining room - not a single table or booth seemed to be free. Even the bar stools were all claimed.

"Hi there!" The waitress greeted with slightly apologetic eyes. "It's going to be a forty-minute wait."

"I don't mind. Can I wait in here?" He smiles, watching her shoulders relax. She must have had someone yell at her today about the wait time. He gets it.

Once he had to go under cover as a waiter himself, and it took every ounce of his Bat training to not throw a tray at some customers' faces. Especially the impatient ones.

"Yeah, of course." The waitress waves to a little area on the side of the door. There are no chairs, and there is barely enough room to stand, but it's better than nothing. "If you give me your name, I can let you know when a table opens up-"

"He can sit with me." A voice interrupts. A familiar voice. Tim's heart leaps in his chest before he can even turn his head in the direction of the man who had spoken.

Daniel Fenton waves at him from one of the tables, smiling widely, over a half-seated plate of pancakes. He's wearing a soft, white, woven sweater, which makes his eyes pop, and his hair is slightly damp, likely from being caught in the rain.

He looks like a painting come to life.

Tim's mouth goes dry.

"Are you okay with that, Sir?" The waitress asks him, but it's Fenton who answers.

"Yeah, of course. I don't think this storm is going to clear any time soon, so I may as well spend it with someone I know." Fenton laughs, and it kicks Tim's brain into action.

"It's fine," He mutters to the waitress who was frowning. "I would be totally fine with sharing that table."

More than fine. Far too fine in fact. The man is married. A voice that sounds a lot like Steph cautions in his head. He ignores it.

"Well, okay then." The waitress leads him to the table, pulling out his seat before handing him a menu she grabbed from the stand at the front. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"Let me guess," Fenton grins, snapping a finger and pointing it at Tim, "A coffee, three creams, two sugars, and a bit of chocolate syrup?"

Surprised, Tim stammers, "Yes, that's right."

Fenton laughs gently before giving the waitress a cheeky little smirk that does horrible things to Tim's already buzzing heart. "He always takes his coffee like that. A creature of habit, you know?"

She flashes a dimple, writing down his drink order. "I'll be back in a few minutes to take the rest of your order."

Tim barely notices her walk away, too captivated by the way Fenton's hair seems to curl slightly when wet. "W-what are you doing here, Mr. Fenton?"

"Tuck and I were supposed to go out for dinner tonight, but he cancelled at the last minute. I got caught in the rain when leaving the lobby, so I figured I may as well have my own dinner." The man reveals casually, as if it were normal for a husband to bail on plans so carelessly.

Tim fights the urge to reach out his hand and place it on Fenton's, wanting to offer comfort in case he was hiding his hurt.

He couldn't stop the words that tumble out of his mouth, though. He winces at the offended tone in his voice. "Your husband cancelled plans on you last minute?"

"Tuck is forgetful. He probably forgot he made plans with me." Fenton shrugs, smile still in place. Tim's stomach flips as the man leans on one hand, attention trained entirely on Tim. "What about you? Why are you here?"

"Hiding from the rain, too. Too heavy to walk home in. "

Fenton frowns. "You don't have a car?"

"I don't have a license." Tim laughs, raising a brow at the disbelief on Fenton's face. "Never bothered to get one. Most people don't in a city, where you can walk or us a bus"

"That's crazy. Back home, everyone had a license. You never get anywhere without one." Fenton reveals.

"You and your husband are from Illinois, right?" Tim hopes Fenton didn't notice how his voice had turned slightly strained on the word' husband'.

"That's right. From the small in the middle of nowhere, Amity Park." Fenton picks up his fork, waving it around slightly. "We have like three restaurants, a small mall, and a park. That's the extent of entertainment, so you've got to drive to do anything. You're not planning on walking in that storm, are you?"

"No, I'll call someone to come pick me up later."

"Nah, that's okay. I'll give you a ride when we finish." Fenton replies easily, stuffing a piece of pancake in his mouth. "I won't take no for an answer. Got nothing better to do anyway."

Tim closes his mouth, having been in the process of denying the offer, and instead raises the menu to hide behind. A flutter goes through his stomach as he realizes that Fenton knows his coffee order because of how often he's seen Tim take it while visiting, and is willing to drive him home.

He doesn't think about Foley. It's a dangerous thing what he does think about, but by the time the waitress comes by to get Tim's order, Fenton has pulled him into a fascinating conversation of old cartoons, and Tim can't find it in himself to care.

Besides, he was only looking. There was nothing wrong with looking.

[last-words-ofashootingstar]

Devour

➾In Which: He's watching. He's drooling. He's so hungry. He's so pent up. He can't decide which way he'd rather devour you.

RATED X. MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY.

❥Jeong Yunho x fem reader

Star's Fairytale July

♡'･ᴗ･'♡genre: yandere, historical fantasy, DEAD DOVE

➯non-con disclaimer: non-con is NOT okay in real life. this is ONLY EVER acceptable in FICTIONAL settings (and even then it's fucked up)

ಠ_ಠwarning/content: a spin on "Little Red Riding Hood", werewolf yunho / red riding hood reader, reader is smart and cautious but not enough, maybe soul mates (you decide lmao), stalking, yunho eats humans + has enhanced speed and strength + has retractable fangs and claws, fangs and claws put to use against reader (no major injuries) and her grandma (nom-nom-nomming on that granny: he eats her off screen), reader implied to be younger than yunho, forced claiming, crazy size difference. ಠ_ಠnon-con to dub-con, marathon, big ol knot, spit (everywhere), biting and hickeys everywhere, yunho is not only a monster but a needy and nasty one, yuyu insane breeding kink, rough + soft, sweaty, cunnilingus, only slight attempts from yunho to make it even a bit bearable at first, forced orgasm, overstimulation + subsequent dumbification, nasty kissing, copious amounts of werewolf cum, pet names: variations of pretty, little, sweet, thing, precious, girl, deer (yes, as in the animal)

➯a/n: someone said "you can always trust star to cook" and i haven't stopped thinking about it since, i hope i cooked well enough for yall to eat this up kkkkk here's the first fairytale, enjoy <3 ➯a/n2: i don't trust the queue not to eat this so im posting it early ! happy july lmaoooo

♡masterlist + navigation ♡

˚⊱like a fairytale⊰˚@m00njinnie @tinyteezer @boxofhyunebuns @ninjakitty15 @binniesbabe @cocostar1117 @raicecakes-and-buldak @scheepsmans @cherrytaesan ₊‧⁺stardust˖⋆ @sousydive @sunnysidesins @onyxmango @devilzliaison @ateezswonderland @queenofdumbfuckery @emilysecresy @kyomiingi @pansexual-and-eating-pancakes @klllerwaifu @seonghwasslytherin @yoonglesbae

18+, MINORS WILL BE EATEN BY WOLVES.

"Are you certain that you remember the path to take?" Your mother fusses over you as she pulls your crimson cloak over your shoulders.

It's the dead of winter, and you're layered up to stay warm on your journey; gloved hands holding your wicker basket tightly.

"Yes, mother. I've been walking it since I was a girl."

"It's been a while, perhaps- yes, perhaps I should just come with you!" You grab her hand as she goes to grab her own coat, smiling reassuringly at her.

"Really," you say with a shrug, "I can make it on my own. You need to stay and tend to the shop. I will be back before long."

She drops her arm with a sigh, nodding slowly, "I shall hold you to that. Don't linger with her too long, you may catch the retched sickness."

"Harsh, mother," you laugh a bit as you pull her into a hug, "I will take good care of her and return home safely."

"You're such a blessing," she smiles, rubbing your back for a moment before pulling back. "Off you get, before you lose the light."

You give her a final smile and head out the door, hearing her yell after you.

"Stay on the path!"

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

The hunger is getting near unbearable.

Nearly as bad as the aching in his knot — begging to swell up and lock into something warm.

Yunho stumbles his way closer to the cleared path. He knows it's dangerous. It's off-limits. Humans would try to kill him if they caught onto his lineage. And in his state; they might even be successful.

But the hunger outweighs the nagging in the back of his head that tells him it's a bad idea.

Game is few and far between with such freezing temperatures. And the more time that passes, the weaker he gets. The less likely he is to be able to catch those pesky rabbits that practically taunt him when they scurry away.

Just his luck that he would start rutting during a hunting dry-spell. He needs more energy than ever — and he needs a mate. He'd been toughing it out for the past few years on his own and his wolf is beyond tired of it.

He crouches down just a bit far away from the path, zoning in on it with his sharp vision.

Nothing. He expected as much. Not a lot of humans would venture out of their villages during weather like this.

But — he hears you.

He hears you before he sees you; his ears practically twitching at the sound of small bells.

Food. Food. Food. His wolf chants.

He leans on his palms, looking up and down the length of the path quickly. Where? Where?

He sniffs the air, already standing up straight the very millisecond he gets a whiff of your scent. Swallowing his gathering saliva; he follows it. Using the trees as cover so you'd never see him coming.

He sees you before you even know he's there.

Wandering at a leisurely but meaningful pace, red hood of your cloak hiding your face from the cold — and from him. The jingling bells are attached to the belt on your waist, sounding off with each of your steps; to ward off predators.

You smart thing, you.

Only, it did the exact opposite with this particular predator.

Food. Food. F-

His eyes can't help but fall to the way your skirts move with every step, every small sway of your hips. His lip twitches upward as his fangs push through his gums, a low snarl coming up his throat that makes you stop in your tracks.

Mate. Mate. Mate. The incessant voice in his mind pounds against his head.

Drool slides out of the corner of his mouth without his knowledge, and he barely has the wits about him to duck when you turn to the source of the noise. He crawls ever closer, silent as a mouse, grinning wide as you reach into your cloak and pull out a small dagger from your hip.

He likes when humans have a little fire in them.

Whether he's fucking them or eating them, he likes it when they put up a little bit of a fight.

Will you drive the knife into him if he sinks his teeth into you? Will you try to crawl away if he mounts you here in the dirt?

He can't decide which one he wants the answer to more. His stomach is praying for food, but his cock is already twitching with undeniable need.

He'll have to watch a little longer.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

You can feel... something watching you as you continue on the path.

You try to look around your surroundings. It's just you and the quiet wilderness; no predators to be seen.

You tuck your cloak behind your knife so you can reach it easier and continue on your way.

It's starting to get colder even as the sun just begins its decent. You still have time to make it to your grandmothers home before dark.

You let your mind wander to her as you keep looking around your surroundings diligently. It's been only a few months since you've seen her, but it does feel like a lifetime. Maybe you'll try again to convince her to move away the home your grandfather build for her. It's not safe to be alone so far away from people.

She's just so stubborn. She doesn't want to leave the last thing left of her late husband. Perhaps —

You stop and look around, smiling to yourself as you see some winter flowers a little off the path. Grandmother would appreciate some.

Yunho watches curiously from the other side of the path, inching ever closer to keep his eyes trained on you as you kneel by a patch of purple flowers; drawing your knife to cut the stems.

Your hood keeps slipping further down your face, and you let out a quiet sigh of annoyance before you pull it down.

He was about to take advantage of your distracted and vulnerable position to ambush you when you move the fabric back from your face. He stills immediately, backing back into the woods.

Smart and pretty. And... soft. Soft, that must be the word he's looking for to describe how you look as you gently handle the flowers.

Smart, pretty, soft.

Just what he likes.

Mate! Mate! Mate! His wolf makes up his mind for him, and he springs into action just as you stand.

He runs as fast and as quietly as he can, and he's clearly efficient because he gets well ahead of you without you ever hearing him.

He slumps himself against the trunk of a tree and sprawls his legs out in front of him, ruffling his hair before he rests his head against the bark.

It takes you a few minutes to reach him. He has his eyes closed, but he can hear your steady footsteps falter as you catch a glimpse of him.

He bites his tongue to stop the smirk that wants to come out as you cautiously grow closer; your heartbeat in his ears like a drum over the silence of the forrest around you.

"Fellow?"

He pulls his eyes open quickly, like he's been awakened, stumbling to stand up. He doesn't miss the way you back up. Such a smart girl you must be. And you have such a sweet voice.

"Are-" You hesitate for a moment as he stands to his full height — much taller than yourself even as you stand a few long strides away. "Are you alright?"

"Oh," he stutters like he doesn't know what to say; looking around. "I fear that... that I might be lost."

"Lost?" You ask slowly, looking him up and down, "how have you gotten lost?" He looks suspiciously put together for someone lost in the woods.

"I was just going for a walk and I seem to have gotten turned around." Wrong. He knows exactly how many steps in what exact direction to take to get home. But first — he has to have you.

You hold the basket a little tighter, your instincts tell you that something is... off about this man.

"Could you tell me which way to the nearest village?" He steps forward slowly and nearly moans at how appetizing you smell up close.

"Uhm," he notes that you don't look away as you point behind you. Smart, smart, pretty human. Not stupid like the others who had the misfortune of turning their back to him. "About... four hours that a'way."

"Four...?" He sighs, digging his hands into his pockets like he's cold. He's anything but. He's burning up with the urge to knot you until you give him pups —

He pauses for real. Pups? He's never thought of that with any other person he's wanted to mount.

Maybe it's your awareness, your intelligence when it comes to survival. You'd be good at protecting pups. You keep your shoulders squared and him in your gaze at all times.

Maybe it's how cute you are. Like a deer caught in a hunters aim, blissfully unaware.

Maybe... how good you look in red? He could imagine you all bloody with the gore of his kills —

"-llo?" You tilt your head, eyeing him with mistrust clear in your eyes.

"F-forgive me, I've been a bit... fuzzy. I'm terribly hungry, I've been on the path for a few days." He eyes you just as intently, with hunger in his.

Your eyes flick for a single millisecond, looking back the way you came. If he hadn't eaten in days, he'll never make it to your village.

He's closer when you look back to him, making you jump. But he doesn't say anything, he doesn't even look like he's moved a muscle despite the obvious shrunken distance between you. You force yourself to brush it off.

"I'm on the way to my grandmothers house... It's a much shorter journey, if you would like to find your footing there? I'm sure she can make something filling for you to eat so you can find your way home."

Perfect. Perfect. Perfect. Eat the grandmother and fuck the girl. Fill your stomach and then fill hers.

"Would you be so kind?" He asks with soft eyes, making you misjudge him. Misleading you into doing so.

Despite your instincts telling you to do otherwise, you nod. "Certainly. It would be disgraceful of me to leave someone out in the cold."

Oh, he will disgrace you in more ways than you can imagine.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

Yunho, as he told you, keeps a respectful distance as you lead the way to your grandmothers house.

Small talk is made, but it doesn't things less... tense.

You really do look like a deer in the way that your muscles tense whenever he gets a little too close. When your eyes widened a bit when his hand brushed against yours and took the basket, insisting he carry it for you — it's the least he can do.

It takes every ounce of his self control not to take you right on the path. He wants to be at his full energy so he can really breed you.

And that's what he's decided will be happening. He will eat your grandmother, take you, and drag you back to his home. You are his now, he's made up his mind.

The more time you spend together, the more he looks forward to having you be his mate. For more than just his rut. For ever.

You are smart. You don't reveal extremely personal information, even when he tries to subtly draw it from you. You keep your cloak out of the way of your daggers handle so you can quickly grab it. You never let him get behind you — never let yourself get in a vulnerable position. If he slows down, so do you.

You offer him some bread, you say you baked it yourself. You can provide. He likes meat much more than anything else, but he takes a bite. It's perfect. Soft and fluffy and just a touch of sweetness. He has to bite back a purr of approval.

He tries to get a glimpse at your body under the bundles of fabric over you, but the most he gets it to see how wide your hips are when you press your hands on them. Gods, he wants to grab them. You'll be perfect to drag over his cock, to birth his children.

His wolf is getting impatient. Howling in pain and annoyance.

Right now? Do it now. Now? Yunho, what are you doing? Fuck her now! Claim! Claim her!

If you notice his silence in the last twenty minutes of the walk, you must attribute it to his tiredness and hunger. You don't even think about the possibility of the man being a werewolf. The possibility that he's keeping his lips sealed so you don't notice his fangs.

He's never felt the urge to breed someone — let alone claim them as a lifelong mate. But you? Oh, you... He's going to. He needs to.

He almost collapses with relief when he sees the small cottage in the distance. It's adorable the way your pace picks up. Not knowing you're bringing along death and chaos with you.

"Nana?" You knock on the door a few times before opening it slowly. "Nana, it's (Y/n)! I've brought some medicine from the village."

"My (Y/n)?" Your grandmother shuffles in with a smile on her wrinkled face. "Oh, I would love to hug you, my little angel! But I do not want to give you the sickness-" Her eyes lock on the man who has to quite literally duck to fit into her front door. "Who is this?"

"Oh, grandmother! This is Yunho, he was on the path, he's been lost for quite some time."

He nods politely. Thanking her for inviting him in, she assumes — but really he's thanking her because he's about to eat her.

Her sickness or age doesn't give him any hesitation. He can't catch human viruses, and he finds that meat all tastes the same regardless of age; as long as it's fresh.

"Here," you turn and pull the basket from Yunho's grasp, giving him a small glare when he doesn't immediately hand it over — it makes him want you even more. "I've brought you some herbal medicine that the doctor says will-"

"Come sit down, you've had a long journey! You too," she points to Yunho, and he can see that your sternness and care must run in the family.

How unlucky for you. He likes the idea of your children having those same traits.

He sits across from you at the small table; your legs brushing against each other. He should just get it over with and rip her throat out, you'll probably appreciate if he makes it quick —

You untie the ribbon on the front of your cloak and reveal what you've been hiding.

He swallows quickly as more drool threatens to spill past his lips.

Your bodice is laced up tight and pressing your breasts together, the smallest sliver of cleavage peeking at him as you lean and pour him a glass of water from the pitcher on the table.

He mumbles a quick, jumbled thank you before downing it all in one gulp. It does nothing to quell his thirst. He's craving other things.

"Here, honey," your grandmother sets a bowl in front of you, and then him. "And you keep your medicine, I'm not long for this world anyways."

"Nana!" You chastise her, the crease of your eyebrows pushing together with your pout making Yunho want to jump over the table and lick your face.

If only either of you knew how true her words were.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

You awake in the night, cold air nipping at your legs as the blanket is removed from your small bed.

Heavy panting from above you hits your face in warm puffs. A drop of something just as warm splats onto your cheek.

The room is illuminated by a flickering lantern, casting the shadow of the man who's straddling your hips down on you like an eclipse.

"Yunho-" You whisper his name groggily, fear blooming quickly in your chest.

"I am a wolf." He admits, fangs in his grin to prove it. "And I ate your grandmother."

Your head snaps to her bed quickly — she is nowhere to be found. "Whe-"

"I picked her up from her bed and I took her outside, I ripped her throat out before she even woke up. Don't worry, she didn't feel a thing." He says it so casually that it's hard to even fathom.

You yelp as he leans down and presses his nose into your neck, inhaling deeply. "Mmm~"

Everything you've ever been told about werewolves runs through your mind, twice over because you don't fully digest it all the first time.

They're human — somewhat.

But they have claws and fangs that hide until they're ready to sink them into their prey. They have heightened senses: eye sight, hearing, taste. Much more complex than any human can even comprehend. They're faster, stronger, they heal quicker.

These better-than humans were masquerading with your species for centuries before they went their separate ways.

Because the wolves realized that human meat is just as good as animal.

"Don't- don't eat me." You force out a plea, and it makes his cock harder.

After his stomach was full and he washed away the blood from his hands and his neck and his teeth — because he knew you'd probably die of fright, and he can't have that — he was crawling over you with one thing on his mind. Breeding you; until you have no choice but to accept him as your mate lest you want a bastard werewolf pup and nobody to care for it.

You'd surely be an outcast in your village once your baby came out with fangs.

After he takes you home, he'll show you just how good of a mate he can be for you. You don't need to go back to your old life — he won't let you.

"I'll do no such thing." He makes his intentions known when he presses his hips down onto you; making your eyes widen. He pulls away from your neck and looks down at you, a wild smile on his lips. "You are like a little baby deer who's been spotted by a hunter."

He grabs your wrist the moment you move for your dagger that you had set on the table beside you.

"It makes me want to fuck you so badly."

You scream as he pulls you up by his grasp on your wrist, fighting against him with all your might and getting absolutely nowhere.

He's glad he ate before he decided to take you, because you put up a hell of a fight for such a small thing compared to him. If he were still weak, you might have slipped away — might have.

"Please! Please, don't do it!" You yell as you dig your socked heels into the hardwood, cursing the cold weather for making you cover up so well because now you can't gain any traction as he pulls you to the open living space and throws you to the floor.

He practically pounces when you go to scramble away, pinning you to your stomach — leaving you completely vulnerable in the position you've avoided all day long; your back to him.

"You smell so sweet..." He hums with another sniff to your neck, "so... fertile. You'll make such a nice mate." His claws slice through the back of your plain shift, making you freeze below him as the sharp nails threaten your skin. "You are so smart and pretty, just perfect to be the mother of my pups." His drool slips past his lips and drops on your naked shoulder, making you jolt in surprise.

You can't even begin to think of what to do, how to make it out of this unscathed. You shake your head quickly as tears start bubbling up in your eyes.

"Yunho-"

He moans loudly as you voice his name, grinding his bulge against your backside and making the tears slip down your face as you feel just how large the man — the wolf is. Not just in his arousal, but all of him. You couldn't fight him off if you put all of your strength and he only put half of his. He basically blankets your body with his own as he rubs against you.

"Please, I- I'm a virgin." You say it too hesitantly, like it's a question. You aren't a virgin — but maybe if you were, he might have some mercy.

He hears the skip of your heart as you lie. "No, you aren't." He presses his hips harder into you, "I can hear when you're lying, little deer... Why don't you tell me the truth?"

You swallow. Your throat is bone-dry. "I'm not- I'm not a virgin but please! Please, have mercy! I don't want to-"

"I will be honest, because I find myself growing fond of you," he plays with the ends of your hair, letting out a soft sigh, "I do not care what you want. Not tonight. Tonight I will breed you even if I have to pin you to the floor to do so. I don't want to hurt such a pretty thing, so please do try to cooperate."

You sob as he turns you over, refusing to look in his eyes — refusing to look in his direction. "You truly are so beautiful... I wonder if our pups will take after you."

You don't miss the way he says 'pups' this time. As in, more than one. As in, he's going to keep you around until you have as many of his babies as he wants. It makes you cry harder, wrapping your arms around yourself quickly when he goes to pull off the ruined fabric of your shift.

"No!"

"Oh," he laughs, "but, yes." He enjoys your fight, but he's growing ever more impatient. He easily shoves your arms away from your chest and pull the ripped dress away from you; leaving you bare and shivering.

A loud, pleased growl rumbles in his throat as he looks you up and down. "Yes, indeed..." He hums, reaching down and unbuckling his belt hastily, "you are perfect."

You can only shake your head, terrified out of your own body as you watch his belt be tossed across the room, as you hear him shuffling with his pants.

The soft whimper of terror you let out as his lips press against your neck nearly has him cumming.

It's been so long since he was with someone else; especially during a rut.

And you truly are perfect for him. Everything he likes — rolled up into one cute, little, human package.

"If you try to run away," he says lowly against your throat, a threat, "I will fuck you dry. This is a gift I am about to give you, so allow it, okay? A small mercy for my little deer before I split you open."

You don't know what he means until he slides down on the floor on his knees and his face meets your exposed cunt.

It does not feel like mercy when he nudges his nose against your slit and takes a deep breath through it — not mercy at all. Humiliation. Even more so when he opens up his mouth; wrapping his lips around you and dragging his tongue everywhere that is meant to be cherished.

He does not cherish. He devours.

And he doesn't mind your loud crying. If anything — it turns him on more. You sound so sweet and vulnerable. It makes him want to do more. It makes him both want to ruin you and protect you all at the same time.

He's already made up his mind that you belong to him. But every small whine and sniffle drives the grip you have on him in deeper. When you wrap your arms around yourself again — both to hide your chest and to comfort yourself — he smiles into your cunt.

It doesn't matter to your body that you don't want this. His forced and unwanted licks are making your gut turn with something so disgustingly needy. He knows where to lap to make you at least semi-ready for his girth — he thinks 'semi' because he knows he doesn't have the lenience to stretch you out with anything more than his tongue.

His wolf is already howling for him to hurry; to fuck you fast and hard until you cling to him for any sense of stability while he rearranges your guts.

He closes his eyes, willing himself to ignore the noisy voice in the back of his head as he enjoys the taste of you; dipping his tongue inside of you and making you choke on your tears. "S-stop!" You writhe, getting your hips caught in his clawed hands quickly as he hums disagreeingly.

He could eat you out for hours. He doesn't have the time for that, though. Not when he's rutting and desperate to claim you. So he stays for just a few minutes while you kick your legs feebly, crying for him to stop.

"Plea- Get it over with!" You slide your hands to your face, uncaring as your breasts expose themselves to him.

He gives one final, overly aggressive slurp before sitting up. "You really should be saying thank you," he groans while moving his sharp grip to your thighs, spreading them wide. Using all of his excessive drool, he spits right onto your cunt and earns himself a particularly loud whimper of embarrassment from you. "Now you're all wet, it won't hurt... as much."

He knows he's big, all werewolves are. They aren't meant to breed with humans so eagerly — but he can't help himself.

"I ca-" He stops himself as he looks up to you, "move." He gathers your wrists in one of his hands when you make no move to reveal yourself. Pinning them above your head while he moves up to position his hips to yours, "I can't promise I'll be gentle, but I will try to go slow at first. I cant hurt my little deer too badly~"

When you feel him lining himself up with his other hand, you sob somehow even harder. "Yunho! Yunho, wait! Please, y-"

"Shhh, just try to relax, pretty girl," he hums half-heartedly, looking down as he rubs his cock head against you. "Spread your legs further, it will hurt less."

He doesn't know why he bothers to try and make you even a little comfortable. If he were doing this to anyone else — when he did do this to anyone else — he never cared. He'd already be buried inside of you if you weren't so... you.

They were just a means to an end.

You are his mate.

You do the opposite instinctively when he breeches you, only to find it a million times more painful and immediately spread your legs. "You're hurting me!" You scream as though it isn't obvious by your tears and your squirming.

"I know, sweet thing," he says before he licks his lips, his grip tightening on your wrists, "you will grow used to it."

Whether he means the pain or his painful girth, you don't know. You wish he'd keep his mouth shut as he leans over you, whispering through a moan, "you will learn to love it. To love me."

"No-"

His mouth is too hot. Too soul-consuming as he presses it to yours. As he moves against your lips frenziedly. His tongue invading your mouth makes you gag with disgust, makes you twist and turn under him until you realize how badly that hurts.

He's still shoving deeper as he pulls back from the messy affair, gripping your waist tightly. He slides the hand on your wrist up a bit and lets you grab at it; lets you dig your nails in.

It's really taking everything in him not to hurry along and have his entire length inside of you. You're so tight and nearly searing hot around him.

He goes to speak, but it comes out as a low growl; his fangs catching the low light. "Fuck," he breathes, grabbing onto your waist with both of his hands now. His impatience has won. "Scream, cry, throw a fit, I don't care what you do — you're going to take it."

You do scream. You do cry. When he slams his hips the rest of the way to meet yours; your body reacts before you do — slapping him across the face as the stinging pain makes you blank out for a few moments.

And his reaction is the opposite of what you expect after you both realize what you did.

He starts pounding into you, dragging you into his wild hips by his grip on your sides; his claws pricking your skin.

He knew you had some fight in you. It's cute almost, like the rest of you. How you thought a measly slap would deter him from breeding you.

Your arms fall heavy next to you defeatedly, your sobbing making it hard to breathe properly as he fucks the air straight out of you with each mean strike of his hips against yours. Your screams turn into pained gasps and whines, a pout permanently affixed to your lips when they aren't parted to allow you to intake some air.

A pout so precious that it makes Yunho's heart flutter even as he pounds the life out of your poor cunt. His chest rumbles with a pleased growl as he lolls out his tongue and begins lapping at your face even as you try to turn it away.

"Mine." You swear you hear him moan between his messy licks. His hands paw their way up your chest, groping your breasts for a moment before he suddenly leans over you completely and places his hands atop your head; essentially hugging your face to his chest.

"Mine. My mate. All. Fucking. Mine."

You wail into his chest as he gives a punctuating slam with each word before something warm and creamy spreads inside of you. When your frazzled brain pieces together that it's his cum — you almost feel relieved. He's done.

His weight nearly crushes you as he slumps on top of you, grinding his hips into yours slowly. He touches something so deep and personal that it finally makes your hands move again, grabbing onto his back with a yelp from the sharp sensation.

"P-pull out," you plead, "please, you need to- to pull out." Because your body is beginning to betray you again.

"No," he laughs breathily, "not happening, sorry, precious. I have waited far too long for the perfect mate. I will breed you until sunrise."

You don't know if that's even physically possible, how one being could have so much stamina; it doesn't seem like it.

But he starts his in-and-out again, slower this time. You hate this pace even more than the rough and fast one — because this one feels all too intimate as he slowly drags along your abused walls; almost as a soft massage after his brutalizing ways.

"S-stop!" You beg with more urgency as a heat trickles up your spine. "You have- you need to stop!"

He not only hears your heartbeat now, he can feel it pulse around his cock. "Mmm-mm," he moans to say 'no' as he props himself up on his elbows, looking down at you. He can see the spark of panic in your eyes, not because you're still afraid — although you undoubtedly are — but because, "you starting to feel good, little deer?"

"Never," you shake your head quickly, attempting to shove his face away when he starts licking your face again. He slams your hand back down to the floor and laces his fingers with yours, a large smirk on his lips.

"Why deny it, precious? If your body wants to feel good, let it feel good. It's only natural between mates~"

"I am not your mate," you cry quietly as he continues his torturously gentle rhythm.

"You are," he hums after licking a fat stripe along your cheek; savoring the saltiness of your tears. "You are," he says more firmly, squeezing your hand, "look at where you are. Below me, dripping with my seed, taking my cock and enjoying it too~ You are my mate, and I will not tolerate you saying otherwise."

He sits up, digging his length deeper in the process and making you whine. He holds your hand still, resting them over your hip, as his free hand slips further down. Another loud rumble of satisfaction comes from the back of his throat when you squeeze his hand tightly, begging him not to do what you think he's going to —

But he does it anyway; he plays with your clit. You screw your eyes shut quickly, trying to take yourself anywhere but here. You can't. His hips rolling into you is too... pleasant. His touch is too sweet.

One last time, you try, "please, don't make me... Be rough instead, I beg."

"Why would I do such a thing when you look so gorgeous right now?" He chuckles, "don't worry, you will get your fair share of rough before the night is over, sweet deer. But I can tell you like it like this," he emphasizes with a slightly more pressurized swirl over your clit. "And I want my mate to have some pleasure, I am not a monster."

He is. He is a monster. That's what you tell yourself over and over again to try and make your body quit acting like this is even remotely okay.

"Do not humiliate me like this." And it is humiliating, even though there is no one around for hours in any direction. You feel ashamed of your own body, getting pleasure from a werewolf who's eaten someone you loved and taken advantage of your kindness.

"Why should you be humiliated?" He spits down on his length before pushing it back inside of you leisurely. He doesn't need to. His cum is more than enough lube, and you're growing wetter by the second despite your internal conflicts. But he wants to, and so he does. He has zero interest in holding back his desires — unlike your pesky human brain holding onto all of the societal pressure, all of the shame. He can fuck that out of you, though, he knows it.

He usually hates slow. Even when he jerks himself off; it's hard and fast.

But you look so perfect as he stretches you out over and over again with an unhuried and tender pace. He can see every twitch in your face, feel every small clench that you immediately force yourself to relax, hear every shallow and shaky breath you take. Your bottom lip starts trembling in its permanent pout.

"It's meant to feel good," he says, practically purring as he watches your fight dissolve second by second while he pushes you closer to something you don't want. But you're going to take it anyway; he's going to make you.

"I'm the only person you'll ever be with again, so why feel embarrassed? If I'm not the one who's going to make you cum, it won't be happening at all. So, if I were you," he spits onto your clit and rubs it in, "I'd learn to enjoy it sooner, rather than later."

"I h-hate you," you curse as your back arches against your own will, your hips trying to lean into his touch.

"Not for long, little deer," he smiles as he tilts his hips, pressing against something that makes your face hot the second he grazes it, "not for long~"

You let go of his hand, with a bit of struggle because he doesn't want to let you, and slam both your hands over your mouth — because you can no longer hold back your sounds. And you do not want to give him the satisfaction.

It doesn't matter how hard you try to hide your noises; his sensitive ears catch onto them. And they're so much sweeter than your screams. They send a shiver down his spine and a jolt of arousal to his cock. He finds out quite quickly that he enjoys making you feel good — even if you don't want him to.

"I want you to cum," he pants out softly, reversing the direction of the small circles he makes on your clit and making you groan behind your hands. "Cum, and I will stop."

He will not stop. But he will give you a break. Because he knows you will please him greatly as you climax on his girth.

"You will?" You ask hopefully. It almost breaks his heart to lie to you. But you'll come around. You'll have no choice but to.

"Yes, sweet thing," he nods, spitting again onto your cunt to make use of all of his drool.

You don't trust him, not one bit. However, you're at your breaking point. Both physically and mentally.

You let yourself cum. It's so intense that you don't even feel his teeth sinking into your shoulder. Your entire body trembles and — needing something to ground you — you hug him tightly.

And it feels like heaven to him. Filling you up with another round of hot cum as you shake beneath him, as you clench and flutter around his cock, as you hold him. And all while he sinks his teeth into your shoulder and claims you as his.

You only feel it when you come down from your high, a dull ache in your shoulder in your otherwise buzzing body. He licks at it softly, practically radiating joy as he soothes over it with his tongue.

"Mh," he moans softly as he sniffs the air; your scent now mingling deeper with his, "much better~"

He leans up and peers down at you with a toothy grin that makes you shiver. "No more tears, sweet girl," he hums while swiping them off your cheeks with his thumbs, his claws thankfully retracted. "You are all mine, just as it should be."

"W-" You heave, lungs begging for air as your body starts burning up all over again — fiercer than before, "what did you do?"

"I claimed you." He says simply, giving a single, harsh thrust that makes you moan — loudly. His smile turns darker, more lustful. "Now we can really have pups together, and your body knows it~"

He can see the confusion brewing up in your tearful eyes, and he explains as he trails his hands down your neck to your chest, "now that you bear my mark, we have a better chance of breeding together. Especially since you're a human — it's a connection beyond the physical. Do you feel it?"

Unfortunately — yes.

Your body is begging for him with such intensity that your mind can't help but follow, can't help but search for relief. But you won't admit that. Not yet, at least. You're still deathly ashamed.

You grip the fabric on his sleeves, finally looking at him. You only get to do so for a split second; because when your eyes meet his, he starts thrusting into you mercilessly — your eyes rolling back as he repeatedly glides along your g-spot. "Please!"

And it doesn't sound like your regular pleadings for him to stop. No, not like those at all.

"Yunho, I need you!"

There it is.

He'd have bitten you sooner if he knew this is how you'd react. Bucking your hips into his and clinging to his sleeves and crying his name so saccharine-like.

"Don't you worry, precious," he growls as he buries his face in your neck, kissing and licking wildly. "I will take care of you~"

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

How long have you been in this position? How long has Yunho been fucking you into the cold floor?

You can hardly feel your legs, your shoulders are aching from laying on the hardwood, your hips are practically numb from being pounded against it.

Your neck and shoulders are covered with love-bites and bruises. There's a puddle of cum beneath you.

Your body is still burning hot, and you can't think of a single reason to explain how or why. You've came four times by now — five? You don't think you were ever keeping track to begin with.

And Yunho is showing no signs of slowing down.

His hands slip a bit as he readjusts his grip on your sweaty waist, a low moan leaving his lips as he pulls you into him. "Fuck-" He groans from his place nuzzling your abused neck, "want to stay inside you forever~"

You whine softly, voice raw from all of the moaning and screaming of before. Not because his words — his words don't bother you anymore; in fact, you don't see the problem with anything he says. You whine because you keep slipping further away on the floor; slick with your sweat.

"Yunho-" Your soft call of his name gets the response it always does — a low, content growl and a few particularly rough slams of his hips which make you see stars. "T-" The words die quickly on your tongue, unable to think of anything other than how fucking fantastic his cock feels inside of your overly wet cunt.

"What, pretty girl?" He asks gently, like he isn't still using your hole like a personal toy.

"Need- to move," you pout up at him as he comes up from your neck, "please?"

For once, he listens to your begging. He slows his hips to a stop, grinding against you. "Why?" He doesn't want to pull out for even a second, so he hopes you don't actually have a good reason.

"M'hurting," you sigh as you fidget below him, "and sliding away."

He can't help but chuckle a little bit. You do have a point; you've been against the hard ground for about two hours now and he's had to keep his grip tighter and tighter as time went on.

His wolf is begging not to pull out; to just knot you here and now. But he knows he still has more pent up energy, more cum to fuck into you before he finally knots you.

And the flustered and embarrassed way you ask for a different position makes his heart skip a beat.

"Hm," he leans and pecks your lips as he slowly pulls out, "okay, sweet thing."

You clench around him at the nickname, and he just about slams back into you before he stops himself. "Fuck, you can't do that to me," he chuckles breathlessly as he finally slides out.

"Sorry," you stutter, breathing much heavier than him although he was the one making all of the brutal movements.

A small wave of cum floods out of you, his cock twitching as he watches. "Gods, look at you~ Such a perfect little mate..."

You whine as he helps to sit you up, your body aching with protest. "Be gentle..." You whisper, fully expecting the opposite to come.

"My delicate little deer," he smiles — one so soft and tender that you can't help but lock onto it. "Can you even stand?"

You brace yourself on your hands and try to push yourself up, falling right back down with a quiet cry.

"Aw, yeah, I didn't think so," he laughs a bit, wrapping his arms around you, "come on, pretty girl, I will help you." He's gentle. Holding you like a porcelain doll.

You latch your arms around his neck, whimpering as he lifts you to your feet. He could easily carry you, take all of your weight off your weakened legs, but he doesn't. Not yet.

He looks down at you, smile still on his lips. "Let me see," he hums, tilting your head to the side to get a good look at the mark on your shoulder; still supporting you with one arm around you.

He had opened his jaw so wide that only half of the wound is visible from the front. The other half on the back. He could have bitten an entire chunk of your shoulder out. But he didn't.

The angry bite mark is just a nibble — a token of his affection.

"And to think I was going to eat you," he giggles, tracing just around the edges. "How stupid that would have been of me~"

What response you might have had is stolen away as he leans down and kisses you; all tongue and lust. He cups your neck softly, angling you to better slot his mouth with yours.

You don't gag this time, but you don't move to kiss him back. Not at first. You grab onto his sweater tightly as you wobble, a soft moan breaking in your throat as he traces your tongue with his.

Your tongue twitches with a mind of its own, extending a bit to give him better access. It's his turn to moan now.

He pulls back, guiding your mouth back open when you go to close it. "Open," and when you do, he spits onto your tongue; making you jolt. He pushes your jaw closed gently while you're dazed, and you swallow without thinking.

"What a good fucking girl," he grins like a madman, yanking you up off your feet before you know what's happening — placing you in your small bed. "My good girl." He licks up your stomach as he straddles you, climbing up slowly. "Mh... You're so adorable when you shiver."

You hadn't even noticed you were shivering until he said something. Your sweat growing cold as your heartbeat slowly evens out and making the winter air that seeps in even colder.

"But I can't have you freezing to death, now can I?" He pulls his large sweater off, leaving him naked from the waist up and his cock pulled out of his pants — which are ruined with cum and arousal.

He shushes you softly when you whine, your body aching as he lifts your torso to help you pull it on. It drowns you, as does his scent that wafts off of it. Like the Earth sprinkled in cinnamon. It's oddly... comforting.

"Fucking hell," he chuckles in disbelief, "how do you keep getting even cuter?" He kisses you again before you can think of an answer, even though it was probably rhetorical. It's just a small peck this time, as he slides your legs to dangle off either side of the bed. "You are only ever allowed to wear my clothes. Mine or you go naked, I'm okay with either."

"Are-" You stop yourself. You don't know if you want the answer to the question on your mind.

"Hm?" He hums as he lines himself up again, scrambling your brains as he slides into you quickly.

"A-are you really going to- to keep me?" The words taste a bit sour on your tongue, but the sweetness of his soft thrusts overpowers it. You can't think of a better way to word it.

"Of course, I am," he says without hesitation. "You are my mate." He slides his hands up your thighs tenderly, rubbing your sore hips as he stills deep inside of you. "Do you doubt me, little deer?"

"Why me?" You swallow thickly, hands hesitating before resting over his.

"I like you." He offers simply, before he realizes you probably want more of an answer than that. "You are pretty, and more than that, you are smart. I like that. You can take good care of our pups. And... you look nice in red. It's my favorite color."

You stare up at him, dumb-founded. "Wh-"

"Don't worry your pretty head about it, sweet thing," he kisses your head before he begins moving inside of you again; shutting you up and knocking the thoughts from your brain.

He can't really explain it. It's definitely more than what he said — but how could he put into words that he feels drawn to you like a moth to a flame or a predator to a defenseless prey? That he would very well hunt you to the ends of the Earth if you try to leave? That he wants to kill anyone who's ever touched you? That he wants to provide for you and have you provide for his pups?

He would just sound insane.

Humans don't understand that werewolves instincts go further than they can comprehend. Sometimes they just know.

And he knows.

"Yunho!" Your scream pulls him from his thoughts, realizing that he's digging his nails into your hips so hard that he's drawing blood as if he were using his claws.

"Sorry," he breathes, leaning and kissing you shakily, the smell of your blood making him drool right into your mouth. He rests his forehead against yours, never slowing in his pace, "I'm sorry, precious. I just want to knot you so bad..."

The flash of confusion in your eyes makes him excited. "Fuck, fuck!" He grits his teeth as his fangs expose themselves, letting go of you so he doesn't do more damage as his claws do the same. They slice into the pillow under your head as he grips it tightly. "You sweet, sweet girl," he growls as he hooks a leg over yours, pounding deeper, "you have no idea~"

You don't. And you can't think of what he might mean because you're too busy cumming on his length when he prods all new spots inside of you.

You wrap your arms around him tightly as he lays over you, trembling as he fucks you through and past your peak. You've learned quickly that he won't stop just because you've came. He doesn't give you a moment of rest.

You cry into his chest. Not because of pain or fear this time. Because your cunt is about to reach its limit and you still aren't satisfied.

Something deeper than sex is going on, and you don't have even the slightest amount of brain power to try and figure it out.

He didn't tell you that you won't be satisfied until he is as well. He didn't tell you that him claiming you meant a little piece of his soul is yours now.

A wolf sinking their teeth into something without killing it is a most intimate affair. That's why he's never done it. He always bites to kill. He never wanted anyone to survive a bite from him.

Anyone but you.

He's never wanted to breed anyone but you either. "It will frighten you at f-first," he stutters as he feels his knot swelling up slowly, "but you will take it, yes?"

Although you don't know what you're agreeing to — if you even really have a say is more than debatable — you nod into his chest quickly, clinging to him.

"Good." He balls up his hands, hiding his claws in his fists before he wraps his arms around your shoulders and holds you just as tightly.

You yelp in shock as he bottoms out, a slightly larger round thickness at his base stretching you out. Before you can move, before you can think — it grows. Slow and steadily.

Your jaw drops. Both in disbelief and relief; because you're thrown over the edge of your pleasure and you finally feel satisfied.

Because he's satisfied. Stretching you to your limit and then some. Making sure none of his cum can possibly seep out before he lets go with a shiver and a loud moan and fills you up.

You can't do anything other than hug him, clutching his back like a lifeline.

He lets out a small growl before all but collapsing on top of you, panting heavily and squeezing you to his chest when you fidget. "Stay. Still." He warns, "unless you want another round after my knot goes down."

Considering that this round has lasted, at the very minimum, three hours; you stay still. You can feel your heartbeat in your stretched and sore cunt, and you bet he can too.

He can. And it gives him a sense of calm as it slows down to a steady thump. You're relaxing. With something so inhuman and strange buried inside of you that's attached to someone who's done unspeakable things to you — you're relaxing in his arms.

You try to convince yourself it's because of the physical exhaustion. But then he places a kiss to your head.

And you know it's not.

Because something in the back of your mind says; 'mate'.

· · ─ ·DEVOUR· ─ · ·

[gojoest]

diaper duty! — gojo satoru

part of papatoru days

the one where your husband fumbles through his first diaper change

a/n: posting this real quick before i dip again, bye

brrrrt

It’s the sound that comes first.

You and Satoru exchange a look, and then simultaneously turn toward the bassinet where your baby had been soundly sleeping just moments ago.

A second later, the smell hits — your baby just did what most babies do. Filling her diaper.

“Was that her?” Satoru blinks, slightly amused.

You nod. “Well, who else could it be?”

And, as if responding to your conversation, your little one chimes in with a delighted chuckle.

“Don’t babies usually cry when they make a mess?” Satoru questions, pinching his nose.

“Seems like she’s already taking after you… being all smug after pulling off something mischievous”, you snort.

“Well, what can I say — she’s my girl, after all”, Satoru grins.

You grab a clean diaper and head over to the bassinet with Satoru trailing behind, baby wipes in one hand and a bottle of cream in the other. Setting the fresh diaper aside, you gently lift your baby and lay her on the changing table. She’s still all smiles, that little troublemaker, very much basking in the mess she’s made.

Glancing over your shoulder, you ask, “Want to give it a try?”

“Can I?”

“You’ll have to get used to it”, you say, stepping aside. “When I’m not around, you’ll have to deal with it yourself. And by the way — no, you can’t call Ijichi for that too. He’s already juggling enough of your petty requests.”

You do feel a little bad for Ijichi, but it’s hard to deny how helpful he’s been. Satoru hasn’t left your side since you got discharged from the hospital after giving birth to your beautiful daughter, and with the baby still too small for outings, someone has to run out for supplies. You’re not quite ready to be alone with her (or worse — leave her with your chaotic husband). Not just yet. So naturally, the errands fall to Ijichi — your husband’s go-to errand runner.

“But—”

“No buts!” you cut him off with a smirk. “Come on now, your turn.”

Satoru carefully approaches — with baby steps, literally. He’s already fake gagging as he slowly begins to unwrap your little one, calling her “tiny stink ball” and whatnot under his breath. But among all of his ridiculous dramatics, that soft smile tugging at his lips and reaching his eyes tells you that he’s very much enjoying this.

And so is your daughter. She’s still giggling and kicking her tiny feet in delight, making her father’s first attempt at diaper duty a little more chaotic than expected.

“Yeah? You’re having fun there, huh, princess?” Satoru coos, gently trying to keep her still. “Remember this, alright? Because when you grow up and start talking back to me, calling me uncool and lame, I’m going to remind you exactly who wiped your butt when you were blowing it up like this.”

You can’t help but chuckle. Watching your husband in this moment, you think how precious he looks right now and how different from the figure the world knows. You wonder if the curses that cower at the mention of his name or the unbearable higher-ups would find this sight as endearing as you do and maybe cut him some slack so he can forever be this lovely and silly man by your side. Gojo Satoru, the strongest sorcerer, fumbling his way through a diaper change... Or pacing the house after feedings while holding your daughter to his chest, trying to coax out a burp. His shirt stained with little spots of baby spit… It’s so far from the polished image he presents to the world, and yet… so perfect.

“Fatherhood kind of suits you, you know?” you say, a smile tugging at your lips as you watch his hands tremble while he gently wipes the baby clean.

“Kind of?” he glances over at you, letting out a fake gasp. “Only kind of? I’m offended…” he pouts. “I think I’m doing a stellar job here. I deserve more credit than that.”

“Right”, you laugh. “If you manage to get her to sleep too, I might even give you a reward for being the most perfect husband and father in the world.”

He smirks at you, eyes gleaming, and then turns back to the baby. “You hear that, little one? Papa’s on a mission now and the prize sounds very promising. So be a good girl and help me out, okay?”

[neeeooon]

Can I request a pt 4 of your parents walking in on u, but with ness, otoya, and karasu?

yes!! pt 1-3 are in the FULL bllk masterlist 🩵 (karasu’s is in pt 2 here!)

when your parents walk in on you pt 4

bf bllk x gn!reader. suggestive, 16+! cussing, no smut but minors proceed w caution (biting in kurona’s)

alexis ness

-> poor boy was already a flustered mess at the thought of being alone with you for the first time, and now with you looking at him like that?

-> “y/n.. your parents…” “aren’t here,” you drawled as you leaned closer and connected your lips to the side of his neck. “do you want me to stop?” “no!”

-> you were sat between his legs on your bed, playing with the helm of his long-sleeve shirt. you’d dropped all the hints to get ness over—parents are home, we’ll be alone, wear something easy to remove—but he looked up at you with eyes so innocent you doubt he processed any of it

-> sighing, you leaned forward and pressed your chest against ness’s, causing him to fall back against your mattress. you smiled and kissed his lips. “you’re blushing really hard right now.” he stammered uselessly for a reply

-> you went to kiss him again when your door was suddenly thrown open. “my goodness, honey, your father is such a—oh! hello!”

-> jumping off of your boyfriend, you stared wide-eyed at your mother. “mom! hi! what are you doing here?” “your father annoyed me so i thought we could go shopping. is this the boy? oh, good job, dear. he’s so cute! come with us, alexis, so i can get to know you!”

otoya eita

-> he has the most careless hands that wander like nobody’s business

-> “eita. my parents will be here at 9.” “that’s so far away,” he whined as he leaned in to kiss you. you pointed at the time. “it’s 8:50.” otoya pressed his lips to the underside of your jaw and sighed. “a lot can happen in 10 minutes…”

-> unfortunately for you, he knew exactly how to work those wandering hands, and you were putty in his palms. otoya had you undressed in seconds, littering kisses across your skin and making you sigh

-> unfortunately for you both, your parents were the type to arrive early. otoya had just wiggled out of his shirt when your door opened, and he had the decency to toss his shirt at you before hiding beside the bed

-> “mom!” you screamed, flushed from head to toe as you hurried to pull otoya’s shirt on. “knocking?!”

-> your mother was too shocked to speak. she opened and closed her mouth several times before clearing her throat. “i… didn’t see anything. your boyfriend was helping you clean. right?” both you and otoya nodded. “right!”

kiyora jin

-> you invited your boyfriend over to play video games and attempt to cook dinner together while your parents were out of town. you didn’t think much of it, just that it would be nice to hang out with him without your helicopter parents texting and calling every two seconds

-> they were being surprisingly quiet, so you took the chance to snuggle up with kiyora after several rounds of just dance. you had step it up on the tv, but neither you nor your boyfriend were watching

-> “door locked?” he asked as you climbed into his lap. “yes. and they’re location still shows that they’re still out of town. we should be safe.”

-> lies. you were just about to jump into something with you boyfriend when the front door jingled

-> you both looked up, too surprised to scramble apart, as your parents walked in. your father dropped his briefcase. your mother clutched her pearls. you were ready for a natural disaster to come and split your house in two

-> “y/n?!” you fixed your hair and subtly tossed a blanket over kiyora’s lap as you stood to greet them. “it looks bad, but i was only about to braid his hair. i promise!” “grounded. for life.” “huh?!”

kurona ranze

-> kurona was surprisingly calm when it came to meeting your folks for the first time. he told you it’s because he can’t change who he is, so it they dislike him, so be it. it won’t change how he feels about you

-> you hated how melty that got you at his “declaration”

-> the two of you were cuddled in bed—playing games on the switch, limbs tangled together. kurona poked a faint bite mark on your collar when your shirt rode down. “chomp chomp.”

-> you giggled and nipped at his fingers. “i like it. makes me think of you. i want more.” he blinked up from his game. “more?”

-> a startled mix between yelp and laugh slipped past your lips when kurona bit where your collarbone faded into your shoulder and worked his way around your chest. it tickled more than hurt, and you loved the blooming spots his sharp teeth left indented in your skin

-> kurona just made his sixth when your door suddenly opened. you both looked up to find your father standing there, rubbing his forehead in disappointment. “is this a new kink thing i’m not aware of?” “oh my god, dad! get out!” “yeah, yeah. just don’t break any skin. do you know how dirty the human mouth—“ you threw a pillow at the door and he locked your door before closing it

[sereia4skz]

Hi Yaya!! I hope you're not too busy with many requests and I hope you're okay! I wanted to ask for something with poly!skz where they all go to a festival of some sort and perhaps they end up walking too much and reader (who has some back problems), ends up being barely able to walk, and the guys are, worried but also help them out? I don't know how much sense this makes, if this is too detailed im sorry! Feel free to delete this, no worries!

drabble | we got you

pairing: poly!straykids x reader

genre: comfort

warnings: back problems magggi

word count: ~600

masterlist: A-Side (texts) | B-Side (written)

The festival had seemed like the perfect idea. Colorful lights, late spring air, music and laughter echoing between vendor booths. You were surrounded by the boys, arms bumping, hands held, too many snacks being passed around, Jeongin nearly choking on cotton candy after Hyunjin made him laugh too hard.

It was perfect. At first.

But you’d been walking for nearly four hours now. The cobblestone paths and uneven terrain of the fairground were doing no favors for your back. You’d tried to keep pace, tried to ignore the slowly tightening ache that always crept up your spine when you pushed too far.

Now, each step feels heavier. Your lower back burns. You're trying to stay in the conversation, to laugh at Changbin’s joke about Minho’s tragic attempts at the ring toss, but your smile falters as your body protests louder.

It’s Felix who notices first. You didn’t even realize you’d slowed until his hand gently brushes your arm. His brow furrows when he catches the way you’re favoring one leg, your weight shifting oddly.

“Hey, love,” he says softly, leaning closer so the others don’t hear just yet. “You hurting?”

You hesitate. But he sees right through it, because he knows. Because he’s been there too, wincing after too long in a chair, groaning about muscle tension that won’t quit. His voice lowers even more.

“Your back?”

You nod. It’s barely noticeable, but his expression softens immediately.

“Okay. I got you.” He turns around and gestures discreetly for the others. One by one, they slow down and fall into step near you and Felix.

“What’s going on?” Chan asks, and you can tell he already knows something’s wrong.

Felix answers for you. “Her back’s flaring up. It’s getting bad.”

You’re quick to shake your head. “I didn’t wanna ruin anything. We’re having fun, I just-”

“Sweetheart,” Minho says, and the word alone makes you pause, “you don’t have to push through pain to be with us. That’s not how this works.”

“I’m fine, really-”

“No, you're hurting,” Chan says, his voice gentle but firm. “That matters. You matter. Come here.”

Before you can argue again, Seungmin’s already pulling off his flannel to lay over Changbin’s arms, who’s crouched down in front of you.

“Hop on,” Changbin grins. “Piggyback time. We’ll switch off when I get tired.”

“Guys, no, it’s too much,”

“It’s really not,” Hyunjin chimes in, brushing hair from your face. “You’d do it for any of us.”

“Felix literally made us carry him halfway through Lotte World last year,” Jeongin says with a smirk. “We owe you.”

Felix gasps, clearly offended. “That was different, I had a flare-up and you dropped me!”

“You kissed my neck!” Jeongin defends himself, while Han just cackles behind him.

Laughter bubbles up from your chest despite the ache. You blink rapidly, eyes stinging for a reason that has nothing to do with pain.

“You guys are ridiculous,” you murmur.

“We’re yours,” Chan replies, and that silences the chaos for a heartbeat.

“You can let us take care of you,” Felix adds. “You’re not weak for needing help. You’re strong for letting us love all of you.”

And just like that, you melt.

Changbin carries you first. His arms are solid, his teasing gentle as he makes exaggerated sound effects with every step to get you to laugh. Hyunjin takes over next, spinning in slow circles when the line for food stalls gets too long. When it’s Chan's turn, he presses his cheek against your shoulder and whispers how proud he is of you for speaking up, even if you didn’t say a word.

Eventually, you end up nestled on a bench between Seungmin and Chan while the others grab snacks and warm drinks. Felix stays next to you, knees touching, his hand squeezing yours every so often.

Your back still aches. But it’s different now. Softer. More manageable.

taglist: @diekleinesuesse @tillaboo @felixsonlyrealwife @geni-627 @skz8riley @lezleeferguson-120 @pixie-felix @headfirstfortoro @alnex05 @baby-stay92 @encoredesires @androgynouscrownorbit @channiesluvrclub @my-neurodivergent-world @chims-dimple @bookswillfindyouaway @stellasays45 @angel-writes-skz-here @m-325 @0sunshinecryptid0 @beal-o @hug4helios @oksullen @rileylovescats @dreamyfelixx @yxna-bliss @turtledove824 @enhacolor @skzz0213 @hannahlue @purplelady85 @velvetmoonlght @inishij @bangchanspineapple @straykids4lifeee @peskybirdysya @gnabsss

taglist pt2: @zayn-210 @wolfhallows4 @katsukis1wife @sammhisphere

[cruise-in-your-glow-bus]

Spare prompts you say!

Creature coded Perpetua trying to court/flirt with a Sister of Sin but uhhhh he keeps accidentally scaring her. 😅

Don't know if its up your alley but I can't stop thinking about it.

He just wanted to give her a gift why is she jumping back in shock!?

Poor him, he doesn't know its an unusual thing to give!

What do women like?

V waits until his brother is well asleep to sneak into his new office, so overstuffed and golden-yellow it shines like the sun itself, typing in his request to the strange device and wincing as the too-bright screen returns a list of results.

There’s not much about being a human being that he instinctively understands, and what he does understand is so contradictory it hardly helps at all. The world is too bright, but the stage lights feel comforting. The sounds around him are too loud, but behind the snug fit of his in-ear monitors, the pulse of the beat rings throughout his marrow. People say one thing, then do another, but music is his constant.

And there is (as there always is, in times of emotional turmoil) a woman who has caught his eye, one who makes him pine, and yearn, and anguish, and yes, even step outside of his comfort zone.

Hence: The computer. The box full of answers. The oracle, his very salvation.

V reads the results and devours them, making a list of objects and ideas. Surely this will help him. Surely, even though his own language fails, this beautiful woman - so lovely, so bright-eyed and happy, with a smile that makes him want to fling himself off the roof of the bell tower and a laugh that makes him want to dig his way back to whatever hell he was drug out of in the first place - will understand what it is he means to convey.

Attempt #1 - Women Like Flowers

V waits for her with his hand wrapped around his gift, palm sweaty, dirt scattering on the marble floor. This is the best of the flowers in the gardens, because only the very best will suffice to show his admiration to her. Yet when she approaches (he’d know her voice anywhere; he hears it in his dreams) he only sees her eyes widen when he jumps out from the shadowed alcove. The scream she makes… she screams at him; he’s frightened her. Panic rushes in like the tide, and he hastily shoves the uprooted azalea bush at her before running away.

Conclusion - Women Like Flowers, but she does NOT.

Attempt #2 - Women Like Chocolates

V reconsiders. Though it nearly crushes him, he summons his courage travel into the nearby town during an early summer market day. Under a black parasol he slinks from tent to tent, looking for his quarry. There are baskets of summer fruits, which he buys, because he himself enjoys them. There are vendors selling wood-sculpted objects, things made of old forks and hubcaps, stained glass sun-catchers that glint in the light prettily, like hellfire. There is a booth that sells local whiskey, which tastes like hellfire. (He buys a bottle for the ghouls, to give them a little taste of home.)

There, at last, he finds an artisan chocolate maker. He buys two of the nicest boxes, tucks them carefully out of the sun, and returns to the ministry, leaving a trail of concerned citizens and fascinated children behind. Even though he left his paint off, to blend in, there’s absolutely no denying that a grown man in a metal half-mask and all-black clothing does make quite the impression.

Last time, he surprised her. That was, perhaps, a bad choice. This time, he leaves the chocolates outside of her door, waiting in the high shadows, perched on a nearby archway and watching until she finds them. His heart flutters with nerves and with longing, and when she appears and crouches down to pick them up it’s only then that he realized he… never put a name on the gift.

So she stands there, holding chocolates in her hands, looking left and right. She mutters something to the companion she walks with, something like: “…dairy in them. I can’t even try one! Do you want to take them? I have no idea how these even got here?”

V’s heart sinks as her friend hugs her happily, accepts the chocolates, and they part ways.

Conclusion - Women like Chocolates, but she does NOT.

Attempt #3 - Women Like Jewelry

No flowers, no foodstuffs.

He must not get this wrong.

He must put his name on it, too. (Stupid; he’s so stupid. Satan never made a stupider, more pathetic, more miserable, lovestruck creature than he!)

V asks the ghouls to make a simple golden grucifix for him. He sees her when she walks among the roses, knows she always bends to smell them. He knows she sometimes tucks flowers in her hair, and knows she prefers simple wildflowers even more than roses. So he does not have the necklace adorned with any gems at all. Just simple gold, to match the warmth of her smile, the soft light in his heart she makes him feel.

V holds the little box in his hands and waits for her after unholy mass. He can sing and dance in front of thousands, but simply speaking to one woman is beyond him, it seems.

There is no way he can find a way to talk to her, just her, without jumping out and scaring her.

And when she smiles at another one of the Brothers of Sin, when she gives him that laughter, V pockets the necklace and slinks away.

Conclusion - Women Like Jewelry, but She does NOT.

She does NOT like… him.

He’s the common thread, here.

He’s the flawed creation.

He should have known.

Papa is loved, but V is just a creature. Misunderstood, and misunderstanding everything. She owes him nothing, but it does nothing to soothe the pain in his heart. She is scared of him. She would run from him, if she could. If she knew he felt this deeply, she would run - and by Lucifer he would still want to chase her.

Pride wounded, V hides away in the little ruined temple out in the grounds. It sits on the border of the field and the forest beyond. He sits on the dirt with his back to a pillar, holding the necklace in his hand, debating whether to leave it in the dirt or fling it into the trees. He was a fool to even think someone as lovely as he would want—

“Papa?”

V sits up so fast he nearly cracks his head against the stone. It’s her.

“W-what…?”

“I was just leaving,” V lies. “Please, don’t let me…”

“I was looking for you.” She smiles tentatively at him. Outside, beyond the little shelter of the temple, it has begun to rain. “I wanted to thank you.”

V blinks up at her.

“One of the… one of the siblings was at the market the other day. She told me she saw you there, buying chocolates.”

“I… did?” He does not mean for it to come off like a question, but it does. “I did. Yes.”

She gives him a tentative, shy smile. “That was very kind of you. To leave them for me. I can’t have dairy, though. I’m, like, really allergic. It’s so stupid, I’m so sorry. If I had known—“

“You do not owe me anything,” V says, standing up, taking a little step back to give her distance, like one afraid of spooking some kind of beautiful, wild creature. “I am sorry to have been so thoughtless and inattentive.”

“It wasn’t thoughtless,” she says, tucking her hair back behind her ear and giving him a wider smile. There is a light in her eyes he cannot even hope to read. “It was really kind of you. I’m just sorry I couldn’t have them. Built wrong, I guess.”

“No!” At this, V steps forward, hesitating, holding himself back from rushing to embrace her the way he wishes, the way he has yearned to do for months, now. “No! You are built to perfection. Every bit of you is wonderful and perfect. If you wish it, I will find every cow in the city and offer it to Satan’s pyres to safeguard you!”

She laughs and shakes her head. “No, no, that’s okay. I wouldn’t deny anyone else their cheese!”

Oh, he is a fool. Her smile is so lovely, her gaze so tender. He could take flight at this very moment. She could pierce him with a stake and he would thank her for penetrating him.

They’re both just staring at each other, with awestruck gazes equally, wonderfully matched.

And he remembers the necklace in his hand.

“I… had this made for… for you.” V opens his shaking hand and her eyes widen. Her gaze flicks up to his, then back to his hand, then to his eyes again. Her own are watery and full of wonder.

“Why?”

“It is a necklace,” V explains, holding the clasp, showing her. “You wear it—“

“No, I mean… why me?”

V has frightened her. He has misunderstood her. He has failed to show her how he feels and now he may never be able to express it unless he does so right now. So with the courage granted to him through prayer and fervent devotion to the Great Unmaker, he takes a breath, and confesses his feelings.

Needless to say, if any of the siblings look out the south-eastern window that evening and catch a glimpse of a formless shadow horror being ridden by a very naked Sister of Sin, or if any of them hear noises too unholy and erotic to be put to print, or if anyone up before dawn the next day sees a pair of figures hand-in-hand limping back to the main building, kissing every five feet, well, that’s between them and Satan, now, isn’t it?

[sanotymanjiro]

𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞 ·₊˚🜸

𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙟𝙞𝙧𝙤 𝙨𝙖𝙣𝙤

𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙩

fluff, soft, high school toman, high school mikey x fem!reader, baji being a perv, indications of jealousy, indications of heartbreak, kissing, holding hands, any timeline, cutesy

🌌ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈

a beach day with toman wasn't exactly on your to do list for this year but apparently it has been a tradition ever since the founding of the gang and since you only met them a year ago you figure that's why you didn't know till now, sitting on the back of kazutora's unecessarily long bike because nobody else had any space. emma rode with draken, hina with takemichi, and mikey had a moped because he had damaged his bike (yet again) and so that wasn't an option. that doesn't mean he didn't try to beg you though, whining about how its safer and how there was enough space for the two of you which there clearly wasn't considering everyone's luggage had claimed that spot already.

it was too hot for you to give up the breeze from a fast ride just to keep mikey happy so he ended up riding alone, pouting the entire time and glaring at your back as kazutora sped ahead. he looked kind of cute like that, a stark contrast to the fearsome leader you first met a year ago when he had saved you from a group of thugs, cliché but you never really thought it would happen to you yet it did.

rounding the corner of the mountain road made you grab onto the seat a little tighter because of how narrow it was but the view made it worth it by a long shot. a soft pinkish hue painting the sky and tinted with orange, blazing sun starting to dip below the horizon and yet still engulfing the landscape with heat, waves dipping and rising smoothly, cotton candy clouds scattered along the glowing sky, it stole your breath away.

𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐣𝐢𝐫𝐨 𝐩𝐨𝐯:

manjiro hated being last. he had a strong desire to win no matter what he was doing where when and with who so being left to trail after the herd of his own soldiers almost made him regret trying to showcase his driving skills to you a few days ago. almost. from his position at the back of the group he got a perfect view of your soft features dusted the colour of the sky when you turned to admire the beach below, the soft hair he loved to braid fluttering in the wind coating your neck and shoulders, shining pupils wide in adoration and it gave mikey a dull ache in his chest, he wanted you to look at him like that too. mikey only realised how long he had been staring at you when he peeled his eyes away to park his moped, barely atching himself from causing yet another motor accident in the same week from his lack of attention. he cleared his throat and adjusted his parking, pushing down the embarrassment attempting to make itself known on his cheeks.

𝐲/𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐯:

you peeked your head back at manjiro, feeling a bit bad about leaving him but its fine, he'll survive. the group dragged their luggage down to the beach, the girls acting extra sweet to get the boys to carry theirs too and you were no exception, skipping over to the blonde haired boy and smiling sweetly, already looping your bag around his shoulder and throwing your arms around him in a side hug, ignoring his suspicious gaze.

y/n: thank you manjiro! you're the sweetest yk~

manjiro: tch, whatever. this is nothing, i can carry it.

you stifle a giggle at how grumpy he's being and how he always gloats about himself every chance he gets. you walk back toward the front of the group alongside mitsuya since he's the one who planned the trip and so the one who you can ask for a good ice cream place. pah is the first to dump his bags on the sand, huffing and puffing from the short walk and grumbling at kazutora who mocks him. draken and mitsuya were already looking around for a good spot to sit while emma admired him with hearts in her eyes, (as usual) while poor hina tried to get her to focus on the conversation. you went ahead to change into your one piece bikini along with the other girls trailing behind you then returned, shades draped low on your nose and a fan in hand, dropping into one of the seats protected by the large umbrellas. this is what you call a beach day.

𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐣𝐢𝐫𝐨 𝐩𝐨𝐯:

he can't believe that nobody else was staring at you the way he was, not that he wants them to but could they seriously not see how sexy you looked? were they blind? well, except baji who's binoculars were fixated on your chest with blood pooling out his nose, earning him a harsh smack in the back of the head from draken. mikey wasn't complaining, he gets you all to himself. he's glad he turned down mitsuya and draken when they asked him to swim to the open water with them because otherwise he would've missed this, you looking beautiful enough to make him forget japanese. he hadn't fully recovered yet but his feet were already gravitating towards your seat, dragging hoards of sand along with them.

manjiro: ...c-can i...help you put your sun cream on..?

𝐲/𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐯:

y/n: what.

manjiro, shuffling his feet: can i...i mean...

y/n: i heard you, its just why the hell would i ever let you do that?

manjiro: huh-

y/n, crossing her arms over her chest, eyes narrowing suspiciously: perv.

manjiro: W-WHAT!? I AM NOT A- IM NOT!

his ears were so red you couldn't help but die of laughter, he looked kind of cute.

y/n: run along now, emma's doing it for me not you.

mikey threw you and emma both a glance so loathsome it almost felt threatening but emma's laughter sent you back into yours as you both watched manjiro stomp off toward the water, throwing up sand with how aggressively his feet were pounding into the ground.

mitsuya: so, who'll come with me?

every last one of the boys suddenly couldn't use their ears and kazutora looked like he might devour your lotion with the intensity of his stare and will to dodge the question. you rolled your eyes slightly at how pathetic they all were, even mikey who wouldn't miss the chance to show off how many bags of marshmallows he could carry was staring up at the sky, muttering shit about laputa. you sighed, dusting sand off your legs as you stood up.

y/n: lets go taka, ill help.

mitsuya, muttering annoyed: thank you, at least someone here has some manners.

as soon as the two of you reached the main road the group's beach day activities sprung right back into the flow as if you had pressed 'play' on the tv remote, except mikey, who's gaze sent a chill down your spine. he had refused to help so why was he glaring like that when you volunteered? mitsuya shook his head slightly at their antics but despite his annoyance a small smile was already tugging his lip upward. after half a painful hour of going from shop to shop because they had all ran out marshmallows, the two of you finally retuned to the rest who had conveniently already set the bonfire going, gathering chairs around it as the orange sparks launched into the air above. the sky had faded into a dark purple, navy marching across bringing the night with it. you lifted the bags and shot the group a gleeful grin now that you were within range for them to cheer and holler and for baji to be snatching the bags from your hands already.

y/n: you're so greedy keisuke!

baji: first come first serve darling.

y/n: brat.

you roll your eyes playfully shoving him and are about to settle into the empty seat beside him when you hear peh calling your name. you turn slightly to face him and see him point to the seat he was just in, the seat beside mikey.

peh: you can come sit here, ill take that one.

you were confused as to why he would do that but figured he must've wanted to sit alongside baji, or that he wanted easier access to the large bag of marshmallows baji was tearing into already, one of those reasons. you settled beside mikey who pretended not to notice, his gaze fixated on the sky instead, so you gave him a gentle nudge.

y/n: yo.

manjiro: ..yo.

y/n: so how did your swimming contest with taka go? did you win?

manjiro, eyes flickering over your face just barely before returning to the sky: ...of course i did.

you smiled teasingly but instead of returning it as usual, his gaze lingered for a moment, before he looked away again. odd. very odd. you didn't question it for now and busied yourself with impaling as many marshmallows as you could onto your stick and holding it over the fire. after toasting one side you realised they were melting before the other side was even toasted and started to panic until a soft hand grasped yours gently, guiding it so that they don't fall.

manjiro: like this.

y/n: oh...r-right..

you couldn't hide the way his touch affected you and that was obvious from the stutter in your voice. manjiro was an idiot, a big one at that. everyone around you knew how in love you were with the idiot but he had never noticed, never mentioned it, he was hopeless. even when you gave him chocolate on valentines he had whined about not needing you to pity him, as if you weren't a girl giving him chocolate, as if you didn't pour your heart and soul into those chocolates which you ended up destroying when you smacked the box round his face. manjiro sano was hopeless when it came to love and that wasn't subjective, it was facts.

light chatter filled the air, the light of the bonfire illuminating smiles, laughter swirling around the boys, their singing comforting your ears. it may have been out of tune and horrid but the vibe was healing, peaceful. manjiro just had to disturb the stability of your heartbeat though, or he wouldn't be manjiro, the boy you've secretly loved for a year. the warmth of his shoulder brushing yours, his face right next to yours, and his voice, a soft whisper floating into your ears.

manjiro: hey...yk there's gonna be a comet today.

y/n, heart skipping one too many beats: a...and?

manjiro: ...i wanted to show you it.

you stared at him, long, confused and utterly surprised. this was manjiro sano, right? he wasn't the type to say that sort of thing, he was the type to not notice billions of hints that you practically threw at him so there was no way.

manjiro: count down, five seconds left.

thump, five.

thump, four.

thump, three.

thump, two.

a delicate hand sliding into yours, fingers curling around your own, your heart skipping a beat, one.

a baby blue tint enveloping the streak of white as it shot through the sky. you had heard comets were fast but this one seemed far too slow and for some reason the only thing you could hear was your own heartbeat threatening to explode out of your chest.

manjiro: i've made my wish.

his voice, so soft and uncharacteristically affectionate, romantic, snapped you out of your trance and you turned your red tinted face toward mikey's own, eyes locking in an entrancing gaze, his thumb dancing along your knuckles in slow motion.

y/n: what...did you wish for..?

you expected the usual, the banter, the jokes, him to say that he wished you would wake up looking hideous tomorrow but that wasn't coming, and you knew exactly what was.

manjiro: i'll...make you mine.

you couldn't even react when mikey's lips met yours for a millisecond when everyone's eyes were focused on the sky, diverted away from you and the love of your life, sano manjiro. they may have missed the kiss but they didn't hesitate to attack the two of you with teasing remarks upon turning back around and seeing your hands still linked, fingers still tangled, you had forgotten about that and may have dragged your hand back in time but from the way manjiro's fingers weren't budging you figured he probably hadn't forgotten but hadn't removed his hand, and wouldn't either.

𝙗𝙤𝙣𝙪𝙨 𝙨𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙚

peh felt a strange chill despite the horrendously large bonfire right in front of him and he may be an idiot but even he figured that nothing in science could explain why he would feel so cold with a blazing source of heat right in front of him. there was sano manjiro however, who looked like he might blow a hole through poor peh's head with his eyes causing peh to shiver. ignoring him didn't work, shuffling away to give him more leg space didn't work, even holding out his marshmallows to manjiro didn't seem to help. peh wasn't a genius and he hated having to use his brain so began to feel annoyed but that quickly melted into fear when mikey leaned in, face inches from his own, eyes blank and voice cold as ice.

manjiro: move. that's y/n's seat.

he didn't need to be told twice. peh nodded weakly as he extracted himself from his seat, calling you over instead and as soon as you sat down the warmth of the fire finally started to reach peh.

2025 @sanotymanjiro

tags (for everyone who enjoyed bubble baths and his love for you): @dolledupformanjiro | @tetsuyuuuuuuu | @artsjiwoo | @mikeysgf1 | @natsumis-stuff | @katsukisat0 | @dancingnewcat | @whyme287 | @destinyfleur | @banana-revenge | @bebacebe | @mikeys-therapy | @peensas | @afterunigoths | @skr1mps | @beetusbritt | @dollrndo | @yourbabydolllll | @cherry-blossom5 | @idk-what-myurl-shouldbe | @dangerousphotographykpopapr-blog | @cherry-blossom5 | @tsukiusagi180 | @briannbz | @luckykittylover | @huutao | @anarchyenthusiastclub | @otomefan | @queen3604 | @tojisimp1 | @mikeys44 | @putlonghatdog | @anniequ | @kuromify-d | @ajmiila02 | @saltedcara | @5valkyrie20 | @reissancesstuff | @hazukitaishi | and anyone else!

(sos if i tag you twice i just went through the likes on 'his love for you')

[snowmandreamer]

can you make a part 2 of fanfic reccos? any if its possible long fic ones :DD

hii there! ofcourse i'll make a new list :) (all of these 1k+ words)

faves as of 30.06.2025

PARK SUNGHO

not a romance story by @2i1han intern!sungho x intern!reader addressed as narin, office rom-com, friends to lovers?, lovers to enemies, multiple parts!! wc. 16k total

under cold rainy nights by @soubeomies sungho x fem!reader, mentions of reader getting drunk n drinking, angst, fluff, wc. 1.5k

pretty boy by @hanfourz fluff, suggestive, established relationship, wc. 2.3k

mission p.s.h is a-go! by @000-pawz park sungho x fem!reader (she/her), college au, art major! reader, art major!sungho, reader is so lovesick, sungho is a nervous wreck, ft. lovingly-bothersome sidekick jaehyun + mom friend roommate yujin, shy extrovert sungho, not so shy extrovert reader <3, mutual pining, puppy love, first kisses, jaehyun has a lot of piercings because why not, the world is your wingman, a story about friendship and first loves!!!!, romantic comedy, wc. 11.3k+

LEE RIWOO

jealousy by @winteringdream fluff, angst if u squint, university au, wc 1.3k

cheese! by @seokmn your boyfriend loves to take pictures of you, but you didn't know he loves doing it that much, wc. 1k

in the silence by @mountaesan non-idol!riwoo x reader genre. childhood best friends to lovers , angst , mutual pining , fluff, wc. 4.8k

too sweet by @lxvsiick donut lover! lee riwoo x clueless! fem! readerone-sided rivalry, enemies to lovers, wc. 1.9k

MYUNG JAEHYUN

chalant by @fgumi non-idol!jaehyun x reader, fluff, uni!au, headcanon, wc. 2.1k

love language: burnt cookies by @htaesan fluff, established relationship long distance, wc. 2.3k

kiss me right by @lxvsiick down bad! frat boy! myung jaehyun x library worker! fem! reader, fluff, wc. 2k

the egg project by @hancorys enemies to lovers, idiots to lovers, crack (bonedo dynamics mentioned), wc. 4.6k

it's not worth trying to learn other people's love language by @hannie-dul-set humor, fluff, park sungho learns a lesson about minding his own business, wc. 1.5k

stupid cupid by @miumura cupid ! jaehyun x f ! reader, cupid au, exes2lovers, second chance, pining, slowburn(ish), fluff, angst ( ? ), crack, wc. 25.9k

HAN TAESAN

sunburnt hearts by @winteringdream brothers bsf!taesan x gn!reader, fluff, wc. 1.7k

dangerous by @kaiyunsim neighbor!taesan x gn!reader, fluff, wc. 3.8k

melody of your heartbeat by @restlessmaknae songwriter!taesan x songwriter!female reader/you, coming of age, high school au, music industry au, colleagues au, roommates au, second chances, mostly hurt/comfort with fluff and angst scenes too, wc. 18.4k

teenage dirtbag by @seokmn mentions of graffiting, kissing, suggestive at the end if you squint, wc. 1.1k

wistful lullaby by @leehnz boyfriend!taesan x female!reader, wc. 1.1k

KIM LEEHAN

fruit punch and stomach bugs by @hancorys fluff, friends to lovers trope, loud leehan !! attempt on golden retriever x black cat trope, wc. 3.9k

international relations by @riizegasm president’s son!donghyun x rival!reader (implied fem reader), enemies to lovers, suggestive (like it gets very tense and a little graphic at the end), minor fluff, wc. 5.5k

track 2: i feel good by @ilysungho leehan x reader, established relationship (bf/gf), fluff, proposal!, use of she/her for reader, use of nicknames, boynextdoor besties lol (no woonhak but i love him guys i promise), open ending, wc. 1.5k

KIM WOONHAK

try not to spill your secret relationship on a bus full of nosy students: hard mode by @astrae4 student!woonhak x student!reader, romance, secret relationship, tooth rotting fluff, wc 1.2k

small girl fantasy pt 1 and part 2 by @hancorys fluff, co-worker to lovers hehe, reader has a BIG FAT crush on unagi (who doesn’t) mutual pining, wc. 3.7k total

in the abundance of love by @mountaesan angst, hurt/comfort , a pinch of fluff, wc. 2.1k

wildflower by @kaiyunsim fluff, woonhak drives, woonhak is very clumsy but also so cute, wc. 2.2k

waiting for you by @htaesan fluff, angst if you squint, childhood friends to lovers, wc. 3k

OT6

boynextdoor as high school tropes by @coriihanniee highschool au, fluff, comfort, mutual pining, grumpy x sunshine in Taesan's, wc 1.0k-1.3k for each member (kimmi feeds us too much 1k each member crazy heart eyes)

boynextdoor as your high school boyfriend by @nicholasluvbot includes taesan , leehan , woonhak fluff , leehan is a little cheesy , taesan one is sappy but then again thats just the way i'm with him wc. 2k ( around 500 to 700 words per member )

fake dating with boynextdoor by @eunandonly fake dating trope, wc. 1.4k

[arixella]

Hii! I love your fics so much it’s crazy 😭 Can I request maybe a OP character (anyone, strawhats if possible..👀 like Zoro for example WHO SAID THAT??) where reader is such a yapper, like they never stop talking and one day the character had like a bad day or sum and they got annoyed at reader speaking too much so they tell them to shut up or like something like that, but then reader gets hit by a devil fruit ability and gets mute for some times?? It would be very appreciated thank youu😙

The Silence Between Us

╰┈➤ pairing: Zoro x gn! reader

a/n: hey yall ive been on vacation sorry but im working on everyones request and the request box is closed rn 😭

summary: After Zoro snaps at your constant talking during a bad day, you're struck by a Devil Fruit power that renders you mute — forcing him to confront just how much your voice, and your presence, mean to him.

wc: 2.0k

contains: Hurt/comfort, angst with fluff, emotional vulnerability, soft romance, slow-burn tone,

You always had something to say.

From the moment the sun peeked over the horizon to the late hours of the night, you filled the air with words — stories, questions, dreams, wild thoughts, jokes (some good, some terrible). You talked to Chopper while he worked, to Robin while she read, to Nami while she navigated, and especially to Zoro while he trained.

He pretended not to listen most of the time, grunting or responding with “mm” or “tch,” but you kept talking anyway, never really needing a reply.

You didn’t notice the tension until it broke.

The crew had returned from a rough skirmish on a new island. Everyone was exhausted. Zoro had taken the brunt of it — again — after shielding a village from a collapsing cliff with nothing but his swords and his own body. He hadn’t said much the whole walk back. You followed him onto the Sunny, chattering all the way.

“And then Sanji totally panicked when the lady offered him ten kids in exchange for soup, did you see that? And oh my god, did you catch Usopp trying to bribe the snake guy with candy? Also—”

“Can you just shut up for five seconds?”

You froze mid-sentence.

The words landed like a slap, not loud, but sharp. Zoro didn’t yell. He didn’t even look at you. His brows were furrowed, jaw tight, eyes shadowed by frustration and fatigue.

“I’ve had a shit day,” he muttered, turning away. “I can’t deal with your constant talking right now.”

You stood there, mouth slightly open, hands half-raised in some unfinished gesture. The silence that followed was deafening. For the first time, you didn’t have a comeback. You didn’t even try to laugh it off.

“…Right,” you said quietly, backing away. “Sorry.”

You left him on the deck without another word.

The next day, you were on a scouting mission with Luffy and Brook when it happened.

You were talking — of course — something about the shape of clouds looking like mashed potatoes when a strange-looking woman stepped out from behind a tree, pointed a finger at you, and said:

“Silencio.”

A ripple of air hit your chest. You blinked.

Nothing felt wrong… until you tried to ask Luffy what just happened and—

Nothing.

Your mouth moved. No sound came out.

Panic set in quickly. You clutched your throat. Tried again. Nothing.

Brook gasped. Luffy shouted something incoherent and charged after the enemy Devil Fruit user. You were left there, speechless in the most literal way, voice stolen.

By the time the crew returned and explained what had happened, you had already started writing notes to communicate. Chopper confirmed it: a Silence-Silence Fruit. The mute effect would wear off — eventually — but no one knew exactly when.

Zoro found out later that evening.

He saw you at dinner, sitting quietly at the table. Not talking. Not laughing. Not making a single comment about Sanji’s overly decorative dessert or Franky’s attempt at sea-cucumber cola.

It was Nami who finally said it.

“They got cursed or something by a Devil Fruit user,” she muttered, stabbing her food. “They can’t speak for a while.”

Zoro nearly dropped his plate.

He stood slowly, heart pounding, and stepped out onto the deck.

You were there already, sitting on the edge, knees pulled to your chest, the waves reflecting in your eyes. You heard his footsteps and looked up, giving a small smile, polite and distant.

He hated it.

“I… didn’t know,” he said quietly. “They just told me.”

You nodded.

Zoro stepped closer. “Was it when you went with Luffy? That’s when—”

You nodded again, slower this time.

He stopped beside you and sat down, his jaw clenching.

“You’re not talking,” he muttered. “Feels weird.”

You gave him a small shrug. The silence stretched.

Zoro stared out at the water. “…I didn’t mean what I said yesterday.”

You didn’t look at him.

“I was tired. In pain. I snapped. That’s not an excuse, but…” He ran a hand through his hair. “You didn’t deserve that.”

You hugged your knees tighter.

“You talk a lot,” he said, a little helplessly. “But I like it. I got used to it. It’s just—sometimes my head’s too full. And I took it out on you. That was my screw-up.”

He glanced sideways at you. You were listening, really listening — but your expression was unreadable. He sighed.

“I miss your voice,” he muttered, barely above a whisper.

You blinked, surprised.

“I mean it,” he said, meeting your eyes. “This silence? It’s worse than the noise.”

You looked down, then slowly reached into your pocket, pulling out a folded scrap of paper and a pencil stub. You scribbled something and handed it to him.

“It’s okay. I know I talk too much sometimes.”

Zoro stared at the words, then looked back at you.

“No, it’s not okay,” he said firmly. “You talk because it’s part of who you are. It’s how you connect with people. It’s how you make the ship feel… alive. I was just too selfish to see that yesterday.”

You wrote something else.

“Did you mean it, though? When you told me to shut up?”

Zoro flinched. He didn’t answer right away. He looked down at the deck, fists clenched.

“I meant I needed quiet. I didn’t mean to hurt you. If I could take it back…” He exhaled hard. “You’re the last person I’d ever want to silence.”

You were quiet for a beat. Then, slowly, your hand reached over and took his — fingers warm and soft around his calloused ones. You gave it a small squeeze.

Zoro looked at your joined hands, then at you.

“Next time I need space,” he said quietly, “I’ll say it without being a bastard. And when you get your voice back… I hope you’ll talk even more, just to punish me.”

That made you huff — soundless, but clearly a laugh — and you leaned against his side, resting your head on his shoulder. He let you, turning slightly so he could rest his cheek against your hair.

The sea rocked beneath the Sunny. The stars blinked quietly above. And even without words, everything you needed to say was there — in the silence, in the shared warmth, in the way Zoro held your hand just a little tighter.

And when your voice finally came back days later, the first thing you did was say his name.

Zoro turned immediately, eyes wide, and you smiled and whispered, “Still love you, even when you’re a jerk.”

He didn’t answer.

He just pulled you in and kissed you like your words were the only ones that mattered.

♡♡♡

© 2025 arixella | please do not plagiarize or translate any of my work without my consent.

[housemdork]

house md rewatch: 2x14, "sex kills"

will i be making the argument that the STD-ridden heart transplant is another marker of wilson's compulsive heterosexuality? keep reading to find out (yes).

another oops! moment, and this time it's all wilson.

in the midst of my thrill over the very end of this episode, i forgot that, overall, i'm not it's biggest fan. i think the patient story is so wild that it deserves more time in the spotlight to be even remotely believable, but instead it's reduced to, very simply put, the bodily dangers of sex lol. but hey - just about anything is better than 2x13.

the flipside of the episode's ethos of "sex kills" is the question of impulse control - do we have it? is it strong enough to suppress or basest desires? can we even go without those basest desires? house md banks more on nurture over nature (and don't think otherwise! house wants us to believe in nature's primacy! but dammit, house does change! he can be nurtured!), but not without some pushback and resistance all encompassed in cheater extraordinaire: early seasons james wilson.

the episode begins and ends with the zenith of wilson's relationship issues, which house pokes and prods at to no end. at first, nothing happens that we don't already know about: wilson has been cheating on and off on his wife, hasn't spent enough time at home, etc., implying that he has no impulse control. the satisfying twist at the end is that julie has been having an affair all along, anyways, but more on that later.

also important to note is that, when first confronted with house's interest in his cheating, wilson claims that "it's not all about sex, house." he's obviously being facetious here and blindly hoping that julie will accept that his feelings for her, rather than just his infidelity, will absolve him. as i'll expound on, 2x14 then goes on to MOSTLY confirm that most everything is about sex...but please stay tuned because i have so much to say about the scene where wilson finally admits this. look at this mf:

anyways. the most insane part of this episode isn't just the fact that they transplant a gonnorhea-ridden heart into the primary patient, henry, but that the donor's husband, ronald, admits at the eleventh hour that he's the one who gave laura the STD, effectively killing her. what kills me about this, apart from its general lunacy, is that this attempts to absolve wilson later on. poor cameron, having to hear this batshit confession.

not only does the laura/ronald debacle debacle between laura/ronald confirms that not only is it (human relationships) always about sex, but that sex trumps rationality. had ronald just told the team that he'd given her gonnorhea, so much could have been avoided. there's something exceptionally disgusting about him vicariously using laura's body to absolve himself, as though if her physical form can do a good deed based on his decision, then he gets some forgiveness out of the equation. it's irrational!

meanwhile, however, the main patient and recipient of laura's STD-ridden heart is henry. the team has myriad diagnoses for him, high among the list some kind of STD. when they find that the issue is in his heart, henry is too old to move up the transplant list, so house goes off the books and selects an inviable heart that they cure after the fact.

one of my favorite pieces of this episode is what he says to house after confessing that he's slept with his estranged wife: "if you're not prepared to look stupid, then nothing great is ever gonna happen, right?"

first, henry argues that even if sex comes at the cost of rationality, is that always a bad thing? but, secondly, this statement cuts right through house's relationship troubles thus far. his impermeable defenses prohibit him for having any meaningful connections; the times he's shown vulnerability have either gone up in smoke, or only come from his agonizing pain. the messaging between ronald and henry is kinda awkward here, but i love how house synthesizes it by the end.

house indulges in some irrationality of his own in 2x14; clearly, henry's way of thinking has had at least some effect on him. when he appeals to the transplant committee and fails to preset adequate evidence for why henry deserves the heart, he goes on an uncharacteristic tirade about how the criteria they use to determine which lives are worth what. does he make excellent points? yes! does house believe in said points? absolutely not. his stance on abortion proves as much. but the rationale he gives for having made those points is fascinating: "i was advocating for my patient."

house bends over backwards advocating for henry in this episode, actually. he even takes a knee to the groin over it.

logic and physical pain reason that advocating for henry isn't worth it, and yet, house persists. and isn't there another dilemma that defies logic, that house can't seem to keep his nose out of?

house treats the impending demise of wilson's marriage with the same analytical lens that he does his patients, but with an undercurrent of emotional care that trumps logical reason. no matter how harsh he is, he's gonna advocate for the serial cheater who's brought all of this ruin unto himself, a lot like ronald brought this ruin onto himself.

departing from chronology for a second, i have to highlight another moment of stupidity on wilson's part. why would he appeal to house like this?

"does it occur to you that maybe...a friend might value concern over glibness? that maybe i'm going through something that i need to have an actual conversation about?"

girl. shut the hell up. you've been saying for the last 36 episodes that house (and the show at large tbh) is about actions over words. of course house isn't going to talk you through this. house's resulting expression says exactly what we're all feeling:

not to fret: we're reminded, yet again, of actions over words when wilson shows up uninvited at house's place, bags packed, and house invites him in. he doesn't even make a "glib" comment about how he was right all along, that the marriage was on its way out. very "do i wanna know" cover by hozier of them.

i'd even argue that this is a callback to henry's earlier declaration that we shouldn't be afraid to be stupid. wilson does look dumb and naive standing in the doorway, dumber still for having the gall to be sad over a relationship that failed mostly by his hand. but there's always a soft place to fall; he knows that.

now for the real meat of my thoughts on this episode:

the deeper i get into this rewatch, the more i am enthralled with how wilson conceptualizes relationships because it is so limited. as i've said before, everything is transactional to wilson, and he anticipates that everyone around him expects him to give A so that he can yield B. in his marriages, his A is formulaically fulfilling emotional neediness; their B is sex. it sure sounds like i'm characterizing a deranged sociopath!

so why is he so insistent that there's a chance that not everything has to be about sex, and why is he so sad that 2x14 argues for the opposite? i think that wilson wants so badly to break the mold he's cast for himself (sorta sex-crazed), and the idea that he, the king of loving neediness away, wasn't enough to satisfy julie really messes him up.

house is even shocked to hear that julie was the one who decidedly cheated on him. i can't handle this expression:

they're intentional about using the word "affair," an arrangement that wilson treats as a personal failure. wilson is not angry here. he's disappointed in himself.

walk with me here lol. henry's first (incorrect) diagnosis is testicular cancer. it's meant as a joke, but it's not for nothing that henry is so horrified over the specter of male sexual dysfunction in an episode that wants us to believe that sex trumps rationality and impulse control. in henry's eyes, if he can't provide sex, then what can he offer his ex wife? how can they continue their relationship?

if wilson can't offer sex to julie, then how can they continue their relationship? in his mind, where everything is sex, not neglect, emotional distance, or anything else, no sex = no relationship. wilson has ceased to be functional.

henry gains his sexual function back via an organ that's poisoned against him. he didn't get an STD through irresponsible sex/irrationality, but he inherited it. the heart is the symbolic center for love (thanks, HH/WH), and in 2x14, the heart wins out over the head time and time again re: sex trumps all. thus, we can explain wilson's sexual dysfunction along similar lines, sans the STD. wilson has "failed" his sexual obligations to julie because heterosexuality is unnatural. he inherited it via social expectations. the heart that wilson has is poisoned against him.

case and point - once henry is rehabilitated, his heart will work and he can resume his relationship with his ex wife. wilson's version of rehabilitation is showing up at house's door, away from social expectations and, if you'd indulge me, heteronormativity. house and wilson's domesticity is one of house md's longest standing devices, after all.

this is also why 8x09 is so special to me. wilson is so desperate to understand love in the absence of (heterosexual) sex. it's pathological.

don't even get me started on how wilson can't get it up when he's drunk in later seasons. i'll cross that bridge come season 4.

[mightydragoon]

What The Bronze Dragon says about Annabeth Chase.

Returning to PJO I also started rereading a good few of the side stories and I forgot about basically all of them. But even I didn't realise how bad the Bronze Dragon was until I reread it.

My feelings towards Annabeth Chase were not as sour as they are today, and even still, I don't hate her. If anything, I'm mainly disappointed with her wasted potential, but also the trajectory in which Rick wrote her and how she is ultimately disappointing more than anything. I think she is a stagnant character who originally might have once had the opportunity to grow but Rick refuses to let her.

And you know on the topic given how much the word "misogynist" is chucked at anyone with even a negative opinion of Annabeth, whether that leans from outright bashing to the slight bit critical let's delve briefly into that and how Rick had misogynist leanings in the series and how that translates into characters like Annabeth.

Part of that, I think, also comes down to the attitude of the time when Rick was writing it in the 2000s, where that was a particular push on "strong female characters" and "pseudo feminism".

This actually connects with the Bronze Dragon ending for reasons I will get into, but for general notes.

I do think Rick was trying in some respects, but it doesn't change how PJO is quite dated in a lot of ways, and how Rick writes women in it is one of them. The dismissal of femininity in the text is part of that and the Goddess are the more clear victims of this, often reduced to caricatures or outright villains compared to their male counterparts. Demeter is one of the most explicit, completely reduced to something ridiculous despite being one of the six Kronids and an Olympian.

But you see, this problem is prominent from how Demeter and Aphrodite's cabins are discussed in the first book alone, compared to Athena.

-

That becomes harder on examination to believe as a reader, given how the Aphrodite cabin can have members with charmspeak (TLH) and Demeter cabin members with the ability to turn tunnels into jungles (TLO).

Additionally, given how Annabeth goes off how she and the Athena cabin don't have powers (which ironically I think she does but she ignores it because its weaving and it's no coincidence with that being an inherently feminine profession) and she is one of the few characters with a mobile phone (by at least BOTL but possibly as early as SOM which might explain why she was tracked as she was) which is a known signal attractor to monsters.

Or how she feels she is dismissed for being blonde, which in another story might have a semblance of sense but here it doesn't

It feels so performative to take seriously. The Athena cabin are fucking blondes as a reminder and a good chunk of the Apollo cabin are too but the Athena cabin is interesting in how narratively invisible they are apart from Annabeth and Malcolm and I will get into the implications of that one day and what it reflects on Annabeth and family.

I think it's revealing with the exception of Silena (who died rather gruesomely by a Drakon and was a traitor) Rick often presents femininity in a poor light and it reflects in the attitudes he passes onto his female characters like Clarisse and Thalia "death to barbie" Grace in an attempt to be "strong" often try and turn away and dismiss it. Annabeth included.

I don't even want to get into the misandry by the Hunters and gods forbid the Amazons that Rick presented as feminism because ugh.

It's gross.

But nowhere is this element of internal misogyny within female characters stronger than in Piper's story which is basically "not like other girls" in the Lost Hero and maybe one day I will get into how Drew is ironically a deep character due to logical assumptions in how she even became a camp counsellor in-universe and the implications of her being the counsellor of a newly larger cabin in the aftermath of Silena's death despite Rick writing her as a one-off catty villain.

Annabeth had the potential to be a genuinely good character, and even now she is an interesting one when you look into analysing her actions based on her fatal flaw pride. But ultimately, she is interesting for the reasons she should be.

Forgive me for trying to reread characters and ways they could've been better and how Rick squandered growth in favour of poor and cliched romantic developments that I can't fathom why people fawn over because I have seen more interesting dynamics.

And forgive me for criticising a relationship most people claim is healthy and a gold standard, and seems to normalise the toxic and unhealthy aspects of the relationship.

The fun of an unhealthy relationship in media can be with the author knowing that and expressing that. Even better if there was once a chance it could have been healthy, but one or both parties erased that. The best tragedies demonstrate that.

If Rick wrote Percabeth deliberately as unhealthy or destined to break up man, would I read that? It would've been revolutionary in demonstrating the complexities of relationships and how they might break or why people continue in these unhealthy dynamics. Heck if most fans acknowledged that maybe I wouldn't have the same faults.

But that isn't the case.

There are gaps between fanon and canon in any fandom but nowhere do I think its more explicit than in PJO and especially with how old the fandom is. Annabeth is often wildly misinterpreted by her own fans to fit a more appealing image of her character than canon presents. It's understandable but it is important to grapple with the characters we often see ourselves in in order to improve ourselves as people.

Annabeth herself has nice moments that is nearly immediately chucked out the window in order to make her appear to be superior. In some ways, it makes her even more wasted because she shows some capacity; she could be better but she ultimately can't.

The Bronze Dragon plays a role in cementing that for reasons I will say in a minute with missed opportunities and chances taken, but for the first three books, I didn't have a major problem with Annabeth.

Part of that was because one would expect Annabeth would develop into a more rounded one and go through an arc much like Grover was going through with finding Pan, and the damage done to the world was up to the remnants of nature, and they had to try and protect what was left. She does not, and I will discuss her architecture for a future post and how Rick inadvertently doomed her and her relationship, with what her signifier appears to be in her designs.

Rereading BOTL was the turning point along with others on a discord server changed that perception. She is older so it is harder to excuse her actions and this is when Percabeth was becoming more apparent and romantic but it still blindsided me when the volcano kiss occurred just as much as Percy was when it happened.

I think the confusion is also conveyed in how Annabeth treats not only Rachel but Percy in a hot and mostly cold manner. She is young but Annabeth is also a fictional character at the end of the day and as a reader one would want to see her move past her jealousy, reckon with her flaw and mature beyond what we were introduced to.

We don't get that in PJO. Let me contrast that in an instance where I did see it with another character like Astrid Hofferson. I can see bits of Annabeth and Astrid with how alike they can be in their pride. The difference is Astrid is far more rounded character and her actions are also more understandable as she is determined from the start and intervenes notably when Hiccup screws up a little early on with the Nadder (Stormfly).

Astrid is certainly no friend of Hiccup, no one is but unlike Percabeth she has good reasons with how Hiccup is already naturally isolated, clumsy, her intolerance towards idiocy and is frustrated with how her attempts to be a warrior are thwarted. She also doesn't put Hiccup directly in danger and is more annoyed he is even there in the ring because she believes he doesn't take the endless war they fight against dragons seriously and is putting her life and others in danger.

It's far more natural than hating a camper seemingly on the spot for killing a monster, and losing a loved one in the same place you once did (and not expressing much if any empathy for it) and putting them in danger just to win a game. Not to mention the forced rivalry when there was a missed grievance with the CTF over "oooooh our parents hate each other" and its mainly one sided.

Astrid has legitimate reasons that the audience sees as Hiccup does have an advantage in training and she isn't a fool. But that amnosity leaves her after the romantic flight. From that point, you can really start to see how Astrid respects Hiccup. Respect plays a big role because while Astrid does occasionally hit Hiccup, that's usually at the start of the relationship, where she doesn't respect him and she stops doing it as frequently and as roughly, with the exception of a few friendly jabs later down the line. Annabeth takes an almost opposite approach given the Judo Flip we see in MOA

The conversation as the ships leaves is even more crucial in solidifying their relationship and it being able to stand later. Astrid bluntly puts that Hiccup has lost everything and he must feel horrible. But still questions plagues everyone's mind. Why Hiccup didn't originally kill Toothless and Astrid pushes that point to get the truth from him. It's a genuine question both Astrid and the audience wonder because it forces Hiccup to examine himself and change his understanding. And eventually, he admits why he wouldn't kill Toothless after Astrid points out he is the first to fly one. It's a moment of vulnerability by Hiccup and you can see how seriously Astrid takes it with gentle encouragement to get the truth. And after Hiccup does Astrid shows empathy towards Toothless, noting how scared he must be and that is the trigger for Hiccup to set out and fight the Red Death. And that's just the first film as after that we start to see the pair respect and grow together, especially as the series is expanded in subsequent sequels and the tv show.

Crucially we see that development unfold as the entire cast matures and develops. We aren't just told. The show does a genuinely amazing job with its characters in general but that's besides the point.

We get scenes from Annabeth especially early in the books about her vulnerabilities and a bit in TLO but we don't really get scenes from Percy allowing to be vulnerable to her despite having quite a few conversations together. Percy often says how amazing Annabeth is but we don't see her actions reflect that.

She is propped up as a leader of the Argo in MOA but due to the nature of the POVs requiring every character to have a little mini arc that had every character doing their own thing like Leo getting the scrap metal one chapter. It doesn't really suit.

The main instance where that did actually apply was the initial escape from Fort Sumter (in her POV fitting with the mini arcs mentioned) where she was barking out orders and taking control of the helm and at the start where she was planning the landing and was VERY aware it was meant to be a peace mission. The first paragraph in MOA establishes this.

And we all know how that ends.

The Bronze Dragon only proved to me Annabeth is cemented in ways I didn't realise and while Staff of Hermes proved to me how doomed Percabeth was from a narrative standpoint, The Bronze Dragon broadcasted how ironclad Annabeth's pride, her callousness and the sort of mind games she plays on others like Percy.

Take the first Capture the Flag match in TLT, and even on reread it's kind of incredible that Annabeth and a certain level of contempt that she planned Percy as bait, who she immediately hated for accidentally splashing her with toilet water.

We know why Luke played along in the plan (he is evil and in the first two books he is comically evil and then Rick realised midway he needed to make him sympathetic) but Annabeth is interesting cause of what it suggests of her.

Annabeth's only warning to Percy was to watch Clarisse's spear, nevermind the fact it is electrified or Percy is standing near a creak of all places. At this point Annabeth is still the opinion Percy is moreso Zeus' son so and she did watch over him but she only intervened after the fight was already over

Annabeth comes across as quite a cold individual upon introduction.

She is someone will do whatever it takes to get a victory over a game, despite the real harm that it could bring and it is seriously a missed opportunity that Percy was not genuinely mad with Annabeth over this more. It would've made a much more compelling conflict than the forced Poseidon/Athena rivalry that hilariously is more natural with Clarisse and is generational with Ares with Percy (and probably Annabeth too)

So Annabeth put an untrained camper in the way of five others and could've gotten seriously injured if not killed if it was literally anyone who wasn't Percy. Annabeth is not completely heartless but it does make you wonder if Annabeth had done a similar thing not just to Percy but other campers she is not on good terms with.

She does win here, but her tactic feels very short-term success and long-term enmity. In that logically, she would not make many long-term allies especially if she is willing to pull something like this for just a game. It might also explain the lack of friends she has around Camp despite being there for years.

After all the Hunters are despised for using very dirty tactics in their CTF matches from what we saw briefly in TTC.

So that's the first CTF match and why on earth is this relevant?

Well, it's because the Bronze Dragon itself is about a CTF match. This is a good chance to see how characters have grown a little since that initial one.

We are introduced with the Hephaestus cabin pulling a major upset in CTF the match prior and seizing the flag from the Ares cabin.

Rick is presenting it off as cute, as this point the Percabeth moments are but coded, but it's less cute when Percy asks her to stop and the reason he even accepts is less because he "loves it" and more so because he is used to it, and that is not exactly better.

Annabeth expects Percy to like it, but from Percy it doesn't exactly come across as him liking it. And unfortunately, with Percy's background, we understand why he doesn't.

The bump is interesting because in a sense I do think it's a good example of how Annabeth might think her behaviour is friendly but in reality, it is ultimately harmful to the person she supposedly has a crush on as we see a bit throughout this story. It's not inherently a bad thing to have friendly jabs but the thing with Annabeth is it's hard to discern the difference between what's friendly and what's not.

She is competitive, but as I mention in the Staff of Hermes post, Rick writes Annabeth with an undertone that she constantly dismisses Percy's inherent worth and constantly underestimates and forgets his capabilities. It doesn't come across as playful as Rick is trying to suggest here and it means that even an innocent sentence like this

This comes across with an uneasy light with the case that Annabeth would genuinely prefer that and it fits well with the ending.

Competitiveness between couples is nothing new but it does feel like Annabeth would harm Percy in order to get one over him in order to feel superior over Percy or have Percy believe she would harm him in order to do so.

I feel like this explains the flinches from being attacked in BOTL respectively but also the ending of this particular story.

It's also linked to the general issues in Percabeth that Rick feels the need to dismiss Percy's self-worth in order to boost Annabeth own standing in the relationship.

The Judo Flip is after all not a flaw but rather a feature. It wouldn't have its defenders if it didn't. And Rick encourages through Charlie Beckendorf that if a girl is mean to you, that must mean she likes you....Which....No.

This is the equivalent of a young boy pulling his crush's hair to get her attention, and it's not cute with the genders reversed. Or a good thing to encourage.

Percy himself seems to read Annabeth's behaviour as her genuinely hating him in a way and given Annabeth's past actions where she did legitimately not liked him in TLT and she doesn't exactly act any different towards Percy it's no wonder he feels this way.

Here it's Beckendorf who justifies the behaviour which is fucking ridiculous and infuriatingly wrong to imply any girl who tries to murder Percy secretly likes him. It's such an infantile reaction for anyone's first reaction when in love is to act violently and yet Beckendorf endorses it as a sign for Percy. What's more it is meant to be by Annabeth and it seems to be her "love language," and she seems to bemoan how Percy doesn't get it.

Percy is often treated as an idiot when it comes to love by the narrative and others. In BOTL, there is an underlying indication that they are meant to be fighting over Percy.

It's done poorly done by Rick, given that there is a genuine animosity by Annabeth against Rachel for her being a mortal and while there are hints of her softening in BOTL and Annabeth later saving Rachel's life

(I'm wondering whether or not Frederick got her flying lessons or something, given how technology is not something Annabeth is naturally gifted in like Leo is to explain it. She does manage in this story somewhat to fix Festus but still.)

I despise how they seemingly make up almost immediately in TLO offscreen. I get that Annabeth saved her life, but it feels like Rick is trying to brush off the love triangle and once Rachel was no longer a threat in Annabeth's eyes and show that the two girls are good friends, really!

But Percy also doesn't exactly have a basis for what healthy relationships look like. Yet we know from his interactions with Rachel in TLO, he seems to prefer the more open communication rather than the confusing mind games. He knows one form of abuse through Gabe, but that doesn't exactly mean he can recognise other forms, and he is taught here by Beckendorf that this behaviour is acceptable for romantic relationships. Percy's fatal flaw is loyalty and I don't really think it's been mentioned much but loyalty can be detrimental in a different way than I think Rick presented it as.

In the general narrative, Rick presents it as being willing to burn the world to save one's loved ones but Rick fails to acknowledge what it means when personal loyalty can blind a person to another's faults and how it can destroy the person themselves.

Fatal flaws don't just ruin others; they can ruin the person themselves to be blinded of the wrongs or the flaws of a loved one.

With Annabeth, Percy often builds up Annabeth in his conversations with others, despite us not really seeing that in action. I recall reading MOA recently and getting to the line about Annabeth being no one's sidekick and laughing because up until that point she had played such a passive role in the story and her greatest achievement in that story was trapping Arachne which is immediately deflated with Annabeth taunting Arachne so much, Arachne instantly frees herself and nearly kills Annabeth had it not been for the timely arrival of the Argo.

Additionally having reread the series, Annabeth is an expositor of knowledge like Greek Myths (and occasionally getting them wrong *cough* Cadmus and Europa *cough*) and Rick seems to equate that with strategy and wisdom.

It's telling us how great Annabeth is, without us seeing it. A bit like in Magnus Chase and the Ship of the Dead we get this.

It's a sweet sentiment but it doesn't really stand.

Whatever the case Percy and Beckendorf go around near the Ant Hill and see a Bronze Dragon and at this point it becomes one of the first signs that Beckendorf is abandoning the game in pursuit of the dragon.

The entire game vs reality plays an undertone in this. Annabeth does eventually realise where they are and the seriousness of the situation and to her credit she does go to rescue Beckendorf but her focus was still on the game and not on her initial surroundings.

I'll get into this with the ending but let's keep it in mind for now because it is important.

Let's note the fact that Beckendorf is badly injured.

Annabeth doesn't immediately rush in to save Beckendorf much to Silena's and Percy's bewilderment but there is a reason for that.

They get the future Festus' head and it is noted that the Myrmekes our monsters, have a very nasty poison and acid. Beckendorf has already been exposed to both and is likely not in good shape.

At this point the focus is on the Myrmekes; all thoughts of the game are out. And we learn about the automatens, the previous guardians of camps. Festus was one such guardian until it went rogue. It becomes clear however, that Hephaestus intervened in unearthing the dragon's body, wanting it to be found.

We get a slightly cute-ish moment with Percy mentioning he would trust Annabeth to reattach his head and then immediately get this

Yet another instance where Percy is afraid Annabeth is going to attack him. This is a constant theme in their relationship but there appears to be a genuine fear from Percy of Annabeth's capacity towards violence. It might be fun for a one-off gag but as seen prior this is constant with Percabeth.

They (mainly Annabeth) fix up the dragon after some time and at this point Percy assumes CTF is over.

(This also suggests CTF matches are usually quite quick but it is important that Percy is mentally checking out of CTF)

Festus nearly immediately goes to attack and fun fact we get a likely indication where Silena uses charmspeak on Festus. It's not explicit but she has a very commanding tone as she speaks to Festus.

They soon race to rescue Beckendorf. We also get hints of how desperate Silena is to rescue Beckendorf and an indication that she is deeply in love with him

But ah yes, demolishing Silena from the stereotypes of her being a typical Aphrodite kid. Stereotypes which Rick created and enforced for the cabin and he continued to reinforce in HOO.

They reach Beckendorf who is still deeply injured.

And while the paralytic might wear off, as mentioned earlier, Beckendorf was still hit in the face with presumably the acid and he got bit in the leg which absolutely doesn't help matters. Either way Festus wrecks shit up and proceeds to nearly wreck their shit too.

Percy now starts to get injured and Beckendorf activates Festus emergency defence mechanism to save it. Unfortunately it goes rogue on them.

Beckendorf starts running but at this point I believe more than anything adrenaline kicked in for him to move but I still doubt he is in good condition by any means. Either way they need to get Festus in a less murderous mood so they can make it for another day.

As they fight it with Festus, Percy notices Beckendorf do something and while Annabeth warns him, Percy stays put and buys Beckendorf the time he needs and succeeds.

What follows is a mildly cute moment (minus the nickname) and what feels like a second of appreciation from Annabeth. We also get some developments with Silena and Beckendorf going to the fireworks together. They head back. But at that point Percy is injured the acid hurting him to the point he is limping.

Funny enough we also get some acknowledgement from Annabeth over Percy's ideas and for a moment, for a brief moment we get what appears to be a sincere moment from Annabeth to Percy.

Then it is immediately ruined by the ending. Oh boy, the ending!

One of the major problems I have with Percabeth is that anytime there appears to be somewhat of a cute moment between them, there is nearly is almost something negative clouding their relationship that makes it impossible to enjoy.

Like with the picnic in Staff of Hermes wasn't enough, and Annabeth didn't seem to appreciate the effort and pressured Percy to do something "special" for the month anniversary (a materialistic and most likely something Annabeth said to pressure Percy) and then immediately after for the second. Not to mention Percy was already doing something for her. Like it doesn't matter Annabeth did do something for Percy in Rome later (one of the better moments of MOA honestly) and proving she could have done something herself for a date.

The real issue was the lack of appreciation and consideration.

This is no exception in what appeared to be a sweet moment turning sour, losing the impact it originally had.

Annabeth's nameless siblings come out of the bushes to capture Percy and Beckendrof, revealing the CTF was not yet over. For Percy and Beckendorf we get a good indication that for them, they had long mentally checked out of the game to prioritise other real life issues.

For a second, one might think maybe Annabeth would give Percy and Beckendorf who are already injured and probably seriously so and clearly not playing the game anymore some slack, but alas. Like mentioned at the start of this story.

The chance to beat up Percy is the best thing that ever happened to Annabeth and here she took it.

It comes across as cruel to do such a thing to Beckendorf and Percy.

Now do I believe Annabeth orchestrated that entire thing to keep them both out of the game? No.

Annabeth was as shocked as everyone else when Beckendorf got kidnapped and she mentioned she was following Percy and Beckendorf. But she didn't let Percy know that.

Annabeth allows Percy to believe she had the capacity to do that. The fact Percy considers Annabeth as perfectly capable of doing such a thing is legitimately kind of awful and it's played as a fun little scene, with the girls getting one over the boys.

Funny enough, I do think another reading in Silena's actions here is that it inadvertently shows that while Silena does love Charlie Beckendorf, when it comes to her own selfish desires, she will prioritise them and allow Beckendorf to be seriously harm in the process. That is not the intended reading but is one I nonetheless made, considering Silena's role as a traitor in the story and how she wanted to protect Beckendorf but got him killed thanks to her spying.

It screams unfairness. It feels like the first CTF, except it kind of feels worse because here was a moment Annabeth could've stepped back and allowed Percy and Beckendorf to get treated for their injuries. Heck, it didn't even need to result in Annabeth "winning". The game like the boys thought could've been over and we might even be able to see the fireworks with them.

In-universe, it feels despicable and there is a real semblance of confusion and disgust over the boys. It feels so laughably bad that Annabeth had the audacity to pull a move like that and then ask Percy out afterwards.

But this how Rick tries to equalise Percabeth. It's how he demonstrates that Annabeth is "strong." And he does that by degrading Percy. Much like the judo flip is meant to present to Reyna she is a warrior which comes at Percy's expense.

It's also presented as a feminist victory with that last line. The girls beat the boys! But it's a pseudo one, one the girls didn't earn in their own merit. Yeah, they won but it didn't feel deserved or satisfying. The victory came at a hollow cost and if Beckendorf and Percy weren't who they were, anyone else would've felt betrayed.

Winning is everything to Annabeth. We saw that from the start and she proves it here. Annabeth does jolt back to reality once she realises when Beckendorf is in danger but she didn't originally notice that and I think that was because of how single-minded she is in winning.

The ending didn't need to be like this. The ending could've been a sweet moment with all parties involved going to the Infirmary and Percy and Beckendorf getting their injuries treated and then Percy getting that invite. It could've had Annabeth continue on their chat about what Percy did to give Beckendorf time to fight Festus.

But that didn't happen.

We just saw that Annabeth is the same as she was in her first CTF as she is now. Willing to occasionally help out, but will still prioritise the game even at others' expenses.

The next final thing to look at is her interview. This is crucial because it is a look inside Annabeth's head and more importantly, how she feels about Percy. While beforehand I might have been able to take the hits as slightly playful and her arguing with Percy as cute, this changes matter.

Annabeth's interview feels like it deliberately cuts into that originally sweet moment where Annabeth showed appreciation for him but also how she can't genuinely say a compliment about Percy without a backhanded one. There can't really be a Percabeth moment that isn't tainted by a backhanded compliment, an insult or something else.

That isn't pleasant to read through, and it's not a good indicator in their relationship.

The nickname Annabeth admits herself is meant to be a dig at Percy's intelligence. Her annoyance at Percy also comes across as personal, as we know Percy is not trying to acting deliberately dumb. But that doesn't matter to Annabeth and from TLT she has always been exasperated by Percy's lack of knowledge as if he wasn't someone new exposed to this culture overnight and it wasn't her job to induct new campers to the system.

It comes across as her internally disliking Percy with how she think Percy does what he does to annoy her and how she constantly underestimates her intelligence and seems shocked whenever he is smart. Annabeth can acknowledge Percy is but its overridden by her own sense of self in that equation.

It has to be her that was directing Percy, it's thanks to her he wins and yet as we see in this story with Percy doing his own thing against Annabeth's warnings (though understandably so) this isn't true.

It's frustrating. Annabeth is still ruled by her pride and it's frustrating that a story about CTF when they are much older was a chance to show how Annabeth has grown since the first one. But she hasn't. She can't. Annabeth is the same as she always was and always will be.

That itself is the greatest tragedy of the series.

[dayasfilms]

Yasmin’s Thoughts on You and Steve

Click here to see the request

Summary: Though your mom is a bit skeptical of Steve at first, one conversation is all it takes for Yasmin to start thinking he might not be so bad, and soon after, she accepts your relationship.

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader

Year: Around November and December of 1982

Warnings: 18+ content minors dni, mentions of Y/N, mostly Yasmin’s perspective, no smut but descriptions of sex and STDs, mentions of guns and murderers, mentions of Steve’s parents being kind of mean, it would make a lot more sense to read my ST series Reticent (click the Series Masterlist below) before reading this one shot regarding the scar and pregnancy but it’s not absolutely necessary

Word Count: 3.4k

Note: Thank you for your request! I truly loved everything about this and had so much fun writing it! If you want to get added to my ST taglist, scroll all the way to the bottom and click on the green link.

Series Masterlist

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When Yasmin first saw Steve Harrington come around, it was because of a school project you two were working on during freshman year. She made sure to check in when she could, though her job in the city kept her busy. He was a teenage boy, after all, and while she trusted you, she didn’t feel entirely comfortable with him staying over. Instead, she suggested you meet in a more public place, like the library. Yasmin had seen too much in her line of work not to be cautious.

You never argued, and for that, Yasmin was grateful. After everything the two of you had been through, trust didn’t come easy. You trusted Steve, but you also knew better than to ignore your mom’s instincts.

When you and Steve started spending more time together, it didn’t go unnoticed. Yasmin picked up on the late-night phone calls, the quiet giggles, and the little notes left behind on your desk whenever she went to your room. It made her smile, seeing you make new friends. After moving you to Hawkins, where she had grown up herself, she knew how hard it had been for you to open up. Jonathan had been your only friend so far, and that was mostly because of Joyce. The two women had known each other since they were kids, so it was easy for you and Jonathan to bond.

But Yasmin also noticed the times Steve would sneak up to your room. Of course she did. She was an FBI agent, nothing got past her. And while she didn’t love the idea of him climbing through your window, she also couldn’t deny the way your eyes lit up around him. If he had just used the front door, she might’ve been more at ease. But the sneaking around made her wary. She didn’t know him well enough yet, and she couldn’t help but question his intentions.

She worried about what might happen while she was gone. That maybe Steve would come over while she was at work, or maybe you’d go to his place. She never wanted to restrict you, you’d already been through enough control in your past. All she wanted was for you to be safe, especially knowing it wouldn’t be long before you and Steve took the next step. You were teenagers, after all.

One particular afternoon, Yasmin came home early from work and decided to get ahead on laundry. After sorting the clean clothes into baskets, she grabbed the one filled with your things and carried it to your room. Pushing the door open, she stepped inside and set the basket near your bed.

She was about to leave when a soft tapping sound caught her attention. She paused, frowning slightly, her hand instinctively going to the holster she always wore just in case. The tapping continued and her heartbeat quickened as she stepped cautiously toward the window. But when she looked outside, she shook her head in disbelief.

There he was, Steve Harrington, once again attempting to sneak in through your bedroom window like he had too many times before. He hadn’t seen her yet. Yasmin unlocked the window and opened it just as he started climbing up. Arms crossed, she stood waiting.

Steve froze, eyes going wide when he finally registered who was standing in your place. “Uh, Ms.–I mean, Agent Kaul, hi,” he stammered, hands still gripping the windowsill.

Yasmin’s voice was firm. “Steve. Come inside.”

Clearing his throat, he carefully climbed in, taking his time to shut the window behind him. He kept his back to her a little longer than necessary, trying to pull himself together before turning around. Yasmin watched him silently, letting him feel the shame for a few seconds. His guilt was practically written across his face.

She finally spoke after deciding she tormented him enough. “Mind telling me why I just caught you sneaking into my daughter’s room?”

Steve shifted nervously on his feet. “I–I thought Y/N was in here. I’m sorry.”

“She’s not at home right now,” Yasmin replied simply. “But even if she were, that doesn’t explain why you’re coming through a window instead of, I don’t know, the front door?”

Steve’s gaze flicked to her holster, then back up to her face. He looked like he wanted to disappear. “I just…” He hesitated, clearly choosing his words carefully. “I was kind of scared of you. I didn’t know if you liked me. And if you didn’t, I figured you wouldn’t want me seeing your daughter anymore. And I know she wouldn’t go against your wishes, so…it just felt easier to sneak around.”

Yasmin’s expression slightly softened at that. The boy in front of her looked more like a nervous puppy than a threat. She sighed and walked over to sit on the edge of your bed, then patted the space beside her. “Sit.”

He obeyed slowly, settling on the bed next to her, still avoiding her eyes.

“You don’t think it might’ve made a better impression to just use the front door?” She asked, looking at him now. “From where I’m standing, it looks a lot like a teenage boy sneaking into my daughter’s room with bad intentions. And people get arrested for that kind of thing, dear.”

Steve’s eyes widened a little. He nodded quickly. “I’m sorry, Agent Kaul. I didn’t think of it like that. You’re right, I’ll stop. But believe me, I don’t have any bad intentions. Please don’t let me stop seeing her. I just…I don’t want to lose her. She means a lot to me.”

Yasmin watched him quietly for a moment, then gave him a small nod. “I know she does. That’s the only reason I’m still talking to you right now.”

Steve looked up at her, visibly relieved she hadn’t kicked him out. Yet.

Yasmin sighed, resting her elbows on her knees as she laced her fingers together. “Look, Steve…I’m not trying to scare you. I just know how things can go when teenagers think they’re invincible. And I’ve seen a lot more than most moms ever have. I’m not so soft about these things, not even with my own kid.”

Steve nodded slowly, trying to understand her words even if he didn’t know the extent of them. He knew she had a lot of tough cases as an FBI agent, you’ve told him that much.

“She’s been through things,” Yasmin continued, her voice softer now. “Things I won’t get into, because they’re hers to tell. But I need you to understand that she’s not like everyone else. So if you’re in her life, even in a small way…you need to respect her.”

Steve’s throat bobbed as he swallowed. “I do,” he said quietly. “I really care about her. I–I know we’re still young and I might not know everything, but I wouldn’t ever hurt her. I swear.”

Yasmin studied him for a moment, then nodded. “Good. I don’t expect you to be perfect, Steve. I just expect you to be honest with her. And with me.” She leaned back slightly, her intense gaze slowly easing. “That being said…you’re welcome here. From now on, come through the front door like a normal person. No more climbing windows.”

A sheepish smile tugged at his lips. “Yes, ma’am.”

Yasmin gave him a look. “Don’t ‘ma’am’ me. That makes me sound old.”

He chuckled, and for the first time since stepping into the room, he actually relaxed a little.

“I appreciate you being honest with me,” Yasmin added. “I know that wasn’t easy.”

“Yeah, well…” Steve scratched the back of his neck. “You’re kind of terrifying, but in a cool way. Like, FBI cool. Not…axe-murderer terrifying.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Glad we cleared that up.”

They shared a small laugh before Steve spoke again. “Um…where is Y/N, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“She’s at Jonathan’s,” Yasmin replied, and Steve’s brows furrowed. “They’re babysitting his little brother and some of his friends. It was a last minute thing.”

“Oh,” he said quietly, eyes dropping to his lap. He tried not to look disappointed, but Yasmin didn’t miss the faint frown tugging at his lips.

“They’re just friends,” she added gently, making his eyes snap back up to hers, surprised she’d caught on so easily. “Honestly, they’re more like siblings. You have nothing to worry about, Steve. She cares about you. A lot.”

That seemed to ease the tension in his shoulders, and he gave a small nod. But Yasmin could still tell something else was bothering him. Years of profiling had taught her how to read people, even ones trying their best to hide.

She tilted her head slightly. “Did you want to tell her something? Or did you just really want to see her?”

Steve rubbed the back of his neck. “Both, I guess? I don’t know. I just…wanted to talk to her. Things at home aren’t so great lately. And when I’m with Y/N, it’s like all of my problems don’t exist anymore.”

Yasmin gave him a knowing smile. “You want to talk about it? I’m a pretty great listener, in case no one told you.”

He let out a soft laugh. “I don’t want to bother you. You’ve probably got actual FBI stuff to do, like paperwork or some big case or something.”

This time it was Yasmin who laughed. “If you don’t feel comfortable talking about it, that’s fine. But seriously, if something’s bothering you, I don’t mind listening. I have the time.”

Steve sat quiet for a second, fiddling with his fingers as he worked up the courage to speak. Finally, he sighed. “It’s my parents,” he admitted. “They’re not, like, horrible people. They don’t yell or anything. But I always feel like…I’m never enough. Like no matter what I do, it’s not right. Especially with my dad. It’s like I’m constantly disappointing him without even trying. Everything I say just feels stupid around them. I don’t feel like I fit into their world.” He paused, voice lower now. “Sometimes I just want to be a normal kid with a normal family. But I don’t think I even know what that feels like.”

Yasmin’s expression softened as she listened, the sincerity in his voice tugging at her heart. She didn’t see a teenage boy making excuses, she saw someone desperately trying to find a place where he belonged.

“Steve,” she said gently. “Your feelings are valid. Wanting to feel seen…that’s human. And it doesn’t make you any less worthy just because your parents don’t always know how to show it.”

He blinked a few times, like he wasn’t used to hearing someone other than you say that.

“And you’re not dumb,” she continued. “You’re thoughtful, and you care about my daughter in a way I haven’t seen anyone care about her before. That matters. You matter.”

Steve looked down, swallowing hard. “Thanks,” he said quietly. “That…means a lot.”

“Of course.” With a satisfied smile, Yasmin stood up. “Y/N should be back soon,” she said, walking toward the door. “Also, you’re staying over for dinner. Not buts.”

Steve stood too, nodding. “Got it.”

Yasmin opened the door, then paused and looked back over her shoulder. “And Steve?”

“Yeah?”

Her tone softened once more. “She smiles more since she met you. Just…don’t give her a reason to stop.”

Steve felt his chest tighten at her words. “I won’t,” he promised without hesitation. Neither of them knew it yet, but months later, he’d break that promise without even realizing it.

With a final nod, Yasmin turned and left your room, the door clicking softly shut behind her.

Soon, Yasmin saw Steve more often around the house, this time coming in through the front door like a normal person. That little talk that they had eased her nerves more than she expected. She didn’t mind him being around anymore.

She still had a very strong suspicion the two of you had already taken the next step. And though she’d dread it at first, Yasmin couldn’t wait to give you the little ‘talk’ when the opportunity came. Just to embarrass you.

That night, Yasmin came home later than usual. Spotting Steve’s car in the driveway, she raised an eyebrow and glanced at her watch. It was well past the time he should’ve been here. She hadn’t exactly allowed him to sleep over yet.

The house was quiet as she stepped inside, dropping her bag by the door. The only sound came from the faint noise of a TV playing somewhere in the other room. She walked past the front living room, past the kitchen, and into the second living space, where she stopped by the doorway.

You were curled up fast asleep in Steve’s arms, your face pressed into his chest while he absentmindedly rubbed circles into your skin. He was focused on the movie, completely unaware of her presence. Yasmin opened her mouth to remind him of the time, but then her eyes drifted to where his hand rested.

Your shirt had ridden up slightly in your sleep, exposing the scar you hated so much. He was tracing it with gentle fingers, brushing over it like it was special. Every so often, he leaned down to press a kiss to your head. The way he looked at you made Yasmin’s heart ache in the best way. She didn’t have it in herself to interrupt.

She quietly turned around and headed upstairs to change out of her work clothes. After freshening up, she made her way back down to the kitchen and warmed up some leftover pasta. With the bowl in hand, she wandered back into the room where you were now awake, still curled against Steve, whose arms had only tightened around you like he didn’t want to let go.

Yasmin’s fork clinked lightly against the bowl, and your head shot up in alarm, eyes wide. “Mom! When did you get home?!”

Steve flinched like he’d been caught mid-crime, his hands flying off of you as if touching you might get him arrested.

“About an hour ago,” Yasmin said casually, walking around the couch to take a seat. Her eyes flicked to the TV. “What movie is this?”

“An hour?!” You repeated, whipping toward Steve with disbelief. “You didn’t hear the door?!”

He winced. “The movie must’ve been really loud?”

Yasmin raised an eyebrow, amused. “Why are you both acting guilty? You weren’t doing anything inappropriate out here, were you?”

Steve turned into the color of a tomato. You groaned, throwing your face into your hands. “Mom, please.”

“Hey, listen,” Yasmin said, trying not to laugh. “If the two of you are going to be doing anything, can you not do it on the couch? Save it for the bedroom. I don’t want to have to think about what I’m sitting on in my own house.”

Steve looked horrified. “No, ma’am, that won’t happen. I respect your daughter too much to—to ever treat her like—I mean, not that it’s a bad thing but I wouldn’t—” He trailed off in a mess of words, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m just gonna stop talking now.”

Yasmin gave a dramatic sigh. “Steve, I told you not to call me ma’am. That makes me feel old. Yasmin is just fine.” You were still hiding in your hands as Yasmin gave Steve another pointed look. “And yes, you will respect my daughter. But let’s not kid ourselves, you’re both teenagers. I may not have walked in on anything, but I’ve lived long enough to know the signs. So please, just do whatever you’re doing somewhere safe. I’m trusting both of you.”

“Mom,” you groaned again, louder this time.

Yasmin smirked. “Actually, since we’re on the topic…” She tucked her legs under herself, leaning back with a mischievous grin. “I think this is the perfect time to have ‘the talk.’”

Steve’s eyes widened in terror. “Please no.”

You covered your ears. “You’re the worst.”

She ignored your protests completely. “Listen, I’m not gonna draw diagrams or pull out charts…yet. But since you two are clearly getting closer, I just want to say this once.”

You peeked through your fingers, already dreading what was coming.

“Protection,” Yasmin said, casually stabbing at her pasta with her fork. “Use it. I don’t care how ‘in love’ you are or how many hormones are flying around. Wrap it up. Always. Every time.”

Steve looked like he wanted the couch to swallow him whole. “Yes, ma—uh, Yasmin. Of course.”

“And while I know my daughter is extremely responsible,” she said, raising an eyebrow at you. “I also know she’s not a miracle of science. So don’t be dumb. Use your brain before anything else, okay?”

You coughed, knowing what she meant by that. “Wow. Thanks, Mom.”

Steve nodded rapidly. “Definitely. Totally. Brain first. Got it.”

Yasmin stood, taking her empty bowl to the kitchen, but not before adding another comment. “Also, I have very accurate instincts. If you so much as breathe wrong around her, I’ll know.”

Steve gulped audibly.

“Good talk,” she said brightly, walking to the kitchen. “And you should get going, Steve. It’s getting late.”

You slowly turned to Steve, face still hot. “I’m so sorry.”

He blinked. “Do you think she has, like, a lie detector machine hidden in here or something?”

You groaned. “She is the lie detector machine.”

After Steve left, you walked into the kitchen. Yasmin still had that annoying little smirk on her face as she sipped from her glass of water, clearly pleased with herself. You dropped into one of the kitchen island chairs, crossing your arms and resting them on the counter as you gave her a deadpan look.

“You know you didn’t have to do that,” you said flatly.

She lifted an eyebrow in mock confusion. “Do what?”

You stared at her. “Give us ‘the talk.’”

Yasmin’s lips twitched like she was fighting a laugh.

“It’s not like that can happen anyway,” you muttered, scrunching your nose as you looked down.

She hummed, giving a small shrug. “Maybe you’re safe from motherhood at this age,” she said lightly. “But you still need to be aware of STDs.”

Your eyes snapped up, wide with horror. “Mom!” You groaned, dragging your hands down your face. “Okay, okay, I get it. But it’s not like Steve is sleeping around, and I’m not either. It’s just us.”

“I know that,” Yasmin said gently, setting her glass down and leaning forward slightly. “But being safe isn’t just about trust. It’s about protecting yourselves. Just because you love each other doesn’t mean you throw caution out the window.”

You sighed, your face still burning. “God, can we please never have this conversation again?”

Yasmin smiled. “Sure. But just know, if I ever find socks on the living room floor that don’t belong to you, I will launch into a full presentation with diagrams next time.”

You stared at her in horror. “You wouldn’t.”

She walked over to you and kissed the top of your head. “Try me.”

You groaned again, letting your head drop onto your arms. “I can’t believe Steve didn’t run as far as he could the minute you brought it up.”

“Oh, he almost did,” Yasmin called over her shoulder as she rinsed her glass. “But then he remembered how much he likes you. Poor kid.”

You lifted your head just enough to say something back. “You’re so annoying.”

She grinned. “Love you too, sweetie.”

Yasmin had learned to be more accepting of your relationship with Steve. It was nice to see you smiling again and she never wanted that light in you to fade. And as you grew closer to Steve, Yasmin and Steve began to grow closer too.

So close, in fact, that once Steve got more comfortable around her, they started teaming up against you. They’d become an irritating duo, especially when it came to calling you out during your study marathons.

Like tonight, when you sat at the dining table buried under textbooks, your hoodie pulled over your head, and your third cup of coffee forgotten on the table.

“You know finals aren’t a personality trait, right?” Steve said as he poked your shoulder, grinning down at you.

“She hasn’t blinked in ten minutes,” Yasmin added, leaning against the fridge as she watched you.

“I don’t like either of you,” you groaned and sank further into your hoodie. “And you should be studying too, Steve.”

Steve bent down and kissed your temple. “We love you. And I am studying, except I’m taking a break. Now you do the same or I’m hiding your highlighters.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

Yasmin raised an eyebrow. “He would. And I’d help him.”

You narrowed your eyes at both of them, but the corners of your mouth betrayed you with a smile. There was something special about being surrounded by people who truly loved you, even if they occasionally teamed up to make fun of you.

You wouldn’t have it any other way.

ㅤ♡ ㅤ♡ ㅤ♡

•• @kirriririririri @djospresso @folkwh0reforevermore

get added to my ST taglist

ㅤ♡ ㅤ♡ ㅤ♡

[blueishspace]

Fated Life session 4

Bluishspace aka me (He/Him) - 18:30

@a-sociopath-do-your-research aka Oli (Xe/Void/It) - 18:30

@bendy8me aka Bendy (She/Her) - 16:30

@juno0n aka Juno (She/Her) - 19:30

@raeistrying aka Rae (She/Her) - 19:30

@silverorchideon aka Orchid (He/They) - 19:30

@communistcatboi aka Catboi (He/They) - 19:30

@theblackglitch aka Glitch (She/Her) - 19:30

@kazanfamily aka Kazan (He/They) - 18:30

@twisttea aka Twisttea (She/Her) - 20:30

@cowgirlginger aka Ginger (She/Her) - 18:30

@thatlonelygirl07 aka Manu (She/Her) - 20:30

@lizzlylou aka Liz (They/Them) - 17:30

@thatoneloudintrovert aka Floracica (She/Her) - 18:30

@not-ready-for-gaster aka Bee (She/They) - 18:30

@whats-she-gonna-post-next aka Starfall (She/They) - 18:30

@frostywisp aka Fros (They/Them) - 18:30

@the-local-pineapple aka Tessa (She/Her) - 19:30

@spectresharmony aka Ari (She/Her) - 18:30

@astoriagalaxy aka Astoria (All) - 16:30

@3-pots-of-soup aka Soup (Any) - 17:30

@hayunjin aka Hayunjin (She/Her) -17:30

@craftingelephant aka Elephant (He/Him) - 19:30

@thejade-empress aka Jade (She/Her) - 18:30

@rachiecrown aka Rachie (She/Her/Any) - 19:30

Firstly, we have a new wheel:

Attempts at monopoly are gone and traps have returned!

Let's start the session:

Juno gifts Hayunjin an hour. -1h to Juno. +1h to Hayunjin.

Rae questions Tessa about the bloom cult. (Really asked the only Northlander that doesn't know anything)

Ari fills Elephant's house with chickens. (Look at all those chickens.)

Bee finds the geode that like 3 different people have found.

Bendy travels to the nether but is forced to leave by mobs.

Ginger digs Floracica's outer wall but is caught and forced to flee.

Liz travels to the Nether and manages to get a bunch of blaze rods.

Catboi and Soup mock Twisttea.

Astoria tries to get Fros to join the Wall™ and it must have been a really bad attempt because Fros basically goes fuck this shit I'm out and allies with the insolents (Jade's weird cult because there's another cult now???)

Starfall gets blown up by a creeper. -1h to Starfall.

Orchid steals the remaining wither skull.

Glitch donates 1h to Jade in exchange of an IOU. -1h to Glitch. +1h to Jade.

Manu begins trapping the Northlanders base.

Blue, Oli and Rachie travel together to spy on the Wall™. (Hobbits reunion + Rachie)

Kazan travels to the Nether where they get a nether skull.

The boogeyman is chosen, It's ???

Soup begins trapping the paths.

Rachie keeps...spying on the Wall???? Like, Blue and Oli left but Rachie is still there. Watching.

Juno steals the wither skull from right under Orchid's nose.

Fros spends time trying to breed a super horse.

Floracica backstabs Astoria revealing herself to be the boogeyman. -2h to Astoria. +1h to Floracica. Astoria becomes the first yellow life.

The Wall™ does NOT split.

Tessa travels to the Nether but falls into lava. -1h to Tessa.

Manu manages to convince Rae to give her an hour. +1h to Manu. -1h to Rae.

Twisttea lies to Bee by saying that she heard that Floracica said that Bee is the worst player in the server.

Elephant finds a naturally spawned pink sheep.

Ari falls into a ravine...but survives. Weird. I didn't know that was an option.

Catboi pushes Orchid of a cliff. Catboi was the second boogeyman! There were two! -2h to Orchid. +1h to Catboi.

Kazan steals the wither head from Juno.

Starfall accidentally gets the wither head from Kazan. . . somehow.

Bendy and Liz fight over who gets to steal Fros' horse, neither get it as the fight attracts Fros' attention.

Glitch is stuck in a flooded cave and drowns. -1h to Glitch.

Jade, Hayunjin and Ginger fish together.

This is the thirty minute mark, Bendy naturally goes yellow.

Tessa fills Glitch's base with water...too soon, she just drowned.

Catboi and Bee encounter eachother while trying to build secret bases...akward.

Elephant finds a geode, surprisingly It's a different one.

Fros steals the wither head from Starfall. (What is happening???)

Orchid falls into a pool of lava and dies. -1h to Orchid. Orchid turns yellow.

Twisttea explodes the Wall™ with tnt, this is the second big hit the Wall™ has taken but surprisingly the wheel has decided they still stick together????

Starfall is convinced by Astoria to join the Wall™ in secret.

Juno messes with Bendy using fishing rods.

Soup and Ari talk about Astoria and Bendy being now yellow lives.

Manu steals from Rachie's base and is NOT caught.

Rae places a pufferfish in Ginger's place, Ginger takes way too long to find it.

Astoria attacks Floracica and places lava on her which brings her death. -1h to Floracica. +0:30 to Astoria. (Funny story about this one, when Astoria died earlier I made the decision that the first time murder was selected it would be done by her and I would only spin the victim...when I spun Floracica...well, I was shocked)

The Wall™ is over, no way it stays together after that. The wheel decrees that Astoria gets to keep Elephant AND Starfall in the "divorce".

Kazan and Hayunjin talk shit about the other players.

Blue gives Jade an hour in exchange of a promise of not going against the other. -1h to Blue. +1h to Jade.

Oli and Liz go to the nether and manage to get a wither skull each.

Halfway trough the session, let us recap the life changes:

-3h to Orchid. -2h to Glitch. -1:30 to Astoria. -1h to Juno. -1h to Tessa. -1h to Rae. -1h to Blue. -1h to Starfall. +1h to Hayunjin. +1h to Manu. +1h to Catboi. +2h to Jade.

That's...a lot.

So, second half of the session here we go:

Orchid begins a small wolf army just in case.

Blue and Oli discuss a return of the hobbits secret alliance with the agreement to make it official only after each respective team falls apart.

Liz steals the wither skeleton head from Starfall in the way of a bet. So not really "steal".

Elephant begins reconstructing the Wall™.

Bee travels through the server to scope out the competion.

Tessa FINALLY joins the cult of the blossom goddess. I don't know why it took so long.

Astoria begins plotting revenge on Twisttea but talks about it out loud and is heard by Soup.

Kazan finds a spawner, It's already in use by another tram but it doesn't stop them.

Bendy attempts to attack a now lonely and exiled Floracica but is caught off guard and falls into a ravine. -1h to Bendy.

Jade hides some of Twisttea's many dogs and when is questioned about it by Twisttea she blames Astoria.

Rachie begins trapping their base.

Fros and Rae begin their own cult, as a joke, but change their minds once they realize everyone else is going to take it seriously. And murder them over it.

Glitch refuses Manu's offer of a secret anti-Bee alliance. (Manu what the fuck are you doing-)

Juno accidentally sets off a trap but survives.

Ginger steals an horse (probably one of Fros failed attempts at the super horse).

Ari travels to the Nether but is forced back out by mobs.

Hayunjin and Catboi lament the chaos this session.

Liz summons the wither, she survives.

Starfall runs from the wither.

Rae runs from the wither.

Ari runs from the wither.

Bendy is caught off guard and is killed by the wither. -1h to Bendy.

Jade dies to a mob after being weakened by withering. -1h to Jade.

Juno falls into a ravine while trying to escape. -1h to Juno.

Bee dies trying to fight the wither. -1h to Bee.

Fros is killed by the wither. -1h to Fros.

Orchid is unaware of the wither.

Astoria is unaware of the wither.

Glitch is unaware of the wither.

Soup is unaware of the wither.

Catboi hides from the wither underground.

Ginger hides from the wither underground.

Manu hides into the Nether.

Elephant is chased by the wither.

Rachie is chased by the wither.

Twisttea dies to Hayunjin by accident while they are tryin to attack the wither. -1h to Twisttea. +0:30 to Hayunjin.

Kazan actively helps the wither.

Floracica survives the fight.

Oli survives the fight.

Blue survives the fight.

Tessa gets the final hit and nether star.

And that's session 4... that was

A lot

[thefivebyfivecrow]

no SO true. xander was just projecting his hate for buffy dating vampires onto riley - and perhaps a bit of underlying jealousy and regret that he never got with buffy.

i genuinely believe none of xander’s words should’ve been about riley as a guy but more as a concept. cause, generally, half his speech isn’t too bad. it’s just a shame that his underlying intention is ‘go humiliate yourself by begging riley back’ and not ‘learn from this experience for the next guy’.

cause saying ‘you shut down bc of angel’ is a valid point. ‘if he isn’t the guy, make if a clean break’ is also valid bc i think buffy Had Been stepping back from riley bit by bit (logically so bc she had a million other things on her mind!!! saving the world!!! and ESPECIALLY season five. hello!!! magical sister !!! sick mother !!! hellgod!!!!) but kept him on a bit of a leash for comfort. which is understandable! and maybe buffy should’ve let riley go before, cause part of her did shut riley out, did treat him as a sort of proof to angel she’d date someone normal, but never as her endgame. and saying ‘if you think you can love someone, scary, messy, no-emotion-barred need, work for it’ would’ve been more valid as a general statement than regarding riley.

calling buffy out on her saying riley was dependable was valid !!! a partner is more than just dependable (not mentioning that riley wasn’t even that with his late night risky suicide attempts at the suckhouse) and should be more than just someone to lean on.

but saying ‘he risked everything’ ?? he risked a military career at first glance bc buffy showed him how fucked up the Initiative was, with all her nuance and grey areas. and that wasn’t even a risk cause he got back in!! saying ‘he’s never held back with you’ when the one thing riley Never did was talk to buffy. he went from zero issues we good🥰 to secretly going to a suckhouse on the reg to boom! ultimatum!. i’m convinced they coulda made it work longer had riley told buffy that he doesn’t feel loved, that he doesn’t feel needed, so buffy could’ve thrown dawn & joyce & slayer duties & glory back in his face and he woulda eaten his words but alas! he is the guy that comes by once in a lifetime, right xander? cheating included?

man riley reaaaaally does the whole manic pixie dream girl number on buffy. he calls her a mystery and things she's so enigmatic but when reality hits he literally cannot face it because he only wants her to be a mystery. a part of me wonders if buffy enjoyed the relationship in it's early days because it was kind of like the reverse how her and angel were - angel was the mystery, and she was the one always trying to figure him out. now that she's the mystery, she has the power between her and riley, but it creates imbalance like it did with her and angel.

[cloverprogram]

Feeling crazy about Waterbottle. Waterbottle who is so genuinely caring and kind and so full of love but is just considered to be bad at social interaction when Waterbottle is clearly just incredibly literal and blunt (AUTISM💙) and also a bit of a social outcast. Waterbottle lives far away from everyone else. They're the only reprogram at minimum who hasn't gotten rid of their arm weapon. They're tone is implied to be very dead pan.

And like I genuinely think this is partially attributed to the way Reprogram Town has decided to work. All the reprograms are scared. They're scared even the slightest temptation will make them war machines again. They replace their limbs, cover up parts of their bodies, because they're horrified of even the temptation of using it. It's to the point Wrench puts an insane amount of pressure on himself because everyone else is horrified of fighting things! Because what if it makes them evil, what if it makes them back to the way they were? The slightest temptation of being violent is so horrifying to them it's just... Unreal.

Waterbottle in the way they exist and act is something that sticks out as a result. And they've always stuck out from the beginning— After all, they were the strongest. But also they resemble how a "war machine" would act from the point of view of the other reprograms. And just like the reprograms, Waterbottle is scared too! Waterbottle wants to be like everyone else! There's so much fear of fighting or causing any damage or pain to anything (or even being upset in certain ways) that it pushes people who even resemble that away. Negativity or confrontation can be scary because what if they become killing machines again because of it?

Then there's Hammer. Hammer, who genuinely cares, but also always sounds sarcastic, is in a state of being perpetually tired and doesn't really act super positive about stuff in general. Hammer doesn't seem to be as much of an outcast as Waterbottle, but simultaneously she clearly doesn't "fit in". It's to the point Wrench gets worried about making her feel bad, not just because of being a protective older brother, but I also think it's because it's scary to him. He doesn't think she'll become a killing machine or something again, but I do think he unconsciously fears the idea of negative emotions to an extent. It doesn't help he's very emotional, and your sibling not being as emotional as you, especially when you have trouble connecting to other point of views at times, it can seem scary in a town where everyone is encouraged to not experience intense negative emotions or cause destruction of any kind. Obv we see this change in game, but it makes me think, y'know? How it affects characters like Waterbottle.

And like combined with all of this Waterbottle wants so desperately to fit in to the point they're willing to change entirely. At first it isn't as drastic, but when Waterbottle realizes that wish to harm or destroy is still there? When they experience someone they heavily care about nearly die because of them? When during the whole time in the friendship labs they've been told that their existence and way of acting is wrong and signs of being a bad friend? When they're told, mid breakdown, that they should consider being rebooted?

They want to become someone else entirely. They desperately want to not be Waterbottle.And Waterbottle is tempted by the idea because they just acted like something the reprograms would fear. Because they are themself. It's to the point they attempt getting rebooted multiple times, and then almost does it manually themself— and the only reason that didn't happen was because of timing.

Waterbottle's goal is to make friends with someone. But while they may be a social outcast, they end up missing the people who genuinely love them for the way they are. Yeah, there may be awkward times, there may be times of Waterbottle not understanding something, or being too blunt or literal. But at the end of the day?

They have people who love them. People who want to be their friend. There are reprograms who love Waterbottle for who they are. And I feel like it's especially personal when it comes from Hammer. Hammer, who has clearly always worried about Waterbottle and also acts different from Reprogram Town standards. Hammer, who genuinely wants Waterbottle to be happy and not isolate themself and not put themself down.

This is probably really messy and ramble-y but TLDr; I'm not saying Reprogram Town is evil but I think they carried stigma from the Friendship Labs with them into their home environment and accidentally made a society that outcasts people for acting "different" from "how they should be" because they're so scared to be killing machines again and this affects Waterbottle deeply.

Also I'm super tired and eepy.

[nthspecialll]

Sorry if I'm a bit dumb but I did not understand what you meant by this in your last post:

"He (Dutch) is also the only person in the gang to have middle names, or in fact just more than a first and middle name. Even in something as simple as names, he has to have more than others."

Do you mean "Van" and "Der"? Because they are not middle names but part of the surname, which in Dutch means "from the lime/linden trees" and it is apparently quite a common surname among Dutch people. If Dutch's parents gave him the name "Dutch van der Linde", I don't really see how it can be used as an example of Dutch elevating himself over others. There are certainly other examples.

Sorry if I didn't read you correctly or misunderstood

Absolutely, let me explain myself a bit better and sorry for the bad well explaination.

Firstly, pardon the wrong uh... classification (?) of his name. What I merely meant with 'van der linde' is that it is more than two word, I suppose? Like none of the other characters have more than Mary-Beth's and hers is connected with the - whatever that line is called in english.

and secondly, lets talk about names and their meanings. Dutch having a very unique names compared to everyone else in practially the entire game is naturally something that the developers were highly aware of when naming their characters, and they were likely also aware of how important names are in terms of fitting in or excluding yourself from different groups.

Rains Fall has a lakota name, however does not use it when speaking to any english speakers because it often troubles them and it would further exclude him in their minds. Javier's name is pronounced wrong, which production wise was due to a mistake of Robs, but still in game Javier accepts that his name is mispronounced over and over and doesn't even make an attempt at correcting them.

Those might seem like very weak examples of trying to show how names can bind you to a group, but lets look at Colm. Colm is Irish or at least Irish American, he is running a gang of irish folk yet he deliberately mispronounces his own name over and over to fit the Americans. Now it sounds like such a small thing, but Irish folk during this time were discriminated against violently, like when job listings were made they literally said irish folk shouldn't apply.

Colm is Irish, his name is irish, he is running a gang of irish folk yet he goes out of his way to not sound irish. He does not want to be part of his gang consisting of a discriminated minority, he wants to lead them but not be part of them. He doesn't care about being an outlaw, he admits that he is, but he does not want to be irish, thus he changes the way his name is pronounced.

Now to relate that to Van Der Linde. Firstly, we don't know if his birth name is Dutch so there is that but, Van Der Linde by default has a very special name, one that catches attention, but it is also one that makes him stand out in contrast to his gang members.

Remember how I said Colm doesn't care about being an outlaw, he just doesn't want to be irish? Dutch doesn't want to be a criminal and a low life, despite the fact he is, it is the reason why he has a better tent, the reason he has better clothing, the reason he has all of these things that seem of higher class and seem more expensive. You can also see when he does want to try to fit in he will use names that don't stand out as much, like Archibald Smith, Hoagy Macintosh, Aiden O'Malley.

Embracing a name that makes him stand out, is absolutely not the most obvious way that Dutch deattches himself from the rest of the gang, however it is just a small detail that I found interesting. It is nothing major and might just be me reading too far into things, but it was a random thought I had and threw out there.