#but this has been stuck in my head for a while

[monster-effer]

Syntribation | Clenched Thighs Save Lives – Sylus x reader

Summary: You have an interesting technique to get off. It is not something you’re ashamed of, but it has caused friction in past relationships. But you’re with Sylus now, how will he handle this part of you? Content: MDNI, suggestive and sexual acts mentioned, hurt (past) and comfort, fluff, Sylus and reader are dating (~900 wc) A/N: This is for the girlies that get off via syntribation! It’s a topic that’s near and dear to my heart and something I have yet to see mentioned in a fanfic. I tried to envision how Sylus would react to a reader confessing that this masturbation method is the only way they get off. There is more dialogue than usual because I am trying to work on improving that skill. Enjoy <3

It’s not that you don’t want to be intimate with Sylus, because you really really do. You just feel too worried to even attempt such a feat due to what it takes to get you off. Your preferred and only way to reach your peak is extremely specific, but nothing else works for you.

You’ve stuck to masturbating this way since you experienced your first orgasm and have had no urge to change.

Until now.

Until him.

Sylus was a breath of fresh air. He was everything you could want in a partner. He was ridiculously tall, gorgeous, witty, protective, and he never misses an opportunity to build up your self-confidence. He was a walking wet dream.

It was painful to avoid his advances because of your insecurity. And lately, the excuses you give to delay the inevitable conversation are starting to make you cringe.

“I’m on my period.” “My stomach hurts.” “I just got a call from work?” “I sense a wanderer nearby!”

Currently, you both were laying on your sides while smooching in Sylus’ massive bed. It was a cozy weekend morning and you two were still in your pajamas. You reluctantly pulled your lips away from his before it could get too heated. Another silly excuse was on the tip of your tongue. But before you could get it out, Sylus interrupted you.

“Kitten…I’ve noticed that you shy away when I attempt to be more intimate with you,” Sylus says slowly.

Sylus is a patient man, but it seems the more time he gave you, the farther you ran from him. He is also an observant man, and he can see and feel how much you enjoy kissing him and having him caress your body. But something is holding you back and he’s going to find out what that is.

Your heart is racing as you sit up, lean against the headboard, and let out a sigh. “Is that so?” you ask as you begin fidgeting with your fingers.

Sylus sits up against the headboard with you and holds one of your hands. “Yes. I would like to know why or if I have done something wrong. The last thing I want is to make you uncomfortable.”

You close your eyes and take a deep breath. “Have you ever heard of syntribation?”

Sylus tilts his head to the side as his eyes are trained on your face. “I can’t say that I have. Care to enlighten me?”

You feel your hands get clammy and your face warms. “Well, syntribation describes how I masturbate. It is the only way I can reach orgasm.”

You take in a shaky breath before continuing. “In simpler terms, I usually clench my thighs and other muscles to reach orgasm.”

You begin to speak faster, forcing the words out. “Which makes it hard for me to orgasm during sex. Past partners have given up trying to pleasure me entirely because it is ‘too difficult.’ And in the end, it left me feeling broken.”

“But I don’t want to feel that way with you Sylus. I’ve avoided everything past kissing and fondling because I’m scared.”

The silence in his bedroom is LOUD and you begin to worry that you overshared. Before you can conjure up another excuse to flee you feel Sylus let go of your hand and take a gentle yet firm hold of your chin. His hold directs your eyes back up to his and you see a tender smile on his face and lust darkened eyes.

“Kitten, this is what has been holding you back? You have nothing to be afraid of.”

“You don’t think it’s weird?” you ask in a hushed voice.

“Not at all,” he says simply. He lets go of your chin now that your eyes are focused on him.

“In fact, I would love a demonstration of this syntribation. I have so much to learn.”

You feel the familiar, fearful heaviness in your stomach at his suggestion. “You don’t need to do that!” you blurt out.

“No kitten, I insist. I already have a few ideas that I want to try with you, but I need to do my research first,” he smirks at you before pulling you onto his lap and your head down for a kiss. Both of his large hands rest on the sides of your face as your lips meet.

You wrap your arms around his lower back and eagerly press your lips against his. A soft moan leaves you as you feel your bottom lip being sucked into Sylus’ mouth. And you feel yourself soften onto his tongue.

Kissing Sylus is always a sensual experience but today feels unique. Like he can’t get enough of you.

As you continue to kiss, you feel his tongue brush against the seam of your lips and you open them for him. His warm tongue caresses yours as he begins to explore your soft mouth.

You melt further into the kiss and curl your tongue around his. Sylus pushes you back slightly so he can trail his hands down your body, to rest on your hips. Your breath hitches when you feel your breast bounce as you’re jerked backwards.

You maintain eye contact with him as you lean in towards him and place your left hand against the headboard. Your right hand slips behind his head so you can thread your fingers through his white, silky hair before firmly pressing your lips back against his.

Sylus uses his hold on your hips to press you down and rock you gently against his hard cock that you can clearly feel through his thin pajama pants. You whimper into his mouth as you pull away, this time for a new reason.

With a mischievous smile on your face you ask, “Are you ready to start researching now?”

[senseichaos]

JINX X READER SMUT HEADCANNONS

ANTIS DNI!!

MINORS DNI!!!

I like the idea that when her relationship with reader becomes sexual she starts making toys, strap ons, vibrators, nipple clamps (bonus if they have weights AND vibration), hell she'd probably even make buttplugs and shock collars if you asked! She just loooves making things, especially if they make you squirm.

Speaking of shocks collars I think she'd reaaally enjoy casual sadism (If you're into it!!), the idea of her putting a collar on you and playing games together, shocking you with the collar whenever you lose.. my legs are buckling. Imagine her making a leash for it and leading you around on all fours like a dog, treating you like one as well. She'd also probably like a bit of Impact play and spanking, but not as much as she enjoys the less hands-on approach (especially because you'll start begging for her to touch you!). She'll most likely only spank and punch if you've been extra naughty.

I also think she'd be into heavy teasing and orgasm denial, and when i say orgasm denial, i MEAN orgasm denial. We're talking whole edging sessions that could last hours, dragged out foreplay, and even not letting you cum for days if she feels like it. And when you do get to cum she watches it so closely, eyes unwavering as you have an 'explosive' orgasm. She imagines your orgasms after she edges you like a bomb going off.

She's usually up for anything, definitely the experimental type. Which is why when you brought up your gun and weapon kink you didn't even have to explain, instead she'd stuck a gun to your head and threatened to pull the trigger if you came while she fucked you.

While she prefers giving, simply to watch you squirm- She also enjoys receiving head. Just the view of you between her thighs licking and sucking away at her pussy makes her close to orgasm. Sometimes, she likes to have you eat her out for hours on end to see who will tap out first (it's almost always you).

I imagine she's into choking, weirdly receiving and giving. However, she only lets you choke her sometimes, and she always has to he on top.

She usually is quite dominant because it arouses her, but she also dominates because she hates the idea of submitting. The times you and her have romantic sex rather than kinky is usually when you see her in her most submissive state.

Was not expecting this to be so long... I just kept writing and having ideas!

[luvgam3]

Riding Kiyotaka Ijichi in his car + glasses wearing reader

Summery: Ijichi accidentally leaves his lunch in your work bag, so you get to have a spontaneous lunch date! It’s not everyday you get to spend half an hour of uninterrupted time with your boyfriend… might as well take advantage.

cw: mdni, afab!reader, horned up Ijichi?, reader wears glasses, car sex so semi public, nothing crazy

You groan, rolling over and grabbing your phone to shut off the loud ringing as Ijichi yawns beside you, digging the heels of his palms into his sleep crusted eyes. “G’morning.” You grumble, your voice horse and gravely as you stretch your arms above your head.

Both of your schedules are always clashing. Between working and errands and appointments you hardly have any downtime, by the time you both crawl into bed you’re already spent, curled into one another and falling into a deep dreamless sleep before waking to the sound of your alarms only a few hours later— which is exactly what happened last night.

Ijichi hums in response, his usual smooth voice a low grumbling as he tries to work the grogginess from his bones.

You both fall into your respective morning routines— Ijichi showers while you make breakfast and pack your lunches, you do your hair while Ijichi pours you both coffee and lays out your clean work clothes on the bed— and so on and so forth until you’re leaning over your seat to press a quick kiss to his cheek before jumping out of the car and heading into work.

Lunch rolls around, the only time of day you get to sit down and call your boyfriend in peace (if he isn’t busy). You open your phone and press on his name, listening to the soft ringing before the line crackles and his voice cuts through. “Hi angel—“ he says, you can hear him flick on his blinker as he drives. “Did I leave my lunch in your bag this morning?” He asks. “Mm let me check—“ you murmur, rifling through your work bag, finding his lunch next to yours.

What a happy accident, he thinks as he pulls infront of your building, beaming as he rolls down the tinted window of his car to look out at you waiting for him. You smile back at him as you climb inside, pressing a kiss to his cheek again before he parks in an empty corner behind your building. Blooming trees shade the sun from view, most people refuse to park under it, hating the way leaves and pedals would get stuck under their hoods and windshields— and the walk from this parking spot to the front of the building made the walk even less enjoyable. But it made for a great impromptu picnic location!

You hand Ijichi his lunch, leaning back in your seat with a sigh as you ask him about his day so far.

He shrugs, resting his bag down at his feet before gently cupping your cheek, his thumb trailing softly against your skin as you relish the warmth of his touch. “How’re you, beautiful?” He asks, voice gentle as you look at him and his goofy lopsided smile.

“Tired… I miss you.” You admit, nuzzling against his palm.

His brow twitches in confusion, “we see eachother everyday.”

You laugh, your hand closing over his, bringing it off of your face and holding it in your lap. “I know that! We just never get any alone time, we’re always so busy.” You groan the last part, head lulling to the side dramatically.

You aren’t sure why you’re even bringing this up, sure it gets a little annoying sometimes but that’s never stopped you both from doing things together after work.

“Well we’re here now.” He says, his other hand moving to gently squeeze your arm. That innocent little action has heat pooling in your lower belly. That’s ridiculous! You think. He didn’t even do anything. But now that you think about it… it has been a while since you’ve both been intimate. Fuck, you’re lucky if you have enough energy at the end of the day to even kiss him goodnight.

Your eyes find his, that glint in them makes his stomach tighten and his cheeks flush. “What’s that look for?”

You raise your brows, that look of mock innocence gracing your features as he squirms in his seat. “Look all I’m saying is—“ you start, unbuckling your seatbelt and slipping off your shoes, “we each have forty five minutes left on break—“

Ijichi clears his throat, “I actually only have twenty—“ but you cut him off as you lean over and unbuckle his seatbelt for him, listening to it whip back into place before swinging your leg over the gearshift to place yourself firmly in his lap.

Good. Lord. His breath catches in his throat as you look down at him, his heart hammering wildly in his chest as you hike up your skirt with one hand, your other cups his cheek tenderly before you lean down and capture his lips in a searing kiss. You swallow down his desperate moans, his slender fingers digging into the fat of your thighs while you blindly fumble with his belt buckle.

Clink, click, ziiip!

He’s hot and throbbing as you palm at his clothed erection, straining against the fabric of his boxers. You pull back, his lips chasing yours before you push him back against the seat, a huff leaving his swollen lipstick smeared mouth. “You got enough time for this?” You ask, your lips pulled into a smirk as you watch him writhe beneath you, hurriedly nodding as his hands squeeze at you, pulling you down fully on his lap. You both moan as your clothed cunt meets his sensitive bulge, his hands groping at the globes of your ass as he urges you to grind against him, leaning forward to smash his lips into yours once more— all tongues and teeth this time as you moan into his mouth.

Your hands snake down his chest, clinging to his hips as you detach your lips from his with a wet pop. Drool dribbles down his chin, before it can fall onto the collar of his shirt you quickly press the flat of your tongue against his skin and drag upward. Your breath is hot against his face, glasses knocking together as your tongue slides past his lips, his hips thrusting upward to meet your small wiggles and grinds.

With eager hands Ijichi slips his fingers under the damp fabric of your panties, thin fingers slipping through your slick folds as you mewl against his lips before he slides your panties to the side. Your hands seek his boxers but before you can lean back and slip him out of his confines he beats you to it, deft fingers push down the worn elastic of his underwear, his cock springing free, the rosy head swollen and glistening as it rubs against the moist material of your panties.

His lips press hot open mouthed kisses along your jaw, wet and hot as he pants out “Can I?” His voice curls into a whine as your hand join his at the base of his cock, guiding it through your folds until it catches on your fluttering hole.

You both moan out as the head pushes past that tight little ring of muscle, a thin sheen of sweat coating his brow, his glasses fogging at the edges as you sink down inch by torturous inch until you’re flush against him, your clit rubbing against the bunched up fabric of your panties as he squirms under you, fingers digging into you to keep you in place as your own tangle in his neatly combed hair.

“O—oh fuck—“ he moans, lips kiss bitten and trembling as you roll your hips.

Oh how he wishes this could last forever— your gummy walls sucking him in, your juices already dribbling down his shaft—

“This okay?” You ask, your eyes heavy as you take in his features— his beautifully smooth face flushed and sweaty as his eyes fight to stay open, his mouth hangs open, moaning as you suck him farther inside only to pull back at an agonizing pace.

Ijichi nods, his hips aching to thrust up into you, “yes, beauty. go— ugh— faster.” You don’t deny him that pleasure, quickly shifting from gentle steady rolling motions to bouncing on his cock.

The soft squelch of your pussy splitting open around his cock has Ijichi’s ears ringing, a steady stream of whimpers spilling from his mouth as you do all the work. The car rocks softly, windows fogging as you gasp into each other’s gaping mouths between stolen kisses, nipping at his bottom lip when you get the chance to- soothing the sting with your hot and eager tongue.

“Oh god—“ he cries, eyes glassy as he watches you lean back, hands bracing the steering wheel behind you so that you can go faster. Your tits jiggle under your clothes, your glasses fall down the bridge of your nose, your hair sticks to your sweat slicked forehead— you’re just so… so hot.

His head swims, hazy as his gaze drops to your joined bodies, a frothy creamy ring forms at the base of his cock, the sticky substance clings to your glistening folds as you continue to thrust down onto him with increasing intensity as you selfishly chase your own peak.

Your head lulls forward, incoherent words tumbling for your lips as Ijichi takes two fingers and pushes your sliding glasses back up your face. “Thank you baby.” You mumble with your spit glossed lips. The sight has Ijichi leaning forward, pulling your chest to his as his hips meet yours, snapping upward at a brutal pace as his tongue darts out to lick at your sweat speckled neck with a low groan.

When you and Ijichi make love he’s always so tender, sweet soft kisses and a gentle grip that doesn’t hurt, he loves when you guide him through it— but now? After you both accidentally deprived yourselves for god knows how long? This isn’t love making, this is fucking.

The feeling swimming around in his gut is something new, he wants to wrap a slender hand around your throat, pull your hair, push your face into a pillow— anything if it means you’ll make these vile little sounds again.

You moan, back arching in his hold as he plows up into you, your arousal dribbling down your thighs and seeping into his pants. But fuck— he doesn’t care. Not when you’re babbling, treading the fine line between moaning and screaming as his tip kisses that spongy spot deep inside you that has you tightening around his dick.

This feeling buzzing deep inside of him has him seeing stars. His spine tingles as his hands grope and knead at your flesh in a new way.

He wants to pop the buttons on your work shirt, tear the fabrics with his teeth and rip down your bra so he can suck and bite at your tits as they bounce in his face.

“Oh my-g-god— I don’t think I can—“ he babbles, moans melting into sudden strangled whines as you start rubbing your clit in tight sloppy circles, your cunt clamping down around him, threatening to milk him dry. “M’gonna— oh-f-fuck—“

“Cum in me— Jichi— fuck! Jichiplease!” You cry, eyes scrunching tight as the coil in your stomach snaps, your hips aching and ears ringing as you cum around him, pussy fluttering as your body goes slack against him, lazily meeting his hurried thrusts until you feel him spill inside you. His ears ring as his cock twitches between your slick gummy walls, mind blank and empty aside from the thought of you pumped full of him. Hot spurts of cum paint your insides as he moans against your neck, “oh— oh shit—“ he pants, breathing in your perfume and sweat, his body trembling just as much as yours as you melt into each other.

As you lay in his arms catching your breath you chuckle, head still fuzzy as you come done from your high.

“Ijichi?” You hum.

“Hm?”

“I haven’t heard you swear this much before.” You laugh, your fingers carding through his hair as he groans, his softening cock twitching inside you as you lean back slightly.

If his cheeks weren’t already bright red they’d be burning with embarrassment. “I don’t want to think about it—“ he mumbles.

“No!” You tsk, biting down another laugh as you feel him nuzzle into your neck. “It was hot.”

He groans again, embarrassed and horny all at once— that pathetic little feeling so enticing. For his sake you pretend like you don’t feel his cock jump inside you at your confession, maybe tonight you’ll be able to pull some more colorful words out of those pretty lips of his. When you aren’t on a time crunch of course.

[freezebobs]

DBFZ Yamcha and Ten cookies...done!!!

Soo I've been on a mission to recreate the Yamcha and Ten cookies from dragon ball fighterz because they're adorable...and they're finally real!! :'D process and info below! (kind of long lol)

I saw someone share these screencaps from the game a while ago and as someone who never played DBFZ I was so charmed at how cute these things are. I wondered if anyone had ever made cookie cutters for them, did a quick search and didn't really find anything, so just kind of moved on.

A few months later I remembered them again and was like, man, I really would love to see these brought to life lol. And I searched again and actually found someone who made them!!... But they weren't selling them anymore. 😭💔

^Reddit post from user ShadowLord898.

So in the next few days I went into the DBFZ game files, figured out how to navigate them and locate/open the proprietary file types (took...a lot of googling), and eventually found the cookie textures!!! Which I then painstakingly traced over to create vectors.

I thought once I had the vectors, it would be easy to drop them into a 3D program and extrude them to make the cookie cutters. BOY WAS I WRONG!!! It's probably just my inexperience working with vectors in 3D programs, but I tried Blender, Fusion 360, and Tinkercad and had problems in each one before finally figuring out the right approach. (I really almost gave up 🤧 but I hadn't realized that your geometry/topology don't need to be perfect when 3D modeling for print as opposed to, like, something you plan to create a texture for.)

Tinkercad and its extremely user friendly interface, plus SVG import functionality, saved me.

Oh then I realized I forgot to reverse the design, which you have to do for a cookie cutter because of how they work. I thought I would need to flip all the vectors and re-import them, recreate the models... but thankfully there's a "flip" button in Tinkercad. Fixed.

I sent the files over to my friend @.theprocrastinatingengineer on Instagram, who has a 3D printing service, and he was able to print them out for me!

While I was waiting for them to ship I downloaded Cura ("slicer" program for preparing 3D files for print) just for fun. (I was really eager...)

And here's when I finally got them!!!

Despite choosing all the dimensions carefully, I was still surprised how dainty they were when I actually held them in my hand. I wasn't sure if they would work...

So I made the dough and everything, used some 5mm thick chopsticks as guides to roll out the dough to the thickness I wanted. I put plastic wrap over the dough to prevent the cutters from directly touching the dough due to food safety concerns. Here is my first attempt to use them:

After this my mindset quickly shifted from caring about food safety to "what's a little more plastic in my system?" / "I'm here for a good time, not a long time!!" / "welll the dough gets baked anyway so that kills the germs it should be fiiine" **I Do Not recommend others to be so careless... also important note: I was the only one eating these so I didn't have to worry about others' safety 🥴

^The difference between using the cutters with and without the plastic wrap.

This first rolling out of the dough was actually a little too thick; in my design I hadn't accounted for the way the dough squishes up when you press the cutter into it. There wasn't enough vertical space at all, and the dough kept getting stuck in the cutter. It was a bad time!!! (didn't get a lot of photos of the failures here because my hands were covered in flour)

After lots of broken cookie cutouts, re-flouring the surface/cutters/rolling pin, and re-rolling the dough to be a bit thinner, I managed to get these out. I had to support Ten's head like a newborn when moving the dough onto the cookie sheet because the connection to the body was so delicate 😢

AND HERE THEY ARE...fully baked and ready 🥹

For the most part I was going to leave them undecorated like how they are in the game. But @.lamichicuenta made this really cute drawing of the cookies where Yamcha had chocolate decorations and Ten was a salty cracker, and I really wanted to try decorating some to resemble those!! Here are the photos of both versions of the cookies the next day once I was able to get some natural light for nicer pics.

(I meant to poke some holes in Ten's cookie to look more like a cracker but I forgot about it until they were already baking.)

They tasted fine...yamcha was better thanks to the chocolate. 🤭

If you read all this, thank you for following my cookie cutter journey... 😌🙏💖

Oh yeah and I made the vectors, 3D print files, and specs/info all available in a google drive folder here for anyone to use if they want! https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1hQ7uq3leYPK64pGgt3LhFw-70IZnkYzh?usp=drive_link

OH and one last thing, i ended up revising the 3D models to hopefully fix the issue of not enough vertical space. ...turns out I hit the maximum for photos and videos in this post, but you can see it on my twitter here! https://twitter.com/freezebobs/status/1875720926840680678

I didn't get to try these revised models, but they are the ones I put in the drive folder. 😊👍

[tf-ore]

*internally* (I am not going to fcking survive)

@primuses-least-favorite-child

[jhyoos]

Dreams Come True

Chapter 5: Stalker

summary: you and vi try to discuss what your relationship is now and how this should work, but it was interrupted by a blue-haired girl.

mentions: fluff, pathetic!vi, fame!au, modern!au, kissing, groping, stalking (saesangs), violence, choking (not by vi tho 😔)

notes : i did this while sick and on my period. it has not been proofread 😭. love yall 🫵🩷 im also resetting my taglist for this so if you want to be tagged for the next chapter comment!

The sun hung low in the sky, its golden rays spilling across the bustling streets as you and Mel stepped out of the practice studio. Your legs ached from the grueling rehearsal, but Mel’s persistent prodding about getting ice cream had finally worn you down. She strolled beside you, her duffle bag slung lazily over her shoulder, an almost mischievous grin plastered across her face.

The bell above the shop door chimed softly as you entered, the cool air inside offering a sweet reprieve from the lingering afternoon heat. The scent of freshly baked waffle cones filled the air, mingling with the bright, sugary notes of the various ice cream flavors on display. The shop was quaint and cozy, with pastel-colored walls and little booths tucked into corners.

After some debate, you both settled on your orders—Mel opting for a double scoop of chocolate fudge brownie while you stuck with a classic strawberry swirl. Finding a table by the window, the two of you slid into the booth, the faint chatter of other patrons blending into the background.

“So,” Mel began, her spoon poised above her ice cream as she leaned in slightly, “are you going to tell me, or am I going to have to pry it out of you?”

You gave her a confused look, though you knew exactly where this was heading. “Tell you what?” you replied, feigning innocence as you took a bite of your ice cream.

“Oh, don’t play dumb with me,” she teased, narrowing her eyes. “Vi. You two were all cozy at the club, and now you’re walking around with this dreamy little smile on your face. Spill it.”

You rolled your eyes but couldn’t stop the blush creeping up your cheeks. “There’s nothing to spill,” you said, shrugging. “We haven’t confirmed anything yet.”

Mel’s spoon clattered against the side of her bowl as she gasped dramatically. “Yet? So, you’re telling me there’s a ‘yet.’ What does that mean? Did you two talk? Kiss? Make declarations of undying love under the moonlight?”

“Mel!” you hissed, though you couldn’t help but laugh at her theatrics. “Okay, fine. Yes, we talked. And... we might have said ‘I love you.’”

Her jaw dropped, and for a moment, she just stared at you in disbelief before breaking into a wide grin. “Oh my God, you’re back together, aren’t you?”

You shook your head. “No, not yet. It’s... complicated. We’re figuring things out.”

Mel’s teasing expression softened slightly as she leaned back in her seat. “Well, for what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re giving her another chance. You two were kind of disgustingly perfect together.”

You rolled your eyes again but smiled, a small, hopeful feeling blooming in your chest. As you sat there, sharing laughs and finishing your ice cream, you realized how much you’d missed moments like these—simple, carefree, and filled with the warmth of friendship. For now, that was enough.

The peaceful moment in the ice cream shop was abruptly interrupted by a loud knock on the window. Startled, you and Mel both turned your heads toward the sound. Outside stood a small group of fans, their excited faces pressed against the glass. Some of them had phones in hand, already snapping pictures.

You smiled politely and gave a small wave, as did Mel, though her grin was a bit tighter. “Guess we’ve got some fans in the neighborhood,” she murmured, trying to sound casual.

At first, it didn’t seem too serious—just a few people recognizing the two of you and sharing their enthusiasm. But as the seconds ticked by, the crowd began to grow. More people gathered outside, camera flashes illuminating the window in quick bursts. Their murmurs grew louder, and some started knocking again, calling out your name.

You exchanged a concerned look with Mel, who quickly glanced toward the door. “I don’t like this,” you admitted, lowering your voice. “It’s getting out of hand.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” Mel replied, scanning the shop. “Let’s get out of here.”

You hastily placed cash on the table to cover the bill, grabbed your bag, and reached for Mel’s hand. Together, you ducked toward the back exit, keeping your heads low to avoid drawing even more attention. The two of you slipped through the rear door into the parking lot, your steps quickening as you approached Mel’s car.

Once inside, Mel made sure to lock the doors immediately. You glanced nervously over your shoulder as you spotted some of the fans spilling into the lot, their phones held high as they rushed toward the car. “They’re taking pictures of your license plate,” you said in a hushed voice, your stomach knotting.

“Not for long,” Mel muttered, her hands steady on the steering wheel as she started the car. She pulled out of the parking lot, her jaw set in determination. The fans ran after the car for a few seconds, some shouting and continuing to record. Mel turned onto a side street, taking back routes she clearly knew well.

The tension in the car was palpable as she zigzagged through the unfamiliar streets, checking the rearview mirror every few seconds. After what felt like an eternity, she finally let out a breath. “Okay, I think we lost them.”

Your own sigh of relief filled the car as you leaned back against the seat. The adrenaline was still coursing through you, making your heart pound. “Holy shit, that was intense,” you said, shaking your head. “We just debuted... I didn’t think we were that popular.”

Mel laughed nervously, her hands still gripping the wheel tightly. “Yeah, I thought we had some time before all this crazy fan stuff started. Guess not.”

You looked out the window, trying to process what had just happened. Your thoughts were interrupted as Mel’s voice pulled you back to the present. “Where should I drop you off?” she asked, her tone steady but still tinged with concern.

You gave her the address to Vi’s apartment, leaning back in your seat and letting out a sigh. “Make sure you change your license plate as soon as possible,” you added, your voice slightly strained from the earlier chaos.

Mel nodded with a small grin. “Don’t worry, I’ve got it handled. No way I’m letting some overly excited fans track me down.”

When you arrived at Vi’s apartment, you thanked Mel and watched her car pull away before heading upstairs. You still had the key Vi gave you, so you let yourself in. The familiar creak of the door echoed in the apartment, and you were immediately greeted by the sight of Vi sprawled lazily on the couch, a bag of Doritos in one hand and a Dr. Pepper can in the other. She was watching The Boys with the volume high, her focus on a particularly dramatic scene.

Hearing the door, she turned her head and smirked when she saw you. “Hey, hot stuff. Sit down,” she said casually, patting the empty spot on the couch beside her.

You couldn’t help but smile as you set your bag down and joined her. “Aren’t hockey players supposed to be on diets? You’re eating Doritos and drinking Dr. Pepper,” you teased, gesturing at the junk food scattered on the coffee table.

Vi chuckled, shrugging as she took another sip of soda. “Well, I’m not an idol, am I? And besides, I need the calories. Helps me bulk up, and you like that, don’t you?” she teased back, giving you a playful wink.

You rolled your eyes, a soft laugh escaping your lips. “You’re ridiculous.”

The moment was interrupted by a notification on your phone. Your smile faded as you opened it to find a TMZ article detailing your earlier encounter at the ice cream shop with Mel. The headline was bold and dramatic, emphasizing how close you and Mel came to being trampled by a growing crowd of fans.

Vi immediately noticed the change in your expression. “What’s wrong?” she asked, leaning over to grab your phone before you could stop her. Her brows furrowed as she read the headline, her expression shifting to concern. “You almost got attacked by fans?”

You shook your head, trying to downplay it. “We didn’t, so it’s okay. It’s normal… I just didn’t think it was gonna happen so soon,” you admitted, your voice quieter than usual.

Vi placed your phone down and turned her full attention to you. “Baby, your group’s account has over 12 million followers across Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok combined. Of course, you’re popular,” she said matter-of-factly. Her tone softened as she added, “You should probably get a bodyguard.”

You let out a small sigh, leaning back against the couch. “I didn’t think I’d need one this early on. I just want to enjoy things like going out for ice cream, you know? Without all… that.”

Vi reached out, taking your hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. “I get it. But your safety comes first, okay? We’ll figure it out.”

The next few weeks settled into a comfortable routine: you and Vi alternating between each other's apartments to talk, cuddle, have sex, and then cuddle again before practice. It was a rhythm that felt natural, almost like you were already in a relationship—but Vi hadn’t asked you to be her girlfriend, nor had she even hinted at it. The silence on that front gnawed at you, and today you decided to finally bring it up.

When you unlocked the door to Vi’s apartment, ready to address the question head-on, you were greeted by an unexpected sight. Standing in the middle of the living room was a tall, elegant woman with striking blue hair. Her posture was effortless, exuding a kind of natural grace that instantly caught your attention. The two of you locked eyes for what felt like an eternity before Vi appeared from the hallway, her usual confident grin plastered across her face.

“Hey, baby,” Vi greeted casually as she walked up, slinging an arm around the woman’s shoulder. “This is my friend Caitlyn. We’re gonna be modeling together for Vogue.”

You looked between Vi and Caitlyn, your mind scrambling to process what you were seeing. Caitlyn was stunning, her poise and beauty making her seem almost unreal. When she extended her hand for a handshake, it was with the kind of grace that made even that simple gesture look elegant.

“Hi, I’m Caitlyn. I’m an ice skater,” she said, her voice smooth and polite.

You accepted the handshake, your own movements feeling stiff in comparison. “Hi, I’m (Y/N),” you replied, your voice steady despite the sudden tightness in your chest.

Caitlyn’s eyes lit up in recognition. “Oh, I knew you looked familiar! You’re from the group AURORA. You look even prettier in person,” she said with an easy smile.

“Oh, thank you,” you managed, forcing a polite smile in return. Your eyes darted to Vi, searching her face for any kind of explanation or acknowledgment of how awkward this felt.

Before you could say anything else, you tried to speak, “Hey, can we talk in priv—” but Vi cut you off by leaning in and kissing you. Her hand casually slid to your ass, giving it a quick squeeze before she pulled back.

“I’m sorry, but I gotta go,” Vi said nonchalantly, as if the entire situation was completely normal. She grabbed her things and started heading toward the door. “We’ve got interviews and stuff downtown, so I’ll just be staying with Ellie and Abby in their penthouse for the week.”

You opened your mouth to protest, but Vi barely gave you the chance. “I love you,” she said casually over her shoulder as she opened the door, holding it for Caitlyn to follow her out.

And then they were gone.

You stood in the middle of the living room, staring at the closed door in stunned silence. The sound of the lock clicking into place felt deafening in the otherwise quiet apartment. Confusion churned in your mind as you tried to piece together what had just happened.

Vi’s words echoed in your head. I love you. Yet she’d just left you standing here, no explanation, no conversation about the questions you’d been holding onto for weeks. All of it—her sudden departure, the presence of Caitlyn, and the way she’d brushed off your attempt to talk—left a bitter taste in your mouth. You couldn’t help but wonder: was this love, or was it just convenience?

Hours of stress cleaning had left Vi’s apartment spotless, every surface shining like new. Yet despite your efforts to distract yourself, your thoughts remained restless. Finally, you decided you couldn’t stay there any longer. You changed into one of Vi’s oversized hoodies, the familiar scent bringing a small measure of comfort, and grabbed your bag before heading out the door.

Instead of going straight home, you decided to stop by a nearby burger joint. Your stomach grumbled, reminding you that you hadn’t eaten all day. Once inside, you ordered a burger and fries to go, leaning against the counter as you waited. The minutes dragged on, but eventually, your order number was called. You thanked the cashier, grabbing the bag with a polite smile before heading back to your car.

As you approached your car, keys in hand, a tall man suddenly stepped into your path. His presence was unnerving, but his expression didn’t immediately raise any alarms.

“You’re (Y/N) from AURORA, right?” he asked, his tone overly enthusiastic. “I’m a really big fan. Can I have an autograph?”

You forced a polite smile, trying to keep things cordial. “I’m sorry, I’m kinda busy right now,” you said, hoping he’d take the hint.

But he didn’t. Instead, he stepped closer, his demeanor shifting from eager to insistent. “Come on, just a quick one. It’ll only take a second,” he pressed.

Before you could respond, his eyes drifted to the hoodie you were wearing, his expression darkening. His nostrils flared as he caught the faint scent of cologne clinging to the fabric. Without warning, his hand shot out and grabbed your wrist tightly, making you drop the bag of food.

“What man were you with?!” he demanded, his voice seething with anger. “I thought I watched you carefully enough!”

Panic surged through you as you tried to pull away. “Sir, I don’t know who you are! Please let go of me!” you pleaded, your voice trembling.

His grip tightened, and before you could react, his hand moved to your throat, squeezing with terrifying force. You clawed at his arm, gasping for air, your vision starting to blur.

“Sir, please…” you choked out, your voice barely audible.

His expression twisted with rage. “If I can’t have you, no one can,” he growled, his grip unrelenting.

Just as the edges of your vision began to go dark, you felt the pressure on your neck suddenly release. You collapsed to the ground, gasping for air and clutching at your bruised throat. Blinking through tears, you saw the man being yanked backward and slammed to the ground.

The commotion drew a crowd, and amidst the chaos, you caught sight of your rescuer. Recognition flickered as you realized it was Ekko, Jinx’s boyfriend. His face was steely with anger as he held the man down, delivering a punch to keep him subdued.

Moments later, Jinx appeared, rounding the corner in search of Ekko. Her eyes widened in horror as she took in the scene: Ekko restraining the man on the ground, and you, sitting on the pavement with a large bruise forming around your neck.

“Oh my god, (Y/N)!” Jinx yelled, rushing toward you. She pushed through the small crowd of onlookers, waving them off as she knelt beside you. “Are you okay? The cops are on their way,” she said, her voice full of worry as she helped you to your feet.

You tried to nod, but the effort was too much. The adrenaline draining from your body left you weak and unsteady, and the edges of your vision blurred again. You immediately fell back on to the ground, Jinx caught you as she held you carefully. The last thing you heard was Jinx calling your name before everything went black.

chapters: one, two, christmas special, three, four , five

edit announcement: it’s a double upload today so expect chapter 6 in a few hours!

[ayeyolooo]

let me help you

please excuse me for my grammatical errors🫶🏾

You were currently at your desk tears falling on the paper with a little plop. You had a ten page essay due @ 11:59 and it was currently 8. You knew that it was more than enough time, but you just couldn’t get a thought out of your head for nothing, you struggled writing essays period, they’ve always been your weak spot.

your phone started ringing so you pushed your black framed glasses up and looked into the camera seeing that it was armin calling you. you glanced at your red puffy eyes and pouty lips as you answered the phone and placed it up so that it’ll be facing the ceiling.

“hi my pretty girl, what are you doing.” just hearing his voice alone made you want to cry and just run to him while he comforts you. “Nothing.” you croaked out. “mama why can’t i see your face? what’s wrong?” he spoke softly. you just sniffed and he automatically knew. “why are you crying baby?” you picked the phone up and pouted.

“ihavethisessaydueandidunnohowimgoingtofinishitallbeforethedeadline.” you jumbled out trying to get all of your words out before your throat closed, from crying. “mama slow down and talk to me, now what’s got you so upset? whats wrong?” he tilted his head. he was laying on his stomach with his phone propped up on his bicep meaning he was comfortable in bed with his sweats on and his glasses. “i’m trying to finish this essay and i don’t know where you start..” you sniffed again. “okay, is mrs. l/n home?” you nodded.

“okay, i’m on the way right now princess.” he hung up the phone. 15 minutes later and you heard the door downstairs open. “hey baby, whatcha doin here?” you heard your mom downstairs. “y/n’s upset about something so i just want to cheer her up.” armin responded as your mom placed her hand on her heart. “see young love, this is so sweet. gone ahead baby, she’s in her room.” armin walked up the stairs and into your room.

you looked at the door and seen armin standing there with some yellow roses and a bag of hot puffs. you just pouted and walked up to him. He picked you up by your thighs—koala style as you just sobbed in his shoulder. ( so she’s being a baby rn! i don’t blame her id act the same way if my person was babying me😭.) “awww don’t cry it’s okayy.” he sat on the edge of your bed and rubbed your back. you felt his cold metal rings graze your back as your body reacted from it—receiving chills.

he tucked his head into your neck and just held you, his glasses were pushed up a bit but he didn’t mind. he was comforting you, which was all that mattered to him. “here come and let’s lay down, because i can see that you’re exhausted pretty girl.” you shook your head no. “i can’t , my work has to be finished before 11:59.” armin just nodded. “yeah i know, it’ll be okay.” you just nodded and laid on his chest as the theme to naruto played in the background. he just rubbed your back and played with your hair that poked from up under the bonnet.

he then heard your light snores. he gently moved you over and walked over to your desk. he sat down and looked at your notes feeling bad that you had so much to do. You were a busy person, you were trying to balance your business and school work and both of them couldn’t be done in one day so you eventually became stagnant in your work, only doing it the day before the deadline. armin understood what you were dealing with, so him being the amazing boyfriend he is, he made sure to help you every chance he gets.

for 3 hours armin was circling, highlighting typing and rewriting your notes that seemed to be decorated with your tear drops. “ the meaning behind this book is to only confuse the reader, no one was actually in love with eachother, it was only an illusion.” armin wrote and clicked enter. armin stuck his tongue out just a little bit proof reading what he just wrote. Proud of what he wrote he submitted it in at 11:58 pm. armin then pecked your forehead “i love you so much my love.” that was the last thing armin ever said to you being that he died from a car accident while he was on the way home.

nahhh just kidding lol!

armin headed home safely after praying over his journey! Armin made sure that the both of you had God in the center of your relationship! he loved you dearly and he thanked God everyday for allowing you to be in his life!

AN

i’m sorry i probably gave you an heart attack im so sorry baby💔. i thought yall would’ve liked the jokey joke😓! na just kidding tho im slowly making my way backkkkk yayyy :)

BVOTD!

GALATIANS 1:10

[pookieprincessa]

Undercover!Price x Civilian!Reader

This idea/prompt has been living in my mind AND drafts rent free for AGES, guys.

Inspired by that Amsterdam operation from MW2 (why aren't people talking about it more?? dangerous guys posing as civilians are my favorite 😭)

This is slow burn-ish except it never burns; mostly "slice of life" kinda fluff. Not proofread yet.

Tw: needles (low-key, brief mention)

₊˚ ✧ ‿︵‿୨୧‿︵‿ ✧ ₊˚

It's all you've ever dreamed of.

Your own cafe, beautiful spot in the city, right by the canals where boats of tourists swim by. The railing was covered in pretty flowers, a few tables outside under big canopies to shield your customers from the sun or the rain. Don't even get me started on the evening hours, when you turn on the little lights and give the place such a cozy atmosphere.

It started out small - the locals weren't keen to swap their usual coffee place for the new, cutesy cafe in town. At first.

Then, after the first wave of tourists during the holiday season, you got a ton of good reviews online, some of your younger customers made TikToks about the place - not that you were complaining, free advertisement and all that.

Over time, you've come to recognize a few regulars - an elderly couple that always came in for a cup of coffee and a croissant after church in the morning; a group of girls that bought your sandwiches for school.

And then, there was him.

You've come to know him as "Mr. Price" and that's all you knew about him.

Sometimes, he'd show up everyday, sit at the same spot and drink his coffee.

Sometimes, he'd disappear for days, even weeks. But he came back. Always.

You didn't want to ask about it, didn't want to seem nosy. You didn't comment on the scrapes or bruises you'd occasionally catch on his hands.

Despite his irregular visits, he held a spot in your memory. He was kind, charming. Always asked about your day, always made small talk. He quickly became your favorite customer. You started looking forward to serving him, to hearing him call you sweetheart. He'd often hang around until the late hours of the evening, to keep you company while you cleaned and closed the place (he didn't want to leave you by yourself when it was already dark outside).

Today was different, though. Price didn't let you carry his coffee to his table, he took care of that himself. He didn't make small talk. And he didn't sit in his usual spot, close to the bar. He sat outside. The look on his face was different too, he seemed more serious, even tense.

You glanced at him from time to time, noticing that he kept looking around and talking to someone through an earpiece as he nursed his cup of coffee. You figured it was just connected to his phone.

Inside, Price was panicking. Cursing fate that it was YOUR cafe the men they were supposed to ambush picked for their little "meeting". He hated how he had to suddenly treat you like a stranger. He felt partially lucky, though. He could keep an eye on you this way, make sure you were out of harm's way in your oblivious state. Nonetheless, he couldn't help the rush of anxiety anytime his eyes would meet yours across the cafe. He prayed to all the gods that you don't come up to talk to him like you always did. And he sure as hell couldn't tell his general he couldn't do this op because he's been flirting with the barista.

He didn't want to put you at risk - he grew too fond of you for that. Too fond. He repeated that in his head over and over. But God, he couldn't stay away. Not when you always greeted him with that smile.

And he saw that look of disappointment in your pretty eyes when you noticed he wasn't going to sit in his usual spot close to you.

Yeah, he'd need to tell you the truth pretty soon - it would be a shame if he scared you off.

He just hoped you weren't looking when he stuck a needle in one of the men's neck and dragged him into the backseat of an armored Jeep.

That'd do it.

₊˚ ✧ ‿︵‿୨୧‿︵‿ ✧ ₊˚₊

[gracie-eilish]

good luck, babe.

an: has anyone else heard that ai cover of billie singing this song? need a real version STAT. what an angel girl:)

The balcony was draped in the kind of quiet you could only find late at night, with stars scattered across the sky and a faint breeze carrying the scent of Billie’s vanilla candles. She had insisted on spending the evening out here, wrapped in blankets with a bottle of wine between the two of you, and you couldn’t think of a better place to be. Billie had always been your comfort person—your best friend since the two of you were little.

You took another sip of wine, letting the warmth spread through you. “Okay, but seriously, Billie,” you said, your voice teasing. “What is it with you and Florence Pugh? You’re obsessed.”

Billie smirked, leaning back in her chair. “Florence is a goddess, babe. Don’t act like you don’t see it.”

You laughed, shaking your head. “I mean, yeah, she’s pretty. But you talk about her like she’s your dream girl.”

“Maybe she is,” Billie said, wiggling her brows. Then, with a pointed look, she added, “But you’re not exactly subtle when you talk about her either.”

You blinked, caught off guard. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Billie grinned, her tone teasing but affectionate. “I’m just saying, you’ve got a little sparkle in your eyes whenever we watch a movie with a pretty girl in it. Florence, Margot Robbie, Zoë Kravitz… should I keep going?”

Heat rose to your cheeks as you laughed nervously. “Oh, stop. That doesn’t mean anything.”

“Doesn’t it?” Billie asked, her voice softer now but still playful.

You rolled your eyes, trying to brush it off, but her words stuck with you. Sure, you’d always noticed how beautiful those actresses were, but that didn’t mean anything… right?

The conversation shifted to safer topics, and you let yourself relax again. Billie started talking about her latest project, and as always, her excitement was contagious. But when the laughter faded and the night grew quieter, Billie turned to you with a thoughtful look.

“Can I ask you something?” she said, her voice unusually serious.

“Of course,” you replied, straightening up.

“Have you ever… thought about it?” Billie asked, her green eyes searching yours. “Liking girls, I mean.”

You hesitated, your heart skipping a beat. “I don’t know,” you said slowly. “I mean, I’ve never… I’ve just always assumed I like guys.”

Billie nodded, her expression gentle. “That’s fair. But sometimes… it’s not as black and white as people think. Sometimes it takes a while to figure it out.”

You looked at her, unsure what to say. Billie had always been open about her sexuality, and you’d always admired her for it. But the idea that you might…

“I just don’t know,” you said quietly, your voice tinged with uncertainty.

Billie smiled, her tone lightening. “Hey, that’s okay. You don’t have to know right now. But if you ever want to figure it out… I could help.”

Your eyes widened, and you laughed nervously. “Oh, really? How exactly would you help me figure it out?”

Billie smirked, leaning a little closer. “Well, for starters, I could kiss you. See if that sparks anything.”

Your heart jumped into your throat. “Billie!”

“What?” she said, her grin widening. “I’m serious. It’s a scientific experiment, babe.”

You shook your head, laughing, but her words lingered. The idea of Billie kissing you wasn’t as strange as it should have been.

The air between you shifted, the teasing giving way to something more vulnerable. “Do you really think… I might like girls?” you asked, almost shyly.

Billie’s smile softened, her heart aching with how unsure and sweet you looked. “I think you’re amazing, no matter who you like,” she said honestly. “But yeah… I think you might. And that’s okay.”

Billie could see the shift in my expression from thinking to just flat out nervous. “Hey,” she said quietly. “I’m not trying to push you into anything. I just… I love you and I want you to know that. And if you’re not into it, that’s okay. I’ll still be here, no matter what.”

Your eyes widened. “Wait—are you saying…?”

Billie’s cheeks flushed, but she met your gaze head-on. “Yeah. I’m saying I’ve been in love with you for as long as I can remember.”

Your breath caught, and for a moment, the world seemed to pause.

“You… love me?” you asked, your voice barely above a whisper.

Billie nodded, her smile soft but unwavering. “So much, babe. But like I said, no pressure. I just—needed you to know.”

You stared at her, your heart pounding. And suddenly, everything clicked. The way you always felt safest with Billie. The way her laugh lit up your entire world. The way your chest fluttered whenever she called you “babe” or “princess.” The way you gravitated towards her in any and all social situations…

“Oh,” you breathed, realization dawning on you. “I think I might love you too.”

Billie’s eyes widened, a grin breaking across her face. “Yeah?”

You nodded, laughing a little. “Yeah. I think I do.”

You stared at her, your heart racing. And then, before you could overthink it, you said, “So what if… What if I said yes? To the kiss?”

Billie’s eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly recovered, a soft smile spreading across her face. “Then I’d kiss you,” she said simply.

You nodded, your pulse pounding. “Okay.”

Billie leaned in slowly, giving you every chance to pull away. But you didn’t. When her lips met yours, it was soft and warm and completely overwhelming. Your heart felt like it might burst, and for the first time, everything made sense.

When she pulled back, her eyes searched yours. “Well?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

You smiled, tears pricking your eyes. “I think… I think I like girls. Or maybe just you.”

Billie grinned, her relief and joy evident. “Oooh.. Good luck babe.”

You tilted your head in confusion, “Why?”

Billie just smirked looking at you with so much love in her eyes, “Because you’re stuck with me now.”

Billie leaned in to kiss you again. It was soft and sweet and everything you’d been too afraid to admit you wanted.

You smiled into the kiss, leaning into her embrace as the stars sparkled above you. For the first time, you felt like you were exactly where you were meant to be.

[starlightandfairies]

Sleepy

Description: Reader returns from work at the farm and curls up with Joel in bed

Warnings: she/her pronouns, swearing,

(View whichever Joel you want, show or game. I don't have any in mind. Regardless of what the gif is)

Key: Y/N = Your Name, L/N = Last name, POV = Point of view

Word Count: 1,007

The Last of Us masterlist

First person's POV

Out of all possible responsibilities in the Jackson community, farm duty was possibly one of the better ones, I hated going beyond the gates. I have no fucking idea how I survived for the first twenty years this shit-show has been going on for. So, now that I have a safe place, I don't want to ever leave it. Working on the farm, while yucky at times, was super nice, I got to play with the lambs, collect eggs from the chickens and milk the cows. Honestly, got no clue how we even got these animals but you know, food is food and survive, survive, survive. 

I made my way to the house Joel and I shared. It was around 8pm, I had gotten all the animals into the barn and locked it up to prevent any incidents like last spring. Joel spent the day around the community, today, normally he goes out for runs out of the community to deal with the infected but he wasn't called in for anything like that today, he got to chill at home or try and do something productive because the poor man doesn't know how to not do anything. 

Joel always has to be doing something, can't just lie around or chill. Always working about, especially during the days. Nights were normally easier, he would play his guitar and he would read too. It was how I found him in bed tonight, after kicking off my boots by the front door and tossed my jacket on the couch and began making my way to the bedroom. 

Joel placed his book down across his chest, welcoming me with a warm smile, I groaned as I crawled onto the bed, moving under the blankets and nuzzled into Joel's side. I kissed his cheek, smiling as he snaked one arm around me to pull me closer into his side. 

"How was your day?" Joel murmured, resting a kiss on my forehead, his thumb stroking up and down my arm. 

"I helped one of the sheep give birth. It was gross but you know, kinda cool." He let out a warm chuckle, it was comforting and music to my ears. It always was. 

"You've killed so many infected and that grosses you out?" I shoved him lightly, grinning at the deep chuckle that left his lips. It rumbled in his chest and gave me tingles due to having my cheek pressed against his chest. 

"They creep me out too! How could they not? Besides, I ain't ever watched farm animals give birth before, not even before the outbreak in any kind of movie. Besides, those stalkers, always giving me a fucking heart-attack. I have every reason to be grossed out by both." Joel smirked at my remark, rubbing my arm again and rested another kiss on my forehead. 

"Yeah, I don't like them either. Don't know they're there until I'm caught in a damn grapple." Joel murmured, moving his arm as I rolled away, I pushed myself out of bed and grabbed what's close enough to a pair of pyjamas and crept into the bathroom, I did what I had to do and then made my way back out to bed to find Joel reading again. I hopped back into bed, placing my head on his shoulder to read the pages with him, once again he wrapped an arm back around me, trapping me within his hold, stuck between him and the book. Joel adjusted his hold on the book so I could read the words better. 

"What's this one about?" I whispered, quickly skimming over the pages he had opened, trying to see if I could guess what it was. Sometimes, before I decided to settle into the community and never leave the walls again, whenever, I went on a run, I'd always try and find intact books. It always made me happy whenever Joel, picked one up that I specifically chose for him. 

"The Shining by-" 

"Oh, by Stephen King? Hmm, I remember that Simpsons episode where they take off it. When the... I think it was Willie and he goes 'The Shinning!' Gosh, I miss tv." That was one of my favourite Halloween episodes that show did. Joel returned his attention to the book, at first I could read the pages fine, but with the silence and Joel's gentle touch along my arm, the words started becoming like hieroglyphics and my head started hurting from trying to understand what the fuck was going on. Nothing was translating and I knew I should close my eyes at this point but I wanted to stay in Joel's company awake. 

Joel's POV

I had been reading for a good twenty minutes, lingering on each page for a little while so y/n could catch up if she fell behind. However, she became very still, her breathing slow and steady. I finished the page, using the bookmark y/n made for me after one too many times of being berated (teasingly) for doggy-earing the pages and demanding that I use a bookmark for the foreseeable future. 

I placed the book on the bedside table, slowly removing my arm from underneath her, before rolling out of bed and ensuring she was lying comfortably, I froze as she nuzzled into her pillow the action and her quiet murmurs startling me into thinking she was waking up. Y/n really deserved to be sleeping more than she was, lately it had been nothing but work, sleep and getting up early. I just wanted her to rest up and not be pushing herself as badly as I normally did to myself. 

"Night, darlin' sleep well." I whispered and rested a kiss on her forehead. I wasn't tired myself just yet, so I turned out the light and made my way downstairs to sit on the porch with my guitar and enjoy the brisk air and the silence of the community. 

[yanderecrazysie]

Yan timeskip Suga with a university prof wife reader? Reader loves her job, never has there been a night where she doesn't praise her students at the dinner table. Most of the time they talk about work together it's usually just them gushing about their students like proud parents. Unfortunately she's stuck with old rotten prunes for co-workers. Being the newest and youngest professor in the university she works at, she's surrounded by very traditional teachers who are stuck in their old ways. And they're very critical of her and her methods in work. Using technology to automatically check attendance? They think she's lazy. Leaving work early because she finishes work fast? They think she's not doing enough work. Using modern humor to keep her students engaged? She's rotting their brains! It got so bad that one day she came home upset and crying as her co-workers once again reprimanded her for how she works, as they refuse to understand and adapt her modern way of working.

Being a supportive hubby, Suga tells her to take a day or better yet a week on leave and he'll take care of it. She comes back to work after the advised break, her senpais are suddenly scared of her. Weird, but she just summed it up to her hubby talking to the dean about this and gave them a stern talking. Remaining oblivious to what he really did to get them to act that way.

I hope you enjoy, this took me a little while! I really liked this idea!

Title: Table Talks

Pairings: Sugawara Koushi x Reader

WARNINGS: yandere themes, timeskip spoilers, threats

No matter how tiring Sugawara’s job as an elementary school teacher got, he still always managed to prioritize you. He was the perfect husband- caring, attentive, protective, and loving. Life with him couldn’t be happier.

Your favorite part of your day was the table talks the two of you had. 

As the meal winded down, he’d ask about your day and you’d ask about his, relaying news and funny moments from your days at work, using the weekend meals to talk about memes and things you’d forgotten to share the days before.

Today, the two of you each had a plate of nikujaga. You had just started at a new university, teaching several mathematics classes to the students there. You were ready to gush about your new students and how sweet they had been to you.

“I really think I made the right decision to transfer,” you said dreamily.

Sugawara’s lips curled into a soft smile and he rested his chin on his hand, “I’m glad to hear that. You’re practically glowing, you know. It’s beautiful.”

His words made you flush and you smacked his arm playfully, “Stop that! I’m trying to tell you about my day!”

He laughed, “Go on, then, tell me about your students!”

“They’re all so eager to learn! I think it’s because I use modern methods. They really like the memes I use in my powerpoints and the way I take attendance electronically!”

“Of course they do,” Sugawara chuckled, eyes sparkling, “You’ve alway had a way of making the most boring things exciting.”

“I think I’m going to like it here,” you giggled, “Now, how was your first day back?”

—----------------------------------------------------------

Your excitement faded over the next few days, but it’s not until the next Monday that you really pick at your food, avoiding eye contact.

“How is work going?” Sugawara asked you cautiously.

You made a noncommittal noise and he asked, “What about your students?”

Despite your sad mood, you smiled, “My students are doing wonderfully. They are eager to learn and most get very good grades back.”

Sugawara frowned, “What about your co-workers?”

You sighed. He had hit the nail on the head of what was bothering you. “They’re a bit… stuck in their ways. They’re all older and they don’t like my teaching style. They think using technology is lazy and humor is unprofessional. Today, one of them said I should… I should go home if I won’t take this profession seriously…”

A shadow crossed Sugawara’s face, “They said that to you?”

“Yeah,” you tried to laugh but it came out as a bitter ‘ha’. “It’s not a big deal, though… They’ll warm up to me, right?”

“You shouldn’t have to put up with that. You’re doing your job well and that’s what matters,” Sugawara said sternly.

You nodded, “Thanks, honey, you always know what to say.”

But as you continued eating, Sugawara’s mind was racing with thoughts on how to “fix” this problem.

“Why don’t you take a few days off,” he told you, “I’ll handle this.”

You tried to protest but your husband remained firm, saying, “You work so hard, you deserve a little break.” You gave in, figuring he’d be going to the dean about your co-workers’ treatment of you.

You couldn’t be farther from the truth.

—----------------------------------------

“You can’t be in here,” an elderly professor said sternly, glaring at the equally-gray-haired man that entered the teacher’s lounge.

“Oh, can’t I?” Sugawara said, turning to glare back with soulless eyes. Startled by his expression, the professor took a step back to stand with the other two in the room, spluttering helplessly. 

“Good morning,” Sugawara said courteously, “I was hoping we could have a chat about my wife’s work environment.”

“Get out,” the other male professor snapped, the one woman in the room nodding. Sugawara’s expression darkened.

“Now, which of you want your spouse to know about your affair first?” Sugawara asked coldly, “Because I have pictures of both of you hooking up, and neither of your spouses know about it.”

“You’re bluffing,” the professor said quickly, his face turning white.

Sugawara held up a few photographs and laughed when the female professor lunged for it, easily keeping it out of her reach.

“And you,” Sugawara sneered at the first professor, “Your wife would just love to know you’re spending all your shared funds on blackjack, right?”

The room was deadly silent and, with a smug smile, he continued, “I know where you live. I know your grandchildrens’ names and schools. I am a dangerous man. This is simply a warning. I will go as far as I need to go to protect my wife’s happiness. Am I understood?”

The three professors nodded.

“Good,” Sugawara said, waving goodbye as he left the shell-shocked elders behind to whisper to each other.

—-------------------------------------

You smiled at your husband from across the table as he asked, “How was your first day back at work?”

“The students all missed me,” you said, “And my co-workers apologized for how they treated me! It’s all like a happy dream!”

“I knew everything would work out,” Sugawara said with a gentle smile, reaching out to hold your hand comfortingly, “They just needed a little perspective.”

“Thank you for being my rock through all of this,” you said fondly, “I never could have imagined they would change after just a simple talk from the dean.”

Sugawara lifted your hand to his lips and laid a gentle kiss on your knuckles. You missed the way his eyes glinted as he vowed internally to eliminate any threat to your happiness.

No matter the cost.

[harmonyrae]

A Sovereign is Born

Synopsis: A story he never thought he'd tell, his own. How did he become the Abysm Sovereign, a monster to so many? Who was he before?

My submission for the Where Drakeshadows Fall Fan Art Contest

Content Warnings: Spoilers for Sylus's Myth, Grief, Death of Loved One, Physical Pain (mentions of the horn/tail transformation), Sylus POV

Word Count: 5.9k

It’s not unusual for Sylus to sit up and read for an hour or so after waking up. He enjoyed waking up slowly and starting his day, or rather his night, challenging his mind. Leaning against his headboard, he propped his book up on his knee while he sipped his tea. However, the peace and quiet was short-lived. 

“That’s it! I can’t do it anymore!”

Her voice echoed down the hallway. A smirk spread across Sylus’s lips as he listened to her footsteps making their way to his bedroom door. The door swung open, but Sylus kept his eyes glued to the book before him. He felt the bed shift heavily beside him. He looked over to see she had face planted right into the plush black comforter. Her hair was tossed into a messy bun, her usual Hunters gear replaced with a pair of red sweatpants and a t-shirt three sizes too big. Sylus’s smirk turned into a full blown smile.

“Is that my shirt?” 

She lifted her head and blew a strand of hair away from her nose, completely ignoring his question. 

“I haven’t been able to sleep for the past 2 nights. I’m - I don’t know what to do…”

“So you came here?”

“I’ve tried everything - warm milk, ocean sounds, meditation, no caffeine or screen time after I get home from work, melatonin gummies. Nothing has worked. So yes, I came here.”

She dropped her face back onto the comforter. Sylus tilted his head, clearly enjoying seeing his kitten in such a desperate state that she came to him for help. As various ideas floated through his mind, one stuck with him.

“Do you know why I love reading so much?”

“Hmm?” She didn’t bother to lift her head to respond. Sylus could tell she was past her breaking point. He had already decided he would do everything he could to help her relax and fall asleep tonight.

“Stories take me to far away places or back in time. That escape, no matter how brief, eases my mind. Stories speak to the soul.”

She lifted her head and looked at Sylus with wide eyes.

“Tell me a story!”

Sylus chuckled. She sat up on her knees and clasped her hands in front of her.

“Sylus, I never beg. But… please? Please tell me a story?”

“On one condition.”

She scooted closer to him, seeming to agree without knowing the terms.

“You tuck yourself into this bed and call out of work tomorrow. You need more than just one night to recover from insomnia.”

“Sylus! I’m not- I’m…”

“Sweetie, I just woke up, remember? You’ll have the bed to yourself all night.”

“Oh… uhm…” She sighed heavily. “Deal.”

She rolled off the bed and kicked off her slippers. Peeling the comforter back, she slid between the sheets and let out a contented sigh as she settled in. Turning on her side to look at him, she smiled. “Story time!”

Sylus closed his book and set it on his nightstand. He pressed his lips thinking about the story he was going to tell. Would it be too much for her? Would it be too sad? He cleared his throat in an attempt to smother the anxiety.

“Are you sure my story will interest you? It’s not a happy story. Quite sad actually. And it involves dragons.”

“Ooh dragons! Yes, tell me, tell me!” 

Her excitement made his heart swell. His nerves, much less troublesome. 

“I just have to decide what to name the main character.”

“Sylus.”

“Yes?”

“No, name them Sylus!”

“You want me to name the main character after myself?”

“Why not? It’ll be like you’re talking in third person.”

Sylus pinched the bridge of his nose and forced a smile. The story he was about to tell just became infinitely more challenging. But he nodded.

“Okay, they’ll be named Sylus then.”

He crossed his arms and braced himself, prepared to tell a story he had long ago promised to never tell a soul.

“In a time before humans, dragons occupied the land. And before Sylus - well, dragon Sylus that is -  was born, a great war was being fought between clans. His father was fighting on the front lines, while his mother protected her egg. She never left her nest, even as news from the front took a turn, she focused on taking care of her unhatched child.”

She smiled and pulled the blankets up to her chin. Sinking deeper into the plush mattress.

“Sadly, Sylus never got to meet his father. When word reached his mother, she immediately flew to the front. Leaving her egg to search for her lover to say a final goodbye. The war had already ended and the spring flowers had started to bloom when she arrived. She couldn’t find him, all she could do was roar into the night sky, mourning her lost love. And as quickly as she flew to that datura covered field, she returned to her child. The egg showed the first signs of cracking during the days she was away. She was terrified that leaving the way she did would mean her child wouldn’t survive.”

“But they did.” She whispered.

“Yes, they did. When the egg broke open, she was shocked to see a creature unlike anything she’d ever seen before. It didn’t look like a dragon. Pale skin, tufts of white hair.”

He winked at her and she giggled in response. Her eyes softened as her imagination took over.

“She was shunned by many mothers in the clan. They believed she had been cursed for leaving the egg the way she did. But she didn’t believe that, not for a moment. She saw him as a blessing. Even if she didn’t understand why he was so different. She would make a pilgrimage to the field every spring to pay respect. Eventually, Sylus wanted to go with her. And here, kitten, is where the story really begins.”

Sylus clung to his mother as she flew. Her ebony scales shimmered in the sunlight. Her crimson wings outstretched, steady and fluttering gently in the wind. Spring had started early this year, the air was warm and the floral scent washed over her, bringing tears to her ruby eyes. 

“Will I ever be able to fly?”

His small voice broke as asked. He’d been asking the same question for years. The only dragon-like features that he had were his talons and scales, which had slowly started to spread across his arms in spare patches, chest and up his neck when he had turned 5. There’ve been no new developments in the past 5 years. He still had no horns or tail, and of course, no wings. 

“I hope so. But remember what I told you?”

Sylus collapsed onto his mother, his arms swayed against her neck as his face pressed into her back. She felt the chill of a tear run over her scales. She flapped her wings hard, pushing them higher into the sky above the clouds. Sylus squealed in response.

“Mother!”

She smiled, she could hear the excitement in his voice. She flew higher and higher until the clouds lay beneath them like a fluffy meadow. 

“Stand up.”

Sylus didn’t hesitate. He dug his claws into her scales, anchoring himself before he placed his feet firmly on her back. She leveled out and let her wings spread wide to allow them to glide. He removed his claws and eventually let go completely. She looked over her shoulder to see his arms outstretched and his face painted with a smile. The fabric of his tunic billowed in the breeze, the arms cut loose to imitate wings.

“Better?”

Sylus giggled and flapped his arms, feeling the fabric flutter.

“Better.”

“We’re almost there, you think you can hold on for a dive?”

He looked down at his mother with wide eyes, his sharp teeth on full display as he smiled. He nodded and dropped to his knees to cling to his mother ready for the descent. She tucked in her wings and angled her nose downward, diving through the clouds and straight for the ground. Sylus laughed and shouted as wind nearly deafened them and the ground grew closer. His mother finally flung her wings out and the updraft pushed them upwards before slowly descending to the field.

Sylus slid down his mothers wing and rolled onto the ground. He lay on his back, savoring the feeling of solid ground beneath him. As much as he loved flying, it made him appreciate the safety of the ground. He rolled over on his stomach and watched his mother walk into the field. She settled at the top of a hill and wrapped her wings around herself before lowering her head to the ground. Sylus frowned. The excitement of the flight momentarily made him forget the purpose of the trip.

Sylus jogged up the hill to his mother. He sat down next to her head, which was nearly three sizes larger than he was. If he was a normal dragon he might be half her size by now, but whatever “cursed” him made sure he would always be tiny in comparison to his kin. He shoved those thoughts away for now, leaning against his mother and using the ends of his tunic to dry her tears. It was always a hard trip, his mother mourned the loss of his father as if it was only yesterday she lost him. 

“Tell me the story.” Sylus nudged his mother. She let out a soft growl in response. 

“Sylus…”

“Come on, you know it helps. Tell me!”

She sighed, her breath blowing the petals off of hundreds of flowers that sat before her. 

“When I first met your father, he was just a young dragon learning how to fly. I was, of course, performing better than he was in class. He would antagonize me during class, but during the journey home he would stay close to me, telling me stories about far away cities he had heard of and wished to see. When we came of age, he never gave any indication he liked me in any way. But when our first mating season began, he approached me and I was rather shocked.”

“He had a crush on you and you didn’t even know it. Embarrassing.”

“For me or for him? Being direct is always better. Don’t be embarrassed about what you desire.”

Sylus scrunched his nose, but nodded before settling back against his mother.

“It was rather impressive at first, but I think he got too cocky. He tripped over his tail and rammed his nose into a boulder. Everyone laughed and my friends urged me to ignore him, a better mate would present themselves. But –”

“But you didn’t want another mate, you wanted him!’ Sylus finished for her.

“I did. I wanted your father. Everyone thought I was crazy and mocked me for choosing a weak mate. But in just a few months he –”

“He proved himself to be the fiercest warrior and became the commander of all warriors in our clan!”

“You know the story better than I do it seems.” She laughed. “He wasn’t just strong, he was brave. He didn’t care what anyone thought of him. I loved him dearly and miss him everyday.”

She nudged Sylus with her snout. 

“And you remind me of him.”

“But I’m not even a real dragon. And I’ll never be a warrior.”

“You are stronger than you know. Being different doesn't make you weak and it doesn’t mean you can’t be a warrior. You have a purpose Sylus. I know it.”

Sylus stared at her, tears filling his eyes. 

“I just want to be like you. Like father.” 

“And you are. You don’t have to look like us to share our heart. Our strength.” 

Sylus never stopped wanting to look like a normal dragon, but over the years he started embracing his natural strength. Stubborn like his mother and cunning like his father, he proved himself to be a respected and valued member of the clan.

Sylus was 16 when the humans came. Tension in the clans grew as new inhabitants moved closer to their valley. And then they invaded. Clan after clan fell, their weapons were strong enough to pierce scales and shred wings. His mother protected him, but she wasn’t able to keep them away forever.

The afternoon sun cast a red glow across the valley, Sylus clung to his mother as she flew. Her strength was dwindling, her wounds were deep. Sylus had tried to treat them, but she wanted to get away from their army as quickly as possible. 

“You have to stop, you’re hurt!”

He felt her drop several feet, her wings refusing to hold them up. She straightened her neck, pointing herself in the direction of the cave they had called home for the past few years. But when they finally approached the entrance, she couldn’t make it inside. Her claws scraped along the mountain side and Sylus could barely hold on. She came to a halt on a small ledge, her body collapsing, her wings draped over the edge of the cliff. Sylus crawled over her body, tugging off his tunic to press into her wounds.

“We have to get you inside, they’ll see you. Mother?”

Sylus couldn’t hide the fear in his voice. His hands shook as he treated her wounds. His mother let out a strangled roar. She was in too much pain to be quiet, Sylus knew they’d have heard her. They’d come for her and soon.

“I know it hurts, but you have to be quiet, you have to try, please.” 

Tears stung his eyes, his heart pounded in his chest. The headache he’d had for the past few days had become so much worse. His mother struggled to open her eyes, a haze muddying the usual red shimmer. 

“Be strong, my love. Always be strong.”

“Stop. Stop it! Don’t talk like that!” 

Pain washed over him as his scalp split open. His talons clawed at his head as he screamed. His mother shifted, with her remaining strength she wrapped her wing around him protectively. He fell to his side as his back arched, his tailbone transforming and his tail extending. His body calmed, but fear settled over him. He lifted his hands to feel the spiraling horns. He felt his body sway and he looked over his shoulder to see a tail sweep against the rock beneath him. 

“Mother?”

“I see them, my love. They’re beautiful.”

Sylus didn’t have time to process this sudden change. He’d waited 16 years to have horns and a tail, to be remotely similar to his kin, and now he would be hunted for having them. He resumed treating his mothers wounds, moving to the dagger stuck in her side. 

“I need to remove this, hold still okay?”

His mother let out a deep growl. He gripped the hilt and pulled with all his might. The blade shook as her scales scraped against it. He placed it on the ground and moved the cloth over the new wound. She wasn’t getting any better. With tears streaming down his face, he finally knelt next to his mother, trying to meet her eye.

“Mother?”

She looked at him through weary eyes, her breathing slow. 

“Please don’t leave me… I can’t… I don’t want to be alone.”

“You will never truly be alone. You are my beautiful warrior–”

Her chest shook as her eyes closed. Sylus collapsed beside her, his body shaking as he sobbed. He forced himself to sit up and run his hands along her face, her scales rough and shattered. He rested his forehead against her, the pain of his new horns and tail mingling with his heart breaking.

Then he heard it, shouts in the distance. He looked over the ledge and saw the humans. They were climbing the mountain towards him. They had seen his mothers body, he had to hide. He looked up at the cave entrance. He picked up the dagger before digging his claws into the rock and pulling himself up. 

“I see movement!”

Sylus swore under his breath, they’d seen him. He hauled himself up the mountain and rolled into the entrance to the cave. He stood and raced to the furthest corner, searching for a way out or a hole he could hide in. There was nothing. The shouts were getting closer now. He looked down at the blade in his hand. He looked down at his tail. It felt foreign to him, like it didn’t belong, like it wasn’t meant for him. Maybe it wasn’t….

He didn’t have time to talk himself out of it or think up another plan. He wanted to live. 

He pressed the dagger against the base of his horn, the cool metal made him shiver. He grit his teeth, a sob breaking free as he began to cut. The horn came loose and he held it in his hands. He threw it to the other side of the cave and began on the other horn. The pain was almost too much to bear. The horn fell away and blood trickled down his face. The stream poured into his eye and he blinked away the sting, but not before feeling a strange warmth spread through his mind.

He heard the sound of blades and more shouts. They’d reached his mother. He held his breath to stop himself from screaming in anger. 

He blinked back more tears as he placed the blade under his tail. Bracing himself against the wall of the cave he sank down. His tail fell away and Sylus collapsed. He crawled to the opposite corner of the cave, leaving a blood trail behind him. He pulled his legs to his chest, his heart aching, his skin stinging, his eyes burning. The shouts are right outside the cave now. He didn’t have any strength left, if this was it, he couldn’t stop it. He felt an inexplicable exhaustion take over and he slipped into darkness.

Her face. Bright, soft, sweet. The dress she wore. The dark fabric flowing and fluttering in the wind. She held red datura flowers. She reached out a hand, a flower held between her delicate fingers. Sylus felt a subtle touch, as if the flower was tucked into his hair. And then darkness, once again.

Sylus opened his eyes slowly, the room spinning around him as he woke. He stared at the blank ceiling above him, a faint scent of herbs wafting through the air. He turned his head to see a man crouched next to a small fire, mixing something in a cauldron. Sylus coughed. The man looked up and gave him a small smile. He scooped something into a wooden bowl before approaching Sylus.

Sylus tried to sit up, a combination of fear and curiosity settled over him. The man offered him the bowl with a wooden spoon. Sylus cautiously took it.

“Root soup, it’s not much, but it’s all we’ve had for the past few days. Should help with that cough too.”

The steam from the soup warmed his face. He took a spoonful and sipped, the warm broth soothed his throat. He dropped the spoon onto the blanket beneath him and tipped the bowl back taking large gulps. The man laughed.

“You’ve been asleep for two days, I figured you would be pretty hungry. There’s plenty left.”

Sylus finished the soup before looking over at the man properly for the first time. He shifted uncomfortably, his back still tender.

“Where am I?”

“You’re with Judicator’s finest - his dragon slaying army! We are a day's journey away from the city.”

“The city?”

“Ivory City! You must be from a neighboring village, taken by those beasts. It’s good we found you when we did. Seems you fought off the beast and kept yourself from being a meal! The Judicator was impressed.”

Sylus clenched his fist. They’re calling his mother a beast. They think he killed her? That he is human? He suddenly reached up to his head, but felt no horns, only fabric.

“Your head was bleeding pretty bad when we found you. A doctor in the city will get a better look at you tomorrow. For now, the bleeding stopped.” 

The man took the bowl from Sylus and returned to the cauldron to ladle in more soup. Sylus heard blades clash outside and the faint sounds of hooves against gravel in the distance. He realized they’re in a tent. He’s surrounded by humans. The humans that killed his kin. Who killed his mother. A heat rages beneath his skin, his chest heaving. Sylus closed his eyes to calm himself. 

“More soup?”

Sylus opened his eyes and took the bowl eagerly. He sipped slowly this time, still not bothering with the spoon. He took in the man’s features. Old, black hair speckled with white, a long beard, silver armor, a long sword hung at his hip. He wondered if all the men in this camp had weapons like that. Sylus straightened his back, becoming acutely aware of how defenseless he was. No weapons to defend himself. No wings to escape. 

“Thank you.”

The man nodded. 

“I must report to the Judicator, he wanted to know when you woke up. Get some more rest or explore the camp, but don’t go far.”

With that, the man left. Sylus set the bowl down and reached behind him to feel the base of his spine. The skin is tender, but no tail. He felt his head one more, the skin smooth where the horns once were. He sighed in relief. They thought he was human, maybe he had a chance. 

Sylus spotted a set of clothes in the corner of the room. He stood and held up the clothing before him. They appeared to be his size and made of quality fabric. Much better than what he could find to clothe himself in years past. He stripped off his dirty clothing and pulled on the black pants and sleeveless tunic. The pants were a few sizes too big, but the buckles on the waist secured them nicely. He stepped out of the tent and squinted against the setting sun. At least a hundred men are camped here. There are dozens of tents propped up across the field and horses grazed nearby.

He strolled through the camp, taking in the humans gathered around campfires. Like his kin, they varied in appearance greatly. Some tall, some short, some thin, some wide. Some with hair on their face or no hair at all. He rubbed a hand along his jaw, feeling no hair, only the ridge of the patch of scales that ran up his neck toward his ear. He covered the scales with his hand, panic settling over him as he wondered what the humans thought of his scales. 

Sylus quickly ran to a stream just on the outskirts of the camp. He crouched and looked for his reflection in the water. The moonlight lit up his face, making his silver hair glow. The water settled and he gasped at his reflection. He appeared… normal. He looked like all the other men in the camp. He ran a finger along the scales on his chest, feeling their rough texture, but seeing nothing but smooth skin. He lifted his hands, his talons appeared to be replaced by slender fingers. When his gaze returned to his face, he saw himself smiling. 

“I look like them?” Sylus whispered.

For the first time in his life, he wasn’t sad or angry about his appearance. He’d wanted horns, a tail and wings for as long as he could remember. But now, he was surrounded by creatures that looked like him. And his “curse” had, somehow, masked the remaining features that set him apart. He leaned back on his heels and looked up to the moon. 

“What do I do now?”

His heart ached. Could he really stay with these humans? The ones who killed his own mother? Learn to live like them? Embrace his appearance and suppress his draconic desires? He stood up and walked further from camp, toward the steep slope leading back into the valley he had called home his entire life. As he gazed out over the horizon, he saw a flicker of firelight, the faintest hint of smoke rising into the sky.

“We burned the bodies. We didn't want to risk some kind of filthy disease washing its way into the rivers and streams as they decayed.”

A deep voice rang out behind him. Sylus flinched.

“Didn’t mean to frighten you, young man. I was concerned when I didn’t find you in your tent.”

“I’m sorry, I just… I wanted to take a walk. I didn’t know…”

“It’s perfectly fine. I was surprised you strayed so far from camp. Given all that you’ve been through.”

Sylus nodded. He wrapped his arms around himself, suddenly feeling cold and uncertain in the man's presence. 

“I’ve built my army to fight even the most foul of beasts. You’re safe now.”

Sylus looked back to the valley. This man must be the Judicator, the one who started all of this. Who started the war against his kind. Sylus had a thousand questions, questions he never thought he’d get the answer to, let alone ask. But one gnawed at him and he couldn’t stop himself. 

“Why?”

The man walked up beside Sylus, looking over at him with a brow raised in confusion.

“Why did you want the dragons gone?”

The man laughed, his voice deep and cruel. He slapped Sylus on the shoulder. Sylus bit his tongue to avoid saying something he would regret.

“Because those beasts only know one thing. Desire. And desire leads to corruption and greed. They were evil and it was my duty to rid these lands of their kind. I am proud of what I’ve accomplished.There are no dragons left to destroy the souls of my people.”

Sylus felt his chest tighten, his anger and disgust making it hard for him to breathe. His heart felt like it was breaking yet again. The pressure behind his eyes building as he pinched them closed. His eyes flew open when he felt a familiar twinge of pain tickle his scalp.

“Why do you ask boy? Did they fill your head with their lies?”

The pain was so intense Sylus couldn’t speak. Fear paralysed him. He silently prayed to the only one he ever believed in. 

Mother, please. Don’t let them come back. Please…

But it was too late. He felt the flesh of his scalp split open once again and his body shook. He fell to the ground with his head in his hands. The man beside him lurched backwards, watching in horror as Sylus transformed. Sylus heard the footsteps of several men run toward them. His spine extended, his tail sweeping across the ground, knocking the Judicator off his feet.

“He’s a beast!” “How can this be?” “Is he a dragon?” “He doesn’t look like one, but he has horns! And a tail!” “He’s a horror!”

The Judicator stood over Sylus, peering down at his slumped form. He unsheathed his blade and kicked Sylus over onto his back.

Sylus groaned in pain, his tail coiling around him in a weak attempt to protect himself. He held his hands out, tears stinging his eyes as he tried to steady his breathing to speak.

“Please… don’t…”

“You disguise yourself and lie your way into our camp?! You intended to destroy our city! You foul creature!”

Sylus tried to crawl away from the crowd now gathering around him. His elbows sunk into the mud and his heels scrambling to gain traction. Other men were retrieving their weapons. Sylus gathered his remaining strength to dig his heels in and straighten his back, his legs shook as he stood. His hands still in front of him, shaking his head as he backed away from the men.

“We will not be fooled by you! You are a fiend. An evil, vile creature! You will not corrupt our souls!”

The Judicator lunged forward, Sylus reached out to try to stop the blade, but the man was too fast. His blade pierced Sylus’s chest. Sylus held the blade, as he stared into the eyes of the Judicator, the man sneered, pleased to see the fear in Sylus’s eyes.

Sylus gasped, the tears in his eyes spilled over, mixing with the dirt and blood across his face. He placed a foot behind him, trying to steady himself, but his tail swiped at the crowd viciously. Men went flying and some tumbled over the edge of the cliff into the valley below. 

“Stop him!” The men shouted as they rushed towards Sylus.

In a flash, a dozen swords were thrust toward him. Sylus felt every jab, his body weakening with every blow. The Judicator stood before him, watching his men attack the dragon boy. A prideful smile plastered on his face. Sylus kept his eyes trained on the man, he became numb to the pain, only feeling his body being shoved. 

Sylus fell to his knees, his hands crashing to the ground before him. He looked down to see half a dozen blades pierced through his chest. A sob broke free from his ravaged chest. He saw boots before him, the Judicators booming voice louder than his men's victory chants.

“The final dragon has been slain.”

He bent down and took the hilt of his sword, placing a foot on Sylus’s chest to gain leverage, he yanked the sword free kicking Sylus backward. Sylus tumbled backwards, his foot caught the edge of the cliff. He didn’t try to stop himself from falling, he closed his eyes as the wind howled in his ears. He felt the rocks of the cliffside against his back, his legs, his arms, his face as he rolled. The blades dislodged themselves and clanged against the rocks as they fell with him. 

Sylus hit the rocky base of the valley with a brutal thud, the metallic clinks of the swords falling all around him. He had no strength left. He forced his eyes open when he heard the sound of shouts above him. Men poured over the side of the cliff, making their way down using rope, some swinging from rock to rock. Their quick descent stirred something in Sylus. 

He was familiar with rage, but this was different. The pain his body felt transformed into something white hot. His legs burned as he stood. He stared up at the men climbing down to him. His right eye watered, it stung with every blink. Sylus wiped at his eye, but felt no tears. His vision darkened as his chest shook with something akin to laughter. Then everything went dark.

Her face, once again. Framed with silky strands of white hair. Her hand. Clutched a weapon of some kind. A sword? A faint golden glow swirled around her fingers and arm as she lifted the blade. Sylus felt the same searing pain in his chest. Blood splattered across her skin. Tears fell from her eyes. 

“Sylus…” She whispered.

A gust of cold air swept across his face and he shivered in response. His eyes fluttered open, a blue sky filled with soft white clouds floating above him. Beams of sunlight broke through the clouds and shone down upon him. He felt the warmth and took a deep breath, that’s when he felt it, the pain. He lifted his head to see the wounds scattered across his body. He sat up, clutching his chest as he looked around. 

Bodies surround him, men he saw at the camp. Sylus crawled to a boulder and used it to help him stand. Did he do this? How? And why did he feel so free and happy at the sight? A laugh bubbled up through his throat, catching him by surprise. The memory of his mother teaching him about the ancient dragon curse flooded his mind. Rage. Anger. Hatred. Something stronger. It took over and now…

Sylus walked further into the valley. He looked down to see a black red mist swirling toward him from the corpses. The mist felt refreshing, like a burst of cool air on a hot summer day. The mist swirled around his tail, up his spine to his horns, across his face and down his arms before funneling into his chest. The wound the Judicators sword had created glowed. He felt the wound close, but what replaced the flesh is bright like a ruby. The other wounds closed and his strength slowly returned as the mist continued to swirl around him.

With his wounds healed he felt the tension in his back grow. He hunched over and lurched forward, bracing his hands against the cliffside. The skin of his back split open, the pressure finally released and Sylus threw his head back letting out a roar. Crimson wings burst forth from the wounds. They stretch outwards, the breeze dusting over the newly exposed flesh. Sylus' chest heaved as he looked over his shoulder at his wings. He has wings. Wings. 

He stood up straight. His tail swayed and his wings fluttered, eager to take flight. He hadn’t seen the Judicator among the bodies. He also hadn’t seen that girl. He didn’t know why he dreamt of her, but he’d seen her twice. She wasn’t there. Who was she? 

He clenched his fists and closed his eyes, shaking the image of her from his mind.

“If humans want a monster, they’ll get one.”

Sylus took a breath and flapped his wings hard, allowing instinct to take over.It was a foreign sensation, but as soon as his feet left the ground he sighed. Years of wishing to fly and here he is, flying over a valley filled with bodies. 

He soared over the valley and towards the fields he had visited so often as a child. Tears sting his eyes as he lowered himself to the ground. He sat among the datura flowers, most withering in the summer heat. He picked one up and held it between his claws, allowing the tears to finally fall as he mourned the loss of his kin, his mother and the person he was. Only the monster remained. 

“You were right. That is a sad story.”

Her words are slurred, fatigue finally winning the war. Sylus shifts slowly and leans towards her, lifting his hand to gently brush the hair out of her face. 

“Is that really the end? Who was the girl? Did he find that judi-ma-cator guy?”

Sylus chuckles under his breath. His thumb moves to her cheek, stroking her soft skin. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was slow and steady. She was nearly asleep.

“He did find the Judicator. And the girl… she was very important to him. The most important actually. But that’s a story for another time. Sleep. I’ll turn out the light.”

She lifts her hand to cover his, trapping it over her face. 

“Wait.”

She stares up at him, her tired eyes glistening.

“At least tell me if he had a happy ending?”

Sylus gently removes her hand from over his. He pulls the blanket up over her shoulders and leans over to press a kiss to her temple. She closes her eyes once more, finally letting sleep take her. He smiles as he takes in her delicate features. He carefully stands and turns off the lamp beside the bed. He strolls to the door, but turns back to look at her before leaving.

“His story isn’t over yet.” He whispers.

He opens the door and gently closes it behind him, leaving his beloved to sleep peacefully.

Tag List (comment if you wanna be added!): @trishiepo0 @not-so-quite-human @kitsunetori @babyx91 @libriomancer @lilyadora @crowskitten22

AN: I have no idea if this will be allowed to compete because it is pretty intense, but I wanted to write this regardless. I always crave the boys POV so this was a must. I hope you guys like it - and cry with me... If you want to give the X post some love, it's linked below.

X Post: (posting now)

[hermesserpent-stuff]

@honey-minded-hivemind

more red eyed kitten au

Remy snarls and presses his back to a wall. He keeps his arms close to himself and keeps his eyes on the door. People slowly had been moved out of this room as they were ‘processed’. He has no idea what happens to them once they leave the room. He has no idea what goes on here. He just knows that mutants who are taken disappear forever. 

So, Remy has been refusing anything offered to him. No food. No drink. No touch. He speaks to the children imprisoned here, but they eventually give in and are taken. The adults avoid him. Remy twists the metal band that links over his wrist that is locked tight and has a bar code that they scan on everyone else when they eat.

A man comes in with a set of glasses and a frown. He walks right towards Remy who tenses further. His stomach aches from no food, his bones burn from his powers no being released, and his eyes hurt from the artificial light. 

“You are going to eat.”

“Connard. Non.”

Remy snarls out, pressing into the wall. A few more people enter the room and the other inmates shift away. No one will help. Remy is alone. 

“We are trying to help you. Eat. Or we are going to have to force you. For your own good.”

Remy growls.

“Gambit will rip off your hands.”

He hisses in threat. Hands start to grab at him and he fights. He kicks and screeches and devolves into biting. His teeth dig down deep and then he rips his head to the side. He tears through skin. Bloodlust fills his brain as the viscous liquid drips from his very small fangs.  He tackles someone else and bites harshly into the arm which blocks him from a throat bite. His stomach howls and he lets his hands spark. He is yanked backwards and something is jammed into his mouth. And something else is jammed into his arm.

Remy blacks out.

When he wakes up, he is tied up and something is on his face. He snarls and then shivers. He yanks on the restraints, but he is well and truly stuck. There is a beep, and something starts to fill his veins. Cold. consuming.  His explosive powers are out of reach and he worries. He tries to stay fierce, but terror takes his heart. He begins to cry. He just wants to go home!

“Papa!!! Henri!!!!”

He calls, knowing that they wont hear him, but he hopes. Hopes… hopes.. He keeps calling, even as his voice grows ragged and his veins. The thing on his face cuts into his screen with every movement of his jaw and all his screams. He ends up silently crying and staring at the wall blankly.

--

They have to hold onto his arms while taking blood. Remy kicks and flails and his empathy powers snap free, drenching the walls in his fear and soaking into the bones of the mutants pinning him. They tear up as he sobs for his family. His chest struggles and heaves and then he blacks out again. 

--

Creed is a cold man. Losing a cub will do that to a feral. He follows with the other mutant’s plans to give him the best chance of finding his cub again. His ruby eyed little baby cub. 

He shakes the snow off his coat as he returns to base. He had successfully tracked and gotten three more mutants brought in. A lady dashes up to him when he enters.

“Wolverine’s been trying to get to you since yesterday afternoon.”

Creed takes the phone and grunts.

“You need to get back to the main base Creed. We have a red eyed kid here.”

Creed freezes, heart suddenly beating fast.

“Red on black?” 

“Red on black Victor.”

“On my way Jimmy.”

--

Creed stares through the camera at the muzzled and bound kid. Iv’s drip in nutrients, liquid, and sedation. Those brillant red eyes glow softly when they are open.

“He bit into people when we tried to feed him after he refused to eat for days.”

Cyclops says in response to Creed’s snarling over the muzzle.

“Im taking it off.”

“We cant have him biting attendants.”

“Ill keep him from biting others. Im taking it off one eye.”

He snaps and then leaves. He is going to see the cub. It had been too long. Almost 14 years. 

“Careful! Hes an empath!”

Cyclops yells after him. Creed grunts in reply.

He comes into the room and grabs the kid’s jaw. A huge wave of fear hits his mind and nose as he stares into wide ruby eyes. They are puffy with tears. 

“Oh… Cub.” 

He had never gotten a chance to know his cub. But he could never forget those eyes. Eyes that looked at him with bubbly joy, shimmering dependance, and love. Now they only hold fear and defiance. He cups his child’s chin and removes the muzzle. He had been muzzled before. He hates that his child had experienced it.

“Do I get to die now?”

The kid asks, eyes shimmering with tears and exhaustion. He has her nose. And her hair. Creed runs his thumb over the cheek bone.

“No. Never.”

“Connards.”

The kid spits out and then actually spits before trying to bite at Creed. Creed accepts the bite, still enamored with seeing his son again. 

“Oh. my little cub.”

He cuts the bindings and sweeps the child up into his arms. The kid tenses and then begins to flail, kicking, clawing, and biting. Creed holds tight, nose buried in the kid’s hair. The smell of pack is there, buried oh so deep. Love sweeps through him and the kid freezes.

“My son.”

Creed sobs. 

“... I’m not your son you piece of- you vile horrid tataille! Merde! Diable! Arête! Chepasse!!! I got a papa!!”

The kid screams and violently wriggles, but his strength is flagging. The kid curls up and whimpers.

“Just let me go home.”

Sorrow claws into Creed.

“You are home cub.”

[punkslovepoints]

✨2024 Steddie Fic Recommendations

template from Steddie Support Podcast on twitter

Summaries and links below the cut

Born Under a Bad Sign by @pinkie-quinns [27k E]

Eddie Munson lived. He lived. So why does he still feel very, very dead?

No Loose Ends by @thisapplepielife [7k E]

"Ocean air is healing, you know," Eddie says as if he's serious, and Steve smiles. "Is the gulf considered an ocean?" Steve asks. And Eddie just shrugs and grins back, shaking another pack of cigarettes out of the fresh carton Steve brought him. Steve feels like a pack mule, hauling food and smokes and beer, back and forth across several states. "Closest thing I've ever seen to one, at least," Eddie says, and Steve has the fleeting thought that someday, Steve will change that. Or: Waiting out the shitstorm back in Indiana.

Big Talk by @occasionaloverboy [29k E]

The first time Eddie flirts with him is a surprise. The second time is a fluke. After that, it gets a little hard to keep track.

Sports Performance by @entanglednow [18k E]

Steve discovers something unexpected while waiting alone in Eddie's room, and struggles to be a supportive friend.

i got your name stuck to my tongue (only call me when you're drunk) by GhostEnthusiast [22k E]

5 times Steve fools around with Eddie Munson at parties, and 1 time he invites him to one himself.

Exactly What It Looks Like by @bilbosmom-belladonna [31k E]

Steve makes a face at Eddie. “You've imagined doing stuff with a guy?” “Yeah, man,” Eddie replies, spreading his hands wide. “Doesn't everyone?” Steve tilts his head to the side as he thinks. Maybe not very often, but his freshman year when Davey Riggs had been swim team captain? Yeah, he had definitely imagined some stuff that had made trips to the locker room kinda awkward. “Yeah, that's true,” Steve answers, nodding. “I wonder why everybody acts like it's so gross, though.” In the summer of 1986, Steve and Eddie have some perfectly normal fun between a couple of perfectly normal dudes.

Path to the Rainbow's End by gayhandshake [17k M]

Eddie always believed he was getting out of Hawkins. He knew he was meant for something else, even when he thought he only had two options: a bus to the state penitentiary like his father and his father’s father before him or a plane to Los Angeles, paid for by a record executive with a fat bank account and a vision. Turns out, there was a third path, and when he left town, it was in the driver’s seat on I-90, trailing behind a brown BMW carrying the Wonder Twins, with most of their shared possessions shoved into the back of his van. The van survived the drive to Rochester, but just barely. He coaxed her along with soothing words and stroking hands until she rolled to a stop two houses down from their new place, like Flipper dying in her trainer’s arms. He didn’t cry then, because they’d done this song and dance before. He did throw a very mature, contained temper tantrum at the mechanic the next day. -- Eddie knows exactly who he is. Definitely. Probably. Maybe.

Somewhere it Hides a Well by @teddywesworl [8k E]

Eddie ducks his head briefly, a gesture that doesn’t quite fit with the guy’s overall image: buzz cut, obvious ink, scars on his jaw. A bunch of his shirt buttons are undone, and Steve can see a white tank and a gold chain underneath. “Yeah,” Eddie says. “I’m at a shop in Uptown.” It’s rote, sounds sort of disinterested. Steve might think he’s being dismissed if Eddie Munson’s eyes weren’t raking over him, lingering at his jawline, his throat, his hands when he adjusts his cuffs. Or: At Lumax’s wedding in 2003, slutty bisexual physical therapist Steve sets his eye on inked up tough guy mechanic Eddie and peels away his mask.

You Could Call Me Nancy by @pinkie-quinns [5k T]

Steve and Nancy get back together. And Eddie, well. He does what any respectable person would do in that situation. He drinks about it.

Restorative Violence by @anniebass [30k E]

Unlike his uncle, Eddie still dreamt of bigger things, the fame of a musician, good cars, big-ass mansions, talked about it in the hospital bed, as with the trailer’s ruin came hope of relocation, the first step toward betterment, maybe a house a touch less vehicular, one maybe not so weiner-shaped. Still, his new room failed to convey a fulfilled dream; the unpacked boxes stood in unstable towers, dust covered the guitar, only the dirty dishes seemed to be a movable component of a life sustained, not lived. It didn’t seem like Eddie was fine at all.

Late Bloomers by @arimakes and @mojowitchcraft [65l E]

Two men walk into a gay bar. One thinks he’s straight, one thinks he’s vanilla. Both of them are idiots.

Steve & Robin by @audacityofbird [120k M]

It's 1995. Two sets of best friends find themselves in Chicago and in each other's orbit as they try to figure out how to best navigate the world, work, relationships, family, and friendships in their mid-twenties. Chrissy is starting a new job in a new city with only an old friend to help tether her. Eddie tries to help his band find their big break. Steve tries to get his matchmaking family off his back and Robin hatches a plan to help him do that in an unconventional and seemingly logical way. They're all finding themselves and their way to each other. So, who cares if they stumble along the way? At least they have each other.

Don't Hate The Player by orphan_account [6k M]

Steve Harrington doesn't really play video games. Not his thing. Somehow, however, he's ended up in an utterly delusional, one-sided relationship with an NPC.

The Fire And The Flood by @entanglednow [6k E]

Steve's already spent half a day dealing with the kids misbehaving, he really doesn't need Eddie making his life harder.

would you be my friend? by @their-we-go [8k M]

"Honourable Justice Harrington, I have perjured myself on this stand today, and I would like to recant.”"Honourable Justice Harrington, I have perjured myself on this stand today, and I would like to recant.” “Dude, what are you—” “I lied, man. I fibbed. I told a story. I—” “Alright, okay. I get it.” “I don’t read, uh. Gay porn for the articles.” “Okay.” “I more read it for the, you know.” He scrubs a hand over his face. Wishes he could hide. “Gay porn.” (Or: scenes from Eddie's life after the world doesn't end.)

let's exchange the experience by @jamiethegardener55 [22k E]

"I propose a game," Eddie announced. Steve zipped his coat back up, wincing. "I'm not playing your dungeon game." "Not," Eddie said, "a tabletop game, thank you, Steven. A challenge. A bet." He felt his eyes gleam. Steve gave him a wary look. "What kind of challenge?" "I," Eddie said, clapping his palms together, "will be Steve Harrington. For a whoooole day. And you will be Eddie Munson." -- Eddie and Steve play a game. They have to do whatever the other says for the day. Neither of them has ever heard of BDSM. Things go really well.

Big wheel keep on turning by prufrocks [28k E]

A few months after Starcourt, Steve moves out of his parents' house and into a friend of a friend's empty RV. What follows is a long six months of unintentional minimalism, scraping by on two bucks an hour, and staring at the specter that haunts the other side of the trailer park. Meanwhile, Robin gets a song stuck in her head. A season four rewrite.

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

Then mine from this year:

Pebble [5.4k words, Rated: T]

“Right, well when the male finds a female penguin he likes, he brings her a pebble. It shows the female that he wants to build a nest with her, that he wants to have her as a mate. So I thought -” Steve raised an eyebrow, “You want me to be your mate?”

flood water (a series) [17k words, Rated: E]

“Nothing says last day on earth like trying to fuck your straight friend before disappearing the next day.” Eddie skips town a month after he gets out of the hospital.

how to wake a dead boy (with art work by @bleedingoptimism) [33.4k words, Rated: M]

Steve’s been able to bring dead people back to life since he was a child. It’s a secret he’s managed to keep from everyone, hiding his power under a layer of detachment from the world around him. Then Eddie dies and Steve has a decision to make. A Stranger Things canon-compliant story based on Pushing Daisies lore.

Queer Lodgings [WIP, Rated: E]

After almost dying in the Upside Down, Eddie wakes to a high school diploma, a place at community college, and - yet another surprise in this new sunshine and rainbows existence that is somehow his life - Steve Harrington as a roommate. It's a double bi awakening!

[luimnigh]

And finally, December:

22 Movies Watched, with 8 Partial Watches

1 TV Special

25 Comic Book Issues

And I started 1 Game.

Now, that 22 movies is clearly an outlier. And with 20/22 of those being watched over the Christmas holidays, it turns out I watch more movies when I feel the need to spend time with my family rather than go to my room. I watch more stuff when I'm not in charge of starting the watching. Go figure.

Details, as always, under the cut:

Movies:

A Christmas Carol (1984): The one with Patton as Scrooge, which notably has Scrooge as a commodities trader. Fairly good adaptation.

That Christmas: Netflix animated Christmas film, co-written by the creator of Love Actually. Pretty great movie, it's definitely stuck in my head since.

Sing: The Illumination franchise not featuring Minions. Fun, feelgood kid's movie. Solid stuff.

The Holiday: One of my Mom's favourite Christmas movies, she watches it every year. It's a fun little thing, mostly about romance than Christmas, but still.

Oppenheimer: I finally got around to this one by virtue of my Mom putting it on and then falling asleep watching it. It's a fascinating movie about the road to hell being paved with good intentions, how justification for immoral acts grow and spread, and how you cannot control what you put into the world once you've done it.

Batman Begins: Directly after Oppenheimer, seems they were doing a Nolan marathon. Gotta say, I feel like after this one Nolan leaned too far into realism and I feel it was detrimental to the rest of his trilogy. This one had a gothic Gotham and while the more fantastical elements were stripped, it still had a secret society of Ninjas who burned society down every so often. I feel like some more magical elements absolutely could have coexisted with this Batman over the latter two films.

Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway: This did something The Fall Guy joked about, and tried to make up for a weaker Act Three by lampshading the weakness of it's Act Three.

The Muppets Christmas Carol: Because of course I did, it's mandatory.

Moana: Still a fantastic movie, one of my favourites of Disney's 2010s films.

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl: It's Wallace & Gromit, it continues to be a series of hilarious films. I like how it touched on AI art and how the effort of creating something is part of the enjoyment of it, but in a subtle enough way that it doesn't come off as preachy.

San Andreas: You know, I think this is the only movie I've seen where falling glass from a breaking window is depicted as dangerous.

The Quiet Man: For those that don't know: It's a movie by John Ford, starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara, about an Irish-born American returning to his family home and trying to make a life. He falls in love, and falls afoul of local customs. It is absolutely heavy on the stereotypes, and the romance is questionably consensual the entire way through (not helped by the ending, in which our hero seems to treat our heroine terribly... until it turns out to have been an act they planned). If you can get past that, it is a fun movie.

We Own The Night: Cop drama. Not great.

And Now For Something Completely Different: Compilation of Monty Python sketches into a movie. Some of them are better in the TV versions, but it's Python, it's still mostly funny.

Romancing The Stone: Eh. It's a fair enough romantic comedy/jungle adventure.

Superman II: ...y'know, these Superman movies play a lot heavier into the Jesus angle than I remember.

Spider-Man: No Way Home: Y'know, I've seen people say this doesn't hold up now that the Marvel Multiverse stuff in full swing, but I gotta disagree, I still like this a bunch.

The Sound of Music: I gotta admit, the confrontation at the end between Captain Von Trapp and Rolfe is really well-done. You genuinely think he's gonna get through to this kid, and then the guy's true colours shine through.

The Railway Children: ...the pacing is weird on this, because what seems to be the natural climax is just the halfway point. In any other movie, preventing the train crash would happen just before the reuniting with their father.

The Second Best Exotic Marigold: I didn't really pay attention to this, to be quite honest, but I paid enough that I feel I can't call it a partial watch.

Black Panther: Technically, my last movie of 2024, as the next one I watched after midnight on New Year's Eve, but the rule is that it's not the next month until I go to bed. Anyway, still an all-time great superhero movie.

The Guard: An Irish comedy about a corrupt small-town cop who turns out to be less corrupt than the rest of the cops. Genuinely hilarious.

Herself (Partial): Irish drama about a mother escaping an abusive relationship and trying to build a home for her daughters. Harrowing, honestly.

Gosford Park (Partial): Proto-Downton Abbey. You can see the bones there, but also see where edges got sanded down from this.

Cheaper By The Dozen (Partial): Smallville Superman gets bullied by Sam Supernatural for being a farmboy. This is the only subplot I remember, it's mostly chaos.

Elf (Partial): Honestly I gotta get around to watching it in full, it seems fun enough.

Chicken Run (Partial): Animated classic.

Ghostbusters Afterlife (Partial): Technically I saw the whole thing, I just didn't hear any dialogue after the first thirty minutes thanks to everyone visiting on Christmas Eve.

The Italian Job (1969) (Partial): Quite possibly the first ever use of a hacker in a heist film. The prison scenes are very clearly filmed in Dublin if you've ever seen Killmainham Jail. I saw the car chase, that's the best part of the film except for the iconic line.

Forces of Nature (Partial): Ben Affleck, Sandra Bullock romantic comedy? Wasn't great, but it's the only romantic comedy I've ever seen where the engaged lead decides to get married to the person they're engaged to. That's the end. Our leads go off on seperate lives, happy for the time they spent together but knowing they made the right choice. Insane this happens in an otherwise forgotten romcom from the early 00s.

TV Series:

Doctor Who Christmas Special: Joy To The World: Fun little romp. Nice poignant moments. Unsubtle ending.

Comics:

Alpha Flight (2011): Issues 5-8. I was confirming some confusing wording on the Marvel Wiki regarding a kid someone protected that made it sound like it was there. Canada spent some time as a fascist state in Marvel.

Strange Tales (1998): Issue 2. The below comic continues the story, turns out Man-Thing might be a direct descendant of the Biblical Adam.

Man-Thing (1997): Issues 7 and 8. Man-Thing's son nearly gets corrupted by a demon(?). Psychadelic art style. Hard to read.

Howard The Duck (2002): Issue 6. And wow, this series was trying incredibly hard to be edgy. Quite unsure if the cosmology it lays out is canon.

Namor, The Submariner: Issue 4. Double-checking some characters who pretended to be Poseidon's kids.

Uncanny Avengers Vol 2: Annual. Checking out the full story of the Emerald Warlock.

Scarlet Witch (2016): Issues 1-4. Continuing machinations of the Emerald Warlock.

Fantastic Four (2013): Issue 5. In which Julius Caesar is replaced by a Caesar-fanboy alien.

Blade: Vampire Nation: Single Issue. Honestly, I was just checking out why Henry Kissinger was a Vampire.

Master Of Kung Fu (1976): Issues 36 & 37. Shang-Chi meets a dude who claims to be related to Pan. Incredibly confusing story.

Kidpool & Spider-Boy: Single Issue. Sometimes I get asks and have to look up comics to answer them.

Elektra & Wolverine: The Redeemer: Three Issue Series. More of a book than a comic. Interesting story, but added another kid to Wolverine's list.

Wolverine (2010): Issues 305-307. Wolverine fights a Redneck Stereotype Mad Scientist named Dr Rot, who stole pieces of Wolverine's brain and grew them into shapeshifting minions.

Videogames:

Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth (Partial): Fun detective game so far, but I kinda miss the courtroom stuff. The Testimony/Rebuttal just doesn't feel the same.

Looking back, I spent most of last year in a depressive funk. There were some high moments, but after about March I just stopped doing the stuff I enjoy. I didn't read books, I didn't watch movies, the last videogame I played to completion was in May, I only went to the Cinema twice...

I just took the quick dopamine hit from stuff like youtube videos and social media scrolling.

I gotta fix that. I gotta get back to the things I enjoy.

So my New Year's Resolution, probably the first time I've ever seriously done one, is to enjoy more art.

I'm gonna record every movie and series watched, every book read, every game played- and I'm gonna finish a bunch of those I started and never ended.

No goal, just more.

[thebomb-thebird-andtheburntbitch]

Wishing On Golden Stars [FINAL]

Kamisato Ayato

k.ayato/fem!reader

genre: isekai, slow burn, fluff, hurt/comfort, humor(?), series

chapter warning(s)!!!: ayato scolds you but thats really it!

chapter w.count: 3.7k

a/n: its finally here! the finale! let's give these fools a happy end, shall we?

When you wake up, it’s properly dark out. There's a cooling sensation on your forehead and you’re snug in a futon. A sense of deja vu washes over you as you hiss at the pounding in your head. At least whatever was on your head tried its best to stave off the headache. Not that its really working all that well.

There’s rustling to your side before the presence of something settles next to your laying form. You crack your eyes open and even though there’s only a few candles lit for visibility in the dark room, the light still makes you suck in a short breath. Electro currents really aren’t to be underestimated it would seem. The deja vu remains stuck to your mind as the cloudy visage of Ayato knelt in front of you clears up in your haze. 

“Do you always make it a habit to stick around when I’m sleeping,” you slur, your voice coming back to you in groggy waves as you try and lighten the frown on his face. He sighs, his shoulders dropping as he places his head on top of the cool cloth on your forehead. Some of the water drips out of the edges of the fabric as he applies pressure. 

He's changed into his night robes and he looks comfortable without all his layers and armored pieces on.

“Only when you make it a habit to worry me,” he counters with a bitter, unamused scoff. You let out a huff as you avert your eyes to the ceiling. 

“It’s not like I try to.” 

“Your track record of staying out of trouble fails to support your claim.” The rag of now lukewarm water that had been heated by both your skin and Ayato’s palm is lifted from your head. The remaining dampness feels sticky on your forehead as the air quickly begins to dry it. “Do you realize how reckless you can be?” His voice has a bite to it that you knew was coming. “Thoma sends you out on a brief errand and you do not return back home all day. Naturally, I would worry.” You don't watch him, but you can hear him dunk the rag back into water and wring the cloth out. “I go to retrieve you from whatever it was that was keeping you, and through various people’s testimonies, I found you outside Konda Village. That itself is not the issue, however.” The rag is placed gently back on your head, the action kind and delicate despite Ayato’s bitter tone. He was clearly upset. “Can you begin to understand the depths of my stomach when I saw you in the middle of a battle on the verge of unconsciousness because you were subjected to injuries?” 

You finally turn your head and look at him. The look on his face is soaked deep in so many emotions. His eyes were scared, his lips snared in a frown, cheeks flushed in anger at the memory. Even his posture was rigid. 

“That was you who showed up?” You knew it wasn’t Aether at the end of it all. Part of you was glad it was Ayato. 

“It was,” he sighs. “Luckily for us both, Aether is more familiar with the Priestess of Sangonomiya Shrine than I. He was able to transport you to her for healing swiftly.” You open your mouth in awe. That would explain that even after being shocked with so much energy, all that ails you was a headache and minor pains. “I shall be in her debt for some time for her service.” 

“I apologize. I didn’t mean to place you into any difficult situations that could strain the Tri-commission and the previous rebellion leader.” Ayato says nothing and you’re not sure if that’s a good thing or not. “I’ll be sure to pay my respects and gratitude to Sangonomiya as soon as I can.” Still, he says nothing in return to your words. He must be angrier than you thought. 

Silence swallows the dim room in a gloomy air. Ayato remains beside you, just staring out of the room’s window while you continue to stare at the ceiling between prolonged blinking. This was the last thing you needed to happen. Talking to Aether gave you the advice, courage and push you needed to come up with an answer to the one thing that had been plaguing you- that being Ayato’s feelings. Out of the corner of your eye, you glance at him. 

Sitting there, he still looks so stupidly beautiful it was envy inducing. How this man saw anything desirable in you when he looks like he could sweep even a God off their feet with a single smile, you’re not sure. In the same breath though, it does inflate your ego to know one of the most powerful men in Inazuma has the hots for you. Then, you frown. 

“Ayato,” you whisper, foregoing his title that has him humming towards your call without looking down at you. “I’m sorry.” His shoulders almost slump. “For worrying you.” 

“Indeed. As you should be.” You almost pout. He could at least try and accept your apology. Still, you’re understanding and know where his emotions are coming from. 

“You must’ve been scared,” you whisper. Afraid that you might be crossing a line in assuming his feelings. The man who had his childhood ripped away from him when his parents passed. The boy who had to grow up in the span of hours to even begin to know how to protect and raise his little sister. The boy who grew up into a man who was probably more lonely than he lets others know. Losing someone he’s confessed love to right in front of him? It must’ve been awful. 

Ayato’s fists clench in his lap. You can see the tensing of his muscles going up his forearm in the corner of your eye. He takes a deep breath in, before holding it and letting it out harshly. 

“Petrified.” His admittance was so quiet you could’ve confused it with the passing wind outside. It’s like your hazy vision clears perfectly when you see the way his face twitches. The Commissioner disappears, even if just for a moment, and all that you see before you is the man, Kamisato Ayato. Fitful, fearful, and so stupidly scared in love. 

You spring up with strength you didn’t know you had in your limbs. The rag on your head flying off towards the foot of your futon. Ayato’s body jolts, shifting back away from your sudden movement. You ignore the dizziness in your head that threatens to push you back into the mattress as you swivel your body towards the pale haired man. Still, your brow twitched at the pang of pain that shoots through you like a current. 

“Do not move like that!” Ayato scolds. 

The Commissioner’s hands move from his lap to grasp onto your shoulders. Whether to steady you or push you back down to rest, you weren’t sure. Maybe both, maybe none; maybe it was just instinctual. Still, it was a chance.

Your hands shoot up, palms latching around his wrists to keep him anchored to you and once again Ayato is faced with your brute strength when he feels shackled onto your body. It wasn’t an entirely unpleasant sensation. 

“Ayato!” You raise your voice firmly, once again dismissing his pedigree and refusing to collect it from the floor on which you throw the title. “I love you,” you boldly declare. You swear he blue screens. “I’ve been thinking about what you told me on the night of the meteor shower; like thinking about it a lot. I wanted to properly answer you, but you’re such an important person in Inazuma- I just needed a lot of time. Time and advice. Thoma and Ayaka were encouraging, but I needed someone like me to talk to. Someone not from Teyvat. Someone like Aether.” 

Ayato watches as you talk and talk and pour your words out like some sort of unclogged drain. Words washing over him like a silken blanket that fell from Celestia, coating him in warmth. 

You feel his arms twitch in your grasp, lifting from your shoulders and you panic. What if he’s changed his mind? What if you had caused him trouble enough times that he was over it?

“Wait-” you scramble when he manages to peel his wrists from your grip. Instead of standing up and leaving you alone on the floor, Ayato’s wrists twist so that he was the one now holding your hands.

His palms were warm. You could fully feel the difference of skin between the heel of his hand that was calloused from swordplay and the deep softness of the dip in his palm. His thumbs run across your knuckles as his hands encase yours. 

“Relax,” he instructs and to your credit, you do try. Ayato can feel the slight tremor in your hands as he holds them. Feel the cool sensation of your nervous skin under his. See the stiff stature of your shoulders and the way your eyes panic at being left. The Yashiro Commissioner is the pro at reading facial and body ques, but even if your squirming is adorable, he won’t let you steep in disconcerting emotions right in front of him. Not right now. “I understand” -he brings your hands up to his chin, clutched fingers resting just under his bottom lip- “you don’t need to worry.” 

“Do you really?” You press, swallowing the lump in your throat. 

“I do.” 

“Ayato-” you’re sure you’re about to start rambling again, words so desperate crawling their way up your throat to explain yourself. Your actions. Your avoidance. And your feelings. All so he could understand crystal clear that how you feel isn’t just because he confessed to you. Or because he was a powerful figure.

These feelings aren’t being coerced out of you or being fabricated because he’s a man of power. You need to tell him that you’ve had these stupid feelings for him for so long- even before he was flesh in blood in front of you and just data inside a computer screen. 

Ayato is a smart man. He knows. He knows what actions, feelings and emotions being pulled out of someone by force looks like. It looks nothing like your flustered expression and shaky hands and glassy eyes. You're being so genuinely cute he wants to combust. 

Chuckling to himself, he sees your jaw drop again. Before anything comes out, he leans forward to place a kiss to your cheek, just below your eye on the apple of your face. He’s sure if you were to smile, he’d feel the skin push up against his lips.

Oh, he hopes he can experience that soon. 

Backing away from your skin, Ayato stays within your breath. Hands still clasped gently- so delicately in his own- between you both. 

“Calm down,” he almost teases you. He watches you take deep, unsteady breathes, and finds your obedience endearing. “Good,” he praises. His suave nature of the situation cracks after you collect yourself from word vomit central as he lets out a deep breath of his own. Letting his head slump down, he rests it on your shoulder. Face turned so his nose was ghosting against your neck. His fingers start tinkering and toying with yours like some sort of fidget toy. 

Nothing else is said for the remainder of the night. Ayato ends up falling asleep on your shoulder and you take it upon yourself to lay your employer and potential lover down to avoid any neck strain. Taking your place back in your futon next to him, you make sure to keep a space between you both. When the sun rises and the air is new, you’d be able to talk things through properly. 

When Ayato opens his eyes the next morning, the sun isn’t the golden color of dawn he’s used to seeing. It’s warm and yellow and from the ruckus outside the door sounds like late morning activities and chores being done. He’s on his back and he knows the ceiling he’s staring at, knowing the futon he’s half on and knows the warmth of the body next to him. Turning his head, he’s convinced that waking up to you is the only thing that he wants for the rest of his time on Teyvat. He’s seen you sleep and rest plenty of times, between being ill and being caught in the middle of battle (albeit the latter is a new experience he strongly dislikes), but this is different. It’s intimate. 

Sitting up, he places one of his hands on your head, careful not to stir you and wake you from the rest he’s sure you need. Even if you didn’t need rest and were completely healthy, he’d be more than accepting if you wanted to spend all day in bed and forget your job completely. Of course, you’d probably just freak out realizing you slept in and hadn’t been earning your keep as part of the Kamisato staff.  

Ayato wonders if you’d still want to be under his payroll if he’s to properly court you? Would that be too risqué? Pursuing a member of his own staff… or perhaps thrilling? 

There's a soft knock on the door you both occupy and he knows that it could only be Thoma or his sister since this was his room after all.  Ayato doesn’t let just anyone interrupt his business in his own personal quarters. 

With his hand still gently playing with your head and twisting your hair around his fingers, he speaks quietly and allows the person entry. Thoma’s head popping in was no shock to the Commissioner. Walking fully past the threshold and into the room, Thoma shuts the door behind him. Giddy and pleased as punch, he sits himself down near his boss and friend. 

“Thoma,” Ayato starts, forgoing any good morning pleasantries. “Would it be considered distasteful to announce y/n as my lover while also keeping them on staff?” 

Instead of acting shocked or repulsed or even confused, the housekeeper cups his chin and closes his eyes as if in deep thought. He hums even, adding to Ayato’s glee. 

“While I personally see no issues with it, others- especially outside of the Yashiro Commission and Kamisato Clan- could potentially see it as something… tacky.” Ayato joins in on Thoma’s air of serious thought. 

“Yes, I could see how that could be taken by others. They could even try and slander y/n’s good name and hard work should I let my guard down.” Then, he scoffs; promptly dismissing the outside opinion entirely. “Pity I care not for public opinion on such important personal matters.” Ayato twists his torso so that he’s looking back down to your sleeping form. His hand moves from your head to your forehead. Finger tracing down the slope of your nose to push against your lips and trail from the corner of your mouth to your cheek and up and around your ear. If he was a blind man, he could still easily see your beauty this way. 

Thoma clears his throat with a flushed face, feeling like he was suddenly intruding. “I’ll go and prepare something easy on the stomach for y/n to eat when she wakes up. Surely she’ll be hungry.” 

“Yes,” Ayato nods, “see to it. After her situation yesterday, we’re not sure how well her stomach will be, so please be mindful with the selection. I shall also eat with her.” Thoma nods, already to standing back up and excusing himself. 

Once alone again, Ayato lays himself back down on his side to just look at you. He’s not sure how much time passes or when your eyes open. Perhaps he zoned out, and just didn’t realize you were now awake looking back at him. 

“You have a staring problem?” You ask him, groggy and cranky just as you always are when you first wake up. He chuckles, bringing a hand up to pinch at your cheek. 

“Don’t be cheeky now,” he hums and you groan, swatting away his hand. He catches your assault and brings your knuckles to his lips, kissing each one delicately and individually. “Good morning.” 

“Who’s being cheeky now,” you mutter but don’t move to pull away from him. Ayato’s exceptionally pleased as he sits up, pulling your arm so you join him. You slip your hand from his and stretch, looking outside and realize that you should probably get up. It hasn’t been that long since you recovered from being sick and now you’re back in bed? That can’t look good to the other staff members.

If you had said that out loud, Ayato would have snickered a cheeky ‘I knew it’ in your face at his initial assumption to the current time and your work.

“Thoma will be back shortly with something for us to eat,” Ayato tells you, seeing you start kicking the covers off your legs. “Stay until then.” 

“I’m kind of sick of eating in bed like a patient. If I have to eat, I’d rather do so at a proper table.” You sigh. While what you say isn’t untrue, the real reason for you wanting to get up was to maybe get out of the futon and get some air. Ayato nods. 

“I see.” He stands to his feet, his clothes that had been well slept in from the night well beyond wrinkled. “Just a moment,” he walks away from you and heads to a pair of sliding doors that reveal more clothes. During the moments he spends rummaging around, you finally realize where you were. Fanning your face, you look away as soon as he starts undressing into something not wrinkled and meant for sleeping. Maybe you could sneak out as he changed- so blatantly- in your presence with his back turned. Being in Ayato’s room made you feel woozy on top of everything else. 

“I’m just going to-” You mutter to yourself, pushing the futon cover off your legs fully. Before you could even get into a position to get up, Ayato’s voice stops you. 

“Stay put.” Looking over your shoulder, he’s not even looking towards you. A new shirt on his torso and fussing with the tassels that hang over his shoulders. You conceded almost immediately, deflating back onto the futon. He struts over once presentable, bends to grab your arm and trail his hand down it to grab your hand before lifting you to your feet. “Now, we can leave.” Ayato leaves his room with you tethered and pulled along by him. 

You pass Thoma with a tray of food set for two and you can tell he’s trying not to laugh at your expense. Everyone who’s within the path is obviously staring at the Kamisato Clan head guiding you through the halls by your hand and the attention makes you squirm and heat up. Clearly, it must be entertaining.

“Thoma, we’ve decided to eat in a proper setting.” 

“Of course!” He’s well ahead of the game and shifts gears to lead you both to the dining room. Ayaka hears rumor of Ayato’s hand holding scene and rushes- as dignified as possible- to join the fun. 

The day goes by in a blur. You’re returned to work, under the strict supervision of Thoma, while the two siblings huddled together in hushed giggles and schemes you were sure is just more trouble. Every time Ayato spied you in the halls or out in the yard, he would come trotting over unrestrained. Saying something quick to you before taking your hand, squeezing it and letting it go. Ayaka shot you giddy looks at any chance she got and Thoma... kept his mouth shut. Mostly because he was the only one who you would probably get away with smacking if it came down to it. 

When night falls, before turning in for bed, you had changed into your night clothes before deciding one more task needed to be done. It wasn’t for you, or maybe it wasn’t even that important, but for Ayato’s sake you wanted to try and ease his worries. You knocked on his door, cradling something in your hand when he slides his doors open to come face to face with you. 

“Y/n,” he smiles. “What brings you here?” 

“Hold out your hands,” your face was hot. Why was this so embarrassing? He does as you say, holding out a single, empty palm. You place what you had into his. 

“A handkerchief?” He questions. Was this a custom from your world maybe? He takes the folded cloth and starts unfolding it before his eyes widen at what was being held inside of it. 

“You can keep that. It’s” -you wring your hands- “It’s hard to explain, but I think this is part of the reason I found myself in Inazuma. Maybe if you keep it with you, you’ll feel better about things.” Ayato’s free hand comes to grab the small, circular piece of purple and blue twined bead-sized ball. It felt light like candy and reminded him of the stars the night before he met you.

It was the very same item he somehow knew you had in your pocket when he saw you in the Tenryou prison cell for the first time. “I don’t have all the answers on how I got here, or why. And I can’t make any promises that I won’t end up… leaving..?” You scrounge around for more reassuring words but fall short. “For what it’s worth though, I want to stay. Here. With you.” 

Ayato’s hand curls around the piece of fate and brings his fist up to his lips. Smiling with his eyes, crows feet crinkle his skin. He grabs your wrist and drags you into his room for the second night in a row, sliding the door shut at your back. The candle he has lit is soon extinguished afterwards and you don’t come back out. 

It took all of one, simple day for rumors to run around the estate, and even beyond its walls, that Kamisato Ayato had finally shown romantic interest in someone. Rumored still that the person he’s supposedly now courting is not only someone he picked up from a prison cell years ago and not from Inazuma, but is one kept on his payroll. 

None of that mattered though. Not when he’s able to look up and watch the next meteor shower with you, holding your hand instead of worrying you’d fly away with them at the end of it all. That’s all he wants; you, safe and happy with him in his home with his family.

And Kamisato Ayato usually gets what he wants. 

-END-

a/n pt.2: if you've decided to take the time to read through 9 parts of an insanely messy ayato fanfiction, words can't describe my appreciation! i worked pretty hard on this series and seeing it come to an end makes me feel satisfied. It's not the most popular by far, but its finished and for those who read it- i thank you from the bottom of my heart <3

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