#but this is largely a post expressing my surprise lmfao

[phantomthiefjeanne]

Just found out that there’s a significant contingent of WayV/NCT fans here on tumblr vocally in support of L*cas…?! Like, a proportionally higher amount than other sites, so that it’s up there with Instagram and YouTube comment sections in terms of continued support—and this is surprising to me, largely because unlike those comment sections I’d think tumblr overall is 1) composed of an older fan demographic than places like IG and YT + relatedly 2) more conducive to nuanced conversations inherently just with how the posts here work, so there might be more detailed information provided by other users when this subject comes up, beyond vague statements I’ve seen like “oh it’s been debunked!” (it hasn’t lmao—as imperfect as the community there can admittedly be, the Chinese fanbase closest to the situation and comparatively most informed would laugh you out of town with the kind of “evidence” that’s been presented in his favour compared to the pre-existing damning details as simple as noticing linguistic patterns..) that more easily breed misinformation or even blissful ignorance.

[lovebugdrabbles]

Soleli Soleli (Neuvillette/Wriothesley oneshot)

notes: hiii this is the first oneshot on this acc :DD i'm glad its a red and blue pair lmfao. this will be posted on ao3 and linked on this post within the next few days under the same name so if that's more your style feel free to take a look for my acc there !! ty for reading in advance and feel free to point out any mistakes i made as this was written over several late nights lol link and textpost below!

summary: Neuvillette is a tired, tired man (?) and gets home late to an early and (sort of) surprise visit from Wriothesley. Jokes, slight pampering and cuddling ensues.

warnings+tags: no warnings, Established Relationship, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Wriothesley is called ‘wriothes’ a couple times, i pronounced it like ‘writhes’ in my head but it’s up to reader, multiple petnames and nicknames, i pull french out of my ass, Fluff and Humor, Implied Sexual Content,i just made innuendos and jokes, Neuvillette is mentioned to have multiple hearts bc i just watched doctor who also i think its COOL, Implied/Referenced Sex, I need readers to please go into this believing, Wriothesley is in his late 30s early 40s, Oneshot

-----

The Iudex of Fontaine’s footsteps sounded down the empty street, dimly lit only by the lamp posts. The street was quickly darkening more by the gathering clouds, threatening rain despite his attempts to hold it off. 

The day had worn him to the bone and his head ached from reading papers, and proposals, and case files galore, causing thunder to sound in the distance much to his dismay. He looked up to realize his doorstep was only a few yards away, to his exhaustion, it felt like miles. He picked up his pace to close the distance and just as those miles had been crossed in speed-walking steps a few raindrops began to fall onto the cobblestones.

He pushed his key into the door and turned it slowly opening the door after hearing the click of the bolt unlocking, just as the rain began to pick up. He pushed his hair back as he walked through the door of his quarters.

He closed the door and locked it for the night. He released a heavy sigh as he leaned back on the door, closing his eyes and drooping his shoulders in defeat. Once composed, he made his way to the living room, where he sat in the armchair closest to the empty fireplace. He laid back in the chair and glanced at a clock on the mantle. 

11:47pm.

God, he was home late. He thought about how he would need to go to bed immediately but something about his exhaustion from the day just made him look to the wall and stare in one spot listening to the ringing silence and rain pattering on the windows softly. 

As he sat there he realized the ambiance was periodically broken by a faint rumble, this time, not from the sky but from the bedroom down the small hallway. 

He sat straighter in his chair and looked towards the hall. He stood slowly, with a puzzled look now furrowing his brow.

He quickly and silently made his way down the hall, passing the bathroom and home office stepping to the slightly ajar door of his room, now understanding the rumble was something in it. He opened the door slowly and looked to his bed where he found a large figure perfectly comfortable in his sheets and snoring away. 

Wriothesley. 

He had sent word in one of his letters that he’d be visiting and would be arriving tomorrow morning but, lo and behold, here he was, already having made himself at home.

He was in the pants of his nightclothes and he had commandeered Neuvillette's pillow to wrap his arms around as he lay on his side. He would have looked perfectly tranquil if not for his snoring which sounded just as loud as the heavy machinery back in the fortress.

Neuvillette sighed quietly and watched Wriothesley's chest slowly rise and fall, a soft expression washing over his tired face. There was a slight hitch in Wriothesley’s breathing and Neuvillette tilted his head in curiosity but just the same it continued regularly once again.

Suddenly, Wriothesley sat up like a bat out of hell, practically diving for the bedside table where his vision lay. He stopped when he saw the tall figure unfazed beside the bed, illuminated and silver-lined in the moonlight streaming through the windows.

“Neuvillette,” Wriothesley said breathlessly as his face softened and his shoulders drooped

“You’re early,” Neuvillette said chastely.

There was more silence but it was short-lived as Wriothesley's hand grazed the cool stone of his vision and he was thrust back into the moment.

“Shit. I'm sorry, Neuvi." he pulled his hand away and rubbed his eyes, taking the moment to embarrassedly hide his face "I didn’t even–”

"No, no, I shouldn't have been… staring.”  Neuvillette looked away and hesitated to admit he was watching, admiring even. “You looked very peaceful.”

Wriothesley exhaled out his nose and smiled, reaching out a hand to which Neuvillette gladly took and gave a soft squeeze.

“You were watching me?” Wriothesley said teasingly as he squeezed back

Neuvillette cracked a smile “Perhaps I was,” he said as he sat down on the bed next to Wriothesley, sitting perpendicularly  “Or perhaps I was just investigating who decided to break into my room?” 

Wriothesley chuckled as Neuvillette rested his hand on his 

“It’s not breaking in if you said I was welcome anytime and if I have a key.”

Neuvillette rolled his eyes and grabbed a hold of Wriothesley's fingers, giving another soft squeeze and a relieved sigh

"Rough day huh?" Wriothesley asked, giving a squeeze and rubbing his thumb gently on Neuvillette’s hand

"Archons was it ever.” he looked to Wriothesley lamely 

Wriothesley smiled sympathetically "You look beat, sweetheart. Why don't you get dressed and come lay down?”

“I feel… beat.” Neuvillette said quietly

Wriothesley chuckled at his wording “You really are tired. Go put on your pajamas, doll.”

Neuvillette rolled his eyes at the man in the bed and stood up, still softly holding on to Wriothesley's hand.  Neuvillette feigned to let go as he walked towards the closet but, he knew he couldn't hold on forever. He let Wriothesley’s hand fall but still, Wriothesley smiled softly as he watched Neuvillette disappear into the closet.

Neuvillette made quick work of his day clothes, throwing his shirt and pants into a hamper and hanging his overcoat. He unbuttoned his spats painstakingly and threw his dress shoes to the side with them.

 He threw on a nightgown just long enough to hit his knees and glanced at his reflection in the floor-length mirror as he instinctively brushed the front of the nightgown as if to get rid of invisible crumbs or dirt, before starting for the doorway and peeking out quietly. 

Wriothesley was laid on his back, now no longer snoring, just breathing softly, one arm resting over his eyes, the other resting on his waist; Neuvillette’s pillow now discarded and lying in the empty area of the bed. 

Neuvillette stepped out quietly to the vanity where a brush and hair ties sat and took a seat on the stool.

Neuvillette carefully removed his barrettes and opened a small box placing it inside next to others similar to them, before grabbing the brush and beginning to detangle his hair. As he combed through his locks behind him he heard Wriothesley inhale deeply. Neuvillette looked behind him in the mirror watching as Wriothesley sat up and swung his legs off the bed before he stood and stretched. 

“What are you doing?” Neuvillette asked quietly, turning to face Wriothesley

“I’m helping you,” Wriothesley said, cracking his knuckles as he stepped closer

“You don't have to. I do it every night, it's nothing I'm not accustomed to.” Neuvillette tried to protest 

Wriothesley rolled his eyes “Come on, let me help. Just this once? ”

“Fine, fine,” Neuvillette raised his hands defensively brush still in hand

Neuvillette held out the brush to Wriothesley who grabbed it with a soft smile growing on his face. He undid the tie on the end of the silver hair and began to brush the soft strands, carefully minding the horn-like tendrils. There were very few tangles but he was just glad to oblige Neuvillette’s habits and maybe it didn't hurt to get a bit of fun out of it himself.

Wriothesley sat the brush down and began running his fingers through the soft strands and scratching Neuvillette’s scalp. The silver-haired man closed his eyes and shivered as Wriothesley went upwards and back from under his scalp with his fingers.

Mostly for his own enjoyment, Wriothesley made a note to scratch behind Neuvillette’s ears prompting more shivers. Wriothesley chuckled and smirked as he continued, now running his hands through Neuvillette's hair to pick through any knots he made before repeating the process a few times; taking care to scratch gently and slowly.

After a short while, Neuvillette's shoulders were no longer stiffened and his posture had relaxed, allowing him a bit of slouch.

He would have continued playing with his hair for the rest of eternity if he could, gently scratching and massaging occasionally making a new parting to attempt a new style but, he understood it was late and downtrodden-ly picked the brush up to detangle the Iudex’s hair once more so he could braid it.

He counted in his head as he brushed; 1, all the way to 50. 50 brushes in the morning and 50 brushes at night before braiding it. 100 a day at the very least. 

Wriothesley brushed his hair a bit more than 50 times and made quick work of Neuvillette's hair, dividing it into 3 and stacking the strands one after the other. He grabbed the ribbon off the vanity and tied a small bow to the end of the braid, satisfied with his work.

He moved Neuvillette's braid over his shoulder and leaned down to press a kiss on the back of Neuvillette's neck. He pressed a few more, and Neuvillette sighed and tilted his head. Wriothesley smirked and pressed a few more softly before moving closer.

“Yknow, the night is still young and I mean, we do have the first half of the day off… we could always…” Wriothesley adjusted to whisper in Neuvillette's ear “...mess around a bit.”  

Neuvillette shivered again and chuckled, “Wriothes, while I do enjoy our escapades; I… really am exhausted tonight. I'm sorry, Amour.” Neuvillette turned slightly, “Another time?”

“Of course, doll.” Wriothesley rested his hands on Neuvillette’s shoulders “More energy for next time, anyways right?.” He pressed a kiss to Neuvillette's cheek and looked at him in the mirror with a smirk.

“Are you sure?”

“Sweetheart, if I was truly that desperate I could always read your letters– and y’know, with your particular detail, it's almost as good as the real thing.” Wriothesley waggled his brows and his smirk widened to a grin

Neuvillette gave a playfully unimpressed look and Wriothesley pressed another kiss, this time, to the side of his forehead. 

“Let’s lay down before I decide never to send you another letter, hmm?” Neuvillette said patting one of Wriothesley’s hands

“Hey now let’s not go that far.” Wriothesley laughed, pulling away to stretch as Neuvillette stood.

They shuffled towards Neuvillette's bed, Wriothesley settling into his previous spot and very reluctantly handing Neuvillette his pillow back as he settled into his own side of the mattress.

Once they had stopped shifting around, Neuvillette gingerly reached his hand across the small space between them in the bed, wrapping their pinkies to test the waters before softly grasping their hands together. 

A cool silence settled over the quiet room.

“If you really wanted to, could we do something quick?” Neuvillette said quietly, looking over to Wriothesley

“Not if you’re tired, sweetheart. There's always another time.” Wriothesley gave Neuvillette's hand a squeeze and turned to look at him with a soft smile.

“Are you sure? You kissed my neck more than a few times. You always kiss my neck when–” 

“Yes, Neuvillette.” Wriothesley interjected with another squeeze of his hand, a bit of pink tinging his face at the mortifying thought of one of his tells being known, and one of the more intimate ones at that

The room went quiet after he said that. Wriothesley turned to lay on his side now fully facing Neuvillette who was looking away to the ceiling.

 “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong technically but. it had been a few weeks since we…” Neuvillette hesitated “and couples do cite these types of issues all the time for reasons to disband relationships.” Neuvillette looked away again 

“We don't have to do anything just because I'm here,” Wriothesley paused and gave a soft squeeze and smiled “It’s a… non-issue.”

“I understand that but I feel bad saying no. Especially since you’re visiting.”

The clock on the vanity began taunting Wriothesley in the growing silence. tick. tick. Speak. tick. boy. Tick. speak. tick. tick. tick. 

Wriothesley reached for Neuvillette’s hand again, taking it in a gentlemanly fashion, ghosting his thumb over the other’s pale knuckles, hesitant to touch the soft skin with his calloused digits. Neuvillette looked back from staring holes into the ceiling. 

A question unasked nipped at Wriothesley’s heels and breathed down his neck as Neuvillette stared into him. Wriothesley dreaded the answer to his question but if he didn't ask how could he know? 

“Did I do something to make you feel that way?” Wriothesley hesitated 

“No.” Neuvillette said, immediately and breathlessly “You’ve done nothing.”

Neuvillette held Wriothesley’s hand with both of his, grasping softly. Wriothesley looked back, his eyes now looking polished and slightly bloodshot, a confused look still pooling in them.

“I think I may be… letting my work get to my head and…  I’m sorry.” Neuvillette said dejectedly, “I shouldn't let my work interfere with my personal life.”

“You don't need to apologize. Your job is hard and… it’s a valid fear in some–” Wriothesley hesitated “Relationships… The topic should have been brought up when we started getting more serious, but we never really… said ‘no’ to anything… ”

“I think it was just an oversight. We’re both just," Neuvillette took a long inhale “Exhausted.”

“You’re telling me…” Wriothesley trailed, looking down and softly rubbing Neuvillette’s knuckles, less afraid of the roughness and now just longing to feel Neuvillette “Maybe we'll feel better after some shut-eye?” 

“One would hope,” Neuvillette said, quietly watching Wriothesley’s digits smooth over his skin. “Let’s lay down.”

They let go of one another's hands to settle back into the bed. Another silence settled over the room and the clock kept ticking. Neuvillette stretched slowly to interlock their pinkies, testing the waters before jumping in the deep end.

Wriothesley obliged and Neuvillette soon after moved to interlock their fingers to which Wriothesley once again allowed. They stayed there awkwardly waiting for the silence to no longer sting so harshly, but Wriothesley was the first to succumb to the deafening roar growing.

“We don't  just have to hold hands...” Wriothesley said quietly “That’s not an innuendo to be clear.” he added

Neuvillette chuckled and Wriothesley relished in the sound, almost physically feeling his pupils turn into anatomically incorrect hearts. He could have sworn the room brightened with that laugh.

“Please, come here,” Neuvillette said, pulling Wriothesley's hand to him and beginning to move closer, Wriothesley, following suit immediately.

At that one sentence, they reached for one another like they were flailing in the sea. Wrapping arms, intertwining and tangling legs, with soft rubs on any piece of exposed skin, just content to once again know the touch of the other.

 The salt and pepper-haired man felt his body relax as he clung onto his life jacket in the sea of the bed. He made himself comfortable just above Neuvillette's chest, listening to the soft thumping rhythms. He felt a wave of tiredness sweep over him as he lay there, disappointingly reminding him that he wouldn't be awake to fully enjoy holding onto the Iudex for much longer.

To remedy himself, Wriothesley closed his eyes taking a deep breath, re-familiarizing himself with the familiar scent of faded lavender soap and cologne while he was still awake, giving a soft squeeze of his arms.

“You missed me.” Neuvillette said quietly

Wriothesley chuckled softly and Neuvillette was almost positive he felt his hearts skip a beat like a love-struck schoolgirl, giddy she had made her playground crush laugh.

“I always miss you,” Wriothesley mumbled

“As do I,” Neuvillette said quietly

Wriothesley smiled and nudged Neuvillette, prompting him to softly place a kiss on Wriothesley’s head before settling to rest his chin in Wriothesley's hair. He also took in a deep breath, prompting another laugh from Wriothesley, who was then playfully poked by Neuvillette’s chin.

The clock ticked quietly, now only doing its job rather than patronizing the two of them, the sound of the ticks and the other’s breathing lulling them to sleep for the night. 

Hours later, the morning cold seeped into the room making Wriothesley slowly aware of his surroundings and the soft ache in his bones. Their limbs had untangled in the night but Wriothesley could feel Neuvillette had still managed to keep a hold of him, softly grasping his toned arm. 

He listened to the soft breathing from the sovereign just inches away from him as he lay in bed, thinking fondly of how Neuvillette always held on somewhere be it, a hand, an arm, his waist, or even his pajamas, and once; his calf. 

Satisfied with his observations his eyes fluttered open, slowly adjusting to the soft sunlight streaming through the windows. Glancing around the room, he made note of the clock on the dresser that so agonized him last night and squinted to read the hands of the clock. It was 9-something by the looks of it.

He yawned quietly, stretching his free arm and legs. He gently tried to pull his arm out of Neuvillette’s grasp without waking him but as soon as he began to pull it free, Neuvillette inhaled softly and fluttered his eyes open, grabbing at air.

“It’s just me, doll. You’re fine,” he said quietly, sleep still dripping from his words as he turned over to his side. 

He took Neuvillette's hand in a gentlemanly fashion, slowly raising it to press a few kisses to Neuvillette's knuckles with a sleepy grin.

“Good morning,” Neuvillette said softly, sleep still clinging to his vocal cords, blinking a few times, trying to get the sleep out of his eyes.

“Good morning,” Wriothesley said before leisurely pressing another kiss

“Did you sleep well ?” Neuvillette asked, now gaining his bearings

“That was the best sleep I had in weeks…” he said lowering their hands “Seriously.”

Neuvillette’s lips curled to a smile and hummed at the remark. 

“I'm inclined to say the same, so much so that… I don't want to get out of bed.” Neuvillette said, pulling his hand away and turning around to scoot closer and be spooned by Wriothesley. 

Wriothesley chuckled as he gladly snaked an arm around Neuvillette’s waist, his hand then taking hold of the top of Neuvillette’s hand. 

“I'm sure we could make that happen,” Wriothesley said, snuggling closer and closing his eyes again, more than willing to drift back to sleep. 

“Hmm… It would be pleasant, but…” Neuvillette paused “I do seem to recall you saying something about more strength for the next ‘escapade’” Neuvillette said nonchalantly, scooting his hips back and into Wriothesley’s pelvis.

Wriothesley’s eyes popped open and he blinked a few times but he regained his foothold and smirked.

“I suppose I did.” he said with a kiss to the back of Neuvillette's neck and a hum “and I recall a few things that you said you’d just love to make good on in those particularly-detailed letters of ours...”

He pressed another smirking kiss to the side of Neuvillette’s neck and Neuvillette grinned as he raised a hand to hold Wriothesley's face as he continued.

“Touché, mon amour,”

-----

end notes: tysm for reading!! hope you enjoyed :)) my requests for hcs posts and asks are always open feel free to drop in wheneverrr

[bumbleklee]

3+10 (the 1k requests) for diluc please <3

masterlist | 1k prompt masterlist | discord server

★ cross your fingers this posts to the tags </3 also tumblr support can suck my dick it's awful lmfao

prompt 3: "Your hair is so soft…”

prompt 10: "Can I braid your hair?”

Contrary to popular belief, Diluc took care of his hair. Crepus taught him at a young age that appearances mattered and hair was part of said appearance. He would never admit this but he had the finest hair products imported from Fontaine every month.

His hair is what drew you into him, actually. The way its vermillion color matched his eyes and cascaded down his back in fluffy waves caught your attention right away. So it really wasn't a surprise when your started dating Diluc that your hands were always tangled in it.

One night, Diluc was planning on closing the tavern early before the Knight's of Favonius sauntered in. And Diluc, unable to turn them away, reluctantly sulked back behind the bar. Thankfully, you were there to help out and take most of the stress off his shoulders.

After handing out drinks to your friends, you convinced Diluc to sit beside you. He was hesitant to leave his post but once you assured him you could handle any refills, he obliged.

Your boyfriend was tired - you could see it in his whole demeanor. He was on guard and wanting to destress him, your hands traveled up to his shoulders. He was surprised at first but soon leaned into your touch. Your fingers braised the tips of his hair, "Your hair is so soft…”

Diluc made a pleased noise, "So you say."

You giggled and continued to rub soothing circles into his shoulder blades, causing Diluc to sigh contently. You were glad that the Knight's were too preoccupied getting wasted.

Once again, your fingers brushed the ends of Diluc's hair. "Hey, 'Luc?" You asked softly, "Can I braid your hair?”

"My hair?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at you. After seeing your pleading expression, Diluc rolled his eyes and turned his back to you, brushing his ponytail over his shoulder. You beamed and reached up to pull off the elastic, letting his long locks free.

Your hands tangled in his hair and you tried to be as gentle as you could as you twisted and turned the hair. Your fingers occasionally brushed Diluc's ear or neck and he shivered. You braided one large plait down his back, tucking any loose pieces or baby hairs behind his ears.

"You like it?" You grinned, pushing the braid over his shoulder so he could see it.

Diluc smiled softly, "I suppose it is nice having my hair off my face."

When Kaeya walked up to the bar to barter Diluc for another glass of wine, his mouth gaped. He was ready to make a snarky comment about his brother's new hairstyle but when he saw you press a gentle kiss to his cheek and Diluc smile sweetly at you, he decide he'd leave it for another day.

[thosewickedlovelies]

Into the Woods: chapter 2  |  Frankie Morales x GN!Reader

Summary: Instagram stalking ensues. Will you run into Frankie again?

Tags: no warnings AGAIN this is weird for me too but as mentioned I do have some smut planned for these two if anyone needs more incentive to read lmfao

Word Count: 2,783

A/N: As always, endless love to @yoditorian for this idea and her supervision of my writing about a social media platform I do not use 💗💚💗

Backstory / chap 1 /

---

Later that night, Frankie sits at his desk, poring over maps both digital and physical. Where could you live to have traveled to the same point in the forest as him within a day? He’s hiked along the edge of his side of the woods, and knows that unless he’s missed some major construction, you can’t be there. So now he studies the other side of the treeline, looking at the closeness of the towns, any tiny side roads that could lead to individual houses like his own. But his frustration is growing.

There aren’t any. Not any within feasible walking distance, at least. And you hadn’t been grubby enough to have been camping. Frankie frowns, tracing the small highway which cuts through the forest. There, not far from the turnoff to his home, was a parking lot at the start of a web of trails through the woodland. If you started there and completely ignored the predetermined paths, heading a course straight for the pond...

“Huh,” Frankie murmurs. It wasn’t much further of a hike than his own. So that means you don’t live within walking distance- he shakes off an odd twinge of disappointment at that- but he does have an idea of your hiking range, if he felt like trying to seek you out.

He shakes his head. Don’t be weird. That was something Santiago might do- deliberately roam where he knew you regularly went in order to find you again. Frankie isn’t nearly so forward. His style is slower, less aggressive. What he’s already planning is his next cooking trip to the pond. Plants need water, and you forage for plants- he figures it’s a likely spot to run into you a second time.

Frankie hadn’t spoken to you again after you’d parted today. Only caught glimpses of you through the trees, from where he had dutifully remained by his fire. But at some point between the twisting of the campfire smoke from one way to another you had vanished, and not long after, Oso had returned to him, flopping down on her side with a satisfied huff.

He snorted. “Well, I’m glad you got to make a new friend.” Frankie rubbed her belly with only a little jealousy.

Now, feeling restless, he decides to upload the pictures he took today. He’s almost immediately distracted, however, by a string of likes from a new follower- concluding with a familiar photo of Oso and Gloriana. A prickle of excitement runs through him at a reference to foraging in the username. No way.

Frankie leans forward in his seat, straining for a closer look at the profile picture. A grin spreads across his face when the page finally loads.

It’s you. You, mid-laugh, perched comfortably up on a sturdy tree branch. He quickly scrolls down to confirm; but this is definitely you. Lots of photos of plants, and woodland that looks remarkably familiar. Your bare feet in a stream. A busy street at afarmer’s market, you smiling with a stall owner.

Frankie laughs out loud at the sheer absurdity of it. Here he was, worried about coming off as a mega-creep, and you’ve already shamelessly checked him out on instagram. He’s never hit ‘Follow Back’ so fast in his life.

--

You try to quash the squirmy anticipation in your belly as you pull on your pack, organizing yourself for the walk ahead. There’s no reason to get excited, you scold yourself. Even if you do see Frankie again, you still don’t really know anything about him.

You’d tried to stalk him online, but there wasn’t much information to go off of from his instagram photos. The pictures themselves spoke volumes, though. You’d always thought you could tell a little something of people’s personalities from what they posted, especially from pictures with their friends. Frankie’s main group of friends had a certain look about them- military maybe, a sort of cocky surety in their posturing. Despite this, they’re often grinning in candid moments, a relaxed, unself-conscious affection between the men which endeared them to you. Them, and Frankie. It’s a shame he doesn’t post more photos of himself. You recall again the sight of him in the woods, shafts of sunlight striking his expressive features, illuminating his kind smile and earthen eyes.

Then you shake your head. Too much time alone with your ever-churning thoughts have you romanticizing your meeting, when in reality you have no reason to expect to run into him again. He’d said he was out there all the time, but you’d never spotted evidence of any fires, or of a giant dog gallivanting around the place. Maybe he didn’t mean the pond specifically, but the forest in general.

“Argh!” Looking around, you stomp your foot in frustration. In your distraction, your walking pace had slowed, and you weren’t as far along in your hike as you should have been. Resolving to focus on your surroundings (because you won’t see Frankie again if you don’t get to the pond in good time), you splash some water on your face to refresh yourself and stride onward.

As you get closer to your pond, you slow down again, this time deliberately. All your senses strain for any sign of Frankie, but you don’t hear or see anything out of the ordinary. Then you smell it.

Smoke.

For a moment you panic. Is it wildfire season? Can you run away from a forest fire? Who do you call for this??

Then you smell something else- something familiar and edible- and you nearly pop yourself in the forehead. Of course you smell smoke, you idiot. What did Frankie say he did out here?? Cooked. You were literally just thinking about his instagram.

What is that smell? You have got to see this.

You step carefully to avoid making too much noise in the brush. Now that you’re looking for it, the gray haze of campfire smoke is obvious as it drifts through the trees. You give its source a wide berth, hoping for a chance to observe Frankie without him knowing.

Your wish is granted. You’ve come at him from the side, and now have an excellent view of his profile, his eyes narrowed in concentration as he stirs something in the heavy-looking pan in front of him. After a minute he looks satisfied, and retrieves the pan’s lid from behind him, arcing his arm carefully over the flames as he places it. Frankie sits back, a gusty sigh blowing from his lips.  As you watch, he tosses his cap to the side, running his hands through loose curls and scratching his fingers across his scalp. You bite your lip in a smile at the sight of his moment of self-indulgence.

You scan Frankie’s setup and the area around him, searching for-

“Ruff!” The dog you were looking for crashes through the bushes beside you, and you yelp in surprise, automatically stooping to soothe her.

Dammit, how does such a large animal keep sneaking up on you?

“Oso?” Frankie calls. He’s standing now, still hatless, a few steps closer to you than where he’d been sitting. He glances uncertainly between the fire and your approximate location. You hear him try your name next.

You swear quietly. “No, not you,” you add to Oso.

“It’s me,” you reply, straightening. “Sorry, Oso got me again.”

The pleased, upward tilt of his lips reverses as he shakes a stern finger at his dog, whose ears perk happily at all the attention. “What did I tell you? No more accosting strangers!” he scolds, though he doesn’t sound the least bit upset.

With a expectant glance at you, Oso trots back over to him. Frankie ruffles her ears, definitively undermining any negative impact his words might have had. You regard each other tentatively.

“Hi,” you say lamely.

His face crinkles back up into a smile. “Hi,” he returns. “Fancy seeing you here.”

Every possible conversation you’d mentally practiced since your first meeting flew right out of your head. “Well, you know.” You shrug lightly. “A person’s gotta eat.” Inwardly you cringe.

But Frankie is unphased. “I’d be really interested to hear about the kinds of stuff you find out here. This is almost ready, if you don’t feel like foraging for your lunch today.” He gestures behind him to the pan on the fire.

You hesitate, and Frankie seems to sense your uncertainty. “Only if you want.” He holds his hands up in a universal ‘no pressure’ sign, even going so far as to take a step back in emphasis.

You tell yourself to stop being so paranoid. This is what you wanted, after all. All your curiosity comes surging back as the wind shifts and the smell of his cooking sets your stomach growling. “Okay,” you agree. “Yeah, that would be nice.”

“Great!” Frankie beams. He turns- and promptly trips over Oso, still sitting beside him.

“Fuck!” He curses, hands hitting the ground on the other side of his dog.

You clap a hand over your mouth to muffle your laughter. Is he always this prone to falling over? “Are you okay?” You make your way over to them.

“Yeah.” Now upright, Frankie seems flustered to find you so much nearer than before, his gaze flitting over you before he remembers himself. He turns to crouch by the fire again, snatching up his hat and re-securing it on his head.

You seat yourself a short distance away and observe. Oso has reclined on her belly on Frankie’s other side, her eager gaze fixed on the pan as he prods the food. Apparently deeming it finished, he retrieves three paper bowls from his bag and fills one each for you, himself, and Oso. With a small flourish and a nervous smile, he presents yours to you.

“Thank you.” You feel like maybe you should say something else, but he’s already moved to face Oso, murmuring something to her while he gives her her bowl. You decide to let the food do the talking.

And are glad you did when fresh, vibrant flavors flood your tongue. Your eyes flutter wide with surprise. “Wow, this is...incredible. How did you..?” You look between the steaming pan and his rucksack, unable to reconcile the feast of flavors in your bowl with how much you’d have to carry out here to achieve it.

The man blushes at your praise, gaze lowering briefly to hide his pleasure, but he looks back up at your question. “Trade secrets,” Frankie says solemnly. Then he drops the expression with a little laugh, his confidence clearly bolstered by your amazement.

“Just kidding, I’ll tell you. If-” he points his plastic spoon at you “-you tell me how we haven’t crossed paths before.”

That’s a fair deal, especially if it means you get to learn more about him. “I’ll do my best,” you promise. In between bites, you outline your gradual exploration of your surroundings upon moving into a nearby village a little over two years ago. This year, you decided to strike out into new territory- this forest.

“I found this pond pretty quickly and saw the blackberry bushes right at the end of the season last year. I’ve been coming here ever since, keeping an eye on it I guess. But this whole wood is really a gold mine.”

Frankie looks fascinated. “I had no idea. I know some plants, but I couldn’t even begin to guess what all is out here.” His mouth opens to ask more questions, but it’s your turn now.

“What about you?” you quiz. “How have I not seen you before if you’re out here ‘all the time’?”

“Well, I’ve been working my way over from the other side of the hill.” Frankie explains, gesturing to the gentle ascending slope behind him. “I only found this place earlier this year. Didn’t know it was someone else’s territory.” He offers an apologetic grin, and you duck your head, feeling a silly, pleased warmth in your cheeks.

“Anyway, I moved into my place over there about five years ago? But I had a lot to do at first. I made a ton of improvements to the house, I was starting a garden. The hiking was kind of a refuge from that at first, a way to quiet my thoughts when I was stressing myself out.” He admits this last part without looking at you, as if his stress is somehow something to be ashamed of.

“But then I realized that I actually enjoyed it, and it made me feel safer to know the woods in so much detail. So I made it a hobby. Started taking longer walks, mapping where I’d been. Brought whole meals instead of little snacks,” he adds wryly.

You laugh as his humor registers, completely engrossed in Frankie’s tale. He seems to notice this suddenly, and shuffles a little under your attention. “So that’s me,” he concludes, clearing his throat self-consciously.

Any foraging you intended to do today has long been forgotten. You’ve been sitting with your backpack on long enough that your shoulders have begun to ache, and you sling it off impatiently. Frankie seems to further relax himself at the sight of you settling in, leaning back on his hands, his empty bowl given to Oso to lick clean.

There’s one question that hasn’t been answered. “...so how did you end up on instagram?” you probe.

He laughs outright. “I wondered how long it would take you to ask,” Frankie teases. His lopsided grin suggests he knows the impression he gives off. His mirth is infectious, and you find yourself grinning back at him, although you refuse to be embarrassed. He was the one who had thrown his phone at you, after all. And he had stalked your profile right back.

“Well, I’m no photographer,” he begins. “But I like the act of taking pictures. Really stopping and looking at what’s around you, what captures your attention. I was in the army before this, and it was just in-and-out of so many places, not actually experiencing anywhere for real…” Frankie watches you from the corner of his eye, speaking slowly, as if reluctant to say something which might change your opinion of him.

“My friend’s wife- the one whose kid I’m godfather to- suggested I use instagram as a way to organize my photos, but also ‘so they know I’m still alive out here.’” He chuckles. “I kinda like it now- it’s like a public diary. Mostly it was a relief to find that I’m not the only weirdo out there who likes cooking in the woods.”

You breathe a laugh reflexively, but your mind is turning over his words. I keep an instagram, he’d said before. Like a diary. Well, that’s...really cute, actually.

“Well, that makes me feel really shallow,” you joke, unable to think of any deeper response to his unexpectedly meaningful answer.

“Nah.” Frankie dismisses your quip with an easy smile. He asks you about yourself, then. How you got into foraging, other questions inspired by the pictures he’d seen on your page.

For awhile you converse with the uncomplicated lightness of two strangers who know absolutely nothing about each other, but want to. As a dessert offering, you take out the tub of blackberries you’d gathered earlier. Frankie’s eyes widen at their size, fatter than any berry he’d see in the supermarkets.

His freely shared emotions- fascination, curiosity, delight- continue to confirm your impression of him. Safe. His mouth works as he savors the sweet fruit, lips puckering, head nodding in close-eyed approval.

You will yourself not to stare. Looking elsewhere, you glance up at the sky- and the angle of the sun sends you leaping to your feet. “Shit-”

Frankie startles. “What’s wrong?” He tenses, but remains seated. Oso jerks to wakefulness where she’d been dozing by his side.

“I’ve got to start back if I don’t want to be out here at night.” Hurriedly you check your phone to be sure of the time, your heart rate slowing upon seeing it’s not as late as you thought.

Frankie stands now to hand you back your container, still mostly full of berries. You pause. “Keep it,” you tell him. “Make yourself a campfire dessert.”

His lips part in surprise, but you step back before he can protest. “Or at least take them as a thank you. For the food...and the company.”

He purses his lips. “All right. I’ll save making dessert for next time, though.” He subtly searches for your reaction to his implied invitation.

Anticipation lightens your limbs, but you keep your feet firmly planted on the earth. “Next time.” You’re not sure you manage to smother the excitement in your smile.

---

Taglist: @thirstworldproblemss, @leonieb, @computeringturtle, @tobealostwanderer

[shinydelirium]

MLQC Season 2 Chapter 12 (Kiro) Part 7 [Duplicity] Translation [CN]

***SPOILERS*** THIS POST CONTAINS HEAVY SPOILERS FOR CONTENT NOT YET RELEASED ON EN SERVER!!! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!***

For previous translations of Season 2 Chapter 12: Part 1/ Part 2/ Part 3/ Part 4/ Part 5/ Part 6

Enjoy~

[Duplicity]

As I walked through the quiet forest located on the outskirts of Loveland City, I felt goosebumps along my skin—

After all, an actual, cruel battle and murder happened here.

Zehn: Boss, I have confirmed that this place is just an ordinary forest now.

MC: Did you find anything else?

Zehn: There was a big fire here before, burning a large area without leaving any useful clues.

Zehn: However, it was precisely because of this fire that the entire forest was temporarily sealed off. Apart from a few forest rangers, there were no suspicious people.

MC: Ok, you wait outside. I’ll call if I need you.***Changed some wording***

After confirming with Zehn, I hung up the phone.

I remembered that Kiro unlocked the dilapidated building that was secured with infrared rays and began to head in that direction according to my memory.

The leaves gently swayed in the wind. The sunlight came through and the air was faintly filled with a burning scent that had not yet dissipated. The whole forest was eerie and silent.

There were traces of fire erosion everywhere. I walked along the forest path and couldn’t even find the tree hole where Kiro and I took shelter in.

Like everything else that has happened in the past, it can easily be wiped cleaned by the world. ***Changed some wording***

There is nothing else that can be done except to use my memory to push forward with resolution.

I sighed and continued to search for that building. Soon, after walking through a bush, I found it.

MC: …Hold on a second. There won’t be any of those infrared rays here, right?

Thinking about this, I carefully threw a stone and nothing happened.

I stepped across a damaged stone slab and finally came to this dilapidated building.

Upon my inspection, there is a broken stone slate with a figure covered in thorns faintly painted on it.

I looked back in the direction I came from and retraced my steps, afraid that I might have missed some small symbols. ***Changed some wording***

MC: Found it!

In one corner, I finally saw that the figure covered with thorns was exactly the same as the one Shaw showed me.

MC: What does this mean?

Shaw said it was related to a certain ruin but it appeared in the hunter game again.

I stood up and stepped into the building. Inside, an entire beam had collapsed. After years of wear and tear, it was even covered with moss.

It looked like any ordinary small building that was abandoned.

MC: It doesn’t seem like there are any ruins….

I knocked on the wall and it didn’t sound like there was a mechanism inside.

MC: Is it just a coincidence?

I went back to the stone slab with the thorns symbol and casually touched it.

Suddenly, the thorns on the symbol seemed to be moving. They quickly grew out of the stone slab and struck my palm.

MC: !

What kind of slate is this?! How can things grow out like that?!

The lit-up slate didn’t give me any time to recover from my surprise. The bright green light surging along the graph seemed to be reading something.

??: Identity….confirmed…

There was a faint vibration under my feet, and the sound of gears turned slowly.

When the bright green light covered the entire figure, a line of the same color traversed my foot and became thicker.

I wanted to observe the stone slab more carefully but I suddenly felt nothing underneath my feet. Then, a huge sense of weightlessness hit my face.

The rapid fall continued to pull me downwards. The sound of gears creaked as they turned and I watched the light above my head slowly be covered by the slate.

At the moment when the light was about to be completely gone, a distinct silver light shot towards me.

Like a lone star in the distant desolate night, it’s the only thing that illuminates the entire night sky.

In the next second, I was forcefully being lifted into a pair of strong arms. They were a little rough but I couldn’t stop shaking.

I couldn’t help but want to cry.

The hook thrown by the visitor stabbed straight into the crevice of the stone. With a powerful yank, the two of us were thrown over and we fell in a heap onto a transparent step.

Helios: Do you want to die like that?!

I stared blankly at Helios, whose eyes were full of anger. Because of the shock just now, his whole body was tense and his hair was all frizzy. He looked very wolfish.

He’s here. He appeared in front of me again just like in the last hunter game.

Thinking about this, I couldn’t help laughing.

Helios: What a pain. ***Changed some wording***

MC: Helios, why are you here?

I was too lazy to care about him as I gripped his arm that was about to move, tilted my head and looked at him.

Helios: Just passing by. ***Mm-hmm...sure, you were “just passing by”...I know what’s up, lol***

MC: In a place like this?

Helios: So what?

MC: Then why did you save me just now?

Helios: You needed it.

I stared down at his arm that had a faint red mark from the tight rope and looked back to his eyes.

Helios: Let go if you’re done asking questions. ***Me: Why are you so gorgeously beautiful?***

Coming back to my senses, I released my hands and let Helios withdraw his arm.

When I opened my hand, there was a slight tingling pain on my palm. I remembered the strange thorny slab just now.

I looked at the blood stain on my hand, not knowing why.

At this moment, a white handkerchief was impatiently shoved into my other hand.

When I looked up, Helios had already stepped away.

Helios: It’ll become an eyesore. ***He might come off as rude and mean when he talks but his actions speak otherwise....I LOVE HIM!!!***

I looked at the handkerchief, then at Helios who was walking away. Trying to suppress my smile, I wrapped up the wound and ran to him.

MC: Helios, what are you wearing in your ears? New earphones? ***MC, please don’t be nosy...now’s not the time***

Helios: It has nothing to do with you. 

He stared straight ahead without looking at me. Trying to find something to do, my eyes darted around. ***Changed some wording***

Only then did I get a chance to take a good look at this strange place.

Transparent white steps glowed faintly. They continued to spiral downwards, not knowing where they led to.

Under this forest, there is still such an enormous and mysterious place.

On the dusty walls, occasionally a bright green light would flash by like arcs of cryptic electronic codes.

MC: Helios, do you know where we are?

Helios: Don’t know.

MC: Then you should know what this electronic code signal on the wall is, right?

MC: See, it’s the one that just passed by.

Helios: What are you trying to say?

MC: What do you think it is?

Helios: Don’t know.

MC: …..

I lowered my head and walked behind him, trying to control my facial expression. I took a few deep breaths to keep myself from getting angry because of his attitude.

In addition to being angry, I was more aggrieved.

It’s not that I’ve never seen Helios with such a bad temper. I was concerned about Kiro and I tried my best to cooperate with him.

But this repeated hot and cold behavior still hurts me a lot.

The way Kiro smiles at me every time appeared before my eyes. The way he stands firmly in front of me if I’ve been wronged. ***Changed some wording***

In the case of Kiro’s words….

I looked up at Helio’s cold back and blinked slowly.

MC: It’s not like I asked you to come…

MC: You didn’t have to come if you didn’t want to and I didn’t ask you to save me.

I muttered in a loud voice. The more I thought about it, the more uncomfortable I felt. Finally, I stopped where I was, not wanting to pay any attention to the person who only talked back with biting words.

Heavy footsteps came from a distance and stopped before me.

Helios: What do you want to do?

MC: Helios, you go on ahead by yourself and leave me behind.

My eyes shifted from is mocking face to the toe of my shoe.

Helios: Do you think I want to control?

MC: Helios, I’ll get injured too. Since you don’t want to control, then go by yourself. I will handle my business on my own.

MC: Thank you for saving me just now. I’ll repay you next time.

I calmly said everything word for word and firmly looked into his eyes.

Helios: Silly. ***T/N: “愚蠢” (yúchǔn) also means “fool” so it can be used interchangeably***

He sneered and actually walked away from me. Each step was hard and heavy with an air of stubbornness.

Hearing his footsteps going further and further away, I stood still and sighed, spitting out “Kiro” again and again in my heart, while thinking about what to do next.

But soon, those same footsteps returned, and I felt my arm being pulled hard and my whole body lurched forward.

MC: You, what are you doing?

Helio: Come on.

MC: Didn’t I say to go by yourself?! I won’t stop you either, so….

Helios: Be quiet.

He leaned his face closer to me. Anger was mixed in those blue eyes which were usually calm.

He grabbed my hand and walked down the steps without saying a word.

Seeing Helios like this, a little flag of victory was secretly erected in my heart. ***Lmao!!!***

MC: Since you “must” take me with you and for the convenience of me to understand your thoughts better—

MC: I suggest you speak more than three words and be gentle…hey!

He deliberately pulled me and I almost fell to the ground.

Helios: You’re being too noisy.

MC: You said four words so that means you’ve accepted my suggestion. 

A mocking look appeared on his face again but there was a hint of complex emotion in his eyes.

Helios: You really don’t know when to give up.

MC: Then you’re wrong. I’m actually someone who gives up easily.

MC: It just depends on what it is.

I smiled and looked at Helios. His pupils contracted for a moment and then he looked away.

Helios: So talkative.

MC: You only said two words. ***OMG, I can’t....lmfao***

I followed him with a grin on my face. A mysterious and white glow wrapped around us, but I didn’t feel any fear—

Probably because Kiro is by my side.

MC: Helios, do you think there’s no end to these stairs? Like those space-loops you see in the movies?

MC: What if we can’t get out?

Helios: Doesn’t matter. Before we get out, I’ll be annoyed to death by you first.

MC: After giving it some thought, your attitude is very bad.

Helios: Then don’t talk to me. ***Can’t help but agree with him XD***

MC: But you haven’t answered my question…

Helios: See for yourself.

I followed his gaze and looked down. As expected, a grayish light was faintly visible at the end of the steps.

A bright green light slid across the wall like plankton and the sound of huge gears came from below.

??: Lighthouse visitor language….analysis complete….

??: Synchronized.

A light electronic sound came softly as if in welcome.

-End of Part 7-

***Sorry but not sorry for all the many screenshots. The banter between Helios and MC is just pure gold and I had to include their facial expressions XD. Besides that, things are finally gonna get interesting from here on.***

[auncyen]

36, 38, and 39 please :3c

36.  This was interesting because I don’t think of myself as very heavy on symbolism; sometimes there does end up being a symbol in the fic, but it’s kind of a happy accident.  But I did once write Revolutionary Girl Utena fic, and symbolism is pretty much a requirement there.  But What of Eurydice? is a fic I’m still proud of partially just for finding a way to connect the myth to the canon, although as Anthy points out, the roles don’t quite fit.

38. lmfao Persona 5 fandom has surprised me a few times on which fics end up relatively “popular”.  Both Infringe and When the Cat Dragged in the Trickster were surprises in this regard.  Infringe was a one-shot I wrote on a whim that I thought would probably largely be unpopular because it plays with a fairly popular concept (”Persona 5 Protagonist has a Palace”) but in a very brusque and downer way.  And yeah, some people did express wanting to see more of Ren’s actual Palace, but even then it was as part of positive responses and just overall people really liked it.

When the Cat Dragged in the Trickster originally was started on the kinkmeme.  I abandoned it for about a month because the starting sections got no response after a few days.  (I think the requester probably just missed it at the time; they have commented on the ao3 fic.)  I felt like I’d just screwed up the whole thing.  But by then some ideas were pretty stuck in my head to the point where I was rewriting the original section for myself anyway, so I rewrote it (for anyone curious, the kinkmeme starter really was pretty different), started posting on AO3, and...to my surprise, it’s been pretty popular.

39.  “Strongest area of writing”.  I think...I’m going to say that I feel pretty good about clarity and brevity in my writing, which probably seems rather utilitarian, especially since part of the reason for brevity is that I just have not figured out how to do the lush descriptions I see other writers do, which can be lovely.  At the same time it matches what I like to read.  Sometimes I love lush description, but what I aspire to more is the writing I’ve seen in some stories where sentences can be terse and punch straight to the gut.

[zigtheeortega]

“’cause we're collectin' moments; tattoos on my mind”

pairing: raleigh x mc

@choicesmarchchallenge

word count: 2,071

song inspiration: sometimes - ariana grande 

tag list: @violinet​ ; @bloodxbound​ ; @dadrianraines​ ; @mentallych-ill-desi​ ; @adrixnrxines​ ; @roguemal​

author’s note: the lyric (that’s the title) from sometimes inspired this fic! i love raleigh sm. also sorry for the double post it just lined up that way lmfao. also sorry if this is an unpopular opinion, but i dont care for the platinum mc so i decided to make her more of what i thought raleigh’s type of girl would be (lmao). anyways, hope u enjoy!!!

She tripped over a large crack in the sidewalk, almost wiping out completely, but Raleigh’s strong grip managed to keep her going.

“C’mon, Dom, they’re gaining on us!” he laughed, whisking her through the street, cutting through an alleyway.

He stopped abruptly and pulled her close, a mischievous grin on his face. He held a finger to her mouth, and cocked his head in the direction of the street.

The paparazzi sprinted by, not even glancing in the direction of the dimly lit alley. The shuffling of their feet faded into distant patters.

Raleigh tiptoed to the opening of the alley and peeked his head around the damp brick wall, before jogging back to the shadows, the smile from before still lingering on his lips. “Coast is clear.”

“So what now, genius?”

He chuckled, hugging her close with one arm draped lazily around her shoulder. She could smell the cheap tequila on his breath, a reminder of their rendezvous at the sketchy bar.

She leaned into his touch, the buzz not quite wearing off yet. The alcohol weighed her head down, and before she knew it, she rested it on his shoulder.

“Well, I haven’t done anything truly reckless in a while. Gotta keep the bad boy image up,” he said, sliding his arm down to her waist.

“Are you gonna explain what that means exactly?” she laughed.

“You might not think it now, but I used to be a goodie-goodie,” he started, guiding her towards the opening in the alley. “When I first started in Sunset Skatepark, I was supposed to be absolutely perfect, and tattoos were a huge part of that, believe it or not.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re lying.”

“Honest to God, I’m not lying. I wanted them so bad that I got any old stick and poke that was offered to me, which I don’t recommend at all,” he shook his head. “Obviously they’ve been covered up since then by these beauties,” he gestured to the arm wrapped snugly around her. “But I miss the spontaneity.”

“You, Raleigh Carrera, miss spontaneity? Mr. Publicity Stunt? Mr. Dating to Get the Tabloids On His Side?”

“I know it sounds crazy, Dom, but I miss being kind of secretive. Getting a tiny stick and poke where no one could see was exhilarating.” She looked up at him, and his face was bright.

His face was reminiscent of the past, a hint of gratification that she knew he hadn’t felt in a long time. Raleigh had always struggled with being truly content with his life, and she knew that their whirlwind romance was something to fill his void, as harsh as that sounded.

She couldn’t imagine what he’d been through. She’d gotten a taste of the high life, and she was exhausted. Knowing that, she didn’t mind being the person to fill in the cracks, clinging to the pieces to keep it together.

He used chaos as escapism, as a way to outrun the parasitic tendrils of the industry, the burden that came with being a household name, and the inevitable role model title that came with it.

She knew he was chasing a high that he could never sustain, and if feeding into his law-bending fantasies was the way to bring out the best in Raleigh, she would do it no matter the cost.

“So you want us to get party tattoos?” She finished, and his features twisted into a sheepish expression, one that was foreign on his face. He wasn’t one to get beaten to the punchline, so he seemed surprised by her willingness to match his energy.

“What do you know about party tattoos?” He smirked, his curiosity piqued.

“That’s for me to know, and for you to find out… eventually.”

He quirked a brow and leaned back, glancing at her lower back.

“I’m not saying a word,” she giggled, grabbing onto the hand draped around her waist, intertwining their fingers.

They rounded the corner and spotted the neon sign of the tattoo parlor down the road from them.

“You sure about this? Tattoos are permanent, you know. Plus we’re not exactly in the right mindset for this.”

“I’m sure.”

They walked in silence for a while, the only sound between them the tapping of her heels on the concrete sidewalk.

He pulled on the handle, and the small silver bells attached to the inside of the door jingled, and a gruff-looking man covered in tattoos looked up from the magazine he was reading. Luckily enough, it had to be Raleigh’s most recent cover.

His eyes widened, and Raleigh stopped him almost immediately. “I’d really appreciate it if you could keep this between us. We had to outrun the paparazzi a few minutes ago, and we really wanted a night to ourselves.”

The man looked starstruck, so Raleigh continued. “I’ll pay extra to rent out the shop for an hour or two.”

He shook his head, finally finding his words. “No need, Mr. Carrera. I’d only request an autograph, and maybe a picture to show my wife, if you wouldn’t mind. She’s a huge fan.”

Raleigh flashed him his most charming smile. “You got it.” He grabbed a sharpie and the magazine, while the man switched off the open sign and locked the front door.

“You want me to make it out to anyone in particular, sir?” He asked, signing his name with a flourish.

“Yeah, could you make it out to Linda?”

“Of course,” he smiled, a few strands of hair falling in front of his face while he concentrated on the message he was scrawling.

The man led them to a back room, and sanitized his station before sliding on a pair of gloves.

“How do you want to do this?” Excitement glimmered in his eyes, and warmth spread throughout her chest.

“I thought it could be a surprise,” she said, already locking in on an idea.

“You read my mind,” he grinned. He stripped his shirt off quickly, his lean torso flexing as he shimmied off his top. She tried diverting her eyes, but to no avail. He caught her staring, a hint of hunger in his look.

She sat just outside the room on a small leather couch, thumbing through Raleigh’s magazine shoot and interview to keep herself company while the needle buzzed in the other room. The interview was alien to her; he was keeping true to his public image, but it was so different than the side of Raleigh he’d allowed her to see.

She pitied the public who’d never get Raleigh to be truly candid and vulnerable with them.

Soon enough, he was done, and it was concealed from her eyes by the small bandage.

“I have an idea of where I want it, but I’m not so sure what I need to do…” she trailed off, not knowing how to approach an underboob tattoo. Was it appropriate to keep the shirt on? To take it off? Should she just take her bra off?

“If it’s anywhere near your chest, you’ll have to take your bra off. You can keep your shirt on as long as you keep it above the area we’ll be tattooing,” the man said professionally, and it eased her mind.

Raleigh watched from the doorway as she unhooked her bralette and slipped it through the arm of her shirt. His eyes were trained on her as she laid down on the table, lifting her top to right underneath her nipple. She didn’t mind him watching her; a heat bloomed in her stomach when she truly realized how her body commanded his.

“Go sit down,” she said, shooing him away. He chuckled, raising his hands up in front of him, before plopping on the same leather couch she had sat minutes before.

She described the tattoo to him, and he looked at her like she was crazy. It was simple, but so reckless. Something she wouldn’t have even entertained the idea of a few months prior. But something that seemed so natural and… right.

The machine punctured her skin, stinging in a way that was a comfortable pain – therapeutic, even. She winced, sighing as the needle passed across her rib bone.

“I have to go back over it one more time, and I’ll be done. You’re doing great,” he said under his breath, intently focused on maintaining the steadiness of his grip on the machine.

She gritted her teeth as he passed over the tender skin again, sucking her breath in.

“You okay?” Raleigh called from the other room, concern laced through the raspy bass of his voice.

“I’m great,” she replied, gripping her shirt above her bra.

“You’re all done,” he said, rubbing a thin layer of a sticky substance on her skin before taping a small bandage over it. “I’m putting petroleum jelly on this. Don’t take the bandage off till this time tomorrow.”

Within a couple of minutes, Raleigh handed over cash and a hefty tip to the artist, and they were out of the door.

It was nearly 2 a.m., and her thoughts seemed clearer, the cloudy haze of tequila beginning to fade. They walked leisurely down the empty road.

The street lamps were illuminating small patches of the road, the stretches of darkness more prevalent than light. The apartments and small shops were closed – they were the only people outside.

He stopped her underneath the bright bulb of the lamp nearest to them, and grinned. “Were you planning on showing me what you got at some point?”

“Yeah, but only if you do it first,” she replied, barely able to think straight. Her eyes grazed over his features as he looked down on her, taking in the soft shadows left on his tanned skin, his jawline and exposed collarbone looking especially sharp under the yellow light.

“Alright, that’s fair.” He pulled up his shirt, before peeling back the tape and the bandage with it. He’d gotten a tiny cloud tattooed right above the paragraph of text on his ribcage.

“What does it mean?”

His eyes glimmered despite the dim lighting. “You’re the only person in this world that makes me feel like I’m more than what I pretend to be. And you’re the only person who’s really seen the real me, and makes me feel like I’m… worth something, you know? I feel like I’m weightless, like I’m floating when I’m with you. Like I’m dreaming. Like my head is in the clouds, but in the best way.”

He reached out to stroke her cheek, and she leaned into his hand. He pressed his lips against hers softly, and she chuckled once. He pulled back, eyeing her. “I never thought I’d see this side of you, but I’m so glad it’s my secret to keep.”

He grinned, and reapplied his bandage, gesturing for her to take her turn.

She pulled her shirt and bra up, just enough for the bandage to be free. She lifted the tape, revealing two letters: R.C.

His eyes widened. She could tell he was momentarily stunned, so she jumped right in.

“My whole life I’ve felt average. Just another girl chasing a dream that she’d never achieve because she sounded and looked like every other girl that she was competing with. You changed my life. One in a Million was my ticket, but you were the one who gave that to me.

“I never wanted to be ‘boring’. I was just cautious. Comfortable. Safe. You’ve brought out a side of me that I never thought I could be, because you believed in me. I could spend a lifetime thanking you, but I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

“So you branded yourself with my initials?” He said, still stunned, but the look on his face had softened significantly.

“And you got a tattoo inspired by me, too. What’s the difference?” She smiled and sniffled, scrubbing at her eyes with the back of her hand.

“I guess we belong to each other now,” he said, before sweeping her up into his arms and kissing her fervently, the distant sounds of the city keeping them grounded.

----

[icyharrington]

Sinful Thoughts (Michael Langdon X Reader) Part 1

ok now that i read this over i lowkey hate the way it turned out, but i spent a lot of time on it so im gonna post it anyways lmfao. y’all wanted sexual tension, so sexual tension you shall receive! 

plot: you’re the epitome of a good christian girl. michael langdon intends to ruin that.

warnings: high school au, fem!Reader, masturbation, sexual tension, no actual smut

word count: 2.7k

i.

“Alright, last pairing. (Y/n), your lab partner will be Michael Langdon.”

You were sure the color drained from your face, because a collective snicker spread itself throughout the classroom the minute you registered your teacher’s words. You’d always hated group projects. Even worse to you were involuntary pairings. Especially when it meant that you were now obligated to do your school project with the weirdly flirtacious kid who lived across the street from you.

You froze, looking across the classroom to the boy who’d been named. He smiled at you innocently, hands crossed neatly in front of him. Your stomach lurched.

“Uh, Ms. Calvin? Would it be okay if I, um, worked by myself instead? I don’t mind taking on the extra work.” You swallowed nervously. More laughter from your classmates, which you did not acknowledge.

Your teacher frowned, emphasizing the deep-set lines in her face. “If I let you work alone, I’d have to let everyone work alone. This project is meant to be completed with a partner.”

You sighed, trying not to seem too distressed as you fidgeted with the sleeves of your pale pink sweater. “Then could I possibly get a new partner?”

“Ms. (Y/l/n), sometimes we are dealt things in life that are not ideal to us. Michael is a perfectly capable young man, and you will work with him.”

“But-“

“Unless you have a valid reason not to work with Mr. Langdon, he will remain as your lab partner.”

You ran your tongue over your bottom lip. What was the reason you were so opposed to working with him? He hadn’t done anything to you, not really. You’d known him since he’d first moved into the neighborhood two years back- from the second you’d saw him, clad in all black with a confident stride, he made you nervous.

Of course, there was also the fact that he seemed to love making you uncomfortable. He’d make some sort of flirtatious comment nearly every time your paths crossed, and it made your insides churn. But still- it was possible he wasn’t even aware that he was being flirtatious, though you doubted that from the way his eyes would glint each time he’d make you blush.

The bell rang, jarring you, and you tucked your books away into your sensible messenger bag. Then you tugged gently on the dainty cross which hung around your neck on a thin gold chain. You always fiddled with it when you were feeling anxious; it brought you comfort to feel the smooth symbol under your fingers.

You nearly jumped out of your skin when somebody leaned on your desk, placing both hands palm-down with a startling thud. You didn’t even have to look up to see who it was: you saw a leather jacket and black button-up, along with large hands adorned with several rings.

“That wasn’t very nice of you,” came a smooth, slightly mocking voice. “What’s so bad about being my partner?”

You looked up timidly, flinching slightly under the boy’s piercing blue gaze. “Nothing. I just- um.” Your voice trailed off, and you realized it probably hadn’t been the wisest choice to request a new partner in front of the entire class.

“You just what?” He tilted his head to the side, widening his eyes. “You has no problem voicing your thoughts a minute ago.”

Since looking into his eyes was making you impossibly nervous, you tried instead to focus on his hair, which even you had to admit was lovely. “I just think we’d both work better with other partners.”

He shook his head, allowing his blond waves to fall in front of his eyes. “I’ve been nothing but nice to you, (y/n),” he said softly. “Perhaps you’d like me better if I weren’t so nice?”

You scoffed, and he cocked an eyebrow at you, seemingly pleased with your defiance as a grin began forming across his full lips.

“You’ve never been nice. You just love to make me uncomfortable.”

“If anything I’ve said has made you uncomfortable, then that’s on you.” He stood up straight, drumming his fingers on the black belt around his slim waist. “Why would you think I care enough to try and make you squirm?”

You pushed back in your chair and jumped to your feet, throwing your bag over your shoulder. “Just- don’t talk to me unless it’s about the project.”

“So we’ll meet on Friday, then?” he grinned at you, baring his perfectly straight teeth.

“I am not going to your house,” you snapped. “You can come to mine.”

“Fine with me. I’d love to see the way a girl like you lives.”

“I’m not even going to ask you what that’s supposed to mean,” you muttered, walking around your desk so you wouldn’t have to cross paths with Michael on your way out.

“Oh, (y/n)?” he said, just as you were about to leave. Back still to him, you grimaced.

“What?”

“That’s a nice necklace you’ve got on.”

Your hand flew up to your neck, caressing the cool metal frantically. In your head, a prayer repeated itself over and over; you shut your eyes, hoping it’d calm you down, but for the first time in your life, it didn’t.

ii.

The week went by impossibly fast, and before you knew it, it was Friday. You’d almost forgotten the plans you’d made with Michael— almost— but Michael had made sure to cheerily remind you that morning as you left your house to leave for school.

Now it was 3:59. He was supposed to come over at 4. Your palms sweat profusely as you waited in the living room, and you wiped them on your modest knee-length skirt.

You hoped maybe, by some miracle, he’d forget. But you knew that would never happen. He was looking forward to this, looking forward to getting under your skin.

The clock on your phone switched briskly to 4:00, and you winced. There was a beat, and then came three sturdy knocks on your front door. Of course he’d show up at 4 on the dot. What else had you expected?

You stood up and fixed your hair, hoping he wouldn’t be able to sense the intense anxiety coursing through you. Then you made your way to the door and swung it open, letting out shallow breaths in an attempt to compose yourself.

He stood there on your welcome mat, backpack slung over his shoulder and smirk on his lips. He made no attempt to conceal the way his eyes traveled over your body, and you shifted, uneasy. “Michael. Come in.”

“You seem enthused,” he said, brushing past you and into your home without a second thought.

You turned around, watching him enter your living room, his head turning to observe every last detail. His lips curved upwards slightly as he regarded the various religious symbols mounted on the wall- an old-fashioned crucifix, a simple wooden cross, a framed painting of Jesus that your mom had bought at a yard sale. Then his eyes fell upon the leather-bound bible on the coffee table, and he chuckled.

“What?” you demanded, narrowing your eyes at him.

“Nothing,” he sang, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jacket and flashing you a close-mouthed smile. You returned it with a straight face, entirely unamused.

“Wait here while I get my stuff,” you said, turning on your heel and heading for the stairs. “And don’t follow me.”

You made your way up the carpeted steps, tensing as you could practically feel his eyes bore into you from behind. All at once you felt self-conscious, and you wished you’d changed into a pair of sweatpants instead of staying in your skirt.

When you got up to your room you let out a breath, immediately relieved once you were out of his admittedly intimidating presence. You walked over to your desk, impeccably tidy save for your biology binder set in the middle.

“Hm. Looks exactly like I expected,” came a drawling voice in the doorway, and you jumped.

“I thought I told you not to follow me,” you said through grit teeth, jaw clenching as you tucked your binder under your arm. That was strange, you thought, the way he’d snuck up on you without you hearing his footsteps on the stairs. He ignored you and tilted his head quizzically, running his fingers along the rosary hanging off your doorknob.

“Don’t touch that,” you said, and he let it drop, beads bouncing noisily against the wooden door.

“So you really believe all this Jesus shit, huh?” he said, amused, taking a few steps inside.

“Get out of my room,” you said in as firm a tone you could muster, but you were surprised when your voice trembled.

He looked at the wooden cross hanging above your bed, and then down at the blue blanket and matching pillows, positioned evenly and smoothed out. You felt vulnerable, somehow, knowing that he now had an image in his mind of where you slept.

“Everything in here is so impossibly perfect,” he stated, running his fingers idly along the frame of your bed. “You want to be perfect, don’t you? You want to be mommy and daddy’s perfect little Christian girl.”

You stared at him, feet planted to the ground as you tried to come up with something to say. He sounded so sure of himself, like he’d been inside your mind and was simply reciting the facts. You wanted to punch him right between those hooded blue eyes, but something inside you prevented you from moving.

“I assume you’re saving yourself for marriage?” he continued, coming closer to you with a smug expression on his handsome face. You willed your feet to move, and your eyes widened when you realized you literally were unable to. Panic rose in your throat, contrasting harshly with his cool exterior.

“None of your business,” you spat, curling your fingers into your palm to try and conceal the silver purity ring you’d been given at church camp several years ago. He laughed, stopping in front of you.

“You’ve never even kissed a boy, have you?”

He craned neck slightly, just looking at you. Then he reached up and tucked two fingers beneath your chin, tilting it up so you could look at him. “And I’m certain you’ve never touched yourself.”

Your face burnt up at his words, and you knew he was enjoying watching the redness creep across your face. He was mere inches away from you now, smiling serenely as you tried your hardest to pull back.

“I’ll even bet that every time you feel that ache between your legs, you drop to your fucking knees and beg god for forgiveness,” he whispered, breath hot on your face.

“Shut up,” you mumbled, focusing all your energy on trying to move. What was keeping a hold on you? It couldn’t possibly be Michael- how would he be able to do something like that?

“Because good Christian girls aren’t allowed to feel carnal pleasure,” he said, brushing his thumb over your bottom lip. “Are they?”

His hand moved from your face to your neck, his pace painfully slow. Your breath hitched when his fingers reached the thin chain around your neck, toying with it for a moment before continuing downwards. He took the cross in his hand and surveyed it, running his thumb across it as he leveled it in his palm.

Before you could do anything, he let go, and all at once the hold on you seemed to break. You pushed him back, hard, silently thanking god for freeing you.

“Leave. And don’t come back. I’ll do the whole project myself. You can take credit for half, I don’t even care.”

He let out a low chuckle. “I’ll let you get back to your prayers.”

You eyed him as he turned around and left, following him to the top of the stairs and watching as he left through the front door. You waited a minute before returning to your room, fixated on the door as if Michael might change his mind and burst through it. Your heart hammered against your ribcage as a familiar, unwelcome sensation began radiating from between your thighs, which you intended to ignore as usual.

You were so distracted by the thoughts of what on earth had just happened that you almost didn’t notice the small change that had been made in your room.

The cross above your bed- which you could’ve sworn had been upright when you followed Michael out- was now, plain as day, upside down.

iii.

You blinked twice, mind foggy as you took a step forward, toes curling at the feeling of cold wood against your bare soles.

You looked down; you were naked, skin dotted over with clusters of goosebumps as your hair stood on end. Your nipples hardened at the low temperature, and all at once you realized you could see your breath in front of you.

You heard something stir from afar, and finally you averted your attention to the opposite end of the room. You were in a church, it appeared, the pews of which were empty. The noise you’d heard had come from behind the altar, and it quickly became apparent that somebody was standing behind it.

Your mouth went dry. It was Michael. His face was heavily shadowed, but from his stature alone you knew it was him. He, too, was naked, at least as far as you could see from the portion of his body that was visible.

A chill rolled up your spine and you wrapped your arms around your stomach, shivering as the cold set into your bones. Michael raised one hand, and though his eyes were obscured with shadows, you knew they were settled on you, your body.

From his fingertips, a flame ignited. He rolled his wrist back, cupping his hand around the flame as it grew. Then he flicked his hand forward, and you stumbled backwards as each pew went up in flames, the rich scent of burning wood invading your lungs. Your skin prickled at the feeling of unbridled warmth enveloping you, and from your throat spilled a grateful moan.

“Touch me, and never again will you freeze,” came a booming voice, loud enough to bring you to your knees. You realized that Michael was now much closer to you than he had been before, standing bare as he looked down upon you. You reached for him without shame, lips parting, and before you could feel him, everything went black.

“Michael-“ you croaked.

Your eyes shot open; you were in your bed, legs entangled in a mess of sweat-stained sheets. It took several seconds to collect yourself, and once you finally had, you discovered that your hand was slipped underneath your underwear and buried between your thighs.

“Oh my-“ you stopped yourself from finishing the sentence, removing your hand as if it’d been burnt. Running your hand over the fabric of your underwear, you were alarmed to find that it was completely soaked through.

Face flushing with guilt, you groaned at the pounding coming from your core. It almost scared you how badly you wanted to touch, how badly you wanted to slip your fingers up inside yourself and ride them until you couldn’t hold back the screams.

There was something seriously wrong with you. Usually you were able to ignore the feelings, but with each passing second the throbbing intensified, causing you to squirm restlessly. Images of Michael flashed through your mind, the filthy words he’d spoken to you earlier vibrating in your ears, and you bit your lower lip hard enough to draw blood. Your hips bucked up towards nothing involuntarily; your chest rose and fell hard, one hand settled on your breast through your sleep shirt.

It’s not right, you thought, applying slight pressure to your nipple before drawing your hand back. You squeezed your eyes shut, moving your lips silently as you methodically recited prayer after prayer in your mind, hoping to find the strength to ignore the feeling and go back to sleep.

It felt like an eternity had passed before you fell back to sleep, and when you woke up the next morning, you couldn’t help but feel disgusted with yourself, sneering at your reflection in the mirror for being so goddamned weak.

You didn’t know what kind of spell Michael had cast over you, making you think such vulgar thoughts, but you were sure of one thing: Michael Langdon was nothing but trouble.

[terabitweb]

Original Post from InfoSecurity Magazine Author:

Online Account Hijacker Forum OGUsers Hacked

An online forum used by those involved in online account hijacking has been breached, according to KrebsonSecurity.

An attack on OGUsers.com leaked the personal information of nearly 113,000 people. Krebs reportedly received a copy of the database, which included usernames, email addresses, hashed passwords, private messages and IP address.

The RaidForums Omnipotent administrator announced to forum members that he had made the OGUsers forum database for available for download, writing:

Hello RaidForums Community,

Today I have uploaded the OGUsers Forum Database for you to download for free, thanks for reading and enjoy!

On the 12th of May 2019 the forum ogusers.com was breached 112,988 users were affected. I have uploaded the data from this database breach along with their website source files. Their hashing algorithm was the default salted MD5 which surprised me, anyway the website owner has acknowledged data corruption but not a breach so I guess I’m the first to tell you the truth view his statement here or if you don’t want to visit their website view it here. According to his statement he didn’t have any recent backups so I guess I will provide one on this thread lmfao.

Compromised data: Website activity, Usernames, Emails, IP Addresses, Passwords (Salted MD5), Source code, Website data, User private messages.

While users on the OGUsers.com forum expressed concern about their identities being revealed as a result of the hack, Krebs said, “It’s difficult not to admit feeling a bit of schadenfreude in response to this event. It’s gratifying to see such a comeuppance for a community that has largely specialized in hacking others. Also, federal and state law enforcement investigators going after SIM swappers are likely to have a field day with this database, and my guess is this leak will fuel even more arrests and charges for those involved.”

#gallery-0-6 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-6 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-6 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-6 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Go to Source Author: Online Account Hijacker Forum OGUsers Hacked Original Post from InfoSecurity Magazine Author: Online Account Hijacker Forum OGUsers Hacked An online forum used by those involved in online account hijacking has been breached, according to…

[terabitweb]

Original Post from Krebs on Security Author: BrianKrebs

Ogusers[.]com — a forum popular among people involved in hijacking online accounts and conducting SIM swapping attacks to seize control over victims’ phone numbers — has itself been hacked, exposing the email addresses, hashed passwords, IP addresses and private messages for nearly 113,000 forum users.

On May 12, the administrator of OGusers explained an outage to forum members by saying a hard drive failure had erased several months’ worth of private messages, forum posts and prestige points, and that he’d restored a backup from January 2019. Little did the administrators of OGusers know at the time, but that May 12 incident coincided with the theft of the forum’s user database, and the wiping of forum hard drives.

On May 16, the administrator of rival hacking community RaidForums announced he’d uploaded the OGusers database for anyone to download for free.

The administrator of the hacking community Raidforums on May 16 posted the database of passwords, email addresses, IP addresses and private messages of more than 113,000 users of Ogusers[.]com.

“On the 12th of May 2019 the forum ogusers.com was breached [and] 112,988 users were affected,” the message from RaidForums administrator Omnipotent reads. “I have uploaded the data from this database breach along with their website source files. Their hashing algorithm was the default salted MD5 which surprised me, anyway the website owner has acknowledged data corruption but not a breach so I guess I’m the first to tell you the truth. According to his statement he didn’t have any recent backups so I guess I will provide one on this thread lmfao.”

The database, a copy of which was obtained by KrebsOnSecurity, appears to hold the usernames, email addresses, hashed passwords, private messages and IP address at the time of registration for approximately 113,000 users (although many of these nicknames are likely the same people using different aliases).

The publication of the OGuser database has caused much consternation and drama for many in the community, which has become infamous for attracting people involved in hijacking phone numbers as a method of taking over the victim’s social media, email and financial accounts, and then reselling that access for hundreds or thousands of dollars to others on the forum.

Several threads on OGusers quickly were filled with responses from anxious users concerned about being exposed by the breach. Some complained they were already receiving phishing emails targeting their OGusers accounts and email addresses. 

Meanwhile, the official Discord chat channel for OGusers has been flooded with complaints and expressions of disbelief at the hack. Members vented their anger at the main forum administrator, who uses the nickname “Ace,” claiming he altered the forum functionality after the hack to prevent users from removing their accounts. One user on the Discord chat summed it up:

“Ace be like:

-not replace broken hard drives, causing the site to time warp back four months – not secure website, causing user info to be leaked – disable selfban so people can’t leave”

It’s difficult not to admit feeling a bit of schadenfreude in response to this event. It’s gratifying to see such a comeuppance for a community that has largely specialized in hacking others. Also, federal and state law enforcement investigators going after SIM swappers are likely to have a field day with this database, and my guess is this leak will fuel even more arrests and charges for those involved.

#gallery-0-5 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-5 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-5 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-5 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Go to Source Author: BrianKrebs Account Hijacking Forum OGusers Hacked Original Post from Krebs on Security Author: BrianKrebs Ogusers[.]com — a forum popular among people involved in hijacking online accounts and conducting…