#garden cabin company

[gardencabincompany]

via Twitter https://twitter.com/cabincompanyuk

[holylulusworld]

Lumberjack Tales - The Hairy Bear

Summary: He doesn’t want to have company.

Pairing: Lumberjack!Ari Levinson x fem!Reader

Warnings: smut, unprotected sex, spanking, orgasm denial, possessive Ari, a hint of dark/grey Ari?

Rating: Explicit

Square filled for @julybreakbingo: Square filled: "Park"

Square filled for @eclipsingbingo: Held down

This story is part of my Lumberjack Tales masterlist

Solitude. No people. No stress. No noises. That’s how he likes it, and he wouldn’t want to change it for anything.

He chose this life. After selling his company for more money than he could ever spend, Ari bought a forest to build a huge, luxurious cabin for himself alone. He’s got everything he needs. And what he doesn’t get, he can make with his strong hands.

Some people may call him crazy. A former CEO and successful businessman turning into a lumberjack building his furniture on free terms. Ari doesn’t care. He gives a shit on other people’s opinion.

Today is one of the rare days he must drive to the only town near his private forest. Ari hates leaving his solitude and meeting people. After a bad divorce, he’s not the most social person.

But – a man gotta eat even if he’s got a beautiful garden behind his cabin and a lake filled with fish. He needs more to fill his pantry. Beer, toilet paper, and batteries do not grow on trees.

“Mr. Levinson,” Susie, the clerk from the grocery store chirps when Ari walks toward the checkout. “Is that all?” She glances at the two shopping carts filled with everything he’ll need over the next weeks. Maybe even a month, or two. “Plastic or paper?”

“Paper,” he grumbles under his breath. “Plastic is bad for the environment.” Ari shakes his head at his words. Years ago, he would’ve given a shit on the environment or nature. He was obsessed with making money, a pretty woman, and fast cars.

“Sure,” she gives him a tight smile but says nothing. “Just a minute.” She snaps her fingers at the new bag boy. “Sean, get over here. We have a customer.”

Ari would like to roll his eyes as the boy groans loudly. He was on his phone, undoubtedly making a TikTok video to share with his two followers instead of doing his job.

“SEAN!” She grunts when he doesn’t move an inch. “If you don’t come here in a second, you are fired.”

“Man, if I made my first million with my video, I’ll quit,” Sean grumbles while reluctantly starting to pack Ari’s groceries into paper bags. “You will see. I’ll get out of this shitty town in no time.”

Ari holds back a comment. He learned that it’s better to shut your mouth and not get involved with the town’s folk. Unlike the cheery clerk at the grocery store, most people in this sleepy little town do not like him.

Especially because he stopped them from clearing the forest he bought. “Cash or card?”

“Card,” Ari swipes his card over the device. “Have a good day.”

Before Sean can grab the bags to carry them outside, Ari wraps his arms around the paper bags to carry them out of the store.

“Idiot!” Susie mutters. “You had to piss him off. Now he won’t come back anytime soon.”

Sean harrumphs. “This is the only store in town. Your love interest will be back. This doesn’t mean he wants to take you out…”

Back in his cabin Ari busies himself putting the groceries and toiletries away. Only to make a list for more. Soon it will be winter, and he needs more supplies. Ari hates driving to town during winter. He tries to leave his cabin less during the cold times.

His dog lies on the carpet in front of the fireplace in the living room, yawning loudly as his owner tells him they’ll need more wood.

“Come, buddy. We go for one last round for tonight,” Ari clicks his tongue, causing his dog to jump up and follow him toward the door. The Estrela Mountain Dog walks next to Ari as he steps out of the cabin.

Ari closes his eyes and inhales the air deeply. He can already smell the approaching thunderstorm. “We need to hurry, buddy. I know how much you hate getting your fur wet.”

He flashes his dog a smile before buttoning up his red-black checkered plaid. “Let’s go, Bear. We don’t wanna miss dinner.”

“HEY! STOP! This is private property!”

You are already out of breath when the man and his dog chase after you. All you wanted was to go for a swim in the lake. How should you have known that the forest is private property? You camped in forests all your life without getting into trouble.

Now this big guy is chasing after you like a madman. “STOP! You cannot come to my property and steal…”

“Bear. Get them!” The man calls for his dog. The giant beast speeds up to outrun you. It jumps at you. Pushing against your back so you land on the ground, face first in the mud. Rain is pouring down on you, soaking your shorts and shirt. “Good job!”

The dog sits down on your back, making you groan loudly. “Get off me you beast.”

“Hold them down,” the man approaches you and the dog. He crouches down next to you to rip your baseball cap off your head. “What are you doing on my property?"

“I wanted to go for a swim, dude! I camp not far away from the lake. I didn’t know this was private property! Who buys a fucking forest!! That’s just wrong.”

“Dude?” He laughs. “Bear, we caught an angry wood nymph, not an intruder.” The man clicks his tongue, and the beast finally gets off your back. “There are warning signs, lady.”

“I told you,” You struggle to get on your knees, groaning as your back hurts from the dog’s attack, “I didn’t see a sign. I camp wherever I want to.”

“Not on my property,” he snaps at you as he gets back up. “Come on, the thunderstorm will only get worse.” He holds out his hand as you struggle to get back on your feet. The dog got you good. “I’ll show you the way back to the road.”

“Fucker,” you slap his hand away and get back up on your feet without his help. “You can’t let your dog attack people.”

“You are an intruder, and he tried to defend my property.”

“Dude, do I look like a danger to you, your dog, or your property?” You size the man up. He quirks a brow. “That’s what I thought.” While you try to rub the dirt from your knees and shin, the man huffs.

“You walk around my property with your little backpack and believe you get away with it? Lady, this is not a park. You can’t just come here and waltz around my property like you own it.”

“I got it, okay. This is your forest, and you hate people,” you wrinkle your nose as the rain runs down your face. “If you’d excuse me now. I’ll find my way out of your forest and into the next to put up my tent somewhere else.”

“In the middle of a thunderstorm?” He asks. “You’re not only a criminal but crazy too. You’ll get yourself killed.”

“Well, good thing that I’m not your problem, Mr. Property,” you turn around to walk opposite the way you came from. “Have a nice life.”

“Lady, that’s crazy,” despite his former behavior, he follows you. “The rain is going to get worse. You’re going to catch a cold or worse.”

“Anything is better than being around you,” you side-eye the man. If he gets too close, you’ll get your pepper spray out and show him what happens when he messes with you.

“Wait…wait up,” he grabs your arm to stop you from running off.

“Don’t touch me,” you try to wiggle out of his grasp. “I’m warning you! I got the black belt!”

He releases you but blocks your path. “I won’t hurt you, lady. My name is Ari, this is Bear.” Ari points at his dog. “He didn’t want to hurt you. If Bear wanted to hurt you, you’d be dog food.”

“You have a way with words, huh?” You look him up and down. “So…where is this street?”

“We can’t walk through the forest now,” he sighs and points toward something in the distance. “If you don’t want to walk through a forest in the middle of one of the worst thunderstorms this area ever experienced, you should come with me to my cabin.”

“Right,” you curl your upper lip. “I’ll go with you to your cabin so you can make a filet out of my ass. I won’t go anywhere with you.”

Ari snorts. He starts laughing as you watch him. “I don’t want to eat you, lady,” he grins. “I mean, I love to eat a lady out.” His eyes drop to your soaked shorts, “but only if she begs me.”

You look down at your soaked clothes. Your backpack gets heavier per minute and Ari is right, the rain is mercilessly pouring down on you. “I’ll take a picture and send it to my friend with our position and your name.”

“Be my guest,” Ari poses for you. He grins into the camera when you snap a few pictures to send them to your friend. “What about Bear?”

“Fine,” you snap a few pictures of the dog to send them to your friend too. “If you kill me now, you’ll get hunted down by my friends.”

“I won’t take the risk,” Ari winks at you. “Come on. I want to get out of my wet clothes and have some coffee.”

You begrudgingly follow Ari, hoping he’s not a psycho killer or looking for a basement wife…

“See, I’m not a killer,” Ari hands you another cup of tea. “After the storm calmed, I’ll drive you to town. You shouldn’t camp in the only other forest around here.”

“Why?” you take a sip before looking at him. You cannot deny that he’s not as bad as you believed he was. Ari offered sweatpants and one of his plaids to you. He shared his dinner with you and brewed tea for you.

“Let’s say the men around here a rather…hmm…how do I put it…”

“Assholes?”

“I think that sums it up,” Ari sits on the other side of the couch to give you space. After the first minutes he knew, you’re not a bad person and now he tries to make you see, that he’s not a bad guy either.

“Hmm…crap,” you sigh deeply. “I wanted to do something reckless for once and now, my friend will laugh about me.”

“You never camped before, right?” He watches you drop your gaze. “Why did you lie?”

“My friends bragged about their adventure trips, and I only ever soaked in the sun or visited museums during holidays. I bought a tent and…you know the rest.”

Ari snorts. “You’re the worst camper I ever met.”

“Fair,” you shrug and giggle as his eyes drop to your legs. He subconsciously licks his lips and shifts in his seat. “So…” you scoot a little closer to Ari, “how long are you living here…alone?”

“Hmm…?” He lifts his eyes from your legs to meet your eyes. “A few years.” Ari murmurs. “I left my old life behind to live here, on my own.”

“Must’ve been a good life,” you scoot even closer to look Ari in the eyes. “This is not a normal cabin. It’s rather…luxurious.”

Ari drops his eyes to your lips, licking his own. “I was a businessman before becoming a lumberjack.”

“Lumberjack,” you purr the word. “You mean the big guys wearing plaids and cutting wood.” This time, you lick your lips. “You must be very strong if you cut wood all day.”

“Not all day, sweetness,” Ari scoots a little closer, his thigh brushing yours. “Only if I need wood for my fireplace.”

“Hmm…” you get bold and move your hand to his bicep, squeezing hard. “Very strong.”

“Strong enough to throw you around if you come to my property and try to swim in my lake,” he moves his hand to your thigh, toying with the sweatpants you’re wearing. “I can spank you too, to make sure you’ll never break into anyone’s property again.”

Your eyelashes flutter, and your lips part. “You think I’d let you spank me for breaking into your property?”

His cheeks dimple. Ari dips his head as his hand creeps higher until he can press it flat against your mound. “I think you’d let me do anything I want to do to you.”

“Look at you,” he purrs in your ear. “Such a good girl, kneeling for me. I bet,” Ari circles you to watch you kneel in front of his couch. He pushes against your shoulders, forcing you to bend your upper half over the couch. “Hmm…what a nice ass you have.”

Ari cups the back of your neck to hold you down on the couch. He’s not too rough but makes sure you can feel his strength.

“I’d love to just fuck you, but you’d only cum all over my cock. I need you to feel the consequences of your actions in your bones.” Ari runs his free hand over your ass, humming as you start to whimper. He grips one cheek roughly, testing your reaction. “I’ll use this body to my liking, and you won’t deny me.”

You choke out a moan when the first smack hits your ass. “Yes…”

“Count, little tramp,” his features harden, and he smacks your cheek a little harder this time.

“One.”

“Again,” he slaps your other cheek, making it sting. “Again!”

“Two.”

“How many can you take?” It’s not a question. Ari told you he’ll give you ten, and you’ll take ten with pleasure if you get his glorious cock in return. You’re already soaking wet and cannot deny that the next smack pushes you closer to the edge.

“All you have to give, sir,” you whimper. “Three…”

“Good girl,” he soothingly runs his hand over your stinging cheeks. “Seven more and you’ll get something nice.”

The next smacks come faster and harder. “Four, five, six, seven,” at eight you’re out of breath and cry out in pleasured pain.

“Eight, nine,” he slaps your ass with both hands. “And lastly,” he slams his hand between your legs, hitting your clit. Your legs tremble and you soak his hand with your cum.

“Oh God…” You can’t come down from your unexpected high. Ari grabs you by the back of your neck to push you onto the couch.

You end up underneath him, whimpering as he moves one hand to your crotch to lift your butt to help him sink into you. He pokes your entrance, impatiently pushing the first inches into your weeping hole.

“Fuck, that’s a wet cunt,” he groans in your ear while conquering your cunt with one hard thrust. “Yeah, you’re a good girl.”

Pressed into the furniture by his hard body you can’t do anything but lie there and let him slowly fuck into you. Your juices soak his cock, and his balls with every deep thrust.

Ari is by all means not gentle. He fucks you for punishment, to make sure your body knows you did a bad thing. “Oh, baby. I lied,” he whispers in your ear after a particularly deep thrust. “I’m going to keep you here for my pleasure.” He thrusts three, or four more times, always avoiding hitting your G-spot.

Ari purrs your name and fills your cunt seconds later. “Aw, don’t whine, baby,” he sinks his teeth in your neck to leave another mark on your body. “This was punishment. You’ll cum when I allow you to cum.”

He groans against your neck, teeth grazing over one of the marks he left. Ari is a man possessed. After he filled you for the first time, he took his time to rub cream into your ass. He toyed with you, fingers and tongue bringing you to the edge, only to not let you cum again.

With your hands restrained to the bedpost, you can only watch him move on top of you. Your hands itch to touch him, but you haven’t earned it yet. You’ve been a bad girl, and he won’t allow you to get more than he’s willing to give.

Ari slowly thrusts into you, thick cock rubbing against your walls. “I want you to cum for me. Come on, little tramp, soak my cock. I want to fill this slutty hole up.”

“Please—” you eagerly meet his thrusts. “I need…please…Sir…A-R-I…” You shudder through your high. Your whole body sizes up and for a moment, you fear you died and ended up in heaven. This is the most intense orgasm you ever experienced, and it takes your breath away.

“Good…” Ari thrusts one last time and stills his hips. His warmth fills you again, and you wonder how many times he already fucked you before he let you come. “Good girl. So, fucking good for me.”

He collapses on top of you, exhausted and satisfied. “Fuck…” you breathe out. “Fuck…fuck…that was…”

“Damn, this cunt feels so good. I’m glad you’re a criminal wanting to break into my property. I didn’t have such a good fuck in years…”

“Well…I got two more weeks off so…” you wiggle your hips, making Ari groan. “I could just invade your property for a little longer and you can punish me again.”

Ari lifts his head to look at you underneath him. He smirks, liking your idea. While you look up at him, mirroring his smirk Ari plans to keep you forever…

Part 2

Tags in reblog.

[ttrpg-smash-pass-vs]

I wonder if me speaking conversationally in the question portion made anyone uncomfortable.

Anyway, on the left, Weretiger. Can become a tiger, a person, or a larger tiger-person hybrid with a husky voice and tendency to roll thier R's. They like to keep tidy little cottagecore cabins in the woods, full of herb gardens and cats and poultry and such. They tend stay near people because they like occasional company and have favored mates, but not too close because they value privacy and don't care to spread thier curse (why make more hunting competition). Look I've seen how y'all react to Tony the Tiger, I don't have to explain this one.

On the right, the werebear! They have a normal (usually thick and hairy) person form, a larger bear person form, and a full bear form. They're also usually really nice. Most refuse to bite unless the target is a willing companion or apprentice, and will stick with them for a while to help them gain control of the curse. They just love enjoying and protecting nature, doing good out where they can't accidentally hurt anybody.

[reasonsforhope]

[Warning: Graphic (some very graphic) shark-fishing pictures at the link.]

"Suhardi isn’t your average snorkeling guide. Born on the Indonesian island of Lombok, he’s spent his life on water. While he now seeks out sharks for the enjoyment of tourists, he once hunted sharks to help earn money to feed his family and educate his two children.

Suhardi was a fisherman for more than 20 years. He first started fishing working on his parents’ boat, but was then asked to join the crew of a shark boat where he was told he could earn a lot of money. Back on deck, he looks embarrassed to divulge what a meager wage it was, but finally confesses he earned around $50 for up to a month at sea.

Now he and 12 other former shark fishermen are part of The Dorsal Effect, an ecotourism company that helps ex-shark hunters find a new vocation. Each week, the team takes groups of tourists, schoolchildren and university students to off-the-grid locations and guides them around pristine reefs. Each trip is designed to take guests on an exploratory journey of both the shark trade and marine conservation through the eyes of the Sasak people of Lombok.

Lombok is a hotspot for marine diversity, sitting just east of the Wallace Line, a biogeographical boundary separating Asia and Australia and their respective fauna. Pristine coral gardens and around 80 species of sharks can be found in its waters. The island is also part of the world’s largest shark-fishing nation. Only the whale shark (Rhincondon typus) is protected in Indonesia; all other sharks can be legally caught.

The Dorsal Effect first launched in 2013, a year after Suhardi met Singaporean ecologist Kathy Xu, who had traveled to Lombok to find out more about the shark trade. The diminutive but quietly determined Xu wanted to protect sharks, but because she knew shark fishing was poorly paid and dangerous, she wanted to hear the fishermen’s stories too. They told her how once they could fish for sharks close to shore, but now with the shark population dropping, the fishermen said they needed to travel farther out to sea, only to come home with a relatively poor catch. The reduced catch also meant reduced pay, so they often couldn’t cover their costs...

Yet, when Xu asked why fishers didn’t seek out another trade, she learned they didn’t want to be separated from the sea. They saw it as part of their heritage.

But as they spoke longer, the shark fishermen talked about the coral gardens that could be found under the waves, ones that only they knew about. Inspired by a whale shark diving trip she’d taken with scientists on the Great Barrier Reef, Xu had an idea. “If such spots exist,” she recalls telling the fishers, “I could take tourists out with you and pay you more than you earned shark fishing”.

At first, Xu guided the former shark fishermen on how to become eco-friendly tour operators. They dropped anchor away from the reef, served guests plant-based dishes, and made sure all trash was taken back to shore. But then Xu saw that something special was happening: The former fishermen had started to take the guest experience into their own hands, making sure tourists felt at home. Suhardi painted “Welcome” in large letters over the front of his boat, fitted green baize to the top deck for outdoor seating, and hung curtains in the cabin so his guests could enjoy some shade.

Suhardi has already bought a new boat with his earnings from snorkeling trips. “Every day is my best day,” laughs Suhardi, whose smile always travels from his mouth to his eyes.

While they were receiving tourists from across the globe, there was another group that Xu wanted to reach out to. “I think it was the teacher in me who felt impassioned about influencing the young,” she says. She reached out to schools and created a five-day program that would help students understand the shark trade and local conservation efforts. During the program, paid for by the school and students, participants would not only meet the ex-shark fishermen so they could ask them about their lives, but also hear from NGOs such as the Wildlife Conservation Society about their efforts to slow the trade. The Dorsal Effect also hired marine biologists to host nightly lectures and help the students with their field surveys...

The students were faced with the realities of the fishing trade, but they were also encouraged to take a balanced view by The Dorsal Effect team. The villagers weren’t just taking the fins, and throwing away the rest of the shark; they processed every piece of the animal. While they did sell the meat and fins to buyers at the market, they also sold the teeth to jewelers, and the remains for pet food.

The Dorsal Effect also takes students on an excursion to the fishermen’s village, a small island that lies off the coast of Lombok. Marine biologist Bryan Ng Sai Lin, who was hired by The Dorsal Effect team, says that on one trip with students he was surprised by how quickly the young people understood the situation. “One of them said it’s good to think about conservation, but at the same time these people don’t really have any other choice,” Lin says....

Conservation scientist Hollie Booth of Save Our Seas, which does not work directly with The Dorsal Effect, says the need to provide legal profitable alternatives to shark fishing is critical: “We are never going to solve biodiversity and environment issues unless we think about incentives and take local people’s needs into account. These kinds of programs are really important.”"

-via Mongabay, December 15, 2023

[moondustmonster]

Teshai the Naga (Cismale!naga x gn!reader)

WARNINGS!!!! This fic contains dark themes of abuse, being attacked, implied attempted r!pe, blood, and the attacking of others. If you are sensitive to any of these themes, please skip this work.

Summary: After a painful breakup, you seek refuge in a remote cabin in the woods, hoping to heal. As you settle in, strange occurrences make you feel watched, leading to the discovery of Teshai, a reclusive naga who has been observing you from afar. Though wary at first, you gradually warm to his presence as he begins leaving gifts and showing signs of courtship. Just as you decide to accept his affection, your manipulative ex unexpectedly returns, forcing you to confront your past and realize the depth of Teshai's protective love.

Moving to this small cabin in the woods was supposed to be a fresh start, a chance to heal from the emotional wounds left by your ex-boyfriend. His sudden abandonment of you had chipped away at your self-esteem. Leaving you anxious and weary, his parting words still circled your brain even though he was long gone. Spring was in full bloom though, and the idea of the tranquil woods filled you with hope for peace and solitude. That maybe, just maybe, things would be okay.

The first few weeks were uneventful, yet a creeping feeling of being watched nagged at you. You brushed it off as residual paranoia, remnants of the toxic relationship and a few too many horror movies with eerily similar setups. But as time went on, the signs became undeniable. Shadows moved just beyond your vision, small objects in your garden were often misplaced, and you even found traces of something large moving through the underbrush around your cabin when you went on your daily hikes.

One evening, as you were planting herbs in your garden near the forest's edge, you felt the presence again. Thinking quickly you grabbed the trowel lying by your side and carefully manoeuvred it so that you could see behind you, hopefully without looking inconspicuous, and gasped. There, emerging from the shadows, was a large naga. His long black hair framed a face with striking mocha skin, and his lower body was that of a brown snake, coiling and uncoiling with a grace that belied his size.

Fear rippled through your body as you watched him silently make his way among the branches overhanging the little area you were in, before he found a spot to settle into comfortably, resting his upper body upon a thick branch and crossing his arms beneath his head. Large black eyes never waver from your form as you continued to pretend that you hadn't noticed his presence.

You had met a couple of other nagas before, each one with startling different personalities and so on the whole you didn't really think anything particularly bad of the race, but this was a stranger. A stranger who had been watching you for several weeks now and had not once attempted to make his presence known other than the few signs you had been, admittingly, lucky to catch.

What did he want?

You continued to watch him watching you quietly from the shadowed treeline, tail wrapping around the branch he was resting on. His eyes never left your figure as you made your way down the line of seedlings needing to be planted, forcing yourself to continue on as if nothing was wrong. The naga had been watching you for almost a month now, studying you from afar and likely taking note of your patterns. He'd been quite careful to keep himself hidden, but the signs left behind hadn't gone unnoticed on your end luckily.

And yet, your mind countered, if he wanted to harm you, wouldn't he have done so already?

In the month that you had been here the only time you had had company over was when the movers had dropped off your things. Even your mail was delivered at the bottom of a long driveway that ran through the woods to your little home. Other than that, you and this stranger were the only ones to grace this area of land with your presence.

Your realtor had mentioned that you had a neighbour, your brain suddenly recalled, and that he lived a few acres away from your own home. Was he this mysterious neighbour, simply curious about who the new person was and deciding whether or not you were worth speaking to? Perhaps he was shy and simply building up courage and learning things to be able to talk about with you. Landing on the more social anxiety side of the introverted spectrum meant that you could understand not knowing what to talk about with strangers and so usually avoided them.

But, you thought as you stabbed viciously into the ground at a particularly hard spot with a huff. If it was true, it did not give him the right to spy on you for almost a month and scare the absolute hell out of you in the process. After planting the last seedling and giving them all a thorough drowning of water from your can you packed up all of your gardening gear and moved to go back into your home. Placing the gardening supplies on the porch, you glanced up to your window and noticed that he had also moved with you, curling and coiling along the branches until he had a better view of inside your home.

And wasn't that a terrifying thought?

Summoning your courage, you decided it was time to confront him, danger and consequences be damned. You turned fully to face him, trowel held firmly in your hand and held it out at arm's length as threateningly as you could. "I know you're there," you called out, your voice trembling slightly. "Who are you and why are you watching me?"

Even from this distance, you could see the naga blink slowly, seeming momentarily surprised. Then, with a smooth, fluid motion, he slid down from the branch and approached you cautiously. "I apologize," he said, his voice deep and soothing. "I didn't mean to scare you. My name is Teshai. I was curious about the new human living in these woods. It's been years since anyone has come here."

You felt a mix of relief and lingering wariness. "You could have just introduced yourself, you know," you huffed, trying to keep your voice steady, as you took in his form. The reflection in the trowel hadn't even come close to his real size. He easily towered over you, even with most of his snake-like body laying curled up on the ground and you on heightened porch, and now that he was closer you could see the gentle ombre shading that left his human belly and scutes a soft golden shade that faded out into a lovely dark shade of brown, the darkest of which was along his spine. Being this close to him also meant that you could see his eyes much better, and what you had thought were pure black orbs had a thick line of bright yellow running along the outer portion.

Teshai nodded, his expression abashed. "You're right, I should have. I was just... uncertain...how you would react. Non-humans, nagas and driders especially, do not have the best...reputation in these parts."

Curiosity getting the best of you, you couldn't help but ask what he had meant. You were from a whole other area of the state, one where most species intermingled and got along remarkably well. Though there were of course rumours and stereotypes of each that circulated, no place could escape bigots after all, but not many beings put stock into them.

Teshai let out a bitter laugh, "A few decades back there was a mass disappearance spree, folks, mostly those of more humanoid form, simply disappeared without a trace. They never found who did it nor where the bodies went, though many suspected that we, as in nagas and driders, were kidnapping folks into the woods and eating them," Teshai leaned back so that he was sitting on his own coils, crossing his arms with a roll of his eyes, "It's all a bunch of hogwash of course. Rumours got out of hand because people were scared, and needed someone to blame, and we drew the short end of the stick this time. This house’s occupant," he gestured behind you, "was one of the first to go missing."

Your eyes grew wide at the story, jaw going slightly slack in surprise. Your realtor had most certainly not mentioned a mass disappearance in the village nearby, nor that your house had originally belonged to one of them. They were most definitely getting a mouthful from you in the morning, presuming you survived the night that is.

Teshai chuckled, noticing your surprise and shook his head, seeming to read your thoughts. "You didn't know..." He said, almost as if he were asking you. He leaned forward, resting his chin on the back of his fist. "You must not be from anywhere around here. Such thoughts extend to all of the towns neighbouring these woods. It's why your only three neighbours are two nagas and a drider, and your mailman will never go past the box at the end of the drive. Did you not think to question the cheap price of so much land?"

A flush overtook your face at his words. While it was true that you had thought about why the price was nearly a fifth of what you should have been paying for so much acreage, in what you had thought was prime real estate, you had simply assumed you were lucky that no one had wanted this home in such a long time that they kept dropping the prices. Not to mention that it hadn't been you to do the research or been involved in much of the sale process at all, having been near catatonic after your last breakup. It had been your best friend, Rhianna, a kitsune whom, for a second, you thought was actually going to live up to the stereotypes and eat the heart of your ex-lover when she found out what had happened.

You still weren't fully convinced she hadn't sent you to the other side of the state for the sole reason of killing him without your knowledge, but you did trust her care for you and didn't for one second believe that she would place you in harm's way. This meant it was just as probable that she hadn't known, and would end up giving the realtor a mouthful as well, and potentially taking the first flight out here to drag you back away from danger and force you to live on her temple grounds where she could keep a close eye on you, even though it had been her to argue that you needed to get away from everything in the first place.

You took a deep breath, trying to steady your racing thoughts. "I didn't know," you admitted, feeling a bit foolish. "But I'm here now, and I don't intend to leave. Can we start over?" You extended your hand towards Teshai, trying to bridge the gap between fear and understanding.

Teshai regarded your hand for a moment before a smile touched his lips. "Of course," he said, gently taking your hand in his, bending over while raising it to his lips to give it a gentle kiss. His touch was surprisingly warm, your brain managed to think as it short-circuited. His hand, you managed to notice, was covered in a splattering of scales and his long fingers ended in a set of wicked claws that made you internally gulp. "Welcome to the neighbourhood, even if my introduction was less than ideal..." He trailed off blinking, and suddenly you realized hadn't told him your name.

Internally shaking your head and smiling impishly you gave it to him with a slight flush, trying your best to ignore the stuttering of your heart as you took your hand back. "The pleasure is mine," you managed to reply, "though I would appreciate it if you kept the stalking down to a minimum in the future, please. I don't mind you stopping by, just let me know you're here. Okay?"

He sheepishly grinned at you, a faint splattering of a blush highlighting freckles made from darker scales spread about his face that you hadn't noticed before, "Okay. "

From that moment, an unexpected friendship began to blossom between you and Teshai. He would visit frequently, always bringing gifts—herbs found deep in the woods, shiny crystals, and even meat he hunted down. Each offering was a gesture of goodwill, and over time, you found yourself looking forward to his visits.

Each time he visited, your guard lowered and the fear and tension eased, replaced by a growing comfort in his presence. Teshai was quickly coming to be one of the best friends you had ever known, even if you only counted a single kitsune in that regard. He was charming, considerate, and eager to help when you needed it. His easy charm and warm eyes pulled you in, and soon you found yourself drawn to his stories and infectious laughter, as he lounged in the trees above while you worked on your garden. He'd tell you all sorts of tales from before the mass disappearances, and he'd listen intently when you spoke in return, never rushing you. It was almost alarming how fast you'd come to care for the naga with the golden eyes and soft, soothing voice.

Lately, though, every time you'd see him there was a fluttering in your heart and a permanent flush on your cheeks.

And so you began leaving gifts of your own.

On your rare trips to town, you would pick up items intended entirely for him. Small bottles of oil to help his scales glisten, rolls of sheer fabric that glittered when the sun hit to make hammocks for him to lounge in, cuts of the most pristine meat that you could afford among many others.

The first time you had given him a gift, a set of gold armbands that had reminded you of the colour of his scutes, his dark skin had flushed darker still as he held it reverently before slipping them on. His black claws traced the twisting snake patterns that were engraved, stuttering out thanks before taking your harvest basket from your hands. He still occasionally got distracted by them whenever the sun happened to hit them, shining brightly like they were his own personal mini suns.

As autumn began to roll around, you realized Teshai's gestures were becoming more than friendly. He started producing more personal presents in the form of cooking your meals or taking over chores, and he was also touching you in some form or another now. A hand on your shoulder here, an end of a tail wrapped around your wrist there, curling around you under the sun as you both lazed about, enjoying doing nothing in the summer heat.

The touch wasn't unwelcome, but it was beginning to drive you crazy. You were almost certain that Teshai knew the effect it was having on you and was continuing on purpose. He'd smirk whenever you blushed, seemingly pleased that he was the cause of such a reaction. And there were other signs too - the lingering gazes, the way he'd let his tail wrap around your legs as you sat near each other, the way he seemed to always be touching you now. You were slowly losing your mind.

At first, you were hesitant. The scars from your past relationship were still fresh, and the idea of starting something new, especially with someone so different, was daunting. Teshai's affectionate gestures caught you off guard, igniting a mixture of excitement and nervousness within you. It was one thing to give him gifts, but it was quite another to accept his advances. He made it so hard though; the more he touched you, the more the fluttering in your chest increased, and the more you found yourself leaning into his touch, craving his caress. Every graze of his tail on your skin sent shivers down your spine and every time he brought you food, the desire to lean against him, to feel the warmth of his body against yours, grew stronger. But the more you thought about it, the more the idea grew on you. Teshai was kind, thoughtful, and protective.

On the night you decided to accept his courtship, you set a cosy dinner for two, eagerly awaiting Teshai's appearance. The forest outside your cabin was alive with the sounds of autumn and a gentle breeze wafted through the open window. You felt a flutter of excitement and anticipation as you thought about the evening ahead. However, as you heard a knock on the door, your heart raced for a different reason. Not expecting anyone else, you eagerly opened the door, only to freeze in shock at the appearance of your ex.

He uttered your name in reverence, reaching out to caress your face but you quickly backed out of his reach.

"Wha-what are you doing here," you managed to stutter out.

"I came to see you, babe," he said, crossing the threshold of your home uninvited. His eyes roamed over your body hungrily; he looked at you as if he owned you. He took another step towards you and you felt your heart jump into your throat. "I've missed you."

You couldn't believe what you were seeing. How did he even get here? How did he find you? You stepped back, a cold sweat forming on your neck and your hands grew clammy.

"Missed...me," you repeated slowly. The last encounter with him you had running on repeat. His last words circled your every thought, 'you're not good enough,' 'I deserve more,' 'I've already moved on with someone better,' and so and so forth. The last time you had met he had managed to tear you to shreds, to attack every single insecurity you had before leaving you in your, once-shared apartment.

He had been cruel then, and here he was again with a gleam in his eye that you recognized.

"Mhmm," he drawled, stepping closer again. Your back bumped into the arm of your couch, stopping your retreat as you almost fell over backwards. He was so close now that you could smell his awful cologne, which you had once found appealing. You suppressed a shudder as he reached up, tracing the line of your jaw with his fingers before letting them fall to your arm. He gave you a sly smirk. "I want you back."

Your heart beat like thunder, blood rushing in your ears as your mind tried to understand what was happening. Was this a nightmare? Were you really, hopefully, asleep back in your bed, so nervous about your upcoming date that your brain produced this?

No, you suddenly thought, as his fingers gripped your arms slightly harder than necessary. This was no dream, he was really here and you were trapped between him and your own furniture.

He pressed himself against you, his body flush with yours, and you could feel the weight of him pressing against you.

"Come on, baby," he crooned, his fingers tracing your collarbone now, "didn't you miss me too? I made a mistake, but all can be forgiven, right?" As if he was the one that had gotten his heart trampled on.

You wanted to cry, scream, push him away, anything. But fear immobilized you, and you barely managed to keep in the bile that threatened to rise in your throat. His grip on your arms was too tight now, painful, and the way his eyes raked over you made your skin crawl.

"Why are you being difficult," he asked, his tone turning sharp, when you didn't answer him. "I came all this way to see you. The least you could do is be grateful." He leaned forward, crowding your space and pinning you against the couch.

One of his hands raised up to grip the back of your head, pulling your hair harshly in the process as he forced your head back and slotted his lips against yours. The vile taste of nicotine and beer flooded your senses and you desperately tried to get away from it.

Your hands raised into fists and you banged on his chest to try and get him to release you, simultaneously you tried to pull away but his grip merely tightened causing you to cry out in pain. Taking advantage of your open mouth he shoved his tongue to explore. On reflex you bit down hard, he cried out as blood splurted into your mouth and he pulled away, pushing you back harshly so that you landed on the couch before rolling to the floor, banging your knee on the coffee table in the process. You groaned at the pain before trying to crawl your way to the kitchen.

He hissed as he clutched at his mouth, looking at the blood on his fingers and you could see the flash of anger that rose in his features. He lunged at you, quicker than you could react, and grabbed your ankle, hauling you backwards and away from the kitchen.

"You little-" he spat, and a sense of terror filled you as he straddled your waist, gripping both of your wrists in one hand, and pinning you to the floor. His eyes were wild as he held you down. "I came here to give you a chance to be good, but you just can't behave, can you?"

His grip on your wrists was crushing, and the weight of him on your waist kept you pinned to the floor. You were terrified, your heart beating so fast that you were sure he could feel it through your body. You looked up at him, hoping that he would see the fear in your eyes, but he simply laughed cruelly. "You just can't help yourself, can you? You just need to be a brat." 

He leaned down, his face just inches from yours, and you could feel his breath on your face as he whispered. "That's okay. I can fix that."

He leaned down to kiss you again, your eyes closed in terror before his body weight was suddenly ripped away from you, an angry hiss filled the air followed by your ex's terrified yelping that devolved into choking gasps. Daring to open your eyes, you help but widen them further at the scene before you.

You opened your eyes and had to take a moment to process what you were seeing.

There, standing in your living room, was Teshai, wrapped around your ex like a snake around its prey, pinning him back against a wall by his neck with one hand. His tail was coiled around the man's legs, and his fangs were bared in a snarl that sent a shiver down your spine. He was furious, but there was an underlying edge of possessive anger.

Your ex was struggling, but it was futile. He was utterly trapped.

Teshai had arrived and was holding your ex by his throat tightly enough that it was obvious that he was struggling to breathe. Hands clawed at Teshai's arm uselessly, and he brought your ex closer to his own face. "You will not be fixing anything," he hissed before he struck quickly. Two large fangs, each one easily the size of one of your fingers, protruded from the top of Teshai's mouth before being stuck firmly into the juncture of your ex's neck. There were a couple of more flailing movements from your ex before his limbs dropped to dangle uselessly.

In less time than it took for your terrified eyes to widen and realize what he had just done, your ex went completely still. The life left his limbs but his eyes still danced frantically around, and then Teshai lifted his head, blood staining his lips. His eyes flickered up to meet yours, and you were startled to see the anger still burning in them. So used to seeing him as your beloved friend and lately crush, it was jarring to see the boiling anger rolling around his face.

Uncoiling he dropped your ex unceremoniously onto the floor. He moved towards you quickly the snarl still on his face and you half expected him to attack you as well. Instead, he helped you up, coiling around you gently as he checked for injuries. Another angry his escaped his lips as he found the bruises on your body, but seeing no further damage, he caressed your face as his own softened before you.

"Are you alright?" His words were strangled as he fought to control his emotions.

You nodded, even though you weren't entirely certain that you really were. Without your permission your eyes drifted over to your ex, still lying there, two large puncture wounds leaking blood.

"Wha..what did you do t-to him?" you stuttered in fear, eyes refusing to move anywhere but the still body that lay upon your floor, even as the coils of the culprit shifted gently around you. The scales of your paramour had never felt so cold before, and yet your body refused to move, in case it became the next victim to lay on the hardwood floor of your home.

"Less than he deserved," Teshai grumbled as he shifted to look back at the body as well. "My venom has a paralyzing agent, it will wear off soon but for now all he can do is lay there. He is not dead, yet."

A sigh left you and your body crumpled in on itself as relief flooded you that he was dead, before tensing again as the words hit you, "Yet?"

"He hurt you," Teshai hissed angrily, the back of his claws barely brushing against the bruises that were forming on your arms, "I will kill him. He will not harm anyone anymore by the time I'm through with him." The very end of his tail wagged in pleasure as if he were a dog expecting to be praised for completing a trick, rather than a large naga that hadn't just casually proclaimed to murder someone in front of you. In any other circumstances, it would have been cute, right now though, you just wanted the past ten minutes to have never happened.

You were stuck somewhere between abject terror and awe as you felt Teshai coiled around you. His scales felt foreign against your skin, and every coiled movement made your heart jump, afraid of what he would do next. You were acutely reminded of the fact that he was a predator to be wary of, regardless of how sweet and caring he usually was.

"What...I-no! You can't!" Finally able to tear your eyes away you shifted in his colours so that you were facing him fully. "I know he isn't the best person, but that's murder! It's wrong, and what if you're caught? What if-" What if I never see you again?

The sudden thought caught you off guard. Why were you so concerned about not seeing him again if he committed the crime? If he were to actually do so then you should be glad to see him gone. Even if it had been in your defence...

Teshai seemed taken aback by your argument, surprised that you would be defending the man who had come to your home and hurt you, rather than simply letting Teshai finish him off. 

"Why are you arguing on his behalf? He attacked you! He would've continued hurting you! He could've killed you," He coiled around you tighter as he leaned in, his arms wrapping around you as he buried his face in your neck. "I could've lost you, he doesn't deserve to keep living after that!"

You felt his entire body shudder, limbs curling tighter around you as the image of you dead before him flashed through his mind. Your hands raised on their own accord to hug him back, fingers running through his dark hair over and over again in an attempt to calm him.

You could understand in a way. Had it been Teshai being attacked, potentially almost killed...you weren't certain what you would do in that situation. It was entirely possible you would be the one advocating for death as he held you back in a reversal of roles.

"I know," you told him, "But committing a crime for justice doesn't make it any less of a crime. In the morning, perhaps even sooner than that, perhaps longer, you'll come to regret your actions. So instead of murder, we'll just call the police and let them deal with it." You gently drew his head back so that you could look him in the eyes, caressing his face with your hands, "Okay?"

He sighed in defeat before nodding, "Okay." Teshai relented under your touch and your reasoning. While he still felt the hot anger coursing through him and the need to protect you, he knew you were right. He could feel it. Taking a deep breath, he leaned into your hands, seeking the comfort and reassurance that they provided.

He pulled you closer to him once more, his arms wrapping around your body, and resting his chin on your shoulder as he whispered in your ear, "I just don't want to lose you. I don't know what I would do if something happened to you. I love you too much to let that happen."

You both froze at his admission before he pulled suddenly, a furious blush covering his face. "Ah, I mean-well you see- I uhm-mmph!" His attempt at stringing words together were cut off as you pulled him down into a kiss. He froze for a second before responding back reverently, caressing your face gently. Pulling back for a breath your forehead rested against his. "I love you too, Teshai." You admitted with a blush.

Teshai was stunned into silence by your kiss. His blush deepened, spreading across his face and down his neck as his arms wrapped tighter around you, pulling you up against his body so that he could feel your warmth and hold you close. His tail tightened around you as well, as if afraid you would disappear. He nuzzled his face against yours, his words almost a whine.

"Really? You do?"

"I do," you said with a smile.

Teshai felt like he could float away. His heart fluttered in his chest as he took in your words. You loved him. You actually loved him back. He hadn't just imagined this entire thing, he hadn't built it all up in his head. You truly and honestly shared his feelings.

He squeezed you even tighter, burying his face in your hair as he let out a breathless laugh. "You have no idea how long I've been wanting to hear you say that," he mumbled against your neck.

You couldn't help a snort at his words, "Somehow I think I do." A giggle escaped you as he flicked his tongue against your neck to tickle it in retribution.

Teshai joined in your laughter, his arms staying wrapped tightly around your waist as his tongue continued to tease and tickle your neck. He loved how it made you laugh, the sound of it was like music to his ears. Every now and then he would drop a gentle kiss as well, a soft brush of his lips against your skin.

His tail still coiled around your body, holding you close to him. He didn't want to let you go, not now, not ever.

[raphael-angele]

Nico's Big Sisters (+ Moms)

Nico: It's alive. IT'S ALIVE!

Katie: Nico, no yelling in the garden

Nico: Sorry, Katie. But look! The camellias I planted are growing!

Katie, sees the plant: Aww, look at that. It sure is.

Nico: You think I can make a flower crown when they grow?

Katie: More than a hundred, periwinkle.

---

Drew: Hey, Silena, you- What are you doing?

Silena: Oh, hey, Drew! This is Nico. We're in charge of taking care of him while his sister is away. Say hi, Nico.

Nico: Hi :)

Drew: Okay...and what is he-

Silena: Oh, he's just painting my nails. And he does them perfectly. Look *shows her nails* Who would've taught dark purple looks so good on me

Nico: Can we paint mine green?

Silena: Of course! What kind of green? Sage? Forest? Neon?

---

Nico: And then he said, "I don't know her"

Drew: *gasp* He did not.

Nico: I heard it myself.

Drew: Ugh. He said that he doesn't know the girl he's cheating on his girlfriend with? What a jerk

Nico: Mhm. And then, after he drops his girlfriend off in her cabin, he goes to the other girl's cabin and pretends he was coming back from archery practice.

Drew: (°o° ) Ugh, how blind can people be?

Bianca, walking up to them: Hey, Nico.

Nico: *gasp* Bia! You're back! *goes to hug her*

Bianca: Why don't you go grab your stuff?

Nico: *leaves*

Drew: ...di Angelo (¬_¬)

Bianca: Tanaka (¬_¬). I hope my brother found your Cabin's company well.

Drew: Oh, he's more than entertaining. He sees and hears things all around Camp that no one else does.

Bianca: So he's your gossip messenger

Drew: Exactly.

Bianca: Hm. Remind me to tell Chiron that he's not allowed to stay here for too long.

Drew: Why? Jealous he's gonna want a new sister?

Nico: *coming back* Got them!

Bianca: C'mon, Nico.

Nico: Bye, Drew!

Drew: Bye, sweetheart!

---

If Hazel was rescused by Bianca before Nico was older than her:

Bianca: Nico, this is Hazel.

Hazel: Hello.

Nico: ...hi *waves shyly*

Bianca: Hazel here is the daughter of Pluto

Nico: Your papa is a planet?

Hazel:

Bianca: No, Nico. Her papa is our papa's other self.

Nico: But papa's name is Hades.

Bianca: And his name is also Pluto

Nico: So, she's our sister?

Bianca: Yeah.

Nico:

Bianca:

Hazel:

Nico: YAAAY! NEW SORELLA!

---

Nico is staying with the Jacksons while Bianca is away:

Nico, helping Sally in the kitchen: *cuts his finger with the knife* OWIE!

Sally: *sees what happened* Aw, Nico. I told you not to use the knife. *gets the first aid kit*

Nico: Sorry, Ms. Percy's Mama

Sally: *patches up the wound* There. Now, why don't you go get the peeler and peel the potatoes?

Nico: Mkay. *goes to get the peeler*

Percy, entering: Hey, guys.

Nico: Ms Percy's Mama! Percy's in the kitchen again!

Sally: Percy, you know the rule

Percy: Mom, you can't be serious

Nico: She said that the kitchen is a No Percy zone. *pushes him out to the living room* Stay! *goes back to kitchen*

Percy: Mom, it was one time!

Sally: How do you burn pasta while boiling it?!

---

Hestia: Aww, Chiron, who is this?

Nico, walking with Chiron:

Chiron: This is Nico. He's a new arrival.

Nico: Hello :)

Hestia, picking him up and cuddling into him: Aren't you just the cutest!

Nico: *giggles*

Hestia: Is he claimed?

Chiron: He's Hades' son

Hestia: Oh? Well then that makes you my nephew!

Nico, admiring her: Pretty!

Hestia: Aww. How 'bout we go make some smores, hm? Have you ever had a smore?

Nico: Mm-mm *shakes his head*

Hestia: *gasp* Well, you need to tas one now. Let's go get some marshmallows and some chocolate and graham crackers

[mediumgayitalian]

At around half past one, Nico gets a Feeling.

He gets feelings a lot. Nothing he can quantify, just something telling him that something is up, somethings wrong. Or something’s about to be. At this point, he’s learned to trust his intuition, based purely on the number of times it has saved his life; a number he’s long since given up counting. (He’s only ignored his gut feelings three times in his life: when Bianca went on her quest, when his father promised not to hurt Percy before the Titan War, and when he went looking for the Doors. He has learned his lesson.)

So when something at the bottom of his stomach tells him to get up, to check things out — he does.

He knows it could be nothing. (The last time he had a Feeling, it turned out that he had placed a book precariously on the edge of his desk, and it had been about to fall. Not exactly world-saving stuff.) But regardless, he steps out of bed, shoves his feet into his shoes, and creeps out of his cabin.

Camp is kind of beautiful at night.

There’s an eerie calmness to it without so many human disasters running about, and the quiet reflects that. All Nico can really hear is the hooting of owls in the distance, the chittering of nocturnal animals and monsters alike, the distant screeches of curfew harpies, and the pleasant crashing of the waves. The air is clean, when he inhales, and he takes the time to hold it in his lungs for a bit, imagining the sweet breath is healing his burned lungs, turning the scar tissue back to something flexible and normal. Whether or not it actually works, he doesn’t know, but it feels nice.

Under the light of the brightly shining new moon and billions of stars, he starts his patrol. Around his own cabin first — there’s nothing, as he expected, the warning doesn’t seem overwhelming like threats tend to be — and then he makes his way around the circuit, checking behind gardens and shrines and inside braziers. He hums quietly as he walks, something preppy and bright the Apollo kids have been hollering for days, and waves to Lady Hestia, sword heavy at his waist.

“Come sit,” she calls, patting the seat next to her.

Nico does.

“Haven’t seen you out at night in a while.”

He hums, toneless this time, leaning back on his hands and mirroring her gaze at the sky.

“Been sleeping, for once.”

“I’m glad.”

He smiles, knowing that she means it. He watches out of the corner of his eye as she picks up his sword, sliding it from his belt loop, and uses it to stoke the flames. She doesn’t seem afraid of it, or wary. To her it’s just a stick of metal. It’s nice.

“You have you been, my Lady?”

She pokes at the embers a few more times, scooping a few to balance at the tip of the blade for a while. It glows with the heat, and he knows he’ll have to sharpen it tomorrow, but he doesn’t mind. Maybe he can do it while Will is in the archery range. It’ll give him an excuse to be at the armoury at the same time, anyway.

“I’ve been well.” She breathes deeply, small smile pulling at her face. “It’s calmer, and more people wave to me. I like it.”

“Good.”

She dismisses him a few minutes later, sending him off with a promise to chat again soon. She doesn’t need to worry about him promising — he makes a point to sit with her at least once a week — but it’s nice to know someone wants his company, so he appreciates it. He leaves with a wave, walking towards the eastern half of the cabins.

Nothing’s amiss. He can hear campers snoring, and see the odd reading light. Malcolm catches his eye as he walks past the Athena cabin and winks, sending a cheeky salute when he sees the sword held loosely in his hands. So far, everything seems fine. He’s beginning to think the Feeling might have simply been about Lady Hestia, so he decides to do one last check around the Big House and then head back.

Of course, that’s where the issue is.

The infirmary lights are always on. They’re dimmer in the night, more of a glow than anything, but there’s an extra brightness streaming out from the windows, and when Nico peeks inside, he sees Will, standing with his back turned at the nurse’s station.

He takes a moment to check his strength, making sure he has the energy for it — dinner last night was pho and he had three bowls, he most definitely does — and sinks into the shadows by the door. He materializes back in the little alcove by the bandage & wraps cabinet, lurking silently while he blinks the dizziness away.

The first thing he registers is soft singing.

He’s facing Will, now, and can see the glow coming from his hands, enveloping a bowl of some kind. He has both hands coated in some dusky pink substance, massaging and gently pounding it against the sides of the bowl, working it through with great care. As his voice gets higher, the glow gets brighter, fading as he dips lower. He sings something about hills and meadows and the breeze, about wing-song, about the sound of flower stems bending in the wind. For a while Nico stands, listening to the melodious ancient Greek, swaying with every pitch and hold. It’s captivating.

Will is almost haunting when he heals.

There’s a divinity in him — in all of them — but he glows when he sings. Not just his hands, and sometimes his head if he puts enough power in his words, but there’s an almost shimmer to the air around him, a shining warp. His skin gets clearer, and his hair goes more metallic, almost, like spun gold rather than blonde. His freckles make his skin into an inverse replica of the night sky, dark specks surrounded by bright empty between them. His long fingers pluck through bright strands of light like a harpist strums their chords; lightly, carefully, skillfully; like a braider weaves their hair. There’s an undeniable age to his magic, a practice that’s visibly replicated millions of times over thousands of years, as if every healer who has come before him links their arms with his, breathes their strength in his lungs. Sometimes, when he does something truly unbelievable, amazingly beyond reason, he flickers — his orange camp shirt fades into a white chiton, or long robes, or a white coat, or a blue tunic. Watching him heal is like watching the sunrise — breathtaking and unique, every time, but powerful in its cyclic archaism.

It takes Nico a long time to realise Will is swaying.

Snapped out of his trance, he begins to notice Will’s long, slow blinks, the unsteady way he stands, the weight he has leaned on the counter. Even his face looks plainly exhausted under the glow, face pillow-creased and eyes bruised, hair mussed, limbs leaden. Footsteps as silent as he can manage, Nico creeps over to the schedule posted by the door, scanning through the scrawled pen ink.

He curses quietly. Will is not supposed to be awake.

There are really only three people who can work the infirmary to its fully capacity, barring Chiron. Kayla, Austin, and Will are the only ones who can magically heal, as much as the volunteers are imperative, so when the camp is in full swing one of them must be stationed at all times. That’s how Will sets it up. A bit of a waste of time, he acknowledges, but Nico knows he has memorized every time a camper who should have been saved. He carries far too much guilt to ever let it happen again, as inconvenient as his rules may be.

Night shift, though, is a need-be basis. If the infirmary is as empty as it is right now, then there truly is no need to keep one of the three of them awake outside their circadian rhythm, staring at nothing. Instead, they take shifts in the on-call room — asleep, but prepared should anything go wrong, should a monster chase a new camper at an odd hour. It’s Will’s turn for on-call. It’s two in the morning. He should be asleep.

And, yet.

Nico recognizes the look in his eyes. There’s a — frailty, to them, a deep-seated, animalistic fear, one he recognises from the hours after his own night terrors. A single-minded panic that cannot be unseated in any logical way, cannot be comforted with any gentle hands.

Nico handles his fear with slashing swords and bruised knuckles. Will, he knows, handles his fear with obsessive, endless preparation.

Knowing full well nothing is going to drag him away from his focus bar actual cardiac arrest, Nico walks right by him. Will doesn’t move. He settles behind him in the old, creaky leather office chair, curling his legs under him and resting his head on the soft arm. He watches Will, watches the almost machine-like movement to his kneading arms, and falls back asleep to his humming.

———

“…Nico?”

He wakes up warm and a little cramped, in the same position he fell asleep. Sun is streaming on from the many issues, blocked from burning his eyes by Will’s hunched frame, facing towards him now, hands and shoulders shaking with equal violence.

“What time is it?”

His voice is croaky and wrecked from hours of singing. Nico is willing to bet his throat is burned as badly as his hands, cooked from non-stop, sun-borne glowing. The divinity that had emanated from him before has abandoned him and he looks young, lost.

“Early,” Nico says softly. He unfolds himself from the chair, stretching slightly — gods, he is going to ache today — and wraps a slow, careful hand around Will’s wrists. “Probably around six, if I have to guess.”

“I don’t remember waking up.”

“That’s okay.”

“I’m tired.”

“That’s okay.”

His breathing is heavy, laboured.

“I don’t —”

Nico squeezes gently. “It’s okay, Will.”

Will swallows and says nothing.

“Come on.”

Carefully, letting Will’s stiff joints set the pace, Nico guides him out of the infirmary. The sun shines brighter as soon as he steps outside, but he doesn’t seem to notice bar a tiny, almost imperceptible flinch at the change in lighting. Nico switches from holding his wrists to laying a hand on the small of his back, half-worried he’s going to fall over.

Luckily, he makes it to the Apollo Cabin upright, although the stairs take them a while. The hinges of the old screen door creak as Nico pushes it open, and he sees both Kayla and Austin, up and dressed, jump.

“…Will?” Kayla asks softly, eyebrows creased in concern. She walks over to him when he doesn’t answer, frozen still, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. “You okay?”

Will leans — almost hesitantly — into the touch. The same blankness from before clouds his eyes, although this time there’s less of the fear.

“Hey.” Nico walks over to stand in front of him, waiting patiently for him to meet his eyes. In the minutes it takes, he hears Austin pad over, standing opposite to Kayla, hands clenching and unclenching like he can’t decide what to do with them. “You think you can sleep?”

Will doesn’t answer verbally, but drifts after a moment to his bed. Nico follows, helping him out of his shoes and shirt. After a beat of hesitation, Austin hurries over, turning down Will’s sheets and helping him crawl in. Soft guitar music begins to play, and when Nico looks over Kayla is fiddling with the CD player, turning the dials carefully. Without much fanfare, Will’s eyes flutter closed, and his breathing slows to something deep and even. His twitching fingers still.

“I don’t think today’s an activity day,” Nico murmurs. “I checked up on him a while after midnight; he’d been at it for hours. He didn’t stop ‘til sunrise.”

Kayla rubs harshly at her eyes. “Fuck.”

“He’ll be okay,” Austin whispers. He runs a gentle knuckle over Will’s forehead, then turns his careful, imploring gaze to Nico. “You kept an eye on him?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you.”

Nico inclines his head. “Had a feeling.”

“I don’t know what to do,” Kayla admits. “He was —” She trails off, staring at something in the left half of the cabin — the empty half. “He was like this after the Titan War, too. I think he spoke maybe two words for the entirety of September.”

Nico almost can’t imagine it. The very thought of it makes something twinge in his chest, clench in his stomach.

“We’ll figure it out.” He nods, to convince himself as much as Kayla and Austin, who look to him with way more trust than he deserves. “We won’t let it — it won’t get that bad. We’ll help, and if we can’t figure it out we’ll get help. It won’t be as hard as last time.”

It won’t be as hard as last time because there won’t be twelve shrouds, Nico doesn’t say, but he doesn’t need to. Both Kayla and Austin nod, looking at their sleeping brother with firm resolution.

“This time, we’ll be there.”

[darylbae]

hiii, could you write something fluff with vamp daryl and a fem reader that really likes to stay in the sun? and even tho daryl cant stay for long in the sun he likes watching her enjoy herself for afar💕😭 sorry for the bad writting english is not my firt language

my girl and her garden — daryl dixon🩰

in which vamp!daryl just loves to watch you in the sun

note: i dont have a specific kind of vampire in mind when i write this, so none of my vamp!daryl stuff is really the same.

REQUESTS ARE OPEN!

It never took long for you to understand what Daryl was. You'd grown suspicious long before he'd admitted it to you, noticing he'd never eat around you and would always go out to find his own food. He'd find reasons to stay inside if he could, not that sunlight burned him alive, but too much of it was harmful. It terrified him when he finally told you, worrying he'd be go back to being alone again. He didn't want to, but he enjoyed your company, he enjoyed waking up and working around you, surviving with you. So now the pair of you were stuck together. Of course, you had a lot of questions. "Will you outlive me?" "Will you stay the same forever?" "Will you get sick of me and eat me?" And he answered them all however he could. Daryl loved how different you were to him. He found comfort in staying inside, keeping to himself, and that had all changed when he'd met you. You loved being outside. You loved the sun kissing your skin, you loved gardening and doing everything you could outside. The cabin the two of you shared was fenced in and kept safe, thanks to Daryl. And had a lovely open area of grass, you'd even built flowerbeds, to plant and watch over your food. Even as it had been raining a lot, you enjoyed at least being on your porch, watching your crops flourish in the rain, listening to the heavy thrum of the rain against the leaves and trees surrounding you. It had finally starting to shine again outside and you almost leaped out of bed to get some UV on your skin. Skipping coffee and breakfast, you'd put on a summer dress you'd kept over the years, and off you went. The sun was beaming down onto your skin, onto your plants, fruits, and vegetables. You couldn't be happier as you bent down to admire the growing strawberries. Daryl had only just rolled out of bed, feeling the vacant space beside him and worrying. Only to see the door to your cabin open, and could hear your sweet voice humming quietly in the distance. He'd poured himself a coffee, standing at the door frame and fishing into his pocket for a smoke. He could do this for hours, he could make a profession out of this. Watching you, studying you, the way you smile at every bit of progress your garden was making. If he were to eventually die, this is what his Heaven would be. You looked up, to see the moody shadow at the door frame and smiled sweetly at him, lifting a hand to wave. He'd returned the gesture, flapping his fingers at you and inhaling deeply on his cigarette. You'd leaped up from your squatting position, running excitedly up to Daryl to show him your work. "Dar! Look!" He stubbed his cigarette against the wall of the cabin, not wanting to blow smoke around you. "What is it, honey?" You lifted the strawberry, a large, deep red, juicy looking one, and held it up to his face. "I know it's not to your taste, but try it! Look how amazing it's grown!" You held it to his lips and he'd taken a bite, holding your gaze almost seductively. You wanted to drag him to bed and show him a good morning. But there were more exciting matters at hand, like your marvelous strawberry. "That's amazing. Well done, my girl." He cooed, wrapping an arm around your waist and tugging you into him. Your stomach tightened quickly at the praise, and you'd accepting the affection from him. Daryl always knew how to make you feel special. "Better get back out there!" You hurried back outside, after handing him the rest of the strawberry, and got back to work. Daryl stayed where he was, comfortably inside and had the perfect view of you. The sun lighting up your skin, making you glow as if an Angel had come and roamed the Earth. A small part of Daryl resented what he was, it limited what he could do, especially with you. If he could, he'd eat, sleep, bathe, and make love under the sun with you. He wanted to enjoy it as you did, but he was content with watching you for now.

[srvbryn]

heyy, I was the one that asked if you're taking requests and I'm so happy you are!!

Could I request Luke x reader, where reader stats sending him some anonymous notes (just small things to avoid being obvious) and ends up getting kinda sad when Luke is considering almost every girl in the camp except her, and the ending can be whatever you like

Hope you're comfortable with this! 🥺

Also, if you're up to make tags with anon identification can I be 🫀anon? (It's so I can find the answers to my asks faster, but it's okay if you don't want to 😊

Hope you have a nice day 👋

Luke Castellan. Secret notes

𐙚⋆.˚ Luke Castellan X f!reader (no mention of Godly parent)

Summary: "I've always admired you" He used to be the sweetest boy in camp, but now he's known as a traitor.

𐙚⋆.˚ light angst, THEY USED TO BE FRIENDS but then idk shit happened man, Luke actually like reader BUT he thought reader didn't like him so he spend time with different girls everyday to ignore his feelings lol, this shit take a whole different turn LMAOAOA

A/n: THIS ONE IS SO BAD - this writing shit block hit hard 😭😭 I barely have any ideas , I'm sorry if this one is BAD 🫀 anon 😔

“For what it's worth

I did love you

And I could have said it a thousand and one times

But I wanted nothing more than for you to hear

To understand and to represent all that it meant

And I would say it again

To make it a thousand and two I do still love you

And it sure still does sound sweet

For what it's worth

I understand you

Maybe as far as you want me to

Maybe even more, but I do

And the consequences of understanding you

I didn't know would be love

Love unabashed and irreplaceable

Love that can't be replicated

A flame that didn't need to be fanned

Because how can you understand the beauty of a rose

And leave it in the garden...”

Maybe knowing it has thorns?”

Eighteen-year-old (name) has her future all planned out - spending the time at Camp Half Blood and move out of the place; attend college near the city; spend the summer in Spain.

The second I close my eyes, the memories play, and I find myself back at the beginning.

He used to be the sweetest boy in camp, but now he's not. It was sweet how he would respond to girls smiling at him. He was kind, the type of man you would want in a relationship.

He's literally the personification of a fairytale man, the way he walks the way he talks.

He's flawless.

i. The first time I secretly gave you a note

I got some paper and wrote down my feelings for him. This is the first love letter I've ever written, and the first I've sent to Luke.

When I was finished, I went in without anyone noticing, folded the paper, inserted it through the slit, and pushed it inside.

You sigh with relief. It was dumb; seriously, a love letter? He's the most gorgeous and strongest swordsman in the camp, and the only way you can confess is through an anonymous love letter??

It was sparring time, and you really enjoyed it because you could admire Luke Castellan.

What you didn't expect to see was an Aphrodite girl batting her eyelashes so hard while staring at him. She's going to fly with that eyelash of hers, you thought to yourself.

But she has courage, and you admire her for it.

Lover girl: 0

Ms steal your man (#1) : 1

Luke Castellan was still awake that night, looking at the moon, as is his usual routine, which no one knows about.

Reading the notes he found inside his locker,

"Dear Luke, I've always admired you since the first time I saw you. - ♡"

It was short, but not meaningless, because it was the first time someone gave him something to remember.

Lover girl: +1

Ms steal your man (#1): +0

ii. 14th February - I hate you

It would've been nice if your crush noticed you. You would be lying if you said you didn't hate valentine the most.

Inside her cabin, (Name) couldn't shake the sting of loneliness on Valentine's Day.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she imagined Luke enjoying the company with other cabin girls. "Why does he always choose them over me?" she questioned, her heart heavy with unspoken emotions.

Meanwhile, in the dimly lit hallways, Luke laughed with the others, blissfully unaware of (Name)'s pain.

"Luke, why not spend some time with (Name)?" Annabeth suggested, sensing her sadness. Luke brushed it off with a casual remark, "She's fine on her own."

Back in her cabin, (Name) clenched her fists, whispering to herself, "I'm always on my own." She tried to distract herself, but every attempt failed. The distant echoes of laughter outside only intensified her solitude.

As the night deepened, (Name) heard footsteps approaching her cabin. Hope flickered, but it dimmed as she realized it wasn't Luke. A gentle knock echoed, "You okay, (Name)?"

Tears streaming down her face, she replied, "I just wanted to spend Valentine's Day with someone who actually cares."

iii. I should hate you

"You should've seen (Name)'s face," one girl giggled, recounting a previous encounter. "She's such a mess."

Deep in her heartache, (Name) wished Luke would notice her suffering. "Am I not enough?" she wondered, dealing with the harsh reality of his neglect.

The cabin's walls appeared to close in as the weight of unspoken words pressed down.

Luke's laughter echoed through the night, a stark contrast to (Name)'s silent sobs.

She craved his presence, his understanding, but he remained blissfully ignorant. "I thought I meant something to him," she murmured, wiping away tears.

iv. Thank you, Annabeth

The evening sun cast a warm glow over the tranquil lake as (Name) joined Annabeth, Percy, and Grover.

Laughter and chatter filled the air as they settled by the water's edge. Annabeth, with her piercing eyes, couldn't help but notice (Name) seemed distant.

"Hey, (Name), you've been quiet. Everything okay?" she asked, concern etched on her face. (Name) sighed, her gaze fixed on the water. "Yeah, just thinking about stuff, you know?"

Percy, ever the perceptive one, chimed in, "You can talk to us. We're like family."

Grover nodded in agreement, "Totally, (Name), we're here for you."

As they enjoyed the lakeside atmosphere, Annabeth couldn't ignore (Name)'s glances toward where Luke was chatting with another girl.

She approached (Name). "Look, (Name), it's been going on for a while now. You can't keep avoiding this. You should tell Luke how you feel instead of sulking every time he talks to someone else."

(Name) tensed, her expression guarded. "It's not that simple, Annabeth. Luke and I are practically strangers."

Annabeth crossed her arms, her voice gentle yet firm. "You're like an older sister to us, and we hate seeing you upset. If you don't tell him, you'll always wonder 'what if.' Trust me, it's better to know than to wonder."

The words lingered between them, and (Name) mulled them over as they decided to take a dip in the lake. The water was cool, and the moon reflected on its surface as they swam.

Percy splashed water at Grover, starting a playful water fight. (Name) couldn't help but smile at their antics, but her thoughts still lingered on Annabeth's advice.

As they swam back to the shore, Percy asked, "Come on, (Name), join the fun! Don't let your worries ruin the evening."

(Name) hesitated for a moment before giving in, and soon laughter echoed around the lake as they played and enjoyed each other's company.

v. Realization

Luke's curiosity got the better of him when he noticed (Name) sneaking into Hermes Cabin.

As he approached her, he had a furrowed brow and a puzzled expression on his face, and the pile of small love notes in her hands revealed the secret he had unknowingly discovered.

"(Name), what are you doing here? And what's with all these notes?" Luke said.

Her cheeks flushing with a mix of embarrassment and nervousness. "Luke, I... um, well, these notes are for you. I've been leaving them hoping you will read them"

Luke's eyes widened in realization, understanding crossing his features.

Luke said teasingly. "You're the one behind these notes? Why keep it a secret?"

Glancing everywhere but at him, you replied "you hangout with different girls everyday what makes you think I have the courage to confess?"

Luke's expression softened as he processed (Name)'s confession. The air between them thickened.

"You don't have to hide, (Name). Your notes brought joy to my days. Knowing it's you only makes them more special."

vi. The prophecy

“Luke—”

“Good-bye, Percy. There is a new Golden Age coming and you won’t be part of it.”

He slashed his sword in an arc and disappeared in a ripple of darkness.

The scorpion lunged.

I swatted it away with my hand and uncapped my sword. The thing jumped at me and I cut it in half in midair.

I was about to congratulate myself until I looked down at my hand. My palm had a huge red welt, oozing and smoking with yellow guck. The thing had gotten me after all.

My ears pounded. My vision went foggy. The water, I thought. It healed me before.

I stumbled to the creek and submerged my hand, but nothing seemed to happen. The poison was too strong. My vision was getting dark. I could barely stand up.

Sixty seconds, Luke had told me.

I had to get back to camp. If I collapsed out here, my body would be dinner for a monster. Nobody would ever know what had happened.

My legs felt like lead. My forehead was burning. I stumbled toward the camp, and the nymphs stirred from their trees.

“Help,” I croaked. “Please . . .”

Two of them took my arms, pulling me along. I remember making it to the clearing, a counselor shouting for help, a centaur blowing a conch horn.

Then everything went black.

Oh gods, "Annabeth-" (name) voice breaks the silence.

"I know (name) I know" She replied.

...

“You idiot,” Annabeth said, which is how I knew she was overjoyed to see me conscious. “You were green and turning gray when me and (name) found you. If it weren’t for Chiron’s healing . . .”

The room was quiet when Percy told them the story.

It was quiet for a long time.

“I can’t believe that Luke...” Annabeth’s voice faltered. Her expression turned angry and sad. “Yes. Yes, I can believe it. May the gods curse him.... He was never the same after his quest.”

“(name) can you believe what he just did?!” Annabeth said.

"I don't.. but seeing Percy like this oh my gods... I'm so sorry Perce"

Maybe I was dumb for not noticing you were plotting to betray us.

See you on the other side, Luke Castellan.

[gardencabincompany]

via Twitter https://twitter.com/cabincompanyuk

[starmapz]

shame on me || chapter ten || moving on

gojo satoru x female vessel reader

❝gojo satoru is the strongest sorcerer. when you come along with power to match his own, his responsibility to the world gets the best of him and his first impression is poor to say the least. when he needs your help, by some miracle you're too kind to deny him. or maybe he's just manipulative enough to convince you. either way, you're stuck training his student, a vessel like you. what could possibly go wrong?❞

warnings || 18+ only. contains explicit content. enemies to lovers. extreme angst. graphic descriptions of injury and death. hurt/no comfort. hurt/comfort. fluff. major character death. anxiety. panic attacks. extreme slow burn. eventual smut. p in v. oral (f! and m! receiving). praise. overstimulation. unprotected. fingering. mating press. slight nanami x reader. happy ending!

additional tags || gojo is a dumbass but very lovable. very very very minor love triangle, will not be a main theme. no competing. takes place after season 2. au where gojo is not sealed and the shibuya incident does not go down the same. nanami is alive. choso is around. no major manga spoilers but will contain themes and ideas touched on later.

wc || 6k.

edited but not beta-read.

series masterlist || main masterlist || previous chapter || next chapter

The smell of lavender wafts in the air as blossoms dance in the cool breeze at your feet. Clouds cover the sun and threaten rain, although the forecast didn’t call for it, so you had decided to water your plants regardless. 

Off to the side, Gojo lays in the grass, the top button of his uniform unbuttoned with a white T-shirt visible beneath, his blindfold laying at his shoulders. His arm is draped over his eyes in place of the fabric, only moving when Taro returns the ball he’d been throwing.

Your lesson with Itadori had been cut short when a mission had called for him and Kusakabe. In reality, you knew Kusakabe simply didn’t want to partake in the mission and had called for Yuji, but regardless it would help your student learn. Besides, Kusakabe was responsible one way or the other.

Taro barrels past both you and Satoru in a flurry, dropping his ball at Gojo’s side before taking a wide turn to chase after the ball again. Following his movement past you, your gaze travels to the cabin that had been your home so long.

You’re sure the entire place is covered in a layer of dust, a thought that leaves a pang in your stomach and you wince at the realization. For a while now, you’d been wanting to grab some of the dresses left behind in the cabin given that your arrangement with Gojo seemed at least somewhat permanent, but no matter how often the thought arose, you always convinced yourself otherwise.

“You’re gonna drown your Carnations.” Satoru sits upright, leaning back on his outstretched arm with his hand splayed in the grass. Strands of snow-white hair sway in the gentle breeze as he twists to look at the flowers at your feet.

You turn your attention to the watering can in your hand, blinking and tipping it back as you realize he’s right, you’ve been watering them the whole time you were lost in thought. It certainly wouldn’t help the flowers in any way but you supposed at least it wouldn’t kill them. Sighing, you run a hand through your hair, pushing it out of your face.

“Whatcha thinkin’ about, Pretty?”

Your heart does a backflip that you choose to push aside as you set the watering can at your feet. Satoru’s intense stare is set on you as he watches you grimace and take a step back away from the garden.

“Would you mind doing me a favor?”

“Need some muscle?” He asks with a cocky grin, not missing a beat.

“No, Satoru,” you roll your eyes at his suggestion, shooting a glance at your old cabin. “I just wanna grab a few things from my cabin, I was hoping you could keep me company.”

“‘Course.”

You almost hate how quickly he agrees and hops to his feet without a second thought or a moment’s hesitation. You’re certain you could ask for the moon and he would move mountains to bring it to you. It’s an uneasy thought that you’re not only growing accustomed to his presence, but more than ever you’d begun to seek his presence.

He’d become your rock. It was hard to deny it anymore. He didn’t dare leave your side and even Yaga had agreed it was the best course of action to keep him near you if it meant preventing another incident.

Still, you wondered if the reason he was always nearby was truly out of a duty to keep you and Yuji safe, or if he just wanted to be with you in truth. In reality, it was most likely the latter.

Even Miriko had grown accustomed to him. Every once in a while Satoru would wake up to Miriko sitting enjoying a coffee and he didn’t seem to think twice about it, not minding her presence either.

They’d even had a strange heart to heart where Satoru had apologized. Her admission that she didn’t mind him had felt more like a parent’s approval of a boy you brought him, though the parent and the relationship lacked from the situation. Either way, it made you want to bury your face in a pillow in embarrassment, despite being stuck in her innate domain. The best you could find was a ripped and rugged sail.

Looking at the big picture though, things had become easy with him. It was easy to slip into conversation with him, easy to sit with him on the couch as he explained his favorite reality show, easy to talk about the cheesy romance book you were reading. It all felt natural.

Satoru hops to his feet, grabbing the cabin key for you since he’d taken it a while ago in order to gather some of your belongings. When he returns, his tall stature towers over you at the base of the stairs to your old cabin, invading your personal space as he always does with a grin and the key dangling from his forefinger.

You reach up to take it, shooting him a disgruntled glare as he holds it juuuust out of reach.

“Nuh uh, whaddya say?”

“Thank you for bringing me the key you stole?”

His smile falters, brow scrunching in mock frustration. “Well when you put it like that it doesn’t sound as good,” he grumbles playfully, his hand falling just low enough for you to jump and pull the key away from him.

You playfully shove his chest and hop up the stairs to the door.

The sight of the inside of the cabin catches you oddly off-guard and you pause in the door. Satoru collides with you, bringing both hands up to rest on either of your upper arms and hold you both upright. He mumbles a ‘sorry’, letting you take in the sight before you.

The cabin is, indeed, covered in a layer of dust. The overcast sun of the afternoon filtering through the window casts enough light to see the dust that hangs in the air, all signs of life dissipated from the cabin. Unwashed mugs still sit in the sink, a blanket is casually laying over the back of the couch, a fork and plate sit on the table, and some of Taro’s toys still litter the floor.

Satoru’s thumbs rub soothing circles on both of your arms as he takes a step forward with you, his warmth remaining a close and comforting presence. Swallowing your nerves, you let out a breath and lead the way upstairs to the bedroom where your clothes are.

The sheets are still thrown aside as if someone had just woken up and photo frames still line the walls. A small photo frame holding a photo of you and your dad, as well as one of Taro sopping wet from diving headfirst into the ocean hang neatly on the wall. Kento’s charge cable lays expectantly on the bedside table alongside an old tie, twisting into your gut like a knife.

But you don’t cry. For the first time, you take a deep breath and soldier your way into the room, opening the closet and sifting through for the summer clothing you’re looking for. Satoru holds his hands out expectantly, letting you throw anything you want to bring into his arms. Your hands pause on a perfectly pleated tan suit, pulling your lower lip between your teeth at the sight.

But still you don’t let yourself cry.

A reassuring hand squeezes your arm and reminds you that you have support. You’re not alone anymore.

So you turn to Satoru and nod to him to lead the way back out the door, stopping to grab the photo frames of your dad and Taro on the way out.

“Thanks, Satoru.” You lock the door behind you, swallowing an uncomfortable bile that had risen in your throat as you lock away a part of your past. Securely in the past, but never forgotten, never really gone. Always in your heart, even if you are trying to make room for new memories. New people.

Gojo shoots you a handsome smile, those cheerful blue eyes flickering shut for a moment as the corners of his eyes wrinkle. 

“Is that your dad?” He asks curiously, peering at the photo frame in your arms. It pulls you from thoughts threatening to spiral and you hold the photo out to him, nodding.

You’re considerably younger in the photo, wearing a jersey from your dad’s favorite team at a game. It’s before you ever met Miriko, when times were simpler.

“The one and only,” you confirm.

“He was nice when I talked to him,” he mentions, catching you off-guard as you remember that Satoru had at some point answered your phone when your dad’s calls became more and more frantic.

“Oh right, how did that go?” You ask curiously.

“He was pretty worried obviously, but he said he was happy someone was taking care of you. He seemed nice.”

“Awh, that’s-”

“At least, after he yelled at me.”

You pause, blinking at Gojo. “He what?”

He shrugs with an immature tilted smile, as though being yelled at by your father had had somewhat of an effect on him. “I took responsibility for what happened. He wasn’t happy about that but who can blame ‘im?”

You smile sheepishly. “Sorry about that,” you chuckle sheepishly.

“Nah, he was just worried.” He shrugs it off easily, following you into the cabin and to the guest room. Your room. He hands you the dresses in his arms one by one, commenting on each and every one about how pretty they are despite your obvious dismissal of his comments.

As he hands you a small black dress, his lips quirk upwards. “You should wear this one.”

“Not happening,” you mumble shyly, trying hard to ignore the heat in your cheeks as you choose not to humor him.

“You’d look stunning,” he grins with lidded eyes as he leans into your personal space. You’re accustomed to this too of course, but still your breath hitches in your throat at his close proximity. “Not that you don’t look stunning already,” he corrects suddenly, blue eyes widening with a moment of boyish innocence.

Though he liked to be a flirt and be a menace, sometimes it was easy to forget that he wasn’t as sly as he thought he was. You smirk at him, unable to deny that it was in those little moments where his confident facade broke for a more sweet one that you were charmed by him.

“Cute,” you mumble, returning to hanging the last of the dresses in your arms. Gojo’s eyes light up like a Christmas tree as he grins at you, hanging the last dress for you once you had freed him of his dress holding duty.

“I know I said it already but…” you pause, looking up at the tall sorcerer. It’s not often you get to see those gorgeous blue eyes in full, not covered by either fabric or glasses, but you’re glad you get to see them as he stares happily down at you. It’s such a stark contrast from the way he cautiously regarded you for so long and it’s so refreshing to see him so filled with hope and… affection. Like the carnation he had left for you. “Thank you, Satoru. Really.”

It feels natural, when you choose to wrap your arms around his middle. He seems surprised for a moment, his body shifting to look down at your small form wrapped tightly around his frame, but it only takes a second for him to tightly wrap his around you in return.

When Satoru hugs you, it feels like he expects the world to end. Like if this is his final moment with you, he’s going to savor it. His arms are wrapped tightly around you, fingers gripping at your bare shoulders for purchase. His warm breath fans over your head as he buries his face into your hair, the feeling of his light, nearly unnoticeable stubble lightly tickling your scalp.

His hand slides up your arm, holding your head tightly into his chest. His heart beats hard against his chest, giving away the nerves that he didn’t often let show. It’s easy to forget that Satoru can be vulnerable too.

He doesn’t let you pull away, like his life depends on holding you. Like this moment is everything to him. Because it is. His heart pounding in your ear is all the proof you need, and it sends yours spiraling as well.

“Satoru?” You try to glance up at him by tilting your head to the side, but all you can make out is his shoulder and the mop of white hair.

He gives you one last tight squeeze before hesitantly letting you go, eyes still shining brightly, though this time he looks strangely relaxed.

Shooting him a lopsided smile, you continue. “I thought that would be a lot harder, honestly. With you there, it wasn’t so bad.”

If that boy had a tail to wag, it would be swinging. He grins so widely you almost don’t recognize him. Shoko’s comment about him looking like a puppy around you is beginning to make more and more sense the more you truly notice this side of him. It’s refreshing to see him be genuine and vulnerable with you.

“I’ll always be here for you, Pretty.” And god, his voice is so genuine, you almost want to-

If I didn’t know any better, I would assume you’re falling for Six Eyes, of all people.

Your eyes widen suddenly at Miriko’s comment and in a rush to disprove her, or maybe convince yourself it isn’t true, your hands settle on his chest and you all but shove him out of the room, surprising you both.

“Sorry, um, thank you!” You tell him in a rush that has him clearly confused as he stands outside the door, unable to do anything but watch as you shut the door in his face.

“Did I-?”

You open the door again, a tinge of guilt heating up your cheeks at the sudden action.

“Just gonna change, it’s fine!” You insist, words spilling over your lips as you close and lock the door again, staring at the handle and leaving him shocked and confused.

Sliding your back down the door and sitting with your hands covering your face, you all but groan as Miriko laughs in your mind. If even Miriko’s getting a rise out of this, you know you’re in deeper than you thought.

My, I would almost think I hit the nail on the head, did I not?

Shut. Up.

–

Saturday mornings had become your favorites. You would sleep in until the sound of dawn cicadas and birdsong awoke you and without fail, the smell of bacon would follow soon after. Satoru would make you breakfast- he’d even perfected your eggs- and you would make him coffee, exactly to his taste with a few too many scoops of sugar.

He loved those mornings just as much as you did and he was sure to tell you that, chatting with you throughout the mornings as you took to listening to stories. Stories about missions, about his students, once in a while he might even open up about Suguru. Those fleeting moments of vulnerability further endeared you to him, little to his knowledge.

It was cozy.

This morning, the scent of fresh bacon and light sizzling from outside your room is missing and you frown. Your eyes flicker open and you rub the remnants of sleep from your eyes with a slow yawn. 

You don’t bother to change out of the oversized shirt you’d worn to bed, throwing on shorts before peeking out of the room and searching for Satoru. The kitchen is empty and there’s no sign of him in the house, either. Closing your eyes, you don’t even sense his cursed energy nearby.

You know he’s likely out on a mission or something of the sort, but you can’t help the way your chest flutters as you hope that he’s okay. Especially given that he’d insisted on not taking missions since Kenjaku’s appearance.

Going to grab your phone, you shoot him a text. The first one you’ve ever sent that isn’t in regards to business or groceries.

10:04 AM || You: hey, everything alright?

After hitting backspace an indescribable amount of times, you hit send and decide you’ll make your own breakfast. Throwing together bacon, eggs, and toast, you make yourself and Satoru a plate.

Surely he’ll be back in time for some food, after all. 

As lunch arrives with an untouched plate of bacon and eggs still sitting on the table, your worry grows tenfold. Grimacing, you open your phone and to the text that stares back at you mockingly. Surely he isn’t upset with you over shoving him out of the room yesterday, right?

No, he doesn’t hold a grudge like that. Not over something so inconsequential. That’s not Gojo.

Your thumbs move to type again, hitting send before you have the chance to meander over the specifics of the message.

1:31 PM || You: satoru? please let me know if you’re alright

With a forlorn sigh, you set your phone down and open your book back up, trying to focus on the words. Try as you may, focus eludes you as you re-read a paragraph for the dozenth time. With a finger to your temple in exasperation, you toss the book in front of you, staring at the clock. Two in the afternoon and not a word from Satoru?

Picking up your phone again, you dial his number, but it doesn’t even ring. Is his phone dead? You have half a mind to go looking for him, but then again he is an adult. He can take care of himself.

As the afternoon sun moves gradually to set, warm rays of light drifting across the surface of the coffee table before you, you wonder if it’s worth it to make him a plate for dinner. He had to be home for dinner, right?

4:32 PM || You: i’m making dinner, i’ll leave a plate for you

You pause, hesitating over the send button as you send one last message.

4:34 PM || You: please be okay.

Homemade Yakisoba in-hand, you struggle to eat your meal as worry twists your stomach. It eats every last ounce of hunger until you’re just about ready to grab Yuta and Yuji and find him yourself.

Of course, that’s when the front door lock clicks and you suddenly sense him. His overwhelming cursed energy and that bubbly presence, as he kicks the door open with a slam. You jump, eyes wide at the bags in his arms.

“You would not believe the amount of trouble I went through today-”

“Where have you been?”

“Hm?” Satoru pauses, setting both bags on the kitchen table as he spins to face you. “I was grabbing some things.”

“I texted you.”

“You did?”

“A few times.”

He pulls his phone from his pocket, fiddling with the side button and realizing sure enough, his phone is dead. He shrugs it off, turning back to his bags excitedly as he continues his ramblings about how ‘he looked everywhere’ and ‘it was so hard to find’, though he doesn’t specify what he’s going on about, nor is that where your focus is as you practically look over him for signs of wounds or wear.

“I was worried about you.” You interrupt him suddenly, standing in front of the couch still as you stare at him in the kitchen. His brow knits in confusion beneath the fabric of his blindfold as he turns to face you again.

His shoulders fall back to a relaxed position as he sees the concern etched into your features and in two long strides he’s standing before you, leaning down just a bit to be at eye level. “‘M sorry,” he apologizes genuinely. “I shoulda charged my phone.”

“No kidding,” you grumble, though in truth you’d already forgiven him. Pulling an apology from him is about as easy as pulling teeth so to receive one so easily, it’s hard to stay mad. He cheekily reaches down to grab your hand, gauging your reaction as he brings it up to his lips, leaving a charming peck on your knuckles.

“Forgive me, Sweetheart?”

As though he didn’t just light your entire body on fire with one action, one name, you nod shyly, losing any and all words.

“Good, now come see what I got,” he tells you excitedly, looping his fingers with yours as he tugs you along to the kitchen table where one small plastic bag and a larger paper bag reside.

The paper bag has a very familiar logo on it and you don’t need to look inside to know Satoru’s grabbed Kikufuku. The plastic bag, on the other hand, is small and nondescript.

“I didn’t think I’d be gone so long but I couldn’t find it anywhere,” he insists, pulling something out of the bag and spinning towards you with it behind his back before you have a chance to see what it is.

Tilting your head curiously, you attempt to peek around him, but he blocks your vision.

“Would you believe that this shit is rare now? I actually had to leave town and go to some little store in the middle of nowhere to find it, and after-”

“What is it?” You interrupt his ramblings.

He grins, presenting to you none other than Digimon Rumble Arena 2 on GameCube. Unable to help it, you giggle, which easily turns into a full-blown laugh.

What a lovesick idiot.

“You asshole, I spent all day thinking you were hurt or missing or worse and you were just- just looking for Digimon?” You giggle gleefully as you shove his chest. He grins down at you, insisting that you hold the copy of the game.

As soon as the copy is in your hands, he sheds his jacket and hops over the couch, legs spread as he lounges comfortably on the side you’d come to know as his.

“C’mon, this asshole wants to play Digimon. And he already apologized,” he derides with a sly smile, enunciating his words in jest.

“Hold on, hold on,” you insist, grabbing the extra plate of Yakisoba that you’d made, as well as your own that you’d barely touched. He thanks you, happily eating as you open the cabinet beneath the TV, pulling out an Indigo Gamecube and plugging in a matching controller and an orange one.

You hand him the orange one, player two of course, and join him on the couch.

The game comes back to you naturally and much to Satoru’s dismay, you destroy him. Every. Single. Round. Still, he’s trying his best.

“I swear I’m good at games,” he insists.

“You chose the wrong one if you were trying to impress me,” you tease as your Gabumon digivolves and knocks his Flamedramon flat on the ground.

His head hangs back as he lets out an exasperated groan at his fourth loss in a row. First, he’d insisted he was just rusty, then the stage was the problem, then the Digimon. He was running out of excuses.

“I almost had you that time!”

“Sure,” you shrug, holding in a laugh.

“No, seriously! You were so low!”

“Mhmm.”

“One more, this time I’ll win,” he insists, sitting upright as he leans forward and removes his blindfold.

“I don’t think your Six Eyes is gonna help you.”

“You don’t know.”

You raise an eyebrow at him as you hit the rematch button and it drops you back into an arena, but not only is Satoru serious about winning this time, he’s equally serious about cheating to win.

As soon as you knock him down the first time, he prods your side.

“Cheater!” You cry out in shock as he manages to land a hit on your Gabumon. You shoot him a disgruntled look and nudge his knee. He snickers happily as he continues to fight dirty, taking any opportunity to poke and prod your thighs and sides playfully.

Still, it’s not enough for him to win.

“Looks like you’re still the loser-”

Pushing off the couch before you have time to finish your sentence, Satoru leaps on top of you, using his strong arms to pin you down against the soft cushions as he moves his fingers along your sides, tickling you without relent.

“No!” You cry out, unable to help laughing as you squirm and push against him.

“Take it back! I’m not a loser!” He insists, not letting up.

“No! You cheated!” You gasp through ragged laughs as you try to grab his wrists and push him back, but his grasp on you is too strong.

“Say it! Say it and I’ll stop!” He teases with a devilish grin.

“Please!” You beg, not letting up as you playfully struggle against him. “Toru!”

That stops him dead in his tracks as those wondrous blue eyes lock onto your red ones that flutter open behind long lashes. He purses his lips, his white hair hanging down and just barely tickling your forehead from his close proximity.

With his knees and arms on either side of you, you’re in a painfully compromising position that sends a jolt of electricity up your spine, lighting your entire body on fire at the realization.

“You’ve never called me that before,” his voice is strangely husky, and you swallow as heat pools at the base of your stomach.

“Do you not like it?” You breathe, settling your hands on his biceps. You run your fingers mindlessly over the muscles, biting your lip as your eyes stray to his toned arms before flickering back to his intense gaze.

“I like it,” he says quietly, his breaths coming short and fast as his eyes follow your movements. He swallows hard, watching the way you bite your lip. A muscle in his jaw spasms as he hovers over you, the intensity shared between you both immense.

It’s as though time has stopped and only you both exist in this moment. Through all your doubts, all the time he’s been patient with you and given you the time and space you needed, you couldn’t deny the pull he had on you any longer.

Still, even as the world stands still for you both, as the evening cicadas hold their breath and the last remnants of the setting sun illuminate his long white lashes in the most beautiful and brilliant way, he waits for you. He doesn’t dare move, doesn’t make the move that he so desires, betrayed by his immense pupils.

The ball was in your court.

Nothing but adoration and anticipation glimmering in his features.

Adoration shown in the way he spent all day looking for a particular gift for you, just to see you smile even if only for a moment because he craved your smile like a drug, like an addiction.

Adoration in the way he teases you because he loves the way you can match his backtalk.

Anticipation that makes your toes curl as his sharp and handsome features stare back at you with an equal anticipation.

“Kiss me, Toru,” you whisper, letting go of all of your doubts and inhibitions, of everything holding you back. Giving in to him finally.

“Thought you’d never ask, pretty girl,” he breathes, moving down to his elbows as his lips softly meet yours. His touch grazes the side of your face as you fasten your grip on his biceps, feeling them flex beneath the pads of your fingers.

In contrast to the feverous anticipation in his eyes, his lips move slowly against yours, soft and sweet. The candied taste of his tongue ignites and sparks an eagerness in your chest and you slide your hands up his arms, cradling his cheeks as you bring him closer in an effort to quell the blooming heat in your chest.

Satoru takes the opportunity to deepen the kiss, his tongue swiping along the bottom of your lip for permission. You part your lips, your tongues fighting for purchase as he puts every ounce of passion into the moment.

When you part to take a breath, both of your chests heaving, his eyes slowly flicker open to meet yours. They may as well be glowing in the way he regards you with such care and ardor.

You can’t help but smile, giggle even, both because his snowy locks are tickling your forehead, and because it feels good to be cared for by him, and it feels good to care for him. You’d both been doing it for so long at this point that it almost felt foolish how long you’d held back.

“D’you still think I’m a loser?” He teases breathlessly.

“Shut up,” you groan, pulling him back to you. One of his arms moves from its position holding him above you as he glides his fingers down your side until they find purchase at your waist. He kisses you so tenderly, so delicate like the flower he’d been taking care of to the best of his ability still sitting beautifully atop the kitchen table.

When he pulls back, he’s got a wide grin and expectant eyes.

“Let me take you out.”

“Shouldn’t we stay near Yuji to keep an eye on Sukuna?”

“One day won’t hurt him. Let me take you out tomorrow.”

You chew on your lip in thought, threatening to get lost in the galaxies that are his eyes. They flicker to the movement of your lip as it slips between your teeth, his pupils dilating at the sight.

“What did you have in mind Mr. Gojo?” You prod, watching the way his eyes darken without fail at the name you used for him, practically melting against you like honey. He shuffles his hips in an effort to get more comfortable as his cock twitches in his slacks, a movement he knows you can feel and he knows you’re goading on.

He’s trying to be more romantic than that, though.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” He purrs into your ear, peppering kisses from just below your earlobe down your jaw, before returning to your lips. In spite of the hunger growing between both of you, the kiss is honey sweet, and he lets out a relaxed sigh that you swallow between your lips.

“Nothing-” you pause as a peck from the tall man interrupts your statement, “-too fancy, okay?”

He nods solemnly, a note of earnestness in his features as if taking your words to heart. “Promise.”

“And nothing too busy, I don’t like crowds.”

“I know, Sweets.”

“Oh, and nothing claustrophobic, makes me nervous with Miriko.”

He says your name in a chiding tone that tells you that he knows that already. Regardless, you smile calmly at him.

He leans in for one last peck before sitting up and adjusting his slacks in an effort to make his very obvious boner less uncomfortable. His kiss-swollen lips smile happily at you as he drapes his arm over the back of the couch behind your shoulders with a calm breath out from his nose.

“I think you might be the better Digimon.”

“I have the power of Gabumon,” you tell him as you flatten your hair from the way it’s knotted and sticking out after laying under him.

“To think that you called me a nerd,” he comically rolls his eyes as you give his chest a light shove. He kisses your temple oh so softly.

The words to tease him back die on your tongue as you admire his profile, his sharp features trained on the looping character select screen. He looks tired, as he always does though he hides it well, but peace settles comfortably over not just his facial features, but his muscles.

You smile at the sight, wondering what weight he carries with him that he chooses not to confide in anyone, what it truly means to be the strongest.

After all, you’ve seen the way he’s treated by others. You’ve seen the way that not only he, but Yuji and Yuta as well, are expected to act by the higher-ups and even Yaga. You’ve seen the way he’s treated as inhuman at times by others.

Hell, you’d seen the way he’d acted inhuman. Not even just in battle, but the way he would stand stoic and take your verbal berating without a single reaction and not bat an eye at the interaction, simply because that was how he was meant to act. It was almost as though it was a trained reaction.

He had trained himself to be what he was expected to be.

It was sad, really. To think that the goofy, caring, and even charming individual who sat with his eyes closed in bliss to your side had had everything taken from him on account of being the strongest.

And just like that, everything clicks. As if you’re seeing Satoru, really seeing Satoru, for the first time. Everything he’d acted on that had led you here, to this moment, all makes sense.

Would he have been so aggressive upon first meeting you if he hadn’t been told to act in such a way? If he hadn’t, would you be here, now, sitting at his side?

Leaning into him, you watch his peaceful expression quirk into a smile as he pulls you into his chest, enveloping you into a hug. You hum contentedly, closing your eyes as you rest your head on his shoulder.

The soft light of the sun has long faded, leaving you both basking in one another’s presence. The interruption of the looping song on the TV has long been tuned out as your hearts seem to beat in sync. Slowly but surely, it seems he’s filling holes in your heart and healing wounds on his own accord.

You could have cuddled that way for five minutes or five hours, you wouldn’t have any way of knowing, time a concern of the past. As Satoru’s breathing steadies, the rise and fall of his chest growing rhythmic, you giggle to yourself and give him a small shake.

“Toru, you should get some rest.”

“I am,” he retorts cheekily, not bothering to open his eyes.

“You better not fall asleep on our date tomorrow.”

“I won’t,” he insists, “but let me have this for one more moment.”

Your chest flutters at his insistence to keep you in his arms as he nuzzles his face into the crook of your neck.

One moment really is never just one moment with him, though.

When his breathing grows rhythmic again and small snores part his lips, you giggle and move from his side without disturbing him. You move around the kitchen and living room, cleaning up from your afternoon of games and fooling around.

You lift the case for the Digimon game, your thumb smoothing over the front cover.

What a wonder, to think that Satoru Gojo had spent all day looking for this for you. You couldn’t even be upset about his lack of communication when it was clear that in his foolish mission to find the game, it had simply slipped his mind.

To think that this was the same man who you’d struggled to get along with for so long, who seemed to oppose you at every turn, and now you were practically fawning over him. You smile to yourself with a shake of your head. How the times had changed over the past two months.

Satoru shuffles, cerulean irises focusing on you as he realizes you’ve left his arms. An easy smile spreads over his drowsy features.

“Ready to get some rest now?” You ask him.

“Yeah, yeah.” He pushes himself to his feet, offering you his hand as he pulls you up off the floor from where you’d been putting the Gamecube away. Effortlessly pulling you up to him, he squeezes your hand and leads you to your door.

"G’night, sweet girl,” Satoru all but slurs languidly as he tries not to yawn.

“Goodnight, Satoru.”

series masterlist || main masterlist || previous chapter || next chapter

a/n || a bit of a shorter chapter since the next one will be the big date but when I tried to put them all into one it was a bit of a mega chapter so i hope everyone enjoyed this sweet little moment with toru ♡

[perfectlyoongi]

BEST-FRIEND!HOSEOK who always greeted you with a hug. the day only started when Hoseok saw you; when Hoseok met you on the street or at home, it was more than guaranteed that a big, long hug would greet you. holding you in his arms, protecting you from the world for a few seconds, Hoseok hugged you with the happiness of the sun. your hearts synchronized their beat in a little symphony of pure love and trust — you felt so safe in your best friend’s arms. “hi, my butterfly! how was your night? i’ve just arrived in the city and i’m exhausted. do you mind if we go to my house?”

BEST-FRIEND!HOSEOK who does the ghost photoshoot with you. autumn is a beautiful season of the year; colorful leaves cried from the various trees, flowers tried to understand if life was still worth living and the sky became nostalgic for the loss of summer. and it was on these colder and more colorful days that you and Hoseok would wear a white sheet with a pair of sunglasses and go to parks and gardens taking as many photos as you could. it was a tradition that came from childhood and was certainly a tradition that would last. “i passed a small garden that still has some green bushes. do you want to go there and take some photos? i kept your sunglasses, don’t worry, you don’t lose them.”

BEST-FRIEND!HOSEOK who has a snoopy t-shirt and gave you a woodstock one. as soon as Hoseok saw the two t-shirts next to each other, you immediately came to his mind. snoopy and woodstock, you and Hoseok — two best friends from the beginning of time to the end of time. it was more than predictable that Hoseok would buy him the snoopy t-shirt and what is snoopy without his woodstock? of course you also had to have your own t-shirt. “what can i say? they created snoopy and woodstock with us in mind. we are the inspiration of best friends.”

BEST-FRIEND!HOSEOK who made you sign his sneakers. whenever Hoseok buys a new pair of sneakers that have the color white decorating them, Hoseok would bring the shoes to you and ask you to sign them. it was a superstition that arose before he became an idol: when you signed his white sneakers that late afternoon before Hoseok’s audition, you didn’t think that you would spend the rest of your time signing sneakers. it was Hoseok’s lucky charm. whether for everyday walking or for wearing on stage, any sneaker with the slightest white detail contained your name and a small heart that flooded Hoseok with pure hope and confidence. “i’m going to wear these sneakers to the show tomorrow and i need you to sign them urgently. i need some of your magic for tomorrow, please.”

BEST-FRIEND!HOSEOK who teaches you his choreography and only laughs at your failures. Hoseok loved your company and it was in your company that Hoseok felt free; so, when a new choreography had to be learned, he would ask for your company to encourage him to give a little more of himself. between Hoseok’s awkward first steps and the perfection of his movements was your support: your voice echoed around the room and brought smiles from Hoseok that he couldn’t hide. and when the choreography had already been learned and memorized, Hoseok would invite you to try dancing with him and, oh, how it was the highlight of Hoseok’s day; whether you danced well or had more difficulty, Hoseok was always ready to laugh at any and all mistakes you made, recording these little memories that would last forever on his phone. “no, no. first you stretch your leg and only then you look back. if we continue doing this we will end up in the emergency room. oh my god! enough for today. you’ve already done a lot.”

BEST-FRIEND!HOSEOK who rents you a cabin every summer. once a year, Hoseok had to decompress, forget all the hustle and bustle of the city and his work and enjoy some of the tranquility that nature could offer him; and all his rest was only complete when shared with you. so, every summer for four or five days, Hoseok would rent a small cabin in the middle of nowhere where he would spend the days in pure relaxation and happiness in your presence. a little friends vacation that brought so many memories and love that you both knew would always be repeated in the coming year. “i swear my heart only finds peace when it’s with you.”

BEST-FRIEND!HOSEOK who confessed to you when you were watching the stars on a summer night. endless stories were being reflected in the vast sky, illuminating that warm night. several stars danced in the dark sky, adorning the entire world with an eternal cloak of beauty and destruction. and moved by the beauty of the stars, completely surrendered to the cosmic destruction of those stars, Hoseok spoke to the sky. Hoseok confessed to you, but he spoke to the sky, wanting his words to be saved by the various stars for when you were willing to repeat them to Hoseok. “i like you, you know? every night i wish your love for me would turn into something more. every night the stars know that i just want to give myself to you.”

[ttrpg-smash-pass-vs]

ITS THE SMASH OR PASS TOURNAMENT FINALE!

It's time to see which tiger reigns- wait, what's that? Is that....ITS THE BARLGURA WITH A STEEL CHAIR!!!!

What? Did you forget? Loser's bracket winner is finally back and performing for you with a triple finish!

On the left, Barlgura! a 5-8 foot tall (1.5-2.5 m) demon. They're telepathic, change their fur color to show thier mood, and turn invisible if you're into that. They're also surprisingly chill unless provoked. Unlike most demons they don't really get much pleasure in bullying the weak without reason, and would rather just be left alone to do their thing and draft dodge.

In the middle, Weretiger. Can become a tiger, a person, or a larger tiger-person hybrid with a husky voice and tendency to roll thier R's. They like to keep tidy little cottagecore cabins in the woods, full of herb gardens and cats and poultry and such. They tend stay near people because they like occasional company and have favored mates, but not too close because they value privacy and don't care to spread thier curse (why make more hunting competition).

On the right, Rakshasa! 6‒7 ft (1.8‒2.1 m), with low ranking ones being shorter. Illusions, mind control, invisibility, mage hand, flight, backwards hands, riches and nobility, they've got it all! As if most of you needed anything past first glance.

[kana-daydreams]

𝐫𝐞𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞 || 𝐋𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐲

summary: you take Luffy’s hat hostage and use it as leverage to get him to look your way in hopes of rekindling what was once an unbreakable bond between childhood friends. genre: (attempted) angst w/ happy ending, gen wc: 3.4k

Crouching, barely camouflaged between lush tangerine trees, their citrusy and saccharine scent almost overwhelming your sense of smell, you peer down at the deck below you watching as every member of the straw hat pirates bustle about the Going Merry. 

“We’ve searched everywhere Luffy. Are you sure you checked every corner of the boys’ cabin?” You hear Nami let out an exasperated sigh and see her wipe a hand across at her brows.

Luffy, a few paces beside Nami, fixes a potted plant back into place, craning his neck to look over at her. His eyes fix her with a watery stare and his face is stained with tears; new ones threatening to emerge as he answers her with a weak nod.

“It’s probably overboard.” An audible yawn follows Zoro’s voice which cuts across from their right. 

His comment elicits a whimper from Luffy and a death glare from Nami, the former suddenly flopping to the ground, wailing a river of tears at the thought of his missing and beloved treasure.

“Idiot, look what you did!” Nami scolds and Zoro matches her frown with one of his own, the two commencing a wage of war through a bickering contest. 

You watch in slight amusement despite the seriousness of the situation as the rest of the crew attempts to calm down their navigator and swordsman, deciding that now was the perfect time to intervene.

 “I found it!” you hail them from atop Nami’s tangerine garden. 

All eyes direct themselves to you; all except one pair, and you earn somewhat of a look between  hesitance and relief from the straw hats as you begin to make your way towards them and towards the owner of the straw hat held firmly in your grasp.

Nami’s figure, however, stops you in your tracks before you could take another step closer to the hat’s owner.

“Thanks for finding Luffy’s hat.” A warm smile tugs at her lips though you notice it doesn’t seem to reach her eyes. “I’ll give it back to him.” She offers.

You look down at her outstretched hand which demands you give her the hat before raising your gaze to meet her brown eyes. “I’d like to give it to him myself if that’s alright.” You smile, a sweet and practised one like her own. 

You notice her hesitate at your words. “I…I don’t think that’s a—” A sudden weight on Nami’s shoulder, followed by Luffy’s voice, interrupts her. 

“It’s alright Nami.” 

Nami’s eyebrows draw together as she gives him a worried look. “Are you sure?”

Luffy removes his hand from her shoulder, returning it to his side as he nods slightly in response. 

Nami, although hesitant to leave you both in each other's company, returns a nod the same and leaves you two to your own, but not before sending a warning glance your way.

You watch as she retreats to a further corner of the ship; her along with the others keeping their attention fixed across at both you and Luffy and you wonder what warrants their audience—your marine uniform or something Luffy’s told them about you…Did he tell them about you?

Your attention draws back to Luffy who takes a while to meet your eyes and when he does, he plasters on a strained smile. “I’m glad you found my hat— thought I’d lost it for good.” 

At his words, you spare a glance down at the said object. You examine it— how battered and weathered it is, the red sash that rings around it just below the crown and the telltale signs that it’d been patched up a few times. 

I hate you! 

A frown ghosts over your expression and your grip around the hat tightens.

You loathe this hat.

It’s a feeling that has always lingered inside you since the day Luffy showed it to you with that wide toothy grin he always sported, saying he’d gotten it from a pirate.

You hate pirates. Always had and always will. 

Except for…

You return your gaze to look at the boy in front you, his mop of black curls becoming more dishevelled from the wind lashing against it. “You really treasure it, don’t you?” 

Luffy watches as your gloved hands fiddle around with his hat. “...I do.”

“Then I’ll return it.” You brandish the prized possession towards him and Luffy reaches a hand to retrieve his hat, but before his hands could make contact with it, you pull your own away.

Luffy’s face contorts in confusion at your action, though he doesn’t question it and instead takes a step forward, attempting to pry his hat out of your grasp; his movement urging you to take a step back.

Again, he takes a step forward.

You step back.

He matches it with another step of his own and so do you. 

“What are you doing?” His voice sounds annoyed as he pins you with a stern gaze.

You do not waver at the glare he sends your way and instead remain calm as you speak. “I’ll return the hat to you,” you start. “But only if you allow me to speak to you, Luffy…please.” You say, your tone pleading.

An indiscernible expression shadows Luffy's face at your words and a momentary silence settles between you both.

“Give me back my hat.” Luffy finally says.

You furrow your brows slightly, hurt that he’d refused your offer. What did you expect? You stole his hat— something he cherished with his life, which was now being used as a bartering tool.

“I won’t until you speak to me.” 

Stealing Luffy’s hat, you’re aware, was a low move and most likely a counterintuitive one, but left empty of an idea that could get him to acknowledge you, you opted to steal his hat as your last resort.

You scoff. How fate plays—forcing you to use the very thing that inflicted scars upon your relationship years ago to try and mend it. 

“I said give me back my hat.” Luffy takes a step towards you as your name grates against his teeth, a slight warning in his tone.

You steel yourself cradling the hat close to your chest. “No. I won’t until you stop acting like a five year old and speak to me!” 

Luffy’s lips curl into a frown, his brows pinching together in anger and frustration at your stubbornness and without warning, one of his hands darts out, shooting forward in your direction and towards the hat.

Fortunately, your quick reflexes allow you to get both you and the hat out of the way, though the action seems to anger Luffy further who persists in attempting to retrieve his hat, and thus a game of cat and mouse begins as his rubber hands begin to chase you around the ship.

It’s a game that continues for minutes—almost an hour— his hand twisting and turning, weaving and zipping their way through and under both narrow and wide spaces in every direction while you expertly evade his every attempt to grasp a hold of his hat as you dodge, skid, jump and even manage a backflip, almost tripping over your feet.

The rest of the straw hats remain silent spectators to the tom and jerry chase around the ship, though at one point during the chase, Zoro offers to intervene, but Luffy warns him against meddling with his fight.

“Just give it back to me!” Luffy bellows your name as you both are scrambling around on the deck.

 His elastic hands aim towards you and you duck, barely managing to dodge it as it crashes into the wooden wall behind you, splinters of wood pitching dangerously in all directions, and a shriek escapes both yours and Usopp’s lips who cries at Luffy to be more careful with his baby.

“If you want it back, you’re going to let me talk to you first!”

“I don’t wanna talk to you!” Luffy shoots his arm in your direction from beside the ship’s guardrail and this time you're unable to dodge it as they tangle themselves around you like a rope, rendering you unable to move.

You struggle in his tight grasp, though not tight enough to hurt you, as he reels you in closer to him.

Up close, you notice his face flushed and covered with beads of sweat, and watch as he reaches a hand to retrieve the hat that had fallen out of your grasp;  it being your only hope of reviving your friendship.

“Please Luffy…I just want you to hear me out.”

Luffy tenses at the crack of your voice and at the flood of memories that ambushes him, along with the familiar feelings of guilt and regret.

“Why should I, after you stole my hat?” He fixes the said item back on his head.

You avert your eyes and are slow to respond after the mention of your sin. “Because…we’re friends.” You eventually say.

Luffy’s eyes widen slightly at your words—at your lie. “Were friends.” He corrects and though his tone is cold as he speaks, there’s a tinge of  hurt as he forces himself to say the next few words. “Now you’re my enemy.” 

You feel your heart pinch in your chest and tears slowly brim at your eyes, reminded of the words that were spoken–you’d spoken–that brought your friendship to an end.

But couldn’t he see how desperate you were to fix that. How many times you’ve tried gaining his attention for the past couple of days you’ve been stuck on this damn ship because of him, sneaking on board after a fight between your ship and his. All because you wanted to correct the wrongs of the past and attempted day by day; relentless, every idea that sprung to mind, to rekindle that bond you once had— 

You bite down on your lip in a futile attempt to subdue any sobs that might escape.

But it seems you’re the only one who cares.

“You rubber jerk!” 

Luffy is taken aback by the tears that start streaming down your face and isn’t prepared for when you unexpectedly nail him in the head with your own. 

A grunt escapes you both when your heads knock together, sending a vibration rippling through your skulls and you feel Luffy’s arms untangle themselves from around you, the action causing you to slump to your knees.

You hardly hear the splash that follows and the worried voices of Luffy’s friends as you grip at your head which rings in pain, and only manage to come to your senses when Nami’s horrified voice screams at you, Luffy’s name, alerting you of his presence being no longer in front of you.

Later when the sun sets in, painting the ocean’s dark blue waters in its orange hue, you find yourself leaving Nami and Robin’s shared room in desperate need of some fresh air.

You’ve been cooped up inside their room the entire day after your fight with Luffy which ended with the taste of salt on your lips and your uniform soaking wet when you rescued him after he’d fallen overboard and into the sea.

“Luffy I–” your words were lost, interrupted when Luffy  hacked out a violent cough from beside you on the deck after you’d just fished him out from the sea.

You didn’t reckon that your headbutt would be strong enough to send him toppling over the guardrail and now both of you were drenched in salt water that pooled to the floor beneath you.

You waited for his coughing fits to cease before once again attempting to apologise. “Luffy I-I didn’t mean for all of this to happen— I was only trying to get your attention.” You admitted, not proud of the fact that you’d had to resort to stealing his hat to do so.

Luffy remained  silent at your apology and his lack of a response invited with it, a tense and uncomfortable silence. He didn’t even make an effort to spare a look in your direction.  

Instead, he raised himself off his back, reaching for his hat further beside him which too had been a victim of the sea, before putting it on his head.

It was all the hint you needed to know that he didn’t wish to speak to you and thus you pulled yourself to your feet, taking your leave. 

It’s been hours since neither of you’ve spoken to each other after your one-sided exchange, avoiding each other like a plague throughout the day.

You close the door to the lounge room behind you as you step outside, shivering slightly when a cold breeze attacks your skin; Nami’s clothes which she’d lent you after yours became drenched in water, not aiding much.

“Maybe I should have brought a jacket…” you murmur to yourself, rubbing your hands up and down your arms to warm yourself up as you start padding over to the guardrail near the figurehead of the ship.

As you approach, ahead of you, you notice a familiar figure seated atop it, seeming to be lost in thought.

Luffy is yet to notice your presence and before he could, you spin around on your heels, ready to head back in the opposite direction. 

However, you only manage to take a few steps forward when you hear him call out your name.

You ignore him, racing back in the direction of the lounge room, and although he continues to call your name, you still do not slow your steps; increasing your pace at the sound of his footsteps trailing after you.

Just as you’re about to take the first step up the staircase that leads to the lounge, you’re abruptly forced to a stop when a hand catches your wrist.

 “Wait, don’t go." Luffy’s voice pleads urgently from behind you. “I wanna talk.”

You remain silent for a beat as you crane your neck to look back at him in surprise. "W-What?" you ask, not certain if you'd heard him right.

"I wanna talk to you...please." Luffy says again.

“Really?” you ask, wondering why he’d had a sudden change of mind. 

Luffy answers you with a single nod, silently hoping that you would agree to his request.

“Uh…sure.”

There’s a faint smile on his lips at your response as he releases his grip on your hand before leading you both away in the opposite direction of the lounge.

A minute later, you’re both standing side by side; a few feet between you, near the railing closest to the figurehead.

Both of you are yet to speak a word to the other, the waves crashing against the ship and the howls of the wind, the only sounds which fills the silence that lingers between you.

It is soon broken when Luffy finally decides to speak.

“I’m sorry.” 

You turn your gaze away from the sea and over at him when you hear his voice that comes out barely above a whisper. 

 “For what?” Your brows knit together in confusion.

“For being a liar.” His eyes do not meet yours when he speaks.

Immediately the image of two children; a little boy with a mop of black hair and a little girl, the same age, makes its way to the forefront of your mind. Wide smiles grace their faces as they’re chasing each other around a lush open field of green, then clambering up a fruit tree; the boy’s hand reaching down to help the girl onto the branch he sits on before gathering the tree’s ripe fruits and eating their fill.

Later they’re settled next to each other on the pillow-soft grass, the girl’s eyes  pinned up at the sky watching the passing clouds and the boy snuggled up beside her, fast asleep while their pinky fingers remain entwined in a lifetime promise.

The wholesome image soon dies away when another appears in its stead, showing the same two children in the same field, but this time their bodies roll in the grass; their faces stained with dirt and bruises, and adorned with frowns as they tug and push at each.

“You’re not the one who should be apologising.” You return your attention back to the sea. “Becoming a marine was never your dream; it was mine.”

It was true. A younger and selfish you had forced Luffy into sharing a dream that was only truly ever yours, something you didn’t realise until you’d grown out of your childhood years and into your big girl pants.

When he’d come running to you one afternoon during your usual playdate session with a straw hat festooned with a single red sash attached to his head, announcing he’d gotten it from that red head pirate that’d come to town and followed it with the line that he was going to become the 'King of Pirates', you felt hurt—betrayed. 

His news to you had then escalated into a fight in which Luffy’s newly gifted hat got buried in the mud underneath your feet, him shouting that he hated you with a ruddy face, puffed with anger and with you declaring him your enemy, adding that if he did really become the King of pirates or even a pirate at all, you’d be the one to put him behind bars.

Your lips pull into a sad frown. “And I’m truly sorry that I took your hat...again.” You add with a whisper, recalling again when as a child, how you'd ripped the hat away from his grasp, how you’d tossed it in the mud— and how you’d trampled on it with your feet all while Luffy was screaming at the top of his voice for you to stop. 

Luffy looks over at you with a small smile. “It’s okay.” 

“No, it’s not!” You whip your head around, staring at him in disbelief. “I acted like an immature brat like I did that day, and because of it I lost you.” Your voice cracks. “ I…I don’t want to lose you again.”

Luffy notices you bite down on your lips and that your eyes begin to flood with unshed tears. 

The sight reminds him of back then when he’d told you he’d hated you and how a single tear had trickled its way down your face as you fought hard to stifle the rest.

“I missed our friendship Luffy…I missed you.”

Luffy felt his heart both ache and warm at your words.

He'd missed you to— Always had.

He'd thought about you everyday, since you'd left his town; the same day you no longer would be known as best friends. 

Losing you that day made him regret showing you the hat Shanks gave him and telling you his dream. Maybe he should have kept it a secret and if he did, maybe things would have been different—maybe your friendship would have lasted at least a little longer than it did. 

He’d thought that either that day would be the last he would see your face or that if he did see you again, you would be chasing after him from a marine warship. 

Apparently it was the latter. 

The initial feeling that bombarded him when he saw your face again was a heart-stopping surprise. But then a rush of other emotions accompanied it; guilt being the strongest, especially when the image of your crying face flickered to mind after he’d told you in a fit of rage how much he’d hated you.

Luffy points his gaze away from your own. “Back then when I said I hated you”—his hands ball into fists at the memory— “I didn’t mean it.”

You look at him with teary eyes. “R-Really?”

You can vividly recall that horrible moment when Luffy had uttered words you’d never imagined he would say to you, and which had brought tears to your eyes for weeks anytime you were to recall the memory.

Luffy looks at you, noticing your quivering lips and his starts doing the same. “Yeah, I do. I’m sor—” 

He’s barely finished with his response when you launch yourself at him, wrapping your arms around his neck and engulfing him in a tight hug.

“I miss you so much, Luffy, I really do.” You sob violently into his shoulder.

Luffy stills for a moment at your unanticipated action but soon relaxes, his gaze softening down at you as you continue to unleash a happy stream of tears.

He then slowly and gently wraps his own arms around you, burying his face against your shoulder as he feels his eyes brim with tears, his lips pulling into their usual wide smile. 

“Missed you a lot, too.”

© 2024 kana-daydreams

[iamheadcanontrash-deactivated]

Heyy, I was wondering if you could do hcs of the acotar characters, rhys, cass, az, lucien, eris, etc. and what kinds of birthday gifts they'd get you, how they'd celebrate your birthday?? thank you so much!!

What the ACOTAR Males Would Do For Your Birthday~

Cassian: 🦇❤️

-Would do literally whatever you wished. It’s his command.

-Would sit in silence with you or take you to Rita’s, whatever you wished for that day.

-He has a tendency to put a lot of thought into his gifts, so it his gifts would revolve around your own hobbies. A music player with your favorite songs, a limited edition book series you’d mentioned months prior… fleece lined Illyrian leathers… anything.

Rhys: 🦇🌙

-Surprise parties. For sure—he wants to celebrate his Darling! 💕

-Would gift you a beautiful dress beforehand as well (made by his mother, of course. It’s unknown where his stash of dresses is.)

-Would offer some late night fun as well, iykwim 😉

Azriel: 🦇🖤

-Would want to spend quiet, 1:1 time with you on your special day. He doesn’t like crowds.

-Would plan a secluded vacation for just you and him, and you’d both dress up for a simple dinner night.

-He’d gift you a new piece of jewelry to wear (either he saw you eyeing it, or he saw it himself and it reminded him of you.)

Eris: 🍎🍂

-Listen: you are this male’s TREASURE. If his dad is still in the picture, he won’t risk anything. You will stay a secret for a while whether you like it or not. Not in a Tamlin way though—more in a “my father has killed females for loving us; you wouldn’t be an exception” way.

-He will only have 1:1 time with you. You’d be on a getaway vacation in a cabin not even his brothers know about.

-He’d gift you clothes, or an Autumn Court cloak, something thoughtful and beautiful. He’d also love to dance with you on your day.

Lucien: 🦊🌞

-This male pays attention. He only wants the best for you, he is a protector.

-Would maybe gift you a beautiful dagger he’d found while on his trips, or an expensive tea he’d caught you looking at while out and about together.

-Would also be another male that prefers his 1:1 time with you. It’s not that he hates crowds; it’s more of a trust thing. He only trusts you. He only wants to see you, be surrounded by only you.

Tamlin: 🥀💚

-Would be pretty basic about his gifts/celebrations until The Girlfriend Effect TM kicked in.

-Would gift you anything to do with a hobby you’ve expressed interest in. You gotta give him credit though, he’ll only gift you high-quality things.

-Tammy has grown to be not too fond of crowds anymore. He would enjoy a quiet dinner in his home with you, a walk through his garden. Maybe once he heals he will have a nearby village that’s thriving. He would be willing to eat dinner at a cafe in Spring Court with you, he’d learn to support small businesses.

Tarquin: 🌊🐬

-A day on the yacht? Party on da boat. He loves watching your hair blow in the wind, your smile as you watch dolphins jumping by.

-He would give you your own island if you asked. The whole ocean.

-If parties aren’t your thing, he would plan a whole dinner, a sunset boat ride just you and him, floating in the ocean while you just enjoy each others company until you want to go back. He’ll be out there all night if you so wish.

Thank you for requesting!! I hope y’all are ready for Kinktober tomorrow 😌😉

[blackcouplesera]

50 intimacy building exercises for black couples ❤️‍🔥

1. Take a long walk together for the sole purpose of sharing your thoughts and feelings with each other.

2. Plan a surprise date night in for one another.

3. Cook a meal together and enjoy it by candlelight.

4. Write love letters to each other, bonus points if you exchange and read them.

5. Take a couple’s dance class together.

6. Read an erotic novel together. Reenacting it is up to you!

7. Volunteer together for a cause you both care about.

8. Make time to shower together, let your partner cleanse you.

9. Go on a weekend getaway and spend quality time in bed.

10. Take a bubble bath and enjoy wine.

11. Watch your favorite movies and cuddle.

12. Take a hike and enjoy nature together.

13. Write down your goals and dreams together, affirm each other in the process.

14. Take a cooking class together.

15. Try a new hobby together.

16. Plan a picnic to enjoy each other's company.

17. Schedule a couples' massage or self care day.

18. Create a vision board for your future together.

19. Take a pottery class together.

20. Spend a day exploring your city and discovering new places.

21. Invest in a polaroid or film camera and take spicy photos of each other.

22. Write a poem or song for each other.

23. Plan a surprise weekend getaway.

24. Create a couple’s board game to play together.

25. Go on a road trip to explore new places together.

26. Plan a sip and paint night together. Grab some body paint, and use each other as canvases!

27. Attend a concert or live performance together.

28. Create a language for only you to use together.

29. Go on a bike ride together.

30. Watch the sunset and enjoy each other's company.

31. Play a couples' trivia game.

32. Attend a wine tasting together.

33. Create a recipe together.

34. Plan a date night at home and cook a romantic dinner together.

35. Attend a drive-in movie together.

36. Visit a botanical garden.

37. Go on a cabin trip and disconnect from technology.

38. Take a hot air balloon ride together.

39. Attend a poetry night together.

40. Go on a boat ride and enjoy the water.

41. Take a couples' pole dancing class.

42. Have a game night with other couples.

43. Try meditating together.

44. Attend a book reading or signing together.

45. Go on a couple’s retreat.

46. Bake each other’s favorite sweets.

47. Create a playlist and swap headphones.

48. Take a mixology class together.

49. Plan a scavenger hunt for each other.

50. Go on a day trip to a nearby town.