#got home from school weirdly emotional

[purple-the-turtle]

Eepy…..

[bsturnzmtts]

That’s what friends are for - Matt Sturniolo

Re uploaded because my account bsturnzmtt got deactivated :( Please follow and let me know if you want to be in my tag list !

Paring: softdom!Matt x innocent! Reader

Contains/warnings: manipulation, inexperienced reader, fingering, oral (fem receiving), loss of innocence kinda, pet names, aftercare, no p in v

Summary: You go crying to Matt after a group of friends' laughed at your innocence and inexperience. So Matt decides to help you...

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You were hanging out with your friends, everything was going normal until someone made a weird question.

“Where is the weirdest place you’ve touched yourself at?” Someone asks.

Everyone laughs and starts answering “at a restaurant”, “library”, “school” etc. You stay silent confused by the question not understanding. When everyone else answers except you, someone turns to face and asks. “What about you?”

You freeze feeling nervous and confused. “Uhh I- I don’t understand…” You say.

Everyone laughs thinking you were joking, when they see you don't laugh they realize you weren’t joking. Everyone stared at you weirdly and started saying all kinds of stuff. “She can’t serious”

“You can't be that dumb.”

“You're such a prude.”

“Oh god, she's actually that innocent.”

Your eyes blurring with tears at the comments people are throwing at you. You don't understand anything, you don't understand why they are being this mean to you. You quickly grab your things and storm out of there. You don't wanna go home, but you can't stay on the streets crying. So you decide to go to your best friend's house, Matt. His house is just a couple blocks away so you walk there.

By the time you get to his house tears stop falling out of your eyes. But it’s clear that you've cried, your red eyes selling you out. You knock on his door.

He answers the door, his warm smile immediately putting you at ease, even in your emotional state. His eyes flicker to your reddened eyes he tilts his head slightly, concerned by your state. “Hey there, sweetheart. What's wrong?” He softly asks with concern.

“I- I’m so sorry to show up to your house like this, it’s just that… tha-.” You can feel yourself start to cry again.

Matt quickly pulls you into a heartfelt hug, letting you cry on his shoulder. “Hey, hey, it's okay.” He murmurs softly, his hand gently rubbing your back. “No need to apologize, you can always come to me, you know that, right?”

You nod but continue to cry on his shoulder.

He continues to hold you, waiting for you to calm down enough so that you can talk about what happened. Once your sobbing subsides a little, he gently guides you to his couch and sits down next to you. He wraps his arm around your shoulder and pulls you closer, gently tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear. “You can tell me anything, you know that. So go ahead, what happened?”

“I don’t wanna talk about it…” your voice breaks a little bit as you say that

“Okay. That's fine too. You don't have to talk about it if you don't feel ready yet.” He squeezes your shoulder gently, offering silent support and comfort. “How about we just sit here for a little while?”

You nod. Some minutes go by, you're completely done crying and your breathing is back to normal now. “They all laughed at me…” you suddenly say in a quiet voice.

He frowns, listening. "Who laughed at you, sweetheart? And why?" He asks.

“We… we were all hanging out, it was all good. We were having a good time until someone asked…” you start explaining.

"Ask what, love?" He gently prods you to continue, keeping a comforting arm around your shoulders.

“Someone asked, ‘Where is the weirdest place you’ve touched yourself at?’” You say.

His expression and posture changes completely from comforting to protective. He pulls you in even closer, scowling. "And what did you say?"

“Nothing. I didn’t say anything. Everyone was answering until someone asked me… I- I told him I didn’t understand the question.”

His grip on you tightens, eyes flashing with a mix of anger and concern. "Fuck. Those bastards." He mutters under his breath. He takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

“They all laughed at me and called me a prude? I think. I don’t remember the word.”

"I don't care what they said, you are not a prude." He gently tilts your chin up to meet his gaze.

“What's a prude?” You ask confused.

He brushes his thumb across your cheekbone, a soft smile on his lips. "A prude is someone who is overly conservative or modest, especially when it comes to sex or relationships. They think you're naive or inexperienced because you didn't answer their crude question." He cups your face, looking into your eyes.

“… what did their question mean?” You ask.

Matt could see your innocence through your eyes. His eyes widen and he sighs heavily, his thumb still rubbing soothing circles on your cheekbone. He looks down, realizing that he may have to explain something uncomfortable to you. "It's a question about masturbation, okay? Touching yourself in a sexual way."

“Oh, like … sex?” You ask innocently.

"Not exactly, love. It's more about pleasuring yourself, especially when you're alone." He pauses, considering how much to reveal. "Sometimes people touch themselves in private, for pleasure, to relieve tension.”

“Ohhh… I’ve never done that.” You say quietly.

His eyes flicker with surprise, but he quickly masks it with a neutral expression. "Oh. Really?" He looks at you with new eyes, as if he's seeing a different side to you. "That's okay, it's your choice. Everyone has different levels of comfort when it comes to sex and sexual activity" He reassures you, sliding his hand down to rest on your shoulder. "But, there's nothing wrong with it if you ever feel like giving it a try."

“Does it… feel good?” You ask with curiosity.

He chuckles, a soft, warm sound. "Yes, it can feel very good.” he admits with a smile. "You feel a rush of pleasure, a release of tension and stress. Some even say it helps with sleep." he explains, his eyes never leaving yours.

You pay attention to his words, your curiosity growing every second. “Have you done it?” You ask innocently with curiosity.

His smile turns into a soft chuckle again as he looks away, clearing his throat. He seems a bit hesitant to answer, but eventually meets your gaze again. "Yes, I have. It's a normal part of life, love."

“Ohhhh” you respond.

He leans in closer, his breath tickling your ear as he whispers. "What is it, sweetheart?“ His hand slides down to rest on your hip, fingers tracing gentle circles on your skin. "You're thinking about it, aren't you?" His voice is low, a husky whisper. "Wondering what it would feel like…” His eyes narrow slightly, studying your reaction, noticing the subtle hitch in your breath and the way your cheeks flush. He leans in closer, his voice lowering to a husky whisper. "You're...interested, aren't you?”

You nod slowly, feeling a little shy. “But.. I- I don’t know how to…”

His soft smile turned into a smirk. “Shhh, don't worry.” He reassures you. "I'll teach you." His hand moves from your hip to your waist, pulling you closer to him. His other hand reaches up to gently cup your face .“I'll be here to guide you through it all."

“Mhh… I don’t know” you say feeling nervous and unsure.

His smirk grew wider. He leans forward, pressing a gentle kiss to the tip of your nose. “Trust me.” he whispers, his hand sliding from your waist to gently rest on the small of your back. He pulls you even closer to him, leaving very little space between your bodies. "It's just you and me, okay?" He can be very persuasive... "I promise to make you feel good," he whispers.

You think about it still feeling unsure.

He watched you hesitate, "What's wrong, sweetheart? Don't you trust me?" He asks, feigning a sad expression. “I just want to help you.” He says with a disappointed voice. “That’s what friends are for.” His eyes sparkle with mischief. “And we’re friends, aren’t we?”

“… of course I trust you Matt, you’re my best friend. I just.. I-”

He watched you stutter, his grin growing wider with every passing second. He knows he had you exactly where he wanted you. "Then let me help you. We are best friends. And best friends do...well, all sorts of things together." He says with a little chuckle. He can't help but find your innocence and nervousness adorable. He loves how you don't know what his intentions actually are. "I've been planning this moment for a long time now." His hand moves up to your face again, lightly brushing away loose hair from your cheek. "I know what's best for you, I promise. You can trust me.”

“You promise it won't hurt?” You softly ask. You still feel very unsure but you want to show him that you trust him and that he is your best friend.

He gives your face a reassuring squeeze, his thumb gently caressing your cheek. "Absolutely not, sweetheart. I promise, it won't hurt at all." He speaks in a soothing, calming tone, his eyes filled with a gentle sincerity. “In fact, it will feel amazing.”

You nod as he says that, you really love Matt as your best friend. So you accept not wanting to ruin your friendship.

He knew he had you right where he wanted you - vulnerable and willing, trusting his every word. "That's a good girl," he cooed, his voice dripping with approval and affection. His eyes are filled with lust and desire. He gently caresses your arm, his fingers trailing down slowly, sending chills running up and down your body.

He watches your reactions closely, gauging your level of comfort and arousal. Seeing you shiver at his touch, he knows he's making progress. His hand slides from your arm to the hem of your shirt, fingers dancing teasingly along the fabric. "First, we need to get you out of this." His hands slowly lifted it up your torso. He fully takes off your shirt revealing the lacy bra underneath. He admires your body for a few seconds. “Fuck” he murmurs. He takes your hand and guides it to his crotch, his fingers intertwining with yours as he presses your palm against the hard bulge in his pants. "See how much you affect me, sweetheart?" he murmurs again, his breathing growing more every second. You let out a small gasp as you feel a hard bulge.

He watches your face as you feel his hardness through his pants, your small gasp and the way your eyes widen slightly. “Ah, you feel that?" He whispers in your ear, his hot breath sending shivers down your spine. “Don't be shy," he whispers, urging you to stroke him gently. He moans lightly at your touch, his eyes closing in pleasure. "God, you drive me crazy." he says, his voice filled with a husky warmth that makes your stomach flutter. "You like that, sweetheart?" He continues to press your hand against his crotch, loving the way your innocent touch makes him feel. He says as he leans down to kiss you deeply while caressing your breasts over the bra. He reaches around your back and undoes the clasp on your bra. He gently tugs the straps down, exposing your breasts to his hungry gaze. He leans in, taking a nipple into his mouth, sucking and nibbling on it gently.

“Mmmh” you let out a whiny moan feeling his tongue against your hard nipple.

He savors the sweet, innocent sound of your moan, his tongue swirling around your sensitive bud as he sucks gently. "Mmm, you like that don't you?" He murmurs, the vibrations of his voice against your sensitive skin sending another wave of pleasure through you. He continues to tease and taste your nipple, his other hand massaging your other breast, making sure to give it equal attention. After a few seconds he moves one hand down to your thighs, gently caressing them as he makes his way upwards. "You're so beautiful, sweetheart."With a gentle but firm grip, he pushes up your skirt, making space for himself to touch you more intimately. As his hand inches closer to your core, you can feel the heat building between your legs, aching for more of his touch. His hand finally reaches your panties, his fingers grazing the fabric over your slick folds. "Fuck, you're so wet already," He gently rubs your clit through the fabric of your panties, applying just enough pressure to make you squirm in pleasure.

You bite your lips and let out muffled moans.

He smirks at the sight of you trying to stifle your moans and he loves knowing he's the one causing such delicious chaos. With a smirk he knows you can't see, he slowly lowers his hand, pulling down your panties as he does.

When he fully took your panties off you automatically close your legs feeling embarrassed.

His eyes light up as he sees your instinctive reaction to expose yourself, a mix of shyness and vulnerability. "Don't be shy, baby. I want to see you, all of you." He gently spreads your legs apart. He leans down, his breath fanning against your slick folds, making you gasp, his eyes devouring the sight of your bare, glistening sex.

You close your eyes, your breathing gets heavy, you bite your lip harder. All because of the feeling of his hot breath hitting your core.

He slowly exhales against you, the heat making you tremble despite the lack of direct contact. "You're so responsive, it's a fucking turn-on." He reaches up and gently runs a finger along your slit before pulling back and bringing that finger to your lips, gently pressing it against them. "Open your mouth, my love.”

You stay paralyzed for a few seconds, but then decide to do what he says. So you open your mouth looking at him with my innocent doe eyes showing confusion.

He chuckles at your look of confusion. Seeing your innocent, confused expression makes him smile. "Don't question it, just do as you're told," he whispers, his voice low and commanding, and slowly slides his finger into your mouth. He groans at the sight of watching you as you taste yourself for the first time. He guides your tongue to his finger, coating it with your saliva. "Good girl. That's it, sweetheart. Suck on it” he says before taking it back into his own mouth and sucking off the slickness.

You watch as he takes his finger out of your mouth soaked with a mix of your wetness and saliva. He pushes it into his mouth savoring you. You feel your pussy clench around nothing as he does that.

His eyes darken with lust as he sees your reaction to his actions. He groans, savoring the taste of you on his finger. "Fuck, you're delicious," he says hungrily. He can't help but press his palm against your pussy, feeling the heat radiating from between your legs. "You're so fucking wet, it's dripping down your thighs." His eyes flicker up to meet yours for a moment before he leans forward and uses that wet finger to circle your clit.

“Mmhp Matt.” you squirm and moan.

"What was that, princess?" he murmurs. He continues to circle your clit slowly and gently at first, but he increases the pace as he sees you squirm and moan, the wetness from your own arousal making it easy to glide. His other hand moves to gently grip your thigh, applying gentle pressure to spread your legs wider for him.

You cover your mouth with your hands trying to hide your moans and whimpers.

He chuckles at the futile attempt to muffle your sounds, clearly enjoying the way you struggle to contain quiet. He continues to pleasure you until he hears you stifle a moan behind your hands. "Don't hide that beautiful sound, sweetheart.” he murmurs, pulling your hands away slowly and bringing your fingers into your mouth instead. You suck on his fingers for a few seconds before he pushes them out. “I want to hear you scream my name," he says urgently, his own voice husky with desire. He moves down between your legs and replaces his fingers with his tongue, licking and sucking your clit.

“Mmh oh god Matt.” you desperately moan.

"That's it, princess. Say my name." He presses his tongue firmly against your clit and hums, sending a wave of pleasure through you. The vibrations make you arch your back as he holds onto your thighs, keeping you spread open for him. He smirks against you, feeling you growing wetter against his tongue, which is clearly loving the taste of you, as he is using his fingers to part your folds even more so that he can have easier access. "You taste so fucking good, princess. I could spend hours tasting every inch of you," he murmurs against your pussy, continuing to lick and suck your clit while he slides one finger into your wet pussy.

“Ahh Matt.” you moan in pain and pleasure, feeling his finger stretching you out for the first time.

"You're so fucking tight, princess. Does it hurt?" he coos, his tongue never leaving your clit. “Mhm” you nod. "Relax, princess. Just breathe," he coos, feeling your tightness around his finger. He slowly pumps it in and out, letting you get accustomed to the feeling. You keep letting out moans of pleasure and pain. He smirks against your pussy, pushing his finger deeper, crooking it to hit your g-spot. He could see the mix of pain and pleasure on your face, which made him push his finger in even deeper. "You're so tight.” He says slowly adding a second finger to the first one.

“Matt…Matt mhh.” you whimper in pain.

“Shhh. You're doing so well," His fingers curl inside you, stroking that sensitive spot, applying gentle pressure making you gasp and buck your hips. He lets out a low groan, feeling your walls clench around him. "Fuck, you're gripping me so tightly.” He groans. "You're being such a good girl, just try to breathe." He presses his tongue firmly against your clit, giving it attention as well.

Your moans of pain turn into moans of pleasure after a few minutes. “Mmh mhhp.”

He smirks against your pussy, pleased with the shift in your moans. His fingers continue to pump in and out, curling and stroking that spot inside you that makes you quiver. He adds a third finger, gently stretching you further, feeling your tight walls accommodate him. "You're doing so well, taking my fingers like a good little slut." He continues to finger fuck you, making sure he's hitting your g-spot repeatedly that makes your breathing becoming erratic and your legs tremble. His tongue doesn't leave your clit, applying different kinds of pressures as he continues to suck. "You taste like heaven." He says, his fingers pumping in and out of your tight pussy, curling and stroking that sensitive spot inside you. His tongue continues to flick and suckle your clit, making you feel like you're going to explode any moment.

“Mmh Matt … ahh I-”

"You're almost there, aren't you?" He can feel your pussy starting to clench and flutter around his fingers. His fingers curl and stroke hard across your g-spot, making sure you're right on the edge. He sucks harder on your clit, flicking his tongue in response to the way you clench around him. "Cum for me, darling." he growls against your sensitive clit, feeling you quiver and shake around his fingers. He pumps them faster, curling them deeper inside you, hitting that spot that makes your legs tremble, making you see stars. "Come on, princess, scream for me.” Before you could finish, he suddenly pulls his fingers out of you and replaces them with his tongue. He flicks his tongue against your g-spot, feeling it quiver beneath his touch. His fingers now focus on your clit, pinching and rolling it between his thumb and index finger. You finally cum. You come undone is his mouth and fingers. You let out a scream of pleasure as you do. He pulls back his fingers and removes his mouth from your pussy, leaving you quivering. He smirks at you, his fingers coated in your juices, licking them slowly, his eyes locked onto yours.

You look at him, your body still quivering a bit, and you're trying to catch your breath.

He watches you breathe heavily, your chest rising and falling with each shallow breath. He reaches up to brush a strand of hair out of your face, his hand lingering for a moment on your cheek. "You're absolutely gorgeous when you cum." he says with a satisfied smile. He admires your glistening pussy with a satisfied smirk. He leans in close and whispers in your ear, "You taste amazing, princess." His free hand moves up to your chin, gently guiding your face to meet his. He leans down and kisses you deeply, letting you taste yourself. His tongue slips in and out of your mouth with ease, mimicking the movement of what he was just doing to you. He gently strokes your quivering inner thighs, his fingers leaving trails of heat. He pulls you onto his lap, guiding you to straddle him. His erection is prominent against his pants, straining against the fabric.

You rest your head on his chest feeling tired.

He wraps his arms around you, holding you close. He runs his fingers through your hair and presses a gentle kiss to the top of your head. He can feel your heart still racing from your intense orgasm. "You okay, princess?" He murmurs softly, his hand gently stroking your back.

“Mhm” you nod softly.

He lifts your chin up to meet his gaze, his fingers tracing your jawline. “Good." He says with a small smile. He moves you off of his lap and lays you down gently on the bed, his body following yours before he wraps you up into a spooning position. His hand comes to rest on your waist as he presses a gentle kiss to your shoulder. “Did it feel good?” He asks.

“Yes” you reply as your cheeks turn pink.

He lets out a soft chuckle, nuzzling his face into your neck, leaving a trail of kisses along your sensitive skin. “I love hearing that.” He murmurs before placing another kiss against your skin. He rests his hand against your stomach, pulling you closer. He starts to gently move his hips, pressing his erection against your ass as he grinds gently.

“Matt…”

He stops moving his hips, his hand stilling against your stomach. He kisses your neck gently, then whispers against your skin. “Yes, princess.”

“…. thank you” you say shyly.

“No need to thank me, doll. It’s my pleasure.” He says with a small smile that you can feel against your skin. He turns you around to face him, his hands cradling your face. He presses a soft kiss against your lips before pulling back and looking into your eyes. He sees the exhaustion and pleasure in them and can't help but smile softly. “You don't have to thank me, princess. I’m your best friend, right? I would do anything for you, that’s what best friends do.

He tilts your chin up, his thumb gently stroking your lower lip. He watches as you cuddle closer in his arms. His breath ruffling your hair and his hips gently moving, grinding against yours. But he stops himself before losing control. "We should probably get you cleaned up and in some comfortable clothes, huh?" He suggests, his voice still soft and soothing. His hand drifts down to your thigh, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Why don’t I run you a warm bath?”

“Can we stay here for a bit?” You softly ask, feeling tired.

He smiles softly, his thumb continuing to stroke your lower lip. "Of course, princess. We can stay right here." His other hand still on your thigh, he gives a gentle squeeze, his thumb rubbing small circles on your skin. He pulls a blanket over you both, tucking you in close to his side.

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[gremlinmodetweeker]

Why König Was Bullied/ Why He Loved His Family

TW: Severe Bullying, Kids Being Cruel, Severe Social Anxiety, Growing Up Mentally Ill, Chronic Feelings of Being Unsafe, Unstable Environments Growing Up, Isolation, Loneliness, Self Esteem Issues, Anxiety, Social Anxiety,

I'm gonna say it. I think König actually had a great childhood home. He wasn't bullied because he was an abused child, he was bullied because he was a socially awkward kid raised by socially awkward parents. He was bullied because he was chubby (his mama loved giving him sweets) and because he was weirdly big and not in a hot way, just in a lumpish oaf sort of way.

On his own, König loved to keep his own company. He would make up imaginary worlds in his mind and play with stuffed animals and model trains. He read fantasy books, and became an advanced reader for his age. He loved learning as much as he could about the world around him, and his Oma nicknamed him 'her little Why' when he would never stop asking why things were the way they were. He loved to play outside most of all. Almost all his free time was spent outdoors, and he developed a deep love of nature, hiking and camping.

Kids are cruel, and one kid looking a little bit awkwardly proportioned and being awkward to boot was the perfect target. It didn't help that (especially in the beginning) he just liked to do his own thing, regardless of what others thought. He liked playing with his stuffed bears and rabbits at recess and he loved to read more than he liked to play sports. He was a bit awkward in both speech and body, growing too big for his body to adjust to too quickly and always a bit nervous to speak to others, leaving him a lonely child with nobody to play with. Nobody wanted to play with a boy who still played with stuffed animals or played imaginary games with himself. He was the kid who would call himself the dog when kids played house. He had to hold other kids' coats at recess just to be acknowledged.

König had a hard childhood due to the isolation. Kids got crueller when puberty set in, and they got more overt with their bullying. It didn't help that König hit puberty early and shot up like a reed. He grew strangely thick facial hair for a twelve-year-old, and people would pluck hairs out of his face when he wasn't on guard. After his growth spurt, shoves and nasty playground names became black eyes and rumours traded between classes. Everywhere he looked people watched him, talked about him, scorned him. He developed mild scopophobia, and the fear still lingers with him in adulthood.

König always had the potential of developing social anxiety. Just genetics, really. But growing up in a poorly equipped rural town didn't help. He didn't fit in, and for that he was tormented throughout life. Bullies would find out who his crush was and kiss them when he walked by in the halls. Girls would ask him out, and when he eagerly accepted they would laugh in his face. Worst of all was how they'd torment him for startling easily, and laugh whenever he physically lashed out in a panic. They loved to scare poor König, and did whatever they could to get a reaction out of him. He learned to keep his emotions guarded and to himself, but he still tears up when he thinks about how they once set his stuffed rabbit on fire after school. Whenever König felt like he'd learned to take it all, something else would come along and remind him that no, he would never fit in, and he would never be safe.

König grew up to be cold, harsh and cynical. He refused to let others play with his emotions. He became hardened as a man. However, deep inside of König, there was always a little boy who just wanted to read fantasy books and play with his stuffed animals in peace. He took to taking long hikes and camping outside when he needed time away from home. As a preteen, he was humiliated by how fat he seemed as a child, and horrified by how thin and lanky he became as he matured, so he began working out vigorously and filled out into a powerful, handsome young man. When girls would ask him out as a teen, he'd scoff and shoo them off, even though they genuinely wanted to be with him. He'd been burned too many times to know when someone truly wanted him. He didn't realize that he was a highly intelligent, strapping teen that had become a heartthrob among some of the other socially outcast children. Sadly, König would never learn, instead focusing on how his bullies would mock his height from afar (they'd long since learned that fighting a 200 lb young man who learned to fight from a war vet was not a good idea after all). But no matter how much König tried to get out from under their thumb, his bullies ruled his life.

But while school was a battleground, every day this brave little soldier would march home into his mother's open arms. His father would be there to remind him of how strong he was, how proud he was of his little soldier son. Home was his sanctuary away from the war outside.

König's mother was very much a housewife. A big, tall (at least 6'1) woman with broad arms and a powerful jaw, Annabelle Leichenberg looked more like a warrior princess than she did the sweet and doting mother that she was. She was always a bit awkward in the village, and many other mothers made fun of her for being harsh and dismissive in her exchanges of village gossip. She was a practical woman who had no time for their prattling nonsense. All her time was spent doting upon her loving family. She was a dutiful, determined woman who never backed down from a challenge. Despite working in the next village over, she would spend as much time as she could with König and her four other children. She would teach König to braid his sisters' hair, and played card games with him and his brothers late at night. She made sure his siblings never picked on him too much, and she spoiled him rotten with strawberries from the garden. To this day, König swears up and down that nobody makes strawberry tarts quite like his mother.

Contrary to his brash and outspoken wife, König's father, Fritz Leichenberg, was a quiet and studious man. He was the tallest man in the village by far, but he was a shy and soft man who preferred his books and his record player to the drunken sports rallies every Friday night, making the other village men consider him effeminate and weak. König's father was a professor of agriculture, and so preferred to spend time in his garden with his wife or reading stories to his children. He was surprisingly soft-spoken for his size, and seemed to always be shrinking away from conversation, preferring the company of his many houseplants to the boisterous drunks at the bar. Fritz liked to play piano on the baby grand in the foyer, and the family would gather and sing around him (Annabelle could never hold a tune, but Fritz never seemed to mind). Fritz was the major disciplinarian in the household, but it seemed his punishments were composed more of long lectures and discussions than spankings that the other children at school got. König was very close to his father, and learned from him the strength of being comfortable with his masculinity, and learned how to be gentle from him. He originally wanted to be a professor like him, but became a soldier when his grandfather passed away.

König had a good relationship with his siblings. He was the second youngest of five. The eldest was Friedrich, then Stephan and Lisa, then König (Alexander), then finally Klara. König's brothers were awkward, but they fought back hard against their adversaries. Lisa was actually rather popular among her age group, and she managed to keep people in her age bracket from targeting König as well. The brothers and Lisa tried their best to protect König, and even his younger sister ended up becoming a defender and prevented her classmates from targeting her brother. König loved his siblings, but even they could be cruel to him on occasion (particularly when they had friends over). However, they cared for him as a sibling, and they did their best to ensure he was always safe at home.

König also lived with his Oma and Opa (on his father's side). His Opa was a veteran, and taught all the children how to fight. He took a shine to König in particular, and tried his best to encourage his grandson to stand up for himself. His Oma was a bit more skeptical. She loved König, but she always worried about him. She would often try to get him to make new friends, but sadly these efforts were in vain.

So all in all, life was not all doom and gloom for König. He grew up a social outcast, but in a loving home. He's fiercely loyal to his family, and skeptical of anyone he does not consider to be of that ilk. He will always be paranoid, he will always be afraid of people watching him, and he will always have that horrible trait of being ruder than he intends to be. But, in the end, he was loved and raised in a good home.

Bonus:

On König's first day of school, his mother bought him a toy. It became a tradition that every first day of school, she would buy him something special. With all the years that passed, most of these things were broken or lost, but he kept the wooden train set his mother gave him on his very first day.

[treasurehuntbuck]

Drabble for #19

god first one out the bat and its a doozy.

#19 - Not Strong Enough by boygenius,

The Diaz kitchen is kind of like a liminal space. The soft light never feels too harsh. It smells perpetually of some combination of allspice and the citrus dish soap Eddie prefers. It's always warm, and sometimes Buck swears he can feel the floor beating beneath his feet, the heart of the house, entrenched in the love Eddie has poured into it. It's always been a safe haven, protecting from the horrors of the outside world, a safe harbor in the storm. The day Eddie blows their lives up the house doesn't lose even a little bit of that warmth, that safety, despite the fact that Buck can feel his own heart shattering where it's trapped in his chest. But he forces a smile, cracks a joke, sits on the couch next to Eddie and listens to a very nice woman talk about the Texas heat, about accommodations and school districts and yard sizes. He laughs in all the right places, gets weirdly intense about bathroom tile, and tries to hold himself together long enough to get out of there without setting fire to the rubble that Eddie has inadvertently left in his wake. Buck refuses to panic until he's back at the loft a few hours later.  He stops dead in his tracks once he's made it inside, sighing, all the fight, all the emotion drawn out of his body with his breath. The thing is– Eddie's not leaving Buck. He knows that. He knows that Eddie is going after Christopher, which is what Buck had been silently begging him to do since Chris got on that fucking plane three months ago. So, it's a good thing! Or it should be. Chris is worth it, he's the most important person ever. Not just to Eddie, but to Buck too, aside from Jee, maybe. That doesn't mean Buck's heart doesn't feel cleaved in two, because Eddie might not be leaving Buck. But he is leaving. And Buck is always the one who gets left behind. He'd never seen this one coming though, it had blindsided him, and he doesn't know how to picture a life without Eddie right there next to him. Losing Chris to Texas had been one of the hardest things Buck's ever dealt with, but it was always supposed to be temporary. If Eddie leaves– If he goes to Texas, if he sells the little bungalow on South Bedford Street, if he packs up his truck and drives halfway across the country? If Eddie leaves, takes Buck's heart right out of his chest, and doesn't come back? Buck doesn't know how to be strong enough for this. He isn't sure how he's supposed to smile through it. How he's supposed to help his best friend box everything up, even the pictures on the fridge, every scrap of proof that they're a family, little and cobbled together, but family. Buck doesn't sleep well that night, or the next. Two weeks later Eddie leaves him standing outside LAX, double doors closing on his heels, with a sense of déjà vu so intense it makes Buck sick to his stomach. He has a hard time getting back into the jeep, the imprint of Eddie's touch still lingering on his shoulder, his reassurance ringing in Buck's ears. He desperately wants to believe him. He doesn't really remember the drive back, but Buck ends up at the Diaz house– his home, their home.   Without thinking, he crawls into Eddie's bed. It still smells like him. Buck sleeps. Three days later, Eddie comes back, one belligerent teenager in tow. When they come through those double doors, Buck has tears on his cheeks and a confession clogging his throat.  It can wait. He'd rather get his boys home.

the spotify wrapped drabbles :)

[lovethatmakingcoffee]

Small town au stuff

Philza is kindhearted yet oddly knowledgeable and mysterious resident who seems wiser beyond his years and may or may not be a witch. Especially questionable is that giant ass hat of his. Maybe a witch. He is retired and has a suspiciously large income, and somehow knows how to fly a plane?!! Maybe a retired vet or spy? Its undetermined. Or maybe just your basic crop duster. He does talk about potatoes a lot for some reason.

Foolish, your local cop and sheriff. The heart throb of the police department and kind of the definition of abuse of power (but only when its funny). He'll probably let you off for speeding or doing donuts in corn fields. His previous job was the town's major architect, which he still builds sometimes, but wanted to harass random people as a police officer for a new temporary occupation.

Quackity, the emotional weirdo teacher who's got attachment issues out the wazoo. He is sweet, but spirals sometimes. Its been rumored that he's been beaten up by Phil's kid for reasons unexplained.

Wilbur, of course, the aspiring musician. Gets confused a lot for other famous people, but plays at events when he's home. Loves his kid, but has been gone for most of the year and feels insecure for not calling her as much.

Jaiden, the town's lawyer who is rolling in it. She wins a lot of her cases and maybe does some of the illegal legwork to prove her client's innocence or the accused guilty. She does a lot of investigating with Foolish and has a key to the polices archive room. She has gotten noise complaints about her two loud birds.

Forever, a new resident along with the other Brazilians who all live in his giant pink Barbie house until Cellbit moves out to get married. Forever quickly gains popularity among the town's residence and becomes mayor of Quesadilla Town. He has been chasing after Philza this whole time, but there are whispers that he has a thing for the local pastor.

Badboyhalo, the priest, which Forever has remarked that's probably the strangest one out of the town's peoples names but it fits. Bad is a strangely wealthy and knowledge priest. His face is always masked by shadows and a hood. He always appears out of nowhere and seems to derive amusement from spooking the other residents. Forever thinks that's cute.

Roier, from Jaiden's platonic roommate to Cellbit's husband, man has never had a job and is just a trophy roommate/husband. Always physically fit, the life of the party and if the town had a best looking competition, he'd be at least top 5. Spends his day working out and is often seen on long runs in the woods. He may or may not be the one always finding weird things on his runs. Like a random artifact or an unfamiliar body.

Cellbit, town's journalist. Always looking for clues on the strange going ons and always has one of those huge boards with photos, tacks, and red thread. Man hardly sleeps and is running on six cups of coffee a day. Get him some water.

Fit, he owns of course Fit's Fitness. The sexiest personal trainer in the county and has a prosperous business. Him and Phil are somehow friends, and he weirdly seems to know things he shouldn't. Has been seen fraternizing with the weird agents that come through town and cover stuff up.

Baghera is another school teacher in Quesadilla town. She is the funnier one but also there seems to be an immense sadness to her. She avoids any special agent from the Cucurucho Factory.

Etoiles is a mysterious vigilant who fights suspicious figures and deadly monsters in the night. He's kind of the ex machina of the town and can be found lurking in the back alleys. He may or may not be a clerk at your local giftshop.

Cucurucho is an interesting and strange character, a business man in a white suit wearing a bear mask at all times. He runs the Cucurucho Institution along with its factory and seems to hold some bizarre legal authority over the town. He also has connections in the hospital and school and all around is just a sketchy person. He has many of his underlings do his bidding around town and they have been seen dumping chemicals in the river and interrogating certain residents.

Pac is your new local gym teacher and has stolen the town's physical trainer's heart. They've been having a cute shy will they won't they. It's extremely obvious to the whole town. He is best friends with the mad scientist science teacher Mike. And they get up to shenanigans. And for a gym teacher, the guy sure is smart and knows a lot of ways to build things. He's like the ultimate package!

Missa is Phil's platonic husband who is always away on business trips. He shows up into town for about a week then has to head out again to do business related business. He is jealous of Phil's love interests but also won't deny how hot they are and that also makes him insecure.

Charlie is the troubled baker/conessieur in town. He always has a creepy smile about him when you ask what's in his food, but he's just screwing with you and its actually delicious. He has been seen dragging huge lumpy bags with red liquid pouring out of it and swears it's just strawberry jam. Turns out if you licked the floor, it is. His favorite dessert to make is green jello.

Tubbo is the weird little mechanic that is always putting bizarre attachments to your vehicle and making odd do dads in his spare time. No one knows where he got his mechanic license, but no one mentions that he's probably doing this illegally cause of his sweet deals.

Mouse is a famous vtuber who may be working with the occult on the side for the funsies. Is she running a cult? Perhaps. But it would be funny if she did. Anyways she has a lovely home and gives lots of her money as donations to less sketchy hospitals.

[twstfanblog]

You know, the more I think about, the less surprising it is that "7-8 students overbloted" and more "How has NRC gone decades without an overblot?"

From my understanding, blot is a measure of magic mixing emotional pressure. And overbloting is basically bottled-up emotions finally exploding, yes? Between: - NRC is a prestigious magical academy, therefore drawing lots of magical talent - the students having such big egos it's pulling teeth to get them to willingly together - various past/present traumas, pressures, stress, etc - NRC is a boarding school, so this likely the first time most students have lived away from home How is overblot so rare? Judging from what we've seen, one would think a kid would snap and overblot once every 5 years or something, bare minimum

Anyway, what do you think?

Okay, this is gonna actually be a decently long ramble. Buckle end

So...We got two choices. Either Overblots ARE super rare, which story-wise I'm not entirely sure about either since there are seemingly 10,000 phantoms on ice in STYX. If all of those containment boxes have a phantom in them then that is a FUCK TON of overblots happening around the world at a pretty decent pace.

OR

Overblots AREN'T super rare and plenty of mini-overblots happen that only have the phantoms being taken away with or without casualties.

It's kinda just storywise of the Twist boys just being very powerful teen mages who seem to have the most tragic backstories ever seen in the world and THAT'S why only now they're over-blotting. But even then, 7-8 seriously intense overblots like months apart on the same campus is still fucking weird...

But within my own canon (That I will really deep dive into in my Main story rewrite fic), is that the Overblots are being TRIGGERED BY CROWLEY.

We are a non-magical being, brought to NRC against our will with no idea how we actually got there or how to get home. Once we were rejected by the Dark Mirror and Crowley learns we're potentially not from this world at all, instead of like...handing us over to some type of authorities or even STYX...Crowley puts us in an abandoned, isolated building and tries to make us what is basically an indentured servant???

You can mainly just chalk that up to Crowley being an asshole. And you can even use that logic for the prologue and Book 1. But within my canon, Crowley is the mastermind triggering all these overblots for an end goal. Those were TESTS, to make sure that we can actually survive an overblot fight, and to make sure the chosen target can survive an overblot because OVERBLOTS ARE SUPPOSE TO BE FATAL.

Because from that point on, Crowley is the one throwing us at every issue that leads to an overblot. He puts us on the case for the Spelldrive accidents, he tells us to figure something out with Azul, (kind of a stretch) He has us feed the fire fairies in the cafeteria to be in Jamil's crosshairs, He just DECIDES we need to host the VDC team when literally anywhere else is better than Ramshackle (WE CANONICALLY DON'T HAVE RUNNING WATER AT THIS POINT????).

Book 6 didn't have much Crowley pushing us, but he was busy getting grilled by actual officials on WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING AT THIS SCHOOL????

Book 7...after literally having...no talk since the start of book 4 about us finding a way home...just comes out and says that he might of found us a way home??? Very...convenient since Malleus was on the verge of an emotional breakdown.

Plus just...how did Grim get into the school? Like Grim is a monster, that's a fact. NRC is on the top of an evil ass mountain, there's SOMETHING outside those gates and the school has some type of spell to keep whatever it is outside. But Grim manages to break in like twice? "Undetected?"

Even in the prologue, he had a mage stone collar PREPARED to accept Grim into the school as a student. He's like...weirdly prepared with a lot of shit.

Crowley is sus as fuck and he is the one causing all of these overblots

[proudfreakmetarusonikku]

some gl!charlie writing.

Charlie is six when he first shows up in the cabin.

He doesn’t remember how he got there. He remembers the car crash- sitting in the back seat with someone who’s face is blurry but who was the same size as him, hair that might have been blond or brown, or maybe red. Perhaps, black caught in the light just so that it had a sheen hiding it. He was on his Gameboy- or maybe it was a Game Gear-, and there was classic rock coming from the radio, or it might have been pop music.

They swerved into another car- or maybe another car swerved into them, or maybe there was no other car. Charlie had hit his head, or maybe his arms, or maybe he'd hurt his spine. And he'd died. Or maybe he just made that up.

He asks for Mama and Papa, but the nice people in masks say that he never had a Mama or a Papa, and something in his head blurs and he believes them when they put a headband on him, keeping the unruly mess of red-brown out of his eyes. It turns redder, more vibrant and less stringy as his vision softens. The cabin seems larger now, than it ever did before.

He smiles when the cameras roll. It feels natural, to look at where a fourth wall would have been and speak.

——

Charlie goes to school every Sunday.

It is a big room, and this one has another wall. That confuses him at first- where would the camera be, if not in the open hole he's used to. One of the masked men who feeds him and gives him gifts and never ever shows any emotion follows him around with a camera instead, and he immediately puffs himself up and gives an award-winning smile.

School is weird. While the cameras are on, they are given paper sheets with nothing at all, and they are recorded with the sorts of shows that are normal. It’s not just Charlie and the masked people, though- there are friends. Charlie decides he likes friends a lot.

Most disappear after not too long. Sometimes they fall down and don’t get up again. Sometimes they leak slime everywhere, and Charlie paints with the pretty green on his face and theirs. Those are the ones who get “low ratings”. He doesn’t know what that means, but he always hears it muttered when one goes away. He doesn’t like when friends go away.

Some stay, though. Sneeg and Frank stay by his side till the end and they draw pictures and smile for the camera and laugh and play until Sunday is over and Charlie goes back to the cabin and looks forward to seeing them again.

Sometimes, the cameras are off, and they get put into this weird machine. It makes their brain all fuzzy and everything brighter and the slime more green. Charlie loves those days. They give him a full plate of slime and extra goop to eat, and that’s his favourite meal! Sneeg always says eating it is gross, but he doesn’t throw up and cry at it like a lot of the kids do. Those ones always disappear, even if they don’t get low ratings.

Maybe they get adopted or something? Charlie hears somewhere that normally when your parents die you get sent to an orphanage and people come to take you home. Maybe this is an orphanage, and the cameras are to show potential Mama's and Papa's them. No one must love Charlie, if that’s the case, but he doesn’t care because he gets goopy slime whenever he asks and he can sleep in all he wants when the cameras aren’t rolling.

——

One day, Charlie hears that ratings are dropping. He thinks nothing of it, it’s something he’s heard before. But they sound more frantic, like this is bigger. Something about the hero getting stale.

That day, he dies for the first time and all he can think while he is bleeding out is that his slime is weirdly red.

——

Charlie is eight when he first shows up in the cabin.

Charlie is nine when he first shows up in the cabin.

Charlie is ten, then ten again, then again and again and again when he wakes up in the cabin.

——

Blood covers his hands as scratch marks ache bitterly. The corpse is still warm, and Charlie can’t look at his face. He'd just met Sneeg a few days ago, despite the bitter feeling of something deeper he��d forgotten curling at his mind, but he still couldn’t stand the idea of having to- to-

He gags onto the ground, not enough food in his stomach to allow him even the respite of vomiting.

“Can I go home?” he repeats, eyes burning as his throat scratches. “Please, please can I go home? I won’t- I won’t tell anyone, I promise, just let me go home.”

The cameras are dimmed.

“Well, that went off script.” someone says.

“Yeah, what a disaster.” There’s a hand on him now, holding onto his shoulder, and he can’t move, he can’t breathe. “At least this one shows some potential as a villain in the future.”

“You raised him well.”

A chuckle. “Guess so.”

A needle is inserted between Charlie's ribs and he convulses as all goes dark.

——

Charlie is fourteen when he first shows up in the cabin.

——

He has horns in the mirror, so he must be a demon. There’s a slight raise around where they would be on the skull, hair falling like it was parted by something, but Slimecicle doesn’t think about it much.

His suit is always clouded by slime, heavy and cold, but it feels natural. The idea of cleaning it off seems almost heretical. It starts too big for him, but he grows into it somehow. It’s like he blinks and he’s older. He still plays with block toys and dolls. He struggles to read.

People enter his cabin. They do tasks of some sort, and Slimecicle messes with them a bit, like somebody is watching. They leave, or go still, or he puts them in the cage. It is routine. Slimecicle likes routine. The same food, the same schedule, everything early on a Saturday morning. He gets tasks, sometimes, and he does them, and he gets slime. It is how the world works.

He is alone, and he’s fine with that. The fourth wall stands sturdy, keeping him away from eyes and ears.

He is free, and he is alive.

——

Sometimes, they drag Charlie out somewhere with a computer and they let him play while recording him. He doesn’t know why. He can’t remember what his life is like outside of the games, honestly. It’s like he wakes up, he is at the computer, and then he goes to sleep.

People in the comments call him Slimecicle. He doesn’t know why. His name is Charlie, and it always had been. They ask him if he is okay, and he doesn’t know why. He’s okay, of course he is.

The masked people tell him so.

——

The cabin is decorated with bats for an Anniversary Special. Slimecicle doesn’t know what that means. Someone calls him Charlie, and he doesn’t know why. They are dragged away.

Someone turns up in the cabin, of course, still. That is how things always are. They are on a loop- this is the masked one. He's shown up a few times, but something about this feels different, and something about it makes Slimecicle feel off.

He doesn’t know why.

——

Charlie is twenty four when he dies in the cabin.

——

Charlie is twenty four when he shows up in the cabin.

[fallloverfic]

Solo Leveling Episode 7 Thoughts

Excellent ep!!! Spoilery thoughts for the anime, novel, and manhwa below, CW: blood:

Jinwoo and Jinah are so cute together T-T I love them being close sibs. I mean obviously he helped essentially raise her since he was 14, when their dad disappeared and their mom was too ill to do everything, and then fully did so after he graduated because their mother was comatose, and I just... think about that a lot. This kid who has to raise another kid and never got to finish being a kid himself and had to immediately go into the workforce and give up going to university and he just wants her to have the opportunities he didn't and I just T-T

I feel like I accidentally am vibing with this because I got fried chicken on the way home from errands today, completely unaware this was going to be in the episode.

I love Jinah asking about him and how he's doing. Makes up for calling him a cheapskate >.< I mean to be fair to her, I grew up in a household that struggled for money and I was completely clueless about why we often didn't get stuff, though my parents really tried to spoil us to the extent they could. I do get it. It's realistic in my experience to react this way, especially when the younger person is kept clueless about finances. It's just T-T sometimes. But I do love that she cares about his mental health.

Jinwoo just processing his first murder(s) essentially alone cause he certainly didn't confide in Jinho and he is the older brother with a sister in high school who is just living a normal life and wants her to be happy and so cannot confide in Jinah and it kills me he kind of doesn't do this with anyone, ever T-T Sort of when the Hunters manager warns him, but not on an emotional level. I mean to be fair he's also kind of just, "I resented them for thinking they had a chance against me," which is pretty dark lol But he's obviously really conflicted about that cause these were humans.

Jinwoo has one goal and that is protecting the people he loves. He's pragmatic. I think it's interesting he doesn't focus as much on "they tried to kill me multiple times, it was self-defense and defense of another person". Just... "My family is what's important and I'd do it again if I have to." Which, yes, that's a consideration you can have.

I mean he "could" have incapacitated the Lizards, maybe, rather than killing them, but he's not trained to do that, lacked equipment for it, and in the moment it's hard to process that. It just bothers me he doesn't really do any actual emergency training or whatever other than just building up muscle, EXP, and fighting/movement skills. Even his healing solution is just... shove a potion in people's mouths and it's unclear if he has literally any training in first aid of any kind outside that time he helps Song Chiyul wrap his arm.

Also Jinwoo is still really cute :3 He's animated well.

Hehe learning about the detox, poor guy lol I honestly do love the detail that the system detects alcohol as a harmful substance. It's fun when stories add it in.

Jinah worried about him drinking too much T-T They love each other T-T I love themmm

(just skip down three paragraphs if you don't care about my rant about cellphones lol)

One criticism I have because I always focus on the appearance or absence of mobile phones in modern stories where they should be there: the novel focuses a decent amount on how Jinwoo's cellphone broke in the double dungeon, and he has to get a replacement specifically from the Korean Hunter's Association, and that is completely absent from both the manhwa and the anime, and the anime is compensating weirdly. The novel explains, "Hunter-issue smartphones used specialized technology, so Jinwoo had to put in a request directly with the association." (Vol 1, Chapter 4). So the phone does more than just allowing the Hunter's Association easy access to hunters (I think at one point it's shown it works inside the dungeons, when most technology does not, so I imagine it's powered somehow by mana/essence stones). Jinwoo doesn't have the money to speed up the process, so he has to wait for multiple weeks for them to provide him with a new one, and he forgets to take care of it until I think after he's out of the hospital, so that puts off the process even longer. This means: the association cannot contact him except via landline, and anyone with his cell number cannot do so either, unless, presumably, they have his landline number. In the novel, Jinwoo demands an explanation from Jinho for how Jinho has the number on the presumed landline (it's just called "phone" in the Yen press English translation, I don't know why he wouldn't have his cellphone if he has one in the anime outside his bedroom where Jinah is, and I can't imagine Jinho getting Jinah's cell number, or why the Association would have it other than maybe as an emergency contact, which, again, why would he get that number and I feel like Jinwoo would kill him if he did lol), and Jinho explains that he knows someone at the Association.

Most of this revolves initially around various people trying to contact Jinwoo during this non-cellphone time and not getting to him because he literally does not have a phone and, presumably, they don't have his landline number. The nurse whose number he got tries to contact him via his mobile and nearly gives up by the time he gets his phone back to see her messages. Like many related subplots, this is also part of showing that Jinwoo is just... bad at keeping in touch with people lol I mean he explains, sadly, in the novel, "No one ever calls me anyway." (Vol 1, Chapter 4). But he gave this woman his number and ultimately decides to ignore her/not respond when he sees all the messages she sent him rather than saying literally anything like, "Sorry I was out of touch" or whatever, or just politely turning her down. He does this for most people: most of his interaction with his cellphone is to decide not to use it lol I can see why the manhwa dropped this plot nearly entirely (except for a later modification, which I really like) because it feels clunky. But it creates this weird scenario where... it's South Korea, Jinwoo doesn't have a ton of money but he's doing fine-ish enough to have a giant TV and a computer, and he needs his phone for work. Phones and mobile phones in particular exist in the anime (e.g., we see Woo Jinchul use one, Dongsoo crushes one). So one would ask: why does he not have a cellphone (and when/how did Jinho get his number)? And unrelated: why doesn't his email almost ever get used? The webnovel released in 2016, both would have been commonplace things then; I mean the guy goes onto a forum to ask if other people have leveled up in the novel; it would have been a lot simpler to have Jinho send him an email, though I guess I appreciate the added Jinwoo & Jinah bonding created by keeping this to some extent.

It doesn't ultimately matter in the grand scheme of things. It was really one of the weaker elements of the story and it's really incredibly minor. I can, again, see why the manhwa dropped it and why the anime is side-stepping it when considering what to adapt. But anyway, that was my aside of "how cellphone usage/lack of it when it should be there changes stories". (Also for the record, I think it's good he didn't respond to the nurse, in the end, because that entire plotline is really creepy and probably violates some ethics, but it's also so completely unnecessary).

Jinho pointing out the fight with the Lizards was self-defense :3 Good!

The "this cafe sells coffee" glamour shots are making me laugh, I don't know why lol

One thing that's always intrigued me with this series, and I don't know if this is common to the genre or something, maybe it is, is how much buildings are used as collateral. Like it is a simple truth that buildings are a very core part of value for wealthy people and organizations. Real estate is where big money is made. A lot of people in power literally control large chunks of your local real estate. But a similar story would probably just say like... "I can wire x money to you as needed". Instead this just upfront goes, "I'm rich, but here's this really big money item you could have: a building." It's just neat.

O.o Jinwoo doesn't take Jinho's offer. That's interesting. He does take the offer in both the novel and the manhwa, so I'm unsure about why the change? Maybe it combines into his realization that he needs to level up to face enemies past Cerberus and Jinho is a convenient way to do that.

Dongsoo's Japanese voice actor (Junichi Suwabe) has too pretty a voice for Dongsoo alkdjaldja Like he sounds unfairly beautiful aldkjalalkj (Unsurprising for the guy who voiced Viktor in Yuri on Ice) I don't precisely know what I expected him to sound like, and I'd love to see who they picked for the Korean dub, but alkdjal dang. To be fair... he did also voice Jaeha in Yona of the Dawn, and Grimmjow in Bleach, so I'm not that surprised the actor sounds good... I just. Wow. Salud. I don't know that this works for Dongsoo (at least for me) but he does at least sometimes play annoying dudes lol (I love you Jaeha and Grimmjow, and Viktor and Oda, but still aldkjalj).

Stop fatshaming your sister Jinwoo. You deserved that kick even if you did not at all feel it.

Bonding time ruined T-T

The way the buttons on the system get clicked is such a satisfying look/sound.

O.O oh, Jinwoo's learning about the Elixir of Life way early. That's intriguing! In the novel and manhwa he doesn't learn until way later. The anime is really focusing overall on making his goal centrally about caring for his family rather than more about improvement for the sake of improvement (I mean in the novel it feels kind of like 60/40 trade-off with the former being improvement). I get why the change: it makes him more sympathetic. And it also makes him look less strange for trying this difficult dungeon early, and for why he focuses so hard on getting back to it, even before he knew about the elixir. Also gives him a solid goal for season 2.

The gentle piano is lovely, and really sets the mood well. Jinwoo has a lot on the line: his mother's health, caring for his sister, beyond his own survival. The juxtaposition is really good.

As someone who loves Greek myths, I have seen a lot of designs for Cerberus (I have two plushie three-headed dogs, including the Cerberus from Hades the video game). Can't say I'm a fan of this design lol It's fine. It's functional. It's a very good remake of the manhwa design. I guess it just... didn't look as eh. It moves well and works, and the team did a good job. I think just... seeing more of it highlights how I really don't care for the design lol Dubu/the team were really good at designing some monsters, but not others.

The fight is really amazing and well-paced, though. Though it's an interesting change that the system is the one reminding Jinwoo about the gland during this fight, rather than him doing it on his own (he figures it out after discovering the detox in both the novel and manhwa). I like him making the connection on his own. Jinwoo can be a little thick a lot, but he is pretty intelligent, and that was one of his smarter moments. Ah well.

Will never get tired of his eyes glowing in shots. His wounds steaming as they heal is also a neat effect.

He's getting the Elixir of Life recipe early too :3 That makes sense. Would be weird if they bring that up early and don't reference it again for... goodness I don't even know that they'll come back to it before the season ends. I don't think we will, because I wouldn't be surprised if the season ends with the Igris fight. But it gives something to look forward to for maybe season 2.

Also he gets the dog collar :3 BUT... like the manhwa we don't see him put it on lol In the novel he's really nervous about people seeing him wear it, but canonically speaking, particularly since he never seems to take his armor off other than to exchange it for improved gear, he puts this on and wears an invisible dog collar through a good chunk of the story (until he gets a better neckpiece) lol Love it. Ah well. Would have been funny to see animated but they are generally sticking to the manhwa, so. It would be funny if I was proven wrong <.< Have him put on the collar, anime!!

All in all, a really good episode, with some great animation, some more lovely music, and some lovely moments between Jinwoo and Jinah. This continues the trend of modifying stuff in interesting ways. Looking forward to episode 8!

More episode thoughts:

S01E05

S01E06

S01E07 (you are here)

S01E08

S01E09

S01E10

S01E11

S01E12

[loving-family-poll]

i fear we are departing from incest but i love to hear myself talk so i shall tell you about my sister's complex about me. first we have to establish some things: my sister is older than me (the oldest of us all, i'm second oldest, just mentioning it bc me not being the youngest feels important here), my sister has an inferiority complex that stems from me being the successful one (probably will come up later but i was a very smart kid and ended up skipping so many grades that i started college at 15), and that my sister has always had bad anxiety and is very very sensitive to rejection

so. let's start from the beginning. our father left us young, didn't pay child support, was generally an asshole, but most importantly he would visit for one reason: me. i was the favorite because, as i mentioned, i was a smart kid and he is very success-oriented so naturally he took to me (and off-topic but this happens so often. like very very success driven people have been weirdly into me since i was a little kid. weird shit but i've used it to my advantage cough cough getting a kid flunked and almost expelled) so anyway our father visits us just for me, even tells me about all the women he was cheating on my mom with before they got divorced. and my sister? my sister has bad anxiety, she's sensitive to being left out. and more than that she has very very strong rejection sensitivity. so how do you think it'd feel to be the oldest child and yet be ignored by our father (this did not affect my other siblings they were too young). so this puts me above her in her mind

she fails a lot in school and this wrecks her confidence, especially since i've always been greatly successful in school. she's pushed aside by her father for me, she's pushed away by her teachers for me (to the point that i would have a teacher for a short time before i'd test out and they'd still call her my name no matter how long she had them). she also has very poor social skills so she was never liked by her peers while i was funny and i was smart and i was such a goody-two-shoes brat but teachers adored me to the point that i could get away with anything i wanted (yes i was pulling shit i think i had a habit of attacking one of my teachers and everyone was cool with it) and she'd be scolded for any little issues because she wasn't as liked + she was more frustrating (she had untreated adhd for a hot minute). keep in mind that most of this was happening while we were both under 10/11

so. you'd think that she would have some deep-seated resentment against me. and you would be correct! now idk what you know about psychology and chances are it's bs anyway (<-psych major that does not trust the field in the slightest) but there's this nifty little concept called reaction formation. it's freudian so. take that as you will. but basically it's just when a strong emotion switches from one to another. for example: hate to love, love to hate… resentment to adoration?

so that's my theory for the basis of this. she has an inferiority complex and a sensitivity to rejection and i was everything she wasn't and for whatever reason her kid brain said hey, why not love my sister instead. and honestly this wasn't that like. prevalent until we teenagers, because i became very neurotic and anxious and developed some disorders you know how it is. and now we see something new in my sister: she likes to take care of people. if i couldn't do something she would do it for me, if someone was pushing my boundaries she would enforce them. i basically spent all of middleschool hiding away in our home (i was homeschooled atp) with only her for company since i'd hide in our room. so she;s taken on the role of being my protector. probably because if she would never be better than me, at least she could be the one protecting me. it made her important. it made her necessary. it made her feel needed. and that is when i catch on. i encouraged her a bit, started praising her, thanking her for any little thing she did, calling for her anytime i needed help because she just loves to feel needed so badly. and yeah maybe that was manipulative and maybe it was wrong but i was also like. 14 or 15 when i started doing this

anyway so she has this whole complex about needing to protect me so that she can feel needed and it's all fueled by her inferiority complex that honestly drives so much of what she does. i find it highly amusing.

so yeah. she's basically a dog to me. tell her she's good and give her a treat and she'll do what you want. and if she does something that makes me upset she folds so fucking quickly it's wild. it's that fear of rejection. she could never stand for me of all people to drop her

and to the person who wanted us in the tournament together sorry but we are just weird about each other in a not-so-incesty way but the vibes are kinda there

The way I was glued to this ask reading SO intently. What you two have going on is so much weirder than if you'd just fucked (complimentary)

[westcovinas]

I think one of the most appealing character building aspects of arrested development is how fully fleshed out the women are. It came out in 2003 and it does better than shows coming out now, 20 years later. All of the women are equally if not more so scheming, conniving, and manipulative as their male counterparts. Lindsay is portrayed at being good at manipulating men’s emotions and sexualities despite marrying a gay man, which makes sense when the show establishes her better relationship with her father. Her mother gave her an eating disorder, so her father got to teach his little girl how to get people to give you what you want. She’s also (inadvertently) adept at running a business, which was no doubt the influence of both parents and her “twin” brother.

Her daughter, Maeby, took her mother’s skill for lying and her father’s aptitude at earnest acting. She’s just as manipulative as the women before her, if not more. By pure lies alone, she gets multiple jobs, free housing, and cheats the school system. Instead of using roofies to sexually assault Steve Holt, she uses them specifically to avoid sex. Maeby constantly defies expectation, subverts standards, and makes her own path as the daughter with two negligent, well meaning parents.

Which brings us to Lucille. Lucille and her husband set the standard for all of their children and grandkids. Although we can assume there was a long line of weirdly fucked up Bluths and Jenkins (Lucille’s maiden name) before them, they are the epitome of the Bluth name: selfish boomers/silent gens that will stop at nothing to get their way. Lucille is a queen at mind games and casually cruel offhand remarks. She is revealed to be in charge, in a spin that surprises few watchers. Everyone know’s Lucille pulls the strings, even if George sr is equally exploitive.

Even the minor ladies in ad pass the bechdel test with flying colors. Maggie is, quite frankly, kind of a bitch - she doesn’t care who she’s screwing over, as long as she looks good (par course for the Bluth family). Kitty is a true home wrecker: she knows her partner’s wife and she knows that she “hates” the cheating. We don’t know how much it actually bothers Lucille, but Kitty doesn’t care. All of Michael’s love interests leave him, and he’s the main character. His son, George Michael, doesn’t fare much better romantically either, except with Ann, who also eventually rejects him. Even Ann, the devout evangelical Christian, is still given notable characteristics and personality traits: faithful, passionate, stubborn. From Lupe to Lucille II, the women are allowed to be just as full as the men, which is refreshing, especially from 20 years ago.

[dyke-a-saur]

Finished watching Heartbreak High and I gotta say, I feel like they pulled off Gen Z High School really well. Like I could go to school with these absolute agents if chaos.

Okay but important business:

Amerie

I loved her the second she popped up on screen. Her energy, her personality, and her friendship with Harper. It was just the best. At times tho, I could see why the other characters antagonized her. After all, it was just as much her map as Harper’s and she put people in awful situations. Not to mention the reveal that she failed to let Harper in, then had the nerve to say she’d always be there. She even did the same to Malakai (tho it’s clear she acted out of trauma from her and Harper’s friendship gone sour)

Dusty

Fuck you. Youse a bitch, a snake, and truly a shit stain on the trousers of humanity. Work on yourself. Big soulful eyes tho.

Ca$h

Arguably the second most emotionally intelligent character in the show? Definitely better at it than Darren and his relationship was so refreshing? It was neat to see it not be a “I like dudes, oh no,” storyline and instead “I’m ace and just need to better express that to my partner who I love and adore”. Also that “I love you scene” was peak ghetto and I loved it. Darren’s Baby Daddy really behind bars, huh?

Malakai

This man. Is so fine. So sweet. And so funny. I love the way he gets to know Amerie and then befriends her and then becomes her first. And even if he handled the peer pressure to talk about the details poorly, he wanted to do right by her. I also loved how they explored the kinship he had with OTHER BLA(c)K CHARACTERS. It was nice to see how much he healed by being in his community and being surrounded by love for his culture. Missy being a big part of that was beautiful.

Harper

I did get the "spoiler" that she went through "something traumatizing" right before the start of the show, then later got more clues from Tumblr. So i had more patience with her character at the start, being honest. But goddamn it was so hard to watch her shut Amerie out and lash out at her. It also sucked seeing her antagonized in the second half because if she could've reached out or accepted people reaching in, then I feel like shit could've been handled better. But after seeing the events of "that night" I could totally get how and why she would want Amerie out of her life. Fake as hell for not owning up to the Incest Map tho. I was constantly whisper-yelling at my phone "girl, get it together!'

Quinni

No notes. Love her. She's the best. Also the most emotionally intelligent character (not a surprise and fuck you Sasha). She helps so many characters process their emotions, make up, figure out wwhat they want, and still stands on her own as a great character with her own life going on. I'm NT, but from what I've seen on Tumblr, most ND people see her as good rep.

Spider

Fuck this guy. Racist, sexist, (not as homophobic as previously assumed), and awful. But I love it. I love when he gets told to shut up. I love it when he's being awful and the other characters are like "yeah, fuck this dude". But also, he was weirdly complex? like the scene where he would've gotten it on with Amerie makes a lot of sense in context of the rest of his behavior. He's overcompensating because someone he genuinely liked, and cared for to an extent, hurt him in a vulnerable place and treated him like a dissapointment. Doesn't give him the right to react with daily verbal abuse, but his character makes more sense that way. I'd like to see him grow from that, but I'm not sure how.

Star of the Show

They're here, they're queer, they're unapologetically BLACK, they. Are. DARREN.

Okay jokes aside, I love this bitch. They're not only a great friend, but they (mostly) know what they want in life. It's sad to see Darren be dismissed as “too much” in their home, and you can really see how its affected the way they view their ability to be loved and cherished. So seeing them find that in Ca$h and watch the relationshp between the two grow was beautiful. It hurt to see Darren hurt Ca$h, like they gay ass ain't know what the "A" in "LGBTQIA" stood for, but that growth and intracommunity hurt was important to see.

Others

Ant annoyed me but he seemed like he could do/be better if he wasn’t around the rest of the guys. Sasha pissed me off, but I hope losing Quinni was enough to actually get her to look at her self-righteous tendencies and work on herself, I wanna see her go far. Missy was a fucking icon and I love her. Ms. Jojo is the love of my life and fuck Spider/Ant/Dusty (nigga) for screwing her over like that. Mrs. Spigot is my literal soulmate.

I think that’s all for now? But yeah go watch it if you haven’t already. It is another show focusing on the sex lives of teens but it feels more authentic than anything we’ve been given before.

[seafoamreadings]

revisiting domicile/exaltation/etc

the system(s) of which planet is exalted in which sign or finds its joy in whichever house is/are pretty old. i really find there's something to it, like of COURSE venus loves to be taurus or libra or pisces.

but by at least the dominant system, she's neutral in leo... and who in their right mind?!?!? leo is so glamorous and aesthetic. it's my view that venus LOVES to be in leo even if she isn't classically in domicile or exaltation there.

similarly some systems (not all) have mercury neutral in aquarius and i've never understood that. aquarius isn't always as chatty or social as the other air signs but it's every bit as intellectual, thoughtful, and cerebral - sometimes moreso. mercury loves aquarius!

here's a list of some underappreciated placements in my opinion.

venus loves leo

mercury loves aquarius

mars loves taurus. it may be in old school astrology in a bad placement there but the tenacity and vigor is similar to mars in capricorn.

mars doesn't necessarily LOVE virgo but it does really well there.

the sun is underestimatedly powerful in cancer, especially in the northern hemisphere for the summer solstice. in the south it should have a similar but slightly smaller influence when it's in capricorn. i would love to hear from people in the southern half of the earth as to how they feel about this.

i posit that the moon loves all the water signs, although not as much as she loves cancer, and earthy taurus. people who invoke the tides as part of the moon's power and the emotions of water should see this connection. she takes a different tone in each, but is fairly at home in all of them.

ceres in my opinion as you may know is the real/modern ruler of virgo. but she also seems to love cancer (having much in common with the moon) and taurus (being so very much about food. it's a taurus stereotype but admit it, it got that way for a reason.)

jupiter loves leo, being that they are both kingly, regal, kindly, generous, etc. indeed when i was first learning astrology many years ago it took weirdly long to get it into my head that jupiter neither ruled nor was exalted in leo classically. it just makes so much intuitive sense to me.

saturn loves virgo. they both have harvest associations, and tarot-hermit associations. they both do details, discipline, and the sacred mundane really well. both tax/accounting experts, weirdly.

for the outer planets, i can't base this on any real life experience but only theory due to the slow movement. i don't think uranus is particularly comfortable anywhere but aquarius, but may do well in unpredictable gemini as well.

i cannot imagine that neptune doesn't like being in the depths of scorpio at least a bit. pisces and scorpio and neptune and the 12th house and even jupiter a little bit all share this profound desire/urge to return to unity.

this is practically impossible to study from experience, although some historical digging could provide some insight, but just based on themes i suspect pluto loves aries and vice versa. perhaps also pisces would be a good outlet for alchemical and destructive tendencies.

juno has no traditional domicile or exaltation but i think she would do great in libra.

likewise for chiron, who as a centaur should have some affinity with sagittarius.

any you would add?

[additiva]

I personally think it’s more to do with English is more of a second language to a lot of them? No matter how long they have spoken it is practically native or it working in an English-dominated environment.

English is my second language. In my language there exists a word that literally means fuck, the action. But it’s commonly used as the dirtiest? worst? in mostly extreme expression of anger/surprise, same as fuck, it’s pluggable everywhere, than being used referring to sexual intercourse. It’s considered extremely bad manners for a woman to use it, for men it’s more common between them under informal circumstances and off-camera obviously, but still it’s normal to think even men using them as “he has a foul mouth”. And no one would dare to use it in front of parents lol. It’s quite unimaginable for anyone or any reality show or competition broadcasted in my language to use it, of course people lip-read, like in football but so long it’s not “said” to the camera out loud or situation so extreme people wouldn’t deem it uncalled for, no one wants to end their careers for having a foul mouth.

I almost never use it, even when I’m alone at home. But for me now as an adult 30ish the English equivalent “fuck” is just an exclamation of frustration, I even use it in front of my parents, they know the meaning but so long the same word is not said in my language, they don’t care. It carries little significance for me, for my parents and close friends, they see me using it as a picked-up foreign swear word. And I felt ok watching shows with a lot of swearing in English, if they speak this way in my language on a show I might not be able to continue I think, it would be like there’s no point swearing this much that making me uncomfortable.

Weirdly I first learned fuck when I was studying abroad at an international school in north Europe. I was around 10, I learned fuck and shit and the middle-finger from my classmates. They taught me and I used it back at them, and they were very offended and the teacher, she was American, was telling me I can’t do that.

I also don’t care much for what they say in the car, physical and emotional tensions are high, and sometimes people do say things they don’t mean under such situations, and the way f1 just pick and choose what to show leaves a lot of room for manipulation in the media. I know it’s probably because otherwise f1 would be even more boring for casual audience just watching the car, of course they have to throw meat to the wolves for entertainment by broadcasting this way, doesn’t make me like it.

This got so long lmao. I think I was trying to say I understand your feeling, even though it sometimes feels to me as a foreigner swearing is so normal in the English language, and I feel ok about the drivers doing it, but still weird to be that way in a competition/show broadcast in your native tongue.

This is EXACTLY it. This is exactly what I mean.

I read a study one time saying that everything carries less emotional impact in a non-native language. For example, people don't respond as strongly to hearing those sorts of words, but also 'i love you' 'im sorry' etc in a non-native language, because the same emotional and cultural attachments aren't there. And I think it's sort of the same thing.

I personally am not offended by it I think it sort of adds flavour. But to a lot of people it is offensive. I still don't say fuck in front of my parents, and I don't say cunt to anyone. I'm uncomfortable even writing or reading it. I hate reading it when it's thrown around a lot in fics I read, because it triggers an uncomfortable reaction in my brain. Because I was raised to know that it's the worst word in the English language.

In school, or at a normal work-place, even if something surprises you, or you get hurt, or angry, you still can't use them. And when I had students from other countries in my school in my native country, they would get in a lot of trouble, because in English, they're really bad words.

I wouldn't be offended to hear or use the really bad words in your language, but I also would never tell you that they're not bad, just because they don't have that impact on ME.

[winstonhenderson]

𝟏𝟗𝟕𝟑.

𝓗𝓸𝔀 𝓣𝓸 𝓣𝓪𝓶𝓮 𝓐 𝓢𝓽𝓻𝓪𝔂

𝙎𝘼𝘾𝙍𝙄𝙁𝘼𝙈𝙀 𝙎𝙀𝙍𝙄𝙀𝙎

May Pang’s Diary

I have new findings to write down! Today has been two months since I began working as Yoko Ono's secretary. Job was easy enough. Sort through schedules. Deal with callers. Write down important dates. 

Mrs. Ono would visit or call me and let me know everything that needed to be done that day. She is a very capable woman. The media was able to capture that part of her. That's why I like her. But something else caught my eye which made me want to work here.

A piece of work that was her world famous, macho, peace loving husband John Lennon. Mr. Lennon was, in fact, the first man I ever fell in love with. When I met him in person one time, we clicked. Or I clicked with him. He seemed to be too drawn up by drugs. Still, he left a big impact on me. Being that I only ever felt attraction to women, I was happy for once I liked a man. But I was ever so suspicious and began to doubt my feelings. After confirming I indeed felt an undying passion towards him, I began to study him more closely.

Mr. Lennon has an interesting character. He, as a man, behaves very stereotypically, even more so than others in public. Though he was always trying to be sustained.

Meanwhile, in the studio, he would be more relaxed and sensitive, and more true. And that was the man I fell in love with. Or perhaps not.

He was... More feminine. More delicate. More open and caring. More emotional. More everything. He was more. He wasn't a cynic and a great thinker like people described him. In there he was... Just not like other men. Not even close. A fighter, but considerate. Drugs made him lose his manners but that wasn't really Mr. Lennon anyway.

I wonder why Mrs. Ono insisted on doing drugs with him. She is running away from something and I think that something was her husband's true nature - the feminine and overlooked side of him.

So. I did a little digging. 

Turns out, USA's current most wanted musician doesn't have birth records. Never got made. No record in schools. No record anywhere. Records begin in 1961. when he married his first wife, Cynthia. ID was made only after the Beatles struck gold. 

Note said: "John had lost his original one, and we were more than happy to make him a new one."

It was suspicious from the very beginning.

I looked through and found out Mr. Lennon had a sister. She was drop dead gorgeous and I wanted to meet her immediately. She lived in Mr. Lennon's childhood home. I tracked it down. She was scheduled to return to it a few days after the pair finished recording Mr. Lennon's new album. I was reminded of a story Mrs. Ono told me about stalking her future husband and giggled. I went to the house at that time just to catch a glimpse of her.

She was... Everything. She looked just like her younger brother but more mature and stoic. More... Just a sight to behold. My heart beat fast... But knowing her from Mr. Lennon's explanations which were brief she was:

"A goodie two-shoes."

"Prissy."

"Much too emotional."

I love those kinds of people. And that kind of girl.

She walked towards the house with a wistful expression like Mr. Lennon usually does.

The beauty's name? Julia Victoria Lennon.

She, unlike her brother, has her documents in check. She is weirdly absent from Mr. Lennon's photos and vice versa. She too had a knack for rock music. Their mother was a rock enthusiast.

I wanted to ask her about her brother so I came closer.

"Miss, miss!", I called out.

Her gaze fluttered towards me and she dismissed me.

"What do you think of your brother?"

"John?", she thought hard, her voice striking me as practically the same as her brothers, just a bit more "Julia" song type than "Twist and Shout".

"I dunno, he is doing fine and I'm happy for him."

"And you?", I enjoyed her.

She felt entraced by my watchfullness.

"I... I'm alright, thanks. What's your name?", she asked. She looked like she knew me already and was putting on an act. God, those eyes are so pretty.

"May Pang, at your service.", I chuckled.

"Julia Victoria Lennon, I suppose you already knew that. Why did you bug me of all people? Me and John had a falling out. I haven't been in contact with him since he left Cyn."

"Oh. I wanted to get some more information about Mr. Lennon. I suppose I'm doing this in one part for his wife's needs, I'm her secretary."

Ms. Lennon's face scrunched up.

"Why couldn't she just ask him? He would've told her."

"He likes to lie, and you know that. You were close with him. But you don't have any pictures with him, why's that?"

Ms. Lennon looked into my soul and told me:

"John burned them infront of me."

"He... Was he that cruel to you?"

"I was cruel to him... We were cruel towards eachother. I never took him seriously enough."

"He shouldn't have burned them. You are pretty. Would be awful to lose more pictures of you."

Ms. Lennon blushed. Was she?

"I, thank you... I forgot what it felt like to be called pretty."

"Forgot? I thought men flew at your sight?"

Ms. Lennon chuckled like only a fair lady would.

"Not really, they don't have the time to see me."

She patted my shoulder and I was brave and took her hand and kissed it. Ms. Lennon acted like she didn't notice. She looked at me with a familiar glare and said:

"Thank you for your attention. You made my day special."

Those words were engraved into my mind.

When I came back from Liverpool, Mrs. Ono was sadder and more nervous than usual.

"How did he- How did sh- Fuck that, how did he know..."

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Ono, what's the schedule for today?"

She looked at me silently and gave me the papers. She was visibly more frustrated.

"Is it about Mr. Lennon?"

She nodded.

"What is it this time?"

"He found out that I was spying on him."

"Oh."

The mysterious Ms. Lennon lied to me. She told her brother about it.

"Now he is making a mess. I've lied to him too many times. What a hypocrite!"

"Yes.", I ordered the notes.

"Listen, May, he will come by today. If he sways, tell me. Because usually at these times he would get himself drunk. Try to hold him here as long as you can!"

"Yes ma’am.", then she left.

I worked on paperwork and calls until I heard a ring. I opened the door and who else but Mr. Lennon strolls in with a couple of vermouths? Why vermouth? That's a female drink.

I sat down with him. Oh god, he reminds me of his sister so much. She is like a goddess.

He drank a whole bottle of it on his own.

"Weak.", he mumbled half drunk, "Mayyyy!"

His voice was softer and fluffier. He is so...

No, I was imagining him as a woman all along! That's why I have a crush on him! He is... A man? Or...

His hair floated everywhere like Julia's. His smile was... So delicate. Everything about him seemed ladylike at that moment. 

And that's when I concluded.

There is no Mr. Lennon. There was no man to begin with. It was Ms. Lennon, the lovely lady with a yellow dress and a beautiful rose emblem.

It was obvious now why Ms. Ono hated to talk about her husband's sister. Ms. Ono fell in love with the masculine part. I fell in love with the feminine part. And I wanted those lips now. God...

"Julia.", I calmly whispered with utmost want, "How long are you going to pretend?"

And weirdly, the woman? played along.

"I dunno, till I die?", she laughed and kissed my hand making me blush and retreat. God, she is so cute and lovely.

I went back to my station and worked.

The next day, Mrs. Ono was relieved that her husband- or her partner- her spouse didn't cause any more problems.

"I'm so proud of him! I don't know how he kept himself together yesterday... May, May!"

"I'm sorry I was thinking about someone special."

"A man? Or... Hm, a woman?"

I got defocused and saw Lennon walk in.

"God. So divine. She is...", I mumbled.

"So it is a she.", Ms. Ono chuckled.

"Julia is so pretty.", I finished.

"You like... My husband's sister?", her face scrunched.

I chuckled.

"No, it's a different Julia."

She brightened up.

"Well then, I have a delicate matter for you to handle. Follow around my husband and see how rough his affair is. I won't explain it in detail, just bring me the letters that arrive in his other home... Alright? I will tell him he needs to sort out his paperwork and that you were sent for that reason. He has been meaning to that for a while, and hasn't gotten to it."

"Yes. You are the organized wife afterall."

Ms. Ono went on her way dragging her spouse to her and explaining that I needed to accompany him.

He was amused.

"Yoko, love, see you then. Miss Pang, right?"

"Miss-ter Lennon, what is the paperwork you need help with?", I almost made a mistake.

He chuckled.

"Follow me then. And John is just fine. Or Lennon if you are uncomfortable."

I smiled.

"Fine, Lennon."

He sped up his steps and I kept up with him like a dog. From the back I could only see Julia. He led me through the busy NYC streets. Nobody approached him today on this walk. We arrived at a building and he grandiously stopped me by putting a hand on my shoulder. Must've been defocused by his hair. God.

"We have arrived."

He took out his keys and opened the entrance door to the building. We went upstairs and entered his flat. It was... In utter chaos. Which was expected seeing his situation with Yoko. 

"This is... Where in this pile of paper is the stuff that needs to be sorted?", I asked.

"Hmm... Those are just songs, dear. The pile of paperwork that needs to be sorted is in the other room. You could look at those, seeing that my wife is currently on my tail in every single way. It doesn't really matter who sees them."

I took some papers. Half of them were crossed out songs. Some comments were like:

"It doesn't matter."

"Without Paul you're nothing."

"Not melodical enough."

"I'm repeating myself. Paul never repeats himself."

Paul. Paul. Paul. Was Lennon still obsessed with Mr. McCartney? That could be the reason why my boss wants to know what he’s been doing.

We went into the only clean room in the whole apartment. In it were two piles of documents.

"Please, sort out this hell for me.", he pointed towards the papers.

"Alright.", I began working. 

"I will try to clean the flat, your visit was a wake up call. What if Yoko walks in? She would be fucking livid."

I laughed. Lennon went to the living room and began cleaning.

I am fast and sorted the documents in no time at all. Now, I have to look through the dressers and find conspicuous items. I opened the small hidden compartment in the table. There were letters being exchanged between... Julia Lennon and Paul McCartney.

Hm... Why would they be in Lennon's posession?

I decided to take them. Maybe that was the affair my boss was reffering to. But I couldn't be sure. So I opened the dresser. In there, there were some unnamed letters. I took those instead, putting the ones I took first back to their place.

The dresser was filled with the most colorful and stylish dresses the eye could see. Lennon seems to have an eye for female fashion too. He was stylish for a man. Sometimes too much. So this is evidence of an affair! Except it isn't. Sitting there, freshly washed, was a checkered yellow dress with a rose emblem. It had puffy sleeves and a puffy skirt and it was Julia's. Why would Lennon have Julia's stuff? I even stopped being polite. God, her name. Her face, everything. I stole the dress. I did. I wanted to wake up everyday beside it. Lennon walked right in when I closed the dresser.

He lifted an eyebrow.

"Ms. Pang, I see you have done the sorting earlier than expected. I commend you on your swiftness.", he wove his words carefully, "Sometimes I ask myself why don't I get a share of you meself?"

"You could always ask for my services?"

He approached me. Intently. My heart skipped a beat.

"What are you doing?"

He placed his lips on my eyes. What the hell was he doing, and why was I enjoying it? Julia...

He-He-How did he-

"Making sure Yoko doesn't get a hold of this! Oh, love, you thought I would be so dumb to let you have the *very private and juicy* letters I exchange with... A person that you shouldn't know about or care about. Oh, I despise them."

"Your exchange with... Julia? Or no. That couldn't be true."

"Why not?", he smiled wide.

"Because...”, I was speechless.

"Exactly."

"You... Lennon, I'll find your weakness somehow."

"I know you will, you are capable."

"Why is your dresser full of your sister's dresses?", I asked.

"Why did you steal one of them then? Do you like it? If you asked me for permission I would've gladly let you have it."

He notices absolutely every detail.

"She... Wore this one when I met her."

"Oh.", he sighed, "You wanted to look as pretty as her?"

"No, it's not my size. I am... Could I even share this with you?"

This felt like a confession more than a sharing of facts. Lennon is Julia, this is the chance to prove it, based on his reaction.

He was amused by my behaviour. He was excited to learn what my intention was.

Wait... Was Lennon queer too? Why would he be with Mrs. Powell all those years? Or no? Was it an act to uphold some fame while playing around with the person he hates! This is too much.

"It should be right for you to know, because Ms. Ono knows too."

"Oh, so this is top secret.", he threw himself onto the armchair and spread his legs in expectation.

"I like women."

"What?", Lennon asked in pure disbelief, putting his glasses down.

I came closer to him.

"I like women. I like Julia."

"You what?", he was absolutely red. I thought he was angry, but he began touching his face and looked at his hands. I think he felt embarrassed and like he was caught in a stupid situation.

"You like... Julia?"

"The moment I saw her I realized I was in love with her. Not you."

"You liked me?"

"I like you?"

"You...", he was speechless.

"I want to see you again in this."

"Again?", he was stammering in confusion, "This can't be happening... This isn't... How it's supposed to go..."

"And how is it supposed to go, Julia?", I asked.

His mind didn't seem to notice that I changed the name.

"I... You were supposed to like John, not... Not Julia. Julia never got a confession. John only got those. No... She did get one. Only one. The most important."

"Paul?"

"My... Macca...", he mumbled and reset, "How the fuck do you like her?"

"Where is your mind?", I asked him or her.

"I asked you plain and simple."

"I ask you to dress in this. I like your wavy hair. I hate that you straighten it. I hate that you need to pretend. I hate that you put yourself up to this."

"What?", it was obvious there was no John Lennon anymore. 

"Dress in this. We're going to go do girl things."

"I can't do those... I'm… I’m out of practice-", she grabbed her hand.

"We are going whether you like it or not, Julia."

"I would ask you how you know, and I would then break your ribs, but for some reason I don't find the urge to do that."

"Stop pretending and let's go. Dress up."

Julia had gone to the bathroom and I heard squeals of excitement. She must've missed this.

After about half an hour she was back to the way I saw her in Liverpool. I could settle with only being friends with her. Wait, that meant! Julia and Paul have an affair!

"God, that was the affair all along.", I said.

Julia was confused and adorable and I couldn't let my boss know more about that. And... I think Julia is trying to change... Lennon is working on his image.

"Well, where do you want to go, Ms. Pang?", her voice stayed absolutely the same, except for the tone of speaking. Lennon was cocky, Julia was caring. 

"May is fine."

"May. Where are we going?"

"Hm, let's go to a shopping center!"

"I'll lead the way."

She was spewing bullcrap earlier. Men looked at her as much as women looked at her alter ego. No one approached us and we went shopping with no problems.

"May, which is your favourite store? I just love this one-or no, maybe this one is more up your alley? It’s fun and elegant like you!”

She chuckled.

“You know, you are pretty. Men look at you. Women are envious. Just see their reactions.”

She shrugged me off, “Thank you, but I don’t agree, missy.”

“And for the store. I like the choice. I want to buy something.”

“Yay!”, she excitedly dragged me inside.

“This formal section was made for you! Or no, maybe I got used to seeing you as my wi- I mean Yoko’s assistant. Gets confusing.”

She had a hunch for people’s taste.

“Yes.”

She stared at me carefully choosing the shirt and skirt that went together. I chose the navy skirt and white shirt and orange dots.

“Yeah it's a contrasting color scheme. Love it. Even better, you have orange pumps.”, she studied, “Let me just check the quality-”

I brushed her hand with intent. She carefully checked every seam.

“Try it on, and if it fits and looks nice on ya, I’ll buy it. You deserve it for figuring out little old me.”

How generous. I rushed to the dressing room and changed my clothes. I went out of the dressing rooms.

“That’s great! I am buying it.”, that made me blush.

“Thank you, Julia.” 

“And you can’t call John normally, tsk tsk.”, Julia scoffed, “Anytime.”

I changed and handed her the clothes so that she could pay. She paid with no problems. Maybe she was finally calm, Lennon always had a lot of trouble with payment, he would get either swarmed with complaints about his career or get a lot of discounts. Mrs. Ono would misuse the second.

“Where to next?”, I asked.

“I want to drink a nice cuppa and eat a tin of mint choc cookies.”

“Really?”

“Could we go to a park and do that?”

“Alright by me.”

We went back to Lennon’s house and took a box of her favourite cookies and made some piping hot black tea that went with it. We transferred it in some fancy metal cups. Very soon, we arrived at Central Park.

“Exactly why you should trust John to buy the most useless looking thing and for him to be absolutely right about you needing it someday!”, Julia talked about herself in the third person.

I felt a presence. 

“Cheers, May.”, she lifted her metal cup, “For smart women everywhere.”

“For us.”

I tried the dessert. No wonder it’s Julia’s favourite, it’s minty yet sweet like her alter ego and her. We talked some more. She told me how hard it is to spend so much time alone, because Yoko worked all the time and that she felt like a dead weight even though she wrote a whole bunch of stuff. She sang to me a couple of songs that she wrote during her solo career and the Beatles. She tore up when I requested Here, There and Everywhere.

“I don’t know if I could sing that one. Paul was better at that.”

“Is Mr. McCartney that important? You have a whole exchange between him and you! And it’s you as Julia!”

“Maybe he is! I dunno. He writes nice melodies. I'll give him that.”

“Wait, what I mean to say is… Paul is a great songwriter. He was the best partner I ever had.”

Is her brain that split?

“You don’t need a partner to feel whole. They just compliment you.”

She chuckled.

“May, you are really funny.”

She made a pause.

“But, you are right. I always forget that. Then I’ll sing it for ya.”

She sings well. So beautiful… It’s deep, because of years of pretending to be a man, but wispy. And the more she sang, she got better and fluffier tones making me feel so great.

“I like it.”

“Macca still sings it much better. But… Thank you.”

We began small talk. Julia would go into philosophy and weird facts. I’d pull her back or sometimes even engage in her topic… She is so engaging. Until we ate the entire tin. I have talked with her for too long. What if Mrs. Ono suspects something!

“I should head back to Mrs. Ono, she is most likely thinking about why I got held up at your place for so long.”

“Yes, you should. It was nice today, May.”

I blushed.

“Nice… I’m glad, Julia.”

She hugged me, oh my! 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!”, she kissed my shoulder.

“Alright. I’m going.”

“Bye, May!”

“Bye, Julia.”

I need to get back to my workstation and inform Mrs. Ono about her spouse’s documents and affairs. Well, no affairs. I went into the office.

“Good day, Mrs. Ono. The documents have been a hassle. I’ve checked about possible affairs and I have figured out that there was no physical evidence… Yet. Lennon is doing fine, he cleaned the apartment and is quite tired.”

“Tired enough to go on an escapade with his wife’s assistant? May, you lie well, and that’s why you are my secretary, but I figure you out anyway.”

My question was how did she know, but I kept quiet.

“You are asking yourself how? I saw you exit with Julia.”

Oh, so that was why I was uncomfortable for a moment in Central Park.

“You know too.”

“Of course! I get married to a liar?”

“So?”

“I know which Julia you were thinking about. Saw you leave the apartment. Followed you.”

“And.”

“Because of that irritating Paul McCartney always being on my husband's mind, I need you to do me a favor.”

“A favor? I’m your assistant, I can help you with anything.”

“I want you to be with my husband for a while. With John please. I need him to understand that there can be no affairs.”

“Oh… I can be with your wife, no problem. I already like Julia.”

I said something wrong.

“Wait, wait. No, not with Julia. Julia is completely unimportant.”

“But she is still-”

“No, she is a… Manifestation of John’s inability to give in to his ideas completely. No, she is the REASON McCartney keeps bugging John and me.”

“Okay… With your spouse?”

And she again sighed, but didn’t want to correct me any longer.

“Try to help John relax… He is on edge all the time because of her and McCartney. That affair needs to end.”

“Oh…”, but isn’t that against that smile’s wishes… I need to do my job. And this is in the description of my job.

“Alright.”

“Thank you, May.”

That’s the end of my findings. John Lennon is Julia Lennon. I am his partner. He is illegally with his wife. I will try to fix his problems as much as I can… Even though I respect Mrs. Ono very much and think she is quite smart, the thought of rejecting Julia is stupid. I will try to keep her intact. Maybe I am as blind as a bat like John is…

Rest of Sacrifame

[melanatedkink]

Good Job

Pairing: Y/N x Mirio

Pro Hero AU

A/N: The "infamous" Mirio rewrite that I meant to write earlier, but the words weren't doing the thing. Hopefully this is a better send up to dom Mirio.

Warnings: friends to lovers, domxsub, soft dom, praise kink, aftercare

Jealousy was an ugly thing. Living up to other people's expectations was a war in its own right. But, if reaching that magical "potential" that others decided for you was the goal, then jealousy was the ever moving goal post. You didn't know why you felt this emotion so deeply. So, you sat at your desk and backtracked to the moment you moved here.

Weirdly enough, you moved due to your jealousy. You had barely graduated with a bachelor's degree after a long hiatus from school. A break year that felt more like a reminder of how close you were to getting to your intended goal. You were an only child growing up, but that didn't stop your parents from finding new objects for their praise. They never seemed to shut up about every other achievement that your cousins seemed to make. And if they thought to bring you up in conversation, it was always laced with ideas of potential, never acknowledging your interests. So you warped your own hobbies, and took up after school activities that won you significant points on your resume before you even left for college. You even started school during the summer just to get a head start. You studied. You pulled all-nighters. You worked hard to get the best grades. Although, in all your efforts, your body just couldn't keep up. You were hellbent on at least one compliment. Hell, a second of recognition was more than enough motivation to get you through two and a half years of school until your finals week came up.

On your way to class, you passed out at the wheel. You woke up in alone in a hospital. It didn't dawn on you until you were filling out a police report that A.) Your recovery would postpone your finals. B.) Your parents would be pissed if you came home without anything good to say about school. So, as soon as you were discharged, you moved from your dorm to a nearby apartment complex. You took up a job at a hero's agency in the mail room. The hero in question was a new graduate of U.A. by the name of Suneater. Before the end of the year, the agency had gained a co-owner. Mirio Togata, a close friend of Suneater.

On the surface, Mirio made you uncomfortable. He just seemed unrealistically joyful and friendly. Qualities that you often wrote off as manipulative or just disingenuous. It wasn't his fault he was happy. But, it wasn't your fault that you felt that way. You'd learned enough lessons in dealing with people that making that assumption often helped you avoid getting hurt. So, you dug your nose deeper into your work until you finally made enough to leave the agency.

Upon sending in your resignation, Mirio walked into the office. You flinched as he came up to you, his usual blinding smile turning your stomach in knots. It did not help that he was handsome in his hero costume. You quickly handed him the notice. He held up a hand, keeping you from making your speedy get away. His blue eyes scanned the note in its entirety, making you wish you had kept it short instead of oversharing. He raised a brow as he read over your accomplishments, even commented on your major. You attempted to keep it surface level as you explained it, until he gestured for more context. You two spent nearly an hour talking about everything that led up to you working in the mailroom. The only thing that broke this rare conversation was Suneater peeking his head in to usher Mirio to a public appearance. Two things stuck with you as he parted. One, he made sure you were looking in his eyes. Two, he said: "I'm proud of you."

Alarmed, you floated around him, silently bowing as you took your leave. You spent the next few days in a haze as you slowly got reacclimated to the hustle of gunning for your degree. You nearly forgot that you had exchanged your number with Mirio somewhere in your conversation. Had he not called you in the middle of you studying one night, you certainly would have let that be a chance encounter. As you pushed yourself through your academic efforts, Mirio kept up with your physical health. If he couldn't get you to put the laptop away, he at least drug you to an outdoor restaurant to get you to touch grass while you ate. And he made you eat. To the point where your tummy instinctively growled upon meeting up with him. He kept you mini fridge filled with water, accompanied you on your chore days, and even drilled you with your studies. And you let him, all in the hopes that he'd keep saying those four sacred words to you.

Finally, your work paid off. You made salutatorian, with a GPA of 4.3 to boast about. On the morning of graduation, Mirio sent you a congratulations message. He wouldn't be there to see you walk the stage, but he promised to catch up afterward to properly celebrate you. A sentiment you held close, but not as close as the idea that your family would be there. You ensured that they knew that you were graduating today. And you were so excited. You just knew they would be there. But, as your name was called, you couldn't hear any cheers in the background. As you accepted your diploma, you couldn't recognize anyone in the crowd. You plastered a smile on your face as the dean shook your hand. You stumbled off stage utterly embarrassed and confused. As your peers lifted their caps to the air, you checked your phone to make sure your message had sent. Your chest tightened as it seemed you weren't the topic anymore. Instead, a family friend had graduated on the same day. Pictures of your parents with this random kid flooded the chat. Nothing but praise surrounded this person whom they never even introduced to you. You figured if they were so important, you would have at least heard about them...

Mirio caught up to you in the stadium, sitting in the same spot. The crowd was thin as he made his way to you. He peered over your shoulder. He tapped your cheek with a bouquet he'd purchased for you. As you tilted your head up, his heart dropped. He quickly dropped to his knees, and held your face with both hands.

"Hey, hey I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't see you," he stuttered.

You let out a choked sob as you tried to explain, "It's- it's not you I...I'm not mad at you it's just... I- they didn't show up."

"They?" he repeated. He slowly took your phone from you. He scrolled through the messages until he reached your message about your graduation. His lips thinned. Not a single word about your accomplishment. There was a time lapse between those messages and yours. And he couldn't see your name anywhere. He let out a frustrated sigh, and returned his palms to your face.

"Today is about you, not them. In fact, this phone is mine until tomorrow,"

You shake your head, reaching out for the device, "I just need to send one more thing-"

"No!" he doubled down by shoving your phone in his pocket. He gently placed your flowers into your hand, "Come on. Let me celebrate you. It's not easy to graduate, and you... you're going to be pampered today,"

With that, Mirio ushered you out of the stadium and fixated his attention on you. After you changed out of your robe, you spent the day in the city. Any whim you voiced was answered immediately. If it was a meal you wanted, you were sure to finish you plate without a bill to think of. If it was a movie you wanted to watch, you had tickets and a bowl of popcorn in your lap. And if you just wanted to hear his voice as you walked the city streets, he gave you an encore of stories to listen to.

You two made it back to Mirio's "humble" abode after cleaning out your dorm. He suggested that you live with him until you could renew your lease at your old apartment. As you looked around, you almost suggested staying there. It was a spacious home in a wealthy neighborhood. A place you could definitely see yourself stretching out and thriving in. An idea interrupted your grandiose thoughts.

"We forgot to take pictures!"

You snatched your clothing bag from the couch and quickly unzipped it. Mirio smiled as you hastily donned your robe. It was rare to see you excited over anything aside from a good grade in class. All he wanted was more of you.

You scooped your bundle of flowers and posed under the lighting. He picked up his phone and stepped a couple paces back.

"Put your tassle to the other side for me," he pointed the camera at you, "Alright, three two one..."

With his help, you created a small album of pictures to look back at later. You scrolled through the photos at his side, too excited to sit down after that. Meanwhile, Mirio ventured to ask, "Who's Jaqueline?"

You froze, trying to pinpoint the name until, "Oh you mean the girl who graduated today? I have no idea. But, she's not me so that's probably why my family is with her today."

Mirio blinked. You realized how cold you sounded and laughed it off.

"Damn, that sounds horrible out of context,"

Mirio shrugged, "I mean, I can see why you could think that. Especially if this is normal for you,"

You rolled your eyes, "I shouldn't get mad about it,"

"I think you should," He pocketed his phone and tipped your face up with a finger to your chin, "Today is about you, after all,"

You folded your arms as you tried to think of a way to word it all. Mirio had essentially become your personal diary through school. It was pretty easy to think about why you were so angry. It was the same reason why you went back to school in the first place. Because you were tired of being overlooked. Nothing you did earned you any praise. You practically begged to be regarded as a success with every single goal you achieved. And nothing was good enough.

"...And I'm just left feeling so fucking jealous of everyone who does better than me. Not because they have what I want, but because they always get recognized for it. They get to hear how proud people are of them and I swear if I could figure out what to do to get that I'd never stop. And here I am with a fucking degree and no one fucking cares,"

Mirio squeezed your shoulder as you caught your breath. You scoffed.

"You know what really pisses me off? I could have stayed at your agency if I knew that this still wasn't gonna work,"

"You would have stayed?"

"Yeah, especially after that first time we met... I almost took back my resignation cause you actually seemed to care. I'm surprised you even stuck around all through school. I'm sure I was just a stick in the mud the whole time,"

Mirio shook his head, "I think you're mispronouncing "determined". But continue,"

You narrowed your eyes at his quip. You gripped the collar of his dress shirt and pulled him into you. Mirio's eyes flew open as you kissed him out of the blue. You pulled away with a smile. It seemed you weren't done making requests. And, quite frankly, he wasn't going to stop pampering you. He placed his hands on either side of your face and pressed his lips into yours. He backed you up into a wall. You wrapped your arms behind his neck.

"Can we continue?" he asked. You nodded furiously. "Can I call you baby?" You nodded again, offering a tiny please on top.

Mirio unzipped you robe, removed your clothes and underwear. He smoothed his hands over your skin, taking in the sight of your body. He pressed your front against the wall after he got his fill, removing his clothes behind you.

"No fair. Why can't I see you?" you whined.

He smoothed his hands over your backside, "Because, you don't need anything distracting you from how this is gonna feel. Besides, if you wanna see me in the future, we can definitely make that possible."

The warmth of his chest slowly departed as he go to his knees behind you. He parted your cheeks with his thumbs. A low groan rumbled from his throat as he gazed at your nethers. He kissed his way from your anus down to your most sensitive areas. You whimpered and gripped the wall. His lips teased at your entrance.

"You did such a good job, you know," he moaned.

You stiffened up, barely taking in his words before his mouth descended in full. He gripped one of you cheeks, keeping you nice and exposed to him. Your knees quivered as you listened to the mess he was making of you. It was getting hard to dissect what he was saying. You just knew that his words felt good. You didn't want him to stop. As your eyes began to lose focus, you felt his thumb at your anus.

"Mirio!" you squeeked.

He chuckled, "Don't worry. I just needed your attention. Do you want me?" He got to his feet, and unbuckled his trousers with a snap. You nodded. He pressed a kiss on your shoulder, "Then push back. On to me. Just like that,"

You did as he said, a little shocked that his dick was right behind you. You split yourself open on his length. He helped you out at the very end, making sure you were filled with all of him.

After you had gotten used to him, you gave him the okay to start moving.

"No no, baby. I need you to take what you want," He joined hands with yours against the wall. His hips kissed your ass as he remained stationary behind you. You planted your feet and rocked your hips until you found a speed that made your jaw drop. Luckily, his height set him at the perfect angle to hit you right where you needed him. One of his hands left yours to play with you outside. You cried out. You dropped your head between your arms. You couldn't tell if you were chasing his hand or his dick anymore. You couldn't take it anymore. You needed him to move.

"Mirio. Please. I'm so f-fucking close. Just a little- Ah!"

His hips snapped forward before you could fully get out your request. He kept your pace, adding more pent up force to drive you into madness. You cried out his name back to back until your knees shook and you shivered uncontrollably. Mirio wrapped his forearm under your tummy, inadvertently sending more pressure through your loins and adding to your orgasm. He slowed his pace, teasing out whimpers of sensitivity. You tapped his hand in a feeble attempt to tell him that it was enough.

After a mandatory shower (He was adamant to wash you down) you two curled up on his couch: you in his lap, and Mirio holding you to his chest.

"Question," you piped up.

"Answer," he answered.

"Why...when we first talked and I handed in my resignation, why did you say you were proud of me?"

Mirio sank deeper into the couch. He rested his finger beneath your chin, bringing your gaze to his, "Because I was proud of you."

"Yeah but like, what did I do?" you pressed.

He shook his head, "It's nothing you can do that makes me proud. It's simply you doing things that makes me proud. Anything between simply breathing to coming back to my agency,"

You blinked, "Wait I never said I was coming ba-"

He cut you off his a kiss, "Not yet."

[lyssaterald]

Lesson 1-2: The Seven Brothers

Reality sinks in and introductions are concluded.

Content Warning: General spoilers for the main story. Minors and ageless accounts do not interact! Named character, and slight mentions of character’s past and history which are not expanded on as they are not important to this chapter. Weirdly, I switch between past and present tense. Sorry, not sorry. Unbeta read.

Masterlist

--------

Hitting the end button, I gave the device a dubious look and then glanced up at Lucifer. He was watching me with a slight smile quirking his lips. "Sounds like you had a nice chat," he tells me and I have to laugh at that.

"Yeah. He seems real reliable," I retort sarcastically, forgetting for a second my situation. This isn't home and I'm not surrounded by people that will back me.

The slight smile turns into a frown. "You really think so?" he asks, tone edging towards biting.

Oh. Sore point? Maybe don't poke at the family thing right now, got it. He and I stare at each other for a moment before I drop my gaze from his. I've played enough of these dominance games back home to know them for what they are. My survival here will likely rest upon the shoulders of Lucifer and his brothers if this short conversation is anything to go by. Refusing to play their games will have to work for now.

It's Diavolo that breaks the odd silence that seems to have stretched between Lucifer and I. "Well, we can't really expect you to understand everything right now. After all, you were just suddenly brought to a strange land and told that an unfamiliar face would be taking care of you," he says and I glance over to meet his concerned, golden gaze for a moment. "I'm sure you feel more than a little anxious. However, you may rest assured that Mammon isn't the only one that will help you out." He chuckles at my expression and looks at Lucifer and says, "Now, we still need to get our new friend introduced to your brothers. And it's probably better that you do that instead of me, wouldn't you say?"

Lucifer almost seems to droop at the mention of that task. "Yes, as much as I dread the idea of doing so, you are right," he sighs.

Another male just behind them scoffs and draws our attention to him. Blonde, delicate features, slim build, uniform similar to Lucifer's, and eyes the color of liquid honey. I squint at him and he flashes me a smile. There's something...something about him that catches the eye. "Oh, come now," he pouts at Lucifer. "Really? You should be honored that you get to introduce such a sweet and charming little brother like me!"

Lucifer ignores this and waves a hand at the petite blond. "This one here is Asmodeous. He's the fifth eldest and the Avatar of Lust."

"Wh.. I can't believe you just totally ignored what I said!" Asmodeous says indignantly, hands on his hips as he glares at his eldest brother. "And not only that, you referred to me as this one. Rude!"

It's hard not to smile a little at their interactions. There is something clearly deeper than crazy cultists pulling a ruse going on here. Noting this, I sigh and glance at the other male who is in attendance with us as Asmodeous continues to pester Lucifer about something. His gaze is sea blue with stronger features than Asmodeous', another clean cut uniform, a medium build, and an amused look directed at me. There's something in his body language, the coiled way he moves, that translates something familiar to me.

The hand on his hip, the slightly hurt expression, his tone all telegraph the right correct emotion and yet I don't buy it. His body language is too...sharp, too controlled for him to be truly hurt by Lucifer's dismissal of his brother's presence. Lucifer catches my gaze and smirks faintly at my expression, which I quickly school into indifference.

"That one there is Satan, the fourth eldest. At first glance, he may seem to be a responsible looking demon with a good head on his shoulders, but looks can be deceiving. He is the Avatar of Wrath," Lucifer tells me.

A little sound escapes me as I realize what I'm seeing in him. Wrath. Ok, that makes more sense of what is contrasting in his gestures. It's a subtle thing that can't really be deciphered unless...

He's suddenly in my space, his face inches from mine. His smile is sharp, his blue eyes like chips of glass. "Careful, little human, staring like that might give the wrong impression."

I chuckle at the threat I read in his body and give him a matching smile, taking a small step forward so that our breath almost mingles between us. "Nice to meet you, Satan," I murmur, keeping our eyes locked.

A moment passes and then two and he relaxes, chuckling to himself and shaking his head. "Nice to meet you, Lyssa," he returns before giving his brothers a sidelong look. "Don't take Lucifer too seriously, though. He likes to speak ill of his brothers, but he is the Avatar of Pride, after all."

Lucifer just sighed at the little display between us and I couldn't help the small smile. "Are you done?" he asked no one in particular and then gestured towards the last person in the room, who was giving us all a very grumpy look. Orange hair, large in build, tall, messy uniform. Anyone might have assumed he was the biggest threat in the room based on his size, but it was Diavolo and Lucifer that kept attracting my periphreal senses. "The one there with the very grumpy look on his face is Beelzebub, the sixth oldest."

"Lucifer, I'm hungry," the tall, broad shouldered red head complained.

Lucifer shot the big demon a quelling and said, "That's too bad. Now behave yourself."

Beelzebub lost the grumpy look and almost looked like a puppy that had been kicked. His stomach audibly rumbled in a way that made me wince in sympathy.

"I'm Beelzebub, Avatar of Gluttony."

"So," Lucifer said. "There are seven of us brothers in all and-" putting his hand on his stomach, he continued, "I am the eldest. Mammon, the second oldest, will be here soon. My other brothers aren't here at the moment, but...well, we can get to them later. All in good time." His expression shifted slightly. "During your time in the Devildom, the seven brothers will lend you their strength and to keep you safe, you are to stay with us at the House of Lamentation."

"To keep me safe?" I repeated carefully.

"Most agree with Diavolo, but that doesn't mean that there aren't vulgar demons out there who wouldn't farm you," Lucifer explained, giving me a look. Just for a second his eyes seemed to waver between black and crimson and then I blinked and his irises were black again. "If anything were to happen to you, it would be our responsibility. "And I won't betray Diavolo's expectations. So, I will do everything in my power to make sure you survive your stay down here in the Devildom."

My gaze flickered to golden eyes and then away. He was their leader, prince Lucifer had called him. This was an exchange program between demons and...humans?...they had called me a human.

That mortal species seemed too fragile to be part of such a thing. Maybe their summoning had gone wrong and they had grabbed me instead of a full blood. Right then, it didn't matter what had happened. The important thing was to get out of this assembly hall and tend to the injured arm.

To do that, I needed to pay attention. Lucifer hadn't ceased speaking while I sorted my thoughts. "-have the means to reach us at any given time. The D.D.D that you used earlier has all of our phone numbers in there as well as a messaging app. The Karasu will take you through how to use it later."

I stared at him, taking in the way he moved and assessing how far to trust his words. With crumbling certainty, it set in that this wasn't some sort of weird joke. My siblings hadn't managed to find a new way to prank me and I was very much doubting that they were weird cultists. These people had found a way around some very ancient and powerful wards and summoned me here for their odd little experiment.

"I'll send you a message!" Diavolo said, holding his own version of the phone-thing.

"Isn't that nice, Lyssa. Now you will be friends with the future king of the Devildom!" Satan chuckled at me, leaning over my shoulder as my device chimed.

I growled lowly at him and took a sliding step away from him. Too many alpha personalities, no need to provoke. Looking at the message, I swiped the first thing that popped up back to its sender. Diavolo smiled slightly at the weird emoji that I had sent him.

Oops.

There beyond the large assembly double doors a shriek and low boom rattled the windows in their panes.