#guess how long it took me to draw all those fish

[kandidandi]

feeding time!

[toournextadventure]

hate crime

Summary: No one knows what happened to Ghostface after his initial onslaught on New York City. Unfortunately for the population, he didn't disappear; he just got better.

Word Count: 3.6k Warnings: swearing, Scream violence, suggestive themes Pairing: Tara Carpenter x Reader (movie night & a novel life masterlist)

Rainy nights in New York City were the best. They gave way to those calm nights in the apartment that led to soft evenings and the best sleep of the week. If one was lucky, they would be able to grab a bite at Sofia’s and really live it up. A nice night, movies on the TV, and a half-finished pie on the counter? What else could a girl want?

A date. Cassidy wanted a date. Her boyfriend wasn’t a prick, but he was just stupid enough to not know the basics of a relationship. For instance, it was raining on a Saturday night? You invite your fucking girlfriend over so you can both get fucking laid. It wasn’t fucking rocket science. But no, he just had to watch the game with his fucking friends, and leave her to do absolutely nothing in her empty ass apartment.

Instead, she was alone. All alone, watching some shitty movie while he was probably having the time of his life.

Prick.

Well, at least she had ice cream to accompany her. A delicious pint of raspberry cheesecake. Just one bite was enough to transport her to heaven, and she would argue with anyone who thought otherwise. It had been long enough since Cassidy had put it in the freezer that it was just hard enough to make a nice bite, but not too hard to put up a fight.

It was perfect.

Cassidy’s phone vibrated loudly on the counter when she opened the cutlery drawer. It wasn’t all that unusual to get calls at odd hours; work, school, and friends made sure she kept her phone available at all times. And she answered them. So it was instinctual to pick up the phone and accept the call as she fished out a spoon and closed the drawer.

“I’m not interested,” she said before her friend on the other end could even speak.

“Uh, that’s good,” an unknown voice answered, “because I’m not selling.”

Cassidy’s brows narrowed. “Who is this?” She put the spoon in her mouth as she waited for an answer. A warm spoon was optimal for ice cream.

“A friend of a friend,” the voice said. It was hard to tell if it was a guy or a girl. “They dared me to call.”

“Friend of a friend?” She hummed, thinking about who it could be. “Was it David?”

The person on the other end of the line laughed. “I’m sworn to secrecy.”

“I knew it, that prick,” she sighed. It was no surprise it was David, he would do anything for a cheap laugh. “What do you get out of this shitty prank anyway?”

“Well, it depends,” the voice answered.

Cassidy leaned forward on her counter and smiled to herself. “On what?”

“How long I can keep you on the call,” they said, matching her tone. “Wanna split the $60?”

“Well,” she said, drawing the word out far longer than necessary as she grabbed her pint of ice cream and made her way to the living room. “I guess I can’t turn down $30.”

Cassidy pressed the phone between her cheek and shoulder while she moved. Her hip bumped against the recliner, but it didn’t phase her; she hit it more often than not. As she sat down in the chair, she could hear similar shuffling on the other end of the line. Nothing about it phased her.

“So,” the caller said, drawing out the “o” for far too long. “You doing anything exciting tonight?”

Cassidy chuckled humourlessly. “Yeah, me, myself, and I are really living it up.” She put a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth and left it there as she turned on Scary Movie 5. How exciting.

“Well,” the caller said with a barely hidden laugh, “what are the three of you doing tonight?”

“A Scary Movie marathon.” She took another bite of her ice cream. “Probably for the fifth time this semester.”

“So you like them.”

“Love them,” she answered instantly. “I could watch them all day.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Absolutely.”

“Well, then what’s your favourite Scary Movie?”

Cassidy looked down at her ice cream and scraped the spoon over the top. That was a pretty good question. The humour in each movie was top tier to her, and that wasn’t negotiable. She couldn’t compare them on that aspect because they all depended on which movies they were making fun of. But there was one movie that stood out from all the rest, she supposed.

“Probably the first one,” she finally said. “It’s a classic.”

“Isn’t that the one based on those Stab movies?”

“That’s the one,” she said with a singular nod that no one could see.

The movie continued to play on the screen.

“Have you ever seen the Stab movies?”

“Fuck no,” Cassidy said before the unknown voice could even finish the question. “Horror movies give me the creeps. Especially when they’re based on real people.” A minuscule shiver wracked her body as if to prove her point.

She heard a deep breath on the other end of the line. “You know, you really should watch the original.” Another breath. “It’s to die for.”

Something about the tone of that last sentence put Cassidy on edge. Perhaps it was simply because she was home alone while the storm continued to rage outside. None of her friends talked like that. Sure, this person was a friend of a friend, but it was still a bit odd.

This person was a bit odd. Was the $30 really worth talking to a weirdo all night? She could be settled with a blanket and paying attention to her movie. But no, she just had to answer the phone and accept a shitty deal. She would need to tell Heather about this whole weird situation later.

“Hey, how much longer until we get that money from David?” Cassidy asked. She couldn’t stop thinking about that last thing the person had said, but she chose to try and ignore it.

“Just a few more minutes,” the caller said in a breathy tone. It was creepy. “Which movie are you watching?”

“What?”

“For your marathon,” they clarified. “Which one?”

“Oh,” she chuckles humourlessly. Nervously.

She wasn’t so sure she wanted to tell the truth anymore. There was an uncomfortable feeling settling in her stomach. She hesitantly placed the half-empty pint of ice cream on the side table, soon accompanied by the spoon she had licked clean.

“The third one,” she finally answered.

“No you’re not.” A lump forced its way into her throat. “That’s the fifth.”

Her entire body was frozen while the words ran laps around her mind. What the hell was going on? Her nerves felt like they were engulfed in fire, leaving her simultaneously too hot and frozen. That wasn’t right. The words didn’t form any proper reason in her mind, but she understood the sinking feeling it left in her chest.

“How do you know which movie I’m watching?” She asked as she slowly stood up from her chair.

A heavy breath. “Because I can see your screen.”

As soon as the words pieced together in her head, Cassidy ran to her balcony window. The curtains were closed. They weren’t the only windows into her apartment, but they were the only ones that faced the TV. As far as she knew, no other window could see her screen; a deliberate furnishing choice on her part.

“Listen,” she said breathlessly as she stared at the closed curtains. “I’ll tell David we talked all night if you want.” There was no response. “You can even keep all the money.”

A taunting laugh.

“I never said I talked to David.”

Shit. Shit shit shit. She knew she should have hung up at first. Who the hell was this freak? It was New York City, there were plenty of freaks around, but this? This was just psychotic. Nobody in their right mind would do this shit!

She quickly tucked the phone between her cheek and shoulder again and grabbed the curtains with both hands-

“-Open it and I’ll slit your fucking throat.”

They wouldn’t. They couldn’t. How would they even get into the apartment? She froze and reconsidered. How else could they have known what was on her TV? God, what was going on? She thought about the ramifications for far too long before letting go of the curtains. They shifted for a few moments before finally settling back into place.

“Who are you?” Cassidy’s voice was weak.

“You assumed our mutual friend was David.” She waited impatiently. “But surely you haven’t forgotten our dear friend Anika.”

Cassidy laughed bitterly. “Are you fucking serious?” She stomped through the apartment to grab the ice cream and dirty spoon. “Did that loser and her freak girlfriend put you up to this?” She practically threw the ice cream back into the freezer. “Because it’s pathetic.”

Of course that freak had caused this. She hadn’t bullied Anika and Mindy for nothing. Cassidy was a patient soul, it was true, but even she had her limits. No one wanted to hear those weirdos talk about stupid movies 24/7, especially when it wasn’t necessary. Didn’t they know there were better, more important things in the world?

“Those are some strong opinions to have,” the caller said over the sound of the spoon hitting Cassidy’s sink. “Especially for someone in your position.”

She rested her hip on the counter. “And what position would that be?”

“You can open your balcony window now, Cassidy.”

The curtains of the balcony were swaying. If she strained her ears, she could hear the rain falling a little louder. Would it be smart to open the curtains and see what was out there? Or maybe she should just hang up, call the police, and let them deal with it. After all, the police had never done anything wrong to her, surely she could trust them.

But she wanted to know. She wanted to know what those freaks had managed to pull off all on their own. Cassidy wouldn’t have called them stupid; at least not Anika. But there was no way she would have said any of them were smart. They were all just a bunch of down on their luck kids who had gotten into Blackmoore out of pity, not intellect.

Whether she had fully intended to or not, she let her feet carry her toward the balcony. As she got closer, she could hear the rain and wind clearly; the balcony window was open behind the curtains.

“How do you know my name?” She asked even though it was a stupid question. If this person was friends with Anika, then that was how they knew.

Still.

“Everyone knows your name.”

She reached out and grabbed the curtain with both hands.

“Or they’re about to.”

Cassidy closed her eyes, threw the curtains open, and screamed. She used every ounce of breath and energy in her body to release the most blood curdling scream she could manage. But when she opened her eyes, the scream died down in her throat.

There was nothing on the balcony. The door was open, but there was nothing there. Not in the doorway, not on the actual balcony, and not across the street. Hell, the only thing she could see was the poor potted plant that she had let die last year and hadn’t thrown out yet.

This was all just some sick joke.

“You know, this is really pathetic,” Cassidy said calmly even though her heart was still pounding in her chest. “I’m calling the cops.”

“Fine, call them.” She grabbed her phone and looked for the “end call” button. “They’ll find out all about your dirty little secret.”

She froze.

“Turn around, Cassidy.”

Her heart was beating loudly in her ears. Mixed with the rain and wind coming in through the open balcony window that she couldn’t bring herself to close, it was deafening. She didn’t want to turn around. She didn’t want to see what could possibly be hiding behind her. It could all be some cruel joke and the apartment could be empty.

Or not.

She took a few short, quick breaths and braced herself before finally turning around quickly, nearly tripping over her own feet. There, in the middle of her apartment, was Heather. Heather, the best fuck she’d ever had, tied up in the chair like a piece of meat. There was a gash on her head that was dripping blood into her eyes, but aside from that there weren’t any other physical injuries.

“Heather?” Cassidy said in disbelief.

“Please help me,” Heather cried. “I don’t know what’s going on.”

Cassidy dropped the phone without hanging up. She didn’t care anymore. All of this had gone too far. Those creeps had crossed too many lines. Messing with her? Fine. It was pathetic, but fine. But finding her secret hookup? Didn’t they know she had a reputation? What would her boyfriend think if he found out? Actually, he would probably think it was hot. Maybe that was worse.

“Did Anika do this to you?” She asked as she attempted to untie the knots in the rope. It was probably the first time in her life she had ever regretted having acrylics.

“It wouldn’t surprise me,” Heather said with a sniffle. A drop of blood fell onto the rope. “Her and her geek friends are obsessed with this shit.”

“We’ll call the cops later,” Cassidy said. “I’m tired of their freaky, “poor us” bullshit.”

The ropes weren’t budging, and her fingers were feeling raw. How had they managed to do such a thorough job so quickly? Perhaps because, like she had known from the very beginning, they were all a bunch of freaks. A bunch of freaks who had no lives, no real friends, and no chance of living like normal people. She smirked to herself. They’d have one hell of a time getting any sort of job after college if she had anything to say about it-

-the floor creaked.

Cassidy’s fingers froze. There was only one place in her apartment that the floor creaked. And it wasn’t underneath her or Heather. She looked up slowly. First she saw Heather, sitting there impatiently and waiting for her to get her out. Then the gash on Heather’s face.

Then the cloaked figure standing behind her.

Then the Ghostface mask shrouded in a black hood.

The Ghostface tilted his head at her. She couldn’t move. It felt like the air had frozen in her lungs. She just had to kneel there and watch as he lifted a gloved hand with a giant knife and waved at her with two fingers. The knife was huge. His free hand lifted just as slowly and pushed the mask back inch by inch until she could see the bottom of his face.

The smile was accentuated by the deep scars stretching across both cheeks.

Cassidy opened her mouth to scream before something came from behind her and pressed against her throat.

She never made a sound.

—---

The pool of blood slowly inched across the tarp that had been carefully arranged underneath the two college girls. It was wide enough to catch any accidental splatter, yet thick enough to keep it from spilling out. A wise purchase for a wise killer. Or two.

Ghostface stepped forward, standing over the corpses. It wasn’t their proudest moment; there had been a few hitches in the plan. But when the result was the same, well, they supposed it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. They grabbed the mask and yanked it off.

“You jumped the gun,” Tara said breathlessly. The adrenaline was still running through her veins; she had grown to love it.

The second Ghostface removed their mask next.

“I know,” you said with a sigh. “I’m sorry.” You looked down at the corpses of your enemies with glee and disgust. “She’s just such a bitch.”

You both continued to stand there, neither one daring to make the first move. The silence after a kill was one of the more satisfying moments to you. No more screaming, no more steel cutting through flesh. Just the sounds of your breathing and the blood rushing through your ears.

“I didn’t know they were gay,” you finally said. “Or closeted, I guess.”

“I think Mindy said they were experimenting,” Tara speculated. “They both tried to hit on Anika at one point.”

You hummed in response and continued to look at them. Not that you had stopped. That was the one thing you didn’t think you would ever really get used to. Sure, your family business was… a bit risque on its own, but this was different. You would argue with Dicky all day every day, but knife wounds were more gruesome than gunshots.

“Does this make us homophobic?” You asked. “Was this a hate crime?”

“I-” Tara stopped and closed her mouth. It made you feel a little better that she had to think about it too. “No,” she finally said with a slow nod. “We’re doing the world a favour.”

You smiled. “God, I love you.”

“Love me while we clean up,” she demanded even though you saw her smile. “Get moving.”

The cleanup process, all of you agreed, was the worst part. It was methodical, time consuming, and boring. You would much rather spend the time with Tara, not cleaning up after the two bitches that bullied all of you like you were still in fucking highschool. Truly, it was almost embarrassing for them. You didn’t want to clean up after their mess again.

But you liked the time you got with Tara. Since the whole original Ghostface debacle, she had lightened up. She still bullied you, but honestly? It was a turn on. You wouldn’t dare tell her to stop. If there ever came a day that you didn’t want Tara Carpenter to bully you? It would be the end of the world.

Cleaning up with Sam, however, was a beast.

That’s why you stuck with Tara. Not just because you loved her, of course, but it was a wonderful bonding activity. You hadn’t wanted to bring her into the family business because, well, that was just dangerous. But this? It was nice. And honestly? It got the both of yours adrenaline going and usually led to some of the best date nights.

…

Maybe you both needed more therapy.

“The scary movie question was clever,” you said after you had finally managed to haul the tarp - and the corpses - to the trash chute.

“Thank you,” Tara said with a genuine smile. “I’m pretty proud of it.”

“You should be,” you encouraged. “I thought Cassidy was gonna hear me laughing.”

“You would’ve been sleeping on the couch,” Tara replied. She was serious, but you knew the truth; she would’ve slept on the couch with you.

The next stage of cleaning was far easier on the back. It was basic cleaning, to make the apartment look lived in, but not abandoned. And certainly not like a murder had occurred. Or, you supposed it was a double murder. God, you still couldn’t get over how much of a bitch Cassidy and Heather were. You really did feel a million pounds lighter now that they were gone.

“You know,” you said as you rested your hip on the counter while Tara made sure no fingerprints were anywhere. “Blood looks really good on you.”

“Shut up,” she said quickly. You still saw the blush on her cheeks.

You weren’t lying though. The dark, now-dried blood was a wonderful match to her eyes. It also looked lovely on her skin. You couldn’t really explain what it was; maybe it was the taboo of it all (you definitely needed more therapy). Whatever it was, it was almost like she was glowing.

Maybe you were just in love.

Tara was still checking the kitchen counter when you stepped up behind her and wrapped your arms around her waist. Her body seemed to relax in your arms. Like instinct, she leaned back into you and you could hold her closer. You were like two pieces to the same puzzle; your bodies fit perfectly together.

“It’s kinda hot,” you said before placing a kiss on her cheek. She tasted faintly of copper.

“You’re just deranged,” she said softly.

“Only for you,” you said. Your next kiss was placed on her jaw.

“We can’t do this here,” she said with a sigh. “We’re almost done.”

“We haven’t cleaned the bedroom yet,” you offered. “And I’ve got another tarp in my bag.”

She didn’t argue.

“Think of it as an extra “fuck you” to Cassidy,” you continued. “We both know how much you hated her.”

Your arm pulled her tighter against you as you placed a third kiss right behind her ear. Just going off her silence alone, you knew she would cave. Tara did her best to keep things professional on the scene, but you knew how to win her over. And you knew how much she loved it.

“Okay,” she finally said. Whether she was aware of it or not, her head tilted to give you more access to her neck. “But only a quickie.”

“Seeing you like this?” You said as you bent down and swept an arm under her knees. She shrieked lightly before wrapping her arms around your neck. “I don’t think I could last very long anyway.”

You carried her to your bag and bent down so she could grab it before heading directly to the bedroom.

In the background, the credits of Scary Movie 5 rolled on the TV.

[archangeldyke-all]

Did someone say cowboy Sevika?

Absolutely delicious, I have thoughts.

Theres the classic off limits farmer’s daughter dynamic, which is to die for every time, but I thought what about a farmer’s widow? All lonesome on her big empty property, she hires Sevika for some extra help and then the tension is off the charts!! I think it would be ideal for a long, slow burn style fic. Draw it out, make them drool over each other for a bit til they can’t take it anymore

For a blurb idea what about Cowboy Sevika teaching the reader to ride a horse? It could be cute and flirty or it could get nasty lol whatever you’re in the mood to write!

Also let’s take a moment to imagine her tying those fancy cowboy knots. Rope steady in her big rough hands. She’s stripped down to her used to be white tank top, you can see her muscles flexing while she pulls it taught. She’d be all sweaty and you innocently walk over to her, pluck her bandanna out of her pocket, and dab away the droplets on her forehead. You tuck it gently back into the front pocket of her tight, dirt stained jeans and saunter away so sweetly. She’d want to chase you down like a wild animal in heat after that

the last paragraph here made me dizzy. thank u.

ur the second person to request a 'teaching reader how to ride horseback', mars, @sexysapphicshopowner , being the first! so lets do that ;)

part 1 of cowboy sev here, part 2 here!

men and minors dni

you're now the only one in your little mis-matched family who doesn't know how to ride horseback.

sevika's been riding since before she could even properly walk. powder took to it like a fish to water. violet was a little more hesitant, but figured it out in time. and now all three of them are trying to convince you to learn.

you've never needed it. you were born and raised in this town, everything you need is within a mile's walking distance. but, they're insistent.

you've ridden horseback before, clinging onto sevika as she controls shimmer's pace, but you've never been in control of the reigns. it seems scary, being that high up, going that fast, the only person keeping you from going flying off shimmer's back being yourself.

and now, sevika's got you in the stable, grinning at you as you hesitantly look at shimmer. powder and violet have been asleep for hours, exhausted after working in the garden all day with you.

"can we just go for a quick trot with you in front?" you ask, pouting at your wife. she laughs. "just so i can see you do it!" you insist. she rolls her eyes, then lifts you up by the waist, helping you straddle shimmer's back, before hopping up in front of you.

you press your grin against her shoulder, quickly wrapping your arms around her waist. she laughs in front of you, giving shimmer a little tap with her spur, the mare slowly trotting out onto the main street.

"you're such a baby." sevika teases. you pinch her side, watching her wiggle.

"i'm just lucky. got a wife who knows how to ride so i never had to learn." you say. you can't see her smile, but you can tell she's grinning in front of you.

sevika slowly walks shimmer down the main street, picking her pace up to a cantor when you get out of town.

the three of you ride out into the desert, and you tilt your head up to soak in the sight of the stars above, sighing as the wind whips past you.

"you're not even lookin' at what i'm doing." sevika laughs ahead of you. you giggle.

"stars 're so pretty sev. look." you say.

sevika brings shimmer to a stop, tilting her head up to look at the stars with you.

"hm." she says. you squeeze her waist.

"what?" you ask, enjoying the heat of her back pressed against your front.

"they're pretty, i guess. nowhere near 's pretty as you." she says. you grin.

"sap." you say.

it's summer, but this late at night, the desert is chilly. you sneak your cold fingers up under sevika's shirt, watching her jump, then giggling when she elbows you. you don't move your hands. she doesn't ask you to.

for a few minutes, the two of you just stare at the sky, the vast expanse of stars and planets before your eyes.

it's a new moon, and without her shine, all the stars in the galaxy are visible.

shimmer shifts beneath you, and sevika laughs.

"she hates waitin' around." she says. you smile.

"just like you." you say. sevika laughs, nudging shimmer's side, letting her trot around the empty expanse of the desert.

you hook your chin over her shoulder, watching how her hands hold the reins, how she uses them to gently guide shimmer to and fro.

beneath your fingers, you can feel her belly rise and fall with each breath she takes. a smile ticks up at the corner of your mouth, and you turn your head to press a kiss to sevika's neck.

she goes stiff in your arms.

"what're you doin'?" she asks. you smile against her throat.

"'m watchin' you." you say. "learnin' how to ride."

"you don't need any help learning how to ride." sevika says. you laugh at her horrible joke, pinching her waist. she chuckles.

"speaking of..." you start. sevika snorts in front of you.

"yeah, darlin'?" she asks. you nip her neck.

as much as you both love powder and violet, their abrupt entrance into your lives has left your sex life in shambles.

it's not like you're not having sex. it's just that you can't have it like you used to.

when you used to spend any spare moment the two of you had sprawled out in bed, naked and sweaty and kissing, now you gotta keep your romps quick, lest the girls get in trouble while they're unsupervised.

plus, with the nightmares that violet's been having, paired with powder's separation anxiety toward her sister, a majority of your nights as of late have ended with the four of you piled up in your-- used to be-- marital bed.

you've just had to get a little more creative. you and sevika have been doing a whole lot of 'chores' in the stable, trying to avoid shimmer's judgmental eyes as you fuck against the haybales.

and now... out in the desert, with sevika pressed against you and nobody out here beside you, your wife, and the stars... now seems like the perfect opportunity to get creative.

slowly, you inch your hands down sevika's abdomen, taking a moment to admire the firmness of her rippling abs shifting with each step shimmer takes. she chuckles huskily in front of you, and you begin sucking a hickey against her neck.

"insatiable." she says. "'y had me this morning while we were 'pinning the laundry to dry'." you hum.

"want me to stop?" you ask. she laughs out loud, a bright, echoing thing.

"hell no." she says. you grin, and continue trailing your fingers lower, fiddling with the button of her chaps.

shimmer continues her aimless trot, slowing occasionally to munch at spare patches of grass, knowing that you and sevika are in no rush to get anywhere.

when you slide your hand down her pants, she sighs, leaning some of her weight back against your chest. you pepper kisses against the side of her face, trying to give every branch of the scar on her left cheek a solid smooch. she giggles against you, then moans when your fingers start working against her clit.

"you're wet already." you mumble against her. she hums.

"knew this is what you were workin' up to the second you asked me to ride in front first." she says. you chuckle. "i'm never gonna get you to learn to ride, am i?" she asks.

"mmm, maybe someday. don't need it now, though, do i?" you ask. "not when i've got you." you say.

sevika sighs and turns her head to capture your lips in a kiss against hers. you hum against her mouth, nipping her lip as you start rubbing her clit in slow circles.

"fuck." she sighs, turning her neck back around to watch where shimmer's going. "i love you." she whispers. you smile and nip her neck.

"love you too." you say, trailing your free hand up her chest to fondle her breasts.

sevika's tits are sensitive, you've made her cum from your hands and mouth on her chest countless times before. she shudders against you, her back arching as she shoves her chest further against your hand. you snicker, and start to gently fiddle with her nipple.

"fuck-- your hands." she says.

"'s kinda what you're doin' now, baby." you tease. sevika snorts, but it quickly dissolves into a moan as you increase your pace on her clit, sinking your teeth into her neck as you pinch her nipple.

"y-you're horrible." she chastises you for the joke. you giggle against her.

"you close?" you ask. she laughs.

"yeah." she says.

shimmer lets out a sneeze-- clearly disapproving of the activities happening on her back, and you giggle.

"she's sick of us." you say. sevika sighs.

"she, fuck, she's so judgmental." sevika whimpers.

"should be gettin' back soon. 's almost midnight-- violet's gonna have her nightmare soon, we should be there when the girls come lookin' for us.' you say.

"fuck, can we please not talk about the kids while you got your hand on my cunt?" she asks. despite her complaints, sevika tugs on shimmer's reins, turning her back toward town as you work your hand against her.

"y' better hurry up. we're only a few minutes away from town." you say. sevika groans. "need some encouragement?" you whisper against her ear. she shivers, and you smirk.

"shut up." she whispers. you grin, knowing that sevika's 'shut up's tend to mean 'keep talking.' especially in the bedroom.

"you sure? y' don't want me to tell me how much i love you? how perfect you are for me?" you tease. sevika's thigh shakes against shimmer.

"fuck."

"my cowboy. my wife. so strong and handsome, givin' up her life of crime just for me. gotta compensate that kinda sacrifice properly, don't i?" you ask. sevika whines. "fuck, 'n you look so good when you're on shimmer's back. why would i wanna learn to ride when i could just watch you instead, hm?" you ask.

sevika lets go of the reins with one hand to grip onto your arm. you kiss her cheek.

"cum for me, pretty thing. if you're lucky, maybe i'll wake you up before sunrise to help me 'feed the chickens.'" you say. sevika whines, remembering the last time the two of you used that excuse-- you ended up with sevika's tongue inside of you, your back against the coop as she knelt on the shitty ground, clawing at your thighs. "c'mon sev-- give it to me, baby."

sevika cums with a resounding "shit!" shimmer spooks a bit, jumping and bucking beneath you, and you both squeal as you hold on to the mare while she calms down.

sevika's cunt is still fluttering beneath your palm as she pulls on shimmer's reins to bring her back to a walk as the shimmering lights of town become visible ahead. you hum against her, ducking your fingers down to gather her cum from her dripping hole, before pulling your hand out of her pants and popping your fingers in your mouth.

you moan. sevika moans. shimmer grunts, a disgusted little noise.

"fuck." sevika sighs out, her back slumping against your chest. you giggle, removing your hand from her tits to button up her pants, before giving her cunt a little pat over her chaps. she jolts. "hey!" she says, giggling. you grin against her neck, pressing another kiss to the skin beneath your lips.

just before shimmer starts down main street, sevika pulls her to a stop with a "woah, girl."

you're about to ask her what she's doing-- the tavern about two hundred feet away, but sevika answers your question before you can get it out when she turns her head, grabbing your chin with her fingers and smashing your lips together.

you sigh against her mouth, nipping on her tongue when she swipes it against your lips, giggling at the little involuntary twitch of her thigh.

she pulls away with a sigh, looking into your eyes dreamily.

"i love you more than there are stars in the sky, darlin'." she says. you smile against her lips.

"i love you too, my sweet wife." you say, reaching forward to snap shimmer's reins, letting the horse lead the two of you back home. sevika raises an eyebrow at you and you smile. "see, i did learn a little somethin'." you say.

sevika laughs.

"guess i gotta take you out for ridin' lessons every night, huh?" she asks. you grin.

"i wouldn't mind that at all."

taglist!

@lesbeaniegreenie @fyeahnix @sapphicsgirl @half-of-a-gay @ellabslut @thesevi0lentdelights @sexysapphicshopowner @shimtarofstupidity @love-sugarr @chuucanchuucan @222danielaa @badbye666 @femme-historian @lia-winther @gr0ssz0mbi3 @ellsss @sevikaspillowprincess @leomatsuzaki

[becauseplot]

HEY LOOK AT THIS COOL THING I MADE FOR A CLASS PROJECT LAST SEMESTER THAT I KEEP FORGETTING TO UPLOAD PICTURES OF :D

(Long-ass rambles to follow, feel free to skip down to the additional box pics. Short video of the laser cutter working at the bottom!)

This is a laser-cut wooden box! The parts were designed in SolidWorks, then drawings of those works were converted in Autocad to be uploaded to the laser cutter. I had a lot of fun with the designs, as you can tell :] I took inspo from the little heart-embroidered-thing c!Philza has on his shirt in SAD-ist's design because it incorporates what I like to call the "narrow eyes" of the Hardcore heart without the lines ever breaking, making the design possible for a solid object...

...but I couldn't do all the curvy bits because SolidWorks hates me lmao.

The emeralds are for emduo ofc. I thought about doing a crown or pig mask or a sword for Techno, but I was running out of time for the project, mostly because I spent like way too long trying to make the wings curvy and realistic :( In the end, I went with a more geometric design, which I think I like the most. Also, it's more stable overall. The emeralds are on either side of the box btw.

I might come back to this post and add pics of the SolidWorks parts/drawings themselves if I can find the files.

The box's dimensions (LengthxWidthxHeight) in inches are 4.25x2.75x1.75 ignoring the lid. Here is sharpie for reference.

I added the color to the box design by scribbling in color with sharpies on paper, then sticking that paper on the inside of the box behind the designs. I was originally going to paint the box too but uhhhhhh I got lazy. Also I think I like being able to see the imperfections on the wood more anyway.

Oh!! Also the box currently holds my shinies (earrings)!!

You can see the paper lmao.

One last thing I got out of this project: after the wooden designs are cut out, you can fish the bigger scraps out of the machine, so guess what I made? :)

(Colored it with sharpie ofc.)

And uhhh that's it! Vvv fun to make! SolidWorks is awesome once you learn how to use it. I'm hoping to practice more once I have time (and possibly my own computer that won't melt if I try to run SolidWorks on it.)

Okay here's the vid :] It was longer but it had my voice in it so I had to cut it short, but I think it's enough for you to get the idea.

[krysmcscience]

Get ready for Amogus Spam!!!

Characters belong to @crinklytinfoil - I just came up with the designs and outfits~ All appearance details are taken directly from either the fics themselves (which, as always, approach with caution and MIND THE TAGS) or the comments sections of said fics, though I have also relentlessly poked Crinkle IRL for additional details, such as each character's name and individual fashion sense...or lack thereof (Finnegan) XD

(If you want to read the fics, keep in mind that you will need to be signed in to an Ao3 account first! And again - MIND THE TAGS! Shit gets dark FAST.)

The Skeld bois! The fucked up crew that started it all~ Only like five actual decent human beings on this crew, and all but one of them fukken DIED, lmao. (Congrats on surviving, Devon, you used to be Kind Of An Asshole but you got better. XD) Clark is such an Obvious Dad - it's why he had to die first, he was the only thing keeping shit together, True Facts, sorry you had to find out this way. <:/ Adam is so Fishing, I bet he fantasizes about having a trout boyfriend girlfriend in his spare time. :) Brown is Babby (stabby-babby), but we all knew that already. And then there's wannabe High Class Fuckboi Purple and his emo "boyfriend", yaaaay, can't wait to find out how Purple dies or anything like that, noooo... All that aside, White's outfit makes me want to die inside, why would anyone want to mix hippie and ouji lolita aesthetics??? White, please, no, even your fashion sense is torturous! D:>

(Full-size here, in case tumblr fucks it up)

Corpatch babbies! Everyone on this crew is certified Babby. (Yes, even you, Skylar. Sorry I had to separate you from Pink in the final image, it was too wide and I hated it, please I'm sorry, put the wrench away-) Love that I got to mostly copy-pasta Devon, made my life so much easier after the artistic nightmare that was Stacy's outfit. Fun Fact: That dress is one of over a hundred jellyfish-themed lolita dresses I've designed! This one has a box jellyfish on it, along with other pretty deadly sea creatures, and is called 'Killer Cuties'~ Wilhelm gets to have some matchies with his platonic girlfriend as a treat, also (Fun Fact: he absolutely wears those novelty glasses to Serious Events). Skye's outfit upsets me personally but it's not as bad as fucking Finnegan's so they get a pass. Pink is, of course, The Best One, and let it be known that the little leaf pin is a reference to Bay~

(Full-size here, in case tumblr fucks it up)

Doncaster folks! Such a long image...I blame Vance. Because I always blame things on Vance for some reason. It's just fun, okay? And also I'm bitter about how long it took to draw his damn Bobblehead mech. Him and Aurora both took what felt like a million years to finish, so now Vance has given me additional Drawing Wires trauma, and Aurora somehow seems Too Expensive for me to afford looking at her. Obviously the best part of all of this was everyone's favorite polycule of Brown, Green, and Red (I dare you to suggest they are not Precious), but I also enjoyed trying to come up with an outfit for Umber that screamed 'I think I'm the main character'. XD (If anyone can guess what's supposed to be on Black's shirt, meanwhile, they get a Gold Star!)

(Full-size here, in case tumblr fucks it up)

And, as a bonus, a goofy scribble comic of the Doncaster AU, which I threw at Crinkle after initially requesting (read: attempting to commission) a What If Scenario where Brown never got brought along with White to the Corpatch, and so never met Pink, thus ensuring Brown remained Terrified of impostors. Because my brain wouldn't stop going hog wild over the concept for some reason. 8|

Finally, a WIP of the Parmenides bastards- uh, I mean, Totally Normal Crew of Fine Individuals who are Not At All Terrible. (Apologies to Danni, Marek, and Ashley for getting mixed up in all this, y'all deserved better.) Bet no one was expecting Johnny to be a certified Gamer Catboi, huh? But I bet everyone was expecting Kyle to look like a Born Republican, and possibly Mitch McConnell's estranged half-brother - cuz that's just how the guy is. So Delightful. Also I was totally not salty about having to look at Purple's stupid smug face again while modifying the copypasta of it, No Sir, why would that ever be the case? He's just so great and not the most hateable character ever or anything. (eyerolling intensifies) In other news, Kage's head is way too small and it's driving me crazy but I'll have to fix it later for the finished full-body chibi+bust piece and I'm D Y I N G. Anyway, no icon spoilers for this one - the fic itself is meant to make the readers wonder who the impostors are, so I'm not going to reveal anything on that front.

(Full-size here, in case tumblr fucks it up)

THAT IS ALL

[oddyssey77]

The Festival Part 3 - Annabeth

POV Annabeth Chase

I am fuming. How can he still take her side after all of these years. I have spent so long trying to rebuild my relationship with him and he still chooses his gold digger wife over me. I lie down by the creek questioning whether or not I should return to the camp or not. I wish I had never reentered my mortal family's life. It would've be so much easier that way. It would've meant a lot less pain.

"You know, it's hard for him as well," I hear a voice telling me, "He never sees you and when he does she holds him back."

"He should leave her then." I tell the person behind me. 

"But why would he do that to himself? Why should he leave her, when you are the one who left him." It was Reyna speaking.

"She was seven years old!" another voice states. I turn my head and see Thalia and Reyna bickering over me.

"She still left, and that would've broken him. No matter how justified it was."

"Reyna's right Thalia, I did leave. I took his seven year old girl, his whole world, away from him. It's fair enough that he should care more about his wife than the girl who disappeared for five years and broke his heart."

"Annabeth, you were struggling with yourself, it's okay that you got scared." Thalia put her hand on my shoulder comfortingly.

"I know it's okay. And I don't blame him either. Or her. These things take time and it's allowed to suck for that time. If it's alright with you guys, I think I need some time alone."

"Okay, come back when you can." Reyna pats me on the back and turns to leave. Thalia shifts me a smile and walks away with Reyna. They get smaller and smaller as they get further away. I can see that they have already found something else to argue about because Reyna is making angry hand gestures and Thalia's mouth is opening and shutting like mad. I turn away letting myself forget about the world

I breath in the sweet, salty air of Long Island Sound. It reminded me of Percy. I stare down at the sea and notice something. The waves look like they are acting up. They aren't flowing as calmly as they were before. In fact, they were crashing violently against the rocks. I got a flashback to when the Manticore captured Percy and the river began to flow rapidly. I stand up, worried that Percy might be in trouble. 

They stop. The waves stop moving almost completely. They slowly thread their way toward the shore. A fish reaches the surface. Then another one, then a third, and a fourth. I notice how the fish aren't moving. They are dead. I turn and run toward the camp. Percy was in trouble, I knew he was. 

I dash through the woods, trying to guess what was happening. I was running so fast that I almost didn't notice the small body lying motionless on the soil. It was a boy lying face down with three arrows in him, one in the small of his back. I remember Percy's weak spot and get worried for a minute before noticing that this isn't Percy. This is someone who I know well. A tear finds its way down my cheek, as I realise that I am staring down at Malcolm Pace, my best friend from the Athena cabin. He weakly draws his eyes to me.

"No, No, No," I choke, "Not you Malcolm. Why you?"

"It's okay, I can be with Lee now." I cry desperately trying to see if I can save him. 

"Please Malcolm," I beg

"I see him now." His eyes lose focus, his hand loses grip, his neck loses pulse. He was talking about his long-dead boyfriend, Lee Fletcher who died when Luke's army attacked the camp a few years ago. I feel my insides collapse. How could I have let this happen. I should've been there. I shouldn't have left. 

My mind shifts from Malcolm and I realise that those arrows didn't just appear in his back. The camp was under attack. It had to be. I run further toward the camp and hear the clashing of swords, the yells of war, the sounds of battle. I charge toward the cabins and begin to see the huntresses fighting a horde of stone warriors. Not like Medusa stone, more like warriors equipped with stone armour. You can even see their pale grey eyes flashing with all kinds of emotion. The longer I look at them, the more I feel that there is something off about them 

The huntresses are struggling to fend them off. I look around but Artemis is nowhere to be seen. I see Thalia struggling as she backs up into Reyna who is fighting alongside the 12th Legion Fulminata. I look around for Percy but I can't see him anywhere. I dash toward the Athena cabin to grab my knife and shield.

I burst the door open and rush toward my bed. I reach under the pillow and snatch my knife. I shuffle underneath the bed to find my shield but I can't find it. I give up looking and head toward the exit of the cabin ready to join the fight. I pass Malcolm's bunk and feel my heart swell. I place that aside and burst out into the courtyard. I see Will Solace and Leo Valdez fighting for their lives. 

"Annabeth!" Will calls to me. 

"Where is Percy!" I yell back.

"He was over that way with Nico a minute ago," Leo shouts gesturing toward the Hades cabin. "I think he got hurt," I say nothing else and try and make it to Cabin 13 which was on the other end of the courtyard. I fail. I am flanked by a stone fighter. I stab him deep in the neck which was about the only spot that wasn't protected by armour. He chokes and falls to the ground. I look into his eyes as purple, rotten blood spills from his neck. I feel bad for him. That has never happened before. Never have I felt guilty for killing anything that attacked me. It was like I could relate to him somehow.

I forget about it and move on as I get attacked by more warriors. I kill each one, getting more beat up each time though. I still felt that shred of guilt with each of them like I did with the first one. I look across the yard and see Clarisse dashing toward me. 

"Where have you been!" she growls at me. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't know we were under attack," I reply but she isn't focusing on me anymore. She is staring in the direction of Cabin 10 where Drew Tanaka was fighting a stone warrior. But Clarisse wasn't looking at drew. She was focusing on the stone warrior as if trying to decipher something about them. The stone fighter had a feminine appearance and was fighting sloppily with a sword but not as sloppily as Drew. She stabs Drew in the abdomen. Drew falls to the ground motionless. Clarisse's eyes flood with both shock and fear

"That's, it's she's..." There are tears poring down her face. I know it isn't Drew's death that had scared her. it was something else, something about the stone fighter. She is about to say a name but is interrupted when she is snatched up by a huge stone warrior with massive hands. She gasps once more, with a look of complete terror on her. She looks into his eyes and looks like she is about to faint. This isn't like Clarisse. Clarisse doesn't get scared. Clarisse usually fights back. I try and fight for her but I am shot in the arm by a warrior with a bow and arrow.

"How are you..." Clarisse utters but he didn't seem interested in answering her question because at that moment, it hurled her across the yard and into a tree. Her head strikes it first. She must be dead. No demigod could've survived that at least that's what I thought. 

Her boyfriend, Chris Rodriguez, rushes across the battlefield to come to her aid. He looks so scared. I want to go and help her but the big one goes for me next. It goes to punch me but I dodge and leap onto it's flying fist. I am so enraged I wanted to curl into a ball and explode. 

"You killed Clarisse!" I yell at it. A few campers turn their heads noticing what happened to Clarisse, their greatest fighter, "I'LL KILL YOU!" I climb across it's back and tear some of the stone plating off it's back I stab it repeatedly and this time, feel no remorse. I feel like I recognize the singed tunic underneath the armour. It falls to the ground, dead. My eyes dart around the conflict looking for the spot where Clarisse had been thrown. I see Chris cradling her carefully. He looks up at me with a glimmer of hope. Somehow she had survived.

I feel a wave of relief wash over me. It is short lived however because I hear an explosion. The big house had been reduced to rubble and marching out of it was a pale demigod with an eyepatch. It was someone who had died a long time ago. Someone who couldn't be there. It was Ethan Nakamura, son of Nemesis. I remember how he had helped us in the final battle against Kronos and I don't understand why he isn't fighting with us. 

I then notice, to my right, Percy. He is unconscious and is being dragged out of the line of fire by Nico. I want to go and help. But all of my other friends were dying by the second out here. I make the decision to stand my ground and continue helping everyone else

Ethan is charging through the crowd slaying demigods, satyrs, huntresses and nature spirits as he went. The sword he is holding is unusual it is long and glowing a sky blue colour. He yells something in Latin with his sword raised toward the sky. Everyone looked to him, including the stone warriors. The Roman demigods, Hazel Levesque looks shocked as she must recognize Latin.

He plunges his sword deep into the ground and glowing cracks open up and start expanding rapidly. I see Leo fighting alongside Hazel and I see them sink into the ground as one of the cracks had enveloped them. I hear Leo's struggled yells as he falls deep into the crevasse with Hazel trying to slow their decent by sticking her sword into the side of the hole. But it is useless. The crack closes taking them with it. I begin to run. There is another crack heading straight toward me. 

I trip on a tree root, twisting my ankle. I try and get up but I simply can't I see a crack close up where Clarisse and Chris had been. I turn and see one heading right for the Hades cabin which was where Nico had taken Percy. I feel a hand pick me up and start helping me away from the only remaining crack in the ground which was hurtling toward us. But something else appears ahead of us, Ethan Nakamura with his sword drawn begins charging at us. We are now sandwiched between the one-eyed demigod and the crevasse trying to eat us.

I feel the ground give way beneath me. Will yells as we fall through the ground, the sky getting further and further away until the crack closes itself off. All I see is darkness. Will holds me tight. But I am not too scared. I've fallen into worse holes than this.  A few seconds later, I black out.

This chapter is dedicated to Julie

[pbandjesse]

The coughing continues. Thankfully I was able to sleep easier but the Mucinex I took made me wake up with gummy eye balls and it was terrifying and horrible. And every time I moved I would start coughing again anyway. So was it worth waking up with very gummy and very red eyes? No. But at least I got some sleep.

James left for work long before I got up. I had planned on sleeping until 930 but my coughing woke me up around 830. And after washing the junk from my eyes I would just lay in bed and scroll on my phone until I couldnt take the coughing anymore. The coughing is a lot worse when I'm laying down.

I got up and got dressed. I took my time trying to make myself feel better. Even wore the new sparkling eyeliner stick I got. And it helped. I felt a lot better even if it wasn't perfect.

I made an omelette for breakfast. I think the pan was maybe to hot because the eggs did not spread. But I put cheese in it and had Sriracha mayo and avocado with itbsnd it was honestly great.

I would do a little more organizing. Pulled all my materials for my workshop. And went to take the box to the car.

I could not have chosen a better time so do this. As I was walking to the car a neighbor I hadn't met was walking there dog. Around me and James's age. And then another. Neighbor came out and these to neighbors started talking and as I walked back they introduced themselves. They had also just met.

The first neighbor is Ryan and his dog I believe is named Lenny or Lemmy. Unsure. But he seems great and lives right across from our house with a partner. The other neighbor is Sean (guessing at the spelling), and he is Victoria's boyfriend! And he let us know that she's pregnant! Ah! And due soon! I guess I just through her winter coat was big!

I ended up standing outside with these guys for a half hour talking and it was just awesome. What nice people. I got to learn some stuff about characters in the neighborhood and their back stories. Ryan has an art and music teaching background but works in content creation for an AR company now, and Sean, who I didn't catch what he does, but his mom was an art conservator for the national gallery! Incredible.

I'm literally pleased how nice everyone has been. I hope that trend continues.

I headed back inside and grabbed a few things and then I was off to my workshop. I was nervous! But the nerves were not needed.

Because almost no one showed up. I don't know why this program seems to have this problem. People sign up! But they don't follow through. But it wasn't completely a no show.

I best Michael there. But waited by the door sitting in my wagon with all my materials. And he brought his dog! A mini Australian shepherd named Quin. Who was a bundle of energy but was so lovely.

The space we were working in was very very hot. But it it was fine. It would cool down. Me and Michael covered the tables with trashcan and I set everything up.

And then my one family came. They had come to my workshops before, and I specifically remember the dad from the Lego printmaking class because he made a helicopter. And they were really sweet.

We started at 1230 and I talked about the flamingo, the history of plastics, and how those things relate. Especially through plastic flamingos and acrylic paint. We went through the steps for drawing it out and encouraged them to make changes from my original example.

Michael would do a painting to. Though he left his half finished so his girlfriend could do the other half which I thought was sweet. But I'm besides jumping in to give some techniques and technical advice, it was mostly quiet working.

I made a new painting and I thought it was really funny seeing my simple example vs my new more textured piece. But it was even better seeing what everyone else did. The whole family all did two tones flamingos. The mom did a sunset. The dad added frogs and fish. And the daughter painted very tiny hermit crabs. It was so fun.

We finished up around 230. We cleaned up together and I after giving them my website and letting them know I would have another nat guard workshop soon! I hope they join.

I was down in Towson so I decided to go to the goodwill right there before getting a late lunch.

It was a good stop. I got this very cool corner cabinet for my table top. And it needed a little fixing but I had a vision. I had a nice conversation with the cashier and then I was off.

I went to Chipotle but the line was very long. It was like all the staff changed at the same time. But it was fine. I listened to my podcast. And once I got my food I felt a lot better.

I had plenty to save and brought that home for lunch tomorrow.

I walked to the five below and got a couple little blind bags. And some candy. And a little black romer. And then it was time to go home.

When I got back here I was a little tired.

I got changed and worked on my drawing for the day. I went and cleaned up the small room. And then James was home. I was so happy to see them.

They had been planning on playing a game with friends tonight but that got canceled so instead they would make a run to the apartment. Get my mirrors and and few other things.

And while they were gone I worked on creating a rainbow on the small rooms window out of cellophane. Which took a while to cut out but I'm really pleased with it and it even casts a beautiful rainbow on the wall from the alley lights.

James came back and brought Sweetp to the bedroom so they could unload the car. And then we would work on fixing the curtains that didn't go well yesterday. And they look so much better. We swapped the swing out rods for a regular rod and that seems like the better move for now. The swing outs may be used in our bedroom but we will see what happens.

While James was hanging the curtain I worked on putting fake stained glass on the corner cabinet I got. I also added a little handle where it's had gone missing. And I put that on my desk and it's perfect.

I would work on hanging s few of the mirrors. I had to ask James for help with holding my very heavy shield one, and because the ceilings are lower I had to move the other things in the wall but it's fine. I am really pleased with how it's coming to there. I also hung a mirror on the back of the bathroom door and I absolutely love how it looks.

I would order another bath mat for the bathroom. And text me my mom. And eventually I went to take a bath.

It was a lot harder to get the water to be warm enough but I struggled through and washed my hair and while it was unpleasant at least I was clean.

James gave me an early birthday gift after my shower. An absolutely giant frog plush and a pin of the Maryland Pennsylvania railroad pin. So sweet. I love them. Both the gifts and my husband.

We are laying in bed and watching a scary video. And I feel happy. Tired, sick of coughing, but happy. And I have two days to rest and do moving things and what ever else. I hope I can just keep feeling better.

I love you all. Goodnight everyone.

[rebelscumlena]

Space Sailor

Pairing: Marnie x Willy (Stardew Valley)

Word Count: 2.4K

Summary: It’s common knowledge in Pelican Town that there’s something going on between Marnie and Mayor Lewis. But how exactly did Marnie end up with Lewis? Wasn’t she seeing someone prior to him? Could it possibly be the fisherman who’s constantly watching her from across the Saloon? Why aren’t they together anymore?

A/N: Not the way I expected to get back into fanfiction, but I’ll take it. The Dynamic Writing Duo is back at it again! This idea was developed a week ago when @javier-djarin​ and I went down a rabbit hole of SV conspiracies, and the song Space Cowboy by Kacey Musgraves made it complete. Thank you as always to @javier-djarin​ for being my beta on my stories and giving me encouragement to write. Your usual recipe of teeth rotting fluff and soul crushing angst is here! Enjoy! 🐮

The music from the jukebox and the smell of pizza flooded Willy’s senses as he entered the Stardrop Saloon. Another Friday night meant just about everyone had shown up to celebrate the end of another long week. The younger ones were off playing pool in the side room, Robin and Demetrius were tearing up the dance floor, and Clint was waiting at their usual table with a cold pint ready for him. 

“How’s the ocean, Willy?” Clint asked, sliding over the glass of beer as Willy took his seat.

“Same as usual. How’s the forge?”

“Same as usual.”

The two friends chuckled at their little banter before clinking their glasses and taking a swig. They fell into some light conversation about their weeks, occasionally getting up to get another round. Although Willy always made sure that it was Clint’s turn to get drinks when Emily was up at the bar counter. He was a good friend in that way. He understood more than most what it meant to pine after someone. 

Willy finished his pint just as Clint went up for another round.  He focused his gaze on the little droplets of ale running down the side of his glass before pooling at the bottom. He knew what would happen if his eyes wandered across the Saloon. But desire got the best of him. Willy’s eyes swept across the bar, landing on her.

Marnie had always been able to draw his attention in a crowd. At all the festivals and events held over the years, he never failed to miss her. As painful as it was to think about their past, he preferred her attention then compared to now, because every time he took notice of her nowadays, Lewis was always lingering in her shadow.  It was no secret the mayor was interested in Marnie, even though he was adamant there was nothing going on between them. 

Lewis returned to the petite woman with another round of drinks, drawing a huff out of the old mariner. Sure, nothing going on, Willy thought as he drew his attention back to the droplets in his glass. Where was Clint with a new one?

Marnie had seen Willy’s lingering gaze. She always noticed when he was watching her. She could feel his gaze like a gentle caress: warm and comforting. Despite the many years that had passed and the fact that Mayor Lewis had been keeping her attention as of late, she wished Willy would look at her the same way he used to all those years ago. Back then his gaze was tender and loving, now it was always filled with remorse.

It was the summer before Marnie turned 20 when Willy and his Pappy had decided to settle in Pelican Town. She remembered seeing him around town as she grew up, but he always seemed to disappear the next day. Guess that’s what being raised by a mariner meant. But Willy’s Pappy was getting on in years, and so Willy had decided to open the Fish Shop down by the docks. He could make money and still let his Pappy enjoy the salty air.

It started as all young love usually does with a summer romance. She had just gone to buy a fishing pole and some bait for her older brother, and suddenly she was being charmed by Willy. The slightly older young man was tanned from all his time being out on the water and he smelled of mead and the ocean, instead of the piss and vinegar she heard most sailors described with. Willy was mild mannered and humble. That day she left with her brother’s birthday gifts and a promise to meet Willy that evening on the docks. And every night after that…

“Marnie, dear?”

Marnie jolted back to the present, her eyes focused on Lewis who was looking at her in slight annoyance.

“I’m sorry, Lewis. What were you saying?” she asked, taking a sip of her drink.

“I was just saying that Pierre claims I’m going to have to start special ordering truffle oil from now on since it’s too expensive to keep in stock. Isn’t that just ridiculous? And after all the corners I’ve cut for him.” Lewis guffawed in derision before taking a long pull from his drink.

Marnie gave a light chuckle, her mind beginning to wander again when she noticed Clint showing Willy a crystal he pulled from his apron.

Quartz, Marnie mused. He’s always been a sucker for quartz.

She had noticed he was collecting quartz one summer after his Pappy had passed. Not thinking much of it, Marnie ended up bringing him some quartz she had found on a hike up near the mountain. 

“I don’t know why you’re collecting them, but I saw this one and figured you could use it,” she stated, pressing the little crystal into the palm of his hand.

He gave her the warmest smile, his eyes watering a bit before pulling her into a deep embrace. Without a word, he then pulled her up from the dock they had been sitting on and took her inside the Fish Shop. Behind the counter, he pulled out a little wire hanger that had bits of quartz hanging off of various length strings: a sun catcher.

“I was thinking of hanging it up in the windows. Figured it would make this place a little more homey,” Willy said, a blush slowly rising to his cheeks as he rubbed the back of his head, “especially when you come around.” 

Marnie had jumped across the counter to plant a firm kiss on his lips, the largest grin on her face. She’d known how she felt about Willy for a while, but she waited for him to give her some sign that he felt the same: this was her sign.

After that day, it was rare that Marnie wasn’t down at the docks. Her parents were initially against the idea of Marnie spending all her time with the fisherman, but so long as her chores at the Ranch were completed, there wasn’t much they could say. Marnie was happy, and there were worse options than the fisherman.

Meanwhile, Willy was still in slight disbelief that he had managed to catch Marnie’s eye in the first place. She was the prettiest woman in town, and surely had better prospects than a weathered man who would perpetually smell of fish. Yet she had agreed to meet him that evening all those years ago, where he taught her how to bait a fishing pole so she could show her brother. She had come back almost every night since, joining him to watch the sunset and chat about their days. After a few months, they’d shared their first kiss on the docks. They’d exchanged birthday gifts, told each other secrets no one else would know, and even renamed his Pappy’s boat the Manatee. It wasn’t too long after that Willy was presenting Marnie with a bouquet of flowers.

But then he’d received a job offer out in the Fern Islands. It would make good money, but it meant Willy would be out at sea for months. He’d been nervous to tell Marnie about it one evening as they sat on the docks to watch the sunset. But when she told him to take the job, he was stunned. “And when you come home,” she had said, “I’ll be here on this dock waiting for you.”

The disappearing sunlight outlined her face perfectly, and he swore she’d never looked more beautiful than she had in that moment with a daisy from her bouquet nestled in her braid.

A week later, Willy and Marnie shared a passionate kiss on the docks before he set off on the Manatee. The inevitable months seemed to drag, but then a year passed. Willy had finished the job, but had picked up another with the prospect of catching an extremely rare species of fish. But the fish eluded the fisherman, and by then, the Manatee was in desperate need of repairs. More months passed by before the Manatee was ready to set sail again. Having used most of his money for repairs, Willy needed to take on more jobs to make up his losses. Then there were the storms that forced him to try alternate routes back to Pelican Town, which drained more of his supplies and money, and required him to take on more jobs.

Before he knew it, five years had passed by the time he docked back in Pelican Town. The Manatee was in worse shape than when he left, forcing him to retire the ship until he could come up with more money and materials to get her properly fixed. What little money he had managed to earn was barely enough to be called a profit after losing so many years at sea. But worst of all was the knowledge that Marnie wasn’t waiting on the docks for him.

He couldn’t blame her, especially since he had stopped sending letters after the first year. Between all the jobs he had barely found enough time to sleep, let alone write and send a letter. But more than anything, he felt ashamed. After the first job finished he realized how much he had missed the sea. The thrill in his blood when he woke up bobbing to the rhythm of the waves, the rush of excitement as he navigated through both calm and storm, and the sheer joy of just being out on the open water. It was his first love, and it had managed to surpass the love he felt for Marnie and the desire to start a life with her. So he stopped sending letters and instead let the sea take him wherever she deemed fit, hoping that somehow Marnie would understand.

So it was no surprise when he ventured into the Stardrop Saloon on his first night back and found Marnie and Lewis occupying a table together. Admittedly, Willy was surprised it was Lewis at the table with her. Then he remembered how the mayor had always had an eye on the young woman even when they were together. Marnie’s gaze moved to him, and Willy waited with anticipation for what she might say or do. He expected wrath from her, but instead was given a small smile and a nod before she turned her attention back to Lewis who was rambling about the governor coming to visit. Too stunned to do much else, Willy nodded back before heading to the bar. 

Marnie found herself thinking back to the day he left and everything changed. Somehow as she watched the Manatee take him away, she had a sinking feeling that he might not return. She would tell herself every time that wasn’t the case, that he would return after a job or maybe two and they’d turn the Fish Shop into a home and raise cows on the beach. Then the letters stopped coming and suddenly waiting on the docks made her feel silly rather than hopeful. Such is the life of a mariner, she would tell herself. So she forced herself to move on, and over time came to the conclusion that the sea would’ve called to him one way or another. She had noticed he was getting restless, and sometimes found him gazing longingly out into the horizon. Perhaps it was better that it happened before they had actually started a life together.

So when he walked into the Saloon that night, she felt every emotion she had bottled over five years run through her before she landed on contentment. Willy had chosen his path, and she had learned to become okay with that. She gave him a small smile to convey her understanding and a nod to welcome him home. All the while she focused on tampering down her beating heart as she turned her attention back to Lewis. Yet without fail every time he walked into the Saloon after that night, her heart would speed up in a way it never would around Lewis.

Before long, Gus was making the announcement for last call. Most everyone had cleared out aside from the late nighters. Pam was slowly falling asleep into her drink once again, and Elliott was visiting the toilet before his walk home. Lewis had gone to settle the tab with Gus, leaving Marnie to finish her drink and prepare for the walk back to the Ranch. She noticed Clint saying his farewells to Willy, throwing one last gaze at Emily before making his way out into the night. Willy nodded after his friend, puffing away contentedly on his pipe as his gaze moved to Marnie.

When their eyes locked, all the good memories flooded back: Marnie showing Willy how to bake pumpkin pie, Willy teaching Marnie how to rig up a crab pot; summer nights drinking mead on the deck of the Manatee, winter days making out in the hay loft while the cows watched in a mixture of curiosity and boredom. Then for the briefest second, Marnie thought of what life would’ve been like. Waking up to the call of seagulls or bringing the cows in at night? Teaching their kids to fish at the Festival of Ice? Holding hands while watching the Moonlight Jellies? A giddy grin broke out on Marnie’s face that was for Willy’s eyes only, which caused the edges of his lips to move up just a tad.

“Ready to go, Marnie?” Lewis called, walking back over to her.

The grin morphed into a more reserved smile as Marnie turned her attention to Lewis, nodding and getting up to follow him out.

Willy watched as the two departed, Marnie’s gaze every so subtly going back to him before she disappeared into the night with the mayor. The fisherman softly chuckled around his pipe, wondering what she was thinking about before getting up to stretch as Elliott joined him.

“Ready, Willy?” the younger man asked.

“Aye, lad. Let’s get going,” Willy responded, following him out. They made their way south through town and back to their homes. They passed Lewis’s house on the way, and Willy tapped out the ashes from his pipe on the steps of the Manor.

Elliott gave the older man a smirk, shaking his head in amusement. “Must you do that every time we walk by?��

“Gotta give him some actual work to do,” Willy responded, a cheeky smirk on his face as he stowed his pipe in his pants.

The two men continued their walk, and once Elliott parted ways to his home, Willy was left to approach the docks on his own. The wood creaked under each step, and he took a deep inhale of the salty air. For a moment, he was a younger man sitting next to a pretty woman underneath the stars and figuring out how to raise cows on the beach. As he gazed forlornly out into the dark, Willy realized that kind of love ran deeper than the sea. And perhaps one day, the tide would come back in his favor.

[am8th2stm]

"Orange"

Originally done: Dec 2020 on the Prose

Edited: July 2024

Orange, that was the name I had been given by a human. I didn’t know why I was named Orange. It did not sound like how it was spelt. 

I didn’t know what it meant but it was my name. And I liked it. 

Every time the human that named me came into my line of sight, they poked at my tank. It would scare me and then I'd watch the human sit down on something that looked soft and comfy. I wouldn’t know how it felt because I’ve never felt it. Everything I've ever felt was hard.

Zebra and Red had recently died. Their deaths hurt most of us and that was hard too.

Mr. Oscar Sr. went on from their deaths like it didn’t happen. I wasn't happy with him because of that! 

I looked back at the human and then noticed two smaller humans coming to sit next to them. They talked to the human that named me for a bit and then the small humans left. 

The human looked at me and then started to talk to me, “I drew you and everyone else, Orange. Even Red and Zebra to remember them. I have to remember you all when you die.” I only understood part of what they said as I continued to swim around.

This human appeared often, took care of us, and even talked to us before disappearing for a long time. It was a cycle that repeated over and over.

I wondered if the human would ever disappear and never come back. The thought scared me...and then what happen if the twins died? Or rude and quiet Mr. Oscar Sr.? What about his young son, Mr. Oscar Jr.?

What if I was all alone when I died? I didn’t want to be alone. My best friends had already died. What if I was next? I was smaller than everyone else but Mr. Oscar Jr. and yet I was skinnier than him!

“Hey, hey, Orange.” I looked back at the human and they pulled out something. “This is you.” I saw a weird-looking thing and a human drawn on it with an even more weird-looking color. I looked at it before turning away. “I’ve drawn Red and Zebra too.” I turned around again and saw two more humans on the weird-looking thing. Their colors reminded me of Red and Zebra! My two best friends! Red has always been feisty but he cared about us! Zebra was always kind and helpful! They were the best! 

I noticed two shapes above both of my friends that weren't above me and slowed down. “I made them like angels because you know…they died. They were so special...” I only caught a few words but I understood ‘angel’, ‘died’, and ‘special’. 

My friends were special angels who died! Yes, they were! 

I became happier thinking about my best friends and time went by...and the human had to leave again. They tapped the glass one last time. “Goodbye, Orange. Bye, everyone. See you next time.” I made a circle and saw them disappear.

Okay, see you next time! Bye, human!

End note: This was a very sentimental piece I wrote from the view of one of my fish. Most of them have passed on by now. I don't know how long catfish last but Mr. Oscar Sr. and Mr. Oscar Jr. should be really big now if they're still alive. I was very upset to learn that fish only lasted a few years when I was younger. I got to see them every break I had from school when I visited my grandmother's house. I was the one that took care of them before they died and I'd been the one that was informed of one of my fish passing on. 

I drew the whole crew as humans. I imagine it was very difficult for me to draw them as fish…they never stop moving. Obviously, they're not very good posers. 

I could have probably taken pictures of them and just did it like that but eh, it's in the past now. 

I still have the drawing though. It's not very good…but those were my only fish. Ever. I don't know if I'll get some again. I get attached easily to things I feel like I'm supposed to care about. I guess. I'm not exactly sure anymore. 

[curlyxxx]

Hi! I really like making beats, recently started to make a discord server🔞 where only a few of my friends have joined.... Most of them are people that I've met in the last year or sooner. All of them haven't treated me any differently from me being as myself as I can be. Normally, I don't share my thought's or creative outputs due to fear of judgment. I've made this Tumblr for me to post anything on my mind or to post openly. Anyways😅

...

My name is Curly, I'm a Transgender female, in my 20s... I've been involved with music for 10+ years but this year, I started Producing my own beats. Previous experiences has lead me to Video editing (12+ years). I haven't only spent my time living in the City.. I grew up kind of in the mix between country & Bigger Cities.. Younger me liked to explore a lot, I'd go on walks and disappear for hours listening to the same tracks on an iPod Classics... One of those old ones with 256gb. I maxed out the storage in middle school. I'm glad to be out of the toxic space I was in & I kinda finally feel like I'm headed in the direction I want to be going. Through my journey, I've lived in the woods (a fishing resort) for about 4 months. Learning all kinds of trades. With stories like being charged by a bear with mom's cubs climbing a tree😆. - I should note I normally use a lot of emojis... I tend to because I feel as though I can't articulate myself properly... Plus I really don't want people to misinterpret what I'm saying at all...😅 I enjoy gaming... So much to the point I've been guided by a friend to make a game. I've been taking my time to learn & slowly get organized, as I move soon. More Space! I finally get to use 2 monitors again & have a setup with a decent chair.. The game I'm going to make is a visual novel, I have 2 - I'm currently working on with a few other ideas I could work on in the future... I'm learning pieces of Python, Ren'py and small amounts of other code. I'll be making the entire visual novel myself, both games! I might get some help through people I meet through my future journey.. & I really look forward to it! but I'm currently still in a learning phase for what I really wanna do. It took me a really long time to realize or find the right people I needed to surround myself with... or I guess people I want to be around! I'll probably post again tomorrow, but I don't really have a schedule until the move... I really enjoy writing, I spent most of my high school years trying to figure out how rhythm works with words... Trying to match words to a beat... Took me a really long time to figure out on my own. Now, I'm so grateful for the people around that have nurtured me especially when I was most vulnerable. I care very deeply for those around me & sticking around. I was essentially left in the Dust by a group of YouTubers trying to make a Quick Buck during the Pandemic. I never made a penny... I tried to keep up with their level of business and dug myself a hole... Now I'm building what I hope to be my future from this point on. All I want to do is draw & learn... I want to constantly Learn from/with people. I have a huge interest in what's going to come in the future! Hope whoever reads this has a good weekend. Hopefully I'll post again soon. Stream plz cut it out by Curly | Listen online for free on SoundCloud

[macgyvertape]

FF14 Stormblood thoughts

Lets see, I posted my running commentary on wrapping up Heavensward in Oct '22 so it's been a while. My friend and I got busy and took a break from the game.

A long time ago I forget who posted:

“#do new players know any opinion they have about stormblood is basically akin to #someone finishing da for the first time this year and saying they have some thoughts about anders they'd like to tell you about #like cool it's understandable you have these thoughts. i however am running for the hills”

which now that I've finished Stormblood I understand, and that's with skipping a bunch of non MSQ stuff.

I'm so excited for Shadowbringers, it was impossible for me to dodge spoilers since people I follow for D2 were posting about it, so I'm going into it knowing a lot of the big spoilers while the friend I play with has no idea. So I was very excited to see a certain skunk haired character pop up post expansion patch.

Actual running commentary on Shadowbringers below, I'm so glad I took notes for when I took a break

Wow so theres swimming in this new city?

I know vaguely who Zenos is and he’s the main antagonist. Just waiting for him to be introduced since the antagonist in the beginning is a joke of a dude with a hammer

Zenos shows up with like a golf club bag of swords, I know this dude is supposed to be this game’s attempt at Sepiroth but I’m not impressed

It was very easy to predict that some of the people we just did quest for were going to die. But damn something happens to Y'shtola every expansion 

This storyline is very serious and draws on real world issues, which could not be more of a contrast to my friend and I playing it as we hangout and eat dinner

Fighting an unwinnable fight with my 2 applicable WHM damage spells. Sure he slashed me up but I feel like in universe I can heal tank through anything but a drugged drink

Wow the Black Rose is some serious warcrimes chemical warfare. 

I thought Lolorito was dead what’s a dude working for him doing here

Fuck this fish-dude with the bell. Its totally personal

Wow so the imperial viceroy is a asshole who has people kill their family for displeasing her. Really casting the imperials as absolute monsters

Wow huge underwater sections, also didn’t know the dragon-ppl lived underwater

The more Yotsuyu talks the more I’m like “hmm maybe Ilberd had a point”

Susano is a delight, he’s just hamming it up

Huh so apparently Kurenai is the real princess and the person we fought was the body double, I’m going to continue this questline even though it isn’t worth it exp wise just to see how this plays out

Gotsetsu returning to the village: not sure if the intent was to have him be naive, but he comes off as an asshole with talking about how he is owed hospitality and complaining about the tone people talk to him in. Like dude, the whole village is going to face deadly repercussions if you’re seen.

I didnt realize there was a wolf-person race. Why can’t we play as them?

I thought Yugiri was gonna die when we fought Zenos round 2. Guess he’s one of those trope “lives for a strong fight”.  

Took a week break then coming back to another new faction with Cirina kinda feels like its killing the momentum

I wasn’t expecting this Sun cult, Magnai is such an asshole, like fuck off with the slavery and a double fuck you with the sexism

Gosetsu is so arrogant, like if he would just shut up things would go so much more smoothly

Is Koko and Sadu of the Dotharl trans or non binary? Great if they are. Like their belief in reincarnation seems pretty understandable if you factor in the later lore about sundered beings being shards of each other and merging over time

Can’t believe we’re letting this empire dude run away for a second time

Yotsuyu had sad childhood backstory, still not sympathetic for the injustices she commits now. 

Hien is gonna flood Doma Castle, i know this is like a historical tactic but all I’m thinking of is Rains of Castamere

Damn Gosetsu got taken out by a falling rock (ceiling), how anti climatic I’m not really torn up about it because all the characters just stood around talking

I’m gonna really hope Hien actually killed Yotsuyu with that sword blow

At first i thought some of the questnames were coincidences, but no Doma part of Stormblood has a fair amount of Hamilton references

Oh no Krile, feels like a real kick the dog moment for Fordola

Summoning a primal to bring back a dead child, the question isn’t if this will go poorly but the extent of how poorly it will go. (Although you can resurrect people in battle so I guess thats gameplay and story difference)

I appreciate how Allisaie tried another option

The Shri Lakshmi mechanics were hard and annoying, most challenging fight in a while

Big fire the death star vibes for Fordola, also I just realized she has thigh high tights with the gap between the skirt. WHY instead of armor like other characters get

A randomly appearing Estinien, how did he know to come here? Why now? I have no idea but what a cool entrance, this is the hottest he’s ever been

Does Fordola have the fuckin sharigan?!

Lyse looks hot in the new dress but its the most impractical thing for a fight wtf. Its total fanservice, player character and her fly towards eachother in what could easily be framed as a kiss then the achievement is called “cheek to cheek”

Key to Victory is the quest type I hate where I don’t have firm directions where to go and I got instawiped by the npc followers getting close to the wrong enemy. Wish I could start on very easy

So we freed Krile, what about the rest of the people in the pods?

Zenos turns into the primal dragon that used to be Ilberd, talk about desecrating Ilberd’s belief in using the power to fight the empire

This is a very anticlimatic ending to 4.0. I’m not emotionally tied to Zenos either enjoying him as a villain or hating him as a rival, more like “ah not this asshole again lets see who wins the fight by virtue of plot armor” 

So Zenos killed himself after getting 1 good fight, but I know he’ll be back. I’m imagine my character standing there like the Saitama “ok” face

Ok so Estinian stabbing the eyes means Lahabrea and Igeyorhm are super dead

Guess Elidibus stole Zenos’ body. They should have burned it

Nero being Cid’s ex is the funniest way to interpret him joining the Ironworks

Why is this Arnevald guy talking like he knows me

All of the above written before Jan 2023 and then I took a break till November

Got back into the game and its like “here’s a backstory about a guy who was the product of sexual assault from an occupying military force and his horrible childhood” and then “here’s Fordola’s sad backstory where her father was stoned to death by a mob for collaborating while he was protecting her”.

So that’s really sad, then the next quests are the Sultana’s backstory and “go to the golden saucer, try not to get distracted, challenge impossible”

The orb dissipation duty sucks, I just failed it so I could do it on very easy mode

Me: Alphinaud is gonna fuck up paying for this sword, he’s talking to a pawn broker. 30 min later: yeah he fucked up

Patch 2 sure is my least favorite, I don’t like Gosetsu or Yotsuyu 

Wow not a surprise  the Imperial diplomat is also an imperial zealot, and he’s Yotsuyu’s brother meaning that whole family tree is fucked up

Me: guess the Tsukuyomi wasn’t so infinite. My friend: One Piece was a better anime

The camera really emphasizes Asahi’s crazy eyes and obsession with Zenos. Funny since Zenos then is obsessed with the Warrior of Light

This Garlean with a bunch of Ascian mask trophies is kind of intimidating, but he much have just killed the weak sundered ones. I have no idea who he is, but funnily I know what Ascain is running around as Zenos

Extremely annoying 2 part solo duty that I had to redo when almost getting to the very end, followed by very funny Y'shtola shooting down a guy who had the hots for her

Hell yeah Exarch showing up, now the fun begins because I’m very spoiled on Shadowbringers and my fiend has no clue 

Me: Mr nap time himself! My friend: whose this guy. Such a fun intro with Emet being mean to his family and hamming it up, where he’s ???? until the name Solus is dropped

I appreciate the non serious tune and amount of dutch angles in his intro

Oh shit the Ascian hunter is Gaius (not Balter), I didn't recognize him at all since the part of his old mask around the eyes was white I thought that was his skin color

Oh I’ve been mispronouncing Emet-Selch with a ch sound. Also lmao he takes time to be mean to Varis

Ok after the 2 part negotiation with Varis I want to see Solus bully Varis some more. He deserves it

My friend doesn’t recognize the Crystal Exarch from the brief bit at all, if he didn’t remember who Lahabrea is then no chance he recognizes G’raha Tia except that G’raha has been in Dawntrail marketing 

Damn so Stormblood ends with a fade to black and then a jumpscare evil Varis grin…

Post quest cutscene: Zenos bodyhopping I guess

[seagoatapothecary]

Althea’s Tale

An Excerpt from “Chapter One - Summer Awakening”

5th day of Croon - Year 181 of New Tala

Fishing Full Moon

Tomorrow I am 13. To celebrate Mama got me this bound blank set of leaf paper to write on. My brother Lars got one for his 13th year as well, but all he does is draw crude images in his. And my sister Deb is too young still, her 13th year isn’t for another 4 more years. It’s tradition in our family to have a ceremony called an Awakening the night before you turn 13, but I’m not sure why our family still does it. Both Mama and Daddy says at one point a long time ago families all throughout Manipor practiced an old tradition called Manpora but that was before New Tala when all of the Domains came together. No one does that anymore except our family, at least in our village of Sommentown. We get made looked at funny for holding to old traditions and not being like everyone else. According to Mama the people of Manipor, when it was its own Domain, would receive spiritual blessings on the night of their Awakening after giving a gift of themselves to Tala, the earth, by burying it in the ground under a sacred tree. It sounds a little much to me, but I understand why Mama holds to it since her family is one of the old clans of Manipor. When I asked what her blessing was after her Awakening she smiled and said, “a blue bird”. I have no idea what she means by that. I think Lars’ blessing was just becoming more of an idiot. I’m wearing a red dress with a crown made of flowers that Mama made for me, no slippers so I can feel the summer grass between my toes like one of those fancy furry carpets that the merchants sell during festivals in town. The dress is probably the nicest I’ve ever worn and Mama bought special cloth from a textile merchant during the Midsummer Festival. I’m not sure what else to write about in here and it’s about time for my family and I to walk to the woods behind the house for my ceremony. I will write later I guess.

6th day of Croon

It’s the next day. I’m 13. I woke up this morning thinking that something would happen to me overnight, but nothing seems different. Daddy told me think of it as a metaphorical awakening and that it’s symbolic of me getting older. I guess. Being older here just means more chores at the house. Speaking of I have to go get ready for breakfast because it’s my turn to cook. Happy 13th year to me. Bye.

12th day of Croon - Year 181 of N.T.

Last Half Moon

It’s been 7 days since my Awakening, almost a full week. And it’s been bad. Lars has been sick and Deb whiny and won’t help out to make up for Lars being sick. Daddy hurt himself trying to load goods to sell in town by himself and now Mama and I are pulling all the extra work. We had to take the cart to town ourselves yesterday and unload everything while Old Man Grune watched us and made inappropriate comments about Mama’s “shape” and about how us manporas would get him in trouble with his wife. That’s what the people in town call us because we still follow old traditions. I think it used to be really bad to call someone that because that’s when Mama told him to shush. I told Mama after we left I hope his store shelves get covered in stinkweed and then it smells like rotted flesh. We must not be very good manporas though if no blessings come across our family. Maybe I gave a bad gift. Mama told me to give something meaningful for me. I chose one of the sunflowers I grew over summer because it took a lot of work. Now it seems silly to give something back to Tala that grew out of it to begin with. I hope Lars gets better and Daddy’s injury heals quickly. Harvest is approaching and Mama and I can’t do it all, and Deb is no help.

16th day of Croon

Deb is now sick. Somehow it’s worse than Lars because someone has to be with her at all times. Lars is better and Daddy is healing but Mama’s salves are only doing so much. They don’t know but I heard them talking about how he’s still having trouble putting weight on it even though the wound was healing. Mama had gone in to town yesterday to request the physician come look at him but when she came back they were not with her and she seemed upset when talking with Daddy. “Lars, they don’t respect us, they can’t treat you like this when we provide so much for them” I heard her say to him. Lars is Daddy’s name too just like my brother’s. I think Mama means that the people in town don’t like us because we are manporas. It’s wrong for them to be so mean, I don’t even know why practicing these traditions is so bad except that the rulers of New Tala say it is. I wonder how the physician would feel if all of a sudden he needed one of Mama’s tinctures or Daddy’s leather wares and we told him no. Hopefully Daddy can get better without the physicians help though.

32nd day of Croon, 181 year of N.T. First Crescent Moon

It’s hot. Mama and Daddy are worried because it hasn’t rained, and Daddy can’t walk right. His wound is closed but he makes a big face when he tries walking and I hear him curse and swear out back when he thinks we can’t hear him. Lars and I help out a lot right now, and even Deb helps Mama some in the house since Mama has to help Daddy sometimes too. I heard that Old Man Grune’s got stinkweed growing on his porch steps and it seems he can’t get it to go away. The best news I’ve had since my Awakening.

8th day of Sol, 181 year of N.T.

Something strange happened. But I’m not sure what it was. I think No. It was just a coincidence. We’re all just stressed because of Daddy and the Harvest Moon Festival coming up.

17th day of Sol

Daddy is still on a crutch and says he’s getting better, “just old bones healing slowly” he says. The Harvest Festival is in 5 days and Daddy says we will all, Deb included, have to be helping prepare this week. Mama and I are going ahead the day before with Deb to start setting up the market stall and our smaller wares and items while Daddy and Lars will head out the morning of, leaving early with the leather goods and larger items such as crafted furniture and tools. Usually we all go together but with Daddy not moving well we have to set up the stall ourselves and this gives Mama and I time to set up without any pressure from lookers’ on. Daddy may think he’s healing okay but he’s still worried about people in town seeing him moving slow so he thinks this way will keep them from suspecting too much. “An injured man cannot provide quality work, and cannot provide for his family.” I prayed last night to the Goddess that everything will be okay. The Awakening may not have done anything for me but maybe prayer will.

21st day of Sol, 181 year of N.T. Harvest Full Moon

Mama, Deb and I are all packed up and fixing to leave for town. We get to stay at an inn! We’ve never not stayed at our own place, and I know it’s just in town which isn’t anywhere new but it feels exciting. The inn in town is not much, but it’s nice enough and large enough to house traveling merchants every festival season along with any business and people that follow. While Mama says she’s glad I’m writing in here, I’m not allowed to bring it with me in case it gets lost or left behind. “You should never leave your thoughts lying around for other’s to find, they are yours to keep and treasure.” I understand this but hope I can remember everything that happens and write it all down I love the town festivals and getting to meet all the strange people from strange lands. Although this year I’ll be more tied down at our market stall since Daddy won’t be able to unload and stand around much to sell wares. Anyways, we are about to leave so we can get to town before the sun fully sets. I can’t wait to write about the Festival when we return!

Althea

[md3artjournal]

Guess I should check in. I haven't made art in such a long time, it seems. I was already off my daily drawing practice. I didn't do half or most of MerMay.

Failed to stay on Creatury---AGAIN. I really thought I had it this time. I should have done another January of daily flower sketches.

Skipped Faebruary. I don't know why. It's one of my favorite monthly challenges. I get to draw flowers, tiny chibi, butterfly wings, and my OTPs. I don't know what happened. I think it was just my overall drop off of daily drawing practice. ;_;

March should have been Magical March. Every year I gather up costume design reference, and I say I'll draw Magical Boys to go with Magical Girls. But I'm usually burnt out from Faebruary. I really should have been able to do it this year, since I skipped Faebruary this year. I drew ONE random maho shojo OC. That's it. x_x;

April is supposed to be my own challenge that I made up: "AprilAngelsAndDemons". And it worked out well for me in 2020…But I haven't been able to bring it back since. x_x

MerMay is one of my favorite challenges. It's pretty a well-known challenge, so there's a lot of exposure, so a lot of encouragements. Plus, I don't have to draw clothes or the entire bottom half of the body. ^^ Bonus: I love drawing wavy, flowy lines, so fish tails and fish fins really work for me too. ^-^ …But I only did part of the challenge. ;; My May got taken over by some depression, and drawing cards for Mother's Day AND my mom's birthday.

June was supposed to be another one of my made-up monthly drawing challenges: JuneBridesGrooms. But I haven't done it since 2021. x_x; That was a really good challenge for me. I don't know why I haven't kept it up. ;.; But this year, I know. May 2023 got taken over by that photography contest with unlimited entries, and I think I took some days to recover from that. Still, it couldn't have been that many days. And then I had to draw my dad's Father's Day card, though that didn't take more than 2 days. And I'll still trying to continue that MerMay2023 DMCL fancomic I started last month.

Maybe I'm just burnt out. And I know I have a hard time getting back into drawing, if I don't keep it up frequently. That's why I always take on those monthly drawing challenges and try to draw every single day. But lately…I've just been letting it slide. Tired. Needed several days to do laundry. Writing too many nonsense journal posts and random Tumblr posts; fandom type analysises that I don't even post, half the time. Maybe I'm just tired.

I've been thinking a lot lately about getting more serious about returning to cons or at least finally opening an online shop. I've let the online shop ideas get postponed, because I was too busy, constantly restocking for convention tables. The pandemic let me slow down and reassess, but that just left me staring in the face, the intimidating prospect of online sales. Years, I've followed artists and read their posts about horrible customers. I've got too much social anxiety for this. So when I recently heard about "print on demand" services, I thought this would be perfect for me. But now I'm hearing it's called "dropshipping" and has a bad reputation? I feel like I can't win. I can't even figure out what name to rebrand to. Because that would require knowing how to summarize my art style and what I want to do. But all the commonalities in my illustration style, are unflattering. All my best work is flat, 2D, and monochrome, but that's not exactly the best impression. Maybe it got me dwelling too much on how I don't know how to describe my style. But more likely, I'd get disheartened, looking through my Archives, to give me ideas for what name best fits my rebrand…and be reminded how badly I draw. I can't compete with the competition. I can't even get the guts to order stickers of my art. x___x;;;;;;;;; My best art is photography and sculpture. But my photography can't compete with most other figure photographers. My 2 figure photography contest wins don't really count for anything when you see how objectively worse, even my winning photos were, compared to most others'. And I've ruined my reputation with sculpture. I'm beginning to think I've been buying weak, non-durable, polymer clay all this time. I've always had to worry about it breaking during shipping/travel, people shittalk my work's resiliency, while passing by my convention tables, and people just expect it to be as strong as some cheap Walmart industrial-plastic trinkets. I don't want to deal with more problems with materials/packaging, making more customers mad at me. Just that one incident completely ruined my ability to sculpt for my business ever again…even though it may be my best medium. I cannot deal with conflict on any kind of level. …So that's made me wonder if I should give up on art, and return to some office job. I know I heard getting a job is nearly impossible these days, especially since I don't have the basic socializing skills that are usually expected. But maybe I'd be better off if my art is just a hobby. No more worrying about competition, and not measuring up. …But I decided a long time ago, during my last office job, that if I wanted to stop feeling suicidal, even though I had all the money and medical benefits that everyone said I needed to be happy, I needed to make art my job. I was too tired after office days to do any art as a hobby. And without it, I was getting more and more, inexplicably self-destructive. I may be too lazy to really study illustration and improve, but I need to do art as my career. If my job takes up all my time, and I'm too tired in my downtime to do art, but I need art to be sane/happy, then making art my job was my only logical conclusion. …But I'm so bad at it! x________x;;;;;;;;;;;;; Even aside from my quality, I just don't have the guts to even open an online shop or take commissions. I've avoided the stress of it so much, that I don't even know where to start---Well, I know where to get the information about where to start. I've subscribed to a lot of independent small business artists on social media, who talk about all their business stuff. But I still avoid actually reading or listening to their videos…because it's all too overwhelming. More and more, I think I'm not cut out for this small business artist thing. But at the same time, I don't see anywhere else for myself.

Well, that sounds like an artist block, if I ever heard one. I guess that's why I haven't been drawing daily lately.

People say that drawing every single day is unnecessary, or even bad for you. But it works for me. It more than works for me. I NEED it. Not just because my drawing muscles instantly atrophy as soon as I stop practicing. But I also really enjoy drawing everyday. I need that feeling of accomplishment everyday. Even when I draw badly, compared to the competition in artist alley, it just feels so good to have been able to make something, and additionally be so much better than past me. Past me couldn't draw what was in my head this easily or this quickly! I feel so proud of myself after I manage to finish drawing. But then a day or 2 later, or when I have to think about which illustration to pick, to become merch in artist alley, I just fall apart.

I don't know what I'm doing.

Also, my best art isn't actually photography, sculpture, or even jewelry or printmaking. (And my storyboarding has gone to hell, since I stopped reading manga daily.) It was always writing. I'm bad at it now. I haven't been confident in writing narrative stories in years. And maybe most of what I write lately is just journaling and fandom analysis essays, that I'm too afraid to un-Private on Tumblr. But people have been telling me for years that my writing is good, I've repeatedly seen my writing get me out of situations through its effectiveness, and I know what it feels like to work hard at a craft and really enjoy the WORKING HARD at it. And I enjoy working hard at writing. I think that actually ENJOYING the "working hard" part is a big sign that it might be what I should be doing. But I've completely let this skill atrophy. x_x I've thought about maybe submitting essays for publication as articles anyway. But I just don't have to confidence to put my real name on anything public. Especially something as incendiary as writing. I could write an opinion piece about how much I love chocolate ice cream, and the trolls would come out of no where to tear me into pieces. I don't think my social anxiety would let life be tolerable with that.

Maybe that's why I just keep ping-pong'ing myself in limbo, doing nothing.

[astaroth1357]

Brothers React to the MC Looking at Them Lovingly

This is a personal experiment. This is the very first time I've written one of these with a goal in mind, "Make them fall in love all over again." It's a tall order. I hope I succeeded. 🙏 Special thanks to @a-chaotic-dumbass for picking the mood for this one!

Intro:

We all know that look. The one where one person stares at another like they just realized they're the only thing in the universe and they're in fucking awe of it. The kind of look that tells you they're utterly enthralled by that other person and just can't get enough of their presence. That look. Yeah, the brothers just got that look out of the MC.

Let's warm some cold hearts, everybody.

Lucifer

Lucifer was always beautiful. Always has been, as an angel or a demon.

A morning star is one that outshines all the rest. It stands out when the other stars have dimmed, holding onto its luster in defiance of the sun. 

There couldn't be a truer title for Lucifer to have. Not the horrors of war nor the fires of Hell could tarnish his radiance in any way…

But there were moments, like right then, where the MC caught a glimpse of a different sort of Lucifer.

His brothers would often only see the uptight Lucifer, the practiced visage of perfection that he tried so hard to keep up… 

But after a long day, when he thinks he's alone, he retires to his room to listen to his music and the difference is astonishing.

There's something so entrancingly calm about him… How the light of the fireplace flickers and dances across his alabaster skin to the subtle slouch of his posture. His face no longer marred by creases of stress and frustration… 

And his expression is so pure… So tranquil and at peace… Beauty without effort. A shine that can't be ignored. A morning star, in the truest sense of the word…

It took awhile for Lucifer to see the MC leaning against his doorframe.

They were staring at him with the oddest look… Smiling like they were enraptured by something, but he didn't have a clue why. He was just sitting there…

So, naturally, he turned to suspicion.

"Am I really that amusing…?"

Frankly, he wasn’t prepared for the little laugh they let out in response.

"Mm? No, no... I'm just always so amazed by you, is all. I'll leave you to your music..."

Having thoroughly ruined the mood, the MC then turned to leave. But Lucifer was already upon them before they could step away, wrapping his arms around their waist and letting contented hum escape his chest.

"Going so soon…?"

Apparently he appreciated the compliment.

Mammon

He didn't have to do it.

When Belphie bumped into one of the House's vases, shattering it against the tile, he didn’t have to take the fall for it.

It wasn’t connected to him at all. He could have stayed quiet and no one would have pointed a finger at him for once.

But he did.

When Mammon set his phone down on the table, MC knew instantly that he had lied in the chat.

He was with them the entire day, he didn't have the time to accidentally break a vase. He hadn't even gone down that hallway all day...

But he said something anyway.

And he didn't even look fazed. He didn't turn towards them seeking approval nor did he look irritated that Belphie didn't speak up. He didn't curse at himself for doing something so self-sacrificing either...

When Mammon leaned back into the cushion of his couch, the MC saw something truly remarkable on his face… A smile. A small one, sure, but relaxed… 

Assured in his own actions. Confident in his choice and accepting the consequences… undeserved, and likely thankless, they may be.

A genuine, serene smile…

Mammon wasn't sure what he expected to see when he turned to the MC. Probably confusion or disbelief that he, the Great Mammon, could be so selfless.

Definitely not the awed, lovestruck look he got...

"G-gah!" He panicked slightly and pressed himself back against the armrest of the couch in shock. "Wh-... What'cha lookin at me like that for??"

When the MC didn't answer after a few seconds and just kept staring, he honestly didn't know what to do. Were they broken or something??

"Oi, MC! I asked ya wh-Hey wait a minute!!"

He made a noise between a yelp and a shout when the MC leapt forward and latched their arms onto him. What had gotten into them??

"U-uh… MC? MC?? Damnit MC, answer me already!! Or at least stop squeezin so tight!!... MC!!!"

Leviathan 

To anyone else, it was just Levi being Levi.

He had finished a new episode of his latest animated obsession and he had to share it with someone. Anyone would do, but the MC was always willing to lend an ear.

Something about Levi really changes when he talks about his passions… It's like he comes alive in a whole new way.

He speaks at a mile-a-minute, but that's because he's so excited the words fly from his mouth. 

Some part of him is always bouncing, be it his leg or body. Sometimes even his tail will swish and curl behind him like an ecstatic puppy. And his eyes… 

Citrine pools that glimmer and dilate from the exhilaration of it all. It's his little world and anyone can see he's thrilled to be sharing it. 

You'd never know he was shy. You'd never think he'd look down himself. You'd never guess that he hid himself away… Why would someone so full of passion and life ever want to? Some things are just too beautiful to keep hidden...

Levi had only gotten six minutes into his latest rant before he finally registered how the MC was staring at him…

This man has seen enough shoujo to know what that look means and it shut him up sooo quick. If anyone else were in the room they would have seen a beet-red Levi desperately trying to hide his face.

"M-MC…! S-top staring at me like that…!!"

"Like what~?" 

He didn't have to look at them to hear the teasing lilt in their voice.

"MC…" He peeked out from behind his fingers to see them still staring and covered himself up more vigorously. "Stoooop…!!!"

But secretly? He wished they'd never stop. His cheeks may have been red from embarrassment, but his heart was trying to hammer its way out of his chest to hug them itself. Hell, he'd have happily given it over to them if they'd asked…

Please just let those loving eyes be for him and him alone...

Satan

Soft isn't exactly a word anybody would use to describe Satan, least of all himself.

His anger was quick to spark, his strength was nothing to scoff at, and even his smiles were nothing but plastic for nearly all of his existence…

Nearly.

The MC learned surprisingly quick that there was one thing that could bypass all of the hidden ferocity to Satan's personality. Something that could make him melt like butter in the summer sun…

Satan had always looked a little cute when he was reading. He was easily at his most expressive when engrossed in a thrilling story or deeply intrigued by something he found between the pages of a book…

But watching Satan read about cats, as he was right then, was really something else entirely.

Maybe it was the way his emerald eyes would sparkle or the lopsided grin he just couldn't hide as he would scan the pages about the playful habits of Bengals or the relaxed nature of Ragdolls…

Maybe it was the sheer impassioned dedication he took the subject, pouring countless hours into collecting and memorizing every fact he could from their diets to coat maintenance.

Or maybe it was the sheer fact that anytime he saw a picture of kitty in-print he looked like a besotted schoolgirl drawing hearts around her crush in a teen magazine.

Really, who's to say? But to the MC, it was proof that under all that anger, there was a tender, loving center even for the smallest, softest creatures…

Satan automatically snapped his book closed when he saw MC watching him from behind a bookshelves. Caught red-handed…

He knows exactly how he looks when he's doing his research internally squealing over cat pictures so he tries to do so in private...

He was about to sputter out a defensive explanation but then he registered their face…

He'd seen that look described in stories, romance novels mostly, but he'd rarely seen it in action… and never once leveled at him with such intensity…

Not to be cliche, but frankly his heart skipped a beat.

Satan forgot about his book briefly and got up to close the distance between them, tilting their chin up to keep their eyes on him.

"Like something that you see, Kitten?"

"You could say that…"

He laughed at their attempt to play coy, but let it slide just this once… Easy to do with them looking at him so amorously.

Asmodeus 

Asmo is a very popular demon. Someone so free ought to know quite a lot of people, after all.

And, of course, he had plenty of fans. He made DevilTube videos, hosted radio shows, fashion designed, and even modeled.

So it wasn't very surprising when a young demoness stopped him while he and the MC were out shopping. It wasn’t the first time he had been asked to sign autographs, but this meeting… it was different.

It was clear to them both that this girl was shy. Though she held out the paper, her eyes stayed firmly on the ground and she stumbled on her question… She likely a fan from afar, but everything about her seemed meek… unassuming.

Most people would have just gave the autograph then went on with their day. The interaction could have taken five seconds at most… but not Asmo.

He asked her name… where she was from, how she was feeling, her favorite foods, outfits, makeup, you name it. All with investment.

It was amazing to watch the shy young woman slowly open up, getting more bright and cheerful with each passing question until it evolved into a healthy conversation.

When their little meeting finally wrapped up, he gave her back the paper (now signed) but also fished out a bottle of perfume from among the mountains of bags he was carrying. He gave it to her and wouldn't hear anything to the contrary, he could always buy another.

None of his brothers ever gave Asmo enough credit for his giving nature… even if he had his own way of going about it. Though he cared so much about image and his ability to shine, he never hesitated to make sure that the people around him shined too...

Asmo waved to the fan as she scampered away and was about to  apologize to the MC when he saw their face…

The man knows this look well. He's seen it a billion times, though it was particularly cute coming from them.

"Awww MC! Taken by my beauty are you~?"

He was about ready to kiss their cheek when they responded.

"No, not your looks, Asmo… with you."

… Oh.

It was very rare to see Asmo speechless, but for a few seconds his mind seemed to take in their words… letting them fully sink in before his heart utterly melting.

Oh MC… His sweet MC!!

Asmo ended up dropping the rest of his bags just so he could properly litter his human in nuzzles and kisses, the both of them humming and giggling in delight despite their shameless PDA.

Of course it would be his MC to see that part in himself… Who else would take the time?

Beelzebub 

Food is a precious resource to Beel. For him, it's a lifeline. A good meal could save him from the brink of starvation…

But that still doesn't make him incapable of sharing from time to time.

He and the MC were walking back to the House after getting takeout from Hell's Kitchen. Beel hadn't even waited until they left the restaurant to start eating his share, spilling the smell of fresh food into the air around them…

Things were going fine on their route back until they heard whimpering behind them…

A hellhound puppy, not quite old enough to bear its fangs, seemingly followed them as they were walking… It looked like it had been out for some time and eyed their food with hungry eyes, but weak posture. Who knows when it last had a meal?

The MC was about to tug at Beel's sleeve and say something, but their demon was ahead of them this time.

A casual observer might have gawked at the sight of Gluttony kneeling down to offer such a lowly creature a sandwich. But the MC knew better. When you spend your whole life hungry, nobody more than you understands that kind of pain in someone else. 

This reaction wasn't out of character for Beel, it was elementary.

And when the puppy finished its meal and covered Beel's cheeks with appreciative licks, he just laughed and scratched behind its ears. Amethyst eyes looking more relieved at its health than disappointed he lost some of his lunch...

Food was Beel's lifeline, but kindness is what made him who he was…

When the pup finally scampered off, Beel looked over at the MC to tell them it'd be alright and saw their face…

He wasn't really sure what they were staring at… Did he have something between his teeth again?

"MC? Are you okay...?"

They laughed at him for some reason but pulled him in for a hug so they must have meant well.

"You're so sweet, Beel…"

Beel's never one to refuse a compliment so he just hugged them back, beaming.

"Thank you, MC…"

Belphegor 

To say that Belphegor tended to be on the melancholic side would be an understatement… It wasn’t that he was incapable of expressing joy, it was just harder for him to do than most. Not helped, of course, by his tendency to keep his true feelings vague and hard to pinpoint.

But on those rare occasions where he was overjoyed… Belphie could really be something special…

The MC and Belphie were attending one of Beel's games and it was a tight one… Both teams had spent most of it tied and Beel's team was running out of time to overtake that slim margin.

Belphie had always been a supporter of his twin's athletics, but this time it was tense even for him. He kept on the edge of his seat and didn't even nod off during the breaks like he normally would… The MC could just tell how nervous he was for Beel…

But right as the time was about to run out, Beel made a last minute score and sure, the whole field erupted, but Belphie? Belphie hollered.

The normally sleepy and mellow demon was on his feet in an instant and practically shredding his vocal chords in excitement. If his tail had been out, it would have been beating against the bleachers like a war-drum. And his expression?

Belphie's smile is said to stop hearts for a reason. When he puts his all into a grin it's almost like he ascends to Heaven once more, as pure as an angel's choir and as warm as a summer's breeze… Nothing in his eyes but pride and adoration for his beloved twin brother.

Truly, a heartwarming sight to behold…

Belphie didn't calm down until the rest of the crowd settled and was about to point out Beel's skill to the MC when he noticed their face.

… oh no… Why do they look so sappy…?

"You really love your brother, don't you?"

Belphie quickly hid his thoughts behind an irritated frown and plopped back down in his seat… but that didn't shield them from seeing his pink cheeks.

"Of course I do. What kind of question is that?"

He debated just joining Beel on the field to hide his embarrassment when he heard them snicker back.

"Yeah, you're right… Don't mind me."

Oh he minded. He minded a lot that he let his carefully veiled image slip like that. But thinking back to that smile on their face…?

Maybe being a little open wasn't so bad after all...

[vad-hander]

• Pairing: Jaebeom x reader

• Genre: smut, fluff

• Warnings: established relationships, dom!Jaebeom sub!reader switched positions, teasing, orgasm denial, unprotected sex

• Words: 10k

“My kink is you wearing these jeans and a dress shirt, why’d you make me suffer from orgasm denial in the past 4 hours?” you moaned quietly to not make anyone else hear it in case someone was behind the door. “I didn’t know you were this needy.” he smirked pecking your lips quickly. “Want to see?” your hand landed on top of his palm, trying to slide it down to the center of your body.

Youngjae’s generous invitation for Jaebeom & you to visit his musical made you more excited than you ever thought it would. The two of you just got out of a 14 days quarantine you had to undergo after returning to Korea and this was meant to be your first post-quarantine event, let alone the fact the two of you haven’t been anywhere in what felt like ages.

You watched Jaebeom put his tight black jeans on, which itself was an event for you. He didn’t let happen too often with wearing baggy pants but you never really cared what he wore, you never even had the thought of commanding him on what to wear and what not, but the view of his legs wrapped in a black jeans material gave your body and ecstatic shock wave making your core throb from a single glance. Before meeting Jaebeom you never thought the view of someone’s legs could make you feel the things you felt but the reality of being in love hit you every time you caught yourself finding things that were normal to you regarding other people but were filled with sexiness when it was about Jaebeom. These thoughts always gave you a mental reminder you never were in love with anyone as much you were with him. The slight smirk on your lips was caught by his stare and he turned around to face you, moving his, actually long, legs towards you.

“What’s up with the smirk?” he gifted you a smile trying to lightly pinch your cheek by sliding his middle and index finger over it. “You’re ready?”

“Yes boo.” the nickname made Jaebeom smile wider and his hand slid onto your neck, gripping lightly to move your head closer to press a small kiss in the corner of your lips.

“You’re cute.” he smiled letting go.

“The urge of taking these pants off your legs is making me act up.” you joked making him chuckle.

“We can’t be late, you’ll have to wait.” Jaebeom slid his hand down your shoulder to intertwine your fingers and pull you to come with him.

“I know you’re lying, nothing would stop you usually. You don’t like me?” you mixed up a dramatic and cute looks making Jaebeom laugh at your obvious bad acting.

“You know this was bad, right?” you simply nodded chuckling lightly agreeing with him.

“Want to punish me?” you gave it one more shot getting a disappointed nod from your boyfriend.

“Now don’t expect to peacefully go to bed when we get back home.” he pecked your lips for the final time dragging you to go to the exit.

The musical was good, you liked going to theatres the only issue here was the fact you barely spoke Korean, and at first Jaebeom was trying to interpret a little but soon he gave up due to all those people around you constant staring and hissing. “It’s okay, you’ll tell me after it’s over, let’s see if what I guessed is any close to what it actually was.” you chuckled allowing Jaebeom to rest in his sit to fully focus on his friends acting.

A staff came crawling over your raw just a few minutes before everything ended asking you in a polite manner to follow him backstage and you two, excusing yourselves and bending as low as possible, exited the hall to a light corridor. The room was completely empty and Jaebeom took your hand in his. You held onto his fingers tightly appreciating him seeking for contact at any giving chance you had. Touching and any form of informal interaction was something you held back from doing due to Jaebeoms status in life. You always planned to pull the staff or the friend card if someone suspected anything and in order of doing it successfully you needed to act accordingly, you always acted accordingly. The only person to break the rule was Jaebeom and there was nothing better in life than feeling the adrenaline run through your veins when in a sudden move he’d take your hand or pull you in for a light kiss. You loved these moments and you lived for these moments. You lived for the moments when you could tease him to the state where he could barely hold himself back, to the state where he dragged you to the bathroom multiple times to bend or kneel you down to release the tension in his pants. He rarely acted bold but when he did he drove you insane. Light moves of his thumb over the skin on your palm were like the moves of a match on a matchbox, striking sparks down your core but he seemed casual about it.

“I think he’ll want to go to eat after this, will you want to go with us?” he drew your attention to his face.

“If I won’t go, you’ll come back late, I’ll be asleep already and then you won’t keep your promise, and your promise is the only thing I could think of through this whole time.” you said quietly in case the man that was leading you spoke English aswell.

“No, I would keep it even if I’d come at 3am.” light chuckle of his whispered tone was interrupted by the staff that finally told you to come into the room to wait for Youngjae.

“I wish we could go on other dates too. I’d like to see Jinki, I like him a lot.” you commented looking at all those posters hanging all over the walls.

“I’ll ask Youngjae about that.” he chuckled and pulled you to seat beside him. “So are you coming?”

“Did you agree with him to go without me?” you squeezed your eyes suspiciously.

“You’ll be bored, that’s it.”

“I won’t be, I’ll eat deliciously and then I’ll just stare at your beautiful side profile until you’d want to go home and get your beautiful profile deep between my legs. I won’t understand you two for the most part anyway, you can share your little secrets calmly.” you booped him on the nose finishing your sentence cutely.

“The more you say things like that the less I want to go anywhere except for going home and getting on top of you.” Jaebeom grabbed your neck moving you closer.

“That’s what I told you in the first place. My kink is you wearing these jeans and a dress shirt, why’d you make me suffer from orgasm denial in the past 4 hours?” you moaned quietly to not make anyone else hear it in case someone was behind the door.

“I didn’t know you were this needy.” he smirked pecking your lips quickly.

“Want to see?” your hand landed on top of his palm, trying to slide it down to the center of your body.

“No, no, no.” he moved back suddenly. “Don’t turn me on like that, don’t. Youngjae will come any second and I don’t want to have a boner in these tight jeans.”

“Well, not good for you.” you chuckled trying to get from Jaebeoms grip, and he only let go of you when he licked into your mouth multiple times.

Jaebeom was obviously right about the dinner and now the three of you were sitting at the private booth in the restaurant not too far from the place where you watched the musical. The food was good and it was the greatest gift you could receive in the time being. You were slowly running your eyes over Youngjae and Jaebeom, not really having much to add to the heated conversation they had. Mostly, due to the fact you barely could catch up on what they were saying, but as long as the food kept you occupied you were good. Inner urge to fish your phone out and just entertain yourself while scrolling was something you fought harshly, finding it a tad bit inappropriate and disrespectful. In search of things you could entertain yourself with you remembered your teasing game, which wasn’t initially a game, it was just your pure will, but since Jaebeom denied you, you had no other option left other than tease him to the state where he wouldn’t be able to fight back anymore.

Placing your chopsticks back to their designated place when you finished eating you sat back a little moving your legs closer to Jaebeoms. You bumped your knees accidentally , getting a warm smile from him before turning his attention back to Youngjae. Thanks to the seating with chairs Youngjae wasn’t able to see your legs and you were able to quietly put your palm over Jaebeoms knee. Your featherlight touch drew his attention back to you.

“You’re good?” his tone changed 180 from a casual one he spoke to Youngjae with to a caring sweet one when he spoke to you. A smile lit up your face and you guessed you looked like two disgusting idiots to Youngjae, you really didn’t want to be the annoying girlfriend that ruined the bros hang out.

“Yeah.” you pouted slightly and expected Jaebeom to give you a light peck, because he always did when you pouted, but he just nodded a quick no, saying sorry with his eyes. You moved a bit more closer to Jaebeom, resting your head on his shoulder, blinking blindly with your eyes running over the room. None of the boys paid any attention to what you did, so you just rested for a couple of minutes, listening to the words that left their mouths. The moment Jaebeom relaxed his body, that he tensed up the second you touched him, you knew it was the time to make him tense up again. Your hand lightly ran over his knee and it took all in you to hold back from chuckling at how fast Jaebeoms reaction to it was. He didn’t stop you and he didn’t give any visible to Youngjae reaction, so you just continued stroking his knee calmly, feeling him get used to and chill under the touch. Running your fingers up his leg you felt Jaebeoms hand on your thigh, gripping lightly to signal for you to stop. He still acted as if nothing was happening under the table, so you had to just bite your cheek to not draw attention. Jaebeom’s fingers ran up your bare skin, with the robe-like dress you wore he easily snaked his hand up without lifting your dress up, rubbing with his thumb your sensitive skin. The light touches of his fingers mixed with the feeling of cold metal from the rings he wore send warmth down to your core. You dug your nails into his thigh through material of his black jeans, trying to stop yourself from reacting too vividly.

“It’s your birthday?” Youngjae asked in English drawing your attention to him. You lifted your head from Jaebeoms shoulder, moving your head around confusedly trying to get yourself back together from those pleasures feelings.

“Huh?” you were taken aback by the sudden question and it showed on your face.

“You had your birthday a couple of days ago.” Jaebeom said with a slight smile on his lips from your reaction.

“Yeah, yeah. It was my birthday.” you ran your eyes from Jaebeom back to Youngjae.

“I have a gift.” he said in a cute tone, reaching out to his bag to find something.

“What?” you exclaimed excitedly. “You didn’t have to.” Youngjae straightened his back expanding his hand towards you. There was a small box that said ‘Gucci’ on it. “No, I can’t take it!” you exclaimed taking the box out of his hand. “What’s in there?” Jaebeom asked Youngjae the same question in korean for him to understand.

“Open.” Youngjae simply commanded and you pulled the top of the box up, revealing to you the gift wrapped in paper with a Gucci sticker on. You laid the box on the table to rip the sticker off and finally see what he got you.

“Thank you so much!” your hands revealed to your curious eyes a pretty card holder. “Look!” you exclaimed shoving it in Jaebeoms face. “This is nice.” you smiled at him and he nodded lightly taking the holder from your hand to check it out “Wow, Youngjae, thank you so much.” you ran your fingers over the material of the holder before letting go of it. “Can I hug you?” you asked politely in Korean. Youngjae nodded gifting you a light chuckle, before moving to stand up. You moved your chair too, noticing how Jaebeom moved his hand from your thigh to the back of your chair. His hand ran through your spine when you stood up and with Youngjae expanding his hands towards you there was no time for you to react to your boyfriends movements, hugging Youngjae tightly. “Thank you so much, you really didn’t have to.” you spoke in Korean again, using up all of your skills and knowledge for the sentence.

Right when you felt like the hug took longer than the both of you intended, you felt Jaebeoms fingers on your elbow, pulling you back to him. He coughed in his ordinary manner making you chuckle at the absurd display of jealousy and possessiveness as if you and Youngjae were showing any affection towards each other at all. Youngjae let go of you quicker than you expected, making you fall back into embrace of the guy that suddenly was in the mood to mark his territory. You felt his hand on the back of your chair again, lightly tapping your shoulder. You gave his knee a light punch as if telling him to stop and with Youngjaes silent chuckle they began talking again.

“Oh, I need to go, Coco is waiting for her walkie.” you heard Youngjae speak, turning your head to see Jaebeoms reaction.

“Yeah, you’re right, it’s pretty late.” he checked his lock screen “ I guess my pup is in need of a walk aswell.” he chuckled referring to you and Youngjae made a loud throaty laugh, making it die quickly when he noticed your death stares towards Jaebeom.

He kept his little game even after you paid, getting up and leaving he patted your head and said ‘let’s go’ with tapping his knee as if you were an actual pup. Jaebeoms face lit up with happiness when he heard Youngjaes laugh and you played along sticking your tongue out and bending your hands for two seconds when Youngjae turned away gaining an approving smile from Jaebeom, rolling your eyes at him afterwards.

Jaebeoms hands landed on your waist the second his feet entered the elevator behind you. His hands pushed you to turn around and before you could even see his face expression in the elevators mirror you were facing Jaebeom. Your eyes ran over his face noticing how he really tried hard to keep it expressionless. You smiled lightly, biting your lower lip. His hands were glued to your waist and you ran your hands up his, resting them over his neck.

“What?” you asked and he opened his mouth to answer, but the sound of the elevators door closing made you jump in his hands out of surprise and Jaebeom chuckled at your reaction.

“We didn’t press the floor button, did we?” he said letting go of you to do so. You nodded lightly and Jaebeom pulled you to his chest hugging tightly. You rested your head on his chest, snaking your hands over his warm body. “Where’s your gift?” he asked you suddenly making you realise you left it in the car.

“Da-a-mn.” you growled into his chest and Jaebeom’s hand squeezed your neck lightly.

“Are you tired or what?” he said, turning around when the elevator came to the needed floor. You chased after Jaebeom, catching his extended towards you palm, walking with holding on to his hand with both yours. He punched in the passcode to your door, pulling you to walk in with him and letting go of you to close the door.

You stood in front of the door watching him take his shoes off expecting Jaebeom to pay any attention to you, but he just walked forward, turning around to take a look at you. “Why you’re standing?” he made a real surprised face expression looking you up. You frowned, quickly taking the shoes off your feet. Walking in a quick pace past Jaebeom who was still standing and watching you, you punched him lightly into his side with your elbow, getting a light chuckle from him. Jaebeoms hands grabbed you by the waist mid-action, pulling you close to his back. “Needy.” he murmured into your shoulder, giving it a light bite.

“I thought we had an agreement.” you tried to push him off, but Jaebeoms grip was obviously stronger.

“I can’t even tease you for a second?” he chuckled lightly, caressing your stomach with his fingers. “You had fun through the whole evening and I’m not allowed to do it for a slight moment?” he whined to make you feel bad about your behaviour “That’s selfish.” Jaebeom turned you around in his arms, resting both of his palms on your cheeks. “Since when are you selfish?”

“Since when the only time I’m allowed to rule is when I’m teasing you in front of someone because you don’t like to pay attention to me in these circumstances. All other times you act like an insufferable dom, there’s nothing I’m allowed to do.” you sighed, licking your lips.

“I’m not... that much of a dom...” he said sounding like he might’ve doubted it himself.

“You are...” you nodded lightly and Jaebeom bit his lower lip with an apologetic grimace on his face.

“I’m sorry but I guess you should’ve told me two years ago you don’t like it. What took you so long?” he sighed lowering his hands back to your waist.

“I never said I don’t.” you tilted your head to the side, resting your hands on Jaebeoms broad shoulders.

“I see.” he chuckled lightly trying to contain his smile making the cute little face expression you liked so much. His cuteness made your heart clench at the same time with making your entire body warmer.

“So what?” your hands slowly made their way over to his stomach, caressing it with your fingertips.

“You wanted to rule, so rule.” Jaebeom suggested. You stayed silent to see his further actions but he just stood calmly staring back at you. “Come on, my patience won’t last forever.” he teased.

“Let’s go.” you grabbed his hand, pulling him to walk behind you towards your shared bedroom.

Entering the room, you noticed how the lights from the streets of Seoul were blocked by the black-out curtains that were weighing on the ledge. The only light in the room was coming from the side where the curtains weren’t properly closing the window. Small glimpses of light jumped over the walls from passing-by cars. You loosened your grip on Jaebeom’s hand, letting his fingers naturally slide from yours. Your eyes were too focused on the light, and when you didn’t move for quite a while, Jaebeom moved behind you. You felt his fingers move your hair away from your shoulder, feeling fresh air run up your neck. He leaned in closer to your ear, resting his fingers on your shoulder. Jaebeom’s lips left a kiss at the base of your neck making you shiver immediately. His touch was intoxicating to you, no matter how much time had passed, you still were getting goosebumps from whatever he said or did to you.

“Are you coming up with a grand plan to torture me?” he chuckled into your neck, running his lips up to your ear to move his face forward and rest his cheek against yours. Jaebeom’s hands snaked over your body, intertwining your fingers. He hugged your body tightly with both his and yours hands. You closed your eyes relishing the moment, rubbing your cheek lightly against his. You felt his lips on your jaw, leaving light pecks and *maybe* signalling you that you’re slow at giving him what he wants you to give him the most. You weren’t able to open your eyes though because Jaebeom’s light pecks turned into tiny sloppy kisses that just forced you to rest your head against his left shoulder, allowing him more access to your sensitive skin. With each feel of his lips on your neck, with each little sound he made when his lips met your skin you felt how your body relaxed more against his and you felt how your heart was trembling as if it was the first time he touched you at all. One of his hands left your waist only to rest against your cheek the next moment. His hand pulled your head by the neck to the side, holding on to it. Jaebeom’s lips moved back up to your jaw, nibbling on the spot under your ear. His light actions forced a moan escape your mouth, a moan that got you back into reality and got strength back into your feet.

“Wait.” you tried to tell him normally but your voice was weak and sounded more like a moan.

“Yeah?” he stopped drawing his attention to you. You turned around in his arms to face him properly. Thin laces of light ran over Jaebeoms face, giving you an opportunity to see his beautiful features for the nth time. You felt your heart clench when your eyes landed on his lips, unconsciously raising your hands to caress his cheeks. One of your hands slid down onto his neck, hooking it around it to hold on. Your free hand ran a line up his nose with your index finger, feeling how Jaebeom’s hand held tighter on your waist.

“I love you.” you sighed, pulling his face down closer to yours.

“I know baby, I love you too.” his tone was soft and low, you could barely hear him, he was practically murmuring. Jaebeom rested his forehead against yours, allowing for you to decide on what you’ll do next.

Moving your hands back to Jaebeoms face, you pulled his face a tiny bit closer, finally intertwining your lips. The kiss that you were waiting for for the whole evening quickly changed from a soft and slow one into something passionate, something that took both of your breaths away. Jaebeom’s hands ran up and down your side, making your head go dizzy every time he squeezed your butt before running his hand back up, pushing your body harder against his. He had to pull your face from his when it felt like the both of you could lose consciousness from the lack of air in your lungs.

“I still want to take these pants off your legs.” you murmured into his lips, pulling him more towards you.

“I won’t protest.” he chuckled and guided you towards the bed. You gave in, because its what you usually did. You obeyed and listened to what Jaebeom said and you both enjoyed it very much, but he said it’s up to you tonight and you weren’t planning on giving that completely up.

“Sit down then.” you demanded, and Jaebeom chuckled at your serious voice but obeyed diligently, walking with you to the bed. He didn’t break eye contact, sitting down and running his tongue over his mouth. Jaebeom sat down in an arrogant pose, spreading his knees but crossing his ankles. He switched his body weight to his hands that were keeping him up behind his back. “Move.” you commanded him with your hands, showing for him to crawl deeper onto the bed. He listened again, straightening his long skinny legs in front of you. The bulge, that was always visible through tight material of his pants, drew even more of your attention to it now that he was slightly turned on. You pressed a knee into the mattress of the bed, and Jaebeom lifted his body on his elbows, expectant of what you’ll do. You quickly got to his lap and Jaebeom’s hands quickly found their place on your thighs. “What should I do with you…?” you smirked at him, placing your hands on each side of his head.

“You pick, I don’t know.”

“I’m drowning in the ocean of possibilities, I should’ve prepared myself.” you chuckled lowering your face in front of him.

“Want to switch it up?”

“Never.” you kissed him, slowly rocking your body against his. A low groan escaped Jaebeom’s throat giving you a boost of confidence you never knew you needed. You broke off the kiss, moving your lips to his neck. The feeling of your wet mouth made him groan again and the vibration that escaped his throat and passed to you through your lips settled down in your core. You felt your insides clench and the only thing you could think about from now on is how good he’ll feel inside of you.

“Remember you told me once things you liked about me?” you moved back up to his face to be able to see his eyes.

“Of course I do, it was last week.” his hand ran up your waist.

“I want to do the same thing.” you licked his lips, slowly running your tongue over his mouth.

“Okay…?”

“Can I?” you asked out of habit.

“You know you can do anything you want, baby.” he let go of your leg, finding your face to caress your cheek. “Don’t make me feel bad with questions like that, now you’re making me believe I’m a conceited bully who’s keeping you in slavery.”

“Not true.” you opposed “One of the things I like about you…” you began slowly “…is the fact that you can control me but respect my views and needs at the same time.” your lips landed on his cheek. “You’re caring even though controlling and I have no idea how you’re doing it like that and to be fair that’s super sexy. But this is not what I wanted to tell you.” your lips found his once again.

“Okay, okay.” he chuckled, pulling you closer.

“Promise to just shut me up and just fuck me if I’ll get too sentimental, okay? I don’t want to be a crying mess.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t let you, you were grabbing onto my thigh through the whole evening I can’t even think straight right now, I want you.”

“I’m sorry.” you chuckled “But now I just want you to know that I’m so glad you asked me to stay with you when the rent at my place was due and I wanted to go home. I’m so glad I didn’t protest too much to stay at your place with you two years ago and now I’m here with you in this bed, and I love you so-so much. Fuck…” you sighed feeling that you already were emotional. This wasn’t even what you wanted to tell him in the first place, but now that you began you weren’t able to stop yourself from saying all those things. “We probably wouldn’t have lasted long if we went long-distance, I would’ve sulked and missed you so much.” you sighed and smiled lightly at him when you saw his cute little smile. “This is not even what I was planning to tell you. I wasn’t planning to make myself sob.” you chuckled and Jaebeom’s warm fingers on your cheek made your heart clench once again. “I love you a lot, I don’t want to ever not be able to tell you that I love you.”

“I swear, you won’t.” Jaebeom reassured you when you weren’t expecting him to speak at all. “Don’t cry. We’re good, no, we’re great. I love you, and you love me. We’re almost never fight, we’re on the same page, we’re there for each other. I don’t want to let go of you, in fact I want to build a family with you, I told you that. Baby, remember how you told me earlier you wanted me? Come on, show me, don’t cry, you’re upsetting me. I’m the insufferable dom, obey.” a smile lit up his face “I’m ordering for you to rule me, even though this sounds weird to say it like that.”

“I’m sorry, I think I’m just tipsy from what I drank at the restaurant. I was ready to fuck with you in that waiting room and now I’m on top of you and what am I doing? Sobbing.” you chuckled.

“Come here.” Jaebeom said seriously, pushing your hair to your back from hanging in front of his face. His hands pressed you towards his head, making you two kiss. Jaebeom’s lips moved quickly demanding the access into your mouth swiftly. You found balance by each side of Jaebeom’s shoulders, pressing your hands into the mattress. Jaebeom’s hand ran up your neck with a featherlight touch, going back down. His thumb began caressing your collarbone, sending shivers down your spine. Jaebeom’s other hand left your waist as well, sliding towards inner side of your thigh. He ran his hand under the hem of your dress, drawing circles over your bare skin. When his hand was right at the line of your underwear, he ran his fingers over cotton material of your underwear, lowering his fingers and running them up and down your clothed heat. “Do you feel better?” he asked running his fingers past the thin material of your underwear to touch you there.

“Wait.” you moaned into his mouth and he let go of you the next second. “I didn’t tell you.”

“You’ll start crying again, I just got you back.” he sighed.

“No, I won’t now, I just want to hold you back for as long as possible for you to cum harder, do you want that?”

“Baby…” he made a throaty sound.

“No, you have to say it with words, that’s your own rule, follow it.” you smiled making him clear his throat.

“Yeah, I do.” Jaebeom’s hand squeezed your thigh.

“Good. Don’t touch me unless I’ll tell you to. Should I tie you up?” you crooked your neck to look at him from the side.

“No, no, I’ll obey.”

“I hope so.” you felt Jaebeom let go of you, resting his hands on each side of his body. You leaned in to kiss him, softly moving your lips against his, he kissed you back, yet being able to not boss you around. He waited patiently for you to slip your tongue into his mouth, sucking on it lightly. “Mmmh.” he forced a moan out of you with the way his mouth was moving. You pulled back and Jaebeom lifted one of his hands to push you back down, but stopped himself half-way, dropping his hand back on the mattress. “Good boy.” you chuckled. “You know that I love your lips, right?” he nodded, mumbling quiet ‘yes’ afterwards. “I can’t hold back from kissing them all the time.” your fingers ran over his lower lip “And you’re always making me struggle, always forcing me to cry from want. Always making me beg for you. Why do you like me begging for you so much?” you asked rhetorically, kissing him again. Your lips moved slowly to his jaw, getting closer to his ear. “You know when I like your lips the most?” you sighed into his ear.

“I can probably guess.”

“Okay, guess.” you moved back to see his face.

“No, you tell me.” he quickly replied.

“When you get them between my legs.” you exhaled.

“Yeah…” he moaned in your ear “Do you want me to do that now?” you felt your insides clench at the unexpected suggestion. Temptation was way too strong and it took all in you to kindly decline it.

You moved your body a bit lower, now properly resting your lower part against Jaebeoms groin. Your fingers landed on his neck, stroking it lightly up and down. Softly touching his lips with yours, you snaked your fingers behind his neck, trying to wrap your hands around it. “Just taking a look at your neck is making me clench. I’m obsessed with your neck, its so thick, I can barely wrap my hands around it. And your Adam’s apple is moving so sexily every time you swallow.” you paused and he swallowed “Baby, yes, like that.” you whispered when Jaebeom’s Adam’s apple bobbed under your thumbs. “Can I bite it?” you paused to hear a reply from him but quickly changed your mind “Whatever, I’m going to bite it anyway.” running your lips over his neck mindlessly, you found a spot you liked to bite onto so much, tasting the skin, pulling it lightly between your teeth. Your tongue lightly nibbled on the bitten spot, right before your lips sucked in air, leaving red mark on his neck.

You moved your head back, eyeing the red stain you left. Your hands landed on his chest, helping you to find balance and Jaebeom’s hands landed on your hips, reminding you of the no-touching rule. You found his hands with yours, pulling them from you, moving them up, and then making him lower them above his head.

“I’m sorry, I won’t do that again.”

“Too late.” you stated. The only thing that came to your mind that could hold his hands in place was the belt that he had in his jeans, so you tried to hold both his hands with one of yours, expanding the other one to undo his belt somehow.

“You want to tie me up with my own belt?” he made a weird sound.

“Yeah, there’s nothing else I can come up with.” you smiled at him apologetically.

“Come on, I’ll be good, I won’t touch you, I swear.” he begged but you knew it was only to last up until you actually touched him and made him wait. You shook your head no, signalling for Jaebeom to lift his butt a bit, for you to be able to get your new handmade leathery handcuffs from his pants. “Baby…” he sighed.

“I know you’re not good at controlling yourself, i need something to ensure myself you’ll obey.” Getting the belt in front of his arms, you freed him to properly put it around his arms with both of yours. “Wait, we need to take off your shirt first.” you realised that you won’t be able to do that if you’ll tie him. Your hands got back to his chest, running your fingers over to where his buttons were already unbuttoned. You played with his yin-yang necklace that was peaking and teasing your eyes through the whole evening, unbuttoning more of the buttons on his shirt. Getting more access to the skin on his stomach, you pulled the shirt from under his pants, finally finishing with those buttons. You let both halves of the shirt lie down on Jaebeom’s sides. Your hands ran over his chest, lowering your head to plant a kiss on his abdomen. “Do you want to know how much I love your stomach?” you forced him to lift his shoulders off the bed, to let you pull the shirt off them. “Or your shoulders?” you tossed material to the side, getting your attention back to the belt. You wrapped it around his hands, forcing him to pull them back up, passing it in between his wrists afterwards, fastening the belt over it. He pulled lightly to test it, and it held his hands in place, making him drop his head back on the bed disappointed. “Pretty.” you said more to yourself than him, running your fingers from his shoulders to the waist of his jeans. “Even prettier down here.” you mumbled under your breath, squeezing him through the jeans. His body jerked in response, and you chuckled lightly because he pointlessly tried to free his hands. “You won’t mind if I’ll lick your stomach, right?” you asked, lowering your face in front of his abs. You extended your tongue, lifting your eyes to watch Jaebeom’s face expression. He bit down onto his lower lip, watching how you lowered your head, making your tongue meet his stomach. His body made a wave from the sensation. You began drawing small circles over his toned muscles, making your tongue move between every cube of the six-pack. Your chest was moving against his cock, stimulating Jaebeom even more, forcing a low groan out of him. “You know you can tell me what you want me to do?” you kissed a line up his stomach to his chest “I’ll consider your suggestions.” you got your tongue back out, sliding it up his chest to Jaebeom’s neck. You crawled over him, giving you an ability to properly look him in the eyes. “Do you have any?” you licked your lips, lowering your face closer to his.

“No, I’m good.” he coughed lightly, lifting his head from the bed to kiss you. You shot your body back up, pressing his shoulders back down to bed with your palms. “Come on.” He growled disappointedly.

“Weren’t you good just a second ago?” you chuckled. He shielded his eyes as if he was suffering from pain, lifting his head up to look at the bed behind him. “I know baby,” you ran your fingers from his armpit to where his hands were held hostage “it’ll hurt your pride if you’ll beg me for something, but I promise, you won’t die from that.” your hands ran back down, stroking lower, getting through his sides to the waistband of his jeans. The band of his underwear was showing from under his pants, letting you know the brand he wore. You ran your fingers over the band, getting them under it to run back to his left side. You noticed how Jaebeom’s hands grabbed onto the bedsheets above his head, fisting them harshly. “Sure you don’t want to try it?” you moved your hand away, only to drop your fingers over his crotch. Your fingers ran up and down lightly, stroking him with subtle motions. His hips twitched under you, trying to lift them and get more friction which you obviously weren’t about to give him. “No, this is not what the deal was, isn’t it?” you moved your hand away and Jaebeom stopped.

“I’m sorry.” he mumbled under his nose, turning his head away to close his eyes once again.

“The more you break the rules, the longer I’ll take, you get it?”

“Yeah.” He sighed. You got your hand back, palming his crotch slowly. Getting your face once again on the same level with his, you finally kissed him, making a low moan, when Jaebeom bit your lip due to your hands stronger stroking. You moved away to breathe in air, getting your free hand to stroke Jaebeom’s cheek.

“Be a good boy for me? Can you be good for me?” you mumbled into his lips “Just be good, don’t you want to cum?” you pecked his mouth but instead of replying he moaned quietly as a reaction to you squeezing his cock in your hand “you really should start using words.”

“I’ll be good.” He said with his mouth only, giving you an idea of how difficult it is for him to even be under you.

You using same words and tactics as he usually did probably gave him an idea of what it felt like from your side, when he’d rule you and made you be his submissive, when he’d make you speak at the peak of orgasm with the condition of not letting you cum if you didn’t. The difference was that Jaebeom had real issues with begging, he didn’t quite like the idea of begging for anything, so Jaebeom crying and moaning for you to let him cum was something you’d pay for to watch, and you were about to get a free ticket to that.

You tried to undo the button on his jeans with one hand, but you failed miserably, sitting up and undoing the jeans properly with both of your hands. He lifted his hips immediately, predicting you to take off the pants. You decided not to do it the way he wanted it, unzipping the zipper, and just unfolding his jeans to the side, allowing his bulge to get free. The only thing that now divided your palm from his cock was the thin cotton of his underwear. You stroked him multiple times, giving him more pressure than before. You felt Jaebeom’s thighs tense up under your legs, twitching yet again from your hand. You paid all of your attention to his member that was poking the underwear making a droplet of pre-cum smear over the material, soaking it. Your hand left Jaebeom, getting a light whine from him, only to hear him groan a second after, when your hand snaked under his underwear, finally making you meet his warm cock. You stroked him, moving your hand up and down, squeezing him lightly at the base.

“Don’t stop, please.” His voice sounded high-pitched. “Baby, I beg you…” he sighed and you got your hand tighter over him, squeezing more “Yeah, like that.” He sighed again.

You watched his face expression, his eyes were shut tight, small droplets of sweat were forming over his forehead. When your hand wrapped tighter around him he squeezed his eyes in pleasure, making a wave with his body. You weren’t quite sure if Jaebeom was already on the edge, but he acted as if he already was, so you had to let go of him just in case.

“Why?” he asked angrily.

“Did you try to trick me? Did you want to cum?”

“No.” he sighed. “You wouldn’t let me anyway.”

“Right, and now, I’ll have to be even more strict with you.”

“Y/n, come on… I understood already.”

“Understood what?”

“That it’s hard to play by my rules.”

“But I was just doing what you told me to do, I was just making you feel good.” you replied. Your hand ran back down to his cock.

“I want you.” he sighed “I want to get inside of you, I can’t with the teasing.” His voice sounded tired.

“Baby, I only began.” You chuckled and got rid of any contact you had with Jaebeom. He shot his eyes open anticipating what you’ll do next.

Your hands landed on the belt of your dress on your waist. You pulled the ribbon, making the material of the dress fall on both sides of your body, allowing Jaebeom to see your underwear. You felt his eyes land on it immediately, eyeing your underwear, stopping his eyes on your breasts. He paid more attention than expected to your half-see-through garment, lowering his eyes down to your stomach and lower to your clothed heat. You lowered your head too, trying to see what drew his attention, noticing how your underwear was soaked from all the rubbing against Jaebeom. You lifted your eyes back up meeting Jaebeom’s hungry stare.

“Come here.” He commanded and for a slight second the tone of his voice made you want to do it. “Please.” He sighed when you shook your head no.

You pushed the dress off your shoulders, tossing it somewhere to the floor, next to Jaebeom’s shirt. Crawling over his body, you rested yourself against him, wrapping your hands over his neck, hugging his waist with your legs. You felt the phantom of his arms around your body, and your heart cried to feel him around you, but the strength and power you had in your arms right now was way too poisoning to let go of. You intertwined your lips with his, kissing him passionately from the first second. You rocked your hips slowly towards him and Jaebeom did everything in his power to press him against you in return. You twitched when Jaebeom dropped his tied hands on your back, immediately squeezing bare skin of your back with his fingers. You moaned at the feeling into his mouth before you could even understand what he did. He just lowered his tied hands to hold you in place because he had every possibility to do so. You didn’t tie his hands to the headboard of the bed because your bed didn’t have bars, you didn’t even expect he’d do that. His hands burned the skin on your back with the sensuality they gave you. He squeezed and caressed and just held and pressed you closer to him, as if there was any more space for you to get closer to him. You kept kissing him for a minute or so, enjoying the feeling of his hands on you, the feeling you didn’t realize you missed so much until he touched you. The kiss became a mess from all the feelings the both of you felt and gave to each other and you put it all in you to let go of his neck and get his hands from your back to move them back above his head.

“Baby, please.” he made a loud cry leaving you surprised. “Didn’t you like me touching you, don’t you want me to touch you? Please, let me.” he begged now and your insides clenched at the view.

“Don’t make me feel bad.” you moaned into his mouth, sitting up once again. You slid down his legs, getting your hands to the waist of his jeans. Now you pulled the material slightly down and Jaebeom lifted his hips to allow you to do what you wanted. You moved lower taking his jeans down his long limbs, freeing him finally.

Now that the both of you were left in your underwear, you had no intention of not having him inside of you. You dropped his jeans to the floor, crawling back up his legs.

“Bra on or off?” you simply asked, allowing him to pick.

“On.” his reply was quick and you nodded with a light smile on your face. You pulled your underwear down first, tossing it to the side, before your fingers pulled his by the waistband, with him bending his legs and helping you to get rid of it. His pulsing cock bounced up to his stomach, giving you an idea of how turned on he was. Even in the dark room you could see how engorged it was signalling to you that Jaebeom was about to struggle badly. You stroked him a few times, getting a sense from the way he felt and acted you had to be careful. Lifting your hips you guided his cock to your coated with want entrance, sliding him up and down your slit. He jerked his hips up, crying breathlessly at your actions. You felt the entire of your body clench from just the feeling of him being this close. You lost control and allowed him to enter more, causing a loud moan from the both of you. You moved your hips back up because it wasn’t something you planned to do this quickly, getting a low cry from him once again.

“Baby, please, let me get inside of you.” the loud moan that escaped his mouth when you teased him against you once more gave an idea that he possibly could be on the verge. You sank down on him slowly, squeezing your eyes in pleasure. Jaebeom was breathing heavily, and when you jerked your hips up only to sit back down with a quicker speed the room filled up with a low loud groan from Jaebeom that lasted for at least 10 seconds. You never heard him make that sound before and on the second move of your hips you clenched around him. You definitely weren’t expecting from yourself to get to the edge this quickly but it really never took you long to cum when it was Jaebeom, so you really didn’t have to be surprised. “I’ll cum if you’ll do that once more.” his eyes were squeezed and he barely contained himself.

You knew you’d be able to hold back once you maid up your mind on it, you had a great teacher who trained you for two years, but you weren’t sure he’ll last as much as you wanted to. You got your hips back up, quickly sliding down his length, clenching on purpose this time. Jaebeom shot his eyes open, even though he couldn’t focus his vision for a few seconds for sure. “Take this fucking belt off my hands. Let me fuck you, I beg you.” he was finally there to beg and you wanted to tattoo these words into your brain, they were like music to you.

“No, baby, we had a deal, I’ll fuck you and you’ll just be under me to enjoy.” you smiled at him and stopped everything you did.

“Don’t, no, don’t stop, please. I beg you, I beg you, I swear, don’t stop.” he began mumbling quickly but it was too late now, that his orgasm disappeared for the second time.

You slid down, leaving wet trail of kisses over the lower part of his stomach, fighting in your head if you should take him in your mouth or not. You left a few red marks, licking and kissing them afterwards, deciding on not giving him head, you weren’t sure he’ll last long with the feeling of your tongue on him.

“Ready to cum?” you asked him when you felt like he calmed enough to take more teasing.

“Yes, please ride me. Baby, please.” You began moving your hips slowly, getting into much quicker pace in no time. Your nails were digging into the skin of Jaebeom’s shoulders now that your body found some sort of pace that he tried to match with his hip thrusts. “Fuck.” he mumbled under his breath, fisting the sheets vigorously. “Free my hands, I’ll get deeper inside of you, please, let me fuck you. I don’t think I can do it like that anymore.” he moaned again and this time you almost missed a slight twitching of his cock that signalled that Jaebeom would cum in the closest minute.

You just stopped. You even let him leave you empty, watching his cock throb and pre-cum drip down its side. “It hurts, baby, I swear it does. Please let me cum. Y/n…” he squeezed his eyes again only to shoot them wide open and look at you “what do you want me to do? I’ll do anything. I just need to cum. I’m in pain right now, I swear, it does really hurt, I’m at my maximum, please.”

“Move closer to the headboard.”

“Huh?” he looked as if he didn’t hear you “Yeah, okay.” he said in a second, probably working out what you told him to do. You lifted your body off him to let him freely crawl backwards.

“Sit up.” you watched him reach out his hands to the headboard, grabbing it and pulling his body up to sit. He left his hands above his head, holding on to the wooden material and watching you. You crawled up and reached out behind Jaebeom to get pillows from behind him, allowing him to sit more straight.

One of your hands hooked around his neck, leaving couple millimetres between your faces. Your other hand found his cock under you, guiding him to slide inside of you immediately. He gasped into your mouth and you leaned in to kiss him, rocking your hips steadily. You closed your eyes in pleasure, pressing Jaebeom’s body closer to yours with both hands. You broke off the kiss, resting your head on his shoulder. Your hand moved to his waist, holding on to him there. Jaebeom’s little whimpers and cries into your ear made you closer to the edge and you were trying to contain yourself but your clenching just took Jaebeom closer to the edge. “If I’ll free your hands, promise you won’t flip me over?”

“I won’t.” he replied way too quickly making you doubt if he even understood what you said.

“Did you hear me?” you stopped moving and he tensed up.

“I did, I won’t, I promise, just move.” you nodded in response, biting down on your lower lip and beginning your moves again.

You moved your hand to his cheek, caressing it with your thumb. Jaebeom stuck his tongue out for you to kiss him and you gave in, crying silently into the kiss when you lowered yourself on him more than before. Your other hand let go of his neck, crawling over to his tied hands, trying to undo the belt with one hand. It took you longer than expected, and the second Jaebeom heard the sound of it being undone, he roughly freed his hands, making you startled by how quickly he got the belt in his hands, throwing it into the dark of the room. You felt his hands on you the next second, Jaebeom roughly but carefully at the same time got his palm onto your face, pressing your mouths into each other’s. His other hand found your hipbone, grabbing onto it to move your hips quicker and deeper. Your arms were chocking him with how strongly you wrapped them around his neck, but Jaebeom wasn’t really noticing it, being focused on where you connected, making you roughly sink on him and get back up. His mouth let go of yours, trying to kiss a line down your neck, but you noticed him lose the rhythm that he just built up and you knew he’d cum this time for sure.

“Cum, baby.” you moved his head back up to yours, kissing his lips slowly. You purposely clenched around him multiple times, finally feeling his seed fill inside of you. His hips jerked up and he made many tiny noises you never heard before. You waited until he calmed himself down.

“I’m sorry…” he rested his head against the headboard and you lied down on his chest. “I should’ve let you cum first.” you chuckled, leaving small kisses over his chest. A couple of minutes later, when he partially normalised his breathing, you felt Jaebeom rub your shoulder for you to lift your head up. “Come here, I can’t leave you like that.” his hands pulled you closer to his face, kissing your lips quickly. His fingers stroked your sides and his leg hooked around yours, letting you know he’ll flip you over. You didn’t protest knowing he’s only doing it for you.

Now you were in your usual position, feeling his lips move down to your neck, sliding his cock out of you, making you feel empty. Not for long though, as his lips trailed down a line of kisses, his hand got to your breasts, pulling them out of your bra without undoing it. You moaned at the cold sensation he left on your nipples with his tongue and you arched your back towards his body. His hand slid down your stomach right to your entrance, rubbing his palm against it. He moved his finger deeper, making your lube and his cum mix more inside of you. Teasing you multiple times he moved his finger over to your clitoris, rubbing it in circles against it. You whined and Jaebeom’s moves became stronger and quicker. His tongue was swirling over your collarbone, entering you at the same time with his finger.

Next few minutes went in agony, you were trying to squeeze your thighs, and held onto his hand strongly to stop him from doing what he did and make him do it quicker at the same time. Your body was going crazy, your hands were roaming all over the sheets, trying to find something you could hold on to. He stopped kissing you and moved his body away from yours, only keeping contact where he worked with his fingers.

“Jaebeom!” you moaned expanding your hand to his face, and he leaned in to peck your lips quickly moving away afterwards.

His hand left your body and you opened your eyes in disbelief. You didn’t think he’d try to play now, and the only reason he could’ve let go of you is to tease you. You watched him angrily but he didn’t look up at you, he slid his body lower, only to get his face in front of your entrance. You felt your heart tingle, getting a sense of what was going in his head. He spread your legs wider, lowering his head in front of you. The slight feeling of his tongue on you made you jerk your hips up, and he grabbed your hips, moulding his fingers into them to keep you in place. Making a couple of light motions he went all in, running his tongue quickly over the spot he knew was the most sensitive, he ran his tongue down, sticking it inside of you, sliding it flatly back up. Your hands grabbed onto his head not being able to take it you just wanted him to let go, but he didn’t pay any attention to that, sucking in your last cells of sanity. It didn’t last long, with another vigorous lick he pushed you over the edge, not stopping your body from arching closer to him. Jaebeom pressed small kisses over your thigh waiting for you to at least get back into reality. When your breathed more calmly he moved back up, resting his body next to yours. His hands snaked over to your waist, pulling you to lay over his chest.

You closed your eyes trying to calm yourself down and find any strength to tell him anything, but you failed, only finding it in you to rub your face against his chest and hug him tighter.

“See, that’s a tiring job to take over me in bed, you should’ve listened when I told you I’m doing it for you.” he chuckled, brushing your hair behind your ear. His fingers tried to lift your face up to face him, and you let him do it.

“I liked it.” you sighed quietly and he smirked.

“So now I can just rest for the rest of my life while you do the job?”

“No, I liked it, but I guess being a pillow princess is still better.” you smiled at him and a throaty laugh escaped Jaebeom’s mouth. “I won’t give that up to you.”

“Good.” he nodded.

“Why?”

“It’s just better when you’re under.”

“Is it though? You rarely cum that hard.” you chuckled finally feeling more alive. You found balance on your elbows, watching his face expression.

“You teased me forever, that’s expected.”

“Oh, come on, you could’ve just said ‘baby, there’s something about you riding me, that made me lose myself completely, I thought I’ll go crazy if I won’t touch you’.” you furrowed your eyebrows. Jaebeom’s palm pulled your face closer to his.

“Baby, there’s something abo…” he began repeating what you told him with a slight smirk, before you slapped his shoulder.

“Back off.” you sighed, trying to get away from him to take a shower.

“You know I’m bad with words.” he hugged you from the back, pulling your back to rest against his chest. You laid back, resting your head on his shoulder. Jaebeom kissed your cheek, playing with your fingers. “I can write you a song to tell you everything.” he mumbled gifting another kiss to your jaw.

“You know when you need it, you’re doing perfectly fine with expressing yourself.” you made your hands intertwine.

“You know that this goes right back at you, but just because you did so much I won’t fight with you about it.” you made a cute sad face expression and he sighed “Okay…it’s crazily sexy what you did, I didn’t think you’ll actually have the stamina to finish it off the way you began. But you did… and it really pissed me off when you teased me and I couldn’t just do it my way… but yeah, it all washed away when you made me cum. Nice for a change, would never let you do that regularly because you under me is just another type of pleasure.”

“Yeah, insufferable dom, I told you.” you bit down your lip to prevent yourself from laughing.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” he let go of you and you took it as a chance to get up.

“I’m going to shower first!”

—

my first got7 fic, I hope you liked it! please let me know 🥺

[husbandohunter]

Moments of Despair #2 [Genshin Impact/Albedo x Reader]

Synopsis: "The alchemist who relished in his gifts only to fall from grace."

(A series of works where the boys deal with the passing of their beloved).

Diluc’s despair

Warnings: angst, tragedy, major character death and psychological horror (correct me if otherwise)

(A/n): I decided to take a slightly different approach this time. Regardless, it’s still killing my heart TwT.

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Out of the many wonders of Teyvat, one thing Albedo loved most was how you were so different from him. 

Difference ties to the unknown, one that must be discovered. He was drawn to you the first time he had laid his eyes upon your form standing at the heights of Mondstadt's cathedral. The Sisters scolded you from below, but all you did was reply with a wink amidst their chaos before soaring into the skies and letting the wind carry your glider. Reckless they said. For him, your recklessness was intriguing. 

As the sun's light blinded his vision, everything he saw seemed like a glass barrier. For the ground was where he thrived and chalk was his core, it became the basis of Albedo's very existence. Even the geo Archon granted him a Vision of the same element to affirm his identity. The earth will forever be attached to his feet as he will keep on his stride until every last truth of Teyvat have all been realized. You, on the other hand, hailed from a place where he couldn't quite reach. What lies beyond this glass ceiling? Albedo found himself gradually holding onto a string of curiosities, a string he could touch but was not able to feel. 

'Interesting,' he thought quietly, while the breeze slip between the fingers of his outstretched hand. 

He was a character of logic, possessing sharp eyes that could pierce through the depths of the most complex formulas and a mind to predict their outcomes-  as long as alchemy was still related. All impossibilities thrown in his way only paved a path for him to become the well known genius he was now. Whether it was alchemy or  investigations with the Knights of Favonius, Albedo never failed to deliver the answers. But despite it all, he always found himself endlessly contemplating over things that were considered intangible. He wonders why you smile when there was nothing to laugh about. How could you tell between the complexities of the human heart? Albedo can't seem to put a finger on it. 

'Why? What drives you? What are you thinking?' 

The Chief Alchemist couldn't resist being fascinated by your unpredictability. It reels him in similar to a fish being baited out of the waters. However, unlike those creatures, Albedo only tightened his grip on the strings as if they were a lifeline, determined to find out what they truly felt like to the touch. 

"I can't really say it's much of an answer," you hummed, clasping both hands behind your back before declaring with a grin, "To put it simply, you just gotta follow your heart."

'Follow your heart...' What does it mean to follow your heart? 

"I'm afraid I still don't understand," he replied in a thoughtful manner. The statement never really resonated with him and it certainly weren't the words his Master taught when he was in the early stages of being created, "But it does suit you very much." 

"Really? But still bring your head with you," a playful laugh escapes and you add while pointing a finger, "At least, it's what everyone tells me these days." 

"Hm," Albedo then affirms with a nod, "I can definitely see why they would tell you that." 

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" 

The days go by and his repetitious march towards the truth remains the same. However, there was never a dull moment when you were at his side. Perhaps that was the reason why Albedo became so attracted to your aura. The way you'd follow around his experiments, eyes so full of enthusiasm at every step of the activity. Sometimes the events can get a little too out of hand in which he needs to step in and save you from getting stuck in slime condensates...constantly. Albedo grew fond of your childlike excitement even when you weren't entirely sure what was going on. He normally distanced himself from socializing as it never sparked his interest. Frankly, he was too much of a genius for mundane conversations. Your presence was rather refreshing in this case. You were an oddball, just like him, and for once the alchemist felt like he didn't need to place that glass barrier between the two worlds. 

"You seem to be in a very good mood today Mister Albedo." 

He was a man of subtle expressions yet anyone could notice the small gleam in his eyes whenever he saw you walking in the hallway. Sucrose often remarked with a giggle after she noticed her teacher holding his documents upside down. But who could blame him? Joy, fun, laughter. He was able to experience those emotions all because of you; his beloved. You were the colour to his canvas and the meaning to his flower. You were a force of nature. Like a warm breeze gracing upon the terrestrial lands, you move him. 

Thump- thump- thump- 

Strings around his world began to weave one whole picture while they also tugged inside his chest. God had finally blown the breath of life into mankind's body, it was only a matter of time before Albedo came to follow his heart too. 

-------- 

"Alright, just one more detail aaaaand done!" 

You gave a small tap using the tip of your pencil and leaned back to examine your artwork. 

Masterpiece! 

On days when Katheryne had no commissions assigned to the guild, Albedo would accompany you to the Whispering Woods and conduct his sketches there instead. He was aware of the discomfort Dragonspine brought as the temperature wasn't ideal for anyone except for him. You eventually learned that your lover was not only intelligently different from the rest but physically too. Albedo, aside from the Cavalry Captain, was mysterious in his own way. He was hard to read yet never came off as intimidating, no one knew of his origins nor they knew how he came to Mondstadt. You wondered why someone like him would have wanted to get involved with your shenanigans. Rosaria often gave warnings regarding the alchemist's 'hidden intentions' in which you'd roll your eyes in response. The Albedo you knew was far from that. He was a big brother to Klee, a man passionate about his work, he was the one golden star among the many silvers in your sky. He was your lover. 

My Albedo. 

Brushing a hand upon the drawing you made of him, you glided down the lines of his cheek before resting your finger on the mark by his neck. You gazed at it with fondness. Truly a masterpiece indeed. 

"You do realize I'm still here?" 

The paper nearly flies out of your grasp and you snatched it back to your chest, "HUH A-ALBEDO, WHEN DID YOU APPEAR???" 

"I was with you the whole time," he states. The corner of his lip tug upward ever so slightly, "You said you wanted to sketch me." 

"A-Ahahaha, so I did," you reply while scratching your head bashfully. 'I thought I was looking at a sculpture!!'  You rushed to cover your face with the sheet. It wasn't that you forgot he was there, rather, you forgot he was still a living and breathing specimen who just witnessed your little serenade. As Lisa had once said, Albedo was easy on the eyes. His graceful features made him seem almost like an oil painting that could only be found in  halls of the most prestigious households. You made sure to capture everything, every detail, every curve just like he had done with your portraits. Only now you noticed the sun already began its descent below the lakeside, dusting the landscape with hints of bright orange as it marked the day's end. If only time could slow down. But duty calls upon your next journey and there was no telling when you'd return. At the very least, a simple portrait would suffice to fill in the temporary gap of his absence. 

"Can I see it?" 

You glanced his direction while keeping the drawing close to your nose, "Are you sure about that? It might not be up to your expectations." 

"I'm sure," Albedo affirms with a straight countenance, "I can already tell you've put a great amount of effort, otherwise you wouldn't have taken this long." 

"Yeeaahh I kinda lost track of time. I guess it's only fair that you get to see the finished product," you say and shoved the drawing in front of him, "Tada! I present to you, my masterpiece!" 

Albedo takes it out of your grasp and you watched the way his eyes expanded upon sight. 

"Well? Whaddya think?" 

Words could not describe the mixture of emotions that erupted within him. Was it distinguishable or abstract? Albedo spent his time pondering between the two answers as he examined the drawing closely. Despite the lines being slightly jagged and the unevenness in the placement of his eyes, he managed to make the shape of the entire image you were trying to convey. Perhaps it was all thanks to his well trained artistic vision which gave him the ability to do so. Or maybe he was simply biased. But there wasn't a shred of doubt that this was indeed your craftsmanship. 

"You even added flowers in the background," he pointed out with amusement. 

"It's the thing you make when using your elemental burst, I couldn't fit your hand in the picture so I decided to put it somewhere empty," you informed, "Out of everything, that one took me the longest." 

"And the rabbits?" 

"They resemble Klee's bombs!" 

He lets out a chuckle, "I see." 

Albedo kept his attention downward until he was mindlessly staring at the paper in hand. This was a memory made to be carried as you moved on to your next journey and it saddens him that he could not accompany you. If only time slowed down. Albedo wanted to hold onto the memory forever, because he knew once he gave it back, he wouldn't be able to see you for an uncertain amount of time. 

"Do you really have to go?" 

His voice was barely above a whisper. Guilt crept into your heart and you gingerly layed your fingers on his gloved ones, bringing down the paper that blocked his face. A pair of teal orbs held a reflection of your image as the sun's rays casted from the side. You returned it with a reassuring grin, hoping to soothe his worries somehow, "I just need to pay a visit to my father since he's been very sick lately. I'll be fine, so don't worry too much okay?" 

Albedo turns over his palm and gave your hand a squeeze, "How long will it take?" 

"I'm not sure but it will be a while. Snezhnaya is pretty far so..." you trailed off, "But my time in Mondstadt, with Klee and with you, I will never forget! I won't even if I tried." 

When you were met with no answer, a breeze came in to fill the melancholic silence. He too will not forget and he would ensure that it was the same for you. Slowly, Albedo brought your hand up, past the center of his heart all the way to cupping his cheek. He allowed himself to indulge in your warmth, tangling the strands of his hair with your fingers while closing his eyes. Sweet flowers. You always carried the smell of sweet flowers. 

"Albedo?" You gawked, "What's the matter?" 

"...There are certain aspects where drawings can't imitate,"  he says, grip tightening ever so slightly, "How I feel against your skin, the shape of my jaw, your warmth radiating with my own. These are the things I want you to remember." 

Breath leaves your slightly parted mouth. It was unfair how straightforward Albedo could be when showing his affection. Doing as he pleases without anyone's approval to the point it would even catch you off guard since he often absorbed himself in the arts of alchemy. But during times when Albedo did choose to express his feelings, you knew they came from a place of pure genuinity. The thought made it hard for you to tear away from him, "Did you ever find out what the strings felt like then?" 

Albedo returns his gaze, long golden lashes hovering them as he smiles softly, "...I have." 

As he began to reveal his stories, the dusk sky continued to flare across the landscape with colours of passion. Red, it was the thread that had led him to you, the same string that weaved him together as a whole. Albedo lays a kiss atop of your pinky, there was a reason why Mondstadtians called him the Chalk Prince. You didn't know the intention behind his sudden affection but he knew. It was a promise, one to ensure that the thread would also have you return safely back into his arms. 

Oh how he hated the colour red. 

"Al...bedo..." 

With speed he never knew he had, Albedo scoops you into his embrace and held you close. How did everything happen so fast? He curses his mind as it proceeds to scan your injuries, drawing a conclusion where he wished to be wrong for once: 

You were beyond help. 

"Ah..haha..." you managed to laugh through bitter tears, "You don't have to say it. I know." 

His breath hitches, trying to make sense of the feeling that was slowly tearing him apart from the inside. It's not real. Of course it wasn't, it couldn't be. What other possible answer was there to explain the numbness stinging his fingers? The reason for his shaking? Everything felt so cold. Your body hardly registered to his to touch, you were losing so much blood. You were losing. He was going to lose you. 

"No," Albedo shakes his head, "We still have time. I'll go find help." 

Please, hold on. 

He forced himself to think. The ruin hunter ran off shortly after it had ambushed you, by now the Knights would eventually noticed and apprehended it on sight. They couldn't be too far. All he needed was to carry you back to safety and everyone can go home. Albedo darted his eyes all over the place, breaths becoming shallower with each passing second. Where? Where to go? Which route was best to not overexert your wounds? Think. Think. Think. Why couldn't he think? 

"A..." You watched him in your helpless state. Every part of you throbbed with pain but it pains you even more to see the renowned genius who stood atop the pedestal of elegance and grace so utterly, undoubtedly lost. This was not the goodbye you wanted, though death already had you tight in their grasps. Not yet. Using the last particle of your strength, you tried to stay alive as long as possible. Just a little bit more time. 

Albedo freezes when a trembling hand extends itself to cup around his cheek. Every single thought he had in mind vanished and was replaced by a loud ring resonating in his ears. Dreadfully, mechanically, he turns his attention to where you lay. 

"Don't cry," you whisper, "I love you, don't cry- okay?" 

Albedo grimaces, shutting his eyes closed as he allows the pent up sadness to flow out of him completely, "I can't," he said in a shaky voice, "Please. Stay." 

"I'm sorry," Your vision blurs and he hugs you even more. Drawing your final breath, you relay your most cherished words through a broken smile, "But no matter w-where I go...I won't for..ge.." 

The moment your hand fell, Albedo finally understood the difference between death and loss. 

It was...suffocating. Having the air trapped in his throat, begging to release yet it hurts to speak. The never ending stabs that pulsed within his veins rushed forth like the scraping  blizzard of Dragonspine until his whole body lost all its senses. The world was shattering. He could no longer feel your weight. He could no longer feel. 

(Y/n). 

Albedo glances at his blood stained fingers where the thread had been severed, wide eyes drowning in sorrow. What a horrible feeling. Was this a warning sent by the gods? For stepping into the boundaries of knowing too much? Ah the curse of knowledge man must bear when eating the temptatious fruit. It was the result of choosing to love you. With life, death is inevitable and with love, it will eventually bring pain. Everything had a price to pay and as an alchemist, Albedo knew that better than anyone. 

"...Meaningless..." 

But he refused to accept it. 

Cradling your corpse, he leans in and places a kiss on your forehead, lips quivering as they lingered for a second too long before gathering the strength to stand back on his feet. Nothing will stop the alchemist from reuniting with you. If the laws wished to take you away from him then he will use everything in his power to fight against those laws. 

"This is not goodbye..." Albedo said to the sleeping girl, "And it will never be." 

When the sun sinks below the plains and the stars lose their light, the sky had been replaced with a palette of darkness. It was time to go home. 

------ 

"Have you all heard about the rumours?" 

A group of knights gather in the corner as they whisper about. Sucrose stops on her tracks and hides behind a wall, clutching the book close to her chest in an attempt to stay hidden. 

"Another criminal disappeared from the dungeons? Crazy..." 

"More like creepy. I was told that place might be haunted by some dead prisoner's ghost. Even the Church is hopping onto this case." 

"Well I hope it doesn't get any worse. So many of us started going on night patrols..." 

Their voices faded out of range as the anemo user backtracks her steps carefully. Several months passed since the news of mysterious kidnappings have been announced to the public. Rumours of their whereabouts swirled around the city and much to her discomfort, Sucrose happened to catch every single one of them. There couldn't possibly be evil spirits lurking in the Favonious Headquarters right? She silently shrieks at the thought, shaking her head furiously to stop her mind from going too deep. No, I have to find him. Without wasting another minute, the anemo user sprinted towards the stairs all the way up to the second floor before stopping directly in front of her teacher's office. Despite the adrenaline that occured at the same time, she made sure to knock. 

No answer. 

"Strange, he told me he would be here today..." Sucrose muttered to herself. But suddenly she heard the sound of objects shifting from the otherside, signaling that there was indeed someone occupying the room. Without realizing, she held her breath out of anticipation. 

"Come in." 

The door creaks as she opens them, giving her enough space to slip between the gap, "Mister Albedo?" 

"You're early today," The Chief Alchemist noted from his desk, "Is there something the matter?" 

"Y-You mean you don't know? There was just another case about a person disappearing from the dungeons," Her tone became more frantic as she rambled to herself, "The kidnapper never leaves a trace and no one knows how they were able to get out. Even when we ask the guards what happened, they can't seem to remember as if...as if someone casted a spell on them!" 

"A spell?" He inquires, "I suppose that could be a possibility." 

"I think so too. I-It's the only explanation that makes sense! I mean...ghosts don't exist after all," Sucrose nervously looks down at her shoes while giving her book a squeeze, "But why? Who could be capable of such advanced techniques? No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to understand their intentions." 

"...Yes. It is a very strange occurrence indeed." 

Noticing her teacher's withdrawn attitude, Sucrose couldn't help but feel flustered at her own behaviour, "Ah my apologies Mister Albedo, I didn't mean to go off track. Have there been any progress on the investigations so far?" 

Albedo briefly glanced at the various documents splayed across his table. His reputation as an incredibly intelligent individual had reached far and wide through Mondstadt. This led to the authorities requesting his assistance regarding the recent matters, despite him specializing in the alchemical field, he was also the Captain of their Investigation Team. Although, Albedo detested partaking in things he deemed irrelevant to his research; 

"I'm afraid I would need more evidence to draw a conclusion." 

"Eh? You still need more?" 

He could not deny that the given authoritative position had provided much benefits to his own accord. 

"My expertise lies in the subject of alchemy," Albedo reasoned and proceeds to intertwine his fingers in front of his mouth, "Humans on the other hand, are very unpredictable in nature. Even the essence of their existence is hard to obtain." 

"Essence of their existence?" Sucrose repeated softly. She wanted to ask what he meant but the blank expression was evident  enough to signal his impatience. At least, that was what she thought, "Nevermind! I have something that might help," taking out a slip from her textbook, she handed it to him, "It's the report Captain Kaeya gave me. He said that the culprit might be a traitor coming from the Knights of Favonius." 

He narrows his eyes. 

"I-I think he might be right! Just think about it, we haven't found anything at all for the past few months but when we do, I sometimes feel like we're just running in circles...oh what if it's becau-" 

"Sucrose." 

"Y-Yes?!" 

Albedo calmly looks at the flustered girl, not realizing how sharp his tone was, "You're overthinking again. Perhaps it's best that you take this day off." 

"But I came here to help," she insisted, "I know it hurts to lose someone you love! Don't you understand that we're all worried about you? And Klee, she..." 

"..." 

"Please Mister Albedo, if there's anything I could do-" 

"No need," he cuts her off once again, "Your stress levels are too high. We can't go any further if you continue to act like this." 

"Oh," her ruby eyes casted to the side, "I understand..." 

"Good. Now, if you would excuse me," Albedo bid her farewell and watched as the door clicked behind her, observing every detail until he was sure that the absolute silence had returned. He picks up Kaeya's document. Such remarkable handwriting. But of course, appearances are only meant to be displayed on the surface for the Captain was a sly man, wearing a mask to shield what lies underneath. Just like his letter, they were full of innuendos and condensed meanings, orchestrated together until the truth spoke loudly to Albedo himself. 

"So, that's what he thinks." 

Perhaps the alchemist should have been a little more discreet. 

-------- 

There was a certain place in Dragonspine that no one dared to enter. But those who have, they never return. 

"Hm, no response. Now as for the next step..." 

And he was the reason why. 

Taking the sword out of the transmutation circle, Albedo turned to the snowy hill nearby and activated his alchemy. A small portion of it dissipates, revealing a trench that went so deep underground that even warmth couldn't outplay the sheer cold. It was the perfect hiding place for the evidence to lay out of sight and an environment where only he could handle. The alchemist tossed the leftover along with the others before exiting quietly, summoning back the ice to bury his victims once again. Another day, another experiment, another stain goes to his title. The path he walked upon was one littered with corpses and the sins he committed. But despite the bones crunching beneath his feet and the weight of the dead hanging on his shoulders, the alchemist was numb to it all. Like an entity floating in space with nothing to hold, he became unable to feel. 

"I'm back," When reaching the center of Starglow Cavern, Albedo puts his hand on the icicle and caressed it's hard cold surface, "Did you sleep well?" 

The girl did not respond. Her eyes were closed and her skin was as young as ever. She was frozen in time. 

"You must have." 

Albedo felt the sword beginning to shake in his grasp as it resonated with his energy. Dust particles emitted from the hilt and slowly made their climb to the side of his arm. Still, Albedo's attention did not waver, "To this day, I've been thinking about what you told me the first time we met." 

"..." 

"Follow your heart. I couldn't understand it at first but after being around your presence, I believe I can finally recognize what that term means." 

He closes his eyes as he envisioned your lively form running across the landscape. Albedo, Albedo! The sound of his name was mixed with your laughter while Klee came into the scene and caught the dandelions with you. A content smile formed on his countenance as he watched from afar, even if it was just a memory, "It's everything. The breakfast we ate together, to the nights spent camping outside, and the silly moments we shared, they bring all these colours that I never knew existed." 

"..." 

Albedo curls his fingers against the ice as he continues to lament, "Perhaps that's why I began noticing the strings around me. The closer I was to answer, the more I felt it was necessary to discover what they are. All this time, you were the answer I was searching for," Moist begins to build up in his eyes but they freeze up once reaching the corners. How cruel. Despite what he went through, he wasn't even granted the liberty to cry, "Because with you, I'm able to feel them." 

He wonders what you would think if you saw him right now. Albedo peers at his reflection casted on the crystalline surface, the frame of his face had been decorated with streaks of purple and red, spreading out like tree branches as they both fought for dominance. The teal coloured orbs you once adored were beginning to transform to a colour that reminded him of his darkest days. This was Albedo's true nature- a monster, a being that wasn't human, the essence in which you never had the chance to see. 

"I know I may not be the same as I was before," he added, "But if that is what it takes to follow your heart, will you let me feel the strings again?" 

Would you still love me the same? 

"..." 

"If so, then please understand my actions," Albedo takes a step back as he held out the sword in front of him. At last, the preparations have finally been completed. He plunges the blade to the ground with full force and the surrounding area begins to shake under the power accumulated through many, intentional sacrifices. To revive the dead was a forbidden art as it came with heavy consequences. If it weren't for Albedo's talent and quick wit, the process would have consumed him long before executing the last stage. He winces, the pain was excruciating. It was hard for him to ignore the sound of his skin cracking below his ears and all the way to his nose as they fall off in the shape of small rock-like chunks. Everything hurt so much that even death sounded like a sweet dream but Albedo couldn't afford to give up. He had already come this far, his hands completely washed with sin and his reputation already broken beyond repair, Albedo had nowhere else to go. This was his last destination. 

"Soon-" he pants between choked breaths. Soon your eyes will open. He could drown in your embrace, one that was warm and not cold. Soon he will be able revive those cherished memories from a frozen past. It was all he could think of right now. Your existence was the reason why a part of him felt whole and your death made him realize how painful it was to tear away those pieces. Albedo refused to let go of those pieces, they had already become a part of him. And if this path ended up tearing him even more, then so be it. 

"I should have stopped you the moment you were born." 

The intruder snapped him awake and he swung around to where they stood. But before Albedo could make out who it was, they lunged past him with incredible speed, kicking the sword off the ground while severing his two arms once and for all. They flew to the side, blood dyed purple trickling from the edges of his joint as he struggled to stay upright. 

"Dains...leif..." 

Dainsleif watched the alchemist fall onto his back as the light around him slowly faded away. He turned his gaze to where the objective was and noticed a girl encased within the ice. The man sighs out of relief when she shows no signs of life, he came just in time, "So this is how it ends." 

Albedo weakly stared at the blonde man. He attempted to say something but the blood caught in his mouth prevented him from that. 

"Save your breath, you won't be having any," Dainsleif remarks in a cold manner and glared at his bloodied form, "The renowned Chief Alchemist of Mondstadt and an important member of Ordo Favonious. Hmph, what an interesting turn of events. Out of everyone, I never thought you were the type to act so foolish." 

Foolish...what a foreign name to be called as. He never heard anyone tell him he was foolish. 

"Truly a pity," With a flick of a wrist, Dainsleif brought his sword to Albedo's neck. It was unbelievable how he had the endurance to go through all that pain while still breathing at this point but what is there to be expected from a monster? "Remember that all actions have consequences." 

The alchemist watched as his life flashed before him, the weight of his sins had finally caught up. He had always seen the world as a platform for his objectives and results were merely a natural cause after attempting many experiments. But death as a consequences was an unbearble realization upon his final moments. He abandoned his title, his pupil and his dearest sister. In the end, he was still unable to fulfill his duty. 

"I just..." Albedo mumbled, his words slurring together, "wanted..." 

As the ashes turn to ashes and dust becomes dust, chalk returns to the earth, forever yearning a place that can never be reached.