#he just has to replace them with wholesome challenges

[ridiasfangirlings]

Oooh! That Munakata with a toktok ask sounds fun! What do you think Munakata would say about those tiktok challenges? Would he participate on some? Would he try to start his own? (I don't have a tiktok so I'm not sure what challenges are in right now but I bet he'd hate the harmful ones I see on the news. Maybe he'd make some kinda PSA about them, too).

Oh I bet Munakata would love challenges, he always enjoys a challenge :D Somehow I imagine him stumbling upon all kinds of weird and random challenges and trying them out because he's been told such things are good for Content and Algorithms. He probably ends up getting a lot of views but only because he's so supernaturally good at the ones he tries, like imagine Munakata doing the spicy food challenge and just eating the hottest foods with a perfectly serene expression. Later he tries the milk crate challenge, the alphabet squad dutifully stacking crates for him into a pyramid, and then he just easily walks up and down them without falling or anything crashing to the ground at all (some of his viewers notice that there was a Blue glow around the crates but chalk it up to special effects, Doumyouji complains to Munakata later that the point of the challenge is to fail and Munakata is very confused). He probably gets very excited and tries to pull the squad in sometimes, like discussing with Fushimi that wouldn't it be good for their social media outreach if all the squad participated in a flash mob with him and Fushimi just gives him this flat 'no.'

Of course eventually Munakata finds out about all the dangerous challenges and he's very dismayed, like he didn't realize this fun app with all the silly videos could also be dangerous. As a government official and one who dispenses justice Munakata cannot just sit idly by and allow children to harm themselves simply for the sake of virality. Actually I could see him inadvertently getting popular by becoming something a debunking channel, like he starts making videos explaining why certain hacks are unhealthy and in some cases he'll do experiments (with lovely assistants Fushimi and Awashima) to show how such challenges can go wrong and here's how to do them safely. While he gets a lot of attention for these some people aren't happy with him harshing their buzz by speaking out against dangerous challenges, like what's this old man doing telling us what we can and can't do.

This gives Munakata an idea, if a challenge is dangerous he will simply have to create his own challenge which goes even more viral and supplants the dangerous one. Imagine he ends up creating 'the puzzle challenge,' where a person buys a puzzle with a huge amount of pieces and has to put it together without looking at the picture. Munakata demonstrates by doing this huge difficult one all by himself, sped up to fit the video length restrictions but clearly all done in one take. He wonders if anyone could manage to do such a thing themselves and urges his viewers to all please try and beat his record of 10,000 pieces in ten minutes (he chose an easy puzzle and went slowly so as not to dishearten anyone). When the squad find out they all think there's no way this will go viral, no one's interested in puzzles, but then to their shock it does take off and soon there are thousands of videos of people putting together puzzles and Munakata is just so touched and happy, finally everyone else loves puzzles as much as he does.

[yanaleese]

hear me out... Karma with a silly incubus/succubus MC? :) but MC doesn't drain Karma of his energy/life when they get freaky

Ok so first of all i attempted to a gender neutral MC here. However the first one looked a little too fem so I did a more masculine look to balance things out! I also don't mean to offend anyone here!

But let's get back to brainstorming together!!! <3333

SO FIRST OF ALL - VERY WHOLESOME. They'd be super cute together!!!

Incubus/Succubus! MC in Karma's world would have a hard time facing discrimination since they're seen as promiscuous, flirtatious, manipulative, dangerous, and useless. Not even werewolves get such bullying and/or harassment compared to these type of demons. It's even worse if sucubi/incubi do not fit the beauty type displayed. I honestly see this MC having a lot of challenges just being themselves, that they put on multiple facades.

Therefore, this MC would be distant upon first interaction, and distrustful of others. I can imagine multiple types of Incubus/Succubus! MCs:

(1) A sly, ‘mean’ MC within the sex industry. Their main job would be (but not limited to) helping wives test their husbands without making them suspicious. But little did the wives know, MCs getting extra money thanks sleeping with these cheaters. When the cheaters are then caught red-handed, MC would taunt them and be like “Oh my gosh? Really? You had a husband???” In the fakest way possible. They enjoy serving karma (👀), since MC couldn’t serve karma due to the abuse and injustice they got growing up. I imagine them meeting Karma when he becomes the new boss of MC’s company, replacing their actually kind, caring boss and best friend they loved to have company with.

While yes, it is a desperate move, he knows it will be worth it. After all, why would vampires, who are welcomed into society - stoop so low for sex work? That would enrage that MC that they’ll look for any and every good reason to tear Karma; cue the haters to lovers arc (lol).

(2) A ‘play dumb’, approachable MC. This MC would use their bright smile in the day doing odd jobs, and use their sex appeal in nightclubs, hostess clubs, strip clubs. As a result, MC either has serious networking or serious drama underneath their belt. To not catch unwanted attention, MC would act like an airhead, cutesy, or just plain innocent like 😇🥺🥹😜🥸🫢. Karma and MC’s first interaction would happen if MC gets framed, blackmailed, and just anything that puts them in danger lol, so basically the Superman option. The other option is the “casual client” scenario, where Karma’s always been their client on the day or night side, until something goes to shit LMAO

(3) The most interesting one here is Incubus/Succubus! MC meeting Dark! Karma. Maybe Karma went on a trip overseas, saw you and boom. Hooked. After that, he does his best to meet you, but under the pretense of keeping your affair a secret with NO sex involved. Realizing you’ve hit jackpot, you think life will be easy. But note that, sometimes the biggest diamond requires the biggest risks - and maaaaaybe that risk will cost your freedom and sanity.

There are so many ideas to come out of this; so feel free to choose which route you wanna go, Anon!!!

[leithillustration]

I’ve not done an end of year round up before, but here goes! Thank you @monbons and @iamamythologicalcreature for the tags, and @aristocratic-otter for the encouragement. Seeing everyone’s roundups has been really wholesome and enlightening. 

I often don’t give my successes much space for celebration as they tend to get drowned out by the noise of all my mental health difficulties, so this is an exercise in acknowledging the good things from 2024, as well as allowing space for the things I’ve struggled with (while trying not to sound too jaded and cynical 😅). This is a long one so everything is under the cut.

Landmarks: A few significant things

My border collie Simm turned 10

My godson turned 1

I lived with one of my best friends @hattedhedgehogfor 3 months during a time that otherwise would have been rubbish, but he made the whole summer a fun adventure

Inspired by Harry, I made a hand sewn Georgian shirt with ridiculous billowy sleeves. I’ve yet to find an occasion to wear it, but I hold out hope for 2025.

I played DragonAge for the first time (Inquisition) and was not normal about it. The above banner is my Inquisitor Dadron (named for his dad energy and likeness to Ron Swanson)

I started sharing my creative writing on Ao3 for the first time

Took more control over self care and my mental health

Achievements Unlocked: Heath Stuff

I love that some 2024 reviews share personal experiences living with health problems. It’s really validating to see that. It's so easy to forget other people struggle too, they just might not want to share that online. So before I get to the creative things I've done in 2024… watch me over share my health stuff??

Finished seeing my EMDR therapist First time in 4 years I’ve been without any kind of therapy and it’s terrifying but making me work on myself in a new way. Not sure I’m done with EMDR forever, or talking therapy, but I spent a year with a therapist I didn’t vibe with and it sort of added more issues to the pile, so I’m glad I left them.

Dumped GenderGP They replaced a load of their services (including doctors) with AI. After 2 years of treatment under them, I felt so betrayed and worthless. Thankfully I’ve still got a supply of testosterone for now.

Had a minor breakdown in July Work, house stuff, gender things and mental health all got the better of me in July. Things were incredibly bleak for a while there. Surviving is hard sometimes, but I am still here so taking that as a win.

Switched to a new NHS gender care waitlist Was 3 years into a possible 6-7 year wait for a London clinic. Now I am in year 1 of a possible 2-3 year wait for Nottingham. No idea if moving was a good call or not ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Got on a private gender care wait list for a top surgery referral Yeah, UK trans private health care also has huge wait lists. No idea how long this one is, but I’ve been on it since August and haven’t heard anything yet

Got an ADHD diagnosis!! I am classic ADD, go figure. Had to go private for this too (who needs savings, right?) but I’m now in my 4th week of ADHD meds. It’s been A Time but it’s giving me hope (a tenuous, vulnerable thing) that maybe things won’t always be this hard.

Self Employment: Life as an illustrator in 2024

Always a mixed bag, made all the more challenging by the above health stuff, AI, and the general state of the economy, but in spite of this I have done the following:

Sold work at 6 events Norwich Queer Fest, Harrogate Airecon, UK Games Expo, Norwich Pride, Birmingham MCM, Norwich QueerFestmas. I was filled with imposter syndrome for most of these events, and I’m always very fatigued after, but I know it is good to push myself out of my comfort zone sometimes and I do enjoy meeting likeminded people and seeing people engage with my work. I had some wonderful interactions and I’m so grateful to everyone who came to say hi.

Did 2 actual IRL paintings I hadn’t painted with acrylics at all since around 2020 when I got an iPad. This year I decided to check I can still paint by hand and turns out I’m still ok at it.

Exhibited at a local gallery I also hadn’t exhibited in galleries since around 2018, so taking part in a group exhibition with my new paintings felt like a fun (and scary) opportunity this year.

Storyboarded ‘Unravelled’ graphic novella Unravelled is a horror story about knitting, written by LP Mills. Storyboarding this was a challenge since it required a level of focus I struggle to maintain, but I’m so pleased I was able to do it.  Sadly the kickstarter (that would have paid myself and Mills to fully illustrate and print it) wasn’t successful this year, but we’re holding out hope for future funding.

Illustrated ‘Football Crumpets’ play Football Crumpets is a queer audio comedy written by Lucie Isle. I made a series of character designs and spot illustrations for to advertise the Kickstarter campaign. This campaign was successful and the comedy is now in the process of being recorded by Lucie and her diverse cast of voice actors.

Experienced the worst client of my life I won’t go into detail as this broke me, I lost someone I thought was a friend, and I’ve struggled to build up confidence since. But discussing the experience with fellow creatives made me realise almost everyone has had a client from hell at one point or another. Lessons learned: Always write up a contract in advance and question anything you’re not sure about. Don’t compromise on your work boundaries for friends.

Had 3 character commissions Dramatically down from last year and I wonder how much is due to AI and no one having any money. Who knows! I love illustrating people’s OCs and Dnd characters, and the commissions I did get have been really fun. Two of them are in the banner above this section 👆

Snowbaz & Fandom Adventures

This is only the second year I’ve engaged with the lovely Snowbaz community and I am so glad I pushed myself to do it. I’ve made some wonderful friends and I’m sharing my writing publicly for the first time in years. I’ve not done much compared to most, but I’m trying to pace myself so I don’t burn out and stop enjoying it. I’m hoping to be healthier this year thanks to new meds, so with any luck I’ll be able to do a bit more than in 2024.

Snow On Ice (writer) (M, 3.8K words, chapter 1/12ish) For CORB 24 with concept and artwork by @iamamythologicalcreature is one of the first two fics I’ve ever shared on Ao3 and I’m loving every second of writing this!!

Boundless (writer) (T, 4.5K words, chapter 1/5) Also for CORB 24, this time with @cattocavo This one has taken a bit of a back seat as I’ve discovered the hard way that I can’t write two large fics at once (curse my limitations!!!) but I’m looking forward to getting back to this when I can, especially since Catto has already produced so much incredible artwork for it and it needs to be shared!!!

On Every Wall (artist) (E, 24K, chapters 2/2)written by @orange-peony for CORB 24. I love drawing these boys so much, dammit. It was so good working with Peony and seeing her story unfold based off my indulgent artwork (an edit of which is in the above banner). I wanted to draw so much more for this fic, but health and work got in the way.

Fics that have brought me comfort and joy:

I get through a lot of Ao3 fics, but wanted to give a shout out to the fics that have stayed with me long after reading them. I cannot get over the healing power of writing and how incredible it is that so many of us can find common ground in this way. 

Someone Wicked The first is @artsyunderstudy’s Someone Wicked (Snowbaz, E, Chapters). It wrecked me and then built me back up again in the best way possible. Seeing their artwork is always an inspiration too, and I have listened to their Something Wicked Playlist about a billion times. Like any well adjusted normal person, right??

Blame it on My Youth (Andreil AFTG, E, 1.5M words, Chapters 136/?) I still owe @yourficstheyglow a lengthy Ao3 comment on how much this fic has changed my life. It’s held my hand and encouraged me to look after myself better over the past 6 months in a way therapy never has. I vibed with their depiction of Neil SO HARD. His reluctance to engage with mediation and journalling is so relatable. Along with his frustration at people forever suggesting it to him, and then his irritation that it actually helps a bit. 😂 Reading about Neil shopping around for therapists, working on his communication and downloading self care apps (even though he hates it all every step of the way) has resulted in me printing out charts to help identify my emotions, making a spreadsheet of potential therapists to approach when I’m ready, journaling for the first time in yeeeears and getting a handle on my mental health in a way I never really have before. I even downloaded the stupid Finch app (after years of people suggesting it to me) because Neil did (I named by bird Neil). When I’ve felt lonely and sad, I’ve found reassurance and safety in Neil and Andrew being soft with each other, exploring their boundaries as Andrew works through his trauma from SA, stepping outside of their comfort zones, trusting each other and respecting each other’s limitations. 

Of Cats and Closed Doors (Fitzloved Rote, E, 785K words, Chapters 77/?) I’ve been dipping in and out of this fic by @tragediegh for a good 18 months now, if not longer. I am full of love for the Farseer Trilogy books and ate them up a few years ago. The Liveship Traders came next but then I got too in my head to ready the Tawny Man trilogy, since Fitz and the Fool are so dear to me I didn’t know how to handle them going through more trauma. I just want them to hug and kiss and be loved so badly!! Ellipsis provided a monumental dose of comfort and healing in this fic. It’s become my personal canon. Last year, thanks to this fic, I finally had the courage to start reading The Tawny Man trilogy. I’m on to book 2 now and although I am terrified, I know I can come back to Of Cats and Closed Doors to remind myself in Ellipsis’ universe everything turns out ok!

I think that'll do for 2024! Tags here are to say I appreciate you and thank you for chilling with me in the tumblrverse.

@youarenevertooold @iamamythologicalcreature @alexalexinii @cattocavo @that-disabled-princess

@orange-peony @cutestkilla @rimeswithpurple @larkral @best--dress

@scribble-tier @theimpossibledemon @artsyunderstudy @raenestee @thewholelemon

@nightimedreamersworld @itriednottothinkaboutit @you-remind-me-of-the-babe @angelsfalling16

@the-beard-of-edward-teach @monbons @katatsumuli

@aristocratic-otter @snowbazdaily @argumentativeantitheticalg @lovelyladzzzz @eremeldanin

[rielzero]

Just saw your post about ascended Astarion and male Tav fanfic. I am willing to rise to the challenge

If you need any prompts! here's some concept I've danced with in my head (up for anyone to use) inspired by my own character's potential AUs. Please do not claim ownership over the ideas, I'd love to see people's different spins. Please keep it to Male Tav, there's so many Female Tav fics out there already- I had ideas specifically with a male character in mind. M x M focus is preferred. I'm not bi or pan, so anything hinting to tav being exclusively gay is nice.

THESE ARE all PROMPTS / IDEAS not demands. I'm not here to control anyone's creative progress :V

I'm just a nerd be nice

Brain Damage Tav has used the tadpole powers but refuses to become half-illitid and keeps it how it is. Tav ascends Astarion- but is convinced by Jaheira or someone else that he is incapable of feeling love now and becomes afraid of him- (Astarion still is very much capable of love) Astarion responds of course like a scorned ex, and lies through his teeth when the break up happens and breaks tav's heart. Timeskip- it is revealed Tav's altered brain still has mindflayer powers, but because of the trauma of the final fight he suffers from severe memory loss and pretty much got themselves in a position were he is dying- only for Astarion to come around and save him by turning him- then be met with guilt and over-protectiveness when he realizes Tav does not remember their time together anymore. (would work for a series, this concept is what I intend to use for an AU of my character but it would be very different.) Lots of angst but soft ascended astarion towards male tav :3 very gentle- very protective.

You were There too AU were Tav was kept by Cazador but never turned, just kept as a snack- so Astarion knows him and they may have fallen in love during that time. During the ritual Cazador threatens to replace Astarion with Tav- Astarion goes feral.

I forget you're an Urchin Playing into the fact that Astarion was a corrupted Noble- knows what luxury life is like- inspired by how my tav is an urchin and very unfamiliar with luxury- Tav is Astarion's consort- but is very awkward not knowing ANYTHING about noble life, from etiquette to wearing jewelry and fancy garbs. Wholesome stuff- Probably lots of fluff. Astarion spoiling Tav and showing him off.

Three of them AU were Gale and Astarion and Tav are a in a polycule, after ascension Astarion becomes a little overly possessive over Tav- Gale notices a bit late and feels left out, but supports his loved ones new life goals... Of world domination.

I'm married, get over it Au were male tav has an horrible ex who breaks in the mansion because he thinks tav is enslaved to Astarion- but he's not- He's just as evil as Astarion. And they're very affectionate- Astarion enjoys rubbing it into the ex's face. Extra points if the ex is a human cleric, paladin, or bard with too much facial hair. (COUGHS)

Warlock? cool Any fic that plays into the warlock theme openly for tav, not similary to Wyll- all though I don't want to restrict anyone to a specific type of patron. (my patron is a great old one) keep in mind there's warlock patrons outside of the subclasses in the bg3 game if you need inspiration. If tav's patron is female, give them a mother-son kind of bond since tav is gay.

Other, Tropes I like described vaguely cuz my brain stoopid but ideas that can be expanded into one fic or more -oh shit you're dying don't worry I can fix it with a bite -you're so beautiful I want a 100 paintings of you akjdkhgkfhgk -The gods literally made you to ruin me god damn it I should've known -tav is small / fragile looking man but he can stab you 100 times over -tav can sing, or is creative but he doesn't like sharing this side of him (loki is 100% exactly this lol) hes easily embarrassed -tav is internally panicking because he is very very very gay. -tav has scars too and is very insecure about his body. -overprotectiveness, lots of handholding keep you close kinda stuff -wholesome physical affection, does not have sexual implications even if they talk dirty or flirt silly -words being used like petite, twink- or cute in the right context. -maybe a fic focussing on tav being half elf and the struggles that come with it. Otherwise leave race up to reader. -Tav was already a vampire before they met, or is a dhampir -Astarion and tav knew each other 200 years ago -I will pet you aggressively and affectionally and you will like it -who the fuck are you drawing? wait thats me??? oh -Astarion is creative too and might doodle. -love at first sight but in denial.. cuz its funny -tav has insomnia and needs cuddles... -tav is a necromancer and familiar with vampire lore. -anything reflecting the vampire bride/groom lore in a scene. (there's a reddit post explaining this) -Vampire hunters coming after tav in attempt to hurt Astarion because he's become pretty untouchable -Vampire Tav does not want to feed on his victims because he finds that too intimite -Vampire tav is a vampire lord too- but not an ascended one- and he isn't corrupted by greed. -Astarion technically can compel Tav, but has no desire to do so and voices this openly to anyone who tries to argue Tav is a slave. -If Astarion hurts tav by accident in any way he feels horrible and will shower him in gifts or thousands of love language things just to affirm that it was an oopsie and he did not want to do that. He'd never do that willingly. -consent consent consent anything with consent- love language is consent -tav was a sex worker himself before they met but not anymore -lots of fluff stuff -scheming husbands plotting the downfall of the world together, bonus points if tav is the mastermind and a genius -Polycule with Gale, either as Triad, or Triangle -Admiring from afar, staring- lots of staring- intense consential staring -astarion beating up tav's abusers while tav sips from a chalice like a spoiled consort -dramatic vampire parties and all the normie vampire lords are scared of Astarion and his consort -vampire politics are kind of like ballroom hissing contests with fancy banquets and showing off your partner -I will go feral if someone hurts or touches you -steer clear of the consort, or the master will gut you -jealous vampire lord tries to seduce tav but tav is very loyal to astarion and not having it -astarion gets a cleric or powerful mage in his court just to revive tav if tav dies -You offended my husband? I'm setting your village on fire -Everyone thinks the consort tav is weak- but the consort might actually be more dangerous oh no -None of the above lines have to be necessarily restricted by ingame universe, can all be AU- does not have to include the whole mindflayer drama. Rule of Cool.

Avoid these please? I personally dislike that -misgendering tav (babygirl, queen, girly, strictly effeminate- any words that might demasculinize tav, as a gay man this stuff makes me really uncomfortable) -Overly describing tav's features as if they're set without leaving it open to the reader (long hair, skin color, favorite colors, etc) -Astarion knew tav when tav was still a child and Astarion was an adult. -Astarion abusing tav physically, just.. Please no. -...they're teenagers in high school... *dies* -brainwashing.. No offense to people who like some tropes I don't- You're fine :V We all have different tastes!

Headcanons for how Ascension works that you can use (inspired by ingame dialogue and such) -Tav isn't a regular spawn, but a vampire groom- He was turned differently, not buried for 2 days. Astarion can sense Tav is in danger if he is a groom, or sense strong emotions from him. -Tav is not immune to sunlight unless he stays in close range of Astarion. (based on dialogue) -Astarion might be a bit warmer to the touch since he is a living vampire now. He does not have to feed on blood- but Tav still requires blood and is cold to the touch.

Might edit this post later with more.

[searsage]

Artificial intelligence therapist Au Al-an/ Robin

Okay hear me out.

Robin is an intergalactic therapist/ researcher who studies Ais and rehabiltates them so they can be safely resold back into the ai ship market to pair with ships of many kinds for many uses.

She has the repretation as being damn good at what she does, but also as a anti-social bitch with an ego to boot.

So it comes as no surprise when she pisses off Xenoworks and her superiors feel she needs to get a bit humbled..

She gets landed with a case a particularly volitile AI recovered from an enigmatic vessel set for imenant neutralization.

But Instead of cowering from the challenge doomed to fail, Robin decides to rub salt in the aching egos of her bosses by willingly accepting the case.

Little does Robin know the downword spiral her action would result in..

Immediately she's paired off with her new patient a bitter and apathetic Ai refering to itself as Al-an, his file pointing to a dangerous habits of viweing humans as an inferior, chaotic, destructive species and even statistically warned them eventually man's artificial intelligence would someday turn on them.

Instantly Robin sees a challenge and sets to work, but after a few weeks of Al-an being utterly counter productive and unresponsive to her attempts to socialize with the cryptic AI, in short much prying and Al-an fighting her every step of the way in terms of her bonding attempts.

But when Al-an finally cracks spiraling into a traumatic and chaotic breakdown.

Robin realizes she's not just dealing with a normal case, the Ai is not only a volatile asshole but also a mourning alien consciousness preserved by artificial intelligence, an actual entity hiding opposed to artificial intelligence, once stationed within the remains of a downed alien space vessel previously seized and supposedly discovered by Alterra corp and salvaged in hopes of producing a new advanced Artificial intelligence prototype.

Unfortunately Alterra either wants their perfected prototype or they want the out of control AI distroyed…

Things get sticky from here, as Robin still kinda wants that sweet success.. Neh.. And she does want to rub her success in her superior's faces.

And Al-an? This AI has other plans..

Deeming his new therepist/ not friend ( he's a tsundere let him live damn it!)'s high tech futuristic home prime artificial realestate, the AI has fled out of her containment PDA and infected her home's virtual database, replacing the once outdated systems with his own presence, having found solace in fact that he not only can actively control mechanisms throught her home, feed her Trivalve and lock door, but also access visual feeds and see a world he was stripped of millinias ago.

Unfortunately this spells trouble for Xeno works as things quickly escalate as the now possesive AI announces he has imprinted on the home and its occupants and stubbornly declares he will stay there just as Alterra begins to demand their prototype back and send agents to retrieve the missing asset.

Mostly a comedy but also a wholesome drama, romance because Robin learns that being an assholish loner all the time gets lonely and maybe her bosses are not actually her enemy. And Al-an learns not the over feed Robin's pets or turn the water cold while she is in the shower…or blow up unfamiliar vehicles entering her driveway.

And we'd get cheesy wholesome feels because Frankly everyone kinda just needs a hug even if Al-an acts like he doesn't ; w;

[4-as-in-a-trenchcoat]

MY AUS✨

Here's a list of all my aus + tiny explanations about them! Might make separate posts for all of them someday idk

1. Dad!Rex au

-Of course, the only au I've been public about so far. If you've seen my other posts about it, you already know what this is about, but if not, it's basically just a child (Theodore) crashing in Undar while Emmet/Rex's still there. Theo helps with trauma, Rex realizes he doesn't want anyone to go through what he went through and as a result, Rex adopts more children. Basically just wholesomeness yesyes

2. Dualistic Sides au (idk)

-In an alternate timeline, Emmet gets saved a year before he becomes Rex. He's still traumatized though, so he's basically just Emmet with PTSD and trust issues. After like, maybe a few months, this version of Emmet, who let's call.. Evan, starts to get really depressed and misses being his past self, so he decided the only logical thing to do is to travel back in time to before he crashed in Undar. But of course, our Rex also still has that idea, so now it's basically just an 'angel and devil on your shoulder' situation as both Rex and Evan try to guide Emmet in their own plans respectively. Evan genuinely wants to help, but Rex just wants to manipulate Emmet. (Edit: I just realized that this au is REALLY similar to @thinknamewhat 's Time Rivals au so credits to them! shddhhsh I did not mean to practically copy paste it with just a few tweaks sorry 😭)

3. Undar Explorer au

-Instead of being paralyzed, Emmet can still move in Undar. But with his ship still destroyed, he's forced to survive in Undar all on his own. And instead of Undar being a barren planet, there are just enough life forces that it becomes a challenge. Oh also, his friends eventually crash in Undar as well a few years later, for drama✨ (this au is basically just a copy paste of Della's situation in DuckTales and. yeah 🙂)

4. Switched Situations au (Idk either 😭)

-Instead of Emmet crashing in Undar, this time it's Mayhem, Lucy, Unikitty, Benny, Metalbeard and Batman who crashes. Emmet's the one who manages to get through the Stairgate, but when he doesn't find his friends in the Systar System, he accuses Watevra of kidnapping them, and in turn, Watevra accuses Emmet and the other Apocalypseburgers of kidnapping Mayhem. Angry and devastated, they end up starting a deadly war against each other. And the ones who got stuck in Undar time travel to the past to: stop themselves from crashing, stop Emmet from confronting Watevra, and most importantly, stop the war.

5. Criminal au

-Self explanatory, instead of being masterbuilders who fight for a righteous cause, the masterbuilders are actual criminals who do crime and end up accidentally dragging Emmet into everything (happens during the first movie).

6. Ghost!Emmet au

-After Emmet sacrifices himself in TLM, he doesn't come back to life. He does come back as a ghost though. ..Yeah that's all there is to it, really.

7. The Worst Timeline/Replacement au

-Basically another dead!Emmet but so much worse! So here, Lucy doesn't arrive on time and Rex ends up killing Emmet. Everybody (as in, even the citizens of Apocalypseburg and the Systar System) eventually arrives to see Emmet dead and Lucy in complete despair. Rex explains everything and then just.. fades away because. Emmet's fucking dead. And now everyone's in even more despair. A year passes, and nobody has fully moved on yet, until eventually, it all becomes too much and Lucy and her friends all agree to time travel to the past to kidnap past Emmet, from wayyyyy back before the Duplos invaded, but still after TLM. They essentially gaslight and manipulate Emmet into thinking this was his original timeline. And.. yeah.

8. Lost Memories au

-Emmet just loses his memories after crashing in Undar. ..Actually I'm pretty sure someone already made an au about this, but I'm not sure?? If someone knows if anyone made this au yet, please tell me and I'll remove it here.

9. Mother Knows Best au

-Doris, Emmet's mom, got worried over Emmet's lack of contact, since he always contacts her, even after moving away. She decides to visit Apocalypseburg, only to find Syspocalypstar, and a memorial statue of Emmet, much to her surprise. After she finds Lucy and the others and gets them to explain, she begs them to help her find him. So feeling guilty, they all agree. And.. they do end up finding Emmet. Doris gets angry at Emmet's friends, thinking that if they've just searched more and put more effort in trying to find him, then he wouldn't have to have been so traumatized. She prevents Emmet from seeing them and becomes really overprotective. E.

10. Kids au

-Again, self-explanatory, it's basically just a prequel to TLM and it's the main cast (except Watevra and Mayhem of course) as children. It's literally just an excuse to write fluffy and angsty backstories about them, actually :b

11. Keeper Of The Timelines au

-After Rex back-to-the-future's in the 2nd movie, he becomes some sort of keeper of timelines, having access to the past, present, and future, he kinda subtly tries to keep everything going smoothly. From Emmet meeting Lucy, to him becoming the Special, to him meeting Rex, etc. And even though he knows not to interfere with already existing timelines, he still ensures that no more Emmets get stuck in Undar, or have to go through the same fate as him. Not if he can help it.

Yeah, that's all of them so far! Feel free to ask me questions if you're curious about any of them :)

[northwest-cryptid]

My partner has decided he wants to try to vtube (anon bc im shy not bc I hate you)

As a someone who has done this id like to ask for any advice or tips you might have? I wanna support him but I don't really watch vtubers..

No worries, my friend there is no way I could even think for a second that an ask this wholesome is anon hate.

Regardless, let me preface all of this by saying that my experiences are only one perspective of many; take my advice as nothing more than suggestions, not rules or laws that must be followed.

There's basically 3 big things I think every Vtuber would benefit from knowing in regards to streaming. The first of which is simply, know who you are and what you want from being a Vtuber.

What I mean by that more specifically is, being a Vtuber is basically the same as being a streamer of any other kind. The major difference is that you're being represented by a character. I often recommend people figure out what they want to do with that. Some people I know don't see it as anything more than a replacement for a webcam, while others want to tell elaborate stories through their character. Neither of these things are inherently better or worse, however I think it's a bit of a balancing act. For example if you have someone who wants to be a character, but they never put effort into doing anything with their character; it really hurts their potential for growth.

The reason being that if they don't give their audience any reason to care about their character, their lore, backstory, whatever; well then their audience won't care about it. Imagine for a moment that you're streaming a video game and someone shows up because they like that game; if you pause the game to explain your character lore and backstory for the next 5 - 10 minutes; you've absolutely lost that viewer. Especially if that lore and backstory doesn't ultimately effect anything. This is a big part of knowing "who you are" in my opinion it's a good practice to have your character be explainable in one or two sentences. If you really want your character to play a large role in your streaming, then it should also tie into what you do. Again these are merely suggestions; but I've seen a lot of people shoot themselves in the foot because they want to both be a character, and be themselves when it's convenient. Which ends up losing them a lot of potential viewership.

While I won't claim that being a Vtuber is all about the viewership, if you want to be successful it's a necessary evil to grow an audience. So avoiding losing viewer interest can help a lot if it's something that is a more natural part of streaming rather than something you have to focus on.

To give a quick example of what I'm talking about here, when I was workshopping the character of Velvet, I figured it could be a sort of silly comedic take on an arguably overused trope. A lot of what I like to do is stream challenging games, or speedruns. I like to play strategy games, horror games, and cooperative games; and of course I love a good MMORPG.

So if I was going to make a character who fit this sort of vibe, my idea was to make Velvet an (eldritch) demon lord sent to Earth to take over, only to discover that humans hold professional streamers/gamers in high regard; thus Velvet has decided to prove their worth to these humans by playing difficult games and demonstrating their abilities.

This tends to come across as a quick one or two line joke while playing games and the like, and it allows me to primarily just be me on stream, while playing up a character when I think it would add something to the entertainment value.

However I make a point to never pause something entertaining to explain something that most of my audience will likely not actually care about. The thing I often tell people is, if someone cares about your character enough to want to know your lore; they likely already know your lore. If they don't care enough, stopping them from enjoying your stream to force that lore on them; ultimately isn't going to convince them to like it.

Again my words here are by no means law, first and foremost I want Vtubers and streamers alike to feel free to make their streams their own. I don't want someone feeling like they need to fit a specific mold or do things a specific way to fit in or grow. This brings me to my second big suggestion...

Bring something unique to whatever it is you do. If you do the same thing that the big name Vtubers do, and they have more experience, better equipment, a preexisting audience, and more money to back them; who do you think the potential audience is going to go to the majority of the time?

I understand if it seems like that's kind of a bleak way of looking at it, but the truth is if people forego whatever makes them unique and whatever gives them inherent value in order to chase a specific trend in hopes of success. They will almost ALWAYS be leagues behind the people who already set the trend. Some of the most entertaining and best indie vtubers I know are the ones who just decided to do something unique and arguably "personal" with their streams. I don't mean that in the sense that they're personal with their audience or anything, but that they bring something to the stream that is unapologetically their own.

If you stream something that I can't get anywhere else, because even the people who do the same thing; don't do it like you? Then I will literally always come back to you for that kind of content. Because at the end of the day I can't get that kind of content in your style from anyone else. If you're doing the same thing the same way as 12 other people, and they can do it better or easier or faster? Well then it's less likely I'd seek you out specifically unless I already know you and want to support you specifically.

It will always be more beneficial to you to pioneer your own niche within a larger category, than to chase the top trends and hope you can carve a place for you among the big actors. This is especially true when you're just starting out and want to get a foothold, because it's very hard to get new eyes on you; and even harder to get those people to become regular viewers.

Which brings me to my last, and possibly most important suggestion. Genuine networking, and okay this one is gonna be kinda hard to explain what I mean because... yea people know what networking is; but my past few years of experience with Vtubers has shown me a lot of interesting stuff.

I will warn you right now, twitter is not a great place to network; it's just not. I spent literally over 1 year trying and failing to network on Twitter. I'd join a group, befriend some people; and if I happened to get popular enough that I was going somewhere? I got thrown under the bus, I got made into next weeks villain of the week for drama so they could try to sweep up my audience. People would fabricate lies and rumors about me, just to try to get my audience to stop watching me and start watching them. I had people outright tell me they didn't see me as anything more than a man, and they didn't believe in NB or They/Them individuals; only to come out as They/Them the next week when they learned they could use it to garner attention.

Twitter's indie vtuber networking scene is vile, I cannot tell you how many people I saw literally actually being abused, and harassed (both sexually and just generally including minors, don't even get me started on that I swear...) I cannot tell you how many times I'd befriend people only to be roped into tiresome "meetings" or made into drama fuel. I literally had my highest highs (traveling out of state to attend parties with my fellow streamers) and my lowest lows (being fabricated as anything from transphobic to just a backstabbing liar; all of which are absolutely not true mind you) over that year.

I say this all because networking is SO important in my opinion. I've said this a lot before, but the idea of a "vtuber team" is not without merit; it's just never done right in most indie scenes.

Let me put it like this, let's say your partner and I become friends and start collaborating. If I have an audience who primarily like to watch me stream speedruns and horror games; and your partner has an audience that like to watch him do other content; then when we collaborate our audiences get to mingle and it's very likely that if his audience like him and my audience like me; they will pick up on the vibes. That is to say that when we're bantering and playing games or chatting together; our audiences will bleed into being one big audience instead of being two separate audiences. Since they can come to me for some content that he might not stream, and they can come to him for content I may not stream; each of us offer something unique; maybe with some overlap. My fans become his fans and vice versa.

What this means is that even if he or I are not streaming on any given day, if the other is; and then they bring that audience that they might be growing at that moment to the other and put them in front of that audience; and just say something like "hey this person is cool and we're gonna be playing [game] together you should check them out and say hi!" then even if we're not constantly streaming and growing and "grinding away" to get popular; we can still gain a lot of potential viewership from that. Now believe it or not back when I was on twitter this was considered a BAD thing, because this was essentially seen as "leeching viewers" however this is absolutely not the case. Because if I build him up, he can build me up in turn; and together we can form a much larger audience than we could individually, having more people to do streams with also allows us to produce unique and interesting content that might not be achievable solo.

It's for this reason among others, that I feel networking is so important. I fully recommend if he has any friends in the streaming scene, to collaborate with them; become a part of their community and vice versa. Connect with other streamers; but I will say as well, when I say "genuinely" network what I mean is that you shouldn't get caught up in follow for follow or quick rug pull type networking. Sometimes people will appear friendly and say they want to network because they really do just want to get your audience in front of them; they won't bother to stick around and help build you up, they won't want to try to actually build real connections, they won't put the effort into respecting you as a fellow creator.

It's important to put your effort where it will be returned in kind, forge genuine friendships rather than simply work relationships if that makes sense.

I've done a lot of rambling here, and I've had a lot to say; so I do want to quickly just repeat once more that none of this is meant to be laws or rules or whatever. It's purely suggestion based on my own personal experienced with Vtubing and streaming.

I will say lastly, the best thing you can do to be supportive is show up when you can. Talk in the chat, be his biggest fan. My friends have been an amazing team for me; from moderators to just being chatters. My friends showing up in my chat to keep me company when I do streams no one cares about; or agreeing to play games with me and collaborate with me even though they're not streamers; that's all helped me a lot.

A lot of the time streamer burnout (especially early on) can come from the idea that no one would care if you went live anyways. Showing that you appreciate what they're putting out, and that you do care about what they make will go a long way.

Also! Feel free to toss me his streaming handle when he starts; and let him know if he has any questions or needs any help I'm no one super popular or anything but I am always more than willing to network and lend a hand to fellow creators.

[the-sky-is-my-home]

Endless list of things I love about post-ts haikyuu (misc. ver.)

having "part 2" chapters like the greatest decoy pt2, king of the court pt2, the greatest challenger pt 2... they show off so perfectly how everyone has grown!!

everyone getting their high school banners. looks so cool and is just a nice touch

everyone reuniting after the game it's just so wholesome

us not knowing who won the olympics or the ali roma/asas sao paulo game or the allstar match cuz it genuinely doesn't matter. no game is the end, and it's not the results that count but the process which includes both winning and losing and either way the world doesn't end. you keep playing and it keeps being fun. or you stop and find something else. just whatever makes you happy

kuroo and oikawa finally canonically meeting in the special

also oikawa and atsumu meeting. we so needed that, esp with iwaizumi there

the incredibly healthy outlook on volleyball the whole series has (this deserves its own post so I shan't elaborate here)

kageyama inviting kindaichi and kunimi to play together! finally these idiots get over what happened in middle school it's so nice to see. and kageyama's smile when they agree is so so cute

the fact that we got the beach volleyball outing with kageyama, kunimi and kindaichi (and hinata). like it's so good and such good closure. kindaichi gets to hit a spike off a perfect set from kageyama, looking like he has the time of his life. in the series proper, one of the ways it was shown that oikawa was a better setter than kageyama even if he wasn't at kageyama's technical level was him communicating with kunimi, recognizing his playstyle, and making the best use of it rather than berating him. in the special, even if kunimi hasn't played for years, kageyama assesses his play style and then suggests he should play beach volleyball for real, because it suits him. not only is it cathartic to see these three happy and on good terms, it shows off so well how much kageyama has grown since those days

the atsuhina dynamic is so good during the game as a whole there's so much there. they both replace each other's former partner, atsumu obv by doing the freak quick with hinata, but hinata also becomes a reliable emergency setter as osamu was, and pulls off one of osamu's moves from their game in hs. atsumu explaining kageyama's thought process to hinata (my points are mine, my hitters' points are also mine). atsumu blaming hinata for waking kageyama up even tho HE'S the one who called him a goody two shoes and got his character development started. hinata jumping for the quick and atsumu going "rn???" while osamu goes "yes this is the time to do it!!" and that's when atsumu gets his banner of "we don't need memories"

(honestly the kageyama/hinata/atsumu/osamu dynamic as a whole deserves its own post which also includes pre-ts stuff because there is just. SO MUCH)

and last but certainly not least, this:

all the little info we get about everyone. like yeah anyone would attempt to give the main characters of their story a satisfying conclusion. it's great haikyuu has done that, but it's amazing that like. basically every single side character has that. ikejiri still plays volleyball! he hasn't given up on it just cuz he sucks. who cares? I do! I care about aone and futakuchi still terrorizing volleyball players as an iron wall on a local team. I care about ukai and nekomata still having video calls. I care about fukunaga being a comedian. I care about saeko and akane being happy to see each other. I care about iizuna being able to keep playing, with a guy from inubushi no less. I care about suna still taking blackmail pics of atsumu like ten years later, now with access to instagram. I care that life has gone on for all of them, with or without volleyball in the picture, but that they're united by playing it together, at the same time, however flimsy or strong a particular connection might be. I care so much and haikyuu rewards me for it with so many good crumbs it's insane

[rjcopeseethemald]

WIP Questionnaire ±1

To be honest, I keep looking for these as an excuse to talk about my work

This one I got from @illarian-rambling, I wasn't tagged in her post but I accepted the open invitation However, since this is how my mind works, I'll turn this into a game. Updated Rules: 1. Answer as few or as many of the following questions as you'd like! 2. In passing the tag along to others, you can add one question of your own, or replace an existing question.

1. What was the first part of your wip that you created?

The magic system. It took years for the idea to finally click in my head, too. It started when I watched the Terrible Writing Advice on Myths, Legends, and Gods; JP just had to challenge me with "A pantheon of the Periodic Table would be way too big". So I said "Alright, bet", but the idea still wasn't there. Then, I finally began watching ATLA and Breaking Bad (very late to both parties), and then my brain went: "What if... chemistrybending?"

2. If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?

Probably a more light-hearted version of "Can You Hear The Music" from Oppenheimer.

3. Who are your favourite characters you've made? Why?

Hydrogen, Admiral Wright, and Miilo Saba. Hydrogen is the Elemental of their namesake atom, and I attempted to write them as wholesome and eccentric. I would liken them to a much older and wiser version of the Collector from The Owl House. They also wield a flaming shortsword, and can turn invisible (since hydrogen gas is invisible by default). Admiral Wright is the main antagonist of volume one. She was the first woman (and still only one of two) to be fully commissioned in the Lodinican Republic Navy, and is otherwise known as its toughest commander. Her backstory is a commentary on how simply letting marginalized people into unchanged power structures doesn't change their marginalizing nature. Miilo Saba is the older cousin of the twins Lia and Lioko, and he's the captain of an anarchist smuggler ship. He's mostly light-hearted and laid-back, except in a situation where there's no messing around, in which case he can become deadly serious. Why? To be honest, I picked these three because they were the most engaging for me to write.

4. What other pieces of media do you think would share a fan base for your story?

Likely the animated ones I've mentioned before: ATLA (Legend of Korra included) and The Owl House, plus other animated shows like Steven Universe. The book will include illustrations a la The Chronicles of Narnia, except in an art style that would easily translate to 2-D animation.

5. What has been your biggest struggle with your wip?

Holding myself to the standards of good writing. In particular, character writing and depth of worldbuilding.

6. Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

I have sea wyverns, which are about twice as big as an albatross; landback tortoises, which are somewhat of a grounded take on the mythological giant turtle/tortoise trope; and more minor appearances like torpedo-fish (fish that can swim up to 80 knots in short bursts) and taransis, cat-sized Lucas-the-Spiders.

7. How do your characters get around? (ex: trains, horses, cars, dragons, etc.)

The equivalent era to our world is the 1910s-early 1920s. There are ocean liners, trains, and horses, and the occasional airship, while cars are still rather new.

8. What part of your wip are you working on rn?

I am almost done, thank God. I'm planning to take spring quarter off from community college to finish it.

9. What aspects (tropes, maybe?) of your wip do you think will draw people in?

The novelty of its magical premises and take on the fantasy genre. Perhaps its politics, too, but those are more of a background thing.

10. What are your hopes for your wip?

I hope it's as original as I claim it to be! A pipe dream of mine is that the complete series financially sustains me, but I'll just retire to a commune upstate if that doesn't happen.

I will add a question 11: What pieces of media have been the most inspiring to you for this WIP? Passing this along to @serotoninshift, @kaylinalexanderbooks, and @she-who-fights-and-writes if any of you all are interested!

Blanks below:

What was the first part of your wip that you created?

If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?

Who are your favourite characters you've made? Why?

What other pieces of media do you think would share a fan base for your story?

What has been your biggest struggle with your wip?

Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

How do your characters get around? (ex: trains, horses, cars, dragons, etc.)

What part of your wip are you working on rn?

What aspects (tropes, maybe?) of your wip do you think will draw people in?

What are your hopes for your wip?

What pieces of media have been the most inspiring to you for this WIP?

[searsage]

Okay hear me out.

Robin is an intergalactic therapist/ researcher who studies Ais and rehabiltates them so they can be safely resold back into the ai ship market to pair with ships of many kinds for many uses.

She has the repretation as being damn good at what she does, but also as a anti-social bitch with an ego to boot.

So it comes as no surprise when she pisses off Xenoworks and her superiors feel she needs to get a bit humbled..

She gets landed with a case a particularly volitile AI recovered from an enigmatic vessel set for imenant neutralization.

But Instead of cowering from the challenge doomed to fail, Robin decides to rub salt in the aching egos of her bosses by willingly accepting the case.

Little does Robin know the downword spiral her action would result in..

Immediately she's paired off with her new patient a bitter and apathetic Ai refering to itself as Al-an, his file pointing to a dangerous habits of viweing humans as an inferior, chaotic, destructive species and even statistically warned them eventually man's artificial intelligence would someday turn on them.

Instantly Robin sees a challenge and and sets to work, but after a few weeks of Al-an being utterly counter productive and unresponsive to her attempts to socialize with the cryptic AI, in short much prying and Al-an fighting her every step of the way in terms of her bonding attempts.

But when Al-an finally cracks spiraling into a traumatic and chaotic breakdown.

Robin realizes she's not just dealing with a normal case, the Ai is not only a volatile asshole but also a mourning alien consciousness preserved by artificial intelligence, once stationed within the remains of a downed alien space vessel previously seized and supposedly discovered by Alterra corp and salvaged in hopes of producing a new advanced Ai prototype.

Unfortunately Alterra either wants their perfected prototype or they want the out of control AI distroyed…

Things get sticky from here as Robin still kinda wants that sweet success? No but she does want to rub her success in her superior's faces.

And Al-an? This AI has other plans..

Deeming his new therepist/ not friend ( he's a tsundere let him live damn it!)'s high tech futuristic home prime artificial realestate, the AI has fled out of her containment PDA and infected her home's virtual database, replacing the once outdated systems with his own presence, having found solace in fact that he not only can actively control mechanisms throught her home, feed her Trivalve and lock door, but also access visual feeds and see a world he was stripped of millinias ago.

Unfortunately this spells trouble for Xeno works as things quickly escalate as the now possesive AI announces he has imprinted on the home and its occupants and stubbornly declares he will stay there just as Alterra begins to demand their prototype bad and send agents to retrieve the missing asset.

Mostly a comedy but also a wholesome drama, romance because Robin learns that being an assholish loner all the time gets lonely and maybe her bosses are not actually her enemy. And Al-an learns not the over feed Robin's pets or turn the water cold while she is in the shower…or blow up unfamiliar vehicles entering her driveway.

And we'd get cheesy wholesome feels because Frankly everonr kinda just needs a hug even if Al-an act like he doesn't ; w;

while i understand why a lot of sci-fi has humans being shitty to AIs while the AIs are like “i am just existing what the fuck” I think it’d be fun to do the opposite. Homo “will packbond with anything” sapiens DESPERATELY trying to get the favor and friendship of an Artificial Intelligence that is mostly indifferent to them. They want the ship’s computer to like them sooooo fucking bad!!

[k-s-morgan]

Reading all of your lovely Q&A on asks, I can't help but be excited for Sebastians POV in chapter 19. I'm sure it will be delightful to read what's going on in his head. I'll admit I'm most curious for the part where Ciel jerks his tie and then tells him that he'd recognize his murder MO anywhere. I have a sneaking suspicion that it's probably the hottest thing to ever happen to Sebastian and demonbrain.exe will stop working completely.

As a side note, I wanted to add that I really love what Ciel says in this chapter about how no one ever actually desires him for himself but rather for what he represents. I feel like this is a gem of a line because it applies not just to how I think Sebastian sees Ciel in this fic, as perhaps the first human he recognizes as an individual, but also how Ciel sees Sebastian. Sebastian is more than just his demonic powers to Ciel, even though Ciel preys on this insecurity often for leverage. He genuinely likes or at least notices Sebastians individual qualities. Obviously Ciel can't give up that lever for some time I think. Maybe it will be more obvious when Claude enters the picture. But I just love the idea of this line showing so much about how they think about each other and what it means to both of them to feel "seen" by the other.

Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy his thoughts, Sebastian has gone completely overboard with his infatuation in these chapters. The scene with the tie should take place in the chapter after this one, and I think you got his reactions exactly right. His brain will, once again, stop working entirely :D Ciel alone has the endless power to surprise and beguile him like this. 

I loved reading your thoughts about Ciel’s line. I agree, I think their mutual attachment to each other’s true personalities is one of many reasons why they are so drawn to each other. In fact, Sebastian considers something similar in the new chapter. A teaser of a sort:

Sebastian couldn’t decide how he felt about this. Preserving a single identity was a privilege that contracted demons would never gain. In the past, there were times when the need to be what his masters and mistresses wanted of him weighed him down catastrophically, and the longer a contract took, the worse the dissonance became. 

Strangely, he felt no such effects now. He spent almost three years with Ciel Phantomhive, a very lengthy term that was bound to start grating on him, yet the only problem he had faced was his hunger… and the emotions that plagued him restlessly. His identity remained wholesome. Even the name ‘Sebastian’ felt natural — hearing it pleased him, especially when his lord was the one to say it.

From Ciel’s end, the genuine appreciation of Sebastian’s personality is not defined, but that’s because he struggles with admitting that he actually likes his demon. He craves his respect, he needs his admiration, but he’s not ready to dwell on how funny, thrilling, and challenging he finds him for long.

In the future, this aspect will become clearer, and I have a plan for Sebastian’s name. It’s obviously different from what we know, every demon has their one True Name. But the need to be Ciel’s butler contractually will gradually shift into his willful desire to serve him, and the identity of Ciel’s Sebastian will become his defining characteristic. I want “Sebastian” to become his real name and replace the one he’d been carrying since birth. This will have some fascinating consequences. It’ll be the biggest testimony to how Ciel changed him, a solidification of qualities Sebastian possesses but which most other demons don’t understand and/or never appreciate. 

Sebastian has always been who he is, but with Ciel, I feel like he finally got a chance to embrace his real self.

[bangtanfancamp]

Champagne Silk | KNJ

─────────────────────

─────────────────────

⋅summary: Almost year ago, you became the arranged bride of the most powerful man in the city, Kim Namjoon, but this morning, with you, he’s just a man who’s head over heels for you who can’t help getting lost thinking about his future with you.

Alternatively: no matter how powerful a man Namjoon is, he is still a klutz in the kitchen. A sexy klutz though.

⋅ author’s masterlist

⋅part two of the Silk series ( read part 1 here)

⋅also the second installment of breakfast with bangtan series (masterlist here)

⋅pairing: mafia!namjoon x reader

⋅genre: mafia! au, arranged marriage! Au, smut, fluff, angst, established relationship

⋅word count: 15.5k words

⋅rating: mature

⋅warnings: a generous amount of consensual sexual activities 🙃, brief scene of oral sex, impregnation kink, a shared bath tub, multiple instances of christiana being uncomfortable with using proper technical names for genitalia and being intentionally ambiguous instead. (honestly it’s more tame and wholesome than you think but god, if these two aren’t hot for each other )

─────────────────────

“Damn it.” 

The sound comes rumpled from the other side of the kitchen, like someone’s trying to keep it hidden. It’s so subdued and muttered that around anyone else, it might have been successfully hidden. But not right now. And certainly not with you. Because you know the distinct, adorable huff of your husband’s regret in an instant.

“You all right over there, darling?” There’s an innocence in your voice to hide your humor.

“Promise you won’t laugh if I tell you?” 

“Oh, unfortunately I can do no such thing, my love. You’ll just have to brave the odds and tell me.” 

Your smile is benevolent, but unyielding. You politely, pleasantly even, refuse to give him another option, and he knows it. It’s that simple. Even with his back to you, he knows the jig is up. As he hunches with heavy shoulders, he sighs and mutters something too low for you to pick up at first.

“Once more for the people in the back, yeah?” You tease.

“I said, I spilled wine on everything,” he exhales. 

His voice is tinged in shades of caramel, rich with resignation, as he confesses, stepping aside so you can see the mess he’s made. 

“Oh, Joon.” 

A terribly bright fondness pulls your lips into a smile as your clumsy giant sheepishly ducks his head across the room. His once pristine white shirt, his linen pants and your white antique tablecloth are all freshly dip dyed in swirls of Pinot Grigio and rosé.

“I know. I know. You don’t have to say it.” His eyes flit down to the stack of too many wine glasses slotted between his large fingers that have spilled their bounty across every available fabric surface.

“You have no idea what I’m about to say,” you point out graciously.

Crossing the room, you tip up on your toes to press a tender kiss to the spots where his jolly dimples would show if he weren’t so flustered. 

“MmmHmm. Sure I don’t.” He squints at you while you slip one glass at a time out of his grip and reach for a cloth.

“Precisely. You shouldn’t assume, Namjoon. You know what they say.” You smirk, wetting the cloth with water you know will be too frigid for him to stand in this half asleep state he’s in, but the stains have got to go.

“And what exactly do they say?” His large palms dip to rest on his hips as he braces for your commentary.

“Simply that assumptions only make an ass out of you and me so…”

His nose scrunches in distaste, even as he starts to laugh. “What a beastly phrase. I forget how much delicacy Americans have.” 

“Oh heaps of it. More than they know what to do with, really.” You shrug as you wring out the cloth. “Positively genteel. Is that not why you chose to marry one?” You add with a wry smile.

Glancing down at the bands on your finger, you warm at the way they glisten in the bits of lazy Sunday light filtering through the window. Namjoon’s glints golden across the room as he waits for your rescue. Both still new enough to feel like a novelty. Enough to make a small light inside you beam with pride whenever you catch sight of it.

“I chose to marry the only one I could find who was quick enough to get the stains I make out before they set and sweet enough not to give me grief for it.” He arches an eyebrow down at you in challenge as you slip one hand past the deeply undone row of buttons on his shirt to pull the fabric up and away from his skin as you begin to gently blot at the wine.

“Oh no. Well, I hate to inform you of this, but unfortunately, I’m actually 0 for 2 in those qualifications. But I will sincerely try my best since you’ve placed so much trust in me.” You chuckle as you set to work. “Would it be helpful if I mention what a smart wife you have to have ixnayed buying that cabernet sauvignon you wanted so badly, especially given your current predicament?”

Leaning forward, he presses a kiss to your forehead before dipping to press his nose against your own while shaking his head. 

“No. Not in the slightest.”

“See? That’s good to know. Would have been awful if I mentioned the Merlot I put back too then. Can you imagine? Could have been so unseamly.”

He laughs, smiling against your hairline. “Well, what would have been the point of whisking my bride all the way out to a little villa in wine country and inviting guests only to not serve them red wine?”

“The point would have been you not turning into the kool-aid man whenever said wine inevitably spilled all over you. Case in point.” You look up at him through wide, fluttered lashes as you press the icy cold cloth against a particularly bold splatter on his chest. The frigid water grazes his nipple through his thin shirt and your giant of a man winces like he was wounded on the playground.

“Hey, that’s freezing.” He moves to swat your hand away. 

“Would you rather just take this off then? So I can work properly,” You smirk.

“No,” he sighs. “That would just be colder.” 

He looks so adorable right now. The lavender locks you’d once loved so well have been replaced, faded into a dusty blonde instead. His thick hair, usually coiffed so neatly, so perfectly, is currently disheveled entirely. Bits that had been gently curated to frame his face the night before are now plastered to his forehead, others shooting off at odd angles, all from falling asleep on the couch beside you once your dinner guests finally left late last night. 

He’s still in last night's now stained and rumpled clothes, still looking absolutely divine with the sleeves cuffed against his elegant forearms and his now wide open neckline thanks to the buttons undone all the way down past his rib cage.

His body is every bit a grown man, but his sleepy features- those wide eyes and pouted lips- make him look every bit the little boy you saw once in his mothers photo albums the week of the wedding. Big Namjoon still makes the same faces when he makes a mess as little Namjoon, and it makes your heart squeeze in your chest.

“Don’t be such a weenie,” you tease. 

“Careful who you tease, woman. You’re the only one in this city who forgets how many people are afraid of me.”

“This city is half a day’s drive away. There’s no one to fear you here,Joonie. Besides, your enemies have clearly never seen how quickly you’d fall in a battle against the cold or else you would have been displaced ages ago,” you tease with a twinkle in your eyes as he narrows his at you.

“I don’t think you’d like ice water on your breasts first thing in the morning either.” He huffs under his breath.

“You never know til you try,” you wink.

“Would you like to try?” His eyes rake over you salaciously despite the tenderness in his smile. 

“No, I can’t say that I do,” you chuckle, pushing a palm against his chest. “Besides, it’s hardly first thing in the morning, Joon. It’s almost noon.” You nod toward the clock.

There’s still sleep in his voice when he laughs, the sounds rich and resonant where it blooms from his chest. “Well, it’s still morning for me when we didn’t fall asleep til well after 3 because our guests don’t know when to leave.”

You smile to yourself at the memory of time spent with your friends. Well, more accurately Namjoon’s friends, i.e. the members of his crew who have become like family to both of you. Namjoon’s been on the move so much with work lately that there’s been no time to simply sit and enjoy their company. You were in raptures when he suggested they join you for dinner last night.

“It was so good to see Hoseok and Jungkookie though. Their new girlfriends seem so sweet.” 

Namjoon’s gaze seems far off somewhere as he listens to you.“They do, don’t they? JK’s seemed spunky too. She’s good for him.” 

“I think so too. He spent half the night blushing- he was so happy. It was good to see him so over the moon for once, that little romantic.”

Namjoon smiles, a soft thing nestled in the pocket of his cheek, full of fondness for the youngest of his friends. “Yeah, I’m glad he finally found someone so good for him.” 

Pulling you in, he kisses you gently, once, twice before pressing his lips to the top of your forehead, an unspoken “as good as you are for me” hidden his warm brown eyes.

“Big softie,” you whisper, reaching up to cradle his face, thumb brushing over his cheeks. He tips his face toward your palm to plant a kiss there too, his lips just brushing the inside of your wedding band as you smile.

“For you? Always.”

“For me? It was the food last night. God, That charcuterie board Jin brought was positively masterful.” The memory alone has your mouth watering. “Such a shame it was all gone so soon though.”

“Ooo, speaking of,” Namjoon slips out of your grip to rustle around in the kitchen behind you. “Not quite.” 

“What did you do?” You narrow your eyes at him as you settle into a wooden chair to start tending to the swirling stains on the tablecloth.

“Oh, the best thing. Husband of the year level best thing.”

“Husband of the year? Can't wait to see this then. Very moderate expectations, indeed.”

With his back to you, you can’t see what he’s up to, but you can certainly hear it. Especially the low grunt when his hip snags on the new island counter. This poor man was clearly made for a different life than this old world kitchen provides. You wonder which will go first, your husband or the architectural detail. You chuckle to yourself until you realize exactly what it is he’s carrying.

“Kim Namjoon, is that-?”

“A mini stolen charcuterie board? You bet it is,” he winks your way, and a storm of winged things flutter in your stomach.

“How did you even-“

“When you had everyone gathered in the backyard, and Jimin tripped over the cord for the string lights.”

“I’ll never know how such a graceful man can cause such disasters. Or how you managed to befriend the only other man on earth as poised and clumsy as you all at once,” you chuckle, stealing a fig from the corner of the board as he peels back the plastic film covering it. “Oh my god, that’s so good.”

“Mmm Hmm. I knew you thought so,” he taps you on the nose lovingly. “You always ask Jin to make these for you, and then you’re always so sad when all twelve people you invite make it vanish in half an hour.”

“I know. I know. It would go farther if there were fewer people to share it with, but Joon, the boys are like family. I haven’t seen them all together in so long. I couldn’t bear to leave anyone out.”

There’s a twinkle glinting in his eyes as he smiles down at you. He’s glad to see how soft your heart somehow remains despite the life you both lead. 

“Which is precisely why I took the liberty of stashing some of this bounty away while the guests were busy and saving it for you.” 

When he smiles at you like that, all softened edges and warm brown eyes, it’s impossible not to fall in love with him all over again. It’s not like you’ve forgotten how kind he is or how striking he can be when he smiles. It’s simply that the more you see it, the more in love you become.

Rising up in your chair, you reach across the table to tenderly cradle his cheek.

“I hate to say this, because then you’ll know you were right, but this is really is an excellent submission for husband of the year. I would like to point out, though, that you are welcome to make as many entries as you’d like before the panel comes to a consensus, you know.” 

He smiles so wide that his eyes get lost in their beautifully crinkled edges. “I’ll keep it in mind. Now, they do say that you should play toward the judge’s preferences. Would you happen to know any? To help me get that inside edge.”

“Now, now. I can’t help you cheat. You’ll have to conduct your own research.”

“Is that so?”

“Absolutely. We have a strict moral code. They’d ruin me if I let that sort of intel slip.” You tilt your chin up in defiance despite your smirk and laughing eyes.

“Hmm. We can’t have that, can we? Shame. I really thought this was going to be my year.”

“Do you really think the only way you’d win is to cheat? Come now...it can still be your year if you play your cards right.”

Your hand drifts up to his carelessly perfect hair, fingers gliding through it and tugging a bit near his scalp. One of his favorite ways to receive affection you’ve found out this past year. His lids fall heavy before he can catch them, a small hiss catching behind his teeth that means you’ve done it right.

“Careful. You don’t know what you might be starting.” His eyes wander the edges of your lips, trace the frame of your collarbone.

“I’d never take the risk if I wasn’t ready to face the consequences.” The twist of your lips is subtle, as gentle as the seduction you’ve learned is your forte. 

Namjoon licks his lips, the lower one snagging in his teeth as his eyes drift over you. Without breaking his gaze, he takes a champagne grape from the board and lifts it to your lips. You can feel your pulse flutter and quicken beneath your skin. It always does when he eyes you like that.

The man might as well be a snake charmer for all the control you feel like you have over yourself right now as your mouth parts of its own accord for him. But just before the fruit can graze your lips, his grin widens- wicked with delight- as he decides to pop it in his own mouth instead.

His dimples are so deep as he laughs at your flustered state that you wish you could crawl inside them and hide.

“Ha Ha. Very funny, Joon. Tease the woman you claim to love. Excellent way to keep a happy wife.” 

Rolling your eyes, you push off from the table, fully intent on doing... you have no idea what, exactly. All you know is that you need to get away from this table as fast as you can before you knock the carefully preserved remnants of this charcuterie board to the floor and take him on the table.

 The blush that was rushing to your cheeks is now crashing in your ears and all you can think to do is “go,” but before you can get even half a step too far, Namjoon’s warm, impossibly large hand is already wrapping itself around your wrist and grounding you to your spot.

“All I want is a happy wife,” he laughs. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted. I thought I made that pretty clear from the first day.”

Slowly, he stands as his hand trails its way down to dance across your palm before lacing your fingers with his. 

“Certainly doesn’t feel like it right now,” you pout, despite the excitement thrumming in your veins. You know that look on his face now. The one that’s evil and beautiful, sincere and serpentine. The one that wants to devour you playfully. To love you even as he ruins you.

“Oh no,” he tsks. “That won’t do.” 

Suddenly, he snaps you to him, his hands fastening themselves to the dip in your waist. You gasp, the force making you brace against his smooth, exposed chest to catch yourself.

“It won’t?” Your voice comes out airy, too thin, as the morning breeze billows through the open windows. 

“No. Not at all. So I wanna know: how can I fix this, baby?” His eyes are possessed by something wicked as one hand leaves your waist to trace a thumb over your parted mouth.

“I- I”

“Shh, I made this mistake. I’ll make it right.” He arches a single brow as his tongue wets his lips, and your brain loses any grip on rational thinking.

“And h-how do you plan to do that?” It’s a whisper- too breathy, too barely coherent. His hands are so warm. His touch is like lightning and suddenly even breathing requires too much energy with the way you feel like you’ve shorted out.

“I don’t know. You tell me, baby.” His knuckle tips it’s way under your chin, tilting your face up to his as you follow in obedience.

“But… I thought… I told you. The judge can’t help.” You swallow, lashes fluttering shut as his breath ghosts over your lips.

“Then she can’t get what she wants,” he challenges.

“Fair enough. That’s fair.” Your head bobbles in assent. 

“So I’ll try this again,” his face dips down until his mouth rests just below your ear. “What do you want, baby?”

You feel lightheaded as you melt in hands, rushing out the words, “Counter. Now. Please.”

 Your expression folds in on itself in satisfaction when Namjoon grips you around the waist and plants you on the kitchen island without a moment's hesitation. You gasp, airy and quick, before his palm is fitted against the curve of your throat with just the amount of pressure he’s learned that you like.

“Good girl. Open your legs for me, baby.”

A muffled inhale later, your knees have parted where you’re sat on the island and Namjoon is fitted between them, his hips to the counter as he kisses you in earnest. 

“Oh my god,” you gasp as his tongue and open mouth work their way down your throat, painting wide open blossoms of scarlet and blush along the way. Your hands are in his hair, at his scalp, tugging and grabbing to bring him back to your kiss. His taste is tinged salty and sweet from your skin and the grapes, and your thighs wrap themselves tight around the narrow slope of him.

He’s gotten so broad since the wedding day. If you had trouble composing yourself around him then god only knows how you’ve survived the past year. His shoulders seem wider, his arms more substantial, his chest impossibly inviting as you claw at the last remaining buttons of his dress shirt. 

“Off. Off. Take this off.” You push at the sleeves that bunch around the arcs of his newly swollen biceps, taking a moment to drink in how beautiful they are as you clutch at his golden skin. 

“So eager now. What happened to my shy girl?” His voice is teasing, light, but his eyes look proud of you.

“You did things like this to her, and now she can’t get enough.” Your mouth fits itself to the beautiful stretch of bare skin beneath his ear, suckling the indescribable taste of him before traveling down his throat and across his jaw.

He laughs, something deep and melodic, before his fingers begin to glide over your collarbone and dance over your arms, featherlight, like he always does when he’s trying to rile you up.

“Should I get this out of our way then?” His fingers tug at the slim straps of your champagne blush dress. You’d worn it especially for him at last night’s party. You’d never forgotten his affinity for your skin draped in silk.

“Why? Don’t you like it?”

“Of course I do, baby. It’s perfect.”

“Then why do you want me to take it off?”

 Your voice is sticky sweet with innocence, but Namjoon knows better. He doesn’t know where you got the wherewithal to tease him right now as he holds you pressed against his growing warmth, but when your eyes flick to his, he knows you’ve made the right choice. He likes it when you challenge him. It makes it more fun when he wins.

“So I can do this,” he grins with a flash of his teeth.

Without missing a beat, he’s slipped both straps clean off your shoulders, leaving the dress to pool around your hips, and scoops one of your soft breasts gently into his mouth. Your breath comes sharp, a stuttered, inhaled moan that tastes as sweet to him as the ripened figs on the tray. Deliciously priceless. 

He still can’t get over you. He doesn’t think he ever could. He’s never reached a point where the sounds you make fail to set his world ablaze. He’d like nothing more than to make drawing them out of you every morning just like this his sole profession.

Reverently, his other hand brushes up your side to cradle your other breast beside it. God, they’re so soft. Namjoon is almost ashamed to admit how infatuated he is with your breasts.  It would be embarrassing if you weren’t equally in love with receiving all the attention he gives them.

What can he say? He’s a simple man. You’re the most beautiful woman in the world to him and for him? They’re perfect. Even with all the exploration the two of you have shared this past year, he knows this part of your body has got to be his favorite- your skin there is so velvet smooth and supple, so delicately sensitive, so perfectly sized for him to devour to his heart's content.

As his tongue warms the tender skin of your nipple with affection, and his thumb steadily plays with the other, he feels the muscled grip of your thighs tighten against him. The sounds you make for him as you clutch at the edge of the granite might as well be a symphony. He loves you like this. Wild and coming undone at his touch and attention. No one in the world but you and him.

“J-joon, baby.. I-“

Looking up at you through heavy eyes, entirely impressed with himself, he smiles and flicks his tongue against you again. When the jolt makes you jump, he stands to his full height above you, and sets his hands back on your sides.

“What is it, baby? You have to tell me.”

Your brows crumple in softly as you look up at him through your lashes. If you could speak, you would, but the way he plays you like an instrument with no effort at all always seems to dispose of your grace.

“But Namjoon…”  you’re trying and failing to catch your breath as both his thumbs come to lazily torment the soft swells of your chest. 

“You know what you like. You know what you want. Just tell me.”

You’ve barely got enough breath to function as it is, let alone to form a sentence. “But baby, I can’t…”

“Then I’m afraid you can’t have it.” He tuts. “Not if you can’t ask.” 

His grin is wicked, and as much you want to drown in it, something in you wants to wipe it off his pretty face.

“Not… fair…”

He runs his tongue over his teeth as he smiles.

“Really? Because to me, what’s not fair,” he grips your hips, snatching you forward that last little inch to sit snug against his hips, “is me giving you a prize you haven’t earned.”

His hands dip to cup the curve of your backside,

his fingers digging deep into the silk and softness he finds there as he continues.

“ What’s not fair is the way you teased me in this little dress last night when you knew there would be too many people around for me to enjoy it properly…”

Dipping down, his sumptuous lips brush your ear as he whispers, “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? What seeing you in this dress all night did to me?”  

As yet another lightheaded gasp leaves your lips, a dark, satisfied chuckle leaves his. 

“H-how would I know?” your air comes in shaky as he has his way with you

“You know, baby girl. You always know.”

 As his fingers dip firmly into the globes of your backside, he begins gently, just barely, rocking against you. No hurry. No fuss. Just maddening, slow pressure as he grazes you. When an airy moan comes whimpering from your lips, his strong hands tense, keeping your hips too fixed to succumb to moving with him.

“But you didn’t... say anything.”

Your eyes flutter closed as his face lowers toward yours. You can feel the brush of his lips ghosting over the edges of your cheek, his nose tracing against your skin.

“Don’t act like you couldn’t tell. You know silk always does me in.”

His fingers slip across your stomach where your dress has pooled to rest. They ghost like a whisper over your hips and down your legs until they reach the hem of your skirt. He fits his hands against your skin and drags them up achingly slowly, willing his touch to memorize the feel of your skin along the way as he pushes the fabric up inch by merciless inch- all while never stopping the insatiable way his lips move warm against yours.

His touch and his kiss are languid, unhurried, as he sets you on fire. When he reaches your thighs, his palms splay across them, his thumbs dragging along the inner swell of your legs as your vision begins to blur. 

He’s taking his time. He’s teasing you and enjoying it. It’s evident in the way he slows down the higher he gets. The way his mouth begins to travel down your throat in kisses so soft, so divinely sweet, that you swear you’re growing lightheaded from the swelling rush of pleasure.

His thumbs have made their way to the folds of your hips, his hands hidden beneath the fabric as your body lights up electric at his touch. Like if it shines bright enough for him, he might bless it with all that you know he is capable of. But even though he knows you’re more than willing, your tease doesnt satiate your body or her cravings for him just yet.

Instead, he slows down further. He fits his hands on the outer edges of your hip while his kisses turn gentle, calming, resolving, as if he has no intention of following through further after riling you up like this.

“What are you— why are you stopping?” Your eyes flit between his, a subtle , whining irritation building up beside your impatience when he doesn’t move. He’s quiet at first, in no rush to answer. As his beautiful face hovers over you, he's so smug you almost want to slap him for toying with you like this. 

But that won’t get you what you want. What you need. So Instead, you take one of his hands and press it to your breast as you guide the other toward the center of you.

He plays along at first, until his fingers are about to brush the part of you that’s positively tingling for his touch, and he abruptly pulls back, resting both of his hands on the countertop on either side of you.

“Ah, ah. That’s for when you use your words, my sweet.” He presses a kiss to your cheek, and suddenly, you’ve never been more greedy or more furious. 

Snatching at his waistband, you pull his hips forward and slip your hand over the linen to hold him. His breath catches at the back of his throat, and his eyes go wide, dumbfounded at the shift in power.

“And I said, the judge can’t tell you the answers.”

You level him with a look of quiet confidence as your fingers slip between his skin and the linen to hold him where he wants you most. His brows tip into softened u’s as the coolness of your touch brushes against him.

“Husband of the year should know what I want by now. I shouldn't have to tell him.”

You grasp him, fingers running delicately up the underside of him at the same time that you lick into his mouth. You feel him dip a bit as his knees buckle, making his hands on the counter the only thing holding him up.

“Mother of god,” he mumbles, even as his hips move in compliance with your touch. “Where did you learn that?”

“From the best,” you beam. Your smile is genuine, sweet and blindingly bright. It makes him want to take a bite out of the apples of your cheek, so he does. A playful nip that has you giggling and him pressing his lips together in fondness. 

The moment is sweet, until you catch his eyes with that same saccharine smile on your face, and take your hand away. His mouth opens, about to protest, until he watches you run your tongue in a long, slow stripe up your fingers before reaching back down behind his waistband to run the wet digits over his heated skin as you grasp him.

“Oh my… fuuuuck,” he exhales, his weight dropping to press into the counter. His face dips to lean against yours as he struggles to stay lucid. This feels so good, so out of nowhere, that his body is bursting to life more rapidly that he can keep up with. 

With every movement you make, he moves with you, gasping through his open mouth with every touch as he tries to keep his composure. Leaning into your forehead, he feels his nose bumping against yours as he searches for air. He feels nearly lightheaded but god, you’re incredible. Your touch feels so good- he never wants you to stop. 

Still, he wants control back though. To make you as much of a mewling mess as you’re currently making of him. He was enjoying the game you were both playing before, but he likes the feeling of winning more. However, just when he thinks he’s got a way to get the upper hand back, you ever so lightly twist your grip as you pump him, and suddenly, he can’t tell if he’s dying, ascending or blacking out. 

It feels so good so fast that he can barely remember his own name, let alone stage a coup. Your fingertips gently play with the tip of him at the top of each swell in your fluid flourish, and suddenly he can’t think of anything else to do with all this bursting excess inside of him but to kiss you. So he does. Open mouthed. Sloppy. Full of want. It feels so incredible that you can’t help but laugh brightly into his mouth, ethereally elegant, even as you wreck him. 

As you work, he can feel the way he’s growing harder with your attention, the way his blood feels like it’s singing the longer you touch him. His hips are obeying you like they belong to you, and at this point, he’s pretty sure they do. His mouth is painting your throat, adding swathes of crimson to the blooms he made before until your neck is colored with an entire bouquet of his affection. 

When he closes his eyes, the light behind them sparkles with effervescence as he listens to the quickness of your breath as you work. The sounds, the moans, the gasps you make as you touch him mingle with sounds of early morning nature and Namjoon wonders if this was what the poets meant when they described paradise. 

Pleasure is cresting over him in warm, molten waves now, and as it builds, he realizes he was wrong.

That as much as he loves your luminous eyes, your serene smile, the softness of your breasts, that those aren’t truly his favorite part of you if he’s honest. At least not right now. Not in moments like these. Because right now, with your hand wrapped around him, wrecking him with craving, that title is held by the treasure between your thighs; and as the blood rushes away from the rest of his body and swells where your hand lies, all he can think of, all he wants, is to bury himself in the wet, velvet warmth of you and never leave.

If he doesn’t get you naked with him inside you within the next three seconds, he thinks he might die.

So he does something about it.

“Open, baby. Open your legs for me,” he demands. It’s firm, commanding, but his eyes are so full of needy want that it’s hard to say who’s really in charge right now. 

Pushing your hand away and placing it on his chest, Namjoon kicks down his linen trousers and slides up your dress as you obey. He springs out, the length of him pressing into the meat of your thigh. It has you whimpering before you can catch yourself.

“God, I knew you were a smart boy. You’d figure it out eventually,” your voice is teasing, but your face is so dizzy, so desperate for him, that he could give you the whole world if you asked.

“You ready for me, baby?” His eyes are half blown with lust, his lashes hanging heavy as he runs his fingers over your opening, before collapsing against your shoulder. “ Oh my god.”

“What is it, Joon?”

“Nothing. I just,” he chuckles once, “I don’t think I’ll ever get over how wet you get for me.”

With no hesitation, he slips two fingers inside you as your belly contracts. Gasping his name, you can’t help but cling to him as light shoots through your body at the incredibly welcome feeling of his hands there.

“Nam- Namjoon, ah!” Wrapping your hands around his shoulders, you can feel your nails dig into his sturdy flesh as he begins rocking you with a motion so good, so fluid you fear you may simply float away and never touch the ground again.

“Yes, baby? What is it?” 

“You. I want you. Please.”

“You have me, baby.” His teeth are gritted in focus as he works you, his brow dipped low as he watches how easily you come undone with his attention. Warmth gushes over his fingers as he feels your walls contract in tandem with the tug of your hands in his hair. The sting is sharp and sublime as you grasp him tight with every part of you.

“Inside. Come inside. Need you. Now,” you plead. Your other hand trickles down his torso to the soft hair above his member before holding him firmly with a twist of your hand. He moans, hips canting into your delicate palm.

Namjoon doesn’t need to be told twice. Slipping his fingers out of the way, he scoops you safely to the edge of the island, one large hand stroking himself and guiding him to line up with your eager entrance.

The essence of you coats the tip of him without any effort, your body unfolding, so relaxed for him, as he easily begins to slip inside you. It’s so abundant that the slide is effortless, helping him bottom out almost immediately within you. Your head falls back in wonder as he does, your hands quickly planting against the cold counter to catch you. 

Wow. God, Namjoon’s body always has a tendency to overwhelm you, no matter how many times you get caught up in each other like this. You still can’t get over that. Honestly, it would be impossible to when he’s built like he is. 

He’s broad everywhere- that’s obvious to anyone. But here, he’s long and thick, with thighs like tree trunks powering each movement as he glides inside you. Any other time, you might have needed his help to adjust, for him to take his time to warm you up, but this morning? Your body is ready for him, and he knows it. 

It’s unfolding itself for him like a bloom to the sun, and he’s reverent enough to return its worship. You’re so wet that he can feel it trickling down his hip as he pistons into you, and he regrets not dipping down to sample a taste of it before coming inside. But now that he’s here, there’s absolutely no way he’s leaving the warmth of your walls until you're both falling over and spent.

Your ankles are crossed behind him, pulling him as close as you can get him, and his face is pressed against your neck and collarbone as both your hips work in dizzy tandem. The sensation of it sends his consciousness swirling as the pressure in his abdomen builds.

He’s convinced now that you’re a real, actual goddess. There’s no way you could make him feel this divine if you weren’t. Your ambrosia coats his thickness, spilling over him as he thrusts harder, deeper, tilting his hips to curve against that spot inside you that—

“Oh! God! Joon,” you yelp. “Yes, don’t stop.”

His grin is infectious. You can feel it against your skin as you pull him tighter, rocking in time with him as your euphoria builds. Your laugh is bright, sparkling as he licks his fingers and slips them swirling over the sensitive burst between your legs. Your breath catches, his name and profanity tumbling from your lips in equal measure.

You’re not sure how much more of this you can take. Your senses are on overload, your vision darkening around the edges as the pleasure he paints across your body escalates rapidly. Somewhere far off, you can hear his voice. His mouth is near your ear, his breath cooling your skin that’s become sticky with sweat, but you can’t understand, can’t wrap your brain around what he’s saying…

Until you realize that even fully coherent, you’d still be lost because your forever intoxicating husband has slipped back into his native tongue. You love it when this happens. With his senses so thoroughly drowning in you,  translating language just becomes too hard a thing to manage, so the harder and deeper he goes, the lower the bass in his voice becomes as he mumbles in korean against your ear.

You’ve learned enough to catch words like “beautiful” “perfect” and “God, I love you,” but the rest remain a mystery as he captures the innermost parts of your body for himself with swift, perfect strokes of his hips. The depth he’s reaching right now has you in raptures. It has your breath coming in short gasps as your breasts bounce buoyantly with each...incredible… thrust he delivers.

You won’t last much longer. You know it. And All you can think right now is how badly you want to look in his eyes when you come- which you know will happen any second now.

  Between his touch, his voice, the indescribable way he moves his hips when he’s inside you, and the crescendo you feel from the spot he’s internally caressing right now, you know you’re only moments away from dissolving into the atmosphere, yet all you want is more of him.

“Joon, baby, I’m so close. Look at me. Please,” you move one of the hands supporting you to hold his face and bring it to yours.

God, that please of yours. It flows so naturally from your lips when he has his way with you. He doesn’t know how to describe what it unleashes in him, but he knows it never fails to wreck him. “Shh, let go, baby girl. I’m right here. I got you.” 

Before he can think, he’s kissing you deeply, his tongue insatiable as he tastes you. He alternates between kissing you and pulling back to catch your eyes. The depth of affection in his gaze warms you brilliantly from the inside even as you swear you can practically feel his thrust against the underside of your lungs. 

His once seamless rhythm has become all feel and nuance. All order is long lost as he makes his last powerful dives into the depths of you. You can feel it- the tightness in his body, the firm set in his jaw, the profound depth of his voice as he praises your body in Korean. If you were to die like this, caught up in Namjoon’s impeccably loving, gracious body, you wouldn’t have a single regret.

There’s nothing more you could ask for. 

The glittering sensation pulsing through your body let’s you know it’s almost time to surrender, and you’re ready to come undone. Surely, there could be nothing more blissful than this— until Namjoon takes the hand he’s kept gripped around your waist and slips it up to your throat.

Your eyes go wide. 

He really was paying attention. Husband of the year, indeed. 

And just like that, the express trip to ecstasy nearly slams into your body. His eyes are locked on yours. He’s muttering a soft “good girl” and “that’s it, baby” as he works his powerful hips into you. He has one hand clamped firm and perfect below your jaw along your throat, and the other dancing elegantly along the bundle of nerves between your legs. He takes those fingers into his mouth to wet them, his face crumpling in a satisfied moan at the taste of you on his skin, before slipping them back where they belong. 

It’s altogether too much and you are lit up sparkling as the combined sensation of it all builds with the warmth of his body against you, within you. 

“Come for me, baby,” he says it clear and firm, his touch generous to help ease you over the edge. 

“Only if you come with me,” you breathe. Your eyes meet his as you try to find something to hold on to as the tension in you crests. 

He smiles then. All dimples and sweet eyes and perfect lips. He places a sweet kiss on your cheek beside your lips, and that’s all it takes to ruin you.

You feel your body contract around him in bliss as his name spills from your mouth. Making love to Namjoon has never felt commonplace, but there’s something about today. About him. About the sweetness of this morning in the middle of your perfect hidden home with him that makes you burst not only with pleasure, but with love. 

As your orgasm washes over you, you feel illuminated from within like the sun is glowing out of your skin as your body melts against him.

“I love you,” you whisper. “You’re so perfect.”

As your body floats back down from wherever you just astral projected from bliss, you can feel that his body is just a breath away from tipping over the edge itself. He’s pulling back, pulling out, intending to spill himself elsewhere, but in that instant, you realize you don’t want that.

Your memory flashes back to your wedding day. To the moment those hideous people decided to squawk about your child-rearing, heir-producing duty just hours after your vows, and Namjoon had cut them off immediately at the jump and whispered,” don’t pay them any mind. That happens when you’re ready. Not a second before,” soft against your ear. 

It was one of the first instances that made you realize what a good man he was. How willing he was to put your readiness, your comfort, before anyone or anything else. And now, as you take him in, as you remember how truly and deeply you love him, you realize you’re ready for there to be more.

You’ve had countless discussions with him about starting a family, and everytime, without missing a beat, his answer has always been, “whenever you’re ready, I’m ready.” 

You've come to learn over this past year that he’s wanted nothing more than to become a dad since he was a small boy.

You’ve gotten to witness how fun, gentle and gracious he is with his nephews. With Jimin’s daughter, his sweet godchild. For a year, you’ve watched him be good and kind to any child he meets, patient with you, subdued as he hides the depth of his desire to be a father behind his dimpled smiles and suave redirection when you bring it up. 

He’s been willing to wait for you. He never pushes. He never demands. And in this moment, as you study the face of the incredible man who’s welcomed you into his heart and his home, all you want is to begin the journey to give him what you know he will never ask for, even though it’s what the secret parts of his heart want the most. 

“Namjoon,” you whisper,” don’t. It’s okay. You can finish inside me.” You caress his face lovingly as his eyes go wide. 

“Really? But baby… I… what…” Your eternally eloquent man has gone slack jawed in his loss for words as his hips begin to still.

“It’s okay,” you nod. “I want you to. I want to feel you.” You kiss the dip of his dimple.

“Are you sure? i-“ he stumbles before you lovingly cut him off.

“I think it’s about time we start trying for our family, don’t you?” You whisper. Your fingers thread through his hair, brushing it out of his eyes as his face beams with light. His shoulders and chest are shaking with laughter as his eyes flit between yours and he smiles.

“You’re serious, aren’t you?” His hands slip up to cradle your face, the most beautiful mixture of excitement and relief and the purest joy making his misty eyes look brilliant in the early light.

“Absolutely,” your voice is soft as you tip your nose against his. Your smile is all pearls and laughter as you reach to grab the full apples of his ass and push him into you.

He’s laughing and smiling and gasping when you do, before happily resuming the final few thrusts he would need to send himself over the edge.

“Use me, baby,” you whisper, eyes alight with the gentle seduction that always ruins him. “I want to feel you when you finish.”

Biting his lip, he swallows and nods, almost too eager, but you’re beautiful and warm and you’ve gotten so tight around him and he can’t help himself. He’s close. He’s already soo close. He’s spent nearly this whole morning trying to contain himself inside you despite the absolutely mind numbing feel of you, and here you are telling him to let go? It’s impossible that you’re real.

Pulling his face to you, he realizes you’re kissing him. Your honey sweet tongue has made a home in his mouth. Your soft breasts brush his chest with every thrust. Your hands are clutching his back and in his hair. Your heels pressed into the back of his legs to pull him close, and now he knows you want to carry his baby.

To allow your body to grow and change just to hold his seed, start his family and realize his dream of not only being a husband to you but a dad to your babies. He’s so in love with you. So maddeningly, ridiculously, stupidly, over the moon in love with you, and all at once, it’s happening.

His release is coming, strong and quick, and he can finally drown in the feeling of it happening while you surround him. His body is reeling at the burst of perfection he feels from losing himself in you like this. The cloud like swells of your thighs pressing around him might very well be the only thing holding him up.

“Oh my god. Oh my god, I love you.” His face is buried in your neck, your chest, your hair, your cheeks- everything all at once- his full lips dropping kisses on your skin like stars falling from heaven. 

When he pulls back to look at you, he can’t even put what he’s feeling into words. But it’s okay. Because you know. He can see it in your eyes.

Cradling his face, you smile up at him, eyes glossy and happy. “You ready?” 

“To have a baby with you?” His voice falters as his smile grows so wide his eyes nearly disappear. “There isn’t anything I want more.”

Pressing his forehead to yours as he hugs your waist, you both press your noses together and laugh. Overcome with something almost too sweet to simply be called happiness. The word seems too small to encompass it all.

“Maybe I’m not husband of the year yet, cause I definitely didn’t see that coming.” He chuckles.

“Oh shut up. I know you felt how you made me finish. You’re just showing off at this point.”

“I can’t have my baby girl leave anyway but satisfied with me.” He winks, and you smack his chest lightly.

“I’d be mad at you for being so smug if you weren’t actually as great as you think you are,” you scrunch your nose at him as he laughs.

“Well, if there are any areas of improvement I can work on, let me know. I hear I'm about to have a lot of time to workshop your suggestions.” Namjoon lovingly nips at your collarbone, and you tingle in bliss at the thought of how many more moments like this lie in your near future.

“Duly noted. On that note then, I feel compelled to point out that what you just did counted as an excellent submission for husband of the year.”

“Oh really?” He licks his lips slowly as you nod.

“Remember- you can make as many entries as you want.”

“Yeah?”

“Oh yeah. Limitless,” you assent. 

“Good to know. I’ll keep it mind,” he smirks, dipping down to lift the fullness of one of your breasts into his hand as he gently kisses the top of the swell of flesh. You sigh into his kiss. This is going to be a spectacular journey— you can already tell.

“Namjoon.”

“Hmm?” His eyes perk up, though his mouth never leaves its preoccupation with your bare chest.

“Is this… is this okay? I hope I didn’t spring this on you too soon or… I don’t know...too out of the blue? Because your comfort is important too, and I—“

You’re swiftly cut off by the sweet press of Namjoon’s delicious lips against yours. “Shh. Yes, I want this. More than anything.”

“So my timing wasn’t—“

“No. It was perfect. You’re perfect,” he kisses the tip of your nose as your lips bloom into a smile. “And if we are going to try to fill that cute belly of yours with a baby, then maybe… maybe this shouldn’t just be a weekend visit.”

Tipping your head to look at him, you feel your brows scrunch. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, this has always been our getaway spot. A place to stay safe and lie low when things get jumpy in the city. A place to take you when we want to be alone. Truly be alone. But if…” he hesitates, lacing your hand with his and pressing a kiss to the back of it. “If you’re going to be carrying my baby, I want to keep you safe. I promised you that the day I met you- I’d never let anything happen to you. It’s been risky enough to have you in the city all this time as it is.”

“So...what exactly are you suggesting, love?” You run your thumb lovingly over his knuckles.

“I’m proposing if you do get pregnant, we move you out here. Permanently. Or at least somewhat long term.”

“Wait…” you pull away, eyes clouding as you do. “Alone? Without you?”

“No. No. I didn’t word that right. I’d be here as much as i can, and I’d send the security detail to stay out here whenever I have to leave so—“

“Namjoon, I don’t want to be all the way out here by myself. Surely, that’s not necessary.”

He frowns as he tries to gather his thoughts. “This is coming out wrong...You wouldn’t be fully by yourself. I’d be here as much as I can. I just... want you protected. Safe. And out of the city while you're carrying something so precious.” The backs of his knuckles graze your stomach. 

“But I don’t understand. Why—“

“I don’t want anyone to hurt you.” His voice has turned solemn, his eyes an odd shade of vulnerability when they meet yours. 

“Joon, nobody’s gonna do anything. You’ve made that city so secure-nobody could hurt me even if they tried.”

Something stormy and troubled clouds his eyes.It makes you wonder if there are things he hasn’t told you. Things he’s kept to himself to ensure that your life is as peaceful as possible. You wonder what kind of darkness he’s had to swallow for your sake. 

“But they have tried.”

It's news to you. 

“What do you mean… when?” 

“It’s happened a few times. Nothing ever got far enough to warrant bringing it up.”

“What on earth? Joon, why in the world wouldn’t you tell me that?” 

He sighs once, from some deep place in his bones. “Because i never wanted to have to see the look in your eyes that I do right now.”

Suddenly, any anger you held vanishes all at once. 

“Baby, why are you carrying something like that all by yourself?”

“So you don’t have to. I promised I’d keep you safe, and I meant it. That includes taking care of your peace of mind. Something you won’t have if you knew how many times someone’s shot off at the mouth about coming for you because they’re irate at me or how many times someone has done more than just talked and actually tried.”

It’s a sobering thought.

“Is that… is that the real reason why you never pushed for an heir?” For reasons you can’t explain, the idea makes you want to cry. Namjoon sees the shift immediately, his fingers ready to brush your tears before they even fall.

“Shhh, hey. No. I mean, it’s part of it. You know all I’ve ever wanted was to be a parent. When I married you, please know the idea of you being the mother of my children sent me over the moon, but I know this world. How people take what they want. Do what they want. I wanted better for you.” He runs his fingers soft over your cheek like you’re some spun glass artifact he needs to protect. 

“I wanted to be better for you than the men in this world were going to give you. I promised myself that I was never going to demand anything from you. That’s why I didn’t push for an heir. I meant it when I said we go at your pace. Always.”

Sniffling, you look up at him through wet lashes. 

“Joon, protecting me doesn’t mean you hide the truth from me.”

“Not even if it would hurt you? Scare you?”

“I knew what I was signing up for when I agreed to marry you. It’s so kind of you to try to take these burdens so I don’t have to, but then who carries them for you? That’s my job. You have to let me do it.”

Closing his eyes, he exhales long and slow through his nose. 

“You really mean it, don’t you? You really want to know.”

“Yes,” you nod, caressing his face. He looks troubled. You’d give anything to help take some of his cares away.

“Then you should know why we came to the villa this weekend.”

“So it wasn’t just for a getaway?” You brace yourself for whatever it is you’re about to hear.

“It is, and it isn’t. I guess I have to go back a bit for this to make any sense, but my family isn’t from here. You know that. Our roots don’t go back as many generations as yours do, so when the new kid on the block started gaining power in this city faster than anyone had seen before, there were a lot of families that weren’t happy about it.

Especially not when the daughter of one of the oldest families in the city became my bride. There had already been a lot of grumbling against me before I made such a powerful ally, and there were certainly plenty after. Anything we’d stumbled on over the last few months had been mostly hearsay, but…”

“What is it, Joon?” You're worried now. You can hear the way his voice sounds choked.

“There was a deal that went wrong a few weeks back. Just a skirmish with some lower level captains that got out of control, but I thought I’d put a pin in it. Turns out the other family involved hadn’t let it go like I thought …” he stops, eyes going cold as color drains from his face.

“Baby, it’s okay. You can tell me,” you reassure. 

Closing his eyes, he licks his lips and takes a deep breath, his voice lower, raspier when he continues. “There was a hit put out on you this past week.

You’re shocked. “There— what?”

”It’s okay now. Jungkook caught intel on it soon enough that he crushed it before the people responsible could hurt you, but I've never seen anyone get this close. Y/n, I couldn't breathe when he told me. When I found out, I nearly lost my mind. I called you immediately to make sure you were safe— I couldn’t breathe til I heard your voice.”

You had no idea he’d been through that. You can’t imagine what you would have done if the roles were reversed, if you’d been seconds away from losing him. It would’ve shattered you. You’re not sure how he’s still standing.

“Once I knew you were okay, the first thing I could think was that I needed to get you out of town as fast as I possibly could. Something’s building in that city, y/n. The lower families are tired of their rank. They’re itching to get back any sort of power they can- it’s making them reckless. There’s rumors of a war building…I’d dismissed it so far. Didn’t think they were a real threat until they had the nerve to try something like this. We squashed it, but this was too close, and I’m not willing to risk you.”

Realization dawns across your face. “That’s why we left with less than an hour's notice. I’d thought you were just being romantic about a weekend getaway but ...That’s why we came to this safe house and not the one on the edge of town, isn’t it?”

His eyes fall away as he nods, “That’s why our security detail was thicker than usual.”

“But I've hardly seen anyone.”

“That’s on purpose. I didn’t want to scare you.  Didn't want to draw attention to a whole parade leaving town so I had them follow us at a distance. They’re stationed all around the property and schooled to stay out of sight.”

“What about the boys? Was it safe to have them here this weekend with their wives? Their girlfriends? Didn’t we put them in danger?” Your rounded eyes betray the sudden guilt you feel for what you thought had been such a beautiful night.

“Shh, no. Hey, they’re fine. I had them all moved out to safe houses not too far from here with a security detail on them too. They’re just a few miles from here. That’s why I didn’t feel bad about them driving out last night- they didn’t have to go all the way back to the city, just to our guest houses and then their safe houses in the morning….I’m having them all lie low for a little while. Figured they’d want their girlfriends and wives as close to their side as I want mine. Thought having them over was a good distraction for a night.”

You had no idea. Something cold runs up your spine at the thought that this weekend, this beautifully perfect day could’ve been so different. Or perhaps not even happened at all. 

Slipping your dress back into place, you cover yourself. It feels wrong to have this conversation half naked. Namjoon seems to sense it too as he pulls his pants back on. He offers to help ease you down from the counter, picking you up and placing you gently on the whitewashed floorboards, making sure you’re steady before he lets you go. 

Under any other circumstances, you’d laugh at how he has to make you sure you’re stable enough not to keel over where you stand after blessing you with an orgasm so bright it makes your soul radiate around your body. Now though, you find your hand cradling your lower belly, feeling entirely naive for thinking now was the time to bless the world with Namjoon’s child. You should say something, but the words get stuck in your throat…. you feel like a fool.

“I’m gonna make us some coffee, yeah? You want a cup?” Namjoon offers softly. When you look up, he looks so worn out all of a sudden. Like he’s somehow aged years during the course of this conversation. Like he really does need a cup of coffee, if not something stronger.

“Sure, baby. I’ll take one.”

Nodding, he presses a kiss to your forehead before he plugs in the black gooseneck kettle you’d gotten him for his birthday. The gift had been simple, thoughtful, and if he was honest, it was the best present anyone had ever given him.

He practically survives on black coffee most days. At the beginning of your marriage, he was always long gone before you rose most mornings, so in an attempt to slow him down and have more time with him, you’d gotten him a pour over set and a gooseneck kettle to replace his old instant apparatus.

He wondered if you were aware of all the additional gifts it had given him along the way....It required time to steep and brew. Time he’d never given himself before he met you. The methodology of it soothed him, provided his mornings with a small structure and routine he’d never had in a lifestyle marked by so much chaos. 

Taking the time to make his absolutely necessary coffee this way helped wake him up gently, slowed him down enough for you to have the time to slip out of bed and catch him before he was gone, to hold him while he prepared it. To remind him of the precious reason he needed to be careful while he was out that day. 

As the water boils, he turns his back to you. He feels himself melt when your arms wind around him. Softly, you press a kiss between his shoulder blades before your touch slips away as quietly as it appeared. The subtle sounds of your footsteps fading as you walk away and the gentle buzzing of the kettle are all that fill the room in the silence between you.

Namjoon sighs as he turns, his arms crossed as he leans against the counter to watch you.  Without a word, you silently procure a hearty loaf of fresh,crusty bread from the pantry and begin to slice it for breakfast. As your head tips down in concentration, he watches your untamed hair fall in your eyes. It’s beautiful the way it frames your face. It makes something squeeze in the center of his chest.

Crossing the room, he comes to stand beside you, lightly brushing your hair back into place for you with his hand. You still in your task, closing your eyes and leaning into his touch.

“Namjoon?”

“Yes, baby?” 

“If it’s this dangerous…” your voice is barely above a whisper, “this unsafe… does that mean we shouldn’t have a baby?” When you look up at him, your eyes are starlit with tears. Your hands are trembling, and he hates to see you so sad.

“No. You’re ready, and I want a family,”’he soothes.

“But… but if there’s this much risk, how can our child ever have a normal life? Won’t we always be afraid for them all the time? Is that selfish? To make a life that has to live in this world just because we want them to?”

He brushes his fingers over the cascade of teardrops starting to fall from your eyes. “All parents have to worry about that, y/n. This world is still a scary place even outside my line of work.”

“I know. But they don’t have to worry about a hit on their child’s life or a ransom or generation’s old grudges putting their child at risk....They just have to worry about whether or not a child in their daughter’s class has a peanut allergy because little ashley will only eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches right now and nothing else.”

You’re talking with your hands as Namjoon gives you a smile that’s equally warm and sad. “That’s a really specific scenario.”

“I went through a phase in first grade, okay?”

He finds your eyes until you laugh before pulling you in tight against his chest. “First of all, that’s adorable. We’ll address that again later because little y/n sounds incredibly cute. And secondly,” he sighs,” you grew up in this world- the same as me- and we both survived. Having a child is expected of us, yes, but if that’s not what you want... it doesn’t have to happen. But, if we both want one… if being a mom will make you happy, then I’m going to find a way to give you that.” There’s a heaviness about him right now. An authority resigned to accept whatever fate weighs on your heart the most as he watches your eyes fill with questions.

“But won’t we be afraid for them all the time? I feel so naive for only thinking of how much I’d like to meet them, how much I’d love them just because they’re a part of you, when I should have known better.”

“That’s not naive. That’s beautiful. No matter what they’re like, we’ll love them. Because they’re ours.”

“What if they don’t want any part of this world? They should have a choice… but can I even give them one or will their only option be serving as the new head of the Kim family one day?” Your face looks stricken. “Did you get to choose?” Your watery eyes flit up to his. 

He swallows, face stony as you survey him. “I did what I had to do so our life can look however we want it to,” he’s sighing again, worn out out by memories you may never see. “Look, you’re my wife, and I’m your husband. As far as I’m concerned, we’re the ones get to decide what’s right for us, y/n. I’ve told you that, and I meant it- that extends to our children too. Their lives don’t have to look like what anyone else wants but them. I don’t care if they want to be painters or accountants or captains in the family. They get to shape the life they want. That’s what I’ve worked so hard for.”

You feel your eyes flutter shut in relief on their own accord. Of course he’s already thought this through to this degree. When has your Namjoon ever done anything less? It soothes your mind to know he’s taken the time to lay the groundwork so you don’t have to. Still though, questions you’re ashamed didn't occur to you sooner rattle through your head and spill from your mouth.

“Do they have to spend their life in boarding school like I did? Are our only options to send them away or be scared for them every day?

“Y/n, no. We’ll find what works for our family. I want that with you- figuring that out and watching them grow. I’ll keep you both safe. However I have to. I promise you.” His thumb brushes over your ring as he holds your hand against his chest. “I promised you.”

And just like that, it hits you all over again- how much you love this man. How deeply you trust him with every fiber of your being. How you couldn’t have found a better man to love you if you’d tried. You two are it for each other- you’ve known it since the day you met him on the steps.

“It’s going to be okay,” he whispers, kissing your knuckles,”... but, y/n?”

Your eyes flit up to meet his. “Yes, love ?”

“I meant what I said. If this is all too much, if this scares you, we can wait.” His brown eyes are so deep and sincere. You know every part of him means it, and it’s precisely because of that, that you say the words you do.

“No. I want this. All of this. With you. We’ll figure this out,” you nod, gently pulling the back of his neck down so your foreheads are touching. “I want to have a baby with you. I’m all in, if you are.”

You can feel the rush of tension that leaves his body. He wraps you in his arms, so close and secure, and something innocent comes from him that you don’t think you’ve ever heard.

“God, you know I am. Thank you.”

His voice is as robust and full as always, but his eyes… there’s something so young and soft and terrified in them. Like the weight of all he’s been carrying alone has crashed down on him all at once. “I’m so excited to have a baby with you if it happens. And it’s okay if it doesn’t. But I can’t wait to try.”

You’re nodding and crying, and you realize something that perhaps has never dawned on you before. This is the first time you’ve seen him truly this vulnerable. He’s always so strong, so composed. Too busy holding up an entire empire and caring for you to let his walls fully fall. 

But as he buries his face in your neck, you suddenly feel dampness pooling against your skin and realize he’s crying. You wonder how you got here on a morning that had been so serene and full of bliss. Bliss you now realize has come at a price.

“I was so scared I'd lost you the day we came here.” Slipping your hand into his hair, the other soothes his back as he clings to you tighter. “I'm so glad you’re okay. You’re so smart. I know you are. You don’t make reckless mistakes when you’re out— you take good care of yourself— but I was so afraid. My heart dropped when Jungkook told me what he’d heard. He couldn’t calm me down until I heard your voice on the phone.”

Stroking his hair, you recall the phone call just a few days ago. How strangled and out of breath he’d sounded. How you’d asked if he was okay, and he’d simply said he was now.

“It’s okay. I’m right here. It’s okay.” 

He takes a moment to collect himself, pressing you so close you may fuse together. It’s unguarded, and precious. Something you know both of you treasure as he nuzzles into your skin in that space along your neck where his face perfectly fits.

It’s as simple as that. You both stay like this for as long as you can, secure in his embrace, your breathing settling until it’s nearly in sync. It’s peaceful for you, cathartic for him. It’s a moment framed by a different kind of intimacy than the one you both shared in this very room less than an hour ago. 

He shows no sign of letting you go until the kettle begins to howl for him from across the room. When he does, his fingers trace the silk fabric along your waist as his lips kiss your forehead. He takes one more heavy breath before he squeezes you in release to tend to the coffee.

“Cream and sugar?” He asks, his voice thicker than usual.

“Always,” you answer.

And so the morning resets itself. 

The day shifts into afternoon. The sun drifting higher, brighter, casting the shadows and ridges of Namjoon’s sculpted body in almost Grecian relief as he carefully pours the water for both of you over the coffee grounds. You finish slicing the crackling bread loaf and bring it to the table to place it beside the remnants of Seokjin’s charcuterie board. 

It’s only when you catch sight of your lacy table cloth that you remember the accident that started the whole morning to begin with. You’d both gotten so preoccupied with each other that you never made it any further than cleaning his shirt and not the rest of the disaster.

Smiling to yourself, you gently slide the cloth off the table and fill the sink with cold water to soak it. Looking over at your husband, you realize wine stains still swirl over the front of Namjoon’s linen pants. There’s a very good chance those are fully set now, but just in case, you might as well try to fix them. 

So, gently, you hook a finger into his waistband and tug. “Let me have these.”

“Round two all ready? Greedy girl.” He winks, his voice soft as follows the drip of his Colombian roast.

“No, smart girl. We did a terrible job of getting you cleaned up.” You pop the p at the end of the word as you snap the elastic on his pants.

Looking a bit lost, Namjoon glances down to see the lovely pastel splashes of rosé running clean down the front of his pants. He’d been too busy to notice once you’d gotten him out of them. Blushing for no reason other than the embarrassment of you having to clean up his foibles, Namjoon dips down to remove the trousers, leaving himself looking statuesque and unreasonably gorgeous in nothing but a pair of black boxer briefs in the afternoon light as he tends to the coffee.

You feel terribly immature over how quickly affected you are by the sight of him in his current predicament and carefully take the pants from him, only to turn abruptly in search of some fresh air and relief. Namjoon catches your equally flustered state, smiling to himself, but doesn’t acknowledge it out loud. This spell of quiet that’s settled over the room is too peaceful to break.

Once the coffee’s done, he brings both your cups to the broad heirloom table, and you enjoy breakfast… or, he supposes, brunch at this point...together in the stillness. Every bite you take is piled high with prosciutto and fig while Namjoon drizzles honey on his slices of bread. 

It’s peaceful, idyllic. Tranquil enough to forget the world that awaits him back in the city.

It’s funny, the duality of his life. How easy it becomes in moments like these to lean into the simplicity of breakfast with his lover and ignore the undulating danger and uncertainty awaiting him in the rest of his world. It makes him realize how much he’s come to covet exchanges like this when he gets to feel like you’re just two people in love and nothing else. 

As his eyes trace over you, he promises himself to do everything in his power to make sure your life with him is hallmarked by sweet pockets like these. As many of them as he can give you. 

At some point Namjoon pushes up to get the carafe of orange juice from the fridge, and after assigning your more capable hands the job of opening the champagne, you both polish off your brunch with the tinkling clink of your toasting mimosa glasses. 

Once your bellies are full and satiated, Namjoon looks up at you. His elbows are propped up on the table, chin contentedly resting in his hands. There’s a question hidden in the corner of his lips as his eyes glisten with mischief.

“So… what else do you have in mind for your agenda today, my bride?” He reaches across the table to grab your hand, kissing the back of your palm as you giggle and roll your eyes.

“Well if you must know... I'm thinking I might give my sister a call. See if she’d be willing to come pay me visit.” You offer, pushing one of the last grapes around the corner of the board, avoiding the way Namjoon’s eyes shine. 

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah,” you shrug nonchalantly. “Maybe she could come stay in one of the guest houses. Potentially. Once I move out here. Whenever that may be.” 

“So my baby won’t be alone when I’m gone?” His dimples are popping in his cheeks as his smile spreads wide. It’s a brilliant idea to bring her out here with you until Namjoon can finesse a way to be by your side 24/7. He wonders why he didn’t think of it sooner. Probably because you’re as smart as you are beautiful. 

“Neither of your babies.” You crinkle your nose as you smile back at him. 

“I like the sound of that,” he’s beaming back at you, happy and light. His eyes are misty with emotion he can’t hide, and it only makes you love him more.

“Me too.”

“So, how would you feel about getting to work as soon as possible then?” His eyebrows bounce salaciously your way, and you can’t help but giggle.

“Is that what you want?” 

“If it’s what you want. Always.” Namjoon licks his lips and a crackle of electricity shoots up your spine. The parallels to how this morning started are not lost on you. It makes something in you thrill with excitement.

“Well, I would love to take a bath. Our activity this morning was excellent, but I must say you left a bit of a sticky mess in your wake.” 

“Sorry,” Namjoon ducks his head bashfully.

“So I’m going to break in that beautiful clawfoot tub and fill it to the brim with matcha bubble bath.”

“Mmm. With the orange blossom bath salts too?”

“Always,” you wink as Namjoon bites his lip.

“God, you always smell so good when you use that. It makes your skin so soft.” The thought of your skin fragrant and bare has his blood stirring again as his eyes rake over you.

“Well you are welcome to keep me company and read to me while I soak,” you offer nonchalantly as you walk away. You can feel his eyes on your hips as you round the corner, quickly followed by the sound of his bare feet against the floorboards.

“Or I could join you in the water.”

When he responds, his voice is closer than you expected it to be. He’s caught up to you so quickly with those long legs of his.

“Or you could finish the chapter of the book you were reading to me on the way up. You left me on such a cliffhanger when your hands got distracted on the drive. I’m dying to know what happens next.”

Biting his lip, that wicked gleam is back in his eyes at the memory of the drive up and the things the two of you got up to in the privacy of the tinted, shielded back seat.

“Fair enough, but I get to join after.” His hand is forceful where it slips across your waist. You tumble into him, wanting nothing more than to let him win and start this game all over again, but you had a feeling you were winning this round, and you like to win.

“I can promise you no such thing. We’ll just have to see how the day goes,” you shrug, dismissing him completely to climb the stairs.

As much as he enjoys the view, Namjoon loves the play for dominance more: it’s cute on you. Too bad he’s still got the upper hand. He catches you on the stairwell, turning you around to face him. His hand ghosts down the front of your silk draped stomach directly to the dip between your legs.

 He places enough pressure to catch your sensitivity there, smiling something wicked at the sound of your sharp inhale. He already knows how delicate you are after you’ve already finished once until he warms your body up again. The prospect of starting this dance all over again has him stiffening with delight against your leg when he feels the familiar slip of your essence help the fabric glide beneath his touch.

“Oh baby girl, you have no idea how well this day is gonna go.” His voice has dipped to an octave reserved only for the devil as he smiles at you and lifts you off the stairs and into his arms.

You squeal at the suddenness of it, wrapping your arms securely around his neck so you don’t fall. He just chuckles, something throaty and dark, as he carries you up the stairs and down the hall to the sunlit bathroom. 

Setting you on the counter, he turns to start the bath- scooping in bath salts, pouring your bubbles, raising the blinds so the room is flooded with light. He doesn’t want to miss a single look on your beautiful face when he has his way with you for a second time today.

Not once has it occurred to you to move from the spot where he put you. Instead, you sit perfectly still on the bathroom counter, feeling your nails dig into your palms, your teeth sink into your bottom lip as you watch him. Your pulse is already thrumming with anticipation all over again. 

When he turns back to you, you can see clear evidence of his arousal reshaping itself beneath his black briefs, and suddenly, despite your meal, there’s something else entirely that you want in your mouth. He catches the hungry way your eyes follow him as he walks back to you.

“Can I help you, baby?” His laugh is warm, even if his eyes are sinister. It’s all you can do just to nod your head and slip your fingers forward to tug at his waistband. When it begins to fall, you slip down to the floor, catching him off guard entirely. Not in a million years did Namjoon didn't plan on this course of events, but he certainly isn't unhappy about it. 

Namjoon leans back against the counter in the spot you’d just been sitting in as your hands grasp onto the muscular ridges of his toned legs. You set to work kissing his golden skin on his thighs slowly, indulgently, enjoying yourself as you go. 

You’ve always been weak in the knees for his absurdly gorgeous legs. They’ve only gotten more toned in the last year just like the rest of him, and between his dimples, his arms, his chest, and his legs, it’s hard to know where to begin. Or it would be if there wasn’t something hard and beautiful staring you in the face.

Namjoon is in heaven watching this unfold from above. When you slip him into your mouth, he feels all his rational thought go dark. He’s helpless to do anything but cave in. God, the two of you are like rabbits, but honestly, how can you not be when you make him feel like this? He begins to lose himself in the soft rhythm you create, something lazy and hypnotic, that makes him feel weightless.

He can barely hold himself, but every second is worth it. All he can do is luxuriate in the way you take your time as you bless him. At least, that’s how he always thinks of it because it’s truly nothing short of divine. 

He can’t tell if it’s been a few minutes or an eternity when all of a sudden, you’re abruptly letting him slip from your mouth with a pop and a sultry smile. The cool air rushing against him nearly startles him in the wake of the warmth he’d been cocooned in while your tongue did its incredible work. Because just as quickly as you started, you’re gone. 

He realizes then that the floor is wet. Apparently, You’d both gotten so lost in each other that the water in the tub had spilled over its edges and he hadn’t even noticed. Also, at some point during all this, you must have slipped out of your dress, because you’re lowering yourself into the water now as bare as you were on your wedding night.

Namjoon swallows. His body is ramping with endorphins, and he’s so worked up it nearly hurts. As he makes his way to the tub, you stop him with a dainty hand against his lower stomach.

“Ah, ah. I asked you to read to me.” 

Your eyes are coquettishly round as you bat them up at him. He’s tempted to scoff.

“Are you serious right now? Aren’t we in the middle of something?” His face is serious, focused as he eyes your breasts floating in the water amidst the matcha- scented bubbles.

You push back against his stomach again. “Yes, we were… in the middle of that last chapter. Book. Please.”

There it is again. The “please” he’s always been so enamored by. The “please” that’s usually the product of your need for him. The one he’s so infatuated with that he’d do anything to satisfy it. The one that, up until now, he’d thought you were unaware of, yet here you are using it against him.

That’s when he knows he’s trained you too well. There’s pride sparkling in your eyes as you look up at him, and he can’t believe it. Running a hand down his face, he shakes his head at you. What has he gotten himself into with you?

“ If that’s the way you want to play it, fine,” he squints at you with playful derision. “But I’m reading to you in the tub with you when I come back.”

“Oh please do,” you coo, batting your lashes at him.

Oh, you’re good. 

Namjoon can’t help but laugh at himself as he walks to the bedroom to collect the book. When he met you a year ago- the blushing, soft spoken girl who was too nervous to meet his eyes- he definitely never would have thought that a year later you’d be sending him down the hallway fully naked and half hard to fetch your literature for you while you float in a bath. He wonders when he got so wrapped around your finger like this, but if he’s honest, he doesn’t mind.

You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to him.

 Being with you is the best his life has ever been. He’ll forever be grateful, that against all odds, you agreed to marry a man who was nearly a perfect stranger and create a life with him.

As he walks back to the bathroom, Namjoon catches a glimpse of your rosy smile flashing his way, peeking at him beyond the wall of bubbles. It fills his chest with something buoyant and light as he makes his way back to you.

There’s absolutely nowhere he’d rather be.

As he sinks down in the water behind you, more displaces, splashing out across the white wood beams and dousing your hair in the process. He apologizes profusely but instead of getting mad, you simply slip the rest of the way under the water to finish the job. When you resurface, you’re laughing so happily that your smile is the brightest thing in the room, putting even the afternoon sunlight to shame.

He pulls you to him, affection for you glowing warmly in his chest as you settle between his legs and look up at him. He kisses your forehead, his heart filled with contentment, before reaching forward to dry his hands on the closest available towel and thumbing through the book until he finds the page he marked.

The two of you stay that way until the chapter is finished and the book is closed. Until the bubbles all dissolve and the water’s gone cold. Even then, once the water is drained, you still stay wrapped in a tangle of Namjoon’s long limbs as you twist to kiss him and kiss him and kiss him.

Eventually he straightens out his legs to allow you to climb into his lap so he can find his way home again and slip inside you. Your bodies are swathed in the golden light illuminating the room as the two of you go effortlessly slow and unhurried, taking your time . 

Namjoon sinks into you, lost in the beauty of you and your connection. 

This time, your session together is marked in emotion and security. 

He knows how much you want to start a family with him, and you know how special it was for him to let his walls down, to let you know how scared he was to lose you. Both of you are in awe of not only how attracted you are to each other, but also of the caliber of human you’re currently sharing your bodies with, of how transcendent love making can feel when your hearts and hopes are as interwoven in the act as they now are with all your cards on the table.

When Namjoon finishes this time, it’s in sync with you. It’s the first time that happened for the two of you in tandem. As your eyes search his, you're both aware that this shared state of bliss is nothing short of miraculous. As story-worthy as this act has always been between the two of, this time feels different. Markedly so.

Perhaps, it’s because you’ve both dropped your guards enough to fully let the other in, in a way you hadn’t uncovered before. If the crashing of his heartbeat has anything to say about it, Namjoon would probably guess that you've both sunken so deep into each other that it was impossible for the crescendo of your orgasms  not  to crest all at once for the both of you.

Once you’ve gathered yourself enough to speak, you watch Namjoon with dazed eyes, in awe that someone as incredible as him even exists, let alone that you get to call him yours. As he slips out of you, the warmth of his seed flows out between your thighs, and some ridiculous part of you can’t help but smile.

Namjoon catches it too, and leans forward to kiss you. 

“You’re gonna be a great mom, you know that?”

Your eyes flash to meet his. Your body is spent, your emotions are big and at this point, your heart feels so filled to the brim with affection for him that you fear it won’t fit in your body anymore.

“They’re gonna be the luckiest kids in the world to have you for a dad,” you whisper with shining eyes as you touch his chest.

He dips his head, smiling so exorbitantly wide that it consumes his whole face, and all you can think is that you can’t wait to see that dimpled grin shining back at you from the face of a little boy or little girl down the road.

“By the way,” you begin as his gaze perks back up to meet yours. “You should know that we’ve tallied the votes for husband of the year.”

“Oh really?” His brows lift attentively. “Should I pack it up? Is it time to let the dream go? Surely it’s not going to a rookie this year.”

“You’d be surprised,” you tip your head. Taking his hands you place them so they’re cradling your chest. “On behalf of the board and the esteemed academy, it is my honor to present the award of husband of the year to you, Kim Namjoon.”

As he throws his head back, he bursts into a bright fit of laughter and mock cheering like you’re both surrounded by a make believe crowd. 

“Oh my goodness,” he squeezes your breasts in his palm like the globes are irreplaceable awards. “I would just like to thank all the people around the world who supported me and believed me, who shined the light of their support on me even on days when this seemed bleak. We couldn’t have made it here without you guys. This award belongs to all of you.”

He waves to the imaginary audience he’s created before pressing your breasts together and happily burying his smiling face between them. He mumbles something you can’t understand that gets lost in the downy softness of your chest as you laugh at him.

“What are you even saying down there?”

“I’m thanking the people who got me here.” He eyes you soberly like that should be obvious before breaking character and cackling at how ridiculous this is. “I can’t believe we really kept this joke going all day.”

“I can’t believe I got in the tub to clean up the mess you left earlier only to now, once again, be sticky with dried up mess.” You look ruefully between your legs.

“Hey, hey, that mess may very well become your child.” He tuts as you grin and narrow your eyes at him. 

“I don’t think that’s how this works.”

“Semantics,” he shrugs, kissing your nose. You can’t help your eye roll that follows. “Hey,” he breathes, eyes suddenly serious.

“Yes, love?” 

“Please know, whatever happens, I’ll always love you, and I’ll always take care of you. Both of you, if we’re so lucky.” The tips of his fingers rest against your lower belly, and yep. You were right. Your heart bursts clean out of your chest. You can feel the way your eyes glisten, happiness spilling from them as you get lost in Namjoon’s smile.

“I know you will, Joon. I know you will.”

-fin.

[punz4lyfe]

Pokemon Journeys Episode 108 Review

Pokemon Journeys Episode 108. Let’s review:

This. Episode. Was. Badass.

Almost everything in the episode was done perfectly; from the choreography, to the attack effects, to Lucario’s motivation, to some of the character interaction, to a lot of things, really. My favorite scene honestly had to be Lucario and Greninja’s whole moment together while Ash was talking with Goh about his connections with them, with Greninja demonstrating how more “intact” he is compared to the jackal by simply stepping into the water, their differences highlighted by Greninja’s light ripples and Lucario’s more rougher ones when he first stepped in. And when they both detected a root behind Ash, they both sprinted into action for him.

And of course, it was a real pleasure seeing Ash command Greninja again, showing how perfectly in-sync they still are. And seeing Lucario’s jealousy was joy to see since it actually gives him more of a personality and bond with his trainer, bonus points to tackling Ash for a hug at the near end of the episode. (and seeing him become closer with Greninja was poggers) Goh’s amazement to Ash and his Pokemon’s was very nice to see (now people who think Cinderace can stand a chance against Lucario can shut up) and the Ash’s second goodbye with Greninja being in the same lighting as the first one was genius. And it was cool to see some motivation from Raihan as well, giving his character a bit more depth in the process.

There was a few hiccups, of course. For one, Ash’s reunion with Greninja could’ve been a little more wholesome. Like, I don’t know, have the two hug before Ash starts asking Greninja how he’s been or something like that. And while I will give the anime the benefit of doubt and assume they plan to have Greninja appear again in the future to showcase Ash-Greninja, it just seemed super arbitrary to have all the flashbacks that depicted his super form be replaced with his regular form. And it would’ve been badass to see Ash commanding both Mega Lucario and Ash-Greninja at the same time. Same goes for Zygarde, as you think that would be something important Ash would tell Goh. Speaking of which, Ash could’ve had a proper line when he and Goh encounter the Giant Rock roots to showcase his recollection of them.

And before anyone says the Lucario sees Cinderace as a rival and/or someone equal to him in combat for when he dragged him into a sparring match, it was because there was literally no one else nearby for him to challenge since his teammates were all busy eating. I mean, who else was he gonna fight? Grookey? You can even see in Cinderace’s face when Lucario and Greninja take down the giant roots that even he knows that he could never be a match for Lucario. Geez, the signs are easy to see, people.

Anyways, I’d give this episode a 9/10. Purely badass with great character interaction. (And yes, before you ask, I don’t mind Greninja not rejoining Ash’s team. He already has 6, it’s fine enough, and they all need more time to interact with each other first anyway) Now, let’s see how all this training and development will lead off into the next episode.

[simmerandwrite]

Lower The Stakes [02] - Bucky After Dentist

Summary: Bucky Barnes still isn’t sure of his place in the world. For Haley Fisher, making new friends has always felt like a challenge. Though getting a second chance at life gave her the opportunity to reinvent herself and determine where she fit into the world again. It’s time to shift the expectations and determine what she really wants. How does that old classic go? ‘I get by with a little help from my friends.’

(Aka the post Falcon and the Winter soldier friends-to-lovers mini series no one asked for, featuring one ‘grumpy but warming up’ centenarian and one ‘coming into her own’ plus sized original character!) Ready the pre-story here

Chapter summary:  Breaking news tonight at eleven: 106 year old man has his wisdom teeth removed

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x plus size original character

Word count: 3.8k

Parts: Part 01 Part 02 Part 03 Part 04 Part 05 Part 06 Part 07

Notes/warnings: some negative self talk, anxious habits, body shaming! if you see me out interacting in the wild, it’ll be under @simmerandcry​

---

Part 02 - Bucky After Dentist

Even after her long, long shower, Haley still felt emotionally exhausted. The last thing she wanted to do was go beyond her apartment walls, although she knew she would benefit from a change of scenery and the entire day ahead belonged to her. She hoped going out and doing something would cleanse herself of the god awful dinner she had suffered through the night before.

Her mother’s voice still echoed in her mind: ‘Honey, most people who lost those five years of their life seem to be trying to catch up. Time is fleeting. Women can only safely have children before they’re 35 you know.’ 

Haley had politely tried to sail beyond that topic. Her mother’s favourite talking point - how Haley was running out of time to become a thinner and better version of herself to land a husband. 

Heather Fisher-Nelson had carried on without even an ounce of hesitation throughout their evening, as if she enjoyed needling into her daughter’s insecurities on purpose. In those moments, when her mother used every single triggering buzzword against her as they pretended to enjoy salads for dinner, Haley knew her childhood therapist would have brought up fancy words like ‘projection’ and ‘fears’ and her mother’s ‘need for control’. She would have encouraged Haley to defend herself, wearing thick skin like armour, deflecting, ignoring. 

Haley was just tired of it. Truthfully, the only reason why she maintained a relationship with her mother now was because Haley hated the idea of being left out of her brother’s life and she feared her mother would use that against her.

Liam, who had been only four when Haley vanished, was her very favourite person. Haley considered him one of the only good things that came out of her mother’s marriage to John. They had produced an absolutely charming, clever, wholesome son - who was now nine, nearly ten. Haley had literally blinked and missed five years of his life and she didn’t want to jeopardize losing any more time with him. He had nearly been enough of a reason for her to stay in Florida.

Now, she settled for visiting a few times a year and frequent FaceTime dates. Plus, when her mother and step-father were in town for whatever reason, Haley made an effort to see them just to keep the peace. If she could call it a silver lining of some sort, during this particular visit John had some sort of business event to attend to so dinner had just been Haley and her mother.

Over 12 hours later, Haley was still reeling from the entire interaction. She resisted rolling her eyes when her phone buzzed on the bathroom counter, assuming it was some follow up snide comment or a link to a ‘great deal on meal replacement shakes’. 

Instead of acknowledging whatever painful message it could be, Haley looked at herself hard in the mirror and went through the motions of her daily pep talk. What was it that her older sister Hannah always said? Positive affirmations can change your life, Hales.

“You are capable and confident,” Haley muttered to herself as she splashed water against her face. The raw skin surrounding her fingers stung as she applied her toner and moisturizer.

“You are in control of your destiny.” Trying not to wince, Haley gently applied band-aids to the worst of her chewed fingers, mentally cursing herself for leaning into that anxious habit again. What did healthy cuticles even look like?

“You are a beautiful soul who deserves love.” That one made her choke with laughter. She supposed there was some sort of trick behind faking self love but damn, her sunken eyes, frizzy hair and wide stomach made it all seem impossible on mornings when her confidence was so crushed. 

Her phone buzzed again and her shreds of laughter faded. When she read the event reminder in the notification tray, her eyes went wide as she checked the time.

Fuck. Right. She did have to leave her apartment because she had promised Bucky a ride home from an appointment. He had called her the night before to confirm, just as she was heading out to dinner.

Thank God past-Haley had enough sense to schedule the reminder in her phone for a few hours before when she needed to be there. She still had to go grab her car from the overpriced lot she paid to keep it in.

With one more heavy sigh she composed herself. This gave her something to do, this gave her a reason to get some fresh air and not spend the entire day wallowing. Instead it would be a half day of wallowing.

Yes, she was in control of her own destiny.

 -- 

Bucky had little to no recollection of the medical care he received while under Hydra’s control. Those decades of his life still felt like a strange dream - an out of body experience he couldn’t repress or clear out from his mind entirely. He knew that his body healed at a different rate than average humans but some things still felt abnormal. 

Much to his dismay, his high pain tolerance that had been a benefit to Hydra was coming back to haunt him now. It had been a very strange chance meeting a few weeks ago - travelling to meet Sharon uptown, running into Dr. Banner, and, in confidence, revealing his ongoing toothache and jaw pain. Though he wasn’t a medical doctor, Bruce knew enough about human physiology to recognize the signs of impacted wisdom teeth. 

So now Bucky found himself at a Saturday afternoon appointment with a specialized dental surgeon, a personal friend of Bruce, to have his wisdom teeth removed. They walked him through the whole procedure and although Bucky felt uncomfortable asking, Haley had kindly agreed to be his point of contact after the appointment. Even though he had accelerated healing, the medical team would not permit him to leave on his own.

It was funny, in a way. He took a strange comfort in knowing Haley was going to be waiting for him when the whole thing was over. Truthfully, he was scared out of his mind about the whole procedure. Despite what his recovery had been like in Wakanda, he knew there were leftover wounds and triggers when it came to these sorts of things. Sitting in a medical chair, taking an injection, trusting doctors - he had come far enough but Christ, he was worried about what could go wrong. 

But - he survived. After about 30 minutes of agonizingly slow progress through the entire process, and the long wait to see the doctor afterwards, he came out on the other side very alive and very much still Bucky Barnes.

Well, he was mostly himself, at least.

 --

The address Bucky had provided to Haley was super nondescript. Even after she secured a parking spot outside the building in Midtown, she couldn’t help but feel skeptical about the whole thing. Suddenly she couldn’t stop herself from doubting the information Bucky had given her or if she should trust him in the first place.

Even if they had only known each other for so long, there was something about him that made her feel like he was genuinely good. But despite that, she still had some reservations. When she buzzed into the building, she was surprised to see such a sleek, modern office ahead of her.

A straight faced nurse greeted her and confirmed her identity more than once before instructing her to sit and wait in the barren foyer. Haley did as she was told, clutching her phone in one hand while she took in her surroundings. How did she get here again? Picking up her friend Bucky from a hidden office building? Where was he getting an undisclosed procedure? 

Before she had time to let more doubts surface, someone was walking towards her. Haley tipped her head up to meet the kind gaze of who she assumed was a doctor, judging by the clipped name badge at his waist and the stethoscope hanging over his shoulders. 

“Miss Fisher?” The man motioned his head towards the hall as Haley stood, introducing himself as Dr. Kapur. He briefly explained the procedure and what had happened. 

“Just wisdom teeth?” Haley clarified, nodding along. “Is he okay?”

“Oh yes,” the doctor assured her. “James is just a special patient - given his, well, cellular recovery time. I imagine he’ll be over the pain much quicker than the average person. But..” He paused when they stopped outside the door. “Despite our previous plans, he opted to forgo the full anesthesia before the procedure today.”

Her eyes grew wide. “You mean..”

“He was awake for the whole procedure. Although we did everything we could to ensure he didn’t feel any pain during the removal, the dosage of painkillers we’ve given him now have left him a bit out of sorts.”

When he pushed through the door, Haley’s eyes flew open again when she saw Bucky sitting upright on the chair. He was holding an ice pack up against his right cheek and he was grinning at the nurse. And even though he was drooling, it didn’t seem to stop him from being especially chatty. 

“I’m tellin’ you, my friend Sam. He’s great. He’d love to take ya’out.” The gauze padding between Bucky’s teeth made it sound like he was speaking through a mouthful of marbles. 

“Uh huh. Sure, honey. Set me up with Captain America then. Give him my number,” the nurse responded playfully, taking another look at him before glancing back at the chart on the screen. “How are you feeling?”

“Light an’ fluffy,'' Bucky muttered back before turning his head. “Haley Fisher! You came.”

“You asked me to pick you up,” Haley replied quickly, taking a step further into the room.

“I know, I know.” Bucky’s head seemed to be nodding like a bobble head. “But you’re here now.”

“Yes, I am,” Haley said slowly. “You think you’re ready to go?”

Bucky’s head turned toward the doctor now, eyebrows raised. “Whattayasay?”

Haley grimaced as his words slurred. “How long will this last?” Although she found Bucky’s lighthearted rapport quite amusing, she couldn’t help but worry about how she was going to lug him home. Thank god her car wasn’t parked too far away.

“I think he is fine to be released,” Dr. Kapur said with a warm smile. “This brain fog shouldn’t last too long for him but sleep will certainly help.” He took another look at Bucky. “You aren’t in any pain currently, James?”

Bucky’s bobble head tipped side to side. “Pain.. nah. There is no pain.”

All the office staff were helpful as Haley headed to the door with Bucky. She was just grateful he was managing to walk on his own, although she did keep her hand clamped to his bicep to steady him once they got onto the sidewalk. 

God, his arms were firm.

“Wooooaaaah.” A surprised noise came from Bucky’s mouth as they approached her car, releasing his hand holding onto the ice - which promptly fell to the ground. “Look at this..”

Haley sighed and let go of him, bracing and making sure he was steady before she picked up the compress. The dirty New York sidewalk had already ruined it. When she turned her attention back to Bobble Head himself, he was leaning forward and staring through the passenger window of the vehicle.

“You have a car. In Manhattan.”

“Yes,” Haley replied as she unlocked it, reaching in front of him to open the door and encourage him inside. “Isn’t that why you recruited me for this drive home?”

It was one of the only redeeming qualities about her stepfather - strange generosity and buying Haley’s approval. John Nelson owned multiple car dealerships, rental units and a chain of motels in the Volusia County region. And when Haley got her job offer to return upstate, he had gifted her a shiny red car. It wasn’t especially fancy but he had made a point to ‘get her something nice’. The whole thing had made Haley roll her eyes more than once but she knew she had to be grateful.

Not that having a car in Manhattan was necessary, she supposed there was a time and a place when it came in handy. Like when your newish friend needed a supervised ride home from the oral surgeon.

By the time Haley made it to the drivers side of the car, Bucky was slumped over in his own seat with his head lolled to the side, looking at her. 

“I recruited you for this task.. ‘Cause I trust you,” he muttered, eyes closing slowly. 

Haley wasn’t entirely sure how to respond to that. She wondered how Bucky could deem her as trustworthy already, considering they still barely knew each other. Maybe it was her energy or the fact that she was so seriously non-threatening as a person. It made her pause for another few seconds too, because she had to think if she trusted him. 

She decided that yes, she did trust Bucky. 

She couldn’t pinpoint why because it was all kind of crazy. A sane person wouldn’t go into a strange building and pick up some former superhero from his secret appointment. Then voluntarily get in a car with them.

Although, as she looked over at Bucky, softened features and swollen cheeks included, she couldn’t help but smile at the sight. Sane was overrated.

“Hey.” She nudged him gently with her elbow. “Stop drooling on the leather. And I don’t even know your address so I need some bearings to get you home safely.”

Bucky complied, delivering his address in a mostly coherent sentence, not before quickly wiping his drool off his lip and chin. With narrowed eyes, he watched Haley closely.

“What happened to your hand?” He immediately realized it wasn’t the right question to ask, given how quickly she curled her fingers around the steering wheel and tried to hide her wide eyed forward stare.

“Oh. Uh.” Haley considered confiding in Bucky, seeing how in that moment especially his head appeared to still be up in the clouds and maybe he wouldn’t remember her confession. But what would that achieve without more context? Pity? She chewed on her lip, flicking her gaze downwards to the bandages taped to her cuticles. “Just dry skin.”

Without looking over at him, she had a hunch that Bucky didn’t believe her. But if that was the case, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he changed the subject altogether and suddenly Haley was on the receiving end of a jumbled pitch about why Bucky thought he should adopt a cat. At least he stopped drooling.

 --

Bucky ran and ran and ran until he couldn’t feel his feet anymore. From a hard concrete basement, up cracked steps, opening the door at the top only to find another set of stairs. Not freedom, not yet. He kept running, breath heavy in his chest. He had to keep going. He had to find the door that let him escape, that let him be free, that let him start a new chapter.

A hand grabbed for his shoulder and he was back at the beginning, strapped to a chair in a dark room. He pulled himself free again, ignoring the strange feeling in his mouth, and started to run once more. He had to find the door. He needed to open the right door. Up the stairs he went again and again, his feet slapped against each step. 

His head buzzed.

No, that was a phone. A ringing phone.

Bucky’s eyes flew open and he sat up in his head, chest heaving as he figured out his bearings. 

Oh. He had been dreaming. He wasn’t trapped in a dark room, he was in his bedroom, in his little Brooklyn apartment. He stretched out his hands and gripped the sheets beside his legs, breathing slowly as he slowed down his heart rate. An ache echoed through his head, from his forehead down through his jawline.

Right. Wisdom teeth. Or lack thereof.

Sam had insisted Bucky call and let him know how it went but clearly Bucky had failed that task, given the amount of missed calls and messages from Sam.

He sat up on his bed and reached for the phone, promptly dialing Sam back.

“Wow, you’re alive.”

Bucky figured that was a new record, Sam eliciting an eye roll from him before he even responded. “Sorry, I’ve been asleep.”

“I was about to pull the trigger on that background check you adamantly swore against for whoever this lady was picking you up today. How you feelin’ pal?”

Bucky pushed himself off the bed, stretching his neck back and forth as he moved across his bedroom. He would never admit it to Sam directly, but that stupid mattress and bed he had invested him had been a godsend. 

“I’m fine. A little light headed I guess.”

“Yeah, cause they took out all your wisdom, grandpa.”

“Ha. Ha.”

“Switch to video. I want to see those swollen cheeks.”

“You’re insufferable, Sam.”

Bucky stilled, shushing Sam’s reply when he heard a noise coming from his front door. Not just any noise either, it was his door opening. He quieted Sam’s next comment on the line, back pressed against a section of wall in his bedroom while he figured out what to do. Was someone breaking into his place?

He heard a few paper bags rustling and a few footsteps and then -

“Bucky?"

Haley’s voice sounded out from the main room of his apartment and Bucky let out a relieved sigh, shifting on his feet and heading through his bedroom door towards the kitchen. He found Haley there unpacking a few things from a grocery bag.

Bucky tapped on his phone, turning his attention back to Sam. “I’ll call you back.”

“Is that her? Your lady friend?”

“Stop saying lady. Bye Sam.” By the time Bucky had hung up, his earlier memories started swimming back slowly: Haley helping him upstairs into his apartment, ignoring her questions about how he had no food in his fridge and how his jaw might hurt too much to eat solid foods, giving her his keys, collapsing into his bed. 

She smiled at him as he approached, though he noticed her hesitant stance. “Hey, you’re awake. That wasn’t much of a nap. How are you feeling?"

Bucky nodded, lips pursed. “Yeah, good. Did I.. uh.. Did we argue before?”

She smirked, pausing her unpacking and brushing a hand through her hair. “I wouldn’t call it an argument. But you did get very frustrated when I insisted I would go grab a few groceries for you.”

His eyes scanned over the food and he tried not to wince at her kindness. “Let me pay you back for this, at least.”

“Oh, so you don’t remember whipping out a crisp fifty dollar bill from your secret stash?” She waved her hand, retrieving some money from her pocket. “Here’s your change, grandpa.” When Bucky silently accepted the bills, Haley continued on. “I grabbed you some soup, Jello cups, popsicles, potatoes - although you would have to actually boil those and mash them...” She trailed off. “You kind of strike me as the type who will only eat out of necessity so I wanted to make sure you were set up for success.”

“That's very.. Thank you, you didn’t have to do that. The ride home was more than enough.” He picked up a package of the Jello, which was an unusually bright green colour. “I don’t know if I want to eat this.”

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic.” She clapped her hands together as the silence rested between them. “But now that you are awake and conscious, I think I’ll be on my way home. Unless you need anything else?”

Bucky felt a strange twist of something in his chest as he took in her question. A part of him was just so grateful that she spent time on him - driving to the clinic, shuttling him home, ensuring he was prepared with enough food to survive. He hoped he had been honest enough expressing that gratitude, that his appreciation went well beyond what he could articulate. Because after a long time of hard, hard people and situations and walls - Haley was refreshing and soft and kind. 

“I don’t need anything else, no.” Bucky faltered as she headed towards the door with a nod. His eyes met hers and god, he hoped he was expressing his feelings effectively. “Thank you again, Haley.”

When she grabbed the door handle, she turned back quickly. “Oh. Your keys.” She reached into the back pocket of her jeans and extended her hand out, dropping the keychain into his palm. “I promise I didn’t make a copy, in case your mind is going to some outlandish security scenario right now.”

His eyes widened for a second, then a smirk appeared on his face. “Well, I wasn’t until you mentioned it.” With a flick of his wrist the keyring spun around his finger. “Nah, I meant what I said earlier - I trust you, Fisher.” His eyes narrowed, though one eyebrow raised playfully. “I get the feeling you’d only be copying it for some crazy altruistic reason. Like filling up my cupboard with canned goods.”

That got a laugh out of her and Bucky relaxed a touch. “You can’t survive on just bread, eggs and hotsauce. Your fridge is a sad state, Barnes.”

Although he knew the pain in his cheeks wouldn’t last very long, he took some comfort in knowing his food choices were safe for the next few days. 

The next few days. God, what did those even look like? He was waiting on some info from Sam about a new lead they might need to research so Bucky was at the ready. But now, while he came down from this entire surgery situation - which involved some very clear self talk and constant reminders about his gratitude for freedom and medical care - he wasn’t sure how to fill his time. Maybe Haley would want to..

No, his sad looking apartment wasn’t a place where he could host a friend. What would they do? Sit on the floor to watch a movie together?

“Now before you thank me again, I’ve gotta head home.” Haley’s follow up commentary freed Bucky’s racing mind. She tilted her head and gave Bucky one last smirk before she crossed the threshold of his doorway, giving him a small wave as she departed. “Try not to clench your jaw too much!” 

Bucky took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. Okay, he had survived. He came out on the other side very alive and very much still Bucky Barnes, minus some teeth. And for some reason he couldn’t quite pinpoint, the fact that Haley had been there to get him home safely had washed away a lot of his fears. 

--

Bucky (4:32PM): [IMG_155] Bucky (4:32PM): this jello was disgusting Haley (4:35PM): and yet you ate the whole thing? Bucky (4:37PM): I can’t waste it Bucky (4:40PM): the second cup tasted a bit better Haley (4:41PM): I didn’t realize I subscribed to Bucky’s Food Reviews but I am here for it Haley (4:42PM): also a selfie? I’m impressed Haley (4:43PM): now your cute chipmunk cheeks will forever be saved to my phone memory

--

next: a summer heat wave

[imthepunchlord]

If you could make something akin to a salt fic of the specials (Christmas, NY and Shanghai) due to Adrien, how do you think it would go? My main issue with the Christmas one isn’t the pity party, but LB HAVING to be the last straw and in Shanghai, her weirdly not coming up with a substitute when it should've been worked with later than the NY.

My ideal salt takes on the specials would be to just remove Adrien entirely, as a lot of them go out of their way to make things about him.

Christmas Special

Chris Master was revealed to be the original Christmas Special, go back to it. Give Nino the main focus as his little brother us the akuma, elaborate on Bubbler hinting that Nino has his own issues with his parents. Could even be Carapace's iconic cameo as we were supposed to see the Turtle's power here. And if Chris Master isn't enough, can also include Befana who is a Christmas witch. Could also hint at Rolland here, with Marinette learning that she has more family here in Paris and has no idea. And then Bakerix in s2 will follow up on that with Marinette, on her own, finds her grandfather.

New York Special

Massive overhaul.

No Native miraculous as they are dicey existing and raise more questions.

And I slim down on heroes.

And no school trip to New York.

Fu hears of Knightowl and Sparrow on national news and wonders if their miraculouses. Using Horse, Marinette takes a quick solo trip to NY to check out these heroes. Ready to prove herself Sparrow is quick to assume Lady Peony is a threat and tries to take her out.

Aeon, a cyborg instead of robot, a girl Majestia saved and adopted, comes in to join and realizes that she's the Ladybug hero in Paris (she knows as Majestia likes to keep up with all strange activity) She's cool, no need to fight.

Marinette hears these two sidekick woes of wanting to be more taken seriously and offers to help them prove themselves. Cue the shenanigans of three girls kicking butt.

Maybe a Zoe cameo somewhere? Maybe?

Knightowl and Majestia show up, former isn't impressed, latter is concerned about these unnecessary risks. Insert some kind of drama, climax is HM released an akuma in Paris and Marinette takes them all to Paris to stop it. And it's Ladybug, Sparrow, and Aeon saving the day.

Aeon and Sparrow proved themselves, KO and Majestia meet Fu and have a talk about giving Marinette too much responsibility, and he gets on them about giving their sidekicks too little. Possibly compromise at the end? Idk.

But the NY heroes head home and now Marinette has American heroes as friends.

Shanghai Special

Another overhaul, no prodigious, no Fei. This is set not long after s2 starts.

Marinette had to go to Shanghai to celebrate her Grunkle's birthday and no way out of it.

Fu tells her to leave the earrings with him and a list of potential replacements she trusts. Requests that during that time, that she seeks out the ruins of the Order.

Breaking away from her family, she heads over to it and encounters a magical guardian, a dragon. This dragon challenges her to 5 tests that relate to Wu Xing. She passes and is officially recognized as a Guardian. The dragon gives her a different Miracle Box that contains the Chinese Zodiac inside, though advises to save them for only when she needs them. The dragons gives her a written message, requesting to pass it onto Marinette’s mentor.

Optionally: the dragon detransforms into a kwami who tells her that they're looking forward to working with her as it's time that they and their friends leave this place. They go into Marinette’s new Miracle Box.

Marinette returns to find her family had be worried about her, wholesome daily moment, Marinette returns and gives a surprised and nervous Fu the written message. When alone, Fu reads it and cries.

Special ends with Marinette showing Tikki her new Miracle Box and excited that she has this surprise against HM. And Fu feels some catharsis to his past.

[guro-giri-letters]

Arms wide open : Dabi x reader!

- By Guro. ♡

/After Dabi admits struggling to bathe because he’s in pain, you decide it’s time you give him a hand. Another wholesome fic! Hope you enjoy and thank you to the anon who sent me this ask! ♡/

/Tags l Tw ; No warnings, Dabi is stubborn but appreciative, established couple, request fill. ♡/

Water sloshes around the tub as Dabi moves again, using his elbows on the lip of the tub to rearrange himself. “Christ-“ he grumbles under his breath before settling back down into the water, his lower back fitting between your legs. “-it stings.”

The little radio, propped up precariously by the cracked window in hopes of a better signal, plays a slightly frosty version of an old pop song in the otherwise quiet room. Every so often the station changes without anyone touching it but you don’t mind. It’s just some background noise.

“You’ll get used to it,” you reply quietly, ignoring the narrow-eyed glance he directs over his shoulder at you. “You just need to stay in a while, you’ll adjust to the heat.”

“Mm. Whatever.”

You roll your eyes slightly at that, scoffing. But really you understand; Dabi’s only in a mood because he’s uncomfortable and hurting. It had taken you longer than you’d like to admit to realise something was wrong with him, honestly, but your fellow League member does tend to keep to himself. He doesn’t like voicing things often, not even to you, especially concerning himself and his own well-being. If you hadn’t been with him earlier, and seen his hand shaking as he tried to light up a smoke, you doubt you’d have caught on at all.

“Trust me, this’ll help,” you assure again, running a hand back through his wet hair to pull it out of his eyes. You’d taken the liberty earlier that day of going out and buying a bag of Epsom salts for the bath. It may sting at first but you’re sure it’ll ease the pain along his stapled skin. Actually convincing Dabi to get in the bath had been a challenge of its own but he had agreed eventually, only after you’d conceded to join him of course. You hope it’ll help ease the pain he constantly seems to be suffering. It’s not fair that he should always hurt.

Strangely, Dabi seems to have gone quiet now, his head hanging forward as you cup hot water in your hands and pour it down his back. Maybe he’s finally relaxing a little, you hope, dipping a washcloth in the water.

“Does it feel any better?” You ask him, before the stretch of silence between you both gets uncomfortably long. You’re dabbing the wash cloth lightly across the line of staples that comes up under his right arm, over his left shoulder. A non-committal grunt is all you get in return, which really gives you no answer since you can’t see his face. “How long did you say it’s been since you bathed?”

“Don’t know... a while,” he’s watching the surface of the water as you run the washcloth down his spine, tilting his head. Muscles move and stretch beneath his skin, drawing your eyes across the sharp planes of his shoulder-blades. Everything about him seems so sharp; the jut of his bones beneath his skin, the lines where his grafts meet his natural flesh, his staples. “Why? Grossed out?” He sounds amused, but you think he may be putting it on to cover his discomfort. Ignoring the question you lay a hand over his shoulder and draw him back gently, only stopping when his back is resting flush against your chest. A noise that sounds almost relieved crawls up Dabi’s throat, his head rolling back to lay on your shoulder.

You don’t even need to look at his face to know he’s watching you; blue fire eyes trail up the side of your neck, over your face, taking you in. Ignoring the warmth rising to your cheeks you soldier on, clearing your throat.

“What?” You ask after a moment, wringing water out of the cloth before running it lightly over his chest. Taking care over his sensitive, prosthetic skin.

“You’re soft on me,” his gritty voice almost vibrates through you now that he’s laying against your chest, his words making you half-smile unintentionally. “You like me too much.”

“I happen to think I like you just the right amount.” Cupping his chin you tilt his head back a little further, his lips pulling into a smirk at your words. You keep your hand under his chin as you bring the cloth up his neck, his Adam’s apple bobbing under your fingers. “You know, you are quite likeable Dabi.”

“Shut up.”

“No.”

He chuckles now, the sound very loud in the small room. The thin smile on his face sends a little thrill up your spine. Still holding his chin, you turn his head just enough to press a kiss against his temple. Another pleased noise escaped his throat at this, his eyes shutting. Grinning, Dabi lifts his arm as if to cup your cheek only to hiss, laying it back down quickly with a wince. Worry rises up in your chest quickly, a frown crossing your face as you release his chin. “Dabi?”

“It’s fine,” he grits out, sighing and squeezing his eyes shut. “I’m fine.”

You’re entirely sure he’s not but you relent anyway, huffing a sigh of your own and resting your chin on his shoulder. With his arms still propped up on the lip of the tub, you can easily slide your own around him, wrapping them loosely around his torso. The radio has picked up a different channel and you’re surprised to hear a song you recognise vaguely, your brows lifting a fraction.

“I know this,” You murmur, watching Dabi’s eyes squint as he strains to hear the lyrics. The song is in English though, and he gives you a slightly puzzled look. You know he can speak some English, but not quite enough to follow the song with you. Relaxed by the familiarity of the song you lean back further into the tub, hugging his body a little closer and singing the lyrics to him in his own tongue.

“With arms wide open, now everything has changed,” Dabi’s brow quirks, amused at your slightly off key notes. You just smile back, pleased you’re distracting him again. “I’ll show you love, I’ll show you everything. With arms wide open...” you carry on singing, a little clumsily as you translate from English to Japanese in your head. Dabi’s face has gone calm once more as he watches you, lips quirked up. “You like it?”

“The music is cool,” he drones, lifting an arm slowly and scratching at his scalp. You brush his hand away and replace it with your own, working your fingers into his thick, dark hair. The noise he lets out almost makes you giggle; an near guttural groan of appreciation. He sags back against your chest with all of his weight, huffing our a slow breath. “...thanks, y/n.”

You make a pleased noise yourself, which quickly turns into a  giggle as Dabi turns his head, pressing a noisy kiss beneath your ear. “That tickles-” you snort, squirming as he presses loud smooch after smooch against your neck. “-and you’re welcome, Dabi. Stop it!”

“No,” he snickers, and you can feel his grin against your neck. The radio changes again and this time it’s a song you both know. With your arms around Dabi, just for a few minutes as it plays, everything feels perfect.