#hope whoever finds this enjoys it

[the-nation-of-today]

Your fear is left in the dust We are the saints of the blood ↳ requested by anon

[frasermints]

i currently have all of my books sorted by height how should i sort them now that i'm moving things around

[kenzan-kiwami]

fill-in piece for the secret santa they had over on twitter :)

reference image under the cut:

[berry-hwa]

As per my suggestion...!!

heres the promised mermaid au fic!!! I might not ever finish it because theres a lot of worldbuilding and writing stuff that i dont have time for😔i havent looked over this in a while and it isnt beta read either so ignore any mistakes!! All that aside now, pls enjoy!!

Well, here I am.

Looking up, her expression hardly wavered at the luxurious and magnificent hotel she stood in front of.

Here it is. Tres Spades.

Her glance shifted low to the dark blue dress she wore specifically for the famous I.V.C held at the hotel. Her pearl necklace reflected the huge amount of light from both the inside and outside and her silk, white gloves held onto a matching white clutch. She wasn't gonna look like anyone present at the party, but she was fine with that. The party wasn't what was on her mind anyway, it didn't matter if she stood out or not.

All she had to do was get to the penthouse.

Walking through crowds and crowds of people, her white heels clicked with every step she took on the recently cleaned floor. As she reached the room the I.V.C was held at, she was suddenly startled by someone talking behind her.

"Woah! I've never seen you around here. Is this your first time attending the I.V.C perhaps?"

She spun around to find two men looking at her, their eyes not leaving hers. She recognized one of the two almost instantly.

"Oh! Why yes, this is my first time here. I was looking for Mr. Ichinomiya? He was supposed to escort me to the party." She flashed a radiant smile, hoping to catch the two off-guard. As she stared at them, she realized the identity of the second man who strangely wore a fedora hat.

"Oh! We're his accomplices, and I haven't heard anything about you from Mr. Ichinomiya...would you give us your name?" The blonde smiled, crossing his arms and waiting for an answer. Her heart slowly began beating faster as she thought of a made-up name.

"Misaki. My name is Misaki." She extended her hand out for a handshake, which the brunette took and gave the back of it a gentle kiss. Her heartbeat slowly went back to normal and her smile slightly fell.

"A beautiful name for a beautiful lady. My name is Mitsunari Baba, but you can call me Micchy or Mitsu for short. And you probably already know who my friend is." Baba glanced back and forth between the blonde and the woman.

"Of course, Kisaki Ota. I'd be ashamed if I didn't know who you were." She bowed and internally cringed, her patience slowly running low. She wasn't here to chat up some men...but, if they managed to get her up to the penthouse, at least the lying would be worth it.

"You flatter me Miss Misaki! Now, what was that about Mr. Ichinomiya escorting you to the I.V.C?"

"Ah, right. We talked over the phone weeks prior to the I.V.C, but he must have forgotten. He's a busy man after all, and so am I." Lying in situations as such was her specialty, but for some reason she felt as if she was being read easily. Can they tell?

"Boss is a very busy man. If you'd like, we could escort you around the I.V.C ourselves?" Baba gave her a handsome smile that would swoon women in her place, but she was barely phased. It wasn't her job to begin flirting with a thief.

She tried to shake off the unusual feeling she felt when she realized Ota's smile had also fallen a bit as he stared at her. Not at her, but her necklace specifically. The only explanation that sat right with her was that he'd been looking at it from an artist's point of view. She didn't know if he realized the necklace was made out of real pearls, however.

"I would appreciate it very much, Mitsunari." She smiled again for the sake of being polite.

From nearly getting lost in the sea of people to stumbling upon a mysterious looking hallway and being sold at a black market auction held in the basement of the hotel, she was only a few steps away from her goal. It didn't matter who bought her, she would escape them either way. Her eyes were set on finding one man and that man only. Her surprise when she heard she was sold to seat #100 came as a shock even to her. She fell right into the hands of the man she had her eyes on.

The cage she sat in had been carried all the way up to the penthouse, her heart racing as she realized how close she was to her target. Even if they didn't speak and wore masks, she knew exactly who the two men that carried her up there were as well.

And when she was brought in, she found herself face to face with him. Eisuke Ichinomiya.

"Who are you?"

"Boss, this is the lady that we-"

"If you let me out of this cage, I will tell you exactly who I am and what I'm doing here."

She stared at the five men who stared back at her. Her smile from earlier was replaced with a fierce gaze at Eisuke, who was staring at her cautiously.

"And how do we know you don't have any ulterior motives?" A strong looking man stood up which she quickly identified as Soryu, Eisuke's childhood friend and a mobster.

"If your security is good at checking whether or not people have weapons on them, then you don't have to be afraid Mr. Oh." She held her chin high and smiled internally at his slightly bewildered face.

"...You know who we are?" Eisuke spoke, eyebrows narrowing as he stared at her through his eyelashes. She could sense he was conflicted and a little confused.

"I know you all. And we'd be able to talk like normal people if you let me out of this cage," She crossed her arms, gaze not faltering as she stared back at Eisuke, "But we probably already know the phrase "normal people" doesn't suit you at all, right Ichinomiya?"

She saw his eyebrow twitch. As she guessed earlier, Baba and Ota took their masks off, their gazes switching back and forth between the woman and Eisuke.

"Is your definition of a succesful individual 'abnormal'?" Eisuke crossed his arms and took a sip of his wine, placing it on the table in front of him afterwards.

"I think we both know what I mean here." Her gaze went to the wine glass in front of him. Lowering her open palm, she aimed it directly at the glass before knocking it over, the wine spilling on Eisuke's leg.

All the men's eyes widened and Eisuke swiftly stood up, panic evident on his features.

"Eisuke, go!" Soryu suddenly yelled at him. Realizing he had to move as fast as he could, he dashed towards the staircase with a curse, managing to make it up before anyone could see anything.

When they made sure he was out of sight, everyone shot a glare at the woman. Only Ota seemed to stand still, still comprehending what had just happened.

"What the hell was that?" Soryu approached the cage, gun in hand now. The woman only grinned as the realization that she'd indeed found the man she was looking for began setting in.

"I think you know exactly what it was." Her fingers tapped at the golden cage as the mobster stared her down. She felt confident knowing she wouldn't be killed in that moment after what she did. They needed answers and she was aware of that. There was also no way they'd let her go unless they heard the full story, unless they didn't let her go at all. She was bought by them after all.

"I...don't get it. How did you knock over that glass?" Baba stared, still a little stunned. She rolled her eyes and glanced at the thief who was looking at her for an answer.

"I'm pretty sure you know that as well." Before looking away, she caught a glimpse of Ota looking almost...solemn, as he stared off into the distance.

"Come on now, you can't all play dumb. I'm here for one reason and one reason only."

"And that is?"

"Eisuke."

Soryu stared at her once more with a stern look on his face. Was he gonna let her out? She made it clear she'd explain everything if she was out of the cage...but how could he trust her like that? Especially when he didn't even know her name?

"Open the cage Mitsunari." A deep voice from the back spoke, the woman recognizing it as Mamoru's. At least he's not entirely stupid, as much as he is lazy.

Baba hesitantly reached into his pocket to take out a key, Soryu stepping away to make space. Opening the cage, the woman stepped out, arms crossed over one another. The men continued to stare at her for a moment before they heard footsteps coming from the staircase.

Her eyes immediately locked with Eisuke's as she looked up. He looked both furious and confused as he walked down each step.

"I'm gonna ask this one last time. Who are you and what are you doing here?" Making his way towards her, he stood in-between Baba and Soryu, eyes staring daggers into the woman. He only recieved a grin in return.

"I heard a siren call from miles away, and it lead me here in your hotel."

The CEO stared in pure confusion. He almost wanted to laugh at how ridiculous she sounded. A siren call. Is she for real?

Sure, it might not have sounded...that ridiculous, given the situation he was suddenly thrust into in less than twenty seconds. His eyes traveled to her neck adorned by the pearl necklace. He could feel his throat going dry even as he swallowed.

Those are real pearls.

And, sure, seeing real pearls hung on a string as an accessory wasn't the most unusual thing Eisuke had seen. But the way this woman was dressed bewildered him.

He estimated the cost of both her dress and heels were most probably around 200 dollars. Her gloves were made of silk, therefore they had to have been a little expensive. The pearls were what threw him off. A single, real white pearl was already expensive, but her necklace consisted of at least thirty pearls that varied in colors and shapes. He even recognized one of the rarest blue pearls hung onto the string, and he could feel the nervousness bubbling to the surface the more he stared.

"You've...gotta be kidding right?" The thief asked, gaze shifting to Eisuke who tried so hard to keep his expression as neutral as possible. Both him and Soryu were begining to catch onto the situation.

"I'm very serious. I came here specifically to talk to Eisuke, on behalf of my people."

"Your...people?" Puzzled, Soryu raised an eyebrow at her, his eyes now also shifting to look at Eisuke.

"I know what you are Eisuke. And we need your help." The woman's tone slowly morphed into one of pleading, as did her expression. Eisuke stared for what seemed like hours before sighing and turning his back to her.

"You have five minutes to explain."

"Five?!"

"Yes, only five."

She stared at his back as he walked over to the couch and sat down, Soryu and Baba following. She was glad she got the opportunity to talk...but five minutes? Really?!

"Alright I...just, do you mind bringing a glass of water?" Her gaze went to the artist who seemed to think about her question a little longer than he had to before nervously answering.

"Sure..." He put on a smile and strode over to the kitchen in the penthouse. Taking a deep breath before exhaling, her gaze returned to Eisuke who now sat on the couch, waiting for his explanation.

"First of all, I'd like to apologize for barging in all of a sudden and spilling wine on you. You were probably all confused and angry, especially you, Ichinomiya." Her heels clicked as she walked over to the four men, Eisuke's eyebrows forming into a frown as he recalled what happened.

"Apologize another time, get to your story." He swiftly crossed his legs and rest his chin in his palm as he waited for her to begin, as if he were a teacher about to listen to a student's excuse for a missed assignment.

By the time she stopped staring Eisuke down, Ota had come back with a glass of water as she'd asked. Funny how she has barely been here for five minutes and is ordering people around as if she owns the penthouse.

Thanking the artist, she set the glass down on the coffee table and waited for Ota to grab a seat, only for him to stand next to the couch Baba, Soryu and Eisuke sat on.

"As I said...I know what you are, Eisuke. Even if you might not know exactly what you are, we desperately need your help." She began, voice brave despite her slowly plummetting spirit.

"Who is this "we" you've been throwing around?" Baba exclaimed before getting interrupted by the woman.

"I'll get there. Let me explain."

"You fell into a pool when you were young in London...right?" She raised an eyebrow and looked at Eisuke for his reaction. He definitely didn't disappoint. His eyes went wide and he was now listening to her more cautiously, the nervous feeling on the verge of overflowing.

"You became a mermaid. Or...a merman. Otherwise known as a siren." She explained like she was some lunatic, but Eisuke knew better than to assume that when she was right. Except he had no idea what she meant by the siren part of it.

"How do you know any of this. Only my manager and some acquaintances are aware of what happened. How did you manage to find out what happened a decade ago?"

"That's not important. What is important is that I'm a real mermaid born at sea, and my people have and I have been threatened by the human race for years," She looked down, remembering the last moments with her family before they were taken from her, "They sacrificed themselves so I would stay alive and get help."

"It took you this long to find me?" Eisuke interrupted, his thoughts now racing. Had she been stalking him? Did she somehow bribe someone to tell her about him? What kind of help did she need exactly?

"I've known about you ever since you fell into that pool. You see, I'm from Britain myself, and all of us have known about you ever since that day." She explained briefly, not leaving any room for questions as she continued quickly afterwards.

"You're the first merman to have ever fallen in the pool in that cave in nearly sixty years. It just so happened that you became a siren on the day the last merman transformed 43 years before you did." She briefly caught a glimpse at Ota looking down at the floor as if he was holding something back. Did he wanna ask a question?

She decided to ignore it, passing it as just him being lost in his thoughts.

"This is...too much information," Eisuke rubbed his temple, her words barely registering. He was finally used to being this weird form of a human after so long, and suddenly there's so much information shoved into him it's almost too overwhelming.

"You think? You gave me five minutes to explain, I'm using that time wisely." She may have been aware of the conflicted situation he was in at that moment as he slowly took in what she was saying. Still though, she figured she might as well drop the bomb as quickly as she could, even if it confused Eisuke at first.

"We've been looking for a siren for years now due to our problems with the human race. And that just so happened to be you..."

Her frightless demeanor began to wear off, quickly replaced by someone in genuine need of help. Eisuke stared at her, her words still registering. So he was a siren. Was it good that he finally knew his identity after so many years? He certainly didn't feel any better knowing, that's for sure. What if she was lying?

"Can you prove to me in any way that you're telling the truth?"

The woman stared at him. Of course, Eisuke Ichinomiya of all people would never believe some girl suddenly showing up at his penthouse, telling him he was a damn siren and that there were real mer-people living in the sea with no proof. The whole story seemed like a sick joke. Even if she knew things many others hadn't known, even if she held information that Eisuke had never revealed publicly...he had to know.

"If you'll allow me to," She raised her open palm once more and focused her energy on the glass of water in front of her. Soon enough, they saw what looked like a bubble rise out of the glass. Eisuke knew she wasn't lying the moment he saw the "bubble" rise higher and higher, but still wanted to see what she would do. As the water reached her head, her hand suddenly dropped to her side, as did the bubble. The CEO's eyes widened as it splashed over her head and he was already begining to count down the seconds it took for her to transform. No sooner than that did Baba get up and rushed over to her, holding her up by her arms as her legs disappeared and were replaced by a sparkling blue tail.

"Is that enough proof for you, Ichinomiya?"

[avarkriss]

dust to dust iii: same sweet shock

✭・.・✫

Obi-Wan (Ben) Kenobi x Female Reader (no y/n, no she/her)

Rated: E for Explicit, 18+ only

Word Count: 3.996

Summary: The pretty space hermit finally returns; shenanigans follow

Song Inspo: Dust to Dust by The Civil Wars

Warnings: porn with feelings; naked male/naked female; p in v sex; female receiving oral sex; (whispers) come eating; a tiddly bit of angst at the end; hopeful ending; canon-typical injury; brief mention of blood

Author’s Note: I still wanna fuck this old man so bad it makes me look stupid. He deserves this :) Enjoy, share what you can, and be well ~

Part One Here

Part Two Here

It had been quiet since you saw him last.

Your stand was calm and the business was steady, your days filled with barter and trade. Boonta Eve was quickly approaching and you were bringing in sunfruits and air cakes, even some sparkling light toys for the kids. All was as it should be.

Except for that gnawing pit you felt in your stomach every time a few small eddies danced across the sand. They came and went in the wind, granules lost to the dunes when the soft breeze passed. They were beautiful in a sad type of way - captivating, but too short lived.

They reminded you of him.

Fleeting.

Sometimes you weren’t sure if they had even been there at all, a trick of your tired eyes. Just like the moments you thought you saw him deeper in the market, but by the time you raised your hand in greeting, the figure was gone again. You often wondered if those glimpses were of the ghost himself, or if it was just your slightly dehydrated brain giving you hope.

But there wasn’t time to dwell - Boonta Eve was on the horizon. A welcome distraction for now. You were good at keeping busy, tiring yourself enough during the day that you could quickly fall asleep. But at night you had nowhere to hide, and your want had a habit of making itself known.

If someone had known to ask, you might have said that you stopped counting the days since you last saw him. That it had been so long there was no way you could still feel the press of his lips to your thigh, the warmth of his tongue, or the stretch of his fingers. You couldn’t possibly still feel the soft breeze of his exhale, or the dip that his body had made in your bed. You had long forgotten the way he tasted and the sound of his moans filling your room.

But you weren’t a good liar, and your dreams filled the gaps where bliss left your memory blank. He stayed with you, even after forty seven standard days. Even after you convinced yourself that a sarlacc had gone and swallowed him whole, that he was never coming back. He stayed on the fringes of your mind, in the pit of your stomach, and in every neat pile of dishes you left stacked up on the counter, waiting to be put away.

Which was exactly where you found yourself now, placing a cup into your small cupboard before heading to your stand to open early, sure that the customers would stop by for last minute purchases on their way to the races.

The morning passed in a flurry, final purchases quickly packed up and handed off to your patrons with a smile. As the time for the first race neared the crowd disappeared, leaving you to close for the day. You were looking forward to having the afternoon to yourself, glad for a small break from your daily routine and an excuse to watch your favorite holo.

Everyone was gone, so when you turned to collect your cache you nearly jumped out of your skin at the sight of a billowing brown robe, the hood casting a shadow over the most brilliant blue eyes you had ever seen.

-

You blinked a few times, unsure if this was another trick of your mind or if he really was here, right in front of you.

“Ben?”

He lifted his hand in an awkward half wave, taking a step or two forward.

“I apologize for frightening you, I was looking to purchase a few bandages but I see that you’re closed. I can return tomorrow.”

You scoffed and told him you were happy to help however you could, still surprised to see him. He was so close you could reach out and touch him, prove to yourself that he was really here.

“Wouldn’t you prefer a bacta patch?”

He hummed for a moment, something about them being too costly and how the cut was really quite small. Nothing to worry about, you know, just a fall out in the rocks. But you were insistent, and with a long suffering sigh he pulled his hood back, auburn hair bright in the midday suns. There was a gash across his forehead, pooled with crimson and dirty at the edges.

You fixed him with a look and a slight shake of your head, watching the skin of his upper cheeks warm with flush. Cache in hand you stepped out from behind your stand, nodding your head towards the alley he had taken with you so many days before.

“I have bacta at home -”

“Really, there is no need to fuss, it’s just a small -”

You turned and narrowed your eyes at him and he stammered to a stop. Pulling his hood up and folding his arms into the sleeves of his cloak he nodded towards you, accepting the favor.

“Lead the way.”

The two of you made your way to your familiar painted steps and you took them two at a time, getting your door open in record time before ushering Ben inside.

“Have a seat on the couch,” you told him gently, gesturing towards it as if he hadn’t been in your home before. “I’ll be right back.”

You could feel your pulse in your fingertips as you made your way towards your refresher, moving the curtains to the side to access your med kit. It didn’t have much, but you always kept a small pot of bacta gel and bandages for those small kitchen accidents or when you spent too much time in the sun.

When you returned Ben had removed his cloak and had it in his lap, fiddling with a few loose threads along the bottom corner. He gave you an apologetic smile that you returned with warmth while setting your things on the table before fetching some clean water and a cloth, the dirt and sand around his wound more glaring now that you could see him closely.

It didn’t take you long to have him all cleaned up, wiping away the debris and drying blood. You dabbed the gel into his skin and covered it with a small strip of cloth, a porous type that would fall off once the bacta had dried and the skin was healed. It was in your application of the cloth that you noticed a few marks on his shoulders and hands, dressing those wounds as well as he asked you how you had been.

You wanted to tell him that you missed him. That you thought of him every day, dreamed of him every night.

That you were convinced he was dead…

That you wanted to kiss him.

But instead you shrugged and said you had been busy preparing for all the holiday sales, keeping your lips a respectable distance from his hairline. When you returned the question he gave you a noncommittal hum, not providing much insight into his life.

“How’d this happen,” you ventured, placing a small bandage a cut near the crook of his neck, peeking out from under his tunic.

He smiled.

“Well, you know how the Wastes can be.”

You certainly did, as did everyone else on this Maker-forsaken planet, so you didn’t push.

“Stay and rest,” you offered, noticing little nicks on his knuckles and a small scrape behind his ear. Whatever scuffle he had gotten into certainly left him worse for wear.

“I’ve got some food to share, and my roof has a nice view of the fireworks. I heard the Hutts got them off Naboo this year so I’m sure they’ll be beautiful.”

You wondered how hard he must have hit his head because he surprised you with a hum of assent instead of his typical polite-but-infuriating refusal of your hospitality. Part of you craved knowing where he was and what had happened, but he looked so soft, exhausted from whatever it was. Instead you offered him a pillow, which he graciously took. He tucked it under his head as you started up a holo, glancing over to find that he had fallen asleep in two shakes of a lothcat’s tail. You took a thin blanket and spread it across his form before retreating to your room, hidden away from the high suns and the burning desire that threatened to outshine them.

-

You looked over at the sound of quiet rustling, watching as Ben sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. You kept your smile to yourself, quietly observing the way his hair stuck out at a funny angle and how he stretched his back.

It took all you had to not laugh when he saw there was no more sunlight, glancing around your apartment to find you like he had committed some horrible atrocity. He was patting his hair down when he saw you standing in the kitchen, and the look on his face made you think he was about to apologize.

"I am terribly sorry," he started, the words drawn with sleep.

You turned your head to the side, looking him up and down.

"What for?"

He stumbled a little, searching for his words before you held up your hand to stop him.

"Ben, there is nothing to apologize for. You're my guest, and you're welcome to stay as long as you need."

Forever, you privately hoped, but there was a part of your heart that knew he could not leave whatever brought him to this planet.

He swallowed, and you so wished that you could see into his mind. The thanks he whispered was so sincere it made your heart crack, genuinely wondering when he last experienced kindness outside of your walls.

The sands were known to not welcome strangers.

You cleared your throat and refocused your mind, stirring the pot of soup you made.

"The fireworks will start soon, if you want to have dinner on the roof."

He said it sounded lovely and you felt your pulse quicken, ladling the meal into two bowls. He gathered the pillows and blanket from the couch as well as his cloak, following you to a door that looked like it led to nowhere. With a quick button push it opened, revealing a small landing and stairs to the roof.

"Vaporator access," you explained, walking up the half flight and setting the bowls on the small, weather beaten ledge that so often served as your makeshift table.

Ben handed you a pillow before taking a seat next to you, stretching the thin blanket from his shoulders to yours.

"I see why you like it up here," he mused, gazing up at the glistening stars.

"I've always wondered what it's like out there."

He hummed, and you heard him take a sip of the warm broth.

"It's beautiful in some places, cruel in others."

"How many worlds have you traveled?"

He distracted you then, mentioning that the soup was delicious. You sipped your own before repeating your question, genuinely curious about life in the stars.

"Honesty I couldn't say," he started, eyes crinkling at your look of surprise. "My work required frequent travel. My favorite planet had an ocean, along with beautiful forests and mountains. It was unlike anything I had seen before, alive in every way."

"You came here when you could have had that?"

You couldn't help but sound incredulous, unable to imagine how anyone would give up all of that for well, this.

His smile held something sad as he looked out at the horizon.

"I could never find it again after my first visit. Some things just aren't meant to be."

You swallowed the lump in your throat, nodding in agreement before a shiver ran down your back. Ben took his cloak and draped it over your shoulders, sliding closer to you as bright lights began to fill the sky.

You watched the display in silence, letting your fingers slowly entwine with his. The Naboo fireworks were more extravagant than you had ever imagined, but you couldn’t help sneaking glances at the man sitting next to you. The light illuminated the angle of his jaw and the slight breeze ruffled his hair; a part of you thought that maybe the fireworks were the second most beautiful thing you had seen that evening.

They ended far too quickly, and you found yourself slowly standing, Ben’s cloak wrapped around your shoulders. He gathered the bowls and pillows while you folded the thin blanket before making your way down the stairs and back into your flat.

You found him looking down into the sink, appearing to be deep in thought.

“Are you alright?”

You slipped his cloak from your shoulders, placing it over the back of your couch before joining him.

“Yes, very much so, but -”

He trailed off, and you couldn’t quite tell what was hiding in his eyes. Was it sadness, or perhaps regret? You wanted to hug him, to hold him close and kiss the ruddy tip of his nose.

“Whatever you need Ben,” you offered, not insincerely. He could ask you for one of the suns and you would find some way to bottle it.

“I’m afraid I’m not looking forward to leaving.”

His smile was sad.

You moved closer to him, close enough that he could touch you if he wanted.

“So don’t,” you breathed, fingertips brushing his.

And he must have wanted, at least as much as you did, because now he was coming closer, forehead nearly touching yours before pressing his lips to your cheek.

“You’re sure?” you asked, arms wrapping around his waist. You were met with a nod of his head and you kissed him in earnest, swallowing a quiet groan.

-

You were clumsy making your way to your bedroom, bumping into corners that you’ve known for years. His robes were thick and warm and tied far too tightly for your liking, taking considerably more time than you imagined to undo.

You felt him smile when you whined, placing a soft kiss to your temple before covering your hand with his own. He worked around your fingers to breach the offending knot, letting your hands in to explore his soft torso.

It took far less time to remove your clothes, letting them find the floor as the two of you climbed into bed, all tangled limbs and no grace. You could feel him growing hard against your skin and you reached down to stroke him, feeling his hands pause their path up your back.

“Is everything alright Ben?”

You had retracted your hand and he looked almost pained, nodding at you earnestly.

“I want this, I do, it’s just -”

He trailed off as he often did and it didn’t take long for you to put two and two together. Maybe it had been a while, or perhaps it was his first time taking things this far with someone, but you didn’t mind. More than anything you wanted him to be comfortable, to give him even half the pleasure he had given you. You considered him a moment longer and splayed your hand over his chest, gently directing him to lay back. When he did you crawled next to him, holding his cheek in your hand.

“We can do anything you like,” you reminded him, brushing a few loose hairs from his forehead.

“This,” he breathed, grabbing at your soft flesh. “You, now, this -”

You chuckled, but not unkindly, at the way he stumbled on his words. Normally he was so well-spoken even with his habit of speaking in half sentences, and you never imagined he could sound so flustered. You kissed his jaw and then his throat when he stretched his neck back, a whine caught between his teeth.

“Just relax,” you smiled, kissing his collarbone. “I’ve got it from here.”

He caught your hand and kissed your palm, the look in eyes near pleading. You smiled softly at him before arranging yourself over him, straddling his waist and kissing every scar and freckle you could find. He was eager but shy, grabbing at your hips before pulling his hands back, stumbling over his words, somehow trying to ask if you were okay with moving forward, like this hadn’t been the subject of your every spare thought.

“I promise I’m okay Ben, but if you want to stop at any point -”

“No,” he interrupted, settling his hands on your waist. “Never that.”

You kissed him full on then, his sand chapped lips rough on your own. He parted his mouth and you let your tongue dance across his, reveling in every small noise he made against you as you ran your hand through his hair.

When you parted you shifted your knees, working to align him with your entrance. He groaned as you slowly sank down, tightening his fingers against your skin. Part of you hoped they would leave a bruise, something you could feel deep in your skin that kept him around for longer than the night.

You studied his face as you gently rolled against him, testing how far he wanted to go. You committed him to memory - the messy hair, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, and the way his nose was scrunched up while his lips were parted, rasping your name between heavy breaths.

“Shh,” you soothed, leaning down to kiss his open throat. “I’ve got you.”

You peppered him in kisses and small licks, trying to press as much of your skin against his as you could manage while rolling your hips against his. You could feel every part of him this way, and the friction was pushing you closer and closer to the edge.

You sighed his name into the corner of his mouth and he finally opened his eyes, looking at you like you had hung the suns in the sky. He turned to kiss you back, letting one of his hands roam across your chest.

“You’re beautiful like this,” you murmured, unable to help the smile spreading across your face at the blush blooming across his. He looked up at you from under his lashes and you decided right then and there that you must be dreaming. You clenched around him and his eyes fluttered closed again, some mumbled curse lost on his tongue.

You began to roll your hips faster, chasing the sweet friction he provided, closer to your release.

“You have to stop,” he breathed and you stilled against him before sitting up, looking panicked.

“I won’t last much longer,” he clarified, looking distraught.

You took his hand and guided him to the implant on the front of your thigh.

“We can stop if you want to, but we also don’t have to.”

“Thank the Maker,” he groaned, reaching his thumb towards your clit while thrusting up against you.

You let your head fall back for just a moment before returning your attention to him, determined to burn this moment into your mind. You met his thrusts and whined high in the back of your throat as your release neared and then overtook you, walls fluttering against him as he spilled into you.

Your chests heaved together when you leaned over him again, letting your foreheads rest together. Ben made a quiet noise and you opened your eyes, pulling away just slightly.

“Would it be alright if I cleaned you up,” he asked gently, finally releasing the flesh of your hip to rub small circles around your lower back.

You nodded and slowly rolled off of him, relaxing into your pillows. You had told him there was a stack of clean cloth on your desk, so it surprised you when you felt his hand on your knee, gently tugging your legs open. You gave him a curious glance and then he came closer, running his hand up your thigh before tracing over your entrance, settling between your legs.

He gave you a cheeky grin before parting your folds with both thumbs, humming with what you could only guess to be delight before running his tongue against you, lapping at your shared spend. He moaned against you as he worked, tongue finding all the places his fingers had mapped so many cycles ago.

Your moans were much quieter now, toes curling while you tangled your hands in his hair. He worked you through another orgasm slowly, pulling every ounce of pleasure from your chest that he could. You were gasping by the time he finished, and you let yourself tangle your limbs against his when he returned to your side with a gentle kiss to your temple.

There wasn’t a need for words, not like this at least. You laid together and you kept yourself up as long as you could, counting every quiet thump of his heart because on a logical level you knew that when you woke, he wouldn’t be there next to you.

But sleep won, as it always does, and you found yourself fading away to Ben’s soft snores against your hair.

-

When you woke your bed was cool, and your curtain was parted to let the sun in. You sighed before wrapping yourself in the sheet, looking out into the sands. When you did you saw a figure clad in brown and thought it must be Ben, heading back to… wherever it was that he was from.

Only, he didn’t seem to be moving away from your position. In fact, it seemed quite the opposite.

With the risk of extreme embarrassment of running towards some other desert hermit you quickly threw on your discarded clothes from the previous evening, grabbed your old comm from the counter, and bounced down your steps as quickly as you could, rounding your building and breaking every rule you had ever known: running directly into the Dune Sea, alone, towards a stranger.

He must have been moving fast, you couldn’t believe how much distance he had crossed to meet you, wrapping you in his arms. The corners of his eyes were wet.

“I can’t… I can’t stay.”

He sounded devastated, but you nodded your understanding.

“But I can’t stay away either.”

Hope bubbled inside you, mind racing as you tried to find something to say.

“So it was you in the market,” you chided, leaning back to look him up and down.

“I guess I’m not as good at hiding as I thought.”

“No,” you laughed. “Not at all.”

He smirked a little then. “If only you knew.”

“Ben I don’t know what you’re doing out here, but you deserve to be happy. I know you can’t stay, I know. But I’ll be here. I’ll be here for you.”

He pulled you back against his chest, pressing a kiss against your hairline. It was bizarre, to be embraced like this in the most barren area of a desolate planet on the edge of nowhere, but in that moment it was everything you needed.

You pressed the comm device into his hand, wrapping his fingers around it.

"A direct line. Just in case you… fall again."

He nodded and placed it in his pocket, returning his hand to yours.

“I’ll come to you when I can, to make sure you’re alright. I’m sorry -”

“You don’t need to apologize. What is meant to be will find a way. Stay safe, Ben.”

“I’ll find a way.”

It was so quiet you almost missed it, and you leaned in to kiss him one more time, bathed in the light of the rising suns. Before you were ready, and if you were honest with yourself you don’t think you would ever be, he had to turn away and return to what bound him so tightly. You watched him walk for a short while before turning back as well, your own day needing attention.

Maybe it will be tomorrow, or maybe next week. But as sure as the suns rise and fall, you know you will see him again.

Some day.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Masterlist

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

[cathodic-clairvoyant]

You are actually the only person I have seen say anything that makes sense regarding HDWR recently, thank you for your good takes. I love this manga, but it really feels like I’m not reading the same story as most people sometimes

I for the record think that there is a lot (in fact i'd say majority) of interesting discussion about hdwr, even now, (just the other day in the main tag i saw a post that i liked talking about tamaki as a character & her and miwa's relationship and despite the subreddit having a lot of silly posts lately i think a couple months ago around ch. 113's release there were a lot of good comments about MiwaSae and both of their development throughout the story and I think even now there's good discussion about ch. 119 and miwa and tamaki burried in the silly stuff) and in some sense like i feel like the current wave with ch. 119 was always going to happen, it's a very emotionally charged topic that we're seeing how much it hurt a character people tend to like so like i understand being upset by it and having strong opinions about it.

That all being said, the kind of discussion that tends to surround the story of "sae was unfair/toxic to miwa" "tamaki has always been manipulative" "yuria is unfair to sae" are baffling to me because I feel like to get anything out of this story- to not instantly just be frustrated with it- you have to interact with it a little bit on its terms and I think part of that is acknowledging that these characters are more complex than the simple one word "abusive/toxic/manipulative/innocent" labelling and have complex emotions and imperfect reasoning that cause them to make mistakes, be cruel to each other, and do the wrong things. This doesn't excuse the characters' actions but that's not what the story is interested in doing anyway.

And like, I don't think the story is for everyone, I don't think everyone has to want to interact with the story on those terms; which is why while i personally don't agree with the kind of people who say "i had to stop reading when miwa and sae broke up bc it was too sad/too frustrating" and the like, I can at least understand it as just the story has goals that reader doesn't want to engage with, which is completely understandable. Where it confuses me is getting so far through the story and still not choosing to interact with the story on its terms. What are you getting out of this story then??? Does viewing sae as toxic enhance the story for you? Is it a useful way in looking at the narrative?

Especially since I feel like tamifull has attempted to make these characters realistic almost to invite us the reader to examine both ourselves and our relationships as we read. Is How Do We Relationship a useful tool to to analyze yourself or your own relationships with if you flatten the characters into good and bad? Is that a lens you'd want to view your own relationships with? I don't think so. I feel like the only things it could lead to is "i wouldn't make that mistake because I'm not toxic." "i wouldn't find myself in this situation because me and my partner aren't like them." So like. What benefit does viewing these characters in this way give you? You clearly seem to agree with/like the goals of the story if you're still here 100+ chapters later so like. What are you getting out of this?

I dunno. Like i said, I do think there's still a lot of good discussion about hdwr. That's why I still lurk the subreddit and read posts in the main tag. It's just this specific genre of discussion i can't understand especially when it happens with like more recent chapters

[starflungwaddledee]

whenever i work on my kirby secret santa i wonder how the person who got mine is going...

i hope you didn't hate my prompts! i hope there was something you enjoyed and that you are having fun working on your piece! i hope it's going well and you're proud of it. i already know that i will love it!

i also think about how the community is small and the chances of folks knowing each other is fairly high, and so i wonder if you know me maybe, or if you like my work. if you do, hello! i'm thinking about you!

it is just a kind of strange but sweet experience to know that someone is out there right now working on something for you as a surprise! it's nice! i hope my giftee will enjoy their gift too!

[dogearedheart]

8i've been thinking about the last asks i got today. and i think it's better for me to take a step back from this account. i know the anon didn't mean anything by it, but i still feel like i am being a negative presence on here and weirding people out with who i am is nothing i want. so, i am not deleting or anything. i am just gonna be less present with sharing personal things or leaving tags. I'll probably be more active on my second account where i don't have that many followers :)

[popcorn-plots]

I remember back in the Wattpad days when I had just watched Les Mis for the first time. I was so excited about it and I posted a chapter in one of my rant books with just my ramblings and gushing about the show.

I, being young, excited, and still stuck in my Spanish class, spelt all the names wrong. I think I was 13, maybe 14? I don't remember. I do remember spelling most of the names in Les Mis the way I heard them (ex. Jean Valjean sounded like John Von John to me, so I spelt it that way).

I even put a disclaimer that I had never seen Les Mis before and I didn't know french. But an hour after I posted it, someone came along and commented on ever single line, correcting my spelling, telling me what the correct names were, all while being a complete asshole about it.

So anyways, I think about that person from time to time and I wonder if they're doing okay.

[ricoka]

I wasn't 100% sure before but I'm pretty sure now that i lost one of my sketchbooks 😭

[wildknives]

9 ppl liking my shouritsu playlist....🥺 t-thank you

[doomduck]

I can't find one of the key chains i bought ;_;

Ofcause it was the purple one ;_;

[hiemihymni]

:}

[lifenconcepts]

oh I won’t even bother re-reading this one. (Been uploading some of my unposted posts)

We, as a species, ponder on many things. It’s sort of out main aspect. Yet like a robot with a defect, plenty of our kind form with an inherent struggle to do this. And so we do our best to teach them, and allow them to be incorporated into our society just like any other. It’s a fact that humans are naturally kind, sympathetic, and empathetic. They try to make sure that even the weakest are able to be given a chance of a life and survive, feeling a strong obligation through morals to not kill, a right only reserved to the natural passage of time and the world, and often abused by sickly people who are unwell in the mind and derive pleasure from other peoples pain or are suffering in a way that allows them to cope through horrible acts upon others, same species or not. Certain actions may even be taken without prior thought, subconscious acts done by nearly everyone from time to time, such as an automatic response towards a situation they’ve been in before, or a way they were taught is best, even if not out right spoken to them - rather a way of life they learnt through experiencing life first hand. Yet sometimes an individual is ruled by these subconscious ideas, unable to pilot their body much without having a force drag them to do something against their will. It’s not divine intervention but more if a mental state of suffering, one even we are still a bit troubled about and try to understand, but have came to the conclusion that sometimes the components in our minds break and work slightly different. At times going unnoticed and simply materialising as an individual habit, or sometimes being perceived and very clear to an onlooker that something is deeply wrong. These little breaks in the head we often refer to as “mental disorder” or “mental illness” despite plenty existing that do very little to actually harm the user’s way of living, but ofcourse, some being downright awful and a cruel way to live. They form in different ways, some even from birth, and some from exposure to external sources and events. It can even happen if an individual is confined with nothing entirely, as our emotions form strangely and our thoughts adapt to what we’re exposed to. Little things like a bed can play both an unnoticeable role and maybe even cause a sense of habit and comfort to form, like getting used to sleeping low to the ground or high up, while such a thing can even put a massive impact on the developmental stage of a human, usually as a child but able to form even in adulthood, and often followed by a situation related to that object - such as trauma of being physically or emotionally hurt near it, (verbal abuse is tightly connected to emotional distress) and physical trauma being able to cause an otherwise healthy mind to immediately go haywire, usually activating an escapism tactic that is categorised into the umbrella terms of “fight”, “flight”, “fawn”, or “freeze”, these being trauma responses and correspond to how a person reacts to a perceived threat, usually either to confront the target, to flee from the scene or individual, to appease the threat and cause as little damage or reaction as possible, or to shut down and become incapable of responding. All can be described and done in moderation but the user is in no control over them and often is left with consequences in all, especially with overuse, as too much exposure to stressful events or situations can lead to serious consequences on the psyche of an individual, leading to the formation of mental unwellness like I dabbled on prior, or maybe even more serious things like deeper psychological problems and issues like depression or anxiety or PTSD, all which come as a spectrum and some either light or heavy. As even the lightest of these can cause the following: unease in some individuals or places, often related to or resembling a prior negative experience. Mistrust in otherwise good individuals that were unconnected with the trauma.

[toledopilled]

flowers 🫡