#huzzah i finally got it to a point i kinda like

[musedriven]

would you still love me if I was a worm?

it was an innocent enough question. a cute one, even. she'd seen the videos many times of friends and partners and even siblings asking it to each other. it was a silly little game. a fun little trend. and one that no matter how innocent enough it appeared on the surface she herself could never bring herself to participate in. she wanted too! she wanted to be just like the cute couples asking each other if they'd still love each other if one was a worm. she'd love to hear why and how they'd continue to care for her if she was a worm. but she can't. the question always finds itself frozen upon her lips and rattling around in her head.

would you still love me if I was a worm?

they would have to love her before they could know that; but in loving her they would know she is already a worm. a leech; as Dabi had so accurately put it. not that she mind's the nickname; in fact it only goes to prove just how much Dabi does care for her in his own way. most of the league really. but it was true. she was a leech. a blood sucking worm that fed on the people she claimed to love most. and most people don't like leeches. an earthworm people can handle; they are harmless, but a leech was an ugly thing. a leech was gross and painful and wrong. most people were afraid of leeches. maybe that was why she could never bring herself to ask that question for herself. because she knew she was nothing but a parasite feeding off the love of the people she claimed to love the most.

would you still love me if i was a worm?

the league loved her. and she loved them with everything she was. they didn't try to change her or tell her that she was wrong for just existing as herself. they encouraged her to be herself. they loved her and she was a parasite. they loved her so was it really that strange to think that others could as well? she could find someone to protect her, make her feel special and appreciated. someone who would understand her. someone who wouldn't mind if she was at her core just a worm.

please love me, even if I am a worm.

[nyaboshi]

Please yap about Achlys, I want to know everything

OIB;OWJ BITING YOU /affec I WOULD LOVE TO TALK ABOUT MY BABY BOY

Everything is below the cut, because this is about to get long. Teehee~

I saw this ask when you originally sent it, anon, but the reason it's taken me so long to respond is because I was rushing to get this done:

A brand new, shiny reference for my boy! Wings colored and everything, finally!! I wanted to reveal this while simultaneously answering your ask, causeee I have a lot to say about this goober.

First off, I'll start with backstory. Achlys was a character I created for a roleplay with a friend of mine, and he hasssss... spiraled. I love him so much, he's my precious little bean.

He was created in a lab by a scientist named Xander, who was obsessed with creating human hybrids and monstrosities in attempts to create the perfect soldiers. All of his attempts in the past had proven to be too unstable and unfit for actual battle. At some point, Xander came to the conclusion that it was because he was adding DNA to human beings who had already existed. His new priority became to gather the DNA of an individual and use it to make a clone that he would then mix with the DNA. Achlys was the first product of this experimental process (at least the first to not die immediately after being "born"). Xander started with something as simple as the DNA of a butterfly, just to see what it would be like if such an experiment succeeded. What Xander did not expect was to become emotionally attached to the kid. He raised him for a few years, and he eventually because like a father to him. After an altercation with his nefarious works that nearly cost him Achlys' life, he gave up his dangerous and illegal practices, faked his death so the authorities wouldn't be after him, and started a new life with his child.

Achlys grew up within a morally gray household. Although Xander taught him morals to prevent him from getting on the bad side of the law – both because he didn't want Achlys to grow up to be like him (huzzah, character development!) and because trouble with the law meant Achlys being discovered and likely hauled away/killed – that didn't stop Achlys from becoming a bit of a troublemaker. He's loud-mouthed, manipulative at times, and generally kinda self-centered. Achlys definitely isn't afraid to tell minor fibs to get what he wants, and he can and will pull out the good ol' puppy dog eyes on his poor old papá to get him to cave. Xander is somewhat immune to it by the time Achlys hits his mid teenage years. But not completely. Despite his iffy morals though, he's generally a good kid. All of his stuff adds up to petty actions only. If he ever actually got pushed to do anything truly evil, he'd just kinda stand there and likely have a panic attack. Ironically enough, Achlys is easily manipulated. All it takes is flattery and the promise of something sweet and he'll be eating out of the palm of your hand. That's only for first time interactions, though. If you take that opportunity and use it to wrong him, hoof... Once Achlys trust is broken, it is ridiculously hard to earn it back. ANOTHER IMPORTANT DETAIL!!! He is such a dummy. Like. My gosh, somebody help this child... He can't do basic math for the life of him, and not from lack of Xander trying to teach him. Achlys just refuses to pay attention to anything that doesn't interest him unless it's what he deems as super important. And... schooling was not one of those things. He did enough to get by and then it went right out his other ear. Bro can count, but like– If you asked him what 12 x 9 was he'd just sit there and stare at you blankly. The only subject in school he took an interest to was science – it made him feel connected with Xander, cause that's his father's passion. Does he understand a lick of what's being said to him? Not really, no. But does he actually try to listen and learn for once so he can assist him in the "completely safe" experiments he conducts? Of course! On that note, Achlys thinks the world of Xander. His father's opinion is really the only one he cares about. Achlys can get berated by a horde of angry Karens and not give two shakes of a rat's tail; however, the moment Xander does so much as raises his voice at him, he shrinks and turns into a puddle of tears. Never in front of Xander. He holds his ground until he's alone in his room. Then he curls up underneath his covers (or under the bed, depends on how badly he was lectured) and wallows. There's no greater achievement to Achlys than receiving Xander's praise and approval. Which he does receive often, because Xander adores his little sharp-toothed shark child.

ANYWHOZZLE This got real long. XD

I have much more to say in terms of character arcs I have planned out in my noggin for him as well as anatomy headcanons and thoughts I chew on like fruit gummies. But I will leave it at that for now

Once again, thank you so much for the ask, anon! I hope you continue to love him as much as I do (if such a feat is possible, I'm tear him to shreds regularly like a dog /affec)

[talopeiros]

Learning to Smelt - 1

I've been wanting to talk about this for a while. Last year, I wanted to pick up smelting. It seemed fun, and felt right up my field in the realm of making things. I did all the research, got the equipment and earlier this year I finally managed to start! My goal is, once I'm comfortable enough to do it solo (since I had help from my insane uncle during my training adventure) to have it livestreamed and smelt things on request! Honestly at this point I reckon my skills have advanced to the point of almost competence (huzzah!) Nonetheless I want to post some stuff showing the process, just in case anyone's curious!

First off, I made an AGGREGIOUS error when it came to choosing the smelter brand. The one I bought didn't have a connector that worked with Australian Gas tanks, only US ones. I was very luck my uncle had a bunch of spare fittings/hoses lying around otherwise it would've been impossible to do anything from the start. Funnily enough too, despite it eventually getting to +1000 C temperatures, it didn't need that much fuel overall! Only had to slightly open the valves with one full rotation on the gas tank. I guess that's by design, since the whole idea is keep heat in (this just in, local hoplite PNGTuber discovers how heat works!) Also, fun fact! Don't buy a shitty $50 temperature gun that says it can get to 1000+ C and expect it to do so! So many infrared sensors are so pricey and there was no way in tartarus that I would use that kinda money on a glorified nerf gun but then it turns out the cheap one I got was incapable of reading anything beyond 400 C. Fortunately you can just eyeball it when it comes to smelting using this simple rule! If metal = solid: Wait If metal = liquid: Congratulations, you've done it!

Have to make sure it's done in a well-ventilated area too. Doubly so if you're melting brass since that garbage can burn and make zinc oxide which is NOT GOOD. First time I melted stuff was just done to make sure I knew what I was doing, not to cast anything. All I did was melt down brass and copper separately to make small ingots.

(btw if you ever plan to make casted finery, don't bother with a specific ingot mold, those things are pricey. Just get a cast iron muffin tray w/o the teflon on it or something similar. You can make a lot more that way and they're more likely to fit in the crucible if you want to re-melt). Also another piece of advice: DON'T OVERLOAD THE CRUCIBLE. My uncle wanted us to melt down all the copper we had (which was a lot, I had been going to town on the neighbourhoods wiring/plumbing in preparation for this) since "it was more energy efficient to smelt more instead of letting it cool down!" While technically true, a crucible full of copper is VERY HEAVY and picking that thing up with crucible tongs is gonna be a legendary struggle. We did end up spilling a bit, fortunately it didn't go anywhere. The vid attached to this post shows it: A crucible full of copper and regret for our lack of forethought. Following day I did try to cast one thing: My channel emblem as a medallion. I poured molten copper into an open sand mold and well, you be the judge:

Still, twas a good first go! Thanks to the ingot molder we used the cast metal in it's default form comes out in a style akin to that of a paperweight.

I'll be posting details on the second and third smelt soon, so stay tuned!

[doublegoblin]

Man, Astarion got the short end of the stick as far as good endings go.

So I was on a walk and talking with the partner about BG3 (because good gamer very fun) with an emphasis on how the (arguably) poster boy of the game really kinda got screwed over.

This is going to involve some VERY HEAVY spoilers for the game so I will be putting the rest under the cut petals~

So I won't go too in depth because time on earth is limited and I'd rather not write an entire dissertation so I'll try and keep this brief and to the point. Also this is only going over the "good" endings for the Origin characters.

So huzzah you defeated the Nether Brain! Good job Tav or Whoever! We are all bathing in the setting sunlight! Oh no! Astarion no longer has his tadpole and is burning in the sun! Aaaaand he's ran off.

Wait what?

Yeah here's my issue with this ending. Everyone else, while maybe a tragic ending (see Karlach), gets one that is full of some hope at least! You have Shart overcoming her brainwashing and learning to live for herself. Lae'zel going off to fight a fascistic lich-queen, Wyll out of his contract (without DYING) and finally being able to tell his dad the truth, Gale no longer worried about the bomb in his chest and fufilling his (shitty fucked up) misson to Mythra, Karlach is in Avernus again yes but she isn't alone (either with you or Wyll) and is taking charge of her own life, Halsin saved the shadow-cursed lands and reunites with his best friend, Jaheira reunited with Minsc who is no longer a statue! Hells even Durge gets something nice in becoming their own person!

And poor Astarion, like I know you can't cure vampirism (I could go on how there should have been a counterpart to the ascended ending for him where maybe not cure but help), runs away and becomes alone again (unless you romance him but c'mon man that won't be everyone's play-through) losing all the connections and found family he has made. Like this guy was juuuuust on the cusp of having something he hadn't had in over 200 years, friends and some positive influences in his life and it is snatched away.

Like I thought I did something WRONG when that scene started playing! And like, yes, he is wasn't the greatest of guys when you meet up but can you blame him? Like this man has had to endure 200 years of no true freewill of his own, his body literally being puppeteered by the whims of his Pimp. He became a monster to survive. Does this make up for his past deeds though? Hells fucking no. But, like, he was on the road to not redemption but rehabilitation.

Idk like I said I want to keep this short but damn, he is the ONE character to not have an ending with even a crumb of hope.

ALSO WE CAN JUST STAY IN BALDUR'S GATE AND HIT HIM UP, WE KNOW WHERE HE LIVED! Also like, you've made good with the Guild, you can have that favor and figure out where the guy is...just so he doesn't have to lose the few people who he may care about.

Okay okay now I'm good. Trust me though, THIS is short compared to the thoughts I was having and very loudly proclaiming on our walk. I know a lot of the nuance is being lost by keeping this short but yeah. Bleh, they did my stupid sexy vampire dirty and he earned a smidge of hope imo.

[thatdesklamp]

Hey gang. I accidentally deleted a lovely, lovely ask from @lemonsbesour when I was in the middle of writing a response to it. I have no idea what I did. I feel old, ffs. But I will post my response to it, with [brief interjections] from me now to explain it all, hopefully:

Hello! Hi—yes, I so rarely use tumblr but figured that I should have one, just for the shits and gigs most of all, lmao. I feel like a grandma: I don’t know how to use it at all. But it’s fun! It’s kind of like chatting to ppl in the comments section, but in a less formal (???) situation.

Firstly, thank you so much for such a lovely message. You are so kind, omg. It’s difficult, sometimes, to actually take in praise about your own work—I look up to other authors so so much, and feel like a fangirl so much, that it’s so foreign for me to accept that kind of admiration from someone else. It’s especially cool of you to mention the feeling-feelings thing, though, [I was told I was good at writing feelings; my writing was emotive] since that’s something I properly feel I’m not great at sometimes!! The amount of times I have to remind myself to ‘show not tell’, or feel like I’m doing too much ‘telling’… genuinely, when I edit my chapters, half of it is just reworking or straight deleting paragraphs and paragraphs of Hebi-being-emo-soliloquies. If you think there are a lot of them now, in the stuff I’ve actually posted, just trust me: you should see my first drafts.

I am fist-pumping reading that I got you to finish ‘One Day’ [self-explanatory]. Writing intrinsic warmth has just been one long con, just to convince people to read more David Nicholls. When I finally finish IW (gah!!!), I plan on leaving a list of book recommendations, those I’ve read that give me the same emotions that ‘One Day’ did; the emotions I’ve tried to capture in IW. It’s my favourite niche genre of fiction, lmao: Books About Intimate Love (Usually Between Just Two People) That Feel Bittersweet And Also Happen To Be About Time And So Also Feel Nostalgic.

I’ve been thinking about your advice question for a while now. [Asked for writing advice; how to write emotively/depict emotions accurately] Truthfully, I have no bloody clue—in my head, I’m just like, eh, that kinda feels good. What suits the vibe? That suits the vibe. No, no, that *doesn’t* suit the vibe. And etcetera.

There’s a few bog-standard, general tips that I always subscribe to, that I’ve picked up along my way and would be happy to explain in greater detail if that’s wanted; always use ‘says/said’ unless you really have to use something else; never use adjectives instead of someone’s name (e.g. “the brunette looked away” vs. “Susan looked away”); avoid clichés like the plague (explained well in the YouTube video, ‘How to Bore Your Audience’ by The Closer Look); use the Emotion Thesaurus for everything. All the time. It is the writer’s Bible.

Honestly, other than those tips (which are more pragmatic than anything), the only thing I can say is to *practise*. Yes, yes, it’s the wankiest thing in the world to say, and yes, it’s been said twenty million times before, but there’s a reason for that! Just write. And then write some more. Which is why yes, you have to start writing!! [was told @/lemonsbesour was thinking of writing because of IW] Please do. Oh my goodness. I didn’t write for years and years and years until Covid time, really, when (no lie) I watched atla for the first time and subsequently wrote about 40k words of a Zuko x reader. Yes, I look back and wince at its quality, but that’s the point!! Writing is the same as any skill, and you only get better at it when you do it again and again and again. But please write. That would be so cool.

Thank you again for such a lovely message. I was truly giggling and kicking my feet and shit, lmao. Huzzah!! <3

[captainsspnanon]

C3E58 - reaction

I am very entertained that they are fighting a creature with many mouths who causes psychic damage from the sounds, considering I'm in the gibbering mouther section of my C2 rewatch and about to get to the laughing hand, so it's all just fucked up mouths for me XD

LOL the fact that FCG has started consistently fucking with who doesn't get bonded and it's an issue each time. I love it! Though I'm worried about their stress points, I'm also kinda looking forwards to a little blow up.

I saw a few spoilers about the episode before I watched so I WASN'T terrified when Fearne went down and got swallowed, but holy fuck if I hadn't known she lived for a threesome, that would have been so stressful!

I'm so glad we got to see at least a tiny glimpse of the wolf-king! I want Matt to post a picture of it on twitter please! Please please just for me!

Huzzah for bag of holding! Great with the notes and harness and rod for plot development, good for funds for refilling some pockets, especially because ...well, I don't even know what the funds status is of this group. VM was rich AF, M9 was poor AF, I have no clue where BH falls. Especially because a lot of it is based on RP (I think M9 probably had as much as BH, but rped as much poorer - nope I lied, counting today's haul, BH has like double the amount that M9 had by the same episode)

Wish we could have gotten more from the FRIDA moment, interesting that Matt has Christian be much more active in the rolls and directions, whereas with Ashton and Fearne's dad (not Birdie, I can't remember his name) they were much more passive while Imogen and FCG/Laura and Sam really took the lead. Confirmation of Aeor though! Sounds like they got smited by the gods though I don't think we had any idea previously that some Aeorians were against using the malleus factorum. Not surprising once I think about it for like, two seconds, but never considered it before.

THREESOME!!!!! Oh I SO hope that Fearne holds to her early game comment and does 'work her way through all of them'. PLS PLS PLS. Anyhow, a touching and mostly hilarious moment, I loved every second of it. I'm also pleased that the first kiss and first sex scenes were from PCs that it seemed like the fans went out of their way to desexualize, I love it.

All the gifts! Hoodies were adorable, and then two wooden gifts from Chet! With how frequently the table gave each other game related gifts out of game previously, I do enjoy how much it's a lot of in-game gifts now.

Oh fuck those scenes with the Changebringer and Dawnfather were INTENSE. HOLY SHIT. I am very hyped, for the gods to just force visions and make demands (at varying levels of demandingness)!!! I wonder how many non-PCs are also receiving these visions? Did Caduceus get one? Fjord? Pike and Vex and Scanlan? Random other clerics and paladins of the world?

Seriously, I am so hype. C3 took me a bit to settle it, but it is a very easy second place for me out of the three campaigns! Still won't beat C2 for me, but I'm pretty sure that's because 1) it was my first campaign and 2) it's when I really hit hyperfocus on CR and could watch two and a half to three episodes a day. ...yeah, I binged HARD on C2. Started late January 21 and finished in time to watch the finale live.

I'm also intrigued to see how all this is going to go. They physically CAN'T have Aabria and Christian playing once everyone is back together, there's just no room at the table. What is going to be the thing that splits them up? I wonder if it'll end up coming down to an NPC having to be 'group regulars go to this location, group guests go to this location' to have a natural and realistic separation.

[be-ready-when-i-say-go]

Here’s another thought based off this blurb I wrote. 

Reader Insert. 

CW: Smut adjacent. 

_________________

You’re just on the couch, feet propped up on the edge of the coffee table still scrolling through TikTok. Calum’s taken resident up in your lap, head resting on your thighs and his phone is preoccupying him too. That TikTok keeps coming back to your head, the sudden change from the soft voice over to Corpse’s voice. It looks some lurking, and lots of Googling on how to actually make a TikTok, but in the search you come up with a plan. It in some part requires Calum to trust you. 

“Babe?” you start, running your fingers through his hair. 

“Yeah?”

“Can I make a TikTok of you?”

He looks up, tearing his gaze from his phone. “What-what you are you thinking about?”

“Using the same sound off the same video I showed you. Just tickles, really,” you say. 

“God, I hate tickles. But sure, I guess.”

You kiss his nose, “Thanks, babe.” 

“Do I need to do anything?”

“Nah, just say comfy,” you encourage, kissing his forehead. 

He nods, turning his head just a little to kiss at your tummy. “I can do that.” As the countdown starts, you drag your fingers over his scalp. The song plays and your fingers move into his armpits and he giggles. His natural reaction is to squeeze his arms to his side. It ultimately keeps your hand trapped but you laugh just a little at his response. 

As the bass drops and Corpse’s voice filters through, you’re able to wriggle your hand free and slide it over his chest. He settles, peering up at you to see if you’re done. In this action, you’re able to slip your hand up to his throat and give it a small squeeze. The surprise isn’t missed as Calum gasps for just a second before a tiny tiny moan escapes him. His eyes flutter for just a moment. You’re positive the audio is done by now but you do lean down to press a kiss to his lips. 

Calum’s not one to usually submit, but it’s there. He does like to be taken care of sometimes and it tends to happen when things get stressful with work or when he’s got a lot on his plate. And it’s not that he can’t take care, it’s not like he can’t take care of things, but sometimes it’s have someone else do it. It’s nice to have someone else please him. 

And truth be told, the action should shock him. He should recoil given that you just tickled him, but there’s a gleam in your eyes when you leaned into him. You looked so proud to see him respond that way, to see him trust you, so he pull himself into a seating position and cups your cheek. “You didn’t tell me that was part of the bit.”

You’re acutely aware to save the draft, but your phone is the last of your worries. “Wanted it to be a surprise.”

The distance between you two is short, and grows even shorter as you push up and Calum leans in. His nose brushes over yours. “Considered me surprised.” The pad of his thumb strokes your cheek before he drags his whole palm down and cups your throat in return. 

You push forward to seal his mouth in a kiss, peeling his hand away from your flesh. The kiss is short before you pull away. “I don’t think you get to call the shots right now, baby.” 

Calum can only let out a shaky exhale as you kiss over the side of his neck, “Okay.”

Calum’s head rests on your chest, the blanket draped on the back of the couch thrown over the both of you. His fingers trace over your sides slowly. Your fingers are scratching over his scalp. “Do you remember if we got Oreos last trip to the store?” you ask quietly. Your fingers move down to the muscle of his back, scratching just a little at the flesh.

“We did. But I can’t say any is left,” he laughs, sitting up. “Which might entirely be my fault, but that’s neither here nor there.” He redresses but drapes the blanket back over you, even goes as far as to tuck the ends around you. 

“I am not prisoner to the couch,” you tease.

“You must certainly are.” While Calum checks the kitchen for Oreos, you redress mostly but rewrap yourself in the blanket. 

“Huzzah, a full sleeve is left,” Calum declares from the kitchen and then rushes back into the living room. He plops down behind you, resting the package in your lap. You feed him the first one and the voice from the TV surround the two of you. The two of you enjoy the sleeve and then eventually move into the bedroom to wash up and retire under the sheets. 

The next morning when you check your phone, as you open the Twitter app your notifications are absolutely flooded. You check to see what happened. Normally, there’s a tweet about you here and there, but you turned off notifications just in general to be safe. But you still checked it periodically. As the tweet loads, you pull your brows down into confusion. Didn’t know they got it on like THAT!

When you scroll up in the chain, you spy the TikTok. You could’ve sworn you had only saved the draft not published it. But when you change to the TikTok app, you realize at the top of your profile is the video. “Holy shit.” You climb out of bed and scurry to find Calum. You’re already trying to get your fingers to stop shaking so you can delete the video. But at this point it is too late, you realize. “Babe?” you call out into the house. “Babe?!”

“Outside,” comes his reply and you spin around and hurry down to the open backyard doors. 

“Babe, I’m so sorry,” you rush out. 

Calum takes in the panic in your eyes and how your phone is wobbling in your hand. “Hey, hey, whatever it is, we’ll work through it, okay?” But all you can seem to do is just apologize. He nods, guiding you into his chest and rubs his hand up and down your back. “Ssh, take a deep breathe.”

“I-I thought the video was just a draft,” you say more but it gets slightly muffled as you press your face deeper into his skin. 

Calum can deduce the problem though. “But you published it by accident?” he asks. You nod. “And I can only assume it only took a matter of time before fans found it huh?” You give another nod. 

A sigh leaves his chest and you pull back, “I-I deleted it once I found out and it’s a throwaway account. It’s not even my face as the profile picture you know? I-I thought I was being safe.”

“Shit happens,” Calum returns, using his fingers to wipe away the tears. “It’s out there now. What else can we do?”

“I’m so sorry.” 

He kisses your forehead. “I accept your apology. Let’s get some waffles, want waffles?”

You’re not sure how Calum can be so calm about this. “You’re-you’re not mad. After everything?”

“You posting something by accident isn’t the same, okay? Besides, that video is the most harmless thing that’s come out. You know, none of us are saints, nor do we pretend to be saints.” He shrugs. “Besides, what a way to confirm a relationship, you know?”

The two of you had been dating for a while, two years and some change. You had popped up occasionally in an Instagram posts and you two got spotted here and there hanging out. But you were pretty good at keeping your face hidden or turned away from paps when you could spot them. One picture of your face had surfaced, really early on. But not much since then. 

Of course, the fans still speculated after all these years that you two were still together but neither you or Calum had done anything to confirm it. It didn’t bother you, you kinda liked the secrecy. It was easier to ignore the occasional tweet about your relationship but most fans had a feeling nothing would ever really be said. 

Until now. 

And sure, Calum is right on some front. You can’t really do anything about it now. The video is out and no doubt making its rounds. “I’m just going to delete the account, but yes to waffles.”

“If you want to, then I won’t stop you. But really I’m not mad.” 

You take a moment to look at him, study his gaze. It’s steady, he looks more concerned than anything else. “Sorry,” you say one last time. It’s clear that there’s not much else that he can say that will ease your fear. 

He presses another kiss to forehead, rubbing his hands over your arms. “Let’s go get dressed and eat waffles.”

You nod and it finally dawns on you that Calum had been out with Duke and you spy him laying your and Calum’s feet, completely content to stretch out the rest of the day. You kiss Calum’s cheek and then pick up Duke to nuzzle your nose into his fur. “Oh, buddy, bath time soon for you,” you laugh, but Duke just nuzzles into you. 

You settle onto the edge of the bed and Duke rests on your lap. You delete the TikTok account. There’s thousand of tweets it seems, so many comments and you can only imagine that Instagram is going to look the same so you take point not to look at it and to stop looking at Twitter as well. It’s not going to do anything good for you at this point. 

As you pull clothes from the dressers and closet, Calum returns to the bedroom. He walks pass you but takes a moment to squeeze your elbow three times. You turn to watch him disappear into the attached bathroom but smile just a little. Three squeezes, always a way to say I love you without necessarily saying it. You two use it most often when you and Calum go out into public, or at parties. Two squeezes means let’s go/there’s a problem. But three, and no more than three is your secret way to say I’m always there with you and for you. 

The car ride is quiet, but you hold Calum’s hand like always. It’s easy enough to slip into the breakfast diner. You pick at the corner of the napkin the utensils are wrapped in. The waiter is quick to get your orders. But you’ve stayed silent still. “Look, if waffles don’t fix this, I will go to extreme measures,” he teases after trying to gain your attention. 

You roll your eyes, but smile. “God, let’s not do that either.”

He laughs and takes your hand. “I mean, I would always go to the extreme measures for you.”

“Thanks.” The waitress comes back around to refill your water glasses and assure you your food will be coming out soon. “Wanna go to Lowe’s after this? Still gotta find materials for those shelves in your music room.”

He nods. “Yeah we can check them out. But if you stop me from buying my string of pearls, I will riot.”

“I want one just as much as you do, but we need a place for it first.”

“Nonsense. No plan. Just buy.”

Your food is brought out a couple of minutes later and the waffles do make you feel a little bit better, but right in the back of your head is the morbid curiosity to check what is happening on social media. You struggle against it continue to eat on. The sun’s a little brighter as you and Calum leave the diner. You keep your head down and walk a little behind him, but he reaches back, wiggling his fingers for you. 

“You sure?” you whisper. 

“What are paps going to get now that’s news?” There’s a devilish grin on his face and you give in, catching up and taking his hand. You’re pretty sure you can spot a pap or two but you don’t think too much about it as you stride side by side with Calum. 

In the Lowe’s you keep close to Calum, finding the right size planks that would be needed. He drags you over to the plants and allow yourself to be dragged over.  “You’re the one that got me hooked on this. This is your fault,” he teases. And you’ll admit it is kinda your fault. You wanted to bring in a few house plants, which Calum admitted to avoiding because he wasn’t home a lot. Though you weren’t sure how that logical applied to a dog, but never the less, your interest in house plants has rubbed off on Calum. 

You steer the pallet around with the planks you’re going to use for the shelves, long with the brackets and screws. You might’ve taken over a corner if the garage with some power tools and a small saw for some home projects you’ve wanted to take on. And so now, you tend to take up to some handy projects around the house and Calum’s always there to help hold whatever you need him to hold. 

“There are already three plants on this things, let’s slow down,” you tease. 

“Never,” he replies, placing another one down. “Kitchen window?” 

You nod. “Sounds good to me.”

When you two get home, you unload the planks into the garage and Calum finds his gardening gloves to move the plants into some pots. You watch him settled onto the steps that lead up from the garage into the house, gently pat some extra soil around the plant. “Want some help repotting?”

“It’s only two more,” he returns but does look up pushing his lips out for a kiss. You laugh and kiss him but check the soil on two he’s finished potting to see if they need water. “Can you add a little water to that first one for me?”

“Of course.” It’s not long before you add a little water to the plant and you settle in front of him, snapping a photo of the concentration on his face. It’s slightly obstructed by the baseball cap, but you angle it well enough.

“Cutie,” you whisper and pinch his cheeks. 

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” he laughs. The last plant potted, he turns his attention back to you. “How’s it going? You okay now?”

You shrug. “Better, I guess. Still feel bad.”

“That’s valid. It’s okay if you still feel bad. But all in all, we’re okay. If you’re worried.” You nod, fingers rubbing over leaves gently. “Check my Instagram.” That’s all he says before turning around and head inside with one of the plants. 

You stay seated and pull up the platform. When you find Calum’s profile, you a new post. It’s a series, indicated by the white square icon in the top right corner. The first one is hardly a photo of you from years ago but the other two in it are more recent, the last actually a video of you struggling to get some of the planks from the display in Lowe’s. Calum’s voice floats through your speaker and the camera bounces a little as he moves in to help. “Let me help. You’re going to kill yourself trying to do all that by yourself,” he laughs. 

“In my will, I will leave you everything then,” you counter and hoist the plank up. 

The video is still rolling and captures you grinning as you pointing just off screen, “To plants for my good sir?”

He giggles. “To plants!” and the video ends. 

Here’s a very short collection of two years and 3 and a half months, reads the caption and that’s all. 

“Calum,” you call out, grabbing the string of pearls and head inside. He shuffles to a stop having been coming around the corner. “I love you. Your post is sweet. Now where do we locate the newest plant baby?”

“Kitchen window. Other will are going in the office.” You go to step past him but he squeezes your elbow-- three times. 

[kookie-doughs]

Y/N L/N AND THE HALFBLOODS

Percy Jackson X Reader

-Y/N L/N met Percy Jackson and everything is now ruined.

Chapter 22: Then It Ended

As soon as we came, Annabeth ang Grover tackled me. We were the first heroes to return alive to Half-Blood Hill since Luke, so of course everybody treated us as if we'd won some reality-TV contest. According to camp tradition, we wore laurel wreaths to a big feast prepared in our honor, then led a procession down to the bonfire, where we got to burn the burial shrouds our cabins had made for us in our absence.

Annabeth's shroud was so beautiful—gray silk with embroidered owls— Percy told her it seemed a shame not to bury her in it. She punched him and told him to shut up. Percy being the son of Poseidon, he didn't have any cabin mates, so the Ares cabin had volunteered to make his shroud. They'd taken an old bedsheet and painted smiley faces with X'ed-out eyes around the border, and the word LOSER painted really big in the middle.

As I was still unclaimed, Hermes cabin had made me one. (Just... IDK go crazy with your shroud IG) It was fun to burn. As Apollo's cabin led the sing-along and passed out s'mores, Percy and I was surrounded by my Hermes cabinmates, Annabeth's friends from Athena, and Grover's satyr buddies, who were admiring the brand-new searcher's license he'd received from the Council of Cloven Elders. The council had called Grover's performance on the quest "Brave to the point of indigestion. Horns-and-whiskers above anything we have seen in the past." The only ones not in a party mood were Clarisse and her cabinmates, whose poisonous looks told me they'd never forgive us for disgracing their dad. That was okay with me. Even Dionysus's welcome-home speech wasn't enough to dampen my spirits. "Yes, yes, so the little brats didn't get themselves killed and now they'll have an even bigger head. Well, huzzah for that. In other announcements, there will be no canoe races this Saturday...." Going back to the cabin I finally had time to talk to Luke. Who just expressed his relief of me being fine, and how he was scared when Annabeth told everyone about me. No wonder everyone was so shocked seeing me come back with Percy. On the Fourth of July, the whole camp gathered at the beach for a fireworks display by cabin nine. Being Hephaestus's kids, they weren't going to settle for a few lame red-white-and-blue explosions. They'd anchored a barge offshore and loaded it with rockets the size of Patriot missiles. According to Annabeth, who'd seen the show before, the blasts would be sequenced so tightly they'd look like frames of animation across the sky. The finale was supposed to be a couple of hundred-foot-tall Spartan warriors who would crackle to life above the ocean, fight a battle, then explode into a million colors. As Annabeth, Percy and I were spreading a picnic blanket, Grover showed up to tell us good-bye. He was dressed in his usual jeans and T-shirt and sneakers, but in the last few weeks he'd started to look older, almost high-school age. His goatee had gotten thicker. He'd put on weight. His horns had grown at least an inch, so he now had to wear his rasta cap all the time to pass as human. "I'm off," he said. "I just came to say ... well, you know." I tried to feel happy for him. After all, it wasn't every day a satyr got permission to go look for the great god Pan. But it was hard saying good-bye. I'd only known Grover a year, yet he was my oldest friend. Annabeth and I gave him a hug. She told him to keep his fake feet on. I asked him where he was going to search first. "Kind of a secret," he said, looking embarrassed. "I wish you could come with me, guys, but humans and Pan ..." "We understand," Annabeth said. "You got enough tin cans for the trip?" "Yeah." "And you remembered your reed pipes?" "Jeez, Annabeth," he grumbled. "You're like an old mama goat." But he didn't really sound annoyed. He gripped his walking stick and slung a backpack over his shoulder. He looked like any hitchhiker you might see on an American highway. "Well," he said, "wish me luck." He gave Annabeth and I another hug. He clapped Percy on the shoulder, then headed back through the dunes. Fireworks exploded to life overhead: Hercules killing the Nemean lion, Artemis chasing the boar, George Washington (who, by the way, was a son of Athena) crossing the Delaware. "Hey, Grover," Percy called. He turned at the edge of the woods. "Wherever you're going—I hope they make good enchiladas." Grover grinned, and then he was gone, the trees closing around him. "We'll see him again," Annabeth said. July passed. I spent my daysplanning out strategies with Luke for capture-the-flag and making alliances with the other cabins to keep the banner out of Ares's hands. I got to the top of the climbing wall for the first time without getting scorched by lava. From time to time, Percy and I would walk past the Big House, he'd glance up at the attic windows, and think about the Oracle.

I tried to convince him that its prophecy had come to completion. "You shall go west, and face the god who has turned." "Been there, done that—even though the traitor god had turned out to be Ares rather than Hades." "You shall find what was stolen, and see it safe returned." "Check. One master bolt delivered. One helm of darkness back on Hades." "You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend." Percy recited. "Ares had pretended to be our friend, then betrayed us. That must be what the Oracle meant.... Or maybe Nereid?"

"And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end." He sighed. "I had failed to save my mom and lost you..."

"So why are you still uneasy?" The last night of the summer session came all too quickly. The campers had one last meal together. We burned part of our dinner for the gods. At the bonfire, the senior counselors awarded the end-of-summer beads. Percy and I got our own leather necklace, and when I saw the bead for my first summer. The design was pitch black, with a sea-green trident shimmering in the center.

"This is so beautiful..." I smiled to Percy. "The choice was unanimous," Luke announced. "This bead commemorates the first Son of the Sea God at this camp, and the quest he undertook into the darkest part of the Underworld to stop a war!" The entire camp got to their feet and cheered. Even Ares's cabin felt obliged to stand. Athena's cabin steered Annabeth to the front so she could share in the applause. I'm not sure I'd ever felt as happy or sad as I did at that moment. I'd finally found a family, people who cared about me and thought I'd done something right. And in the morning, most of them would be leaving for the year. * * * The next morning, Luke called me. He gave me a paper, telling me to fill it out, and asked me to meet him as soon as I could. I knew Dionysus must've filled it out, because he stubbornly insisted on getting my name wrong: Dear (WRONG NAME) , If you intend to stay at Camp Half-Blood year-round, you must inform the Big House by noon today. If you do not announce your intentions, we will assume you have vacated your cabin or died a horrible death. Cleaning harpies will begin work at sundown. They will be authorized to eat any unregistered campers. All personal articles left behind will be incinerated in the lava pit. Have a nice day! Mr. D (Dionysus) Camp Director, Olympian Council #12 That's another thing about ADHD. Deadlines just aren't real to me until I'm staring one in the face. Summer was over, and I still don't know what to do. I had no where to go to. The only option I had was Percy's or maybe Hades was not joking about inviting me back to the Underworld. Sighing I decided to just meet Luke before filling it for second opinions. The campgrounds were mostly deserted, shimmering in the August heat. All the campers were in their cabins packing up, or running around with brooms and mops, getting ready for final inspection. Argus was helping some of the Aphrodite kids haul their Gucci suitcases and makeup kits over the hill, where the camp's shuttle bus would be waiting to take them to the airport. I was walking around looking for Luke. I jumped when I felt someone tap me from behind. I instinctively unsheathed my knife and turned only to see Luke with his hands raised.

"Whoa! Calm down just me." He laughed.

"Kinda weird seeing someone laugh at a knife pointed at them." I smirked sheathing my knife.

"I only laugh since its you." He smiled and ruffled my hair. "Are you done with everything?"

"Not really. I don't know whether to leave or not yet. That's why I came. Help me?" I asked him.

He turned to me and to the forest. "How about you hear me out about something... important and private... then decide?" He gestured towards the forest.

"Not planning on killing me are you?" I squinted at him.

He gasped. "Not you. Never. I would never hurt you."

I let him lead me to a shrouded area of the forest.

"How serious is this thing that you can't let anyone see? I am blindly trusting you here Luke." I laughed nervously. But when he didn't reply I felt something was off. "Luke, okay this isn't cool. How deep into the forest do we have to go?"

"Y/N remember when you said... You want to be the person I trust...? How you promised to help me?"

"Luke?" He took my hand and pulled me sharply. I winced at how hard he pulled me. "That hurts! Let me go!"

He snapped back and let go of my wrist. "I-I'm sorry... Y/N..."

As much as I knew I had to leave, I couldn't I was worried about him. I reluctantly placed a hand on his shoulder. "What's happening?"

"I did it..." I said and sat on the ground. "I swear I didn't mean to get you hurt. But, I confess to everything. I  stole bolt and helm, I summoned the hound, I gave Percy the cursed shoes... And just now, I tried to kill Percy Jackson." He looked at me with empty eyes.

I shot up and looked at him in emotions I couldn't put in words. "W-Wh---" I wanted to leave and check on Percy. But once again, seeing him right now... I need to stay with him. "Why are you telling me this...?"

"Join me... please?" his voice was weak. He sounded vulnerable. "Let's serve my Lord together..."

"L-Luke... no. I-I can't do that!" I took his shoulder, "Y-You should stay with me instead. How about that, huh? L-Let's explain to Chiron and the others... come on please. I could help you!"

Nothing was working.

"Come with me..." He muttered.

"Luke, I won't join you. You have to change your mind. You can't do this."

"I can't change my mind."

"I can help you with that? How about you go with me huh? I could spend all my time doing this and that. Please, just change your mind."

He didn't reply for a while until he whispered, "Promise me."

"Promise you what?"

"You'll stay with me."

"What? Luke I wo--"

"You won't join... Just...don't stay here for the year... and stay with me."

"I-If I stay with you... what would that mean?"

"Yo-You... might change my mind."

"I'll go." I replied with no hesitation. "I'll leave camp for the year. And I'll find my parent to prove to you that Gods and Goddess aren't all bad. We'll find my parent together."

"I do my lord's bidding--"

"You can still do it. If you want to. But whatever happens... stays only between us. I'll stay with you until I change your mind. And I'll bring you back to camp."

"I would never do anything to ruin your trust in me." He knelt down. It was kinda awkward but hey... "I need you."

Worry not hero. We shall stay.

"Please..."

We'll meet again. Wait for us, we shall join you soon. Now leave.

I had no idea what happened since when I came to Luke was gone and there was no sign of him anywhere. How were we going to st---

We will meet him once we leave. Now go as our hero needs us.

I suddenly remembered Percy's state that Luke had told me about. So I ran. I ran to the Big House

***

Percy finally opened his eyes. He was propped up in bed in the sickroom of the Big House, his right hand bandaged like a club. Argus stood guard in the corner. Annabeth and I sat next to Percy, I was holding his nectar glass and she was dabbing a washcloth on his forehead.

"Here we are again," Percy said. "You idiot," Annabeth said, "You were green and turning gray when we found you. If it weren't for Chiron's healing..." "Now, now," Chiron's voice said. "Percy's constitution deserves some of the credit." He was sitting near the foot of the bed in human form. His lower half was magically compacted into the wheelchair, his upper half dressed in a coat and tie. He smiled, but his face looked weary and pale, the way it did when he'd been up all night grading Latin papers. "How are you feeling?" he asked. "Like my insides have been frozen, then microwaved." "Apt, considering that was pit scorpion venom. Now you must tell me, if you can, exactly what happened." Between sips of nectar, he told them the story.

I bit my lip trying to keep what happened between Luke and I private. It was a risky move that would not be approved by anyone after all. The room was quiet for a long time. "I can't believe that Luke..." Annabeth's voice faltered. Her expression turned angry and sad. "Yes. Yes, I can believe it. May the gods curse him.... He was never the same after his quest."

Percy was looking at me as if checking what was my reaction to his story. "This must be reported to Olympus," Chiron murmured. "I will go at once." "Luke is out there right now," Percy said. "I have to go after him." Chiron shook his head. "No, Percy. The gods—" "Won't even talk about Kronos," Percy snapped. "Zeus declared the matter closed!" "Percy, I know this is hard. But you must not rush out for vengeance. You aren't ready." "Chiron... your prophecy from the Oracle... it was about Kronos, wasn't it? Was I in it? Y/N? And Annabeth?" Chiron glanced nervously at the ceiling. "Percy, it isn't my place—" "You've been ordered not to talk to me about it, haven't you?" His eyes were sympathetic, but sad. "You will be a great hero, child. I will do my best to prepare you. But if I'm right about the path ahead of you..." Thunder boomed overhead, rattling the windows. "All right!" Chiron shouted. "Fine!" He sighed in frustration. "The gods have their reasons, Percy. Knowing too much of your future is never a good thing." "We can't just sit back and do nothing," He said. "We will not sit back," Chiron promised. "But you must be careful. Kronos wants you to come unraveled. He wants your life disrupted, your thoughts clouded with fear and anger. Do not give him what he wants. Train patiently. Your time will come." "Assuming I live that long." Chiron put his hand on Percy's ankle. "You'll have to trust me, Percy. You will live. But first you must decide your path for the coming year. I cannot tell you the right choice...." I got the feeling that he had a very definite opinion, and it was taking all his willpower not to advise me. "But you must decide whether to stay at Camp Half-Blood year-round, or return to the mortal world for seventh grade and be a summer camper. Think on that. When I get back from Olympus, you must tell me your decision." "I'll be back as soon as I can," Chiron promised. "Argus will watch over you." He glanced at Annabeth. "Oh, and, my dear... whenever you're ready, they're here." "Who's here?" Percy asked. Nobody answered. Chiron rolled himself out of the room. I heard the wheels of his chair clunk carefully down the front steps, two at a time. Annabeth studied the floor. "What's wrong?" Percy asked her. "Nothing. I ... just took your advice about something. You ... um ... need anything?" "Yeah. Help me up. I want to go outside." "Percy, that isn't a good idea." Percy slid his legs out of bed. Annabeth and I caught him before he could crumple to the floor.

I said, "I told you ..." "I'm fine," He insisted.

He managed a step forward. Then another, still leaning heavily on me. Argus followed us outside, but he kept his distance. By the time we reached the porch, his face was beaded with sweat. But we had managed to make it all the way to the railing. It was dusk. The camp looked completely deserted. The cabins were dark and the volleyball pit silent. No canoes cut the surface of the lake. Beyond the woods and the strawberry fields, the Long Island Sound glittered in the last light of the sun. "What are you going to do?" Annabeth asked us. "I don't know." Percy replied. "I got the feeling Chiron wanted me to stay year-round, to put in more individual training time, but I'm not sure that's what I want. I also don't want to leave you both with Clarisse only." Annabeth pursed her lips, then said quietly, "I'm going home for the year, Percy." He stared at her. "You mean, to your dad's?" She pointed toward the crest of Half-Blood Hill. Next to Thalia's pine tree, at the very edge of the camp's magical boundaries, a family stood silhouetted—two little children, a woman, and a tall man with blond hair. They seemed to be waiting. The man was holding a backpack that looked like the one Annabeth had gotten from Waterland in Denver. "I wrote him a letter when we got back," Annabeth said. "Just like you suggested. I told him... I was sorry. I'd come home for the school year if he still wanted me. He wrote back immediately. We decided... we'd give it another try." "That took guts." She pursed her lips. "You won't try anything stupid during the school year, will you? At least ... not without sending me an Iris-message? Both of you?" Percy managed a smile. "I won't go looking for trouble. I usually don't have to."

"You already know my plans."

"When I get back next summer," she said, "we'll hunt down Luke. We'll ask for a quest, but if we don't get approval, we'll sneak off and do it anyway. Agreed?" "Sounds like a plan worthy of Athena."

She held out her hand. Percy shook it. She gave me a hug. "Take care, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth told Percy. "Keep your eyes open."

"You too, Wise Girl."

Then turned to me, "Good luck on your own quest Droopy."

"Of course Peabody." We watched her walk up the hill and join her family. She gave her father an awkward hug and looked back at the valley one last time. She touched Thalia's pine tree, then allowed herself to be lead over the crest and into the mortal world. "I made my decision." Percy said. "What's yours?"

"I'll be leaving camp... I'm going to look for my parent..." He looked at me in shock. "I'll be back next summer," I promised him. "I'll survive until then."

"Alone?"

I smiled at him.

"Don't you want to stay with us? Mom said---"

"I want to find my parent. I need to. I'll be fine Percy."

I helped Percy to his cabin so he could pack and went to mine. To my surprise I see a middle-aged man with an athletic figure slim and fit with salt-and-pepper hair, and a very familiar sly grin. He had bags at his foot.

"Delivery for Y/N L/N."

"Uhm..."

"Hermes." He said.

I froze and looked at him with wide eyes.

"Personally packed. As a thank you for what you're about to do." He smiled softly and handed me the bags.

"H-Huh...?"

"For helping Luke."

"I..."

Don't forget her mail!

Ooh! And tell her to bring us snacks next time we meet since it'll be often now!

No it wouldn't be often! She'll be with Luke!

"Both of you keep quiet." Pulling out a mail he handed it to me. "Luke... prayed to me telling me about your plan. He asked me to help you. I don't know what or why he did it. But I know he'll change thanks to you. So do guide him."

"Sorry you lost me at the talking air..." I blinked.

Hermes laughed and showed a caduceus. "It's just George and Martha."

"Hi?"

Hello!

Hi

"I just wanted to let you know. No god or goddess could see you. No matter how hard they tried. So your secrets.. are really secrets. Good luck on your travel."

Next time we meet you should have snacks.

Then he vanished.

Staring at the letter on my hand, I was stunned seeing it was from... my mom and dad.

Sweetie,

You've made quite a friend here.

-Mom and Dad.

I immediately knew where to look. I hurriedly took my bags not bothering to check the contents. I ran to Percy's cabin and helped him out so we could leave.

Percy got a cab and looked at me worriedly.

"I'll write you. Stay safe Arthur Curry." I ruffled his hair and watched him go.

I didn't know where to go so I just went to the first secluded area I saw.

"You have more stuffs than when you arrived." I heard someone behind me.

"You prayed to your dad. I hope he knows how to pack." I sighed turning to him. Turning around I barely made out Luke from the few days I last saw him. "You okay?"

"Do you know where to look first?"

Call upon our hound.

I whistled, I don't know why. But when I did, D/N came out of the blue. Luke looked at me and my dear dog, who was probably bigger than the hound he'd summon back then. "How do feel about L.A?" I said riding on D/N and making space behind me for Luke.

~~~END OF BOOK 1~~~

Previous | Book 1 Masterlist | Series Masterlist

END OF BOOK ONE!!! THANK YOU FOR READING YLATHB I HOPE YOU ENJOY!! I'LL PUBLISH BOOK 2 WHEN I'M DONE OR EVEN AT LEAST HAVE WRITTEN 5 CHAPTERS OF THE BOOK 2 ;))

I HOPE TO SEE YOU NEXT TIME!!!

Taglist?

@gayer-than-the-gayest-gay @the-natureofme @booknerd-3000 @katara720 @ynfics

[lord-explosion-baku]

Hero Santa

Sero x fem!reader

Warnings: yellow sour fruit, swearing

A/N: wow it’s been a long time that I’ve posted a oneshot. Sorry about that. My job keeps me busy and the fic I’m writing takes priority. This isn’t a request either so I’m ;;; this is entirely self-indulgent. I’ve just discovered a newfound love for mr. tape boy and wanted to write something about him. There’s a lot of cringey things in here. Like, secondhand emebarssment type things. But I just wanted to write something funny and wholesome, straying away from the incessant dubcon that litters my blog. If this makes you embarrassed then I think I’ve done my job right? If this makes you smile, then double points for me, I guess! Also, fuck you, I'm still mourning the loss of blockbuster movies so it exists in this one shot. huzzah.

You barrel in through Sero’s threshold, clutching your sides as you bust out laughing, exhilarated from you and Sero’s grand escape from a dastardly encounter— you seeing your ex boyfriend in public. Sero flings himself after you, clamping his hands down on your shoulders practically shaking as he tries to catch his breath.

“D-do you think he saw us??” He snickers, twirling around you to throw his house keys down on his front door counter top.

“I’m sure he did! He said my name right before you grabbed me!”

Sero’s grin widens as he sifts through your bag to grab one of the many sweet treats he picked out for the both of you. “But are you really sure that he saw us?”

“Sero, you literally spider-manned us out of blockbuster. The entire store saw us! They’re going to have to get a long ass ladder to get that tape off the ceiling!” You grin at him and with your best, most formal tone, you mock, “that was quite indecent, young man!”

“Ehhh. I’m sure they have somebody at the blockbuster who was like a leg extension or flying quirk. They’ll be fine!

You snort. “I can’t believe you just referred to blockbuster as ‘the blockbuster’ like you’re some kinda old lady!”

“Now, why don’t you make a decision on what my identity is? Who am I: Spider-Man or Gammy NumNums?”

“Who am I to say? I don't know Spider-Man’s secret identity. How are we so sure that Gammy NumNums herself isn’t Spider-Man?

“Oh shit, I think you’re onto something there.” Sero plops down on his couch, setting his treats down on the table next to it. “I’m really living the greatest triple life, huh? The best of all worlds.”

“I’ll say.” You mosey into the room, vibrating with happiness and comfort you get whenever you’re in Sero’s house. You nod at the pile of blankets he has at his feet. The two of you are going to be having a blanket fort movie night, something you’ve been looking forward to all week long. “Shall we get started?”

“Nah nah nah, lemme take care of all of this! Can you get the popcorn ready?”

You nod and grab two different packets from your bag. “Butter or kettle? I couldn’t decide.”

“What do I look like, an animal? Butter! Buttery butter. I want my popcorn to slide off my fingertips!”

You mock a gag. “I think maybe you are an animal,” you say and throw a pillow at Sero’s face before hopping to the kitchen before he could retaliate.

You leave the room with a giant smile on your face. Back at the store, you let yourself freeze in front of your ex while a thousand thoughts ran through your head. It’s always been odd seeing him in public after the two of you broke up, but every time you have seen him, you’ve been able to hide yourself immediately. Thankfully Sero was there when you were discovered and you recovered from your mental paralysis as soon as he swung the two of you out and away from him.

Sero has really been a special kind of hero towards you since your breakup. He’s been nothing but supportive of you— there for you whether you needed a shoulder to cry on or someone to bring a smile to your face. Sero is your guy. Sometimes both! You recall an instance where you were done crying but had said something along the lines of “my heart might be broken,” and without hesitating, Sero clicked out a piece of his tape and placed it over your chest, telling you that he’d be there to fix it. That’s when you first realized that maybe your heart could change fall into a new direction. He has really become something very… special to you. You find your heart skipping a beat during certain instances. If his hand lingers on your waist for a second longer than you’re used to, your mind goes haywire. It’s funny— you know you have feelings for him, and you’re pretty positive he might reciprocate those feelings, but the two of you avoid saying anything about it like the plague. You’re completely comfortable with him, but sometimes when you’re alone, when you’re close, the air grows thick with tension and the two of you sit in silence until one of you inevitable break the silence by making some lame joke. But god, sometimes you just want to hold the boy down and smooch his face!!

You pause in the hallway to check yourself in the mirror, pursing your lips as you turn to inspect your teal blue pajama bottoms. You sigh, embarrassed to have been in public with your lounge wear: slippers and all. If you had been expecting to see anybody, you would’ve done your makeup, maybe put on a skirt and some cute boots, but he saw you looking like a slob with a shit ton of candy in your hands.

After you pop your corn, you return to Sero’s living room, amazed at how quickly he made the fort transformation. Blankets hang from the walls and ceiling, cascading down with nice curves centering on an arena of fluffy pillows with Sero sprawled out in the middle, languidly pushing chocolate covered cookie dough into his mouth while he bats at the controls to get the movie started. You pause at the doorway, shifting your weight from one leg to another nervously until he looks at you, lifting a brow when you bite your lip.

“I know,” he says with a grin, “I’m absolutely brilliant.”

“You’re just alright.” You take you seat next to the boy, and burrow your cold feet under his legs. He gives you a funny grin, but you shrug it off. “I’m cold!”

“I think I-“ Sero presses his lips together, a worried look crawling over his face “-I’m certain I spared a blanket or two for us to actually use.”

He takes a moment to look around and after he finds nothing, he gives you a wide eyed stare. “Oh no.”

“See, this is why you're just alright.”

Sero hops up. “No, no, no— I’m not just alright. I’m the king of this here fort.” Sero raises his hands to feel around for a blanket used for the roof that’s unnecessary for the structure. His shirt lifts, exposing his tight midriff to you, and you tell yourself to look away, but you just can’t bring yourself to. Your eyes linger on his naval before drifting down towards his gray sweatpants where you can definitely make out the outline of his dick. You could scream.

“Do forts usually have kings?”

“This one does.”

You get to you knees, fully aware of how it might look to him if he so much as glances down, and ask, “if you’re the king, what would that make me?”

“That’s easy,” Sero says, carefully peeling some tape off a loose blanket, “you’re the princess.”

“HA! So you’re my dad?!”

Sero snickers before his eyes meet yours, blanket falling into his hands. He hesitates for a moment while he looks down at you, his brows furrowing as the tips of his ears grow to be a redder hue.

“Absolutely not,” he whispers in a tone softer than you’re used to. The blanket fall to the floor, but Sero stays stock still, eyes glazing over as he takes in your suggestive position.

“Then how does this work?” You quip, growing all the more embarrassed that you’re practically begging for him to make a move while at the same time, doing absolutely nothing.

“Don’t you remember?” Finally, he crouches down, leveling his head with yours. You can feel his breath dance across your face as he continues, “I swept you off your feet. Stole you right out from under the nose of a beastly emperor. The princess is merely a guest at my fort; it’s a safe haven for her.”

“Then one could say that the princess owes the king a lot for saving her life…”

“The king is only happy when the princess is safe and happy. She owes him nothing.”

“Is that so…?” You reach a hand into the popcorn bowl, grin sinisterly at ‘the king’, and buck a handful of the buttery goodness Sero loves so much right at his face. “Little did you know, the princess has been planning to assassinate the king in order to take the fort for herself!”

“Damn you, princess!” Sero laughs, throwing his own handful right back at you. “The king has been betrayed one too many times after giving in to acts of charity!”

“The king is a fool!” You yell, swinging a pillow at his face, knocking him back into his cushioned seminar. “Long live princess me!!”

Sero moves to remove your assault weapon from his face, only to have you climb on top of him to pin his hands behind his back

“You suck.”

“You sure wish I would.”

“I—“ Sero’s face flushes beat red while you smirk down at him. You tighten your thighs hold around him but get distracted by something poking your chest. It’s popcorn.

“Oh. Ew.” Without thinking, you pull the bits out from your bra and pop them into your mouth. Sero gives you a funny grin and it’s your turn to flush. You hide behind your hands and cry, “GAHH! I’m not a princess! I’m a troll!”

Sero uses this opening to his advantage, grabbing onto your hands and using sheer strength, flings you onto your back, panning you down against a pillowy wonderland.

“Ahhh curse your hero training,” you laugh, wiggling your legs around so you can lay more comfortably under your faux assailant.

“Troll princess,” Sero sighs, his warm breath cascading down your neck, causing shivers to prickle all across your body, “I've got you now.”

“Oh nooo.” You toss your head back, subtly lifting your pelvis to press against his. Heat floods into your belly when you feel his hardening erection pulsate against you. This isn’t what friends do and you know that. He has to know that, too. “The King’s got the poor, helpless princess locked beneath him. Whatever can she do? Whatever will he do?”

Sero goes silent. His eyes scan over your face, lips patting when they land in yours. You’re unsure of what to do— what to say. At this point you might as well tell him to kiss you.

“I don’t wanna play this game anymore,” he says in a sort of morose way. You heart falls and your stomach goes to knots. Maybe you were wrong about him feeling the same way for you do? Maybe the two of you are just really good friends. But his hands don’t move from their pinned position.

“Sero… we don’t have to do this if you don’t w—“

Your sentence gets cut short by Sero’s lips suddenly locking onto yours. You hum in surprise, but kiss him back, your skin practically screaming in delight when his tongue slides over your bottom lip. You try to reach up to him but Sero’s bolted hands hold your wrists firmly, keeping them above your head and all you can do is roll your tongue over his, trying to catch as much of him as you can before the kiss breaks.

But it doesn’t. He pushes your wrists together so he can hold you with one hand while the other slides down to your body, caressing your side until he squeezes your waist. You lift your pelvis and his arm wraps around your back, pulling you closer against his body. His cock rubs against your pubic bone and you can’t help but imagine what it may feel like inside of you.

You manage to free one of your hands and swiftly move it down to his sweats, greedily massaging him through his pants. Finally Sero pulls away, a trail of saliva connecting your lips to his.

“Oh, heh~,” he says, seizing your hand. “I’m, uh, really sensitive…”

“Oh? I’d like to see just how-“ again, you’re cut off by Sero claiming your lips, the kiss more forceful the second time around. It’s messy, and wet, and desperate, and you find yourself sighing into his mouth every time you get a chance to breathe, only to have those short moments thrown away by your own need possessing your body to kiss him back harsher, hands reaching up to his hair to tug and pull, exciting you when you hear a groan build up in the back Sero’s throat.

“Fuck.” Sero’s lips meet your neck, his hand resting against your exposed belly. It’s cold but you don’t mind; your body craves his cool touch. Using his tongue, Sero draw a long strip up from your neck to your ear, causing your body to shudder. You practically melt when he whispers, “I want you. I want you so bad. You have no idea.”

You sigh as Sero nibbles in your ear, his hands boldly exploring farther up your body. “I… think I have some idea.”

“Nuh-uh.” Sero leans back, his eyes shamelessly scanning over your body. You didn’t think it possible, but your skin warms up even more from his lingering gaze. As much as you like the attention, you want his hands right back on you pronto. “There’s no way you could possibly like me as much as I like you…”

You scowl at him. Too much talking and not enough kissing. You pull your shirt off and unclasp your bra, throwing your garments to the side, exposing yourself to him. Nervous tingles nip at your body, but the look on his face, the way his eyes flick from your face to your chest and back to your face as his adam’s apple bobs, makes it all worth it.

“Shit… you’re so— you’re everything to me, I need you to know that, like, if you’re at all uncomfortable or like if I do something you don’t like— god, you’re gorgeous, I just wanna—“

“-Sero…” You take his hands in yours and lead them back to your body. “Please… touch me.”

“Y-yeah…”

Sero presses his lips to yours in a sweeter manner, him molding to you nearly perfectly as his hands run up your sides. Goosebumps erupt across your body when he pushes you back down against the pillows. His right hand cups your breast as he trails kisses down your chest, only pausing when he begins to snicker.

“What?”

“Salty,” he says, his tongue licking dangerous close to your nipple. “You taste like popcorn.”

“Ohhhh noooooo-ahhh~!”

A pretty sight: Sero’s pink tongue rolling out to lav over your puckered bud. 

His lips wrap around your nipple; he sucks and your body jolts forward. He’s not the only one who’s sensitive. His eyes meet yours and he offers you a sinister grin. “I like it.”

Your breathing grows heavy while Sero makes his way down your stomach, making sure to pay extra attention to the places that make you squirm when he kisses them. He gets to your pajama shorts and pets your clothed slit with a knuckle. Your hips buck up when he leans down and licks you through your shorts, excited pulsations grabbing at your core. You need more.

Your shorts fly off by your own doing, whether it’s to get the ball rolling or if you want him to be giving you the exact same lustful stare he is now is lost to you, but you’ll take it. You love it. You want him to look at you like that forever.

Sero pets your core, his own breath shuddering as you roll your hips at his touch.

“You’re already so fucking wet,” he says, annunciating every word as if it pains him to say it. He rests his head in your thigh as he lazily teases you, seeming to enjoy your light mewling that comes when his fingers grow closer to your clit, the way your body moves to his touch. “I want it.”

“What ~ahah~ what are you gonna do about it?”

“Hmmm.” To your severe displeasure, Sero removes to hands, only to strip himself of his own shirt. You stare at him in awe; of course you’ve seen him shirtless before, but under these circumstances, it’s different. And you’re sure he’s bulked our a bit since the last time you caught him half-naked. Goodness.

“Ohh my god,” you sigh when he tosses his shirt to the sigh, the sight of his muscles moving over you incredibly enticing.

“What?” Sero gets to his elbows and spreads your legs open for him. He gives your pussy a long lick and groans, closing his eyes when he kisses your pubic bone. “You got something to say?”

“You’re just… so… ohhhh~!”

Sero begins laving at your heat, drowning the room with your surprised moans. His skillful tongue traces your caverns until his mouth is covered in your need. He eats you out like he’s starving for it— hell, he could’ve been famished if he says there’s no way you can like him more than he likes you. His tongue circles your clit, his never ceasing groans adding to your pleasure. You reach down as grasp at his soft hair, massaging his head as he toys with your sensitivity.

“So what, Princess?” He asks as his fingers tease your hole. The nickname sends shivers up your spine. You don’t mind it, you just didn’t think that something so cheesy could sound so hot coming from him.

“So— ahhh ahah~!” A loud moan you aren’t expecting tears out from your throat when Sero plunges two fingers into your depths. He chuckles and returns his attention back to your clit, watching your face contort in pleasure through heavy eyelashes. He sucks in you while his fingers curl against your walls, the threat of your own release building up against your stomach. You moan and pull his hair, whispering incomprehensible words, trying to find the right way to encourage him, the right way to warn him that you’re close.

“I know, I’ve got a big tongue, huh?” Oh, so he could be a smug bastard, too?

“Sssaaah~” You try saying his name, but it’s lost to you. You don’t know what to call him: Hanta? Sero? He’s been your friend for so long that saying his actual name might sound weird on your tongue, but what if saying his last name sounds weird to him? “Hero…”

“Hmmm?” His low voice murmuring into your core sends your body into a frenzy. Your body starts to shake and grip onto the cushions to keep you grounded, but that doesn’t save you from the next word you yelp out as your body is lost to ecstatic fits.

“Fuck! Oh god, Santa~ nnng~ hah~!” You squeeze your thighs together, locking him in as he gifts you with little kitten licks, elongating your excruciating orgasm with the low reverberations of his voice while he laps up your pleasure.

Your body settles but that doesn’t stop him at first. He savors your twitching body, kissing your swollen bud tenderly, brushing his hands across your sweat covered body, until he looks up at you and grins.

“So you have some kinda Christmas kink?”

You catch your breath, gazing up at the makeshift blanket ceiling, before looking back down at his goofy, red face. “What do you mean?”

“You just called me ‘Santa.’ I mean, Christmas isn’t for another month but I’m sure I could find a Santa hat somewhere if that’s what you’re into. I live to please.”

“Oh no.” You bury yourself behind your hands. “No I didn’t. No, no, noooo!!”

Sero climbs on top of you and kisses your hands. “Hey,” he sings at you, “don’t hide. I don’t kink shame.”

You grab a pillow a fling it into his face. “Shut up! Noooo!”

The two of you laugh together, his breath fanning you as he buries his head in the crook of your neck. The two of you stay like that for mere seconds but it feels like an eternity. He made you cum, but still, you crave him. You want more of him.

“That was actually really hot.” You feel him grin against your neck. “You forgetting my name. It kinda made me feel good. Really good.”

“I could… I could make you feel better,” you whisper, wrapping your hands around his back, using your fingernails to tickle his skin. He flushes.

“Is that so?” He leans down and pecks your lips. “‘Cause I wasn’t done with you. I wanna see if I can make you say all seven reindeers’ names.”

“Oh, fuck you!”

He quirks a brow. “You wanna?”

...Desperately. “Yes.”

Sero’s all too quick to free himself of his sweats and you side him by pulling his boxers down. You gulp at the sight of his erection; it’s a nice size with a beautiful curve, pre-cum already seeping out through the slit of his reddened head. You look to him and bite your lips. You grasp at the base of his length and guide his cockhead to to your mouth, pulling you tongue out to lick at his knob.

“Ahh~, um, I’m really-“

“Sensitive?” You ask before lulling your tongue underneath his cock.

“Y-yess,” he hisses, grasping at your hair to pull you back.

You grin wryly back at him. “Then how’s this going to work?”

“With me in control-“ he smirks “-lay back princess.”

You pout at him but he moves to kiss your neck, gently pushing your shoulders down so you’re back on the cushions. You reach your hands up and arch your back, an obvious ploy to get him all the more hot and bothered, and not an unsuccessful one at that.

“God damn,” he breathes, stroking his cock while taking in your figure. “God, I lo—… I need to say something before we go any further.”

“Hmmm?” You run your hands down your body. You stop at your breasts, teasing your nipples, and biting your lips. “You can say anything to me.”

“Sweet Jesus, you’re not making this easy.” He sighs and falls over you. A hand cups your face, his thumb tracing the curve of your lips. It looks like he’s eating to say something serious, but you can hardly think straight with his hardened dick resting against your thigh.

“This,” he says, stroking the back of his hand against your cheek, “can’t be… I can’t be just a rebound for you. I know I might not seem like it, but I’m an all or nothing kinda guy. You can either just be my friend—my really good friend that I’ll think about for all eternity, or you can be… my friend who I’m allowed to take on dates and kiss in public and have high make out sessions whenever we want…”

Oh! Oh he’s asking you out! You can’t help the grin from spreading across your face, but you don’t realize you’re not responding until he continues with—

“And if you’re not yet over that guy… I think I can wait for you, but I don’t… want to get my hopes up or anything…”

Sero your DICK is on my THIGH!

“Sero, you’re not a rebound. I would be very happy if you would take me on dates, kiss me in public, and have high make out sessions with me. I’d even be happy if I get to call you my boyfriend.”

He beams. “You mean that?”

“Yesss, I do. We were practically dating already!”

“Nahhh, I’ve just been warming you up. You don’t know dating until we’ve conquered the entire laser tag arena together.”

This dork. “Then I’ll wait for that with bated breath. Now, please for the love of god, fuck me before I explode!”

“Oho, we can’t have that…”

Sero lines himself up with center, allowing his cockhead to toy with your hot, needy entrance. He curses and rolls his head back as he inches himself forward, testing your heat before pulling out completely. His eyelids grow heavy when he pushes into you again and you feel yourself clamp down on him. You whimper. He feels bigger than he looks and it takes some pull before he’s completely inside you, but god, oh god, after you get used to it, you can’t help but moan as his dick slides in and out of you.

“Mmmphhhfuck, that’s good.” Slowly, Sero rolls his hips, gently fucking you at a near excruciating pace. He breathes through his teeth as his cock grinds into your walls. It feels fantastic having the head of his cock rubbing against the certain spot deep inside you. His arm wraps around your back and he pulls you flush against him, your breasts bouncing against his chest as he quickens the pace, kissing you fiercely, hungrily , while his hands lock you into place.

“You don’t know,” he seethes, “how long I’ve wanted this.”

He bites down in your neck and you claw at his back, mewling. The force, even though he’s taking his time, is addicting and you find yourself syncing up with him in no time; cursing, and panting as you sync up with him. He feels so good that you could cry, instead, you beg.

“More,” you sigh, practically his humping cock, “please Sero. I ahhh~ I need more!”

Sero growls and it sends you body spinning with lust and agony. He pushes you back down and forces himself to his hilt, making you cry out in sheer ecstasy. He presses his hand against your belly, pulls out and pushes back in with the same extremity. “More?” He growls in a sort of sensually dark tone that floods your body and shakes you to your core. “You want more, babe? I’ll give the princess anything she wants!”

“Fuuuck!” You cry, filling the room with pathetic moans as Sero drills into you with such indignant fury that it nearly makes your eyes go black. Your body grows wet with perspiration and lust, Sero pushing into you with pools of his own sweat meshing with yours.

He silences your pathetic moaning with a violent kiss, biting down on your bottom lip while he greedily paws at your breasts. Then, he stills completely, pulling back, fanning your face while he pants, “ho ho ho, amiright?”

“PFFFFT NOOO!!” Your belly clenches as the two of you bust out laughing, until Sero eyes completely glaze over.

“Ohhhh fuck,” he groans. “Keep laughing, that feels so—ohhhhh fuck!”

Something completely takes him over and you laughter turns to screams of delight when he starts completely pulverizing you with such an intense, bruising velocity that you could see your soul escape your mouth. He slams into you, lifting your leg over his head, keeping his quick and relentless pace until you feel his cock begin to throb.

“You’re. Just. So. Fucking. Hot!” he says through gritted teeth. His fingers quickly dance around your clit, rubbing at your pleasure until you feel yourself coil and your cunt flutters around his girth. “God, I can feel it. You’re close. Fuck! Babe, you need to cum. Princess, please, I can’t-!”

“I’m ~nggg~ so close!!”

Sero kisses you, shoving his tongue against yours, urgently needing to taste you. His dick twitches within you, his fingers desperately trying to get you to keep up. Your hair stands up on the back of your neck. Your coil breaks. You clench around him and allow waves of pleasure to burst through you as he rams into you with rigorous intent. You cling on to him, crying out about how good he feels, how you can’t stand not having him fill you up, how you want to feel his everything deep, deep inside of you.

Sero grunts and ruts into you. Warmth floods your core as thick ropes of cum line your hungry walls. There’s so much and it doesn’t seem to stop coming as he slows his grooving, kissing your forehead while his orgasm chases yours. You breathe in sync with one another, staring each other in the eyes, unsure of what to say, what to do, before he finally pulls out and let’s you leak onto the cushions.

“Oh, whoops,” he says, inspecting the mess. “Lemme just— warm towel…”

He hops up, but you grab him by the wrist and pull him down into a kiss. He grins against you and you feel yourself growing jubilant with everything that just happened.

“You’re incredible,” you say, holding him there for a moment before letting him back up.

“No, you.”

“Pfft!”

“I mean it!” He brings his hands up in mock defense. “You have no idea! You have no idea! I just-! Lemme get a towel and then I’ll shower you with praise!”

Sero is gone and back in a flash, warmed wet towel in hand. He takes his time wiping the sweat off your body, making sure to talk uncharacteristically sweet to you while he takes care. He wraps you in the blanket that hath forsaken him and cleans the white mess on the cushion before joining you under said blanket. His body is warmer than the blanket and you love it.

“Sooo… the movie. Movie night with my girlfriend!”

“Ha! That’s right! This is one of my favorite movies so you better pay attention! No distractions!”

“Mhmmm,” he hums half-heartedly. “No distractions.”

But even while the movie plays, your warm bodies are pressed right up against each other. There’s definitely going to be more distractions. The two of you have been waiting for this for too long, and Sero has to prove that he’s not just alright, and he certainly wants to learn all about your secret Christmas kink.

TAGS FOR EVERYTHING: @ayeputita @yandere-inamorata @dee-madwriter @unboundbnha @rizamendoza808, @rubycubix @smbody-stole-mycar-radio @zellllyyyy @sarcastictextstuck @kpanime @captain-sin-allmight-queen @psionicsnow @wickedlewicked @ghost-of-todoroki @kattariapenn @im-an-adult-sometimes @bnhya @local-senpai @eggpienutbuttercroissant @usernamekate94 @reyvenclaww @hi-ho-and-hello @rubyred-imagines

[sleeplessvalley]

iiiit's time for me rattling on about rider. it's some projection and some headcanons and really just me talkin okay

rider's well-known (or at least popular) in the coroika universe, and I personally think that happened bc somebody on his team in a random turf war got a video of him literally crushing the competition with the gold dynamo and posted it online with a caption about his skills, and the post kinda blew up because Holy Shit that's a good gold dynamo user

so a lot of people eventually know about rider but rider doesn't really know anyone, and he prefers not to team up anyway so that's fine (ofc he has to for turf war and he's not happy about it but it's whatever)

he does start getting a bit of public attention due to the post online and by the time the corocoro cup rolls around he's fairly well-known

after the game against blue team he realized he wasn't exactly happy with keeping to himself all the time and was even a bit depressed because of it? it's nice to be recognized for an ability, sure, but people to actually talk to that see you as a person and not just your fame is something else. coordination's nice but that tends to go out the window at some point when playing with strangers anyway. and it happens with friends too, as he's seen

but with friends it's possible to coordinate anyways due to simply knowing them so well

so rider started hanging out with blue team more, coming to watch their games, help them train for tougher opponents, and the like.

the thing with him continually crushing goggles underneath his roller is sort of a bit they have going on- yes, it annoys rider that he's constantly getting his pants pulled down, but his response to it is to empty out his ink tank (/just stop supplying ink to his roller) and then crush goggles with it. so it serves as a way for rider to be angry about it and also nobody gets hurt

and through being around them so much, it got easier to do turf with the rest of his own team since they could finally add some input n such

ssssso when he can't get in contact with blue team it's not surprising that once he's told to find them underground, he gets on that pretty quickly- he got used to blue team's presence, so them not being around felt really off for him

and then he got hijacked.

OH. BOY.

that specific event left him with an intense need to once again be in control of everything that was happening, though it was less because he thought he could do everything himself and more him wanting to control everything he could to prevent anything like that happening to him again

it was still possible to talk with him during that time, but he always seemed a bit on edge and was often looking around as if expecting something to attack him

after a couple of months of that he finally started calming down in that regard, though some people noticed he was playing harder than usual afterwards

in truth the extreme end of his seriousness just became internal instead of external.

he started playing harder because he felt like he had something to prove to himself (and sometimes he'd find himself shaking because he hadn't taken a break in a while)

it wasn't until blue team and the s4 all got together to ask rider why he was pushing himself so hard that he finally tried to take it down a few notches, mostly in the form of sticking around blue team again

and eventually he got back to where he was, mostly. after a while he did get sort of depressed again (but naturally this time) and start to dissociate sometimes, but other than that he's doin okay. he even booyahs back now, huzzah

[pascalls]

Huzzah! A romance prompt:

Hot Chocolate

I finally wrote something for this and it’s so dumb but I hope you all enjoy it. Featuring Charlie, Sam the Barfly, and Moe (and also Barney a little bit). 

--------------------------

With the taste of malt liquor stale on his tongue, Charlie found himself coming back to consciousness, a musky scent filling his nose and making him want to gag. The greasy floor he was laying on was hard and uncomfortable, having left his bones aching and his back feeling like he’d just been hit by a car. His eyes opened, despite his brain not wanting to, and for once, he was thankful that the lighting in Moe’s was subpar, at best. The dusty interior was not an aggravated assault on the senses, but still, he would have liked to have woken up in a bed instead of on the hard tile. 

“Ugh… What time is it,” he groaned, not yet sitting up, but at least trying to peer over to where Moe was hovering, lazily wiping down the bar top with an overused rag. There was no way it was morning yet. Or, at least, it wasn’t past sunrise. Otherwise Moe would be pouring vodka into his bowl of Froot Loops. It didn’t seem like he’d gone to bed yet. 

“Two-thirty,” the bartender responded. He didn’t seem very bothered by the fact that Charlie had passed out on the floor. Not like it was the first time. As of late, the hybrid had a bad habit of finding some kind of substance, chasing it with his body weight in whiskey, and then promptly falling asleep before he could make it back to the reverend’s. “You slept with Barney.”

“I what-?!” Charlie exclaimed, pushing himself up, only to whack his head on the underside of the table he’d holed up under. His ears rang and he groaned again, reaching up to rub at his scalp. Ow.

“Oh. Hah. Sorry. I meant you fell asleep under the table next to Barney.”

Charlie glanced over to see that Moe was correct. Barney had somehow rolled off the bar stool he’d been sitting on a few hours prior, passing out unceremoniously underneath the large circular table that was neighbor to Charlie’s. The hybrid muttered to himself before eventually crawling out from under his sleeping spot, making his way over to the bar to sit and glaring at Moe. 

“Don’t ever scare me like that ever again.”

They weren’t alone. While Barney had opted for a nap, Charlie recognized a few others still lingering in the wee hours of the morning. He assumed both Lenny and Carl had staggered home not too long ago, but both Larry and Sam remained, neither seeming to be very invested in their own consciousness. As was the usual. Charlie’s stare lingered for just a moment before Moe was pulling his attention back. 

“You wanna nightcap?” He asked, already in the process of grabbing a nearby bottle which Charlie quickly refused. His stomach was churning a bit from his previous binge. He didn’t need to lose everything he’d eaten during the day on top of his splitting headache and exhaustion. 

“No, m’fine. I should probably… go before somebody gets on my ass about not being where I need to be.” 

“Alright, but you better not be drivin’.” Moe pointed at the hybrid with a squint; one that Charlie returned in kind.

“I don’t have a car.” 

“I figured you’d steal one.”

“Why the hell would I do that?”

“Because that’s what I’d do.”

Rolling his eyes, Charlie scooted off the stool and made his way to the door, passing the other two men briefly and giving them a passing wave. He’d talked to the pair once or twice. They were wordier when they were drunk, but only just so. And somewhere in the back of his mind, Charlie reminded himself, that Sam knew a little more about Charlie by pure happenstance. Thankfully, he’d remained fairly quiet about that too. 

Swinging open the door, Charlie took a few steps outside before he realized - a little too late - that rain was coming down fairly heavily. There was no wind to carry it in one direction or another, the drops simply pouring onto the pavement and soaking Charlie entirely. The hybrid stared dully into the distance. This might as well happen. 

He didn’t move from where he was, just sort of standing there on the sidewalk and feeling his clothes get more and more soaked through. His brain didn’t seem to think that was much of an issue, but his feet refused to carry him in the direction of home. Instead, he continued to stare into nothingness, exhaustion - and a sudden heavy veil of listlessness - keeping him rooted to the spot. Somewhere along the line, he began to realize that his temperature was dropping. That was probably not good. He’d have to fix that before long.

“...You’re gettin’ all wet.”

The voice pulled him back to the present, turning and noticing that Sam and Larry had finally made their way out of Moe’s, presumably to retire for the night before they too passed out next to Barney. Larry was already walking away, his jacket collar pulled up in a fruitless effort to protect him from the rain. Sam, on the other hand, at least had an umbrella keeping him dry as he stared at Charlie with some manner of concern. 

“...Uh. Yeah. I guess I am,” Charlie replied, blinking once or twice and then glancing down at himself. Hm. Well. Yeah. He was wet. Wow.

Sam glanced around briefly before taking a few steps over and placing the umbrella over the both of them. As he spoke, his words slurred, but Charlie didn’t notice over his own foggy state of mind. “You’re not some kinda marine iguana or somethin’ right? I think they like water. Saw it on uh… Mm… That… science… channel once.”

“National Geographic?” Charlie asked, tilting his head slightly.

“Nah…” Sam replied. “ESPN 2.”

The hybrid snorted in amusement. “No. I’m not a marine iguana. I’m just… really drunk, I think.” Among other things. He’d taken some mixture of pills that he would not recommend to anyone else. But they would make their way out of his system eventually. “Uh… Thanks. For the…” He gestured to the umbrella. 

“Honestly, this weather ain’t great for walking. Y’think Moe’s got anything to eat in there?”

Charlie seemed to give that some thought. It was already the middle of the night. And if Lovejoy wasn’t blowing up his phone by now, the chances of him noticing any time before sunrise was slim. He hummed a little under his breath before shrugging. It was probably best he filled his stomach with something other than booze and pills. 

“Let’s ask.”

Sam didn’t need much convincing himself before he moved to keep them marginally dry as they wandered back into the bar. Moe had been in the process of trying to roll Barney over with a broom so he could sweep up underneath him, but glanced up when the door opened again. Charlie shook the water from himself as best as he could, but it was to little avail. He’d probably just need to wait until he was dry.

Closing the umbrella, Sam tossed it against the wall near the door and settled himself back on the stool where he’d been before, Charlie scooting up and onto the one next to him. As long as Barney was passed out, the hybrid took some time to pull off his mask and other effects which were fairly soaked through, placing them on the stool next to him and breathing out a little sigh. Moe had seen him a few times by now. It seemed like more and more people knew what he looked like as time went on. At that particular moment, he couldn’t find it in him to care.

“Tell me you’ve got something to eat,” Charlie asked as Moe drifted back over, looking over the rain-soaked man with some scrutiny. 

“I’ve got uh… Probably some Spam sitting around somewhere. Lemme look.”

“I’m having a hard time turning that down.” Charlie wasn’t going to be picky. And apparently, neither was Sam, as the man said nothing.

Moe disappeared in the back room for a time, clattering around among his shelves and god knew what else. Charlie watched as a roach slid out from the doorway and promptly disappeared into the nearest electrical socket. There was a little buzz, a hiss, and the roach did not re-emerge. The hybrid assumed that whatever it saw in the back room was heinous enough for the little bug to end it all.

“Well lookee here!” Moe proclaimed as he re-emerged, holding a half-empty jug of milk and a bottle of chocolate syrup that looked like it came from the 70’s. “It ain’t Spam, but it’s somethin’, huh? Check this out.”

“Chocolate milk?” Sam asked, staring at the bartender. 

“Nah. Even better.” Moe brought over the ingredients, pouring the milk into a few glasses and squirting the chocolate… syrup (it looked more like sauce at this point) into it soon after. He then held up each mug in turn, using a lighter to heat up the bottom of the glass before plopping a few stale marshmallow Peeps that were sad and dull from their time spent hidden somewhere in the cabinets beneath the bar. Presumably from Easter. ...This past Easter, hopefully.

Pleased with himself, Moe offered two of the glasses to Charlie and Sam who stared at the brown concoction that was making short work of dissolving those Peeps into rainbow mush that floated at the top of the layer of milk. “See? Hot cocoa! PERFECT for them rainy days like this one.” As if to sell the mixture, he took a long swig of his own, choking back the drink with a few hacked coughs and then offering his two patrons a grimacing smile. “Eh? EH?!”

Charlie squinted down at his own before coming to the conclusion that… he really didn’t even care what he put into his own body at this point. And the chocolate DID smell at least a little enticing. So with a little glance at Sam and a shrug, he upended his own into his mouth. It was not great. In fact, one might even say that it was terrible. The milk was absolutely close to spoiling, if not already spoiled, and the Peeps floated around in his mouth in chunky bits. But he downed the drink dutifully. It was warm, if nothing else. And it’d keep him from drifting off into a hypothermic coma. 

“...It’s great, Moe,” Charlie replied once he was able to say anything about it at all. A blatant lie, but the bartender was content with the review. The hybrid just hoped he wouldn’t put it on his ‘menu’ as a permanent addition. 

“Uh… yeah. Really… great.” Sam added, having had a bit of a harder time with his own, but he too didn’t find it very necessary to spoil Moe’s spirits. But the two shared a knowing glance, watching as Moe, triumphant that he’d created something worthwhile for once in his life, scurried off to write down his ‘recipe’. 

Charlie pushed his empty glass away, poking his tongue out a little in disgust. Egh. “We can never tell him.”

Sam did the same with his own, wishing that he’d just ordered another beer instead. “...Yeah, I’m on board with that.” 

“And so the pact is sealed,” Charlie joked, reaching up with a hand to offer his pinky claw to the other. “I would say we should seal it in blood, but I’m already suffering with this aftertaste.” 

Sam offered a little smirk before reaching up to hook his own pinky with Charle’s. “Takin’ it to the grave.” 

Their hands remained touching for a few seconds, a delayed reaction only bringing Charlie’s back to himself after a prolonged met gaze, his eyes flicking away in mild embarrassment. He was drunk. They were both drunk. Reaching up, Charlie absently ran a hand through his hair to try and make it a little more… presentable. He wasn’t sure why. 

Well. He wanted to pretend that he wasn’t sure why.

Moe’s return chased away the moment. He’d come back with more random ‘ingredients’ he’d found in the back storeroom.

Charlie and Sam gave a few little groans. Had Charlie known they’d be given the job as taste-testers, he might have just walked back to Lovejoy’s in the storm. 

But… he wasn’t alone here. Even if he’d never get the taste of stale Peeps off his tongue, he at least felt content with the knowledge that there was a warmth keeping him from drifting too far into the cold loneliness of the rain. 

Yeah. This was better.

[whump-tr0pes]

Honor Bound 2 (and 3, and 4...)

Hey y’all, leeet’s talk about how HB got kinda wonky!

For TL;DR go to the bottom.

So with HB1, the finished, published product was 71 chapters, around 110,000 words. This was after I added 3 chapters, grabbed 3 from HB2 that worked better in HB1, and split a few chapters where it made sense. 

As I was coming to finish HB2, (77 chapters), I figured it couldn’t be that much longer than HB1. 77 chapters, right? And 3 of those went to HB1! and one was Gray’s alternate ending! So 74! That couldn’t be that long!

Ding dong, I was wrong. HB2, after those 4 chapters were taken out, came to 198,000.

That’s too fucking long.

Turns out my chapters were around 500-1500 words with HB1. And in HB2, those became 2000-5000 words. Big difference there. 

So here’s what we’re gonna do: I am splitting HB2 into two books. The second will end just before the team runs south (which apparently happens almost exactly in the middle. I have no idea why I thought Colleen’s Crazy Castle only took up 1/4 of the book.) The third book ends after the team finally makes it north.

That clearly hasn’t happened yet. So I’m going to continue numbering chapters until they get to what would be the end of book 3. 

(Are you confused yet? Great! Me too!)

Honor Bound 3 will end when the team makes it north, at which point HB4 will start. 

I apologize for kinda jumping from 2 to 4 like this. I had no idea how long it was until I compiled the chapters for @kyliebean-editing to edit and went oh, fuck. That won’t work. 

I’m going to have HB2 completely edited before I start the work on editing HB3. I’ll be finished writing it by then. You can expect HB2 as a physical book (starting with The Thing and ending before the team goes south) in September-October. HB3 will be released some months after that (starting when the team goes south, and ending with them escaping north.) HB4 will then start once the team is safe... for a few months, anyway.

Next chapter goes up tomorrow.

TL;DR: HB2 is getting split into 2 books because it’s too fucking long. Meaning HB4 is what is going to be started next. Huzzah.

@untilthepainstarts, @womping-grounds, @blue-flare10, @free-2bmee, @quirkykayleetam, @walkingchemicalfire, @inpainandsuffering, @redwingedwhump, @burtlederp, @castielamigos-whump-side-blog, @insomniacscoprio, @cursedscribbles, @whumpywhumper, @stxck-fxck, @omega-em-z-02, @whumps-the-word, @justwhumpitwhumpitgood, @justplainwhump, @moose-teeth, @slaintetowhump, @finder-of-rings, @grimwhumper, @inky-whump, @thatsthewhump, @im-only-here-for-the-whump, @orchidscript, @insanitywishes, @this-mightaswell-happen, @newandfiguringitout, @whumpkitty, @pretty-face-breaker

[almostdefinitelydying]

Today has been... A bit of a day.

First off I talked to like 4 people before even having breakfast bc that's just normal now with the selling of apartments and such. (Reminder that my introverted CFS ass usually takes like 6 hours to wake up).

Then I put in an offer on the apartment in Kvelde, and set the expiration tomorrow at noon. Realtor is apprised and now we just have to wait for confirmation.

Then we decided to go to the thrift store to look for tables, since I now no longer have any furniture x) (I do, but I'm a classy bitch and want matching shit for once). And with masks on we perused the aisles and actually found one! Teak, vintage from 1950s, in great shape, super cheap! So I got that and 4 sickeningly adorable tea cups.

Huzzah!

Exhausting, but good.

Then we drove back up to the new apartment to look around the area again, and to poke that familiar "AAAAH!! WHAT HAVE I DONE?!?!" feeling that comes with any and all major life changes. And with my terminal stage 4 cancer aunt in the back seat too. It was actually a pretty good trip all in all. But not exactly kind on the spoon levels..

Then I got home to a text from my until currently gf Jo telling me she's too exhausted for a relationship with anyone (I can ofc understand that, she's disabled too and it's been a LOT recently for everyone), and hopes we can be friends again down the line.. which.. yeah... Of course.. I mean...if one person wants out that's pretty much it isn't it.. I guess I'm just feeling a bit miffed that after 5 years there was a bit of drama in a time where everyone is frazzled af bc of a pandemic and now we're not even friends anymore??

Idk.. I'm still just kinda.. reeling.. confusedly. But there's no point in pushing it either, bc it seems like she has more than enough on her plate already and have stated her wishes pretty clearly.. all I can do is respect it, albeit confusedly so.

And you thought, a day with all that, it's surely over by now, right?

WRONG!!! xD

Trying my very best to decompress in fallout 4, wondering where dogmeat ran off to, the other realtor calls and tells me there's finally been an offer on my place! At 10pm at night, but who cares! And it's at the listing price, so I don't have to do the back and forth dance like we did last time, so woohoo!!! (But you see now what I mean about emotional whiplash??)

I feel like I'm trying to stand upright on a conveyor belt while there's 4pm traffic trying to occupy the same space time O.=

So now I'm gonna try my best to sleep for maybe a few hours and then it's back to "PROJECT SELL AND MOVE AND BUY AND MOVE AND TRY NOT TO DIE FROM EXHAUSTION AND ONE PNEUMONIA WAS ENOUGH THANK YOU VERY MUCH".

[angel-gidget]

Amethyst #1: A Riveting Reboot

I could say Amethyst #1 written and illustrated by Amy Reeder is a work of art and you’d all be like “no duh, gidge. comics are half art” but Amethyst #1 is also clearly a work of LOVE. I’ve been reading and flailing and feeling like I should review, but have been uncertain where to start. So I shall try to simply pick 10 delights that stand out to me.

Heads up for spoilers!

1. Her mom and dad. Amy’s origin has clearly been restored from the left turn at Albuquerque that was the nu52. I love that Reeder shows right out the gate that Amy’s adoptive parents are supportive yet struggling with raising a daughter that spends more and more time in a magical realm they can’t enter. Or can they? We will see what the rules are as we go.

In the original series, anybody who didn’t have magic risked getting lost and stranded between realms if they tried to cross between the Gemworld and earth. That doesn’t conflict with the glimpses we’ve seen in YJ, exactly, so we’ll wait and see how things unfold.

2. One thing that DOES conflict with what we’ve seen in YJ though: Turquoise’s number of arms. Or, the number of arms on anybody living in her entire kingdom for that matter. Might be that Reeder and Bendis didn’t get a chance to double-check those details against each other before committing to their scripts. But who thinks to ask about things like that though? (“Hey, your redesign of this character has the standard 4 limbs or less, not 6, right?”)

You know what? I’m okay with this. We get pretty Bendis/Gleason?/Timms? design and this totally funky four-armed broad-sword user and I think I will enjoy seeing if they actually DO come up with an in-canon explanation of the discrepancy.

Also, apparently this Turquoise is married? He’s clearly a consort rather than a ruler, and I wanna know more. (All of the bullpen appears on board with avoiding the Amy/Topaz/Turquoise love triangle from the original series and that’s probably for the best. I just hope that we’ll get to see my boy Topaz at some point anyway, even if he’s no longer a romantic candidate for either fair lady.)

3. Hallelujah! We have a name! I have always loved that Amethyst rides around on a pegasus/pegacorn (another YJ mismatch here, but seems like semantics to me). BUT HE’S NEVER HAD A NAME. HE FINALLY HAS A NAME! IT’S A BADASS NAME. Ypsilos. Greek & unique. I dig it. ‘Bout time.

4. Her mentors. Granch and Citrine(a) are back! Ok, they’re actually missing, but it was good to see their faces smiling down on itty bitty!Amy. I dug the way “witch mother Citrina” would roll off the tongue in the original series, but it didn’t make totally sense that everybody gets to take the exact name of a gemstone while Citrine gets her name kinda anglicized by sticking an A on the end. Small fix, I appreciate the logic.

I’m wondering if Cintrine is as powerful of a magic user in this story as she was in the original. I mean, probably not, bc of House Amethyst disapearing without a trace, but it will be cool to see how it goes. I dig how Amy notes how much she usually relies on them, and how this sensibly leads to…

5. Noob ruler, a lil’ tone-deaf. She’s clearly trying. Taking some good speech-giving cues from Braveheart, probably. But this scene shows she IS inexperienced and bc she’s still in training, she doesn’t have a lot of trust from her neighboring common people. PEOPLE IN THE CROWD ARE MISSING LIMBS. Turquoise warned her about this. These people clearly HAVE been fighting. They aren’t turning her down bc they lack courage. They’re just insulted that this tiny neighbor princess showed up in a BALLGOWN royal-splaining warrior grit to them.

I gotta admit, I was a bit worried when Amy Reeder’s interview (also at the back of the comic) came out, and she talked about Amy Winston having a “little miss perfect” personality. There were some character details that never got fleshed out about 80′s Amy, but I’m relieved that this new iteration actually has some of the original character flaws shown.

She’s a lil’ presumptuous. She gets her ideas from watching Earth movies and TV. Sometimes it pans out, and she’s like “Of course it did! You backwards middle ages people are so quaint. No worries, I will bless you with my high school knowledge of democracy and vaccination.” But she lacks the foresight to see when and why a youthful earth-style plan won’t work in the Gemworld’s environment.

Re-worked Amy just gets really lucky here that Nameless Warrior of the Cool Haircut and Rad Caterpillar Creature sees that she’s such a tiny summer child and decides to assist, impugning of honor aside.

6. Monsters vs. Innocent Creatures. This was always a fun aspect of the Gemworld! Is that a terrifying monster or a cute critter? Maybe it’s both! Or maybe its not a monster at all, and you’re just biased. Nice to meet you, Stan.

7. Living birth parents? That’s a twist (Or, it still CAN be.) In the original series, Amy’s birth father was revealed be the host of a Lord of Order (If that sounds familiar, it’s a Dr. Fate thing.) That meant she technically had an original living parent, but… that’s where the writing went South and turned obnoxiously edgy and tangential. But this implies that both her bio mom and dad are plain-ol’-fashioned alive. Which is new and an intriguing dangling plot-thread. Cool cool.

8. He’s just… so evil. It’s great. I’ve already blubbered about the pleasant simplicity of Dark Opal’s villainy, but I also appreciate that his funky face clasp is back, and I dig the drone-spiders. In the original series, his adopted son Carnelian was the techie, so I’ll be curious to see if there any nods to that in the future.

9. One seriously solid exposition page. Pretty, concise... and just enough holes to entice. This implies that the events of the first Amethyst mini series have ALREADY HAPPENED in this continuity. But some things are CLEARLY different. (Turquoise kingdom world-building, Amy does not change her age between realms, etc.) That leaves some surprises in store.

10. First issue parallels. It’s her birthday. Again. Her parents are giving her title-drop jewelry. Again. She’s all gussied up in an over-the-top dress for her mentor’s sake, but it’s completely inappropriate for battling evil which is what she’s gonna have to ACTUALLY go do bc that’s her luck. Again. I do love me some good symmetry.

TO CONCLUDE... I am so, so happy to read this. Reeder has done right by my girl, and I look forward to issue #2. Huzzah!

[a-ratt]

Spideybug Ficlet

So, recently I got an ask about Spideybug. An anon said they’d gotten into the pairing after playing a bunch of Insomniac’s PS4 Spider-Man game. They imagined these dorks being adorable and helping each other out: Marinette redesigning Peter’s suit and Peter making Marinette gadgets for her suit.

I got inspired and wrote a ficlet, but didn’t realize there’s no such thing as a save draft function on asks, so... uh... it got deleted... Sorry, anon.

So, uh, just take this as an apology.

“Hey, uh, Mr. Stark?“ Peter fiddled with his phone. “So, th-this might be a bad time, but... uh, I- I was wondering if you could... look at this for me?”

Beside him, Tony Stark chuckled and leaned against the workbench they stood at. “Yeah, sure, kid. What do you got?“

Peter squeezed his phone and looked over the picture he’d pulled up before handing it over to the world-renowned inventor. “W-Well, it’s kind of a redesign of my suit.”

Tony raised an eyebrow. “A redesign?“ He took the phone and glanced it over. “Of my suit? What? Red and black not your style anymore?“

Peter’s eyes blew up and he threw his hands up, waving them around frantically. “No! No! No! I-I really appreciate the suit still! I love it! It’s great! But- Well, no buts, but... well....“

He trailed off and looked away, trying to hide his flushed face. A few seconds passed before he dared to look up at Mr. Stark. Shockingly, he didn’t find him glaring down at him in offense. Instead, the billionaire industrialist, inventor, former CEO, and founding Avenger was staring intently at his phone.

“Did you draw this?“ he asked incredulously, eyes never leaving his phone. “These designs are incredible!“

Peter blinked. “R-Really?” He grew a smile and laughed while rubbing the back of his neck. “W-Well, I didn’t draw them, it was my....” He stopped short and trailed off, a sudden fear coming over him.

Tony looked up, his brow furrowed. They locked eyes and Peter saw his mentor’s curiosity visibly transform into suspicion.

“Your....“ He waved a hand, gesturing for him to continue. “Come on, Parker. Spill it out.“

He shifted anxiously before deciding to bite the bullet. “They’re from my girlfriend.”

Tony stared at him. “Your what?”

“My girlfriend.“ He shrugged, averting his eyes to his shoes. “Sh-She drew them,” he mumbled.

“You have a girlfriend? Seriously?”

“Pft, yeah. Wh-Why wouldn’t I?”

Tony narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing him, before he handed him back his phone. “Prove it, Parker.”

He tossed him back the phone, then crossed his arms. Peter barely caught it, cradling it in his arms before picking it back up. Glancing from it to his mentor, he steeled himself for the amount of embarrassment about to crash down on him.

“O-Okay.” He skimmed through his gallery until he found a good picture of her. “So… this is Marinette.”

He showed him a picture of her when she’d visited New York, standing atop the Empire State Building with the city sprawling behind her. She’d been so excited to be high up. It’d been adorable.

“And how do I know you didn’t rip this off the internet?”

Offense crossed his face and he flicked to another photo where it was him and Marinette playing video games at his and Aunt May’s apartment. Tony’s eyes grew a little wide with that one.

“And I stand corrected.” He patted his on the arm. “Good for you, Parker. She looks like a keeper.”

He flushed red and rubbed the back of his neck. “Um, yeah. Thanks, Mr. Stark.”

Marinette balanced on her heels as Mlle. Mendeleiev scanned the list of chemicals she’d handed her. Every so often, she'd peer over it at her and she'd just flash an innocent smile. She'd go right back to scanning the list again, but that did little to diminish the anxiety inside of her.

“Remind me why you need all of these again?” Mlle. Mendeleiev put her hands on her hips. “This isn't a prank, right? These chemicals you've listed are can be dangerous if mistreated!”

“I know! I know!” She didn't know. Gosh dang it, Peter. “I'm not using them for prank.”

“Oh?” Her science/math teacher leaned towards her. “Then what are you using it for?”

She raised a finger and opened her mouth, but then closed her mouth and dropped her finger. She glanced around briefly before spying a poster depicting a baking soda volcano.

“It's for the science fair!”

Mlle. Mendeleiev furrowed her brow. “But that isn't for another two months!”

Marinette pursed her lips and glanced at the date on the poster. Yep, definitely two more months.

“W-Well… that's exactly why I need them now!” she declared, raising up her finger again. “Because, you know, I need to… practice- er, test… my science project… for the fair….”

Her finger slowly dropped as Mlle. Mendeleiev scrutinized her with judgemental eyes. A few seconds later, however, she smiled.

“Finally!” she huzzahed. “A student that doesn't procrastinate!”

Marinette blushed at the praise while Mlle. Mendeleiev went over her list again.

“Alright, I think I have all of these.” She pointed at her. “You stay right here. I’ll be right back.”

The moment the door closed, she let out a sigh of relief. A part of her- well, all of her actually, had been worried that Mlle.Mendeleiev would’ve taken her to the principal’s office for the chemicals she was asking for. It kinda seemed illegal to be asking for such specific things.

There was a thump on her leg and she glanced down as Tikki poked her head out of her purse.

“You did it, Marinette!”

She smiled. “Well, I did part of it. I still need to make some more of Peter’s synth web.”

She tapped her wrist and expanded the web shooter Peter had gifted her. It wrapped around her wrist and extended into her palm, tailoring itself to her arm. She tapped the trigger button, but frowned when all it shot out was a puff of air.

“I can’t believe you already went through the vials he gave you.” Tikki floated up and hovered over her shoulder. “You sure love using it.”

She blushed, but shrugged. “What can I say? It’s really helpful in akuma fights.”

It honestly was. Before, she’d have struggled with taking the time to swing her yo-yo or wrap it around something. With Peter’s web shooter, she could just point and click, then shoot up or pull something towards her. It was also a lot of fun to mess around with when she wanted to waste time in her bedroom, hanging upside down or hanging notes up while she did homework.

“Marinette!”

She blinked as Tikki zoomed back into her purse. Mlle. Mendeleiev walked back into the room a second later, hauling a small crate of jugs, bottles, and other chemistry equipment.

[solastia]

Faith | 7

- Other chapters are linked in the masterlist -

Pairing: Namjoon x Reader

Word Count: 5,592

Warnings: Mostly fluff, but there is a big smutty part in this one. I don’t want to give too much away, but caveman Namjoon makes an appearance. Sorta dom Namjoon, impreg kink, slightly rough behavior, single use of the word whore, but not really degradation. He’s just being kinky, not mean.

Notes: The last official chapter. Next up is the short epilogue. 

Namjoon had been spending the past week with you and Faith, basically relearning each other and letting him bond with his daughter. Watching him light up anytime he was able to make her laugh made you so happy, even if you still felt the twinge of guilt thinking about how it could have been like this all along. And although he’d only been at this for a week, he was already such a good father. You’d never doubted that he would be, but to see him in action was incredible. He tried so hard and was so hands-on, always asking to help feed Faith or change her. He was always looking up baby stuff on his phone and ordering new toys that were supposed to “increase her brain power.” 

Every night once Namjoon put her to sleep, it was time for the two of you to have some bonding time. You hadn’t had sex once this week, however, since Namjoon had been serious when he said he wanted to take it slow. There had been plenty of cuddling and kissing, but anything below the waist was strictly forbidden. Considering that even while you guys had been seriously dating in the past you hadn’t been able to make it two days without jumping each other, that you’d been able to last this long was frankly a miracle. Even if you were becoming antsier. You wanted Namjoon so bad that even the sight of him singing off key to Faith had become a turn on. You’d respect his decision though, because you wanted him to trust you again, and because it was still nice being with him even without the sex. 

The quiet evenings were usually spent cuddling on the couch and watching a movie until he left for his mom’s or the hotel, although the two of you didn’t really pay attention to it. It was mostly background noise while the two of you talked about anything and everything while he sprawled on top of you, his large frame squashing you into the cushions. He was rather heavy, but it was so nice having him there that you didn’t complain. You just played with his hair as he rambled into your chest. You had a feeling that 85% of the reason he preferred cuddling on top of you like this instead of the other way around was that he got to smash his face into your boobs, because that was just Namjoon. 

He didn’t let you apologize anymore, stating that it was done and being worked on, so there was no need. Instead, you spent a lot of time telling him everything he wanted to know about the pregnancy and what Faith was like as an infant.

 As the conversations grew deeper, you also began to quietly confess about the worst nights, when missing him became unbearable and you’d feel yourself spiraling into episodes of depression. How it felt like Faith was the only thing that kept you going sometimes. He told you about his worst days as well, when he’d try to bury the feelings in alcohol and call your brother Alan, begging for any scrap of news he could get. The times when he’d spend hours going through pictures and videos on his phone. How for a long time even kissing another woman had still felt like cheating. 

The two of you would crush each other closer after your whispered confessions, feeling like you could almost physically see the bridge between the two of you repairing itself. You could almost say that you felt closer to Namjoon than ever now, and you looked forward to seeing how this was going to work. You were leaving everything up to him this time, and you would follow what he wanted. If he wanted to just come out and visit now and then, you would take it. If he wanted you both to move to New York with him, you’d do that too. At this point, you’d probably even let him take Faith if he wanted to have nothing to do with you. It would break your heart but would be nothing less than you deserved. They were so good together and you didn’t want to break them up ever again. 

Today was Saturday, and he’d been able to spend the entire day with you and Faith. He’d taken you both out for breakfast, beaming whenever someone complimented him for his adorable family or well behaved little girl. This was followed by a trip to the zoo, where the two of them had spent a good hour in the aquatic section alone petting stingrays and starfish. Everyone was back at your place now with Faith sleeping in her crib in the bedroom, thoroughly exhausted, and the two of you sprawled across the couch pretending to watch a movie. 

You were cradled into his chest for once, with your legs tangled together and your face shoved into the crook of his neck. You weren’t even pretending to watch anymore, just relishing the closeness of him and basking in his scent since it was as close as he’d let you guys get so far. 

Namjoon wasn’t faring any better, you could tell by the hardness pressing against your thigh, but he still stayed silent about it. Instead, he just wrapped his arms around you and buried his nose into your hair, humming something that you didn’t know. 

After a few moments, the hand that he was using to stroke your arm pauses. 

“So...my mom has asked us to come for dinner tomorrow,” Namjoon mumbled into your hair.

“Oh. I suppose that’s to be expected.” You grimace, glancing over towards the room holding the sleeping Faith.

Once upon a time, you had been very close to his family. His mom was always hinting at marriage, and you’d been pretty good friends with his sister. They were probably not very happy with you right now, not that you blamed them. 

“I don’t see why you’re worried, my family likes you more than me. I’m not kidding, they told me that.”

Namjoon chuckles into your hair and you allow yourself to grin because that sounds exactly like something his sister would say. 

“We can go. I want them to meet her.” 

“It’ll be fine, baby, trust me. They are just happy we’re working things out. Plus, we’re kinda like the favorite children right now, since we gave Mom a grandbaby first. Kyungmin is back in second place, huzzah!” 

You smack Namjoon on his arm, playfully glaring up at him. “Be nice.” 

He chuckles and cuddles you closer, leaning down to peck your cheek. 

“You mind if I sleep over? I really am too exhausted to drive right now.” 

“Of course. Let’s go to bed.”

Namjoon lets you climb off of him, then walks wrapped around your waist to the bedroom. Snoop is in his usual sleeping area, next to Faith’s crib. You both take a peek at the snoring little girl and share a smile. 

He throws his shirt onto the dresser - his jeans long since abandoned thanks to him going back to following the old no pants rule - and climbs into bed next to you, pulling you close to his chest. You snuggle in, enjoying the few minutes of sweet cuddling you’ll get before he starts snoring like a bear. 

“Watch those hands, missy. I feel you drifting,” he growls into your hair. Your hand might have been slipping towards his ass. Purely for leverage, of course. 

“One more day,” he whispers, then dips to press a light kiss to your lips. 

It took a few moments for you to comprehend what he meant, distracted as you were by the kiss. 

“Wait, what?” You hiss. 

“Mmm, nothin. Good night, baby.”

“Namjoon? Goddamnit, don’t play with me in my own bed.” 

The tiny snores building in Namjoon’s throat sounded suspiciously fake, but you knew you weren’t going to get anywhere tonight. You sigh, your body raring to go now somehow, despite being so tired. 

“Goodnight, Joonie.”

You remember the first time you’d gone over to Namjoon’s family home, and how you’d been so amazed by the warm reception. There had been so many reasons that you hadn’t expected for them to like you, but his family had fully embraced you into the fold. His parents had treated you like you were one of their own, and Namjoon’s sister Kyungmin had turned into such a great friend. 

It had hurt to cut them off when the two of you had broken up. It felt like you had broken up with them too. Kyungmin had been persistent for awhile - constantly calling and texting, trying to come over to the apartment a couple times. His mom still sent cards for your birthday and Christmas. 

As the three of you stood in the foyer in front of his mom and sister, you couldn’t help but feel a little like a dog with a tail between her legs. 

“It’s so good to see you again! And oh, isn’t she just precious,” Namjoon’s mom is smiling and reaching her hands out for Faith, and you hand her over with a sheepish grin. 

Faith is behaving well, as she’s always been surprisingly good with strangers. That was something to worry about in the future. 

“Wow! Look, Mom, she’s got Namjoon’s smile,” Kyungmin coos, poking the cheeks of the giggling baby before she finally looks up at you. 

“You’re looking good,” she says flatly, and you could feel yourself wilt. 

“Thanks. You too.” 

Finally, she sighs and holds her arms out. 

“Oh, get the fuck over here.”

You both ignore her mom’s reminder to watch your language around the baby as you hug each other tightly. Kyungmin pulls back with a grin. 

“I missed you. I really am happy to see you again. I always knew that my dumbass brother would never be able to find anyone better than you.” 

“I’m right here, you know,” Namjoon looks up from where he’s playing with Faith and his mom, glaring at his sister in mock disgust. 

“I know. That’s why I said it.” 

Namjoon’s mom ushers everyone into the dining room, placing a quick kiss on your forehead with an understanding smile. She absolutely refused to hand over Faith or put her in a high chair, insisting on the two of them eating with Faith in her lap the entire time. Namjoon’s dad only got to hold Faith for a couple of minutes before she was yet again reclaimed by her apparently doting grandmother. 

You were so happy to learn that they were thrilled to have Faith in their lives. You could tell that all three of them were as smitten with your daughter as much as everyone else was. Faith was going to grow up surrounded by family that loved her. You finally felt like you could breathe again. 

You had all moved into the family room after the meal and you were deep in a political discussion with Namjoon’s dad when you dared to glance at the time and saw it was growing late. You knew Faith was going to start fussing soon, so you tried to let Namjoon silently know that it was time to go. Thankfully, he caught your gesture easily enough and nodded, turning to give his mom and Faith a hug and kiss. 

“Alright, Mom, we’re going to head out. Dinner was wonderful, as usual. Everything you need for Faith is in the bag. You good?” 

Wait, what? 

“Oh, we got it, honey. I may have experience with a baby or two. I have a crib set up for her in your old room. You kids have a good night.” 

You were staring at Namjoon in confusion while his eyes were laughing at you, his plush lips pulled into an amused smirk. Kyungmin’s grin was practically a mirror of her brother’s. 

“Go give Faith a kiss goodnight, baby,” Namjoon’s laughing voice instructed. 

You do as your told, kissing the tiredly babbling toddler and whispering last minute instructions. His mom ushers you away with a laugh and they all stand outside and wave as Namjoon drives you both away, still refusing to answer any questions, the asshole. 

“Bite that lip one more fucking time, and you won’t be able to walk tomorrow,” Namjoon growls as he’s carrying you up the steps into your apartment. You’d thought it was ridiculous to try to carry you across the parking lot and up steps when you could walk perfectly fine but he’d insisted this was faster. Frankly, being carried over so many hard surfaces by Namjoon was terrifying, but his eagerness was cute. 

As Namjoon’s grip on your thigh grew tighter on the drive here, along with the now very obvious bulge, you’d pieced together what was going on. Honestly, you didn’t understand why it had been so hard for you to figure out in the first place. Namjoon wasn’t exactly great at being subtle, and the fact that he’d packed so much stuff for Faith should have been a dead giveaway. You supposed the fact that you’d gotten used to not expecting anything to happen for a while made you easy for him to surprise. 

Namjoon was somehow able to unlock the door while keeping you in a semi-stable bridal carry, which both made you proud of him and terrified for your life. Once inside, he practically rushed to the bedroom. 

“Sorry, buddy. Mommy and Daddy need some alone time,” he says to Snoop as he closes the bedroom door on the confused looking pup. 

A little woop escapes you as he lightly tosses you onto the bed. 

“Strip.” 

Oh. He’s in one of those moods. 

You’re growing pretty excited yourself as you do as ordered, although you take great pleasure in moving slowly, his eyes narrowing in suspicion sending a shiver of thrill through you. He finishes stripping himself before standing in front of you - cock hard and standing proudly - and observes you from head to toe before meeting your eyes.

“Y/N, we’re not playing your game right now. This is my time.”

His voice is hard and unamused, and even if you knew that it was just for play, you couldn’t help feeling a bit uneasy for a moment. After all, you had a lot to pay for and things between you both were still a bit unresolved. Meaning you had no idea where your relationship was going. 

“Are...are we...good? Is this like a goodbye thing or...” You hate how pathetic the question came out, cringing at the obvious show of weakness. 

Namjoon’s eyes soften and he’s quick to pull you to him, kissing you fully on the lips. He pulls back and caresses your cheek with his thumb. 

“Hey, none of that. We’re good. I love you so fucking much. You and Faith are everything to me. No one is ever going to take you from me again, not even you.”

You snort and place your forehead against his, relishing the tenderness of his rough thumb on your cheek. 

“I’m going to warn you right now though, that this first round isn’t going to be sweet or easy. I’m in full caveman mode, sweetheart. I’m going to be possessive and rough. I can’t help it. Every bone is my body is aching to stake my claim on you. You know that I respect you and love you, and I respect women and don’t think they are things to be owned. I’ll apologize after and make like a huge donation to a women’s shelter or something.” 

“Joonie, you can be kinky, it’s okay,” you giggle. He bites your lip in retaliation, grinning at your startled squeak. 

“Yeah, I know. I just wanted you to be clear on how I felt and what I was doing. Like, as hard as that time was for you, it was hard for me too. You were everything to me and then you were gone. And my mind still hasn’t quite caught up with the fact that you’re here and I’m allowed to love you again. As fucked up as it is, I need to do this like you’re mine. Like I own you and no one else can touch you.” 

“But Joonie,” you purr as you wrap your arms around his neck and kiss the side of his lips, “All of that is true.” 

Namjoon’s eyes flutter closed as he does a sound that could only be described as a growl. The sound went straight to your core and you shivered when he opened his eyes and pinned you with a dark glare. 

“Get on your knees.”

You drop down quickly, keeping your back against the end of the bed because you know you’re going to need the help to stay up. The cheap carpet already feels rough against your knees and you know that’s going to suck later.

“Open your mouth.”

You let it drop open and try to relax your jaw. Namjoon has his hand on his cock, stroking it slowly as a walks up to you with his jaw clenched tight. He leans down and presses your head back a little then trails his finger down to caress your lips.

He moves away only to pull you closer to his dick, the tip already red and wet. He threads one of his hands into your hair and uses the other to rub his cock all over your face and cheeks, smirking darkly as he spreads his precum across your lower lip. 

He slowly slides inside and you instinctively close your mouth around him. He taps your cheek lightly, growling at you. 

“Open back up. I know how much you love sucking my cock, but this isn’t for you. I’m going to fuck your face because you’re mine to do as I please with, isn’t that right?”

You groan and open your mouth, letting your head fall back against the bed. A little voice was indignantly screaming in the back of your head that you belonged to no one and weren’t some man’s little fucktoy, but that the same time this was hot, so hot. Namjoon looked so powerful and fucking beautiful as he loomed above you and you were more than happy to give him the control.

He slides back inside, moving around to get himself wet enough to attempt pushing into your throat. He feels hot and heavy on your tongue, and you can taste the salt of his increasing amount of precum. He shallowly pumps back and forth from your tongue to your throat, letting you get used to the pressure before he begins his first full slide down. Tears start building in your eyes as he slowly increases his speed, the ensuing squelching embarrassing but worth it as he groans loudly. 

“You always look so good choking on my cock.”

You moan around him, the praise going straight to your dripping pussy. He slides one of his hands down to slightly caress against your throat, and you can feel him press against the outline of his cock. 

“Can see my fucking dick in your throat.”

He places both of his hands on the sides of your head, holding you steady as he increases his thrusts, giving the impression he didn’t care if you were comfortable or not, but you could still see his eyes watching you closely and you knew all you’d have to do is pinch him to make him stop. You slide a hand down, thinking he’d be too occupied to notice, only to have your arm slapped away and pulled above your head. 

“If you’re going to cum, it’s going to be on my cock and by my hand. Any pleasure you feel today is going to come from me and me alone. Is that understood?” 

You nod and he huffs before going back to assaulting your throat. Your jaw is beginning to ache and you know your throat is going to be a bitch to deal with for a while, but whatever. This was hot. He was so fucking hot. 

“Fuck,” He hisses, pulling out quickly. “Your throat was made for fucking, but that’s not where I’m going to cum today. Hands on the bed, bend over.” 

You rush to do as he says, leaning over the edge of the bed and laying on your cheek so you can look back at him. He’s staring down at you and you can just imagine what a mess you must look like. 

“Look at you. Dripping down your thighs just from having my dick in your mouth. Suck a little whore for my cock. Or is it for all cocks?” 

“Just yours,” you manage to croak out, deciding to play his little game. 

“Mmm, good girl. I’ll give you the dicking down you want so bad. Color?” 

“Green. So fucking green.” 

Namjoon chuckles and presses a quick kiss to your lower back. You sigh and relax, placing your forehead into the sheets as you got ready to relish the first delicious slide of him into you...

Smack

You squeak as your register the hot pain on your ass and turn to him with an indignant frown. That was not one of his usual teasing spanks. Namjoon merely smirks, his eyebrow raised in amusement as he gently soothes where his spank had landed. 

“What? You didn’t think you’d get out of this without some form of punishment, right? Take your spankings like a good girl. You still green?” 

You nod and brace yourself.

The next couple of slaps were easier now that they were expected, although he still wasn’t holding himself back and doing the usual little love taps he did. These were full on spankings and you had no doubt that your ass was going to be incredibly hard to sit on for a while. You weren’t about to play around and say you hated them though. You still felt your pussy clenching every time his hand connected and he’d do a little soothing rub in between each smack. 

“The next time you’re worrying about something,” Smack “You’re going to talk to me.” Smack “And you’ll never leave me again.” Smack “If we have an issue, we’ll discuss it and work on it together.” Smack “No breaking up in this house.” Smack “Am I clear?” Smack

“Yes. Sorry, I love you,” You were embarrassed that you actually had tears falling down your face, but you thought it was more because of your emotions than actual pain. You knew if you asked him to he’d stop, but it felt good to let him get this out. Maybe now that you’d been “punished” you’d be able to start forgiving yourself too. 

Finally, he stopped, making a little shushing sound at your sniffles, soothing the area. 

“There we go, good girl. Twenty spankings. Now we can put it behind us. I forgive you and I love you.” He leaned over to press a light kiss on your lips, brushing away your tears with his thumb. “You ready to continue?” 

“Yes, thank you. Green.” 

“Good girl,” he growled and pulled back to his spot behind you. 

“And would you look at that, still dripping. I think you liked your punishment a little too much, didn’t you?” Namjoon chuckles and swipes a thumb through your folds, bringing it to his lips with a moan. 

He lines up behind you and pushes in, the both of you groaning as he stretches you and fills you completely. He barely gives you a moment to adjust before he starts hammering into you, the sounds of skin brutally pounding against skin echoing in the air. 

“This is my pussy. My woman. My love. Tell me,” Namjoon demanded with a husky voice that demanded obedience. 

“Yours. I’m all yours.” You shiver and answer softly, trying to concentrate enough to remember how to use words. 

“That’s right. All mine. And I’m yours. Never forget it,” he grunts, bracing a knee on the bed as he thrusts even faster. The angle is overwhelming and you feel yourself nearing the brink. 

“Joon, please...please give me more.” you plead with a sob. 

“Cum on my dick if you need to, baby girl. I’m not going to stop until you’re full though. Gonna fuck you so good you’ll feel me for days. Then when it starts to feel better, I’ll fuck you hard again so that every time you sit down you’ll remember that your cunt belongs stretched on my cock.” 

“Fuck,” you whimper as the first ripples of your orgasm take over, Namjoon’s words having his desired event on you. You clench the sheets as you cum, the oversensitivity of Namjoon pistoning harder inside of you making it damn near overwhelming.

“Shit, I can feel your pussy trying to milk me. Is that what you want? You want me to fill this pretty little cunt up with cum? I’m gonna fill you up until you drip all over the place, knock you up. You looked so hot in those pictures you showed me of when you were pregnant. So full and ripe with my baby, tits fucking huge.” Namjoon grunts as his hands grip onto your hips with enough force that you know you’ll see his fingers bruised onto your skin. You can’t help but mewl a little at his words, loving how fucked out he sounds. 

He suddenly pulls out and flips you onto your back, crawling up until you’re face to face before plunging back inside and resuming his furious pace. He’s dripping with sweat, his plush lips reddened from chewing on them. His eyes bore into you with an intensity that surprises you. 

“You’re mine. The love of my life. Forever,” he growls, dropping his forehead to yours. “Gonna do it. Gonna keep you full of cum every day until you’re bursting. No one else is gonna have my babies but you. Gonna keep you filled with my babies.”

Namjoon’s hips become erratic until finally with three more hard pumps you feel him throbbing inside as he fills you up, groaning into your mouth as he kisses you desperately.  

You sigh happily and prepare for him to get off you, instead, you’re shocked when you feel his hips start to move again. 

Namjoon grins at you, laughing silently at your shocked face. 

“What, you thought we were done? Nope, you gotta give me one more, sweetheart. You have to cum all over me again, suck all that cum into your greedy little pussy.” 

“How are you still hard? Fuck...” you hiss as he fucks into you faster. You can feel how wet and sloppy it is down there, between your own arousal and Namjoon’s load. It’s embarrassing but so dirty and hot. 

“I’m damn near always hard around you, but I just can’t get the thought of you round with my baby out of my head. You’ll look like a fucking Goddess. Look at me baby girl, you want me to knock you up? Give you load after load until you’re full?” 

“Yes! Yes, fuck me full! Give me another baby!” you wail as he pounds into you. 

His hand snakes down to your clit, rubbing circles harshly. You were so sensitive that it almost hurt, but you still felt the twinges of pleasure fighting its way through the oversensitivity. 

“Namjoon,” you cried, your body writhing yet unable to get away. “Please, no more. I can’t.”

“You can. Do it for me, baby. Give me one more and then give you what you want. Can’t wait to fuck you when your big and round, tits bursting with milk.”

You throw your head back in a silent scream as you come undone again, Namjoon sucking marks into your neck as you slowly come back down. He moves his lips up until they meet yours, pressing lightly. 

“Don’t close your eyes,” he orders as you try to fight off sleep. He stares into your eyes as he cums again, his mouth dropping open with a quiet sigh. 

He slowly pulls out and sits back onto his thighs, staring at the sight of you. You can imagine how you must look; puffy and raw from being well fucked, dripping after being so well filled. Namjoon pulls one of the pillows from the top of the bed, lifting your hips gently to place it under you. 

“You meant it then, knocking me up?” you ask as you realize he’s propping your hips up to keep the cum inside. 

“Fuck yeah. I mean, if you want. Should probably have asked, but I did tell you caveman Namjoon was here to play.” 

You giggle and allow him to pull you to his chest as he lays down. He smiles contentedly down at you, his face so full of love. It was probably too soon to think about this seriously, but fuck it. It was Namjoon. The love of your life and you knew things were going to work out as long as you continued to have faith in him. You grin up at him, the decision made. 

“I’d love to have another. Faith will like having a sibling close in age, I think. We love each other and things seem to be working out. Let’s do it.” 

Namjoon beams and leans down to kiss you tenderly, brushing some of your hair away from your face. 

“Was everything okay? Anything I did that went too far or made you uncomfortable?” 

“Psshhh, no. That was hot, are you kidding? Who knew you had a couple more kinks I didn’t know about?” 

“I love you,” he says softly against your lips. 

“Love you too. Now lemme up so I can go to the bathroom.” 

Namjoon chuckles, rolling off of the bed to come around to your side, scooping you up. He walks to the bathroom, setting you down gently as he starts the shower. 

“We’ll clean up, then off to bed. I have a big day planned tomorrow.” 

You look at him curiously, but shrug when he doesn’t continue. You trust him. 

You wake up to an empty bed, your half asleep mind confused when you find his side cold until you spy a note on the pillow, along with a single rose. You wonder when he found the time to smuggle that in here. 

Went to pick up Faith. Meet us in our spot by noon. Come hungry and you’ll probably want to dress pretty.

Dress pretty? For a trip to the park? 

You shrug, deciding not to question it and get ready for the day. You aren’t sure what’s considered dressing pretty for a day at the park, but you go with something fairly simple. A sundress and your hair down, maybe some light makeup. 

You’re ready with just a few minutes to spare, just enough time to drive there. You’re slightly irritated just because you’re starving, but you hope the come hungry part of his note meant he’d brought food. 

Soon enough you spy them on the grass near the bridge, your usual bench unoccupied as he’d spread out a blanket. A picnic then. 

Faith was wearing some adorably frilly yellow dress, clapping and smiling once you come into her view. You crouch onto the plaid blanket, gathering her up to give her loud smooches on her cheeks, grinning as she squeals. Namjoon smiles happily at the sight before winking at you and making a ridiculous kissy face, demanding his own. Placing your daughter in your lap, you lean over and press a kiss hello to Namjoon’s pursed lips. 

“Morning, beautiful,” he smirks, then hands you a steaming cup of coffee he’d been hiding behind him. 

“Oh, bless you,” you moan, quick to take the proffered cup and taking a greedy gulp. 

“So...do you want your surprise before or after we eat?”

You pause, wondering what he was trying to trick you into. The picnic wasn’t the surprise?

“Now, I guess?” 

He reaches into the basket, pulling out a blue box that fit into the palm of his hand. You breathing sped up, your heart pumping erratically as you recognized the brand and size of the box.

“Joonie...” you sigh in wonderment as he reaches up a hand to cup your cheek, brushing his thumb against your skin. 

“I love you with everything that I am. I love my daughter and I already love the child that we’re trying to make. I love the family that you’ve given me. You quiet my soul and give me hope. Marry me?”

You didn’t even look at the ring as you grabbed his shirt, pulling him to you for a kiss. You could taste the salt of your tears against your lips as you kissed him desperately, hoping he felt all the love in your heart through it. 

“Yes! Of course, I will. God, I love you. You don’t even have to marry me but we can do that if you want.” 

“I want. I want to tell the whole world that you’re my wife. I love you,” he grinned against your lips as your daughter tried to pry her way in the middle of you, not understanding why the attention wasn’t all on her. 

Namjoon picked her up, pecking her cheek. He kept a hold on your hand, rubbing circles into the back of it as you watch him chat with her, overwhelming love filling your soul. 

You couldn’t believe the two of you were finally here. Happy, in love, making a family together. Stronger now, you thought, with the past few years behind you. You’ve learned your lesson. To trust in him and his love, to have faith.