#i already posted this way way back but I'm posting again because i finally gloss coated the iris

[octobertomarch]

After more than a year i finally decided to apply gloss over their iris 😂🤣

This was drawn on vellum btw so i can't coat the whole thing 🤷‍♀️

[wonderlandwalker]

Proven Wrong | Finnick Odair x Reader

THG Masterlist / Taglist / Inbox

Summary: Finnick broke things off with you, but everything changes when he gets jealous

Content Warnings/Tags: Smut, mdni, porn with very little plot, jealousy, did not proofread, not even once

Word Count: 1.4k

A/N: There's a fifty-fifty chance this is horrible and my sleep-deprived brain is gaslighting me into thinking I need to post it but I guess there's just one way to find out. This is my first time writing Finnick smut and it's not what I used to but I'm also not mad at it, so enjoy this ( hopefully ) while I go have a panic attack in the corner second time today xx

You could see him looking at you, the way he trailed his eyes down the exposed skin your dress graced his eyes with. Wherever you went you could feel his presence burning from behind you. But you knew better than to give into it, because Finnick had made it clear you couldn't be together. Ever since you had returned from your games there had been a spark between you that you had wanted to feed, you wanted to give it oxygen to see how big it would get. But Finnick didn't want to feed the flame, because he was scared it would burn him down. And so you both went your ways, but you couldn't avoid each other.

Every capitol event and each hunger games you would see each other, you would see him looking at you with that longing in his eyes that made you wonder if this was really what he had wanted. But you didn't dare question it, because you had tried before, and all it had led to was a waste of energy. No, you wouldn't fall for that again. 

And you hadn't been doing it intentionally, you hadn't even noticed at first when Gloss got a little closer than usual or when his hand made its way to your waist. To be honest, you were quite enjoying yourself, and you had given up on the idea Finnick would turn around.

So when you did notice, you let him. You let Gloss whisper into your ear and you laughed at the silly joke he had made, and you weren't even sure if you were actually enjoying his attention or the attention in general.

But you didn't have much time to wonder before you were interrupted. A hand placed on your shoulder and a quick ‘can I borrow her for a second’ and you were being dragged into the hallway close by. If it hadn't been for the fact you recognized him from the smallest actions you would have been startled, but you could never be startled around him.

“What do you think you are doing” He sounded bitter, and maybe, just maybe you were glad you could get to him the way he would get to you.

“I'm having fun, what are you doing” 

“You know that's not what I mean, what are you doing with him” He had you cornered between himself and the wall, and he was so close that you could feel his heart beating in sync with yours, but after all this time you had spent trying to get over him, you weren't one to give in easy.

“You don’t get to tell me what to do anymore Finnick.”

The moment you told him you could see a flash of hurt pass his eyes, if you didn't know any better you would have sworn he looked like he regretted something.

But you pushed past the thought, and you pushed yourself free from him, going back outside to rejoin the party. As the night went on you kept looking at him, you kept looking and every time you did, his eyes would already be on you. He was watching you as if he hadn't told you he didn't want to be with you. 

In the beginning, it had been blissful, but it hadn't taken long for your relationship with Finnick to turn complicated, and in the end, it had broken like a glass that's been pushed towards the edge too many times, finally slipping off.

But when you excuse yourself a little while later and walk inside to get a moment of peace from the crowd outside, you meet him again. This time though, he doesn't even greet you, he’s immediately grabbing your arm and urging you to follow him up the staircase. You enter the first room you find and the moment he shuts the door behind you he’s on you as if it's his last chance to do so. He pushes you up against the door and grabs your legs, pleading with you to wrap them around him as his lips crash into yours. For a moment you want to let him, you want to bask in this euphoria of feeling him against you, but you have to remind yourself it will only be worse in the end.

“Finnick you need to stop.” You were trying to sound convincing, really, you were, but the way his fingers are roaming your skin makes you sink into him, and your voice sounds more like a plea. 

He’s moved his attention to your jaw, to your neck, and when he meets your pulse point you throw your head back against the door, but he still knows you, and before you can hurt yourself on it he’s bracing you with his other hand against the back of your head.

“Careful now, wouldn't want you to get hurt.” It’s ironic, you think, the way in which he seems to care so much all of a sudden when he didn't seem to care all this time before. But you still don't stop him, you don't stop him as he walks you over to the empty bed and you wouldn't dream of stopping him as he drops you down on it, hovering over you. His hands are everywhere and it feels as if he’s showing your skin an entire new kind of pleasure. His hands trail lower until he hikes up your dress and leans down to kiss a path up your thighs as if he’s following a map that will lead him to hidden treasure. 

If it had been anyone else, you would have felt ashamed, you would have cowered away at how quickly he was getting to you. You’re leaning into his touch and when you moan out his name, he says.

“I bet Gloss doesn’t make you feel as good as I can, does he?”

And you wouldn't know, because tonight had been the first time you really noticed him, but it brought out something in Finnick you’ve been trying to get for ages, and you're not about to tell him just yet.

“I thought you said we weren't together.” You want to see how far you can take this, because it’s not often you hold the upper hand. A dark look flashes through his eyes as you look at him and he doesn't say anything just yet, but he’s doubling his efforts as he gets closer to your core, and the moment he makes contact with your clit through your underwear, the moment you arch your back and moan his name again as he feels how wet you are for him, he regains the control.

“And I thought you said you were a good girl, guess we were both wrong.” He looks up again from where he had settled between your legs, and the hypnotizing effect he has on you makes you sink into the mattress as he gets back to his mission. His mouth is on you as if he’s been starving for months and you are the only thing that will salvage his hunger, your legs are tingling and he has to use his arm to keep you down. Before you know it he’s using his fingers and you swear you don’t care anymore what happens after this, whether he’ll leave you alone or not because right now, all you can think of is the way it all feels. You can feel his fingers curling inside you as he whispers praises to you, you can feel how close you are from the way your insides twist at his words, and you can feel the flood of relief as he tells you to let go, and you do. 

You’re breathing is still heavy as you feel the mattress dip beside you and when you open your eyes you see him looking at you.

“I’ve missed you.” He sounds like he’s trying to apologize, and in a way he is. Because he’s sorry for all the time he’s wasted and he’s sorry it took him this long to realize.

“I’ve missed you too Fin.” His eyes melt a little at the nickname, and he leans in to kiss you again. It’s much softer this time, and you just know it’s all going to be okay.

[killuakiru]

Hiii hru? I was wondering if I could request gon and killua (seperate) with a fem reader that is very girly? And I know it’s kinds weird but she kinda has pretty privilege and will literally get whatever she wants by winning at some other teenager. Shes very kind and sweet though so she doesn’t take advantage of it. Sorry if that’s kind of odd and if you don’t want to write it it’s ok🫶 love you!

HI ANON !! It's completely alright 🫡 I find this request rly cute as my other post was the exact opposite ! Thank you for making this request 🫰 Apologies if its ooc ( out of character ), but I had soo much fun writing this !

��₊⋆ IT Girl !ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁

⊹₊⋆ Girly!Reader x Killua Zoldyck, Gon Freecss ( Separate ! )ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁

༉‧₊˚. Let's Start !༉‧₊˚.

༉‧₊˚. Killua Zoldyck !ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁

• Now let's all be honest ! The first time Killua met you, he probably felt so annoyed and kept grumbling how they were teams with a "girl." As the stereotypical boy he is.

• But despite Killua's comments, you were so unbothered and even excused his actions?! He was stunned! Because if that was him, he'd internally judge them!

• But honestly, Killua underestimated you. In Killua's eyes, you looked so.. fragile? Yet your performance in combat impressed him! You were pretty agile, and you had a smart mind— not to mention, you were pretty, too! Not like he would say that out loud.

• During the final examination, yk the time where he killed an applicant? He could see you from his peripheral vision, and he saw genuine worry and concern for him. HIM. He found that so odd that a girl like you would worry for him.

• When you rescued him, that look in your eyes just SCREAMED affection, and that just hit Killua in the gut, y'know? Who wouldn't fumble in their words when such a pretty and sweet girl like [Name] comes running to them with an expression like that.

• See now— in Killua's case, he's never been with a caring or sweet female since almost everyone is his household is literally fucked up. So you were a new case for him.

• Nonetheless, he was pretty honored and glad you came for him out of everyone.

• And so, he slowly warmed up to you, even growing comfortable to the point he'd randomly touch your hair, arms, fingers, just any where he thinks that looks odd or pretty.

• Yes ! He sometimes stares at your features and finds himself admiring them. Well who wouldn't?! The way you bat your eyelashes so innocently, the way your lip gloss reflects the sun in a positive elegant way when you smile, complimenting your teeth, the way your blush makes your cheeks so much more squishy he just wants to—

• "Killua? You okay? You're zoning out again." [Name] says in amusement with Gon just looked at the boy who was staring, Killua blinked twice and hummed in a nonchalant manner, placing his hands behind his back and shrugged. "I'm perfectly fine. Better than ever. Let's get going again."

• There was one time where there's this one kid around their age who was gatekeeping Killua's the store's choco robots and you came to Killua's rescue, using your very cutesy face card to convince the kid to at least have 3!

• After that, Killua looked at you like you're some kind of GODDESS. He's been trying to convince that kid and you did it so effortlessly?! Even snagging him an extra one?! Oh you're his favorite now.

༉‧₊˚. Gon Freecss !ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁

• He found you SUUUPER cute and charismatic ! Like the whole time you two were talking, he'd always sneak in a compliment ! His words flattered you a bunch, too !

• He's like a natural smooth talker 'cause WHAT?! Every compliment / comment he makes about you leaves your heart beating!

• Instead of you making him flustered, you ALWAYS find yourself stammering over your words. Was it you who fell in love first or was it him?!

• Honestly with how smooth he is you're starting to think he treats every girl like this.. ( Spoiler, he doesn't )

• During the Heaven's Arena training, he was genuinely worried since you'd often wear skirts, but turns out you were already prepared! Introducing the.. skort! While it looks like an ordinary skirt, there were already built in shorts inside to prevent the creeps from looking!

• Similarly to Killua, he finds himself staring but is shamelessly doing it. When you stare back, he smiles. SMILES so charmingly, making YOU look away and he laughs.

• He loves the fact you get along with anyone you see or talk to !! It's probably because of your looks and personality, but nonetheless he supports you !!

• okay but I js know he's really vocal with your favorite features !! He probably loves your hair since it looks so silky, smooth, and soft to the touch! He also probably loves your nails too ! Almost having new and different styles monthly and he loves making guesses and predictions on what the design / style it'll be !!

• oh and, he absolutely LOVES how you do a wardrobe change almost everyday, you and Killua do a bunch of fashion shows together and Gon rates them :3

• His favorite fits are probably the ones with the very long skirts that reach the ankles with a comfy top, just anything that reminds him of Mito !

• He loves all the girls in his life equally :3 a lot of things reminds him of you and Mito ! So when he brought you and Killua to Whale Island to meet Mito, he was really happy that you got along well with his mother <3

• This was honestly his go signal to just shoot his shot, what could he lose? His mama loves you so much ! And he does too !! And so does Killua !! Everyone approves of you !!

༉‧₊˚. End !༉‧₊˚.

Thank you for reading ! This strictly belongs to me / killuakiru and I do not give permission for you to repost on other platforms, thank you !

[reverie-starlight]

Osamu + doing their makeup for them on the first prompt list? 🥹🥹🙏🙏

SO CUTE!!! I'm not sure which way you wanted this, but this was the first thing that came to mind. hope you enjoy!!

gn!reader that owns/uses makeup, no physical descriptions, fluff fluff fluff, I need to write for osamu more. I think legally for every three atsumu fics I post on this blog, I need to do one for his brother. pls don't hold me to that. very dialogue heavy!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"how did I let ya talk me into this?" osamu sighs from underneath you. of course he knows how- your puppy dog eyes and sweet, sweet voice buttering him up.

you giggle and shift a bit so you're straddling him more comfortably. "because you loveeee meeee," you sing. "and you're extremely weak against my charm," you swipe some bright green eye shadow over his left eyelid.

the man sighs again, but the corner of his mouth is clearly twitching upwards at the reminder. "yeah, yeah, whatever," he starts bouncing his leg to pass the time and you click your tongue.

"'samu, stop moving, I'm gonna mess your face up."

he lets out a sudden laugh. "yeah, I'm sure moving my leg a little bit is the thing that's gonna mess my face up. definitely not the gremlin sitting on my lap with some-" he opens his right eye to try to get a glimpse of the brush but you're quick to pull it out of his view. "mystery colour. I don't like the look on your face, sweetheart, what are ya doin' to me?"

your laugh is far too ominous for his liking. "don't you worry, baby, I'm gonna make you so pretty."

"wasn't worried," he shoots back automatically, but then he grumbles a bit while rubbing your thighs, "thought you already considered me pretty."

"aww, so pouty," you coo at him. "keep it up and I'm gonna put some gloss on you, too."

you have to kiss away his scowl and reassure him that nothing sticky or wet will be applied to his lips before lunch.

he stays still until you announce that you're finished. he's a little too quick about scooping you up in his arms and rising from his chair.

you had been giggling throughout the entire process and he remembers the barely concealed mischief behind your eyes when you first begged to do his makeup. there was absolutely zero chance that you had actually given him a cohesive look, but you've been so down lately, that seeing you genuinely laugh and smile made him just a bit more willing than usual to let you have your way.

"samu!" you shriek when he throws you over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

he adjusts his grip on the back of your thighs to keep you from squirming too much. "this had better be the best look of the damn century, sweetheart, or you're going to pay for it."

"what? nooo, baby I swear I was just messing around-" you're squirming relentlessly now, doing everything in your power to get out of his grip and run to safety. your boyfriend is relentless when it comes to payback. granted, you don't mind one bit, but it doesn't make the build-up any less terrifying.

he flicks the light switch on and it's dead-silent in the bathroom as he takes in his new look. his grip loosens just a bit and you take the opportunity to finally wiggle out of his arms and stand beside him.

osamu is just standing there, jaw slacked and staring at his reflection. you bite your lip to stop more laughter from bubbling out.

on his left eye is the bright green eyeshadow you had hidden from his view. on his right is a glittery neon pink. you've applied eyeliner on him as well, however not as sharp as what he sees you do for yourself. not sharp at all, actually, because instead of his eyeliner being winged, you've turned it into rounded flower petals. his blush is horrendously over applied to the apples of his cheeks, making him look like a doll.

and for the final blow, you've also "tattooed" some words onto his face in red lip liner.

atsumu is the better twin.

how you managed to fit it all is a mystery to him- he's almost impressed- but what's even more dumfounding is how he hadn't realized you were writing on him.

he blames your adorable smile for distracting him.

once he's done processing, he turns to look at you slowly and you feel a strange mix of fear and excitement pooling in your stomach. you're both extremely still and waiting for the other to make a move.

you decide not to tell him that you realized halfway into the flower petal eyeliner that you forgot to restock your makeup remover.

after an agonizing ten seconds, your lover only has to narrow his eyes to get you shrieking and running for cover.

lunch will have to wait a bit longer, but he decides he's okay with that as he chases you down the hall and pretends he can't catch up. he'll get his fill soon enough, anyway.

"yeah, you'd better run, darlin'."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

thank you so much for sending this in, I hope you enjoyed!!

@emmyrosee come get your husband

[ushiwhacka]

time skip! ushijima wakatoshi + fem! reader | mdni | 1,446 words | established relationship, semi-public sex, oral (m! receiving), rough sex, size kink, body worship, aftercare, wakatoshi fucks your face because he loves you, ok <3

a/n: i'm so sorry if you've seen this before! i accidentally deleted my original post so yeah oops.

it’s the way wakatoshi introduces you to his teammates and coaches. his hand resting gently on the small of your back, protecting, reassuring. the silk of your dress crumples around his fingers as they dig into your flesh. a reminder that he’s thinking of you, even as he’s spent the last ten minutes discussing serve techniques and tactics. it’s the way he pulls out your chair and lends you his palm in support as you stand up. it’s the way his eyes become softer when he looks at you. little tender moments enough to start a spark deep in your belly.

at first, it’s just a gentle warmth, the intertwining of fingers, a tug of the sleeve as you pull him closer and lean into him. but he looks so handsome in his suit. and he smells so good as he dips his head down, his nose brushing your hair as he tells you how beautiful you are, how incredible that dress looks on you. 

warmth grows into searing heat and touches turn needy. nimble fingers squeezing around the thickness of his arm, tracing the ridges of hard muscle. then moving down to his thigh, playful and light, running along the inside seam of his pants, moving up up up, until his hand wraps around your wrist - an unspoken that’s enough.

need grows into impatience, lips brushing his ear as you whisper saccharine words, syrupy sweet and sticky. but toshi has an irritating amount of self-control and your attempts at seduction are met with gentle pats on the head that feel condescending.

but everything has its limit. 

“i want to rub my pussy all over you.” he swallows hard, his adam's apple bobbing in his throat, and his jaw clenches as he turns to look at you. “i’m already so wet. wanna feel?” you hold his hand in your lap as you look at him through long, dark lashes. yes, even his self-control has a limit, and he’s toeing the line. and he knows it’s been crossed when he feels the constraining tightness of his slacks.

minutes later you’re dragging him through empty corridors, checking every door until finally, one opens to reveal a tiny closet. it’s dimly lit and filled with mops and brooms, but it will do. you pull him inside the room by the tie, then keep tugging it down until your lips meet his in a rushed kiss. 

“we should go home.” he doesn’t pull away.

“but we can’t,” your hand curls around the bulge of his chubbed cock, “you’re so hard.” oh, he knows. “you should let me take care of you.” people will notice your absence, his teammates will have an invasion of questions. but all his doubts falter and shatter in the grasp of your soft hands.

so wakatoshi lets you push against his broad chest, inhaling sharply as the backs of his thighs meet a worn-out wooden cabinet. his lips never leave yours. his hands on your neck as he tilts your face towards his. but then you’re moving down again, trailing sloppy kisses down the column of his neck, leaving the collar of his white shirt stained with lipstick and sticky gloss. 

he leans against the cabinet, long legs bent at the knees and then there’s you kneeling between them. biting your swollen lips as you make quick work of his belt and zipper before pulling his pants and underwear down as far as they will go. 

you wrap both of your hands around the base of his cock. it’s so imposing, intimidating even. and you’re never quite sure how you manage to fit it… anywhere, really. so heavy it hangs in your hold. 

but it’s also really cute when it gets all flushed and weepy. “hi baby!” the blush spreads from the apples of his cheeks to the tips of his ears. he can’t understand why you always have to talk to it like that. “aww so leaky,” you coo, “i think you want attention, hmm?”

you kiss along his length, leaving more faint lipstick marks behind. his teeth grind against each other at the feeling. he needs more. and you know it, but you love to tease, love to see him squirm in your grasp. you nuzzle your cheek against the velvety skin, looking at him all doe-eyed. “it’s so soft,” your voice a tender mewl. 

he has to look away from you for his own sanity. but it’s really to no avail because this - the delicate material of your dress draping over concrete, innocent words a contrast to the lewd way you’re toying with him - is an image now burned into his brain. and then there’s the creeping realisation that he likes this. he wants it. 

“just use your mouth,” his voice is strained and hoarse, words clawing their way up his throat, “please.” 

no. you bury your face in his balls instead. tongue flat, lapping and sucking on the sensitive skin before tracing the thick vein on the underside of his cock. then running the weeping tip over your lips that turn glossy with his precum. and finally, finally, you wrap your lips around it, whimper a little as you suckle on it.  

your mouth is so warm, so wet. and his breaths catch between his ribs as you slobber on the fleshy head, his hands gently holding your face. cheeks hollowing out, your spit mixed with the taste of him dripping down the side of your chin. 

toshi’s knuckles turn white as he grips the wooden edge of the cupboard. and whiter still as you move down the length of his shaft. your lips stretching around it. and you look at him, eyes blown with lust and welling with tears as he hits the back of your throat. he thinks he might just cum at the sight of you, so pretty on your knees, so pretty with your mouth full of his cock. barely even halfway in and already struggling as you try to swallow around the girth of it. 

he doesn’t mean to but his hands find their way to your head. fingers tangled in your hair and gripping at the roots. he can’t help how his hips buck all on their own. you feel so good, so divine and he can’t hold back the groans that rumble in his throat when you look at him like that, when the only sound he can hear is you gagging on his size, when he sees your spit dribbling down the valley of your breasts. you feel so good that he doesn’t even realise he’s fucking your throat raw. your nails digging into the meat of his thighs, sure to leave angry, crescent marks. but he’s never felt a pleasure so intense, so consuming that it clouds his mind and makes him relinquish all control over his body. it’s instinctive and primal, this need to feel more of you. to surrender to you.

his thrusts turn faster, erratic. and he’s growling out a string of warnings. “i’m- i’m close. i’m close.” but his hands never leave their place on your head and he buries himself inside your throat completely as he finds release. his cum thick and warm, too much to swallow as you sputter around him. 

beads of it pool at the corners of your lips. and you’re still catching your breath as you drag your thumb across your mouth and then between your teeth to collect those last few drops. 

his head is thrown back, chest heaving and brain fuzzy. swiping a hand through his hair, damp with sweat and sticking to his skin. his state a testament to the power you hold over him. then he’s reaching out for you, every praise that he can think of bubbling in his chest. 

but all that comes out is an almost stern “come here.”

wakatoshi helps you to your feet and holds you close to his chest as gentle fingers wipe away the mascara staining your cheeks.  then he drapes his suit jacket over your shoulders, smoothes the lapels over your chest, envelops you in the scent of his woody perfume. and a few stolen moments in a mouldy broom closet feel something like worship in his arms. 

one hand holding yours while the other rests on the doorknob. “should we go home so you can rub your pussy all over me?” it sounds very different covered in the deep rasp of his voice. and you feel the burn of embarrassment in your ears and the need to hide your face in the creases of his shirt.

“wakatoshi,” you squeal, “you can’t just say that to me!” a deep breath. “but yes.”

for my 🔭 anon <3 it's even later but it's here (again)!

thank you for reading! interaction is very much appreciated! ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

[licorice-tea]

congrats on 100 followers! I just started reading your work because of ur prompt post and you do notttt disappoint!! soooo I want to request Zoro w lovers rock BUT SPECIFICALLY the end dialogue

“Now, how many men have you kissed?”

“Very few. “

“But you offered me a kiss. Why?”

“Such a foolish reason, I'm afraid. I just wanted to kiss you. “

- 🍙

Such A Foolish Reason

Pairing: Roronoa Zoro x reader

Content: reader is usually kind of a flirt and Zoro is unsure of how much they actually like him!

Word Count: 0.6k

A/N: another request from my 100 follower event! ty for the submission @🍙 and i hope you like it! <3

You had already determined that Zoro wasn’t going to make the first move, no matter how glaringly obvious you made your feelings for him. The man was simply out of his breadth, and too unsure of how to navigate this sort of emotional territory. That didn’t through you off though; you still want him more and more every day. So eventually you had taken it upon yourself to initiate the first kiss, since you could barely contain the depth of your feelings for him any longer. Every moment around the swordsman is like a game of “will they? won’t they?” at this point.

But no matter how badly you desire Zoro, you can’t just dive straight into him into a kiss the way you want to. He’s not the kind of person to do things without being sure, and neither are you. Even something as simple as kissing would require a straightforward request and, hopefully, he would agree to it.

Ever so hesitantly, you turn to Zoro one starry night at sea. His sharp jawline is turned away from you, and his eyes are trained on the waves down below. You hate that he’s so concentrated on the ocean when you’re sitting right there, shoulder to shoulder with him. Because tonight, all you want is to be the focus of that intense stare.

“Zoro”, you whisper, and he responds with a grunt, “I have to ask you something.”

Finally, he turns to face you. His irises sweep across your starlit features, then come back to meet your own eyes. From the way your pupils are blown wider than usual and your soft, glossed bottom lip is being bitten under the top, he gathers that you’re nervous. It’s strange, for someone of your confidence and boldness. “Yeah?”

“Can I kiss you?”

A furious blush ignites and burns across his cheeks in a matter of seconds. And though he’s unsure of how to respond in words, Zoro can at least nod.

Your palm finds its way over his jaw as you tilt his face so that it will align with yours. His skin is softer than expected; so soft that you give into the temptation to simply run your thumb across his cheek. It’s warm, which isn’t surprising given how pink he’s turned.

Zoro expects that you must have done this a thousand times to be able to touch him with such great care. To make him feel so strongly that his mind is scattered and he can barely get his thoughts in order. He’s engrossed in the feeling of you.

From your point of view, Zoro has simply gone quiet again. But you can feel the furious beat of his heart through his neck’s pulse-

“How many men have you kissed?” One of the thoughts manage to tactlessly slip out.

You immediately stop and hesitantly pull back “Very few.” Though your reputation as a heartbreaker precedes you, you rarely find yourself falling hard enough to do much of anything with the men you flirt with. Most of the time, it’s only to get things out of them; directions, supplies, etcetera.

This surprises Zoro. “But… You offered me a kiss. Why?”

The corners of your mouth curl upwards as you smile bashfully. “It’s a foolish reason, I’m afraid. I just…” You trail off with a shrug, and Zoro leans in- hooked on your every word. “Wanted to kiss you.”

And so, you do.

[biffhofosho]

Hot Girls _____ | Chapter One

Fandom: Monsta X

Genre: Technically a slow-burn romance

Pairing: Changkyun x OC

Chapter Word Count: 7.4k

Trope: Friends to fuckbuddies to lovers

The Vibe: Cute girl who wants to feel hot, fuckboi best friend who wants to help because he’s a loyal bestie, sexuality mentorship lolwut, makeover tropes, booze, parties, jealousy, overprotectiveness, sexting, lots of praise with the intent on corruption (in an empowering way?) eheh, ill-fated friends with benefits agreement, best laid plans falling apart as they do, everyone figuring out their shit for the best

Synopsis: Her whole life, Vi’s been known as the cute one, the cherub-cheeked sweetheart who’s got it all together. She’s a good girl, but that doesn’t mean she wants to be, especially when she keeps losing out to the bad ones.

Vi’s best friend, Changkyun, however, is hardly a saint. He’s a consumer of hot girls, chronically unattached and comfortable that way. If anybody knows how to help Vi step out of her shell and take back her confidence, it’s him. It’s a good thing she can always count on her Kyun to step up to the plate.

A/N: Inadvertently wrote myself into another multichapter fic the second I got the Kyun 1st Lookmagazine in my hands. I'll think about that magazine until the day I die, whew. The fuckboi realness was too strong, and I am far too weak. And we already know I can’t fight the best friends to lovers trope, so here we are again.

I really wanted to get this first chapter out on my birthday, but I've had two terrible weeks in a row that just sucked the life out of me, and it's the high season at work, so it's been crushing. I couldn't even be bothered to make a cute banner for this; however, I was NOT going to put this off anymore.

I'll also be posting the first chapter of something else in the near future (so long as there are no more dastardly interuptions. Hope y'all are getting a chance to see Kyun in concert. I'm too much of a chicken to go, but my friends who have said it was incredible. What a man!

Cvr | 01 | 02 |

Chapter One

It all came down to today.

Vi reapplied her lip gloss, slid her glasses to the bridge of her nose, fluffed out her curly bob, and smoothed the pleats in her skirt one final time. In the company award showcase, she glanced at her ginger complexion dusted liberally with espresso freckles and took a deep breath.

You can do this, Vi. This is what you’ve been working toward for months.

Steeling herself, she turned the corner into Henry’s office. Her coworker looked up from his desk and beamed. “Hey, you. Looking cute today, I see.”

Normally, “cute” was Vi’s most feared word, but coming from Henry, she didn’t mind. “Thanks…”

“I was just thinking about you.”

“You were?” she asked giddily.

“Yeah. Want to go to lunch today?”

“That sounds awesome. When do you want to go?”

Henry glanced at the clock on his monitor and popped an eyebrow. “Five minutes?”

Vi bit her lip to cover her excessive smile. “Yeah, okay, I’ll just get my bag.”

“Meet you downstairs then.”

Despite the fact that Henry hadn’t walked her to her desk, he had asked her to lunch—for the first time ever. Chiseled, square-jawed Henry Williams. Broad, stacked Henry Williams. Tall, honey-voiced Henry Williams. Was. Taking. Viola Flowers. To lunch. She had gone to his office to ask him out, but, miracle of miracles, he had asked her instead. Nothing could touch her now.

Vi grabbed her crocheted cross-body and bounded down the steps to the lobby, where, true to form, Henry waited. His hands were stuffed in his suit pockets, and her brain turned to mush at the sight. She was lucky she remembered how to walk in her platforms because the moment he flashed his cool guy smile at her, the one that rounded out his stubbly jaw, her heart skipped as hard as her toe across the floor.

“You’re fast,” he observed.

“I’m excited.” When her words made it to her ears, heat flooded Vi’s body. “You know me. I love lunch.”

I love lunch? she lamented internally. Gross, Vi. Seriously gross. Ugh.

“Where do you want to go?” she pressed.

Henry craned his head to peer at the sky through the storefront and suggested, “Looks pretty nice out. Want to just walk to the taco truck around the corner?”

She did not. How on earth could she eat a taco and still look attractive? Besides, food trucks didn’t have tables, and she really wanted to share a table with him; staring straight into those deep-as-night eyes would be a dream come true. But Vi said none of that. She couldn’t risk turning him down and losing out on their first-ever lunch, not after investing nearly half a year into her fishing campaign.

“Okay,” she answered.

“Cool. Then we can just grab a seat under a tree or something. Looks like there’s some benches around.”

Vi smiled. Okay, this was better than she’d hoped. Side by side? She could find a way to brush her leg against his. Maybe he’d look down at her bare knee. Maybe he’d accidentally graze it. She was getting ahead of herself, but maybe he’d yank her into the supply closet and pin her up against the door…

Her throat was already closing up at the thought.

“You’re up. Whatever you want, I’m buying,” said Henry with a gentle bump to her shoulder.

Vi didn’t even remember walking to the truck, but it was already her turn to order. On the off chance that the supply closet was in her near future, she ordered a simple quesadilla, though Henry seemed totally unconcerned with such pretenses judging by his extra onions carne asada.

Once they had their lunch, they found a bench under a tree around the corner where the shade was just right to block the noon sun. A few other coworkers buzzed by with waves for them, but Vi was happy to note that she had Henry totally to herself. They chatted through their first bites before he downed his final taco in one big chomp.

“Okay, I can’t wait anymore,” said Henry the second he swallowed. “I know you’re still eating, but I have to ask you something.”

Vi blinked at him, and her oversized eyes had never been bigger.

Henry laughed. “Relax. It’s a good thing—no, a great thing, even.”

She gulped down her bite and smoothed the edges of her skirt as she gnawed on her bottom lip. It took her a second to calm the jumping beans in her stomach, but Vi said, “What’s up?”

“You know, I mean I think you know, that you’re my best friend in the office, right?”

“Oh, um, cool. For sure,” she mumbled as she brushed her buoyant curls forward to hide the nervous expression on her face. “You’re mine, too.”

“Which is why I trust you more than anyone else here. I know you’re a few years younger than I am, but I swear you know more about everything than I do, and you’d never steer me wrong.”

Vi’s excitement fumbled for a minute though she clung as best she could to it. “I try. What’s going on?”

Henry squared up to her then, and at last, her fantasy seemed within her reach. When he swiveled, his knees bumped hers, and he patted the swath of her bare thigh apologetically, sending a rush through her body like someone had blown a huge head of dandelion seeds along her skin. He leaned in a little closer with a dopey grin. He rubbed a hand on the back of his head as his coffee skin glowed in the filtered sunlight.

Here it was, Vi’s favorite trait of his. Henry might be menacingly hot, but he was also a geek at heart, so after he railed into her, she pictured them drifting off to some anime in the background.

Henry cleared his throat. “How soon is too soon to call someone after hooking up?”

What was left of Vi’s quesadilla slipped off her lap and tumbled upside down on the sidewalk. She was too stunned by his question though to pay attention to it.

“What?” she managed through a slack jaw.

Henry glanced at her food and frowned. Since she didn’t make a move for it, he picked it back up and put it between them on the bench. “Uh, Desiree and I hooked up last night, and even though I know you’re not a hook-up kind of girl, you are a girl and I trust you. I’m sure your friends have talked about this kind of stuff before, so you would have the inside track. I mean, I definitely want to hook up again, but isn’t it, like, sending the wrong kind of signal if I ask her to meet up again already? I mean, it’s not like either of us want a relationship, so I don’t want to scare her off.”

“You and Desiree hooked up?” Vi asked hollowly.

She pictured their other coworker, a bombshell of a woman if Vi had ever seen one in real life. Desiree was one of the company’s lawyers on staff, who was very successful at what she did, though Vi was sure that was due at least in part to the fact that she was so attractive, it made people want to give in to her regardless of their legal arguments. Desiree was tall and slender, with sleek ironed hair to the small of her back, which she always flaunted at the exact right moment with a full-body twirl to swing it over her shoulder. She was never without a pair of stilettos, a pencil skirt, and her signature ruby lipstick that made her warm nutmeg skin shimmer.

In one fell swoop, Vi had been ground to a pulp under the other woman’s pointed heel, and she wasn’t even here.

“Yeah, finally,” Henry beamed again, “after, what? The sixth time I asked?”

“I didn’t know you were into her…”

“Isn’t everybody?” he laughed. “She’s crazy hot.”

Vi did her best to keep her voice measured. “But you don’t want to date her?”

Henry shrugged. “I don’t want to date anyone. Too much baggage, I guess. This is so much easier. No feelings, no problems. Just fun, you know?”

She let out a long breath and sagged with it. “Yeah, I know. That’s sort of my best friend’s M.O., too.”

“See? I knew you’d know what to do. So, how soon is too soon?”

Vi pictured Changkyun now. Like Desiree, he was irresistible. With his black hair long enough to tie up in a little ponytail and sharp chin and even sharper cheeks, he cut an imposing figure, especially when he was sporting his favorite leather jacket and cologne. Vi called him catnip for women, and he never argued. He went through them like bottles of wine—savored for a night and tossed aside. The feminist side of her had, at times, wanted to be angry about it, but she’d never met one of his girls who had a complaint. Besides, the girls knew what they would be getting out of their night with him. Vi had always been the perennially out-of-touch one.

She toyed with the hem of her skirt as she answered, “I don’t think he ever repeats hookups honestly, so I don’t think he ever calls any of them back. I guess I’d say wait a few days though because, you’re right, if it were me and you hit me up the next day, I’d think you really liked me.”

Vi couldn’t help the stiffness in her voice, but Henry didn’t seem to notice. He was listening to her words, not to her, and nodding along.

“That’s what I thought. Is it okay if I ask her closer to the weekend? She’s not going to think that’s a date since it’s the weekend, right?”

“I don’t know, Henry. For someone who wanted something simple, you’re sure making this complicated.”

Her coworker did a double take at the barb in Vi’s tone, his full brows raised high. “Whoa, you okay?”

“Fine.”

Henry eyed her but said, “I get it. You’re right. I should just roll with it. Who knows? Maybe she’ll come to me.”

“Maybe.”

Vi stood and walked her quesadilla to the garbage can as he called, “Going in already? We still have twenty minutes?”

“Yeah, my lunch is ruined anyway. Thanks for paying. I’ll get you back someday.”

“You don’t need to—”

But she waved him off. “That’s what friends do. I’ll see you inside?”

Henry nodded slowly. He was obviously confused, but Vi needed to get back to her office before the sun exposed the heartbreak lurking under her skin.

“Sorry, I’m late,” came the cool voice as the door to her apartment opened and shut. “Work ran over, but I stopped by the liquor store to make up for it. How'd it go with Henry?”

Changkyun turned toward the kitchen and sighed.

“Oh shit. The depression hoodie.”

Vi slouched at her breakfast bar, wrapped up in her oversized Eeyore hoodie, the hood itself cinched tightly around her cherub face with its yarn mane fluttering every time the oscillating fan craned its head her way. She looked up at her best friend from under the curtain of her curls and pouted her bottom lip.

“Hey,” she said pitifully.

“Hey. You okay?”

“I’m okay.”

Changkyun pulled out a stool opposite hers and sat down, his eyes trained carefully on her.

“So…” he said. “I'm a little confused.”

Vi rolled her head on her hands to stare at him. “Why are you confused?”

“I thought that you said this guy was smart? Like, some big-time analyst or something.”

“He's both.”

“Well, he can't be that smart if he rejected you.”

“He didn't reject me,” she grumbled. “At least, he didn't know he did. He asked me to lunch just so he could get advice from his ‘cute’ office buddy about his ‘hot’ office hook-up.”

“Come again?” Changkyun said as he glared into space.

Vi sighed. “Seems he’s taking a page out of the Im Changkyun Friday-night playbook—fun and done. Well, maybe not quite. He wanted to know how soon is too soon to make another booty call.”

“Hey, you know that’s not my playbook. Repeats are too complicated. This idiot just wants— You know what? Fuck him.”

Her head sank to the counter, where her forehead rocked against the cold laminate.

That’s what I was trying to do, she grumbled to herself.

“At least I was psychic enough to grab your favorite booze on my way over.” Her best friend thumped a bottle of peach schnapps on the counter and petted the mane on her hoodie encouragingly.

She sighed resignedly. “See? You knew I was doomed to failure.”

“Oh, knock it off, Viola. Now, we're going to drink this together, and we're going to toast to Henry's inevitable STD.”

At this, Vi shot back up. “Kyun!”

Her friend just shrugged a shoulder along with an eyebrow as he rooted through the cabinet over the refrigerator and pulled out two shot glasses. Liquor sloshed in the cups as the smell of boozy peaches tickled their nostrils.

“Down the hatch, Flowers,” he instructed, and together, they tossed back their first shot.

The liquor burned a little though the sweetness dulled that quite a bit, and not a second later, Vi shoved the shot glass across for a refill. The second shot went down even easier than the first, and by the third, it was just like taking shots of juice except she could wallow less.

“In retrospect,” she said as she scrounged through her cupboard for something salty to snack on, “shy librarian was maybe the wrong way to approach a guy these days.”

Changkyun’s brow scrunched. “What’s wrong with a shy librarian?”

“Nothing. She’s just not the girl who catches the attention. We’re living in the era of Instagram models. A guy like you is not taking a girl like me home. I have to face that.”

“That’s ridiculous,” he challenged, “and I resent it.”

“I love you, Kyun, and you can resent it all you want, but I have never seen you with a shy librarian on your arm.”

He scowled, but he couldn’t argue because facts were facts. “That’s not because I don’t find them attractive.”

“No, it’s because you assume they all want to tie you down. Sometimes we just want to get railed.”

Changkyun nearly spit his drink across the counter, but instead, he choked it down and finished out a coughing fit. Between wheezes, he managed, “I’m sorry, what?”

“I’m tired of being the cute girl that has to settle for vanilla sex in a long-term relationship. I’ve had plenty of that, and it was fine for a while, but maybe I want some meaningless hot sex, too. Why not? I’m single.”

“No, I know that, but—”

“See? I can tell from that ‘but’ that you would never expect a 'cute' girl like me to want something like that. Cute girls like fuzzy sweaters and stuffed animals and those teeny little pastries that you eat in one bite.”

“Okay, but you do like those things,” Changkyun reminded.

“Yeah, I know, but I also like sex, and I want more of it.”

“Are you seriously trying to tell me that my best friend since second grade, who once invited me to her My Little Pony party, oh, and made me wear matching onesie Christmas pajamas last year, wants a—” The bottom fell out in his voice and, despite his casual appearance and even more casual attitude to relationships, he whispered, “—fuck buddy?”

“Or a few one-night-stands. I’m not picky.”

Changkyun stared blankly across the counter. “I don’t even know what to say.”

“See? This is my point. No guy like you is going to even consider sleeping with me because you assume I’m going to bring the baggage of a relationship. Well, I want a break from that shit, too. This is where you come in.”

“Whoa, Viola, I know that—”

“Shut up for a second, would ya? I’m not trying to guilt you into sex, Kyun, but I do want your help.”

At this, her best friend cocked his head. “My help?”

She leaned across the counter and locked eyes with Changkyun. She could see his nerves in the hard press of his lips, but she knew he was the only guy she could trust with this, so she soldiered on, emboldened by a bad fucking day and good fucking alcohol. “You've done this a lot. This is your wheelhouse. Teach me, sempai. Show me how to be a hot girl.”

He sighed and rolled his head back. “Why do you want to be a quote-unquote hot girl, Viola? They're a dime a dozen.”

“Because hot girls get laid,” she said frankly.

Changkyun scoffed. “You’re not a virgin, and you’re hot as is.”

“You have to say that as my best friend, but also, you’re not trying to sleep with me. You and I are in two different leagues of attractive, Kyun. You’re made up of all kinds of sharp angles—you’re objectively hot. I’m a freaking circle. Don’t say it—don’t say it. I know I’m not ugly, okay, but the fact of the matter is I want to be less Shirley Temple and more Naomi Campbell. You can show me how! All you do is interact with people who ooze sexiness. So, just walk me through the things that clue you in that a girl just wants to sleep with you and we can move on.”

“I don’t think I’m comfortable with this,” he admitted.

“Because you think I’m a hopeless case?”

“Because I think you’ll get hurt.”

Vi’s apartment had never felt so quiet. It was like a vacuum, where all sound and light had been siphoned away. She felt the irrational urge to cry, but she wasn’t exactly sure why, and she pulled her hoodie tightly over her head again.

Changkyun frowned apologetically. “I’m worried you’re only saying this because you’re a little drunk and a lot hurt already. That’s a bad recipe to start making new life choices.”

“Thanks, Dr. Phil. It’s fine. Forget it. You don’t need to say anymore.”

But he refused to leave it at that. He laid his head on the counter so he was back in her sulky line-of-sight, and he smiled reassuringly. “I don’t think you’re a hopeless case, by the way. It’s just that you’re already so beautiful. You deserve more. I want more for you.”

“Okay, but you don’t get to make that decision for me, just like I can’t make you help me with this.”

Changkyun growled. “You're doing all this because of stupid Henry?”

“No!”

“Really? Because you’ve never said any of this stuff before today.”

Vi leapt up from her seat so she could lean back against the sink and stuff her arms across her chest. “Maybe I was embarrassed to, but after the humiliation I suffered this afternoon, I’m done caring about that. If everyone else can just go after what they want, why can’t I?”

“I get it. It’s just… What's so great about hot girls?”

“You tell me. You bed one a week.”

“‘Bed one?’” he laughed.

“You're only making my point. I’m hopeless without you, Kyun, see?” she whined. She darted back to the breakfast bar next to him as she sensed the first hint of caving.

“Viola, is this what you really want? Some guy who just sleeps with you and doesn't call you ever again?”

She ran her fingertip around the rim of her shot glass as she considered Changkyun’s words. “I know you think I’m just saying this because of today, but what do you think today was about in the first place? Yeah, maybe I had a crush on Henry first, and that’s probably the exact wrong way to start something casual, but it wasn’t like I wanted to marry the guy either. You know I've only done the committed thing. What’s so wrong with wanting to explore something new, especially when I see you having an endless good time?”

“It’s really not like that,” he asserted as he took another shot.

She waited for him to finish his thought, but, typical Changkyun, he held back the full breadth of his feelings, and even though Vi knew him better than anyone else, some days it felt like she only knew the tip of the iceberg.

“Yeah, I'm the guy you fuck, but I’m not the one you end up with. Just so we’re both clear, I know jack shit about love.”

“Exactly! You’re perfect. You know what guys like you are looking for. You can be my tutor and my wingman.”

“It’s just a little weird that I’m your best friend. My job has always been to keep you away from guys like me.”

“You’re doing a terrible job then, bestie,” she teased as she nudged his knuckles with her own.

“You know what I mean.”

“I do, so for now, let’s just change our title to friends with benefits, okay?”

Changkyun rolled his eyes. “That’s not what that means.”

“I know. I’m trying to be clever.”

He stood up from the bar and waltzed into the living room, hands in his baggy jean pockets. Vi could tell from the way his iris tattoo flexed on his forearm that he was balling his fists, but at least he seemed to be taking her seriously. He paced behind the back of the couch before he leaned on it. His head whipped toward her as he said firmly, “If I do this, we need ground rules.”

“You got it, teach.”

Vi shucked off the Eeyore hoodie and tossed it on the counter as she raced into the kitchen and started rifling through her junk drawer.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Getting a pen and paper?”

Changkyun laughed. “Of course you are.”

“Hey, organization can be hot, too,” she objected. “And everybody likes a good listener, right?”

At this, her friend paused, stone still as he stared at her. Only when she waggled the pen at him did he blink and nod.

“You said I'm the expert,” Changkyun began, “so I expect you to listen to everything I have to say whether you want to hear it or not.”

Vi scrawled a quick note as she said, “You got it.”

“That means I go with you to clubs and bars when you want to meet guys so I can vet them.”

“Makes sense.”

“And if I don't get a good feeling about somebody you’re pursuing, you drop it instantly.”

“Fair enough.”

Changkyun cleared his throat to lift her attention from her notes. “Instantly, Viola. I mean it. I know how headstrong you can be when you think you're right, but I know the players and the game.”

“I know you do, and I’m not arguing, am I? See? Good listener.”

Again, he gave her a funny stare, and she felt that same sense that he was keeping things from her despite their current conversation.

But then he let out a breath and leaned forward, his hands falling to steady him on the back of the couch. “If you're uncomfortable with anything, you tell me. You don't have to do things just because you think it's what you think you should be doing.”

“I get how limits work, Kyun,” Vi said, a little annoyed, but he shook his head.

“I'm not just talking about bedroom stuff. If something doesn't feel like you, then I don't want you to do it.”

“I said okay…”

“I'm serious. Write it down. It’s the only way I'm agreeing to this.” Changkyun stared hard at her notepad until she finally got over her shock at his force and jotted his words down.

“I hear you, I hear you,” she grumbled.

“You trust me, right?” he asked with an intensity that Vi had rarely heard from him.

“Of course I trust you.”

There was a shift in the room now. Somehow, the temperature both seemed to plummet and soar at the same time, and Vi felt very disoriented. She was glad for the wall behind her or she might have tripped over nothing.

“Good. I want you to trust me enough to tell me absolutely everything,” said Changkyun. Despite how intimidating the man’s aura could be, right now, he was drawing her in closer and closer with those black hole eyes and bittersweet chocolatey voice. “I don't want you to be afraid to tell me all the things you want or like. You know me, I'm the last person in the world who would judge you, but that doesn’t mean it might not surprise me.”

“You mean like I already surprised you tonight?” Vi ribbed lightly.

“Yeah, but now that I know this is what you really want, I'm going to make sure you get it all.”

“Ah… Oh…” she fumbled and hoped she didn't give herself away at the unintentional innuendo. If she wanted him to take her seriously, she didn't want to look like a preteen in front of him. “Thanks, Kyunnie.”

He smirked. “You sure you want to give up your whole cute schtick? I’m pretty fond of it.”

“I mean, I don't have to give it up? I just want to shove it aside for a few hours while I get railed.”

That wiped the smirk right off his face. “How can I have known you my whole life and you still manage to have secrets?”

Vi shrugged. “Not going to lie, I kind of love the fact that my international man of mystery still thinks I can surprise him.”

Changkyun pressed his lips tightly and crossed his arms as he stared at her until sweat nearly started to bead at her brow. She had always trusted that he would help her, but the way he was examining her motives felt far too penetrating.

“We’re clear on the rules?” he said at last.

Vi nodded and showed them to him just to reiterate how seriously she was taking him. At this, he relaxed into his usual cool slouch.

“There’s one last thing,” he said.

She brought her pen up to the paper and waited eagerly.

“I don’t want this to come between our friendship.”

Instead of writing it down, Vi looked at Changkyun. He didn’t crack a smile or show even a hint of softness; he just met her gaze for gaze.

“Why would it?” she pressed.

“Things like sex usually do,” he said with a shrug of a shoulder.

“Yeah, but we’re not having sex…”

“I know.”

“So what are you worried about?” she asked.

“You,” replied Changkyun. “I’m always worried about you.”

Vi lowered her notes and came to sit beside her best friend on the back of the couch. Sincerely, she said, “And that’s why I knew I could trust you with this.”

“You can trust me with anything.”

“Because you’ll take care of me,” she finished with a smile.

“Because I’ll always take care of you.”

Changkyun’s words hung before he stood up, stuffed his hands back into his pockets, and headed back to the booze. He poured himself another shot and then one for her and brought it over. With glasses in hands, he raised his and said, “A toast to our unholy alliance.”

“To the new me,” she added. At this, he scowled, and Vi amended, “To a more adventurous me.”

“Better. I’ll drink to that.”

With another shot down, Vi felt the best she had all day. She let out a quick victory squeal before she announced, “I’m going to go get cozy real quick, then we'll dig in.”

“Already? You don't want to sleep on this first?”

“Carpe diem!” she called over her shoulder, and when she came back, she was cocooned in her favorite silk pajamas.

Vi crisscrossed her legs underneath her as she settled onto the sofa, notepad in her lap.

“Okay, since I’ve been thinking about this all afternoon, I’m going to grab the list I already came up with, and then the resident sex expert can chime in, ‘kay?”

Changkyun raised an eyebrow. “If I didn’t know any better, I might think I’ve been played.”

“So, maybe I’ve been thinking about this for a while more than I let on, but since everything went to absolute hell on my own, I had to fess up. And lucky for me, I have the greatest guy in the world for a friend.”

“A better friend would talk you out of this,” he objected.

“No way. You’re supporting me and backing me up? Best friend in the galaxy.”

“You don’t need to keep buttering me up. I already said yes.”

“Nah, I’m being serious, Kyun. Thank you.”

He nodded and emptied the last drops in his glass before he sidled up behind her on the couch and leaned over her shoulder.

Notepad still out, this time on the coffee table, Vi flipped back a page and stared at the list she had been jotting down the past week whenever the thoughts had occurred to her.

Hot girls:

Don't wear underwear

Don't wear glasses unless they're sunglasses

Flaunt their assets (short dresses, body-hugging, glitter???)

Get manicures

“Should I get hair extensions?” she pondered as she studied the bullet points.

“Absolutely not,” Changkyun said firmly.

“All the babes on Instagram have them.”

He sighed. “Long hair doesn't automatically make you hot, nor does any of this insanity you insisted on writing down.”

But her friend’s words barely registered as she scrunched the tips of her curls idly. “I feel like my bob says school girl or Karen or probably, definitely, librarian, and we all know I’m sick of that fate, so maybe?”

“I love your hair on you.”

At this, Vi lowered her pen. “Are you saying that as Kyun my best friend or Kyun the lady killer?”

“I'm saying it as a man to a woman. Don't change it unless you genuinely want to change it.”

“Maybe I should just stop wearing it curly then? Too Shirley Temple. Maybe I should iron it or something.”

Changkyun fell into silence back as he munched on a bag of snacks he’d pilfered from her cupboard. He stared off into space while her brow furrowed deeper and deeper.

“You’re supposed to be helping me,” Vi complained.

“What do you want me to add? You’ve vetoed everything I’ve said so far.”

“Exactly. So what does that tell you?”

Her best friend shot her a stern glare as he said, “That you’re awesome exactly the way you are?”

“I don’t just want to be awesome, Kyun. I want to be hot. I’m just going by the girls I’ve seen you take home. Don’t even try and pretend I’m just making this stuff up either. I do have eyes, sir.” She waggled her list at him, but he didn’t say anything. “Come on! Give me one thing you look for in a girl you just want to sleep with.”

Changkyun pressed his lips together as he considered. After a moment, he said, “The way she looks at me.”

At his first helpful answer, Vi sat forward, elbows on her now-pajamaed knees. “Ooh, how’s that?”

“I guess it’s kind of hard to describe. Each girl has her own way of doing it, but it all translates the same.”

He left it at that, and she growled. “And? What way is that!”

“I don’t know,” he said through a crunch of a cracker. “Like she wants to fuck me.”

Vi choked a little at his frank words, and she thumped her chest with her fist hoping to dislodge the knot there.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she wheezed and held a few deep breaths to right herself. “Just wasn’t expecting you to say it like that.”

“Hey, if you want to try casual sex, you’re going to have to get used to being direct about it.”

“Hm,” Vi considered as the wheels in her brain began to spin again.

This time, she wrote down “Serve sexy eyes” on the page and then tapped the pen against her lips before she added “Talk dirty” underneath.

“You’re pulling your weight at last, Kyun,” she said triumphantly. “Give me one more thing, and I’ll stop twisting your arm.”

Changkyun sighed in relief. “Perfect. Then I’ll say dancing. I narrow down my options from the way she moves her body. That tells me all I need to know.”

“Sexy mating dance, got it,” Vi repeated as she wrote it down.

Her best friend let out an incredulous laugh. “This is going to go over like a lead balloon.”

“Hey!”

“You’re the one who said it like we’re some nature doc or something. Looks like it’s going to be harder to shed your librarian alter ego than you think.”

Vi launched up from the couch and leaned on the counter shoulder-to-shoulder with Changkyun. “That’s why my best friend is going to Cyrano De Bergerac me through it.”

“Nerd.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll stow the literary references for after the sex. I suppose they could be a mood killer in this particular scenario. So, let’s say I give them the right bedroom eyes and do the mating dance and then add the sexy, flirty talk to seal the deal. Do I bring them back here then, or…”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” said Changkyun. “Walk before you run, okay?”

Vi shrugged. “It’s just, wouldn’t it make sense to bring them here? I’m in between roommates anyway, so I have the place to myself, and it wouldn’t bother any—”

This time, his hands clapped against the counter, and it resounded in the tiny living room. “Viola, you’re not bringing a strange guy home to an empty place.”

“Huh… Yeah, I didn’t think about that. So his place?”

“Shit. Okay, you’re already in high gear, and we’re not even out of the garage yet.” Changkyun yanked the notepad toward him and grumbled tightly as he scrawled each word, “Hot girls stay alert.”

Vi popped an eyebrow as she echoed the sentence. “Yeah, I don’t know if that's really a thing.”

“Well, it's about to be this hot girl’s thing,” he insisted. “You need to think with your head and not—”

“Not my downstairs, got it.”

Changkyun chuckled in spite of the serious turn in their planning.

“What about after a couple of hookups?” she asked, but he sighed.

“Again, you need to slow down. I don't think you want to jump headfirst into a fuck buddy relationship.”

“Why not? What if the sex is really good and we want to keep going?”

Changkyun shook his head. “You catch feelings way too easily, Flowers. No. No way. The point is sex, not strings, right?”

“Yeah, but what if it really is just mind-blowing sex with no strings?”

“Look, you said you wanted to feel hot and have fun. I'm going to make sure that happens, but if you're looking for something more to come out of it, I can't help you. The guys we’re looking at aren't going to be the kind of guys that I want you to repeat. My goal is to get you laid, not break your heart.”

“Okay, okay,” she said as she added a new note.

Keep it simple.

Changkyun glanced at it and gave a subtle nod. “Good. That one’s going to be tough for you.”

“You’re so wrong about that,” Vi challenged.

“How’s that? Even your pajamas require a Masters degree to put on or, more importantly, take off.” He gestured toward her two-piece set, the collared top featuring a full row of buttons and the matching bottoms tied with a quaint bow.

“What do you sleep in then, hot shot?”

Changkyun raised an eyebrow. “I sleep naked. Doesn’t get much simpler than that.”

The image hung, and Vi could feel her whole body heating.

“Fine, whatever. I’ll get new jammies, too, if it’ll make you happy.”

“I’m teasing you, Viola. I’m happy so long as you’re happy, Fort Knox pajamas or not,” he added with a hooked grin.

“Moving on!” she sang. “Back to these girls you take home. They probably know a lot of cool tricks and stuff, huh?”

“First of all, we don’t always make it back to a bedroom. Depends on the moment. You’ll get a sense pretty quickly where the night is heading one way or another, so just trust that feeling. Second, they’re not really tricks. It’s just… stuff you pick up from trying new things. If you’re feeling it, you can try it. A man worth your time is going to be open to experiencing them with you. You can just ask, and if he’s a dick about any of it, you can leave. If he gives you shit, you let me know. I’m already on your speed dial.”

Vi didn’t say anything and his eyes narrowed.

“Right?” he pressed.

She laughed. “Of course. You’re my first. Just don’t tell my mom.”

Changkyun softened and nodded once. “Okay, good.”

She smiled gently at her best friend before she turned back to her list to add one last item.

Try new positions in new places

When she was done, she studied it a few times over as she switched to pacing the living room.

“Okay, so looking at this, my plan of attack should be: new wardrobe, makeover, dirty talk lessons, and you should probably show me this fancy mating dance you mentioned. Ooh, do you think I should read the Kama Sutra, too?”

Changkyun laughed even as his head dropped into his hands. “You are going into this exactly like I thought you would. How about we just do a little at a time to ease you into all of this because, otherwise, it’s going to feel like you took a dive headfirst into an empty pool. I want to build your confidence naturally, okay? We’ll do it together like I promised.”

Vi nodded and practically collapsed under the relief she felt. It was overwhelming. Her whole life, despite her careful planning, she had taken everything two steps at a time, like running up stairs, but she’d also wiped out more than a few times that way. At least with her best friend by her side, he could catch her.

“Why don't you go shopping first for some new clothes. Buy something that makes you feel good.”

“Cool, okay. That's actually a really good idea. You can tell me what guys will find hot.”

But Changkyun shook his head. “Take Nijah or Tara.”

“No, Kyun. Come on. Nijah knits her own turtlenecks, and Tara is an actual librarian. I adore them, but they're not the people I want to go to for hot girl fashion advice. You are.” He considered for a moment, and Vi didn’t want to miss out on her chance, so she added with a soft smile, “I know you won't just tell me what I want to hear, but I also know that you'll hype me up better than anyone else could. If you want me to build confidence, I need my best, most trusted friend in the whole world. Besides, didn’t you just say we’d do things together? Pretty please?”

She batted her eyelashes cartoonishly, and, with a roll of his eyes, he caved. “Fine.”

“Ha ha, I knew it. You can never say no to me when I beg,” she gloated.

Changkyun nodded once and dropped his eyes to his lap. “As long as it’s for you and not just these dumb guys.”

“Man, Kyun, if you ever decide to wife up, women everywhere will cry themselves to sleep. They broke the mold with you.”

“You keep this up, and I’m going to get a big head.”

“That’s just another way of saying you like it.” He said nothing, and Vi reveled in her little triumph. “So when can you go shopping with me? Tomorrow after work?”

“Wow, how hard up are you?” he laughed.

She sneered at him, but it was true. It had been months and months since she’d gotten laid and even longer since she’d had an orgasm that wasn’t of her own making; she hadn’t been exaggerating about the boring sex. Someday she would find the guy she could have as much fun with outside of the bedroom as in it, but for now, she needed to break the dam of frustration and self-doubt so she could clear her head enough to focus on the other things.

“The sooner the better, hot shot,” she retorted.

“I can do tomorrow.”

“Sweet! I’ll google some trendy places.”

“Of course you will.”

But as Vi scrolled through search results on her phone, her friend shuffled around her apartment. He stuck his head into the spare room and mumbled, “I would feel better about all of this if you picked a damn roommate already.”

“Yeah, I know, but the last girl I interviewed gave off that party animal vibe, and even if I am looking to loosen up, I’m not losing my deposit. I did really like the guy though, but he said he won’t know if he can move in for a couple more weeks.”

“What guy?”

“You know him. Minhyuk’s cousin.”

Changkyun scowled as he leaned in the bedroom frame. “Isn’t he a lot older?”

Vi shrugged. “Not really. Like, five years. At least it sounds like he has his life together, which is more than I can say, so I think I’ll just wait to see if he can do it. I can afford another month here alone.”

“Are you sure? It’s Vancouver. There’s got to be lots of people looking.”

“Oh, yeah, there are, but I’m not rooming with someone I don’t vibe with.”

“And you vibe with this guy?”

Vi nodded as she jotted down a few store names on her list. “Yeah, he’s about as chill a guy as I’ve ever met, and he gives off that safe, responsible vibe. That’s who you want to room with, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Come to think of it, he might be the perfect roommate for me then. He’s big and sturdy-looking. Maybe he’ll be my bouncer,” she laughed.

Changkyun did not join her.

“If you want, I can ask him to come back and hang with us? It’s probably good anyway that you vibe with him, too, considering how much you’re here.”

Her friend shrugged a shoulder. “That’s okay. You’re right, I already know him.”

“Okay, cool then. I’ll give him the greenlight if he’s down. Man, I’m feeling doubly productive now. Checking all the things off my list! The next time Henry sees me, he’s not going to know what hit him.”

At this, Changkyun’s brow furrowed. “We’re not doing this because of that dickweed.”

“No! No way,” Vi assured. “But there’s nothing wrong with seeing a guy regret ignoring me, right?”

“Mm,” was all her friend said.

“So we’re on for tomorrow?”

“We are.”

“You staying the night tonight?” she asked.

Changkyun’s eyes darted to the spare room, but when he looked back, they were uncharacteristically flat. “I’ve got practice early. My show’s in just a couple weeks, and we can only meet a few times between now and then.”

“Okay,” Vi said cheerfully over her shoulder as she reviewed her notes. “So, you just tell me when you’re free.”

He was quiet for so long that she had to turn around to be sure he hadn’t left, but he was still there, leaning against the wall and staring out the window.

“Kyun?”

His eyes shifted to hers, and that weird little light he had inside switched back on. “I’ll call you before lunch. We’ll figure it out.”

“Cool. Then I’ll take you to dinner after to say thanks.”

From behind the soft, Changkyun leaned over and kissed the crown of her head. “Sounds good. I’m taking the booze, so you can’t get any ideas.”

“I don’t need it now. I have you.”

“Always,” he assured. “Lock the door behind me, all right?”

“Hot girls stay alert!” Vi shouted with a thumbs up, and her friend left a moment later.

When she got up to lock the door as promised, she caught a shadow through the peephole. Changkyun was still there, waiting in the middle of the hallway, though as soon as the click of the deadbolt thundered, he disappeared.

Vi smiled. They really had broken the mold with him.

[dotthings]

For some further context on my recent CW posts, some history. Since I'm an spn fandom old.

Never was I a fan of the CW Network itself. I started watching SPN when the pilot aired and it was on WB. The WB/UPN merger and Ostroff era followed. Ostroff didn't understand SPN. Most of SPN fandom back then had this feeling of SPN being on a platform where it didn't belong and it wasn't appreciated, but we loved SPN, and endured.

Pedowitz era was better about supporting SPN which I'm sure won some SPN fans over. But still, there was this atmosphere of long-suffering endurance from most SPN fans. We knew SPN was the red-headed stepchild there. Even with Pedowitz's support. Despite it being one of their big tentpole series.

What changed my mind about CW's capacity for quality series, as a platform, was Arrowverse. I was already a DC fan, and I got into Arrowverse for a while.

Until every one of those shows got FUBAR'd for me and I gave up. And I was salty. Because I really loved Arrowverse. And there is no excuse for that many bad decisions on that many shows except a systemic issue with the platform.

I'm a fan of the shows. Not the platform. Not in any era. I have supported the shows, and the creatives, and often felt they deserved a better platform.

Ostroff, Pedowitz, Schwartz era--it's different flavors of fail, it's all not great. In their own ways.

So the great idealization of CW Network by the cw stans who seem to love the platform more than they care at all how the platform abused the shows they supposedly love, is weird to me.

Late Pedowitz era, leading up to the sale, improved on some of the systemic inclusion issues that had me utterly despising the entire platform. Someone at the top finally got it together and mandated better efforts. Because it was up for sale. Have to gloss it up for potential buyers.

Reminders that CW:

Never made a profit

Was WB/Viacom CBS's cheap quick way to make a buck off streaming

Would have collapsed much much sooner if not for the Netflix deal

Had shows fans adored and abused the shows and the fanbases

Had terrible substandard marketing

Little quality oversight on set life or stories

Meddled in shows in not good ways including queer censorship and how PoC were treated. Or looked the other way with toxic showrunners and their bad decisions.

Virtue signaled with its other rep while PR tire fire after tire fire flared over inclusion issues. But hey, here's a GLAAD award and look, we have all this other rep so you can't complain!!!! True intersectional rep was not valued there. This is a reflection of systemic industry wide issues, but CW was an unusually blatant tire fire that exposed them on main again and again and again.

Because it was a mess and nobody cared and it was there to make a cheap buck for WB/ViacomCBS

Made things even more difficult for creatives who were trying to tell better and more inclusive stories and were grateful for the opportunity to make TV shows at all. Sure, CW gave a lot of opportunities to new voices. And then its systemic issues ruined shows and made things harder on creatives.

Actors were mistreated often

This current era of trying to wash away classic CW problems existing whatsoever after all the justified fan rage I saw from multiple fan bases year after year after seen all the harm done.

The idealization of classic CW and denial of those issues at CW and revisionist history from people claiming to care about systemic TV industry issues continues to be surreal and irritating to witness. That erasure is actively harmful to the very cause people claim to support. By erasing that troublesome history at classic CW, that is enabling these industry issues to continue without criticism.

If you're running with "Nexstar CW sucks and is the only era it's okay to criticize" and trying to silence anyone who criticizes og CW you are not in fact advocating for a better TV industry.

Love the shows. Support the shows. The creatives.

The megacorporation does not love you. It never did.

[pttucker]

Aaaand we're done! \o/

Well... "done" in one sense of the word since I just did a very quick search and apparently there's like another 140 chapters of side stories and counting. Possibly post-epilogue stuff??? Didn't look too closely since I don't want too many spoilers if I can avoid it. I already saw one vague spoiler relating to 49% Dokja's side story. 😢😢😢

Though at least now with the main novel+epilogues finished all of the mysteries have been wrapped up (as far as I can remember).

I guess I'm still curious about the Library, but even if that's never touched upon in any side story chapters, I think I kinda get it with my theories and how he broke up into many, many different Dokjas and/or was two different Oldest Dreams?

Oh, and the stuff with Dokja & 1863's Sooyoung's blurry faces, I would have liked to have seen that resolved. There were mentions of Dokja slowly getting less blurry that were kinda glossed over but nothing concrete ever popped up for why his face was blurry or if/when it fully stopped being blurry? Unless I just missed some subtle thing?? Like I guess the epilogue did mention that Sooyoung had fun writing in stuff about him being the Ugly King but I don't think she made him ugly, that was just her memories of him?? Either way, poor Dokja. 😭

idk maybe I'm the only one obsessed with things like that. (I literally eventually started a separate section in my ORV Scrivener notes just for all the times Dokja's looks are mentioned in any way.) So maybe it just wasn't deemed important to "resolve"? Or, again, it was but I totally missed it.

Or maybe there's still something about the Library and his looks (and other mysteries I may not be currently remembering) in the additional 140+ chapters out there?

Unfortunately, English translations of Chapters 552+ don't all seem to be in one place, or at least I wasn't able to quickly find them in my first search. I'll keep looking, though. Might just have to cobble together the chapters one by one from various sources. If anyone happens to know where I could possibly find them...

Though I'm honestly not certain if I want to immediately jump into them or if I want to give it a moment to breathe. I actually am a little bit disappointed that I jumped right into the 40+ chapter epilogues right after finishing the main story since I feel like it stole some of the impact from him finding his two separate ■■.

Even if I was really happy to see how they continued living on in the system-less world and how Dokja felt after losing all of his companions to be Oldest Dream. Seriously you never get to see those sort of things after the "happy" ending.

And I did love seeing how it all tied back together with Sooyoung being the author and ORV itself being Dokja's story (which Sooyoung also wrote!) which in turn is our story and getting to see Secretive Plotter and the 999ths again and poor Joonghyuk just not knowing what to do with himself after losing his purpose as a protagonist and him and Sooyoung wanting to save their precious Dokja more than anything and both of them coming to understand Dokja better and so on and so forth.

But if nothing else, I do really want to finally read some fanfiction and otherwise engage with fandom now that the big mysteries are solved. And if I can make one final prediction it's going to be that the top fanfic is some kind of modern, no powers gamer AU or something. Because that's just how these fandoms seem to go. 😂

Anyway, I think it should be obvious from my many, many ORV posts but I really enjoyed the novel! I am very happy that so many things were so well foreshadowed, so much was so carefully planned, so many loose ends were tied up in a very satisfying manner, etc. It's very impressive for such a long, looooong story. I mean, just the fact that you could get inklings that something was up with Secretive Plotter before we even hit Chapter 100 yet not have the reveal come until much later is impressive just on its own.

I guess if I had one complaint it'd be that I didn't quite vibe with the whole "multiple walls to open the Final Wall" thing. Like, I totally was into the idea of Dokja's Fourth Wall being the largest fragment, and I actually thought that Jang Hayoung's wall was pretty clever since it's all about commenting/texting others when Jan Hayoung was created due to Dokja's comments.

But I'm not quite so into the Wall of Samsara and Wall That Divides Good and Evil. Like, I do get how they relate to the story, what with Dokja literally reincarnating into multiple worlds himself and the fact that a lot of Dokja's main theme was that he didn't nicely fit into a box of good or evil. I mean, his literal Modifiers are Demon King of Salvation and Watcher of Light and Darkness. Not to mention, Dokja went through a ton of the novel saying that just because they were evil in one turn doesn't mean they're evil in the next and vice versa, as well as the fact that the had companions on both sides of the spectrum.

So I'm not saying that they just came out of nowhere, but personally I find something to be a little off with them when compared to the other two walls? idk these are just my initial thoughts and I might feel completely different once I re-read the novel and can better appreciate things.

Which, speaking of, I'm debating with myself if I want to do the truly ridiculous thing and start this entire novel over right from the beginning in true Dokja fashion or if I want to be good and maybe give some other universe some love. I was looking at The World After The Fall but...uh...

Not to say that things with tiny fandoms aren't also good!!!

But it does make me kinda side-eye it a little and wonder if I shouldn't just read Solo Leveling...

...or read whatever side stories I can find, aaaaaalllllll the fanfic, and then read ORV all over again. 😂

We'll see.

FYI when I do start reacting to the side stories I think I'll use the tag "orv side story" if anyone wants to block it preemptively to avoid spoilers.

[madfantasy]

Been crying alot lately not knowing why, nd now I can verbalise it, I need to type it down for the sake of my sanity.. I think its lots of trauma dumping, I'm sorry

I've seen a post ask about if you're an ace would u be in romantic relationships, and I have just thought about how I'm always revolted by these concepts since I was 6 years old.

Having been always groomed to be wed to one of my cousins or a rich somebody to be my highest achievements as it solely focuses on my private parts as my worth and my ability to contribute to the family's "Good reputation" and reap back benefits to.

But I knew, all along, if I was forced to be with someone, that will end me being on this earth or them if they tried going near me. And growing up, I always tried to accept that fact, accept that u need to be pure and clean and be good for wedding and basically enslaved to it, cuz that's all our still impoverished family can aspire to. And on top of the dark thing that happened to me, making me truly believe I have no worth in this world and have prayed to be taken to heaven before I hit puberty, and have tried pitiful attempts to leave it, untill i got faint access to Internet and stole the keys to the locked books, they themselves should have been reading, around 17 years old, found an only opening and escape to reality.

I remember, my refusal was all the firmer the more anyone tries to tell me all about the glamor of being an intimate house maid and the domestic abuse they gloss over that I personally have witnessed time and time again with every couple that visited or we went to. I always respond that i am already one to my guardian's with the same abuse minus the gross intimate part.

I didn't even understand why I hated it so much while everyone is doing it, and as young as 16.

I avoided alot of marriage offers thanks to my guardians being, in one good way, over protective. And me losing my mind every time they brought it up. Literal uncharacteristic melt downs and now they fear the subject after they finally snapped me after saying no for years wasn't enough of a respond.

I'm 30 and the latest offer was from a rich cripple who was willing to pay all my guardians debts and give them a farm. My guardians dream. They turned it down without consulting me.

I've always hated the concept of pairs joined by s*x and the s*x itself. And marriage as a whole never made sense to me, considering the developing world and its problems. But I understand it as a bond if its first and foremost was not for love, it was for safety— mental, financial and otherwise.

And where I come from, independence is supported by the family, you can not survive, work, do anything if you do not have a family, and specially if you assigned a certain gender. So basically, I lived in isolation for the majority of my life, in poverty, marriage seen as the only -allowed- way out.

And it's all stims from a so called religious teachings.. Alot in common in this world, who take it as a personality trait and use it to justify injustice. Even though most of the time they know nothing about it beside what they are told by their authority figures and operat in this world as superior to all others because they were told they r the true religion. I saw on TT a so called mus-girl complaining about her children being exposed to 'rainbow ppl' in school education and having the nerve to complain about it living as a foreigner welcomed to practice her religion in a western country and claims not to be hateful. And yes, Arab ppl call the community 'rainbow' which reeks of the phobia and condescension. Like their religion teaches them to be at peace with all and treat ppl how they like to be treated, yet they fail to apply that when they don't like or lack the emotional intelligence to understand others who are merely different, just different and existing, exactly like them. And they do believe God made everything, so he did make those people, so what their excuse to that? And they exsisted since tbe dawn of humanity. And funny thing is their religion tells them that God made humans different, and urges them to read, to wonder the earth and consider facts and if they don't know to ask who are knowledgeable, and their intentions matters more and if they did unjustly by anyone, who ever they are, they r not a true mus--. It obviously translate to just ask a man who knows nothing about science, empathy or common sense or notice the accumulating facts and only repeat a select few he is told at a religious house. Thinking seems to be a burden these people happily relinquish to others. Which irkes me to no end

I was told all the shit I endured is because it from gods teachings, and it should make me happy. I never stopped questioning if this is a bless then why I was never happy? And why I can't do as I am told

They beat me up when I drew, when I was rowdy and when what now i know is stimming, shaming it as an act of another religion, and it was the running joke in the whole family. Mental health was an immense shame and hush hush, and anyone who seemed to need it was judged to be just a lesser mus-- so they deserve all the pain and suffering they get

I was glad that lady was getting chewed by ppl who was responding to her, but one person said something that just made me burst into tears and I couldn't stopp crying lately..

She said she was a teacher that goes from school to school and stuff so she experienced alot of communities and she noticed the vast differences between children who's family love and support is unconditional and those who don't, they obviously tend to later thrive.

And thats the word..

Thrive

Besides our financial situation never changing to the better, everything else was in decline, my guardians health themselves relying on me even more, and my mental anguish exasperated to a point i barely see a point in life, daily.. I can barely draw now, something I did 24/7

Everything that I am I had to do deep research for just to know that there's nothing wrong with me or im not deserving punishments for. I am ace, I am a gentle Them, I am on the spectrum, and I am Mani..

I did everything I do now in secret and complete agony. I learned English to gave privacy, continued to draw cuz it was my only alive part, and posted online when I was forbidden completely to protect my art from being lost, had to swear that I was nit interacting with others. I lied and one of the few times I was found, I was beaten while a school friend was on the other line in a voice chat. I was more humiliated that my friend witnessed it than being caught.

I still have the deep fear and distrust, I can't deal with social things, having to keep guessing which social cues they are using and not to become a living status, leaving the house the mere thought if it alone is panic inducing, I can never feel safe and cant risk something that might bring any harm to me and my sibs, every few days I struggle not to just delete my whole exsistance online. I can't look at faces even in pictures and if I did or need to I have to mentally prepare myself for so long. I literally had to convince my guardians that I can have a credit card so I can "learn" to do stock shi then used it to have PP and one day i got commissioned, and only when that happened I was able not to keep it a secret. And in its place now I feel the pressure when I can't provide or won't

The rest I still have no luck, I bearly managed to tell them recently that I suspect that I am on the spectrum, reading alot about it lately and it explains even things I couldn't. The nearest I managed to tell them that I am ace and what it is is that I started by saying I find who we are suppose to be wed to disgusting and I already living that glamorous stay at home shi nd co-raising 5 siblings they know very little about. They said fine but don't go saying that out loud cuz God says that marriage is the greatest bless but I won't force u ever.

I just feel my life force almost over, while I experienced nothing of life beyond isolation and constant need, so i cant thrive in anything.. Everything I wanted to do I begged to try was denied cuz either of my privates or cuz we were poor. I wanted to be athletic and do sports but there was no such thing as a second gender sports around. I wanted to be and still wish I could be, a wrestler. Unsurprisingly WWE was my inspiration and practiced as serious as a kid could, having what I believed a super pain tolerance cuz I never cried as I was beaten. I was cut from even watching it because it was "shameful " all of a sudden. Later I understood it was because everyone was shirtless and it was s*xulised by them. Everything became the same later, everything I drew or expressed feared to be s*xual and or homo nd I was punished over, I literally drew dying ppl and bromance alot at first. And they just projected their assumptions on me. I understood later and still can't bear the thought that ppl can project s*x into anything, and it never clicked in my mind because of what I am. And that was their biggest fear. I drew things cuz I saw them beautiful, and they only saw it as vulger, because they can't help but hyper s*xualize everything or assume it being so even with clear indications. Something that happened online too, tumblr nd tt, so it triggers me horribly

Something ace i also realised there's a word for (forgotten ittt ugh)— even though s*x and its mention is completely revolting to my person and I can have no relation to it. I can still enjoy it as a fictional concept, as entertainment, if u will, specially in a muse of two characters I enjoy. So drawing it is fun and exciting and enrichs my naughty side. Until I finish it and I never want to see it again cuz I'm not super good at it yet heh

In my mind, I can love and treasure who ever platonicly, and our bonds does not have to direct our paths in life. My romance is bromance, and meaning I will do everything to make my bestie happy, and my biggest wish is to live like tintin, in a mansion and everyone can be free to go on adventurous escapades, like getting coffee. ( i never done that, so

And this is something I wish to do with my siblings, if the stars were ever to align..

At least have Sherir with me.. puppets make me happy

[obsidiancreates]

Some thoughts/criticisms of Battle of the Five Armies because I'm back on my Hobbit Movies bullshit

Should've put more screen time (and by "more" I mean "any at all") into Thorin's descent into the Gold Madness/Dragon Sickness. A lot of BotFA feels, to me, a bit... meandering. Like they needed to hit a certain length but weren't fully sure how to fill it (and I think that also shows in how it's the shortest of all 3 movies, at least Extended Edition-wise). We go right from "They all watched Smaug die," to "He's been down there for days and he's as Gold-Mad as Thror." We needed more connective tissue between those scenes- even just a scene of Bilbo noticing Thorin is refusing food, maybe trying to convince him to eat ("Thorin, take your share." "I've no need of it." "You can't live on gold alone, you know, heh, ahem." "We shall see, Master Baggins.") or something like that.

I get why Smaug died in the first twenty minutes. I do! There's both story reasons as well as behind-the-scenes logistical reasons (can y'all imagine what these movies would've been like if they'd had Reasonable Deadlines, less studio pressure, and more ethical cast and crew treatment? It would've fixed any of the CGI issues, they could've cleaned up some of the odd pacing and editing moments, none of those awful "QUICK QUICK QUICK WE'RE ALMOST OUT OF TIME!" moments in the Appendices would've existed... Fuck Warner Bros, man. Peter Jackson obviously had a lot to do with a lot of the unethical overtime and expectations and wasted time/effort, but like Warner Bros also contributed to this Massively). Anyway, I get why Smaug died so early into the movie. But god, I wish he hadn't. Now I haven't read the novel to it's end in about 13 years give or take- I keep picking it up, getting a good ways in, forgetting to continue, and then picking it up and starting over at the beginning- but I remember Smaug's death being a very Little Thing in the book, since it was Third-Person limited (mostly) and Bilbo wasn't in Laketown. I know that this wasn't a moment of Inaccuracy (though honestly I don't mind most of the inaccuracies but that's for another post some other time) but it was a moment of Deeply Unsatisfying Payoff. Again, I understand why! It's kinda unsatisfying in the novel too- frankly, a lot of the ending stuff in The Hobbit is, but you didn't hear that from me, got it? I'm not sure, exactly, what I wish was different about it. Killing Smaug at the end of Desolation wasn't really a viable or satisfying option either, and focusing more on Laketown would've gotten tedious and repetitive- only so much Burning and Screaming can be made into Watchable Cinema at one time. I think perhaps a larger focus on Gandalf and his experiences with Sauron could've worked here- especially if Sauron is somehow Aware of Laketown falling and uses this to mock and torment Gandalf, speaking of how the quest of the dwarves has truly failed and Middle-Earth is soon to fall the same way- but again, I understand why they didn't do that, that's just a lot of Ian McKellen sitting in a birdcage getting Taunted by an Eyeball. So I don't know what I would've had them change, and I think a not insignificant amount of this Dissatisfaction is unavoidable given the glossed-over nature of the very same plot point in the book. But it's still saddening, especially since they nailed Smaug so well and he's such a fun villain to watch on screen. Azog... a good deal less so.

Bro we couldn't have had one line where they were like "OH GOD FILI KILI BOFUR AND OIN ARE STILL DOWN THERE!" when they were watching Laketown burn? One show that someone remembered FOUR OF THEIR PARTY IS STILL THERE?!

Some of the line deliveries in this movie were an... interesting, choice, to make into the final cut. I'll chalk it up to Those Damn Studio Deadlines, though.

I know I already talked about this but SERIOUSLY WHERE WAS THE CONNECTIVE TISSUE OF THORIN'S MADNESS, IT AIN'T EVEN IN THE EXTENDED THE EXTENDED IS MOSTLY THE ACTUAL BATTLE (plus the Best Scene In The Movie where Balin alludes to Bilbo to keep the Arkenstone hidden forever, which it's a crime that was left out of the theatrical by the way).

Yeah okay the Kili and Tauriel parting at the shore was kind cliched and acted weird. Again I'll chalk it up to The Deadlines.

If we could've have had the Connective Tissue scene(s), I wish the reunion with Bofur, Oin, Fili, and Kili had been a proper scene and not just a quick cutaway. It would've been a great opportunity to catch them and the audience up on Thorin's condition and how he got to that state, as well as establish how The Company In General feels about it earlier into the movie.

Again, I know why they didn't... but even a hint that the Madness was taking the other Dwarves at least a little bit would've been nice. I truly feel that, by the time of The Ramparts, the party was at a point where at least 1 or 2 of them would've decided to go with Bilbo, and a hint that they're all slightly under the spell of the gold in the way Thorin is would've really made their decision to all 12 of them stay behind make more sense. Yes, Thorin is their king and their leader and their friend and Dwarves are known to be very loyal- but Bilbo has stood in as a leader, rescuer, and friend often enough that I think one or two of the party, in their own fully right minds, would've chosen to go with him, especially after witnessing such a horrific display from Thorin.

The pacing of the movie in general Needs Some Help, that can't go unsaid- but again, Those Damn Deadlines. The amount of palpable stress from the crew in the Appendices is genuinely stressful and heart-wrenching, and I blame the majority of my issues with this movie- and the other two- on Warner Bros being completely unreasonable with their time expectations. Especially since they pushed this 2-movie project into being 3 movies, like Fuck off, Warner Bros.

GOD I WISH MORE OF THE RING STUFF HAD CARRIED OVER FROM DESOLATION. Like again I get why it didn't, this movie kind of takes some of the focus off Bilbo and uses that extra attention on Thorin and Bard and Legolas, which I enjoy. But still, The Ring Moments in Desolation were so good, and the effect The Ring had on Bilbo in Desolation is not unlike the effect the gold has on Thorin- but Bilbo is better at fighting it. It would've been nice to see something done with that, especially as Thorin was falling to madness and Bilbo maybe recognized some of the signs from his own experiences like the one in Mirkwood. But also THE RING STUFF WAS SO COOOOOOLLLLLLLLL I WANT MORE OF ITTTTTTTTTTTTTT

[sylviegunpla]

Gunpla: Completed Collection of Minis: Part 4: Gundam SEED

Next is the SEED Figures. These guys will have a lot of cockpit shots because i already finished off most of their models (though a couple of them were back before i was doing water slides, and just using the decal-stickers and dry-rubs that came with most non-ver-ka MGs)

PG Astray Red Frame: Lowe Gule

This was done before i had access to my magnifying binoculars. The panel lining was actually done with gundam panel line marker, over Mr. Super Clear Gloss. This kinda turned out well. However, his "brother" (the pilot figurine) wasn't so lucky: (under the cut)

This one i started panel lining, then messed up and erased, and it wound up not coming off right. So i just didn't bother and went ahead and finished it with a flat coat, no nuln oil for detailing or anything. BTW, the way i captured that backshot gives me an idea for what i could do with suit-less pilots.... but i'll leave that for another day. Anyway, i actually already water slide decaled his suit, so i could take pictures of him in the cockpit!

Oops, got a little carried away there.

moving on...

MG Strike Rouge + Ootori: Cagalli Yula Athha

This was THE first figure i tried nuln oil on. However, it turned out kinda messy, because it was a tutorial my friend was showing me. HOWEVER HOWEVER, i managed to recover it without too much work! I think she looks decent overall.

The pilot figurine was also finished with Nuln Oil, but after i knew what i was doing. I think she turned out a bit better.

Next, we're gonna go behind the scenes and see some of the movie magic i use to make it seem like these guys are in fully constructed models (I already tricked you with the post about the Hi-nu!)

Some basic shots showing the cockpit hatch structure.

And now you can't tell again that it's not complete!

The hatch is now closed. We move onto another pink gundam:

MG Infinite Justice: Athrun Zala

I finished him with only a little bit of panel liner, down the middle of his chest, and nuln oil on the face. A little blobby/messy but still achieves a decent effect from afar.

Here's the pilot figurine. No backshot because i pretty much left his back unfinished. You have to constantly change the thing holding the figure in order to paint certain sections and i was getting tired of trying to do the back.

His cockpit operates very simply, so i only have a few shots:

Yup, there he is. He's actually mostly fully built because i had to detach him from the sick ass plane he normally hangs from. Yes, the mecha suit i mean hangs from a plane. It's so sick, i'll have pictures in another post dedicates to this kit.

BONUS: So, for a while, i had this figurine that i THOUGHT was the pilot figurine for this kit. But then one day i opened up the cockpit hatch and saw the figurine. So who is this guy? what kit does he come from? I'm not even sure if it comes from a PG (1/60) or an MG (1/100), it seems closer in size to the PGs though. You can see i attempted to start painting it in Athrun Zala colors. I actually finished it but it looked so weird trying to force the sculpt to match the image. My friend thinks the sculpt looks like it could be a specific pilot outfit that Kira Yamato wears. It's equally likely it might be a Mu from a PG Sky Grasper. Can anyone positively identify the kit this figurine comes from? The few possibilities we think it might be are kits my friend used to have, but lost due to Moving Shenanigans. so we cannot confirm that those kits are missing pilots. ANyway, moving on, to the final figures:

2x RG Strike Freedom: Kira Yamato

Why do i have two of these guys? Because i have two of the kits! The Strike Freedom was the first RG I assembled, in 2020. In 2021, i got P-Bandai's "Titanium Finish" release of the exact same kit. Thus, i had two Kira Yamatos to paint. These both were painted in my first run of minis in Fall 2023, and they are the last of such minis to be shown off here! I did not panel line them, hell you can tell that getting the stripes on their tiny pilot suits was hard enough. They're very messy and have bad color separation. Honestly, i might try redoing one of them now that i have magnifying goggles. It would be worth it. And as a reminder, since these came with an RG, they are 1/144 scale, so a bit tinier than most of the others i've shown off (which are 1/60 or 1/100).

I believe that does it for Part 4. I just barely had enough image slots for all these pictures, but sadly not enough for some "gags" i wanted to do. there would have been 3 more images in the set of 6 pictures of Lowe Gule boarding the Astray Red Frame, but i had to cut them for extra space. To read part 5, Click This Link!

[distortedclouds]

Clouds, hello!

For a 2023 year in review writer ask :3

1, 3, 9, 15, 19, 21, 22, 29, 30

Thank you for blessing us the past year with your wonderful stories, and once again - congratulations on finishing your magnum opus (for now; I'm sure you'll write another outstanding story if you were planning to write a long fic!) Black Water.

I said it already (many times but anyway) but I admire you a lot as a writer and I really look up to you a lot.

Heyyy Anna!!

I'm always happy to be a part of this fandom with people as talented as you! Also, the best part about writing BW was being able to share it you and everyone here ❤️

Let's get to the questions!

What’s something new that you tried in a fic this year? How did it turn out and would you do it again?

While this past year has been a wonderful and unique experience all on its own, it's gotta be writing "out of order"

Slow and Steady all happens in the same universe and the same timeline, but I wanted to try and let smaller stories flow together into one without having to worry about writing them all at that way

3. What’s something you learned about yourself as a writer?

That I get too much into a single "universe" and refuse to leave it. Im glad that this allows me to delve deeper into the characters emotions in a particular situation, but it also hinders my creativity that it becomes harder to write anything different or anything too different

Leaving is possible, but not as easy

9. What fic meant the most to you to write?

.... I tried to find a different answer, but It'd be a gross lie to say 2023 wasn't the year I posted some of the heaviest and hardest to go through chapters of BW

Thanks to BW I was able to allow myself to explore a lot of feelings and thought-patterns that I usually gloss over in my head because they're either too painful or too overwhelming to consider on my own, but in fiction, if felt more doable

15. Rec a fic you wrote or posted in 2023

It's only appropriate that I rec Slow and Steady, considering it started as a 2023 challenge (but will live on for much longer lol)

Kind of a way for me to hop between different points of their relationship without being stuck with a plot or particular narrative

19. Share your favorite opening line

The second chapter of Slow and Steady

"It’s the eighteenth day when Armin finally picks one up. It’s slim and long and surprisingly weightless where it fits effortlessly between his index and middle fingers. He wonders how much thought went into ensuring it’s as easy as possible to hold."

I love writing sad Armin who's trying to keep it together you know?

21. Share your favorite piece of dialogue

...... Anna do you know how much I wrote this year!?

on top of 8 chapters of BW ALONE

ffs

Black Water, Ch 20. Not The "pillow talk" but the part just before it. Annie isn't used to comforting and supporting Armin with words rather than actions, but this is the first time since the beginning of the timeline she does it and it'll always has a place in my heart

22. Share an excerpt from your favorite scene

Black Water, ch 17:

It was just this morning that Armin woke up alone. This same bed felt too big and too empty, with one of the pillows remaining squarely by the headboard, untouched and smoothed over. Now, it’s a mess; utter chaos. Annie has her hands in her hair, working out loose knots while leaning back on her pillow—which she’ll probably have to spend upwards of fifteen minutes working back into proper shape when they try to sleep again. The blanket resembles the peaks of high waves on a stormy day where it rests atop her knees, cascading in all sorts of ripples and wrinkles. Both towels she used are still on the floor, damp and in need of good airing so they remain smelling fresh. He tells himself that it does not matter that Annie wasn’t here this morning, or the night before, or the one to precede, but that she’s here now. That she came back and he’ll make sure to hold on to her properly this time around.

2022 was the year of making Annie suffer. 2023 was the year of making Armin suffer

29. If this were an awards show, who would you thank?

To my friend from 6th(ish) grade whom I exchanged a lot of my writing with

30. What’s something that you want to write in 2024?

Something Armin-focused for sure! I've been wanting to do that for months now with no luck. Maybe this year will be it!

[writingjourney]

ziplocked love | dew x fem!reader

summary: dewdrop and you start preparations for their upcoming tour early. Just the prospect of being parted is more than you two can bear, so you’re finding ways to cope.

content: ~4k words, smut and fluff (18+ only), Dewdrop is soft for reader, banter, some kinky things (mild choking (be responsible ppl), creampie, praise/voice kink, oral f receiving, biting), a little melancholic at the end

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Read on Ao3

posting this is me trying to use tumblr again, I am also contemplating adding sequels/prequels bc I'm really into this pairing so lmk if you want more ♥️ ⸻

„How many more?“

„A few.“

„You have ten.“

„Yeah, but once they’re out of the bag, the smell doesn’t last long. And I need to bridge months, baby. Months.“

You sigh in defeat and place the worn pair of panties in the ziplock bag. „By the time you leave, I won’t have any clothes left.“

„Oh that reminds me, I thought you could wear a few of my sleeping shirts, too.“

„Dew!“

„What?“

„You know I want you to leave those for me!“

He sighs. „Maybe we need to go out and buy some more shirts. And panties.“

„How about you just tell Papa you can’t go because your girlfriend is going to die from missing you?“

Dew laughs. „Die? Wow, you’re dramatic, babe.“ 

„Says the ghoul with ten ziplock bags worth of panties in his suitcase because he can’t nut without my smell when he’s away. Who’s dramatic, huh?“

„I can, I just… it’s not the same without it. And besides, you were the one who said she can’t sleep without my shirts and hoodies.“

You pout. „Because I can’t. It’s not dramatic if it’s true.“

He stares at you for a second, at the way your bottom lip sticks out, how your eyes are glossed over with unshed tears, brows knit together. Then his shoulders slump in defeat. „Awww, fuck. I’m sorry, babe. I can’t take it when you pout. Come here.“

You fall into his open arms and he hugs you tightly. He’s always so warm and cozy, holds you like he wants nothing more than to crawl into your skin. There are no half-hearted hugs with Dew and you’re going to miss them. It almost makes you cry to think about not having this for months – the hugs, the teasing, the bickering, his warm skin on yours. But then his mood shifts. About a minute into the hug you can feel his hand on your now bare ass, squeezing.

„Dew,“ you warn.

He ignores you, of course, feeling you up like no word ever left your mouth. And it’s not like you really want him to stop. When he starts stroking up your back under your oversized shirt, you shiver, fighting back a moan. Instead you move your face so you can kiss his neck, nibbling on his charcoal skin.

He goes feral. 

That’s how you would describe the next few seconds. Dew groans as your lips suck on his soft skin, his hand on your ass squeezing roughly, the hand on your back flying up to your hair, nails sharp against your scalp as he grabs your head to keep it right where it is. Biting his neck always does that, it activates his sexual desire like flipping a switch. You can already feel him getting hard against you, exuding more and more heat as his arousal grows.

„Fuck,“ he says. „You know that gets me going.“

„No shit?“

„Oh you little minx.“

In reply, you suck harder, moving one of your hands in between your bodies to feel him. That does the rest. He pulls you off of him and shoves you onto the bed, your ass bouncing off the mattress from the impact. But Dew is on you in a heartbeat, mouth crashing onto yours so hard your teeth collide. His hips buck into yours violently and you moan as his jeans-clad erection rubs against your bare centre, the zipper chafing your labia. 

„Pants off,“ you say, freeing your mouth. „Hurts.“

„Sorry,“ he mumbles, opening his jeans and awkwardly shimmying them down. Once he finally kicks them off, he stumbles right back on top of you and uses the momentum to thrust his hips back into yours. You link your ankles behind his back, keeping him pressed against you, his briefs already wet with precum and your arousal. Dew moans as he seals your mouth with his, the sound reverberating inside of you like a strum of his guitar. You want him so bad you can feel your whole cunt pulsating for him.

„Don’t know how I’m supposed to go months without this,“ he mumbles, lips moving down to your jaw. He inhales, nose nuzzling your neck before his forked tongue darts out to lick over your skin. „Fuck, your smell is everything. And your taste? Have some fucking mercy on me.“

„Baby, please,“ you whine.

„What do you want me to do, sweetheart? What do you need from me?“

„Take the fucking shirt off,“ you say. „I want to feel all of you.“

He obeys, pulling his worn-out Slayer shirt over his head. When he’s done, he helps you do the same, then lets his whole body weight rest on top of you as he kisses you again. His skin is hot against yours, heated up by his arousal, and it feels like stepping into hot bathwater, bordering painful but so fucking good.

It’s your favorite feeling in the whole world.

You kiss him back as best as you can but Dew doesn’t give up control easily once he has it. His lips push yours open until his tongue meets yours, shoving it aside until he got to taste every little part of your mouth. He lets you taste him too for a moment, but not before sucking your tongue into his mouth and biting your lip until you can taste blood. Even months into dating, he claims you every single time – marking you, tasting you, painting your insides with his cum. He says it’s so his fellow ghouls know who you belong to but you know it’s also because he just loves to do it. And so do you.

„Feels good yeah?“ he asks when he breaks away. „The heat?“

„Mhm. So good.“

„Aw, now who’s gonna keep you warm when I’m gone, huh?“ He slowly lifts himself off and his mouth wanders down to your neck to continue what he started. „I know you get cold easily. You gonna ask another fire ghoul?“

„Never,“ you say breathlessly.

His fangs dig into the skin where your neck meets your shoulder. It’s a hard bite that makes you gasp but he avoids drawing blood, just moves a centimetre further before he bites again. Once he covered a good amount of skin, he soothingly licks over the bite marks, then brings one hand up to massage your breasts. He’s slow but rough at the same time, sharp nails scratching your skin, tight, deliberate squeezes. Dew looks back into your eyes as he starts rolling your nipple between his fingers. It creates the tiny sparks you love so much, that go straight to your core without it ever being touched, and he knows it, only waits for your tiny gasps and whimpers.

„Never?“ he asks when he has you at his mercy, rubbing his nose against yours. „What about some Sibling?“

You shake your head.

„Words, baby.“

„No, I won’t go to a Sibling.“

„What about a Papa?“

You scoff. „No.“

Dew smirks, moving his hand to your other breast. „None of them?“

„None,“ you say, struggling to keep still as he continues to torture your nipple. 

„You’re gonna shiver and freeze all on your own?“ he asks, teases, voice dangerously low. „You’re gonna sit here, patiently waiting for me?“

„Yes,“ you say. „‘m gonna stay under your blankets and wear your hoodies and wait for you.“

He smiles. „Oh, you’re so cute. Love how you get all shy and obedient once you have me on top of you. Where’s the teasing, huh? You scared?“

You swallow, his orange eyes glinting mischievously, and even though you know he’s not dangerous for you, that he’d never hurt you with any ill-intent, the thought that he could is incredibly arousing. „No.“

„No? You should be, because if I come back and smell anyone else on you, I might just lose it,“ he says. „I can’t bear the thought of that.“

„I only want you, Dew. I love you.“

„Mhm, I love you, too, baby. I know you wouldn’t do it,“ he says, kissing your cheek with surprising tenderness. „Which doesn’t mean I won’t mark you every single day from now on until I leave just because I can. Give you something to look at while I’m gone. And of course I expect pictures of it every single day.“

„You just want your friends to think you’re badass,“ you say.

„Oh, there’s the little minx I love so much,“ he replies, big grin on his face. „Gimme more of that attitude. Come on.“

You buck your hips up in reply, wrapping your legs around him to pull him close. His hips collapse onto you, his cock pressing right against your core, and he gasps in surprise. Wasting no time, you bring your hands to his head, pulling him in for a proper kiss. This time you lead, tongue pushing past his sharp teeth. He moans into it, getting even louder when you roll your hips against his. One of his hands is still on your breast and he squeezes tighter when you start scratching his scalp. Hips still moving, you make his erection rub against your clit every single time.

„Just like that,“ he whispers. „Mhm. Fuck, let me pull those down.“

His hand leaves your breast and works on his briefs. Once they’re somewhere around his knees, he pushes his hips back against yours. You immediately feel the heat of his hard cock against your core and the anticipation is enough to make you whimper.

„Keep going, sweetheart.“ He looks down, watching as you rock your hips against his, cock sliding through your dripping folds. Back and forth, back and forth, the tip hitting your clit every single time. As good as it feels, it does get exhausting and at some point you give up in frustration.

„Dew,“ you whine.

„‘s okay, baby, I can take over.“

He does the same type of movement a few more times until you’re a mewling mess underneath him. It’s torture, having him so close to where you need him and yet still clenching around nothing.

„Please, need you inside,“ you say.

He stops, breathing hard. „You don’t want to come like that?“ 

You shake your head. „No.“

„Hm, you’re hungry for my cock, aren’t you?“ He teases you with his tip. „Gotta give my favorite girl what she wants.“

„You know,“ you say, swallowing hard. „Having a favorite girl implies you have multiple.“

Dew smirks. „Well, they’re not here in my bed right now.“

„Fuck you.“

„Oh, no, I thought I had you for that.“

„Thought you had other girls for that.“

Dew halts, looking into your eyes. You think he’s going to scold you, even though it’s all in good fun, but then he grins. „Oh, baby. I’m going to miss you so much. Who’s gonna keep my ego in check?“

„Sh-should ask Swiss or Aether to watch over you,“ you say, smirking. „Make sure those girls stay outta your bed.“

„Hm, no. They’d just join in.“

You laugh but it quickly turns into a moan when he suddenly slides into you. He shifts his weight, pulling back, and then pushes in deeper. He does it again until he fits his full length inside of you, then looks back into your eyes to make sure you’re okay. He feels incredible, so hot and hard, filling you up perfectly. You can’t help but sigh in relief.

„You happy with me now?“ he asks, leaning down to kiss you.

You hum into it. „Very happy.“

„Good, then let’s cut the crap. I’m gonna explode if I don’t fuck you right now.“

There’s no time to tease him because he immediately pulls back and snaps his hips forward, that first thrust making you gasp. Your arms are still around his neck but you have to move one to his biceps for support. For a ghoul so small he is surprisingly strong and you have to keep reminding yourself that he’s not human. Which isn’t hard when you feel his tail snaking over your belly, the spade pressing right against your clit as he continues rocking his hips into yours.

„Fuck,“ you exclaim, fingers digging into his arm. 

„Hmm.“

„Dew.“

„What?“

„Deeper.“

The ghoul stops, shifting his weight so he can lift your hips up, bringing one leg over his shoulder for easier access. By now he’s proficient at getting the angle just right, hitting your g-spot without fail. His rhythm changes too, slower, more deliberate strokes that send bolts of pleasure through you every single time. You miss his body heat on your skin, but it feels too good to complain, your orgasm moving closer and closer within reach. 

„Are you getting close?“ he asks, his rhythm faltering.

„Mhm. Baby…“

„I know,“ he immediately says. „I got you.“

And he does know exactly what you want. He leans towards you, bringing one hand to your throat and holding you there, fingers digging into your pulse, searching for the eye contact he knows you need. His thrusts become messier as a result but you don’t care, you need him to fill all of your senses. To feel his strong hands, hear his voice, see the desire in his eyes.

„Come for me,“ he whispers. „Come, my sweet baby, I know you want it. Let me feel you squeeze my cock, huh? Be a good girl and gimme your come.“

His tantalisingly soft tone is what sends you over the edge. You cry out his name, hand shooting to his wrist on your neck for support as your muscles stop listening and you tremble like a falling leaf. Dew groans when your walls clench around him, grip on your throat tightening. He sets your leg down, leaning back down to kiss you sloppily, his hot skin finally back on yours. You wrap your arms around him, scratching his back where you know he likes it. Dew thrusts a few more times before his hips stutter, a low moan bubbling from his throat as you feel him spill his seed into you. 

„Fuck,“ he groans into your mouth. „Mhm, shit, you feel so good. Can’t hold it back when you get so tight around me.“

His cock twitches a few more times inside of you before he fully stills, wrapping his arms around you to hold you close. You feel the mess between your legs when he shifts his weight to the side and smile.

„I love you,“ you mumble into his hair. 

Dew hums. „I love you too.“

For a moment, you stay like that and you can feel his skin cool down a little. When he lets go of you, pulling out, you’re about to complain, but he just scoots down the bed and back between your legs. As he spreads them further, you indulge him.

„Beautiful,“ he says, playing with your messy entrance and spreading out your mixed cum.

„What–“

He pushes two fingers inside of you and effectively shuts you up. „Hm, yeah I’m gonna fuck all of that deeper into you, baby. While I make you come with that tongue you love so much, of course.“

„Dunno if I can do it again,“ you whine, your nerve cells burning in overstimulation.

„Oh, you can, my love, I know it. I’ve seen you do it so many times. And you know I can never be satisfied with just one.“

He really can’t and you succumb to his efforts, getting comfortable in the sheets as he slowly fingers you. His eyes are on yours when he brings his mouth to your clit, making a show of displaying his fangs in a wide grin, his forked tongue snaking out between them to lick over your swollen cunt. He gives you a broad stroke from his fingers to your clit before he starts moving his tongue from left to right, up and down. You buck your hips but he immediately pins you down with his free hand, fangs digging into your skin in warning.

After meeting your eyes, making sure you got the message, he resumes – slow, deliberate licks all while his fingers massage your inner walls. You can feel his sharp nails inside of you but it’s not unpleasant. He’s cautious but picks up his pace after a while, especially when you try squeezing your thighs together. He’s playing you like his guitar, making you moan and whimper, coaxing all kinds of obscene sounds out of you. When the pressure on your g-spot intensifies, you feel your insides burning for him.

„Dew,“ you breathe, hand moving into his hair. „S-so good.“

He hums against you, the vibrations sending more sparks to your core and making you tremble in pleasure. Despite your initial doubts, you get close faster than you thought. When he sucks on your clit, you have to hold onto his horns for support, something you know he loves. It’s impossible to keep still, hips jerking on their own accord, but he keeps you pinned to the mattress with all his strength, doubling his efforts.

„Fuck, ‘m gonna come,“ you say. „Dew. Dew.“

„Mhm, scream my name, baby,“ he says, the vibrations of his voice giving you the last shove over the edge. Since you can’t move your hips, you kick one leg into the air, gripping his horns so hard you’re almost scared to hurt him. But he only licks you through your orgasm, presses his fingers hard against your spongy insides as they clench around him. Your body heats up in pleasure, every single cell now about the same temperature as Dew’s. Or at least it feels like it, like the fires of hell are burning right inside of your belly. 

After a few seconds the intensity lessens and you calm down, overstimulation setting in. It’s only then that your lover lets go of you to sit up. He looks like a mess, chin slick with your mixed cum and his fingers are drenched, dripping. He licks it off like it’s ice cream, smirking like the smug little shit that he is. You recover slowly, vision still a little blurry as he settles beside you on the mattress.

„Wanna taste?“

You let him shove half his claw into your mouth and suck as best as you can with the limited energy you have left. He stares at you so lovingly that you make the extra effort, kissing his fingers and knuckles when you’re done, finishing with a lingering kiss to his palm. 

„Sweet,“ he says, smiling. „You’re so pretty when you come, you know that? Could watch that all day.“

You smile in bliss and settle against his chest, pressing a kiss to his pec right as he kisses your hair. His arms snake around you, warm and protective but lacking the same heat as earlier. It’s comfortable, a little sweaty, but you’re used to it by now.

„Maybe I’ll have to record some videos next time,“ he says. „I could play it on loop.“

„Think you’re gonna forget my face as soon as you leave?“

„Nah,“ he says, surprisingly serious. „But… I don’t know. Don’t you feel like it sucks we can’t make these moments last? Like, when I’m gone, all I have is memories.“

You sigh. „I know. I have so many pictures of us, so many of you. But a photo or a video isn’t the real thing either.“

„No, it’s not.“ He squeezes you tighter. „But maybe it’ll be fun to try phone sex, huh? We call each other or FaceTime and send pictures and stuff every day. Maybe you’ll even be glad I’m not around to distract you from work and stuff.“

„I could never be glad you’re not with me,“ you argue. „Silly ghoul.“

He chuckles. „I’ll just throw you in my suitcase. No one’s gonna check that thing anyway.“

„Sister Imperator will kill me.“

„Not if I kill her first.“

You chuckle. „Dew.“

„What?“

You sit up, looking at him, smile vanishing. „We’ll be fine, right? We can manage?“

He looks just as sad, nothing of his playful attitude left. „We will. I know we will.“

You nod and start combing his hair back, tracing the sharp lines of his face. It’s still over a week until he leaves, but you already feel melancholic. How can you memorise him? Burn his image into your mind so it won’t get blurry?

„I have already asked for leave,“ you say. „I’ll probably visit you in a few weeks and stay for some days.“

Dew nods, smirking. „Fuck, you’re obsessed, baby girl. Can’t be without me, huh?“

You smile back. „No. I mean, I can. But I don’t wanna. I want to be your number one groupie.“

„Oh, you are.“ He kisses your head. „How about we have a nap and then head into town to get some more stuff? Maybe we can get you a cozy blanket I can roll around in for the next week.“

You grin, rolling on top of him for a quick kiss. „Sounds perfect.“

A week later

Time flies by, as it always does, on Earth even more so than in Hell and most of all when you’re happy.

Once Dew’s inside the tour bus, he feels the reality of it all, how daunting it is to be away from you for so long. He’s glad he immediately chose to wear a hoodie that smells like you, the extra perfume so thick it’s almost overpowering for his sensitive nose. He settles into the feeling, the discomfort. There is a lot of euphoric anticipation inside of him, too, and he will be able to access it in time. But right now? Thinking about your tear-stained face as he left makes that very hard.

„You look like a tiny worm with your head peeking out like that,“ Swiss comments as he passes him in the bus.

Dew just hrmpfs, hoping the other ghoul will just leave him alone. He invaded his you-scented bubble, a crime in and of itself. Of course Dew pulled the hood up, so what if he looked ridiculous? It intensifies the feeling, that’s what matters.

„Hey, it’s been…“ Swiss glances at the clock. „Five minutes.“

„Fuck off.“

„Oh, someone’s grumpy!“ Aether comments as he comes up to him as well.

Dew rolls his eyes and fights the urge to attack them both. Or at least show them the finger. 

„Leave him alone, eh?“ It’s Papa. „First time being away from his love. It’s not easy. You don’t know what it’s like.“

Not the old man, too, Dew thinks. But he just shoos Swiss and Aether further back into the bus and leaves him alone with a soft smile that Dew answers with an eyeroll. As soon as he’s alone, he closes his eyes and waits for the bus to finally depart. He’s happy and sad at the same time, excited to be on stage again, to give his all during the upcoming Rituals, but he’s also dreading the lonely hours at night missing you.

What a weird, unfamiliar range of emotions for a ghoul.

When he checks his phone half an hour later he finds a text from you. It’s a picture of your face, peeking out from the blanket you two got together last week. He knows you got half the day off today, a request Sister Imperator had only granted you because she wanted to make sure the departure of the band went smoothly and Dew wouldn’t cause a tantrum. The thought of you in his bed at home right now makes him smile. 

He’ll manage. Somehow.

⸻

Dew smelling someone else on you is his villain origin story, I’m calling it. Also, don’t tell me this man (ghoul) doesn’t get super soft once he loves someone. Thanks for reading, pls chat with me about Ghost ♥️

Part 2 here.

[animatedrapture]

RINTOBER: [Greet Me With Goodbye]

suna rintarō x reader

word count: 2k

tags: bandmember!suna, angst, implied cheating, toxic relationship, post-breakup, smoking

song: 505 - arctic monkeys

a/n: PLEASE READ THE FIC WHILE LISTENING TO THIS. thank you mous for beta-reading this for me <3

The lights were near blinding as you stood behind the large crowd, having opted to stay where you can only see enough and be barely seen from the front of the stage where he stood.

 The start of the song is what causes goosebumps against your skin—like it wants to take your breath away, and if you weren’t having trouble breathing before, you definitely were when you heard his voice again—booming and deep as he sang the first verse of the song. Your heart aches when you remember the first time you heard it, nowhere near finished then.

 “I’d probably still adore you with your hands around my neck?” You read the lyrics out, intrigued, and you look back up to him. His gaze holds yours with unparalleled tenderness behind the gloss of his eyes. You cock an eyebrow at him with an amused smile.

 “Reminded me a lot about you when we first started trying to figure the lyrics out,” Suna answered with nonchalance, nodding at the paper held between your fingertips as if to tell you to continue reading through it.

 “You’re not wrong,” you commented, humming in thought. “I’d still adore you with your hands around my neck, Rintarou.”

 Suna grins, a glint in his eyes evident. Maybe because he knew, even without you telling him. He knew you adored him to a sinful extent.

 The cheers and audience singing along to the sound of his voice were loud, but the thunderous beating of your heart was louder. So much louder. That’s when you think that maybe you shouldn’t have come here, you shouldn’t have let your friends convince you to stand directly in front of him yet stand so far away as if you were hiding. Well, perhaps you really were hiding; you could definitely step forward, see his face with a thin sheen of sweat, strumming along the guitar that hung around his torso—God, his torso—and his hair slightly covering the pair of eyes you’ve loved so deeply for a long time. His pretty face looked ethereal from where you stood, the beaming lights surrounding the stage accentuating everything that made him who he was, Suna Rintarou.

 Suna’s thumb grazes your lower lip, swiping lightly with his intense gaze locked with yours. It’s hypnotizing like always. Suna’s green eyes—heavily lidded that it made him all the more pretty, all the more breathtaking—set on you as you sat on his lap, the blunt tucked in between the fingers of his other hand emitting smoke that invaded your lungs like he invaded the entirety of your mind.

 You can’t look away, not even when he takes a drag of it directly in front of you—it’s frustrating how oddly seducing it was to watch him, your eyes following the way he inhaled the smoke that was toxic to his lungs like he was toxic to your own heart, poison to your own mind, venom in your bloodstream.

 His lips find yours immediately, his hand that was on your face moving to the inside of your thighs and it’s enough to make you gasp—your lips parting against his as he blows out the smoke to your mouth and you inhale.

 You inhale because it was more like taking him in your system than the smoke that was toxic for your lungs, poison to your mind, venom in your bloodstream.

 You inhale and take him in your system. Yet you never would’ve thought he’d vanish like the same smoke going up in the air until you see it no more.

 “Not shy of a spark, the knife twists at the thought that I should fall short of the mark,” You wish you were imagining it, the heavy drip of pain and contempt laced in his voice as he sang the words out. He sings like it’s flashing all in his head, every fight you both had—because it’s coming back to you too like a ton of bricks.

 Or maybe the sensation of it all coming back to you is more like what the lyrics he sang suggests already, a knife to the chest so deep that there’s simply no way you’d survive from it—no way a relationship could survive from it. The knife to your chest is dug deep enough; how do you live when it’s twisted and turned so sadistically?

 “You’re late again,” you mutter, sighing in exhaustion as you looked back at Suna who sat across from you from the table of the restaurant. It was your date night, scheduled already weeks before—yet he came in late—an hour late to be exact. An hour you spent giving tight lipped smiles to everyone’s gazes who fell on you near the middle of the restaurant as you waited, an hour spent smiling politely as you answered waiters who came near you asking if you’re ready to order.

 An hour spent wondering why this isn’t the first nor second time he left you waiting on nights that should’ve been about the both of you.

 “Look, I’m sorry, yeah?” He quipped, not bothering to even spare you a glance.

 He eyes the menu while your eyes begin to sting as you hold back your tears. You want to burst, to say something—anything. Anything that would take his attention, anything that would finally tell him you can’t keep doing this.

 “You don’t seem sorry, Rin,” you reply silently, gaze steady on his figure still looking through the menu. He finally looks up at you, exasperation fully evident in his features.

 “What’d ya want me to say? I just ran a lil late, alright?” He snapped, the menu falling harshly down the table from his grip.

 “You’ve been running a little late for months now—I’m tired of it,” your voice sounds weak, defeated. This is something you didn’t know was like knife twisted into Suna Rintarou’s heart.

 “If you’re tired, then leave,” his voice was cold to a scalding degree.

 Maybe the mistake was that you didn’t leave that night. That you continued something that you both should’ve tried to end that night—or at least attempted to. You didn’t know this either, but had you attempted to leave, Suna was bound to chase after you and engulf you in his arms.

 But you didn’t.

“I'm going back to 505, if it's a seven-hour flight or a forty-five-minute drive. In my imagination, you're waiting lying on your side, with your hands between your thighs.”

Every beat of the song felt like a kick with the kind of ache you felt against your chest that seemed so constricting. It’s like you’re inhaling the same smoke from his lungs again, choking you with it.

 You’re not sure how it happens, nor does it register in time when bright lights fall just where you stood—not in a dramatic sense like those god-forsaken clichéd romance novels—but simply out of coincidence. Come to think of it, had you stepped forward, you wouldn’t have been there, completely visible in his line of sight when his narrowed eyes zero on you in the crowd so easily as if you were magnet to his gaze, still.

 That could’ve been the case before. But not anymore.

 Not anymore, you ponder. If you hadn’t walked away and pulled from his embrace that day, would things have been different? He’s standing on a bigger stage now; oddly enough, you also heard he’s had more control of his schedule since. It’s been so long since the last time he’s seen you, been so long since he woke up to an empty bed—your warmth gone and your lingering scent on the sheets faint as if you were barely there to begin with.

 Just like that, he wished he could take it all back.

 The sound of Suna’s phone felt nagging and relentless. The more days passed, the more it was louder, the more his eyes remained trained on his phone.

 His fidelity remained unquestioned even as your relationship with him turned disastrously strained from all the hours you’ve spent waiting, all the days you’ve spent without him, all the replies you never received—all your messages left on read like you’re looking at Suna Rintarou, your own boyfriend, through a static screen.

 He continued to fall short and break your heart little by little but knowing he loved you beyond his actions was something you wholeheartedly believed; because his eyes staring back at you remained both tender and fiery like golden balance of true love.

 Yet maybe you were wrong.

 The final straw is the way your eyes follow the string of messages between Suna and another girl you’ve forced yourself to forget the name of. Your gaze lingers and wallow at the provocative pictures of the woman, enough to make you wonder where you lacked—where you came short.

 You wished it was only that which set you apart piece by piece like a puzzle being undone and someone else stealing the pieces of yourself you thought you gave to the man you can trust those pieces with to safe-keep.

 But the blue bubble saying, “Meet me in a few minutes,” on one of the nights he came late—bright blue and blinding enough to make you want to gauge your eyes out—and the following, “I’m here, where are you?” burns in the back of your head like his lit up cigarettes against your skin so fervently.

 That day, little by little, you packed your things in the most discreet of ways; sure, it should’ve probably taken a lot before Suna would have noticed when he’s barely home with you—but you remained scared that he would notice and you wouldn’t say no if he asked you to stay, because that’s how much Suna had you—line, hook, and sinker.

 You take one tentative step back, but your legs feel restrained and paralyzed underneath you when Suna’s eyes lock with yours, meters apart, but you would be lying if you said it’s an illusion when his eyes glimmer the same way—tender and fiery.

 “But I crumble completely when you cry, it seems like once again you’d have to greet me with goodbye,” his voice sounds so much louder, so much heavier—especially with his eyes trained on you as he sang the lyrics out without waver.

 Your heart swells and you think, it’s unfair. It’s unfair that his eyes looked as if he was pleading for you not to go the same way you knew he would’ve had he only known you were leaving him that day.

 Suna was worn-out. Tired beyond effable means or description of words; and he thinks he couldn’t be more exhausted when he rattles on the doorknob of the home you shared with him, the place he came home to with you—only to find it locked. He’s too exhausted to notice the way the house felt emptier, seemed emptier like something—someone was missing when he pushes the key in and enters the place.

 Suna was too exhausted to think you’d be gone forever; too drained to ever consider that it’ll take a year since that day before he sees you again.

 Suna was too exhausted to notice the letter you left on the bedside table; too exhausted to notice you’ve been gone for a week until he comes home again for a break, only for his heart to break at the sight of the empty house. Empty; defined as: without you

 You don’t notice the tears cascading down your cheeks until you see the way Suna’s eyebrows furrowed together from the stage he stood on as he continued to sing, never once taking his eyes off of you, like he’s hurting from the way he watches you cry.

“I'm always just about to go and spoil a surprise, take my hands off of your eyes too soon.” The ring placed as a pendant on the necklace around Suna’s neck glistened under the strobe lights dancing around suddenly felt heavier—so much heavier, as if it’s you who has your hands around his neck.

Maybe you do.

Maybe you do; because Suna runs off of the stage the moment the last beat of his lyrics come as he sees you finally looking away. Your figure slowly dimming away as the lights calm down to the beat of the song slowly dwindling away like you did—but never like the fire that burned in your chest at the sight of him.

You wish you could run but every step you took felt like you had boulders weighing down on your feet; as if no part of you wanted to go—and maybe that’s the miracle that Suna will forever thank whatever deity is out there for, because without it, he wouldn’t be able to find his way back to you as you attempted to drag your body and walk away, trying not to look back.

📞 violet is calling… all content featured belongs to ©️ animatedrapture. do not plagiarize, repost, or modify.

[mashep23]

Be Quiet

Pairing: Surprise Chris Evans Character x Female!Reader

Word Count: 713

Summary: You may not have volume control but he's definitely more vocal.

⚠️ Warnings: 18+ ONLY. SMUT. NO MINORS. Sneaky public sex, dirty talk, vaginal sex, unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it), creampie.

💥Author's Note: REPOST. I'm so sorry, my original post is no longer up somehow 😭.

Pure smut. Maybe a touch of sweet...if you squint. No plot, even if you squint. Thank you to @river-soul for your invaluable beta work and encouragement, and thanks to @whisperlullaby for your fellow horny hoe thoughts. All mistakes are my own.

Disclaimer: images are not mine.

He has you bent over the back of the couch on your tiptoes, dress rucked up to your waist and panties down by your knees when he finally sinks his cock into you. A loud moan rips from you at the feel of him spearing into you, stretching you. He immediately claps a hand over your mouth as he begins to thrust, leaning low to growl in your ear.

"Fuck, honey. I said we have to be quiet."

You nod, but quickly fail again when he releases your mouth to grip you harder. He angles his hips in a deeper thrust, hitting your sweet spot with each stroke causing you to clutch at the couch, knuckles white, and keen. He presses his mouth to your sweaty temple, panting hotly as he relentlessly drives into you again and again.

"Jesus christ, you feel so fucking good, taking me so well. But you're not doing a very good job of keeping your mouth shut. Do I need to stuff it full to keep you quiet? Huh?"

The thought makes your eyes roll back and your walls clench and flutter around his thick cock and he growls in response.

"Oh, you like that idea, do you? Want my cock down that pretty throat, princess? Bet you'd look so good gazin' up at me with those lips wrapped around my dick. Fuck, you're squeezin' the shit outta me."

He gives you a blessed break from his sinful words to straighten and focus, hips pounding even harder, but it's mere seconds before he's speaking again.

"God. You know what I think, sweetheart? I think you like when I talk to you, tell you everything I wanna do. You fucking love this right now, don't ya honey? Getting fucked in the middle of the day, bent over the couch while everyone is right outside. Shit, your sweet little pussy feels so good, I can tell you're close. Come on baby, come on this cock."

His strokes hit your g-spot relentlessly but it's his filthy mouth that sends you over the edge faster than anything you've ever experienced. You come hard and fast with a loud cry and he follows, hips stilling after he drives deep and holds himself there. The fluttering of your walls around him makes his eyes roll back and a guttural groan leaves his lips as he starts grinding and rocking into you as you both come down from the high.

"Holy shit," he half laughs, and you're both a bit giddy as you giggle a little. "That was fucking intense. You okay, honey?"

He presses kisses along the exposed skin of your shoulders around the straps of your dress as his arms wrap around your waist to help you straighten. You're grinning as you nod and murmur, "yes," because he's already reaching down to pull your panties up your legs and straightening your clothes.

You look over your shoulder at him with a quirked eyebrow and he grins roguishly. "I like the idea of you having a mess of me in your panties while you walk around the party."

Turning to face him, you smirk as you reach for his softening cock and gently tuck it back into his pants. "And I like the idea of you walking around covered in me."

You stretch on your toes to kiss him briefly before turning to leave. "I'll meet you out there," you toss casually over your shoulder with a wink and a grin.

He laughs and nods as he heads toward the patio doors while you dip into the guest bathroom to make sure you don't look like you were just railed at a barbeque. Hair fluffed and lips glossed, you make your way outside to the coolers for a drink. Your friend, the hostess, sidles up next to you, a knowing grin on her face.

"So, I'd say that you hit it off just fine with our handsome, newly single neighbor." She says with barely contained glee that her matchmaking was successful.

Your eyes find him across the yard as you bring the water bottle up to your lips. Your gazes meet and you both smirk. Turning back to her, you wink and agree. "Yeah, I'd say Andy and I hit it off just fine."